I am running a rather large party, (Barb, 2 Wizards, 2 Clerics, Warlock, Druid, Rogue). I'm trying to start a dragon based plot, but I don't want to undersell the dragons or TPK the party as of yet. I'm thinking of running an Adult Blue Dragon with some minions, or maybe 2 Adults.
For some context, Im going with Blue Dragons right now because I have townsfolk dissappearing after a clap of thunder. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
The Dragon is leading a cult of Tiamat worshippers and one of them is a Blue Abishai. The Abishai and the cult sneak into town at night and then abduct the locals to sacrifice them as part of a ritual. The abduction process involves knocking the victim(s) unconscious and then the Abishai uses its Teleport spell to bamf the entire group back to the Dragon's lair, the thunder clap people are hearing is the sound of the teleportation portal closing.
You could then have some or all of the following when investigating the abduction sites finds one of the following clues::
The party can come across a victim that died (was accidently killed) and was left behind and they should be able to use Speak With Dead spells to ascertain the nature of the assailants.
Some residual magicis left over at each abduction site that when viewed with Detect Magic reveals Conjuration magic (the type of magic used in Teleportation).
A single bracelet made of 5 strands of coloured leather; 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 white, 1 black but the blue strand is noticably thicker than the others . An Arcana or Religion check can reveal it is similar to those used historically by cults that worship Tiamat but let them draw their own conclusions about why the blue strand is thicker.
A blue scale, it is to small/flexible to be from a dragon, a successful nature check reveals it might be dragonborn scale.
A Druid wanders into town ranting and raving about a coming storm, although the Druid is off his face on some form of magic mushroom, he has witnessed the cult and might be able to point the party to a small trail that goes into the mountains where he saw them.
Investigating the site of each disapparance reveals a small sigil burned into a piece of wood (door frame, bed, chair etc), the sigil represents a 5 hedead dragon.
Studying the locations of the disappearances with a successful Intelligence check reveals a pattern emerging and there is two possible locations that might be the sight fo the next disappearance.
The party have the chance to stumble upon a member of the cult observing potential targets.
Well, two CR9 Young Blue Dragons works out to about a HARD encounter for a party of that level and size. I would suggest surprise tactics and hit-and-run style fighting from the dragons leading to an area where the dragons have an environmental advantage.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I am running a rather large party, (Barb, 2 Wizards, 2 Clerics, Warlock, Druid, Rogue). I'm trying to start a dragon based plot, but I don't want to undersell the dragons or TPK the party as of yet. I'm thinking of running an Adult Blue Dragon with some minions, or maybe 2 Adults.
For some context, Im going with Blue Dragons right now because I have townsfolk dissappearing after a clap of thunder. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
How about:
The Dragon is leading a cult of Tiamat worshippers and one of them is a Blue Abishai. The Abishai and the cult sneak into town at night and then abduct the locals to sacrifice them as part of a ritual. The abduction process involves knocking the victim(s) unconscious and then the Abishai uses its Teleport spell to bamf the entire group back to the Dragon's lair, the thunder clap people are hearing is the sound of the teleportation portal closing.
You could then have some or all of the following when investigating the abduction sites finds one of the following clues::
The party can come across a victim that died (was accidently killed) and was left behind and they should be able to use Speak With Dead spells to ascertain the nature of the assailants.
Some residual magicis left over at each abduction site that when viewed with Detect Magic reveals Conjuration magic (the type of magic used in Teleportation).
A single bracelet made of 5 strands of coloured leather; 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 white, 1 black but the blue strand is noticably thicker than the others . An Arcana or Religion check can reveal it is similar to those used historically by cults that worship Tiamat but let them draw their own conclusions about why the blue strand is thicker.
A blue scale, it is to small/flexible to be from a dragon, a successful nature check reveals it might be dragonborn scale.
A Druid wanders into town ranting and raving about a coming storm, although the Druid is off his face on some form of magic mushroom, he has witnessed the cult and might be able to point the party to a small trail that goes into the mountains where he saw them.
Investigating the site of each disapparance reveals a small sigil burned into a piece of wood (door frame, bed, chair etc), the sigil represents a 5 hedead dragon.
Studying the locations of the disappearances with a successful Intelligence check reveals a pattern emerging and there is two possible locations that might be the sight fo the next disappearance.
The party have the chance to stumble upon a member of the cult observing potential targets.
Well, two CR9 Young Blue Dragons works out to about a HARD encounter for a party of that level and size. I would suggest surprise tactics and hit-and-run style fighting from the dragons leading to an area where the dragons have an environmental advantage.
This is an amazing story. Thank you for the suggestion.
Thank you!