So I cherry picked venomfang out of the module it's an encounter in; As a portion of the intertwining of the cults from Prince of the Apocalypse and Tyranny of the Dragon as a single campaign. This adventure is designed to bridge the gap from PA to TD. I went with the lore that the cult of the dragon attempted to sway venomfang to their cause but the outcome not certain in it enter the players and my idea. The players uncertain of their fate at the hands of venomfang they came up with a neat convincing dialog that agreed with the demeanor of venomfang as described by the module. The result was venomfang wouldn't eat them and if they could kill him that they would let him go instead. The later the result of the fight. And where we stopped at the last session.
My thought on finishing the adventure off. The players finish off by finding the cult members that are present in thundertree who end up revealing that Reidoth (the white bearded human they encountered earlier) is really their leader. The resulting post encounter with him revelation is that their leader defeated the real Reidoth and impersonated him to avoid discovery. The expectation is that the players would 180 turn around and want to take on the leader having been so easily deceived. And I thought I would combine that with the uncertainty of the outcome from lore on if the cult recruited venomfang or not. And have them discover the druid talking to venomfang and venomfang get the players to join him to kill the druid as it has no real interest in serving the cult. This would allow me to make the druid a much bigger threat without actually killing the whole party. The druid in his wrath could focus on the dragon rather than the players so that the thrill of oh my gosh that was a lot of damage wouldn't result in despairing thoughts of oh my gosh we are all going to die. Or I could end the adventure with because the leader deceived them he left Thundertree realizing their plan was discovered and thus venomfang serving the cult or not stays the mystery the lore left it as.
The players are a group of 4 level 7s. They have proven themselves to be successful in combat without favor from luck of dice rolls in encounters that have not been totally deadly but one of them would end up making death saves. So I was thinking what if I made the druid with spells as if it were a level 13 PC but designed like the typical monster without all the extras that a PC druid would have if you follow me. So for example It's stats could be AC14, STR 9, DEX 10, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 18, and CHA 12 and the hit points would be 120 (aka fixed HP method 8 + con for L1 and 5 + con for L2-13) and it's spell list would be in line with other monsters of this casting level. As reference here is an official monster Archdruid except this one is designed as 18th level and CR12. I don't see any lower level druid example for reference. This official monster seems to be more defensive than offensive and seems to me the intended design is to peck away at the party while the monster heals itself over and over making a prolonged fight. Or perhaps I'm not seeing how the example should be played. If this was a PCs spell list I would think they intend fully to heal their party without contributing to offense. And if I was designing a PC druid of this level to play it would have more offensive spells for higher damage output.
With all that said what I'm trying to figure out is with the above example stats combined with more offense and less defense spells to fit better how I would play the druid if it was a PC. Would first it also be a CR12 as well? Also would even with venomfang on their side against and the druids wrath focused on the dragon the encounter be overkill? If not would it be better to end with this encounter idea or end with the druid in the wind to never really come back because after this the players will move onto Tyranny of Dragons finish off the goal of stopping the cults. At which point some other adventures would peak their interests be it modified other official modules or completely homebrewed ideas based on the interests of the players at the time.
I will simply say I like the idea of teaming up with a respected prior adversary—especially if it’s a dragon—against an Archdruid. You should find a way to make it work.
As to his spells, you should have a good mix of offensive and control spells. That’s kind of a druid’s thing is manipulating the battlefield. With that in mind, I’d say if you envision him with level 13 stats, go for it. Give him a couple of special actions like a monster, maybe the standard Druid Change Shape, or maybe Summon Beast as he pulls a fuzzy from a Bag of Tricks. I think if you’re looking to raise the CR, do it for the encounter more than just the one character. Add minions, and if you’re attacking him on his home turf, you should use some lair actions. Grabbing vines sprouting all over, lightning bolts going off between two electrodes on opposite sides of the forest clearing where you’re fighting, trees awakening and joining the fight.
I like to open Encounter+ on my iPad (Sorry DnDB. I hear you’re working on a competitor for this product, but it’s not out yet.) and use the map and encounter tracker to simulate the battle all on my iPad, rolling dice physically or from my phone. Even running it twice will usually tell you if success is too roll-dependant, or if it’s a cake walk with even poor rolling. Simulating a battle goes pretty fast if you’re by yourself and not having to listen to the table argue strategy or haggle with the DM over every idea. And it’s still fun, for me at least.
