```metadata
title: Running HotDQ
description: Research material and campaign ideas.
tags:
- Tyranny of Dragons
systems:
- 5e
renderer: legacy
theme: 5ePHB
```
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```
##### Tryanny of Dragons
[by Stonemonkey](https://www.deviantart.com/stonemonkey/art/Tyranny-of-Dragons-471995711)
# Running HotDQ
___
Running HotDQ is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved / endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
\page
# Running Horde of the Dragon Queen
##### Cult of the Dragon
[by WotC, Tryanny of Dragons](https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/tyranny-dragons)
### Credits
#### Artwork
Front cover - Stonemonkey
https://www.deviantart.com/stonemonkey/art/Tyranny-of-Dragons-471995711
Credit Page - WotC
https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/tyranny-dragons
Back cover - Gugu-troll
https://www.deviantart.com/gugu-troll/art/Sunny-dragon-410859390
Back Cover Squiggly Thing - T.Bonds
#### Shoutouts
- [u/metamago96](https://www.reddit.com/r/homebrewery/comments/ppmvoe/new_cover_template/) for their front page layout css, which uses elements from this excellent [styling guide](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/HJWLQsTwUZ).
- [Safehouse maps](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndmaps/comments/f5pord/shopworkshop_map/) a good map to use for the fox traveller safehouse!
- [This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/homebrewery/comments/kwrn46/whats_a_good_way_to_present_a_time_line/) for help with showing timelines in homebrewery.
\page
# Contents
- ### [4Sources](#p4)
- [4Tweaking the campaign](#p4)
- [4Research](#p4)
- ### [5Chapter 1 - Greenest](#p5)
- [5Mission order](#p5)
- [5Governor Nighthall](#p5)
- [5The dragon encounter](#p5)
- [5The Monks](#p5)
- ### [6Chapter 2 - Raider Camp](#p6)
- [6There is a lot going on here](#p6)
- [6Who is in the camp then?](#p6)
- [6Cultist leadership](#p6)
- [6That well guarded tent](#p6)
- [6Moving things along](#p6)
- [6Leosin](#p6)
- [6Back and forth, back and forth](#p6)
- ### [7Chapter 3 - Dragon Hatchery](#p7)
- [7Tweaks?](#p7)
- [7Resources for tweaking this part of the campaign](#p7)
- [7Frulam Mondath](#p7)
- [7Eggy Eggs](#p7)
- ### [8Chapter 4 - Elturel](#p8)
- [8Floating light ball...](#p8)
- [8Tweaks?](#p8)
- [8Festival mini-games](#p8)
- ### [9Chapter 4 - Baldur's Gate](#p9)
- [9Boat ride to Baldur's Gate](#p9)
- [9Baldur's Gate research](#p9)
- [9Murder in Baldur's Gate](#p9)
- [9Baldur's Mouth Broadsheet](#p9)
- [10Ackyn Selebon](#p10)
- [10Picking up the cult's trail](#p10)
- [10The cultist's meeting](#p10)
- [10The Fox Traveler Safehouse](#p10)
- [10Murder plot](#p10)
- [10Murder in Baldur's Gate Launch Weekend](#p10)
- [10Concluding Baldur's Gate](#p10)
- ### [11Chapter 4 - Onwards to Waterdeep](#p11)
- [11Employment](#p11)
- [11The convoy](#p11)
- [12Roadtrip Timeline](#p12)
- ### [13Chapter 5 - Waterdeep](#p13)
- [13Overview of the City](#p13)
- [13Tweaks](#p13)
- ### [14Chapter 5 - The Roadhouse](#p14)
- [14Mere of Dead Men](#p14)
- [14Tweaks?](#p14)
- ### [15Chapter 6 - Castle Naerytar](#p15)
- [15The Big Fight at the Portal](#p15)
- [15Worst Case Scenario?](#p15)
- [15Tweaks and Running the Castle](#p15)
- ### [16Chapter 7 - Hunting Lodge](#p16)
- [16Please investigate the lodge...](#p16)
- [16Talis](#p16)
- [16Parnast](#p16)
- [16Getting On The Castle](#p16)
- ### [17Chapter 8 - Skyreach Castle](#p17)
- [17The Sly Flourish Effect](#p17)
- [17Some Other Things to Think About](#p17)
- [17Dragon Mask](#p17)
- [17The Castle Maps and Getting Around](#p17)
- [17Trapped?](#p17)
- [17Is That It?](#p17)
- ### [18Before I Forget...](#p18)
- [18Baldur's Gate](#p18)
- [18Daggerford](#p18)
\page
## Sources
Document draws on the following:
### Tweaking the campaign
#### Ch. 1 - Greenest
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/greenest_in_flames.html)
- [The Id DM](https://theiddm.wordpress.com/2014/09/14/starting-hoard-of-the-dragon-queen/)
- [Merric B](https://merricb.com/2014/10/09/running-hoard-of-the-dragon-queen-episode-1/)
- [Hack Slash Master](http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/09/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-i.html)
#### Ch. 2 - Raider Camp
- [Hack Slash Master](http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/09/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-ii_10.html)
- [Slyflourish](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_raiders_camp.html)
#### Ch. 3 - Dragon Hatchery
- [Merric B](https://merricb.com/2014/11/26/running-hoard-of-the-dragon-queen-episode-3/)
- [Hack Slash Master pt.1](http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-iii.html)
- [Hack Slash Master pt.2](http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-iii_2.html)
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_dragon_hatchery.html)
#### Ch. 4 - On The Road (Elturel)
- [Hack Slash Master](http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-iv.html) (festival timetable)
#### Ch. 4 - On The Road (Baldur's Gate)
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/on_the_road.html) (ogre event during boat ride & safe house)
- [Murder in Baldur's Gate on DMs Guild](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/160318/Murder-in-Baldurs-Gate-5e)
- [Murder in Baldur's Gate Launch Weekend PDF](https://media.wizards.com/downloads/dnd/MiBG_Launch%20Weekend.pdf)
#### Ch. 4 - On The Road (Onwards to Waterdeep)
- [Power Score](http://thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com/2014/10/tyranny-of-dragons-guide-to-hoard-of.html)
#### Ch. 5 - Waterdeep (before Carnath Roadhouse)
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_chapter_5.html)
#### Ch. 5 - The Roadhouse
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_chapter_5.html)
- [Hack Slash Master](http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/11/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-5.html)
#### Ch. 6 - The Castle
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_chapter_6.html)
- [Merric B](https://merricb.com/2015/04/21/running-hoard-of-the-dragon-queen-episode-6/)
#### Ch. 7 - The Lodge
- [Sly Flourish](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_episode_7.html)
- [Ideas for Talis](https://www.reddit.com/r/TyrannyOfDragons/comments/ppzr0c/talis_working_with_your_pcs/)
#### Ch. 8 - The Flying Castle
- [Sly Flourish's Skyreach Tweaks](https://slyflourish.com/hodq_chapter_8.html)
### Research
#### Blue Dragons
- [DnD Beyond](https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/adult-blue-dragon)
- [Dragons Fandom wiki](https://dragons.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Dragon_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons))
- [Forgotten Realms wiki](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_dragon)
#### Church of Tiamat
- [Red Hand](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/LVfRXkXuZ)
- [Cobalt Claw](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/L5zvUDGku)
- [Pale Eye](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/Ml-7y_tp4)
