Where our heroes wrap up their city adventures; gaining sponsors, hiring guides, and fending off the local mafia.

When last we left our heroes, they participated in a unique cultural holiday called the Trickster Trials. This week-long festival included a series of gladiatorial competitions that celebrated nine minor deities of the Chultan pantheon. Each competition focused on the various natures of the diverse Trickster Gods. Some focused on stealth and agility, while others featured strength or intellect. There was something for everyone during these games.

The players all picked their favored competitions to enter. Except Thames who wasn’t present at the sign-up sheet, and the others signed him up for a bunch of random games as a joke. As a whole the group did okay. They won three of the nine contests and earned them a fair amount of gold. Still not enough to mount a proper expedition into the jungle but close. They also met some other competitors, many of whom will turn out to be potential guides to hire for their eventual jungle excursion. Their favorite was Shago, an imposing gladiator who dominated every competition he entered.

During the competition, several of our group embarked on a new coin-earning venture. Using Miche’s culinary skills, they created a new food sensation they called Popped Maize and sold it to the crowd. It netted them a modest 10 gold in profit but also the enmity of a shadowy organization called the Ytepka Society. Someone has surreptitiously dropped two strange iron tokens into their coin purse. This turned out to be a sinister omen, but they don’t know what it means, who did this, or how to fix the problem they don’t even know what they have.

I’ve managed to back myself into an RPG corner for this session. I prefer to have a balance that divides each session into equal parts Combat encounters, Skill challenges, Roleplaying scenarios, and Lore building. Sometimes the balance is off, such as last week, which was all skill challenges and lore building, with a tiny fraction of roleplay at the end. Well, this week is completely unbalanced with nothing but roleplay scenarios and zero combat. There is nothing wrong with this. Some players enjoy the uniqueness of a session where no dice are rolled. But this is now my fifth session in a row where no real combat occurs, and people are starting to notice.

But it’s not my fault! (Just kidding, everything is my fault.) My group has managed to roleplay or skill challenge their way out of every town encounter that could have led to combat. And today’s main roleplay encounter is actually the most important one that occurs in the entire Port Nyanzaru chapter. So I have to run that one. But first, my group has to decide where in the jungle they want to explore.

This is actually a fifth potential part to any role play session that doesn’t always come up, but I love it when it does: The Player Discussion. This is when the players do all the work and talk amongst themselves about what they want to do. Most times this is a quick chat about such things as which path to take in a dungeon or what battle tactics they’re gonna do in combat. But sometimes, the talk is about deciphering clues to a mystery, deciding which mission to accept or, my favorite, the moral quandry. These discussions can take thirty minutes to an hour or more, and I get to just sit back and watch.

Of course, I can’t just take a nap. I have to sit and be present during the conversation to answer questions about specific details; maybe something needs clarification or there’s a detail the player might have forgot but the character would remember, and so forth. My favorite part about this conversation is that I set it up way back in Session 2, and just waited for the players to get to it on their own. That time is now.

In Session 2, the group’s main patron, Riandon Moonwhisper, gave them an ancient journal that is the only account of a failed expedition to Chult over 100 years ago. This journal’s purpose is threefold, to give a little lore and backstory, to tease the impending adventure and danger, and to give the players options of paths to take once they reach the jungle. The journal is written in way to steer them in a more probable direction, but they could have gone anywhere they wanted. A full PDF of the journal can be found here: ToA Journal Alucius Alphonse

There are essentially four directions they could go, up any of the three main rivers or off in search of the author’s shipwreck. If I had waited until now to roleplay this information with various NPCs or whatnot, then my presentation, including word emphasis and voice inflections, would unintentionally, and obviously, steer the players in the direction I want them to go. I have a direction I want them to go, but I want them to choose it without direct interference from me.

