My players are trying to figure out how to plant evidence on the hags in some sort of Oceans11 scheme to turn them against each other. Lol. If I ask for a persuasion roll y’all know damn well it’s a Nat20 waiting to happen.

I'm considering cutting Slanty Tower altogether and wondering if anyone else did. I dont really want the introduction of the summer and winter courts as I really want to focus on the hag themes.

I'll be running Telemy Hill as a surprise skill challenge when the whole ground lunches upwards unexpectedly. Telemy Hill is our chance to learn the Rule of Reciprocity. I love Phaerlax's Nightmare on Telemy Hill, but perhaps I'll cut to the chase allowing Jingle Jangle gives them a chime of opening, but it has 1d8 charges so they dont go ham. JJ can let them know its incredibly loud so thats why she doesn't want it. Plus, it's too hard for her to part with a real key given her obsession/compulsion, but this one isn't a real key so feels easier.

This of course lends itself to a few other loose ends:

What's in the crashed balloon? Is it taxidermy parts (foreshadowing)? Since Bav is more tied to the present does she like to know the comings and goings of her domain so uses bullywug surveillance systems?

Why is Morgort imprisoned? Is she the scapegoat for the theft of the Big Book of Bad Blood, and now working with the Baron of Mudstump? Is she instead the jailer for questioning, or perhaps just whomever works the balloons is the pilot?

Any other plot points I'm missing or that others did with this?

I was typing my answer to someone's question about how I managed to upscale the adventure up to Level 20 (here) but the answer was so long and passionate that I decided to create a post just for this.

I kind of went into some details while trying to not bore you. Do not hesitate if you have questions, though!

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THE MAIN THREE RULES (I am assuming that you know the module very well)

1/ The characters gain 2 levels instead of 1 (and will start at level 6).

• They can level up when they reach a new Hag domain (or the Palace), when they deal with a Hag in any way, and/or when they accomplish big achievements with the main quests for the Unicorn Horn, Snicker-Snack, or important NPCs (Agdon, Downfall, Sir Talavar, Will of the Feywild, Lamorna/Elidon, Korred/Brigganock alliance, reuniting the Twins, etc.)
• ---
• They play a one-shot 8 years in the past as young characters going on a holiday trip to the Carnival, with no levels. Use Travis Woodall's "Lost Things: a prelude adventure to the Wild Beyond the Witchlight" homebrew content for this, it's very good.
  • Zarak is the one who stole the players' tickets while telling them in their face that they should take care of their belongings. The young heroes see each member of the League enter before them (they are here to take the portal to Prismeer thanks to the Hags).
  • Many children are spotted going without a ticket and it does not seem too bad. Make the Carnival irresistible, the young heroes have no money and cannot fathom missing their only shot to visiting the Carnival. They enter the Carnival without a ticket. Play some minigames and get their Lost Things stolen one by one. Sowpig trades candy, the lornling goes super fast, Gleam's shadow is seen under bright lights.
  • Valor's Call is seen during that time too. Helping the young heroes, advising them on the minigames, but they are pressed for time (they are tailing the League of Malevolence using hourglass pendants, gifted by the 3 Hags, as a timer during which they must find them or else they would escape. The Hags want a fight between the two parties so that they can distract Zybilna and use the cauldron). In the end, the young heroes see Valor's Call Plane Shift to somewhere, but are then caught by the security and meet briefly with Mr. Light and Mr. Witch, terrified by what they did to themselves before they are expelled.
• Then, we skip to the present time, so 8 years after the one-shot (it is fun to see the contrast on how their promising lives changed for the worse since). Follow the module but increase all DCs by 2.
• Hither starts at level 6 then there is one level up possible, and the last one occurs if Bavlorna is dealt with in any way (so potentially, they finish level 10). Increase all DCs in the module by 3.
• Tither is tailored for level 10 to 14, with the second level up possible only if Skabatha is dealt with. Increase all DCs by 4.
• Yon is level 14 to 18, same principle. Increase all DCs by 5.
• Palace is level 18-20, basically the end game. I want my players to enjoy some time at level 20 so if they do a lot before reaching the Palace, they could sneak, scout and steal at level 16, and make the final attack at level 20 against all enemies there and with a repaired Snicker-Snack, the Unicorn Horn, their Lost Things, etc.

