WotBS RStiv's Burning Sky

[rstivers1989]

IF YOU ARE MY PLAYERS DO NOT READ THIS, YOU WILL GET SPOILED!

So I spent a ton of time researching a new non-WoTC campaign and ended up landing on WoTBS. I read quite a lot of posts in this forum before hosting the first session and I am making a few changes to the overall story. I'm going to note here what works well and what did not work well.

Pre - Campaign:
What Worked Well:

• Required everyone to choose a Gate Pass Connection - this premise of requiring this resulted in some really entrenched backstories.
  
  
• I made a deliberate effort as a DM to ground something in each of the character's backstories based on my understanding of the entire campaign, I co-wrote custom vignettes to make the characters in the story feel "lived in." A few samples here I wrote in collaboration with two PC's:

BREAKING: Council Member Magnus Lee Trafalgar Resigns Amid Fierce Condemnation of Council's Decision
In a dramatic turn of events, Magnus Lee Trafalgar, a stalwart defender of Gate Pass's independence and beloved council member, announced his resignation today during an emotionally charged speech that left citizens stunned. Trafalgar, a figure celebrated for his decades-long service to the city, declared his decision amidst scathing criticism of the Council’s stance toward the growing threat of Ragesian invasion.

Addressing a packed audience, Trafalgar invoked the memory of his late parents, Lionel and Elise Trafalgar, whose sacrifices for the city’s freedom are etched into Gate Pass's history. “My family gave everything they had in order to protect this place and to prove to the rest of the world that Gate Pass was not just a thoroughfare for trade and commerce, but a city of men and women who believed in one thing – unequivocal freedom” Trafalgar declared to thunderous applause.

His resignation comes in the wake of a contentious Council decision to surrender magicians within the city to Ragesian interests, a move Trafalgar condemned as a betrayal of the city's independence. “I cannot – and will not – allow the people to succumb to this horror,” Trafalgar stated, referencing the looming threat of the Ragesian Inquisitors under Leska’s rule.Trafalgar, known for his grassroots approach to governance and his refusal to live among the affluent on the Bluff, vowed to take his fight for freedom to the streets of Gate Pass. “We must be ever vigilant, and we must work together to protect ourselves and our home,” he urged, his voice resonating with resolve.
The resignation has sent shockwaves through the city, with citizens flocking to discuss the implications of Trafalgar’s departure. “This is the spark we need,” said a merchant from the city’s central district. “Magnus speaks for us. He always has, and he always will.”

• Barvid Quillfoot, Gate Pass Gazette

Step Right Up for the Spectacle of the Year!
Behold Vaelira - The Radiant Blade!
Prepare to be dazzled by the Angelic Fighter of the Ages! Straight from the heavens, the Radiant Blade graces the stage with her unparalleled skill and radiant charisma. Witness breathtaking displays of martial prowess, gravity-defying maneuvers, and the artistry of the blade that has captured the hearts of thousands.

A Thrilling Live Performance
Swordplay and Strategy Brought to Life
An Angel's Grace Paired with a Warrior’s Might

One Night Only!

Don’t miss this grand demonstration of skill, courage, and brilliance. Join us under the banners of the Troubadour and be part of the legend.

Venue: Dassen Arms Tavern
Tickets: Door Cover, 15gp

*In Tiny Print: This marketing material created with permission. The Radiant Blade is a trademark of the Crimson Accord Traveling Troupe. Registered in Ragos, Free Cities, Sindaire, Dassen, Shahalesti, and Seaquen. All rights reserved.

• Buffed Subclasses with Homebrew if individuals were interested (for example, Oath of Healing is quite weak mechanically, so I gave it the Peace Domain Cleric Channel Divinity in addition to its stated abilities).
  
  
• The campaign guide/players guide/Scouring text is very ambiguous about the timeline of the Council's decisions, when City Guards are rounding up Mages, and why the City is fighting Ragesia if it's already "surrendered" to let the Inquisitors in, also why the Ragesian's are firebombing the city if they've already made it clear they will give over their mages. It felt too "cackling maniacally" evil and the settings grey/political nature seemed more interesting. I made an executive decision that the Council voted prior to the attack to surrender and that the Resistance and City Guard were largely acting against the council's orders. Effectively implying a civil war within a war. This to me better aligned with the ultimate outcomes for Gate Pass.
  

