I’m going against the Tomb of Annihilation lore, again.
The only Jungle/Albino Dwarf NPC in ToA is Musharib, a guide who will forgo his pay if the PCs help him reclaim the dwarven forge of Hrakhamar.
A forge.
I mean, come on Musharib, what will you do with the damn place? That’s not who you are anymore!
Here we have Dwarves radically different than the usual tolkienesque cliché. What’s the point to sorta get them back on track? That’s lame. In my campaign, the Albino Dwarves don’t want anything to do with their (distant) past. Indeed, it’s taboo for them.
The Earth Shook and Spat Fire
The ancient way of life led to apocalyptic disaster (many generations ago). Better forget about it. And better make sure nobody sneak around and mess with the sites and artefacts of the ancient ones!
So yeah, the PCs will have to deal with that particular prejudice…
Also, in my campaign, there’s no wild dwarves or gold dwarves (as per 2e lore), just albino dwarves (and foreign typical dwarves).
Back to the adventure… Who wants to fight pirates?!
Characters (Seven Associates) (Well, five actually O_o)
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Elf Rogue (Thief), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
Pocor, Human Druid (Circle of Spores), Outlander; member of Chultan Diaspora, returned to his roots, literally
Against the Pirates
Both Zhanti and her son Shago had a strong interest in defeating the pirates that scourged the Savage Seas around Port Nyanzaru which after all, you have to remember is a MARITIME city. They had a plan to inflict a first blow to the pirates and, of course, it involved using the Seven Associates. The PCs would accompany a selected force on board of a seemingly vulnerable merchant ship.
Hidden in the cargo hold, they waited for the pirates to find them, cramped quarters being the main foe in the meantime.
Goals
Capture at least a few pirates
Capture the Captain
Capture the pirate ship
Capturing a Stirge
The pirates did showed up (how boring would it have been otherwise!). The pirate ship had a kind of giant mosquito on its flag revealing that they were prey to The Stirge!
The false merchant ship did try a token escape tentative so it wouldn’t look too suspicious. The pirates boarded as the crew on deck seemingly surrendered. Half a dozen pirates were sent below to take a look on the merchandises. But the Cleric of Tymora had prepared a nice trick for them: a Zone of silence, so that when the hidden ambushers jumped on the surprised pirates it did not alert their comrades above. Next, the pirates’ second in command, a burly Orc, went below to see what the heck took so long. He had time to swing his large cleaver at Flyzus once, wounding the Wood Elf, before he was cut down too.
The already suspicious pirate captain, still oblivious to what happened, decided then to listen to his instincts and called a retreat, dashing back to his own ship. The PCs and their allies rushed out at once, throwing more grappling hooks as simultaneously the pirates tried to cut free. Two planks were still in place and fierce fighting ensued. The pirates were now outnumbered but a priest of Umberlee amongst them managed to summon a water elemental in the hope of turning the tide (!).
With the Tabaxi firing arrows after arrows from the crow’s nest and the battle for the planks going in favor of his opponents, despite the water elemental wreaking havoc, the pirate captain decided to surrender.
As for the priest of Umberlee, he jumped into the water, disappearing under the waves, never to be seen again. No, really, he won’t be seen again. I’m telling you!
DM’s notes
The Stirge and its crew comes from ToA
The PCs found some valuables, including an old Omuan tapestry, a first inkling of things to come
reward: 2000 gp or a first payment if the PCs want to keep the ship
Ditching the Death Curse of ToA gives me, and the players, time to do as we please. The downside, maybe, is the possibility to, huh, not advance anything at all, as this session demonstrates…
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Elf Rogue (Thief), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Phileas, Half-Elf Bard (College of Swords), Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
Pocor, Human Druid (Circle of Spores), Outlander; member of Chultan Diaspora, returned to his roots, literally
Corpos, High Elf Wizard, Archeologist; antiquary, strange fixation on the undead
Also, show me something like a Grand Coliseum as a location, and of course I will want to stage battles in it!
I’ve purchased this flip-mat arena from Paizo
I offered the players a 8 teams Gladiatorial Tournament. The way I planned it, I told them that as first time participants (low-level characters) they really had not much chances to win this. The point would be to go as far as they could in the competition.
