I have been playing D&D for about 4 1/2 years now, and recently decided to take up a one shot as my first dip in the Dungeon Master pool. It didn't take long into reading the module to realize that I have heard the story before through JaidenAnimations on YouTube, and that her game was played very differently from the module.
I went ahead and looked into other DM threads online and found that many DMs have reconstructed the module. While I plan to incorporate character backstories and a puzzle or two, I've altered the final combat encounter, and was wondering what you all might think of this (potential) ending as a hypothetical player:
After casting Speak With Animals, the sheep introduces herself as "Rebaaaa" and informs the party of her dilemma. They venture into a nearby forest, where they are confronted by a gang of wood elves, who refuse to let them continue on without solving one riddle each, with at least three successes. Should the party have two successes and two failures (or worse), they are deemed unworthy to advance, for they lack collective intelligence as a group. Combat is permitted after this point.
Upon reaching Reba's estate, they find four apes out front. Three of them can be seen rolling oversized dice, while the fourth is "using a die that looks very jagged and beaten,". While the first three apes are from the module, the fourth is merely a wall break that rolls an oversized d20 before each Ally's turn and uses the result to give his allies advantage on their attacks. The ape uses Dodge as an Action each turn.
Should the apes (and eventual bear) all be defeated, Noke will become enrages from inside his wizard tower, and the Bed Dragon Wyrmling will break through the roof, presenting the apparent final boss of the module.
However, the real boss might just be lurking in the shadows. Should the party use the Wand of True Polymorph on Reba and fail, she turns back into her elven form, and reveals herself to be a "wolf in sheep's clothing" transforming herself into a large, hairy, monstrous...
werebear!
(Reba is simultaneously a sheep pun AND an anagram for bear! I am desperately hoping for this ending so I can pull off this plot twist, which I think is quite clever.)
If the party chooses to fight Reba and defeat her, they inherit the wizard's tower as a keep, and find treasure, spell scrolls, magic items, etc. and can level up to level 6.
Though I intend to eventually incorporate player backstory into the plot, I don't think I'll go the route of Mark Thompson from Jaiden's playthrough. That twist was originally got me thinking about tweaking the module's finale, especially after finding out that failing to revert Shinebright simply turns him into a weak monster that the party has just finished fighting.
So, what do you think of my additions and ending? Would a CR 5 werebear be too much for a Level party to face immediately after all of the previous combat? What kind of hints can I drop through the session that COULD mean Reba is the BBEG, or COULD just be disdain towards the party? I don't want to give anything away in case the spell is successful and Reba is actually saved.
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I have been playing D&D for about 4 1/2 years now, and recently decided to take up a one shot as my first dip in the Dungeon Master pool. It didn't take long into reading the module to realize that I have heard the story before through JaidenAnimations on YouTube, and that her game was played very differently from the module.
I went ahead and looked into other DM threads online and found that many DMs have reconstructed the module. While I plan to incorporate character backstories and a puzzle or two, I've altered the final combat encounter, and was wondering what you all might think of this (potential) ending as a hypothetical player:
After casting Speak With Animals, the sheep introduces herself as "Rebaaaa" and informs the party of her dilemma. They venture into a nearby forest, where they are confronted by a gang of wood elves, who refuse to let them continue on without solving one riddle each, with at least three successes. Should the party have two successes and two failures (or worse), they are deemed unworthy to advance, for they lack collective intelligence as a group. Combat is permitted after this point.
Upon reaching Reba's estate, they find four apes out front. Three of them can be seen rolling oversized dice, while the fourth is "using a die that looks very jagged and beaten,". While the first three apes are from the module, the fourth is merely a wall break that rolls an oversized d20 before each Ally's turn and uses the result to give his allies advantage on their attacks. The ape uses Dodge as an Action each turn.
Should the apes (and eventual bear) all be defeated, Noke will become enrages from inside his wizard tower, and the Bed Dragon Wyrmling will break through the roof, presenting the apparent final boss of the module.
However, the real boss might just be lurking in the shadows. Should the party use the Wand of True Polymorph on Reba and fail, she turns back into her elven form, and reveals herself to be a "wolf in sheep's clothing" transforming herself into a large, hairy, monstrous...
werebear!
(Reba is simultaneously a sheep pun AND an anagram for bear! I am desperately hoping for this ending so I can pull off this plot twist, which I think is quite clever.)
If the party chooses to fight Reba and defeat her, they inherit the wizard's tower as a keep, and find treasure, spell scrolls, magic items, etc. and can level up to level 6.
Though I intend to eventually incorporate player backstory into the plot, I don't think I'll go the route of Mark Thompson from Jaiden's playthrough. That twist was originally got me thinking about tweaking the module's finale, especially after finding out that failing to revert Shinebright simply turns him into a weak monster that the party has just finished fighting.
So, what do you think of my additions and ending? Would a CR 5 werebear be too much for a Level party to face immediately after all of the previous combat? What kind of hints can I drop through the session that COULD mean Reba is the BBEG, or COULD just be disdain towards the party? I don't want to give anything away in case the spell is successful and Reba is actually saved.