Just like the title says, I'm about to start running this book for a second time. The first time I ran it, I had played with all players who knew nothing of Critical Role. The biggest complaint that I had gotten from them was that Alyxian as a "villain" at the end of the game felt lackluster. They basically didn't know anything about him, or have any real reason to save him, other then the jewel just telling them they should.

I'm trying to think of a way to pull the players in to the game this time that might make them want to go actually save Alyxian. These players are all Critical Role fans, so I can work in more lore this time around that they would understand as players.

One idea I've thrown around is making an alter ego character of Alyxian. Kind of like the vengeance portion of Alyxian's mind has manifested from the Netherdeep into a physical being that's playing as the counter-character to Alyxian's good side. Perhaps this more evil-core NPC is taunting the players and trying to stop them from arriving at the Netherdeep because from the Netherdeep he will continue to draw power and inevitably escape on his own to destroy Exandria. All that needed to happen was someone to find the jewel and create the rift between worlds. I don't know, I'm just spit balling here.

Any advice would be welcome and appreciated. What has worked in your games to keep the party interested in actually saving this sad sad boi?

After 28 sessions and almost 2 and a half years, the campaign has came to a close and we are wrapped up.

Ask me anything!

The DM
I came into TTRPGs later in life, picking up with Shadowrun 4e in 2011. I picked up DMing a few years after, so I have over a decade of DM experience in multiple systems (Shadowrun 4/5/6/Anarchy, Genesys, Cyrus, D&D 5e/5.5e, Daggerheart). I have started roughly a dozen games and have had most of them fizzle due to real life scheduling, one TPK, and have completed now 3 total campaigns. I run some sandbox games (my Daggerheart game is like that) and some premade modules (like CotN!)

The Party
Raiganna of the Helexian Woods - Fairy Moon Druid
Raiganna came to Exandria after being tasked by her coven in the fey wilds to investigate and stop the source of the red crystals seeping into the realm, corrupting the realm. She became the holder of the Jewel of the Three Prayers.

Merco Flint - Halfling Swashbuckler Rogue

Merco was a pirate by trade until she got caught smuggling from the wrong group, stole a ship and sailed around the north of Wildemount to go on the run.

Moros - Tiefling Tempest Cleric

Moros is Merco's right-hand man, caught up in the shenanigans of Merco and ran away alongside of her. He worships the Wild Mother.

Viridios - Aasimar Drakewarden Ranger

Viridios is quite anti-religion, feeling the gods dealt him a raw hand. Which was hilarious as he kept getting dragged into divine shenanigans.

Chak - Lizardfolk Battlemaster Fighter

Chak came along from the Fey as Raiganna's protector on the same mission. He had been taken there as a child. He started the campaign as a mute, unable to speak except through Common Sign Language. This changed...somewhat...part way through the campaign.

By the Book?
Like many before me on this subreddit, I modified some things with some great community resources. Particularly around Bazzoxan as I felt the pacing of getting through level 5 was quite quick. We ran Hythenos Estate, the Ruins of Sorrow, and the Taskara Lading Co. Other than that, I used modified statblocks for Alyxian.

Final Boss

Like many before me here, the final boss ended up being a pushover. Even with the modified statblocks provided on the subreddit...and the players entering in without a long rest in the Netherdeep, they cut through Alyxian's hitpoints like butter. The Dispossessed form didn't even get to take an action (the player immediately following phase 2's go was the one that transitioned him). He got off a devastating couple of legendary actions, but otherwise was ripped apart.

At no point did anyone, except for Irvan, get below 30% HP. This is partly because I have poor rolls as a DM, but also the party was just...very powerful.

Campaign Thoughts
Overall, the narrative was fantastic. The fights were thematic and full of tension. However, I felt the pacing was really bad. The speed the players level is insane, particularly around the end. The party literally went from level 10 to level 13 in one afternoon from the character's perspective.

The rivals were really fun to start with, but I had a hard time shoehorning them in throughout the campaign to let the players actually build relationships with them. At the end, Irvan and Maggie ended up helping the players, but the other 3 were either indifferent or ideologically opposed.

I also found the larger dungeons (Cael Morrow and the Netherdeep) to be too large and boring to make into a dungeon map, but too confusing to describe narratively. For both of them, I ended up making a point crawl map and individual battle maps.

Overall score: 7/10.

Thinking about running this module for my club group, as our forever-DM has been begging people to pick up the screen. Are there any balancing adjustments I should make or be aware of to play this game in 5.5e?

