Placing Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan in my TftYP campaign

[tchntm43]

We're playing Tales from the Yawning Portal as a campaign in The Forgotten Realms setting, with homebrew content between each adventure to help establish continuity and motivation to go to each of the dungeons from that book. Like I'm trying to introduce hints of the Red Wizards so that when I get to that adventure late in the campaign, they're not completely new to the party or the story. I used the book recommended locations for Sunless Citadel being near Neverwinter and The Forge of Fury being near Mirabar. However, it suggests Chult for The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, and that much travel would really drag on the game, so I decided I would instead do this: The shrine was in Chult, but it became cursed long ago and elves used magic to banish the entire shrine to another plane. Where it is now is a weird place that's basically overlapping Feywild and Plane of Shadow. It's jungle but it's perpetually just before twilight. I have a scenario in mind for how the aftermath of The Forge of Fury gets the party there.

I wanted to get some ideas for monsters that would fit this unusual setting. I don't plan to change anything within the shrine, but there will be a long lead-up between arriving in this plane and actually getting to the shrine, and I'd like to have a few encounters that fit the setting well. I have all the official books with monster stats and all the Kobold Press books, so all of that is game. Ideally looking for stuff CR 3-7. Actually I would like to potentially get them to level 6 before the shrine because the shrine itself is pretty light on monsters and I don't believe there is enough there to cover the leap all the way to level 8 that the adventure intends them to reach by the end.

Let me know if you have some good ideas. I have also considered simply using jungle creatures but adjusting them to be weird "shadow-shifted" variants. Not really sure.

[No brains]

I think a flock of giant bats would be perfect for the shadow jungle, especially considering one of the altars in the shrine. Maybe add in some symbiotic darkmantles to sow some confusion in the party. 4 giant bats and 2 darkmantles might make an 'easy' encounter for a 5th level party, but losing line of sight to darkness and taking flyby chip damage will make the fight seem harder than it should.

[Unoriginal]

We're playing Tales from the Yawning Portal as a campaign in The Forgotten Realms setting, with homebrew content between each adventure to help establish continuity and motivation to go to each of the dungeons from that book. Like I'm trying to introduce hints of the Red Wizards so that when I get to that adventure late in the campaign, they're not completely new to the party or the story. I used the book recommended locations for Sunless Citadel being near Neverwinter and The Forge of Fury being near Mirabar. However, it suggests Chult for The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, and that much travel would really drag on the game, so I decided I would instead do this: The shrine was in Chult, but it became cursed long ago and elves used magic to banish the entire shrine to another plane. Where it is now is a weird place that's basically overlapping Feywild and Plane of Shadow. It's jungle but it's perpetually just before twilight. I have a scenario in mind for how the aftermath of The Forge of Fury gets the party there.

I wanted to get some ideas for monsters that would fit this unusual setting. I don't plan to change anything within the shrine, but there will be a long lead-up between arriving in this plane and actually getting to the shrine, and I'd like to have a few encounters that fit the setting well. I have all the official books with monster stats and all the Kobold Press books, so all of that is game. Ideally looking for stuff CR 3-7. Actually I would like to potentially get them to level 6 before the shrine because the shrine itself is pretty light on monsters and I don't believe there is enough there to cover the leap all the way to level 8 that the adventure intends them to reach by the end.

Let me know if you have some good ideas. I have also considered simply using jungle creatures but adjusting them to be weird "shadow-shifted" variants. Not really sure.

First I have to point out that places in the Feywild can be in perpetual night, too. The Feywild is defined by hyperbolic living, while the Shadowfell is defined by hyperbolic decay.

So the overlap of the Feywild and the Shadowfell would be the Material Plane or a demiplane very similar to the Material Plane, as Feywild and Shadowfell would cancel each other out.

That being said, a Shadowfell jungle could be a very interesting location. I'm just saying if you want a deep jungle full of life but in eternal night, it'd be better to go with the Feywild.

Now, a few beings that would fit a Shadowfell jungle IMO:

- A Nagpa (though would be better as a non-combat encounter at least at first)

- Rot troll

- Venom troll

- Flail Snail

- Berbalang

- Tlincalli

- The Hungry

- The Lonely

- The Lost

- Meazel

- Aldani (aka Lobsterfolk)

- Zorbo

- Albino Dwarf Spirit Warrior

- Xvart

The Nagpa in particular is interesting, because their whole deal is pilfering knowledge and magic from lost civilisations and their ruins, particularly by causing their destructions and then dragging the remains in the Shadowfell.

So if elves decided to curse the place and do the job for them, the Nagpa isn't complaining. Nor would they complain about a bunch of adventurers doing the job of clearing the Shrine for them. Offerings some help or some reward for it would likely motivate the PCs to let the Nagpa have full access to the Shrine's secrets (and the treasures the PCs couldn't find or didn't care about).

[tchntm43]

The Nagpa is a great idea, I love it. Will definitely not be a combat encounter though as it would wreck a level 5 party pretty easily. Actually I know exactly how to fit it into what I had planned, it's going to pretend to be a guide for the party in this strange place, asking them to return a stolen item from the shrine in order to "dispel the evil curse on this place" but actually the item is something that gives that Nagpa control over the shrine.

