When creating a DELVER, consider why they might have arrived at this location and desire to explore.
While all species and classes can find their footing, you may want to consider at least one member of the party...
Starting out, you will find refuge in a base camp known as the Top Of The World Tavern At the moment, it's not more than a large tent housing a few things to your journey started, which your CM (Cave Master> will describe to you in greater detail once your characters arrive. There will be a few NPCs to talk to- most notably the proprieter and founder of the Base Camp Jeremy Bearimy. Starting now, he'll walk you through some of the fine details of your upcoming your journey and introduce you to some unique items you can purchase.
As your journey continue, you will leave and revisit camp several times. As long as you don't bring out something dangerous from the caves, this will always be a perfectly safe place to rest and relax after a delve. Depending on the hazards in the caves and how you and your CM (Cave Master...in case you forgot) want to run rests, this might be the only place to get the full benefits of a long rest.
Each time you return from the depths, there may be something waiting for you. Delve deep and recover the treasures of the earth and you'll find new items to construct. Befriend the denizens of the caves and rescue lost delvers and they'll assist you and add new facilties to the tavern. Complete some greater quests to expand the tavern, and your camp will provide even more benefits after finishing a long rest.
"The most important start to any journey is one's choice of equipment. Think very carefully about that size and weight of the things you are carrying. Consider an investment into a Bag of Holding, but don't expect it to last forever. One rip and you lose all your items, alright?"
Rules for carry weight and carrying capacity are strictly enforced. Don't expect your gamemaster to keep track of everything for you- if you don't think this will be enjoyable, than this campaign isn't for you- that or keep a very, very tight grasp on a Bag of Holding like Bearimy says. Consider buying items in units of a pound to keep things simple. You will need a dedicated sheet for keeping track of these items [maybe there will be a link to one later?]. Remember, using a consumable means more space for useful and valuable things you might find in the depths.
Keep track of every length of rope you have. You will need to climb, and you will usually be climbing down, which means climbing up on the way back. If you leave a rope behind, it almost always be waiting for you on the way back. The more heights and drops you scale without using rope or assitance, the more tiresome each subsequent trek will become- not to mention the risks of losing your grip.
"How could I forget, you are going to need to climb. Plenty. 50 feet of rope ain't gonna cut it for even one journey, alright? Even your want to stick your through it, that'll be exhausting work. You be lucky to get a good nights sleep down there, and that's coming from me. My rooms are much nicer."
The deadliest thing you have to worry about in the cave are hazards. There are lingering hazards like sharp rocks, tight spaces, and flooded tunnels which you will have to think carefully before proceeding- the most dangerous will most likely require you to turn around without the proper equipment. However there are also sudden hazards which come about from random chance or by you disturing the place. Consider investing in a helmet; many overconfident delvers have died suddenly due to swift head trauma and you could be next!
You will at some point lose some of your equipment, and should fate not be on your side, you may find yourself completely devoid of anything. Think carefully before squeezing through tunnels, as most backpacks are a lot less limber than the average adventurer and will have to be left behind, or worse, will trap you inside when they get stuck. Getting lost or stuck without equipment will lead to a long and painful death.
"Survival is key, alright? Obviously you can't delve when your dead. Always think about carrying enough to eat and drink first. Hey, if you don't need to eat or drink, power to you. Just keep in mind that a well cooked meal keeps the spirits high."
This campaign adds a new classification to certain meals. There are Sustaining, Filling, and Tasty meals. Sustaining meals prevent the accrual of exhuastion from malnutrition, but will still cause it. In this campaign, malnutrition prevents the recovery of exhaustion during a long rest. Filling meals must be eaten every day to prevent eventual malnutrition. After 5 days without a filling meal, malnutrtion will take hold. These 5 days are tracked- going a day without food counts toward the count, and only eating enough food over at least 2 subsequent days can reverse it by one day. Lastly, tasty meals will provide useful benefits to those that eat them- so consider playing a character that actually needs to eat!
Example Meals
| Meal | Class |
|---|---|
| Goodberry | Sustaining |
| Uncooked Foraging | Sustaining |
| 1/2 Rations | Sustaining |
| Rations | Filling |
| Modest Tavern Meal | Filling |
| Comfortable Tavern Meal | Tasty |
At a minimum, a tasty meal allows a short rest to heal the maximum possible number from all hit die rolled during that rest. Flavoring a filling meal can make it tasty!
Here are some useful items immediately available for purchase to help you:
| Doggy Bag of Holding (Common) [50 Gold, 0 pounds] |
|---|
| Resembling an ordinary brown paper bag, this can perfectly preserve perishable food (up to 2 pounds) while taking up half the weight and space for 5 days. It even sustains its temperature. Comes in a one time use consumable varient at half the normal price as well. Damaging the bag renders it nonmagical. |
| Plate of Flavor (Common) [50 Gold, 1 pound] |
|---|
| This neon green mess kit givese any food eaten off it a unique and delicatable flavor, and rarely an odd green glow. Food eaten off of it flavored as if by Prestidigitation. |
Think you can skip this section just because you have darkvision? Well think again. Don't worry, it still will be a great asset to you, but keep in that a beacon in the dark keeps you warm and exudes a sense of safety. Torches and flares are the most useful item to have, even more important than food.
The Darkness imposes the following additional effects
"Now, being underground is dark, okay. Real dark. Advanced dark, alright? The torches I supply aren't just for light, they got all sorts o' properties to help. Darkvision? Yeah, that'll help a bit- just be wary of Grues."
| Wrong Turn: | If the leader of an expedition does not carry a light source, then all members of the expedition have a 10% chance to lose sight of the group. |
| Shadowless: | Without a source of light, it becomes difficult to judge the speed and height of dangerous objects and creatures that may be moving toward you. You have disadvantage on dexterity saving throws against traps, hazards, and effects that involve projectiles. |
| Underground Interference: |
- Spells which create light must be cast using a spell slot 1 higher than normal. This includes cantrips, which must use a spell slot of first level or higher to be cast, and effects which create instantaneous light as a byproduct of their effect, such as Fireball or Lightning Bolt. - If some other effect would create light, such as a feat or class feature, a long rest is required before it can be used again or to regain its uses instead of its normal restrictions. - If the light would last longer than an hour (Such as through a Continual Flame) The effect ends after 1 hour and at least a short rest must be taken before the effect can return. |
| Grues: | There are...things which lurk in the dark which only light can ward off. Should you be so unlucky to encounter them without light, death becomes almost certain- but even the light of a single candle will send them running scared. |
In certain areas of darkness, there are particularly strong magical effects. These are areas of Crushing Darkness. So dangerous are these areas, that you should discuss when and where you want theses areas to apply with your CM as they can lead to particularly frustrating experiences based on what character you are playing and the method in which you play. Removing these encounters will simply remove the experience you would have gained from overcoming them. Alternatively, if you are so inclined, you can choose to make ALL darkness crushing darkness to earn extra experience points and start with additional resources. Here are some examples of crushing darkness, which are covered up in case you want to be suprised. (Maybe the darkness is just that powerful?
"Ready to go? I'm sure you've already seen the entrance. Keep some of those torches handy, and maybe you can use them for more than just light. Good Luck- and don't go dying on me, alright?"