D&D 5E [SPOILERS] Enhancing Tomb of Annihilation

[Onslaught]

Since I'm not the most experienced DM, ToA is proving to need a lot of work.
[MENTION=12731]CapnZapp[/MENTION] 's topic on what-links-to-where (and vice-versa) is an example, as is [MENTION=6804981]ExT[/MENTION]raled posts on how to prepare the big picture.

Being past those problems (I hope), I think the other challenge is to make the days travelling in the forest more interesting. This post from PowerScore already gives us some ideas and examples on how to build interesting days.

So this post has two objectives;
1st) What about your trip days?
2nd) Below there's my first sketch regarding the first time the characters are leaving their save haven (Port Nyanzaru for most... Stormreach for me) at Lvl 1 (probably 6 PCs). I'd love some opinions on how to improve them.


Pré-Jungle: Characters should get acquaintance with the expert guide Eerag (half-elf scout) and Aazaka, they'll be the only available guides for the first trip because others are looking for beasts to participate in a special run that will happen in the following week. The group will be looking for Dream Serpents* in order to get favor from one of the Stormlords (Merchant Princes of Stormreach) so he can help them in their quest (most likely Find Artus CImber, a famous expeditionary who's apparently lost in that continent).

Day 1:
Eerag pushes the party forward at Fat Pace towards the destination, but even then he drives you off the straight path when he encounters footprints of a huge dinosaur (party member with Passive Perception DC 12+5=17 also sees). Late that day forage is easy (DC10 even with fast pace) and they find some star shaped fruit.
At night, characters who take guard shift during night and have Passive Perception 16 or more notice predators eyes rounding the camp, but none attacks.

Day2:
During morning, Eerag starts to get some distance from group by going ahead of them. Later that day the group arrive at an Old Growth Ruins (SoX, pg. 41) with and ancient crystal monolith, where Eerag left some trails in order to ambush them with his skeletal jungle cats (Skeletal Panther**) as in Hunting Party (SoX, pg. 102).
He's in fact a lone wolf worshiper of the Blood of Vol and wanted the characters for evil purposes (he has loose ties o Valindra).
If the PCs sleep near the monolith, they'll have very realistic dreams and maybe even prophetic ones - it's a Dal Quor monolith, liked to the plane of dreams.

Day 3:
Aazaka should lead the PCs to the destination, but using normal pace to save energy.
The day starts very rainy, but nothing terrible.
Later in the day they pass by drow markings (in Eberron, drow are savages who live in the jungle!) noticeable by Passive Perception DC 14.
During the night they camp near a water font where a Chwinga lives, he might help the characters with charms for Restoration, Vitality or Heroism (DMG, pg. 228)

Day 4:
I'll run the Snake Hunt (SoX, pg. 115) in the rest of the Old Growth Ruins (SoX, pg. 41): characters will find Dream Serpents, they might capture or kill it (for poison, fangs and skin), dealing with smaller snake threats before (swarms, juvenile dream serpents). In the and they got caught by a Drow tribe*** and must get away by force or diplomacy to get away. Now they start their way back to Stormreach.

Day 5:
I wish to include this day bot have no idea whatsoever on what to do here. Maybe encounter with fauna/flora?

Day 6:
Characters meet Druffi and his Frost Giant entourage, searching for Artus Cimber who stole an artifact of their small tribe in Thunderwall (frozen part of the continent to the southeast)

Day 7:
Near midday, perceptive PCs who pass a Perception DC 16 can a green meteor crashing miles dozens of away from where they are (Yellyark foreshadowing).
It starts raining in the afternoon, and end up turning into a tropical storm by night.

Day 8:
The day starts with the heavy rain still going on (Tropical Storm), but it looses strength during the afternoon and PC's reach Stormreach by night.

"End of Wave 1"


What do you think?


*Serpents from Xen'drik that posses the power to put others to sleep, I'll use the same rules as the cockatrice personification power but the target is sleeping instead and use some kind of snake as base monster
**Skeletal panther: Panther (MM pg. 333) with AC 10, 11 HP, Bludgeoning Vulnerability and CR 1/8
*** I'll use multiple basic Drow, but with AC10-12 since this particular tribe isn't very well equipped. Maybe a champion with better equipment.

SoX: Secrets of Xen'drik (3.5 Eberron Supplement)

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Since I'm not the most experienced DM, ToA is proving to need a lot of work.

It seems to me that "need" is the wrong word as it looks like you're creating work for yourself that is unnecessary. One of the reasons why I like ToA is that it is, IMO, one of the most complete campaign books to date.

Also, who his Eerag?

 

[pukunui]

At Camp Righteous, it says there are two goblins per PC. My group has two guides (Eku and Qawasha), plus several other NPCs (Undril the half-orc priest; Qawasha's sidekick, Kupalué; and their own sidekick, Meepo, who's been tagging along ever since The Sunless Citadel). I feel like I ought to include goblins for them as well, if for no other reason than so I can say they're all busy fighting their own goblins so I don't have to include them in the PCs' fight.

