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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  12:57:22  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Right... so i have cracked out hoard of the Dragonqueen.

+++ SPOILER WARNING ++++

The first thing i have noticed about the module is that it is frighteningly linear.. especially in comparison to the relative freedom of the Starter box.

This thread will serve as a thought box for my interpretation - retake - on events in the book in an effort to make it more enjoyable for my veteran players.

It will also be where i can muse about my thoughts on 5th.

+++ THE PLAYERS : 5th Edition character creation +++

Naddar of Norixious - Green dragonborn druid (folk hero)

i have never liked dragonborn, or how they were put into faerun.. i have had to learn to like them, but still i am uneasy. The biggest problem with dragonborn is the seeming dues-ex-machina in their backstorys that says 'everyone knows dragonborn hate dragons', but what is there really to distinguish them from half dragons? I always felt they looked alot like copper dragons in appearance. Still a dumb peasant from the backlands of Cormyr shouldnt see a Dragonborn and not react in a similar way to a tiefling.

I feel the persecution tieflings receive by comparison to dragonborn is unsettling - though i feel the acceptance of dragonborn may be for more educated sorts, such as those in Waterdeep and Silverymoon who can pick the difference... still it left me feeling uneasy.

Thus for Naddar we came up with the story that his lineage fell from the sky into the swamps of Chelimber during a terrible storm during the year of wild magic. Back then, Dragonborn were unknown on Faerun, and quickly the original dragonborn - Norixious - became the cheif of a lizardfolk clan (who worshipped him as a prophet).

Norixious had only one son, Naddar, his heir. However desiring Autonomy from Najara to the north, Norixious staged a rebellion - robbing a Zhentarim arms shipment and resisting the advances of the self proclaimed 'swamp king' Thulk. They lost the rebellion, and Naddar was driven into exile.

For all intensive purposes, he is 'half' lizard folk, which i figured wouldnt really change things much as Norixious's blood runs true, and dragons can breed with anything umder the right conditions (so why cant dragonborn?)

In Hoard of the Dragonqueen the question of persecution has come up already... how in a place such as Greenest, which is a back-city on the uldoon trail running through greenfields - would people know the difference whilst under attack by the cult of the dragon?

My counter to this was to give him the ability to shape shift from level 1. though we halved the shape change options accordingly (at level 2 with circle of the moon he can become a 1st level monster, so at level 1 we alowed him to become anything up to cr 1/2)

So far i have found druid to be extraordinarily powerful... with the ability to turn into a giant snake which can deal 3d6 poison damage and have a reach of 10 feet. and now at level 2, a giant spider with more hit points than the party's two frontline warriors combined... im begining to think i have read something incorrectly.

In order to give him some purpose, we decided that Naddar was a drifter who had been far from his native lands of Chelimber on account of being quickly thrown in chains and sold to a traveling Circus. Only having recently escaped, he is wary of strangers and spends much of his time in animal form. But he is wise enough to see that not all people in civilisation are bad. When he saw the dragon attacking the people of Greenest, his deep seeded hatred for Bullys and Tyrants bubbled up and saw him motivated to even up the odds.

Benithor Amblecrown, Chondathan Paladin of vengence folk hero

Hailing from the town of Longford, north of Berdusk on the borders of the Reaching woods and the river Chionthar, Benithor's people met the early predations of the cult of the dragon three years prior to the attack on Greenest.

Killing his mother and Sister, and sending his father into a drunken downward spiral of self destruction - the cult of the dragon made off with everything valuable to be had, leaving young benithor alone in a house with nothing but a shortsword - he was later found cradling his knees with three dead kobolds surrounding him. Benithor's brother, Talis Amblecrown, was overcome with a desire to right the wrong and set off with the Knight Sir Orntharr Fruume in pursuit of the Cult. Benithor never saw or heard from him again.

His Grandfather was a paladin of Tyr, who lived in hermitage on the edge of the reaching wood. Benithor trained under him in the art of the sword for three years before he felt he was ready to set off after his brother and avenge their mothers death. His grandfather forbade him, saying he was not ready - but Swearing the oath of vengence - Benithor set forth regardless for an uncertain future on a rumor that Sir Orntharr Frume had recently passed through Berdusk on his way to Greenest.

Basically the biggest thing i had to juggle with Paladin has been looting... Even a lawful neutral paladin, such as a paladin of vengence, surely wouldnt loot a bloodied wedding ring off a cultist (taken surely from an innocent) with the words 'my dearest Annabel' scrawled within (something the player did in game).

Thing is, if it funds his ability to get Vengence then it is the lesser evil. And the Paladin of vengence is all about fighting back a greater evil at all costs (even innocent lives).

Despite this i have found Paladin underpowered, at level 1 and two anyway. The importance of high armor classes to survive the 'pack tactics' bonus kobolds get for attacking in numbers outways the benefits of a higher damage output given by a great sword.

Following the Uldoon trail with a caravan, Benithor realises if Greenest burns to the ground he may lose Ornthar Fruume's trail, and with it, any hope to find out what became of his brother.

Thorok Stormwind, Halforc Ranger outlander

Thorok's mother was a farm hand from Greenest. During a year of particularily Vicious orc raids, she met with foul play and Thorok was the result. She died of grief when Thorok was five and since then he has had to raise himself on the streets. Despite this, the people of Greenest were kind to him - but he never truely fit in. When he was old enough to set out on his own he headed to the outskirts of the wood of sharp teeth and was taken in by a lodge of trappers. They had a strange belief in a spiritual predatory state called 'the hunt', and over the years of his young life Thorok grew to become a brutal and efficient killer of beasts.He was given a strange fang, which resontated with a faint energy, upon his initiation. He has never found out what kind of creature it came from.

Every spring he would return from a winter of hunting to the markets in greenest to sell the furs and hides he had gathered. The people of Greenest always gave him a fair price at market.

This time around he has returned to Greenest to find it in flames. Anger and rage welled up within him. Hence his write in was easy.

The biggest problem i have had with thorok has been alignment. Initially upon creation we based 'the hunt' upon the most moderate possible worship on the Tenants of Malar. However later Thorok decided he wouldnt feel compasionate unless he was somewhat good in alignment. He wanted a sense of humor and heroism.. thus we decided to take another look at the Hunt.

