5e adventure creation - learning by doing - questions

[Zacchaeus]

As Talyn says a wildcard link will search all open modules until it finds the first instance of the NPC; and that includes the module that contains the link. If you require Volo's then you can just make a direct link since no-one will be able to see anything unless they have that module. So there's no benefit to stripping down the NPC since, again, as Talyn says it will hit the version in the module and will go no further.

[Myrdin Potter]

Or include two mods, one with the adventure and one with the stripped down stat blocks without the offending artwork and figure out how to name it so it searches all the official books first.

[Talyn]

Or just list Volo's as a requirement and do it that way?

Or... use your permissible version but put a "Note to DM's" or something and explain the situation, and tell the DM if she owns the Volos module she can replace your NPC with the Volos one.

[Myrdin Potter]

Any idea what order FG searches modules for NPC when you use a wildcard?

Even for OGL, if the DM owns the MM, always nice to have that version appear first.

[Talyn]

I haven't bothered to test, but it wouldn't surprise me if it sorted in alphabetical order by module name. Ideally, DMs shouldn't have the SRD loaded if they own the PHB but... as we see in the discord every day and via forum threads, too many DMs load every single module they have...

You could easily do a test though with, say a spell that exists in the SRD, in the Basic Rules and in the PHB and see which one comes up...

[LordEntrails]

Personally, I would just copy it from Volo's and remove the artwork. Then in your conversion notes put a comment that x, y, and z can be replaced with versions from Volo's if you would like to include the artwork.

Might be a more elegant solution, and if you find one I will be thrilled, but that's that approach I would take

[Talyn]

As would I. That covers all your bases and doesn't limit the adventure to only customers who own Volos, while giving those who do own it a heads-up that they can replace the NPC and have all the artwork.

[Myrdin Potter]

They have to redo all the encounters, though. If I build the encounters with the copied and sparse stat blocks, then doesn't replacing the NPC really mean redoing all the work for the encounters?

[Talyn]

Yes, but it's an adventure so the encounters aren't supposed to be read-only anyway. You could make a sidebar explaining the situation and supply links to all the encounters that use that NPC so the GM has a quick reference right in front of her to edit instead of searching for them one by one.

[Myrdin Potter]

I guess I could also do two encounters, one with the link to Volo and one with the stripped down ones and make it even easier for the DM.