D&D 5E Dragon Kidnap Scenario - Advice Wanted [spoilers for multiple adventures]

[pukunui]

Hi folks,

My home campaign is a mashup of Acquisitions Inc, Tomb of Annihilation, and Dragon Heist. Note: There are spoilers below for all three adventures!


I began the campaign in Waterdeep, with Episode 1 of the AI book's adventure, "Orrery of the Wanderer". The PCs were sent on a mission to investigate some strange goings-on beneath the city. Along the way, they rescued and befriended a wyrmling bronze dragon named Dabshabah. Instead of continuing the Orrery adventure, I had AI HQ send the PCs to investigate what happened to their Chultan franchise, run by the Company of the Yellow Banner.

Once the PCs arrived in Port Nyanzaru, I ran a modified version of the Orrery Episode 2, placing the dungeon beneath the Company's abandoned manor, which I placed on a hill overlooking the city. I used the generic merchant prince villa map from ToA for the manor itself, and I tossed in the three urchins from Dragon Heist as squatters in the manor just for fun.

The PCs took Dabshabah with them to Chult. After concluding their investigations into the disappearance of the local AI franchise and sending a report back to Waterdeep via ship, they decided to undertake some expeditions into the jungle. They opted to leave Dabshabah behind in the city, telling her to maintain a low profile. She said she'd mostly explore the harbor.

By the time the PCs return to Port Nyanzaru, they'll have been gone for nearly a month. I'm thinking that it would be fun for something to have happened to Dabshabah in the meantime. I can't imagine that an impulsive wyrmling dragon of any type would be able to go entirely unnoticed, especially since they'd be such a rarity in a place like Chult. If someone like Ifan Talro'a learned of her presence, he'd undoubtedly want to get his hands on her!

That said, I've also been wanting to introduce Zardoz Zord's Sea Maiden's Faire (from Dragon Heist) to the mix -- mainly because I like it but also because I want to give the PCs the opportunity to claim the Scarlet Marpenoth for themselves.

I'm thinking that Jarlaxle has just been to Lantan to pick up the Scarlet Marpenoth and has stopped in Port Nyanzaru before heading back up to the Sword Coast (perhaps to collect some of the local wildlife for his menagerie). Since that adventure also includes a bit with a bronze dragon alerting the PCs to the sub's existence, I'm thinking that maybe Dabshabah could fill that role ... she went out exploring underwater, only maybe she got too close, was spotted and was then captured by Jarlaxle's crew in order to keep the sub a secret (and perhaps also to exhibit as part of the menagerie).

I've been thinking of how the PCs, upon returning to Port Nyanzaru, could learn about what has happened to Dabshabah. Obviously, when they get back to the manor, the urchins could tell them that they haven't seen the dragon in a while. From there, I have come up with two possible ideas:

1) One of the merchant princes (most likely Ifan Talro'a) has learned that Zord has caught a dragon and wants the PCs to sneak on board his ship and steal it for them. (In this case, the merchant prince wouldn't know that Dabshabah is the PCs' friend, so I can't imagine they'd agree to hand her over, and thus the prince could become an enemy/rival.)

2) Having conversed with Dabshabah, Jarlaxle has learned that she has friends in the city who are adventurers-for-hire. He then contacts the PCs and offers to give them back their dragon friend in exchange for a service of some kind ... I don't think that I want to fully transpose the main plot of Dragon Heist to Port Nyanzaru, although I could always simplify it and make the treasure be a cache that the Amnians hid and were unable to take with them when the merchant princes drove them out. I'd probably have to make the guardian be something other than a gold dragon, in this case.

I should add that I have not yet introduced the death curse. I want the PCs to be able to explore all the little side locations in Chult before introducing it.

Also, there are five PCs in the group, and they'll be hitting 4th level when they return to town. They will also be officially starting up their franchise at that point and receiving their company positions and hirelings and all that. (The abandoned manor with dungeon will be their starting headquarters.)


That's about all I've got for the moment. I'd appreciate some help finalizing and fleshing out this plan.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GSHamster]

I think you should give Dabshabah a reason or purpose when she got captured. So that gives the PCs a way to track her down.

For example, does Chult have slavers? Maybe the youngest urchin was captured by the slavers. The other two told Dabshabah, and she went off to rescue him. Unfortunately she was captured by the slavers too. The slavers sold Dabshabah to someone (rich merchant wanting a pet, evil mage looking for dragon blood) and sold the urchin to someone else.

So you have the PCs tracking down the slavers, and then rescuing either or both Dabshabah and the urchin. If they rescue Dabshabah first, she'll insist on completing her mission and come along to find the urchin.

It could be something else, but basically Dabshabah was doing something important X when she got captured, and when she gets rescued, she ropes the PCs into finishing X with her.

 

[pukunui]

Slavery is not illegal but is frowned upon, according to the ToA book.

I’m not sure if Jarlaxle would take someone as a slave. But maybe the urchin was snooping around and got caught so the dragon went looking and got caught too?

 

[GSHamster]

Slavery is not illegal but is frowned upon, according to the ToA book.

I’m not sure if Jarlaxle would take someone as a slave. But maybe the urchin was snooping around and got caught so the dragon went looking and got caught too?

