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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 8374070" data-attributes="member: 3586">Rise of Tiamat is one of the few adventures that has the world react to the PCs. You've got the factions taking a major stake in events, and they pay attention to the PCs more and more as their strategies pay off (or get annoyed at them due to their decisions).Both adventures are also so varied of experience. Yes, there's a linear progression between episodes, but each chapter gives an entirely new situation. And there is wide variation of approach. Consider both Castle Naerytar and Skyreach Castle. Both sections have factions that can help the characters, but do the PCs realise that? When they do, the way the section plays out can be completely different from the "kick in the door and fight" style.They are also rich with NPCs, and the Council of Waterdeep brings back a few important NPCs from Hoard of the Dragon Queen to maintain continuity. The Council, if run well, can offer an amazingly rich role-playing experience.Are they flawless? No. It doesn't help that they'd work much better with the playtest monsters than the released monsters (both the vampire and assassin of the original are a lot weaker in their playtest forms). And the finale of Rise of Tiamat would greatly benefit from a better explanation of what each of the enemy forces do if opposed or unopposed. There are other issues as well, but those are the ones that annoy me the most.I've run the whole series three times now (the same number of times I've run Curse of Strahd). They're adventures that reward you well with rich experiences - which is why, along with the Desert of Desolation series, I tend to put them at the very top tier of D&D adventures.See also: <a href="https://merricb.com/2019/12/17/my-favourite-dd-adventures/" target="_blank">My Favourite D&D Adventures - Merric's Musings</a>Cheers!</blockquote>

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