- [Ebony Wing](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/GlxD8f8BI)
- [NPC Cultist Generator](http://detectmagic.blogspot.com/2014/08/hoard-of-dragon-queen-cultist-generator.html)
- [Dragon Masks](https://rspixart.tumblr.com/post/613214946731360256/need-some-dragon-masks-for-your-rise-of-tiamat) (excellent illustrations of the masks)
#### Dragon Poetry
- [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/33i61b/goodbad_dragon_poetry/)
- [There's No Smoke Without Dragons](https://theresnosmokewithoutdragons.wordpress.com/dragon-themed-poetry-writing-workshops/your-dragon-poems/)
- [Morrus' Unofficial TTRPG News](https://www.enworld.org/threads/enhancing-hoard-of-the-dragon-queen-practical-stuff-to-try-at-your-table.394128/post-6862322) (these are great)
#### Important Locations
- [Fields of the Dead](https://thetyrannyofdragonsdawnofheroes.obsidianportal.com/wikis/fields-of-the-dead)
- [Trollclaws](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Trollclaws)
- [Drgaonspear Castle](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dragonspear_Castle)
- [Mere of Dead Men](http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20040310a)
#### Mercenary Groups
- [Mercenary Groups](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Mercenary_companies)
- [Army themed stat blocks](https://imgur.com/a/aO8yx)
#### Mini-games
- [Minigames for your Pirate Tavern](https://www.tribality.com/2019/05/07/3-minigames-for-your-pirate-tavern/)
- [Arm Wrestling](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/7wr9bg/oc_5e_arm_wrestling_mini_game_print_and_play/)
- Other rules by T.Bonds based on reading through a load of other ideas and rules.
#### Settlements
- [Elturel](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Elturel)
- [Baldur's Gate](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Baldur's_Gate)
- [Baldur's Gate Interactive Map](https://www.aidedd.org/atlas/index.php?map=B&l=1)
- [Daggerford](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Daggerford#15th_Century)
- [Waterdeep](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Waterdeep)
- [Waterdeep Visitor's Guide](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/331563/Waterdeep-Visitors-Guide?term=waterdeep+visitor+guide)
- [Waterdeep's Temples](http://oakthorne.net/wiki/index.php/Temples_of_Waterdeep)
#### Ship & Crew Generators
- [Ship names](https://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=shipnamer)
- [Ship names with descriptions](https://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/random/#type=ship;ship-culture=slavic;ship-class=explorer_s_ship;ship-race=human)
- [Ship crews and jobs](http://enneadgames.com/generators/pirate-ship-crew-generator/)
#### Substances
- [Dream mist](http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2261)
#### Timelines
- [Order of published adventures](https://alphastream.org/index.php/2020/04/09/the-official-timeline-for-the-forgotten-realms-and-its-adventures/)
\page
## Chapter 1 - Greenest
> This document is based on using the milestone system for leveling up, if adding extra sections and side quests keep that in mind when giving out levels - if timed wrong they'll come too slow or too quick (looking at you Hunting Lodge).
### Mission order
Upon entering the town the party encounter a family leading to **Seek the Keep**, from here the next sensible mission is **Old Tunnel** which secures a way in and out for the party. After the party come back from securng the tunnel it is probably the best time to mention it looks like the invaders are trying to contain rather than assault the keep.
The Governor obviously sees this as a good time to act especially as the party seem willing to help - so it is a good idea (by Merric Blackman) for Nighthill to bring up wanting a **Prisoner** to interrogate if they find anyone.
From here the party are in a good position to pick from the following when they report back to Governor Nighthill who now has new intel on what is going on in Greenest:
* **Sanctuary** - people seltering in the catherdral need help
* **Save the Mill** - looks like some of the invaders are trying to burn it down
This gets the party out into the town with some random encounters thrown in for good measure. When they return to the keep it might be a good time to run:
* **Sally port** - some of the invaders manage to get into the keep and scout around running into the dwarf Castellan Esocbert the Red.
* **Dragon attack** - she spies someone who looks useful and tries to separate them from the rest of the party for a nice "friendly" chat
Then finally as the invaders leave, the blue half-dragon shows up to crow it over some poor victim. Whoever fights him will lose, make sure the taunts flow from the half-dragon.
### Governor Nighthall
I like hack and slash's list of curses for Governor Nighthill, they fit the theme of shit hitting the fan and his town falling apart around him. Check out a sample from the list you can find on the blog page listed on page 1.
- "What in the ass of the abyss are/is. . . "
- "I'll be smacked with the c*&k of Tempus!"
- "Great stinking balls of Tempus!"
- "By Mystara's ice-cold brass tits!"
- Explitives:
- "Tymora's Tits!
- "Smoke and ashes!"
Adding these into his interactions with the party builds the character and makes things a bit more interesting than talking to Mr Bland-o-random-voice-man.
### The dragon encounter
I like skyflourish's thoughts on this encounter where it is obvious to anyone paying attention that the dragon's heart is not in this raid and there must be a reason she is obeying commands from a "lower species" like a mere human.
Having this extremely dangerous dragon suddenly become an NPC quest giver is ♥. Especially when there is a character in the party that the dragon is definitely going to be interested in (also this helps with the "this dragon can totally wipe out the party with one breath attack" problem).
But what exactly is this Dragon's plan? Are the party going to be at the Dragon's beck and call whenever it deems their company tolerable? Might be best to make this a one and done unless interesting opportunities arise later on in the campaign for a certain blue dragon's reappeance.
##### What do we know about Blue Dragons?
1. They can be actually be reasoned with to a certain degree as long as you talk up to their pride and talk up your worthlessness in comparison to them,
2. They like minions, they like to exert control and they certainly like you to do all the heavy lifting for them so they can boast about it later,
3. They like a certain type of minion; assassins, spellcasters or adventurers with something interesting about them,
4. They certainly don't like being under someone else's command,
5. They are maternal and do not tend to leave their eggs unattended nor under the care of humans and the like.
Taking this into account, it would make sense that the cult of the dragon has some hold over Lennithon. Skyflousirh's suggestion of her eggs being in the hatchery make most sense - and also a very good reason why she is following the commands of Frulam Mondath.