Our Party
Magnus

A 52 year old Human Oath of Healing Paladin and a Councilman of Gate Pass, Magnus resigned his station as Councilman a day before the invasion based on the Council's decision to give up the Cities mages to Ragesia and is joining the resistance. Magnus is also notably a victim of the first invasion of Ragesia when he was a child (10ish)

Vaelira, The Radiant Blade -

A Aasimir Fighter and Traveling Troubadour, Vaelira is a "entertainer" first and foremost and just happened to find herself in Gate Pass, completely unaware of the situation, upon seeing the circumstances of the common folk, Vaelira offered her blade to the resistance.

Journey -

A Tiefling Trickster Cleric of Tymora, Journey has been given a divine mandate from Tymora to help the resistance. Journey hails from Ostalin and unlike the rest of her tiefling people is a fierce opponent of the Khagan. Journey has a close personal relationship (borderline Romantic) with one of the Khagan's half-brothers and is actively interested in helping this half-brother overthrow the Khagan. I will likely make some shifts to key NPCs in the Monastery of Two Winds scenario to make this conflict front and center as that appears to be the universally agreed weakest segment.

Luther

Luther is a Dwarf Mastermind Rogue, 352 years old, Luther is a local folk hero in Gate Pass and was a key resistance fighter in the first war. He is actively still a member of the resistance and is a senior member (Torrent Fangirls over him in their first encounter). The only reason he is on this mission is because it is the first mission of Magnus (above) who happens to be his adoptive son. Up until recently, Magnus has believed that politics is the way to protect the city - but Luther's wisdom and experience has finally won out and Magnus is now in on the action.

Fenwick

A Gnome Warlock and Head Librarian at the Gate Pass Library. Fenwick lived a very normal and humble life until about a year ago when Fenwicks dear friend Corwin allegedly died in Ragos. When Corwin "died" Fenwick was Endowed by him. Corwin is now actively Fenwick's Warlock Patron, is a Trillith, and will be a storytelling resource through the end of the campaign. The player has no idea that Corwin is a Trillith. Breadcrumbs will start to be dropped at the end of Act 1 when Corwin specifically instructs Fenwick to assist Crystin. Corwin instructed Fenwick to join the Resistance to help him "get revenge" on the Ragosian's who killed him.

Session 1 Synopsis
Our party of would-be (and actual) resistance fighters met outside the Poison Apple Pub, there they met a resistance member called Torrent, a dark-skinned woman with white hair who appeared to be a cleric of some type.Torrent informed the party that they had an essential mission - secure a case from Rivereye Badgerface and get the case to the city of Seaquen where the Lyceum school of magic is.

The resistance believe this is a priority because Lyceum and Seaquen are near Dassen and Dassen is one of the few independent nations on the Continent. The commitment of the Lyceum school to aid Gate Pass is a potential significant political and military ally in the efforts to secure Gate Pass from Ragesian agression.

To simplify torrents ask is -> Get Case -> Go to Seaquen -> Deliver Case -> Enlist Aid -> Return to Gate Pass.

Torrent informed the party that they are likely to run in to a few issues in this process.

1) The city has closed the gates, so traditional exits are limited.

Once the time to depart the city arrives, Magnus and Luther have some ideas about how they can exit, including: seeking out Councilmen Erdan Menash, Guard Captain Herreman (Friend of Menash as well), or Rantle (alleged thieves guild connection)

2) Even once you exit the city there will be some challenges as the road path to Dassen will be inaccessible due to the armies presence. Torrent however has assured you that she has a plan for this and that really what she needs help with is getting you out of the city.

Unfortunately, the ease of this mission was immediately compromised as the party was ambushed by Mercenaries wearing armbands with a Black Horse armbands with some writing in Ignan. The party fled after killing one or two of the thugs and were not pursued. The party discovered in combat that the Mercenaries were seeking to capture mages for Ransom. The Mercenaries were led by a Ragesian who appears of noble origin but was uninterested in pursuing the party.

The party headed toward the Depository and assisted a series of citizens including healing a burned family, saving a woman from a burning building, and rescuing a giant Weasel (to Torrents displeasure). Arriving at the Depository, the party met Rivereye - who the party (#Luther) quickly clocked actually wasn't Rivereye, but was an Elf spy called Larion Prevarierth.