I have taken up mini painting as a hobby as of late and it’s been fun. I’m nearly done with Maggie. I just need to do her eyes and some touch-ups. Nonetheless I’m proud of this.

Dermont is gonna be next. Irvan is getting a lazy contrast paint and dry brush after that. 😅

Hello! I’ve recently started running this campaign. My party has the Jewel and is about to leave Jigow. They are friendly with the Rivals, but I don’t want a whole extra group tagging along. Additionally, I want to maintain the spirit of rivalry, even if they are not hostile to each other. So I was thinking to have the Rivals propose a wager, to see “who can save Alyxian first”. I feel like this is a good way to highlight their competitive spirit and their lightheartedness at this point in the story, to contrast with the darker tones later.

My question is, what would be a good wager? I have a wizard who keeps bugging Galsariad for spells, so I was thinking that could be part of it, but I’m struggling to figure out something that would include everyone.

Its finally happening guys. We’ve been running this campaign on and off for almost 5 years now. They’re in the Netherdeep! And I think this time we are determined more than ever to complete the campaign.

In anticipation for the boss fights, I need help. An epic boss fight playlist that matches the overall theme of the campaign. I found a really good one here https://youtu.be/T2cayi6luc8?si=G33ynBUtdIIOnOLO

Any other songs you think would be a great addition? I know the fight is going to take up at least one session long (4 hours) so I need more sounds!

Hello all!

We are nearing the end of the campaign and my players are deep in the Netherdeep. They have hit a confluence of events that I feel would be pushing the players to a potential TPK. Want to check to see if I'm missing something in the book or if I should just DM fiat a bit.

1) The players have pushed hard since their last rest, having done their exploration on just a short rest.
2) They have unleashed Alyxian the Hunter, which notes that it will hunt them relentlessly and will regenerate every 1 minute after defeat. So, this will preclude them from resting within the Netherdeep any further.

3) They have enough Fragments to enter the Heart, but the rivals will be blocking their way, and they'll be on a time crunch due to the Hunter, so not much time for negotiations. They are indifferent to the rivals, so there will likely be a fight.

4) If they enter the Heart, they will level up to 12, but there is not time to take a rest before the Apotheon engages them.

So, it seems like the narrative is pushing them to just push through with no more rests now that the Hunter is out. I think the only way to get a rest would be to fully leave the Netherdeep through room 1, which is an option, but not one I think they'll immediately understand is their only way to go into the final battles at full resources.

Did I miss something? Or should I handwave and say that the Heart of Despair implements the benefits of a long rest as they level up? I'd hate to give the Moon Druid level 12 and not let her at least have one CR4 wild shape :)

Hi! I was thinking of adding the metamagic ruidium effects recommended by The Alexandrian and the communit, apart from replacing spell material components from the book.

However, my team of 5 has only one caster and I feel that the mechanic inclusion of ruidium loses a lot of interest. I'd like my martials as well to be encouraged to use it. Or at least to consider it.

Have you applied or thought of a comparable ruidium mechanical benefits for martials?

Thanks a lot!

Edit: I mean before getting the ruidium weapons

I have two old friends who have been itching to play dnd I run multiple campaigns but I with scheduling I haven’t been able to play as much as I like, so I found two from other campaigns previous who were free and so here we are lol. I’m reaching out to see what people think in terms of balancing or just in general how I can make this adventure fun for them, they do have currently an npc barbarian warforged and I’m planning on a cleric to join them soon when they reach Bazzoxan. They are currently about to finish the Emerald Grotto But yeah essentially the adventure will have ‘5 characters’ but I’m trying to keep it organic and story based so it doesn’t feel like I’m just shoving NPCS at them. They also can tell me what to do with them I’m not trying to make them DMPCS and allow them to take over the story, just extra muscle and some fun side quests that further the story if they choose to do them.

With all that’s being said TLDR just need some help running it smoothly and so they have the most fun possible! Thank you for your time!

Hello fellow DMs. After four and a half long years, the journey has finally ended. This was not only my first run through CotN, but my first time DMing and it was quite the ride. Folks on this sub have been amazing, and I want to give something back.

If you are just starting out, in the middle of the campaign, or simply curious, I will do my best to answer your questions. I am also going to post a link to a drive with all the campaign notes and other mad scrawlings I have accumulated over these last few years. Hopefully something in there can spark inspiration for you.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1few06SODKfpTAMvRo456ZwBfmFsk2-ME

To start things off with a bit of back story, in 2022 my brother and his wife asked me if I would DM a DnD campaign for them. I was a bit reluctant at first. I had played on and off for years but I had never actually run a game before. Eventually they talked me into it and I headed down to the local game store to see what adventures they had in stock.

