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[Let's Read] Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8847505" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/McRwQ7l.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Chapter 5: the Northern Wastes</strong></p><p></p><p>This desolate stretch of Solamnia is a no-man’s land of dry canyons which get regularly flooded by seawater in a phenomenon known as the Wash. It is here that Istar’s floating city crashed into the surface, and the bones of dead dragons can be found throughout the region. In this chapter the PCs level up twice, although when they do is left more to DM discretion with some sample suggestions like completing 3 adventuring locations or when they find the passage to the City of Lost Names.</p><p></p><p>Back in Kalaman, the sudden murder of the city’s leadership forced Marshal Vendri into keeping order, and Lord Bakaris is angry that is son went missing (he joined the Dragon Army). While Vendri doesn’t know much about the legacy of the dragonlances nor about a City of Lost Names, he does know that a sizable force of Dragon Army soldiers moved into the Northern Wastes. Based off of Lord Soth’s clues, he concludes that whatever they’re looking for must be very important. Darrett and a few hundred soldiers are to be sent into the Northern Wastes, and the PCs can accompany them serving as scouts.</p><p></p><p>If the party has a prospective member of an Order of High Sorcery, it is at this point they’ll be contacted by Wyhan that they can’t take the Test. But they’re given a brooch of red, black, and white stones marking them as a provisional member from the Conclave’s blessing.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/YgCW1Dq.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The Northern Wastes is a hexcrawl focused chapter with 11 locations of note. The uneven terrain plus the size of Darrett’s forces means that travel is slower than usual. PCs are expected to scout ahead and rendezvous with the army at predetermined points to report on things. Additionally the flash floods of the Wash can trigger at the DM’s discretion, and a Survival check can warn PCs ahead of time to retreat to higher ground.</p><p></p><p>The City of Lost Names (area K) is the main objective, although the ways the PCs can find it are rather restrictive. If not by dumb luck via wandering, the only real way is via doing a series of tasks for a scholarly expedition of Silvanesti wizards in area B and whose sailing vessel is in a hidden cove in Area A. The elves are searching for ancient pre-Cataclysm ruins, and for some added fanservice one of them is Dalamar! Their homeland lies in ruins, so there is some hope among the elves that recovering powerful magic will help save their homeland. Dalamar is more skeptical of the success of their mission, but mentioning the City of Lost Names earns his interest. Via cross-referencing his own notes he can find its location if the PCs visit 3 specific locations (areas C thru E) in the Wastes and report back to him.</p><p></p><p>Area C is an ancient shrine to Habbakuk, and a group of Dimernesti elves are making a pilgrimage to it. Some of their brethren have been taken hostage in a Dragon Army camp (area I) and the Sunward Fortress (area D). Rescuing the elves rewards the party with pearls and the location of secret passages in the shrine. The shrine is a 6 room dungeon crawl whose difficulty varies depending on how much respect they show to the deity: failing to wash oneself in the basins at the entrance summons water weirds to bar entry and disturbing the (treasureless) sarcophagus forces the party to fight some black puddings later on. If the other sea elves have been rescued, then their leader can accompany them into the shrine and help avoid such dangers along with giving them some expensive pearls as a reward.</p><p></p><p>Area D is Sunward Fortress, an ancient pre-Cataclysm structure dedicated to Sirrion. It is home to a shard imbued with the power of the Spawning Stone which can transform nearby life into slaadi. A bozak draconian was ordered to stay and research it, although the shard’s corruption has turned him and the other draconians into slaadi-draconian hybrids which use slaadi stat blocks. This is also a short dungeon crawl, being 5 rooms with two captives that can be freed: a sea elf and a human hunter from Heart’s Hollow in area G. The hunter has been infected with a slaadi tadpole, and if his life is saved his hometown can award the party 1,000 gp.</p><p></p><p>Area E is Wakenreth, an obelisk of Silvanesti construction marking the peace between them and the Empire of Istar. It broke off from the City of Lost Names as it fell, and its magical construction has frozen it in time to make it look like a half-disintegrated tower with its debris hanging in midair. It’s a vertical 5 room dungeon crawl inhabited by the wraiths of dead Silvanesti, some of which can be interacted with, and there’s some magic items to be gained such as a cloak of protection and dancing longsword. The wraiths can tell the party that the tower has become connected to the Shadowfell which is responsible for its cursed state. A PC can undo the curse by activating the runes originally meant to connect the tower to the Feywild, although the attempt can impose necrotic damage and exhaustion. While they’re doing this, an anhkolox will climb up the tower and attack. An anhkolox is a huge Challenge Rating 9 undead that looks like a massive half-decayed bear, and as is to be expected is a primarily melee monster who can grapple and restrain targets into its rib cage.