In the end i completely removed any notion of Malar from it. Thorok simply doesnt 'know' that the worship of the hunt has its origins among the malarites. A double life story began to appear, where to those he meets Thorok is a Gruffly likeable, but introverted character. While behind closed doors, Thorok is driven to obsession with supremacy and survival.

An avid reader of the rules, the player controlling Thorok has already discovered the merits of running into battle with two hand axes. making an attack and throwing your offhand weapon makes for some awesome cinematics.

So far he is definantly one of my favorite characters.. and we have been madly searching the internet for a miniature we can use for his 'Bear Trap'.

(( Note: I have since ound one from the Distopian wars range... but i cannot be sure if i can buy them individually! ))

Zook 'Stumbleduck' Ningle, Forest Gnome Fey Patron Warlock Hermit

Zook hails from the misty forests bordering the High Moor. Where the trees shine blue under the moon and the fey dance beneath the sea of night. His people are shy and secretive, but fate chose him for a strange task.

Running with the fluff that Abeir is being ripped from Toril, i decided that this would adversely affect the fey - as the sundering would be much more final than the previous one. Concerned, the Forest queen Uleene, a haemadryad, charmed the young gnome into her demense and bestowed upon him a bag of Acorns. She knew that a time would come when Abeir would leave Toril once more, and during this time she feared all the Dryad oaks in the misty forest would wither and die - and her sisters would go insane.

The Acorns, she said, needed to be planted in a place which still held strong connections to the fey wild... though what the world would look like after the Sundering she didnt know... she entrusted Zook to find such a place. So that she, and her sisters would be spared from Madness and find a new home in Faerun.

During his journeys he found himself captured by a tribe of Kobolds who planned to sacrifice the poor gnome to Kurtlemack. However fate intervened, and Leosin Erlathnar - a traveling scholar, harper and monk of the sun soul - rescued him from peril. For a time the two shared the road looking for a place he could plant the Acorns. Zook taught Leosin how to speak to small birds, and Leosin taught Zook about the world and its many peoples.

When they parted ways, Zook said he owed leosin his life and would do a favor for him someday. Leosin had never thought he would call Zook in on this, but, when a small bird found Zook and bid that he follow it to the town of Greenest with some urgency, Zook could only fathom what Leosin's reasonings were. Now on the outskirts of Greenest, zook looks on in horror as the dragon rampages across the skys of the city. determined to find, quite possibly, the only freind he has ever made - he has plunged into the flames, and been forced to use strange powers Uleene has gifted upon him more often than he enjoys.

I find Zook to be interesting because its such a new take on Warlock. Rather than the evil, powerful approach - he is able to be a reluctant hero - with a coi fey bent. I have had no trouble with Zook thus far, except finding a good way to describe how his powers function (what would a fey blast look like? how does his fey presence work?)

+++++ MORE TO COME +++++


'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'

Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  13:56:09  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
+++ HOARD OF THE DRAGONQUEEN; Makeing it cooler ++++

First of all, i need to thank Hack and Slash Master for his excellent inspiring Blog on Hoard... though i since get the feeling he has grown board with the content (as i have seen no updates).

>>> Link : http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-i_4.html <<<

unashamedly i cannibalised his Random encounter list. I kept kobolds however, as i feel i do them justice - and i needed to play up the 'kobold / gnome' rivalry to make Zook feel more under the pump during fights.

The Random encounter chart is excellent and injecting flavor into the players wanderings around town. Really, the list is awesome. GREAT food for the imagination for dungeon masters who like to wing it (like myself).

I also decided to use the Black Talon Mercinary unit from his work. Though i like the Blue Boars, i feel they seem more like a 'mounted dragoon' style unit. I may include them in the final stages of the raid as mercinary cavlary. I feel that giving identity to the mercinarys 'beyond' simply just being generic Guards was really important... as such i have gone further to paint them up to be the ' cold hearted, swaggering experts of warfare' in conducting the raid. Stoney faced professionals.

So without further adue, a rough summary of what the party has done so far over two Sessions:

Session 1

Write in's asside (as i do not want to tell the story so much as talk about module structure) the party jogged down the main road leading into Greenest to help however they could.

At a stead nearest to the town they had the first encounter of the module 'Seek the keep!' , encountering Linan swift, her husband and their two children (and a baby).

Unfortunantly for Linan and her husband, the Kobolds rolled a 20 on initiative and between their numbers and Advantage on attack rolls (thanks to the new kobold rule: Pack tactics) - both parents were overwhelmed and killed on round 1!

Efforts to save them faded further when Naddar ran in and used his poison breath (Dragon born breath).

Benithor lamented not being able to get to them intime, only the children survived. Thorok and Naddar were indifferent to the fate of the kids, while Zook felt bad - but was outvoted. Turning to the paladin ofcourse for leadership the party was met with a very strange twist on this habit - Benithor decided the kids would only slow down his ability to get vengence, thus he told the children to hide in the corn fields until the raid was over, abandoning them to the will of Tymora.

Next Lennithon (the Blue dragon) flew over the town, thanks to the random encounter table. He didnt notice the players specifically amidst the Carnage, unleashing a blast of lightening into the neighboring street with a thunderous boom. When they felt it was safe to continue they encountered a peasant running for his life, but upon being confronted with Naddar, he screamed and fled down an alley way.

Next they encountered Cultists and Black Talon Mercinarys in the townsquare looting bodies and desecrating the town fountain while laughing. Naddar used his draconic looks to fool them into thinking they were on the same side, then convinced them to regroup with their commanders for an assault on the keep. Despite Naddars efforts, when he spoke to the party afterwards - Thorok and Benithor were too incensed with anger to let any of the cultists live. As such they stalked them into the next street.

One of the Mercs was a half orc, Thorok saw this as a 'who is the bigger half orc' moment. When they caught up to the patrol, a strange blue fog had settled in the street (random table again). The smell of Ozone was heavy, and everyone was Wary - so Thorok set his bear trap (covering it with some straw) and called out 'Hey, A**holes'. After a gruff exchange through the fog, Thorok challenged the half orc to a one on one duel.