### Side quest time!
Lennithon wants her eggs back but she isn't going to accept anything bar complete agreement and playing up to her pride as a blue dragon, who ever she takes needs to tred lightly. This isn't a nice dragon, but it is a dragon who will give the person a chance to live... just as long as they agree to complete servitude.
It's up to you if this lasts forever or until the eggs are returned. With Lennithon probably needing to lay low away from the cult, this is probably a one and done thing.
There is potential for the party to find out that the cult are troubled by Lennithon's actions if they make it into the large tent at the raider's camp.
### The Monks
Leosin doesn't seem to have told Governor Greenhill much at all about the cult or the cult's attacks across these lands, did he not have time to warn them? Is he keeping quiet about his true mission because he needs to know what the cult are up to and he doesn't want to tip them off? Personally I feel that the monks will try to keep a low profile, especially in terms of what they know and what has just happened to Greenest.
\page
## Chapter 2 - Raider Camp
### There is a lot going on here
The party will have a long to-do list coming into this part of the campaign, and the camp itself based on what you decide to do has a lot going on. I really like Hack Slash Master's list of alternative cult dialog based on their sect, especially the sex mad blues, to help make the camp a bit more unique.
Proposed changes will have knock on effects for the rest of the campaign. The idea is to break up the camp into specific groups; mercenary groups, and a number of sects from the cult of the dragon. If you go with the idea of having 5 sects of the cult (to match the colours of the prismatic dragons), then this will need to be kept in mind for the rest of the campaign.
Skyflourish's idea of schrodingers camp is a good one to reduce your workload, the party only need a general update of the rest of the camp when they are concentrating on one particular area.
### Who is in the camp then?
I've listed some websites in the sources to give ideas of active mercenary groups and example stat blocks to help out. I personally picked Blackwatch and Red Thunder; Blackwatch are an evil bunch of bastards - so a good match, and Red Thunder are centuar archers normally hired to protect caravans. This might be a helpful clue for the party when tracking cult caravan momvements later on. For the cult, I picked blue, black and red - it should be noted, the person making the homebrew cultists listed in the sources never did one for the Jade Fang. :( It is easy enough to say the Jade Fang were the sect that took over Phlan and there is no need to bump into them.
### Cultist leadership
Definitely some oppotunities to put faces to names here; especially trying to highlight how imposing Rezmir is when making the rounds in the camp. Some super important cult info to keep in mind:
##### Cult of the dragon ranks and wyrmspekaers
The higher ranks of the cult, in ascending order are:
1. Dragonclaw
2. Dragonwing
3. Dragonfang
4. Dragonsoul
5. Wyrmspeaker
There are only five wyrmspeakers, one per color of chromatic dragon. The current wyrmspeakers are:
1. Severin (red)
2. Galvan (blue)
3. Neronvain (green)
4. Rezmir (black)
5. Varram (white)
### That well guarded tent
If it's within the pary's means there is no need to prevent the party getting in; whether this is via a familiar or invisibility.
This would be a good opportunity to get some juicy gossip about the cult being confused about Lennithon's actions if she became an NPC quest giver. For example Furlam Mondath and Langdedrosa Cyanwrath might be in the tent discussing the actions of Lennithon:
> **Forlam**: Has Galvan given any reason for Lennithon's behaviour?
> **Langdedrosa**: He has not.
> **Forlam**: I've heard she was seen talking to one of those do gooders that stuck their nose in where it didn't belong.
> **Langdedrosa**: We are a proud race, perhaps she doesn't take kindly to her eggs being in the hatchery?
> **Forlam**: And that is more important than bringing Tiamat back into these forsaken lands?
> **Langdedrosa**: It is not.
> **Furlam**: Put more guards around the nursery, it is far too important, far more important than the pride of one dragon.
If Rezmir is also in there, she may just be listening in on the conversation.
### Moving things along
The party might eventually start to struggle to work out what to do next; if they've wondered in and managed to avoid detection it is quite daunting, if some have been captured, the party is split or maybe things start to drag the following events might help.
* If the party took out the rear guard, news will soon spread, this might spur the party into trying to get Leosin out or finish up their business. The camp will go into lockdown and patrols will try to find intruders. Can the party get out with Leosin?
* A big feast is planned to celebrate the raid (I actually had my party get roped into potato peeling duties), this should give ample opportunity to find out info, rescue Leosin, etc.
### Leosin
I wouldn't make this guy appear to be an arse if the party rescue him, he is going to be the party's main guide / source of information for a while. Leosin has overhead many things and he was heard enough to answer his suspicions that this group is extremely organised and extremely dangerous.
### Back and forth, back and forth
The party need to do quite a lot of backtracking to and from Greenest and this camp, try to make it the party's choice rather than enforcing it. You can use Leosin to tell the party he overhead that the cult is moving out to make another raid in a few days so the party may want to bunker down in a cave and wait it out, rather than return to Greenest before coming back to investigate the hatchery. Leosin is probably in need of some decent TLC though.
\page
## Chapter 3 - Dragon Hatchery
### Tweaks?
I ran this as is mostly, the only thing I changed was removing the Stirges as a thing after their first swarm attack on the party - its just not worth the hassle. That first swarm that is triggered is a timely reminder to the party to tred lightly.
### Resources for tweaking this part of the campaign
* The comments on this part by MerricB are useful if you need some help about movement of certain enemy groups around the cavern as and when the party start hacking things to bits.
* The two articles from Hack Slash Master are very good for detailed walkthroughs on tweaking things in this dungeon - if that is what you want to do.
* Skyflourish's article is excellent for a Plan B if the party are defeated, and ideas for what to do if one of the main protagonists from this part of the campaign manage to escape.
### Frulam Mondath
The one thing I really did want to concentrate on here though is Furlam's bad dragon poetry... :)
I scoured the interwebs trying to find some examples of dragon poetry, here is what I found, caveat - I'm not saying they are bad, and I'm certainly not dismissing Fred's effort seeing he was seven at time of writing.
> #### By Secretpandalord
> The wings, they are... red
> Red... like fire
> But they are not fire. They are... wings.
> Wings aren't fire.
> #### By Fred (aged 7)
> Scary black dragon
> with ruby red eyes
> flies in the
> endless sea of
> skies.
> #### By jayoungr and his party (thanks for these!)
> Roses are red.
> Dragons are red.
> They breathe fire,
> And then you're all dead.
> Violets are blue.
> Dragons are blue.
> My love for them is true.
> They breathe lightning,
> And then you're dead too.
> Snow is white.
> Dragons are white.
> They're the opposite of night,
> And that's all right.
> Dragons are green,
> If you know what I mean.
> When they breathe on the forest,
> They make it quite clean.
> Black!!!
> Black night.
> Black dragon.
> Black acid.
> Black like my tormented soul.
I feel like she is screetching these out at the top of her lungs in her room while the party rampage through the hatchery so wouldn't be aware of their presence, unless warned.