</p><p></p><p>Area F is an abandoned blue dragon’s lair that is now home to a family of dwarven prisoners fleeing the Red Dragon Army. Or rather, they were using it as a home before some draconians occupied it as a strategic spot, and there’s also a pack of gricks who have been attacking the draconians. A 3 room dungeon crawl with a rich hoard and boots of levitation.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/MjpjZuk.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Area G is Heart’s Hollow, a small circular town of several hundred people built around the inner walls of a large crater. It is a thriving assortment of people from varying walks of life, descended from the original inhabitants who were rescued from various dire fates by their community leader Nezrah. Although Nezrah appears as an elderly human, in reality she is a shape changed bronze dragon. PCs exploring nearby can meet and rescue one of its residents, Clystran, a scavenger who is knowledgeable about the Northern Wastes. In addition to being a safe place to rest, PCs can learn about other locations in the Wastes and hire guides to make travel easier. PCs who recover a dragon egg from Camp Carrionclay will be rewarded by Nezrah with a suit of dragon scale mail made from her own scales. That’s the furthest extent of her help, and she won’t take a more direct action against the Red Dragon Army.</p><p></p><p>Area H is a spire inhabited by 12 wasteland dragonnels, who unlike the ones in the Red Dragon Army are good-aligned and have a ranged acid spit attack. There isn’t much to do here besides helping Clystran out on an errand to leave some meat out for them.</p><p></p><p>Area I is Camp Carrionclay, a Red Dragon Army outpost serving as part of a supply line. PCs who are defeated in combat by Dragon Army soldiers will be taken here as prisoners, and it is a fortified structure surrounded by a moat filled with quipper swarms. In addition to the sea elves, there’s also a kender by the name of Kennah and a captured bulette, the latter which will go on a rampage and attack anyone in sight if freed. The rest of the camp’s inhabitants are a mixture of baaz and sivak draconians, hobgoblins, and Dragon Army soldiers and officers. The soldiers managed to find a bronze dragon egg which is kept in a chest of the camp’s leader, and once the PCs retrieve the egg or otherwise seek to escape an adult black dragon known as Akhviri will arrive at the camp. Barring canny optimization, she is well above the reasonable threat level for most groups and PCs are encouraged to run. In being the first real dragon the PCs likely encountered in this adventure they will have disadvantage against her Frightful Presence. She won’t pursue the PCs if they flee, instead delegating that task to the soldiers.</p><p></p><p>Area J is an unassuming inlet known as Dread Wolf Cove, which Dalamar will ask the PCs to escort him to once they visit the three locations he requested. It is a fog-shrouded place home to another anhkolox, as well as the fractured shard of an Orb of Dragonkind responsible for the supernatural fog. This is the reason why Dalamar wants to go here, although he won’t tell the PCs of the shard’s significance. PCs who overcome his deception with Insight can press him into revealing its nature as well as the fact that he’s unsure whether to use it to help his people or use it for himself. He won’t fight the PCs if they keep it for themselves, but will try to steal it later. As to when he does so, the book leaves that up to the DM.</p><p></p><p>Unlike Soth, Dalamar doesn’t have any unique stat block, simply using the Mage one.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9pLAzCs.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Area K is home to the City of Lost Names, with a canyon running down the middle of a plateau being the major passage into it. This canyon is heavily guarded by the Red Dragon army, far more than in Camp Carrionclay, and their aerial scouts and mages can detect the PCs if they try to sneak on by.* The PCs will need the help of Darrett’s own forces to get through, and as you can guess it is both a Warriors of Krynn scenario (no special benefit for winning), and a Battlefield Encounter pitting the PCs against three Dragon Army officers and a dragonnel. The lair actions involve enemy reinforcements, threats from the sky such as a dead falling dragonnel or mounted sniper, and a cloud of dust obscuring vision.</p><p></p><p>*Railroad alert!</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> The openness of the hex crawl is a refreshing change of pace from the railroady nature of the prior chapters. The multiple mini dungeon crawls are of perfect length, and the opportunities to reward the party for helping out the two elven groups, the dwarves, and the inhabitants of Heart’s Hollow encourage exploration and good-hearted heroism. Even so, the adventure has less freedom than it initially seems, as the PCs more or less need Dalamar’s help in order to find area K. But with the preceding elements this funnel is not as apparent, marking it as one of the better chapters in this book.