D&D College of Lore Adventure Path DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE Version 1.1 EXPEDITION TO Chult CREDITS College of Lore: Matthew Lee Myers (Seamus the Bard) WHO IS THE COLLEGE OF LORE? The College of Lore is a website that collects homebrew mechanics in a format that is accessible and easy to use. All of our material is open to public comment and subject to review and revision, ensuring that the rules infor- mation is clear and understandable, as well as balanced. We operate based entirely on customer donations, and all of the material on our site is completely free. WHAT IS THE COLLEGE OF LORE ADVENTURE PATH? Our adventure path contains a number of linked adventures with an overarching story and a unique mechanic that ties the adventure together with the overall theme. While the adventure path can be played in a game store setting, it is best played with a steady group of players. That is because your actions have real consequences, and therefore different groups may end up with a wildly different experience in the end. In fact, decisions you make earlySample in the campaign may result in playing completely different adventures laterfile on. Expedition to Chult - Explorer’s Guide 2 Chapter 1: ExpEdition to Chult In Expedition to Chult, the adventurers have been Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Master’s called upon by the city of Baldur’s Gate to rebuild Guide. While our adventures try to be as com- Fort Beluarian, a small outpost originally settled by plete as possible, those books will make running members of the Flaming Fist over a century ago. the adventures significantly easier Expedition to Chult features a tracking sheet that • An Expedition to Chult logsheet for the adven- will allow you to lead the settlement effort, establish- ture, which is found at the back of each adven- ing the priorities of the other settlers, constructing ture pdf. You’ll use this to record each session housing and fortifications, and sending for experts of play and make quick notes to remind you of to assist in your efforts. These choices will have con- important decisions that may come up later. It crete effects on the adventures and story, and careful also has a brief summary of important NPCs, planning will be the key to succeeding in the harsh and space for you to make some notes (handy for jungles of Chult. remembering voices and accents). • An Expedition to Chult ship sheet to manage the Character Options character’s ship, the Porpoise. You only need to keep one of these records for the group, and you It is up to the DM to determine what character may find it useful to share the pages of the sheet options they feel comfortable allowing at their table. among various members of the group during With that in mind, the adventure has been designed play. to accommodate all of the player options found in the Player’s Handbook, the Sword Coast Adventur- The group will also need an Expedition to Chult er’s Guide, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, and the Un- settlement sheet to track the progress of your settle- earthed Arcana articles on the Wizards of the Coast ment, as well as the various ongoing projects being website, as well any material from our Explorer’s undertaken by settlers. You do not need to maintain Guide to Chult. Additional material is also available this sheet, and you may find it useful to pass off this on our website, collegeoflore.com, but as it is not record keeping to the players. Some players may designed specifically for the Forgotten Realms, some jump at the chance, others may not like it. Use what- races or classes may not be entirely appropriate. ever method works best for your group and their preferences. Player Deaths and New Preparing Adventures Characters Before you Dungeon Master each adventure you Once you are on the island of Chult your options may find it useful to do some minor preparation: for replacement characters and new PCs are limit- ed. To represent this, we recommend limiting such • Read through the adventure, taking notes of characters to the options in the Player’s Handbook, anything you’d like to remind yourself while run- unless they have met certain conditions stipulated ning the adventure, such as the way you’d like to throughout the adventures. This adds an extra layer portray an NPC or a tactic you’d like to use in a of complexity, but also an extra layer of rewards that combat. can make the adventure path more engaging. • Review any unusual rules that may come up in the course of the adventure. These will typically What You Need to Play be called out in the adventure’s introduction. Sample• Get familiar with the monsterfile statistics in the In order to play the College of Lore Adventure Path, Appendix. You may find it useful to assemble you’ll need the following: spellcards or spell sheets for encounters with • The D&D fifth edition Player’s Handbook, the creatures that have magical abilities. Expedition to Chult - Explorer’s Guide 3 • Gather any resources you’d like to use to aid you Very Strong Party in running this adventure - such as notecards, a DM screen, miniatures, and battlemaps. A very strong party is one with 6-7 character of greater than optimal level. • If you know the composition of the group be- forehand, you can make adjustments as noted throughout the adventure. Before Play at the Table You may find it helpful to make a note of the follow- ing character information: • Character name and race • Class levels • Passive Wisdom (Perception) ADJUSTING THE ADVENTURE Throughout each adventure, sidebars provide in- formation to assist you in making adjustments for groups more or less powerful than intended, most notably for combat encounters. Each adventure will clearly state the level it is in- tended for, and all adventures assume a group of 5 player characters. To figure out whether you need to adjust the adventure, find the average party level (add up the total levels of characters, and divide by the number of characters). Very Weak Party A very weak party is one consisting of 3-4 char- acters, with an Average Party Level less than the optimal level. Weak Party A weak party is one with 3-4 characters of the op- timal level, or a party of five characters of less than optimal level. Average Party An average party is one with 5 characters of the optimal level, 3-4 characters of a greater level, or 6-7 character of a less than optimal level. StrongSample Party file A strong party is one with 5 characters of greater than optimal level, or 6-7 characters of optimal level. Expedition to Chult - Explorer’s Guide 4 Chapter 2: RulEs and systEms The following are some less common systems that will be featured in this campaign. Dungeon Masters should familiarize themselves with the following rules. As always, you are the DM so it is up to you if you wish to use the rules as is, modify them, or use a variant rule. You know your group better than anyone, so find the right balance for you. Heat Naval Combat Chult is a tropical jungle with sweltering tempera- Several adventures in the Expedition to Chult tures typically above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The adventure path take place aboard a ship. While the rules for handling extreme heat are found in the rules found in Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Dungeon Master’s Guide on page 110. It is worth Guide are more than adequate for running such keeping in mind that medium and heavy armor im- an adventure, we have developed more advanced poses disadvantage on saving throws to resist these rules for seabound combat, found in the Seafarer’s types of temperatures, something you may want to Handbook, which is included in both the Dungeon discuss with your players before they create their Master’s Guide and Explorer’s Guide, as well as in characters (or not, if you’re a super mean DM… we a standalone PDF. The document from all three don’t judge). sources is identical; we’ve simply packaged it with each packet for ease of use and downloading. These advanced rules are entirely optional, and presented Disease simply as an alternative for those wishing to make While the wildlife of Chult is considered by many naval combat a more integral part of their game. to be the most deadly factor of surviving the island, those who have been there know that the real danger Mass Combat is in the many diseases that spread rapidly through any town of sufficient size and without adequate Befitting a story of a struggling outpost standing standards of living. The Settlement System contains against the forces of nature, there will be times rules for outbreaks. when Fort Beluaran is attacked, whether by na- tives, dinosaurs, pirates, or other armies. Though Characters will also be exposed to diseases through- in many cases, these encounters will center around out the course of the campaign. The individual ad- the characters overcoming specific challenges, some ventures will have the relevant rules for the diseases DMs may enjoy running a mass combat, allowing in question. Diseases don’t follow a standardized the characters to command their settlers in de- format for contracting or healing them the way that fense of their city. The Settlement System has basic poisons do, so there are no general rules that you rules for handling these events as a series of simple need to remember, but it is worth reviewing the background rolls for narrative description, but the sample diseases on pages 256 and 257 of the Dun- Unearthed Arcana series of articles (on the Wizards geon Master’s Guide to refresh your memory.