Playing my PCs through Waterdeep and for a lot of reasons I expect the sewers to come up quite a lot! Also in our next session they just got into one for the first time.
I have a small stable of monsters to populate the sewers, from kobolds to oozes to beasts and eventually otyughs and such, but I wanted to crowdsource hazards/traps that might be fun challenges while they navigate a dark and dank place. Not necessarily damaging hazards but like impediments or things that cause setbacks or conditions (poisoned, etc).
DEX saves on slippery walkways to avoid falling into the slurry seem typical, but then adding a CON save on top of that might be overkill? (Also if I can work out a scene like that one from Aliens where some big baddie emerges from the water behind them that'd be awesome; trying to figure out how to put them in a sense of "we're being hunted" while down there).
Poisonous (CON to endure) or Flammable Gas (DEX to avoid when it explodes) would be the first thing that comes to mind. Collapsing passages (in older sections, DEX to avoid) would be another.
Random "flushes" that could knock you into sewage or cause bludgeoning damage might be one as they cross in front of smaller pipes, or a special "pet" that gets flushed (think alligator, or something magical)
Also, the sewers could connect to catacombs (look up the catacombs of paris) that could have squatters, insane mages, or general crazies living in them for a change of pace.
If your players are leveled up enough (or if you are really evil) you could make them run into the Xanathar and some of his minions. This does not have to be a combat encounter, maybe the Xanathar becomes some weird Patron who will kill them if they do not complete a quest for them. That might be a fun side quest.
There is a section on diseases in the DMG, I think there is one called sewer plague, that might come up if you want it to.
Diseases would be a really good option, especially traveling through the dank and dirty sewers. While the DMG doesn't have many options available, sewer plague would certainly work and be appropriate. You can also fairly easily create some variations of your own if you want to have illnesses that better fit with the environment and situation.
Also if I can work out a scene like that one from Aliens where some big baddie emerges from the water behind them that'd be awesome; trying to figure out how to put them in a sense of "we're being hunted" while down there).
Depending on the party's level, you can have one or more adult kruthiks hunting them down as potential food for their hive lord and young. I could easily envision a kruthik filling that "Alien" role as it slowly emerges from a section of water behind them.
Alright, some good ideas here going into a grab-bag. For now, as they're all lvl 1s and the sewers bit of this quest leads to an area they need to fight in I don't want them to get killed or take much damage. I do want to push them along (and plant that seed of dangers for future sewer adventures) so I'll see if I can hint that something big and bad is hunting them and will catch them in like X turns – so they have that many "rounds" to get to where they need to be, with some kind of check or action equalling a round. Really just for flavor, but if they did encounter the big bad maybe try to hint that it's a creature beyond any of their capacities to fight.
One question though – any thoughts on what should happen if folks fall into the muck water? Beyond noise and being wet, and with keeping in mind I don't want this to be fatal to anyone but imposing fun roleplay challenges. I'll have some regular crocs in the water in one area, and figure to get out of the water they need someone else to do a STR check to pull them out.
One question though – any thoughts on what should happen if folks fall into the muck water? Beyond noise and being wet, and with keeping in mind I don't want this to be fatal to anyone but imposing fun roleplay challenges.
Well, I wouldn't discount having characters potentially getting diseased from falling into the dirty muck water. It could be potentially fatal, but the effects wouldn't really come into effect until X-amount of days later. It'd be more of an issue of losing a couple days outside of adventuring while they have to recover from the illness. You can modify the DC of recovery to ensure they survive, but it could add a layer of fear when they know that the environment is potentially harmful to them over the long term.
For a more immediate effect, I would just go with something basic like giving them disadvantage for a round (or two) due to being covered in mucky water (i.e., slimy water makes hands and feet slippery so tougher to walk or wield weapons). Nothing deal breaking, but it'll add a brief drawback that could make encounters a little more tense.
I do want to push them along (and plant that seed of dangers for future sewer adventures) so I'll see if I can hint that something big and bad is hunting them and will catch them in like X turns – so they have that many "rounds" to get to where they need to be, with some kind of check or action equaling a round. Really just for flavor, but if they did encounter the big bad maybe try to hint that it's a creature beyond any of their capacities to fight.
And, if you're wanting to recreate some of those Aliens scenes, you can also have the supposed BBEG only be one of the smaller weaker ones. Perhaps, the party eventually takes on a single "alien" in combat after being stalked for a while. Battle is difficult but survivable for a party of 1st level adventurers...but they later learn that the thing was only one of many and/or there's a hive mother that's even much more powerful than the one thing that they fought.
