D&D 5E How valuable is Tyranny of Dragons for idea mining?

[redrick]

I don't really see myself running a complete AP anytime soon. Has anybody bought either of the Tyranny of Dragons books specifically with the intention of using them for adventure and encounter ideas in a different homebrew campaign? How has it worked out? The cost of one of the books is about 4x the cost of a 32pg adventure on dndclassics.com. (The fact that HotDQ is a printed book vs a pdf off of dndclassics is irrelevant to me. If anything, I prefer the pdfs to hardcopy because I run my game over Roll20 and do most of my reading on a kindle.)

I'd like having material that's already targeted towards 5e, because, while converting older material is certainly doable, adapting 5e-oriented material has to be easier! And the conversions also get harder as the level goes up — different monsters, significantly different capabilities of both PCs and opponents, etc. I can run an adventure like Keep on the Borderlands straight off the 30-some year old page, but most of the as-is combat encounters from Castle Amber fell pretty flat on their face. (In fact, if I were to do that one again, I would definitely recommend stripping out and rebuilding all of the combat encounters, and just sticking with the zany premise.)

Anybody gotten any mileage out of these books in their campaigns?

 

[Manchu]

It depends on what you mean by "ideas" I guess. If you mean "5E stats" then you don't have much in the way of alternatives, assuming you own the 5E MM already. But if you mean ideas for plot, theme, location, NPCs, etc., then I would say HotDQ and RoT rate pretty low relative to older edition PDFs factoring in price.

 

[GlobeOfDankness]

i've been using the two adventures as a simple backdrop for my group's wacky combat grindfest game. i beef up the encounters quite a bit as well as the NPCs. it's been a really awesome experience. i've never run a module that was this long, we started HotDQ back in september at level 1 and they'll likely be level 16 when they fight Tiamat in two or three weeks.

I didn't have high expectations when we started, but i've really abused and warped this adventure path and somehow, everything is still on the rails and the story is moving forward. I'd probably wait a few years before running it again, but i'm very glad that i was able to run through the game-launching storyline and i'll probably be starting the Princes of the Apocalypse as soon as it's out.

 

[Fildrigar]

In HotDQ, there are two chapters specifically that are perfect for mining them right on out of there, inserting your own plot and running with them. The castle in the swamp ( 5th level-ish) and the Hunting Lodge (6th level-ish. ) The flying castle could potentially be yoinked out of there as well, but it'd take a bit more work. Maybe.

I think Rise of Tiamat might be harder to pull things out of, it seems more interdependent.

 

[redrick]

It depends on what you mean by "ideas" I guess. If you mean "5E stats" then you don't have much in the way of alternatives, assuming you own the 5E MM already. But if you mean ideas for plot, theme, location, NPCs, etc., then I would say HotDQ and RoT rate pretty low relative to older edition PDFs factoring in price.

Yeah, I don't think I'd pay $25 for a dozen NPC statblocks alone. I've got the MM and also 5th Edition Foes, and, while statblocks are always helpful, I wouldn't say that I'm hurting for them. Adventures that can be pulled out whole-sale are ideal, but also interesting encounters that are designed with 5e in mind would be great.

i've been using the two adventures as a simple backdrop for my group's wacky combat grindfest game. i beef up the encounters quite a bit as well as the NPCs. it's been a really awesome experience. i've never run a module that was this long, we started HotDQ back in september at level 1 and they'll likely be level 16 when they fight Tiamat in two or three weeks.

I didn't have high expectations when we started, but i've really abused and warped this adventure path and somehow, everything is still on the rails and the story is moving forward. I'd probably wait a few years before running it again, but i'm very glad that i was able to run through the game-launching storyline and i'll probably be starting the Princes of the Apocalypse as soon as it's out.

I have to admit, with or without irreverence to the source material, I just don't think I have the attention span to run a campaign from one book. I can't even stay focused on a 32page adventure. We play short and slow sessions and I think playing through ToD would take us years.

In HotDQ, there are two chapters specifically that are perfect for mining them right on out of there, inserting your own plot and running with them. The castle in the swamp ( 5th level-ish) and the Hunting Lodge (6th level-ish. ) The flying castle could potentially be yoinked out of there as well, but it'd take a bit more work. Maybe.

I think Rise of Tiamat might be harder to pull things out of, it seems more interdependent.

Cool, that is the kind of information I was interested in! 3 solid 5e adventures seems ok for $25. It's not as good a deal as the Quests of Doom PDF, but this way, at least I get a physical book that I can try to find space for in my tiny apartment.

 

[delericho]

IMO, it's okay, and a couple of chapters can indeed be lifted whole-cloth, but...

The truth is that there are better adventures out there for idea mining, which can often be had more cheaply. I'd recommend checking out dndclassics first to see if something suits.

 

[Mercule]

IMO, it's okay, and a couple of chapters can indeed be lifted whole-cloth, but...

The truth is that there are better adventures out there for idea mining, which can often be had more cheaply. I'd recommend checking out dndclassics first to see if something suits.

This. I own the book, but I don't see myself running the adventure. It's eight chapters, about half of which are something along the lines of "in this location, these things could happen, have fun." There are also four reasonable dungeons, though at least one I think is pretty much locked to the plot of the module (could loot for a small map, though).

 

[GX.Sigma]

Not very. There are a few good ideas in there, but nothing you couldn't easily come up with yourself (and certainly not worth combing through the 190 pages of crap to find). So far, the most memorable and fun encounter has been "dragon in a small cave with a few minions."