### Eggy Eggs
Did Lennithon task one of the party to return her eggs? Did the party not get in the first time they were at the camp? Not likely, with how things probably went down. Also are all of her eggs still in the nursery?
Depending on how many eggs the party were tasked with returning, you can either clear up the loose thread here or make it a ticking bomb over the party member's head.
Personally I would tie it all up, I'm not sure if it would be possible to get the eggs back if they've already gone at this point. Could they recover any eggs during the time tracking caravans? Maybe, good luck with that one!
### Got Fisban's Treasury?
If you have this book (which I have to say is pretty awesome) there is a section on Wyrmlings and what their life goals are which adds a nice little detail to the new addition to the party. Having played through the majority of the campaign letting one of the party have a wyrmling was not disruptive at all.
It would make sense for the wyrmling not to be involved in combat, maybe popping up to protect their human protector only. Wyrmlings are squishy so it would make sense they'd stay out the way of danger.
\page
## Chapter 4 - Elturel
### Floating light ball...
Elturel is not described very well in the campaign, but the link posted in the settlments section of research materials for the forgotten realms wiki provides some much needed background info. History of Eturel, the light and where it came from, the city's command structure and some much needed history which should answer any questions your curious players have.
### Tweaks?
As suggested by Hack Slash Master, run a festival. This is a great chance to let loose, have fun and maybe win some magical items. The suggested festival table from Hack Slash Master is great (link in sources). Ontahrr and Leosin may need time to go over the cult map from the hatchery and to plan next moves. You can use the festival as a way for the party to prove themselves to Ontharr, even if they don't win.
### Festival mini-games
It might be helpful to have competitions as knock-out, one to reduce your workload and two have the final round played out fully with a few competitors to build some tension with contested rolls. Any prizes are at your discretion, but it might be good to hand out some non-game breaking magic items.
#### Arm wrestling (5GP entrance fee)
The rules for arm wrestling can be found [here](https://i.imgur.com/zkTibfg.png), this is hosted on imgur so maybe grab a copy in case it disappears.
#### Wrestling (10GP entrance fee)
Overview of the rules for a bit of wrestling; each round starts with a grapple to see who gets an advantage in attempting a move, opposing rolls are made to see who successfully performs wrestling moves, the eventual loser getting a level of exhaustion. The first person to get to 3 (or less if it is taken too long) levels of exhaustion can be pinned in the next round.
**Grapple**: Both wrestlers make a strength roll when making the grapple, highest roll gets advantage when making their setup roll, lowest has disadvantage on the opposing roll.
**Follow-up**: Winner manages to succeed with the grapple and can do a follow up; suplex, piledriver, tombstone, clothesline, boot to the face, etc. They need to make a contested dexterity roll, the loser from the grapple with disadvantage. There are two possible outcomes from the follow-up move:
* If the winner of the setup wins this roll as well then the opponent is hit and receives one level of exhaustion.
* If the loser of the setup manages to win then they perform a reversal move and break out of the attack, the round is a draw.
**Pinning**: When a wrestler hits the level of exhaustion (three) where they can be pinned, if the opponent wins the setup they can then pin and win the match. No rolls required.
**Playing up to the crowd**:
During the round both wrestlers can play up to the crowd to get the "crowd favourite" bonus (performance DC 15+), a 1d6 bonus (think bardic inspiration) to any roll in the next round (can be applied after a roll). Both wrestlers can receive this bonus at the same time. Give advantage on this roll if the wrestler is role playing well.
**Other rules (optional):**
**Exhaustion**: The opponent with the higher level of exhaustion takes longer to get up to start the next round, giving their opponent a free try to get the "crowd favourite" bonus. Only one bonus die can be held at any one time.
**Finisher move**: any wrestler who can pin their opponent can perform a "finisher" - which they must describe, allowing advantage on the roll if the description is something special. Must make a acrobatic / athletic (DC 10+) check to perform it. This gets roars and cheers from the crowd, and allows an automatic win.
#### Archery (20GP entry fee)
A competition played over 3 rounds, 3 shots each round - total score is then matched against all other competitors. Or if you want to build tension, maybe have the final round based on those final 3 arrows.
##### Distance to target and roll require to hit
| Range | DC roll |
|:-----:|:-------:|
| 30m | 10 |
| 50m | 12 |
| 90m | 15 |
The target is a set of rings; white on the outside, then black then blue then red and finally in the middle gold. Each zone is worth a set amount of points and scoring is based on the attack roll when shooting, whatever is rolled minus the DC roll for the target distance is matched against this table:
| Difference | Points | Zone |
|:----------:|:------:|:-----:|
| 0-1 | 1 | White |
| 2 | 3 | Black |
| 3 | 5 | Blue |
| 4 | 7 | Red |
| 5+ | 10 | Gold |
A critical hit is always a 10 and gives an advantage on the next shot.
e.g. Competitor at 90m, rolls a 17 to hit. 17 - 15 = 2, which means they hit the black ring on the target i.e. 3 points.
Use cut off points to streamline the amount of competitors, required scores at the end of the first two rounds.
| Round | d20 Average | To Hit | Cut-off*|
|:-----:|:-----------:|:------:|:-------:|
| 1st | 11 | +2 | 15 |
| 2nd | 12 | +3 | 30 |
*Cumulative scores; round 1 + round 2 = round 2 cut-off
For the final round perhaps have a few NPCs drawn up based on existing stat blocks (maybe Scout and Assassin).
\page
## Chapter 4 - Baldur's Gate
Next is a little boat ride up the river and ten days (or shorter) in the city itself. The campaign book mentions Baldur's Gate in passing only (a common theme), a wasted opportunity. The party may not want to do everything I mention here, it is their show after all - use the town criers to keep them updated on recent events just like in the Murder in Baldur's Gate adventure (see later).
### Boat ride to Baldur's Gate
The campaign doesn't make much of the boat trip either, giving it a few lines. It might be worth knocking up a ship and crew using one of the many NPC generator tools (some useful ones are listed in sources), in case the party decide to start asking the names of every NPC.
It should have at least one encounter, sky flourish has an orge bridge encounter. If you own "out of the box", procession would make an extremely interesting event during one of the nights the ship is moored up. Just remember that Elturel has that undead killing light (I didn't!), have the boat going in the direction of Baldur's Gate.
One thing to note; wyrm's crossing - a giant bridge over the river that the boat will sail under with a huge fort in the middle before reaching Baldur's Gate. It is a nice detail to mention.
Pre-generated ship and crew:
> ##### Triton
> This ship has a broad hull with a raised quarterdeck. The ship's captain is a man named Muko (moo-koh).