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So I cherry picked venomfang out of the module it's an encounter in; As a portion of the intertwining of the cults from Prince of the Apocalypse and Tyranny of the Dragon as a single campaign. This adventure is designed to bridge the gap from PA to TD. I went with the lore that the cult of the dragon attempted to sway venomfang to their cause but the outcome not certain in it enter the players and my idea. The players uncertain of their fate at the hands of venomfang they came up with a neat convincing dialog that agreed with the demeanor of venomfang as described by the module. The result was venomfang wouldn't eat them and if they could kill him that they would let him go instead. The later the result of the fight. And where we stopped at the last session.
My thought on finishing the adventure off. The players finish off by finding the cult members that are present in thundertree who end up revealing that Reidoth (the white bearded human they encountered earlier) is really their leader. The resulting post encounter with him revelation is that their leader defeated the real Reidoth and impersonated him to avoid discovery. The expectation is that the players would 180 turn around and want to take on the leader having been so easily deceived. And I thought I would combine that with the uncertainty of the outcome from lore on if the cult recruited venomfang or not. And have them discover the druid talking to venomfang and venomfang get the players to join him to kill the druid as it has no real interest in serving the cult. This would allow me to make the druid a much bigger threat without actually killing the whole party. The druid in his wrath could focus on the dragon rather than the players so that the thrill of oh my gosh that was a lot of damage wouldn't result in despairing thoughts of oh my gosh we are all going to die. Or I could end the adventure with because the leader deceived them he left Thundertree realizing their plan was discovered and thus venomfang serving the cult or not stays the mystery the lore left it as.
The players are a group of 4 level 7s. They have proven themselves to be successful in combat without favor from luck of dice rolls in encounters that have not been totally deadly but one of them would end up making death saves. So I was thinking what if I made the druid with spells as if it were a level 13 PC but designed like the typical monster without all the extras that a PC druid would have if you follow me. So for example It's stats could be AC14, STR 9, DEX 10, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 18, and CHA 12 and the hit points would be 120 (aka fixed HP method 8 + con for L1 and 5 + con for L2-13) and it's spell list would be in line with other monsters of this casting level. As reference here is an official monster Archdruid except this one is designed as 18th level and CR12. I don't see any lower level druid example for reference. This official monster seems to be more defensive than offensive and seems to me the intended design is to peck away at the party while the monster heals itself over and over making a prolonged fight. Or perhaps I'm not seeing how the example should be played. If this was a PCs spell list I would think they intend fully to heal their party without contributing to offense. And if I was designing a PC druid of this level to play it would have more offensive spells for higher damage output.
With all that said what I'm trying to figure out is with the above example stats combined with more offense and less defense spells to fit better how I would play the druid if it was a PC. Would first it also be a CR12 as well? Also would even with venomfang on their side against and the druids wrath focused on the dragon the encounter be overkill? If not would it be better to end with this encounter idea or end with the druid in the wind to never really come back because after this the players will move onto Tyranny of Dragons finish off the goal of stopping the cults. At which point some other adventures would peak their interests be it modified other official modules or completely homebrewed ideas based on the interests of the players at the time.
I will simply say I like the idea of teaming up with a respected prior adversary—especially if it’s a dragon—against an Archdruid. You should find a way to make it work.
As to his spells, you should have a good mix of offensive and control spells. That’s kind of a druid’s thing is manipulating the battlefield. With that in mind, I’d say if you envision him with level 13 stats, go for it. Give him a couple of special actions like a monster, maybe the standard Druid Change Shape, or maybe Summon Beast as he pulls a fuzzy from a Bag of Tricks. I think if you’re looking to raise the CR, do it for the encounter more than just the one character. Add minions, and if you’re attacking him on his home turf, you should use some lair actions. Grabbing vines sprouting all over, lightning bolts going off between two electrodes on opposite sides of the forest clearing where you’re fighting, trees awakening and joining the fight.
I like to open Encounter+ on my iPad (Sorry DnDB. I hear you’re working on a competitor for this product, but it’s not out yet.) and use the map and encounter tracker to simulate the battle all on my iPad, rolling dice physically or from my phone. Even running it twice will usually tell you if success is too roll-dependant, or if it’s a cake walk with even poor rolling. Simulating a battle goes pretty fast if you’re by yourself and not having to listen to the table argue strategy or haggle with the DM over every idea. And it’s still fun, for me at least.