D&D 5E Hoard of the Dragon Queen (D&D Encounters version)

MerricB · Aug 7, 2014

G'day, folks!

I've now got my hands on the PDF version of Hoard of the Dragon Queen that will be used for the new D&D Encounters season. It's meant to be played in about 16-18 sessions and covers levels 1-3 (and Episodes 1-3) of the full adventure.

For those interested in what monsters are in the adventure (and thus in the MM), here's a list. The stats for these monsters aren't yet available, however.

[sblock]
Acolyte
Berserker
Commoner
Cultist
Dragon, Adult Blue
Guard
Kobold
Kobold, Winged (Urd)
Stirge
Swarm of Rats
Troglodyte
Violet Fungi
[/sblock]

Adventure specific monsters:
[sblock]
Ambush Drake (Challenge 1/2)
Dragonclaw (Challenge 1)
Frulam Mondath (human cleric, Challenge 2)
Guard Drake (Challenge 2)
Langdedrosa Cyanwrath (half dragon fighter, Challenge 4)
[/sblock]

Cheers!

KarinsDad · Aug 7, 2014

16 to 18 sessions for 3 levels?

I thought that the low level 5E leveled up quickly.

Did you mean 16 to 18 encounters?

fjw70 · Aug 7, 2014

KarinsDad said:
16 to 18 sessions for 3 levels?

I thought that the low level 5E leveled up quickly.

Did you mean 16 to 18 encounters?

Are encounters sessions only about an hour long? A normal session is what about 4 hours? So 16-18 encounters sessions are like 4-5 normal sessions.

MerricB · Aug 7, 2014

fjw70 said:
Are encounters sessions only about an hour long? A normal session is what about 4 hours? So 16-18 encounters sessions are like 4-5 normal sessions.

In theory, an Encounters session goes for 2 hours, although you can assume that some of that time is taken up with busywork.

Looking at the adventure, it's hard to judge how long it will actually go. It's divided into "short" and "long" encounters, with the idea that two short encounters or one long encounter will fill an Encounters session, but I don't know if that's the case or we'll be able to do more than that (I suspect the latter).

Cheers!

Whizbang Dustyboots · Aug 7, 2014

I see that late 3E/4E monster naming conventions are alive and well in 5E. Yeesh.

MerricB · Aug 7, 2014

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
I see that late 3E/4E monster naming conventions are alive and well in 5E. Yeesh.

I see more that Basic (Moldvay) D&D conventions are alive and well in 5E!

Cheers!

keterys · Aug 7, 2014

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
I see that late 3E/4E monster naming conventions are alive and well in 5E. Yeesh.

Other than the Drakes (Ambush and Guard), what do you mean? I mean, I haven't really seen a better name for them, and the rest all look fairly generic.

Whizbang Dustyboots · Aug 7, 2014

keterys said:
Other than the Drakes (Ambush and Guard), what do you mean? I mean, I haven't really seen a better name for them, and the rest all look fairly generic.

What is a Dragonclaw? The literal reading of the name is clearly wrong, unless there's a bizarre draconic crawling claw monster running around.

If you're going to coin a name for a new monster, instead of just taking the name from folklore, myth or prehistory, I strongly prefer it be something that the DM can, at a glance, know what the heck it is without having to look it up.

KarinsDad · Aug 7, 2014

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
What is a Dragonclaw? The literal reading of the name is clearly wrong, unless there's a bizarre draconic crawling claw monster running around.

If you're going to coin a name for a new monster, instead of just taking the name from folklore, myth or prehistory, I strongly prefer it be something that the DM can, at a glance, know what the heck it is without having to look it up.

So, you would prefer it if the name of the Beholder was something like Floating Eye Monster?

Beholder was created for D&D. It does not exist in methology.

I think that your preference is unattainable for the vast majority of new monsters that the game designers come up with.

MerricB · Aug 7, 2014

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
What is a Dragonclaw?

Properly it's a Dragonclaw Cultist, the lowest rank of the Cult of the Dragon (after initiate).

Cheers!

D&D 5E Hoard of the Dragon Queen (D&D Encounters version)

MerricB

Eternal Optimist

KarinsDad

Adventurer

fjw70

Adventurer

MerricB

Eternal Optimist

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

MerricB

Eternal Optimist

keterys

First Post

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

KarinsDad

Adventurer

MerricB

Eternal Optimist

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