CapnZapp
Legend
On the other hand, if you decide one of those spells is from a potion, you're fine.
Meaning, small "cheats" from NPCs aren't usually a problem and can easily be handwaved/explained.
D&D 5E Enhancing "Rise of Tiamat" (Practical stuff to try at your table!)
Meaning, small "cheats" from NPCs aren't usually a problem and can easily be handwaved/explained.
Steve Winter has explained that this was an artifact of the monster stats being in flux while they were writing the adventure. Probably they were more like Thug stats at the time they were inserted. And originally, they were slaads! The full explanation is quoted in this post on the other thread.
CapnZapp
Legend
Discosco said as much in his post I responded to, so my post wasn't written in horror over the unfairness of it all... more a visceral reaction: "of all the NPCs in the MM they had to choose the pointiest of them all".
Thanks though! I guess it would have been even worse if the L4 party was ambushed by four Archmages...
My group has finally restarted this adventure!
Neronvain
1. I made Neronvain female. This was mostly for the sake of variety--otherwise, there's only one female wyrmspeaker, and she's the first one to be defeated. The illustration is fairly androgynous, so it works either way.
2. Be prepared in case the PCs ask what Neronvain did to get him/herself banished. I was caught a little off-guard by the question and quickly improvised that "she" had joined the Eldreth Veluuthra. Since I have an all-human party, that had the benefit of being something they would all agree was bad enough.
Council of Waterdeep "2.5"
I'm inserting "The Frozen Castle" into Rise of Tiamat right after "Death to the Wyrmspeakers." To facilitate this, I also inserted an extra Council of Waterdeep session. Here's what happened at it:
1. Follow-up on defeat of Neronvain and Chuth.
2. Introduction of Rian Nightshade. I'm running "Death at the Council," so I said she's sitting in the spot where the aide who committed suicide used to be. I'm hoping that will encourage the party to talk to her when they investigate, so they'll actually find out who she is.
3. "Fallen Hero": Cylanestriel, whom the PCs had met on their way to the Tomb of Diderius, reports to the council on her experiences at the Well of Dragons. She has seen Severin the Red, Galvan the Blue, and Rezmir's replacement, a male half-elf whose name she didn't catch. She has also seen the preliminary preparations for raising the Temple of Tiamat (though she didn't realize that's what it was), suggesting that the cult is moving toward the summoning ceremony.
4. Follow-up on the Council of Metallic Dragons. This just consisted of stating that the dragons have agreed to join the alliance and that Elia is present as their official representative.
5. The Arcane Brotherhood has made a proposal to contact the Red Wizards of Thay and see if they might join the alliance. So far, they are the only ones in favor of the idea.
6. I meant to work in "Power of the Cult" by having a representative from the south (Ontharr Frume, maybe) report on how the cult's agents had been demanding tribute from communities like Berdusk and Scornubel. If I have a session 2.75, as seems likely, I'll work it into that meeting.
Question: The Cult Strikes Back #2
I'm having some trouble trying to figure out where to work in another cult attack. The first one happened on a deserted street when the PCs were completely fresh; I don't want to do that again. The book suggests having it happen when they're tired and depleted of resources, and ideally in a location full of innocent bystanders. I only have three major segments left before the end of the adventure--the Frozen Castle, Xonthal's Tower, and the mission to Thay--and none of them seem like appropriate times to have a cult attack. Plus, the group has learned teleportation circle, so they always travel back that way once they're tired at the end of a mission.
I do plan to have a fair amount of time in Waterdeep between each of these episodes, so that could possibly provide the location with innocent bystanders, but just hanging around Waterdeep doesn't usually deplete the party's resources at all. Unless I could work it in with the succubus from "Death at the Council" somehow, maybe? A succubus is only CR 4, so I don't think she'll pose much problem for the party, really. The easiest solution is for her just to disappear when they get too close.
Anyone have any ideas?
Neronvain
1. I made Neronvain female. This was mostly for the sake of variety--otherwise, there's only one female wyrmspeaker, and she's the first one to be defeated. The illustration is fairly androgynous, so it works either way.
2. Be prepared in case the PCs ask what Neronvain did to get him/herself banished. I was caught a little off-guard by the question and quickly improvised that "she" had joined the Eldreth Veluuthra. Since I have an all-human party, that had the benefit of being something they would all agree was bad enough.
