D&D 5E Prepping for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight -- The Witchlight Carnival

[RealAlHazred]

As I've been sifting the information on Hither and putting together my notes of replacement elements, I've been considering how the PCs come to find out which hag of the Hourglass Coven has their Lost Thing.

The way the module uses (the only way) for the PCs to find out, is to successfully interrogate the wooden unicorns in the Carousel. This is a weird design choice. It's quite possible for players to miss the clues and fail to correctly name the unicorns -- if they miss a single unicorn, none of the unicorns will talk to them.

I've been thinking of leaving this in as a possibility, but including a way for the characters to learn the information from the Fortune Teller I'll be adding in, and possibly from another secondary source (I like to leave three avenues to information in my adventures). It just makes so much more sense. Especially since Fortune Tellers are a standard in every carnival I've ever been to, so it seems like a no-brainer. Yet the module as written contains none. As I said, weird. I wonder what led to the idea that the Carousel should be the only avenue to the information?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

More choices to get the information is always better. I think the conventional wisdom nowadays is three, isn't it?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

As I've been sifting the information on Hither and putting together my notes of replacement elements, I've been considering how the PCs come to find out which hag of the Hourglass Coven has their Lost Thing.

The way the module uses (the only way) for the PCs to find out, is to successfully interrogate the wooden unicorns in the Carousel. This is a weird design choice. It's quite possible for players to miss the clues and fail to correctly name the unicorns -- if they miss a single unicorn, none of the unicorns will talk to them.

I've been thinking of leaving this in as a possibility, but including a way for the characters to learn the information from the Fortune Teller I'll be adding in, and possibly from another secondary source (I like to leave three avenues to information in my adventures). It just makes so much more sense. Especially since Fortune Tellers are a standard in every carnival I've ever been to, so it seems like a no-brainer. Yet the module as written contains none. As I said, weird. I wonder what led to the idea that the Carousel should be the only avenue to the information?

I think the general assumption is the PCs will smack all three hags anyway, so the info doesn't really matter. But the hags themselves are likely to bring it up when the find themselves negotiating with the PCs.

Optional plot hooks tend to be a bit of an afterthought anyway, it's surprising to find them integrated into the adventure at all.

Interestingly, the Ravenloft Carnival does not have a fortune teller either (as per VGR). When I used it, I added Madame Eva, and the fortune teller she had displaced was the villain (although the players never managed to dig deep enough to figure that out).

 

[RealAlHazred]

I think the general assumption is the PCs will smack all three hags anyway, so the info doesn't really matter.

Sure, but how are the PCs supposed to know where to go next? They're at the Carnival, how do they know what to do next? Mister Witch and Mister Light send them to the Feywild, but what are they supposed to do there? They might meet Sir Talavar shortly after arriving, but they don't have to. But, sure, meets day they reach Bavlorna. What if they do some sort of surprise attack and she never gets a chance to monologue? How would a PC with a Lost Ring know to look through her things?

As DM, you have to provide clues, but the module only gives one breadcrumb for each trail, and I'm arguing there should be more. For finding stolen items, as a DM, I usually consider three central ways to find it: search the site of the theft for direct clues (e.g., find one of the Hourglass Thieves and follow them to see where they go); check in with the local information sources (e.g., the gossipy unicorns of the Carousel); or, use magic (e.g., my proposal of the Fortune Tellier).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Sure, but how are the PCs supposed to know where to go next? They're at the Carnival, how do they know what to do next? Mister Witch and Mister Light send them to the Feywild, but what are they supposed to do there? They might meet Sir Talavar shortly after arriving, but they don't have to. But, sure, meets day they reach Bavlorna. What if they do some sort of surprise attack and she never gets a chance to monologue? How would a PC with a Lost Ring know to look through her things?

As DM, you have to provide clues, but the module only gives one breadcrumb for each trail, and I'm arguing there should be more. For finding stolen items, as a DM, I usually consider three central ways to find it: search the site of the theft for direct clues (e.g., find one of the Hourglass Thieves and follow them to see where they go); check in with the local information sources (e.g., the gossipy unicorns of the Carousel); or, use magic (e.g., my proposal of the Fortune Tellier).

I’ve played the adventure - it’s very linear, if you just follow your nose you will hit all the key points eventually.

We never even approached the carousel.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I’ve played the adventure - it’s very linear, if you just follow your nose you will hit all the key points eventually.

We never even approached the carousel.

That's certainly one way to do it. I've run a lot of very linear scenarios, especially in the 4E days, because my time slot is 2 hours every Wednesday and that's not a lot of time for being sidetracked. But I prefer to let my players choose their course of action using the information provided. I just need to make sure there is enough information provided to allow for the progression of the plot.

Plus, it just makes logical sense. The unicorns on the Carousel got the information from somewhere, right? Who did they overhear it from? There's your other avenue to get the info to the PCs.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's certainly one way to do it. I've run a lot of very linear scenarios, especially in the 4E days, because my time slot is 2 hours every Wednesday and that's not a lot of time for being sidetracked. But I prefer to let me players choose their course of action using the information provided. I just need to make sure there is enough information provided to allow for the progression of the plot.

Plus, it just makes logical sense. The unicorns on the Carousel got the information from somewhere, right? Who did they overhear it from? There's your other avenue to get the info to the PCs.

It’s a dreamlike fairytale in the style of Alice in Wonderland. Most of it doesn’t make logical sense.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It’s a dreamlike fairytale in the style of Alice in Wonderland. Most of it doesn’t make logical sense.

It doesn't need to. It certainly can make sense, if that's a better fit for his table.

 

[RealAlHazred]

It’s a dreamlike fairytale in the style of Alice in Wonderland. Most of it doesn’t make logical sense.

There is "fairytale logic," certaInly! But for consistency, my old table at the hobby shop liked being able to logic their way through (for some values of "logic"). This will be a fresh table with unknown playstyle, so I will keep your suggestions fresh at hand. My old table would have appreciated being able to figure out the course of action "CSI: Wonderland" style.

 

[RealAlHazred]

It occurred to me after I replied, that the Witchlight Carnival portion should not run on fairytale logic. That chapter specifically takes place somewhere else in the multiverse -- Greyhawk, Faerûn, Hârn, Éire, Ägyptos, or some other place with extra umlauts/accents/carets in its name. That chapter should run on regular logic, to provide a better contrast with the way the Feywild porions run.