My group finished SWW last night, and we ended with the Sea Wyvern smashing into the reef and it's passengers being pitched overboard...
except for the druid, who had wild shaped and jumped in the water to fight the masher.
After a couple of rounds of the fight I had the ship run aground of the reef, sending the masher down below the reef. The druid figured it was running away from him and his summoned monsters, but I was thinking it was just gonna go get it's homies so they could start gobbling up floating people. The druid then swam over to the wreck to try to start helping people.
With the rest of the party out cold and drifting in Umberlee's abyss waiting for me to deposit them ashore and start up HTBM, the druid is still swimming around. I can't figure out how to start up the next adventure with him not with the group. Anybody got any suggestions?
Maybe imperil the rest of the party so he has to help them?
A short solo adventure is also a possibility...
Let the masher flee. Let the druid be a hero and rescue a number of people from the ship. Gives you more people to kill off with Orlangru later.
have a couple of Mashers joining the one already in play - that should make him reconsider about "going heroic savage" and perhaps make him consider helping his mates.
BTW, it's not necessary (just a stylistic device IMHO, quoting Robinson Crusoe and Shakespear ) for everyone to "wake up" swept ashore - why should it ?
In fact, none of the players in my group actually lost consciousness .... for no dramatic impact either.
Nice! Thanks for the help. I really like the idea of keeping more people alive for Olangru, and I was feeling like a big fight between one druid and 2-3 mashers would be a little too forceful.
Nice! Thanks for the help. I really like the idea of keeping more people alive for Olangru, and I was feeling like a big fight between one druid and 2-3 mashers would be a little too forceful.
The most important part to keep in mind is that most players don't enjoy when one player is getting all the action. And they don't like it when the DM is running "solo" adventures for one dude, either. In the interest of keeping your entire group happy, just bail on any further attacks by the masher(s). Let the druid player feel like he's a hero. There's going to be plenty of times later on that he isn't. In fact, there's going to be plenty of times that he'll find himself being pwned!
I thought Masher Reef was several miles off shore, and an entirely different one to the location where the ship eventually grounds.
Right. The ship struck Masher Reef, and the masher attacked. The druid cast summon monster and then jumped in the water and wild shaped into a shark. While he was fighting the masher the rest of the PC's were attending to the Wyvern, and the Captain got her off the reef. They continued floating towards the Isle as the druid and the masher were throwin' down.
I changed things a little bit. After the masher fled the druid followed the ship until she was finally claimed by the storm;
much closer to shore than the reef.
EDIT: He wild shaped into a dolphin after the masher fled.
Let the druid player feel like he's a hero. There's going to be plenty of times later on that he isn't. In fact, there's going to be plenty of times that he'll find himself being pwned!
Word! Thanks, Steve. They came pretty close to a TPK against the Mother of All, so they're becoming more aware of how dangerous this Isle of Dread might be.
A thought that I have just had is that it might be possible to mess with the timeline a little, so that the PCs on shore (revived and concious) have to deal with the tyrannosaur or a Terror Bird attack, whilst the druid is busy with ferrying NPCs to shore, or dealing with some aquatic menace.
I kinda like that. I'll have to see what I can come up with.
I started HTBM with half the party on the boat, an Aquatic Elf in the water and the rest of the party washed up on the shore (by DM fiat). I'd done a complete crew and passenger list. All the PCs start concious but the NPC's some were on the Sea Wyvern, others clinging to rocks in the bay, some missing (lost at sea) other floating around on the water, some washed up unconscious on the shore and others washed up drowned.
The first adventure was rescuing as many NPCs as possible while dealing with one Masher after another. With libel use of dimension dool, fly and other movement spells they were able to save a good number of the passengers and crew. The important NPCs were washed a shore further along the beach and so not in danger. Arriving after that combat.