D&D 5E Unsandboxing Princes of the Apocalypse

[MonsterEnvy]

Apparently the Vally map is apparently supposed to be more like 4 miles a hex.

 

[LapBandit]

Now that I've had time to digest I think I will go with the temples being connected and away from the keeps.

I've worked up a map to show influence/knowledge (circles) of specific places and patrols (lines). I've drawn purple lines to represent the connection between the keeps and temples.

 

[LapBandit]

Black Maw Bog and the bridge that covers it should somehow play a role in the adventure if only as part of the lore of the adventure. It's an interesting bridge with a ominous history.

 

[Agamon]

Apparently the Vally map is apparently supposed to be more like 4 miles a hex.

2.5, actually. That's the scale of the other two Sword Coast maps that it hooks up to.

Someone at WotC messed up when they told Mike to make it 10 mi/hex.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

This is where I'm currently stuck. I'm having a hard time figuring out the logic of this adventure.

As far as I can tell, the players can go to any of the four haunted strongholds in the valley, and each of them has a hook leading to one of the four levels of the Temple of Elemental Evil.

But that doesn't make sense to me, as each level is of a higher level than the last. So players could easily end up way over their heads!

Maybe that's the point? Get in over your heads, retreat?

Just like real life. Adventurers should sometimes wander into the deep end of the pool. Their stories of simply surviving can be as thrilling as those of defeating a monster that wasn't much of a challenge to them.