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HotDQ looking like an early TPK...
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<blockquote data-quote="airwalkrr" data-source="post: 6472192" data-attributes="member: 12460"><p>This is a classic DM issue, [MENTION=1013]Flexor the Mighty![/MENTION], and I hope this does not come off as sounding inconsiderate or rude (I mean to be constructive), but the tools for dealing with it have been around as long as there has been a DMG. What to do when the PCs don't play the adventure module in what is written to be the most likely outcome? Well you seem to have hit on the answer already judging by your post, but maybe you are hesitant to jump to it because it isn't in the book.</p><p></p><p>Start by looking at your campaign setting. If you are using the Forgotten Realms (the default), then there are hordes of other factions and entities that might be interested in what is going on. All of Toril is your sandbox! So toss in adventure hooks of your own design in to give the PCs other things to do for a little while. They do not have to be complicated or take a long time. And you can even weave them into the overall story. But subplots do not have to be limited to running this in the Realms unless you are running this in a world of isolation where the town the PCs call home is the last bastion of civilization (which would require some significant changes to the module in the first place). The point is the cult's plans can get stymied momentarily for whatever reason you like (the PCs will likely never know anyway), and in the meantime the adventurers can find another adventure. They might just find another cell of similar cultists (something you could do if pressed for time by simply duplicating some of the encounters).</p><p></p><p>And then, there is the nuclear option, the TPK. I often wonder why so many DMs are reluctant to do it, seeing as I have done it twice in my 15 years of DMing, and it has not stopped a campaign from progressing for another year or two. If the actions of the players (which, from your description sounds rather craven and uncommitted to being actual heroes) have led to the consequence, should they not suffer the consequence? Maybe they will roll hot, maybe not. And if not, is such not the very danger which makes being a hero and adventurer so exciting? I would never play D&D if I did not fear character death. I would play some roleplaying game that did not need detailed rules for hit points, injury, death, and resurrection. The very fact that these rules are there means they are <em>expected</em> to be used from time to time. And the ramifications of a TPK? Perhaps the PCs will hurt the cult enough in the process that they slow down their plans, giving time for a new batch of heroes to arise. I mean, are the PCs the only adventurers in the entire world? And what would happen in the worst case scenario anyway if the cult won? Would that not be interesting to play out? Even if you expect to use the next adventure, you can assume, having not even read it that in <em>The Rise of Tiamat</em> that Tiamat will still somehow, you know, rise anyway. The circumstances surrounding that rising might be more optimal for the cult of Tiamat, but it does not preclude continuing the campaign.</p><p></p><p>This is why D&D has a DM. A video game might have two or three preset outcomes (video gamers often swoon about games with five or more endings; see Chrono Trigger). But the possibilities in D&D are endless because there is a live person who can design, in real time, an adventure that responds to literally anything the player character might try. Your job as the DM is not simply to read boxed text and follow pre-scripted actions of monsters like a programmed AI (unless that is what your players expect, in which case why aren't they playing video games?). You provide the world. Your players have given you an unexpected turn of events. That's exciting! You get to go off-book, which is exactly why tabletop RPGS are so engaging.</p><p></p><p>If you have trouble thinking on your feet (not every DM is good at it; we all have strengths and weaknesses), you have some random encounter tables to roll up to keep them busy for a while until you can think of something, even that session or next session if you are really stumped.</p><p></p><p>I think your problem has already been addressed in your head. You know the answer is to go off-book, but for some reason you don't seem comfortable with it. You say you're more of a site-based adventure guy. So make the module your skeleton and build the "site" around that. Who says the PCs have the spend all their time tromping after the Cult of the Dragon? That might be the main story of the campaign, but that doesn't mean there cannot be as many diversions and side quests that you want to make available in your world.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="airwalkrr, post: 6472192, member: 12460"] This is a classic DM issue, [MENTION=1013]Flexor the Mighty![/MENTION], and I hope this does not come off as sounding inconsiderate or rude (I mean to be constructive), but the tools for dealing with it have been around as long as there has been a DMG. What to do when the PCs don't play the adventure module in what is written to be the most likely outcome? Well you seem to have hit on the answer already judging by your post, but maybe you are hesitant to jump to it because it isn't in the book. Start by looking at your campaign setting. If you are using the Forgotten Realms (the default), then there are hordes of other factions and entities that might be interested in what is going on. All of Toril is your sandbox! So toss in adventure hooks of your own design in to give the PCs other things to do for a little while. They do not have to be complicated or take a long time. And you can even weave them into the overall story. But subplots do not have to be limited to running this in the Realms unless you are running this in a world of isolation where the town the PCs call home is the last bastion of civilization (which would require some significant changes to the module in the first place). The point is the cult's plans can get stymied momentarily for whatever reason you like (the PCs will likely never know anyway), and in the meantime the adventurers can find another adventure. They might just find another cell of similar cultists (something you could do if pressed for time by simply duplicating some of the encounters). And then, there is the nuclear option, the TPK. I often wonder why so many DMs are reluctant to do it, seeing as I have done it twice in my 15 years of DMing, and it has not stopped a campaign from progressing for another year or two. If the actions of the players (which, from your description sounds rather craven and uncommitted to being actual heroes) have led to the consequence, should they not suffer the consequence? Maybe they will roll hot, maybe not. And if not, is such not the very danger which makes being a hero and adventurer so exciting? I would never play D&D if I did not fear character death. I would play some roleplaying game that did not need detailed rules for hit points, injury, death, and resurrection. The very fact that these rules are there means they are [I]expected[/I] to be used from time to time. And the ramifications of a TPK? Perhaps the PCs will hurt the cult enough in the process that they slow down their plans, giving time for a new batch of heroes to arise. I mean, are the PCs the only adventurers in the entire world? And what would happen in the worst case scenario anyway if the cult won? Would that not be interesting to play out? Even if you expect to use the next adventure, you can assume, having not even read it that in [I]The Rise of Tiamat[/I] that Tiamat will still somehow, you know, rise anyway. The circumstances surrounding that rising might be more optimal for the cult of Tiamat, but it does not preclude continuing the campaign. This is why D&D has a DM. A video game might have two or three preset outcomes (video gamers often swoon about games with five or more endings; see Chrono Trigger). But the possibilities in D&D are endless because there is a live person who can design, in real time, an adventure that responds to literally anything the player character might try. Your job as the DM is not simply to read boxed text and follow pre-scripted actions of monsters like a programmed AI (unless that is what your players expect, in which case why aren't they playing video games?). You provide the world. Your players have given you an unexpected turn of events. That's exciting! You get to go off-book, which is exactly why tabletop RPGS are so engaging. If you have trouble thinking on your feet (not every DM is good at it; we all have strengths and weaknesses), you have some random encounter tables to roll up to keep them busy for a while until you can think of something, even that session or next session if you are really stumped. I think your problem has already been addressed in your head. You know the answer is to go off-book, but for some reason you don't seem comfortable with it. You say you're more of a site-based adventure guy. So make the module your skeleton and build the "site" around that. Who says the PCs have the spend all their time tromping after the Cult of the Dragon? That might be the main story of the campaign, but that doesn't mean there cannot be as many diversions and side quests that you want to make available in your world. [/QUOTE]
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