> ##### The Crew
| Position | Name|
|:---------|:-------------|
|Captain| Hugo "Muko" Drake|
|Quarter Master|Marta Rackham|
|Boatswain|Hector De Jong|
|Carpenter/Surgeon|Emilio Black|
|Mate|Roger Dreg|
|Able Bodied Sailor|Harry Baldridge|
### Baldur's Gate research
The wiki link (under research materials > settlements) has a lot of information about this famous city. There is also another link for an interactive map. Some things to keep in mind:
- The local militia are the flaming fists apart from the upper city where the watch keep the peace.
- It is ruled by four dukes (court of four) guided by a parliament of peers (50 or so influential Baldurians).
- Baldur's Gate is part of the Lords' Alliance.
- The three main deities are Umberlee, Tymoran and Gond. But all sorts goes on in Baldur's Gate if you look hard enough.
If you want to go all in, you can try to source a copy of Murder in Baldurs' Gate (available from DMs Guild in pdf format - I'm not on commission).
### Murder in Baldur's Gate
Having access to this PDF provides a good city background and information about all the big players (Duke's, Flaming Fists, the Watch, the thieves Guild and more). It has an overview of a day and night in Baldur's Gate. At the end is a "visitor's guide", create a handout and get a city urchin to shove it into their hands. If the payment is big enough (1GP) they may earn themselves a willing guide for the day - at least enough to show them where Ackyn's place is in Blackgate.
### Baldur's Mouth Broadsheet
Baldur's Mouth have town criers and broadsheets being handed out around the city, this is a good way of keeping the party updated and make it feel like they're in a living breathing city.
> "Hear yee, hear yee! The court of four have announced a new tax on imported luxury goods, see the latest edition of Baldur's Mouth for more details."
> "Curfew in the upper city continues, the gates will close sharp at the tenth bell. All citizens are advised there will be no exceptions."
> "Little Calimshan continues to be targeted by thieves with another spate of burgalries in the last week. Citizens are advised to avoid the area at night."
> "Duke Adrian is to give opening speeches at the Wide to open Founder's day later this week. Get there early to beat the crowds!"
The Baldur's Mouth broadsheet is handed out in numerous places in the city, including the harbour. If anyone takes a look, on a DC 13 Perception (wisdom) check one of the party notice an odd advert in the certifieds.
##### Seeking the queen
The red hand passes in front of the pale eye seeking the queen when geminis sing upon the third setting of the sun where the desperate seek an end.
The cultist are meeting at sundown in Twin Songs in three days, near the Church of Last Hope. If the party work this out then there will a chance to follow someone back to the safe house mentioned in Sky Flourish's article.
\page
### Ackyn Selebon
Ackyn is in blackgate, to the north of the upper city walking through any famous capital city in peak tourist season.
Ackyn is as useful as you need, if the party are not sure what to do then Ackyn is a font of knowledge. If the party are doing well, they can just be a contact point for employment.
### Picking up the cult's trail
If they decide to track down cultists / safe houses in Baldur's Gate:
- Use Ackyn to help the party; possible names and contacts in the flaming fists that can help track down cult members (Ravenguard is a good choice, his patriach Duke Adrian hasn't moved against the cult and he is getting impatient), he may suggest the cult meet somewhere in Twin Songs,
- Did they figure out the message in the broadsheet? If they make it there they can follow cultists back to the safehouse.
The party thinking about watching the costal way for the caravan's entry into the city? Rivington is the small settlement south of the bridge, and Twin Songs is north of the bridge. Could they employ the services of some city urchins?
### The cultist's meeting
Twin Songs is a collection of temples. There is no specific temple to Tiamat (yet?), the cultists decide to meet here as it is away from prying eyes. It's basically a recruitment drive and a chance for cultists coming into the city to make contact.
If you're using the sects of the church; the red hand and the pale eye are present here. Red hand organise things and the pale eye are the muscle. The cultist's clothes have no symbols but they have their right hand painted; pale eye - last three fingers white, red hand - 3rd and 5th finger painted red.
Mention will be made of a safehouse, a chance for the party to tail them unless they've willingly approached the cultists for a "chat", then if accepted they can simply join them.
### The Fox Traveler Safehouse
Another sky flourish idea, this two-storey building found in maybe Whitkeep or Norchapel. Lots of intel can be gained here if the party infiltrate, or beat the information out of the cultists. It's up to you what consequences there are if the party are found snooping about.
#### Intel:
- Caravans and horses to be bought in Blackgate, Ackyn is one of the locations named in the list of possible supply locations,
- Horde and eggs to be smuggled through the upper city, some of the Patriar and the Watch are in league with the Cult.
- The caravans are to continue up the Coast Way to Waterdeep where they will receive futher instruction.
#### Conversations:
- Murder plot to kill off Duke Adrian when he gives the Founder's day speech in the wide tomorrow,
- The other Duke's are sympathtic to the Cult's cause but not Adrian,
- Someone from the Pale Eye sect will be the assassin,
- The Jade Fang have secured Phlan and Vorgansharax's influence is spreading around the Moonsea region.
- Praise Tiamat!
### Murder plot
It would seem that Duke Adrian (patron of the Flaming Fists) is a problem the Cult want removed. During his speech on Founder day an assassination attempt will be made.
If the party get word back to the Flaming Fist, they make plans to increase security on the day and also offer up to 150GP each to help defend the Duke and an offer of employment afterwards if they foil the plot.
### Murder in Baldur's Gate Launch Weekend
Something that is perfect for this is the launch weekend adventure that was released to lead up to Murder in Baldur's Gate. You can grab this from media.wizard.com (link in sources). This should be a big finale to this part of the campaign, just ignore anything to do with Bhaal.
#### Main events:
- Duke Adrian starts to give his speech,
- The thieves guild try to pickpocket people in the crowds,
- Shortly after crossbow wielding cultists appear at windows and start firing at the stage including the Duke,
- The watch send guards into the buildings,
- More cultists move through the crowds stabbing people indiscriminatly causing chaos - party and guards have trouble fighting through the crowds (difficult terrain),
- This is the last distraction before the assassin makes his move on the Duke,
- Use the NPC from the Pale Eye document listed in the sources (Tack Bloodgood) with the included statblock,
- If Adrian survives he slips into a coma due to a rare poison on the assasination's weapon - Ravenguard is now in charge of the Flaming Fists.
### Concluding Baldur's Gate
The cult arrive 7 to 10 days after the party, with Razmir (no doubt travelling concealed away from public view). The cult get fresh horses, new caravans and load up in Blackgate before moving on to Waterdeep with the main convoy. The party are hopefully in place to monitor all this, and have some sort of employment sorted.
NOTE: There are some important things to know from pages 46 and 49 of the campaign:
1. Rezmir and 6 guards leave ahead of the main caravan and head to chapter 6 (the other guards are spread across the cultist wagons and travelling as passengers on others)
2. The first week or so of the caravan journey goes through the fields of the dead (Ackyn will probably mention this)
There are a few loose ends the party won't have time to deal with, do they let the Flaming Fist know about the cultists in the upper city? They may have an open invite to come back later and help.
