D&D 5E Hoard of the Dragon Queen: As it Turns out, it's Pretty Good (so far)

[Nebulous]

I keep comparing this in my brain to Red Hand of Doom, which i feel like was a superior product.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I keep comparing this in my brain to Red Hand of Doom, which i feel like was a superior product.

James Jacobs, now Paizo's Creative Director and the lead developer behind the entire Adventure Path concept since it was started in Dungeon magazine, was the principal author of Red Hand of Doom.

James Jacobs can now lay claim to being the most experienced adventure developer in the RPG business (without exception). Ever.

The fact that you prefer his work over somebody else's is A) not terribly surprising and B) not a very helpful comparison of the relative quality of an adventure, generally.

Just because Chef A's steak is awesome doesn't make Chef B's steak poor.

 

[Pseudopsyche]

I would hope Wolfgang would take it as a compliment that some people are putting his work up against Red Hand of Doom already.

That said, down the road, I would love to see WotC release Red Hand of Doom on dndclassics.com complete with 5E conversion notes....

 

[fjw70]

Is Red Hand Of Doom that good?

 

[Steel_Wind]

Is Red Hand Of Doom that good?

It is probably the best WotC published scenario of the 3.5 era and was released at the height of 3.5 in 2006. It has a strong theme and targets the mid-level play range of level 5-11 where there is consensus that 3.5 plays best.

I personally think there are other adventures in Dungeon magazine of the 3.5 era which might be better or at least as good, and there are adventures Paizo has published since Red Hand of Doom by Jacobs as well as by others which are certainly better than Red Hand of Doom.

For all that, when D&D players are asked to list their "top modules", Red Hand of Doom frequently makes the top 10 list. (So does James Jacobs' Burnt Offerings, Rise of the RuneLords Pt 1 - the only 3rd party adventure to do so.)

Is Red Hand of Doom all that and a bag of chips? Depends on your taste. I think the answer is "maybe". It's an excellent module.

 

[fjw70]

Thanks. I will check it out.

 

[Tony Semana]

The short strokes would appear to be that there is no necessity for completing any of the seven missions and the DM is not directed to make the players do so. While Mad Zagyg's comments on the lethality of approaching the first section of HotDQ are valid -- in the sense that you should NOT have your players do this, there is no contrary requirement that they should do so that is presented in the adventure text. The PCs can and should refuse -- and the DM may ease off as well if they are not able to do so. In that regard, I think Tony's comments are correct, (though perhaps a little more forceful that was needed in terms of their advocacy!)

End Result: It's all good folks.

Just want to say point taken, I apologize to [MENTION=47680]Mad Zagyg[/MENTION] for the heavy-handed wording of my last reply. I've already XP'ed [MENTION=20741]Steel_Wind[/MENTION] for his consistently thoughtful replies, but wanted to say on-thread that I've enjoyed his perspective in contrasting this early 5E offering to his experience with PF APs as a 'hardcore PF guy'.

 

[Jimmy Disco T]

As a slightly random tangent - I've played 3rd ed D&D, skipped 4th ed entirely, but (hopefully) may be running HotDQ in the near future.

How easy would it be to 'convert' the adventure to pre-4th ed Forgotten Realms? I'm thinking about deities, races, historical events, geographical changes...?

 

[Steel_Wind]

As a slightly random tangent - I've played 3rd ed D&D, skipped 4th ed entirely, but (hopefully) may be running HotDQ in the near future.

How easy would it be to 'convert' the adventure to pre-4th ed Forgotten Realms? I'm thinking about deities, races, historical events, geographical changes...?

I have not done more than read the Overview and skim part 1 at this stage. Importantly, book 2 has not been released - so who knows where it's all going to end.

That said, unless you are pedantic past the point of all reason, my strong impression is that you will have ZERO problems with "converting" the adventure to pre 4th Ed FR. At this stage, it appears to take nothing more than plopping the block into its corresponding round hole. Unless something nutty awaits me in the later stages of the adventure (or in book 2, which is entirely possible) I cannot see more than a nail file being required. You will not need a power sander, let alone a table saw to trim this to fit, imo.

 

[Mad Zagyg]

Just want to say point taken, I apologize to @Mad Zagyg for the heavy-handed wording of my last reply.

No apology necessary - but thanks Tony. I didn't take offense to your tone at all. We essentially agree anyway. DMs running this adventure should do one or more of the following suggestions to level the challenge to something more reasonable:

• Don't run them through all the missions.
• Emphatically stress the need for secrecy when moving about the town.
• Provide a healer of some type that can help the group upon returns to the keep.
• Allow the party to level without a long rest.
• Extend the assault to allow for a long rest.

There's a few other creative things DMs can do as well. I was thinking about allowing the group to role-play another group of regular guards who perform one of the other missions while the heroes are off on another. Assuming the guards fail horribly it will just add to the drama of desperation.

At any rate, DMs running this in their home game should take heed.