The journal presents the information neutrally, without any real voice or emphasis. It is read by the individual player at his own pace. And he reads into it what he wills. Truth be told, there is manipulation going on here. As in any book or story, people tend to remember and identify best with the beginning, following by the ending, and lastly with all the stuff in the middle being lost in the shuffle. In my journal, where I want them to go is right up front, described in memorable detail. The ending is my second choice for course of direction, described in good detail. The middle is vague, parts of it are missing, and it is easily overlooked.

With my setup out of the way, I let my players discuss which path they wanted to choose without any direct influence by me. To their credit, every player read this over-long, indulgent journal. As expected, the group eliminated the two middle-of-the-journal options. They briefly discussed travelling up the Tiryki River to its mysterious source, or over to the River Olung and the ruins of Mezro. But the info in the journal about either of those trips is scant and both mention that they are treacherous journeys. So, those two are out of contention, for now. That left two options: The Jungle Cruise and the Tresaure Hunt.

Ian and James really want to head toward the last location of the author, Sir Alucius Alphonse, to find the buried treasure he claims will be found there. There absolutely is treasure (and a good one too) to be found there, they just don’t know where it is. The first clue to finding it is a location called the Phoenix Horn. I have placed this location on the northeast peninsula of Chult and this is known by Zindar the harbormaster, and any ship’s captain. Even Bucketboy, the group’s street urchin guide, knows where this is. (He knows a lot.) Unfortunately, the only person they have asked about it is yeoman sailor Carlos, who has never been there and is still suffering from PTSD. I hope they get back on the trail of this treasure someday, because I want them to find it.

This left them with the path up the Shosenstar River. On this journey I’ve hinted at a mythical creature called the Thunder King and unique animal called a kamadan. The group is on a quest to collect any and all beasts from this land, so this trip looks promising. This path speaks about a hidden jungle temple and a riverbank shrine both rumored to house vast unclaimed treasure. More reasons to go. There’s mention of a village deep in the jungle called Mbala, where a group could potentially resupply. That sounds handy. And the monsters specially named in this part of the jungle include snakes, goblins, and a few crocodiles. We can handle that. This should be easy.

So, after 45 minutes of me not doing a damn thing, we have a destination, or at least a potential path. Now we just need to find someone to get us there. And this is the most important encounter of the entire Port Nyanzaru section and naturally, the hardest one to run, because, in reality, it is up to nine separate encounters with a dozen distinct NPCs, each with private goals, secret agendas, and unique personalities. If I did nothing for the last 45 minutes, I am (and you are) going to be working our arse off for the next hour.

There are nine different guides (some work as a team), that the players can hire out to lead them into the jungle. While I choose to combine all equipment shopping into one single encounter (Expedition R’us in Session 7), the hiring of the guides should be a separate and (hopefully) fun thing. The book doesn’t make clear where to meet all these guides; some are mentioned at one marketplace, others are mentioned elsewhere, two of them don’t even operate out of Port Nyanzaru, and are unavailable at this location.

To make this encounter more manageable, I ignored (for now) the Merchant Prince of Guides, Jobal, and his assistant, Aazon. No need to add extra NPCs who aren’t even guides into this encounter. Second, I limited the number of guides that they could hire for this first expedition. I kept the two that work in Fort Belaurian where they are and any others that are unavailable are off on other expeditions with other adventurers. This also enforces the idea that the world is real and doesn’t revolve around the players.

This removed Shago from the lists of guides, which is key. He should never be the first guide hired. He has the highest stats of any other guide, he’ll never get lost, he’s a better fighter than any player at this level, and the players will just use him as a crutch to do everything that they should be doing. He’s out! But because of the impact Shago had during the Trickster Trials, the players were disappointed to learn that he lives in Fort Beluarian, several days to the north. They were totally ready to hire him on the spot. But, since the players loved him so much, this gives them another reason to visit that location later in the game. Later. I also kept the unmet Druid, Qawasha, at the Fort, so he is unavailable.

