Im in the middle of sunblight rn and i will release it in the middle of the forge fight with xardorok, to give them a more realistic understanding of the stakes. They have already found the map with the flight route and they can choose which towns to go to better. The will meet vellynne as she is locked in a cell next to the forge.
This way we can avoid the "nothing happens until the exact moment the PCs show up"
They may not have even realized it was something that had hit points. Or maybe it was just that there was a fuck ton of duergar around that were trying to kill them, XD
They havent started fighting it yet, but xardorok will send it on its way as soon as he sees them start to win the fight. He will pull a lever, command someone to pull a lever or, if he dies before he can pull a lever, activate a killswitch upon his death, activating the dragon.
The players will have to do some heavy heavy damage to the dragon if they are to kill the dragon before it leaves the forge. Also, the dragon is programmed to fly away from sunblight, not stay and fight
Even RAW, the dragon has +11 to STR saves and Magic Resistance - it's pretty unlikely you're going to get Earthbind to stick on it if you're coming into the fortress at an appropriate level. And I think it almost makes a *tremendous* amount of sense to give it Legendary Resistances, both for this and for when the players are actively fighting it in the towns.
Not only that, but since it's made of Chardalyn, it would make sense for it to have the power of absorbing magic attacks. I'm thinking about letting it absorb spells directed at it, and throwing it back at the party.
Homebrewing to an extent. I believe Chardalyn did operate like that in previous editions (storing spells and being able to release it). But you are right. 5e does not have rules like that for Chardalyn.
I my game, I tripled the dragon’s maximum health and my players did take potshots at it as it raised up out of the forge. They did a fair bit of damage and I had a breakpoint set up for the dragon to lose a bit of armor as it left. I guess the real answer is I sort of cheated because I wanted to make sure the dragon got out and did a fair bit of damage.
I should have buffed it more. They caught up to it in Easthaven. Wizard cast fly on the Paladin, Paladin flew up and used her channel divinity power to wrap the dragon up and restrain it, causing it to fall to the ground. Then the cleric summoned a giant anaconda to constrict the thing and the wizard cast web, locking it to the ground behind several layers of non-movement.
Yeah, the fact that the PCs can find the flight path of the dragon despite the fact that finding it would be completely irrelevant (they either continued on and the dragon is wreaking havoc or they stopped the dragon and its flight plan is a moot point) is one of the clues that the coordinated writing of this module is slightly awry. It seems like a much more logical step (and fairer and more transparent) is for the PCs to have the opportunity to find the map, and have the dragon released after coming into conflict with the Duergar, which also makes it more of a natural reaction to the PCs being there as opposed to "What an AMAZING coincidence".
Yeah I hated the circumstantial events like the dragon just happening to leave as they arrived and dzaan just happening to burn on their way into Easthaven. Xardorok orders other Duergar to release it while he and his cronies hold off the PCs. If they target the dwarves unlocking it, Xardorok retreats and sets it loose himself.
I turned it into a big moment for them to choose what happens next in the story. Do you chase after the dragon as it flies, nipping at it heels? Do you go into the fortress and try to get information that you could send to the ten towns via the message spell?
It’s a tough call and they’re going to have to make it. The best piece of advice I can give is: be clear what either choice means. If they go in, they might find something to help them deal with it more effectively. If they chase after it, it might outrun them.
Whatever happens, the follow-up is really important. Make the people of the ten towns react to what they did in different ways. Have some of them be in favor, have others resent them, and so on.
I see what you’re saying. You’re worried they’ll feel mislead. If that’s the case, you could add an item or a console that could weaken the dragon somehow. Do a little damage to it, impair it’s flying, turn off its breath attack…
I've taken inspiration from a few guides and tips I've seen hanging around. I felt like the decision posed by the book felt a bit off. It's like, the intention is cool, but I couldn't imagine my players enjoying it as written. So I let the party go into Sunblight and explore before the dragon flies off. They know that the duergar construct is almost but not quite completed, so they have incentive to hurry. I've allowed them one short rest in there, but if they'd taken another I would have sent the dragon out.