The teams:
The Seven Associates (PCs) (strength ?): newcomers, have done a couple of prelims combats in the past two weeks
And the other teams, roughly in order of strength:
Disciples of Kossuth (+0): cultists dedicated to Everburning Kossuth – forced to fight
Flaming Fist (+2): mercenaries based at Fort Beluarian – here for the money
Sons of Malar (+4): local gang of thugs – here for the fame
Resilient Ferns (+5): Jungle Dwarves in town for the event only – here for the thrill
Gnoll Marauders (+6): evil, mangly typical gnolls – here for the blood
Claws of Destiny (+10): Tabaxi monks – here to test their skills
Liberators (+16): All-Stars Team of Chultans – here to win
Quarter Finals
The teams were randomly picked for the quarter finals as follows:
Block 1:
Seven Associates (PCs) vs Gnoll Marauders
Disciples of Kossuth vs Resilient Ferns
Block 2:
Flaming Fist vs Liberators
Sons of Malar vs Claws of Destiny
Seven Associates vs Gnoll Marauders
The Maurauders: 3 gnolls (2 with longbows), 2 gnoll whiterlings, 1 Dire Hyena, 1 Pack Lord.
A well placed entangle spell from Pocor ensured that the 7As had time to make the most of their ranged firepower: arrows and spells bombarded the Gnolls. Shin’s explosive arcane shot in particular proved very lethal. Unfortunately, he missed his second shot. The two gnoll archers tried to retaliate but weren’t very successful. The Whitherlings were blasted to bits before they even reached the middle of the Arena. The Dire Hyena moved fast but only managed to get itself impaled on Pocor’s waiting spear.
The confidence of the PCs was understandably high at this point but it was soon to be shaken as the Pack Lord and another Gnoll reached their side of the Arena and rampaged through their ranks, felling three of them in no time.
Judicious use of healing – Pocor, Phileas and Lucky all had such magic at their disposal, ultimately made them prevail, but not without a bit of luck.
Rewards: 50 gp and an Ikakalaka +1 sword
Semifinals
Block 1: Seven Associates vs Resilient Ferns
Block 2: Liberators vs Claws of Destiny
Seven Associates vs Resilient Ferns
Resilient Ferns: 1 Girallon, 1 Albino Dwarf Druid, 5 Albino Dwarves Warriors (two with a barkskin spell effect on, one with a triflower strapped to his back).
The opening round was much like the previous fight with the 7As peppering their opponents with arrows and spells while the Jungle Dwarves dashed forward to get in melee quickly. Three RFs were slowed by a grease spell from Corpos. The Girallon (with its aggressive feature) got to the other side of the arena and pummelled Flyzus the very first round. The Wood Elf then retaliated with two sword slashes that inflicted heavy damage (one critical hit). Phileas then played a mind trick on the beast with a dissonant whisper, that made it flee. Flyzus killed it with a sword stab in the back.
The Jungle Dwarves joined the fun and soon everyone, except Shin who, again, had climbed up a spike on the wall, was in a confusing brawl. Varis got into deep trouble when the triflower covered him in corrosive sap AND poisoned him with its grappling pistil. Meanwhile, Lucky’ scale mail offered good protection against the wooden clubs of the jungle dwarves but that made him the target of the druid’s heat metal spell that nearly did him.
Phileas’ quick thinking saved the life of Varis as he correctly guessed that pouring water would wash away the corrosive sap. He even asked the assistance of the spectators to shower the poor Drow with, well, anything they had!
Flyzus slashed and stabbed, right and left, very efficiently. The triflower was dispatched with a firebolt and an arrow. The Seven Associates yet again managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!
rewards: 100 gp each and a ankylosaurus breastplate
Final
Seven Associates vs Liberators
Liberators: 7 gladiators (4 with added quirks)
It was already surprising that the newcomers had managed to get to the final. An impressive feat indeed, but they were clearly not in the same league with the local favorites and long time gladiators: the Liberators. The best of the best of the Grand Coliseum assembled in one team for the Tournament of Liberation Day.
The Seven Associates did all they could but predictably, they could not avoid defeat. Between Sukomo the Fragrant and his unnaturally good scent, Wèwè the Killer, a ferociuous woman who didn’t seem to feel pain, Mkongu Lightfooted, faster than even a Wood Elf, Skanga the Ripper and his many shongo throwing knives and the other fearsome gladiators, there weren’t any way to win for the less experienced team.
Nonetheless, the Seven Associates gained valuable combat experience and a challenge for later.
