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.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Well, there was that whole Rise of Tiamat thing, then these silly Elemental Princes came along, and then there was that whole Demonic Rage thing, and then people kept disappearing into some sort of Dreaded Demi-plane and if that wasn't enough, the Giants Stormed all over the place.

So, you know, attrition and all that.

There are epic stories, true. But with 5E they are pretty much limited to the game rather than to novels, so all these crazy problems are solved by PCs in a game rather than by uber-powerful characters in a novel. Other than Elminster, and a handful of villains like Zsasz Tam, most of the other existing FR characters are far from "epic". There are three of them in this adventure, and they're pretty far below epic level types.

While it's sad to see the novels end for those that enjoy them, I feel like it's probably good for the setting and the game.

 

[Zaukrie]

I am interested... how would this work? Would healing spells magic do less healing? Would healing from magic "wear off?"

Right now I'm thinking all healing magic is drained as it is cast. Every temple would be concerned. I would consider having it decay also, like one point every couple days.... And I would say no one should know why, like above, lots of false clues. I would start the campaign as some kind of exploration effort probably. Though I am not sure about that yet.

 

[Croesus]

I was thinking not so much re: 1'st level characters as to the curse timing, but whether any party has a chance to prevent massive deaths for the affected at large.

I'm seeing a mismatch between the scale of the response and the response as described in the adventure. *Anyone* on the planet who has been raised is affected. Any of them which who are actively adventuring are likely in big trouble. Lots of retired adventurers will be in trouble. A lot of very high level persons will be impacted. There should be a massive introdus of high and epic level folks to Chult. Seriously, many more folks than the adventure describes.

And not only are folks who are raised affected: Souls cease to reach their intended final destination. They are being imprisoned, and consumed, with an average delay of 10 days. Religions all over would be pulling out all of the stops to deal with the problem.

Thx!
TomB

One option is to limit the affected area of the curse. Initially, it only impacts Chult, and the more powerful groups elsewhere are inclined to ignore the warnings. "My lord, it's just a minor problem in that backward region. Nothing for us to worry about here." But after so many days it spreads to the wider world. In effect, the PCs get first shot at fixing it because they happen to be there. If they fail, then the rest of the world gets involved (which could lead to a second chance with higher level PCs).

Obviously, some changes would need to be made to the actual curse, but that's relatively easy.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Syndra gives them all 50gp each at the start. Also, there are plenty of random encounters as well as specific encounters that can happen in Port Nyanzaru that delay leaving, entangle the PC's in various side-quests and lots of NPC's to interact with and further the plot. I think I'll probably end up giving the PC's a lot of ropes to hang themselves with and that they'll end up not leaving the port until 3rd level (which is pretty quick in 5e).

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She only gives them that money if they start haggling with her. My players, being good heroic PCs, agreed to the quest without demanding money

And most of those side quests are meant for higher level PCs. Gladiator fights, taking out pirates, etc. Nothing a 1st level party could handle. RAW, there are actually only just a couple that a level 1 party could do. Believe me, my goal and intention was to not have them leave until level 3 when they would have some survivability. But it didn't work out that way. Also, knowing it was a curse, put a sense of urgency into my players. They didn't just want to loiter around for a while.

 

[Nebulous]

Here are some (mostly non-combat) encounter/event ideas I brainstormed up this morning for ToA. These can be linked to other types of encounters or just used as window dressing. No DCs or the like included to keep it level-agnostic.

1) A vast and exceedingly deep sinkhole crevasse has recently opened on your path. Over 50’ wide it stretches off to the sides as far as you can see. A large, downed tree bridges it nearby.

2) You find a roughly-hewn stone altar to a savage, unknown god with the bloody decapitated heads of seven jungle tribesmen staring unseeingly into the distance. As you approach, one head stirs and hoarsely utters a curse in Chultan, affecting the nearest PC, before falling silent.

3) A poisonous viper has curled up in one of your party member’s packs. It will strike from surprise the next time the pack is opened unless somehow detected first.

4) A ‘stack’ of goblins have been staked to the trunk of a tree, still one on top of the other. The lower ones have been significantly gnawed upon by jungle scavengers while the upper ones are still somewhat unspoiled.

5) The way ahead has flooded, with water gradually rising to 3-5 feet in depth. Traversing this area is slow, exhausting and fraught with unseen dangers - pitfalls, quippers and more, below the waterline.

6) You find a stone cairn in a clearing raised around a well shaft. Faint markings on the stone show it to be of ancient construction and even though it contains remarkably clean, cool, fresh water, there is no sign of it being approached or used by any local inhabitants.

7) The air beneath the jungle canopy becomes a stifling miasma, even more hot and oppressive than usual. The usual animal sounds trail off and an eerie silence descends as you move forward.

8) A disembodied hand (creeping claw) is occasionally seen skittering in the boughs above you, matching your direction of travel. It is elusive and unpredictable, never approaching within 50’ and always in the trees.

9) The large corpse of a stegosaurus surrounded by a bloody, trampled battleground opens up in the jungle to one side of your trail. It was obviously killed recently by a large predator, evident by the absence of scavengers and the fresh, iron-tinged scent of blood in the air.

10) You spot a treehouse on the lower limbs of a large tree bordering a clearing. It is abandoned but surprisingly uncluttered, with a simple latched door to it’s three-room interior.

