Leaving White Plume Mountain Early

[mattcolville]

I've got the new version of White Plume Mountain and my players are digging it. However, the module seems to assume that the players will not try to exit the dungeon at any point before they've retrieved the three Items.

My players have one Item and want to bug out and rest up. Perfectly reasonable thing to want to do, so I'm inclined to allow it. But the module says "here's what happens, once the players have all three Items, and they try to leave" and this ending doesn't make a lot of sense if the players have A: already left before or B: only have one of the three items with them.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

 

[billd91]

So they go out and rest. No biggie. The end encounter happens when they try to leave for the last time.
It hardly seems likely that, considering these valuable weapons, they'll leave them unattended out at their camp. And if they do... perhaps they should run the risk of having the item stolen by Thingizzard and her sisters.

 

[Crothian]

I would run the encounter as if they had all three items. I doubt they would want even one item to leave the Volcana.

 

[mattcolville]

So they go out and rest. No biggie. The end encounter happens when they try to leave for the last time.

Right but when they try and leave for the last time, in this case, they will already have gotten at least 1 if not 2 weapons out. So the bad dude won't show up to say "I can't let you leave with those trinkets." It'll be "I've let you leave once or twice already with one or two, but this is the last straw!" Which seems counter to the module's assumptions.

The module seems to assume that there's a reason for the PCs not to leave, go back to town, hand over the items they've recovered, and go back in. But I can't find this reason.

 

[mattcolville]

I would run the encounter as if they had all three items. I doubt they would want even one item to leave the Volcana.

Right, that seems to be the only reasonable choice. I was wondering if there was something I was missing, some deadline or reason the PCs wouldn't naturally want to head out, drop off the stuff they've recovered, and head back in.

 

[Pbartender]

The module seems to assume that there's a reason for the PCs not to leave, go back to town, hand over the items they've recovered, and go back in. But I can't find this reason.

Actually, the module does assume that the characters will want to leave and come back once or twice. Page 3, "ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN", paragraph 2...

The nearest village, Yellowreach, lies about 5 miles from the mountain along the Yellow Flow River (so named for the sulfurous deposits along its banks). The village can supply the party’s basic needs—rations, lantern oil, and inexpensive potions and scrolls—between forays, but any item costing more than 200 gp is unavailable here. The villagers know of the mountain and its surroundings, as well as details of the only entrance (see Beginning the Adventure, below), but they generally give the area a wide berth. Any adventurers bold enough to set out for White Plume Mountain are regarded as either very brave or very foolhardy.

(Emphasis mine.)

In fact, even the original adventure mentions this village, though with less detail...

The party has arrived at White Plume Mountain, which stands alone in a vast area of dismal moors and tangled thickets. They will probably arrange to leave their horses and possessions either at the nearest village (about five miles from the Mountain) or hidden in the Dead Gnoll’s Eyesocket, a small natural cave in the side of a hill about two miles from the Plume. There is really no other shelter available. The villagers know about the cave and may have mentioned it. If the party leaves no guard, they will just have to trust the villagers not to steal their belongings. (Dishonest villagers will have to weigh their fear of White Plume Mountain against their certain belief that the party will never be seen again.) The cave is easily barricaded to keep out unintelligent wandering monsters.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

It's largely my opinion that a lot of these early 1st Edition adventures were constructed in such a fashion as to gloss over such glaring inconsistencies. The point of the module was the adventure itself... any extrapolation beyond its core material was purely at the DM's option (and risk, as it happens). If the players sat around and argued later about how that seemed not to make much sense, the DM would probably grin and shrug and pull out his next adventure module.

I don't really intend this as a criticism, although I have always been prone to avoid such developments. Given the style of gaming that seemed prevalent at the time, this certainly didn't seem inappropriate.

I haven't actually seen the rewrite, however... so I don't know how similar it is to the original material in regard to such things.

 

[Pbartender]

I haven't actually seen the rewrite, however...

You can download it from the Wizards website for free.

 

[mattcolville]

Actually, the module does assume that the characters will want to leave and come back once or twice. Page 3, "ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN", paragraph 2...



(Emphasis mine.)

In fact, even the original adventure mentions this village, though with less detail...

Ok, this doesn't help me though. It just makes the end more inexplicable.

It's ok, I'll just have the Djinn attack the PCs as soon as they try and leave.

 

[Felon]

Ok, this doesn't help me though. It just makes the end more inexplicable.

It's ok, I'll just have the Djinn attack the PCs as soon as they try and leave.

It's pretty straightforward. Even Keraptis' note indicates that he's pretty glib about any attempts to recover the weapons. He figures he'll get them in the end no matter what. So, when the heroes actually triumph, the djinn goes after them as a last ditch attempt.

There was a similar discussion in one of the Ravenloft threads, where one poster just couldn't accept why Strahd doesn't crush the heroes utterly upon their arrival in Ravenloft rather than allow them to play out their string. He's a genius after all. Then again, he's a mad genius. It's important to understand the irrational nature of megalomania, the mentality that you simply cannot lose and others are mere catspaws to be toyed with.

In the words of Dr. Evil: "Scott....you just don't get it, do ya?"