2/ Take into account high-level Spells and features such as Wind Walk**,** Wish and Channel Divinity spam.

• The main quest is to understand what happened to Prismeer, where Zybilna is, how to free her, and as a bonus, who she really is. High-level Spells are your friends if the party is stuck. Legend Lore is very fun. Wish is their last attempt to resolve long-term afflictions or find the last bits of answers.
• Diamonds are absurdly rare, encouraging dealing with Hags. Some can be found at the Palace too.
• M components are spread out to the right places and right people (usually in a Hag's hoard or at the Palace). Some components (for narrative-breaking Spells) cannot be found at all.
• Hag Curses can be cured only by Greater Restoration if minor, or Wish if major (breaking one of the 3 rules for example), or by another Hag by making deals. Remove Curse is not enough.
• Encourage traveling by foot out of the game and with in-game incentives. A CR 26 or even CR 30 Jabberwock roaming around will do that. Air Elementals in the cloud walls, Tornadoes and storms in Yon, etc. Without a guide and if using a hex map (UFO and games' Patreon has them), they take 1d4 hours per hex (Feywild space distortion thing). This encourages finding the guides in each domain.
• Characters cannot teleport through any cloud walls unless they add their names in Tasha's ledger or if a Hag allows them to go in or out of their domain (usually because of a quest and under specific conditions). If they have the correct guide, they can walk to the next area as normal.
  • For Word of Recall, only some places are eligible and you still cannot pass the cloud walls without permission: Slanty Tower, the Unicorn Lake, the Korred Cromlech, and the Standing Stones in the Palace's garden.
• Each hag must have a way to Counterspell or Dispel Magic, move fast similar to Misty Step, and ultimately Plane Shift. Of course, you have to add Legendary Actions and Resistances and potent minions.

3/ Upscale the narrative threat of every plot, the CR of all monsters and Bosses, and give ways to loot/negotiate randomly generated lists of magic items up to the Very Rare rarity. Oh boy, here we go:

