Since the release of the essentials kit I'm going to combine both of them into 1 campaign. Mines of Phandelver has the advantage to be quite linear which is great for new players, but Dragon of Icespire peak gives the players more freedom to do what they want. So to have an overview I made a (temporary) diagram to have an easier overview of the total campaign. So in case anyone wants it, I'll just post it here.
I've been writing a few ideas here or there on how I can put these two together as well. This is a pretty legit tool to that end. Thanks.
What is the "ambush" between events?
If the players decide to stay on the trail and go to Phandalin before finding the goblin trail/hideout, how do things "feel" at Phandalin? Are the Redbrands there and do they side-eye the PCs. Do they wait to act until AFTER Cragmaw?
Two dragons in the area. I had this idea that Venomfang would lay low, knowing that Cryovain is in the area. The young green dragon is cunning and patient. My plan in to try and have Venomfang strike a deal with the PCs to rid the area of Cryovain. It's not a fully fleshed out idea yet, and I do not have the motivation for this deal yet. The idea was born out of a desire to see the PCs on the roof on Icespire fighting Cryovain, and out of the fog and mist Venomfang joins the fight.
This goes without saying, but the Many Arrows orc tribe at Wyvern Tor is the same tribe that was driven out of Ice Spire peak and the same tribe that started running with the anchorites of Talos.
Who's the biggest threat to Phandalin and the surrounding area? Is it the dragons? Nezznar? The cult of Talos? My idea was to boost Nezznar's role in the area. He's got his network from the Cragmaw tride and the Redbrands. He will also strike a deal with the cult of Talos, as he doesn't care about the town and Phandalin and would rather it be sacked than have the towns people meddle in his plans with the Forge of Spells.
I was thinking to throw in Sunless Citadel as a side quest. Cryovine is the white dragon who grew up and broke free from his captors. The other party from the dungeon would whipe out Cryovine jailer and take over the whole dungeon, threaten to attack Oakhurst next.
Unfortunately my players decided to silence the Redbrand ruffian i had designed as a hook after interiorgating him about the Redbrand hideout.
Not played yet, but how about Nezznar having stolen something from Cryovain and being the reason it’s rampaging round the countryside looking for him? Whatever it was needs the Forge of Spells to recharge/fix. That also explains why he’s employed an agent in Phandalin to run his errands, because he’s worried Cryovain will find him.
I was thinking of doing this but using XP. That'll help get them higher due to more quests. But that's what we want considering so many quests can wipe the party at such low levels. Esp dragons!
I just wish there was a table that listed the XP breakdown of each quest in DoIP.
I was thinking of doing this but using XP. That'll help get them higher due to more quests. But that's what we want considering so many quests can wipe the party at such low levels. Esp dragons!
I just wish there was a table that listed the XP breakdown of each quest in DoIP.
I think they don't have XP shown is because they don't say "x number of monsters", they say "y number of monsters per player character not including sidekicks". But it would be easy to look up the amount of XP per encounter.
Edit: I love the idea KraftyMattKraft had of Venomfang aiding the PCs in getting rid of Cryovain.
I was thinking of doing this but using XP. That'll help get them higher due to more quests. But that's what we want considering so many quests can wipe the party at such low levels. Esp dragons!
I just wish there was a table that listed the XP breakdown of each quest in DoIP.
I think they don't have XP shown is because they don't say "x number of monsters", they say "y number of monsters per player character not including sidekicks". But it would be easy to look up the amount of XP per encounter.
Edit: I love the idea KraftyMattKraft had of Venomfang aiding the PCs in getting rid of Cryovain.
Thanks! Things did not go as planned. PC's saw right through Venomfangs double speak. Lost a party member in the process, but there is one less dragon threatening the region.
I have a party nearing the end of Lost Mines. I've only recently picked up the Icespire adventures, so decided to work them in together, especially to link them into the 3 additional modules included with Essentials. The party has just finished up with Cragmaw Castle, made level 4 and returned to Phandelver. I wanted them to continue through the Mines and perhaps pursue the Dragon after that, when they are level 5 (I have a strong party of 6 PCs so the level isn't too strict).
