Starter Set Sandbox 18 - Using Red Hand of Doom to expand LMoP

I decided to post this for two reasons:

1. I was about to post something like this anyway because it's the direction that my own game is taking; and 

2. +Banesfinger posted an interesting question in the comments at the bottom of <this post>.

However, I need to add one disclaimer: I am not a fan of Tiamat. I also think she has been horribly overused as a BBEG across multiple editions of D&D and even in the execrable D&D cartoon from the 1980s. She also doesn't seem to me to be a classic FR villain but, of course, YMMV. 

But there is one major advantage of sticking with the idea of Tiamat as the BBEG of an adaptation of Red Hand of Doom: it will help tie the adventure into the wider events of the Tyranny of Dragons adventures, Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, should that be important for your game.

The Simplest Approach

In theory, the simplest approach involves simply finding a section of the regional map from Lost Mine of Phandelver and simply overlaying the regional map from Red Hand of Doom. However, I emphasise in theory as there is nowhere that is really a good match particularly when you consider the map of the Elsir Vale in Red Hand is some 320 miles (EW) by 240 miles (NS) which is larger than the regional map in Lost Mine!

In practice, you really would need to move the whole adventure further east, off the regional map from Lost Mine, and then place the key locations from Elsir Vale elsewhere. I may edit in some comments about that another time but, for now, I want to focus this post on using Red Hand to expand a campaign set in and around Phandalin.

The More Complicated Approach

This involves ditching the Elsir Vale map from Red Hand and relying instead of placing key locations, or reasonable analogues, on the regional map that came with Lost Mine. 

When Red Hand of Doom was first released, WotC posted the introduction and a synopsis of the five parts on their website for public consumption. I saved a copy of this and it is probably still there buried beneath the sheer incompetence that characterises any WotC attempt at using modern technology in conjunction with D&D.

What I am going to do is, beginning with the introduction, quote each section of the synopsis and provide some ideas as how to make this work in and around Phandalin.

The quoted sections will appear in this format.

Introduction

Red Hand of Doom casts the player characters in the role of heroes fighting to stem the advance of Azarr Kul's horde. There are far too many enemy warriors for the PCs to deal with them all personally. Instead, the heroes undertake vital missions that influence the outcome of the war. These missions include the following:

• Spying out the movements of Azarr Kul's army.
• Defeating roving bands of marauders.
• Leading the effort to rally an elf army to meet the Red Hand horde.
• Disrupting an alliance between the Red Hand and a powerful lich.
• Killing important enemy commanders, champions, and monsters.
• And, finally, infiltrating the Fane of Tiamat to defeat the Red Hand warpriests and their leader in their secret stronghold.

The adventure is divided into five parts, describing five key locations the PCs are likely to explore in the course of the adventure. Event-triggered encounters are also woven into each of the five parts. The adventure locales and events are designed to interact: Events will steer the heroes toward adventure locales, and things the heroes do in the locales will trigger events.

At this point you need to decide whether to stick with the existing BBEG or to change it to something/someone else.

In my game, the real threat is the Zhentarim but the Zhentarim are split into two factions: the more traditionalist, but smaller, Bane-worshipping faction and the newer and larger Cyric-worshipping faction. The Banites need a significant victory to return to dominance of the Zhentarim so they're the ones behind the Red Hand of Doom. And an aspect of Bane is the replacement for the aspect of Tiamat as the final "boss" monster. (It's also helpful that I have an aspect of Bane miniature, but lack an aspect of Tiamat.)

That also means that the various spawn of Tiamat that are encountered during the course of the original Red Hand of Doom don't really have a place in my adaptation. That said, there is a beast of Bane template in 3.xE to represent creatures that have been touched by the Black Lord. So, for example, rather than having those greenspawn razorfiends flying around, I will just have wyvern or manticore beasts of Bane.

Azarr Kull also does not fit into my more Zhentarim/Bane-oriented adaptation. Rather than the half-dragon, the leader of the horde is either a hobgoblin warlord (and possibly also an evil paladin) or a human Zhentarim commander (who may also be an evil paladin: if you have the 5E DMG then you will also know such things exist in 5E too!). I don't need to make a decision about his identity right away so I will leave that undetermined for now.