Yeah, basically give the dragon some agency and purpose (she is or will be a powerful good creature), and don't make her a passive McGuffin that just gets captured.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I agree with the above. Give the dragon agency, purpose, and a story that's unrelated to Jarlaxle. You're mixing three adventures together, so somewhere in there you should be able to find a story hook suitable for the dragon. As for Jarlaxle, he could be an enemy or an ally (or both) if you want to play through a Nyanzaru-set version of Dragon Heist--which sounds very cool to me. Seems like a fun campaign!

 

[Eltab]

There is a dragon turtle in the outer harbor. The wyrmling dragon discovered it but snuck away. (Or he was seen and got scalded during the getaway.) He has been lying low figuring out what to do. The orphans interpreted this as "he disappeared".

If the dragon turtle got the jump on the wyrmling, it could be because he had spotted the Scarlet Marpenoth cruising underwater and was observing it intently at the time.

P.S. If you have an underwater combat scene with the Marpenoth, check its speed. My group calculated it had a move rate of 1.

 

[jayoungr]

1) One of the merchant princes (most likely Ifan Talro'a) has learned that Zord has caught a dragon and wants the PCs to sneak on board his ship and steal it for them. (In this case, the merchant prince wouldn't know that Dabshabah is the PCs' friend, so I can't imagine they'd agree to hand her over, and thus the prince could become an enemy/rival.)

2) Having conversed with Dabshabah, Jarlaxle has learned that she has friends in the city who are adventurers-for-hire. He then contacts the PCs and offers to give them back their dragon friend in exchange for a service of some kind ... I don't think that I want to fully transpose the main plot of Dragon Heist to Port Nyanzaru, although I could always simplify it and make the treasure be a cache that the Amnians hid and were unable to take with them when the merchant princes drove them out. I'd probably have to make the guardian be something other than a gold dragon, in this case.

I think both of these scenarios have possibilities. My biggest question with #1 is, do you have ideas for how the enemy prince might feature in later adventures? Do you see opportunities for the PCs to cross paths with him later? Perhaps he could try to put together a rival adventuring company that could be going after some of the same goals as the PCs.

On the other hand, scenario #2 involves less of a spectacular coincidence, and some good old-fashioned blackmail is always a good motivator for the party. And finding a different guardian should be pretty easy.

 

[pukunui]

Yeah, basically give the dragon some agency and purpose (she is or will be a powerful good creature), and don't make her a passive McGuffin that just gets captured.

I agree with the above. Give the dragon agency, purpose, and a story that's unrelated to Jarlaxle. You're mixing three adventures together, so somewhere in there you should be able to find a story hook suitable for the dragon. As for Jarlaxle, he could be an enemy or an ally (or both) if you want to play through a Nyanzaru-set version of Dragon Heist--which sounds very cool to me. Seems like a fun campaign!

Thanks. I will make sure to give the dragon some agency. My original thought was that she has been spending lots of time exploring her surroundings, because that seems like something a young dragon would do. However, bronze dragons have a strong sense of right and wrong. I can see her investigating Jarlaxle's ships if she gets the sense that something is wrong, rather than mere curiosity ... especially if I make it so one of the urchins has been captured and she's seeking to rescue him.

There is a dragon turtle in the outer harbor. The wyrmling dragon discovered it but snuck away. (Or he was seen and got scalded during the getaway.) He has been lying low figuring out what to do. The orphans interpreted this as "he disappeared".

If the dragon turtle got the jump on the wyrmling, it could be because he had spotted the Scarlet Marpenoth cruising underwater and was observing it intently at the time.

P.S. If you have an underwater combat scene with the Marpenoth, check its speed. My group calculated it had a move rate of 1.

Yes, the players encountered Aremag the dragon turtle upon arrival in Chult, so Dabshabah knows about him too. I'm not sure she'd swim all the way out there (it's a good 80-90 miles from Port Nyanzaru to the mouth of the bay).

I'll make a note of the Marpenoth's slow speed. I'm thinking it would make for a good "mobile base" upgrade as per the Acq Inc franchise rules. (Making a big two-storey manor mobile doesn't seem all that feasible in a jungle setting.) That said, my players may end up being too timid to try and steal the submarine. We shall have to wait and see.

I think both of these scenarios have possibilities. My biggest question with #1 is, do you have ideas for how the enemy prince might feature in later adventures? Do you see opportunities for the PCs to cross paths with him later? Perhaps he could try to put together a rival adventuring company that could be going after some of the same goals as the PCs.

On the other hand, scenario #2 involves less of a spectacular coincidence, and some good old-fashioned blackmail is always a good motivator for the party. And finding a different guardian should be pretty easy.

I don't have any specific ideas for the enemy prince at this time. I was thinking more in terms of when we do franchise downtime activities and the "may involve a rival" result comes up. Acq Inc games are all about wheeling and dealing, so their franchise needs some rivals. Merchant princes, the Zhentarim, the Flaming Fist, and maybe even the Ytepka Society could make for good rivals in Port Nyanzaru.

I agree that option #2 is more straight-forward and less coincidental. If I go that route, I'll need to figure out some specifics for Jarlaxle's deal.