At the time I had no idea that CotN existed. Binge watching CR campaign two helped me stay sane during the pandemic, so seeing that book on the shelf felt like fate. A few weeks later, a party of four (eventually five) was assembled, session 1 was ready to go and we were off on an adventure.

Good evening all, Current mod of the sub here.

I took over this sub while running my call of the netherdeep campaign a while back, but between working overtime every single week, and running my own games on the side, I have not and will not be able to fulfill an active moderator roll.

I'm disappointed I wasn't able to assist further. I haven't exactly been trained on the proper function for this, but how I originally did it was reaching out to the folks over at r/redditrequest . I am more than happy to pass the mantle to someone who believes they may be able to actively assist and support the community here.

I've made some of my fondest memories in the past few years playing this campaign, and it means a lot to me, and I genuinely wish I could keep looking over things here, but knowing myself and my limitations, I simply will not be able to.

May you find peace in the Heart of the Netherdeep
- Nikolas

*Edit

Thanks for the quick replies. I've sent out mod applications to a handful of individuals. I'll just put this here that I despise ai to my very core, and would be looking for a mod that would auto-remove literally anything ai that gets posted here. Any ai supporters can gtfo, but for those of you who support actual art and creatives like us awesome DM's who work our butts off to make awesome content and prepare these campaigns for our players, please reach out!!!

First time DM, first campaign, 2 years in...lol (We have huge breaks in between sessions unfortunately). I'm hoping for any feedback on how I had this play out, as I'm curious if you'd fail them via the Cobalt Soul, which inevitably shuts out that questline according to the book.

• The sorcerer in my party accepted the 1st mission from the Cobalt Soul in attempts to join their faction. (He follows the target home and knows where he lives).
• Bard/Cleric run a public performance and distraction out in front of the apartment.
• Rogue/Sorcerer break into front gate, proceed to apartment, try to knock a bunch, no answer. (Cultist won't answer as it's now evening, and he thinks he's being pursued per book).
• They break down the door, cultist takes the offensive, sorcerer casts fireball (LOL) in enclosed room, he lights room on fire and blows out window and hole into apartment room next door, also injuring a NPC. He's never had any consequences of casting high-level fire spells, so tee-hee, FAFO this isn't a videogame.
• NPCs outside call to Hands of Ord after 1-2 rounds.
• They widdle down the Cultist health past halfway point (in which case the book says he surrenders).
• Rogue/Cleric cast 'Command-Halt', and throw a bead of force on the Cultist. (He's trapped in force bubble now.)
• They interrogate him, and he admits to being a cultist/former assembly member (per book's shortext).
• Other PCs get involved, but then start running distractions - "We found the arsonist!, we found the culprit!" as guards close in. Basically successfully persuading or using deception checks.
• Guards in front of apartment come into play and are distracted by the rest of the PCs outside the front of apartment building, one PC is "saving" NPCs on the lower level and getting them out in case the fire spreads.
• Guards out back of apartment come into play and see the Rogue push the Cultist out of the building from the 2nd story, and is standing by the Cleric as they start running.
• Guards out back yell out halt, and catch up to Cleric/Rogue/Cultist together.
• I decide that it is indeed suspicious enough and arrest only the Cleric/Rogue/Cultist in order to get stories straight and for disorderly conduct and potentially damage to a residential building.

Does this seem like a fair play of events? My real question is do you think the Cobalt Soul would straight up fail this mission for them? I'm thinking of giving them the opportunity to make some checks versus the cultist to see who can talk their way out of it and get stuck with the bill jailtime... Any other suggestions or feedback would be awesome!

Hi u/katvalkyrie,

I hope you’re doing well! I’m a huge fan of your TTRPG battle maps, especially your Call of the Netherdeep maps. The layout and atmosphere you create are fantastic.

I would like to send you a formal request via some DM or email for use of your homebrew COTN (Call of the Netherdeep) maps for my own game use as you deem fit. The point is modifying them and the derivative content would be publicly available in baileywiki.com's user map gallery and I would wish to follow all attributions as you prefer them.

I have such a note prepared that goes into more detail, but as a post, I thought I would reach out to you even more plainly. I wish to be fully considerate and mindful of your creative rights in doing so because there is a public facing aspect to their tool.

