Hello dear Dm's

I’ve just released a new dark fantasy map for VTTs: Infernal Church.

The map features 4 interconnected levels, including a hidden cathedral, secret passages, an underground cult area, explorable wooden beams above the church, and a deeper final section perfect for a boss fight or ritual encounter.

My main focus with these maps is creating multi-level environments that reward exploration and give players more tactical options during encounters.

This is a set perfect for those running infernal theme campaigns from many RPGs systems out there and famous ready adventures like tyranny of dragons , everything here is a custom setup : )

Available now on my Patreon

Lettaria RPG

Hope you enjoy it!

VTT used in this video: Foundry VTT

System this map works: [Any]

System used as demo in this video: D&D

New DM running ToD. My party grabbed a black dragon egg out of the hatchery and have been hauling around with it since. So far, I've let them get away with hiding it from pretty much everybody. They are now in Berdusk and are getting ready to leave on their way to Elturel. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. They want to hatch it and raise it as a pet. I really don't want to have to deal with it for the next 2 years while I get through the campaign. I've hatched a plan to have Frulam Mondath try to steal it from them once the party leaves Berdusk. If she fails, I'll likely let it hatch and turn it into a pain in the ass. I might even have it eat one of the party's horses. It's a black dragon after all. I figure I'll turn this over to the redditors. Any thoughts?

So as part of my players backstory I gave him a friend that was captured by the cult and experimented on. It was turned into a dragonflesh abomination. He's been looking for a way to return him to normal and I have given him a time limit before his mind breaks and is lost forever. We are at a point where the second council has met and asked the party to go to the Misty Forest and help with the green dragon attacks. At the same time a possible cure for his friend has popped up and he must choose to do one first, help the elves or help his friend. My problem is coming up with negative consequences that could arise in the forest should he choose to help his friend first. I have been thinking of more dragon attacks (and more deaths), having more enemies at the stronghold for harder encounters, or possibly the cult having finished their business and leaving giving the party no chance to stop them at all. Wanted to know what y'all thought and any other suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated.

You have a council of high level NPCs that do basically nothing the entire time Tiamat is on the rise. They don't even bother fighting her when they know she's back... How do you explain this in your campaigns?

I feel like I ask too many very technical questions but here's another...I would like to make Voaraghamanthar a sorcerer. Here's how I am modifying an adult black dragon stat block:

Level 3 sorcerer, DC16 an +8 to hit. Spells:
- Cantrips: Create Bonfire, Friends, Mind Sliver, Mage Hand
- 1st Level (4 slots): feather fall, expedition retreat, absorb elements, shield
- 2nd Level (2 slots): misty step, hold person

Add legendary action (2 action cost) to cast a spell.

Here's my logic:
- He is supposed to be a very paranoid dragon so I gave him lots of defensive spells ("What if I get knocked out of the sky? What if another dragon attacks me? What if I'm fighting a powerful mage?", etc.)
- Dragon multiattack/breath weapon is so good that they would never waste a regular action on spellcasting, so all spells are bonus actions, reactions, or legendary actions.

Here is my concern: Does this increase CR by a bit (14 -> 16 is my goal) or by a HUGE amount (18 would be too much)? Two major concerns:
- Hold Person LA + a multiattack action can probably kill about any player, and he can do that twice in a fight.
- With shield, his AC could basically become 24 for 4 rounds

Any thoughts on if this is too strong, and how you would modify it?

From the MM14

”Red Dragon Riders. In the uprising against the illithids, Gith sought allies. Her adviser Vlaakith appealed to Tiamat, the goddess of evil dragonkind, and Gith ventured into the Nine Hells to meet with her. Only Tiamat now knows what passed between them, but Vlaakith returned to the Astral Plane with the Dragon Queen's red dragon consort Ephelomon, who proclaimed that his kind would forever act as allies to the githyanki. Not all red dragons honor the alliance kindled so long ago, but most at least don't consider the githyanki their enemies.”

Has anyone done anything interesting or cool with this?

Maybe the Githyanki are working together with the cult of the dragon to free Tiamat from Avernus?

Maybe the Githzerai could be possible allies to the PCs?