Hm, the idea of someone being incapacitated with like low-grade sewer plague after this quest could work out well – and really get the PCs thinking about these games as interconnected. Solid ideas, thanks!
The notion of a hive could work as well later, if they're tasked with figuring out what's killing the city-employed kobolds in the sewers and scaring the rest of them off from doing their work.
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Playing my PCs through Waterdeep and for a lot of reasons I expect the sewers to come up quite a lot! Also in our next session they just got into one for the first time.
I have a small stable of monsters to populate the sewers, from kobolds to oozes to beasts and eventually otyughs and such, but I wanted to crowdsource hazards/traps that might be fun challenges while they navigate a dark and dank place. Not necessarily damaging hazards but like impediments or things that cause setbacks or conditions (poisoned, etc).
DEX saves on slippery walkways to avoid falling into the slurry seem typical, but then adding a CON save on top of that might be overkill? (Also if I can work out a scene like that one from Aliens where some big baddie emerges from the water behind them that'd be awesome; trying to figure out how to put them in a sense of "we're being hunted" while down there).
Poisonous (CON to endure) or Flammable Gas (DEX to avoid when it explodes) would be the first thing that comes to mind. Collapsing passages (in older sections, DEX to avoid) would be another.
Random "flushes" that could knock you into sewage or cause bludgeoning damage might be one as they cross in front of smaller pipes, or a special "pet" that gets flushed (think alligator, or something magical)
Also, the sewers could connect to catacombs (look up the catacombs of paris) that could have squatters, insane mages, or general crazies living in them for a change of pace.
There is a section on diseases in the DMG, I think there is one called sewer plague, that might come up if you want it to.
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If your players are leveled up enough (or if you are really evil) you could make them run into the Xanathar and some of his minions. This does not have to be a combat encounter, maybe the Xanathar becomes some weird Patron who will kill them if they do not complete a quest for them. That might be a fun side quest.
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Diseases would be a really good option, especially traveling through the dank and dirty sewers. While the DMG doesn't have many options available, sewer plague would certainly work and be appropriate. You can also fairly easily create some variations of your own if you want to have illnesses that better fit with the environment and situation.
Depending on the party's level, you can have one or more adult kruthiks hunting them down as potential food for their hive lord and young. I could easily envision a kruthik filling that "Alien" role as it slowly emerges from a section of water behind them.
I now have an urge to unleash a horde of rats with sewer plague in the next town my players visit.
Alright, some good ideas here going into a grab-bag. For now, as they're all lvl 1s and the sewers bit of this quest leads to an area they need to fight in I don't want them to get killed or take much damage. I do want to push them along (and plant that seed of dangers for future sewer adventures) so I'll see if I can hint that something big and bad is hunting them and will catch them in like X turns – so they have that many "rounds" to get to where they need to be, with some kind of check or action equalling a round. Really just for flavor, but if they did encounter the big bad maybe try to hint that it's a creature beyond any of their capacities to fight.
One question though – any thoughts on what should happen if folks fall into the muck water? Beyond noise and being wet, and with keeping in mind I don't want this to be fatal to anyone but imposing fun roleplay challenges. I'll have some regular crocs in the water in one area, and figure to get out of the water they need someone else to do a STR check to pull them out.
Well, I wouldn't discount having characters potentially getting diseased from falling into the dirty muck water. It could be potentially fatal, but the effects wouldn't really come into effect until X-amount of days later. It'd be more of an issue of losing a couple days outside of adventuring while they have to recover from the illness. You can modify the DC of recovery to ensure they survive, but it could add a layer of fear when they know that the environment is potentially harmful to them over the long term.
For a more immediate effect, I would just go with something basic like giving them disadvantage for a round (or two) due to being covered in mucky water (i.e., slimy water makes hands and feet slippery so tougher to walk or wield weapons). Nothing deal breaking, but it'll add a brief drawback that could make encounters a little more tense.
And, if you're wanting to recreate some of those Aliens scenes, you can also have the supposed BBEG only be one of the smaller weaker ones. Perhaps, the party eventually takes on a single "alien" in combat after being stalked for a while. Battle is difficult but survivable for a party of 1st level adventurers...but they later learn that the thing was only one of many and/or there's a hive mother that's even much more powerful than the one thing that they fought.
Hm, the idea of someone being incapacitated with like low-grade sewer plague after this quest could work out well – and really get the PCs thinking about these games as interconnected. Solid ideas, thanks!
The notion of a hive could work as well later, if they're tasked with figuring out what's killing the city-employed kobolds in the sewers and scaring the rest of them off from doing their work.