DM notes:
Before the session, Corpos’ Player asked to change his rock gnome to high elf, he read somewhere that gnomes are silly, duh…
Corpos’ Player finds the 5E grease spell underwhelming and changed it for cause fear.
This session was pure, undiluted, tactical combat. It did help us get used with combat options that we had skipped, somehow, in the previous campaign.
I was a bit creative with the Resilient Ferns, with the girallon and triflower added to the jungle dwarves and it was a great fight!
I was more than happy to make a special session to my friend and his son who managed to be there again, despite the distance (300+ miles!).
After a bit of survey of Flyzus’ new abilities (young Félix is fairly new to D&D after all), I had them choose a side quest among some they could hope to achieve with only the two of them.
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Rogue (scout), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Rescue Mission
They opted for an extraction mission given by Captain Soshen (with the backing of City Councilor Ekene-Afa). They had to bring back an informant whose task had been to spy on underworld boss Jobal’s activities. The informant had been captured by the Bridgerunners (a gang of thugs in Malar’s Throat). Unfortunately for the adventuring Drow, who would have liked to do it at night, time was of the essence as they were informed that it was quite possible that the gang would soon give over their captive to the fiercer Sons of Malar.
They had basically two ways to get to the thugs’ den on the cliff side. The first was by simply crossing the suspended bridge but that would surely get the attention of the thugs. The second was by climbing down on the west side of the canyon to get on the precarious ledge beside the wooden shack. They choose the latter and managed to accomplish the feat without being seen. The two Elves then waited for the right time and it came when the thugs got together to eat a meal, leaving the target tied upside down nearby.
The PCs quickly seized their chance, approached the prisonner with discretion, untied him and made a diversion with a good ol’fashionned oil fire. They killed two thugs efficiently. The swiftness of it meant that they had time to flee before more Bridgerunners could do anything about it.
They escaped by exiting Malar’s Throat at the edge of the city.
The Old Man’s Pet
A little Arena fun was now in order to call it a night.
They had to defeat an innocuous looking old man holding a cloth covered cage. The fight was on and the old man let go of his caged pet: a cockatrice! Varis got bit once and shook off in extremis the incoming petrification. A few sword slashes sufficed to slay the small beast, despite its master doing his best to heal it with magic in the fight.
MToF doesn’t add a whole lot of monsters to my Chult campaign. That was predictable. Nonetheless, there is some I may use such as: allip, sword wraith, vampiric mist and stone cursed.
And there’s one I will definitely use:
This warms my cold, dead heart. Truly, a thing of beauty!
Even in my Chult campaign, exploration-oriented as it is, I want politics and intrigue to play a part. At the very least, even if my players decide not to care, it will provide some interesting side-quests. The main quest-givers, the « Merchant Princes », as described in Tomb of Annihilation, are more like simple shopkeepers than powerful merchant rulers.
They all are filthy rich and apparently, in Port Nyanzaru, it’s all it takes. How they managed to obtain so much wealth, despite their city being under Amnian (fantasy spanish) control only nine years ago is superfluous I guess. What we know is that they each have a monopoly on something that is supposed to bring them a really high income.
So let’s see how fares Port Nyanzaru’s economy as decribed in ToA (of course we can homebrew away any of this!):
Port Nyanzaru is a small city.
There’s a Dragon Turtle demanding a « tax » from passing boats
Pirates plague the Seas
There’s virtually no one in Chult to trade with
And, you know, undead and dinosaurs aplenty
As for the monopolies of the Merchant Princes:
Ex-gladiator Ekene-Afa got very rich, we’re to believe, selling spears, leather shields and travelling gears. That’s shopkeeper level, really.
Ifan Talro’a deals in dinosaurs and dinosaur training. Okay, why not.
Jessamine deals in plants, poison and assassination. And she got rich, somehow.
Jobal deals in (lousy) guides and (deathwishing) sellswords. We do know he came out of the jungle alone with treasure, so there’s that (that’s actually interesting, I can work with that).
Wakanga deals in magic and, uh, lore? Yeah… A magic shop, how cute…
Zhanti deals in gems, jewelry, clothes and armors. I mean, gems and jewelry, that’s fine. Clothes and armors? Less so.
The whole concept of richest guys in town are ruling doesn’t hold water. Why would the people tolerate the monopolies of the Merchant Princes? This would have to be by strength of arms but they don’t seem to have any. In fact, we know they can’t even chase a few dozens unimpressive Flaming Fist mercenaries that are encroaching in Chultan territory.