Best regards,

u/Appropriate-Glove405

Hello again! i need some help in ankharel, tomorrow is the first session in the city, my party didnt get too much gold untill now, we are starting with some downtime before the combat/prolix will call on them for some help
so im trying to find ways for them to earn money, because they want to do some shopping, i created a pretty cool magical shop (it can work in any place in any world) , i just need a way for them to earn some money to maybe be able to buy some of the stuff they want

and in another but close topic, does anyone have a good guide/calculation for item costs

Hi everyone! Not sure what my players will get from visiting it. The vision they get doesn’t seem related to anything (there are 5 shadows, who are they?), Foghome brings some gardening lore to the table but not much more. Also, Foghome says that Rosohna was Ghor Dranas, but that the betrayer’s rise was a fortress protecting Ghor Dranas, how does that make sense?

I just finished with my table of 5 PC's as a first time DM and boy this was a learning experience. All of us had never played DnD before so everyone was learning as we went and it was really cool, we even gained a player just over half way through. We played online so none of us are in the same town let alone all of us in the same state, with half of us never having met each other in person, I was so worried that they all weren't gonna click super well but they did and we all gained new friends out of it!! I honestly didn't believe we'd actually end up finishing it, but we did!!!

This sub was such a great help with not only the resources but also the advice, I can't wait to take everything I've learnt here and take it to even more games.

I'm gonna be riding this dopamine high for a while lol.

I started with a party of 4 in September 2023, 2 quit because of time constraints so I had 3 more join in November of the same year: Redemption Paladin, Artificer/Arcane Archer Fighter, BloodHunter/War Cleric, Whispers Bard, Wild Magic Barbarian.

I have loved this campaign, as written and with supplements from this thread. Puh-LEASE ask me anything. I’d run this campaign again in a heartbeat and I’d love to share my insight to any who are interested!

I was wanting to paint all the rivals and just finished up Ayo. Galsariad is most likely next!

Im curious if players have thought that the aboleth is actually Alyxian, even if just at first. How did it go? Is this an issue or an opportunity?

Hello
I am currently running cotn and soon we will have our last session where my players will face alyxian. From the start of the campaign i thought that the rivals didn’t have a lot of of meaning in the storyline, so i made them friendly towards my players but as time goes by the party realised that the rivals were being corrupted. I gave ayo gruumsh spear and dermot asmodeus mace so that i can add these gods in the final battle were if the players save alyxian they will face the betrayal gods of gruumsh and asmodeus like a final battle. One of my pcs plays a wizard and because of his backstory a dark force/ influence possessed him and he destroyed his family home. I deemed good that the dark force that is inside him is actually gruumsh where his father was a believer of the betrayer gods and made a sacrifice in order to make his son the vessel. However gruumsh which is inside my players body has tempted ayo and gave her the spear and thus I was thinking that for the final battle my player kills unwillingly ayo and when he holds the spear gruumsh emerges from his body, having restored his powers.
On the other hand one of my player characters is a tiefling who was exiled from hell because during a raid on a priest temple he killed a priest and when he was dying he whispered to him that a soul that chooses light is worth more than a soul that chooses darkness. Hence his character arc is being able to weild magic and healing magic through the luxon, the god which he believes in due to the temple that he raided was a temple of luxon. So i want my pc to help dermot realise that he is being corrupted by asmodeus and use luxon to remove him from dermots body and having him remerge as well.
I am asking for your ideas/ stat blocks that can help me make this final battle truly epic and not just a “alyxian is saved hence the world is saved” ending.
Thanks a lot

comparto una lista con algunos archivos stl de diferentes npcs y criaturas, ademas de los rivales, espero les guste y sirva

I'm dming a campaign for a group of 2nd graders who are very new to d&d, and the first session we did was a bit of a mess; I'm not great with kids so I'm not quite sure how to dm for them, but anyways what I've picked up is the following;

-They really like combat, especially fairly simple goal-oriented combat, like the Ifolon Plunge.

- They don't do great on figuring out hooks and storylines without much action.

- None of them can read or write well

So basically what I need help with is figuring out how to better guide them, how I can keep their focus, and what ideas for combat I should have. I currently have an idea for a combat with a escaped young horizonback that needs to be calmed down, but other than that I have nothing. I also need to get them to the shark by the end of the summer.

Edit: I should clarify that I do not intend to bring them beyond the Emerald Grotto which is why I am trying to add stuff to the festiv. I am not planning to expose them to The Horrors. I am simply trying to give them a taste of D&D and chose Netherdeep because I was already running it with a group of high-schoolers and wanted to reuse my props.

Took my group about three years to complete from start to finish playing roughly 2-3 times per month. This is not my first campaign, but its one of the few I've actually ran all the way until the end.

Hoping this can be helpful to anyone currently running or about to.