How to Start Storm King's Thunder
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- this adventure has a ROCKY start... do you get it?
Adventure Hooks: 0:43
Character Advancement: 1:42
Reclaim Nightstone: 2:00
Zhents, Orcs, and Elves: 4:47
The Dripping Caves: 6:43
Morak's Quest: 10:18
A Wizard in the Clouds: 11:12
- Links -
DM's Guild Bundle - www.dmsguild.c...
Reddit Thread - www.reddit.com...
- Discord -
Join the discord to discuss the videos, and get more advice on the campaign!
/ discord
- Artwork & Music -
No images are mine, most are from the campaign book, made by Wizards of the Coast.
End Track: Geostories - Noir Et Blanc Vie - UA-cam Audio Library
Thanks for watching!
One idea that I had for changing up the air-cultist encounter is to make them into Kraken Society cultists instead. The Iron Flask they carry could instead have a Water Elemental instead of an Invisible Stalker, and the reason they're attacking the castle is because Slarkrethel got wind that Zephyros is trying to find heroes to stop Iymrith's plans. Then, when the cultists fail, that is further justification for Iymrith attacking the tower later.
maybe late, but how do you justify how they got to the tower in the sky? its stupid question, but i am bug
@@Jules-hr6hh I just have them use the giant vultures like in the book. No reason to change everything, and krakens are powerful beings, so it's not out of the realm of possibility Slarkrathel or his followers could tame or control some big birds.
I can't believe that this is going to be what I take away most, but having Zephyros simply create cloud stairs for the team. How did I not think of that?
You are incredible! The scope of the fixes, the cohesion, the introduction of the epic, the avoidance of railroading... This is awesome! I'm starting Storm Kings Thunder later today for the second time (had it start after Lost Mines with Bryn Shander) and this makes me want to run THIS as the premier introductory module! You deserve so many more views. I will be going through all your videos multiple times before each corresponding session.
Glad to be of help! Very nice words I really appreciate the support
More More More! These are so helpful!! Would love to see videos on the other chapters!
That is great to hear, I am working on the chapter two video at the moment!
This is exactly what I needed!!! I'm running SKT tonight and the players are about to have the cloud tower be boarded by the Lord's Alliance dwarves right now. I'm definitely using the encounter with Iymrith attacking the tower. Thanks for the videos - I will for sure keep watching them for more inspiration!!!
Wow, this is excellent content. And you have a great editing style, btw. Very snappy and tight. Subbed. I'll be running SKT soon and will watch for more videos from you!
Thank you! Good luck running the adventure, glad the videos are helpful! Chapter 2 video soon
Thank you for these videos! Will be having session 0 of stk tomorrow and your videos are very helpful :)
Just watch you entire series of SKT videos and really liked them. Other "fixes" of this module change so much that there is often barely anything of the original adventure left. I love, how you fix a lot of details (with big impacts), while leaving the core structure intact. Truly the most helpful guide I found, so far.
Really appreciate the compliment! That is my goal, my friend.
Love that dragon idea! Adding it the list of things to add. Just imagining how that would play out got me excited to tell it.
hello, sir, i have to say that you're an absolute hero! my party loved the goblin characterization you suggested and informing my newer members that they could circle around the hill made them approach the cave more cautiously! thank you so much for the tips, you the man!
Great content, really, I'm preparing this adventure and your videos are being extremely useful
This was a huge help! I am linking up a campaign that my players are running currently. They'll be level 4 when they are done so the Iymrith/Zephyros interaction you described would be a great way to really throw them into the SKT world!
this has been extremely useful - I am finishing Stormwreck isle as a new DM for my new group - and looking for an adventure to jump into with the same characters who would be level 3/4 - I think this seems great and just start it from the very beginning with them already at level 3 - if anything would be too easy it would only be at the very beginning which can give them a (false) sense of just how powerful they have become after the adventure at Stormwreck!
honestly this should work out fine! Move some of the groups of goblins around so maybe they have to reclaim the town in a more clever way, like the goblins actually have defenses are are keeping watch for example! This should step up the difficulty!