Might i just say - Bear traps are pretty damn hillarious... to quote 'Awwwooooooo!! AAAaahhhh Who sets a bear trap in a Street!'. It was over pretty quickly and he earned an inspiration point.

Next they doubled back to the town square when they heard screams from the neighboring ally, some women were in trouble. Running to the rescue (once again, from the random table) they found several mercinarys beating and savaging two young women they dragged from a burning tavern (the Boar's Head) under the direction of one particularily deranged cultist. After killing that lot and rescueing the two women - unlike the children - they decided to TAKE THEM TO THE KEEP (double standards!). the main impotice behind this was Benithor's flaw, in which he couldnt say no to the vices of the city, which in this case was city women.

for the castle vanguard the mission requires the party to fight through 3 waves of enemies... however after the fights they had conducted so far i felt this was too much and instead went for a single - max numbers encounter.

They fought through 3 cultists, 5 kobolds and an Urd before reaching the gates... they were struggling abit (thorok and zook were both slipping closer to death, Naddar was badly injured and Benithor was rolling really poorly), so i had to bring a squad of guards in to help them chase off the last of the cultists and retreat them to the castle for safety.

Thus ended session one.

afterthoughts

Coup de grace became a question i had to Ad hoc. I decided a Coup de Grace was an automatic critical for maximum damage. If that did not kill whatever it was you were trying it on, then the attempt was botched (unless they are just completely helpless (tied up) then it is just auto death).

This is one thing i am not looking forward too in regards to the stand off with Laganderoza later in the attack on Greenest.

In that fight, which so far should fall on session 3, Laganderosa, a half blue dragon champion of tiamat - calls out the castles mightiest warrior to face him before he leaves. Or else he will murder 10 innocent prisoners. If none of the party members answer, the town cleric steps out to face him and - after a short battle - is decapitated before the town defenders. However if a party member sallys forth to face the dragon-man he will more than likely meet the same gruesome fate. Even though the module advocates for a simple 'stab him once more to be sure' approach before stepping over him and walking away - laughing.

One thing i REALLY dislike - are dumb shredder style villains. If anyone has recently seen the Ninja turtles in cinemas, they would have shared a similar face palm with me when Shredder steps over Raph after winning the fight against him (instead of just killing him!), or when he wins the fight against master splinter - the seemingly invincible rat-man. but doesn't just finish him off. My laganderosa will not be a Shredder. He will be more like a Apophis from Stargate.

Player critiques in the aftermath of the session had it that they enjoyed being able to randomly wander around town and build immersion. All in all it was a good introduction to 5th... however many of them were grumbling about how powerful kobolds had become!

'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'

Edited by - Fendrikor on 21 Oct 2014 17:15:18
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  15:17:58  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Session 2

In session two the party found themselves within the walls of Greenest's Castle.

I played up the absolute lack of resources in dealing with so many injured civilians. to steal unashamedly from game of thrones, i had a Castle Maester, attempting in vain with a small staff of volunteers to boil bandages and exhaust the castle's dwindling supply of healers kits in binding wounds. With the resident cleric holed up in the temple of Chauntae on the other side of town with another stock of healing supplies - things were looking Grim.

Racism came into affect too, with Thorok being 'put off. and put off again' for the attention of the Maester for obviously piss poor reasons.

In the end, he made his own heal check to boil his own bandages and bind his own wounds.

Govenor nighthill emerged to give a rousing, swear laden speech to the masses - conscripting anyone able to bare arms to defend the keep and its people. This ofcourse included the players.

Escobert, the Castellan, was among the warriors who rescued the party out on the approach to the keep - he noted their valor and earmarked them to Govenor nighthill for a special mission - restablishing communication with the Garrison over at the temple of Chauntae.

Considering the party has not much in the healing department (though i found out later, Rangers can now heal), Govenor nighthill gave them 4 potions of healing and bid they take the tunnel in the castle basement to the stream exit and cut through the Orchards to the Temple from there.

Now here is what i dont get. Why the HELL didnt Escobert not just give them the key to the rusty gate????? Literally it says if they choose to go back to him they can get it... why wouldnt he think of it to begin with?

Anyway, i only realised this when they reached the gate.

Naddar, who had up until now avoided the castle entirely (slinking off when the guards rescued them on the approach) had found the old tunnel grate in the hopes it would lead under the castle - in snake form he slinked through only to alarm the Rat swarms which set upon him! The noise drew the party and together they fought them off... I felt the Ratswarms were ok. I like the changes in 5th. It feels alot like if you give them an Inch, they take a mile.

They then proceeded to get stuck at the rusty gate. Being made to force it was awquard... without a Take 10 or Take 20 rule it became just 'roll till you succede'

To this end, next session im bringing back Take 10 and 20. Its just simpler to explain 'if you cant force it in 2 minutes of hard work, its beyound your capabilitys to force'.

Anyway after breaking out of the Tunnel, killing a bunch of cultists on the river bank and meeting up with a small patrol of guards in the Orchard (thankyou again, random encounter table), they ended up outside the Temple of Chauntae crouching behind a low stone wall.

I used the guards to quickly fill them in on what they were looking at, explaining that the 'howling mob' was moving around the temple waving torches and terrorising the inhabitance, while the battering ram team worked the front gate. Meanwhile at the back, lost in a haze of smoke, another team were working to burn down the back door (and maybe smoke out the temple goers).

The party looked at me like i was a moron at this point. 'Well Duh we attack the back group... why the heck would we do anything else!'. I agreed with them... any other approach to this mission is suicidal... not to mention, nothing is really given to explain why the big howling mob simply dont 'hear' the sounds of fighting at the back door and gutter-stomp the adventurers there and then... luckily for the players though, they used a sleep spell and the surprise round to Kill Everything in 1 round.

Sleep is much more powerful now, subdueing 5d8 hit points worth of bad guys without a save... seriously. That is guarenteed atleast 4 kobolds or 2 cultists a combat just instantly dead (for all intensive purposes).

Noting that Warlocks only need a short rest to regain their powers. Zook had been dominating all session.

