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r/DnD•
failbye

[Spoiler] What kind of module is Princes of the Apocalypse?

Spoiler5th Edition

I got Princes of the Apocalypse (5E) for Christmas and I've been leafing through the pages of the module for a bit, but I've curious as to what kind of module this actually is and if there is anything in particular I should know about.

Is this sandboxy / heavy on story / particularly deadly or challenging?

Would this be a sensible module to run straight after Lost Mines of Pandelver?

Any review or insight into the module, or lessioned learned while playing this would be welcome.

Edit: I ask because I'm primarily looking for knowledge and insight that only playing the module would give. I'm reading the text but being new to DMing I don't necessarily know what it means in the grater sense of things. I wouldn't be able to discern the 'deadlyness' of the module by looking at the numbers alone, I would have to play through it to get a feel for it.

This is not an unwillingness to read or learn, but seeking the wisdom of those who came before.

Posted Dec 26, 2017, 2:45 PM UTC · edited

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EttinWillWizard•

It is a sandbox but with locations appropriate to particular levels. This can make it tough to run since players will randomly want to go to the tough fortress before the basic one. With your players finishing LMoP though you will probably be ok with doing the surface forts in any order (They should be level 5 by the end of LMoP).

Also, Red Larch is pretty close to Phandalin geographically so yeah very easy transition. Iirc, the PotA module even has a few suggestions on how to hook LMoP PCs.

One criticism that have of the module though is it’s very difficult for the party to really get into it. “Wait what are we doing? Who are we looking for?” and especially “Why do we even care about this dwarven delegation?” these are all questions the book answers poorly (imo). If you want to move into PotA from LMoP make sure you have very clear and even redundant answers to these questions or your players will get lost in the sandbox quickly.

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failbyeOPDM•

Thanks, that was helpful.

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party_egg•

I've played it, and everything EttinWill said is correct. Very heavy sandbox, plot is what you make of it. My party got nearly TPK'd (half the party dead, the other half unconscious except for one guy who nat-20'd a death save, and managed to heal the unconscious players and escape) because we attempted to take on the whole earth temple at 2nd level. But, we managed to win via some careful playing, leaving our now 4th level party in possession of an insane Legendary war pick

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Nabirroc•

I'm sure I'll get downvoted for saying this, but you have the book in your hands. Why are you asking us for reviews? I get asking for information before you've bought it, but you already have it. Read it and see for yourself.

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failbyeOPDM•

I ask because I'm primarily looking for knowledge and insight that only playing the module would give. I'm reading the text but being new to DMing I don't necessarily know what it means in the grater sense of things. I wouldn't be able to discern the 'deadlyness' of the module by looking at the numbers alone, I would have to play through it to get a feel for it.

This is not an unwillingness to read or learn, but seeking the wisdom of those who came before.

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Nabirroc•

Deadliness is hard to describe without knowing the people you play with. A simple task for an experienced group can be a deadly encounter for a newer party. A group that is heavy into role playing might have a problem getting themselves into the story, but people that just want to smash things would have no issues with where they're being lead. You didn't give us any information about your group, you just asked us about what is in the book.

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