The second overpowered guide that should not be available in the beginning is Eku. Her secret is so significant that the moment the death curse becomes active and she is the guide, the party will be railroaded right to the end of the adventure. This actually happened the first time Ian played and this is the only time he metagamed with me. He couldn’t remember her name but only asked that she not be their first guide. As you wish. I also removed Musharib since he is so similar to Hew. And I took out Faroul and Gondolo because they will be met in the jungle.

This left Azaka, Hew, and Salida, plus the tabaxis Rivermist and Flask of Wine. To make things simpler, I had all the guides, except the Tabaxi, congregate under one tent near the Grand Souk, emblazoned with the purple medallion of Jobal the Merchant Prince of People; guides, porters and hired help. As the group nears the Guides tent, they recognize one-armed Hew and graceful Azaka from the Trickster Trials. The third, Salida (in the lower left corner), they have not met before. Bluntly, they ask about Shago and here they learn that he operates out of Fort Belaurian. Awwww. “But forget about him. We’re here right now and can take you wherever you want to go. Ask us anything.”

I really like the handouts that are provided for each potential guide. They are a little repetitive, (yes, we get it, every guide gets paid 5 gold a day for 30 days up front, fine!) but they do give some subtle clues into each guides’ demeanor. For each guide, I simply paraphrased the handout, handed it to them, and waited for questions. Hew was the easiest to play. He’s clearly slightly deranged and he really only seems interested in reclaiming some ancestral mine. Azaka was fun, she is very aloof and she keeps licking her fingers. Real people have this tic, but this one betrays her secret feline nature; not that any of the players caught on to this. She also poised a dilemma by offering to guide them for free if the group changed their plans and helped her instead on a mission up the Tiryki River.

Salida was the toughest to play. She is arrogant and sarcastic, with dozens of insults about her fellow guides and anyone else who displeases her. Which is everyone.  It is hard to balance being mean-spirited and charismatic. Plus, she has the most sinister backstory that I don’t want revealed yet. I secretly pray that the players don’t pick her as the guide this round, but I need to establish her as a presence early on, so I can naturally backstab the party later.

To that end, I added a situational bonus to each guide. A guide’s basic function is to keep the players from getting lost, by rolling a survival check each day. But I bet that at least one player has a survival stat as high or higher than any guide. So, who needs them? To make the guides a vital part of any expedition, the first thing I did was nerf the players. Any player acting as their own guide must roll their survival check with disadvantage. The exception to this rule is if they’re following a river or coastline, they roll normally. This is mostly so they can find their way home in case they get really screwed and their guide dies. Of course, all the native guides roll survival checks normally, but each one also has a specific area that they know so well, like the back of their hand, that they roll the check with advantage. See the chart below.

Hew’s geographic expertise is the Kobold Mountains and the southwest peninsula. Useful if and when they lay siege to the pirate camp, but not so much now. Azaka’s realm is the Tiryki River plus twenty miles (2 hexes) out on either side. Salida’s area of expertise actually is the 60-mile radius around Omu. But when the players asked where she was familiar with, I, the DM, purposefully had Salida “accidentally” overplay her hand and claim that she knew every inch of the jungle. The players asked how old she was. When I replied, “She looks to be in her mid-20s,” they players decided she was lying. But not in an evil way, in a she-was-trying-to-get-the-job way. In the future, when she humbly owns up to her lie, I hope the players give her a second chance so I can stab them in the back!

As the group was discussing their options for the available guides, they heard a loud “Pssst!” calling them from an alley. In the shadows, the group found Flask of Wine, the friendly Tabaxi challenger from the Trickster Trials. Paraphrasing his handout, he said, “Don’t listen to those hucksters. They’re just flunkies for that fop, Jobal. You want me and my sister, River Mist. We don’t work to line another man’s pockets. We earn solely off our reputation.” The group asked what they charged. “We only take 4 gold a day and for that you get two guides!”

“Do you have special knowledge of any area?” The group inquired.

“Where are you looking to go?” Flask replied.

“Up the Shoshenstar River.”

“That’s where we grew up. Thunder Falls. Crocodile Man. We can take you there.” Clearly, Flask of Wine is the better saleperson, tricking the customer into answering the important question first.

