I'm new to dungeon mastering and I'm soon to run Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Looking over the main plot there's potential for an unexplored encounter. In Chapter 3: Dragon Hatchery the party are directed to observe the camp and if possible, investigate it again. I've noticed a thread or two around the internet where the party didn't go into the camp again - merely observing - before returning to Greenest. This would leave both Langdedrosa (assuming he wasn't killed beforehand) and the three black dragon eggs alive.
Instead of attempting to drive the players into the camp again to further this plot line, I'd like to leave it open-ended. However the fact that Langdedrosa and the dragons remain seems like an uninteresting way to leave that encounter. I like the idea of him waiting for the dragons to hatch before traversing North behind the party with dragons in tow, eventually engaging the party. It would be somewhat interesting as well, since as far as I can tell there's not too many (if any at all) encounters with younger dragons.
My question is about the encounter balance. For a party of 4 my intuition tells me I should have the encounter at Chapter 7: Hunting Lodge. The party would be at level 6 and should be high enough level to take on Langdedrosa (CR 4) as well as three Black Dragon Wyrmlings (CR 2). I thought about bringing it forward to Chapter 4: On the Road due to the travel time being otherwise empty of encounters, but I'm concerned the party would be too low level for this encounter. Chapter 6: Castle Naerytar might be suitable, provided it's early on in the chapter before dealing with the castle proper; the castle is already pretty packed and I don't want the party to be too overwhelmed. On the other hand, engaging the party at the castle's observatory as he flies in could be interesting!
I could rework some stat blocks and encounters here and there, but I'd like to try using most of what's in the book as-is. I also know it's still far off in the module, but I like to somewhat plan ahead. I guess I'm just looking for advice, and to make sure I'm on the right track. I guess my main concern is Langdedrosa's 4d10 Lightning Breath attack combined with the three 5d8 Acid Breath attacks from the dragons. Thoughts?
I think that having him arrive at the Hunting Lodge makes sense both narratively and balance-wise. Within the context of the story, the Hunting Lodge is in a drastically different direction than where the party has been traveling this whole time. You could more easily explain the idea that, once the dragons hatch, Langdedrosa travels a different path and makes his way to the Hunting Lodge and arrives there long before the party does and has time to train the dragons.
I also agree that travel can be a bit boring, but it's also a good opportunity to introduce a lot of your own content if you want to experiment with creating your own scenarios rather than just sticking rigidly to the written Adventure.
well the reason as I saw it the adventure had the players returning to the empty camp is so they can find out where the treasure is going inside the hatchery... ie Everything must be freighted north to Naerytar and the map showing arrows going to baldur's gate...
When I ran it I had the camp start packing up while the adventures were there... they even got roped into loading treasure from the hatchery onto waggons... and I had Leosin Erlanthar imprisoned in the hatchery
obviously that worked out because my players decided to infiltrate the camp... which I was glad about because I didn't like the hole going there and back again let alone the idea of a grumpy Leosin Erlanthar because he'd been freed before he'd gotten his vital info where is the treasure going
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
...the Hunting Lodge is in a drastically different direction than where the party has been traveling this whole time. You could more easily explain the idea that, once the dragons hatch, Langdedrosa travels a different path and makes his way to the Hunting Lodge and arrives there long before the party does and has time to train the dragons.
Looking at the map more closely, I do agree that him taking the direct route to the Hunting Lodge would make sense. Would it be wise to possibly bump up the hitpoints for the eoncounter? Langdedrosa is indended to face the party much earlier so with a more powerful group they might take him down a little quicker than expected. I think the wyrmlings should add a nice amount of extra damage and balance the action economy, but I'd ideally like the dragons and Langdedrosa himself to take at least 2-3 hits before dropping.
I also agree that travel can be a bit boring, but it's also a good opportunity to introduce a lot of your own content if you want to experiment with creating your own scenarios rather than just sticking rigidly to the written Adventure.
Definitely. I've also heard some people use content from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide here, but I've not read no own the book so I'll see what I can do. If it looks alright I may pick it up. There's a few interesting encounters in the book but I could definitely see the whole 50 days of travel would get very repetitive. There doesn't seem to be many towns along the way, but I may just homebrew something up. Give the players a location to stop at. I might look at what I can pull from Candlekeep Mysteries or Tales from the Yawning Portal.