Council of Waterdeep "2.5"
I'm inserting "The Frozen Castle" into Rise of Tiamat right after "Death to the Wyrmspeakers." To facilitate this, I also inserted an extra Council of Waterdeep session. Here's what happened at it:
1. Follow-up on defeat of Neronvain and Chuth.
2. Introduction of Rian Nightshade. I'm running "Death at the Council," so I said she's sitting in the spot where the aide who committed suicide used to be. I'm hoping that will encourage the party to talk to her when they investigate, so they'll actually find out who she is.
3. "Fallen Hero": Cylanestriel, whom the PCs had met on their way to the Tomb of Diderius, reports to the council on her experiences at the Well of Dragons. She has seen Severin the Red, Galvan the Blue, and Rezmir's replacement, a male half-elf whose name she didn't catch. She has also seen the preliminary preparations for raising the Temple of Tiamat (though she didn't realize that's what it was), suggesting that the cult is moving toward the summoning ceremony.
4. Follow-up on the Council of Metallic Dragons. This just consisted of stating that the dragons have agreed to join the alliance and that Elia is present as their official representative.
5. The Arcane Brotherhood has made a proposal to contact the Red Wizards of Thay and see if they might join the alliance. So far, they are the only ones in favor of the idea.
6. I meant to work in "Power of the Cult" by having a representative from the south (Ontharr Frume, maybe) report on how the cult's agents had been demanding tribute from communities like Berdusk and Scornubel. If I have a session 2.75, as seems likely, I'll work it into that meeting.
Question: The Cult Strikes Back #2
I'm having some trouble trying to figure out where to work in another cult attack. The first one happened on a deserted street when the PCs were completely fresh; I don't want to do that again. The book suggests having it happen when they're tired and depleted of resources, and ideally in a location full of innocent bystanders. I only have three major segments left before the end of the adventure--the Frozen Castle, Xonthal's Tower, and the mission to Thay--and none of them seem like appropriate times to have a cult attack. Plus, the group has learned teleportation circle, so they always travel back that way once they're tired at the end of a mission.
I do plan to have a fair amount of time in Waterdeep between each of these episodes, so that could possibly provide the location with innocent bystanders, but just hanging around Waterdeep doesn't usually deplete the party's resources at all. Unless I could work it in with the succubus from "Death at the Council" somehow, maybe? A succubus is only CR 4, so I don't think she'll pose much problem for the party, really. The easiest solution is for her just to disappear when they get too close.
Anyone have any ideas?
GuardianLurker
Adventurer
Heh. The easiest solution in the old days would be to have the cult attack the party in the place where they're sleeping, while they're sleeping. Especially if you've established the area as "safe", so they aren't posting watches. This of course, gets you casters without spells, etc.
In 5e, the equivalent would be to attack during a long rest, but that doesn't have quite the same effect. Still, if you work it right, you should at least be able to catch the casters with their utility/non-combat spell load outs prepared.
In 5e, the equivalent would be to attack during a long rest, but that doesn't have quite the same effect. Still, if you work it right, you should at least be able to catch the casters with their utility/non-combat spell load outs prepared.
For attack number 2
I had a fight in a market stall in Waterdeep, the lead up was some traveller types asking the PCs if they had recently been to Boreskyn bridge? ( the first encounter I ran on the outskirts of said place ). They said yes and then we had a fight including a quick chase scene as one of the cultists fled.
PCs took a few knocks due to them not being fully combat ready whilst out basically shopping
I had a fight in a market stall in Waterdeep, the lead up was some traveller types asking the PCs if they had recently been to Boreskyn bridge? ( the first encounter I ran on the outskirts of said place ). They said yes and then we had a fight including a quick chase scene as one of the cultists fled.
PCs took a few knocks due to them not being fully combat ready whilst out basically shopping
Well, I may have figured out where to have that second cult attack. The PCs are teleporting to Silverymoon on their way to investigate what's happened to the Frozen Castle, and this seems like a perfect place for it. But I'm worried that it won't seem credible; according to the entry at the Forgotten Realms wiki, it sounds like the place is well-defended and bristling with magic. But it might be a good chance to play up how the cult of the dragon is raiding all over the place...the defenders are stretched thin trying to help out other communities? I'd love to find an excuse for the PCs to meet Alustriel Silverhand, too. (She is still out there as leader of the Silver Marches, right? The wiki made it sound like she was.) Maybe on their way back.
