Adventures in Chult - Session 3

In the previous post, I covered my thought process and design choices to kick off the Tomb of Annihilation campaign I am running for a group of friends. Given the breadth of material that was used to kick off the campaign, that post was super long. I doubt any future posts will compare in length because the majority of the design choices have been discussed.

Session 0 and 1 were focused on logistics and building the rationale to have them come together as a party. Session 1 and 2 through them into combat, and therefore at the start of Session 3 I asked the party to spend some time describing their character. Here is what came out of that:

• Isa Wolfram, Lineage Barbarian​​
  • From a noble family in Baldur's Gate.
  • 6'10" and heavily muscled.
  • Smaller fangs. Only noticeable when he smiles.
  • Yellow eyes. Blue Mohawk. Dyed? Won't say.
  • Clean, long, pointed nails. 
  • Does his absolute best to keep his anger in check.
  • Thinks of himself as a very important noble.
  • Suit, ripped at cuffs. Oxford shoes.
  • Axe on back. Handaxes at hip.
• Del Goldpetal, Half-Elf Wizard
  • Young, enthusiastic go-getter. Wants to make a name for himself as a cartographer.
  • Carries books and scrolls all the time.
  • Charming, but annoyingly enthusiastic.
  • Clothes look well-kept but not noble.
  • Would fit in at a tavern or a party, but not dressed for a tussle.
  • Dressed for a hike in the woods.
• Arco, Wood Elf Ranger
  • Darker complexion than other elves
  • Bear mask on top of his head.
  • Armor looks like leaves.
  • Quiet. Doesn't get excited.
  • Monotone voice.
  • Doesn't move a lot.
  • Will always seek out shade and dark.
  • Wants to be alone.
• Burgell Timbers, Gnome Artificer
  • Mother is an Archeologist, Father is a Tinker.
  • 3'2"
  • Wild, disheveled hair. Tan skin. Green eyes.
  • Cocky and brash.
  • Likes to brawl. Will get up into the fight.
• Anemin Miracin, High Elf Cleric
  • Tall-ish. 5'11"
  • Bronze skin, golden eyes, copper hair.
  • Silver and blue accented armor. Mystra's colors.
  • Carries a book.
  • Mystra's symbol is a book.
  • Likes to look nice and clean.
  • Not used to being outside.

The end of Session 2 had the party disembarking their ship on the pier in Port Nyanzaru. Immediately after leaving the ship, the party meets Zindar, the dragonborn harbor master. This is the only railroading I forced on the party in this session. After talking to Zindar, what they did was completely up to them. 

Zindar commiserated with the party about being attacked by Aremag and was interested in their news of pirate activity. Zindar delivered the first quest hook in the form of information on the pirate bounty. He also suggested that he would like to talk to the party and that he could often be found at Kayla's House of Repose. For those of you who are familiar with the official hardcover adventure, it should have been Kaya's but by the time I noticed my error, I had too many hooks to change the typo.

With Zindar behind them, I provided the party with the following description of what they saw and experienced walking up the pier. 

You walk down the long pier with sun blazing overhead. Much of what you experience is familiar but there is also much that is exotic and unknown to you:

• the sounds of a harbor — creaking ropes, slapping waves, heavy barrels rolling across cobblestones — mingle with voices shouting and cursing in many unfamiliar languages. Your ears are filled with clicks, inhalations, and singsongy words, along with curses, commands, and conversations that you could expect in any other port city. The combination is almost musical.
• the aromas - fish, tar, and canvas mix with unfamiliar spices and tropical fruit. You get the scent of animals and what they leave behind, but here on this port the stench is more powerful and rich in your mouth and lungs from the hot, moist air you breath.
• the sights - you saw the rainbow of colors as you sailed into the port, but up close they are not uniform swaths but rather a haphazard dance of color changing from building to building, and sometimes quicker. The city beyond the pier is an explosion of color. Cities might have colorful flags, or adornments, but there colors are accents. Here it is an expression of life.
• the plants - other cities have plants, but here the city seems to exist to serve the plants. Every building sports baskets and clay urns of herbs, vegetables, or colorful flowers or is draped in leafy, flowering vines. Plants are growing through every opening in the cobblestone and climbing every vertical surface.
• the cargo - you see flat barges laden with cargo being towed towards land by thick brown rope fastened to large iron rings, but you cannot make out what is pulling on the other end of the rope.

The heat and humidity have an obvious impact on the city.

• Not only do you feel it, but the population is garbed in response to it. Long flowing robes and airy cotton garments are the norm. The few guards that you see are wearing light armor. Anemin and Burgell, you already feel the sweat pool under your thick, unbreathing armor.

As you get to the end of the pier, the denizens of this vibrant city come into focus.

• Minstrels in bright clothing, some adorned with feathers and shells perform, on street corners. One of the minstrels appears to be a humanoid feline.
• Multicolored pennants and sun awnings flutter atop the city walls. Small reptiles can be seen running and jumping across the tops of the awnings.
• People of all shapes and sizes crowd around a wall covered with parchments.
• A crowd of laughing children dressed in feathered hats and capes races past you.
• Two rail thin boys clothed in meagre tunics stand off to the side. On is atop two stacked crates and his hands are cupped to his mouth as he shouts. The other stands silently on the pier, looking eagerly at passersby.
• A group of dockworkers gathered around a rickety cart are enjoying a meal.
• People constantly bump into and shuffle past you. The whole city seems to be bustling, sweating, swearing, and singing.