So.... on their return to Phandalin from Cragmaw, they have just heard rumours of a dragon while having dinner in the Inn. I'm assuming that they will think that it is Venomfang as they had been battling it in Thundertree, but Venomfang fled part way through the fight. Actually it's Cryovain. I haven't given them enough to actually pursue the dragon and I have the Gundren on their case, pushing them to head to the mines next to check on his brothers.
On their return I will get them into Axeholm, the dragon slayer sword or the Manse (or all of them) adding in info as I go, before they have enough to find the dragon. They may have found out enough to realise its not Venomfang by then. Or not...
Once that is done, I will link them into the modules above Icespire (the 3 online ones that were included).
Like so many others I also thought about combining the two. However, I'm already pretty far into LMoP. My party is at Wave Echo Cave right now, but they skipped most of the side quests. So I may tie it together by having the dragons sighted while they're away in the cave, and may take KraftyMattKraft's idea about Venomfang too. With the townmaster being an easily-scared idiot, it'll be easy for him to just start hiding away in his house and blame the party for doing something to stir the wrath of two dragons!
So there are the two dragons as plot hooks, and then Nezznar in the cave whom the party is on the verge of facing (they inadvertently bee-lined it right for him (Left is right, right is wrong I suppose?)). I am also planning on turning him into a sorcerer instead. And then I can have Nezznar serve the black dragon (twins) in the Mere of Dead Men. They are much older and more powerful than the green and the white, so it looks like I can use this to build up a story arc. Perhaps the black dragon is keeping an eye on Nezznar's progress with a scrying orb. I plan on (possibly) stealing the joy of killing Nezznar from the party by having the orb capture him right at the end, or maybe just sucking his body away after. Either way, I have to tie in a third (and fourth?) dragon. Maybe he can cast spells through the orb? Maybe his voice echoes forth from it after the party defeats Nezznar and says "You know too much" and acid sprays out from the orb or maybe it hisses and explodes? Sorry Rockseeker brothers...
Those are my thoughts that came about after looking at tying the two adventures together.
I'm planning on doing this for my players also, but I revamped it a little... The players started with the LMOP ambush and explored the Cragmaw Hideout, but they're heading to Phandalin next, so I've merged the LMoP and DoIP into one large campaign that will take them through to level 7.
This next part is spoilers, so if you're one of my players, please don't click:
The plan will eventually be to lead them into Storm Kings Thunder (one of my newest players is a Goliath 'Giant Born' Barbarian, I thought it'd be nice to bring him in).
Here are the changes: Nezzner is Nezzner Xorlarrin who is working with the Storm Giants to recover an artifact to take power.
(in STK, Dracc Xorlarrin has been working with the Fire Giants to steal the power of the Forge of Gauntlgrym... maybe an overarching plot with the Xorlarrin's TBD... maybe Nilraun Dhaerlost with the Frost Giants is actually a Xorlarrin also... hmm...)
The Forge of Spells has been built over a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water (which is why there are waves underground) and the Forge harnesses that energy to infuse magic. He was hoping to take the Forge to the Storm Giants, but it cannot be moved. Maybe Nezzner dies, maybe he escapes. We'll see.
Cryovain is THE SAME dragon that the Frost Giants have imprisoned in SKT. So I made him an Adult White Dragon (CR13). His long term goal is to rescue his mate and recover the eggs. Short term goal is to rid the area of a rival upstart green dragon, Venomfang. Hopefully he can persuade my PCs. While I know white dragons are more primal, I don't think this is too much of a reach. I'll be planting rumors that the townsfolk have seen "a great white dragon flying over the peaks in the south" and "a green dragon terrorizing farms and roads to the north."
To that end, Venomfang and Thundertree will be undertaken towards the end of the module, which should make him killable (especially with the Dragon Slayer sword from Dragon's Barrow).
Reidoth has been moved to the Alderleaf Farm and asks the PCs to rid Neverwinter Forest of the evil that resides there and starts them on the Woodland Manse quest.