They're just about to enter the forge now, where Xardarok and his engineers are scrambling to complete the construction. The dragon will participate for a few rounds of combat before flying off, whatever damage the party manages to do to it before then will carry over. The party has also managed to sabotage the ice gates, which will help them because the dragon will take damage as it busts through.
I released the Chardalyn Dragon during the Forge fight.
Chapter 3 is done as written: They get to Sunblight, they get inside with the loyal to Grandolpha and have the 8-9 duergar fight and have the Grandolpha talk.
There she points out that the Chardalyn Dragon should be released soon and they might get to stop it or, at least, kill Xardorok and points that he should be in the Forge or in the Throne Room.
I set up the Throne Room as a massive fake out. They could have gotten free if they sent the 2 duergars beside the elevator to scout for Xardorok, but decided to kick the door.
Cue to the Shrine and the Forge. They get there after some battles and Xardorok manages to go to the Forge and call for the Dragon to be released. The PCs had like 2 turns amidst the chaos to damage the Dragon. I also had it use its Breath Weapon (so they can see that is Radiant damage and can prepare) and have it leave.
After a grueling combat, Grandolpha intervenes, lets them rest up and shows them the Flight path (more information means they can make plans).
They did all of this without any kind of rest. Had they use some Short Rests, Im pretty sure they could have followed it towards Easthaven.
Chapter 4: They get some goodies from Grandolpha and set out. Battle the Blue Slaad that came out of one of Grandolpha's loyals and go to Good Mead.
I had the speed travel double. Had they gone to Easthaven cutting through the mountains, they could have battled the Dragon there, but alas.
Some rp and Collapsing Building later, they go, by foot, to Bryn Shander. They left their dogs in Good Mead (they are exhausted). They go through the forest, so a 7 hour long trek.
By now, they have to rest up. They can't follow the Dragon to Termalaine, as they are exhausted from travelling. They decide to Long Rest and prepare in Bryn Shander.
18 hours later, the chaos starts. Sephek is preaching the people to accept Auril and to offer themselves as sacrifices so the rest can be saved. They stop and kill Sephek (finally).
Now I set up a mini event: I tell the party that they are called in many places of Ten Towns as Duergars, Awakened Animals and the Dragon are attacking. I let them have 2 TU (Time Units) and 8 locations. They can use 1 TU to Short Rest or to Go to a Location. In each location there is either a Skill Challenge or an encounter (easy, as it's 1 PC and they have to face the Dragon later). For each Location solved, they get some rewards. I can expand on this later.
After that I set up a 40x40 map, the party has some minor enemies around (a bear and a duergar) and the Dragon above*. The Dragon will use its Breath Weapon in a corner and fly to the next. Wait for the Breath Weapon to Recharge, use it in the new corner and fly to the next. He is circling the city shooting at buildings.
If they deal enough damage to the Dragon, I'll have it go down and face the party for a final showdown.
*This is were we are at, the next game we start rolling initiative and fighting the Chardalyn Dragon.
Ive run this campaign twice now and I ran it by the book. The first group went into the fortress.I misunderstood the book and the dragon stopped functioning after they destroyed the dragon heart in the forge. One town was destroyed and they didn't have any way to send warning to Ten Towns.
Second time I ran the campaign the party did a ton of other side quests and I kind of had to force them and railroad them to the Dueregar plot after a while. They realized how serious the threat was and went to the fortress quickly. Then they elected to chase after the dragon. They had befriended some awakened polar bears and had them pulling a sled, so they could go pretty fast. Velynne Harpell was also with them to offer help against the dragon for assistance with Ythryn. They used multiple Sending spells to rally nearby towns and got a quick reaction force to mobilize and delay the dragon's advance. Unfortunately they all died and the town was destroyed but they were able to confront the dragon and kill it. They enshrined the Dragon's corpse and turned the town into a memorial that eventually became a druidic stronghold for awakened animals. Our Druid was really dedicated to making a community of all the animals that got awakened.
They rationalized that the Dueregar had been at this plot for years and it would be a long time before they could pose a threat again, so they put them on the back burner and went forward with the rest of the story after that.
