Made a slight mistake in the "founding of Greenest" afterwards (and heck during the campaign) I forgot it was a halfling that founded Greenest, not a dwarf. Just another thing "I learned" and "forgot" in the heat of the moment.
i just got to that part in your video and had to start checking my H.O.T.D.Q/ Comments area to be sure i was not mistaken in my understanding of Greenest. semi starting this adventure and my players are on the cusp of Chap.3 so watching all your video for inspiration and ideas.
I leave the encounter and the half dragon encounter for last, so I can do the Sally Port, Old Tunnel, Save The Mill, and Sanctuary encounters. The reason is this is supposed to be an exhausting night for the pc's with no opportunity for a long rest (barely a chance for a short rest) and everything happening quickly. The characters get to Greenest by 9:00 p.m. and the cult abandons it by 4:00 a.m. That is six hours of game time. Thew goal is to survive the six hours (barely). Not to overcome their foe. I wish I had watched this video before I began though. The idea of a prologue adventure is brilliant.
Totally agree. I would definitely do things a bit differently if given the opportunity now to run it. Exhausting the characters is a great approach. But yes, I would definitely recommend a prologue adventure or opening one-shot; you're going to be running this adventure for a long time; might as well start off with something to plant the seeds that lead to Greenest and the overarching story. I know you've already started but hey...maybe there will be a 2nd running in the future ;)
We finished epsisode 1 last week it was a marvelous train wreck that they were completely unprepared for. Your videos seem helpful look forward to the rest.
I am Lost Mines of Phandelver first. So I had the party to go Greenest to find the Dwarven Quartermaster of the keep. Said he was a dwarf that had contacts (friends/relatives) that could help with the mines that the PC’s became part owner of.
It's crazy getting advice from a video with a dm who I've played with before. Your written adventures are so top notch that I really trust your opinions on these modules. Ryan and I made our own group afterwards which lasted four months and was a blast
Sweet! Thank you sir, it is deeply appreciated. I guess we must have played at Nerd Nights, in downtown Salem? Guessing here. I feel like I used to get out more lol. Either way, I've had a great time with the peeps I've met, and had a lot of fun at those outings. Glad we got a chance to play together. Thanks so much for commenting and watching these vids, it is appreciated. Hope we bump into each other again soon!
Great and helpful video. .. Will be watching the whole series. Took your advice and I am running Sunless Citadel as a level 1-3 Prologue. It's filled with dragon lore and ties in nicely (with changes) with Hoard. So going to steal your 'Relic in the Sanctuary' idea... Probably a looted Cult item taken from the Sunless Citadel and hidden in the Sanctuary... Thanks again.
Awesome! Glad the little bits helped. And I think running Sunless Citadel would be a great start. I was just looking into this adventure the other day, to run in-between HOTDQ and Rise of Tiamat. I think you're players will enjoy it!
I took your advice and ran a prologue....best idea ever. it set my players up perfectly to travel to greenest. I used a one shot from the DMs guild called "the lair of aunt Ethel" it can get pretty dark towards the end of the session but I had my players standing up screaming. thank you for the tip
Thanks for taking the time to watch the video, it is appreciated. Glad there were some things in here to help you run this adventure. It can be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun too! Hope its a blast yo!
@@DungeonMasterMike thanks man ! Lol I’m new and still learning but I do about 10 hours of research each week to try to make up for my inexperience. One of my guys is a Dragonborn that has been reincarnated from a ancient black dragon … I had him meet Bahamut in a dream that told him to follow there movements that lead to this path
I personally took lots of liberties with chapter 1 and I'm very satisfied with the results (as a first time dm) since I didn't expect my players to be genuinly afraid of my villains and worried about my npcs. Something I found hillarious (even though most dms would want to kill me or my players for this) is that I made an npc that is an avatar for Tiamat and one of my players did something... a bit disrespectful to her. For context, not only they don't know this npc is secretly Tiamat herself but they don't even know they're playing Tyranny of Dragons. (I chose to keep it a secret so they don't know about the cult from the start). Well, this guy just thought the npc was a hot chick, so he had sex with her and blew her teeth away with a dickslap. Both actions I tried to prevent but failed. Looking at the bright side, now I have an interesting way of justifying the egg hatchery chapter.
Do you have a good source for the 25 minute audio loop you mentioned? Would love to include that. Thanks so much, looking forward to watching the rest of the, my group is just starting Tyranny of Dragons next month!
I had to make mine from scratch. However, I'd highly recommend this guy on Bandcamp: Michael Ghelfi (he also has a youtube page). He makes entire albums full of various ambient sounds for RPG's. I think his Volume 3, or 4, had a long 30 minute track that was pure warfare. It would have been perfect had I know about it back then :) Check out his stuff, it is well worth the price for what you get, per album (upwards of 50 tracks). I have all 6 at this point, and now I"m saving so much time :) Hope that helps!
That particular ambient FX died with an older computer, so, no longer available. However, I would suggest you look at Bandcamp (a soundtrack/album site) and look for Michael Ghelfi. He makes great atmospheric RPG albums that are cheap, about 50 tracks long, with each track running 30 minutes. He has several volumes available, about 8 I believe, and they do have several tracks dedicated to a city under siege; by monsters, magic and plain warfare. I forget which volume it is (you'll have to go check) but it will save you a LOT of time and energy by just picking up his albums, and running it for your campaign. And any volume you purchase will cover a good chunk of ambient you will need for any fantasy based RPG. I highly recommend them. I used to create my own, but thank God I found these, because it has saved me a lot of time in my prep. Go check them out, you won't be sorry! ;)
Made a slight mistake in the "founding of Greenest" afterwards (and heck during the campaign) I forgot it was a halfling that founded Greenest, not a dwarf. Just another thing "I learned" and "forgot" in the heat of the moment.
i just got to that part in your video and had to start checking my H.O.T.D.Q/ Comments area to be sure i was not mistaken in my understanding of Greenest.
semi starting this adventure and my players are on the cusp of Chap.3 so watching all your video for inspiration and ideas.
I leave the encounter and the half dragon encounter for last, so I can do the Sally Port, Old Tunnel, Save The Mill, and Sanctuary encounters. The reason is this is supposed to be an exhausting night for the pc's with no opportunity for a long rest (barely a chance for a short rest) and everything happening quickly. The characters get to Greenest by 9:00 p.m. and the cult abandons it by 4:00 a.m. That is six hours of game time. Thew goal is to survive the six hours (barely). Not to overcome their foe. I wish I had watched this video before I began though. The idea of a prologue adventure is brilliant.
Totally agree. I would definitely do things a bit differently if given the opportunity now to run it. Exhausting the characters is a great approach. But yes, I would definitely recommend a prologue adventure or opening one-shot; you're going to be running this adventure for a long time; might as well start off with something to plant the seeds that lead to Greenest and the overarching story. I know you've already started but hey...maybe there will be a 2nd running in the future ;)
I know that this video is 2 years old but thank you for it, you have helped crystalise some thoughts regarding how I am running these sessions
Thanks yo! It's good to know this thing still has legs two years later :) I hope your sessions are a blast!
We finished epsisode 1 last week it was a marvelous train wreck that they were completely unprepared for. Your videos seem helpful look forward to the rest.
Awesome! Yeah....Chapter 1 is an "Anything Goes" kind of chapter. It can easily nosedive into insanity ;)
I am Lost Mines of Phandelver first. So I had the party to go Greenest to find the Dwarven Quartermaster of the keep. Said he was a dwarf that had contacts (friends/relatives) that could help with the mines that the PC’s became part owner of.
Awesome. Great way to connect the two together and give motivation/purpose to the players.
It's crazy getting advice from a video with a dm who I've played with before. Your written adventures are so top notch that I really trust your opinions on these modules. Ryan and I made our own group afterwards which lasted four months and was a blast
Sweet! Thank you sir, it is deeply appreciated. I guess we must have played at Nerd Nights, in downtown Salem? Guessing here. I feel like I used to get out more lol. Either way, I've had a great time with the peeps I've met, and had a lot of fun at those outings. Glad we got a chance to play together. Thanks so much for commenting and watching these vids, it is appreciated. Hope we bump into each other again soon!
I'm gonna run this campaign soon, I found those tips very helpful. Thx so much!