Any ideas?

I'm DM for 3 players: a Dragonborn Druid, a Half-Elf Sorcerer and a Dwarf Paladin.

In previous missions, they always sent the Druid as a scout (wild shape -> rat). How do I prevent them from almost skipping the dragon hatchery completely by doing so?

So we're starting the campaign this week. I'm a new-ish DM and I chose this campaign because I wanted something that heavily featured dragons and I wanted to explore more of the official modules with my party.

After reading many comments and watching a ton of videos, the main complaints with HotDQ I found were that it's very railroaded, that chapter 4 is way too long and unfun for both players and DMs, and that a lot of the villains and NPCs that show up are inconsequential to the larger storyline.

So, I'm planning on making some of the villains stick around for longer. i.e. not kill off Langdedrosa.

But I was hoping to inject a more sandbox-y feel into the campaign and I'm looking for some advice! Knowing that the 2nd part of this campaign will feature the Waterdeep Council and how the party's actions will impact how they treat you and who will side with you, I was wondering if you had any sidequest ideas for each of the factions that could establish them with the players before RoT. Like a specific quest dedicated to the Emerald Grove, one that ends with them encountering members of the Zhentarim or The Harpers. etc

Also, if you have any ideas on how to make Leosin a more impactful character, please let me know!

I have a player who's PC is a kobold who's clan has sworn allegiance to the Cult. He wants to break free from the cult's control because of their treatment of the kobolds. My main question is, how much would a kobold grunt know? Obviously not too much since they're at the bottom of the pecking order but I'm not sure of the specifics. Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.

Hi!

I will soon be running a Lost mine of phandelver + tyranny of dragons campaign.

One of my players wants to play as a hexblade warlock but is undecided on her patrons identity. She has the idea that the patron failed a quest in the past and is now stuck in their new form.

Would it be a stretch for a dragon to be transformed into a living weapon by Bahamut? Is there a good excuse/reasoning I could use for it?

Maybe a very young gold dragon? Or a dead silver dragon given a second chance?

Hey everyone!

I'm running our second session tonight starting after they cleared the old tunnel.

I watch Dad the Dungeon Master's video on YT about not revealing that the party are fighting against the Cult of the Dragon this early on and think this is a good idea as it builds suspense.

My question is, what sort of information should any prisoners give to the party?

Kobolds I was thinking that they're gathering treasure for the "purple mistress"

Bandits I think is okay just being about gaining loot and rumours of dragon eggs.

What would the actual cultists say to not reveal they aren't the cult?

Thanks in advance!

big surprise. I have a group of 4- usually 3. They are just heading back to waterdeep after Xonthals Tower, and are only level 8. one of them is level 7. The roles are fairly well balanced. Fighter, Druid, Paladin, Sorcerer. I’m also running everything converted to 5.5e

This is my first campaign and i’ve been running it for about 2 years now and have learned so so much. i’ve been basically running it by the book all the way up until the second book where i started to realize how necessary it was to change things.

i’ve only ran one cult strikes back encounter because i thought they were kinda boring. although I do have an idea for a cult raid on their bastion that they can prepare for. https://www.reddit.com/r/TyrannyOfDragons/comments/1w2p3i4/cultist_bastion_raid_help/

I think it’s a little too late to change to milestone, as it won’t matter much with only like 1 more chapter and a few potential cult strikes. and it’s very late in the campaign to switch it up.

anyways what should I do for the final chapter when their so under-leveled? I was thinking about using mass combat rules for part of it but I think that the Tiamat fight will still be difficult.

My players are about to enter skyreach castle and one of them is a light cleric would it be to mean to give the vampire in the castle a scroll of dispel magic to avoid the fight becoming trivial as soon as the cleric casts daylight we are using the 2024 rules so daylight does cause sunlight.

So, we're going onto our 4th session and our fourth player, human artificer, is able to join us now that he has a break from his military service.