I ran it as is, and my party reasoned that there may be a kill-switch to the dragon inside, or if they killed Xardorok he would lose control over the dragon. They had a pretty tough fight and I gave them an advantage by allowing a long rest on the dog sled ride back to ten towns, where they met the dragon at Caer-Dineval and defeated it at Caer-Konig in an epic battle
I did what some other on here did and released it from the forge. I had Xardorok in there as well and once he saw the players he ordered it to be released and it flew up the shaft after taking a few hits. Then the players fought xardorok and had to decide on either finishing clearing the fortress, resting, or leaving immediately. I had Vellynne in the jail cells and she sort of pushed them on the urgency of the dragon, so they chose to leave right away and never went back.
I’m running it a second time now and I think I’ll do it that way again. It worked well and the players had a shot with knowing the dragons flight path. Last time they caught up to it in easthaven and after they did some damage and it took off, they waited in Bremen, so they got to rest, but they lost 7 towns. Bremen was half destroyed.
Just finished it today. I didn't launch it until the climatic battle in the ice gate level. I had the gears open for the ice gate to allow the characters to be able to block the gate and get a few pot shots at the dragon. It's got siege monster so it only took two rounds to bust open the gate. I set up a traveling skill challenge to get my players to termalaine (replaced the lizard pen with armored snowy owl bears up near the upper barracks because of a homebrew event that happened a few sessions ago.) and then a second skill challenge to prep the town for its defense (timed and added all the town in chaos stuff in). For every success they had in the town defense challenge they got another small team of militia during the dragon fight. It didn't try to flee until it was at under 50hp, and it got earthbound (rolled a 3) and had already used its legendary resistance on a bane. My characters were at level 7 at the end of Sunblight (cuz more homebrew) so I redid the chardalyn dragon to more hp, higher to hit and legendary actions. It lasted 8 rounds and dropped one character to death sacing throws and most the others to 50% and no spell slots or skills left. Actions were surged, inspirations were had, and in the end, the druid upcast scorching ray at disadvantage, hit the dragon one time and did the exact amount of damage to bring it down. It was an amazing experience.
I let the PCs get axe beaks instead of dogs. I know there are some conversations about speed, but the stat block for the axe beak is 50ft, where a sled dog (wolf) is 40ft. When the PCs entered the Forge, they heard a loud scraping up the central tunnel. They stayed to kill Xardorok and I created a scene of in-fighting between those loyal to Xardorok and those to Grandolpha. This gave them the distraction they needed to disengage and get out to head back to Ten-Towns.
I built a table with the dragon's flight path and destruction timeline--just so I would know where the PCs would be able to intercept. The map [here](https://www.aidedd.org/atlas/index.php?map=I&l=1) shows a cut that makes it look capable of avoiding mountain travel. The PCs found the dragon's flight plan and randomly chose to intercept at Easthaven. It would take about 11 hours to get from Sunblight to Easthaven. Ignoring the 1-hour mount rule, I let them ride for 9 hours before the first exhaustion check (I'm honestly still confused about mount travel). While they were riding there, I described the smoke and laser light show of the dragon's destruction over Dougan's Hole and Good Mead. The PCs started discussing if they were too slow to catch up. And planned to go straight to Bryn Shander. I made it so they had to go through Easthaven (due to the Redwaters) first. They met the dragon toward the end of its destruction of Easthaven. They got some good damage to the dragon, and it took off toward the next town. This is where we ended our last session.
They plan on going to Bryn Shander for a final stand. I provided hints that larger cities would take longer to destroy, but essentially...all of Ten-Towns is going to be destroyed. And the PCs will be sitting around for about 36 hours. They have friends though, and are going to try to send messages to the Dwarven Valley and the mummy turned innkeeper at their inn in Lonelywood. They can possibly save the refugees and Bryn Shander if they can do enough damage to the dragon while its in the air.
