D&D 5E Lost Mine - Wyvern Tor

[Iosue]

the bard nat-20'd a death save (which we rule brings you to consciousness -- not sure if that's a house rule or as per RAW)

That's RAW. You're unconscious at 0 and regain consciousness when you get a hit point. Natural 20 on a death save gives you a hit point, so you're conscious again.

I actually had a TPK at Wyvern Tor in the game I ran. The party was playing it quite safe, scouting ahead, making plans and then...the Cleric just basically went "FOR GREAT JUSTICE!" and stormed the cave, and the rest of the group scrambled to back him up. Ogre + I forget how many orcs vs 4 Level 3 characters. The party didn't last long...

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Wyvern Tor is next on the list for my 6 character group. They're 4th level and rolled well for stats, so (after that swingy 1st level) they've mostly bowled over the whole adventure. The only thing they have left after this is Thundertree.

I played everything by the book until they had finished the main adventure. I added 6 zombies to Old Owl Well, and they still owned the encounter. Two of the PCs had backstory reasons (including bonds and flaws) for hating Red Wizards, so when the rogue reported with the info they party planned a blitz of the tower. The cleric threw a silence spell into it and they pretty much just stood at the door and mopped up zombies as they came.

So I'm wanting to up the ante on Wyvern Tor just a tad. I'm thinking of changing the leader to an orc war-chief, and then adding two additional "elite" (max hp) orcs to the encounter. Hopefully that will make it a bit more interesting.

 

[pukunui]

After tonight's session the party finally left the Lost Mine after 12 hours of play, it took a while! And Wyvern's Tor and Cragmaw Castle are next on their hit list of stuff to kill, they didn't do either of those missions on the lead up to the mine.

So they went to the Lost Mine without rescuing Gundren first?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

So they went to the Lost Mine without rescuing Gundren first?

Funny how the adventure gives you pressing business and then assumes you'll ignore it to go after sidequests CRPG style.

 

[pukunui]

Funny how the adventure gives you pressing business and then assumes you'll ignore it to go after sidequests CRPG style.

Indeed. My group rescued Sildar and then took out the Redbrands, then went straight into the woods and bumbled around until they found Cragmaw Castle and rescued Gundren. Concerned that they would be too low level to take on the mine, I decided that Gundren was pretty beat up and needed a few days' rest. While they waited for him to recover, they wandered off to Thundertree but decided not to engage the dragon. Then they went and talked to Agatha and investigated Old Owl Well. Next session, they'll be hitting up Wyvern Tor. (It was their choice to do all three sidequests at once since they're all in the same vicinity.)

 

[Mark CMG]

Just FYI, I ran the encounter pretty much straight out of the book, and it is the closest the group has come (by far) to a TPK in Lost Mines.

Did they avoid fighting the dragon?

 

[wedgeski]

[MENTION=16212]wedgeski[/MENTION]: That's one of the reasons I particularly like the idea of having the PCs meet a lone orc who isn't interested in fighting. If they can get him talking, they can find out what to expect. So did both you and [MENTION=6778128]Barantor[/MENTION] just make up the terrain as you went along?

I did. I spent a lot of my youth on Dartmoor, so it's easy for me to magic up that kind of terrain when I need it. And I agree, actually, about the wisdom of putting an orc scout in the party's path so they can gather intelligence. If the party had hunkered down and actually observed the orcs for a while, before charging in, I probably would have.

Funny how the adventure gives you pressing business and then assumes you'll ignore it to go after sidequests CRPG style.

Well, it gives you pressing business and then a lot of *options*. Unwilling to search the wood for the castle, my party followed the Reidoth lead to Thundertree. He freely gives the location to Cragmaw and may even give up Wave Echo Cave, if you do him the small favour of getting rid of the dragon.

Honestly, the sidequests, the NPC's that relate to them, and the open nature of that middle chapter are all strengths of the adventure, not weaknesses!

Did they avoid fighting the dragon?

The jury is out on that one. They dispatched the cultists as a favour to Reidoth and we ended the last session at a decision point on the dragon. They seemed keen at the time, but subsequent party correspondence isn't exactly brimming with confidence.

I hope they take it on. I'll go easy on them, for the funsies.

 

[pukunui]

I did. I spent a lot of my youth on Dartmoor, so it's easy for me to magic up that kind of terrain when I need it. And I agree, actually, about the wisdom of putting an orc scout in the party's path so they can gather intelligence. If the party had hunkered down and actually observed the orcs for a while, before charging in, I probably would have.

Cool. I'm definitely going to include a lone orc for them to encounter ahead of time, although I'm not entirely sure how it would work for him to make a play for the leadership of the band. Orcs value strength, and if this guy isn't strong enough to beat the leader himself - if he needs help in the form of the PCs - then I can't see the others being willing to follow him. They'd more likely murder him at the first opportunity. It's not like the PCs would stick around as his bodyguards. At the very least, the lone orc will give them the opportunity to find out what they're up against.


On a side note, am I the only one who finds it a bit odd that wyverns would've nested in a cave at the bottom of a ravine? I would've thought they'd have preferred to nest up near the top of the rocky outcropping. Yes, I'm sure I'm overthinking this, but for my game, I'm thinking I might change it so that the cave the orcs are living in is just a random cave that wasn't formerly inhabited by wyverns, which had made their nest elsewhere on the tor. Either that or maybe the rocky outcropping got its name because it resembles a wyvern (or was magically shaped to look like one).

 

[Mark CMG]

The jury is out on that one. They dispatched the cultists as a favour to Reidoth and we ended the last session at a decision point on the dragon. They seemed keen at the time, but subsequent party correspondence isn't exactly brimming with confidence.

I hope they take it on. I'll go easy on them, for the funsies.

We seem to have taken up this conversation at just the right time. Keep this thread informed as to what happens, please.

 

[Nebulous]

So they went to the Lost Mine without rescuing Gundren first?

I moved Gundren to the mine itself, so they went there to get him.