Last session ended with an NPC waking the party in the middle of the night saying "we gotta go", and it sounds like there's supposed to be an exciting set of events following at the start of the next session but the thing is, I didn't mean to end it on such a vague note, this was supposed to have an immediate conclusion that I kind of have to include next session because it helps develop the story I'm planning, and what I have in mind is not satisfying at all and I feel like it's going to be really lame and disappointing next session.
My options are either continuing with the planned path or completely rewriting the followup and introduce another plotline, and there's already about two active plotlines.
I can't say how completely you'd have to rewrite without knowing a lot more about your active plot lines and where they're going. Maybe there's an easier fix than you're seeing at the moment.
If your players are expecting something big after ending on "we gotta go," I think you ought to give them something, or they'll be less inclined to buy into any intentional cliffhangers later.
Long story short they have been spending the day taking shelter from an upcoming storm in a firbolg tribe on their way to their next adventure. One of the players is a worshiper of the goddess of the storm and I built this entire tribe so he'll get a vision on this one night but I ran out of time and had to end the session right before it happened. The "we gotta go" thing is that the firbolgs are religious and they have to go and perform a ritual in the middle of the storm that night.
That doesn't sound too bad. Maybe the storm is causing a flash flood and the village needs to be evacuated. The party can gain some goodwill with the firbolgs by helping throw sandbags and rescuing a child or an animal, or an old person. Strength checks to keep up with the gigantic, strong firbolgs throwing sandbags. Athletics checks to avoid being swept away, Medicine to treat injuries, Survival to find high ground, Animal Handling to keep panicky herds moving, etc. One awesome one would be Perception to try to find a scared Firbolg kid who turned invisible in a panic. Then they can do the ritual afterwards. Or maybe the guy who's supposed to get the vision gets it in the middle of fighting the flood, rather than as a result of the ritual.
It's not that bad, that's kind of what I had in mind but it just takes away from the scene I had planned, but it's dnd, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Thanks for the help
Sounds like the Firbolg ritual in the middle of the storm is the perfect opportunity for your PC to receive their vision. The "we have to go" thing can just add a sense of urgency, maybe the Firbolgs believe that the ritual will keep them safe from the storm. If the Firbolgs know that your PC is a worshiper of the goddess of the storm (maybe they recognize any iconography they're wearing or something), they might ask the PC to help. In the middle of the ritual the PC goes catatonic and receives their vision. Seems like you'd only have to do minor rewrites that way.
I agree with Bernstein, seems like the perfect opportunity to have the vision. I still don’t entirely know what’s going on but perhaps the person that was supposed to have the vision could have something different happen to them during the ritual. Maybe the person in question starts to levitate in front of everyone and is struck by lightning and the goddess speaks through them to everyone in attendance.
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Last session ended with an NPC waking the party in the middle of the night saying "we gotta go", and it sounds like there's supposed to be an exciting set of events following at the start of the next session but the thing is, I didn't mean to end it on such a vague note, this was supposed to have an immediate conclusion that I kind of have to include next session because it helps develop the story I'm planning, and what I have in mind is not satisfying at all and I feel like it's going to be really lame and disappointing next session.
My options are either continuing with the planned path or completely rewriting the followup and introduce another plotline, and there's already about two active plotlines.
I can't say how completely you'd have to rewrite without knowing a lot more about your active plot lines and where they're going. Maybe there's an easier fix than you're seeing at the moment.
If your players are expecting something big after ending on "we gotta go," I think you ought to give them something, or they'll be less inclined to buy into any intentional cliffhangers later.
Long story short they have been spending the day taking shelter from an upcoming storm in a firbolg tribe on their way to their next adventure. One of the players is a worshiper of the goddess of the storm and I built this entire tribe so he'll get a vision on this one night but I ran out of time and had to end the session right before it happened. The "we gotta go" thing is that the firbolgs are religious and they have to go and perform a ritual in the middle of the storm that night.
That doesn't sound too bad. Maybe the storm is causing a flash flood and the village needs to be evacuated. The party can gain some goodwill with the firbolgs by helping throw sandbags and rescuing a child or an animal, or an old person. Strength checks to keep up with the gigantic, strong firbolgs throwing sandbags. Athletics checks to avoid being swept away, Medicine to treat injuries, Survival to find high ground, Animal Handling to keep panicky herds moving, etc. One awesome one would be Perception to try to find a scared Firbolg kid who turned invisible in a panic. Then they can do the ritual afterwards. Or maybe the guy who's supposed to get the vision gets it in the middle of fighting the flood, rather than as a result of the ritual.
It's not that bad, that's kind of what I had in mind but it just takes away from the scene I had planned, but it's dnd, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Thanks for the help
Sounds like the Firbolg ritual in the middle of the storm is the perfect opportunity for your PC to receive their vision. The "we have to go" thing can just add a sense of urgency, maybe the Firbolgs believe that the ritual will keep them safe from the storm. If the Firbolgs know that your PC is a worshiper of the goddess of the storm (maybe they recognize any iconography they're wearing or something), they might ask the PC to help. In the middle of the ritual the PC goes catatonic and receives their vision. Seems like you'd only have to do minor rewrites that way.
"To die would be an awfully big adventure"
I agree with Bernstein, seems like the perfect opportunity to have the vision. I still don’t entirely know what’s going on but perhaps the person that was supposed to have the vision could have something different happen to them during the ritual. Maybe the person in question starts to levitate in front of everyone and is struck by lightning and the goddess speaks through them to everyone in attendance.