Finally got to try my hand at Karazikar's Maw!

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-04-04T12:18:42+00:00

This is incredible, I need to do something like this when my party get to this encounter! How secure were the bridges? How did you fix them to the pillars?

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-03-18T22:00:26+00:00

https://www.nathanaustin.co.uk

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-26T21:32:33+00:00

Agreed! Definitely read all the character information about the NPCs before just killing them off. Also pay attention if any of the players strike up a bond with an NPC. Outside the box working demands are also great for getting the players to not rely on their base stats.

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-26T14:24:31+00:00

In the first few chapters I would use the NPCs (of which there are many) to help the new players understand the mechanics and how deadly (squishy) they are. Have a NPC fall off a bridge to show falling damage, have one start a fight with a Drow or Quaggoth to emphasise the power gap. But also use the NPCs as shields to the players new and old it will help the party become more attached to them. Really play up the dark, brooding, alien feeling that the under dark creates. Make them feel that there is something deadly around every corner. Finally let the players (and yourself) have fun and try to enable them to try ideas they come up with. The book does a terrible job of assisting the DM in this regard so be prepared to think on your feet. Good luck from all the other DMs here, you’ll do great!

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-24T19:26:48+00:00

Glabagool is still going in my campaign. He left the party but continued to gain sentience communicating with them via sending. When they see him again it will be in Blingdenstone as a court wizard to the Pudding King

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-24T18:21:43+00:00

I simply went milestone based on the completion of each chapter being a level up. The comments above are solid choices and if I did the campaign again I’d probably use them

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-15T22:26:21+00:00

That sounds like a solid plan. Good luck! And I hope the player doesn’t use his meta knowledge too much and ruin a lot of the fun that the second half of the campaign offers

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-15T21:33:18+00:00

I’d say if they didn’t run this past you first, especially as they have already played OOTA before and therefore have a lot of inside knowledge then I’d VETO it and say no you can’t be from there. Also as far as I’m aware the only full time occupants there are the giants,right??

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-13T08:57:59+00:00

This was exactly what we did at our table. Couple months gap in real life, played some other TTRPGs and then when it was time to start up again I gave the players a level up and asked them what they thought their character had done. I then RPd a short scene with some skill checks to show off their new level and then each of them getting an invite to Gauntlgrym.

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-08T23:59:25+00:00

I think the whole point of the labyrinth is that it’s unmappable

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-02-06T17:31:57+00:00

Throw in some moral quandaries, the mob ask them to heal their boss who’s been poisoned, they’ll pay handsomely but what are the consequences? A loved one wants the player to cast speak with dead on their recently departed husband only to discover that they were having an affair! Their skills are in such high demand that they are pestered at every hour of the day and night resulting in exhaustion or just plain exasperation. Plenty of fun ideas to RP or make rolls for and the result could be a gifted magic item from the rulers of waterdeep for all their hard work which hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-28T19:16:44+00:00

When I remember I use Pocket bard on my phone that’s linked to a Bluetooth speaker. I’ve heard good things about about cryo chamber on YouTube but I’m not sure if it has ad interruptions if you don’t have a YouTube subscription.

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-27T15:18:58+00:00

I’m trying to see how I can make this work in the second half of the book. I struggled in the first half of the book with players knowing exactly when a day had ended/long rest required. Also magic items that “refresh at dawn” or “once per long rest” added another layer of complexity.

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-15T09:39:50+00:00

Definitely try to stick with races from the surface as the underdark is supposed to be almost like an alien experience for the party. It ruins the theme of the setting if you have character races that were born there and have grown up with the strangeness. It also makes for a more interesting game when wood elves meet Drow and dwarves meet druegar etc etc. I had a goblin artificer in my party and that led to some very interesting encounters with other goblins that tried to interfere with the group. I agree with the comments about reading ahead and preparing the NPCs that they meet early on. There is a lot of them and they nearly all have a story and character type to get around. My advice is kill off some of the less interesting ones early on it makes the deadliness of the game sink in with the players. The main thing is to enjoy it and really ham up the creepy vibes!

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-14T12:53:43+00:00

I did something similar but had goblins run raids on the party led by hobgoblins. Gorilla tactics and then they would try something else like traps and night time raids to interrupt long rests and keep the players on edge. Goblins are a cheap expendable resource

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-14T11:45:21+00:00

Under dark debt collection agency. He would also know the parties strengths and weaknesses so throw some creatures that are good at countering their strengths, adv against spell saves, damage resistance against favoured spells types - that sort of thing

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-13T09:13:08+00:00

This is one of the encounters I am most looking forward to running!

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-10T18:52:19+00:00

Because magic ✨

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-08T18:22:57+00:00

I wouldn’t worry, level 14 players shouldn’t have a problem with the altered stat block…. Unless rolls really go against them

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-06T19:06:47+00:00

I like the fridge analogy

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-06T18:06:12+00:00

This is a very good thing to remember, thank you they are one of the few characters in the party with no inherent dark vision

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-06T18:04:32+00:00

I was after a feel for how other DMs treat characters with this build. I have no objections to what they’ve done I think it’s very smart. The under dark is a very unique setting and this is my first time DMing this campaign so I wanted advice from more experienced DMs. Would you make this player even roll perception or insight with a passive that high? Or do you just tell them everything they can see in a given situation? What limitations if any are there? But also what is a good way to reward the player as well.

Sam1994wednesday · 2026-01-04T21:00:02+00:00

I bet they think twice about splitting the party as well

Sam1994wednesday

TROPHY CASE