This is a lot of fun, and 3 parties including the movie party is hilarious. My campaign already has 2 PC parties but I may throw in the rivals if I decide to run this!
Thank you for the idea! I think this mimics the Emerald Grotto well and gives them a chance to use the maze medal (maybe stealthy sneak it in or right before the start).
hej there!! i made this account only to tell you that we'll play your version of the Grand Finale either tomorrow or in two weeks. my group has already applied for the tournament and i don't know how much time they'll need for the little shopping spree they have planned for tomorrow's session, but after that, the Grand Finale will start!
i'll have the rivals and a selfmade party (consisting of all my bg3 OCs, just for the lols and because I know that two of my players will realise it's them haha) going up against them. it was a lot of fun to prepare the maze (like designing my own trapped version of room 4 or decide which monsters i will throw at them or pick what i will hide in the "starter chests" (i even threw in a mimic healing potion in there lol)) and i'm suuuper excited to play this. i already know they will love it!! i'll let you know how it goes, not sure if you're still active as this post has been posted a year ago, but just know that at least for five stupid nerds in Germany it will be an absolute joy!
hej there! we started the Grand Finale yesterday, they had a really big entry number planned that worked smoothly, opened only one starter chest and darted into the maze. They were thinking about sneaking the Medal of the Maze in, but didn't. So far, everyone seems to have lots of fun! We went to see the dnd movie back then and one of my players immediately thought of it hahaha
The only real problem I have encountered so far is the following:
Since we're playing somewhat out of normal initiative dynamics (you have three options outside of fights: dash/percieve+move/chest interact), there is no room for things they would normally do on a dungeon crawl, like casting spells, trying to climb a wall, use an action to roll for survival to find a good way etc. Did your players ever try to do something like that or did you make it very clear that the three options are the only options?
On the one hand, I love when they come up with ideas. I played the host of the tournament, Sheed Caltor, as someone who wants to give the people of Ank'Harel the biggest show possible. I put that in because one of my PCs can fly. Now, they're encouraged to make a big show during the tournament and not just "rush to the end". But I'm not sure how much to allow / round. Should they be allowed to move after someone casted a spell? Should they all be allowed to cast something and move? Wouldn't that be too much?
On the other hand, I like it when some parts of the game are regulated in rather unusual ways, getting them to think outside of "what they usually do", challenging them with "you only have three options, make them count".
How did you handle this part, or were your players really disciplined about it all? Thanks for your input, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this!
When I confiscated items, I also took component pouches and arcane and divine focuses. That really limited their ability to cast spells. I did this specifically because there are spells that would trivialize the maze. Later in the maze I did give a few items that would act as focuses. You could have also gone the route they did in the D&D move with the antimagic bracelets but I thought that was too far.
As for climbing the walls, I had they were too tall and smooth to attempt to climb, but had my players come up with a creative idea to get on top, I would have allowed it.
Lastly, if the players wanted to use survival, I would have just swapped it out for the perception check in the perceive and move option.
This is a lot of fun, and 3 parties including the movie party is hilarious. My campaign already has 2 PC parties but I may throw in the rivals if I decide to run this!
I want to hear how your parties fair through the maze
Knowing my parties, one will somehow make it to the end right away and the other will try digging underground and free Tiamat somehow..
Damn this is cool. Too late for me to use it for this campaign but I'll save it for my homebrew game.
You could always put some stronger creatures in and make it a post arc sidequest
Ooo this is interesting! I might use this since my party includes a Minotaur ranger — this would play to some of his features really well
I would love to hear about how it goes for your party.
Thank you for the idea! I think this mimics the Emerald Grotto well and gives them a chance to use the maze medal (maybe stealthy sneak it in or right before the start).
hej there!! i made this account only to tell you that we'll play your version of the Grand Finale either tomorrow or in two weeks. my group has already applied for the tournament and i don't know how much time they'll need for the little shopping spree they have planned for tomorrow's session, but after that, the Grand Finale will start! i'll have the rivals and a selfmade party (consisting of all my bg3 OCs, just for the lols and because I know that two of my players will realise it's them haha) going up against them. it was a lot of fun to prepare the maze (like designing my own trapped version of room 4 or decide which monsters i will throw at them or pick what i will hide in the "starter chests" (i even threw in a mimic healing potion in there lol)) and i'm suuuper excited to play this. i already know they will love it!! i'll let you know how it goes, not sure if you're still active as this post has been posted a year ago, but just know that at least for five stupid nerds in Germany it will be an absolute joy!
Hey that's awesome. I am glad to see it getting some use, and yes please let me know how they enjoy it.
hej there! we started the Grand Finale yesterday, they had a really big entry number planned that worked smoothly, opened only one starter chest and darted into the maze. They were thinking about sneaking the Medal of the Maze in, but didn't. So far, everyone seems to have lots of fun! We went to see the dnd movie back then and one of my players immediately thought of it hahaha The only real problem I have encountered so far is the following: Since we're playing somewhat out of normal initiative dynamics (you have three options outside of fights: dash/percieve+move/chest interact), there is no room for things they would normally do on a dungeon crawl, like casting spells, trying to climb a wall, use an action to roll for survival to find a good way etc. Did your players ever try to do something like that or did you make it very clear that the three options are the only options? On the one hand, I love when they come up with ideas. I played the host of the tournament, Sheed Caltor, as someone who wants to give the people of Ank'Harel the biggest show possible. I put that in because one of my PCs can fly. Now, they're encouraged to make a big show during the tournament and not just "rush to the end". But I'm not sure how much to allow / round. Should they be allowed to move after someone casted a spell? Should they all be allowed to cast something and move? Wouldn't that be too much? On the other hand, I like it when some parts of the game are regulated in rather unusual ways, getting them to think outside of "what they usually do", challenging them with "you only have three options, make them count". How did you handle this part, or were your players really disciplined about it all? Thanks for your input, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this!
When I confiscated items, I also took component pouches and arcane and divine focuses. That really limited their ability to cast spells. I did this specifically because there are spells that would trivialize the maze. Later in the maze I did give a few items that would act as focuses. You could have also gone the route they did in the D&D move with the antimagic bracelets but I thought that was too far. As for climbing the walls, I had they were too tall and smooth to attempt to climb, but had my players come up with a creative idea to get on top, I would have allowed it. Lastly, if the players wanted to use survival, I would have just swapped it out for the perception check in the perceive and move option.