However, for those of you who are sticking with the Tiamat-based storyline, unless you're running 3.xE you will need to convert the spawn of Tiamat to your preferred edition.

Part I: The Witchwood => Raid on Phandalin

The adventure begins when the player characters confront a powerful warband of raiders threatening the small town of Drellin's Ferry. Under the command of Wyrmlord Koth, the warband of hobgoblins and goblins lairs in the ruins of an old keep buried in the dense Witchwood, scouting out the surrounding lands in preparation for an attack. Soon the Wyrmlord and his warband intend to sweep down on Drellin's Ferry and slaughter its inhabitants.

In the course of their fight to drive off the marauders, the PCs learn that Koth's warband is just the tip of the spear, and that a horde of goblins, hobgoblins, and their allies is marching south. They also learn that their enemies are driven on by the fanatical warpriests of Tiamat. Drellin's Ferry can't be saved, but the heroes can give the townsfolk time to flee by wrecking a bridge on an old dwarf road the Red Hand horde needs to cross. There they confront the youngest of the Red Hand's dragon champions, a green dragon named Ozyrrandion.

By the end of this part, the war has begun. Thereafter the PCs divide their time between fighting to stem the advance of the Red Hand horde and foiling the plans of the other Wyrmlords, whose work will give the horde an irresistible advantage if left to run its course.

Firstly, the easiest thing to do is replace Drellin's Ferry with Phandalin. Sure, there are some terrain mismatches but the goal here is to make Red Hand an extension of Lost Mine: Phandalin is the only option.

There are quite a few options here, and none of them involve an area of forest: ditch the Witchwood.

Instead of destroying a bridge, there is instead a dwarf-crafted tunnel or a key pass that is facilitating the horde's access from the southern side of the Sword Mountains and the Kryptgarden Forest to this side. Collapsing the tunnel or causing an avalanche to block the key mountain pass will buy the "good guys" time to prepare for the horde's arrival.

Oh, and a green dragon may still be appropriate. Maybe it too is a follower of Bane.

Part II: The Ruins of Rhest => Ruins of Leilon

Something has cut off the Old North Road in the vicinity of the Blackfens. None can flee by that route, nor can help from more distant cities reach besieged Elsir Vale. While scouting the swamp and seeking an answer to the question of who or what has cut off the road, the PCs encounter the reclusive owl-riding wild elves known as the Tiri Kitor. From them, the PCs learn that Wyrmlord Saarvith has allied with a black dragon named Regiarax, and together they have established a hatchery of sinister dragonspawn in the ruins of the drowned city of Rhest. The PCs must defeat both the Wyrmlord and the dragon to prevent the appearance of these vicious creatures in the war. If the PCs play their cards right, they can even gain the aid of the Tiri Kitor elves against the advancing Red Hand horde.

At the end of this section, the PCs discover the threat of the Ghostlord (see Part III). Meanwhile, the Red Hand horde is striking deep all across the vale's western marches, and the war is going poorly indeed for the beleaguered humans.

The hatchery is instead in Leilon. This means a different take on Leilon compared to the version I posted earlier in this series of posts, but I would keep the enchanted tower that can paralyse those who gaze upon it.

You could also keep the Thayans if you assume that, as is the case in the 4E Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, these Thayans are followers of Bane which is, of course, the state religion of Thay thanks to The Haunted Lands trilogy of novels by Richard L Byers. Perhaps these are Thayan clerics who have been instructed by the Black Lord to prepare the wyvern or manticore beasts of Bane in support of the goblin horde. FR purists may find the idea of an alliance between the Zhentarim and the Thayans shocking but they are united by a common religious belief... and it provides further variety in terms of the encounters.

Part III: The Ghostlord's Tower => Master of the Dread Ring/Ebondeath Mausoleum

Azarr Kul brings a deadly new ally into the battle when Red Hand agents steal the phylactery of the human druid lich known as the Ghostlord and coerce this powerful undead menace into joining the war on the Red Hand's side. After gaining possession of the stolen phylactery, the PCs travel into the Thornwaste and do battle with Wyrmlord Ulwai Stormcaller in the lich's lionshaped lair. Eventually, the PCs must confront the Ghostlord himself and either destroy him (no small task) or purchase his neutrality by returning his phylactery in exchange for peace. By the time they dissuade the lich from joining his forces to those of Azarr Kul, the Red Hand horde is bearing down on Brindol.

I don't think a lion-shaped lair fits it with the Neverwinter Wood or anywhere nearby but YMMV. Personally, I think there are at least three other options that would be better:

1. The Dread Ring in the Neverwinter Wood can be seen on the earlier version of the regional map that was originally published in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting. Instead of a druid lich, the Dread Ring suggests the possibility of Valindra Shadowmantle who now haunts the benighted ruins of the Dread Ring cursed by Szass Tam himself.
2. I have already covered Agatha's Lair but what if the banshee stood in for the Ghostlord? She doesn't have a phylactery but perhaps, as my post about her lair suggests, there is something else she values than can be used to manipulate her?
3. Finally, for those who have access to Dungeon 73 and the Eye of Myrkul adventure - fifth in the first Dungeon adventure path, the Mere of Dead Men series -  what about Strongor Bonebag, a former cleric of Myrkul, as the lich that the bad guys control? On a related note, what about the black dragon Ebondoom returning as a dracolich?

Obviously, any of these changes would require a bit of work on the DM's part to create a new lair etc....

Part IV: The Enemy at the Gates => name unchanged

While the PCs have managed to counter some of the Red Hand's outlying efforts, the horde has been advancing remorselessly into human lands. Now the characters confront the main army of the enemy directly in the Battle of Brindol, in which the PCs' actions make the difference between the human city's survival or destruction. Depending on how successful the PCs were in the previous parts of the adventure, the battle can end in anything from a hard-fought draw to a catastrophic defeat. Either way, in the aftermath of the battle it becomes clear that the best chance of winning the war is for a brave band of infiltrators to strike into the heart of the hobgoblin lands and decapitate the horde by destroying the Red Hand order.

Brindol? No! This is a battle for Neverwinter itself, parts of which are still in ruins. Beyond the change of location and the use of Neverwinter's map, this section of the adventure may be largely unchanged.

That said, Neverwinter has a large band of orcs camped out in one of its districts: are they allies - and, if so, do they need to be won over? - or are they enemies? That could add an extra dimension to this section of the adventure, as could negotiations with a unit of Cyricist Zhentarim who may offer their services as mercenaries to help defend the city.

Part V: Fane of Tiamat => Fane of the Black Lord

The PCs assault the High Wyrmlord's stronghold, the Fane of Tiamat, deep in the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. Temporarily checked in the Battle of Brindol, Azarr Kul and his circle of high priests are seeking infernal aid from the Nine Hells, summoning devils and fiendish monsters, including an aspect of Tiamat herself, to break the last human resistance. The PCs fight a desperate battle in the dark temple, and ultimately confront High Wyrmlord Azarr Kul himself in the heart of the Fane of Tiamat.

Clearly I cannot call this the Fane of Bane so if I am going to stick with "fane" I suppose it has to be Fane of the Black Lord. However, I may steal one thing from Tyranny of Dragons: this picture of a temple of Tiamat could just as easily be a picture of a temple of Bane as there is nothing particularly draconic about it.

But if you want a picture that says "Bane" and "Zhentarim", you cannot beat, IMO, William O'Connor's cover art for 3.5E's Mysteries of the Moonsea:

Banite Monsters

And that picture segues nicely into another issue in the event that you're using Bane instead of Tiamat: what do you replace all the dragons with? For me, the quintessential Banite monster is the beholder: use them liberally. And if a straight-up beholder is too much of a challenge, use gauth, their weaker cousins. They have yet to be officially statted up for 5E but I ran one on the fly using a few adjustments to the spectator stat block in the 5E Monster Manual.

Otherwise, 3.xE introduced the beast of Bane template to represent a creature touched by the Black Lord. They had a barghest-like ability to devour a creature and they could produce fear by howling or roaring. It wouldn't take too much to do the same thing in either 4E or 5E and give such creatures as wolves, worgs, hellhounds, manticores, wyverns etc... a howling attack that created some sort of fear effect. And other than that, all you would need to do is change their colour to black with emerald green for their eyes, tongues, breath weapons etc.... (I rather like the imagery of a black manticore firing off bolts of baatorian green steel [that's a substance introduced in one of the 3.xE books: Arms & Equipment Guide, perhaps?].) 

But the main reason to run Red Hand of Doom is to fight goblins and lots of them. And that doesn't change whether the BBEG is Bane or Tiamat.
 

Summing Up

Speaking selfishly, I now have the outline for the rest of my campaign following on from events in Phandalin and possibly a side-trip to the Caves of Chaos. That aside, I think there's a fairly logical progression from Lost Mine of Phandelver to Red Hand of Doom with a penultimate confrontation against the goblin horde around the walls and within the gates of Neverwinter, followed by a final battle in a temple of either Bane or Tiamat with an aspect of the appropriate deity.

While there it doesn't then allow an easy segue into Hoard of the Dragon Queen or Rise of Tiamat because of the level of the PCs, if you were to skip Part V: Fane of Tiamat/Fane of the Black Lord as detailed here then Rise of Tiamat does become a possibility. However, a few more easter eggs may be required to better link it into Rise.

But for my game this is nearly perfect. It's an outline based on a tried and tested adventure and it allows me to continue to feature the Zhentarim as the BBEGs of my first foray into 5E. And that to me feels more like the Realms than trying to stop Tiamat from being freed....

Tyranny of Dragons: not in My Realms

Finally, after 12 weeks of unshakeable bronchitis, unexpected business travel, and two lots of laptop repairs, I am finally back to posting on this blog.

This is going to be a short post just to get my typing muscles working. It's also a bit negative... but my next post will be more positive.

It seems my posts about expanding Lost Mine of Phandelver (Starter Set Sandbox) have proven to be quite popular, judging by the tripling (+) of traffic here since I started that series, and I have been asked if I will be doing something similar for the two Tyranny of Dragons adventures, Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat.

My short answer: No.

I think both adventures have some potential and some interesting ideas but, to me (IMO/YMMV), they really don't fit with the Forgotten Realms. Beyond that, Tiamat as a BBEG has been overused for several editions now - Dragonlance, Red Hand of Doom, and Scales of War (only one edition ago!) - and I have never found her to be that great a fit for FR. That said, I could definitely see the Tyranny of Dragons storyline fitting into Eberron where Tiamat is imprisoned - according to Dragons of Eberron - and where there are cults working to set her free.

But not in My Realms.

I will take a closer look at the two adventures again and see what else I can pull out and add to the Starter Set Sandbox series of posts. I suspect the appearance of Castle Naerytar in Hoard of the Dragon Queen means that I can post an update to my earlier Mere of Dead Men post incorporating that part of the adventure and I am sure that's not all.

Anyway, more Starter Set Sandbox posts await with the next one following later tonight....

Stat Blocks - Azurl's Hoardseekers

One of the things I really love about 4E - and, really, this is the primary reason I am simply not interested in 5E or any of the earlier editions - is that building NPCs is so easy.

Unlike any other edition, you can have a clear concept of an NPC in your head and then translate that concept into mechanical terms. There was an element of this, of course, in 3.xE but the cost was literally hours of your time to find the right combination of race, template(s), class(es), feat(s), and prestige class(es) to pull this off... only for your carefully-crafted NPC to last maybe one round - two rounds at the most! - of combat.

That doesn't happen in 4E.

Also, one of the things I am finding I am enjoying more and more about 4E is finding pictures of groups of NPCs and then statting them out based purely on my response to what I see in the picture. I can't remember what was the first group I did this to - I think it was the Kneecappers, a band of halfing thieves and thugs - but I have posted Maurvurr's Marauders on this blog and that's attracted a surprising amount of traffic including emails. Clearly there is an appetite for ready-to-run 4E NPCs with a bit of backstory.

As for today's post, the picture comes from one of the few genuinely good adventures published by WotC for 4E, Madness at Gardmore Abbey. While I have taken the picture from there and have read the bit about the NPCs it depicts, I cannot recall any of the details so any influence from Madness is purely subconscious. And, as always, the names for the NPCs come from the list of names by Ed Greenwood I have compiled and posted <here>. In this instance, the names were all taken from the Castlemourn campaign setting which I will never use but which now serves as a convenient source of Greenwood-ian names.

(And if Bob Salvatore happens to read this, you should do the same unless, of course, you officially declare your FR fiction to be works of parody.)

From left to right, the NPCs depicted are: the female human fighter, Xavalla Lanceborn; the male drow warlock, Pelblaes; the male dwarf cleric, Azurl Forgebar, Chosen of Tiamat; Golaunt the male half-orc brute (he's not really based on a class); and Endreene the female human wizard.

Azurl's Hoardseekers

The Hoardseekers are part of the Cult of the Dragon, specifically that faction that seeks to bring the Cult fully under the sway of Tiamat.

(This is a concept first mentioned in the outstanding 2E product Cult of the Dragon and has been taken to its conclusion in the first campaign story for the 5E version of the Realms, the Tyranny of Dragons.  The Hoardbreakers could just as easily be used in the post-Sundering Realms or, indeed, in almost any era.)

The unchallenged leader of the Hoardseekers is the gold dwarf Azurl Forgebar who is also a Chosen of Tiamat. Clan Forgebar is one of the few genuinely evil dwarven clans and they have a particular hatred for metallic dragons, ever since the gold dragon Palarandusk attacked them in retaliation for the dwarves' massacre of the gnomes of Ieirithymbul before the Spellplague.

Largely as a result of Palarandusk's (completely justified!) attack on their clan, the Forgebar dwarves turned to the worship of Tiamat and, in the decades following the Dracorage in the Year of Rogue Dragons and then the Spellplague, the Forgebar dwarves earned a reputation for dragon-slaying but their focus was very much on the metallic dragons.

Many very young gold and silver dragons were slain and unhatched eggs destroyed before Palarandusk shook off the effects of both the Dracorage and the Spellplague and slew almost all of the Forgebar dwarves. Azurl is one of the handful who remain and his hatred for Palarandusk and the other metallic dragons is a tangible thing. His attraction to both Tiamat and the Cult of the Dragon both serve as an outlet for that hatred.

Azurl Forgebar, Chosen of Tiamat

In many ways, Azurl fights for the glory of the now essentially defunct Forgebar clan. And his number one goal is to convert, ideally forcibly, a metallic dragon into a dracolich in Tiamat's service. 

As would be expected from a Tiamat-worshipping dwarf, Azurl practically redefines the meaning of the word greed. He is petty and grasping in a way that, frankly, often embarrasses the other Hoardseekers but he sees this as part of his right as a Chosen of Tiamat.

In battle, Azurl sees Golaunt as his primary weapon. He constantly invests the half-orc with a measure of Tiamat's power and unleashes him across the battlefield. That is, at least until the dwarf is bloodied at which point the full wrath of Tiamat is unleashed and Azurl transforms into the five-headed dragon form of an aspect of Tiamat. At this point, his only available attack is the combined breath weapon of the aspect's five heads. His companions have learnt to stay away from Azurl when he is in this form as much as possible else they too may be caught in the aspect's fivefold blast.

Azurl's stat block began with me wanting to have a genuine PC-like leader among a group of NPCs, one who was capable of granting attacks like a bard or warlord. The idea of a transformation into dragon form was really an experiment in terms of fleshing out what the status of a chosen of a deity could possibly mean.

Eldreene

Originally from Amn, the battlemage Eldreene is a mage-for-hire and the simple fact is, Azurl pays well. Further, the dwarf allows her access to the arcane lore held by the Cult of the Dragon which is her real passion. In fact, the only reason she is a mage-for-hire is so she can acquire more lore. When not involved in an adventure with the Hoardseekers, Eldreene can typically be found with her nose in an old spellbook or set of scrolls.

In battle, Eldreene's fighting style is simple: she unleashes damage at range. There is no subtlety to her choice of spells - she is not trying to control the battlefield - but she exists simply to unleash massive damage.

Her stat block reflects three of the more common attack spells that almost any wizard in the pre-4E editions, and almost definitely in 1E and 2E, would have had in their list of spells. Rather than anything fancy I just decided to make her a simple blaster. Open with a fireball, follow that up with lightning bolt against two targets (and repeated as it recharges), and then spam magic missile (and triple spam magic missile after she is bloodied) until the end of the combat. Her lack of any utility magic is a deliberate - and uncharacteristic - choice on my part.

Golaunt

The half-orc Golaunt is genuinely loyal to Azurl as the dwarf purchased him from duergar slave traders from Gracklstugh and then he gave Golaunt his freedom.

Out of unfeigned gratitude, Golaunt is more than happy to serve as Azurl's primary weapon on the battlefield. He enjoys the strange feelings of power when Azurl invests him with a touch of Tiamat's might via Tiamat's champion and dragon scales. He prefers dealing acid damage as he enjoys how it makes flesh dissolve before his eyes.

Golaunt prefers to range across the battlefield making a series of charge attacks. He normally charges an enemy in such a way as to trigger fuel my bloodlust before attacking with his greataxe. He then makes another attack with greataxe courtesy of Tiamat's champion and, unless directed by Azurl to stay and keep fighting, he will charge another enemy and repeat the sequence of attacks.

One of my PCs is built to focus on charge-based attacks. Golaunt is my attempt to do the same with an NPC.

Pelblaes

The Hoardseekers are evil. Pelblaes is really, really, really evil. There is something fundamentally sinister about him that almost anyone can sense - including (perhaps especially) animals - due to his close ties with some of the darkest parts of the Shadowfell.

More specifically, Pelblaes is inextricably bound to a vestige of Sammaster, the mad mage and former chosen of Mystra who founded the Cult of the Dragon. He is able to commune with this vestige very directly: he can simply use gloom walk to step into the vestige's presence in one of the darkest pits of the Shadowfell without harm to himself, but woe to any creature he banishes there when he uses share Sammaster's fate....

In many ways, Pelblaes is a pawn of this vestige of Sammaster but his ability to access Sammaster's knowledge makes him invaluable to Azurl and to the Cult of the Dragon in general. For the moment at least, the vestige of Sammaster has Pelblaes firmly allied with, and loyal to, the chosen of Tiamat but that could change at any time.

In combat, Pelblaes generally opens with gloom walk so that on his second turn he can deliver a devastating claws of the ur-dracolich. He saves share Sammaster's fate for an enemy that is clearly a major threat on the battlefield and who must be removed so that his allies can regather their strength or attain a tactically-superior position. 

Originally I was going to built Pelblaes as a skirmisher more along the lines of a traditional 4E warlock, but thinking about what it would mean for him to be a binder warlock and thinking back to the original binder in 3.5E's Tome of Magic had me thinking about him as more of a lurker. I think he will be more fun in play this way.

Xavalla Lancenorn

Xavalla was originally part of adventuring band along with Eldreene in Amn. A trained elite bodyguard for Amnian merchant princes, Xavalla found herself naturally falling into the same role in her adventuring life and she essentially appointed herself as Eldreene's guardian, a role she fills to this day.

Like most from Amn, Xavalla likes wealth and she sees her membership in the Hoardseekers, and in the Cult of the Dragon in general, as an opportunity to accumulate more wealth before they both return to Amn one day to retire and live off their respective investments. 

 

In combat, Xavalla generally hangs back and protects Azurl and Eldeene leaving Golaunt and Pelblaes to roam around the battlefield seeking targets. However, if the situation demands it she will step more directly into the fray although, when this happens, Eldeene is likely to come with her as she feels vulnerable when she is not protected by Xavalla's shield.

In PC terms, Xavalla is clearly a defender and I tried to emphasise that in a way I haven't seen before except, perhaps, with a shielding swordmage. It will be interesting to see how she works out in play.

What are the Hoardseekers Doing?

I'm still a few sessions away from using them in play but I am thinking that the Hoardseekers may be in Neverwinter tracking down rumours of a steel dragon that is playing a role in the reconstruction of the city. This is Zundaerazylym whom the PCs have, until just recently, thought was an eladrin cleric of the Moonmaiden whom they knew only as Lady Moonsilver. Before Neverwinter was ruined, she was also the head of an organisation known as the Soft Claws. 

While the Hoardseekers are no match for Zundaerazylym I might give them a custom magic item that makes them a threat and then let the PCs come to the steel dragon's rescue.