11) A whiff of sulfur betrays a series of hot springs that open up before you. The skeletons of dead trees and colorful sprays of accumulated chemical deposits decorate the ground around bubbling pools of caustic water.

12) A large, ancient brass bell, stamped with strange pictograms, lies covered in mosses and aged verdigris at the foot of a vine-covered tree. Lifting up the heavy object reveals the body of a badly-decomposed albino dwarf clutching a fabulously valuable emerald to its’ chest. The emerald is cursed.

13) A small, circular stockade of pointed stakes lays on the bank of a small stream. Covered in glowing fallen leaves at its’ center is a tiger skull with Continual Flame cast on it.

14) The area becomes crossed with old, tattered giant spider webs. Moldering, silk-wrapped corpses of monkeys, sloths and other jungle creatures hang from the branches above. The largest such bundle contains the husk of a half-orc adventurer named Nurl Twotongue. Although his equipment is useless he bears a scroll tube with a roughly crafted map bearing his name which can confirm the player’s current location in the jungles of Chult.

15) A friendly, colorful parrot named ‘Tim-Tim’ flies onto the shoulder of a party member. He knows a handful of phrases and loves to eat juicy bark beetles. He is also an polymorphed imp familiar of a yuan-ti warlock who is keeping track of the party’s progress.

16) Loud jungle drums start up and continue night & day as you move through the forest. Their location and distance is nearly impossible to discern and their constant thrumming makes resting difficult. Efforts to decipher any meaning in them is very hard, though if successful, information about the party’s location, activities and direction of travel can be made out.

17) You come across an old slash & burn farming plot that still has a small number of gnarled tropical fruit trees with stunted but perfectly edible produce.

18) A gnomish trader named Barleyoat has set up a small barter post along the river. She has several local tribespeople working for her and is a valuable resource regarding local activities. She’s quite friendly, overly so, in fact, and very eccentric.

19) One of your party falls into a patch of puff-ball fungi, coughing as they are surrounded by spores. Although they receive two levels of exhaustion they gain insight (advantage) on all Survival rolls made in jungle terrain for the remainder of the adventure.

20) A heavy mist rolls in over the jungle, interrupted only by daily torrential rains, limiting vision to 30’. Heavy local iron deposits make compasses useless. Without extraordinary guidance you become lost and have a 25% chance per day of exiting this area to a randomly determined adjacent hex.

dude, Warmaster, you should have been a writer on this stuff, these are great ideas!

 

[Nebulous]

I am going to localize the death curse to Chult and nearby coasts of Calimshan. As others have pointed out, a WORLDWIDE death curse, affecting a hundred thousand people at least, from every country, every religion and every class, would create a catastrophic stampede to Chult. Entire armies would be amassed. Warships would be en route. Whole legions of troops would be teleported to the middle of the jungle and nuke every dinosaur they see before falling on the ruins.

To me, having it start slow, and spread and get worse and worse makes it much more scary and explainable. My PCs just happened to be near ground zero.

Also, I do like the idea of some people resurrecting as death wights when they succumb.

 

[ddaley]

Tell me about those side quests. I was reading about Camp Righteous, which the characters will likely find early one. That place is deadly for low level characters. I will have to figure out how to scare my group away. They tend to be pretty skittish of things, so shouldn't be too hard.

She only gives them that money if they start haggling with her. My players, being good heroic PCs, agreed to the quest without demanding money

And most of those side quests are meant for higher level PCs. Gladiator fights, taking out pirates, etc. Nothing a 1st level party could handle. RAW, there are actually only just a couple that a level 1 party could do. Believe me, my goal and intention was to not have them leave until level 3 when they would have some survivability. But it didn't work out that way. Also, knowing it was a curse, put a sense of urgency into my players. They didn't just want to loiter around for a while.

 

[JesterOC]

Tell me about those side quests. I was reading about Camp Righteous, which the characters will likely find early one. That place is deadly for low level characters. I will have to figure out how to scare my group away. They tend to be pretty skittish of things, so shouldn't be too hard.

The random monsters you encounter might be the best way to dissuade. Low level PCs from getting far into the jungle. Hit them hard while they are still near the walls. That might drive them back. Another group could possibly rescue them without being ridiculous.


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[ddaley]

Camp Righteous is right on one of the rivers leading out of Port Nyanzaru. Not sure if my group will take that route, but I bet many groups hit that very early. I will probably have their guide warn them about traps in areas like that.

The random monsters you encounter might be the best way to dissuade. Low level PCs from getting far into the jungle. Hit them hard while they are still near the walls. That might drive them back. Another group could possibly rescue them without being ridiculous.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Tell me about those side quests. I was reading about Camp Righteous, which the characters will likely find early one. That place is deadly for low level characters. I will have to figure out how to scare my group away. They tend to be pretty skittish of things, so shouldn't be too hard.

Why? There are plenty of warnings. The camp itself is a warning. If they have an NPC guide, sure, have them give a warning as well. But otherwise, if they go in and die, then they should die. ToA is very much about putting the fear into players and having characters die, permanently.

I swear these days DM's are far too accommodating, generous and forgiving. Sometimes I wish I could just yell, "SUCK IT UP, BUTTERCUP!" Back in the day, if a character died, it wasn't a cause for grief-stricken mourning, it was a reason for quickly scratching together a new one at the table and introducing him as Bob 2.0.