D&D 5E HoTDQ - Went way better than expected

[MortalPlague]

That sounds like an amazing session with some very imaginative play! Thanks for sharing the story!

 

[Blackwarder]

I love it when players do the unexpected because it fit the game, in our last play of vault of the dracolich one of the players switched sides and joined the dracolich, and chaos ensued!

Warder

 

[Astrosicebear]

Awesome play through!


It seems old/veteran players tend to get lost too often in the meta. It speaks volumes that your you players used their imaginations and ingenuity to solve the problems, and let you decide how to adjudicate the rules to match. Too often now players (esp in 4e/pfrpg) are more interested in gaming the system than putting themselves in the situation. I think 5e will change that.

Again, well done.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Spoilers: be warned. For DMs only....

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Having to massively modify the first episode to have it make some sort of sense is bad writing or rushed writing if I am being kind. Arbitrary happenings tend to wind players up and remove their imaginations from the game. I applaud how you handled it. Well done and great that you had fun.

I had the cultist the grouo had taken prisoner let slip during interrogation that the dragon wasn't really too keen on having itself made into a pin cushion and a bit of gentle persuasion should do the trick. Well after a stack of dead defenders and the roofs of two outhouses blown to smithereens, my group eventually encouraged the beast to go away. It was a done deal that a whole bunch of folks were going to die from it's breath attack which I thought was brutal.

What is with the Half Dragon thing though? Terrible idea to strongarm a brand new character into a fight it almost certainly cannot win. So unfair. I ran it as the adventure suggested and really wish I had changed it a bit. So...not only does it defeat the player in two rounds, it then sticks the knife in to deliver a failure of death save? This happening away from the keep at a distance too far for the other players to cover before our hero bleeds out? No suggestions as to how to save said victim? Rubbish. It is really really simple to solve but nowhere is it mentioned...have the creature knock the player out cold instead of that last blow being a killing one. Battle won, point proved, villain set up for later. Did the module suggest that? Nope.

hope it gets better...I am going to have to keep a firmer hand on this modules scrawny neck.

The module explicitly states that healers from the keep rush out to stabilize the downed hero, and then the Governor gives him healing potions.

 

[RevTurkey]

...does it?....rereads the whole bit....

Ah yes...under: Rewards! Not in the actual encounter text proper.

Anyway...death saved each round...one save auto fail because of the module and then two failed rolls in a row...and the group of healers or adventurers are how far away?

about 80 yards away it said in the text...in feet that is 240ft

my group were lightly armoured with move of 30ft per round...

that makes 60ft per round...so they get 120ft without any actions left..

can you throw a potion of healing into a fallen comrades mouth from that far?

the module makes no mention of the villains approaching the keep from what I could see...maybe again I missed something...maybe they put that bit under...appendix A online? Which the module didn't tell me I needed until I had already bought it and unwrapped it from the packaging!

I am sorry if I sound tetchy or a bit churlish but I expect a better organised product and I don't expect hidden caveats or extra things I need to download.

I will persevere and hopefully we have a lot of fun...I am no troll but I expected better.

One of my players said it was the Castle Caldwell Pea in the bed all over again. Maybe that will mean something to people who have been around long enough...

I liked the ideas and I liked the Half Dragon fight and villain set up...they should have just said.."he wins the fight and beats the character unconscious".....

anyway...sorry to moan but it was pants

 

[FreeTheWeasel]

That sounds like an amazing session with some very imaginative play! Thanks for sharing the story!

I love it when players do the unexpected because it fit the game, in our last play of vault of the dracolich one of the players switched sides and joined the dracolich, and chaos ensued!

Warder

Awesome play through!


It seems old/veteran players tend to get lost too often in the meta. It speaks volumes that your you players used their imaginations and ingenuity to solve the problems, and let you decide how to adjudicate the rules to match. Too often now players (esp in 4e/pfrpg) are more interested in gaming the system than putting themselves in the situation. I think 5e will change that.

Again, well done.

Thank you very much. It was the most fun I've had with D&D since the olden days. I found that I've been really excited about sharing this story with the kids.

That was the problem with my previous 4e group. There was too much side table chatter. The games took forever because people (mostly adults) weren't invested. There was nothing wrong with the system, I just hadn't found the right players.

These kids are D&D monsters. It really is a blast.

FreeTheWeasel

 

[FreeTheWeasel]

Spoilers: be warned. For DMs only....

------------------------------------------

What is with the Half Dragon thing though? Terrible idea to strongarm a brand new character into a fight it almost certainly cannot win. So unfair. I ran it as the adventure suggested and really wish I had changed it a bit.

Hi RevTurkey

I certainly appreciate your concern about the module. I have been very excited about the story and also a bit perplexed. Whether it is right or wrong, I have enjoyed the "opportunity" to insert my vision into the story.

Here is how I plan to run the rest of the module when we reconvene in a few weeks.

------ Spoilers! Don't read if you plan on playing, especially you, WeaselGirl! (my daughter) -----





The kids have yet to do the Mill and Sanctuary missions. I'll run them pretty much as written with a lot more description of the horrible things these raiders are capable of.

Here is how I plan to run the final battle. They good guys are going to loose. The front gate is going to be blown in with a terrific blast of flame and sound. Cyanwrath is going to stroll in, happy as a clam with 50 or 60 cultist, kobolds, ambush drakes, etc. and have a very pompous conversation with the governor.

He is going to chide the defenders of Greenest for putting up such a poor defense and that he had really expected better. The governor will tell him to take what he wants and get out. Cyanwrath will remind him that he already has everything and now he wants entertainment. He is going to fight the champion or he is going to kill everything in sight, one by one, until he gets his entertainment.

What happens next will depend on the kids, but my guess is that the Governor will tell him that he won't allow it at which point Cyanwrath will pick a random peasant within the walls, shove a sword in his hand and then cut him down immediately. If that doesn't get people moving, he's going to grab a woman next and then a small child.

Basically, the players are going to absolutely hate him.

Once he wins the battle with a player, he's going to demand another fight. At this point, a horn will sound in the distance signaling a retreat. Cyanwrath will leave, reluctantly. Either this or Frulam wil make an appearance and order him out. Not sure yet. We'll see how it goes.

Our next session won't be for a few weeks. I'll report back.

Thanks for the thoughts.

FreeTheWeasel

 

[RevTurkey]

Gotta love it when DMs get creative. Brilliant

I wish I had done better and altered events to suit my group more.
It's easy to become a slave to a published module, something I am guilty of this time.

Your game sounds like it's going terrific, love it. Good luck!

 

[eryndel]

For those worried about the "left dying" scene after Cyanwrath, I'd recommend playing a little free and loose with the exact timing of death saves for the player. The point, at least on my read of the scene, is to build up enmity between players and the interim BBG, to encourage the characters to become more invested in thwarting the villains. It also reinforces the "not all encounters have to be fair" and "if you're not careful, you may lose" vibe.
[sblock] My disappointment more was that the arc of this particular villain gets wrapped up only two chapters later.[/sblock]

 

[The Hitcher]

Awesome session, OP. When things are going that well, the rules can go jump in the lake.

I'm currently running Phandelver, and it doesn't much resemble what's on the page any more. But the module was a great starting point - it put a lot of the pieces in place.