Okay, let’s reframe this a little with realpolitik in mind:
As I see it, the Merchant Princes achieved preeminence because they played a major role, together, each contributing their own assets, in overthrowing the Amnians. They did not relinquish their position of power in the aftermath, some because they aspired to it in the first place, some for fear of what would happen if they stepped away.
Each have a sphere of influence and none, at the moment, can hope to rule without cooperating with some of the others. They exchange favors all the time in order to have the votes of their peers when it counts.
Ekene-Afa
Already popular when she was a gladiator, she became the de facto leader of the rebels when Port Nyanzaru shook off the Amnians. She would have the support of the people if she made a bid to rule the city by herself, but she doesn’t have that kind of ambition.
Commercial Assets:
taxes from Inner City’s merchants, in exchange her labor force clear the rivers’ channels
fishing trade, she had another life before becoming gladiator and rebel leader
Political Influence:
city watch (captain Soshen is her son)
beloved by the people
Goals:
Prevent Tyranny
Extend safety to all parts of Port Nyanzaru, not only Walled City
Ifan Talro’a
Once a mere supervisor Talro’a betrayed his Amnian masters, and profited greatly from it. He now has some kind of alliance with the Flaming Fist mercenaries. A man of great ambition, a populist too, he won’t stop at anything to amass more power.
Commercial Assets:
meat market
dinosaur herding
ivory trade
Political Influence:
allied with Flaming Fist for a split of the profit they do exploiting the ressources of Chult
his personal guard, the Redhooks (butchers turned enforcers)
took over the Grand Coliseum games (plenty of spectacles where crowd-pleasing adventurers can earn some gold)
Goals:
Become King of Chult
Jessamine
The least avant-scène of the Princes, Jessamine’s influence is felt more in hushed tones than in clamorous displays. Her extensive spy network ensures that she doesn’t miss much in Port Nyanzaru.
Commercial Assets:
pottery trade, valuable, handmade craft by the gripplis/grungs
dye trade
spice trade
kola nuts
Political Influence:
The Purple Hand (dye-workers turned assassins)
Spy Network
Goals:
Prevent strong rule from happening in Port Nyanzaru
Eliminate underworld rival Jobal
Jobal
Since he got out of the jungle alone, with considerable treasure in his possession, Jobal proceeded to buy the allegiance of one of Old City’s gang of thugs. He soon ruled over almost all the other gangs of Old City and Malar’s Throat.
Commercial Assets:
local extortion
moneylending
Influence:
The Gauntlet (informal justice)
Gangs (Malar’s Throat and Old City): Sons of Malar, Bridgerunners, the Dirty Talons
Goals:
Advance the agenda of his hidden benefactors (he did not get out of the jungles with treasure so much as he we was « released » under specific conditions…)
Kwayoté
Kwayothé was barely a teen when she catched the eye of a rich foreigner. She endured many humiliations before she finally freed herself of her master’s yoke. Now a rich merchant herself (having taken much of her former master’s wealth for herself), she strives so that nobody would gain dominance over her ever again.
Commercial Assets:
gems mining around Port Nyanzaru, to expand she would be in direct competition with Baldur’s Gate Flaming Fist (I see them as East Indian Company-type, ruthless beyond belief)
metalcasting
Political Influence:
She’s a higher-up of the Temple of Kossuth the Everburning (associated with artisanal metalcasting, volcanoes, rebirth, made stronger with pain, fire rituals of purification, etc), a religion persecuted under the Amian but now on the ascent in Port Nyanzaru in my version
Goals:
Topple Chultan aristocracy (she’s no friend with Zhanti)
Diminish the presence of foreign, continental religion
Drive away or kill the Flaming Fist mercenaries
Chase off other encroaching northerners (like the greedy Dwarves of the Pick&Axe co or meddling adventurers perhaps)
Wakanga O’tamu
A moderate in all things, except maybe in his passion for women, Wakanga helped the rebellion only because Amn persecuted magic-users such as him. A powerful wizard, he comes from a long tradition that teaches that magic must be restricted to a few who pledged to use it with strict rules.
Commercial Assets:
cloth manufacturing (the bright clothes of Port Nyanzaru are renowned worldwide)
Political Influence:
He’s well-travelled and a wise (if a bit fickle) and powerful wizard, many seek his counsel
Goals:
Prevent Tyranny.