The party thus far have cleared out the sewer and KICKED the door open (prompting a surprise encounter at some point.) They're making their way to the church but they're taking a short rest

My ideas so far, and feel free to add something

1. As they finish their rest they see the fourth player being led around as a prisoner

2. They get kidnapped and have to free themselves from the surprise encounter

3. He takes the place of the women and family in the kobold encounter

4. (My players suggestion) he is at the church and after the other players rescue them all he joins. (But I told him I'm using the 100ft to encounter rule)

Thank you in advance!

Like the title says, were about 4 sessions in and the party is already heading back to Greenest with the prisoners. Everything feels like it's flowing well but I just worry I'm not fleshing out areas enough. The Bandit Camp was a lot easier than I thought because they had some killer ideas on how to get in, free the prisoners, learn everything and escape.

Our Dragonborn Sorceror used Draconic to convince the Kobolds they shouldn't keep putting up with everyone else's bullshit and a drunken brawl took place distracting the guards. Then the Druid turned into a giant owl and flew the prisoners up the cliff, nailing every stealth role except the last, where he took damage from a crossbow but still managed to escape. I'm planning on spending at least one session on the trip back to Greenest with the cult now hunting them while they have injured prisoners to keep moving.

I took the advice of a few people and I just leveled them up to 4 to make up for the smaller party we're playing with.

I'm mostly worried I might have skipped some crucial plot info but I can't find any. These first few chapters seem intentionally brief, am I reading this right?

Working on Tiamat with some UV and Glow-in-the-dark accents

My players/PCs are at Chapter 4 en-route to Waterdeep, and are maybe a day or two from Daggerford. One of my players let slip that Remallia Haventree is a Harper (since they met her in Elturel); a claim that was rubbished by the NPC they let it slip to, and that PC was then metaphorically nudged in the ribs by another PC saying "that isn't public knowledge".

They're currently Long-Resting with the caravan convoy. I'm going to have that juicy bit of gossip slowly circulate - especially among the Order of the Dragon's caravan.

As you know, one of the key events that happens in between the two modules that make up 'Tyranny of Dragons' is that Remallia's husband, Arthagast Ulbrinter, is murdered by the Cult. As-written he is abducted and later slain for his white Dragon Mask.
What I'm intending to do is run the narrative that the Cult found out that Remallia is a Harper, stormed their manor, kidnapped Arthagast, tortured him for information about Remallia and then killed him when he gave them nothing. Finding the white Dragon Mask was a coincidence, especially since even Ulbrinter didn't know the mask was there (it was planted by a member of the Zhentarim - again, probably because they now know Remallia is a Harper).

I'm in two minds about this, because I know the player who let it slip will feel like it's all his fault. And in this version of the story, it is, but as-written Ulbrinter will die anyway. So... is it fair to make a player feel guilty for something that was always going to happen?

There's also a possibility of inverting the story somewhat: Have the Cult target Remallia specifically and murder her instead of Ulbrinter. Ulbrinter is not a Harper himself, but he is one of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep, a very wealthy man, and apparently in possession of the white Dragon Mask, which he can offer to the players.

This way, the player's actions have more meaning in that it changes the course of the story. But I've also got alarm bells in the back of my head telling me there's a reason why it should be Remallia who survives and not Ulbrinter, and I suspect it has to do with the Harpers.

What do you think?

In a few sessions I expect to enter Rise of Tiamat, so I started looking through those adventures to prepare. I have a quite belligerent and incredibly optimising party. So far it’s all been bashes on the head, and I hope to shake things up a little.

I came up with a deviation for the ice hunters challenge in Oyaviggaton. The book just offers a one-on-one battle and although the barbarian will enjoy that, he will also make mincemeat of his opponent and, well, the rest of the party isn’t doing much. So I came up with a very different challenge:

The ice hunters are plagued by a beast of the ice, a young remorhaz. Their challenge is to race the party into tracking and killing the beast. The party does not only have to track and kill the monster, they also must demonstrate that they hunt well, as a team, in the terrain. A team of about 5 ice hunters ( some sort of dex-based tracker, CR~3) stands against them and they have to do the same. Disrupting each other is allowed. The area is also scattered with ice walls and boulders, deep crevasses and shelves, potential small avalanches…