Baldur's Gate done - phew!
\page
## Chapter 4 - Onwards to Waterdeep
Here it is, the most maligned part of this campaign. It can go as quick or as slow as you want, but seeing this is supposed to be 2 months of game time it needs to have some impact on the party. There is a timeline of the journey on the next page which breaks up the major waypoints and events that need to happen. Makes sense to me to break up the trip into blocks that involve the major waypoints along the route, with time for an event here and there.
Power Score also have a good breakdown of how events can pan out over the next 60 days, a brief summary can be found below - more detail is available via the link in the sources:
- Day 1: Everything Has a Price
- Day 3: Fields of the Dead
- Day 5: Animal Abuse
- Day 6: Bane of the Mountains
- Day 8: Stranded
- Days 9-12: Lots of rain and thunder to set up...
- Day 13: Fungus Humongous
- Day 16: Trollclaw Ford
- Day 20: Roadside Hospitality
- Day 23: The Golden Stag
- Day 28: Dragonspear
- Day 32: No Room at the Inn
- Day 38: Contraband
- Day 43: Payback
- Day 45: Adventuring Life
- Day 47: Spider Woods
- Day 49: Recognized!
- Day 52: Daggerford
- Day 53: Unwanted Attention
- Day 56: Who's Your Friend?
- Day 58: Murder Most Foul
- Day 60: Waterdeep
### Employment
Grab some of the NPCs from the campaign book list to be wagon owners for the party to employed as guards on. Good spot for a bit of roleplay where the party try to explain their abiltiies and skills, while you have some fun making them work for it.
I like the idea of the party being given different roles, certain responsibilities don't gel with them suddenly going off to slay monsters in the various ecounters along the journey. Will they keep their job? Will the wagon owner be understanding? There will be a lot of fun things to play around with on the road trip.
### The convoy
The list of NPCs in the campaign document is really good for quickly fleshing out the various merchants, guards and travellers that the party will interact with.
One important event that can give you an over-arching plot line for the entire journey is the NPC taking an interest in an item the party member has that goes missing, which if following the Power Score schedule happens on day one.
The ***Everything Has a Price*** event gives you the chance to get the party to interact with other NPCs as they try to track down the item, it can build up suspicion and animosity that can help drive events during rest stops.
Depending on what the item is maybe it can be used in the event where Jamna warns the party about something in the porridge (that she actually planted herself), if the item is small and deadly enough maybe the cult plants that item in an attempt to take out one of the party members?
How are the party going to try to find it during the road trip without causing problems and getting fired? This can all lead to some fun interactions.
Tracking the cult and working out which wagon has the treasure should be the most important task at hand during the journey, but it is easy to lose track of that.
### Murder Hobos?
Some parties will at some point decide they should just kill the cultists and take the treasure, congrats you win - campaign finished!
The point of the road trip is to track where the stolen treasure goes, without that knowledge and without the cult moving up the sword coast it is going to be difficult to keep the campaign going as intended. Rail roading or whatever, this campaign is linear and sometimes it is worth reminding the party of their mission.
### Murder Hobos
If you need some help if your party do go on a killing spree, check out the following reddit thread.
- [PCs killed cultsits in chapter 4](https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/qndhnb/pcs_killed_cultist_in_chapter_4_of_hoard_of/)
### Anything else?
There are lots of sites out there with tips for this chapter of the campaign (some mentioned in the sources section of this document), but if you want more ideas then check out this reddit thread.
- [For more general help with this chapter](https://www.reddit.com/r/TyrannyOfDragons/comments/qardaq/cross_post_from_rdnd_someone_directed_me_here/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
\page
### Roadtrip Timeline
Timeline of places visited, with a brief description of a location or the campaign event that needs to happen in chronological order.
## Leave Baldur's Gate
## Fields of the Dead
The road twists and wanders through hills dotted with ancient battlefields, dolmens, and barrow mounds. Although some brave souls have made this their home where they farm the lands, it is a dangerous place.
## Trollclaws
The region seems to be permenantly shrouded in mist, and is characterized by steep, grassy hills, and dense foliage. Also a never ending population of trolls.
## Dragonspear Castle
A crumbling ruin on the trade way inhabited by a Death Knight and the remnants of a shar worshipping coven of vampires, most people pass by here quickly in the day.
## Daggerford
Primarily a farming community considered by some to be a stopover town, the town has great ambitions to grow to be alternative to Waterdeep. A walled settlement with a long standing castle surrounded by outlying hamlets, farms, and estates housing the majority of the population.
## A day north of Daggerford
The event "**Unwanted Attention**" happens.
## 4 days out from Waterdeep
The event "**Who's Your Friend?**" happens.
## 2 days out from Waterdeep
The event "**Murder Most Foul**" happens.
## Arrived!
##### Mere of Dead Men
Twisted trees, vines, and thick vegetation cloak the mist-shrouded surface of the cold saltwater swamp. Its air is foul with rotting stenches, and its water is black and opaque. Visibility, given fogs and rolling topography, is rarely more than half a mile.
Gotta love that topography. This place is dangerous, potentially deadly. The dragons are aligned with Rezmir but are not committed to the cause, prefering to see how events play out. Even if the party don't meet the dragons there are plenty of other things that would like to eat them.
However if your party need to be put back in their place due to being reckless murder hobos even in dangerous enemy territory, read on...
### Tweaks?
Looking at Skyflourish and Hack and Slash, the theme here is have some swamp inspired encounters on the way to the Roadhouse. Also Hack and Slash provides an alternative encounter table if you need it.
### Alternative to joining the convoy?
If your party decide to head out in front of the convoy because they've worked out where it is heading (it's basically a supply run to a location with labour and supplies for the on-going road repairs after all) whether this is because they had the council meeting in Waterdeep or they saved Carlon Amofel and their discussions pointed to Carnath Roadhouse being the likely destination. Maybe one of the party comes from the region and has good knowledge of the local area? They raided the warehouse and found some notes?
Anyway, you can have a zombie hoarde encounter near the roadhouse as this could work as the party's way in. Bog Luck is probably going to be grateful for the road being cleared before the convoy turns up, and he won't know anything about what the party have been up to previously.
Might be worth having Bog mention something along these lines just to confirm the party are on the right track.
### The Roadhouse Itself
This is a sandbox with bad guys, clueless labourers and chests of treasure to find. Makes sense to let the party explore and let it play out, even if it all goes horribly wrong! If the party start talking to Gristle Pete and ask for his family recipe, how about this tasty sounding list of ingredients... yum.