He wants to know what his the source of the strange magic afoot in the Old City. Dark and ancient, yet hidden from his scrying attempts.
Zhanti
A rich merchant with royal blood, Zhanti is the consummate diplomat. Her long-term plans are ambitious but she knows she’s not getting any younger.
Commercial Assets:
salt making
leatherworking
Political Influence:
Harbor, extensive commerce abroad
Prestigious family
contacts within foreign interests
Goals:
Civilize a large chunk of Chult
Put her son Shago as single ruler of Port Nyanzaru (Shago is captain of a ship in my version, not a flaming fist flunky)
This time was a rare 10+ hours session, with players going in and out along the way. It served also as an introduction for a good friend and his 10 y-o son who’s just beginning tabletop gaming. Ah, the innocence!
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Rogue (scout), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Droidoc, Halfling Druid, Outlander; was there when Camp Righteous fell, lost his mind, he’s a loony
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora, Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Phileas, Half-Elf Bard, Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (arcane archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
Smuggler’s Cove
(Flyzuz, Varis)
Flyzus and Varis had to secure some illegal stash hidden inside a cave not far from where they had beached. They could see some giant crabs that fortunately didn’t look too aggressive but the axe beak nearby was another matter. Coming out of the trees it made short work of one the crustacean. F and V did a bit of climbing to evade the large bird. A few minutes and a dead poisonous snake later and F and V arrived at the entrance of the cave. Flyzus spotted some carnivorous vines dangling in front but a simple oil fire solved the problem. Inside the cave they could see a pond and, understandably, that aroused their suspicion. Varis threw the dead snake near it and a long tentacle quickly snatched it. F and V decided to feed something bulkier to the aquatic thing so it would be busy eating whilst they did what they were there for. So a few arrows and crossbow bolts later, a freshly slain axe beak joined the snake in the water. The plan worked. Further in the cave, a darkened leather hid a passage leading to another area, with a little light coming from a natural chimney above and further, to the smuggler’s stash of goods. There was also a swarm of bats that they chased off, not without receiving a few painful bites.
Back in town, they enlist at the Coliseum:
Arena: The Mercenaries vs the Skeletal Horde
Flyzus, Varis, Droidoc and Shin
6 skeletons with rusty spears. The PCs barely survived. There’s a long way to go before they’re called heroes!
Arena: The Mercenaries vs the Gladiator
Flyzus, Varis, Droidoc ans Shin
The PCs were offered to replace a gladiator who was sick. Hum, he had severe diarrhea okay? They didn’t have to win, just show up against his opponent, a hardened veteran of the Grand Coliseum. They indeed did not win, but it was a close call…
Along the coast
Flyzus, Varis, Droidoc ans Shin
Shin had a proposition for his battered new friends. His employer offered 250 gp for cleaning a newly acquired mine from its critters. They accepted and paid a fisherman to drop them 30 miles northward. They had a few more miles to walk along the rocky beaches and high cliffs. As they progressed, they began to hear singing, the lure of harpies! Fortunately, none of them succumbed and Shin let loose an arrow from 300′ and hit! The two harpies, noticing that their song had no effect, took to the air and closed the distance on the PCs. Only one came close but was put down easily.
The Mine
Flyzus, Varis, Phileas, Lucky and Shin
Having found the mine, the PCs saw that giant wasps seemed to inhabit the place as they saw them come and go constantly. They also noticed that one of the giant wasp was strangely infected by some sort of fungus. The PCs decided to smoke the wasps, collecting all the wood pieces they could before sunset and then they made a fire. A few groggy wasps tried to get out but were easily dispatched. After the smoke had cleared, the PCs entered the mine. They found quite a few dead wasps near the entrance and, also, the rotten carcass of a crocodilian a little further. Something ran off before they could see it clearly.
They went deeper and that’s when the real fun began…
The Tabaxi was in front, and was the target of a thrown rock, hurting him lightly. The next few rounds were surprisingly testing for the PCs as they received a LOT of rocks from the angry vegepygmies while a thorny kept them tied in melee from the other side. They were downright anxious when they found out that the little fungi men could regenerate and did not stay down. Finally, they managed to prevail, using oil and torches to burn the vegepygmies but one of them escaped and the PCs badly needed a rest. That’s what they did before going into the deepest level of the mine.
The first trouble below was an encounter with the surviving giant wasp queen which succeeded in stinging the young cleric of Tymora. The poison nearly did him but once the queen was dead he healed himself with his goddess’ magic.
