Tomb of Annihilation Is Here - What Do You Think?

Today's the day - WotC's latest Dungeons & Dragons adventure, Tomb of Annihilation, is out! Head on down to your friendly (or unfriendly) local (or not so local) gaming (or comic) store and pick up your copy. Alternatively, if you use a virtual table top, it's available for Fantasy Grounds and Roll20.

 

[tomBitonti]

Have the book and have been reading through. So far it is a great region based adventure. I haven't looked through the final dungeon yet, so don't have anything to say about it yet. Off the cuff comments:

The book quality is good. I'm not a big fan of the page shading, but can live with it. Maps are nice, if a bit small on the printed page. Is there any way to get the maps as digital resources without spending additional money?

The writing varies from clumsy to alright.

I don't have (nor plan to get) Volo's Guide, so the section with those monsters is alright for me. I can see how some folks will see them as a needless duplication.

Both the region and smaller adventure sites, leading up to the two big dungeons, are the highlight, and have so far been excellent.

The Death Curse, as written, feels very off.

Having read through all of the prior Tomb of Horrors adventures, the placement of Acererak feels off to me. And I don't like the change of his strategy, compared with Return to the Tomb of Horrors (the superb 2E adventure). This adventure doesn't seem to need Acerarak, who feels mashed on to an otherwise rather decent adventure.

I was wondering: How many folks are using the Death Curse as given? The pace doesn't seem to fit the sense of exploring the huge expanse of jungle that lies ahead of the players, nor does it leave the necessary time to level from (1) to (9) (in any campaign that I've ever played.) Not that I have a problem with the adventure as a whole. It is a rather nicely done region based adventure. I just find the Death Curse timing to be wonky.

Also, the idea of sending 1st level characters to handle a global outbreak of such dire consequences feels a bit off.

If I were running this, I'd gradually build up the problem of the Death Curse. Have it appear here in there at first: A distant rumor easily discounted, with the characters following either adventure or prophecy to explore Chult, then eventually finding themselves thrown into the problem. There should be plenty of ways to get players to explore Chult, with occasional dire portents and foreshadowing at first, then with the Curse gradually shading in after the characters had a bit of time exploring.

Thx!
TomB

 

[Jester David]

Have the book and have been reading through. So far it is a great region based adventure. I haven't looked through the final dungeon yet, so don't have anything to say about it yet. Off the cuff comments:

The book quality is good. I'm not a big fan of the page shading, but can live with it. Maps are nice, if a bit small on the printed page. Is there any way to get the maps as digital resources without spending additional money?

The writing varies from clumsy to alright.

I don't have (nor plan to get) Volo's Guide, so the section with those monsters is alright for me. I can see how some folks will see them as a needless duplication.

Both the region and smaller adventure sites, leading up to the two big dungeons, are the highlight, and have so far been excellent.

The Death Curse, as written, feels very off.

Having read through all of the prior Tomb of Horrors adventures, the placement of Acererak feels off to me. And I don't like the change of his strategy, compared with Return to the Tomb of Horrors (the superb 2E adventure). This adventure doesn't seem to need Acerarak, who feels mashed on to an otherwise rather decent adventure.

I was wondering: How many folks are using the Death Curse as given? The pace doesn't seem to fit the sense of exploring the huge expanse of jungle that lies ahead of the players, nor does it leave the necessary time to level from (1) to (9) (in any campaign that I've ever played.) Not that I have a problem with the adventure as a whole. It is a rather nicely done region based adventure. I just find the Death Curse timing to be wonky.

Also, the idea of sending 1st level characters to handle a global outbreak of such dire consequences feels a bit off.

If I were running this, I'd gradually build up the problem of the Death Curse. Have it appear here in there at first: A distant rumor easily discounted, with the characters following either adventure or prophecy to explore Chult, then eventually finding themselves thrown into the problem. There should be plenty of ways to get players to explore Chult, with occasional dire portents and foreshadowing at first, then with the Curse gradually shading in after the characters had a bit of time exploring.

Thx!
TomB

The Death Curse isn't going to come up in a book running the adventure as presented. Because the heroes start at levels 1 to 5 and are unlikely to have been resurrected. And once the adventure starts, they can' be raised.
So the gradual loss of hit points doesn't affect them.

