D&D 5E OotA: Oozing Temple and Drow Pursuit

[Werebat]

How have you handled the drow pursuit near the start of OotA after the Oozing Temple encounter? It starts with the party being walled in by "tons" of rubble.

Assuming they get out, how do Ilvara and the rest even continue pursuing them? If they can, what sort of penalty do they get?

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Since the Oozing Temple section and its cave-in is a set piece that just happens (rather than them doing something that would deliberately increase or decrease the pursuit level), I’d say leave it as is. The drow know the Underdark far better than the PCs, and the drow priestesses could just use divination magic to find them again.

But if you would prefer to decrease the pursuit level a notch or so, go for it. I could see the argument that magic or not, it would still take time to backtrack and find a new route.

 

[Valmarius]

If you want to work the cave-in into the pursuit somehow you could always put the drow on hold until the party hits the next town. At which point you can hint that the trail has been picked up again.

 

[darjr]

When they surfaced they needed a boat. On a lark the PC's asked the cube to go get them a boat. It did. One filled with invisible Duergar! The missing boat clued in the Drow who investigated.

 

[Eltab]

When a tracker loses the trail, he goes back to the last place he had the trail and searches in an ever-increasing spiral. Eventually he finds more tracks - but it may be a long 'eventually'.
I would go with Pursuit = Pursuit - 1. If the PCs are really speedy about it, consider -2. But eventually the PCs will meet somebody going the other way, who will continue on and bump into the Drow, who will...

 

[Celtavian]

I don't even worry about the tracker. I'm going to have Ilvara and crew show up at a key moment and make a fun fight where the PCs get to slay their pursuers. My players have very easily kept the drow at no chance of catching up. I don't see any reason to bother them on their journey. I'll wait until they reach Gracklstugh to get them mixed up in a harsh attack.