Soon after, the final battle was against the vegepygmy that had escaped earlier and his chief who was busy absorbing… nutrients? in a pit, with some tendrils jutting from his arms.
The peak of the battle was when the vegepygmy chief released his spores, poisoning Flyzus and Varis. Lucky saved Varis’ life with a merciful spare the dying and did the same a moment later when Phileas was grievously wounded by claw attacks.
Shin found a few gems carefully placed on a rock, with a delicate mushroom in the middle. He didn’t take the mushroom.
Arena: The Mercenaries vs Mr Sticky and his Darling
Flyzus, Varis, Phileas, Lucky and Shin
Back in Port Nyanzaru, the PCs received their reward for clearing the mine and after a well-earned rest they were back in the arena! This time they were against something of an infamous gladiator: Mr Sticky the Ettercap.
Mr Sticky had a large cloak on when he entered the arena and while he moved to meet the PCs in battle, he removed it releasing his pet giant spider Darling that was hidden under. He then restrained Lucky with a web. Phileas played tricks on the ettercap’s mind with a dissonant whisper- Mr Sticky was convinced by the spell that the crowd was booing him– forcing him to flee in shame while Flyzus, Varis and Shin killed Darling. The ettercap was rather mad at this point as he came back but the combined attacks of the PCs proved too much for him, he surrendered.
DM notes
The group of PCs was missing frontliners badly. Most of them are good at range but they had problems when it was time to engage in melee.
The vegepygmies, with their skirmish tactics were way harder than I tought they would be.
This session was really heavy on combat, perhaps a bit too much.
The vegepygmies could have been persuaded to leave the mine if diplomacy had been tried. The players were a little freaked out with some of my descriptions by the time they met them. I think that’s why it didn’t occur to them.
Arena battles are a little silly but we’re having a lot of fun doing them.
The ToA’s sidequests are all pretty much pointless and boring so I had to invent my own (except chasing pirates, that’s perfectly fine to me). Not only that but if you’re actually following the main plot of ToA (unlike me), doing the sidequests is actually detrimental to accomplishing the main quest! Talk about bad design… I did run the dinosaur race (but that was already an idea in the Jungles of Chult supplement (1993)).
Characters:
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter, Outlander; Big-game hunter
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora, Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Pocor, Human Druid, Outlander; Traveller of chultan descent
Phileas, Half-Elf Bard, Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
Corpos, Forest Gnome Wizard, Archeologist; antiquary, strange fixation on the undead
Tomb of Annihilation, WoTC, really nice art!
And now what’s the plan?
The PCs disembarked in Port Nyanzaru at dusk and their first move was, unsurprisingly, to find shelter for the night. They opted for Kaya’s House of Repose, a cozy inn located inside the walls feeling confident that their meagre funds would soon be replenished. Puzzled by the lack of other customers they asked around and learned that everybody (except the staff) went to see an unusual sight: a Halruaan airship had landed in town! Joining the crowd in the plaza, the soon-to-be explorers could only marvel at this efficient way of locomotion. Young Lucky, accustomed to city life, quickly became aware that wily pickpockets were taking full advantage of the diversion. Fortunately, targeted Pocor was vigilant enough to evade theft.
With so much people around, the PCs heard some interesting rumors they could benefit from.
Let’s talk money
In their first couple of days in Chult, the PCs have found out of a few ways to earn some gps before leaving Port Nyanzaru for their dangerous jungle expeditions:
Arena Fun: The Mercenaries vs the Velociraptors
Arena Fun: The Mercenaries vs the Skeletal Horde!
Middleman Mboka have a job: Cleaning a Mine from critters (coast, two days away)
Captain Shago have a job: find a certain M’panzu thought to be in league with the pirates and bring him to the captain.
Arena Fun
Shin, Corpos and Phileas happily enlisted, whilst Pocor and Lucky had some mischievous plans of their own.
Mercenaries VS Velociraptors!
From his spectator seat, Pocor cast an entangle spell at one of the two porticullis where were kept the raptors, effectively blocking it. Two raptors entered the arena from the other side and advanced rapidly to the center of the arena, where Phileas and Corpos were ready for action. As for the Tabaxi, he climbed with celerity on one of the spike jutting from the encircling wall, intent on using his bow on the beasts.