The Death Curse comes up if you're running with higher level characters. Who are likely better equipped to speed through the dungeon and rush to the city, requiring fewer encounters to get to a level where they can do the dungeon.

 

[hawkeyefan]

The Death Curse isn't going to come up in a book running the adventure as presented. Because the heroes start at levels 1 to 5 and are unlikely to have been resurrected. And once the adventure starts, they can' be raised.
So the gradual loss of hit points doesn't affect them.

The Death Curse comes up if you're running with higher level characters. Who are likely better equipped to speed through the dungeon and rush to the city, requiring fewer encounters to get to a level where they can do the dungeon.

My plan is to run this for my players, whose PCs are 10th level. I'm sure that the jungle exploration won't be as challenging for them as intended, but I'll beef things up and also make sure to put more hooks in place to get them to seek many of the locations. Two members of the party have been raised, so they'll feel some pressure to keep moving and searchin for Omu and the Tomb.

I'm pretty stoked about this adventure. It really plays into some elements I've been working with in the ongoing campaign.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Is there any way to get the maps as digital resources without spending additional money?

You can get the massive Chult map for free from Mike Schley. The rest of the maps can be purchased from him in ultra-high quality on December 8th. His maps are always worth paying money for.

http://prints.mikeschley.com/

 

[Stormdale]

The Death Curse isn't going to come up in a book running the adventure as presented. Because the heroes start at levels 1 to 5 and are unlikely to have been resurrected. And once the adventure starts, they can' be raised.
So the gradual loss of hit points doesn't affect them.

The Death Curse comes up if you're running with higher level characters. Who are likely better equipped to speed through the dungeon and rush to the city, requiring fewer encounters to get to a level where they can do the dungeon.

That is my experience. My pcs are 4th-9th level with 2 pcs who have been raised previously. They are currently losing 1 hp per day so are feeling more under the pump than if it was a random NPC who was wasting away. Last nights session revolved around hiring a guide (interviewing them all before deciding on Qawasha and Kupulue) and figuring out the fastest way to get to Omu. They decided to fly and spent best part of an hour figuring out how to get most of the party able to fly across the jungle and ended up arriving at Camp Righteous by the end of the session.

Stormdale

 

[CapnZapp]

The Death Curse isn't going to come up in a book running the adventure as presented. Because the heroes start at levels 1 to 5 and are unlikely to have been resurrected. And once the adventure starts, they can' be raised.
So the gradual loss of hit points doesn't affect them.

I'm planning to allow resurrection to work once, inflicting the wasting "disease" upon characters brought back to life.

Not sure if I'll start the clock right away (assuming no PC gets himself killed right away) or using the Syndra NPC hook...



Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[CapnZapp]

Maps are nice, if a bit small on the printed page. Is there any way to get the maps as digital resources without spending additional money?

No, I'm afraid, not legally. They're available in acceptable quality from the various digital services, and will become available in ultra high-quality in December by Schley's site.



Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[CapnZapp]

My plan is to run this for my players, whose PCs are 10th level. I'm sure that the jungle exploration won't be as challenging for them as intended, but I'll beef things up and also make sure to put more hooks in place to get them to seek many of the locations. Two members of the party have been raised, so they'll feel some pressure to keep moving and searchin for Omu and the Tomb.

I'm pretty stoked about this adventure. It really plays into some elements I've been working with in the ongoing campaign.

Me too.

My players' characters will arrive to Chult at 5th level.



Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[Demetrios1453]

Also, the idea of sending 1st level characters to handle a global outbreak of such dire consequences feels a bit off.

This is addressed at the start: the original quest giver has already sent out several higher level parties but they haven't returned. She's getting so desperate now that she's sending out any willing warm body to help find the reason for the curse and get it corrected.


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[tomBitonti]

No, I'm afraid, not legally. They're available in acceptable quality from the various digital services, and will become available in ultra high-quality in December by Schley's site.

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

I guess that's OK. Better than having to put in for a subscription. I'm guessing that folks who have the online service have alternate maps which are more usable, and that can be printed to a larger scale.

Thx!
TomB