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]

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.

Except, exploring Chult is a huge part of the book. Rushing past all of that bypasses a very large part of the value of the adventure. Low level characters will be forced to slog through, almost certainly not finishing for several months, if not longer. Which means death for almost everyone with the curse.

I'm OK with the curse, I just think it should be slowed a bit, and perhaps not affect everyone at once.

Thx!
TomB

 

[Eltab]

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

NO KIDDING - when Szass Tam (or any other FR epic-undead) starts wasting away for no apparent reason, he's just going to sit there and let it happen? The perpetrator doesn't believe Szass will find out who / what is messing with him and come charging in like the secular version of a divine thunderbolt ?!
And of course, the defenses and contingency plans that keep multiple L30 spellcasters off your back, will easily repulse a party of novices who show up.

 

[Jester David]

Except, exploring Chult is a huge part of the book. Rushing past all of that bypasses a very large part of the value of the adventure. Low level characters will be forced to slog through, almost certainly not finishing for several months, if not longer. Which means death for almost everyone with the curse.

I'm OK with the curse, I just think it should be slowed a bit, and perhaps not affect everyone at once.

Thx!
TomB

The mechanics of the Death Curse are how it affects player characters.
NPCs worsen at the speed of plot. If no PC is affected, hard mechanics are not needed and the curse is just flavour in the background.

But, personally, I'd add a save at dawn each day to avoid lowering hp. You worsen or not.

 

[Charles Rampant]

NO KIDDING - when Szass Tam (or any other FR epic-undead) starts wasting away for no apparent reason, he's just going to sit there and let it happen? The perpetrator doesn't believe Szass will find out who / what is messing with him and come charging in like the secular version of a divine thunderbolt ?!
And of course, the defenses and contingency plans that keep multiple L30 spellcasters off your back, will easily repulse a party of novices who show up.

Er... the book expressly describes how Szass Tam has sent a party of his own to investigate and shut down or claim the Soulmonger. It's one of the first things that the book talks about, actually! It matters since the players are likely to meet them, I think, but I've not gotten past the first section.

And the players will succeed where others have failed for the same reason that Indiana Jones always manages to make that jump, or Lara Croft always knows the specific language needed to open the door puzzle; because it'd be a pretty boring game otherwise. "Oh, there was this really cool thing that happened last year. Don't worry about it though, Elminster dealt with it." Fun.

 

[JediSoth]

What if you introduced the spread of the Death Curse slowly, i.e. it doesn't affect the whole world at once. Have the PCs start off in Chult, for whatever reason, and have it affect that peninsula first, then slowly start to spread, threatening the entire world if it isn't stopped in time, but not yet affecting it.

Or if you want them to start elsewhere, maybe Syndra fled trying to see if she could get out of range, and was already affected. She learns in Baldur's Gate that it isn't affecting the rest of the world yet and recruits the PCs to go back to Chult with her to stop it before it gets out of hand.

I think that's what I'll do. I'm also moving it to Greyhawk. I'm a little disappointed there isn't MORE about adapting it for other worlds, just one paragraph to cover them all (it doesn't even get its own heading).

 

[CapnZapp]

Er... the book expressly describes how Szass Tam has sent a party of his own to investigate and shut down or claim the Soulmonger. It's one of the first things that the book talks about, actually! It matters since the players are likely to meet them, I think, but I've not gotten past the first section.

And the players will succeed where others have failed for the same reason that Indiana Jones always manages to make that jump, or Lara Croft always knows the specific language needed to open the door puzzle; because it'd be a pretty boring game otherwise. "Oh, there was this really cool thing that happened last year. Don't worry about it though, Elminster dealt with it." Fun.

You can assume there's half a dozen other crises he's dealing with. The Soulmonger just happened on his day off

 

[Nebulous]

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 happens WAAAAYY too fast. I would change it to 1 hit point per week, or require a save every day to resist it. Alternatively, it would be cool if people who DO die turn into ravenous wights and turn on the living.

I just got the book yesterday and im still prepping. As for throwing 1st level heroes into a world spanning problem, yeah, that's kinda broke, but that's D&D and rpgs in general.

I also ran Return to the Tomb of Horrors many years ago (I ran it in 3rd edition). It was fantastic, although we never got to the very end. I wonder how ToA will compare to Return to the Tomb?

And I like your idea of slowly introducing the Death curse. Having that NPC teleport them to Chult
does not settle well with me at all.

 

[Nebulous]

In fact, I think I will have Syndra Silvane be a relative, maybe a mother or grandmother or a friend of a PC, and they are all on a BOAT at the start of the adventure, sailing to Chult, where Syndra suspects is the source of her debilitating illness. Before the journey ends, she will succumb to the curse and return as a deathwight, attempting to slay her own relative.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Me too.

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

There is advice in the book for starting at levels 1, 5, and 9. It's not the most robust advice, and I don't expect you would agree with all of it, but it's some general guidance that many might find helpful.

 

[Wormwood]

I'm thinking the reaction to the Death Curse would be PANIC.

In my game, I'm granting Acererak had hundreds of years to plan this and is both intelligent and resourceful enough to do so in secret. Before activating the Death Curse, he had hundreds of false leads and clues planted all over Faerun.

So everyone is in a blind panic trying to figure out what's going on. The mightiest forces in the Realms are mobilizing armies of adventurers (and many are taking to the field themselves—I imagine the Companions of the Hall would be racing up and down the coast after Bruenor's nose falls off). Thay, Undermountain, the Underdark---all the usual haunts are being invaded by panicked heroes led by false leads and corrupted divination.

The reason these lowly 1st (or 5th) level heroes are even in Chult is because of an archmage hedging her bets on a long shot.