Whadda y'all reckon?

 

[robus]

At Camp Righteous, it says there are two goblins per PC. My group has two guides (Eku and Qawasha), plus several other NPCs (Undril the half-orc priest; Qawasha's sidekick, Kupalué; and their own sidekick, Meepo, who's been tagging along ever since The Sunless Citadel). I feel like I ought to include goblins for them as well, if for no other reason than so I can say they're all busy fighting their own goblins so I don't have to include them in the PCs' fight.

Whadda y'all reckon?

I’m really starting to hate running NPC allies - it feels like GM masturbation and it’s awkward to say the least...

 

[robus]

To be more constructive, I think in future I will give the stat blocks for allies to one or more players for then to run as they see fit.

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=6801558]robus[/MENTION]: I know just how you feel, and I often give the NPC stats to the players as a result. They have Meepo's stats, for instance. But in this case, I don't think I want to give them the guides' stats, since so many of them have secrets. I don't want them to know that Eku is a couatl, for instance ... and if I give them Qawasha's statblock, they'll wonder why I'm not also give them Eku's.

 

[robus]

[MENTION=6801558]robus[/MENTION]: I know just how you feel, and I often give the NPC stats to the players as a result. They have Meepo's stats, for instance. But in this case, I don't think I want to give them the guides' stats, since so many of them have secrets. I don't want them to know that Eku is a couatl, for instance ... and if I give them Qawasha's statblock, they'll wonder why I'm not also give them Eku's.

Yep - then I guess you run them in the background. I guess they have GM armor? To cover that up you might decide that one defeats their goblins easily but the other is doing its best but can’t quite finish the deal and have a PC swoop in to dispatch a the remaining foe?

 

[pukunui]

Well, the intention wasn't to give them "GM armor" as such, so much as to make it so I didn't actually have to run them in a combat. Eku appears to be a middle-aged woman, so I could always play her up as being something of a non-combatant.

As for the others, I'll do up a statblock for Undril (something I forgot to do before) and let them run her, but I was also thinking of narrating a fight between some goblins and Qawasha and Kupalué with the latter getting "killed" only to have him regrow so as to show that aspect of vegepygmy physiology.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

I feel like I ought to include goblins for them as well, if for no other reason than so I can say they're all busy fighting their own goblins so I don't have to include them in the PCs' fight.

Wow, you have a lot of tag-along NPC's. You know about the rule of dividing XP, right? NPC's get an equal share. So if there are enemies that are a threat to the PC's that the NPC's are dealing with, they should get a share. I think it's equally as awkward to say that there are enemies that only the NPC's deal with though as it is to just run them since that kinda messes with immersion, especially when a PC says, "I go help Soandso,".

Personally, I'd make excuses to get rid of a few of them and/or hand them over to players to deal with. This is one of the reasons why I hated running OotA.

 

[pukunui]

Wow, you have a lot of tag-along NPC's.

Meepo is kinda like their mascot. Can't leave him behind! He generally doesn't do much in combat, but he was part of the piggyback team that made it through the Man & Crocodile traps.

I'm not sure why they hired two guides. They wanted Qawasha along because he was the tortle druid PC's contact in Chult, and of course Qawasha comes with his own sidekick. And they wanted Eku because she is a "do-gooder" and told them she could get them to the oracle at Orolunga.

And then, because they were going up the Soshenstar, I had Undril approach them to ask if she could come along. She'll most likely leave the party at Camp Vengeance, although she could end up as a replacement PC if need be.

You know about the rule of dividing XP, right?

At this point, I'm thinking I'm not going to bother with XP. They're fourth level right now. I think I'll let them hit 5th if/when they meet with Saja N'baza and find out about Omu, and then I'll see if I can get Eku to steer them to Kir Sabal/Nangalore for the flying ritual. They can gain another level after they defeat the medusa or successfully get the ritual. Might have to get them to do some other stuff in between, though, to gain another level so they can be 7th by the time they reach Omu, so they can get to 8 before going into the Fane and then 9 by the time they enter the tomb.

I think it's equally as awkward to say that there are enemies that only the NPC's deal with though as it is to just run them since that kinda messes with immersion, especially when a PC says, "I go help Soandso,".

I've done it before, and it works out all right. The PCs absolutely can go and help. The idea is just that the extra baddies are to keep the NPC allies occupied so they don't slow down the combat or make the PCs' part of the fight too easy. If the PCs *don't* go and help, then I can just narrate the outcome without having to roll any dice. If they *do* go and help, then I can start rolling dice for the NPC allies and such too.

Personally, I'd make excuses to get rid of a few of them and/or hand them over to players to deal with. This is one of the reasons why I hated running OotA.

Yes, the 5e adventures do seem to incorporate a lot of potential NPC allies, don't they? It's possible to collect lots of NPC hangers-on in Curse of Strahd as well. I think it's one of the ways they justify throwing lower level heroes at higher level threats (eg. giving the PCs some storm giants to make fighting a mighty blue dragon at 10th level more fair).