D&D 5E Having trouble with SKT (SPOILERS)

[THEMNGMNT]

Lots of good advice here. I have just a few suggestions to add.

First, do as your players have asked--slow down! Let them make meaningful connections to their characters, each other, and some NPCs. Don't rush it. And rather than feel compelled to level them up, instead try to level the adventure down where necessary.

Second, create connections between the characters and giant factions. Make it personal. Give them some villains to hate. Maybe the stone giants killed the mentor of the elf ranger, the dwarf cleric discovers his blacksmith brother is a captive of the fire giants, the half-elf's village is starving due to hill giant raids, and the sorcerer hears about a potent magic item in the frost giant's iceberg lair. Maybe they see all of this in an Oracle the vision presents to them.

Third, and this is just personal preference, have the Oracle point them toward the lairs of the giants rather than the burial mounds of the barbarians. The burial mounds will just continue to make the players (and you) feel like the adventure is aimless. At this point, it's probably best to take the fight straight to the giants.

Fourth, six characters at 7th level are pretty formidable. They should be able to take on the hill giants and have a fighting chance in several of the other lairs if they play it smart and you scale back a few of the challenges.

Fifth, once the characters have proven their meddle against a few of the giants and you're feeling like it's time to begin moving things to a close, then you can introduce the Maelstrom, King Hekaton, and the endgame for the adventure.

Hope that helps.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

This has easily been the worst campaign I've run in the past 15 years. It's frustrating that I'm disappointing my players like this.

Don't blame yourself. SKT is, IMO, the worst campaign book WotC has ever produced. If I could've given it 0 out of 5 in my review, I would have. Don't believe the people here saying that it has a plot. It really doesn't. Nothing the PC's do makes any sense and nothing the NPC's are doing makes any sense and nothing PC's do will matter, at all, to anything. 90% of the campaign is random, illogical, nonsensical, pointless side-treks and deus ex machina shoe-horns to keep players on track towards a completely illogical and pointless confrontation with a dragon. Because, you know, it's not like it would make sense to fight giants in a campaign about giants, no, the BBEG is a dragon, who has nothing at all to do with the primary reason behind the giants running amok throughout the realms.

My advice? Ditch this crap-heel of a campaign. Tell the players you're sorry, but if you'd known better, you never would've run this adventure. Then pick up Tomb of Annihilation and have the group start again at 1st level. ToA is close to perfect. It's a very, very good campaign book that is basically the exact opposite of SKT.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Don't blame yourself. SKT is, IMO, the worst campaign book WotC has ever produced. If I could've given it 0 out of 5 in my review, I would have. Don't believe the people here saying that it has a plot. It really doesn't. Nothing the PC's do makes any sense and nothing the NPC's are doing makes any sense and nothing PC's do will matter, at all, to anything. 90% of the campaign is random, illogical, nonsensical, pointless side-treks and deus ex machina shoe-horns to keep players on track towards a completely illogical and pointless confrontation with a dragon. Because, you know, it's not like it would make sense to fight giants in a campaign about giants, no, the BBEG is a dragon, who has nothing at all to do with the primary reason behind the giants running amok throughout the realms.

My advice? Ditch this crap-heel of a campaign. Tell the players you're sorry, but if you'd known better, you never would've run this adventure. Then pick up Tomb of Annihilation and have the group start again at 1st level. ToA is close to perfect. It's a very, very good campaign book that is basically the exact opposite of SKT.

And we disagree with you. Also last I checked the Dragon has a lot to do with why the Giants are being more problmatic then normal.

Everything you just said is wrong anyway. What the PC's and NPC's do makes sense. What the PC's do will matter, there is no deus ex machina. I understand you hated it but your complaints are not true.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Also last I checked the Dragon has a lot to do with why the Giants are being more problmatic then normal.

Check again.

Iymrith simply took advantage of the chaos caused by the ordning being broken. The irony being that Annam broke the ordning because the giants did nothing to stop Tiamat. Nothing that the giants are doing is because of dragons or because of Iymrith. They're all going about their business trying to impress Annam so that they have a higher importance in the new ordning. You could entirely avoid Iymrith and the outcome of the adventure would be exactly the same: pointless. Defeating Iymrith changes nothing. Restoring Hekaton to power changes nothing.

Everything you just said is wrong anyway.

Prove it.

What the PC's and NPC's do makes sense.

No, it does not. Nightstone is pointless and meaningless. It provides a McGuffin that isn't a McGuffin. The entire adventure is filled with pointless red-herrings like this that seem like they'll lead somewhere but actually lead nowhere. There is no reason to go to Nightstone and no reason to leave it because it has nothing to do with the thin facade of a plot that the entire campaign book rests upon. Once you get to one of the three main locations, you're confronted with pointless missions that have nothing to do with the "plot", other than some extremely contrived connection to Worvil.

And then the deus ex machina of Harshnag and the Oracle just happen to randomly wander in at some point to get to the actual "plot". And then you get sent on a merry goose chase to a bunch of boring locations, all so you can get a divination spell cast for you. You could literally avoid the entire adventure and just go to a temple and pay for it or, since by the time you've done all this you'll be of a level to cast divination, just do it yourself. Hell, if someone has the acolyte background, they can probably just get it for free.

And then what? You go to a giant lord and basically have to kill them to get their conch which does nothing more than teleport you to a location that you can get to by yourself anyway. Again, pointless. And then you have pointless battles with the storm giant sisters because without it, there's no possible way that there can be any connection to the plot and which, ridiculously, if you kill them, ruins the plot. The entire campaign can end right there because if you kill the sisters, the third sister won't talk to you and lead you to going back to the one person in the entire world who knows that Slarkrethal holds Hekaton.

