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Hello, just an interested (returning) player here wondering as to what are some ways to break up the monotony of adventuring underground?
I know that underground campaigns can be just as diverse and fun and above-ground campaigns but what are some ways players can bring themselves some added reprieve from the dark, underground settings of a campaign such as sky king tomb?
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In particular I’m thinking on behalf of friends and and family who maybe enjoy dwarves- but might feel uneasy playing a whole campaign involving traditional underground settings and tropes. I know of at least one family member who would probably build a ‘Legolas’ themed elven ranger or warrior- and as fun as it would be to act as an anti-Moria-sharp-shooter, she’s gonna want character downtime in trees, rivers, and glades eventually.
I’m still relatively early in refreshing myself in RPG’s, but from what I understand, an easy solution is to make sure we have spellcasters and purchase magic items to teleport, planeshift, or take refuge in a temporary demiplane to get that reprieve every once in a while.
The only downside is that most of these spells and items cannot be achieved until at later levels and I’m unsure how far the adventure path goes beyond 8th level content- as should be achieved by the ?beginning of the third book. While I know the AP creators likely designed Highhelm itself so as to not be exclusively underground, will the AP allow players a ‘home-base’ there, and/or offer players plenty of reprieve from underground exploration and dungeon crawling?
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My family loves mountains and hiking, so even if the campaign took the party occasionally not just down, but *up* whilst underground, I’m sure my party could find an excuse to explore and spend some time along the peaks and valleys of any mountainous range or alpine forest they come across.
My fear is that the AP will only feature underground exploration and dungeoneering, which might get a bit tiresome for naturalistic players and characters who *aren’t* exclusively tied to the wonders of the underground. Players might not want to spend their summer saturdays thematically trapped underground, imagining a world largely absent of vitamin D 😦
I’m sure the humans, halflings, and elves of the party could otherwise adapt to spelunking underground rivers, canyons, and mushroom forests hehehe. I just hope there’s also moments where you’re exploring a tomb, citadel, or cavern more exposed to a chilly precipice, glacial lake, alpine switchback, etc.
The AP, as it stands, still has *Sky* in its title right? Right?!?
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Most Teleport-like magic is tagged Uncommon because of its potential plot-destroying uses.
Exploring the marvels of vast underground domes with their ecosystem might be a thing (or it could be added by the GM).
A player (or GMPC) could be an Illusionist making sure the surface-dwellers still have a number of familiar sights, even if those are only illusions.
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They have a lot of other APs that aren’t set in the Darklands; I think this one should be allowed to have its premise.
We’ve seen the region feature everything from underground oceans to radioactive deserts of black sand. I’m not worried about variety.
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I’m thinking sunlight, air, plants.
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What I mean is- are there breaks in between dungeon delving where you return and report to Highhelm?
Even a sky citadel every so often or some other mountain fortress with windows open to the sky once in a while would make a great deal difference to my group. In their heads so far, it’s gonna be Moria the entire time- but if occasionally they had epic mountain battles (think Gandalf), foliage, and civilization- it’s just an easier sell.
Yeah, my group is picky. I haven’t even mentioned that my other potential option is more akin to Japanese horror than fantasy period drama. I’ll get there…eventually.
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What I mean is- are there breaks in between dungeon delving where you return and report to Highhelm?
Even a sky citadel every so often or some other mountain fortress with windows open to the sky once in a while would make a great deal difference to my group. In their heads so far, it’s gonna be Moria the entire time- but if occasionally they had epic mountain battles (think Gandalf), foliage, and civilization- it’s just an easier sell.
Yeah, my group is picky. I haven’t even mentioned that my other potential option is more akin to Japanese horror than fantasy period drama. I’ll get there…eventually.
The first book seems to largely take place inside Highhelm; I'm expecting a fair bit of intrigue and mystery within the city before striking out into the "wilderness" of the Darklands.
There are previews for each volume of SKT posted to the store pages, if you haven't already seen! They summarize what's inside each one pretty well, and I think Wargamer did an article or two on the Adventure Path on top of that.
The first book seems to largely take place inside Highhelm; I'm expecting a fair bit of intrigue and mystery within the city before striking out into the "wilderness" of the Darklands.
There are previews for each volume of SKT posted to the store pages, if you haven't already seen! They summarize what's inside each one pretty well, and I think Wargamer did an article or two on the Adventure Path on top of that.
Thx! I read the preview descriptions, which is why I didn’t initially foresee a problem as I assumed Highhelm would act as a player base. The city sounds open ‘nuff according to the wiki. But then I started reading people’s expectations online and I got nervous. I like the darklands, but I’m not sure how my sisters would react. Love em, but they don’t often explore the full range of fantasy tropes and tropic-based settings.
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Haven’t read/watched the other resource. Will do that.
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I’m a huge magic the gathering fan and aside from Eldraine and Kaldheim they kinda viewed every setting in the game as too unfamiliar or ‘dark’.
A few of em have taken to Asian (particularly Chinese and Korean) period-dramas tho, so I might be able to convince them to play Fists of the Ruby Phoenix or Season of Ghosts- albeit with a lot of emphasis upon social/roleplay encounters. In the latter case I imagine a stoic, prim and proper cast who, when they’re not solving mysteries/defending the village, spend their afternoons busy gossiping about/matchmaking the town’s inhabitants.
I’ll probably hire a professional DM in either case, as they might be more innovative in adapting whatever adventure we choose to meet everyone’s needs.