After breaking into the temple (with intimidate), they met with Eadyan falconmoon the cleric, and 20 or so terrified civilians. by this stage all the guards they had found in the orchard (3 with them, 1 waiting back in the orchard) had character invented personalities and accents - much to my amusement.

Once again, it was a no brainer to decide what to do. The Book says 'build suspense by saying the gate is slowly being broken down every 10 seconds while they formulate a plan'

... or they could just flee out the back door through the smoke into the Orchard....

....

There is no plan. There are simply two approaches. Fight two massive party wipe sized groups of bad guys... or... flee into the orchard before the circling group get back around to the rear door.

Suffice to say before the howling mob had even done a lap of the temple, Benithor and Thorok used intimidate and persuasion to cow the terrified locals and cleric into fleeing into the safety of the Orchard, back through the tunnel and into the safety of the Castle...

Personally i didnt like how this played out (as it was just too simple).

NEXT upon returning to the castle they had a short 45 minute rest before a sudden thunderous boom heralded the destruction of the Sally port gate. The party flooded into the west castle courtyard to find kobolds and cultists hacking at the guards there.

One thing the Sally port mission doesnt explain is why the castle guards havent simply run to defend the Sally port... it just assumes a super small force of bad guys have destroyed the gate, and are meeting no resistance what so ever (when it clearly says during the Lennithon attack, that there is an endlessly repleneshing supply of guards numbering atleast 20 dudes on the walls at all times).

This would wipe the floor with the raiding force. so i threw my own spin on it.

The party vaulted from the ramparts onto wagon tops, and fought their way through a gritty melee to get to the Sally port and cut the invaders off from an escape. When they got there, they encountered their first acolyte (who i described as a open robed, bald headed 'warlock style dude' with a shiny metal coif and ridculous goggles). I replaced his Sacred Flame spell for 'Sacred Lightening'. Same thing but with lightening.

They also fought their first Ambush Drake, which Naddar killed in Spider form (before cocooning it and hanging from under the rampart).


They could see from the Sally port that Fruulam Mondath, the Commander of the attack (though they didnt know her name) was massing a large force of Black Talon Mercinarys in the town square. They could also see that the wall archers were keeping a second wave of attackers (mostly kobolds and cultists) at bay on the hill side. They didnt have much time to fix the Sally port.

Now here is the problem. No description as to how the Sally port is broken is given.

So i had to assume that the Turnstylus for the Sally ports porticullis had been sabotaged - and couldnt be closed until the wheel was replaced (or five mending spells had been cast on the mechanism to re-attach enough handles to turn the thing).

Naddar and Thorok figured they could use Woodworking tools to fashion a crude Make-shift mechanism given 5 minutes work. However they realised if they did this, half the party would be unable to help fend off counter attacks.

THUS the only option was mending...which no one had... so they had to send for Eadyan falconmoon (the cleric from before). Once again, i hate this style of gameplay.

Naddar desperately tried to crawl into the Barbican above gate and find out how to just 'drop the gate'. But the party had nothing in their posession that could Cut or corode through the massive iron chains, or lift the huge stone counter waits.

I had to give him inspiration for his work on this.. he was really thinking like an engineer. Infact, they all were! ive never seen so much blue-print drawing and 'architecture and engineering' applied in a game of DND before... they desperately wanted 'anything but' to get an NPC to come and cast mending.

It was super depressing when they was literally the only solution to the problem.

Naddar put his spider form to good use, laying webs on the hillside to make difficult terrain outside the gate. He was nearly shot at by some jump guards on the wall more than once, with flameing arrows landing near him. thus he climbed above the gate house door and waited. It wasnt long before a handful of attackers reached the gate and a scrum broke out.

Naddar and Thorok both threw themselves from their perches (as thorok was on the ramparts) into the frey. Thorok landing on one cultist and tumbling down the hill, while Naddar shot a bundle of webbing at a mercinary - before leaping off the wall side and poisoning him to death... did i mention Naddar loves being a giant spider?

A Sleep spell took all the Kobolds immediately out of the battle, and Benithor - rallying two guards to his side - put the sword to the remaining two cultists. It was over very quickly.

Already the party had mastered combat to such a degree, they were kicking ass and taking names.

At this point, Escobert, a large unit of guards and Eadyan Falconmoon arrived to relieve the players.

At about the same time, Lennithon's shadow fell over the keep again. Swooping down out of the night, the Dragon was now attacking the keep! Oh no.

... the question is. What sane party of level 2's are going to fight an Adult blue dragon! ...

insert cliff hanger.





'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  15:31:38  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Planning for Lennithon

Ok so i am thinking for next session i will change several things about the Lennithon battle.

First of all, as Lennithon attacks the keep - the Black Talons who were gathering in the town square will begin marching up the hill with a battering ram for the main gates.

A light Mangonel, also owned by the Black Talon mercinarys, will begin fireing on the Sally port again in an effort to break down the Porticullis.

All in all, it will be a concerted effort by the cult to send in its mercinarys in support of Lennithon.

Escobert will rally the guards to defend the main gate, and order the party to head up to the Ramparts and face the dragon. Knowing no sane group would do that - he explains at the keep top, covered under a leather weather tarpolin, is a ballista. Dharva Scatterheart (the town founder) has it put there in the event the town Ever came under assault by wyverns, Griffons or whatever. It may not be enough to KILL the dragon, but it might sure as hell piss it off.

stage one: fighting their way to the roof

The party will then have to fight their way back through the court yard (which will be under attack by a gang of Urds harassing the guards on the walls - though 4 will break off and engage the players, dropping stones mostly)

They will then make it into the keep, run upstairs and encounter two guards attempting to hold a door shut. It will then burst down and two Ambush drakes will break through (im assuming they snuck into the castle over the walls).

So they will have to kill those.

finally when they make the roof top, they will find the guards there are mostly dead. Lennithon is gliding around in the dark, illuminated by the fires of the city under his wings (truely fiersome). The air will be full of ash. Everywhere on the walls will be thick with fighting. Flameing arrows will be fireing up into the air. It will be utter chaos.

Readying the Ballista

The Ballista, i used the rules from Heroes of battle. I figured it was still compatible to use with a few tweaks.

