All awesome tips. I will keep these things in mind as I observe things, although I suspect my biggest role as Coordinator will be as a rules advisor (two of our DMs are new to D&DN). The general message I get here is "give players hints based on what's happening at other tables," which is something I wasn't thinking about before.
For the final battle, it can be a bit quick or easy. I'm not necessarily unhappy with that, because timing wise I think it worked very well for the original gameday: quick and exciting. But, you can add some HPs to the final dracolich or otherwise alter things to keep the conclusion exciting. If the players are strong, perhaps the dracolich wears a necklace, and the initial hits seem to be channeled into the necklace. Skills or daring (jump up, tear it off) are needed to counter the necklace and deal damage to it. This is your battle to regulate and make fun for everyone! The printed word never trumps the DMs or the coordinator's judgment!
Extra HP might be the way to go (easy to implement), but the necklace idea is also good to add excitement to the battle. Perhaps the necklace is the source of some of the legendary abilities suggested below, or maybe it absorbs spells (to match the resistance provided by the wards).
It was underwhelming. By the time the first table disabled the wards the barbarians in the other group had dealt with dracolich. It diminished the interactive element of the final fight. Two barbarians with the haste/speed magic options available were able to put out serious damage that mitigated the resistance from the ward. Of course YMMV.
Besides giving it a bit more HP I would suggest upping it's damage output. The party that fought it never truly felt threatened. They were more scared of the hydra battle.
Overall though it's a fantastic adventure and everyone had a blast.
Hm. Definitely stuff to keep in mind, but it seems like Haste spells and similar would only be available to third level characters. Also, the Barbarian from the packet a year ago had resistance to most damage, while this one only has 8 THP - probably not as good.
Damage output is a good one to keep in mind. The current dracolich doesn't hit for a ton (at least, it doesn't seem like it for a 14th level monster), so maybe I can incorporate some of the legendary options suggested by Blackwarder below.
I haven't run it but, from what people are saying here and from what I've heard elsewhere you have to change the dracolich states and incorporate some legendary actions and such.
If you got it I recommend that you use the legendary creatures in Dead in Thay as a base to spice it up.
From the top of my head I would give it Legendary resistance (2) so it can turn any failed save into a successful one twice a day, and I would also give it Legendary actions:
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I think that will do it and make the combat an epic one. I would also use the bestiary states of the dracolich for the encounters with its simulacra (iirc) so it won't bog down the game. Now this might be a bit much for the event, it will totally change the balance of the adventure and might even make it too hard, my suggestion would be to keep this version of the dracolich in reserve and see how the players manage against the version in the adventure bestiary, if it's a challenge keep to the old states, if not use the new ones for the final battle and add another simulacra to the battle with the 4th group.
Have fun! And let us know how it went.
Warder
These are super cool ideas and I can definitely see myself using them. The legendary actions seem appropriate and fix the problem indicated above of DPR, but I think I'll do as you suggested and hold these things in reserve. Perhaps the monster ramps up when it's bloodied, as per lots of 4E solo design? Adding a second simulacra also seems like a good idea, but we'll see how the groups are doing at that point (lots of new players means they may not have as much success as experienced gamers).
Hey! Great to hear you are running this awesome module.
I think running a practice run is a great idea, and doing a thorough discussion with the DM's and coordinator is a must to go over any concerns or lay any ground rules.
We ran this on Game Day last year and it was one of the best game day events I have ever been a part of. I had so much fun (I was one of the table DM's).
Make sure everyone (as in DM's & Coordinator) is aware of the whole adventure, but don't sweat it and don't get too frazzled by it, it runs really well in practice.
Check out this link:
http://dungeonsmaster.com/2013/06/dd-game-day-vault-of-the-dracolich-wrap-up/ - This was actually from the Game Day that I was DMing at in Toronto. Ameron (the guy behind the Dungeon's Master website) was coordinator for the event and we all had a great time. You might get some ideas on how to run it or how it might play out by checking out that wrap up report.
I have to admit, I am pretty jealous knowing you are going to be running this, I'd love to do this event again.
I am super excited to run this - for someone who's never participated in Organized Play or gone to a convention it seems like the D&D game of a lifetime.
I have seen that Dungeon's Master link (great website by the way, I read it all the time), but it's always good to give it another read through.
One of the things we were up against in running the event was complexity. This was already more complex than the typical gameday adventure. Some of the initial design I did for that final adventure, in collaboration with the other two authors, included a lot more interconnection between the various tables. I like the idea of each group needing to accomplish a task before the others could be 'done'. Think of it as levers - we each have to 'switch our first lever' before any of us can switch the second lever and win. That proved a bit too complex, so I simplified and then the other authors helped simplify it further. Further, we were designing without stats! That's part of the fun of writing when an edition is still in progress! We didn't know how hard a dracolich would be, and of course even at the end WotC didn't have the feedback it now has on monster design.
So, the dracolich can indeed be too easy, even with its initial resistance. Depending on what you feel comfortable, you might just keep it all as-is and bump up HPs on the dracolich as needed so the timing of the fight matches what the other groups are accomplishing. Giving it Legendary Actions is also a neat idea, and I agree that the Dead in Thay adventure can provide you options that are fairly balanced. Another possible change is to provide the dracolich (and its simulacrum) with an eldritch shield. This shield is clearly visible, and functions as temporary hit points = to 1/2 Dretchroyaster's HPs. The PCs fighting a dracolich can simply beat through the shield and then the actual dracolich. BUT, the shield also drops when another table accomplishes something. An obvious candidate is for the eldritch shield to drop when the table disabling the wards has disables some number of wards. But, a fun option is for one of the mummies and three of the skeletons to have a quarter-disc emblem embedded in their chest. A tendril of energy flows from the discs to the eldritch shield, making the connection obvious. The creatures bearing the discs must be defeated and the disc joined together (an action, no check) to cause the shield to drop.
Just some ideas of what could be done if you feel comfortable enough to make changes. It did play very well at my local gaming store without any changes beyond a few extra HPs for the dracolich.
As an aspiring game designer, it is super cool to hear from the person who actually designed the adventure I'm running. Interesting to hear that you designed without stats - the thing seems impressively balanced keeping that in mind. I suppose D&D, especially 5E, is a game pretty resistant to balance concerns (the DM can tick up or tick down as necessary), but even so based on play reports most of the fights and other challenges went very smoothly.
Although the dracolich already has a ward, I like the idea of connecting it to undead minions and I might implement that in the adventure (perhaps the simulacra could be supporting the dracolich's shield as well).
Thanks to everyone, again, for all the advice! I am super pumped to run this either this weekend or the next.
