Jaelommiss
First Post
As a DM I done goofed during my last session of HotDQ. My players arrived at the camp in disguise, were promptly discovered, and got escorted up to the command tent for punishment. When they entered the tent Cyanwrath instantly recognized one of the players. The druid dropped a Fog Cloud, grabbed the ranger, cut a hole in the tent, and ran out the back. As the guards ran into the tent to see what the commotion was, the druid shifted into a giant spider, the ranger climbed on top, and they rode for the eastern edge of camp. Because of a lapse in judgement, I had left the hatchery largely undefended. Needless to say they ran into the cave to hide rather than trying to climb away. The Dragonclaw guards were cut down within seconds. We left off just after they had hidden the bodies and found the concealed passage in areas two.
While I was looking ahead to plan for next session, I realized that I will need to completely change some of the rooms in the hatchery. The biggest changes will take place in rooms 10, 11, and 13, with smaller tweaks in 9 and 12. Ten will have many more dragon eggs, Frulam Mondath will not have moved into eleven yet, and the treasure from Greenest will still be in thirteen.
I have been thinking of how to apply these changes and what other tweaks will be necessary, but have run out of ideas. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Room 9: Remove Cyanwrath and his guards. Possibly replace with kobolds.
Room 10: Many more dragon eggs, probably around thirty. I want to include braziers spread throughout the room with coals burning in them to keep the room warm. Kobolds move from egg to egg, checking for signs that they are near hatching. Because they are occupied and working busily they will not have heard any fighting that takes place in room 9. I am hoping to have this room be a stealth battle between the eggs (dim light and smoke from braziers, eggs filling the floor, sound echoing off the walls). The roper will take the opportunity to eat anyone who gets knocked unconscious. I might add a couple piercers (larval ropers) to add to the mayhem.
Room 11: Mondath does not move into this room until the camp leaves (according to the book). I am considering making it Rezmir's study and bed chamber for now. Intelligence about the Cult of the Dragon can be found here as well as a small chest containing an assortment of gems and coins. I might add a scroll or potion if I think the party needs it. Alternatively, it could be a storage room containing supplies for taking care of the eggs. Supplies would also be found in the tunnel connecting it to room nine.
Room 12: I am unsure if the guards have moved into the cave yet. If present, I will run as written. If not I may make it some sort of store room or an overflow room for treasure. I'm really drawing a blank of this one.
Room 13: Obviously the treasure has not left yet. I might add a couple of cultists sorting the loot from Greenest and setting items of particular value aside. My biggest problem is deciding how much to put here. Enough was taken from Greenest that pack animals were used to transport it, so the PCs cannot take all of it. On the other hand, I do not want to give out too much wealth this early. I am considering making it 10-20% (1d10 + 10, perhaps) of the treasure in the Main Vault of Skyreach Castle. Trinkets and jewelry would also be present. Because the players did not make any efforts to prevent the chapel in Greenest being looted (they were focused on saving the civilians), I am considering a wooden case containing a half dozen healing potions. Depending on how cruel I feel, some may have broken during transport. Because of the sheer amount of treasure it will take he PCs one hour to sift through it. I am unsure about adding magic items this early in the campaign, though I am considering a Ring of Protection that was taken from Leosin when he was captured.
Now I could simplify it by having the camp on high alert and running patrols to flush them out. It might even make sense given the circumstances. From what I know of my players, they would not enjoy that a whole lot. That's not to say that I'll give them a free pass to steal everything back, but I am at least going to make the cultists spend a decent chunk of time before finding them. A portion of the cultists aren't yet back to camp and the bulk of their forces are still tending to wounds and resting up after their assault. Morale is low after Cyanwrath got defeated by the druid and I can't imagine they are particularly eager to go looking for a pair of adventurers that slaughtered dozens of their fellows during the invasion.
It is possible that there will be two new players joining next session. I plan on writing them in as captives of the Cult of the Dragon. Amid the chaos that the party caused, Leosin will break free. He will also rescue the new players and mention that he saw the person that the cultists are seeking went into the large cave to the east. If necessary, he will suggest looking for him so they can all escape together. With a bit of luck they might even find weapons on their way over there.
That's what I've thought up so far. If you have any ideas I would be glad to hear them.
While I was looking ahead to plan for next session, I realized that I will need to completely change some of the rooms in the hatchery. The biggest changes will take place in rooms 10, 11, and 13, with smaller tweaks in 9 and 12. Ten will have many more dragon eggs, Frulam Mondath will not have moved into eleven yet, and the treasure from Greenest will still be in thirteen.
I have been thinking of how to apply these changes and what other tweaks will be necessary, but have run out of ideas. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Room 9: Remove Cyanwrath and his guards. Possibly replace with kobolds.
Room 10: Many more dragon eggs, probably around thirty. I want to include braziers spread throughout the room with coals burning in them to keep the room warm. Kobolds move from egg to egg, checking for signs that they are near hatching. Because they are occupied and working busily they will not have heard any fighting that takes place in room 9. I am hoping to have this room be a stealth battle between the eggs (dim light and smoke from braziers, eggs filling the floor, sound echoing off the walls). The roper will take the opportunity to eat anyone who gets knocked unconscious. I might add a couple piercers (larval ropers) to add to the mayhem.
Room 11: Mondath does not move into this room until the camp leaves (according to the book). I am considering making it Rezmir's study and bed chamber for now. Intelligence about the Cult of the Dragon can be found here as well as a small chest containing an assortment of gems and coins. I might add a scroll or potion if I think the party needs it. Alternatively, it could be a storage room containing supplies for taking care of the eggs. Supplies would also be found in the tunnel connecting it to room nine.
Room 12: I am unsure if the guards have moved into the cave yet. If present, I will run as written. If not I may make it some sort of store room or an overflow room for treasure. I'm really drawing a blank of this one.
Room 13: Obviously the treasure has not left yet. I might add a couple of cultists sorting the loot from Greenest and setting items of particular value aside. My biggest problem is deciding how much to put here. Enough was taken from Greenest that pack animals were used to transport it, so the PCs cannot take all of it. On the other hand, I do not want to give out too much wealth this early. I am considering making it 10-20% (1d10 + 10, perhaps) of the treasure in the Main Vault of Skyreach Castle. Trinkets and jewelry would also be present. Because the players did not make any efforts to prevent the chapel in Greenest being looted (they were focused on saving the civilians), I am considering a wooden case containing a half dozen healing potions. Depending on how cruel I feel, some may have broken during transport. Because of the sheer amount of treasure it will take he PCs one hour to sift through it. I am unsure about adding magic items this early in the campaign, though I am considering a Ring of Protection that was taken from Leosin when he was captured.
Now I could simplify it by having the camp on high alert and running patrols to flush them out. It might even make sense given the circumstances. From what I know of my players, they would not enjoy that a whole lot. That's not to say that I'll give them a free pass to steal everything back, but I am at least going to make the cultists spend a decent chunk of time before finding them. A portion of the cultists aren't yet back to camp and the bulk of their forces are still tending to wounds and resting up after their assault. Morale is low after Cyanwrath got defeated by the druid and I can't imagine they are particularly eager to go looking for a pair of adventurers that slaughtered dozens of their fellows during the invasion.
It is possible that there will be two new players joining next session. I plan on writing them in as captives of the Cult of the Dragon. Amid the chaos that the party caused, Leosin will break free. He will also rescue the new players and mention that he saw the person that the cultists are seeking went into the large cave to the east. If necessary, he will suggest looking for him so they can all escape together. With a bit of luck they might even find weapons on their way over there.
That's what I've thought up so far. If you have any ideas I would be glad to hear them.