It takes 2 full actions to load the ballista (this can be split over two players). A player can 'Aid' the firer by spending his action to help judge a shot to grant advantage to the firer. Fireing the Ballista takes an action. There are 4 Bolts bundled with chord beneath the ballista itself.

Lennithon

Lennithon doesnt notice the Ballista immediately. This is all too easy for him. he doesnt come within 25 feet of the wall, but every now and then his Tail smashes the ramparts during a pass - sending guard bodies flying.

The first time somebody hurts him, he will make a pass over the castle top and use his legendary action to 'beat his wings' scattering the players.

The second time he is injured - if he has it ready and charged - he will annihilate the culprit with his breath weapon.

If the Ballista is fired at him - and he still has taken less than 25 damage - he howls and panics in the air, he will do a wide circle - and when his breath weapon is ready, it will utterly destroy the ballista (and anyone else under the line). anyone within 5 feet of the ballista will be showered in wood shards (2d6 damage) and must make a dexterity check (DC 10) or be knocked prone.

If they injure him after this he will make a fly by and smash a random player with his tail.

Basically i intend to make the fight more dynamic than just 'he shoots lightening and people die'.

As soon as he takes 25 damage he makes one final parting shot at the person who hurt him before flapping off into the night sky.

Meanwhile at the main gate...

Meanwhile - the attack at the gate will be in full swing.

If the party rush down stairs, they will encounter Govenor nighthill, who will tell them that they can handle the fight at the gate - but only if the Sally port doesnt fall a second time. The Mangonel down by the stream needs to be dealt with - He bids them to use the tunnel again to get there, takeing a small squad of guards and one of the lesser clerics from the temple of Chauntae for support (5 guards, 1 Acolyte)

Following the stream to the Mangonel (which is near the south bridge into town) they will encounter a mission strait out of heroes of battle. I have always wanted to use heroes of battle, now i have a good reason too! In this case 'Take out the Trebuchet' on page 51.

Taking out the light Mangonel

As the party approach the bridge they will notice 6 Kobolds, 4 Black talon mercinarys, 2 Cultists and 2 Ambush drakes.

The kobolds will be on the bridge, while the Ambush drakes will be hiding in the Reeds (the party will need to notice these or else an ambush could go sour). The Cultists and Black Talons will be terrorising prisoners which they will be loading up into a wagon in shackles.

After takeing the bridge, the Mangonel will not be far away - the crew only abandon their position at the mangonel when it is clear the first group has been defeated.

The Mangonel crew consists of 2 more Black Talons, and 4 Kobolds.

The mangonel itself requires 100 damage to destroy (or they could simply set fire to it).

Destroying or setting fire to the mangonel will attract attention - and if they dont flee within two minutes - a force of two cultists, ten kobolds and one ambush drake will arrive.

All in all, they will get 50xp more if they can rescue the civilians as well.

Aftermath

In the aftermath of this the Black talons will withdraw from the fort.

Fruulam will realise the castle has some staunch defenders and will commit to a new plan to lure them out... at about 2 am i will say she concocts an idea for the 'Mill' mission to lure the party out and into a trap.

then finally at around 4 am Laganderosa will appear the front gates of the castle, standing amidst the dead, and howl out his challenge to the people inside like a terrible demi-god.

As for Lennithon i do not want to make any more plans for where he went until i have read 'Rise of Tiamat'. My party will want to hunt him down and kill him at some stage i am sure.

Thoughts?

'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  15:44:22  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Nice writeup, you make a good DM that obviously tries hard to make sure the players have fun.

I think i might steer clear of this product though, too many problems and not enough lore.

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Delwa
Master of Realmslore

USA
1268 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  17:22:21  Show Profile  Visit Delwa's Homepage Send Delwa a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks for sharing! I'm planning on running this adventure after my current Campaign wraps up, so I may refer to this scroll in prep. I agree that the story is very linear. Everything I've read in responce to that criticism seems to indicate that that was the intent, as it is meant to be for an organized play adventure, and that they wanted to leave room for the DM to fill in his own material as desired, which you've done wonderfully.
As far as thoughts on the story itself, you seem to have done a fine job. I'm waiting for the Rise of Tiamat adventure myself before stringing it all together.

A few things I hope you find helpful:

If you haven't already got a Bear Trap: Cut a small strip of cardboard (the kind a cereal box is made out of), enough to make a small circle when curled into a circle. Cut one of the edges with pinking shears, if you have them, or just cut a zig zag pattern using regular scissors. Hot glue or staple the strip into a circle, and paint it metallic. It costs nothing, or close to it, and if you already paint minis, it shouldn't be hard to make it visually blend in with the "professional" miniatures.

Your decision on Coup de Grace is fairly close to RAW. Coup de Grace isn't named as such, but any melee attack against an Unconcious creature
1. Has Advantage on the Attack Roll
2. Is an instant Crit if it Hits. (Double All Die Rolls. Since he would have Advantage, this includes a Rogues' Sneak Attack Die)

If the Creature is Unconcious due to dropping to 0 HP, then this counts as two failed Death Saves. A fighter who uses his Action Surge to stab a dropped foe twice on his intiative can easily kill the target, as two hits would mean four failed Death Saves, and you're dead at three failures.


- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!

"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus

Edited by - Delwa on 21 Oct 2014 17:29:50
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader

USA
2717 Posts

Posted - 21 Oct 2014 :  21:55:59  Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks for taking the time to post all this.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver).
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 22 Oct 2014 :  16:27:36  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dazzlerdal - Thanks man, you are correct. This module focuses more on action than lore.But im trying to make the most of it.

Delwa - sweet bear trap idea.. we did something similar with plasticard in the end. Again my issue with the coup-de-grace moment is when Laganderosa gets into a duel with one of the characters which is geared towards no one interfearing or else the peasants all get murdered. But its clearly designed to defeat a player. Thing is i dont want Laganderosa to simply kill someone, he wants to take a trophy. Cant seem to look past this scene, if played out properly being the moment where a Villain kills a player for effect. Eh. The other thing is speeding up the party hacking its way through groups of 'sleep spelled' mooks.