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we head into the City of Lost Names and gaze upon the lost wonders of the Age of Might!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8847505, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/McRwQ7l.jpg[/img] [b]Chapter 5: the Northern Wastes[/b][/center] This desolate stretch of Solamnia is a no-man’s land of dry canyons which get regularly flooded by seawater in a phenomenon known as the Wash. It is here that Istar’s floating city crashed into the surface, and the bones of dead dragons can be found throughout the region. In this chapter the PCs level up twice, although when they do is left more to DM discretion with some sample suggestions like completing 3 adventuring locations or when they find the passage to the City of Lost Names. Back in Kalaman, the sudden murder of the city’s leadership forced Marshal Vendri into keeping order, and Lord Bakaris is angry that is son went missing (he joined the Dragon Army). While Vendri doesn’t know much about the legacy of the dragonlances nor about a City of Lost Names, he does know that a sizable force of Dragon Army soldiers moved into the Northern Wastes. Based off of Lord Soth’s clues, he concludes that whatever they’re looking for must be very important. Darrett and a few hundred soldiers are to be sent into the Northern Wastes, and the PCs can accompany them serving as scouts. If the party has a prospective member of an Order of High Sorcery, it is at this point they’ll be contacted by Wyhan that they can’t take the Test. But they’re given a brooch of red, black, and white stones marking them as a provisional member from the Conclave’s blessing. [img]https://i.imgur.com/YgCW1Dq.png[/img] The Northern Wastes is a hexcrawl focused chapter with 11 locations of note. The uneven terrain plus the size of Darrett’s forces means that travel is slower than usual. PCs are expected to scout ahead and rendezvous with the army at predetermined points to report on things. Additionally the flash floods of the Wash can trigger at the DM’s discretion, and a Survival check can warn PCs ahead of time to retreat to higher ground. The City of Lost Names (area K) is the main objective, although the ways the PCs can find it are rather restrictive. If not by dumb luck via wandering, the only real way is via doing a series of tasks for a scholarly expedition of Silvanesti wizards in area B and whose sailing vessel is in a hidden cove in Area A. The elves are searching for ancient pre-Cataclysm ruins, and for some added fanservice one of them is Dalamar! Their homeland lies in ruins, so there is some hope among the elves that recovering powerful magic will help save their homeland. Dalamar is more skeptical of the success of their mission, but mentioning the City of Lost Names earns his interest. Via cross-referencing his own notes he can find its location if the PCs visit 3 specific locations (areas C thru E) in the Wastes and report back to him. Area C is an ancient shrine to Habbakuk, and a group of Dimernesti elves are making a pilgrimage to it. Some of their brethren have been taken hostage in a Dragon Army camp (area I) and the Sunward Fortress (area D). Rescuing the elves rewards the party with pearls and the location of secret passages in the shrine. The shrine is a 6 room dungeon crawl whose difficulty varies depending on how much respect they show to the deity: failing to wash oneself in the basins at the entrance summons water weirds to bar entry and disturbing the (treasureless) sarcophagus forces the party to fight some black puddings later on. If the other sea elves have been rescued, then their leader can accompany them into the shrine and help avoid such dangers along with giving them some expensive pearls as a reward. Area D is Sunward Fortress, an ancient pre-Cataclysm structure dedicated to Sirrion. It is home to a shard imbued with the power of the Spawning Stone which can transform nearby life into slaadi. A bozak draconian was ordered to stay and research it, although the shard’s corruption has turned him and the other draconians into slaadi-draconian hybrids which use slaadi stat blocks. This is also a short dungeon crawl, being 5 rooms with two captives that can be freed: a sea elf and a human hunter from Heart’s Hollow in area G. The hunter has been infected with a slaadi tadpole, and if his life is saved his hometown can award the party 1,000 gp. Area E is Wakenreth, an obelisk of Silvanesti construction marking the peace between them and the Empire of Istar. It broke off from the City of Lost Names as it fell, and its magical construction has frozen it in time to make it look like a half-disintegrated tower with its debris hanging in midair. It’s a vertical 5 room dungeon crawl inhabited by the wraiths of dead Silvanesti, some of which can be interacted with, and there’s some magic items to be gained such as a cloak of protection and dancing longsword. The wraiths can tell the party that the tower has become connected to the Shadowfell which is responsible for its cursed state. A PC can undo the curse by activating the runes originally meant to connect the tower to the Feywild, although the attempt can impose necrotic damage and exhaustion. While they’re doing this, an