Oh, and when you rescue Hekaton? You go kill a dragon because the dragon killed his wife and imprisoned him... which has absolutely nothing to do with the ordning or why the giants are causing havoc.

What the PC's do will matter, there is no deus ex machina.

No, it does not, and yes, there is. Tons of it, in fact.

I understand you hated it but your complaints are not true.

Yes, they are.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Check again.

Iymrith simply took advantage of the chaos caused by the ordning being broken. The irony being that Annam broke the ordning because the giants did nothing to stop Tiamat. Nothing that the giants are doing is because of dragons or because of Iymrith. They're all going about their business trying to impress Annam so that they have a higher importance in the new ordning. You could entirely avoid Iymrith and the outcome of the adventure would be exactly the same: pointless. Defeating Iymrith changes nothing. Restoring Hekaton to power changes nothing.

Iymirth took advantage of the Ordning being broken yes. By causing Hekatons disappearance. Hekaton's disappearance is one of the main reasons the Giants are causing trouble because Hekaton normally kept them in check. The Ordning being broken made lots of the Giants want to cause trouble to impress their gods. But it's stated that Hekaton still had enough influence and power to keep most of them in check anyway. His disappearance is what allowed them to run wild.

The end of the Book says aiding Hekaton and helping him form an alliance with Smallfolk and slaying Iymirth can if you want Impress Annam enough to restore the Ordening. Even if you don't want that Hekaton being back in power will allow him to put most giants in their place again. Stopping their rampages.

No, it does not. Nightstone is pointless and meaningless. It provides a McGuffin that isn't a McGuffin. The entire adventure is filled with pointless red-herrings like this that seem like they'll lead somewhere but actually lead nowhere. There is no reason to go to Nightstone and no reason to leave it because it has nothing to do with the thin facade of a plot that the entire campaign book rests upon. Once you get to one of the three main locations, you're confronted with pointless missions that have nothing to do with the "plot", other than some extremely contrived connection to Worvil.

And then the deus ex machina of Harshnag and the Oracle just happen to randomly wander in at some point to get to the actual "plot". And then you get sent on a merry goose chase to a bunch of boring locations, all so you can get a divination spell cast for you. You could literally avoid the entire adventure and just go to a temple and pay for it or, since by the time you've done all this you'll be of a level to cast divination, just do it yourself. Hell, if someone has the acolyte background, they can probably just get it for free.

And then what? You go to a giant lord and basically have to kill them to get their conch which does nothing more than teleport you to a location that you can get to by yourself anyway. Again, pointless. And then you have pointless battles with the storm giant sisters because without it, there's no possible way that there can be any connection to the plot and which, ridiculously, if you kill them, ruins the plot. The entire campaign can end right there because if you kill the sisters, the third sister won't talk to you and lead you to going back to the one person in the entire world who knows that Slarkrethal holds Hekaton.

Oh, and when you rescue Hekaton? You go kill a dragon because the dragon killed his wife and imprisoned him... which has absolutely nothing to do with the ordning or why the giants are causing havoc.

Nightstone is an example of a giant attack. Does it have a ton to do with the plot no. It's just showing the influence of what the Giants being out of control does. Whats the Mcguffin?
Nightstone is just the adventure being kicked off. After you get to Triboar, Brynn Shanar or Goldenfields you are given sidequests, you are right they don't have much to do with the plot. But they are just sidequests. Lots of stuff including Tomb of Annihilation which you loved has sidequests and extra content.

How are Harshnag and the Oracle a deus ex machina. Lots of plots including as mentioned Tomb of Annihilation feature the same thing. Artus Cimber from Tomb wants to visit an Oracle that can show you to your destination. Stuff like Oracles exist in the Forgotten Realms and Harshnag is an established character. Divination the spell does not reveal as much as the Oracle. Cause the characters don't know anything that they can use the spell to find out. Divination also only allows questions about events that will happen with in seven days and can be increasingly vague until useless when cast repeatedly.

You go to a Giant Lord to get their Conch which Teleports you to Maelstrom. Which the Party is not capable of getting to on their own as it's at the bottom of the Ocean. Neither of those things are pointless. You don't have to have a battle with the Storm Giant sisters there. Going there in no way forces you to get into a fight with them.

When you rescue Hekaton he wants to go and kill Iymirth cause she killed his wife and trapped him yes. Which has a lot to do with the why the giants are causing havoc most of them only acted cause he was out of the way. Hekaton now wants Vengence. So you can help him with Iymirth for a reward. The Adventure says they don't have to team up with Hekaton to go after Iymirth he just requests it as a final job for them.

No, it does not, and yes, there is. Tons of it, in fact.

With what I just posted I think the PC's do a lot that matters. And name some more deus ex machina.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Don't blame yourself. SKT is, IMO, the worst campaign book WotC has ever produced. If I could've given it 0 out of 5 in my review, I would have.

Wow, it had some stiff competition. KotSf and HotDQ were pretty awful, for instance.

 

[Greg Benage]

I think SKT is terrific, but it does require some tailoring by the DM. Of course, that's one major reason why I like it and why it's the only campaign book I've run thus far. It gives me a solid foundation and some sweet set pieces and let's (expects me to) run with it from there. I can definitely understand why it wouldn't be what some DMs are looking for. Hopefully Wizards will continue to offer a variety of styles in their published products rather than locking into one popular format. Variety is good, from my perspective.