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“Durnan, the perpetually scowling proprietor of the Yawning Portal Inn, harrumphed as a he pushed his broom sullenly across the floor. He seemed to be muttering something about druids and feathers.
As I took my seat at the bar he gave no indication that he would be attending to me any time soon. Instead, a portly half-elf scurried over to the taps and produced a frothy, chilled bronze mug full of the Amnish mead and collected my gold. Sipping the slightly nutty but honeyed drink I surveyed the room; each time I visited this place I heard more and greater tales of heroism and adventure and I truly hoped that today would be no different.
Thankfully I had but a few moments to wait. Scanning over and beyond the dirty dwarves and burly orcs, my eyes came to rest on a group of deeply-tanned humans in the corner. They were deeply engaged in not only their stories but also their drinks; a collection of empty mugs had grown on their table and were now threatening to take over and spill to the floor. I winked at my half-elven barkeep friend and indicated that I would like to order 4 more of whatever they were having.
The humans blinked in brief confusion as I placed a new mug before each of them. Their language was strange, almost alien, and once they started chatting again it took me a few moments to realize that they were speaking Chultan. The jungle island (or peninsula, to some) far to the south did not often have visitors that I was aware of, and rarer still would the natives leave and come to the mainland – let alone as far north as Waterdeep. I took in their story as best I could, though I’m afraid I lost a little bit in translation.![]()
You see, friend, they were speaking of an ancient and nearly forgotten city named Tamoachan. Located somewhere along the interior of the Mistcliffs, the mountains on the northwest side of the island, Chultans of yesteryear had built a shrine dedicated to Zotzilaha. This being’s function translated loosely to ‘vampire god’ – or was it ‘death god’? – and this shrine was built to simultaneously give worship to it and bind it to one place. Only their greatest warriors and shamans would be allowed to trek there, as the entrance was hidden deep below the labyrinthine streets of that place. Great and terrible challenges await in those halls, from poisoned darts to monstrous foes to fearsome servants of the ‘vampire god’ himself… alas, I am unfit for such a trip!”
I tapped my recently bandaged ribs and leg, explained that kobolds were to be avoided at all costs, and continued:
“Though you, my brave and eager friends, are merely a ship’s passage away from glory in the dark jungle to the south. Think of it: piles of gold, enchanted ritual daggers and platinum-gilded masks of the animal gods, elder curses and wards… oh how the heart aches for what it cannot have.
Come, I will draw you a map of what I understood from their conversation. You should be able to get to Port Nyanzaru on the north side of the island, then in no more than three days journey into the jungle you should find this place and harvest from it the riches that every adventurer craves!”
Spoilers below!
For the DM:
For the DM:
- The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan is located somewhere in Chult, the largely-unexplored jungle to the south of the Sword Coast; be sure to substitute references of “Olman” for “Chultan”
- it’s location on Chult is not specified in the adventure text, but because of the level of the adventure it is suggested that it be somewhere near the eastern rim of the Mistcliffs – a few day’s journey from Port Nyanzaru but not a full expedition into the heart of the island
- most of Chult’s natives are human, but there are goblins, albino dwarves, aaracockra, and even pteramen (“Terror-Men” to the natives; a race that looks to be equal parts humanoid and flying lizard) that live there
- light sources are very important in this adventure – be mindful of the native denizens of the shrine, the length of tunnels, and so on!
- Be sure to brush up on the suffocation rules from the DMG
- this adventure runs best with four characters at level 5, but AL play allows for tables of 3-7 players of levels 5-10 (tier 2)
- one trap may cause a character to fall asleep for 5,000 years. be sure to carefully read the functions of the trap, as there are a number of ways to dispel the effect! If all else fails, the characters may be able to bring their sleeping ally back to the nearest town and use downtime for spells.
- Instead of Chult, you may wish to place the Shrine somewhere in the lands that make up the Maztica setting within the Forgotten Realms. There are far fewer hooks between Adventurers League play and these remote lands, but to be fair: Maztica is still in the Forgotten Realms, and completely viable. It’s just a HECK of a boat ride away.
- if a character incurs the wrath of Tloques, it can be difficult to adjudicate a visit by the Lord of Outsiders after your game concludes. If these are your regular players, run the encounter as-written in the book – but for Adventurers League play the encounter should be run immediately after the conclusion of the adventure
- the sleeping martial arts adepts can be bribed with uncommon or rarer magic items; however, if a character gives up an item in this manner their permanent magic item does not go down by 1 unless the sacrificed item was found during this play session in Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
- The cursed treasure of Pelota requires a Charisma saving throw (the text only indicates “a saving throw”)
- Lycanthropy. Refer to the standard Adventurers League rules regarding lycanthropy if a character becomes infected. In short: it it’s not removed at the end of the adventure, or if the character chooses to play a different adventure before curing it, that character is immediately retired from AL play until the lycanthropy is removed.
- It is entirely possible to dance until you die due to failed saving throws and exhaustion levels
- Magic items.
- The +2 bronze battleaxe differs from the one printed in the DMG and does not have a specific rarity; as such, it is untradeable.
- The dried-out potions may be used normally – just add water!
- The +1 laminated wooden longsword has additional qualities not present in the DMG and does not have a specific rarity; as such, it is untradeable
- The bracelet of rock magic has some special qualities and limited-use rules; read it carefully!
- The +1 rusty dagger is not a tradeable item, but if the item breaks the owner’s permanent magic item count is reduced by 1
- Using the eagle whistle is not an action; although you can still move and use bonus actions, if you talk (including the use of verbal spell components) you immediately cease using the whistle
- Using a mirror of the past requires significant DM interpretation. Be ready to get creative!
- Cursed items: casting remove curse only allows a character to un-attune to an item; it does not allow the curse to be shut down unless the item’s text specifically says otherwise
Thinking outside the box:
Thinking outside the box:
- with tables of 6-7 players, consider some ways to increase the scope of the adventure and keep everyone entertained
- increase the size of the maps to 10′ squares instead of the normal 5′ square
- add 1-2 additional monsters to each combat
- remember that the gas inflicts 3 (1d6) poison damage every hour to creatures that are not native inhabitants of the Shrine. This WILL impact how the characters rest and recuperate!
- this place is filled with flavorful traps (and a few very nasty “death traps”, to boot!) – keep the suspense high by making the Investigation, Perception, and Sleight of Hand checks for the characters
- remember that traps do not provide experience unless explicitly noted that they do, so be careful when adjusting damage types or imposing disadvantage on search and trap disarm checks
- if this group will be playing through the rest of the dungeons, perhaps consider linking the bracelet of rock magic into Against the Giants in some way
- the Tomb of Pelota can make an awesome little mini-game experience for your players – imagine it as a combination of basketball, racquetball, and soccer (or football for those outside of the United States)
- The themes presented here – as well as the Shrine’s location in Chult (now that we’ve all watched the #StreamOfAnnihilation, right?) – make for excellent groundwork for Tomb of Horrors. How might you link those together?
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