I've included my spreadsheet of quests from Phandalin. I removed the "quest board" completely and made it all word of mouth stuff. My link from the Triboar Trail to Old Owl Well will be the players coming across a cart of corpses pulled by two undead. Oh! and I also eliminated Wyvern Tor completely and replaced it with Shrine of Savras. One orc battle is enough for a module and these orcs have been displaced from Icespire by the arrival of Cryovain.
Thoughts? It's been a ton of fun merging these two stories. I hope my players enjoy it as much as I have. Oh, and all the level notes in there are expectations but not carved in stone. You know how players are!
1)players will encounter Venomfang before Cryovain. So how do u intend to handle that?
2)how will u reward players with xp for the DoIP missions since they’re built around milestones?
3)don’t forget there’s a map to loot in wave echo cave where Mormesk the wraith is. U can use that hook to tie in future adventures like SKT. (Personally, I’m using it to tie in a temple location that hides an ancient magic artefact. Like Davinci code/Indiana Jones) the artefact was forged in the Forge of Spells!
1. I have run DOIP a few times for my kids and group of friends. I always like to start with the PCs seeing Cyrovain flying overhead. It quickly and subtly establishes that Cryovain is the BBEG of the mini-campaign.
2. The opening quest I start with is with the Manticore encounter. It is strong enough for LV1 PCs to wipe them out, but intelligent enough to negotiate and see things the PC's way. I use this encounter as a great way to introduce the PCs to role-playing, as not every monster needs a stab stab stab die.
3. From there, you can offer the other T1 quests for the players to play through. If they happen to go to the Excavation Site, just rename the two Dwarves there to Nundro and Tharden. Another idea is that these Dwarves are the two Doppledangers employed by Nezznar. Either way, this excavation is a failed attempt to find the Wave Echo Cave. If the did go to the Excavation Site fight, then you can pocket Gnomengarde until the players are 5th or 6th level, as per "A Tale of Two Dragons" suggests.
4. Have Nundro and Tharden task the players with finding their brother Gundren. This will set the players on the path of Part One of LMOP with a level or two under their belt, making that first encounter with the Goblins a little less deadly. Hell, the entirety of Part One are deadly encounters one after another, and having the players up a few levels helps. ESPECIALLY if you only have one or two players and some sidekicks.
4a. Having the players away trying to find Gundren and the Cragmaws is an awesome excuse to have the Rebrands move in. Harbin, being scared of the White Dragon in the area, has locked himself in his house (as per DOIP) and refuses to leave while the beast is prowling around. It would go completely unnoticed (or maybe he's too scared to deal with) the ruffians that have moved in to the town.
5. Once the players are back in Phandalin, they should be LV3. From here you can tackle the T2 quests from DOIP or deal with the Redbrands. From here, if the players are tackling the T2 quests from DOIP, then run them as is... or if they take on the Redbrands, play that as is. As the players start to reach LV5... then you can use both parts of this product to scale up the encounters and intermingle them.
We already know that the Cragmaws and the Redbrands are working with Nezznar to destabilize Phandalin. You can also have Nezznar strike a deal with the Orcs and Anchorites of Talos. Nezznar doesn't want those pesky Adventurers finding his cave and... and plays nicely in to the destruction of Phandalin.
7. Have the Orcs of Wyvern Tor be part of the Orc group that are helping the Anchorites of Talos.
8. Wait to ambush Phandalin until the players are off in the Wave Echo Cave. As they are on their way back, they see the smoke rising from the town. This will lead easily into the final encounter of the Tale by sending them up to Icespire Peak to deal with the Dragon. Hell, my kids negotiated with the Orcs, and once they cleaned out Icespire, let the Orcs move back in with the Anchorites in tow to live in "peace" and worship Talos so long as they didn't come back to the Highroad or Trail.