anhkolox will climb up the tower and attack. An anhkolox is a huge Challenge Rating 9 undead that looks like a massive half-decayed bear, and as is to be expected is a primarily melee monster who can grapple and restrain targets into its rib cage. Area F is an abandoned blue dragon’s lair that is now home to a family of dwarven prisoners fleeing the Red Dragon Army. Or rather, they were using it as a home before some draconians occupied it as a strategic spot, and there’s also a pack of gricks who have been attacking the draconians. A 3 room dungeon crawl with a rich hoard and boots of levitation. [img]https://i.imgur.com/MjpjZuk.png[/img] Area G is Heart’s Hollow, a small circular town of several hundred people built around the inner walls of a large crater. It is a thriving assortment of people from varying walks of life, descended from the original inhabitants who were rescued from various dire fates by their community leader Nezrah. Although Nezrah appears as an elderly human, in reality she is a shape changed bronze dragon. PCs exploring nearby can meet and rescue one of its residents, Clystran, a scavenger who is knowledgeable about the Northern Wastes. In addition to being a safe place to rest, PCs can learn about other locations in the Wastes and hire guides to make travel easier. PCs who recover a dragon egg from Camp Carrionclay will be rewarded by Nezrah with a suit of dragon scale mail made from her own scales. That’s the furthest extent of her help, and she won’t take a more direct action against the Red Dragon Army. Area H is a spire inhabited by 12 wasteland dragonnels, who unlike the ones in the Red Dragon Army are good-aligned and have a ranged acid spit attack. There isn’t much to do here besides helping Clystran out on an errand to leave some meat out for them. Area I is Camp Carrionclay, a Red Dragon Army outpost serving as part of a supply line. PCs who are defeated in combat by Dragon Army soldiers will be taken here as prisoners, and it is a fortified structure surrounded by a moat filled with quipper swarms. In addition to the sea elves, there’s also a kender by the name of Kennah and a captured bulette, the latter which will go on a rampage and attack anyone in sight if freed. The rest of the camp’s inhabitants are a mixture of baaz and sivak draconians, hobgoblins, and Dragon Army soldiers and officers. The soldiers managed to find a bronze dragon egg which is kept in a chest of the camp’s leader, and once the PCs retrieve the egg or otherwise seek to escape an adult black dragon known as Akhviri will arrive at the camp. Barring canny optimization, she is well above the reasonable threat level for most groups and PCs are encouraged to run. In being the first real dragon the PCs likely encountered in this adventure they will have disadvantage against her Frightful Presence. She won’t pursue the PCs if they flee, instead delegating that task to the soldiers. Area J is an unassuming inlet known as Dread Wolf Cove, which Dalamar will ask the PCs to escort him to once they visit the three locations he requested. It is a fog-shrouded place home to another anhkolox, as well as the fractured shard of an Orb of Dragonkind responsible for the supernatural fog. This is the reason why Dalamar wants to go here, although he won’t tell the PCs of the shard’s significance. PCs who overcome his deception with Insight can press him into revealing its nature as well as the fact that he’s unsure whether to use it to help his people or use it for himself. He won’t fight the PCs if they keep it for themselves, but will try to steal it later. As to when he does so, the book leaves that up to the DM. Unlike Soth, Dalamar doesn’t have any unique stat block, simply using the Mage one. [img]https://i.imgur.com/9pLAzCs.png[/img] Area K is home to the City of Lost Names, with a canyon running down the middle of a plateau being the major passage into it. This canyon is heavily guarded by the Red Dragon army, far more than in Camp Carrionclay, and their aerial scouts and mages can detect the PCs if they try to sneak on by.* The PCs will need the help of Darrett’s own forces to get through, and as you can guess it is both a Warriors of Krynn scenario (no special benefit for winning), and a Battlefield Encounter pitting the PCs against three Dragon Army officers and a dragonnel. The lair actions involve enemy reinforcements, threats from the sky such as a dead falling dragonnel or mounted sniper, and a cloud of dust obscuring vision. *Railroad alert! [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] The openness of the hex crawl is a refreshing change of pace from the railroady nature of the prior chapters. The multiple mini dungeon crawls are of perfect length, and the opportunities to reward the party for helping out the two elven groups, the dwarves, and the inhabitants of Heart’s Hollow encourage exploration and good-hearted heroism. Even so, the adventure has less freedom than it initially seems, as the PCs more or less need Dalamar’s help in order to find area K. But with the preceding elements this funnel is not as apparent, marking it as one of the better chapters in this book. [b]Join us next time as we head into the City of Lost Names and gaze upon the lost wonders of the Age of Might![/b] [/QUOTE]
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