Corpos’ mage hand threw sand in the eyes of one raptor and Phileas attempted to skewer the other with a fancy move of his rapier but only lightly wounded it. The savage bite and claw attack against him nearly put an end to his barely-started adventuring career, but for the help of Pocor’s healing powers.
As Corpos, Phileas and Shin finished the two raptors, yet another magical intervention from Pocor triggered an angry reaction from two young hooligans seated nearby. If he was so intent on helping the « mercenaries » they told him, he might as well join them in the arena below! A short scuffle ensued and Pocor got the upper hand (but not without losing his concentration on his entangle spell).
Below the two remaining raptors were finally free and Phileas, quite the crowd-pleaser, made a loud cracking noise with his whip that sent a magical Thunderwave, killing one raptor and wounding the other. A flame bolt from Corpos finished the poor beast.
(Shin’s player wasn’t too lucky with his dice throughout the combat. I think he hit once with an arrow?)
Meanwhile, Lucky tried to gain money another way. Feigning intoxication, he attempted to pickpocket a richly attired Chultan but got his greedy hand stung and was poisoned. He felt ill for an hour or so for his troubles. The locals aren’t the easiest of targets it seems.
Dinosaur Racing!
A dinosaur race was announced for the evening. Two contenders: the ill-tempered allosaurus Bonecruncher was a 2:1 betting favorite against the young ankylosaurus Grung Stomper!
Of course it occurred almost immediately to Phileas to mess with the race and try to win against the odds! Corpos and Lucky were both convinced by the bard’s greedy enthusiasm and put a sum on Grung Stomper.
Phileas’ plan was to wait somewhere further on the circuit and play tricks on the allosaurus’ mind with a well placed Dissonant Whisper spell. And oh my! How it worked! The ill-tempered Bonecruncher failed spectacularly (rolled a 1! botches do count in my game) to resist the mind intrusion and went berzerk, losing precious time before his handler managed to steer him back on track. The race was still close but it was enough so Grung Stomper won!
DM notes:
With Pocor’s player agreement, I’ve decided that his character’s ancestors were from Chult.
I did some foreshadowing for the Halruaan airship before it become, huh, a jungle location?
This session was rather short with 3 hours of play. I had thought that a lot more would be accomplished but it’s ok, the players have learned a lot of stuff about the setting and had some ideas how to tackle it.
Last campaign finished with lvl 20 characters, beginning anew at lvl 1 is so different!
Phileas’ player loves when his PC shines and has fame! That’s certainly a good way to keep his interest in the campaign.
Both in the Arena and dinosaurs race, the players cheated their way to victory. That was a lot of fun. But hey, they are not the only crooks in town! I have to keep this in mind…
Here’s the start of the new campaign set in Chult that I’m calling « Ruins of Chult ». It’s homebrew, open hexcrawl exploration-focused and without time constraint. I’m using a little of the Tomb of Annihilation module; the Merchant Princes for sure and a few good locations. Certainly not the plot, it doesn’t make any sense IMO.
Edit: Anyway, this first session was lacking in many ways, I admit readily, it would be much better if we re-runned it but that’s almost always how it goes doesn’t it? I find my groove around the third or fourth session I think.
Characters:
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter, Outlander; Big-game hunter
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora, Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Procor, Human Druid, Outlander; comes from a far away place
Pheleas, Half-Elf Bard, Archeologist; « it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully »
Corpos, Forest Gnome Wizard, Archeologist; antiquary, somewhat sinister for a gnome.
Fun fact: Both players with archeologists characters were, some years ago, real-life archeologists themselves! (Now one is an accountant and the other a government bureaucrat, so much for an exciting life, ugh!)
Lured by the promises of riches the PCs are leaving the city of Baldur’s Gate aboard the Amnian Fop, a fast schooner headed for the Chultan Peninsula. Amongst the would-be adventurers, Procor looks likes he’s already an experimented seaman and have some successful fishing along the way. Pheleas didn’t fare so well in his aquatic journey and will be a few pounds lighter at arrival.
The Pink Reef
The ship’s captain had planned a quick stop about halfway to their destination. He had some business to conduct at the Pink Reef, a place where merfolks traders gather. Young Lucky accepts an offer to invest his meager funds, buying a pearl and making some profit later on. Captain Shago left on a rowboat with two sailors to meet the merfolks. Meanwhile First Mate Blimponia scanned the horizon with her spyglass looking for pirates, vulnerable as they were anchored at the atoll.
