D&D 5E Help with Fungal Adventure in the Feywild

[GwaihirAgain]

Hi, I would appreciate feedback or ideas for this adventure.

The PCs are in they Feywild and have recently discovered that a Summer Court Archfey (the Warlocks Patron) may not be all she seems.

During this adventure they are disguised as Fungus People and need to Enter the Fungal Caverns to deduce that she is plotting with the Winter Knight to kill the Summer Queen, and hopefully start a war between Summer and Winter Courts. (Jim Butcher Cold Days Influenced)

I would like to minimize combat encounters.
I use Fungus People because Im not sure Im going to use 5E myconids or something more generic. Concerned about Mind reading spores

Heres what I have so far (Help from Chat GPT)

Desired Outcome: party interacts with Fungal creatures and discovers Allora is going to try to manipulate a winter fey to assassinate the Summer Queen.

Encounters

1. The Gate - Staffed by Fungusmen and SporeServant Ogres, party disguised as fungus men, needs to bluff their way in, On a medium DC score fail Sporewarden Syk, believes something is off and Leads them to the Memory Garden (below). A high success and Syk leads them to the Fungal Queen.
2. Spore Memory Garden/ Hallucination. Characters have to contribute to a group mind based on their backstories making checks and choices, Failure leads to confrontation with Syk who runs to get guards.
3. Queens Court - The Fungal Queen, an neutral Archfey and Allora are friends, Party needs to create/continue bluff from front gate, and convince queen based on previously gathered information that Allora is not what she seems.
4. Alloras Chamber. Here the party finds a poetry journal she keeps. The most recent entries reveal a dark turn. With the last one a poem about seeking the throne.

Other Encounters potential Encounters

1. Choir of the spore singers leads to the Spore Oracle, Spore Singers lead to a room housing the Spore Oracle. The party must notice a pattern and create a performance based on the pattern in order to pass. (performance check) The Spore Oracle, is willing to accept payment from characters in terms of memories, truths, flesh, dreams or rot in exchange for A legend lore-like effect about a person/place or item, or a physical (random) stat change, They can also ask for a foretelling, which will reveal there is danger to the Summer court.
2. NPC a harengon who once knew Garret(PC) is now thralled to the Fungal Queen. His body is mostly hare but some fungus, he is being punished for betrayal of Fungal Queen. He knows that Allora has recently visited the caverns with the Winter Knight.
3. NPC A fungal creature serves as the queen's senechal. He knows that Allora and the Queen are longtime friends but that recently her scent has changed.
4. NPC A dryad who assists the queen knows that Allora left yesterday to enroute to the summer court (She doesnt know she intends to kill the queen)

Thoughts? Help appreciated

Thanks!

 

[Piperken]

What stands out to me in this bones summary is:

• Don't limit "the way in" behind a gated die roll. If the party is relatively convincing in their depiction at the entrance, let them pass.
• Does another means inside exist besides bluffing (disguised) at the gate?
• Be sure these different clues about Archfey Allora intentions and the paths towards them are learnable/accessible in different ways.
• How many of these clues are necessary to persuade the Fungal Queen to doubt the intentions of her dear friend? Do you want to give them equal weight or not?

 

[aco175]

You can find anything on the internet.

I agree to not have a check unless you want to have consequences. If 5 PCs are making a check, expect one to fail. If you have them make 5 checks to get where they are going, expect all of them to fail at least once. You can them make a group check if you want to allow all of them to have a smaller stake in bluffing the guards. If 3 of the 5 make it- they all make it. You can also grant advantage for good roleplay or using spells or something.

I try to think of movies in these situations and go with something more dramatic. The bluff fails once they are in front of the leader and the PCs have a chance to hold the knife at him or a cage falls on them as they try to leave. Something better that the gate guard saying: Your not one of us- leave.