Does anyone know much about Silverymoon? Any good opportunities for local color that I shouldn't miss?
Does anyone know much about Silverymoon? Any good opportunities for local color that I shouldn't miss?
akr71
Hero
Alright... for a minute there I thought we lost [MENTION=786]GuardianLurker[/MENTION]'s Giant Moot, Arcane Brotherhood and Breaking the Ritual sidequests/re-writes
We did lose some, but nothing significant I think. I had a couple posts about using Talis the White as the new White Speaker.
We did lose some, but nothing significant I think. I had a couple posts about using Talis the White as the new White Speaker.
pukunui
Legend
Looks like we lost all of my little posts about Waterdeep and Boareskyr Bridge and the like. I am attempting to recover them from the google cache.
EDIT:
Allocating Metallic Dragons
Arthagast Ulbrinter
So while the book just says that the cult assassinates Ulbrinter without giving any reason why, the Tyranny of Dragons webcomic makes it so that the white dragon mask ends up in his hands after being stolen from the Zhentarim (who found it in Neverwinter). The cult then kills Ulbrinter while recovering the mask.
I'm not going to have that happen in my campaign, although it's possible that it could happen with the black dragon mask, given that I let the PCs recover it from Rezmir instead of having it teleport to the Well of Dragons. I thought that was a bit cheap. Anyway, depending on what the PCs do with Rezmir's mask, it could ostensibly end up in Ulbrinter's hands, in which case the cult might assassinate him during the recovery attempt.
That being said, for my campaign, I'm going to fast forward the campaign a month or two, during which time Ulbrinter will wine and dine them around Waterdeep in an effort to drum up support to oppose the cult's activities. The cult will assassinate him in an attempt to shut him up, which, of course, backfires on them.
The front of Ulbrinter and Haventree's mansion:
Waterdeep
An interesting tidbit from Ed Greenwood's new novel, Death Masks: There is mention of Waterdeep's Field Ward being burned down by dragon attacks. It doesn't specifically mention when or why, but it would be reasonable to assume that this happened during the Tyranny of Dragons period.
The book also makes it quite clear that Laeral is losing magical power, and not just because of the edition change. Apparently her body isn't truly immortal, and she's having to sacrifice magical power to keep her body going. She admits to herself that she is forgetting spells, and that she would barely be able to stand against a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, let alone multiple enemy archmages as in days past.
It also makes it clear that Mystra wanted Laeral to become Open Lord of Waterdeep because of the fall of the Silver Marches. There's a scene where Laeral shares a memory with Elminster where Mystra tells her that she has other plans for Alustriel and now it is Laeral's "turn to sit on a throne". Mystra wants her there to fend off people who might be anti-wizard or something.
I mention all of this because I intend to make use of it in my campaign. I allowed the PCs to acquire Rezmir's black dragon mask at the end of Hoard. Last session, I had some cultists attempt to blackmail the PCs into giving it back by threatening to kill innocent people at a market. The PCs refused, and while the cultists managed to kill twenty people, they were ultimately slain or driven off. The players chocked it down to a lesser evil, as they reckoned many more would be killed if the cultists got the mask back.
Anyway, I am now going to have the cult mount a major operation to get the mask back. They are going to send dragons to attack the Field Ward (and possibly other parts of the Waterdeep, as Ed says the city's dragonward waxes and wanes and no one really knows which wards are adequately protected at any given time) as a distraction while a bunch of Red Wizards led by Rath Modar break into Laeral's home to recover the mask. Given that she's a lot weaker than she's letting on, it shouldn't be *that* hard for them to do so.
RE: Waterdeep's dragonward.
In previous editions, a dragon needed to be touched by the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon in order to be able to bypass the mythal. The last known wielder of the staff, Maaril the Dragon Mage, disappeared after the Spellplague, and the current wielder of the staff is classified info (Ed can't say due to an NDA).