• Bavlorna's themes are the present time, gluttony/greed, and a perverted way to see the Rule of Ownership. She does not care what happened before or what happens next. She wants to relax in her pool, eat everything, take part in her hobbies and keep her sisters away. Including that pesky cat Gloam.
  • She is coached by Zargash to learn Undead Taxidermy as a hobby.
  • The snakes at Slanty Towers are changed to be a Bifid taxidermized snake of her creation. The first head creates Poisonous clouds, the second head ignites them. Kaboom.
  • Anything from a big creature could be negotiated with her, but she will use it to create other taxidermized guardians to defend her domain or herself! This includes Clapperclaw's head (creating a Leshen).
  • Lornlings are spying, Agdon is happy to serve her rather than being trapped and punished by Zybilna. He is the best around and always says so when meeting the party.
  • She is becoming paranoid of the Downfall bullywugs that according to Zargash are plotting to overthrow her. Animating their king's head is not enough. She is looking for advice.
  • Every object in her domain is hers and you should be grateful she is letting you keep some because the rest is in her collection under her roof. She would kill for Catoblepas' Milk so she can get Death Cheese (it improves the damage dealt by her poisonous breath and gastric acid).
• She receives people in her chambers as if she was a creepy psychotherapist. If you got something in your life that bothers you in the present time, she can meet you and help you, for a price. Something tangible (a heart, an eye, a hand, a loved object, etc.).
• In combat, she fights head-on with insane STR and CON.
  • She does not really want to strike you, she wants to eat you.
  • She is pretty slow on the ground, but very fast underwater. She can jump around the kung fu BBEG in Crazy Kung Fu, going through walls and floors if needed.
  • The entire room where the pool is will flood in a few rounds (hello underwater combat!) and the entire house is trying to sneeze you out by a window or door.
  • She generates lornlings like dead skin cells and can eat them to heal.
  • Her maw can extend like a snake, and her stomach is a 20 x 20 ft. dimensional space (very good to hide items or kill people) with a big glottis you can strike to get vomited out. She can eat Creatures up to Large. Creatures must resist the very strong gastric acid and fight any other creature that was swallowed too, such as the lornlings.
  • Her staff (see her official art) is a homebrew Staff of Shattered Sight, allowing her to use many sight-based Divination spells to look around her domain (but not hear) from her jacuzzi, but its 8 charges can also be used to cast a version of Counterspell that can reflect back the spell to the caster. ADV on CHA Saves but DIS on WIS Save when attuned to it to show that the paranoia comes from too much stalking without hearing what is said.
• Skabatha's theme is the past, she is the granny. Her domain is a forest made of gargantuan trees and CR 12+ beasts with some candy sprinkled here and there. She has a perverted interpretation of the Rule of Hospitality. She welcomes lost creatures and people to "educate" them on the benefits of working very hard to get a warm bed and a filling meal.
  • She is very good at cooking and gardening, using her secret fertilizer everywhere (Jabberwock dung, extremely valuable to her). The meals are very tasty and very filling (often morphing into food Mimics and Oozes), to the point that people eating them start becoming giants. This includes the children, the green dragon she found, but also the entire forest is now gargantuan trees and beasts.
  • The children use Ogre or Hill Giant stats for example. Because of the work, meals, and sleep, their body stayed young but their minds aged several years since the Hags won. The young green dragon is now very adult physically, but not mentally.
  • Her candy can Charm you to go to Loomlurch. She has a Gingerbread house in her forest (uses the Haunting Revenant stats as inspiration) with a lot of free candy.
  • Her factory is a front. In reality, she is creating a secret army of murderous toys to defend her from her sisters and from external threats. The sugar is in fact disguised gunpowder and candy-looking firearms and missile launchers are created by her genius.
  • Will of the Feywild is trying to sabotage the creation of this secret army. He wants to find blueprints, find sugar gunpowder, or even steal actual candy firearms for his gang. If they manage to get their hands on such firearms, the elf girl uses a candy sniper, the dwarf uses two pistols, and the orc uses a shotgun. While William uses a Gatling Gun. Yeah. Time to free the children!
• When dealing with visitors, she cannot stand seeing someone malnourished, weak or ill (anyone with STR or CON 8-9) and will insist they taste her food or take some candies on the way out. She acts as a kind and generous fairy godmother.
  • If you have regrets, she will be happy to make you forget them using her strange meals. She will try to use you to go on errands on her behalf since she is too busy and too "old". Catching Will of the Feywild. Or finding that Unicorn Horn. Or anything that could secretly enhance her toy army or create fertilizer. Lightning in a bottle or a Wish Stone from Yon. The glass eye Bavlorna's lornling stole from her in her sleep (she is missing one eye). Etc.
