Looking for good "against the cult" adventures - preferably urban

KahlessNestor · Jun 14, 2019

Try Matt Colville's adventurelookup.com maybe?

tolcreator · Jun 14, 2019

collin said:
I recommend staying away from Tyranny of Dragons. Having played in the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, it is poorly written, way too long (unless you like that thing), and although it does have some urban sites during the adventure. It was written by a 3rd party, not WotC, and was released too soon - should have had more editing eyes on it. Not sure if Rise of Tiamat is any better, but it is a higher level adventure.

Note I was recommending the DDAL adventures from the Tyranny of dragons season, rather than Tyranny of dragons itself.
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/170765/DDEX1-Tyranny-of-Dragons-Complete-Bundle-BUNDLE

You can pick out individual ones that look interesting rather than buying the whole bundle, making it a much cheaper option than any of the hardback adventure books. I've not run any of the Tyranny of Dragons ones. They don't really look like "hidden" cults tho, as the Dragon Cult seems pretty overt in their takeover of Phlan!

The cults in The Yellow Breath and Cloaks and Shadows are hidden, however.

Matrix Sorcica · Jun 14, 2019

collin said:
I recommend staying away from Tyranny of Dragons. Having played in the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, it is poorly written, way too long (unless you like that thing), and although it does have some urban sites during the adventure. It was written by a 3rd party, not WotC, and was released too soon - should have had more editing eyes on it. Not sure if Rise of Tiamat is any better, but it is a higher level adventure.

Are you looking for a Forgotten Realms setting or does that matter?

I think the poster meant the AL season 1 adventures, and not the Tyranny of Dragons adventures themselves.

Setting doesn't matter, as long as the basics are bog standard D&D.

Edit: Ah, poster already replied

collin · Jun 14, 2019

tolcreator said:
Note I was recommending the DDAL adventures from the Tyranny of dragons season, rather than Tyranny of dragons itself.
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/170765/DDEX1-Tyranny-of-Dragons-Complete-Bundle-BUNDLE

You can pick out individual ones that look interesting rather than buying the whole bundle, making it a much cheaper option than any of the hardback adventure books. I've not run any of the Tyranny of Dragons ones. They don't really look like "hidden" cults tho, as the Dragon Cult seems pretty overt in their takeover of Phlan!

The cults in The Yellow Breath and Cloaks and Shadows are hidden, however.

Sorry, my bad. I see what you meant now. That is a good suggestion.

smokerdragoon · Jun 14, 2019

I liked 'The Night of Dissolution' for the 3e Ptolus setting.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/11982/The-Night-of-Dissolution?src=also_purchased

A great adventure against mad cultists.

jayoungr · Jun 14, 2019

KahlessNestor said:
Try Matt Colville's adventurelookup.com maybe?

I second this recommendation. Here's the link: https://www.adventurelookup.com/adventures/

Also: I really like Tyranny of Dragons and don't think it deserves the bad rep it has on this site. BUT, I also don't think it fits what you're looking for in this case, since the "urban" parts are mostly council meetings and the actual adventuring parts tend to be out in more remote locations.

pogre · Jun 14, 2019

If you are not adverse to a conversion, 1st edition WFRP's Shadows Over Bogenhafen is my favorite against the cult module of all time.

Fenris-77 · Jun 15, 2019

pogre said:
If you are not adverse to a conversion, 1st edition WFRP's Shadows Over Bogenhafen is my favorite against the cult module of all time.

GW really does the best cult related stuff. I don't love WHFRP mechanically, but they write good material and they write great creeping darkness cult infestation adventures.

Riley37 · Jun 15, 2019

Matrix Sorcica said:
I think the poster meant the AL season 1 adventures, and not the Tyranny of Dragons adventures themselves.

I ran most of the AL Season 1 adventures, some at a store game and some as a home game. I have read, but not played, "Tyranny of Dragons".

Here's my thought: the AL Season 1 adventures can be fun, one by one, but they don't actually tell the DM much about the cult as a whole. They'll name, and stat-block, one cultist, so that the PCs can intercept that cultist and foil that cultist's specific mission (such as Spernik, in The Courting of Fire, DDEX1-5). Here are some questions never answered: Why did Spernik join the cult? If he had succeeded in his mission, to whom would he report? Does the cult have a general strategy, which motivates each of their various plots and missions? Does the cult get funding from wealthy members, and if so, who are they? Are any members of the city's government or major institutions (guilds, temples, etc.) involved with the cult? Is the cult's chapter in Phlan run by a strongman leader, or a committee? Does Tiamat herself have any influence within the cult? Is the Lord Regent of Phlan aware of the cult's presence in the city, and if so, does he have any opinion?

So if you have players whose PCs spend their lives drinking at the tavern, and only emerge when some NPC comes into the tavern to engage them, and if they return to the tavern giving each other high-fives, "we foiled them again!", without taking any initiative to learn what's going on and why... then DDEX 1-1 through 1-10 is just right for your players.

For all I know, Tiamat thinks the cult is a terrible idea and wishes they would just go away. Which could be amusing; but that's my idea. The DDEX modules say nothing one way or another.

"Tyranny of Dragons" apparently assumes that any successes the PCs had, in any of the DDEX modules, *had no effect*, because "Tyranny" starts with the Cult invading and conquering the city of Phlan. The PCs walk into a building to observe the trial of a cultist they previously captured. If they succeeded in all the previous episodes, then so far as they know, they've stopped every cult action which crossed their paths. When they leave the building, they find that the Cult has conquered the city. Actually... a big strong dragon takes the city. Cultists assist that dragon, because of cult loyalty; but any previous connection between that dragon, and cult activity in the city, is left to the imagination of the DM.

Yes, it's that sudden. By contrast, when the Third Reich invaded Paris, at least people in Paris had enough advance warning to take the last train leaving Paris before the conquest (or not take that train, spoiler warning for "Casablanca"). Phlan apparently had no defenses, neither internal nor external, other than the city wall.

jayoungr · Jun 15, 2019

Riley37 said:
"Tyranny of Dragons" apparently assumes that any successes the PCs had, in any of the DDEX modules, *had no effect*, because "Tyranny" starts with the Cult invading and conquering the city of Phlan.

I think you're misremembering. The adventure starts with the cult raiding and looting (not invading and conquering) a small hamlet called Greenest. The town of Phlan doesn't appear in Tyranny of Dragons at all.