D&D 5E Out of the Abyss - Gauntlgrym and the Factions

[Ralif Redhammer]

The PCs have finally leveled up enough to start the second half of Out of the Abyss. Huzzah!

The audience with Bruenor went well. Surprisingly, no one asked if they were going to get paid for this. But one of the PCs balked at the mission, insisting that it was “too vague” and that maybe they should go back to investigate Dragonspear Castle and let someone else handle this. I was in mild panic mode, but fortunately the rest of the group prevailed.

However, they certainly did not see eye to eye with the Zhentarim’s demands, and did not get their aid against the demonic threat (nor the Order of the Gauntlet, surprisingly).

Instead, they’re going in search of Sladis Vadir, who they are hoping can guide them to Mantol-Derith, where they can try to convince the Zhentarim agent to help them. This is going to be interesting, but I can work with it.

To be fair, I expected that there might be issues with the Zhentarim’s demands. I’m curious how this worked out for other groups – it seemed a tricky bargain, both on account of the lost treasure and the Zhentarim’s history and reputation.

 

[CapnZapp]

If what you're asking is: how do they get to the library even without the Zhents, there are a few options in the text.

The fact they didn't square with the Zhent operative in Gauntlgrym should not influence Ghazrim DuLoc, the Zhent boss in M-D. He's as likely to dismiss that result by bad bargaining from his colleague/competitor as from the party, and likely to want to decide for himself.

What I did was to have him hatch a plan worthy of his devilish cunning - he went rather easy on his demands, and basically demanded only a reasonable sum payed upfront, and said he can lead them to the ring (that in turn will lead them to the library). They okayed this and went along, without even checking where the ring is now. (I had them make Charisma checks, and since they rolled well, they presumably thought they bartered him into a good deal...)

This enabled him to quite simply lead them to a thief hideout where he suspects his competitor and rival is. And sure enough, the party went there and went into their usual murderhobo mode. He simply dropped the ring in a quiet moment among the loot and corpses, and let them find it.

(In reality he had brought the ring with him all along, and the "payment" was the elimination of his rival)

They questioned the few survivors, and the story didn't quite hang together, but they were happy enough that Ghazrim had fulfilled his part of the bargain, and so nobody made a fuss

 

[mgshamster]

My players flat out skipped Gauntlgrym and never even left the underdark before seeking the library. So even if the Zhentarim don't help, you can always gave another NPC help them find it!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Interesting responses all, thanks!

I’m not too concerned about moving the plot forward without the Zhents. That I can work with. As long as the one PC doesn’t try to get everyone to back out of the adventure again, I’ll be good. I’m just curious if anyone else encountered trouble between the Zhetarim and their adventuring group.

 

[CapnZapp]

Interesting responses all, thanks!

I’m not too concerned about moving the plot forward without the Zhents. That I can work with. As long as the one PC doesn’t try to get everyone to back out of the adventure again, I’ll be good.

Yes, in the end, it's better to take that player aside and talk out of game. Ask him if there's any particular reason he feels his character would not go along, so you can fix this. And it's always important to find out if it is the character that's unhappy, or if it really is the player that's unsatisfied somehow.

In the end, a single player can't force you to switch to a completely different adventure, so if push comes to shove, you'll have to offer him the choice between changing characters and bowing out of the campaign.

I’m just curious if anyone else encountered trouble between the Zhetarim and their adventuring group.

I too am interested. While the story railroad is pretty obvious at this point, the Zhents are unscrupulous slash evil, and I would imagine several groups to refuse cooperating with them.

At least until King Bruenor puts his foot down and essentially orders them to play nice.

(A bit of a thread ressurrection, but someone gave me an XP, giving me a reason to revisit)

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I dig that approach, framing it in the perspective of role-playing their character. Will have to use this in the future.

The party ended up getting to Mantol-Derith and engaging in a three-way fight with the Zhents and drow, until they brokered a shaky alliance with the Zhents. But because they decimated the drow and eliminated the duergar factions, they’ve essentially left Mantol-Derith in control of the Zhentarim. That’s not going to bite them later on…

Yes, in the end, it's better to take that player aside and talk out of game. Ask him if there's any particular reason he feels his character would not go along, so you can fix this. And it's always important to find out if it is the character that's unhappy, or if it really is the player that's unsatisfied somehow.