• In combat she has insane INT and WIS, and acts as that angry granny throwing waves of toys on you to kill you while she hides behind them miniaturized. She has a +2 Rolling Pin to flatten you if you come close, uses her white powder to put you to sleep, seeds to grow walls of thorns and giant beans. She has a green dragon, the rocking horse and her invulnerable dollhouse if she needs to flee.
  • Her Misty Step-like ability is her ability to miniaturize herself, gaining a lot to AC and DEX Saves and the ability to move under Medium Creatures.
  • Against magic she can use Dispel Magic (she uses a giant eraser for that) and Incapacitate foes.
• Endelyn's theme is the future. She is obsessed with avoiding her doom. While distracting herself with the doom of others in Motherhorn. Spooky lightning theater kid looking for appreciation and fishing for compliments on what she built. She has a perverted interpretation of the Rule of Reciprocity. Your fate and life are of far less concern and value compared to hers.
  • You could work years for the smallest deal and she is a very good deceiver. And if you die, she will still find use of what is left of you: a shadow or a mask.
  • She spared Brigganocks but they had to help her build the Oracle of Tragedies and the Lightning Rods. She kidnapped their architect to do so as if it was already decided.
  • She spared the Korreds in exchange that they give her hair. She did not really ask and used her scissors.
  • One day, an Ancient Blue Dragon asked her to be the most powerful lightning master to ever live. She obliged. She cut his shadow and gave that to the League to defend the Palace (= a Shadow Dragon). The rest became a CR 27 lightning spirit in the sky (= Cradle of the Storm Scion) responsible for the entire storm covering her domain, the tornadoes and the rain (cannot Long Rest if sleeping exposed to the sky, cannot fly without hover). The party could beat it using the Storm balloon, the Korred dance, and lightning resistance. Or riding the Goat, reskinned as cyclopean bronze constructs gifted with future sight.
  • Stagefright is an upscaled Nilbog with a Rod of Rulership and the ability to cast some Enchantment spells with no components.
  • The beekeeper cyclops uses Storm Giant stats for example.
• When dealing with visitors, she wants to evaluate their taste in music, in drama. The more dark their humor, the better. And if they compliment her, she is in a good mood. She pretends that she knows everything about them, which is probably partially true at this time. She will make deals that seem easy to accept, with good benefits. The twist is that she knows some obstacles will make benefiting from that deal impossible or short-lived.
  • Find my cat Gloam and bring it alive. She knows it's dead since Bavlorna taxidermized it. Oh, and the cat is a Cheshire Cat using Etherealness/Blink and Rakshasa stats. So good luck finding it and catching it.
  • Bring me 8 black roses from the Palace. She does not tell you that those roses are in fact, the head of a Rose Hydra Bush with 8 different colored heads, and that you will need to survive 8 rounds against it to harvest 8 flowers.
• In combat she is the best spellcaster of the three Hags. Good DEX, insane Mental Stats especially CHA. But a lower CON/HP pool than expected from a CR 21+ because the whole key is making an eclipse during the fight.
  • She can climb on walls like a spider.
  • She uses Foresight abilities, thread-like spells to puppet you or restrain you, infinite waves of Shadows and kamikaze Darklings. Psychic pressure and Lightning Spells for pure damage.
  • Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Blink, Mirror Image, Mind Blank, Death Ward to defend herself. She cannot teleport though, only Plane Shift. Because of that, if you can prevent her to go Ethereal or follow her there, she might be screwed.
  • She has 3 masks (Anger, Fear, Sadness) that levitate and spam Magic Missiles and one thematic Spell until dealt with.
• The big end fights will be the Heroes + Valor's Call vs the League of Malevolence and their Shadow Dragon + Jabberwock. They'll have to choose which to fight, unless they free Tasha/Bloody Beak first.
• The hidden plot is that Baba Yaga is here too, watching all of them at the Inn at the end of the Road, disguised as the druid and spectating everything.
  • She asked Scylla to steal the Unicorn Horn in order to try and teach her daughters that family and unity is far stronger than being egoistical and alone (basically, stay in a coven or be almost killed by some heroes, and you cannot escape your family duties). She does not want her daughters killed and will intervene if necessary, acting as a secret ending BBEG.
• Valor's Call and the League of Malevolence are Level 20 parties. They all have insane gear and power but you should still use NPC stat blocks (upscaled to CR 12-16) as a foundation on how they fight and what they are good at. They make Death Saves just like the players.
  • Zarak is a Thief using Magic Items and Potions he got from the Hags. He uses boots of speed, smoke bombs, Potions of Speed, Potions of Invulnerability, Potions of Invisibility, Potion of Flying, Carrion Crawler Mucus and magical daggers. He cannot one-shot a Unicorn but can hurt it badly, and should be able to escape a level 10+ party as long as he stays out of sight/run out of range. He is looking for the Unicorn Horn.