A prolonged chase occurred which ended with Larion jumping off the tower roof and floating to safety. Thanks in large part to having an Aasimir in the Party and a Command: Halt spell, the party was able to convince the Lantern Archon (Celestial) to stay and chat with them for a bit - during this conversation the party learned that Rivereye was incapacitated by several elves. Rivereye told the elves that Peppin was needed to "unlock" the case which was why Larion and the Lantern Archon had stayed behind. Rivereye also recounted a woman in Red Robes being present.

Originally thinking that Shaelis was an inquisitor, the party was able to cleverly ask the Lantern Archon information which resulted in them discovering that the woman's name was Shaelis and that the Lantern Archon served her as well as the fact that Shaelis was a current student at Gabal's School of Magical Warfare - though the lantern did confirm that they were not sure where the case was (whether it was with Shaelis, or the other agents who were present but not Larion).

Our session ended here.

First Session Reflections:

What Worked Well:

• I created a lot of urgency with the first session, I constantly reminded the party that "time" would factor in to branching (which it does, but I made it more so). I really wanted them to feel the frantic chaos of a city under siege. For example, when we got to the woman in the Burning Building, I set a timer for 60 seconds and said they needed to give me a solid action plan before the timer or she was dead.
  
  
• I spent a lot of time prepping the Tavern Explosion with sound effects and player prep. I gave the PC's Luther and Magnus notes that the sound was triggering for them (from a PTSD perspective) given they had been exposed to this type of attack in the last war. Players really loved the gritty realism of the first session.
  
  
• Players (particularly Magnus, Luther, and Fenwick) spent a lot of time getting "attached" to Gate Pass even before the first session. The firebombing of the city caught them out of left field both IG and OOG and it made for spectacular RP.
  
  
• The "Civil War" + Resistance nature of the situation I had set-up made the players much more distrustful of NPCs. They were absolutely convinced that Larion and Shaelis was a Ragesian spy until they spoke with the Lantern. They also absolutely believed that the Depository guards must be on the Payroll of the Ragesian's if they were not abandoning their posts due to the Firebombing.

What Did Not Work Well:

• The Depository with Larion is pretty unfair to PCs unless they have multiple rogues. Essentially, due to the map design and Line of Sight on the stairs, it was just four rounds of the PC's chasing Larion and never being able to catch up due to 3 Dashes or Disengage-Dash-Dash as a Rogue. If I could do this scene over again, I would have narrated the escape or I would have deliberately made sure the PCs could capture Larion. I'd highly recommend that other DM's running this either handwave Larion away or be captured to keep the plot moving.
  
  
• This campaign seems obsessed with MacGuffin NPC's, which is really surprising given the overall quality of the plot and story. Torrent staying with the PCs and then eventually Crystin and Haddin joining for the first scenario is just a bridge too far for me. After the first combat I told the Party that Torrent is not present mechanically for combat. I plan to effectively write her out of the story next session by having her go to the Safehouse with Rivereye and I intend to ditch her at the first possible opportunity. I'm trying to do as much reading as possible to find out what I will need to change if I just remove all these NPC anchors. I'd rather give them a sending stone walkie talkie between that NPC and them then have a 24/7 MacGuffin walking with them.
  
  
• Unless the party loots a locker in the depository or kills all the thugs (which they didn't) the party gets no loot despite multiple combats, and given that it is milestone leveling there is no tangible reward for the "Gamer" type players. Thankfully my table is light on that, but I could see a world where the party avoids combat or flees from combats until essentially the Gauntlet (likely session 3/4) which is a long time to go with zero loot. It also doesn't make a ton of sense because the Councilman is supposed to be a merchant. Even if Shaelis successfully flees, I will probably leave the party a stash of gold and some items in the School saying she left it behind.
  
  

 

[RangerWickett]

I think you're using the word MacGuffin to mean something else than I'm used to.

The campaign does have an NPC in most adventures who are aligned with the party in interest and can provide information. You don't need to keep them, though.

Torrent is a link to the resistance because the resistance would provide aid to help people escape to safety. And she has a personal bond with the villain of adventure 3 to give you an excuse for her to say, "Hey, wanna come meet my mentor?" and give the PCs a chance to interact with Lee before the climax. But if she dies, the plot keeps working fine.

Haddin probably should have been an ex-inquisitor whom the Ragesians come to press back into service. He could then be a source of info about the inquisitors while also being an untrustworthy ally whose only reason for cooperating is trying to stay alive. But you can just kill him, and the plot keeps working fine.