Flask of Wine was hired on the spot. Unfortunately, Flask of Wine has a slight exaggeration problem. Their area of expertise is actually the 60 miles surrounding Port Nyanzaru which does include part of the Shoshenstar River. But not all of it. This rash decision really bites the group in their collective ass later on.

One other interesting note is that Thames really, really, did not want to hire these two guides. I find it hilarious that this character, who has a backstory quest to find weapons of mass destruction to murder all his people’s enemies, but he hates doing anything that could be perceived as illegal or even just improper. But he will cheat when it’s convenient and even resort to torture, stay tuned. I need to keep finding ways to exploit this duality. Moving on.

We’re almost set to actually enter the jungle. They’re just a little short of cash. I had expected them to earn more gold during last week’s Trials than they did. But there’s other ways to get what they want. Back at their dilapidated warehouse, Undril the cleric of Torm is waiting for them. She has journeyed with the group since the very beginning; fighting sahuagin, getting shipwrecked, surviving the jungle, and demoralizing the party cleric, Gwen, at every opportunity. She is now an established NPC. Not bad for a girl with one line written about her in the adventure proper.

Undril works for the Order of the Gauntlet, one of the standard factions that dole out quests for our adventurers. Undril is on a mission to deliver sealed instructions to that faction’s local leader currently deep in the jungle at an outpost called Fort Righteous, located further up the same river that the players have already decided to travel upon. Undril did not account for how difficult jungle travel is alone. She offers to provide the party with three canoes, plus 100 gold to help her get to her destination. This is just what the players needed to begin the expedition. So, it was an easy “Yes” on their part. However, Gwen was not thrilled about the prospect of spending more time with her frienemy.

That same afternoon, they got a formal dinner invitation from one of the Merchant Princes himself, Wakanga O’tamu. When they asked how this powerful guy even knew about our lowly party, the groups’s kobold landlord/butler/zookeeper, and Riandon’s “best man”, Meepo, replied, “Remember I said I was working at one of the important villas in town to pay our rent? That’s the guy!”

I figured this was as good a time as any to let me players explore a merchant villa. There’s a fair amount of detail describing them, and yet it’s easy to play through the entire adventure and never enter one. Bear in mind that each villa is basically the same with differing personal touches. But these unique details can be found in several sections of the book; in the beginning of the villa section, in the description of the individual rooms, or in the personality profile of each particular prince. Before you let them roam free, find all the various details about that particular merchant prince and write them down in your notes.

Getting directions from Meepo, the party arrives at Wakanga’s villa. A Chultan man in blue robes answers the door drolly, “Yesssss?”

“We have an invitation to see… -what’s his name?…- Wakanga. We’re hear to see Prince Wakanga.”

“I’ll see if the master is free. Follow me.” The man leads the group into an ornate study, filled with books and artifacts. “Wait here.” And the man exits. Before the party can get larcenous, the man returns and begins dusting the shelves. While they waited for Wakanga to arrive, I described various things around the room, making stuff up as I go: a desk covered in scrolls, small carved statues, a display case of tribal weapons, several native shields hanging on the walls, an ornate wooden mask over the mantle. I have Thames roll an Insight check. He passes and I tell him that the mask is the same as the one worn by his opponent in the Trickster Trials. Nobody tried to nick anything. The man in blue robes stops dusting and sits down at the desk. “Good evening. I am Wakanga O’tamu. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

I think the whole group missed me mentioning that the man reentered the room, everyone seemed to think he just materialized at his desk. No matter. The rest of the night was spent with Wakanga politely grilling the players. Where did you come from? Why are you here? What do you hope to find in Chult? Etc. When he wasn’t quizzing the players, Wakanga was flirting with Ian’s character, Gwen. “I can’t recall the last time we had such a beautiful woman in my humble abode. Please say you’ll stay the night.” I was trying to trip up Ian, (he is always unflappable) but I think the only one I creeped out was Wes. But not much. It ended quickly, the point was made, Wakanga thinks he’s a ladies’ man, and I’m not here to make anyone uncomfortable.

