D&D 5E Why is Hoard of the Dragon Queen such a bad adventure?

Sailor Moon

Banned

Banned

• Dec 24, 2014

• #1

Just curious really.

What makes the adventure so bad? I haven't a chance to read through it, but I've heard a lot of bad things about it. I really thought they would have stepped up their adventure quality from the last edition.

 

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ren1999

First Post

• Dec 24, 2014

• #2

I don't think it is particularly bad. I just think players were looking forward to seeing a nice set of classic modules dressed up in 5th Edition mechanics with new art!

http://dnd5.weebly.com

 

Zardnaar

Legend

• Dec 24, 2014

• #3

Its very railroaded, poorly put together and makes no sense here and there.

 

Nilbog

Snotling Herder

• Dec 24, 2014

• #4

I'm currently playing it, and enjoying it, the only issues so far is that it seems to enjoy putting characters in 'impossible' situations. I spoke to our DM and he said it required a lot of work to make it runnable which isn't a good thing

 

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Riley37

First Post

• Dec 24, 2014

• #5

I gather that the opening assumes that a party of first-level PCs are willing to charge *towards* a dragon, without any backup or advantage. Sounds to me like an unreasonable railroad, for any PCs who are not eager to die in a glorious but futile show of resistance against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. That won't happen, and the PLAYERS know that, but I don't enjoy having my PC do things which don't make any sense *from the PC's perspective*.

I joined an AL group which had progressed midway, and joining in at that point, we had a mission which seemed reasonable to me, we had some noncombat interactions with NPCs, and we were able to use some clever tricks in place of brute force. Perhaps my DM was adjusting a bit.

 

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Pickles JG

First Post

• Dec 24, 2014

• #6

I played the first bit and hated for somewhat meta game reasons but I ran it for a group I see occasionally and it worked pretty well up to the 3rd chapt (the rest next year maybe)

I was forewarned about the issues in chapt 1 and was able to sell the dragon as disinterested before the silly encounter. They also bought into the impossible duel.

Chapter 2 is pretty free flowing chapter 3 is a dungeon. The railroading is at the strategic level ie you have to buy in to actually playing the adventure. There seem to be different approaches possible at the 'operational' level.

No doubt it will have story holes and gaps in what is described there were some already but most advengures dont make much sense.

Better than those desthtrap 1e dungeons that seem popular in polls. Not as good s the red hand of doom but that was outstanding..

 

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Mephista

Adventurer

• Dec 24, 2014

• #7

I don't think its bad - I've had success with it. In my experience, people will complain more about things they don't like than what they do like. A vocal minority versus a silent majority. I don't know if its true in this case, but I take it all with grains of salt.

Plus, no adventure fits all groups. Not unless you assume everyone plays murder-hobo style.

 

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Derren

Hero

• Dec 24, 2014

• #8

Its quite a railroad (the "charge the dragon at 1st level because we say so, dont worry you have plot immunity" has already been mentioned). Also the story makes no sense, both the background with Tiamat and also the adventure itself where you trek all along the sword coast following cultist just to end up right next to where you started.

 

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evan

First Post

• Dec 24, 2014

• #9

Derren said:

Its quite a railroad (the "charge the dragon at 1st level because we say so, dont worry you have plot immunity" has already been mentioned). Also the story makes no sense, both the background with Tiamat and also the adventure itself where you trek all along the sword coast following cultist just to end up right next to where you started.

Click to expand...

I call nonsense. Nowhere does it say: "Charge the Dragon at 1st level." Nor does it intimate that challenging the dragon is even required. And plot immunity? Please.

In fact, it say pretty clearly on pages 6-7:

"Characters can engage in several encounters while cultists and kobolds rampage through Greenest. The sequence of events that follow is up to you and the characters.You can present them with as many of the encounters as you want, in any order."

The only 'requirement' for Episode 1 is the Seek the Keep mission. Hoard does have it's problems. I even wrote a blog post about them. I also wrote another post about how to overcome some of those problems. But a lot of the complaints I've seen about the adventure are from people who seem to have skimmed the text rather than, you know, read it. ​

 

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Blackwarder

Adventurer

• Dec 24, 2014

• #10

It's not bad.

It's a railroad in the sense that if your players have no intrest in thwarting Tiamat efforts to get back to the material plan you have nothing else to do and being an adventure path there is a link between each adventure. But the adventures the,sleeves are pretty sandboxy, the players can choose what to do and how to do it with no rails, even the infamous part with the dragon in the first episode is not a railroad, there is a choice in there, face the dragon or don't and it helps sell the heroic nature of the adventure.

Warder