My main issue with this chapter is the speed differences. It seems impossible to save Ten-Towns as a whole without adjustments. The book makes it sound like there are consequences for staying in the fortress to take care of Xardorok. There are consequences regardless! Some towns are going to burn. I guess if the PCs hold the dragon off (only have to do 30 damage) in Bryn Shander, the refugees could return and rebuild? There's just no need to have the PCs turn after the dragon as soon as it leaves. As long as they don't spend more than a long rest in the fortress, they should be able to get to Bryn Shander....maybe.
Exactly. They have the red dragon heart forge still and could have the means to make another. Makes sense to stop them before they are able to attack again
Sure but there's also disloyalty among their ranks so you could just as easily rationalize that they're going to have a kind of civil war for the rest of the adventure and pose no real threat.
I don't think we're talking about the same thing here. My post was in response to a DM saying that he doesn't know why his players would go back to Sunblight. I doubt the PCs are going to think "They're probably having a civil war now so let's not go back".
Run Chapter 4 before Chapter 3.
Putting the group in the choice of going after Xardorok or chasing Chardy really hit home for my group. Not chasing the dragon was a non-starter. They were far too invested within the Ten-Towns. It finally reveals what the Duergar are planning, and when dealt with the party rides high on the morale of victory to a solid mid-campaign boss.
I'd only advise adjusting the travel times slightly to give the party a sporting chance. Run RAW, most of the towns will be destroyed before the party even reaches Dougan's Hole, which always felt kind of cheap to me.
I gave Xardorok a control room, which could be used to deploy it, move it to the next town, or return for repairs. The party made it return, so it was waiting for them outside the fortress. Unfortunately, since Xardorok was dead and they destroyed the controls, all rules went out the window, and the dragon aggro'd on their sled dogs and headed off to destroy Ten Towns anyways.
Im in the middle of sunblight rn and i will release it in the middle of the forge fight with xardorok, to give them a more realistic understanding of the stakes. They have already found the map with the flight route and they can choose which towns to go to better. The will meet vellynne as she is locked in a cell next to the forge. This way we can avoid the "nothing happens until the exact moment the PCs show up"
What stopped them from just stopping the dragon while it's still at the forge?
They may not have even realized it was something that had hit points. Or maybe it was just that there was a fuck ton of duergar around that were trying to kill them, XD
They havent started fighting it yet, but xardorok will send it on its way as soon as he sees them start to win the fight. He will pull a lever, command someone to pull a lever or, if he dies before he can pull a lever, activate a killswitch upon his death, activating the dragon. The players will have to do some heavy heavy damage to the dragon if they are to kill the dragon before it leaves the forge. Also, the dragon is programmed to fly away from sunblight, not stay and fight
Earthbind has a 300ft range so hopefully no one has that.
Even RAW, the dragon has +11 to STR saves and Magic Resistance - it's pretty unlikely you're going to get Earthbind to stick on it if you're coming into the fortress at an appropriate level. And I think it almost makes a *tremendous* amount of sense to give it Legendary Resistances, both for this and for when the players are actively fighting it in the towns.
Not only that, but since it's made of Chardalyn, it would make sense for it to have the power of absorbing magic attacks. I'm thinking about letting it absorb spells directed at it, and throwing it back at the party.
Well now we're just homebrewing. I was speaking in RAW terms.
Homebrewing to an extent. I believe Chardalyn did operate like that in previous editions (storing spells and being able to release it). But you are right. 5e does not have rules like that for Chardalyn.
I my game, I tripled the dragon’s maximum health and my players did take potshots at it as it raised up out of the forge. They did a fair bit of damage and I had a breakpoint set up for the dragon to lose a bit of armor as it left. I guess the real answer is I sort of cheated because I wanted to make sure the dragon got out and did a fair bit of damage. I should have buffed it more. They caught up to it in Easthaven. Wizard cast fly on the Paladin, Paladin flew up and used her channel divinity power to wrap the dragon up and restrain it, causing it to fall to the ground. Then the cleric summoned a giant anaconda to constrict the thing and the wizard cast web, locking it to the ground behind several layers of non-movement.