Crystin has a link to the trillith, which show up repeatedly and occasionally bond with living beings to share their powers. But if she dies, the plot keeps working fine.

In #2, Tiljann wants to get out of the Fire Forest and can either be an assistant in understanding the legends and dynamics in the area, or she can be sidelined. And if she dies, the plot keeps working fine.

In #4, Balam is a way for Seaquen to still have a representative on a diplomatic mission if none of the PCs are diplomats. It's actually expected that he dies.

Etc.

They're characters who exist in the world and have motivations that might line up with the party. In my games, my players usually enjoy getting to know new NPCs as a way to explore their own characters and learn about the world.

 

[rstivers1989]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply (and ideas). When I'm referring to a MacGuffin, I'm saying the characters who exist largely to act as a vehicle to move the plot forward only but then kind of lose their value. Typically a MacGuffin is an object, so that may be where the confusion lies. It's more commentary that their presence almost feels like an unnecessary DMNPC/Narrator to push the party along. I do think there is some real utility to Torrent being that if you are doing this as a campaign insert and just using Sourcebook #1. I can also totally see the benefit for this for a brand new party of players to a system, but for an experienced party there is actually a bit of a downside to having ever-present NPC's that can answer all your world building / narrative questions or vice versa, are just empty bags the DM has to fill.

As a DM, I just think it can also be frustrating mechanically and narratively. Based on what I've read, it's "possible" (albeit unlikely) to have 4 NPCs tagging along with the party by the end of #2, correct? Tiljann, Haddin, Crystin, Torrent. That's a quite large ensemble. On a practical level, that's a DM running 4 NPCs every single session for a minimum of 5-7 weeks and doing a lot of talking with themselves if they are meant to be living breathing members of the PC's party.

Even if you get rid of Haddin, which its likely a party would, you still have 3 solid NPCs in combat and story situations that you have to manage. That's just a lot of back end management for a DM to do for characters that really feel like they have "moments" to shine as opposed to a need to be everpresent. I'm guessing most tables handwave out the mechanics at an absolute minimum, or do what I am planning and "sideline" NPCs as needed (e.g. i'm Sidelining Torrent until they get to the point of leaving the City).

To your point, one of my absolute favorite things about the adventurers I have read thus far is the versatility and depth of "bit" characters within the plot. I think Haddin and Crystin are a spectacular example of this - it's a powerful example of the dangers of magic and provides some "moral greyness" to the Ragesian position in the same way I really appreciated the subtlety of choosing to have the Shahesti have Celestials to implicit suggest they are not evil without shoving it in your face. Haddin and Crystin also deals with a very real and serious social problem of familial abuse. In addition, it serves as an early entry point to Trillith, whose plotline I think overall could benefit from some expansion and these early sessions feel rife with opportunity for that.

That said, I don't know that Crystin provides a lot of story utility after that initial encounter to warrant her being attached to the party's hip. For example, giving the premonitions in Book 2 to the PC's seems like a more interesting way to convey that information, even if Crystin is in the party, stuff happening to PCs is always going to be baseline more interesting then stuff happening to NPCs who are being dragged along. Having Crystin, Haddin, and Torrent all weigh-in on the major moral decision the party is facing seems to me to potentially take away player agency to really "sit" with that decision. The story here has some incredible layers, and I feel like the NPCs that are specifically tied with the party sometimes don't allow those layers to breathe.

Sidenote - I really like your idea for Haddin. I am going to think about ways to use that idea more deliberately!

 

[Oginme]

That said, I don't know that Crystin provides a lot of story utility after that initial encounter to warrant her being attached to the party's hip. For example, giving the premonitions in Book 2 to the PC's seems like a more interesting way to convey that information, even if Crystin is in the party, stuff happening to PCs is always going to be baseline more interesting then stuff happening to NPCs who are being dragged along. Having Crystin, Haddin, and Torrent all weigh-in on the major moral decision the party is facing seems to me to potentially take away player agency to really "sit" with that decision. The story here has some incredible layers, and I feel like the NPCs that are specifically tied with the party sometimes don't allow those layers to breathe.

I have used Crystin quite a bit in each of the WotBS campaigns I am running. The last has just entered the Innenotdar Forest, and two of the party pushed to bring her along as she is a seer and could help them during their travels.

