Can the people who live in this maze get lost in their own maze in Tomb of Annihilation?

Question

I hope the title isn't so ambiguous such that it doesn't actually resemble what I'm asking, but I'm trying to keep the title spoiler free.

So, in the Tomb of Annihilation adventure for D&D 5e, there is a location in Chult called Dungrunglung (pp. 49-52). This location includes a maze.

When you first arrive, the party is greeted by some grungs, who live here in Dungrunglung. Depending on the party's apparent strength, they are either polite or less polite, but either way they want you to go to the centre of Dungrunglung (which means going through the maze) to meet their king. At least in the former case (weak looking party), it describes, on page 49 (italic emphasis mine):

... 1d6 + 6 grungs with green skin (warriors) surround them as soon as they enter the thorn maze, and press them to attend an audience with the king. The grungs attack and subdue characters who resist. If the adventurers accept, they are taken through the maze to the shrine, where they are received by King Groak.

So, the moment the party step into the maze (which surrounds the grung settlement of Dungrunglung), the grungs "greet" them immediately and escort them to the centre, which of course means they are going through the maze with the party. On page 49, it has this to say about the maze itself, and what one may expect whilst trying to navigate it:

The maze's passages are open to the sky and magically change configuration every minute or so, turning passageways into dead ends, and vice versa. Whichever character is leading the way through the maze must make six successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) checks to find the entrance to the settlement (area 2). Each successful or failed check represents 1 minute of searching the maze.

This, to me, implies that the grungs themselves can get lost in their own maze (and after apparently having just travelled through it already to greet the party). Is this true?

Is there anything that I've missed that might imply that, while being guided through the maze by the grungs, the (escorted) party and grungs do not get lost? Or do the party or the grungs still need to make Survival checks, potentially getting lost?

Answer 1

The people who live here know the way through the maze

Whilst reading this initially, I misread the following statement (which I even emphasised in my question):

If the adventurers accept, they are taken through the maze to the shrine, where they are received by King Groak.

The fact that it says "they are taken through the maze" can be read to mean that we skip over navigating through the maze. It doesn't say that we all have to go through the maze as normal, with the Survival checks and random encounters and getting lost; instead, we are simply "taken through". This is consistent with the fact that they should know the way through the maze they live in.

It was Allan Mills' answer that helped me to see this, specifically this part:

... specific beats general. The getting lost in the maze rule is a general rule. But the rule specifically states what happens if the adventurers accept their offer.

However, I have chosen to present this as my own answer, since that is only a small part of the other answer (which mostly focuses on a different argument).

Answer 2

"Lost" is perhaps an overly strong word.

Each check takes a minute, successful or failed. Grungs living in the maze are highly likely to be proficient at Survival, and may well have positive Wisdom scores. Even if the trek takes 15 or 20 minutes, rather than 6, it's not the same as getting lost - it just takes a bit longer... and that's if they were affected as strongly as PCs who'd never encountered the place before. It's not clear that Grungs (who've lived there their whole lives and therefore actually know the place) would still need to "find" the entrance.

Answer 3

No

Take a closer look at the text:

Whichever character is leading the way through the maze must make six successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) checks to find the entrance to the settlement (area 2). Each successful or failed check represents 1 minute of searching the maze.

The residents don't need to find the entrance to the settlement or to search the maze. They live there so they already know the way. When it says character it means player character, not NPC. It only applies if you fight them and need to find your own way through.

From the D&D glossary:

Character

A fictional individual within the confines of a fantasy game setting. The words "character" and "creature" are often used synonymously within these rules, since almost any creature could be a character within the game, and every character is a creature (as opposed to an object).

Based on the descriptive text, would you say the grungs are characters or creatures? I'd say creatures since there are 1d6 +6 of them and it doesn't mention any of them individually. Since they are creatures and not character the rule on a character leading the way through the maze doesn't apply.

On top of that, specific beats general. The getting lost in the maze rule is a general rule. But the rule specifically states what happens if the adventurers accept their offer.