  • Zargash is a cowardly necromancer priest. Mace of Terror, Spellguard Shield. He teaches Bavlorna taxidermy so she creates Undead abominations. He will advise Bavlorna to replace the bullywug monarch with its Undead puppet version so that they stop plotting a coup. If that succeeds, he will use that puppet to create a cult to Orcus while continuing to whisper in Bavlorna's ear. Will Word of Recall faster than Lucky Luke if confronted alone and is a big healer/necrotic damage dealer in team fights.
  • Kelek is a Sorcerer using Evocation Spells and twinned Hold Person/Monster Spells. This is the disintegrate guy. Also the Forcecage/Wall of Force guy.
  • Scylla is an Archfey Warlock that spams Eldritch Blasts from very far away using Spell Sniper with Eldritch Invocations that pushes or pulls on hits (Agonizing, Repelling, Eldritch Spear). And she can teleport each turn using her staff/special Archfey Misty Steps. She uses her acting career to secretly monitor the Hags for Baba Yaga. If disturbed, she would rather go back with the League than help the party if they are obviously acting against the Hags' interests.
  • Warduke has the Flame Tongue and is a mix main Fighter/dip Zealot Barbarian. His shield is a +2 Shield of the Cavalier. His helm can terrify creatures for 1 min or until saved. He has Sentinel and Shield Master. He comes to you pushing people or making them run, and he does not leave you until you die or until his god allows you to finally kill him.
  • ---
  • Molliver lost track of time when she pursued Zarak fleeing from the palace, using her dagger of Blindsight to find him even in smokescreens. When the wall appeared she was in current Yon, and wishing to protect the Brigganocks from the floods and from Zarak, she did that for 8 years (Feywild/Brigganock time distortion things and a Wish come true, she thinks only a few days passed).
  • Elkhorn was recently freed by Scylla. When she stole the Unicorn Horn she wanted to see if it really worked. He has no idea what happened and stumbled in the frozen Palace dizzy before collapsing in front of Strongheart's frozen figure. He then woke up captured in Skabatha's kitchen with only one idea: save his friends in the palace, but the Palace is far, so first, protect those children from Skabatha. Scylla chose him because he was old and could not perceive well (and freed, he is not a threat to anybody). She brought the Unicorn Horn to Baba Yaga, disguised as the owner of the Inn at the end of the Road.
• The Lost Things become Very Rare magic items tailored to their owner and what specifically they lost. Encourage players to design them with you.
  • Sir Talavar's gifts in front of the Palace will be potent Magic Items depending on what the party asked for.
• No Legendary item can be bought, they can only be found in their relevant plot in the module (Snicker-Snack, Staff of Power, the Cauldron, etc.).
  • Snicker-Snack was broken by the Hags in three shards. Each is able to talk, but only speaking 1 word out of 3. The shards are 1) behind a 3-lock door each under Arcane Lock in the Slanty Tower with an Antimagic Field inside, 2) given by Lamorna if Elidon is brought back, and 3) lost in the Wish Stone pit by the Brigganocks. The Brigganocks can reforge the blade easily if the party promises to free Zybilna, but the party can also glue it together using Skabatha's added Sovereign Glue in Loomlurch.
• The Wells at high tide in Hither are basically Magic Item casinos (they float on the geyser). Use the DMG'25 magic item tables and roll for each hero to see what is available to trade. They can use the rule of Reciprocity 1:1 if same rarity, or 3:1 if their items are of inferior rarity.
  • If they steal, the Will-O'-Wisps attack, and they have to fight the spirit of the Well responsible for the tide. In my game, it's a Malboro boss from Final Fantasy games inspired by Shambling Mounds that heals when taking Lightning (from the Will-O'). If killed, no more high tide nor magic items and Bavlorna will investigate why her pool is not filling anymore.
• Charm and her Storm Balloon have a random inventory of items just like the Wells (see above).
• Nib can craft gold magic items of their choosing but he uses his gold pool to "pay" for them.
• Make the Wish Stones do something potent depending on what they asked Northwind during Hour 1 of the Carnival.
  • Then, spent Wish Stones can be crafted into any gem of 1000 gp+ value by the Brigganocks, but remember that the rule of Ownership and Reciprocity is key to limit access to such resources.
• Use the Domain of Delight supplement for inspiration on deals and curses. With major curses, always give a positive and a negative effect because they'll have to deal with it until level 18 or until they deal with another Hag. Here are some examples of Major Curses:
  • Bavlorna revived you but you are now a Reborn and look taxidermied until revived using Reincarnate or similar Spells.
  • Bavlorna stole your heart and is using it to create another taxidermied abomination to guard her domain that specifically loves (targets) you. You cannot feel love until you get it back.
  • Skabatha painted the whole party with gold paint. AC +2 but Speed -10 ft. and DIS on Stealth.
  • Endelyn took all your Shadows. This will create a Dark version of the party that replicate their stat blocks. and will guard her.
• If the party TPKs, they are captured by the nearest Hag. If they were trying to kill a Hag, the hags will negotiate 3 small quests they must accomplish in 8 days to redeem themselves to be on neutral grounds again.
  • If they fail to do so, they are cursed (a Major One) and will be killed on sight if they return in her domain.
  • If they failed some minor deals, curse one character. Not being able to lie, to attune to items, etc.