Beyond that, I have continued to have Crystin provide visions, often leading to future events and as she became more detached from her father, the visions she has becomes more of a tool I use for foreshadowing and to help the party take in the overall connections of events, people, and places from the beginning in Gate Pass through the whole series.

Some of Crystin's visions have mirrored Darius' writings in Castle Korstul, which lends credence to his ramblings and has ad the party spend a lot of time working to piece them all into the story.

There are plenty of areas where side characters from the early adventures can reappear to demonstrate the value of the party doing some of the "side jobs".

I have the minstrel from the Temple of the Aquiline Cross, Mulysa, appear as one of the people in 'The Choir' within the Scourge Prison, who upon recognizing the party provides more help and guidance for the party.

Some of the others the party aided will appear in The Festival of Dreams (we will be getting there quickly).

I find that it is little connections like this really make the world come alive for the party.

 

[rstivers1989]

Session 2 Synopsis

Big D's Duel and the Gift of Gab

Our party having successfully secured Rivereye was able to get some additional information about the case. Notably:

The case is a large black metal object with something smaller inside of it. It cannot be opened by traditional means.

The party shared some personal stories and Luther successfully interrogated everyone (save Fenwick's) rationale for joining the Resistance. (DM Note: the party was itching for some time to deconstruct who everyone was and what their strengths were, this proved an opportune time and I encouraged them to debrief in the depository tower. A good time was had by all as we unpacked various loyalties and motives.)

The party then traveled toward Gabal's, on the way they saw a Wyvren Rider fall in to a nearby house. The rider had killed the two adults inside and a boy was currently held hostage. While the party was too late to save the parents, they did arrive when the man had his armor fully off, making him significant easier to take down. The party sneakily approached and Journey imitated a Ragesian officer with a combination of Charm and accents to confuse the Wyvren rider. Ultimately, they decided to kill the man when he began to see through Journey's ruse, the boy was secured

Heading to Gabal's the party stumbled up Diogenes or "Big D" as he decided to describe himself. (Dm Note: "Big D" seemed way too funny to pass up as a nickname and its easier to pronounce. The players hated it, which was great and I felt it added a bit of humor to an otherwise serious situation).The party did not make any attempts to disguise themselves, or largely their intent because it seemed Big D didn't like Shaelis (Dm Note: I used this spelling because it was easier). The party was able to convince Big D to engage in a duel with Shaelis. Shaelis, disliking Big D's arrogance and personality (which the party also seemed to dislike) happily agreed.

As Big D and Shaelis began to prepare for the duel, Journey and Val took seats to watch. Unbenkownst to them, Shaelis clocked both of them and telepathically communicated to her Lantern Familiar in her room about the intruders. However, a spectacular Pass Without Trace + Hiding roll + invisibility allowed Luther and Fenwick to enter Shaelis's room undetected. It was at this point they realized that Larion and the Lantern Archon were in the room, and the "jig" was up. Shaelis however seemed to be playing in to the ruse and prepared what seemed like a spell to attack Diogenes.

In reality, Shaelis was preparing a spell to attack anyone that came near her. Val succesfully read that Shaelis had clocked them and charged in to attack Shaelis, at which point she released a readied action of a Fireball. Big D's quick thinking however resulted in a Counterspell happening. At which point Shaelis both called for help and for the party to surrender. (DM Note: The adventure path calls for Shaelis to flee at this point, which I did not do. With Larion and the Lantern, and only seeing three potential attackers, Shaelis had the clear upper hand. The party had not actually enacted Diogenes plan and had put themselves in a very tough situation.)

Magnus, being the pacificst of the party, immediately surrendered. Val, being the bash-things member of the party, immediately attacked. Several tense minutes of "will they or wont they" fighting started to happen and Big D looked very confused as they had initially promised to steal Shaelis's component bag but then decided not to and instead search the room. Big D peaced out, happy to have gotten one over on Shaelis (even if the party did not). Ultimately, the party did decide to surrender and have a conversation with Shaelis as opposed to fighting her. Shaelis accepted the parties surrender and negotiations began in earnest.

Ultimately, an accord was reached. Magnus, in his capacity as local folk hero/former councilman, would make an announcement in the city square the following morning announcing his support for Gate Pass to become a vassal state of the Shahesti Empire. In exchange, the party would be allowed to copy the contents of the Case, which Shaelis disclosed were written materials, having successfully opened the case herself. Shaelis would then take the case and return to Shahesti and they could keep the copy.

