i’ve played d&d a lot, but am a very new dungeon master, I was wondering if anybody had ideas for a black dragon’s lair, hopefully lots of kobolds, and a feel that evokes krynn during the war of the lance. I was thinking part underground part above ground like a sunken fortress, with a dragon in its tallest tower.
You've basically got the idea already. You could check the DMs guild for maps. The map bundle DDB just put out last week has a red dragon lair map that could probably be ported over to a black dragon lair pretty easily. Just build it up in your PCs' imaginations that the lava on the map is really swamp water.
If you have access to the Hoard of the Dragon queen module, Voaragamanthar makes a brief appearance there. He's served by bullywugs and lizardfolk (who are enslaved by the bullywugs to an extent).
A lot of the dungeon design is going to depend on some important factors that we on the forums aren't privy to:
A) What level your PCs are.
This is going to determine a couple things. First, the age of the dragon. 1st level characters could easily be wiped by even a Young Black Dragon. 7th level characters it'll probably be a deadly encounter but survivable because young dragons, per the MM, don't get lair actions. Adult dragons don't get lair actions either. But I wouldn't pit PCs against one of those until double digit levels minimum. But that's just me. A legendary dragon (such as Voaragamanthar) is going to have both lair actions and regional effects surrounding that lair. Any but L15+ would be foolhardy to go against one of them. Even then it'll be an epic battle. Second, this is going to determine what that lair will look like and what the potential treasure hoard is going to be comprised of. A dragon wyrmling or young dragon probably is just starting its hoard and may not have claimed the full extent of the swamp as its territory. If you put your PC's up against a wyrmling, perhaps the dragon is still residing in the tower with the kobolds. Maybe the kobolds stole the egg from the dragon's mother and hatched it themselves and now worship the dragon, helping it build its lair. Wrymlings are <5 years old. A young dragon could have just ventured into the sunken portions of the swamp to begin carving out more territory for itself. The kobolds could still be there serving it, helping it expand and build its hoard. Young dragons are between 5 and 100 years old. Expand on that for adult and legendary dragons.
B) What kind of encounter you're going for. Is this a one-shot? A small arc in a larger story?
If it's a one-shot, maybe only have a couple levels of the lair open to adventurers and plan a solid arc for the entire exploration. If it's a small arc in a larger story, then you can start to expand the available dungeon area to make the dungeon span more than one session if desired. The type of encounter you want will inform the size and structure of the dungeon you build.
C) What is the goal? Are your PCs coming for the dragon to kill it? Do they want information? Do they know it's a dragon lair when they stumble into it?
Chances are, they're going to know it's a dragon lair. Black dragons, per the MM, lair on the outskirts of civilization to prevent intruders from wandering in. The goal you have in mind for your PCs will also shape the dungeon and the encounters you populate it with.
If your players are not familiar with Krynn and the Dragonlance Saga, pull the scene from the book. It's really quite good. Ruins of a keep near a swamp; the players investigate, and from the well in the center of the courtyard, a large, black scaled claw emerges and grasps the edge of the well...
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Black Dragons love swampy, standing water. I would have the lair in a swamp are lagoon where it has at least one underwater exit for easy escaping and entering. Because of the standing water, include Stirges and other swampy creatures in addition to any Kobold Dragonshields that have pledge loyalty to the Black Dragon.
If the dragon has eggs, the optimal place for Black Dragon eggs are in 3-4 feet of standing, fetid water with just about 1 foot of the egg above water level in a more humid part of the lair.
Black Dragon Hatchings are cruel creatures. The mother dragon typically leaves them alone until they hatch and let's the first one devour the other eggs. If they hatch at the same time a fight between the hatchlings occur until only one survives. Then the mother takes care of the lone hatchling until it reaches adolescents. At what point it attacks the adolescent black dragon to drive it away to find its own lair.
If you are looking for something pre-made with maps, Forge of Fury has a young black dragon at the end of it, with a pretty decent lair. I ran it mostly for the maps and swapped out most of the module monsters, including turning the young into an adult dragon.
i’ve played d&d a lot, but am a very new dungeon master, I was wondering if anybody had ideas for a black dragon’s lair, hopefully lots of kobolds, and a feel that evokes krynn during the war of the lance. I was thinking part underground part above ground like a sunken fortress, with a dragon in its tallest tower.