Fantasic Video. This fixes many of the same problems I had running the first chapter and would love to run it again now with your ideas. Very well explained. Love the detail.
I appreciate the continued support!
@@ConeofCool Any word on the next video? I have a campaine that is reaching the end of chapter 1, I have followed your advice and all is going well!
@@mrshotsmith Apologies for the delay. I am editing it this weekend! Will hopefully be out on Sunday
@@ConeofCool No need to Apologies dude! Thank you for the excelent content and the update.
Thank you this will help me a lot when running the games 😊
glad to help!
These are a great help! Thank you for your thoughts and insight. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! New video should be coming out this week!
Absolutely love this Imyrith idea! I just finished Zephyros tower and my player is in Goldenfields. Struggling to see how I'll introduce Imyrith
Check out the Dungeon Master's Guild optional module: The Flying Misfortune, for Storm King's Thunder. I mention it in my other video. It will give you an avenue to introduce Iymrith in Chapter 3!
@@ConeofCool Fantastic! Thanks so much for the advice
Love your content. It deserves way more views if you ask me.
These videos have been very helpful thank you!
Amazing video, my love goes out to you
I stupidly volunteered to DM this module as my first serious campaign in the DM position. I regret everything. There's SO MUCH TO REMEMBER. I really don't think I have a brain big enough for this...
You got this! Take it one session at a time. You could also shorten the campaign significantly and just focus on one of the giant lords as a main villain?
Wow, this is great improvement of the first chapter, which I was planning to skip or substitute it with Dragon of Icespire Peak.
Currently running the campaign for my two bros. They are now looking for the 'villain' and seeing as how we're still at chapter 3 and there isn't a 'main' villain so far, I'm going to turn their NPC dwarf cleric party member into the 'main' villain. Without the 'healing' guy, they're gonna regret all the mud they drag the NPC through!
that sounds cool! could make him a dragon cultist??
@@ConeofCool Even better, I've made him into this anti-hero who disrupts things that affect the characters. While he was in the party, he's been investing in several businesses, mainly the Lionshield Coster. Now, the party will be declined service by the business empire he's making so they have to buy items from free traders.
I've added magic items that the characters can use to defeat the anti-hero, specifically at his own magic. It's gotten very entertaining 😀👍
I started the campaign by having Kjng Hekaton attacking Waterdeep anc h the he party bands together to survive his assault.
What is Hekaton's goal for attacking Waterdeep?
I know it's an old video by now, but i'm really wondering: did anybody run chapter 1 as written and manage to *not* TPK the party? The encounter with the bandits alone is near-guaranteed death if the party tries to fight. Not to mention, the orcs immediately afterwards are a battle fit for a level 15 party, and the elf reinforcements aren't nearly enough to save the PC's behinds if the drawbridge was down.
Hardcore veterans could likely deal with these encounters just fine, but new players? Yeah, Bob's gonna run his fighter into melee and die in 1 turn.
In that regard, forcing the bandits to cooperate is a brilliant move that will make this part even possible without extraordinary amounts of cheese strats.
Definitely my issue with the first chapter as well!
I found it had a good challenge rating.
The party went to the Cave after the bandits showed up(they promised to keep the town safe until help from Waterdeep arrived, their disguise intact) One of the town guards on lookout ran to the cave because they were hit from behind and awoke half-drowned in the moat with news the town was taken with the drawbridge up as they were chased off with arrows and laughter.
there was a parlay; it was fairly Monty Python-esque, finders keepers etc.
that was interrupted by the orc war party
and since the only known exit from the city is blocked by the PCs currently, the bandits had a change of heart and were 'only kidding'
city residents, bandits and PCs got the job done on siege defense and no elves were required to ex machina the scene.