8a. We already know that the Cragmaws and the Redbrands are working with Nezznar to destabilize Phandalin. You can also have Nezznar strike a deal with the Orcs and Anchorites of Talos. Nezznar doesn't want those pesky Adventurers finding his cave and... and plays nicely in to the destruction of Phandalin.
9. Let Venomfang from Thundertree still escape. If the players end up killing here, that's okay too... but imagine this... Venomfang KNOWS there is another dragon in the area and CANNOT STAND IT. Have her negotiate with the players. If the players help her get rid of the dragon, she will let them live. Venomfang doesn't know where Cyrovain is nesting, she is much younger than the older white dragon, and the idea of scouting him out and him attacking her is not in Venomfangs best interest. She is a green dragon, after all... she has all the time in the world to wait and plan. Here's where things get awesome. If the players agree, Venomfang shows up for the fight on top of Icespire peak to "help" the players. I picture her bursting through the icey fog, roaring, as the players have Cyrovain on the ropes. A dragon vs dragon encounter will be something the players will never forget. The PCs can deal with Venomfang now or later... either way she will keep her word... for now... setting up the possibility of another BBEG for another, expanded, adventure.
10. As a nice little epilogue, the players have restored Phandalin to the mining and trading town it once was. A few months or even a year later, rumors of a horrible spiderlike creature attacking Gnome and Dwarven miners begin to surface. The players investigate and find that a Drider has moved in to one of the mines and is terrorizing the miners. When the players encounter the Drider, it is none other than Nezznar, back from the dead. His failure in the Wave Echo Cave did not go unnoticed by Lolth, the Spider Queen. As punishment, she cursed him as a Drider to haunt the caves that he failed to secure. It really puts a nice bow on the entire adventure, and the callback will be appreciated by the players.
These are of course just MY ideas on how I plan on using this product. Feel free to join in the discussion and add to my crazy ramblings.
Since the release of the essentials kit I'm going to combine both of them into 1 campaign. Mines of Phandelver has the advantage to be quite linear which is great for new players, but Dragon of Icespire peak gives the players more freedom to do what they want. So to have an overview I made a (temporary) diagram to have an easier overview of the total campaign.
So in case anyone wants it, I'll just post it here.
Thank you! I’ve been thinking about how to go about this and you just saved me so much time.
I've been writing a few ideas here or there on how I can put these two together as well. This is a pretty legit tool to that end. Thanks.
What is the "ambush" between events?
If the players decide to stay on the trail and go to Phandalin before finding the goblin trail/hideout, how do things "feel" at Phandalin? Are the Redbrands there and do they side-eye the PCs. Do they wait to act until AFTER Cragmaw?
Two dragons in the area. I had this idea that Venomfang would lay low, knowing that Cryovain is in the area. The young green dragon is cunning and patient. My plan in to try and have Venomfang strike a deal with the PCs to rid the area of Cryovain. It's not a fully fleshed out idea yet, and I do not have the motivation for this deal yet. The idea was born out of a desire to see the PCs on the roof on Icespire fighting Cryovain, and out of the fog and mist Venomfang joins the fight.
This goes without saying, but the Many Arrows orc tribe at Wyvern Tor is the same tribe that was driven out of Ice Spire peak and the same tribe that started running with the anchorites of Talos.
Who's the biggest threat to Phandalin and the surrounding area? Is it the dragons? Nezznar? The cult of Talos? My idea was to boost Nezznar's role in the area. He's got his network from the Cragmaw tride and the Redbrands. He will also strike a deal with the cult of Talos, as he doesn't care about the town and Phandalin and would rather it be sacked than have the towns people meddle in his plans with the Forge of Spells.
I was thinking to throw in Sunless Citadel as a side quest. Cryovine is the white dragon who grew up and broke free from his captors. The other party from the dungeon would whipe out Cryovine jailer and take over the whole dungeon, threaten to attack Oakhurst next.
Unfortunately my players decided to silence the Redbrand ruffian i had designed as a hook after interiorgating him about the Redbrand hideout.
