Let’s Play EoTB 2 #03: The Catacombs of Darkmoon
336For Valendra and the party, there’s no turning back now. The entrance to Darkmoon has been closed and no amount of bashing the door will open it. It’s clear that something is gravely amiss in the temple and the only way to find out what is to explore, either by heading upward or down beneath the temple itself. While it may seem that we have free reign to go where we please, I doubt that’s the case; one of the ways will likely be closed off by needing a key or magic item of some kind, steering the player to where they’re meant to go first. This is no bad thing as it prevents encountering enemies that would crush you right at the start and it stops the player being overwhelmed with choices where they don’t know which one is right.
My first instinct is always to head down into basement areas first, as you ideally want to start from the bottom of any place and work your way up. There’s the risk that enemies will come from the upper floors and trap you down there, but that risk is also there if you head up and leave people on the lower levels till later. Besides, tougher foes tend to be on higher levels waiting for you to get there so logically the easier enemies will be on the lower floors, though a I imagine many a crafty DM has turned that on its head and surprised their players with the big bad waiting for them in the dingy wine cellar. I doubt we’ll see any cunning tricks here as the heroes of Waterdeep begin exploring the temple, but before we know what to expect we’re going to have to be very careful indeed.
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