##### Gristle Pete's Family Recipe
- Water
- Gristle
- P'tatos
- Anything found on the floor
### Journey to the Castle
You could decide to have Voaraghamanthar pay the party a visit and wipe out the team in a couple of rounds of combat (not to kill and eat but to have later as a snack). There might be a few reasons to do this:
- Your party are going around fireballing everything in the swamp without any thoughts on the consequences and you want to teach them a lesson
- Just to underline the fact it's dragons they are ultimately going up against and they're not in any fit state to stop Tiamat right now, and stopping the cult is the best course of action
- Some NPCs from the road trip are still hanging around and you want to get rid of them... I'm sorry Jamna, not
- Those reckless fireballs just blew the two approaching canoes (and Snapjaw) into a million little lizardfolk pieces and this is a good way to introduce him as the one to break them out of Voaraghamanthar's lair.
Talking about Voaraghamanthar's lair you will find some great ideas about what his lair could look like in Fizban's Treasury, a destroyed cathedral in the swamp - they could be strung upside down in the mogue below while he sleeps in the tower above.
A resurrected Snapjaw (if the party did kill him previously without knowing who he was) could merrily save the party, after getting them to agree to help free the lizardfolk enslaved at the castle by killing Rezmir. He would then sneak them out of the dragon's lair having already asked the local Kobold and lizard folk to turn a blind eye. I actually prefer this way of introducing him to the party.
\page
## Chapter 6 - Castle Naerytar
This castle might be explored to the very last corner or completely skipped as it was with my party. Either way I don't see any reason why this part of the campaign needs to be changed in any way. I ran it as is, the party did have Snapjaw as a guide though which helped everyone believe the party were new recruits.
### The big fight at the portal
Personally I thought it made the most sense that all the big bads
were in the portal room discussing plans, dealing with the party of do-gooders and other important things. It makes it easier for the party to move around the castle without getting spotted by someone who would recognise them. In the time that has passed so far, it would make sense for Azbara Jos to talk to Rezmir about the party, but not for the whole castle to know about the party. Not yet anyway.
A few important things to remember for this fight:
- The portal command word activates it, it does not turn it on or off. This is important. Whoever is on it when the word is spoken gets sent over to the Hunting Lodge,
- Don't forget that Rezmir has legendary actions,
- Loads of spell casters in the group of big bads.
Reference sheet for the more impactful spells the big bads can cast:
##### Spattergoo
- Barkskin (ac 16)
- Healing (Cure wounds & Healing word)
- Thunderwave
##### Borngray
- Shield [r] (ac +5)
- Longstrider (+10 feet movement)
- Magic Weapon
- Magic Missile
- Misty Step
##### Azbara Jos
- Counterspell [r]
- Fireball
- Misty Spell
- Magic Missile
- Invisibility [c]
If you want Rezmir to say something when the party turn up, to try and explain how she might know who the party are (she may not have interacted with them back at the cultist camp near Greeenest) then something along the lines of the green box below might be helpful.
Depending on your party, it might be nice to remind your players that NPCs don't just spawn into existance when the party enters a room, the cultists would have dicussed this bunch of annoying do-gooders and the best way to get rid of them at length by now.
Anyway, that speech - something short and sweet if the players haven't triggered the alarms yet.
> #### Rezmir reacting to the party turning up at the castle...
> "Ah, so this is the group who have been constant thorns in our side since Greenest! We were only just speaking about you. Borngray stop them here and kill every last one of them, we will get word to the man-at-arms upstairs."
### Worst case scenario?
Sounds don't travel well down here, as mentioned by the campaign text, the cult might need magical means to get warning to the guards upstairs. Sending stones, message, etc.
If the party have secured an alliance with Snapjaw and the other lizardfolk this will help them alot, the bullywugs will be fighting for their lives against the lizardfolk and only the cultists in the castle will reinforce the group at the portal.
However if the party haven't got the lizardfolk on their side and the alarm goes of, then they will need to deal with the reinforcements from the cultists, the lizardfolk and the bullywugs - not forgetting dealing with whoever is left from the group of big bads in the portal room when these re-inforcements turn up. The party will need to act and think fast to not get overwhelmed.
### Tweaks and running the castle
The Merric B article linked in the sources section has some pointers for running the castle, and how to keep tabs on what is going on. The Sly Flourish article has some cool re-flavouring suggestions for the castle and especially the dungeon with some extra encounters to fill out the lore. I didn't end up using either as my party speed ran the castle straight to the portal.
\page
## Chapter 7 - The Hunting Lodge
Totally skippable but gives a level up at the end of the chapter if using the milestone system, blimey... how do you deal with this?
### Please investigate the lodge...
There are patrols in the woods and wyverns flying around, it might be good to point out they could be in a lot of trouble if found. If they skip the lodge, you could have a big fight in Parmast and a cool action sequence trying to get on a castle that's getting ready to take off. Still not sure if all that is worth a level via the milestone system so quickly though.
### Talis
Interesting character or generic identikit bad gal? I use Sly Flourish a lot because they have great ideas, I like the idea she is from a noble family who have been financing Parmast and have ties into the cult. But does she have to be totally sold on the return of Tiamat? Does she really want to be in this situation?
I connected her to a member of my party who was from a noble family in Neverwinter, they were friends when young and played together. I didn't give him any warning either. I needed some way of showing an uneasy alliance could hold. I also wanted to see what the party would do.
The reddit post linked has some great ideas about her motivations. Maybe she is old school and yearns for the cult's previous aim of raising dracoliches. She definitely hates Rezmir and will help the party kill her. She wants the white dragon mask for herself and will help the party kill Varram. But to what end? Will the party see her as too big a threat? Will she see the party as an obstacle that is getting too difficult to remove? Can the party talk her round to joining them and being an informant? This could bring about a cool side quest to raid her family's estate and bring in her parents to prove herself to the council or maybe protect them?
### Parnast
I'm not interested in running this as a ghost village where everyone keeps to themselves, why waste time poking about being growled at by cultist sympathisers and trying to find someone who will talk to them? Time is ticking away, lets have a big fight and then a mad dash to try and reach the castle in time.
Rezmir isn't silly, she didn't warn Talis about the party - she either wants Talis dead, the party dead or hopefully (praise be to Tiamat) both dead. She probably warned the captain to prepare for the do-gooders, a brief description would be handed out and regardless if Talis is there or not... everyone must die, they must certainly not make it onto Skyreach Castle.
You could have the cultists in town yell traitor at Talis.
### Getting on the Castle
Not quite a chase sequence but an action sequence none the less, the fight in Parnast has left the party moments to get on the castle before it takes off and flies into the distance.
#### Problems the party need to deal with
- Distance from the fight to the castle is several rounds of dashing at least, this may incur some levels of exhaustion by the time they get there if following basic chase rules
- Orges firing ballistas at the party
- It's taking off into the sky
- When they finally get on the castle, those orges are going to want to say hello!
#### The "great" action scene
My idea is for the players to have a score and certain actions will increase or decrease the score, when they hit a certain value they are able to make it to the castle.