Attack: [roll]3d20dl2+6[/roll] Damage: [roll](if([roll:-1:critical], =0, 1d8, 2{1d8}.expand()))+4[/roll] Sneakattack: [roll](if([roll:-2:critical], =0, 2d6, 2{2d6}.expand()))[/roll]Not played yet, but how about Nezznar having stolen something from Cryovain and being the reason it’s rampaging round the countryside looking for him? Whatever it was needs the Forge of Spells to recharge/fix. That also explains why he’s employed an agent in Phandalin to run his errands, because he’s worried Cryovain will find him.
Great idea! Well done!
"Shadow Hide You..."
I was thinking of doing this but using XP. That'll help get them higher due to more quests. But that's what we want considering so many quests can wipe the party at such low levels. Esp dragons!
I just wish there was a table that listed the XP breakdown of each quest in DoIP.
I think they don't have XP shown is because they don't say "x number of monsters", they say "y number of monsters per player character not including sidekicks". But it would be easy to look up the amount of XP per encounter.
Edit: I love the idea KraftyMattKraft had of Venomfang aiding the PCs in getting rid of Cryovain.
This diagram is fantastic, thank you for sharing it!
Player: "Wait, it can't do that in the Monster Manual statblock..."
Excuse my noobness, but how do you look up the XP of each encounter?
Through the encounter builder here on DNDBeyond or the Monster Manual, or just a quick search online.
Thanks! Things did not go as planned. PC's saw right through Venomfangs double speak. Lost a party member in the process, but there is one less dragon threatening the region.
I have a party nearing the end of Lost Mines. I've only recently picked up the Icespire adventures, so decided to work them in together, especially to link them into the 3 additional modules included with Essentials. The party has just finished up with Cragmaw Castle, made level 4 and returned to Phandelver. I wanted them to continue through the Mines and perhaps pursue the Dragon after that, when they are level 5 (I have a strong party of 6 PCs so the level isn't too strict).
So.... on their return to Phandalin from Cragmaw, they have just heard rumours of a dragon while having dinner in the Inn. I'm assuming that they will think that it is Venomfang as they had been battling it in Thundertree, but Venomfang fled part way through the fight. Actually it's Cryovain. I haven't given them enough to actually pursue the dragon and I have the Gundren on their case, pushing them to head to the mines next to check on his brothers.
On their return I will get them into Axeholm, the dragon slayer sword or the Manse (or all of them) adding in info as I go, before they have enough to find the dragon. They may have found out enough to realise its not Venomfang by then. Or not...
Once that is done, I will link them into the modules above Icespire (the 3 online ones that were included).
Thanks for the flowchart!
Like so many others I also thought about combining the two. However, I'm already pretty far into LMoP. My party is at Wave Echo Cave right now, but they skipped most of the side quests. So I may tie it together by having the dragons sighted while they're away in the cave, and may take KraftyMattKraft's idea about Venomfang too. With the townmaster being an easily-scared idiot, it'll be easy for him to just start hiding away in his house and blame the party for doing something to stir the wrath of two dragons!
So there are the two dragons as plot hooks, and then Nezznar in the cave whom the party is on the verge of facing (they inadvertently bee-lined it right for him (Left is right, right is wrong I suppose?)). I am also planning on turning him into a sorcerer instead. And then I can have Nezznar serve the black dragon (twins) in the Mere of Dead Men. They are much older and more powerful than the green and the white, so it looks like I can use this to build up a story arc. Perhaps the black dragon is keeping an eye on Nezznar's progress with a scrying orb. I plan on (possibly) stealing the joy of killing Nezznar from the party by having the orb capture him right at the end, or maybe just sucking his body away after. Either way, I have to tie in a third (and fourth?) dragon. Maybe he can cast spells through the orb? Maybe his voice echoes forth from it after the party defeats Nezznar and says "You know too much" and acid sprays out from the orb or maybe it hisses and explodes? Sorry Rockseeker brothers...
Those are my thoughts that came about after looking at tying the two adventures together.
Thank you!
My nephews are around the age to start playing. 😃
Have multiple options, maybe someone overheard the bandit saying it to another?