You've basically got the idea already. You could check the DMs guild for maps. The map bundle DDB just put out last week has a red dragon lair map that could probably be ported over to a black dragon lair pretty easily. Just build it up in your PCs' imaginations that the lava on the map is really swamp water.
If you have access to the Hoard of the Dragon queen module, Voaragamanthar makes a brief appearance there. He's served by bullywugs and lizardfolk (who are enslaved by the bullywugs to an extent).
A lot of the dungeon design is going to depend on some important factors that we on the forums aren't privy to:
A) What level your PCs are.
This is going to determine a couple things. First, the age of the dragon. 1st level characters could easily be wiped by even a Young Black Dragon. 7th level characters it'll probably be a deadly encounter but survivable because young dragons, per the MM, don't get lair actions. Adult dragons don't get lair actions either. But I wouldn't pit PCs against one of those until double digit levels minimum. But that's just me. A legendary dragon (such as Voaragamanthar) is going to have both lair actions and regional effects surrounding that lair. Any but L15+ would be foolhardy to go against one of them. Even then it'll be an epic battle. Second, this is going to determine what that lair will look like and what the potential treasure hoard is going to be comprised of. A dragon wyrmling or young dragon probably is just starting its hoard and may not have claimed the full extent of the swamp as its territory. If you put your PC's up against a wyrmling, perhaps the dragon is still residing in the tower with the kobolds. Maybe the kobolds stole the egg from the dragon's mother and hatched it themselves and now worship the dragon, helping it build its lair. Wrymlings are <5 years old. A young dragon could have just ventured into the sunken portions of the swamp to begin carving out more territory for itself. The kobolds could still be there serving it, helping it expand and build its hoard. Young dragons are between 5 and 100 years old. Expand on that for adult and legendary dragons.
B) What kind of encounter you're going for. Is this a one-shot? A small arc in a larger story?
If it's a one-shot, maybe only have a couple levels of the lair open to adventurers and plan a solid arc for the entire exploration. If it's a small arc in a larger story, then you can start to expand the available dungeon area to make the dungeon span more than one session if desired. The type of encounter you want will inform the size and structure of the dungeon you build.
C) What is the goal? Are your PCs coming for the dragon to kill it? Do they want information? Do they know it's a dragon lair when they stumble into it?
Chances are, they're going to know it's a dragon lair. Black dragons, per the MM, lair on the outskirts of civilization to prevent intruders from wandering in. The goal you have in mind for your PCs will also shape the dungeon and the encounters you populate it with.
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If your players are not familiar with Krynn and the Dragonlance Saga, pull the scene from the book. It's really quite good. Ruins of a keep near a swamp; the players investigate, and from the well in the center of the courtyard, a large, black scaled claw emerges and grasps the edge of the well...
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Black Dragons love swampy, standing water. I would have the lair in a swamp are lagoon where it has at least one underwater exit for easy escaping and entering. Because of the standing water, include Stirges and other swampy creatures in addition to any Kobold Dragonshields that have pledge loyalty to the Black Dragon.
If the dragon has eggs, the optimal place for Black Dragon eggs are in 3-4 feet of standing, fetid water with just about 1 foot of the egg above water level in a more humid part of the lair.
Black Dragon Hatchings are cruel creatures. The mother dragon typically leaves them alone until they hatch and let's the first one devour the other eggs. If they hatch at the same time a fight between the hatchlings occur until only one survives. Then the mother takes care of the lone hatchling until it reaches adolescents. At what point it attacks the adolescent black dragon to drive it away to find its own lair.
So, the adventure before that is in Pax Tharkas, although the is no black dragon there, it’s actually the sunless citidel from tales from the YP
Thanks for the ideas, more are welcome
If you are looking for something pre-made with maps, Forge of Fury has a young black dragon at the end of it, with a pretty decent lair. I ran it mostly for the maps and swapped out most of the module monsters, including turning the young into an adult dragon.
Instead of kobold's I'd go with Bullywugs/Lizardman/Kura-Toa depending on the environment you place the lair in.