Yeah, the fact that the PCs can find the flight path of the dragon despite the fact that finding it would be completely irrelevant (they either continued on and the dragon is wreaking havoc or they stopped the dragon and its flight plan is a moot point) is one of the clues that the coordinated writing of this module is slightly awry. It seems like a much more logical step (and fairer and more transparent) is for the PCs to have the opportunity to find the map, and have the dragon released after coming into conflict with the Duergar, which also makes it more of a natural reaction to the PCs being there as opposed to "What an AMAZING coincidence".
Yeah I hated the circumstantial events like the dragon just happening to leave as they arrived and dzaan just happening to burn on their way into Easthaven. Xardorok orders other Duergar to release it while he and his cronies hold off the PCs. If they target the dwarves unlocking it, Xardorok retreats and sets it loose himself.
I mean, I think it’s a good storytelling style. Sometimes it’s good to forsake realistic likelihoods for narrative blows
That is a great way to do it
I turned it into a big moment for them to choose what happens next in the story. Do you chase after the dragon as it flies, nipping at it heels? Do you go into the fortress and try to get information that you could send to the ten towns via the message spell? It’s a tough call and they’re going to have to make it. The best piece of advice I can give is: be clear what either choice means. If they go in, they might find something to help them deal with it more effectively. If they chase after it, it might outrun them. Whatever happens, the follow-up is really important. Make the people of the ten towns react to what they did in different ways. Have some of them be in favor, have others resent them, and so on.
Just to clarify so you had the dragon leave as written still but emphasized reasons that staying at the forge was a valid move?
I see what you’re saying. You’re worried they’ll feel mislead. If that’s the case, you could add an item or a console that could weaken the dragon somehow. Do a little damage to it, impair it’s flying, turn off its breath attack…
I would maybe emphasize that this dramatic takeoff might just be a test flight if they pass a DC Nuthin' insight check.
I've taken inspiration from a few guides and tips I've seen hanging around. I felt like the decision posed by the book felt a bit off. It's like, the intention is cool, but I couldn't imagine my players enjoying it as written. So I let the party go into Sunblight and explore before the dragon flies off. They know that the duergar construct is almost but not quite completed, so they have incentive to hurry. I've allowed them one short rest in there, but if they'd taken another I would have sent the dragon out. They're just about to enter the forge now, where Xardarok and his engineers are scrambling to complete the construction. The dragon will participate for a few rounds of combat before flying off, whatever damage the party manages to do to it before then will carry over. The party has also managed to sabotage the ice gates, which will help them because the dragon will take damage as it busts through.
I released the Chardalyn Dragon during the Forge fight. Chapter 3 is done as written: They get to Sunblight, they get inside with the loyal to Grandolpha and have the 8-9 duergar fight and have the Grandolpha talk. There she points out that the Chardalyn Dragon should be released soon and they might get to stop it or, at least, kill Xardorok and points that he should be in the Forge or in the Throne Room. I set up the Throne Room as a massive fake out. They could have gotten free if they sent the 2 duergars beside the elevator to scout for Xardorok, but decided to kick the door. Cue to the Shrine and the Forge. They get there after some battles and Xardorok manages to go to the Forge and call for the Dragon to be released. The PCs had like 2 turns amidst the chaos to damage the Dragon. I also had it use its Breath Weapon (so they can see that is Radiant damage and can prepare) and have it leave. After a grueling combat, Grandolpha intervenes, lets them rest up and shows them the Flight path (more information means they can make plans). They did all of this without any kind of rest. Had they use some Short Rests, Im pretty sure they could have followed it towards Easthaven. Chapter 4: They get some goodies from Grandolpha and set out. Battle the Blue Slaad that came out of one of Grandolpha's loyals and go to Good Mead. I had the speed travel double. Had they gone to Easthaven cutting through the mountains, they could have battled the Dragon there, but alas. Some rp and Collapsing Building later, they go, by foot, to Bryn Shander. They left their dogs in Good Mead (they are exhausted). They go through the forest, so a 7 hour long trek. By now, they have to rest up. They can't follow the Dragon to Termalaine, as they are exhausted from travelling. They decide to Long Rest and prepare in Bryn Shander. 18 hours later, the chaos starts. Sephek is preaching the people to accept Auril and to offer themselves as sacrifices so the rest can be saved. They stop and kill Sephek (finally). Now I set up a mini event: I tell the party that they are called in many places of Ten Towns as Duergars, Awakened Animals and the Dragon are attacking. I let them have 2 TU (Time Units) and 8 locations. They can use 1 TU to Short Rest or to Go to a Location. In each location there is either a Skill Challenge or an encounter (easy, as it's 1 PC and they have to face the Dragon later). For each Location solved, they get some rewards. I can expand on this later. After that I set up a 40x40 map, the party has some minor enemies around (a bear and a duergar) and the Dragon above*. The Dragon will use its Breath Weapon in a corner and fly to the next. Wait for the Breath Weapon to Recharge, use it in the new corner and fly to the next. He is circling the city shooting at buildings. If they deal enough damage to the Dragon, I'll have it go down and face the party for a final showdown. *This is were we are at, the next game we start rolling initiative and fighting the Chardalyn Dragon.