There is good news, however, as Ed says the staff is no longer needed for anything other than altering the properties of the mythal itself. The Blackstaff, the Open Lord, the Masked Lords (by vote), and the highest-ranking officers in the City Watch are all able to grant a dragon permission to enter the city.
Just mentioning it in case it is of any use to anyone.
Boareskyr Bridge
I found this cool image of Boareskyr Bridge online. It's from the new Siege of Dragonspear game.
Also, if you're wondering how to pronounce "Boareskyr", the original FR grey box guide has it as "Boar-reh-SKYR".
EDIT:
Allocating Metallic Dragons
Steve Winter said:
Arthagast Ulbrinter
So while the book just says that the cult assassinates Ulbrinter without giving any reason why, the Tyranny of Dragons webcomic makes it so that the white dragon mask ends up in his hands after being stolen from the Zhentarim (who found it in Neverwinter). The cult then kills Ulbrinter while recovering the mask.
I'm not going to have that happen in my campaign, although it's possible that it could happen with the black dragon mask, given that I let the PCs recover it from Rezmir instead of having it teleport to the Well of Dragons. I thought that was a bit cheap. Anyway, depending on what the PCs do with Rezmir's mask, it could ostensibly end up in Ulbrinter's hands, in which case the cult might assassinate him during the recovery attempt.
That being said, for my campaign, I'm going to fast forward the campaign a month or two, during which time Ulbrinter will wine and dine them around Waterdeep in an effort to drum up support to oppose the cult's activities. The cult will assassinate him in an attempt to shut him up, which, of course, backfires on them.
The front of Ulbrinter and Haventree's mansion:
Waterdeep
An interesting tidbit from Ed Greenwood's new novel, Death Masks: There is mention of Waterdeep's Field Ward being burned down by dragon attacks. It doesn't specifically mention when or why, but it would be reasonable to assume that this happened during the Tyranny of Dragons period.
The book also makes it quite clear that Laeral is losing magical power, and not just because of the edition change. Apparently her body isn't truly immortal, and she's having to sacrifice magical power to keep her body going. She admits to herself that she is forgetting spells, and that she would barely be able to stand against a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, let alone multiple enemy archmages as in days past.
It also makes it clear that Mystra wanted Laeral to become Open Lord of Waterdeep because of the fall of the Silver Marches. There's a scene where Laeral shares a memory with Elminster where Mystra tells her that she has other plans for Alustriel and now it is Laeral's "turn to sit on a throne". Mystra wants her there to fend off people who might be anti-wizard or something.
I mention all of this because I intend to make use of it in my campaign. I allowed the PCs to acquire Rezmir's black dragon mask at the end of Hoard. Last session, I had some cultists attempt to blackmail the PCs into giving it back by threatening to kill innocent people at a market. The PCs refused, and while the cultists managed to kill twenty people, they were ultimately slain or driven off. The players chocked it down to a lesser evil, as they reckoned many more would be killed if the cultists got the mask back.
Anyway, I am now going to have the cult mount a major operation to get the mask back. They are going to send dragons to attack the Field Ward (and possibly other parts of the Waterdeep, as Ed says the city's dragonward waxes and wanes and no one really knows which wards are adequately protected at any given time) as a distraction while a bunch of Red Wizards led by Rath Modar break into Laeral's home to recover the mask. Given that she's a lot weaker than she's letting on, it shouldn't be *that* hard for them to do so.
RE: Waterdeep's dragonward.
In previous editions, a dragon needed to be touched by the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon in order to be able to bypass the mythal. The last known wielder of the staff, Maaril the Dragon Mage, disappeared after the Spellplague, and the current wielder of the staff is classified info (Ed can't say due to an NDA).
There is good news, however, as Ed says the staff is no longer needed for anything other than altering the properties of the mythal itself. The Blackstaff, the Open Lord, the Masked Lords (by vote), and the highest-ranking officers in the City Watch are all able to grant a dragon permission to enter the city.
Just mentioning it in case it is of any use to anyone.
Boareskyr Bridge
I found this cool image of Boareskyr Bridge online. It's from the new Siege of Dragonspear game.
Also, if you're wondering how to pronounce "Boareskyr", the original FR grey box guide has it as "Boar-reh-SKYR".
Last edited:
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