Great and helpful video. .. Will be watching the whole series. Took your advice and I am running Sunless Citadel as a level 1-3 Prologue. It's filled with dragon lore and ties in nicely (with changes) with Hoard. So going to steal your 'Relic in the Sanctuary' idea... Probably a looted Cult item taken from the Sunless Citadel and hidden in the Sanctuary... Thanks again.
Awesome! Glad the little bits helped. And I think running Sunless Citadel would be a great start. I was just looking into this adventure the other day, to run in-between HOTDQ and Rise of Tiamat. I think you're players will enjoy it!
I took your advice and ran a prologue....best idea ever. it set my players up perfectly to travel to greenest. I used a one shot from the DMs guild called "the lair of aunt Ethel" it can get pretty dark towards the end of the session but I had my players standing up screaming. thank you for the tip
Awesome to hear! The "ending" to sessions, with people on their feet, is always a blast. Glad it was fun!
Hey Mike, as a DM I found this clip to be GOLD! Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks yo! Glad it was helpful ;)
Really great suggestions! Thanks. Love the relic idea.
Thanks for taking the time to watch the video, it is appreciated. Glad there were some things in here to help you run this adventure. It can be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun too! Hope its a blast yo!
I started my group off with a home brew “defiance in phlan” sense it’s about the cult of the dragon and lead into this
Sweet! That will definitely help them feel even more connected to the story, which will certainly pay off in future sessions. I like it ;)
@@DungeonMasterMike thanks man ! Lol I’m new and still learning but I do about 10 hours of research each week to try to make up for my inexperience. One of my guys is a Dragonborn that has been reincarnated from a ancient black dragon … I had him meet Bahamut in a dream that told him to follow there movements that lead to this path
@@DungeonMasterMike oh he doesn’t have any memories about his past so he has to learn those as he goes through the campaign
I personally took lots of liberties with chapter 1 and I'm very satisfied with the results (as a first time dm) since I didn't expect my players to be genuinly afraid of my villains and worried about my npcs.
Something I found hillarious (even though most dms would want to kill me or my players for this) is that I made an npc that is an avatar for Tiamat and one of my players did something... a bit disrespectful to her.
For context, not only they don't know this npc is secretly Tiamat herself but they don't even know they're playing Tyranny of Dragons. (I chose to keep it a secret so they don't know about the cult from the start).
Well, this guy just thought the npc was a hot chick, so he had sex with her and blew her teeth away with a dickslap. Both actions I tried to prevent but failed.
Looking at the bright side, now I have an interesting way of justifying the egg hatchery chapter.
Wow. That is certainly something I could never have anticipated as a DM or prepped for 😆 Hopefully Tiamat has a good dental plan.
Do you have a good source for the 25 minute audio loop you mentioned? Would love to include that.
Thanks so much, looking forward to watching the rest of the, my group is just starting Tyranny of Dragons next month!
I had to make mine from scratch. However, I'd highly recommend this guy on Bandcamp: Michael Ghelfi (he also has a youtube page). He makes entire albums full of various ambient sounds for RPG's. I think his Volume 3, or 4, had a long 30 minute track that was pure warfare. It would have been perfect had I know about it back then :) Check out his stuff, it is well worth the price for what you get, per album (upwards of 50 tracks). I have all 6 at this point, and now I"m saving so much time :) Hope that helps!
@@DungeonMasterMike thank you very much!
Don't poke the rat nest, they took me down in the first round😆😆
Yep...those have the potential of wiping out an entire party, unexpectedly. Kind of a nasty encounter, even with all the junk going on in Greenest.
how do i get a copy of your battle music?
That particular ambient FX died with an older computer, so, no longer available. However, I would suggest you look at Bandcamp (a soundtrack/album site) and look for Michael Ghelfi. He makes great atmospheric RPG albums that are cheap, about 50 tracks long, with each track running 30 minutes. He has several volumes available, about 8 I believe, and they do have several tracks dedicated to a city under siege; by monsters, magic and plain warfare. I forget which volume it is (you'll have to go check) but it will save you a LOT of time and energy by just picking up his albums, and running it for your campaign. And any volume you purchase will cover a good chunk of ambient you will need for any fantasy based RPG. I highly recommend them. I used to create my own, but thank God I found these, because it has saved me a lot of time in my prep. Go check them out, you won't be sorry! ;)
Yes it was an adjective.