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Message: <blockquote data-quote="discosoc" data-source="post: 7128661" data-attributes="member: 6801554">The Well of Dragons is not a secret location or anything; it's just the kind of place that people avoid, and I think most sages that are at all versed in draconic lore understand that dragons go there to die for some reason.  It's also no real secret that the Cult of the Dragon is a thing.  They aren't a new cult that crops up for this adventure, but have instead been around for a long time.  It's just that something has changed and now they are highly-organized and somehow incredibly powerful -- hence the Harpers are trying to investigate for more information.As for when the players should understand that the Well of Dragons is important for reasons beyond simply being the home base for the Cult, it really shouldn't happen any later than their encounter with Talis, and possibly earlier.  Keep in mind the following outline for Hoard of the Dragon Queen (SPOILERS)1.  The characters help defend a town under attack by some mercs and cultist, who seemed more interested in looting than killing or occupying.2.  They track the attackers back to a cave complex and infiltrate the army long enough to rescue a Harper and discover the Cult of the Dragon is raiding the Sword Coast for treasure.3.  The Harpers know that the Dragon Cult seems to be moving the stolen treasure north, disguised as traders and such.  Rather than simply retrieve the treasure, the Harpers ask the characters infiltrate or track those caravans north to determine where this vast treasure is being taken.4.  The treasure is eventually tacked to a remote swamp castle that connects to another location via a portal.5.  Through the portal, the characters find an old hunting lodge acting as a command center for the Dragon Cult, lead by Talis.  There are several ways of getting it here, but the main goal is for Talis to provide exposition on where the treasure is going (Well of Dragons) and how (Cloud Giant castle).6.  From here the adventure is simply a race to stop the cloud giant castle from getting to the Well of Dragons -- by commandeering or crashing it.Based on that broad outline, it should be clear why step 5 is the latest point where the Well of Dragons comes into play, but it should also open up the possibility that the characters learn the information before then while infiltrating or tracking the caravans heading north.</blockquote>

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