Yes, drawbridge down would be bad.
whoever designed the city map did a good job. But forewarned, orcs can get over the palisade walls with axe chop climbing and enough time.
a wonderful Chapter 1 if you ask me
Huh, guess investing some extra effort into adjusting things makes all the difference. Thanks for telling that story!
I actually made a test run back when i first got the module and was still rather new to D&D.
In case you're interested, it went something like this:
- Party barely survives the worgs.
- Then they slaughter the goblins with ease.
- Nobody bothers raising the drawbridge, because why would they? The settlement is already raided, the attackers long gone.
- bandits roll in, party fights them because they're bandits, party TPK's despite their best efforts (including the rogue using guirella warfare strats and the fighter + cleric getting quite lucky against the bandit leader).
- retcon/new party, this time the los banditos are assumed to be defeated with super cheese strats because i want to see the next encounter.
- everyone gets massacred by orcs.
- attempt #3, the new party slowly whittles down the orcs from a safe distance because they're aarakocra with longbows and plenty of arrows.
- i think they TPK's somewhere in the caves, kinda lost motivation at that point TBH.
lots of situations can be TPK if parties aren't careful
there's a wolf over there as big as a horse;
let's all flank it at once!
why are you all climbing on rooftops with bows out...??
there's always that one player who hasn't seen Game of Thrones.
the Nightstone encounter is such a no good very bad day for the town
just minding their business; not even on a trade route, they get attacked by
Giants, Goblins, Bandits, Orcs, Elves
Tolkien wrote a whole book where it culminated with 5 armies battling for the fate of Middle Earth;
in Nightstone, it's a Monday.
lots of memorable scenes from Chapter 1
a PC solo investigated the ruined keep and got crit-KO'd by a floating sword and everyone spent hours in-game doing a near-murder investigation when there was no perp.
getting to RP with the wood elves when they meet some PCs foraging close to the treeline for first-aid supplies for the townsfolk.
Normally they'd be leaning towards manslaughter; but having an high elven PC who spent a bunch of hours solo-defending a guard tower put their prejudices to the test about what they'd been told about their fragile cousins. And if you can speak Wood Elf, they thought the grass looked pretty green. I tell you what.
I just re-read part of my adventure journal and it seemed the Caves encounter was much closer than I remembered; the town guardsman actually tipped the ceasefire in the party's favor by appearing at the cave entrance and casting a long shadow to bolster(and bluff)the party's total strength and they got out of there with everyone, and only paying a few gold.
maybe the difficulty IS higher than I could see. my play group is all 25+yrs gamer experience
at 10:10 you're wrong about the Daggerford, because daggerford is under rule of the impostor succubus Pancheska, who is most certainly working with the Zhents. I plan to have the succubus working with the snail to subtly take over or take out daggerford's ruling elite and replace it with Zhents, while the real duchess of daggerford be imprissoned by baroness Krom by the order of the snail. Meanwhile, i'll do a plot twist where the succubus is actually working to F up the snail and sieze the power for herself. It should be really interesting!
Strong words,
I simply choose not to include the succubus plotline until later in the adventure, especially since I have the party sent to investigate the village by Morwen Daggerford herself, which I certainly mentioned in the video. Neither of my parties ever revisited Daggerford or interacted much with the Zhents so it never really came up anyway, but that sounds like a great direction to take the early part of the adventure!
@@ConeofCool I'm just revisiting the parts where you give ideas about Zephiros. It's an awesome idea to include Iymrith. Its just perfect IMO. I'll make sure to check your other vids on the SKT.
Are you playing in person or through roll 20?
For this campaign I used roll20 except for a few sessions where we met in person!
What if no one in the party speaks goblin? IFRC goblins dont speak common
If you want to remain faithful to the module, then more make them more expressive or add proper nouns that translate between languages.
Otherwise, just make the goblins speak common as well, or at least enough common that the adventurers can understand a bit of conversation.
lol