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Author Topic: Module Suggestions? - Rebuilding Rise of Tiamat (spoilers on Tyranny of Dragons)  (Read 393 times)

LiferGamer

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Since I'm having to de-Misbegotten Realms the damn thing, it's easier to cherry pick the handful of things I like, and throw out the rest.  I'm trying to tie it in better with my home-brew world, and would love some help brainstorming things.  Hell, just typing it all out here again has helped me plan.

I would like to swap out three of the dungeons, preferably for some cool OSR modules I can throw $$ at.

Nice of them to flesh out the factions in the SECOND book.  Not a problem if you waited till the 'Directors cut'* came out.  Since I have my own factions, it's moot but still.

The party is inclined to play 'wack-a-mole' and hunt down the individual wyrmspeakers, and I like that.  I've replaced Severin with a known NPC - literally he was able to make a power play thanks to the actions of the party, so his standing is precarious, but he is sarcastically grateful to them (and said so, via a Sending spell).

I've been running the adventures with other spacer (not filler!) adventures between, mostly to allow passage of time so the cult can plausibly recover from their setbacks and get shit done.

First half, Hoard of the Dragon Queen was mostly as written; ditched the lay-low with the caravan nonsense, since this is not that settled of an area and the party shall we say STANDS OUT.*** 

Episode* One - Council of Waterdeep

Gutted almost entirely.  Because of the setting, Metallic Dragons are already on board, there is no giant mega-city a la Waterdeep, and their going to end up light on allies initially.  This isn't even a session, its details you narrate before a setting and tidbits you work in as you can.

Episode Two -  The Sea of Moving Ice

It's pretty OK, and fairly easy to drop in.  I'm thinking viking-esque raiders rather than faux Esquimaux (the ice hunters), swapping in an NPC researcher the party met previously etc.  It'll give the party Barbarian some familiar territory.

Epsidode Three - Tomb of Diderius

Meh.  Not bad.  Might be usable mostly as is, with upgunned foes.  (At the time of writing, the party's average level is 9-10)  I'll probably have Varram's expedition in better shape; perhaps the party arrives first, being able to travel light and the cult all but 'besieges' them in the dungeon.   I'll have to re-read.

Episode Four - Neronvain

The campaign area is more open steppes and Mad-Max-esque blasted lands than damp greenery.  This is a prime candidate for swapping out.   Also, the wood elves in the campaign are pretty feral, xenophobic bastards anyway.  Walking into their turf is more like entering Apache territory in a 1950's western, they're possibly all-in on the cult.

Episode Five - The Cult Strikes Back

This will be fun, and very different, and also not set in a particular order.  Cyanwrath Landrogossa survived, and he and the pally have a classic cinematic rivalry, banter, odd respect for one another, and banter about the benefits of coming over to the other's side.  I'm going all-in and going full Darth Vader with him. 

First match, they were well matched and fought a duel while the party went ahead.  Cyanwrath stabilized the pally's wounds, wanting a re-match.  Second Meeting, he was trounced by the pally and survived.  He's since been 'reborn' as Tiamats Sharpest Talon, and now even the Wyrmspeakers fear him.

Should they take Varram or Neronvain alive, Cyanwrath will kill them first, obviously.

Episode Six - Metallic Dragons Arise

They're the drivers of this adventure already, due to the campaign setup.  In fact, the cult gained traction by operating as an opposition party that wants parity.  :)

Episode Seven - Xonthal's Tower

It's a halfway decent dungeon, but I hate the way its used, and there is no dracolich pre-tiamat cult in my setting, but that's a minor part of this anyway.  Iskandar dying off camera is bullshit, and I'd rather have a lair for Galvan (the Blue Wyrmspeaker).  This one is a prime candidate to plug in some crazy LotFP module or something.

Episode Eight - Mission to Thay

I'm keeping the -structure- to this one, but instead of Thay, the party will be finally going to the homeland of their nation's rivals in the Lost Lands (the campaign area has been claimed by both).

Marignon**** are worshipers of the Flame Eternal, they believe all magic that is not of fire steals warmth from the world, and hastens its end.  Fire is life, which is why bodies grow cold when the spark leaves them.  In actuality they're ruled by a caste of Sorcerers and Fire Genasi, who are manipulated/controlled by the Grand Sultan of the Efreet in the City of Brass.  They may find some of this out.

Episode Nine - Tiamat's Return

I may end the campaign with a bang on this one.  Instead of the Well of Dragons, the whole concept of the setting is the land was magically nuked, and the capital sealed with an unstable portal that keeps dialing back and forth.  The cult wants to use it to bring Tiamat forward, using the masks as a focus, while cults of the various demon lords would LOVE the chance to open it up to WHATEVER, and the local Tiefling city, Hell's Gate, will actually cooperate with the PCs to keep Tiamat where she is.

So I may move it mostly as is to a large ruined elvish city.  I may even have the elves that were there during the cataclysm come marching out of the gate, having become soldiers of hell.

TL:DR - I want to swap out the dungeons for Neronvain and possibly Varram's appearance.  Campaign biome is more like the American Southwest than fantasy Europe.



*Remember when game designers wanted to be game designers and not directors?  I miss that.  Now every AAA VG maker and half of the TTRPG clowns think they're Kubrik, and water down the best part of interactive fiction - the freedom.

**(Dragonborn Pally, Firbolg Druid, Kenku Bard, Valkyrie-esque Barbarian in an are they're unheard of, and the Half-elf Rogue being the ONLY low-key PC, plus the revolving 'guest star'*** depending who's available)

*** Fuck it.  I'll play along this once.

**** Dominions FTW
Your Forgotten Realms was my first The Last Jedi.

If the party is gonna die, they want to be riding and blasting/hacking away at a separate one of Tiamat's heads as she plummets towards earth with broken wings while Solars and Planars sing.

KingCheops

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Why not leave Neronvain and have him be like a stunted, dry forest green dragon?  I just searched forest in nevada and got a hit.  Basically some of the valleys, even in the desert could have stumpy forests.  Keep the Apache Indians but you could have some faction play with some that are still dedicated to Neronvain and a splinter group who is concerned with his involvement in the Cult of the Dragon.  Both groups still hate outsiders but the splinter group can be "enemy of my enemy is my friend".


The more viking like Northmen make more sense for the region of Faerun than the faux-Inuit.

Omega

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As noted in a much older thread.
What I did was retool the modules to BX's Karameikos/Known World setting by tilding all the actin 90 degrees counterclockwise. Starting off in the 5 shires and moving east to Specularum, then wherever the action fit best which was west towards the Malphegi Swamps. And so on.

Worked great and just had to keep adjusting things based on what the players were up to. Which was mostly a running game of infiltration and deception, getting into as few fights as possible and blaming as much damage as they could on someone else.