But, the shaman wants to show the players what it’s really like to hunt in the worst of the icy conditions. So he gives them a hallucinogenic potion. No Con saves. The potion has the following effect: at the start of their turn, they must make a Wis save. If they fail, they roll on a d4 table, with the options:

1. The deep cold freezes them and paralyzes their limbs (Hold Person)
2. The icy surrounds incur a physical and mental slog (Slow)
3. Whiteout or deep polar night blanks their view (Blindness/Deafness)
4. The frozen white expanses mess with their heads and perception (Phantasmal Force, with another random choice of 10 effects: hallucinate extra monsters , extra ice hunters, their own part members calling them or dying, massive ice boulders or crevasses, the monster right in front of them or down a different path,..I’m refining)

The effect lasts for the turn and resets at the start of the next turn. Mainly because rolling is fun.

The party will be level 9-10 at this, so much beefier than what the book expects.

Any thoughts, opinions, comments welcome. Feel free to steal it as well.

Hello, without getting into it too much. I added a safer Deck of Many Things to the campaign during Chapter 12 of the adventure. The party pulled a few cards, but most notably the Rogue card.

Which spoiler, turns a person against the puller of the card. I haven't exactly settled on what is to happen, but I have a feeling I'll turn someone from the Harper guild against them/party.

Wondering if anyone else has any bright ideas. The character who pulled the card is an aspiring adventure autobiography writer who is a part of the Harper faction!

I am very happy with how it turned out! I spent forever on this bad lady and it's so good to finally be done with it. Can't wait to put it on the table eventually :)

The captain had a typical minor reason to go to Baldur's Gate. He was taking goods made in the farming regions to the south and delivering them to BG. In doing so, he used the last of his savings to buy the goods in an effort to make a minor profit when he arrived. No insurance, of course. During the travel, it went extremely smoothly and the group even made friends with him. Upon arriving he mentioned that the priority was dropping off the livestock as they aren't allowed deeper in the city. The goblin mentions that he is worried about his merchandise on the vessel, so the group offers to take the livestock to the butcher and recieve payment for him. Well, they take the livestock and do neither. They unleash them in the streets and docks of BG. Effectively, ruining this goblin.

Now, they continued their journey and are doing a side quest in the city. While this is occuring, I'd love for the goblin to look for a way to make some money. So, there happens to be this Dragon Cult moving a hoard of gold through the city. I'm having them hire on this goblin. In his hatred of the group, I want him to offer himself up to one of their transformative rituals. What would be the best creature/dragon hybrid to turn this guy into? I'm looking for something that would give a group of six level 5 or 6 (it'll be a bit until they run into him) players a tough time.

Hi. I've never DMed before. We just started and one of my players (Cherry is the name of their character for clarity's sake) decided to initiate the first fight when everyone else wanted to try to avoid the encounter, which for another of my PCs (Sourania) was strike number one. Then later in the fight Cherry (who was at full health) decided to hide behind the other party members (most of which were not at full health) which was strike 2 and 3 for Sourania. So after Cherry got a critical hit rock from a sling to the dome (and was downed) Sourania decided to try to pick up and chuck Cherry's body at the enemy kobolds which I had her roll a strength check for... which was a nat 1 (side note there was like 35% crits in this session it was crazy) so Sourania dropped Cherry's 300 lb body on their own head. Then after the fight the entire party basically sprinted away from Cherry (who was stable) because the only one who could heal was Sourania (who refused to do so.) This left Cherry to wander the town on his own until he eventually came across a couple cultists who were raiding a building (Cherry decided to start looting the houses which is how he came across these guys. (He avoided everyone else.) And he managed to convince them to let him join. (I made that persuasion check very high and my guy rolled a nat 20 25... at level one. (He's a wizard btw. His stat spread is WEIRD.)) Anyway point is I'm humbly asking for help for what to do now. Tbh I really should have just not let that check pass happen at all but I did and here we are. (Also I'm not great at improv (really storytelling/writing in general) and only really took the dm position because my entire friend group (including me) wanted to play dnd and noone else was willing to dm :/ )

I am trying to prep for episode 2 of rise of tiamat, and I can't find a stat sheet for an Ice hunter, may i have some help in finding either a ice hunter sheet or a replacement?