The Nagpa might reappear later as an actual combat encounter, perhaps somewhere between Against the Giants and Tomb of Horrors.

[Unoriginal]

The Nagpa is a great idea, I love it.

Thanks you.



Will definitely not be a combat encounter though as it would wreck a level 5 party pretty easily. Actually I know exactly how to fit it into what I had planned, it's going to pretend to be a guide for the party in this strange place, asking them to return a stolen item from the shrine in order to "dispel the evil curse on this place" but actually the item is something that gives that Nagpa control over the shrine.

Pretty nice.

My only suggestion would be to not make it an item, more of a ritual or something else the Nagpa has to do in the shrine.

That way the Nagpa can guide the PCs and sincerely says they want the shrine's evil/evil guardians defeated... without mentioning it's so they can take over once the PCs have left.

I'm saying that because "I need an item" tends to raise PCs' suspicions and/or greed.

[KorvinStarmast]

We're playing Tales from the Yawning Portal as a campaign in The Forgotten Realms setting, with homebrew content between each adventure to help establish continuity and motivation to go to each of the dungeons from that book. Like I'm trying to introduce hints of the Red Wizards so that when I get to that adventure late in the campaign, they're not completely new to the party or the story. I used the book recommended locations for Sunless Citadel being near Neverwinter and The Forge of Fury being near Mirabar. However, it suggests Chult for The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, and that much travel would really drag on the game, so I decided I would instead do this: The shrine was in Chult, but it became cursed long ago and elves used magic to banish the entire shrine to another plane. Where it is now is a weird place that's basically overlapping Feywild and Plane of Shadow. It's jungle but it's perpetually just before twilight. I have a scenario in mind for how the aftermath of The Forge of Fury gets the party there.

I wanted to get some ideas for monsters that would fit this unusual setting. I don't plan to change anything within the shrine, but there will be a long lead-up between arriving in this plane and actually getting to the shrine, and I'd like to have a few encounters that fit the setting well. I have all the official books with monster stats and all the Kobold Press books, so all of that is game. Ideally looking for stuff CR 3-7. Actually I would like to potentially get them to level 6 before the shrine because the shrine itself is pretty light on monsters and I don't believe there is enough there to cover the leap all the way to level 8 that the adventure intends them to reach by the end.

Let me know if you have some good ideas. I have also considered simply using jungle creatures but adjusting them to be weird "shadow-shifted" variants. Not really sure.Time Pressure was a part of the original module, which was set up for Tournament Play.
How I folded it into my TftYP campaign:

After the Forge of Fury adventure concluded (in which I included a fight with a few demons (Type I / Vrock) who were associates of the Succubus, the party were visited by a Djinn.
At their tavern.

He made them an offer that they could not refuse: since they had killed an associate of his (the young black dragon, with whom he had a deal that did not concern the party) he needed them to do a favor for him to avoid paying a price for killing his friend.

It just so happened that his nephew, an Archeologist (whom I created as a PC level 6 Sorcerer (Storm), Air Genasi (the Djinn's brother had mated with a human) had been kidnapped by an evil cult in the Jungle while seeking an ancient ruin. (Yeah, the Shrine, but I did not name it).
FWIW, Tomb of Annihilation has archeologist background, and has similar rumors and such about jungle ruins.
Your choice of CHult is most excellent. (I didn't use Chult, but a similar region was available in our game world).

The Djinn gave them three days to complete it once he delivered them to that region.
The Djinn used the Wind Walk spell to get them to the general location (last know area where his nephew had been known to be).
He promised to pick them up in three days.
Why he cannot do it himself: there are water and earth elementals in the region who consider that area as their turf. (A Dao and a Water elemental have an understanding ... and they want neither Air nor Fire based creatures intruding on their areas of responsibility).
Puny humans are down in the noise level ...
Djinn (who was referred to as Uncle Eugene) promised each of them a reward if they completed the question, but eternal enmity if they did not take his offer.

Travel time once delivered to the jungle: a day to a half of a day to get to the location.
Up to three encounters. We had: (Six person party)
Troll encounter.
Giant Snakes/Giant Constrictor Snakes encounter.
Giant Bats encounter.

They also had a dryad encounter also: she gave them a rough point/steer toward where "the ancient buildings of the evil death cult" is. She allowed as how "we shun it out of fear ..."

What happened was that a cloud/flock of bats, around sunset / evening twilight come fluttering out of a crack in the ground up ahead in the jungle. As they investigate, the cave in starts and the module begins.

Or, if they are nearly exhausted from the three encounters:

have them pass the night (the dryad shows up during one watch, not intended as a combat encounter) and in the morning twilight/before daybreak/sunrise the swarms of bats erupt out of a crack in the ground up ahead ... as they investigate the cave in happens ... and off you go.

But I again point out: time pressure!

Once they are in, long rest is gonna hurt as much as help. To capture the feel of the adventure, the time pressure to get done by the time the Djinn comes back gives them the urgency needed to get to the end.

There are a number of rooms where the captive nephew could be near the end of the module.
Pick one.
I had the Ogre Mage be the one who had him captive.