To keep everyone Honest, Shaelis let the party know that she would only provide the copy once the announcement had done publicly and sincerely. Luther also requested that Shaelis find a way to destroy Coaltongue's statue before she left. Shaelis agreed, finding this an amusing extra request. The party headed back towards the Safehouse where Rivereye and Torrent remained. On their way to the Safehouse, they ran in to a Rat that began to talk with them about the Case (DM Note: my attempt to give them another option to get the case even though they were never going to the Ghetto)

Magnus, sensing that the Rat was a fiend, immediately attacked it - as did the rest of the party. Our session ended with the Rat turning back to an imp and trying to fly away and Luther shooting a bullseye through it, the rat landing with a resounding "splat." The party has now begun a long rest at the Safehouse and will awaken late morning the day after the bombing.

What Went Well

• The AP doesn't provide a pathway for Shaelis to exit the situation friendly with the PCs AND having the contents of the case, but given the situation, the blunders of the party, and the long-term potential for the Shahesti to be the parties allies, this felt like a good middle ground. Full disclosure - another DM in this forum did something similar and I really liked it. It also allows us to "skip" the whole Badger House/Puzzle/Soldiers mechanically and for it to just be narrative and I felt like the wild goose chase for 8 hours of game-time was sufficient as is.
  
  
• The party is very morally conflicted about the Shahesti and in particular their offer to make Gate Pass a vassal state. It really has amped up the "the enemy of my enemy is my friend but oh boy the cost." Shaelis really flexed on the party that Shahesti was the equivalent of the U.S. and Gate Pass was a 3rd world country. I'm planting some seeds here so that the party can rub it in their face when they finally get The Torch etc.
  
  
• The players really wanted to help every person they passed as they were deeply concerned with Gate Pass, to stop the constant random encounters that would have had to happen, I let the PC's contribute Inspiration or Spell Slots to "Help" the people with a tangible benefit to them later (in terms of how the people of Gate Pass feel about them).
  
  
• The players and I discussed out of game what role they wanted the NPCs to take. We decided that NPCs traveling with or around the party would fulfil a purely "agent" based role. So for example, Torrent was assigned to go research potential exits out of the city while the party went to Gabals. Everyone agreed this fit best both mechanically and story wise and while their "NPCs" would not aid them in combat, they would still be around for story support and feel meaningful in this way.

What Could Be Improved

• The party has really been taking a lot of L's - they didn't catch Larion, they didn't save the boy's family, they didn't defeat Shaelis, and the only way they are getting the case is through Shaelis grace because they have eliminated all other options of finding it. While I don't think out-of-game the party is discouraged, I am actively planning for a win for them. On the plus side, they are only at the afternoon of Day 1 so as long as they do not dither too long they will actually be able to ambush Renard if they leave tonight instead of the following evening.

Requests:
Assuming it happens, if anyone has advice on how to handle the Renard ambush in a real-life table environment or table-top TV, i'd be curious. The map is just massive and the entire structure of the fight with running horses and deployed ambushes means that one party member could be 120 feet away from another party member and my physical table / 32 inch display just cant capture that many players in that big of a distance with my current setup.

 

[RangerWickett]

Can you draw the map at a "1 square = 30 ft" scale?

 

[Tormyr]

How big is your physical table? You can run small encounters at each important location and narrate/compress the spaces in between.

With a screen, you can pan the screen back and forth if the tokens on are the screen as well or just zoom out and use smaller markers for all the creatures.

 

[Fuzzybear]

First off, really solid write up.

For your question, I would do one of two things depending on which option the party takes in terms of running the gauntlet or stopping and fighting - either compress the distances using canyon walls to limit the sight lines to get the same separated feeling that the map provides or treat it like a train map where the scenery could be changing, but the relative distances to other people is what matters mainly. Anyone not on a horse moves x ft. a round towards the back as they fall out of range in a couple of rounds.

 

[rstivers1989]

Thanks to everyone on the really fantastic advice here! My physical table is long but narrow, about a 32 inch TV is what we usually use for a virtual table top and then put physical tokens on the TV itself - or I use high quality physical maps. I thought about panning back and forth but because we use physical tokens on a VTT its really best if the map doesnt move ALL that much during a fight.

I think the idea of space compression and/or a train map and I honestly had not thought of that, it's a simple and elegant solution and may work best! Y'all are the best!