The party focused on the Message Board which was fine of course, but I was hoping they would interact with the food vendor or the boys who were selling a broadsheet called "The Port". The job of a gamemaster is to present the party with options and roll with their choices, so the Message Board definitely fit that description. 

Message Board on the pier in Port Nyanzaru.

The Message Board mainly consists of items directly from the hardcover adventure. I had to create the images for Kayla's and the Thundering Lizard. The note for Fantastic Foragers was my own creation as I want to play up the importance of the jungle as a resource. I enjoyed creating the crumpled-up note for River and Flask, since they are operating outside of the official market created by Jobal. I created Journal Entries for each of the official guides and in the Text section of the Journal Entry I provided information on where the guides would likely be. I wanted to give the party reasons to see various locations in the city. One example is Qawasha, who I put in the Old City and not Fort Beluarian because Shago will be there. 

While contemplating the Message Board, the party was approached by a self-styled tour guide and font of information, the third person speaking Strider Phon. Strider quickly impresses himself on Del, who hires him for the rest of the day for 1 GP. Strider shows them around a portion of the city and takes them shopping.

The shopping trip is the first occasion for the party's personalities to be displayed. Burgell is quite focused on his gear, so he buys a shield. Arco spends times in the shadier areas of the market looking for lockpicks. Anemin shows his desire to learn anything and everything and goes to a woman selling books. He picked up a copy of "Friar Albert's Guide to Surviving Traps: Chalk, rope, torches and a sturdy pole are your best friends. And a brain." Thanks to DND Speak for the great random book generator.

Isa's personality also really started to show in this session. He leads off every introduction with "Yes, it is me, Isa Wolfram. It's a pleasure to meet you as well." even before the other party can say anything. This is quickly becoming a memorable part of the game. The socially awkward and unaware Isa has made several facepalm events already. In a moment somewhat out of character for Isa, he was really interested in the information about the Chultan plants from vendor at Fantastic Foragers. 

After that, the party left the market. The session to this point was completely roleplay so I through a chase scene at them. 

Ahead of you, a young girl carrying a burlap satchel weaves in between adults and pack dinosaurs. Suddenly a three-horned dinosaur turns sharply, its thick tail whipping suddenly toward the girl. With a sickening thud, the girl is hurtled into the flank of passing dinosaur towing a heavily-laden cart. Startled, the dinosaur bolts, tangling the young girl's arm in the ropes. The girl screams for help as she dangles precariously. If she falls, she will certainly be trampled by the large rear feet of the dinosaur or run over by the wheels of the cart.

What do you do?

The party of course reacts quickly to rescue the girl. I told them that we would use a modified version of the standard chase rules. This is what I provided them in a Journal Entry.

• Everyone participating in the chases needs to RFI
• Everyone gets one action and its movement per turn
• DM will keep track of distance between quarry and chasers

• Key to catching up is to use Dash
  • Each participant can Dash 2+CON times. The rules in DMG say 3+CON but this is reduced since it is so hot and humid in Chult.
  • Can attempt another Dash with a DC 14 CON check. Rules say DC 10 but this was increased due to heat and humidity.
  • Failed CON checks result in 1 point of Exhaustion.
  • At Exhaustion 5, speed becomes 0, therefore drop out of chase.
  • After chase is done, a Rest will reset Exhaustion to 0.

• If the players want to do something special, let them do a Skill Check.
  • They can only perform a particular Skill Check once.
  • Success will advance them. Actual distance will depend on what they describe and what they roll.
• Players can also cast a spell as their action.

Available on DM's Guild

In situations like this, the difference between a long-legged barbarian and a short-of-stature gnome artificer becomes readily apparent. Trying to chase after someone with Isa's 35' of movement is significantly more useful than Burgell's 25'. Burgell immediately realized that he would not be able to keep up, so he commandeered both Strider and a nearby bipedal dinosaur and looked for a shortcut to intercept the dinosaur and girl. Isa quickly caught up, and Del and Arco both shot at the harness in attempts to decouple the dinosaur from the cart. Anemin vaulted off nearby carts and awnings and closed the distance with the dinosaur as the result of a good rule and judicious use of Inspiration. 

Rewarding characters for ingenious solutions is part of a good chase scene, but this should be offset with complications to make things interesting and potentially harder. The Tomb supplement "Encounters in Port Nyanzaru", available on DM's Guild, has a nice complications table that adds some good spice to the chase. The chase did get a little crazy though, with most turns in each of the four rounds of the chase resulting in rolls of 10 or lower, meaning that complications were added at an alarming rate. Examples of the complications were people that were knocked over, and damaged vendor carts were damaged and slowed down progress. "Encounters" was a decent supplement, and the complications table and inspiration for this chase scene was worth the five bucks spent on the supplement.

In the end, the party rescued the girl but with the annoyed individuals, the damage to the harness and cart, and the "borrowed" dinosaur, Session 3 with the party as both heroes and scapegoats. 

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