Hey guys, I purchased TOA after much reviewing and research, but now I think I have to select some different material. I run a business and have 3 kids. After looking over TOA it is so much of a sandbox that I dont know that I will have time enough to prepare for it. I love the material and it is well done. But I may need a little more of a skeleton to build on. I dont have a ton of experience DMing either. I ran LMOP and even if I was short on preparation I could fumble through it and still have a good time. But, I want something a little more big boy pants for DMing than LMOP but not a complete sandbox.
Is there something I am missing with TOA? A different way to run it? A guide?
Our should I go with another published book? If so, which one?
Tyranny of Dragons is known to be quite linear, although that's usually considered a bad thing. Dragon Heist is a bit more open, but has a pretty solid storyline, albeit it's mostly made as a bare minimum for the DM to build on. Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Tales from the Yawning Portal are essentially D&D All-Stars, with the best adventures from previous editions. TFYP is very dungeon crawl heavy, though.
TOA first reads like a sandbox, but only before leaving the Port. Once the party leaves, it is pretty easy to prepare session to session. This is primarily due to how travel and encounters work in that adventure. It is a "hex crawl", where moving two hexes on the map could be a full session. They'll be leaving port in one of four directions (east or west by sea, or down one of the rivers) and once you know which way it is easy to prep.
Sigvard, thank you. I’ve read quite a bit into the material and I haven’t really seen a story line pick up yet. Basically I’ve gathered that you just go to “x” to level up. And don’t go to “x” before a certain level (Omu for example). Maybe I haven’t read far enough.
You want to keep them away from certain areas until they are the appropriate level, but that should happen as they explore anyway. They don't know exactly where they are going, and gain more clues as they progress. There are a ton of places/ things given in TOA, and it even calls out that a lot of them are not given specific locations so that you can place them in front of the party as they explore. Even the places that have set locations on the map can be moved if your players are using the player map with the white hexes.
Make sure to include the time crunch aspect of the adventure. Whether you use the exact time given (somewhere around 30ish days) or a bit more if you desire, having a time limit will push them to not just wander Chult with no direction. They should be trying to gather clues and/or locations to get to so that they can quickly solve the soul problem.
Hey guys, I purchased TOA after much reviewing and research, but now I think I have to select some different material. I run a business and have 3 kids. After looking over TOA it is so much of a sandbox that I dont know that I will have time enough to prepare for it. I love the material and it is well done. But I may need a little more of a skeleton to build on. I dont have a ton of experience DMing either. I ran LMOP and even if I was short on preparation I could fumble through it and still have a good time. But, I want something a little more big boy pants for DMing than LMOP but not a complete sandbox.
Is there something I am missing with TOA? A different way to run it? A guide?
Our should I go with another published book? If so, which one?
Tyranny of Dragons is known to be quite linear, although that's usually considered a bad thing. Dragon Heist is a bit more open, but has a pretty solid storyline, albeit it's mostly made as a bare minimum for the DM to build on. Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Tales from the Yawning Portal are essentially D&D All-Stars, with the best adventures from previous editions. TFYP is very dungeon crawl heavy, though.
TOA first reads like a sandbox, but only before leaving the Port. Once the party leaves, it is pretty easy to prepare session to session. This is primarily due to how travel and encounters work in that adventure. It is a "hex crawl", where moving two hexes on the map could be a full session. They'll be leaving port in one of four directions (east or west by sea, or down one of the rivers) and once you know which way it is easy to prep.
I had considered Tyranny for that reason.
Sigvard, thank you. I’ve read quite a bit into the material and I haven’t really seen a story line pick up yet. Basically I’ve gathered that you just go to “x” to level up. And don’t go to “x” before a certain level (Omu for example). Maybe I haven’t read far enough.
You want to keep them away from certain areas until they are the appropriate level, but that should happen as they explore anyway. They don't know exactly where they are going, and gain more clues as they progress. There are a ton of places/ things given in TOA, and it even calls out that a lot of them are not given specific locations so that you can place them in front of the party as they explore. Even the places that have set locations on the map can be moved if your players are using the player map with the white hexes.
Make sure to include the time crunch aspect of the adventure. Whether you use the exact time given (somewhere around 30ish days) or a bit more if you desire, having a time limit will push them to not just wander Chult with no direction. They should be trying to gather clues and/or locations to get to so that they can quickly solve the soul problem.