D&D 5E (2024) The Black Road - Help me flesh out an Adventure idea.

[Brendan Byrd]

If Aquisitions Inc. is in use, I recall that there are mobile options for the PCs

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think I may use A5e (and other sources) concept of the "Safe Haven" when it comes to Long Rests. For those who are unfamiliar, the basic idea is that you can't get Long Rests (at least, not the ones in the PHB with everything returning) unless you are at a good, comfortable, safe location. Like a decent Inn. This way, I can maybe do a "one-encounter-per-day" thing without always having to overclock encounters to the point that they become swingy, or take hours to run to their conclusion.

 

[Thommy H-H]

I think one advantage of the premise here is it combines the idea of having a consistent home base (the Town) with the party going on a long journey and getting into scrapes in different environments. While changing up the caravan now and then is probably a good idea, I'd also have a core of NPCs that are present through all or most of the trip. Make it into a little community, with its characters and its troublemakers. If you're using the Bastion rules, the whole caravan could be the party's Bastion! New facilities could be new wagons joining at stops, or existing wagons whose owners the party have helped out enough to earn their loyalty.

Even without any mechanical support, a caravan filled with NPCs they've come to know and love travelling through dangerous terrain gives you loads of fodder for the social pillar, as well as something for them to defend. A big set piece battle where the whole caravan comes under attack from a major antagonist (that the party probably riled up in their earlier adventures!) flows quite naturally from the premise. No one has to gather and army to come and attack the home base: the base is trotting right into their territory!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think one advantage of the premise here is it combines the idea of having a consistent home base (the Town) with the party going on a long journey and getting into scrapes in different environments. While changing up the caravan now and then is probably a good idea, I'd also have a core of NPCs that are present through all or most of the trip. Make it into a little community, with its characters and its troublemakers. If you're using the Bastion rules, the whole caravan could be the party's Bastion! New facilities could be new wagons joining at stops, or existing wagons whose owners the party have helped out enough to earn their loyalty.

Even without any mechanical support, a caravan filled with NPCs they've come to know and love travelling through dangerous terrain gives you loads of fodder for the social pillar, as well as something for them to defend. A big set piece battle where the whole caravan comes under attack from a major antagonist (that the party probably riled up in their earlier adventures!) flows quite naturally from the premise. No one has to gather and army to come and attack the home base: the base is trotting right into their territory!

Thanks for that. It encourages me that I am on to something that will make for a good game.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'm still working on this adventure, so I thought that I'd share a few things in case anyone is interested.

1) I've decided that the final destination is Phlan, not Hillsfar - it's more likely to be allied with the interests of Waterdeep.

2) I'm thinking of making the main Patron into Aurora the Younger (grandaughter of the original) of the Whole Realms Catalogue fame. Their whole schtick is that they can get anyone anything, so one of the wagons holding Dinosaurs shipped from Chult just seems on-point.

3) In the spirit of shows like "Race Across the World" I think that she will meet the party at various "Checkpoints" to see how things are going. She's posh enough to not have to travel by foot, but I don't want to make teleportation too readily available (or why would they not just do that with the shipments). I think that she'll be taking a hot air balloon, or some Gondian ornithopter. Something that can get her there ahead of the caravan, but couldn't pack a lot of stuff. Sure, she'll be taking some "choice" items along with her (like magic items? Perhaps as rewards for the PCs for a job well done) but most stuff is with the caravan.

4) So it's not quite as much of a railroad as it otherwise could be, I'm making the PCs fully in charge of the caravan. Sure, there will be some uppity drivers with their own opinions - a council of NPCs that will meet with them and complain/suggest/attempt coups, etc, but the PCs are in charge. I want the PCs to be able to pick the initial route. More on that next post.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm still working on this adventure, so I thought that I'd share a few things in case anyone is interested.

1) I've decided that the final destination is Phlan, not Hillsfar - it's more likely to be allied with the interests of Waterdeep.

2) I'm thinking of making the main Patron into Aurora the Younger (grandaughter of the original) of the Whole Realms Catalogue fame. Their whole schtick is that they can get anyone anything, so one of the wagons holding Dinosaurs shipped from Chult just seems on-point.

3) In the spirit of shows like "Race Across the World" I think that she will meet the party at various "Checkpoints" to see how things are going. She's posh enough to not have to travel by foot, but I don't want to make teleportation too readily available (or why would they not just do that with the shipments). I think that she'll be taking a hot air balloon, or some Gondian ornithopter. Something that can get her there ahead of the caravan, but couldn't pack a lot of stuff. Sure, she'll be taking some "choice" items along with her (like magic items? Perhaps as rewards for the PCs for a job well done) but most stuff is with the caravan.

4) So it's not quite as much of a railroad as it otherwise could be, I'm making the PCs fully in charge of the caravan. Sure, there will be some uppity drivers with their own opinions - a council of NPCs that will meet with them and complain/suggest/attempt coups, etc, but the PCs are in charge. I want the PCs to be able to pick the initial route. More on that next post.

How about a Gondian giant eagle or wyvern? Cant carry much.

 

[aco175]

I recall another thread about something like this a while back. I think it was a band of refugees fleeing a city that was destroyed.

I would make decision points along the path. Maybe a mountain pass is faster, but more dangerous. A desert oasis might be a trap, but is the only water around. A local tribe of goblins know where the hunting grounds are or where the medicine plants can be found to save the sickness going through camp.

If you are not swapping out wagons as different stops then it is recommended that you have only several NPCs the players need to recall and care about. The players will not know all of them and you can raise minor people to someone they care about from among the many. Get the players to care for only a few to make the connections instead of 50+ on the trip.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I recall another thread about something like this a while back. I think it was a band of refugees fleeing a city that was destroyed.

I would make decision points along the path. Maybe a mountain pass is faster, but more dangerous. A desert oasis might be a trap, but is the only water around. A local tribe of goblins know where the hunting grounds are or where the medicine plants can be found to save the sickness going through camp.

If you are not swapping out wagons as different stops then it is recommended that you have only several NPCs the players need to recall and care about. The players will not know all of them and you can raise minor people to someone they care about from among the many. Get the players to care for only a few to make the connections instead of 50+ on the trip.

Solid stuff, and along my lines of thinking.

 

[Zardnaar]

Eyes of Atar pg 24 AoF is set on the black road.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Why NOT teleport?
When I decided to use Aurora the Younger as my Patron, I did a little reading on her. The FR Wiki says "Aurora's Emporium is a business that delivers exotic and luxury items sourced from all over world to its shops located in many cities via extensive use of teleportation magic."

That last is a problem for me, both because it would ruin my premise, but also because I wonder, with all of my extant complaints about the oddities of the D&D economy, how to imagine how that even works. D&D both treats teleportation as "free" (like in this case) but then also has Teleport as a 7th level spell, which is "worth" 20,000gp as a Service. So which is it? Cheap, or expensive?

Not to mention that the spell can, as written, only transport up to a single object of Large Size per casting.

At any rate, I'd rather have her make a grand showing of using this (her test model) in a big send-off, Victorian novel-style, wearing stylish clothes and giving a big speech, first: