D&D 5E Phandelver to Tyranny of Dragons?

[Scrivener of Doom]

Please do
(oh, and what about that Neverwinter entry on your blog )

Thanks for the reminder.

Annoyingly, it's about 75% written but real life overtook my blogging last year. A new baby and a new business tends to do that. Oh well, it's still close enough to New Year for resolutions....

(And, again, a sincere thanks. It's nice to know that my crappy little blog is appreciated by a few people. )

 

[strider13x]

Another approach could be to have the characters arrive at Greenest depleted of resources. Sure, you're 4th level but you've expended almost all you're spells and you only have 10 HP because (insert offscreen encounter). You round the bend looking forward to a long rest in town when a dragon flies overhead...

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I would simply swap Greenest for Phandalin. After the players clear Wave Echo Cave, have the Cult attack Phandalin in force, similar to chapter 1 of HotDQ. Presumably they've come for the riches of the "Lost Mine of Phandelver". After the Cult leaves Phandalin a smoking ruin, the players should be sufficient motivated. From there, I personally would skip Chapter 2 and go straight into the Chapter 3, with the Dragon Hatchery, etc.

 

[akr71]

THEMNMGMNT has a pretty good idea. Phandalin is pretty much a frontier town though, so you would need to import the Governor at least, to make it run smoothly. Of course you could just have the battle and go with it - forget the town and related quests. The party should be high enough level to withstand it, or find a place to hole up. Lots of mountain areas to place the Cult camp.

I wouldn't skip Ch.2 as much as I would mash it into Ch.3. Saving the monk results in him asking you to accompany him to where ever you start Ch. 4. I think traveling to Neverwinter and then sailing to Baldur's Gate could work. Then the Monk and Ontharr can hand out the Caravan quest.

I think it might be important to beef up the encounter with the Cultists in Thundertree. Give the leader some sort of letter - maybe hinting that an attack is imminent, maybe drop a couple important names in there...