Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Spelldrifter Dec 09, 2014 2:09:42	Hi all,   I think someone already argued that episode 8 of Hoard of the Dragon Queen is seriously flawed, but I could not find the thread again.   Anyway, my players are on episode 4 right not, and I am concerned with what they should do eventually in episode 8: There is no clear mission about what they should do except "mess up the flying castle" from Tanis. Should they return the treasure to the Harpers? Do they have to kill some special characters? Infiltrating the castle seems tricky : there is a Captain defending the village, intent of stopping the characters. Also the Castle is entered through the front door, and it is a huge and void place. Difficult to sneak into... How are 7th level players supposed to kill a CR13 white dragon? How are 7th level players supposed to kill a CR13 vampire? Why would the giant switch alliance like that? Oddly enough, a giant has forged an alliance with a dragon cult (arch enemies of giants), so however unlikely that is, it seems even weirder to break it by a change of mind state. I was thinking of a number of possibilities to improve this episode and make it at least playable.   1. The cloud giant is charmed The vampire allied to the cult has managed to perform a long lasting charm of the cloud giant, effectively grasping control of the castle. The charm power of the vampire lasts for 24 hours, but maybe it is a bit far fetched that he could control the giant. Maybe the vampire has a Periapt of Giant Control or whatever. Anyway, the giants and ogres reluctantly follow the orders of their master, even if they know something is amiss. One of the goals of the players is to break the charm, either through dispelling it or killing the vampire (still tough). Maybe the stone giants found close to the entrance of the castle can instruct the players? Once the cloud giant is freed, a huge battle starts between giants/ogres and the cult, to which the players can participate. Or they can try to sneak in the lair and kill the dragon.   2. Rallying Talis the White is mandatory The players have to rally Talis to their side, to understand what is going on in the castle. That means overcome the guards in the village, entering the castle with the proper password. Then Talis can bail and let them bring havoc to the castle.   3. Harper command The players need to have an objective with this castle. In the Rise of Tiamat follow up module, it says they get bonus council attitude for returning the hoard. Also they are supposed to meet in Waterdeep. Where was that written in HOTDQ? The last time they interact with people in charge, it is in Elturel. So I am going to change slightly episode 4, letting Onthar and Leosin give a rendez-vous in Waterdeep at the end of the mission. Also, I will provide the characters with 2 scrolls of Sending, to allow communication and updated instructions from the Harpers (I stole that from The Adversary sundering book). Once in the Castle, maybe the harpers can tell them to bring the castle back to waterdeep? Maybe the harpers can send some help, a vampire exterminator who could help the payers defeat the vampire? If all goes south and the cloud giant is killed, resulting in him crashing the castle, maybe the harper agents can teleport the players back. Otherwise how are they supposed to survivve except through riding poison stinging wyverns?   4. Downgrade the dragon to Young instead of Adult I think an adult dragon is way too hard for level 7 players. Unless they are helped by Ogres/Giants, but still, CR13.   Anyway I am curious about your opinion on this and the alternatives you thought off.   Thanks!
#2 Heartworm Jan 21, 2015 6:35:15	I like all of those ideas. I'd have Talis tell them that there's an item keeping the giant under control, so if they want to take the castle they'll have to get it, break it/put it on flight mode, then tell the giant they're willing to help him regain control of the castle for giantkind (which ties into Rise of T). So when they fight the *extremely* powerful vamp (have you read the vampire section in MM? Wtf those things are tough), the thing to do would be to use the giant(s) as a tank against her - likewise for the white dragon. That way I can stil use the given stat blocks. I know if I don't set my players up on that road, they'll do their usual Leeroy thing that 1 tpk and a permadeath in Lost Mines still hasn't discouraged.   As for 3, early on I do plan to have the harper knight chap tell them to do whatever they can to scupper the cult's hoarding agenda, so when Talis tells them about the hoard in shyreach (I'm leaving that typo in) that should do to motivate them. Also Harper knight chap will tell them to report back to Waterdeep when done, but I don't want them to expect any deus ex machina assitance from Harp types.    Question is then, how to convince them not to kick seven shades of shapeshift out of Talis the minute they lay eyes on her? I'm going to give someone in the party the Talis bond given in the appendix - she'll be the 'old buddy who went bad' trope.