Jeremy - no worries, i just hope some of it proved useful


'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore

USA
1268 Posts

Posted - 22 Oct 2014 :  17:05:01  Show Profile  Visit Delwa's Homepage Send Delwa a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Fendrikor


Thing is i dont want Laganderosa to simply kill someone, he wants to take a trophy. Cant seem to look past this scene, if played out properly being the moment where a Villain kills a player for effect. Eh. The other thing is speeding up the party hacking its way through groups of 'sleep spelled' mooks.


Aye, from what I've read of the adventure, there are a couple of points where the player options are fight and die, or run. As far as hacking through sleepy minions, I've simply been hand-waving and saying "you killed him in his sleep." If you've managed to put a large opponent to sleep, slipping a dagger into his heart or slitting a throat should be easy, barring any foes attacking you and botching the attempt.
Now, if an enemy cleric were to come along and cast Revivify on a foe with a slit throat, we just might be facing a highly trained opponent further down the road with a unique looking scar across his neck. Inigo Montoya-esque scene may then unfold.

- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!

"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 22 Oct 2014 :  17:14:54  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa


Now, if an enemy cleric were to come along and cast Revivify on a foe with a slit throat, we just might be facing a highly trained opponent further down the road with a unique looking scar across his neck. Inigo Montoya-esque scene may then unfold.





"My name is Bahb Nounsilver. You slit my throat and interrupted a great dream featuring twin elfmaids. Prepare to die."

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Delwa
Master of Realmslore

USA
1268 Posts

Posted - 22 Oct 2014 :  17:17:40  Show Profile  Visit Delwa's Homepage Send Delwa a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:
Originally posted by Delwa


Now, if an enemy cleric were to come along and cast Revivify on a foe with a slit throat, we just might be facing a highly trained opponent further down the road with a unique looking scar across his neck. Inigo Montoya-esque scene may then unfold.





"My name is Bahb Nounsilver. You slit my throat and interrupted a great dream featuring twin elfmaids. Prepare to die."



Note to self, do not read Wooly's replies with beverage in mouth.

- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!

"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 23 Oct 2014 :  01:29:51  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
;) Very funny Rupert.

Anyway i have revised my plans for Lennithon as follows!

Readying the Ballista

The Ballista, i used the rules from Heroes of battle. I figured it was still compatible to use with a few tweaks.

It takes 2 full actions to load the ballista (this can be split over two players). This consists of drawing back the cord and knocking the bolt. Because of how bulky the Ballista is, Shots are made at disadvantage.

A player can 'Aid' the firer by helping him get the Ballista into fireing position countering the disadvantage. Two players can do this to grant advantage. The ballista was designed to fight flying enemys, and thus it Is mounted on a wheel so it can swivel.

Fireing the Ballista takes an action.

There are 6 Bolts bundled with chord beneath the ballista itself.
4 players (1 loader, 1 cranker, one aimer, one firer) can shoot off a Ballista shot every round. DAMAGE: 3d8

Lennithon

Lennithon doesnt notice the Ballista immediately. If the players manage to hurt him, there is still only a 50% chance he will attack them instead of the guards. Everytime he attacks the guards (be it with an attack or breath) he kills about d4.

Once the party start using the Ballista on him, he will consider them more of a threat than the castle guards. When he does, he will try to smash it with his Tail during a Turn 3 or 7.

He circles the castle in a figure 8 pattern.

LENNITHON TRACK
Round 1 – Flying in a loop
Round 2 – Incoming (Breath at the players. Or Guards if no Agro)
Round 3 – Legendary (flys over the keep, Wings on players or Tail)
Round 4 – Breath or Legendary on the Wall Guards (Tail / Wings or Breath)
Round 5 – Flying in a loop
Round 6 – Incoming (Breath at players. Or Guards if no agro)
Round 7 – Legendary (flys over keep, Wings, tail or Snatch with bite on players)
Round 8 – Breath or Legendary on the Wall Guards (Tail / Wings or Breath)
((RINSE REPEAT until he takes 25 damage. Then he flees))

'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'

Edited by - Fendrikor on 23 Oct 2014 01:31:45
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore

USA
1853 Posts

Posted - 23 Oct 2014 :  03:59:14  Show Profile  Visit xaeyruudh's Homepage Send xaeyruudh a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Fendrikor

It takes 2 full actions to load the ballista (this can be split over two players). This consists of drawing back the cord and knocking the bolt. Because of how bulky the Ballista is, Shots are made at disadvantage.

A player can 'Aid' the firer by helping him get the Ballista into fireing position countering the disadvantage. Two players can do this to grant advantage. The ballista was designed to fight flying enemys, and thus it Is mounted on a wheel so it can swivel.

Fireing the Ballista takes an action.



I'm no expert; this is just a reaction.

I think four characters moving around the ballista will result in crowding -- it's probably only like 4 or 5 feet in diameter -- and would probably cause disadvantage rather than removing it.

I agree with one PC aiding in the loading to reduce the load time to 1 action apiece.

I can also see two PCs aiming the ballista being more effective than one, and possibly granting advantage. I'm more inclined to say they have disadvantage if only one PC aims, and assigning two to the task removes the disadvantage -- one on each side of the turret helps overcome the friction of turning the ballista.

However, if it were me, I would make 3 the optimum number of PCs for the operation. PC1 cranks the cord back on one side while PC2 stands at the back and loads the bolt, then PC1 and PC3 aim and PC2 remains at the back and fires. This minimizes their need to move about, and removes the likelihood that they're going to get in each other's way.

Just my two cents.
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 25 Oct 2014 :  05:44:15  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
++++ LENNITHON (How it went) ++++

After the session, the best feedback was given about how i adapted Lennithon. It made for some extremely epic scenes - and throwing in some additional battles along the way really made them feel like they were fighting through a seige (there were also usually NPC soldiers in every fight)

After fighting a pack of Urds, some rampaging ambush drakes and finally fighting another pack of Urds off the Ballista itself at the keep top (Urds being winged kobolds) - they set about the task of reading the Seige engine to fight a Dragon.

I had lennithon flying a figure 8 around the keep with 7 stop points. The paladin player had been watching me methodically place the dragon down and had a 'hunch' this was the case (his puzzle mind kicked in).