Aside: I’ve refurbished NPC Shago from ToA as a free-willed captain, rather than a Flaming Fist flunky…
Unexpectedly, the attack came from below. A sudden, unnatural wave brought creatures aboard! Five Sea Spawns crashed clamsily (get it? GET IT? err) on the ship’ s deck. The sailors and PCs immediately tried to fend off the invaders. Two sailors were grievously wounded in the ensuing battle and Procor was grabbed by a tentacle at some point, but the superior number of the defenders proved to be more than enough. Procor and Pheleas used magic to heal two grievously injured sailors (Bayiz and Kid Shago) earning even more gratitude. Searching the dead creatures, Shin found a wristband made of seashells and shark teeth.
Unwanted escort
Leaving the Pink Reef behind, the crew observed with some unease that they were pursued by sharks. LOTS of sharks. A day later the swarm did not relent in the least. The following windless night, the sharks circled the ship hungrily and something else could be seen swimming amongst them: a sahuagin! The sahuagin talked to the crew in aquaan (the captain translated), said it wanted an object: the Sea spawn’s wristband, or else…The sahuagin was in fact hunting the Sea spawns before they got killed! The PCs decided, after a quick discussion, to give up the wristband rather than risk a fight and the satisfied sahuagin simply left.
Target practice
A few uneventful days later, not so far from Chult’s coast, they spotted something in the sky. A look through the spyglass revealed an unusual sight: a harpy harassed by some pteranodons, desperately fleeing. Wounded by many cruel bites, the harpy was flying toward the boat. And was shot dead. An arrow from Shin’s longbow and a seashell shot from Lucky’ sling put a brutal end to her flight.
The curious pteranodons approached the ship but paid dearly as they were met with a volley of projectiles, killing three in no time. The dead-eye Tabaxi shot the last fleeing pteranodon more than 200′ away.
Land ho!
Before the landing, the Captain, aware of his passengers’ foolish desire to explore Chult, gave them a high quality (if partial) map, as a reward for their help in defending his ship.
DM’s notes:
Well, to be honest, I can’t say that my campaign’s prelude was that exciting. Sea travel isn’t easy to convey, for sure. We were all a bit rusty roleplay-wise. But one big mistake I made as the DM is leaving the PCs aboard the ship at the Pink Reef by default, more meaningful interactions would have been welcomed for sure. Doing this again, I would put some things going on on the atoll for the players to mess with.
Another advantage of throwing away the dumb main plot of ToA is letting go of the time constraint (with the death curse and all). This allows me a proper introduction to the campaign, which was totally lacking.
Also, NPC Shago has another role entirely. He’s no longer a Flaming Fist flunky.
Getting to Chult
Teleporting? Nope.
The PCs are going to Chult the long way: by boat.
Welcome aboard The Amnian Fop
It’s a popular saying among the Chultans now (after their uprising) that nothing runs faster, no deinonychus, no antelope, than a rich Amnian fleeing for his life. This boat is fast, hence the name.
The crew of the Amnian Fop will be the first characters the PCs will be able to interact with. Here they are:
Captain Shago, Human (Chultan): the adventurous son of prince-merchant Zhanti is the proud captain of this schooner. His mother would like him to act as ambassador of Port Nyangaru but politics doesn’t interest him much. He does share one goal with her though: get rid of all these pesky pirates that plagues chultan waters.
First Mate « Blimp » Blimponia Stargazer, rock gnome: she’s got a badass harpoon-launcher. She made it. With luv. She calls her captain « Prince Shago » sometimes. It annoys the shit out of him.
Sailor « Mute » Walix, sun elf: He’s not mute but few could say. He’s got a useful little trick that mends the ship’s wear and tear.
Sailor Olgata, Human (Chultan): Mute’s girlfriend. She speaks to the Sea. Or more precisely, to the Seas’ moody mistress, the Goddess Umberlee. It seems to help, a bit.
Sailor Bayiz , fire genasi (Calimshite): Who said that a fire genasi could not become a sailor? Yeah… There’s something fishy about that.
Sailor « Handsome » Hasan, Human (Chultan): Half his face is just scar tissue. A dinosaur did this. Don’t mess with dinosaurs.
Sailor Kid Shago, Human (Chultan): A street urchin a year back, he would have turned bad if not of a chance encounter with Older Shago. Joyfully mops the deck of the ship.
Sailor Nondescript, not at all a replacement for a possible PC casualty.
Streets & Spores 