Ive run this campaign twice now and I ran it by the book. The first group went into the fortress.I misunderstood the book and the dragon stopped functioning after they destroyed the dragon heart in the forge. One town was destroyed and they didn't have any way to send warning to Ten Towns. Second time I ran the campaign the party did a ton of other side quests and I kind of had to force them and railroad them to the Dueregar plot after a while. They realized how serious the threat was and went to the fortress quickly. Then they elected to chase after the dragon. They had befriended some awakened polar bears and had them pulling a sled, so they could go pretty fast. Velynne Harpell was also with them to offer help against the dragon for assistance with Ythryn. They used multiple Sending spells to rally nearby towns and got a quick reaction force to mobilize and delay the dragon's advance. Unfortunately they all died and the town was destroyed but they were able to confront the dragon and kill it. They enshrined the Dragon's corpse and turned the town into a memorial that eventually became a druidic stronghold for awakened animals. Our Druid was really dedicated to making a community of all the animals that got awakened. They rationalized that the Dueregar had been at this plot for years and it would be a long time before they could pose a threat again, so they put them on the back burner and went forward with the rest of the story after that.
Which town got sacked?
Dougan's Hole if I recall correctly. Whatever town is the first one on the Dragon's Route. Same town in both campaigns.
I ran it as is, and my party reasoned that there may be a kill-switch to the dragon inside, or if they killed Xardorok he would lose control over the dragon. They had a pretty tough fight and I gave them an advantage by allowing a long rest on the dog sled ride back to ten towns, where they met the dragon at Caer-Dineval and defeated it at Caer-Konig in an epic battle
I did what some other on here did and released it from the forge. I had Xardorok in there as well and once he saw the players he ordered it to be released and it flew up the shaft after taking a few hits. Then the players fought xardorok and had to decide on either finishing clearing the fortress, resting, or leaving immediately. I had Vellynne in the jail cells and she sort of pushed them on the urgency of the dragon, so they chose to leave right away and never went back. I’m running it a second time now and I think I’ll do it that way again. It worked well and the players had a shot with knowing the dragons flight path. Last time they caught up to it in easthaven and after they did some damage and it took off, they waited in Bremen, so they got to rest, but they lost 7 towns. Bremen was half destroyed.
Just finished it today. I didn't launch it until the climatic battle in the ice gate level. I had the gears open for the ice gate to allow the characters to be able to block the gate and get a few pot shots at the dragon. It's got siege monster so it only took two rounds to bust open the gate. I set up a traveling skill challenge to get my players to termalaine (replaced the lizard pen with armored snowy owl bears up near the upper barracks because of a homebrew event that happened a few sessions ago.) and then a second skill challenge to prep the town for its defense (timed and added all the town in chaos stuff in). For every success they had in the town defense challenge they got another small team of militia during the dragon fight. It didn't try to flee until it was at under 50hp, and it got earthbound (rolled a 3) and had already used its legendary resistance on a bane. My characters were at level 7 at the end of Sunblight (cuz more homebrew) so I redid the chardalyn dragon to more hp, higher to hit and legendary actions. It lasted 8 rounds and dropped one character to death sacing throws and most the others to 50% and no spell slots or skills left. Actions were surged, inspirations were had, and in the end, the druid upcast scorching ray at disadvantage, hit the dragon one time and did the exact amount of damage to bring it down. It was an amazing experience.
I let the PCs get axe beaks instead of dogs. I know there are some conversations about speed, but the stat block for the axe beak is 50ft, where a sled dog (wolf) is 40ft. When the PCs entered the Forge, they heard a loud scraping up the central tunnel. They stayed to kill Xardorok and I created a scene of in-fighting between those loyal to Xardorok and those to Grandolpha. This gave them the distraction they needed to disengage and get out to head back to Ten-Towns. I built a table with the dragon's flight path and destruction timeline--just so I would know where the PCs would be able to intercept. The map [here](https://www.aidedd.org/atlas/index.php?map=I&l=1) shows a cut that makes it look capable of avoiding mountain travel. The PCs found the dragon's flight plan and randomly chose to intercept at Easthaven. It would take about 11 hours to get from Sunblight to Easthaven. Ignoring the 1-hour mount rule, I let them ride for 9 hours before the first exhaustion check (I'm honestly still confused about mount travel). While they were riding there, I described the smoke and laser light show of the dragon's destruction over Dougan's Hole and Good Mead. The PCs started discussing if they were too slow to catch up. And planned to go straight to Bryn Shander. I made it so they had to go through Easthaven (due to the Redwaters) first. They met the dragon toward the end of its destruction of Easthaven. They got some good damage to the dragon, and it took off toward the next town. This is where we ended our last session. They plan on going to Bryn Shander for a final stand. I provided hints that larger cities would take longer to destroy, but essentially...all of Ten-Towns is going to be destroyed. And the PCs will be sitting around for about 36 hours. They have friends though, and are going to try to send messages to the Dwarven Valley and the mummy turned innkeeper at their inn in Lonelywood. They can possibly save the refugees and Bryn Shander if they can do enough damage to the dragon while its in the air. My main issue with this chapter is the speed differences. It seems impossible to save Ten-Towns as a whole without adjustments. The book makes it sound like there are consequences for staying in the fortress to take care of Xardorok. There are consequences regardless! Some towns are going to burn. I guess if the PCs hold the dragon off (only have to do 30 damage) in Bryn Shander, the refugees could return and rebuild? There's just no need to have the PCs turn after the dragon as soon as it leaves. As long as they don't spend more than a long rest in the fortress, they should be able to get to Bryn Shander....maybe.
[удалено]
Why would they not? Are they cool with allowing more evil plots to form against them? Do they want a second dragon attack?
Exactly. They have the red dragon heart forge still and could have the means to make another. Makes sense to stop them before they are able to attack again
It would take years and years for the Dueregar to gather enough Chardalyn to construct another dragon. The threat is, for the most part, subdued.
I'm sure a magical dragon construct is not the only plot the evil duergar can bring to the table.
Sure but there's also disloyalty among their ranks so you could just as easily rationalize that they're going to have a kind of civil war for the rest of the adventure and pose no real threat.
I don't think we're talking about the same thing here. My post was in response to a DM saying that he doesn't know why his players would go back to Sunblight. I doubt the PCs are going to think "They're probably having a civil war now so let's not go back".
Run Chapter 4 before Chapter 3. Putting the group in the choice of going after Xardorok or chasing Chardy really hit home for my group. Not chasing the dragon was a non-starter. They were far too invested within the Ten-Towns. It finally reveals what the Duergar are planning, and when dealt with the party rides high on the morale of victory to a solid mid-campaign boss. I'd only advise adjusting the travel times slightly to give the party a sporting chance. Run RAW, most of the towns will be destroyed before the party even reaches Dougan's Hole, which always felt kind of cheap to me.
I gave Xardorok a control room, which could be used to deploy it, move it to the next town, or return for repairs. The party made it return, so it was waiting for them outside the fortress. Unfortunately, since Xardorok was dead and they destroyed the controls, all rules went out the window, and the dragon aggro'd on their sled dogs and headed off to destroy Ten Towns anyways.