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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KahlessNestor" data-source="post: 7025062" data-attributes="member: 6801311">I'm running a group of people (college students) new to RPGs through Hoard of the Dragon Queen. I have 5 players. 3 are consistent, 1 has been consistent, but missed a few, and one that is about 50/50:Eldritch Knight 3 (sword and board, though this last time he went two-handed longsword)Moon Druid 3 (tanky as hell, but really the only healer)Wild Sorcerer 3Barbarian (unchosen) 3 - fairly regular (though only L2 at the time of this account)Ranger (dual-wield) 2 - halfway consistentSo in chapter 2 they explored the cultists' camp and ended up getting pounded into the dirt by the 4 dragonclaws guarding the prisoners. The wizard died (druid player's former character). I had some hot dice and a couple nice crits. Well, they escaped with the prisoners and leveled up and we moved on to chapter 3, which sent them back to the (now abandoned) camp. They murderhoboed the hunters, keeping one alive for questioning, and then the same with the two dragonclaws guarding the entrance to the cave.And then they decided not to tackle the cave because it would be too tough! They thought they had all the information they were sent to find (maybe my fault?) and headed off to Elturel to report to Leosin that the cult took all the treasure "west".So I was a bit stuck. That's a whole chapter they skipped, including the information they needed about where the cult was going. And, more worriedly, a lot of XP they would miss. So I had Ontarr Frume be a bit miffed at them for being such slackers, and Leosin being concerned. So I had them send the party back to the camp.I guess rag on me for railroading them, or not respecting their "player agency" or whatever. But I really was at a loss how to continue. I suppose I could have deus ex machina had some courier arrive with the information from the cave (the caravan was heading north along the Coast Road). But how is that really much better? And that might just end up with a TPK later because of all the XP they would miss.So they go back to the cave. I had four players this last session, but the EK had to leave an hour early. So we had just finished the fight with Frulam Mondath, who had escaped down the hidden hole into the shrine to hook up with Landrygosa Cyanwrath when he left, and the others decided to continue on. I didn't look at just how tough the fight would be until I was handing out XP at the end, and hooo boy! Cyanwrath is a CR 4, Mondath a 2, and two berserkers at CR 2!Needless to say, it was nearly a TPK. The only thing that saved them was that I hadn't brushed up on the Wild Magic rules and just let the sorcerer roll on the table twice, when he wanted to. He got two unicorns.So we ended the session there, the barbarian is leveling up to 3. Seems like that might be the toughest fight of the dungeon, but here is my dilemma:The module says the three black dragon eggs will hatch "within a tenday". This is information the players would never really have; just the DM. It's six days to Elturel, and then six days back. So by the book, the eggs should be hatched. So should I be throwing three black dragon wyrmlings (CR 2) at my players in addition to the kobolds and guard drakes (and any wandering monsters) that are supposed to be in the dragon hatchery? Or should I just ignore it and run it as written?</blockquote>

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