All characters start on 1 and need to make it to 5 to make it to the castle safely within 4 phases. The phases are running from the town centre, moving through the houses having objects thrown at them by cult sympathisers, then orges firing ballistas at them when they come into range and then finally one last dash to reach the castle.
- ***Dash > Cult sympathisers > Ballistas > Dash***
Use the table below or something similar to modifier each character's score to see who gets on the castle and who is left behind...
##### Action scene phases
| Event | Score modifier |
|:----|-------------:|
| Atheltics check while dashing | |
| *** pass *** | +2 |
| *** fail *** | +1 |
| Cultists bursting out of doorways to stop someone by throwing things, attacking with brooms, etc. | |
| *** dex save / acrobatics, etc pass *** | +1 |
| *** dex save / acrobatics, etc fail *** | -1 |
| Ballista from Gate Ogres (10 foot hit radius) | |
| *** dex save pass *** | half damage |
| *** dex save fail *** | -1 |
Players with the fly spell or races with natural flying abilities will have a big advantage here, allowing flying characters to carry people is up to you - but I'd say make strength checks to make sure they're able to keep hold of them.
If Talis is here you may decide that she goes directly for the wyverns; the wyverns can take 2 characters each - allowing Talis to take 3 characters along with her.
#### Fall backs if it goes horribly wrong
There are chains and ropes hanging down from the castle battlements, the players may be able to make a last ditch lunge for one of these and then make strength checks to climb up. If they fall... well, they may be left behind or worse get knocked out. Fatal in a cult controlled village.
If Talis isn't around the wyverns can still be used (animal handling disadvantage), but good luck with that! Unless the party took the second whistle from the Captain after defeating him, which will make things easier.
\page
## Chapter 8 - The Flying Castle
### The Sly Flourish Effect
Use these suggestions:
- Get rid of the vampire, seriously wtf is a vampire doing on the castle?
- Rath Modar is going to get stomped hard, make him a simulacra
- Streamline the castle rooms - there is a whole lot of nothing in most of the rooms, I agree but let them know what is in there if they really want to know obviously.
Maybe don't use these suggestions:
- The black dragon mask is in the chest, its going ot get teleported away if the party muck up - just left them have it. No, give them every warning and all the arcana checks they want and make the DC high to break through the enhancemnt and the locks (suggestion below). This mask is important and isn't going to be a piece of cake to obtain.
- Give them the castle, nah - make it clear Blagothkus will end his agreement with the cult and will travel to his friends settlement if the party clear out the dragon and cult leaders. Then you can run the frozen castle expansion adventure.
- Reskin Hazirawn; nah make it racist and obnoxious and then no-one will want to use this rather overpowered magical sword. Or if they are determined have as much fun as you can making them work for it.
### Some other things to think about
- If Azabath Jos is on the castle, then I think it best that he is trying to talk Rath to come back to Thar - also make it a surprise if it turns out Rath is a simulacra (Azabath doesn't know or appear to realise). Also he doesn't really know too much about the cult's plans if he surrenders, he was only hoping to get Rath to come back with him and travelled under the pretense of helping Rath with the cult's mission.
- Balgothkus' friends (the two stone giants) don't on their stat blocks have common as a language they speak, to not make this cadtle any more painful than it can be... let them speak common, even if it is broken common. They obviously don't want Blagothkus working with the cult, so they are a good route in to meet him as the door to Blagothkus is impossible to get through without the knock spell or the stone giant's help.
- Why is there a griffon in one of the kobold rooms? Get rid would be my suggestion.
### Dragon mask
- Party can get black dragon mask from chest if they manage to unlock it (dispel magic after identifiying the spell on the chest arcana DC 15 and the lock DC 18 sleight of hand)
- Mask gives vision of other wyrm speakers and their current actions and Tiamat's return and the absolute destruction of the known world (this could be Tiamat having some fun with an unauthorised mask user, or a vision of a possible future, who knows...)
### The castle maps and getting around
Don't make the same mistake as me and make sure you know how the party can get up and down the various levels of this castle.
The stairs behind the semi-hidden wall on the ground level will get the partry to the lower level where the white dragon is and the upper level where the dome and various towers are.
The two cave entrances in the dome lead down to the lower level to where the dragon is, both of which are too narrow for the dragion and is basically a way to get food down to him. There is also a hole at the top of the dome which drops all the way down to the frozen dragon's horde. This is the dragon's main way in and out.
### Trapped?
If the players don't have any means of getting off the castle, or getting a message back to Ontharr or Leosin you could have the campaign end with a figurine of wonderous power arriving (but leave what the message it carries says as the cliffhanger).
### Is that it?
Whether your party killed everyone and everything, the castle crashed, they got the big stupid giant to stop being stupid and stop working with the cult... that is your lot. The party has completed the first part of Tyranny of Dragons. Go take a well deserved break!
The sly flourish article has a nice list of things to wrap up when the campaign comes to an end, take a look for some ideas if you need them.
### Extra credits scene
The treasure horde is encased in frozen ice, lol.
\page
## Before I Forget...
### More on Baldur's Gate
My party were like kids in a candy shop when we hit Baldur's Gate, I think they liked the fact they had time to explore a big city and still keep tabs on the Cult. They wanted to break into Razamith's Tower, I used the quest from [Baldur's Gate Notice Board 2](https://www.dmsguild.com/product/322197/Baldurs-Gate-Notice-Boards-2--A-Descent-Into-Avernus-Supplement?affiliate_rem=715662) (another DMs Guild link, I'm not on commission) for this one but minus the quest hook, and minus the current owner as they move in 3 years after this campaign happens. I made out that Yoink's family were captured by "The Fetcher" and he is using Yoink to steal things for him to pay off a "debt" that is owed.
Expanding Baldur's Gate like this and using the milestone system for levelling up can make the gap between levels seem too long - it's up to you to find a good place to level up if you do this. I let them level up earlier in the road trip up the coast / trade way just as they got to Daggerford. Even that felt too long.
### Daggerford
I did some party backstory stuff in Daggerford (which I won't cover in this document) so I haven't gone into a lot of detail about this place, other than the brief synopsis in the [roadtrip timeline](#p11).
It might be an idea to have the cultists stay in a different inn or tavern overnight here, the party can then sneak in and try to investigate their rooms to see if they can find any intel. For example, our warlock managed to sneak into their rooms finding drawings of the party and reports of their activites. He decided to set fire to it all and got out without being caught. Fun times.
Also might be good to have Sir Istevel walking around here talking to the people as he is the lord of the area, and more importantly he pops up again in Rise of Tiamat.
\page
##### Sunny Dragon
[by Gugu-troll](https://www.deviantart.com/gugu-troll/art/Sunny-dragon-410859390)
## Research Notes and other useful material
There are plenty of websites and online resources with awesome ideas about expanding on the original campaign, but if you find yourself struggling to find time to go through everything out there then this document might just help.
Happy DM'ing!
T. Bonds
2021