Subsiquently, without much explaining on my part they realised pretty quickly the Ballista needed to be whinched before it could be loaded - loaded before it could be fired - and aimed at the right patch of sky, as it was large and heavy and clumsy to turn!

The Gnome Warlock quickly discovered he was just too small to help do anything so he took on the role of Spotter - using a perception check to see if he could predict where the dragon was going to go next.

Once during a fight with a pack of urds in the courtyard (his wings) and once during the loading of the ballista (again, his wings) did Lennithon hurt the party. But his damage was punishing, 2d6+7 damage a pass with a DC 19 save to avoid. I found this to be too much - Ammending it down to 2d6 and a DC 13 to avoid (given he was beating his wings from 25 feet above them).

I described much of the damage from doing so in being knocked into things and head trauma.

When they finally did fire the ballista, it was pretty amazing. The Paladin player - who was shooting it took a moment to think of his family and then opened his eyes saying 'For my mother' - Pulling the fireing lever and scoring a Critical hit!

He lanced a huge gash through Lennithon's wing, so much that he couldnt stay Airborn and hurtled over the keep wall into the hillside , tumbling end over end until he ended up in the stream - twitching and groaning.

A Tremendous cheer went up from the castle defenders, as the Dragon groggily got to its feet - cast an evil glance towards the castle defenders - and limped off into the wilderness with its tail between its legs - like a beaten dog!

++++ AFTERMATH ++++

After the fight they regrouped with the major NPC's (Escobert and Nighthill) at the main gate to find they had beaten off a push by the Black Talon mercinarys, and a battering ram to take the gate house (I explained that one of the players who was missing from the session this week was instromental in helping stop the ram).

From the parapets they caught a glimpse of Fruulam Mondath again at the base of the hill - her purple cape fluttering in the wind. But next to her stood the looming figure of Laganderosa the half dragon, and on the other - a red wizard of Thay.

They were most unimpressed - but knew the castle had some capable defenders. Defenders who needed to die.

+++ THE CATAPULT AT THE MILL +++

About an hour later i implemented the Catapult scene. It was pretty clear they needed to disable the thing before it bashed down the Sally port a second time - and the players were the only choice for the job, having now been dubbed 'Champions of Greenest' for downing the dragon.

They were given a squad of 5 guards, the NPC cleric once again and told to head out through the old tunnel to the stream.

The Catapult had been set up near the Old mill, which Govenor nightill feared it was only a matter of time before the Cult burned down (along with their spring grain harvest). Torches were already flickering down in the vicinity of the Mill.

The party snuck up the stream banks with their helpers in tow to find the Black Talons were holding a bridge while cultists were loading townfolk in shackles into a wagon for transport. The Catapult sat behind the high mill fence.

A Scrum broke out, with the party heading to rescue the prisoners while sending the guards to take the bridge. By the time the players acomplished their objective (with much... much heavy handed brutality) the guards morale was faultering.

Between Ambush drakes hiding in the tall grass and Kobold reinforcments coming down the road they were getting slaughtered.

Benithor, the paladin rushed to their rescue - but by the time he reached them his friend Arnolt' the guard had been surrounded and cut down with a resounding 'noooo!' from all involved.

Other cool scenes from the fighting came from Zook, the gnome warlock being chased around a tree by an Ambush drake - distracting it so Thorok could butcher his way through a pile of sleep-spelled kobolds.

Zook had a second cool Scene, in which upon scoring a critical hit with his Eldritch Blast, we drew a Crit card from the old pathfinder deck (mind you, i apply them sparingly to make Critical hits feel cooler) scoring 'Splash spell'. Power surged through him at the sight of seeing Arnolt get dragged down - and explosively errupted from his finger tisp - Obliterating the ENTIRE BRIDGE - sending Kobolds and Mercinary bodies raining down all around.

When the debris began to land - the surviving kobolds simply fled for their lives.

After they stormed into the Mill compound - the Catapult crew having already been slaughtered after joining the main fight.

+++ THE MILL AMBUSH +++

... the fight at the mill was the closest i had come as a DM to a party wipe in a long time... Its not a feeling i enjoy, as a hater of Dues ex Machina.

After setting fire to the catapult, the party scoped out the mill. Benithor and Zook kept a watch at the gate while Thorok (the ranger) went scouting finding a heap of tracks leading into the Mill itself. He had no idea if these were slaves or badguys though.

scouting inside he came under attack by a pack of Cultists and Mercinarys hiding in the rafters - one of them yelling 'Fruulam Mondath sends her regards!', they had been expecting them.

Thorok kited the cultists out of the Mill before vaulting a fence - landing in a tangle of tall reeds by the waterwheel. If anyone has ever tried to wade through a creek filled with reeds, you would know you would need to be desperate to do such a thing! Regardless the cultists gave chase, two vaulting the fence and wading through the reeds after him.

The mercenarys meanwhile barreled out and ran headlong into Benithor - who killed two before being taken down himself by a critical hit leaving zook completely unprotected. Worse, Benithor rolled a 1 for his death save, he was one save from Actually dieing!

Thorok meanwhile fought free of the reeds before wading down the stream - cultists in tow - and arriving just in time to rescue Zook - hurling both his throwing axes at a mercinary standing over the little gnome.

Zook then ran to help Benithor with first aid, but was quickly mobbed when three cultists descended on him and began to Boot bash him... literally... they all ganged up on him screaming ;for the dragon queen' and began kicking and bashing him repeatedly. Hardly very heroic.

This left Thorok on his own fighting the final mercenary - he risked a swing by the Merc to cast his heal wounds spell on the fallen Paladin, a big thing considering Thorok was saving it for himself. Benithor then regained conciousness and used an aid other action while prone to kick the mercenary in the back of the leg so Thorok could get the upper hand and kill it in his next turn.

Zook meanwhile drank a potion and managed to scurry free of his assailants - only to see them descend on benithor and stab / bash him unconscious again.

Thorok then pulled out a shield and readied his staff in one hand to go toe to toe with the three cultists, but they simply overwhelmed him - hacking and stabbing him down in two rounds.

