I have been running Dragon of Icepire Peak for about a month and my players are level 4. They are starting to realise the half-orcs worship Talos but I am confused about how to get the players to fight the dragon when they reach level 6. I am a new DM and all advise it appreciated.
Cryovain could drop in wherever the players are and start a fight. It could attack Phandalin. An NPC in town could give a direct quest for the players to go to Icespire hold and take it back from the dragon.
There are many possibilities depending on what motivates the characters in your party.
1) The party believes in society and the only reason they need to hunt Cryovain is the fact that it is raiding and killing innocents. The module includes encounters where the party finds bodies killed by Cryovain. In addition, if the party asks questions, they discover that the dragon has forced the orcs out of their previous home and this is the cause of the orc attacks. In addition, the orcs forced the wererats out of their home and they invaded the mine - so a lot of the events in and around Phandelin are due to the effects of the dragon.
If the party is made up of heroes motivated by fame and protecting the people then that may be all they need.
2) If the party is more mercenary and interested in coin then the mayor of Phandelin could offer the party a monetary reward for hunting the dragon and saving the town.
3) As mentioned, the dragon could attack the party at some point, then before killing them, it decides to return to its lair. This works best if the party has a wagon with horses. The dragon can attack the party, kill the horses, and fly away with one for lunch (this assumes the party isn't yet high enough in level to kill the dragon). This also makes the dragon attacks more personal.
4) You could add a rumor of the dragon having a hoard of treasure at its lair - this could motivate the party as well. However, the module doesn't include such a hoard so you could add some treasure or indicate that the rumor was false "Every dragon has a hoard, everyone KNOWS that!" ... but Cryovain is a young dragon with a new lair and hasn't had much time to accumulate stuff.
Anyway, lots of ways to go and lots of possible ways to motivate the characters to fight the dragon. It all depends on the characters and what motivates them.
The module states two ways to get your party to the dragon. One is a vision from the Shrine of Savaras showing the exact location. The other is a bandit NPC riding in from Icespire Hold itself. There's a third option where they just explore the area around Icespire Peak. They've likely seen the dragon enough to know the general area. If they lack survival skills that would help them find the fortress, have a mountain guide NPC available or have an elderly dwarf drop a rumor of an ancient dwarven fortress in the mountains.
It’s called Dungeons and Dragons. If given a chance, any player will try and take on a dragon. Just throw in a few random, non-deadly encounters with the dragon, and a few distance shots of Cryovain flying to Icespire Peak.
Cryovain could drop in wherever the players are and start a fight. It could attack Phandalin. An NPC in town could give a direct quest for the players to go to Icespire hold and take it back from the dragon.
In my campaigns, Cryovain attacked Phandalin while the players were away on their final quest. They returned to ice and destruction and a town meeting in the central square. There, they saw townmaster Harbin for the first time. He explained that the dragon destroyed his house, so he can no longer cower inside of it (flavor text after all the gold pieces slid under the door) and he told the players that the threat of Cryovain can no longer go unanswered and they must set out to Icespire Hold to defeat it.
If the players have not gone to the shrine of savaras (both of my groups did), then the town could mention that he flew away in the direction of the mountain. Someone could also remember rumors of an old fortress on icespire peak.
I have been running Dragon of Icepire Peak for about a month and my players are level 4. They are starting to realise the half-orcs worship Talos but I am confused about how to get the players to fight the dragon when they reach level 6. I am a new DM and all advise it appreciated.
There a few ways you could make this occur.
Cryovain could drop in wherever the players are and start a fight. It could attack Phandalin. An NPC in town could give a direct quest for the players to go to Icespire hold and take it back from the dragon.
There are many possibilities depending on what motivates the characters in your party.
1) The party believes in society and the only reason they need to hunt Cryovain is the fact that it is raiding and killing innocents. The module includes encounters where the party finds bodies killed by Cryovain. In addition, if the party asks questions, they discover that the dragon has forced the orcs out of their previous home and this is the cause of the orc attacks. In addition, the orcs forced the wererats out of their home and they invaded the mine - so a lot of the events in and around Phandelin are due to the effects of the dragon.
If the party is made up of heroes motivated by fame and protecting the people then that may be all they need.
2) If the party is more mercenary and interested in coin then the mayor of Phandelin could offer the party a monetary reward for hunting the dragon and saving the town.
3) As mentioned, the dragon could attack the party at some point, then before killing them, it decides to return to its lair. This works best if the party has a wagon with horses. The dragon can attack the party, kill the horses, and fly away with one for lunch (this assumes the party isn't yet high enough in level to kill the dragon). This also makes the dragon attacks more personal.
4) You could add a rumor of the dragon having a hoard of treasure at its lair - this could motivate the party as well. However, the module doesn't include such a hoard so you could add some treasure or indicate that the rumor was false "Every dragon has a hoard, everyone KNOWS that!" ... but Cryovain is a young dragon with a new lair and hasn't had much time to accumulate stuff.
Anyway, lots of ways to go and lots of possible ways to motivate the characters to fight the dragon. It all depends on the characters and what motivates them.
The module states two ways to get your party to the dragon. One is a vision from the Shrine of Savaras showing the exact location. The other is a bandit NPC riding in from Icespire Hold itself. There's a third option where they just explore the area around Icespire Peak. They've likely seen the dragon enough to know the general area. If they lack survival skills that would help them find the fortress, have a mountain guide NPC available or have an elderly dwarf drop a rumor of an ancient dwarven fortress in the mountains.
It’s called Dungeons and Dragons. If given a chance, any player will try and take on a dragon. Just throw in a few random, non-deadly encounters with the dragon, and a few distance shots of Cryovain flying to Icespire Peak.
In my campaigns, Cryovain attacked Phandalin while the players were away on their final quest. They returned to ice and destruction and a town meeting in the central square. There, they saw townmaster Harbin for the first time. He explained that the dragon destroyed his house, so he can no longer cower inside of it (flavor text after all the gold pieces slid under the door) and he told the players that the threat of Cryovain can no longer go unanswered and they must set out to Icespire Hold to defeat it.
If the players have not gone to the shrine of savaras (both of my groups did), then the town could mention that he flew away in the direction of the mountain. Someone could also remember rumors of an old fortress on icespire peak.
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep