Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sloblock Aug 22, 2015 1:44:44	hi there   We are almost at the end of the HotDQ, only the last chapter to complete ( still not sure how that will play out )    so I have picked up a copy of RoT, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips/guidance/notes/Websites that could help me with preparing and running it.   I have read through the adventure but not sure how best to proceed to make it good for my players   thanks in advance
#2 BRJN Aug 22, 2015 15:18:07	Take the adventure one chapter at a time.  Try to add one flavorful thing not in the book per chapter.  This is supposed to be a world-shaking campaign, so don't be afraid to re-skin World War Two events.   - The Belabranta Griffongear mini-adventure from 3e Waterdeep: City of Splendors, when the group gets into town.  Later on they will see young Master Belebronta trying to fly a griffon without having an accident.  (This works because the Griffon Cavalry of Waterdeep succumbed to budget cuts during the Spellplague era.) - Also in City of Splendors is a two-page-long writeup of Laeral Silverhand-Arunsun.  Impress the dickens out of your group when she says something like "my place is HERE, not out there any more" - In our campaign, my Paladin had to be retired (because DMPCs are a bad idea) so he is working on a "Manhattan Project" to help with the war effort but not steal spotlight time. - In my campaign, finding Varram was handled much like the assassination of Admiral Yamamoto - the Harpers "read his mail" and knew he was trying to solve a problem on the down-low. - Diderius, despite his Roman-sounding name, is very Egyptian themed.  Encourage a bit of Indiana Jones typed swashbuckling in there. - Using offhand comments scattered throughout the book, build a daily Random Encounters chart for "The Cult is on the March"  Use this at least once per week outdoors.  (Hearing the Draakhorn at dawn impressed our Ranger with the seriousness of the situation.) - Arauthator (white dragon) also appears in 3e Dragons of Faerun.  Make him a lot more scary than Glazhael (white dragon) down in the basement of the flying castle. - Preview the replacement of Open Lord Neverember by noting how Waterdeep's war preparations are going very slowly (as with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain) because he's trying to do too much in too many places, all by himself. - 4e Neverwinter Campaign Setting can be useful if you decide the PCs should not be travelling in and out of Waterdeep all the time, or if they just want to handle some normal-sized adventures for a bit. - Preview the Misty Forest dragon raids whenever the PCs happen to be passing by.  My group got jumped (by coincidence) by a Cult criminal enforcer cell that was trying to extract protection money from a caravan master. - 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 3e Lords of Darkness, 3e Champions of Ruin, and 4e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting all have information about how the Cult of the Dragon normally operates.  Severin (& Tiamat) is an interloper / outsider / "business NOT as usual" and that can be played up.  I had the Cult vampire on the flying castle give a dissertation on the Cult's history when my PCs approached her (they were in Cult disguises). - Tell the players to watch C-SPAN the week before you do any Council sessions.  Let them experience parliamentary procedure without you having to read it all to them; then tell them you are narrating the interesting parts out of all that ceremony and cumbersome process.   DO YOUR HOMEWORK.  The group will appreciate it.   Figure out what you want to cover in the upcoming session.  You don't have to plot out the whole book at once.  Prepare ahead some Random Encounters, the Boss / Obstacle du jour, however many pre-listed enemies in the rooms you think the group will get to.   Look through DMG and the Online Supplements to see what magic items might be useful.  Offer them plot-based access - not just "somebody gives you an X as you walk by" - to cool stuff just before they need it.  And be sure they can upgrade their armor / weapons as they rise in Level.  "Masterwork" doesn't really exist in 5e but sometimes "a plain magic +1 sword" is helpful against monsters that Resist mundane weapon damage.  (Let them fight one first, to whet their interest.)