Spelljammer light of xaryxis, what are your thoughts (spoilers for the adventure are almost certain)

[Jfdlsjfd]

I haven't read it yet.

Is it time sensitive such that deviations will cause the adventure to fail?

It isn't really time sensitive in my opinion. There is a false sense of urgency. You know, in a James Bond movie, whenever there is a ticking clock, nobody thinks for a second that, irrespective of what happens to Bond, he'll fail to disarm the doomsday mechanism. This is exactly the same here. The PC's homeworld is attacked by vampiric vines that will suck the thermal energy out of it to repower the bad guy's homeworld's star. The PCs are leaving their homeworld at the beginning of the campaign, so they won't have insight on what is happening there. Sure, if they do nothing and start embarking on something totally different, it is expected that their homeworld will be sucked dry and all life will die out (because of radiation poisoning linked to the loss of the magnetic field, I guess, it isn't very clear as to why and why so quickly the homeworld will become extinct). So there is an urgency, but it's a relative urgency, since nothing will affect the outcome: the last moment to save the PCs' homeworld will be... the last chapter of the campaign.

Deviation are very unlikely. The characters (and their homeworld) will certainly discover the spelljamming universe during chapter 1. They are totally ignorant of anything that could make them want to wander elsewhere outside of the plotted path and the DM is really advised to keep the characters in line. Session are scheduled by chapter of the adventure...

This is railroady. Pushing the PCs to the same place no matter what they choose means that their decisions ultimately don't matter.

Sometimes it's handled well. If the characters fail at a spacebattle, instead of going to their destination, they are taken prisonners and encounters from another chapter can be repurposed to happen here so the PCs have opportunity to escape. Sometimes it's more heavy-handed: the climatic fight of chapter as exactly zero impact. If they players are defeated, the bad guy proceeds to execute them, and a last-minute action allow them to act; If the players win, the person they sided for decide that they have outlived their utility and proceed to execute them... That's horrible because it deprives the characters of the achievement (especially as a deus ex mechina provides them with the solution to the campaign).

Also, what happens if they fail at the very end. With the world on the line, how do they fail forward?

If they did really fail (ie, the guards execute them after a failed fight AGAIN despite them being able to nova), I guess the character's world will be destroy. If they win this fight, they have to choose between: (a) letting their world be consumed as intended [the adventure hints at them rushing back home to tell everyone to evacuate somehow] (b) destroying the vampiric star (and all life in the star system). So, it's either let billions of theirs die or genocide billions of civilians from the enemy's worlld. Because their emperor at some time decided to enact the vampiric seed as a last ditch solution to save his people.

Honestly I'd feel better if the players said "NO". Let's try to redirect the seeds to a warm, yet uninhabited world so both the PC's and the elves's world can keep living. And come back as heroes of both worlds (with this solution carefully hinted during the campaign, possibly reliant of having succeeded more than not (aka "unlocking the true ending"). The actual solution is... unpalatable as is. At least, I'd make the character understand that they did exactly the same choice as the original Bad Guy when he doomed other worlds to save his.

And the sacrifice? I read the adventure more as "A NPC will step forward for the suicide mission", not really "the character will have to understand it's guaranteed death, and sacrifice one of them... unless really they don't want to." Honestly, there are enough people in the FR to have someone True Resurrect them after that: sending a quick diplomatic mission to their homeworld to ensure this life insurance would be the easy way out. Nobody will resurrect the NPC, though.

This I don't have a problem with. There could be 3 other threats to the world and a birthday party in Sigil that keep the big boys busy. I always assume other issues have their attention and just don't worry about it. The PCs are all that stand between.

The way the cataclysm is presented, it would be difficult to imagine zero interference. Or even hint of action. A significant world's metropolis is wiped during chapter 1, with the expectation that other suffered the same fate as vines fell randomly...

 

[Malmuria]

Yep, a bunch of mid-level barely anybody's get to make the choice at the end of the adventure.

It's one of the very few meaningful choices in the entire adventure and it's that big.

Honestly that's kind of interesting actually.

 

[Stormonu]

The small page count they allotted leaves no space for side quests or anything non-linear. For instance, there's a stop at the Rock of Bral and for the adventure one bar scene/chase - and it's scripted. Most typical adventures would at the least give you some random encounter tables, a couple places to visit and a couple side quests or two that could be undertaken, but Bral is more-or-less swept under the rug and the bar could actually be anywhere on any planet or station.

As noted above, there's some care spent on the NPCs to bring them to life, but they don't really advance the plot in any way (except as the end, if the PCs don't want to lose their characters, they can sacrifice the NPCs instead).

The adventure should have been the place to highlight the strengths of the campaign setting and provide ideas that can pulled out to use for designing your own custom encounters and how they should "feel". It does both poorly.

 

[lvl20dm]

I think the Light of Xaryxis is an experiment in form and style for a D&D adventure. It's meant to be played in 2-3 hour chunks, each session ends on a cliff-hanger, etc. I think that's interesting, and I plan on running it, but I'm not sure that I would want to see them try it again. It has lots of parts that can be looted for a more loosely structured campaign/adventure (as always) which is nice.

I cannot imagine setting Oerth or Toril as the targeted world for this adventure. Toril is teeming with powerful people, organizations and religions that would mobilize very quickly. I know not everybody really cares about that detail, but it would bug me. I plan on Xaryxis seeding another planet in Realmspace, likely Anadia, after I've introduced its people and the planet to the players. The adventure works best if you use a "smaller" world you create yourself, but I like Realmspace and want to use it in the campaign.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I plan on setting it in a unique world and having the world destroyed in session one (like in Titan AE). The final scene can be about revenge, or about protecting other worlds, the PCs can decide.

 

[Raunalyn]

Doing a tiny bit of thread necromancy here.

I am about to run it. I have upped the difficulty significantly due to the fact that my party from Rime of the Frostmaiden will be running through it (I had them find a Spelljamming Helm in Ythryn).

So, the module as written says that their homeworld will die if the players don't defeat the Xaryxis empire and "destroy their sun." I am thinking that since there are so many powerful adventurers/NPCs on Toril, that they will probably find a solution to the life-draining vines while the players are dealing with the empire. While it does take away some player agency, it provides an opportunity to alter the ending in a way that is less genocidal (I understand the need for the heroic sacrifice...I will probably still do that in some way, but I want to be able to do it without having the players destroy an entire solar system. It's a deep moral choice...their homeworld, or several worlds). The players' purpose would be to prevent the Empire from doing this to more planets. Haven't come up with a solution yet...still pondering and reading. However, as 12th-16th level characters, I fully anticipate throwing some pretty hefty enemies at them (Mind Flayers or Beholders)...perhaps they were behind the whole thing in the first place? Not sure yet.

The adventure as written doesn't make a lot of sense...it will likely need some significant re-working to make it a better fit for your storytelling style. I do like the episodic feel of it, and I also like the pulpy style.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

missed this not being a new thread