Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 konomike Oct 17, 2014 8:23:34	Good morning and happy Friday,   I'm preparing to run Hoard of the Dragon Queen for some friends. I love the storyline of the adventure and how it's not a series of town and dungeon runs. However, I know my players and that feeling of power progression (loot & leveling) is part of why they play. I'm worried this adventure is going to make that difficult and am looking for help and suggestions.   After the players leave Waterdeep in Episode 5 and especially once they make it to the castle, there isn't really a town through the end of the adventure. Since there aren't a ton of weapons or useable items in the treasure, and there are some nice items of value, my players are going to want to take a break to do some trade. I want to afford them the opportunity to fence some goods and gear up a little, even if it's only to get some potions or upgrade a weapon or something.   I'm not sure how it works if you're playing HotDQ for Encounters, if you're able to shop between sessions. Could someone with some more experience with this adventure offer some suggestions? Thanks.
#2 Lawolf Oct 17, 2014 10:50:27	Use single use limited items. Powerful permanent magic items will break 5e to pieces. But single use items are a good way to hand out magic items that won't break the games fragile balance.   Items like:   Thunderstone - A single use thundering smite spell Sleep Powder - A single use sleep spell Rune of Power - A single use magic weapon spell Condensed Clouds - A single use fog spell Bag of the Four Winds - A single use Gust of Wind spell
#3 spelley Oct 17, 2014 11:00:33	Wandering merchants who are being attacked and would be mighty grateful for player intervention as a "random encounter" can always be used as a 1-shot "shop" option when it seems like the players would be antsy. Sticking with items from Basic/PHB and letting them upgrade their armor or whatnot is fine.    Lawolf is exaggerating the effect of magic items in general however. A +1 here and there to various things won't "break 5e to pieces" as it is easy enough to add an extra monster/encounter or two to an adventure to push the players. Personally though, I prefer to give out less "numerically superior" magic items and instead add some useful "trinket-level" effects to items instead. Glows when a certain enemy type is nearby, acts as a compass, temporary water-walking, etc. Keeps things interesting and you'll be surprised what your players can come up with to make those effects useful.
#4 Timborama Oct 17, 2014 11:04:57	Scrolls and potions are a thing. Depending on how soon you need this, you can potentially wait for DMG as a guideline for how much these things cost.   Or, since they're your buddies and not part of some organized sanctioned play, you can just let them do what they want, as long as you feel the story allows it! It's not too strange to ask "Hey, is there a town between X and Y? I'm itchin' to unload some of this gold for some Fullplate and a potion of Fly..." Give them the option but it'll take some amount of days since they get off-track, and if it's too long, they'll just try later, after they accomplish whatever it is they were setting out for.
#5 konomike Oct 17, 2014 11:24:15	Thanks for the suggestions. One of the problems is HotDQ becomes a series of hostile locations laid end to end. It doesn't really give you a break in that second half. And that's where some of the more unusual or unweildy loot is found. I guess it could be entertaining to watch the players tote a tapestry or delicate statuette behind enemy lines for a few weeks.
#6 Castillo_de_Santiago Oct 18, 2014 16:06:48	Just because there are no cities on the map, doen't mean that there are no settlements, farmsteads, caravans, etc., for the PC's to visit  or interact with, while in route to the next adventure.   I have placed a restriction in my campaign that prevents players from gaining some of the benefits of leveling up, such as learning new spells, while in a dungeon, the consequence of which is that they will have to take some down time between adventures to study, train and practice. I will be creating opportunities as the players move through the campaign for them to do so. This will also give them the opportunity to sell, trade or swap items, with a heavy emphasis on the trading and swapping, and burn off all of that accumulated gold.
#7 BRJN Oct 18, 2014 17:11:40	konomike wrote: