So this is my first campaign DM:ing and we're getting close to the end of the campaign. So there's one thing I'm confused about, is Cryovains lair supposed to be a secret to the players? The adventure is called "Dragon of Icespire Peak" and one of few quest locations that's actually marked out on the player map is Icespire Peak itself. Yet the adventure contains this section about Finding Icespire Hold:
Icespire Hold is so tucked away in the mountains that few people know of its existence, let alone anything about its history or current state. Characters might learn of it after experiencing a vision at the Shrine of Savras, or they might search for it on their own. In the latter case, let the players use the poster map of the Sword Coast to plot a search. Icespire Hold is marked on the DM’s map (below). Characters spot Icespire Hold if they come within 1 hex of it.
If the characters are ready to confront the dragon but need help finding its lair, use one of the following hooks to get them to Icespire Hold:
Captured Orc. A dozen orcs attack Phandalin. If the characters are not present during the attack, the townsfolk repel the orcs but suffer losses. One wounded orc is captured alive. This orc speaks Common and knows where the dragon’s lair is. The characters can also capture an orc themselves and get the information they need from it.
Tymora’s Luck. A sidekick or friendly NPC suggests that the characters pray for Tymora’s blessing at the Shrine of Luck. If one or more characters do so, Tymora’s blessing comes after a long rest when a mysterious, cloaked man arrives in town on a riding horse to gather supplies for his companions. The man’s name is Dobin Noreth, a neutral evil member of the Stone-Cold Reavers (see the sidebar). Both he and the horse know the way to the dragon’s lair, having come from there. Dobin’s steed is a retired, well-behaved race horse named Four-Leaf Clover.
Then there's the vision the players get from the Shrine of Savras, which is supposed to give the players clues as to the where the dragons lair is. So the adventure is written as if Icespire Hold/Icespire Peak is supposed to be a big secret, yet it's one of the few things that's blatantly presented to the players. How do I work with this as a DM? The solutions presented above feel like a really strange way to give information to the players that they already know from day one...
Icespire Peak is not the same as Icespire Hold though they are both in the Sword mountains.
The Peak is marked with a triangle and is likely the highest local peak of the Sword mountains. The dragon is coming from the mountains maybe somewhere near the peak. No one knows exactly where. The hold itself is the X marked maybe 5 miles or more to the east and a bit to the north from the peak. Characters who go to the peak, won't find the hold. "Icespire Hold is so tucked away in the mountains that few people know of its existence". The hold itself is tucked away in the mountains, maybe in a small valley surrounded by higher peaks with only a small trail leading to it on foot. It might be very difficult to find especially since it is some distance from the peak.
There are a number of ways to give hints to the players on where the hold might be. Studying Cryovains movements and sightings might give them a starting point. Other suggestions are in the adventure. Alternatively you could have some NPCs scattered about that could have some information. Falcon at the hunting lodge has been around a long time and if he has hunted in the mountains as well as the woods he might have seen the hold from a distance but not approached due to orcs. You could hide other hints like this in the module if you think the characters will miss the ones that are already there.
The players do not know where the lair is so that you as the DM can delay their going there until they are an appropriate level.
I'm currently running a LMoP and DoIP combo, my players actually wanted to go to Neverwinter to go to a library to research for locations in the Sword Mountains on where a dragon would make its lair. They rolled well so I gave them the location of Icespire Hold.
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So this is my first campaign DM:ing and we're getting close to the end of the campaign. So there's one thing I'm confused about, is Cryovains lair supposed to be a secret to the players? The adventure is called "Dragon of Icespire Peak" and one of few quest locations that's actually marked out on the player map is Icespire Peak itself. Yet the adventure contains this section about Finding Icespire Hold:
Icespire Hold is so tucked away in the mountains that few people know of its existence, let alone anything about its history or current state. Characters might learn of it after experiencing a vision at the Shrine of Savras, or they might search for it on their own. In the latter case, let the players use the poster map of the Sword Coast to plot a search. Icespire Hold is marked on the DM’s map (below). Characters spot Icespire Hold if they come within 1 hex of it.
If the characters are ready to confront the dragon but need help finding its lair, use one of the following hooks to get them to Icespire Hold:
Captured Orc. A dozen orcs attack Phandalin. If the characters are not present during the attack, the townsfolk repel the orcs but suffer losses. One wounded orc is captured alive. This orc speaks Common and knows where the dragon’s lair is. The characters can also capture an orc themselves and get the information they need from it.
Tymora’s Luck. A sidekick or friendly NPC suggests that the characters pray for Tymora’s blessing at the Shrine of Luck. If one or more characters do so, Tymora’s blessing comes after a long rest when a mysterious, cloaked man arrives in town on a riding horse to gather supplies for his companions. The man’s name is Dobin Noreth, a neutral evil member of the Stone-Cold Reavers (see the sidebar). Both he and the horse know the way to the dragon’s lair, having come from there. Dobin’s steed is a retired, well-behaved race horse named Four-Leaf Clover.
Then there's the vision the players get from the Shrine of Savras, which is supposed to give the players clues as to the where the dragons lair is. So the adventure is written as if Icespire Hold/Icespire Peak is supposed to be a big secret, yet it's one of the few things that's blatantly presented to the players. How do I work with this as a DM? The solutions presented above feel like a really strange way to give information to the players that they already know from day one...
Icespire Peak is not the same as Icespire Hold though they are both in the Sword mountains.
The Peak is marked with a triangle and is likely the highest local peak of the Sword mountains. The dragon is coming from the mountains maybe somewhere near the peak. No one knows exactly where. The hold itself is the X marked maybe 5 miles or more to the east and a bit to the north from the peak. Characters who go to the peak, won't find the hold. "Icespire Hold is so tucked away in the mountains that few people know of its existence". The hold itself is tucked away in the mountains, maybe in a small valley surrounded by higher peaks with only a small trail leading to it on foot. It might be very difficult to find especially since it is some distance from the peak.
There are a number of ways to give hints to the players on where the hold might be. Studying Cryovains movements and sightings might give them a starting point. Other suggestions are in the adventure. Alternatively you could have some NPCs scattered about that could have some information. Falcon at the hunting lodge has been around a long time and if he has hunted in the mountains as well as the woods he might have seen the hold from a distance but not approached due to orcs. You could hide other hints like this in the module if you think the characters will miss the ones that are already there.
The players do not know where the lair is so that you as the DM can delay their going there until they are an appropriate level.
I'm currently running a LMoP and DoIP combo, my players actually wanted to go to Neverwinter to go to a library to research for locations in the Sword Mountains on where a dragon would make its lair. They rolled well so I gave them the location of Icespire Hold.