I was running a party through a dungeon crawl kicked off at the behest of a noble, ending with a fight with a Young Dragon. Finally they face the dragon and they dawdled through it. I chose to have the dragon fly off to fight another day. Thing is this was the final battle, and they were frustrated there was no closure other than they could go back to town as heroes. They really wanted to kill that dragon.
I lamented over this dud of an ending to myself, and decided to save it, I must turn everything upside down and leave script. I told them we'll meet next week to celebrate your victory in town and call it good.
After much thought I came back next week with a plan.
First, as they left the dungeon to trek back to town they notice the dragon had not just fled, but took her frustration on the rest of the dungeon, destroying what was left of it, and killing ever last creature. They make their way back to town and I read the following:
As you approach <town>, you can see from a distance that all is not well. Smoke rises from the town. You barely make out that some of the structures have been damaged; some have fallen.
As you get closer you start to see bodies outside the walls, mortally wounded from what you now know as acid attacks. <dragon>’s work no doubt. A woman slumped up against a tree lives, though her leg is badly burned and dress riddled with holes.
“The foul beast,” she manages to murmur through the pain, “She had no mercy.” She then passes out.
You walk to the gates, in the center of the gateway stands a man. You immediately recognize him as The Noble. However, he looks different now. He’s dressed in ebony robes with green embroidered edges. Its color not much different than that of <Dragon>. He’s demeanor is much different than the jovial man you met more than a week earlier.
“She’s just a child you know; a teenager. I under estimated you when I sent you there to <Keep>. You should have been food for her, but yet here we are.” The Noble pauses seemingly deep in thought, but quickly continues. ”Dragons are an interesting lot. Their physical prowess is always ahead of their mental capacity to wield it at such a young age. <Dragon> will learn over time though. She will eventually be unstoppable.”
“She didn’t flee as you might have expected. Her immature pride would never allow that. She instead retreated to other areas of the fortress to muster forces to finish you off. The denizens of that gods-forsaken place would never question her commands; fear is a powerful thing indeed.” The Noble starts to become agitated. He slowly paces, eyeing your group, as if sizing you up. “But there was no one left to muster. Again I underestimated you.”
You realize that the Noble's mouth is no longer moving, but you can still hear his words. They burrow into your mind. “<Dragon> is not ready to serve us yet, so I recalled her back to The Master. Of course her pride once again ruled her actions and that pitiful town has become the victim of her tantrum. But once I reminded her of The Master’s impatience for ineptitude, she obeyed. Again, fear is a powerful weapon.”
“But you will never learn the mysteries and ultimate destiny of The Master, because you end here by my hands. The Master has graced me with powers you cannot fathom.” His face brightens as what can only be described as zeal. His voice raises, “Once the land is culled of the weak and non-believers, I will stand by his side for all eternity.” His voice now thunders, “You will be but a minor passage, lost in my epic story of greatness!”
The Noble throws back his arms as his robe now ripples from the power he begins to conjure. His facade fades as the illusion of a portly curator leaves him. What’s left is unworldly. The creature is now 7 feet tall, with a head resembling an octopus. His pale white eyes set in his purple-skin face stare at you intently as he begins to attack!
Roll initiative.
It worked well I thought. It gave a climatic end they wanted, and somehow tied together the entire module, bringing sense to a lot of it.
What's best, is a day after I wrote that, I saw they plan to release Waterdeep: The Mad Mage, and I immediately thought I just wrote a hook into a new massive campaign. It's as if all the events that transpired, success, and failure... was destiny. The Flayer was an agent of the Mad Mage, the Dragon goes back to dungeon of the Waterdeep to strengthen, and the adventures have their purpose. They will get their dragon... and much more.
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I was running a party through a dungeon crawl kicked off at the behest of a noble, ending with a fight with a Young Dragon. Finally they face the dragon and they dawdled through it. I chose to have the dragon fly off to fight another day. Thing is this was the final battle, and they were frustrated there was no closure other than they could go back to town as heroes. They really wanted to kill that dragon.
I lamented over this dud of an ending to myself, and decided to save it, I must turn everything upside down and leave script. I told them we'll meet next week to celebrate your victory in town and call it good.
After much thought I came back next week with a plan.
First, as they left the dungeon to trek back to town they notice the dragon had not just fled, but took her frustration on the rest of the dungeon, destroying what was left of it, and killing ever last creature. They make their way back to town and I read the following:
As you approach <town>, you can see from a distance that all is not well. Smoke rises from the town. You barely make out that some of the structures have been damaged; some have fallen.
As you get closer you start to see bodies outside the walls, mortally wounded from what you now know as acid attacks. <dragon>’s work no doubt. A woman slumped up against a tree lives, though her leg is badly burned and dress riddled with holes.
“The foul beast,” she manages to murmur through the pain, “She had no mercy.” She then passes out.
You walk to the gates, in the center of the gateway stands a man. You immediately recognize him as The Noble. However, he looks different now. He’s dressed in ebony robes with green embroidered edges. Its color not much different than that of <Dragon>. He’s demeanor is much different than the jovial man you met more than a week earlier.
“She’s just a child you know; a teenager. I under estimated you when I sent you there to <Keep>. You should have been food for her, but yet here we are.” The Noble pauses seemingly deep in thought, but quickly continues. ”Dragons are an interesting lot. Their physical prowess is always ahead of their mental capacity to wield it at such a young age. <Dragon> will learn over time though. She will eventually be unstoppable.”
“She didn’t flee as you might have expected. Her immature pride would never allow that. She instead retreated to other areas of the fortress to muster forces to finish you off. The denizens of that gods-forsaken place would never question her commands; fear is a powerful thing indeed.” The Noble starts to become agitated. He slowly paces, eyeing your group, as if sizing you up. “But there was no one left to muster. Again I underestimated you.”
You realize that the Noble's mouth is no longer moving, but you can still hear his words. They burrow into your mind. “<Dragon> is not ready to serve us yet, so I recalled her back to The Master. Of course her pride once again ruled her actions and that pitiful town has become the victim of her tantrum. But once I reminded her of The Master’s impatience for ineptitude, she obeyed. Again, fear is a powerful weapon.”
“But you will never learn the mysteries and ultimate destiny of The Master, because you end here by my hands. The Master has graced me with powers you cannot fathom.” His face brightens as what can only be described as zeal. His voice raises, “Once the land is culled of the weak and non-believers, I will stand by his side for all eternity.” His voice now thunders, “You will be but a minor passage, lost in my epic story of greatness!”
The Noble throws back his arms as his robe now ripples from the power he begins to conjure. His facade fades as the illusion of a portly curator leaves him. What’s left is unworldly. The creature is now 7 feet tall, with a head resembling an octopus. His pale white eyes set in his purple-skin face stare at you intently as he begins to attack!
Roll initiative.
It worked well I thought. It gave a climatic end they wanted, and somehow tied together the entire module, bringing sense to a lot of it.
What's best, is a day after I wrote that, I saw they plan to release Waterdeep: The Mad Mage, and I immediately thought I just wrote a hook into a new massive campaign. It's as if all the events that transpired, success, and failure... was destiny. The Flayer was an agent of the Mad Mage, the Dragon goes back to dungeon of the Waterdeep to strengthen, and the adventures have their purpose. They will get their dragon... and much more.