Speaking of Wes, Thames asked if Wakanga took part in the festival games. “Aah yes, you have a good eye. I did indeed participate, but as a merchant prince, I couldn’t do so without a disguise. You, on the other hand, performed admirably.” It’s always good to have an encounter once in a while that exists merely to stroke the player’s egos. Usually, I’m the one trying to kill them not compliment them. This is a nice change of pace.

Wakanga continues, “To the heart of the matter. I hear you are conducting an expedition up the Shoshenstar River. Don’t ask how I know. It is my business to know things. I have heard of a new entity that the local tribes of Batiri goblins and grungs are worshipping as a god. It is very odd that these two groups should worship the same thing. They call this “god” Vorn. Rumors speak of a shrine to this Vorn in the jungle, three or four days west of the Crocodile Man shrine. If you could bring back any evidence of this Vorn I will pay you with a valuable spell book and a fair value in gold based upon the discovery. What do you say?”

Money and magic? Of course, they said yes. I changed the nature of this mission from the one presented in the book, because I had already given my players a clue-filled journal and I prefer to be as vague as possible about possible locations of things. BTW, Wakanga is the same Merchant Prince that becomes their ally during the official start of the adventure due to his friendship with main quest giver, Syndra Silvane. Using my way, Wakanga still becomes the group’s ally, but now the players have earned it for themselves.

One last loose end to tie up before we run off to the jungle. The book drops this unique detail about a secret society that uses mysterious iron tokens as warning to those who displease them. The system is rife with misunderstood motives, unintended consequences, and charlatans pretending to be part of this society when they’re not. This state of confusion is very intriguing, but the book provides no help about how to utilize it. I had no ideas of my own, and had to wait for something to occur that would allow me to reasonably introduce this idea.

When Miche and a few others decided to open a popcorn business without asking for permission, I seized the opportunity. While they were selling the stuff an agent of the Ytepka Society dropped a few iron tokens into their coin purse as a warning. Of course, the players didn’t even know they were being threatened until a random NPC became terrified of these tokens. The group now knew that something was wrong, but they had no idea what to do about it. And I gave them no hints, I wanted to see what they would come up with.

They reasoned that someone was mad at them for selling food. The guessed that the Merchant Prince in charge of food was behind the tokens. The asked around and learned that the closest match is Kwayothe, the Merchant Prince of fruit and alcohol. Through some hand-waving roleplay, they arranged a meeting with Kwayothe. At the meeting, Miche and the others apologized for overstepping their bounds and offered to make amends. For their mistake, they agreed to pay half the proceeds of the festival sales (a meager 5 gold) and they settled on a 20% tribute on all future sales as a licensed merchant of Kwayothe, complete with official medallion.

Was this the correct solution? Maybe. Kwayothe may have been behind it. Or maybe she is just evil enough to allow these idiots to give her free gold. Or it could involve something else entirely. Either way, they just made a bargain with one of the most despicable NPCs in all of Port Nyanzaru. I might let the matter end here or I might let them dig themselves a little deeper when they get back to town. Time will tell.

Next week, The time has come to turn up the heat, as our heroes venture into the steamy jungle primordial. Finally.

As always, get two forms of ID and three references before you hire someone to lead you into the lawless, hostile wilderness, and Game On!

Hey Gwen, while we travel together up river, maybe I can finally teach you how to be a proper cleric. – An oblivious Undril, just trying to help.

Don’t forget to check out my Tomb of Annihilation Resources Page, filled with all the stuff I use to make this epic campaign even more epicier: My full Campaign Diary, plus Handouts, Maps, Charts, PDFs, Images, and more to use, abuse, or ignore at your peril.

And written specifically for this adventure, read my Explorer’s Guide to Chult to delve into all the legands, lore, history, religion, and culture that I used to bring even more life to this adventure.