In our Let's Read of CALL OF THE #NETHERDEEP, it's time to leave Jigow and head to Bazzoxan.
But here's a question for you:
Why are we going there, exactly?
Don't bother checking the book. It doesn't know.
But here's a question for you:
Why are we going there, exactly?
Don't bother checking the book. It doesn't know.
The Let's Read starts over here if you'd like to begin from the beginning:
https://twitter.com/hexcrawl/status/1505005530112307208
After the Festival of Merit, one of the Elders of Jigow invites the PCs to breakfast.
And he tells the PCs to go to Bazzoxan because... well. He doesn't really have a reason.
"But, Justin, it says it right there! 'There is no place in Xhorhas where the memory of the Calamity lingers more strongly than in Bazzoxan!'"
Right.
But that's not a reason to go there.
Right.
But that's not a reason to go there.
Just think about the immediate follow-up question from the players:
"And what do we do when we get there?"
If you can't answer that question, then you don't actually have a reason to go.
"And what do we do when we get there?"
If you can't answer that question, then you don't actually have a reason to go.
Which is why, when the PCs get to Bazzoxan, the book assumes they'll just kind of wander around aimlessly until they randomly bump into the plot.
The crazy part is that the Apotheon visited the Elder and gave him a vision.
All you need to do is turn the dial down on Vague McVaguerton here a notch:
"They must find me. The ones from the grotto. They must bring the Jewel to the Cyst of Avandra within Betrayer's Rest."
"They must find me. The ones from the grotto. They must bring the Jewel to the Cyst of Avandra within Betrayer's Rest."
You can also make the identification of "Betrayer's Rest" a little vaguer under the theory that Alyxion wouldn't know the site by that name. So the PCs would need to figure it out.
But -- bingo, bango -- you've got a reason to go to Bazzoxan and an agenda when you get there.
But -- bingo, bango -- you've got a reason to go to Bazzoxan and an agenda when you get there.
Once you've done this, you might start thinking, "Why are the PCs even talking to this Elder?"
Because he's the one who had the vision, right?
But why did HE have the vision?
Because he's the one who had the vision, right?
But why did HE have the vision?
Because, in the absence of a reason to go to Bazzoxan, the adventure needs an NPC mouthpiece through which the GM can say, "You're supposed to go to Bazzoxan."
Having eliminated that: Why does the Elder get the vision?
Having eliminated that: Why does the Elder get the vision?
My rule of thumb is that if I have an NPC doing something really cool (and I count receiving enigmatic visions from proto-gods on the list of really cool things), I should double-check and make sure I couldn't design things so that the PCs get to do the really cool thing.
Once the PCs have the vision directly, you can also start cleaning up the other side of this transition.
As written, the Elder only comes to talk to the PCs if they were the ones who got the Jewel.
As written, the Elder only comes to talk to the PCs if they were the ones who got the Jewel.
If the Rivals got the Jewel instead, the transition to Bazzoxan is even worse: They hear that the Rivals have left town and the adventure assumes they'll just follow them for... reasons?
The specific reason being: The Jewel is worth 1,000 gp and obviously this means the PCs are DEFINITELY going to hunt the Rivals down, murder them, and take the Jewel.
"The thought of losing out on such a prize is enough to motivate most adventurers."
That's not adventurers. You're thinking of criminals.
And not even very smart criminals. There's gotta be easier marks for 1,000 gp than five well-equipped adventurers who already beat you once.
That's not adventurers. You're thinking of criminals.
And not even very smart criminals. There's gotta be easier marks for 1,000 gp than five well-equipped adventurers who already beat you once.
And even if the players do hear these rumors and leap straight to, "Oh, man! We definitely gotta go rob those people!" the adventure forgets to include a mechanism for telling them that they're supposed to go to Bazzoxan.
Sure, they might interrogate the Rivals before/after robbing them. Or maybe they follow them all the way to Bazzoxan before robbing them.
But if not, then the entire adventure has derailed.
But if not, then the entire adventure has derailed.
Long story short: Everybody who was in the Grotto gets the vision, whether they're currently in possession of the Jewel or not. Alyxion has a connection to those who were there and he's desperately trying to use it to get help.
Solves all (well, most of) your problems.
Solves all (well, most of) your problems.
The adventure does provide some "advice" on what to do if it (predictably) breaks here.
"If the characters don't want to follow the plot..."
I am amused by the image of a GM churning out endless Jigow NPCs telling the PCs to go to Bazzoxan.
Elder tells you? Nah.
You can rob somebody? Nah.
Caravan guard?
Mercenary gig?
Chase a bounty?
Nah, nah, nah.
... free train ticket?
Elder tells you? Nah.
You can rob somebody? Nah.
Caravan guard?
Mercenary gig?
Chase a bounty?
Nah, nah, nah.
... free train ticket?
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