I‘ll just have twigs invade from the direction of Oakhurst once they clear LmoP and DoIP.
Attack: [roll]3d20dl2+6[/roll] Damage: [roll](if([roll:-1:critical], =0, 1d8, 2{1d8}.expand()))+4[/roll] Sneakattack: [roll](if([roll:-2:critical], =0, 2d6, 2{2d6}.expand()))[/roll]I'm planning on doing this for my players also, but I revamped it a little... The players started with the LMOP ambush and explored the Cragmaw Hideout, but they're heading to Phandalin next, so I've merged the LMoP and DoIP into one large campaign that will take them through to level 7.
This next part is spoilers, so if you're one of my players, please don't click:
The plan will eventually be to lead them into Storm Kings Thunder (one of my newest players is a Goliath 'Giant Born' Barbarian, I thought it'd be nice to bring him in).
Here are the changes: Nezzner is Nezzner Xorlarrin who is working with the Storm Giants to recover an artifact to take power.
(in STK, Dracc Xorlarrin has been working with the Fire Giants to steal the power of the Forge of Gauntlgrym... maybe an overarching plot with the Xorlarrin's TBD... maybe Nilraun Dhaerlost with the Frost Giants is actually a Xorlarrin also... hmm...)
The Forge of Spells has been built over a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water (which is why there are waves underground) and the Forge harnesses that energy to infuse magic. He was hoping to take the Forge to the Storm Giants, but it cannot be moved. Maybe Nezzner dies, maybe he escapes. We'll see.
Cryovain is THE SAME dragon that the Frost Giants have imprisoned in SKT. So I made him an Adult White Dragon (CR13). His long term goal is to rescue his mate and recover the eggs. Short term goal is to rid the area of a rival upstart green dragon, Venomfang. Hopefully he can persuade my PCs. While I know white dragons are more primal, I don't think this is too much of a reach. I'll be planting rumors that the townsfolk have seen "a great white dragon flying over the peaks in the south" and "a green dragon terrorizing farms and roads to the north."
To that end, Venomfang and Thundertree will be undertaken towards the end of the module, which should make him killable (especially with the Dragon Slayer sword from Dragon's Barrow).
Reidoth has been moved to the Alderleaf Farm and asks the PCs to rid Neverwinter Forest of the evil that resides there and starts them on the Woodland Manse quest.
I've included my spreadsheet of quests from Phandalin. I removed the "quest board" completely and made it all word of mouth stuff. My link from the Triboar Trail to Old Owl Well will be the players coming across a cart of corpses pulled by two undead. Oh! and I also eliminated Wyvern Tor completely and replaced it with Shrine of Savras. One orc battle is enough for a module and these orcs have been displaced from Icespire by the arrival of Cryovain.
Thoughts? It's been a ton of fun merging these two stories. I hope my players enjoy it as much as I have. Oh, and all the level notes in there are expectations but not carved in stone. You know how players are!
Not bad! I like it! 3 things:
1)players will encounter Venomfang before Cryovain. So how do u intend to handle that?
2)how will u reward players with xp for the DoIP missions since they’re built around milestones?
3)don’t forget there’s a map to loot in wave echo cave where Mormesk the wraith is. U can use that hook to tie in future adventures like SKT. (Personally, I’m using it to tie in a temple location that hides an ancient magic artefact. Like Davinci code/Indiana Jones) the artefact was forged in the Forge of Spells!
1. I have run DOIP a few times for my kids and group of friends. I always like to start with the PCs seeing Cyrovain flying overhead. It quickly and subtly establishes that Cryovain is the BBEG of the mini-campaign.
2. The opening quest I start with is with the Manticore encounter. It is strong enough for LV1 PCs to wipe them out, but intelligent enough to negotiate and see things the PC's way. I use this encounter as a great way to introduce the PCs to role-playing, as not every monster needs a stab stab stab die.
