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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SparqMan" data-source="post: 5451912" data-attributes="member: 77624">Hi everyone,I'm DM'ing my first campaign and have hit a bit of a block. As a first timer, I've already learned the value of starting small instead of thinking big. I wish I could go back and start over, but now I'm trying to make the best of it. The good news is that my friends are having fun playing, so most of the concern is for my own satisfaction.At the outset, I was inspired by one of the "Vampire Kingdom" campaign arc concept in "Open Grave". I chose to rely on the PoL mythos, but not using the Nentir Vale or any established locations. The thought was that following the fall of Nerath, a group of vampires swept in and have ruled a portion of what was once Nerath as Lords. My intention was to stay close to the campaign arc (starting in a small area and slowly working up and out for freedom), but a lack of planning meant I relied heavily on a lot of published Chaos Scar adventures with little thought to tie them together. Heck, they haven't even met a minor vampire or mini-BBEG yet! Once I saw the chaos I'd wrought (and noticed that the heroes were just running around), I tried to find a pattern. In a separate post I might ask for some thoughts on the way I'm hoping to tie up the various strands.Without going into great length about the trouble I've created, let's summarize the current situation: the heroes have learned that the ruling BBEG is building an army and their recent patrons have dispatched them to find a lost army of ("deactivated") Warforged hidden in one of the closed off dwarven holds in the hopes that they can use it to build a resistance. Turns out the dwarves were forced from their hold awhile back...and enter HS2: The Orcs of Stonefang, where the heroes are currently engaged. In the setup, their quest-giver mentioned that during their civil war (part of the HS2 plot), an elder "blue" dragon swept in and forced them out. This was blurted out in a moment of panic, so I'm looking to figure out the next step that will earn them the static Warforged army.A few thoughts:- Eventually fighting an elder blue dragon seems like a bad idea for our three heroes and will only lead them further into the disjointed plot. And there's not a lot of room for negotiation with a chromatic.- Perhaps his color was correctly called, but it is a cobalt dragon. Now at least we are more likely to have an option at negotiation, plus my players are unaware of the chromatic/metallic split.- An elder cobalt dragon is interesting, but I'm intrigued by the idea that this first dragon took over the hold near in the twilight of his years, died, and left behind his hatchlings. Now enough time has passed for his "heir" to become a young dragon. cobalts like to possessively lead those they view as under them, so maybe all of daddy's retainers left when he died and the heroes might form the first of his new batch. But the possessiveness might mean he'd never give up the Warforged.- Is there anything interesting in the notion of the elder dragon leaving multiple hatchlings behind that are now competing?- What about bringing the dwarves back in as subjects? Perhaps the father offered his protection to them before kicking them out, but their pride was too great? The heroes will certainly have some pull after completing HS2.What kind of social encounters or skill challenges would work well to help the heroes earn the army and give them a nice break from all the fighting? I think they would like an entire session of roleplaying to secure the army, make a plan...anything to break from the endless encounters I've thrown at them.Apologies for the rambling...hoping you all have some ideas to bounce around.</blockquote>

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