My recommendation in regards to Langedrosa is to have him essentially "level up" with the party. Like... he's basically a Fighter, if I recall correctly, since he has multi-attack and Action Surge. So if the party gains 3 levels by the time they reach the Hunting Lodge, then roll 3d10 and give Langdedrosa that much more HP.
Hello DMs,
I'm new to dungeon mastering and I'm soon to run Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Looking over the main plot there's potential for an unexplored encounter. In Chapter 3: Dragon Hatchery the party are directed to observe the camp and if possible, investigate it again. I've noticed a thread or two around the internet where the party didn't go into the camp again - merely observing - before returning to Greenest. This would leave both Langdedrosa (assuming he wasn't killed beforehand) and the three black dragon eggs alive.
Instead of attempting to drive the players into the camp again to further this plot line, I'd like to leave it open-ended. However the fact that Langdedrosa and the dragons remain seems like an uninteresting way to leave that encounter. I like the idea of him waiting for the dragons to hatch before traversing North behind the party with dragons in tow, eventually engaging the party. It would be somewhat interesting as well, since as far as I can tell there's not too many (if any at all) encounters with younger dragons.
My question is about the encounter balance. For a party of 4 my intuition tells me I should have the encounter at Chapter 7: Hunting Lodge. The party would be at level 6 and should be high enough level to take on Langdedrosa (CR 4) as well as three Black Dragon Wyrmlings (CR 2). I thought about bringing it forward to Chapter 4: On the Road due to the travel time being otherwise empty of encounters, but I'm concerned the party would be too low level for this encounter. Chapter 6: Castle Naerytar might be suitable, provided it's early on in the chapter before dealing with the castle proper; the castle is already pretty packed and I don't want the party to be too overwhelmed. On the other hand, engaging the party at the castle's observatory as he flies in could be interesting!
I could rework some stat blocks and encounters here and there, but I'd like to try using most of what's in the book as-is. I also know it's still far off in the module, but I like to somewhat plan ahead. I guess I'm just looking for advice, and to make sure I'm on the right track. I guess my main concern is Langdedrosa's 4d10 Lightning Breath attack combined with the three 5d8 Acid Breath attacks from the dragons. Thoughts?
I think that having him arrive at the Hunting Lodge makes sense both narratively and balance-wise. Within the context of the story, the Hunting Lodge is in a drastically different direction than where the party has been traveling this whole time. You could more easily explain the idea that, once the dragons hatch, Langdedrosa travels a different path and makes his way to the Hunting Lodge and arrives there long before the party does and has time to train the dragons.
I also agree that travel can be a bit boring, but it's also a good opportunity to introduce a lot of your own content if you want to experiment with creating your own scenarios rather than just sticking rigidly to the written Adventure.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
well the reason as I saw it the adventure had the players returning to the empty camp is so they can find out where the treasure is going inside the hatchery... ie Everything must be freighted north to Naerytar and the map showing arrows going to baldur's gate...
When I ran it I had the camp start packing up while the adventures were there... they even got roped into loading treasure from the hatchery onto waggons... and I had Leosin Erlanthar imprisoned in the hatchery
obviously that worked out because my players decided to infiltrate the camp... which I was glad about because I didn't like the hole going there and back again let alone the idea of a grumpy Leosin Erlanthar because he'd been freed before he'd gotten his vital info where is the treasure going
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Looking at the map more closely, I do agree that him taking the direct route to the Hunting Lodge would make sense. Would it be wise to possibly bump up the hitpoints for the eoncounter? Langdedrosa is indended to face the party much earlier so with a more powerful group they might take him down a little quicker than expected. I think the wyrmlings should add a nice amount of extra damage and balance the action economy, but I'd ideally like the dragons and Langdedrosa himself to take at least 2-3 hits before dropping.
Definitely. I've also heard some people use content from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide here, but I've not read no own the book so I'll see what I can do. If it looks alright I may pick it up. There's a few interesting encounters in the book but I could definitely see the whole 50 days of travel would get very repetitive. There doesn't seem to be many towns along the way, but I may just homebrew something up. Give the players a location to stop at. I might look at what I can pull from Candlekeep Mysteries or Tales from the Yawning Portal.
Thanks for your help :)
My recommendation in regards to Langedrosa is to have him essentially "level up" with the party. Like... he's basically a Fighter, if I recall correctly, since he has multi-attack and Action Surge. So if the party gains 3 levels by the time they reach the Hunting Lodge, then roll 3d10 and give Langdedrosa that much more HP.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium