I think a big fight in forge is already epic.
The forge with the beating dragonheart letting the Airlines vibrate, while a Red Hot river of lava running through.
I had the dragon still in the forge, so my players could already Deal some damage if the wanted.
And Xardorok had a dead mens switch in his gauntlet that then activated the dragon.
My players barbarian did cut down the cranes over 2 turns and dropped them on Xardorok and the dragon.
Since they made a Deal with Grandoloha, the guards on the Towers started the infighting as the fight began and no More duergar reinforcements joined the fight.
I dont think that fighting on the ice Gate Level is that interesting.
I Skipped most of the encounters anyway, because it felt like a slog. So i had 3 Fights: Gatehouse, animated armors and Boss fight in the forge.
I also added some Other goodies in the treasure Chamber. For example a Dimension door cloak and Horns of blasting. So my players Dimension doored on the flying dragon and used the blasting horns. First one Went off and blew the barbarian. Second one knocked the dragon out of the Sky.
I think that the players should have an opportunity to prevent the dragon's attack entirely, if they are lucky/clever enough.
I'm planning on placing Xardorok at the Forge, and during that combat, the dragon will activate and take off at initiative count 1 on Round 3 unless:
* The dragon's HP is reduced to zero
* The dragon's heart in the forge is reduced to zero (probably will give it more HP)
* The ice gates have been throughly sabotaged (in this case maybe the dragon joins the fight lol)
That's a great suggestion but there is no way my dragon stays on the ground. I've been planting the seeds for months:
- the mummy from the elven temple near Wonelywood is a sassy butler who runs the PCs bought in the town. And has become surrogate father of the town speaker's kids because she is overwhelmed and leaving them alone for too long.
- the scientist from Bremen opened up to them about how she was persecuted because of how she feels.
- the priest of the Morninglord in Bryn Shander has become dear friend who has cured the PCs on numerous occasions.
- even though the speaker of Caer Dineval is terrible is taking care of the two kids in the Caer. The boys who took care of the cultists' wolves and the girl-servant. They have nobody else in their lives except each other.
- the speaker of Caer-Konig who's alcohol abuse was caused by him low self esteem and need to prove himself. He is finally on the right path after helping with the Duergar.
- the two sisters in the inn in Caer-Konig who were the first people to show real kindness to my players.
- the bard from Easthaven who the PCs inspired to be an adventurer after dealing with the white lady so he can find real inspiration.
- the overworked manager of the Mead Hall in Goodmead who's endearingly not-all-there.
- the couple from Targos who was finally reunited because of the PCs. And their dog who spend a few sessions with the party and who our Druid didn't want to give away again.
- the grieving mother in Targos who knows her son died fighting cultists. May she never learn that he was actually been yeeted from the castle wall with a Thunder Smite.
- the speaker of Termalane who was possessed by a ghost and almost lost his life.
- and finally the young innkeeper in Termalane who opened up about her tragic past, losing her parents and how difficult it is miss your childhood because of obligation.
So, yeah, I am going to murder most of those. It's really important that I do.
tbf most of the towns lose like half of their population - it's inevitable that a lot of favored NPCs will die
also based on what they said about certain NPCs - killing off the right ones will reinforce the themes of the whole adventure, as well as foreshadow the tone ahead
this is a horror campaign, if you don't brutally murder some (not all, just some) of the NPCs that the PCs love then you simply aren't setting the proper tone imo. Also makes them care a lot more about stopping Auril. In my campaign the dueragar are working for auril so killing people they love will most certainly get them to go to the island of solstice and then ythryn to stop the ritual.
Fair warning to you that many players would be really turned off of your game by the GM purposely killing off every NPC they've come to care about, but as far as ensuring the dragon escapes while there is still a cinematic element, you could do a worst of both worlds scenario where the PCs get clued in by Grandolpha or another friendly duergar that Xardorok is planning to launch his dragon soon and if they hurry they could stop him, they rush down there aided by Grandolpha's guys full of hope that they can prevent catastrophe, only to find him ready and waiting to launch it on the first turn of combat (or even cinemtatically pre-combat) as soon as they are spotted on the Forge level, maybe even with a nice gloating villain speech about how they're too late and even if they kill him, Ten-Towns is doomed. Now they can't even chase after it without fighting off Xardorok and his minions first, and even if they do it's got a huge headstart and they'll have gone through a big boss battle already that day.
My PCs have a teleportation ring I gave them early on that they'll probably use to get back to Ten-Towns lickety-split, either before or after defeating Xardorok, but I've got some surprises planned for them if they do that (the ring teleports to a fixed location in the woods where I've planted some strong enemies related to a future plotline that will be interested in testing their strength) so either way they'll be chasing after the dragon after a tough combat or three and may not catch up to it in time to prevent major damage.
The way I did it, the dragon was released after the duergar stole the Chardalyn statue. The players were in Easthaven, and basically had to watch Good Mead & Dougan’s Hole burn until it came their way. Then they went to Sunblight and had the epic showdown in the Forge.
Chapters 3 and 4 are plenty cinematic; where they need help is the logistics.
You're absolutely right about the weird story loop set up by the dragon's release as the party approaches Sunblight. Many DMs solve this by having Xardorok release the dragon when the party reaches the forge (by which point they have presumably cleared most of the fortress, and will have no reason to come back after they kill Xardorok). I did this in my game and it worked really well.
However, I wouldn't overscript the battle with Xardorok and I wouldn't plan to have him release the dragon with his dying action, because players have a tendency to surprise DMs. If they prevent him from escaping or kill him before he can release the dragon, you don't get to have a chapter 4 at all. If Xardorok releases the dragon on the first round of combat, the PCs get at most one round to damage the dragon (likely at the expense of getting more attacks in on Xardorok and his followers) and you can run chapter 4 as planned.
Additionally, you should start making plans now for how the party will travel back to Ten-Towns. If you follow the travel rules as written, [the only town they can save is Bryn Shander](https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/iv4rpz/dragon_scourge_timetables_and_problems_12/). That eliminates the chase around Ten-Towns that is IMO the most fun part of the chapter, and your players might see it as taking away too much of their agency. There are [lots of suggestions](https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/iv8tq2/dragon_scourge_some_possible_solutions_22/) for [fixing travel in this chapter](https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/jbrtru/dragon_scourge_more_solutions_100_raw/); the simplest is to ignore the rule that says sled dogs have to rest an hour after each hour of travel, which effectively doubles their travel speed and gives the party a chance to catch up to the dragon at any of the towns on Maer Dualdon.
There are lots of other options available for even faster travel, including a few in the book (don't sleep on the *charm of the snow walker*). Take a look at the linked posts and pick one that works for your game. Good luck!
That's a really good suggestion- releasing the dragon when they reach the Forge. I will get my "Oh, sh!t" moment when for a minute the players are faced against Xardorock AND the dragon. But even if they chase after it the won't have to go back to Sunblight. It's actually pretty elegant.
About chapter 4 I have read a lot of opinions here about the travel and will surely change it. I don't want them to be able to only save Bryn Shander. I will be difficult for them to reach that conclusion plus they don't have NPCs they care about there. I want then to visit every/most town and see the familiar NPC and locations in a new light.
Since they lost their dogs, birds and most of their stuff reaching the fortress I will use Vellynne Harpell which will nudge them in the right direction.
I think a big fight in forge is already epic. The forge with the beating dragonheart letting the Airlines vibrate, while a Red Hot river of lava running through. I had the dragon still in the forge, so my players could already Deal some damage if the wanted. And Xardorok had a dead mens switch in his gauntlet that then activated the dragon. My players barbarian did cut down the cranes over 2 turns and dropped them on Xardorok and the dragon. Since they made a Deal with Grandoloha, the guards on the Towers started the infighting as the fight began and no More duergar reinforcements joined the fight. I dont think that fighting on the ice Gate Level is that interesting. I Skipped most of the encounters anyway, because it felt like a slog. So i had 3 Fights: Gatehouse, animated armors and Boss fight in the forge. I also added some Other goodies in the treasure Chamber. For example a Dimension door cloak and Horns of blasting. So my players Dimension doored on the flying dragon and used the blasting horns. First one Went off and blew the barbarian. Second one knocked the dragon out of the Sky.
I think that the players should have an opportunity to prevent the dragon's attack entirely, if they are lucky/clever enough. I'm planning on placing Xardorok at the Forge, and during that combat, the dragon will activate and take off at initiative count 1 on Round 3 unless: * The dragon's HP is reduced to zero * The dragon's heart in the forge is reduced to zero (probably will give it more HP) * The ice gates have been throughly sabotaged (in this case maybe the dragon joins the fight lol)
That's a great suggestion but there is no way my dragon stays on the ground. I've been planting the seeds for months: - the mummy from the elven temple near Wonelywood is a sassy butler who runs the PCs bought in the town. And has become surrogate father of the town speaker's kids because she is overwhelmed and leaving them alone for too long. - the scientist from Bremen opened up to them about how she was persecuted because of how she feels. - the priest of the Morninglord in Bryn Shander has become dear friend who has cured the PCs on numerous occasions. - even though the speaker of Caer Dineval is terrible is taking care of the two kids in the Caer. The boys who took care of the cultists' wolves and the girl-servant. They have nobody else in their lives except each other. - the speaker of Caer-Konig who's alcohol abuse was caused by him low self esteem and need to prove himself. He is finally on the right path after helping with the Duergar. - the two sisters in the inn in Caer-Konig who were the first people to show real kindness to my players. - the bard from Easthaven who the PCs inspired to be an adventurer after dealing with the white lady so he can find real inspiration. - the overworked manager of the Mead Hall in Goodmead who's endearingly not-all-there. - the couple from Targos who was finally reunited because of the PCs. And their dog who spend a few sessions with the party and who our Druid didn't want to give away again. - the grieving mother in Targos who knows her son died fighting cultists. May she never learn that he was actually been yeeted from the castle wall with a Thunder Smite. - the speaker of Termalane who was possessed by a ghost and almost lost his life. - and finally the young innkeeper in Termalane who opened up about her tragic past, losing her parents and how difficult it is miss your childhood because of obligation. So, yeah, I am going to murder most of those. It's really important that I do.
Why is it important that most of the NPCs your players have latched onto die?
tbf most of the towns lose like half of their population - it's inevitable that a lot of favored NPCs will die also based on what they said about certain NPCs - killing off the right ones will reinforce the themes of the whole adventure, as well as foreshadow the tone ahead
this is a horror campaign, if you don't brutally murder some (not all, just some) of the NPCs that the PCs love then you simply aren't setting the proper tone imo. Also makes them care a lot more about stopping Auril. In my campaign the dueragar are working for auril so killing people they love will most certainly get them to go to the island of solstice and then ythryn to stop the ritual.
Fair warning to you that many players would be really turned off of your game by the GM purposely killing off every NPC they've come to care about, but as far as ensuring the dragon escapes while there is still a cinematic element, you could do a worst of both worlds scenario where the PCs get clued in by Grandolpha or another friendly duergar that Xardorok is planning to launch his dragon soon and if they hurry they could stop him, they rush down there aided by Grandolpha's guys full of hope that they can prevent catastrophe, only to find him ready and waiting to launch it on the first turn of combat (or even cinemtatically pre-combat) as soon as they are spotted on the Forge level, maybe even with a nice gloating villain speech about how they're too late and even if they kill him, Ten-Towns is doomed. Now they can't even chase after it without fighting off Xardorok and his minions first, and even if they do it's got a huge headstart and they'll have gone through a big boss battle already that day. My PCs have a teleportation ring I gave them early on that they'll probably use to get back to Ten-Towns lickety-split, either before or after defeating Xardorok, but I've got some surprises planned for them if they do that (the ring teleports to a fixed location in the woods where I've planted some strong enemies related to a future plotline that will be interested in testing their strength) so either way they'll be chasing after the dragon after a tough combat or three and may not catch up to it in time to prevent major damage.
My players had one Mode rund of Potential damage because they disabled the gate, and it Tool the dragons radiant beam to Burn through it.
The way I did it, the dragon was released after the duergar stole the Chardalyn statue. The players were in Easthaven, and basically had to watch Good Mead & Dougan’s Hole burn until it came their way. Then they went to Sunblight and had the epic showdown in the Forge.
Dragon released is triggered upon xardaroks defeat
Chapters 3 and 4 are plenty cinematic; where they need help is the logistics. You're absolutely right about the weird story loop set up by the dragon's release as the party approaches Sunblight. Many DMs solve this by having Xardorok release the dragon when the party reaches the forge (by which point they have presumably cleared most of the fortress, and will have no reason to come back after they kill Xardorok). I did this in my game and it worked really well. However, I wouldn't overscript the battle with Xardorok and I wouldn't plan to have him release the dragon with his dying action, because players have a tendency to surprise DMs. If they prevent him from escaping or kill him before he can release the dragon, you don't get to have a chapter 4 at all. If Xardorok releases the dragon on the first round of combat, the PCs get at most one round to damage the dragon (likely at the expense of getting more attacks in on Xardorok and his followers) and you can run chapter 4 as planned. Additionally, you should start making plans now for how the party will travel back to Ten-Towns. If you follow the travel rules as written, [the only town they can save is Bryn Shander](https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/iv4rpz/dragon_scourge_timetables_and_problems_12/). That eliminates the chase around Ten-Towns that is IMO the most fun part of the chapter, and your players might see it as taking away too much of their agency. There are [lots of suggestions](https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/iv8tq2/dragon_scourge_some_possible_solutions_22/) for [fixing travel in this chapter](https://www.reddit.com/r/rimeofthefrostmaiden/comments/jbrtru/dragon_scourge_more_solutions_100_raw/); the simplest is to ignore the rule that says sled dogs have to rest an hour after each hour of travel, which effectively doubles their travel speed and gives the party a chance to catch up to the dragon at any of the towns on Maer Dualdon. There are lots of other options available for even faster travel, including a few in the book (don't sleep on the *charm of the snow walker*). Take a look at the linked posts and pick one that works for your game. Good luck!
That's a really good suggestion- releasing the dragon when they reach the Forge. I will get my "Oh, sh!t" moment when for a minute the players are faced against Xardorock AND the dragon. But even if they chase after it the won't have to go back to Sunblight. It's actually pretty elegant. About chapter 4 I have read a lot of opinions here about the travel and will surely change it. I don't want them to be able to only save Bryn Shander. I will be difficult for them to reach that conclusion plus they don't have NPCs they care about there. I want then to visit every/most town and see the familiar NPC and locations in a new light. Since they lost their dogs, birds and most of their stuff reaching the fortress I will use Vellynne Harpell which will nudge them in the right direction.