D&D 5E New DM Hoard of the Dragon Queen

[doctorhook]

I have to agree with those who've said HotDQ isn't a great choice: it's got a lot of problems, even for an experienced DM, it doesn't always make any sense, and your players don't get much choice in what to do. On the other hand, Lost Mine of Phandelver is an excellent adventure--it's geared towards beginners, but I've recommended it to everyone, because it's honestly top notch! If you want a longer campaign, Princes of the Apocalypse is a good adventure too, although it gets a bit tedious toward the end (because the players have finished 8 to 12 dungeon crawls by that point).

Have a look at Lost Mine of Phandelver from the Starter Set! That set is worth buying for that adventure alone.

 

[Tony Vargas]

HotDQ suffers most dramatically from not having the right encounter-design guidelines in the first part. Had that been done correctly (and, honestly, maybe not for 1st level characters) it might have been a strong example of the ideal 6-8 encounter time-pressured adventuring day, teaching DMs the value of sticking to that guideline. Instead, it's so awful that the low-intensity dungeoncrawl and blatant setting tourism that follow seem like good ideas in contrast.

 

[Soul Stigma]

One other thing: Don't be afraid to add things to the adventure. It doesn't lay everything down in stone; it gives you a good starting place, but there are lots of things you can do to enhance it. Just pay attention to what your players are enjoying and enhance those bits!

Cheers!

This advice is so solid. Don't be afraid to let things get "out of control", either. If you find your players focusing on something not meant as part of the published hooks, let it develop. One of the best generic DM bits of advice I can give is let your players' decisions and ideas tell you what they want from the game.


Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

 

[jayoungr]

HotDQ has a bad rep on these boards, but it's really quite an enjoyable adventure. It definitely had some editing issues, and it can take a bit of massaging to customize it for individual groups. (I always recommend this review for a good assessment of its strong and weak points.)

Having said that, though, I echo the sentiment that Lost Mine of Phandelver is an easier way to dive into 5E. It assumes a new GM and has lots of good advice on how to ease new players into the game.

 

[robus]

Hopefully [MENTION=26664]satbunny[/MENTION] will let us in on the joke?

 

[Portuguese D. Ace]

Well met, OP.

I am currently running HotDQ (we're at the end of Ch. 6) and I agree with everything that has been said: it's not an easy AP to run, it has some problems, mainly being railroady as hell and with serious encounters issues.

But it's also a fun AP.
It has some iconical elements tied to the brand, namely DUNGEONS and DRAGONS.
There's more than a couple different dungeons (I mean different in their environment, mainly) that could satisfy your players.
There are some dragons too, even if you could surely expand their role, as suggested by many DMs before me - E.G. the balck dragon in Chap. 6.

Luckily for us, it is an AP already 2+ years old.
We have a lot of resources and feedback to help us bring out the most out of it.

I made a bookmark folder with these links:

http://thecampaign20xx.blogspot.it/2014/10/hoard-of-dragon-queen-on-road.html

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.it/p/hoard-of-dragon-queen-index.html

https://merricb.com/2014/10/09/running-hoard-of-the-dragon-queen-episode-1/

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...ff-to-try-at-your-table!)&highlight=enhancing

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...d-to-Remember-Tyranny-of-Dragons-Campaign-Log

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?468670-My-Tyranny-of-Dragons

https://hoardtoremember.wordpress.com/category/hoard-of-the-dragon-queen/

http://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=2514

http://slyflourish.com/greenest_in_flames.html


I read all of these (also you can find a compiled "Guide to Tyranny of Dragons" on DMsGuild) and they helped me a lot.



One advice: try to adjust NPC's behaviours accordingly to your PCs' taste. If in Chap 1 they manage to kill Langdedrosa, just kill it.
Don't try to save him (or other NPCs/Villains) at all costs.
Maybe try to play smart, and if someone like Rath Modar or Azbara Jos have the resources to flee, do it.
I think that, by the books, the management of dead NPCs is faulty.