3. From there, you can offer the other T1 quests for the players to play through. If they happen to go to the Excavation Site, just rename the two Dwarves there to Nundro and Tharden. Another idea is that these Dwarves are the two Doppledangers employed by Nezznar. Either way, this excavation is a failed attempt to find the Wave Echo Cave. If the did go to the Excavation Site fight, then you can pocket Gnomengarde until the players are 5th or 6th level, as per "A Tale of Two Dragons" suggests.
4. Have Nundro and Tharden task the players with finding their brother Gundren. This will set the players on the path of Part One of LMOP with a level or two under their belt, making that first encounter with the Goblins a little less deadly. Hell, the entirety of Part One are deadly encounters one after another, and having the players up a few levels helps. ESPECIALLY if you only have one or two players and some sidekicks.
4a. Having the players away trying to find Gundren and the Cragmaws is an awesome excuse to have the Rebrands move in. Harbin, being scared of the White Dragon in the area, has locked himself in his house (as per DOIP) and refuses to leave while the beast is prowling around. It would go completely unnoticed (or maybe he's too scared to deal with) the ruffians that have moved in to the town.
5. Once the players are back in Phandalin, they should be LV3. From here you can tackle the T2 quests from DOIP or deal with the Redbrands. From here, if the players are tackling the T2 quests from DOIP, then run them as is... or if they take on the Redbrands, play that as is. As the players start to reach LV5... then you can use both parts of this product to scale up the encounters and intermingle them.
We already know that the Cragmaws and the Redbrands are working with Nezznar to destabilize Phandalin. You can also have Nezznar strike a deal with the Orcs and Anchorites of Talos. Nezznar doesn't want those pesky Adventurers finding his cave and... and plays nicely in to the destruction of Phandalin.
7. Have the Orcs of Wyvern Tor be part of the Orc group that are helping the Anchorites of Talos.
8. Wait to ambush Phandalin until the players are off in the Wave Echo Cave. As they are on their way back, they see the smoke rising from the town. This will lead easily into the final encounter of the Tale by sending them up to Icespire Peak to deal with the Dragon. Hell, my kids negotiated with the Orcs, and once they cleaned out Icespire, let the Orcs move back in with the Anchorites in tow to live in "peace" and worship Talos so long as they didn't come back to the Highroad or Trail.
8a. We already know that the Cragmaws and the Redbrands are working with Nezznar to destabilize Phandalin. You can also have Nezznar strike a deal with the Orcs and Anchorites of Talos. Nezznar doesn't want those pesky Adventurers finding his cave and... and plays nicely in to the destruction of Phandalin.
9. Let Venomfang from Thundertree still escape. If the players end up killing here, that's okay too... but imagine this... Venomfang KNOWS there is another dragon in the area and CANNOT STAND IT. Have her negotiate with the players. If the players help her get rid of the dragon, she will let them live. Venomfang doesn't know where Cyrovain is nesting, she is much younger than the older white dragon, and the idea of scouting him out and him attacking her is not in Venomfangs best interest. She is a green dragon, after all... she has all the time in the world to wait and plan. Here's where things get awesome. If the players agree, Venomfang shows up for the fight on top of Icespire peak to "help" the players. I picture her bursting through the icey fog, roaring, as the players have Cyrovain on the ropes. A dragon vs dragon encounter will be something the players will never forget. The PCs can deal with Venomfang now or later... either way she will keep her word... for now... setting up the possibility of another BBEG for another, expanded, adventure.
10. As a nice little epilogue, the players have restored Phandalin to the mining and trading town it once was. A few months or even a year later, rumors of a horrible spiderlike creature attacking Gnome and Dwarven miners begin to surface. The players investigate and find that a Drider has moved in to one of the mines and is terrorizing the miners. When the players encounter the Drider, it is none other than Nezznar, back from the dead. His failure in the Wave Echo Cave did not go unnoticed by Lolth, the Spider Queen. As punishment, she cursed him as a Drider to haunt the caves that he failed to secure. It really puts a nice bow on the entire adventure, and the callback will be appreciated by the players.
These are of course just MY ideas on how I plan on using this product. Feel free to join in the discussion and add to my crazy ramblings.