Zook killed a cultist with his eldritch blast and ran to the Mill while the Cultists continued to beat the downed Thorok.

Then a Miracle happened - Benithor regained conciousness (on a 20), a vision of his Brother pleading for help spurred him to snap awake. On one hit point he Stood up, picked his mace up off the dirt and said 'Remember me?' to get a cultists attention. The man looked at him in disbelief 'you cant be here... your dead! YOUR DEAAAADDDD' before having his skull caved in.

Between Zook and Benithor the final culist did not stand much of a chance - unable to escape and cornered he ranted crazily about Tiamats return before Zook silenced him with a warlock blast.

++++ AFTERMATH AND THOUGHTS ++++

I don't know what this module expects from the players, but it has felt like a Marathon.

They have gone from level 1 to 3 without a chance to have a Long Rest.

Granted the catapult scene was added by me to allow for a somewhat more personalised touch, It was still no more difficult than any of the other scenes.

The party found this session - to be the best of the 3 we have played. Particularily favoring the Lennithon fight, while complaining about only getting short rests.

They also felt that the module is inherently geared towards large parties - as after i explained how i had altered the Lennithon battle, they scoffed at their chances of dealing 25 damage to an AC 19 dragon while running on fumes - let alone surviving its breath weapon!

Now that they are level 3 i am less worried about the Laganderosa duel.



'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 05 Nov 2014 :  06:25:59  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Experiance gain concerns

Todays Revellation, this module was not built for 4 well balanced adventuring classes in mind. It was built for a large group of 6.

In addition it ensures the group 10 days downtime per mission. I dont know about you, but most motivated groups do not pause for downtime - they set off immediately killing everything in their way. The illusion of 10 days without any real ingame consequence is just immersion breakingly mechanical to me!

Worse, the module has an Experiance cap, which plateus out at the end of every chapter, in the first one the xp cap is 300.

In effect, the group are cheated of experiance - considering each kobold / cultist / black talon they kill is worth 25, and some of the quest rewards mid-chapter grant flat bonuses of 50-100 exp to each player they will hit this xp cap very quickly.

this makes the Laganderosa fight at the end of the Greenest chapter a thankless, possibly character killing, encounter not so much designed to generate 'hatred' towards the cult, so much as annoyance - as only a Story gamer would waltz outside and take on 'Laganderosa, Spawn of Lennithon, Claw of Tiamat!' and be happy to die and roll a new character... after finishing 'Greenest in Flames'.

Its silly. I am literally going to have to do a 'Shredder' just to keep the module running.

Here is how i am going to do this cinematically

Laganderosa Fight

Party member sallys forth from the keep to meet Laganderosa in single combat.

Laganderosa releases the children to run to the gate, Keeps the woman, and kills a Captive gaurd to show him 'He's Serious' and insight the party member into illiciting an agressive emotional response.

After a short battle with Laganderosa using his two handed sword he smites the partymember (unless the dice gods (Tymora in this case) decide otherwise).

He will then pick a Spear up from out of the Grass - Heft it high - and then Stab it into the fallen character through chest / back (missing the heart if they live, through the heart if they die).

He will then walk off laughing while releasing the woman to run to the keep.

What i would 'want' to do

Cut the characters head off as a trophy and swagger off with it.

But that would hardly be heroic. urgh.

2 days until i run this... then we shall see how it plays out. Honestly i am not enjoying running this module, Dazzlerdal, you were right to avoid it!


'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'

Edited by - Fendrikor on 05 Nov 2014 06:29:28
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 05 Nov 2014 :  08:36:25  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dont say that. The laws of the universe rely on people like me being considered extreme lunatics. If i'm right about this, then i could be right about 5e, and possibly the future of the realms.

What would we all do if there was a reboot.




Oh well. This is why i do not run premade adventures. Every group of gamers is different, they all want different things, and a premade adventure cannot cater to them all. For instance one member of my group enjoys trying to be the diplomatic type. I agree with him that not everyone you meet is a homicidal maniac devoid of motivation other than to kill and maim, therefore he has a chance of talking them out of a fight.

The final fight with this guy sounds too staged. Why would you design a combat in which only one pc can participate (leaving the others sat twiddling their thumbs with boredom). Why would you then make the opponent so high that the players have no chance of winning. Why then would you make the opponent cut off the pc's head at the end.

Players invest a lot of time in their pcs. Usually they do not mind a truly heroic end in which they sacrifice themselves to save the world. But losing a fight and getting your head cut off because you were blackmailed into doing so by your own alignment (evil players probably wouldnt bother) is not heroic, its bad design.



Rant over. I feel for you Fendrikor. Vote with your wallet, dont get Rise of Tiamat.

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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 05 Nov 2014 :  12:03:27  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My group are grumbling also, we are in very open communication about how frustrating the module is.

Thing is, 5th has a really good character generation system and a fast / cinematic combat system that still maintains some of the grittyness of 3.5 without the grid centric gameplay of 4th.

But this module has alot of very badly written encounters (Lennithon and Ladanderosa for example), and alot of Dues Ex Machina in the name of story progression.

I will not be buying Rise of Tiamat unless the module improves. Until then, i will finish it then take a vote with my players.

I have always wanted them to play 3.5 Tomb of Horrors, i think they are a skilled enough group for the task. I am thinking about locating the Tomb of Horrors somewhere in the Realms and makeing a mini campaign around it.

This is already sounding far more exciting than hoard of the dragonqueen...


'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
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Fendrikor
Learned Scribe

Australia
189 Posts

Posted - 06 Nov 2014 :  04:17:49  Show Profile Send Fendrikor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
++++++ CAMPAIGN BINNED +++++++

Group took a vote with feedback on Hoard of the Dragonqueen

Xp cap is too restrictive.

Plot is too linear.

Going to convert Sons of Gruumsh over to 5th instead, and run a Campaign based in the moonsea region.




'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1150 Posts

Posted - 06 Nov 2014 :  09:40:50  Show Profile  Visit hashimashadoo's Homepage Send hashimashadoo a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't like Sons of Gruumsh. Conflicts with too much established lore and it's really hard to explain it away without time travel.

When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.

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