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I hope that this guide gave you a lot of ideas for your campaigns, even for lower levels.

I intend to end this whole thing with Zybilna telling the party that she can give them back what they truly wish for: "a scar they can still feel today, something they had but will never get back". I hope you noticed the play on present, past, future! If the party accepts, she teleports them back in time thanks to Feywild time distortion shenanigans, 8 years before, in front of the Carnival, with their tickets in hand and no League of Malevolence in sight.

It is unironically the last sentence in the last chapter of this book that made me want to run it.

I'm a new DM running this with some IRL friends. I have played before and one of my players is a very experienced DM/player. However, everyone else is new to D and D. I guess I'm wondering how to start? What should I include in an initial handout about the campaign/tell them to think about in terms of characters. We are definitely doing the Lost Things prelude adventure in Session 0 but I'm trying to think through how much fae lore/background I should give them, trigger warnings to be mindful of, what they should think about character backgrounds beforehand, and how to help level up the child characters at the end of Session 0. Any advice or help would be super super appreciated.

With the solar eclipse happening across Europe, please tell me someone is fighting Endelyn today. And if you are, how does it feel to have so perfectly timed your session

I DM for a group of five players and four of them are first time players. We are about to wrap up Motherhorn and head to Palace of Heart's Desire. I am also a newbie DM who actually took over as DM for this game after having been a player, as the DM we started with got burnt out and needed to step away.

My players disliked having many locations in Loomlurch and complained that it was taking too long and felt boring. We were in Loomlurch when I took over, so I had the cupboard ghoul serve as a guide to explain Granny's routines of where she goes. The players were really happy to learn that, freed the children and Elkhorn, and ambushed Granny in her bedroom while she was asleep and then sped through the rest of the building to get loot before the free kids filled it with fireworks and they all burned it down. The players LOVED this very much. I found it fun, too!

After that, when we finished celebrating and enjoying some time to craft and bond in character, we went to Yon.

There, we did most of the stuff on the way to Motherhorn, only skipped the Fey Beacons, and we took the underground way into the understage floor of Motherhorn. There, I made a DM call and pared down on how many rooms there are per floor in Motherhorn HARD and made my own simple maps of floor plans per tier with only 3-4 locations in each. I'm happy to do the work of that and the players expressed gratitude for making it feel simpler and easier, as we are all new and here to have some fantasy fun and don't want playing to feel like working.

What I'm wondering: How do other people handle having a lot of locations to go through in this module? I've never run another module, just a simple linear homebrew with a different group, and it has much more limited locations needed to visit as checkpoints and I don't really describe in much detail places they're just passing through, as we tend to focus on roleplaying PC-to-PC conversations, research, crafting, and planning for how to handle the next step of the quest, which is very different than WBTW.

Do yall stop and spend time in every single location, or do you skip some? How much real life time (not in-world time) do you spend in each? How do you manage the flow of getting through them?

