I have a specific question about running chapter 9: Mantol-Derith in Out of the Abyss. If you haven’t played that adventure yet, my question might contain spoilers, and you are unlikely to have an answer.
I am currently preparing chapter 9 of OotA for my group. I do understand the series of events that led to the current situation in Mantol-Derith when the players arrive. However if I play everything as written, I get the impression that it will be very confusing and frustrating for my players: With so many NPCs suffering from madness, not much they can find out by asking around will make much sense. And if they find and destroy the gem at the end, they still aren’t any closer to understanding what the heck happened.
I am looking for ideas on how to:
Any ideas? One element that confuses me is that several times the option to cure people from madness is mentioned, which might help the investigation. However at this point in the story the players should be level 8, but to cure indefinite madness you need level 9 (Greater Restoration).
I am currently preparing chapter 9 of OotA for my group. I do understand the series of events that led to the current situation in Mantol-Derith when the players arrive. However if I play everything as written, I get the impression that it will be very confusing and frustrating for my players: With so many NPCs suffering from madness, not much they can find out by asking around will make much sense. And if they find and destroy the gem at the end, they still aren’t any closer to understanding what the heck happened.
I am looking for ideas on how to:
- Make it more clear that demonic influences are at work
- Let the players find out the back story of Fraz-Urb’uu’s gem
- Make the players feel they had a “win” against Fraz-Urb’uu when they destroy the gem
Any ideas? One element that confuses me is that several times the option to cure people from madness is mentioned, which might help the investigation. However at this point in the story the players should be level 8, but to cure indefinite madness you need level 9 (Greater Restoration).