Time for one more heist? Yeah, I feel it’s time for one more heist. This time round we’re going to take a look at Tockworth’s Clockworks, an journey designed for characters of Fifth degree. That is considered one of two Fifth-level adventures within the anthology, so if you’re level-up gamers after every heist, you might need to both maintain off till you play each Fifth-level heists or probably solely run one of many two in a marketing campaign.
Spoiler Warning
You understand the drill by now, until you skipped on to this a part of the evaluate. I’m going to be a couple of particular components of the journey, and whereas I could not give away each twist and switch, there are more likely to be some secrets and techniques which are unearthed. In the event you plan on being a participant on this journey, you might need to discover the suitable cave system to scurry off into till it’s time to play.
The Hook
As with a lot of the adventures to this point, you will be immediately recruited by the one that has a job for you, otherwise you will be recruited by the Golden Vault and be directed to that particular person, relying on if you’re utilizing the Golden Vault as a patron for the crew.
One factor that will complicate issues is that the job is in a deep gnome city within the Underdark. Whereas the journey mentions that the mayor of Little Lockford will rent adventurers to close down the automatons making the city unsafe, it doesn’t actually discuss the place the mayor would encounter the PCs, so in the event that they aren’t in an Underdark adjoining space or have Underdark contacts, it is likely to be tougher for the mayor to contact them.
If they’re recruited by the Golden Vault, there may be a further part the place the PCs might have encounters starting from attention-grabbing to harmful as they journey to the placement the place the gnomes of Little Lockford have evacuated.
The Setting
The journey takes place in a deep gnome city within the Underdark. The city has it’s share of magma floes, electrical cables, and steam equipment. There’s additionally a cave mouth that leads into the mines and deeper Underdark the place monsters might come to harass the city.
Heist Tropes
Most of this journey can be a extra easy D&D journey if it weren’t for the vault that the PCs must crack with the intention to get the important thing that may shut down the city’s automatons. There are some enjoyable methods to get round city with out being observed, that I really feel have some heist-adjacent vibes to them, equivalent to driving the smelting buckets to completely different components of city.
Whereas the PCs must crack the secure, the mechanics for cracking the secure primarily encompass a DC for attempting to do it quick, and a DC for doing it whereas taking your time. There isn’t actually a mechanized clock working towards the PCs within the journey. Along with the DC to open the vault, there’s a command phrase to open it with out setting off an alarm spell, and the journey notes that the vault will be opened with a knock spell.
Particulars
The automatons are working wild due to a gnome, Tixie Tockworth, who’s slowly turning herself right into a machine, and determined to run off the remainder of the city. The PCs can discover a rival of hers nonetheless within the city, who has a burrowing machine that can be utilized to get from level A to level B underground.
Along with Tixie’s rival, there may be additionally a member of the clergy trapped in a temple, in addition to a pair of goblinoid prisoners who’ve damaged free, a goblin and a bugbear, who haven’t managed to discover a means out of city.
Creatures
There are many constructs on this journey. Along with the constructs which have the city on lockdown, there are some potential aberrations and vegetation wandering in from the Underdark, and the above-mentioned goblin prisoners.
After Motion
The PCs get treasure price 5000 gp in the event that they full this activity, in addition to three magic gadgets, two of which require attunement, all of that are unusual. If the PCs are working for the Golden Vault, in addition they get a uncommon magic merchandise. Take a look at all that magic our crew is selecting up on this marketing campaign!
Ideas
I admit it, I loved Military of the Lifeless, so infiltrating a harmful city that has been evacuated works for me as a heist setup. I simply want there was extra to the safecracking than the journey offers us. I want it wasn’t only a single test to open it up. I’d even be okay with utilizing knock to open the secure, if perhaps there had been separate sections to the secure and the knock spell solely opens one part per casting.
It nearly feels just like the goblin and the bugbear, in addition to the villain Toxie, might have had extra attention-grabbing roleplaying hooks added to them. Toxie’s referencing her imaginary good friend alone makes me really feel like perhaps we must always have gotten an opportunity to redeem her. We get some tantalizing particulars, and a few unhappy connotations about her loneliness, however not likely cause for her to need to cyborg herself. As introduced, I really feel type of dangerous utilizing her as a disposable villain as an alternative of somebody to assist.
The descriptions of the city, with the entire shifting round on the slag buckets, and the potential for zooming round below the city with the tunneling machine all sound like plenty of enjoyable. I additionally like the concept there may be an space of the city the place the PCs can visualize the entire bridges that may be moved round in the event that they do get some grand notion of learn how to open up and shut down sections of the settlement.
However I simply maintain coming again to wanting that secure to be extra attention-grabbing to crack, and wanting an implicit technique of saving Tixie.