I don't want my players to miss out on the potential to have a more enjoyable experience exploring locations, but Palace of Heart's Desire literally has 51 and I can't think of a way to go through that many that would feel fun and build excitement as we go.

I welcome ideas and feedback!!

My players are about to make it to Prismeer for the first time and I'd like to make it impactful that they've entered the Feywild and that things are....a bit different here. I want to push the fun, the whimsy, the mystique. I want them to really feel like they're in a magical place and to make that feel extremely fun and maybe a little bit dangerous. (In the Jim Henson's Labyrinth sort of way)

The book suggests that the environment might be reactive to the players moods, which of course I can do, but what are some of your other favorite ways to differentiate the Feywild from the material plane?

I recently discovered The Wild Beyond the Witchlight and have been reading it because I’m considering running a campaign for some friends.

While looking into it, I found the Lost Things prelude and really loved the idea of playing as kids sneaking into the Carnival to rescue Juniper.

But I’d like to expand it into a complete one-shot. I want it to feel like a complete, self-contained story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Our sessions are usually 6 to 8 hours, so I’d like for it to have a proper resolution within the Carnival, while still leaving the possibility of continuing into a full Witchlight campaign afterward.

That’s very important because I’m new to DMing, and I want to see if my friends would enjoy this kind of story. One of this friends is currently DMing Curse of Strahd for us, which is definitely a very different atmosphere.

I’m also hoping to include at least one combat encounter, since one of the players really enjoys combat. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a difficult fight, and since they’re playing as children, I actually like the idea of them trying to fight and realizing they’re completely outmatched. I’d probably have the enemy knock them out or otherwise incapacitate them rather than letting them actually win through combat, but I still think having the option to fight is important.

One idea I had was having the kids encounter one of the hags’ thieves and try to fight them, only to discover that this particular thief stole something from another child. They can’t recover their own lost things, but they can help another child.

But the resolution and end is causing me trouble.

Has anyone expanded the Lost Things prelude into a full one-shot? What changes would y’all recommend?

(sorry in advance if this has been covered)
I’m running this module as a pretty green DM, and my players are about to start the heist/get leverage over Witch and Light to get into Prismeer.

they know something is amiss with Zybilna (from Kettlesteam) and we are using the lost things hook.

what I’m struggling with is this - once they have stolen the item and are “forcing” W & L to show them the way to Prismeer, how much information should they get? the backstory of the carnival and its owners is a really fun part of the story, and it doesn’t seem to be revealed to the players? is this intentional, or should some/all of this come into play at this point in the adventure?

I struggle a bit with handing lore/info dumps so any advice is greatly appreciated! ✨

I’m prepping for my next session where my players are trying to “sneak” into Loomlurch. The “plan” is to cause several disturbances outside. One on the market and the other in the garden. While the team goes through the kitchen back door.
Just nervous about having 3 bands of guards (2 outside /1 inside) and will probably have Skabatha also go outside for a bit too since they are using a NPC who agreed to help say the know where Will is hiding.
My plan was to give them (provided they don’t absolutely botch getting into the kitchen) some time in Loomlurch (mostly they are just interested in Skabatha‘s private quarters) Before they have a chance to encounter patrols outside of her private area. But at this point I’m really not sure or even if I can plan beyond that.
I also have a big reveal with my paladin. She thinks a scab stole her little sister from her at the carnival. When the reality is, her little sister ran away from her. My player being the older, big sister after their mother died, had to step in that role and be strong and take over for everybody which drove them apart from each other. Though my player doesn’t quite realize this because she had her own heart, warm feelings, caring all the stuff she wall up to protect herself from was taken, so she’s always been cold and distant to everyone now.
I was really hoping they would meet Skabatha so I could set up and plan that reveal but now I have to do it backwards with figuring out how to run into the Sister first and Skab second. Unless I have her return before they have a chance to meet, but again that’s hard to plan for without railroading it.

Anyone else run with a chaotic party who can never seem to settle on a plan? You know standard D&D. I just see a lot of people say that this area tends to be a big pivotal point in the game being a first time DM. I’m just nervous about screwing it up.