It worked out fine.

When they got out, they needed to flee the temple and run into the jungle.
On their way to rendezvous with the Djinn, I also had them run into Water Elemental Myrmidons and a Dao. (separate encounters) Why?
Those parties had taken umbrage at the party messing about in their territory. (They had leveled up).
Adjust that to taste, if need be, based on your hunch as regards threat level and the need for XP ...

The Djinn rewarded them, since the nephew was alive.
One tattoo (spells of level 2, one use, from Tasha's) for each PC, each applied by the Djinn.
You could offer them level 3 tattoos, single use, and it would be well within that level 6+ that the party will be at the end.

How Many In Your Party?

Also, if you don't have Tasha's, use the DMG 'Charms" as a way for the Djinn to reward them.

[tchntm43]

Thanks you.

Pretty nice.

My only suggestion would be to not make it an item, more of a ritual or something else the Nagpa has to do in the shrine.

That way the Nagpa can guide the PCs and sincerely says they want the shrine's evil/evil guardians defeated... without mentioning it's so they can take over once the PCs have left.

I'm saying that because "I need an item" tends to raise PCs' suspicions and/or greed.

Hm, perhaps.

The setup to this is that the party is under a contract by a wealthy guy in Mirabar to bring Durgeddin's Axe (the +2 greataxe in the dragon's horde). He has a museum of dwarven relics in his mansion and he wants the axe for it. He'll show the party his collection and add the axe to it, showing them several other items of dwarven make, including a beaded necklace that he says was found in Chult, a mystery as dwarves don't come from there. There will be a few days after this and then a ceremony for the grand opening of the museum that the party is invited to. There will be some fun roleplaying there with various nobles and one returning NPC. During the ceremony, Red Wizards from Thay try to steal the necklace as they know what it is. However, the necklace activates, opening a portal to where the shrine is in the weird place between Feywild and the plane of Shadow. It disappears into the portal and monsters come out and attack the Red Wizards, and then the reception. The party can learn from dying red wizards that the necklace is a key to the shrine that can allow it to return to the prime material plane, where its curse would spread corruption. So they need to follow through the open portal and retrieve the necklace, which is now at the top of the shrine.

The Nagpa wants to have control of the shrine as well, and has been living in the area surrounding the shrine for a very long time, looking for a way to tap its power. It's full of ancient magical cursed power. So, it would make sense that it desires the necklace now that it's there as well, but doesn't want to do the work of find it in the shrine, and would rather let the party bring it to it. I'm thinking that if the party manages to escape with the necklace, then the Nagpa is angry at them forever and comes back much later. If the Nagpa gets the necklace (which is probably more likely), it dismisses the low-level party from the plane with a gesture, and the portal closes, leaving the matter of the Nagpa to cause trouble at some later point.

[Unoriginal]

Hm, perhaps.

The setup to this is that the party is under a contract by a wealthy guy in Mirabar to bring Durgeddin's Axe (the +2 greataxe in the dragon's horde). He has a museum of dwarven relics in his mansion and he wants the axe for it. He'll show the party his collection and add the axe to it, showing them several other items of dwarven make, including a beaded necklace that he says was found in Chult, a mystery as dwarves don't come from there. There will be a few days after this and then a ceremony for the grand opening of the museum that the party is invited to. There will be some fun roleplaying there with various nobles and one returning NPC. During the ceremony, Red Wizards from Thay try to steal the necklace as they know what it is. However, the necklace activates, opening a portal to where the shrine is in the weird place between Feywild and the plane of Shadow. It disappears into the portal and monsters come out and attack the Red Wizards, and then the reception. The party can learn from dying red wizards that the necklace is a key to the shrine that can allow it to return to the prime material plane, where its curse would spread corruption. So they need to follow through the open portal and retrieve the necklace, which is now at the top of the shrine.

The Nagpa wants to have control of the shrine as well, and has been living in the area surrounding the shrine for a very long time, looking for a way to tap its power. It's full of ancient magical cursed power. So, it would make sense that it desires the necklace now that it's there as well, but doesn't want to do the work of find it in the shrine, and would rather let the party bring it to it. I'm thinking that if the party manages to escape with the necklace, then the Nagpa is angry at them forever and comes back much later. If the Nagpa gets the necklace (which is probably more likely), it dismisses the low-level party from the plane with a gesture, and the portal closes, leaving the matter of the Nagpa to cause trouble at some later point.

Fair, it works perfectly well like that.

What I was talking about is just a question of personal tastes. I prefer villains who don't blow their cover like that, and I think it would establish the Nagpa as a pretty formidable threat if he, unlike the Red Wizards, didn't need the necklace at all.

Could even make for a funny moment if the first time the PCs meet the Nagpa, he makes clear he doesn't want the necklace and even mock the Red Wizards for it, with something like "those fools think this trinket will bring them power over the shrine. They have no idea what they are doing."

And then that moments turns out to have been foreshadowing/a villain boasting when it turns out the Nagpa can take control without the necklace and that "the PCs accomplish all their objectives" was his path to victory all along.

But again, it's just a question of tastes, I understand why you'd go for a more direct route.