D&D 5E Another Rise of Tiamat Question - Metallic Dragons Arise

[Sloblock]

first of all Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

started the planning for the next part of our epic Tyranny of Dragons quest...

so with that in mind my attention turns to the next chapters I feel needs some TLC "Episode 6 - Metallic Dragons Arise", with all of the combat my PCs have been through will be nice to have a talky type episode.

How did others plan and run this part?

Did you just keep it brief or did you manage to pad it out with D&D goodness?

any help will be appreciated

 

[Syntallah]

snip

Did you just keep it brief or did you manage to pad it out with D&D goodness?

Both actually. I didn't get too carried away with the encounter, but I did describe it in more detail than normal:

- being teleported to a lonely mountain top by the polymorphed dragon (rather than flown there)
- walking into a vast dark cavern, and stopping on a floating platform
- that platform then floating upwards into the dark as the PCs heard several BIG creatures breathing
- multiple tall spires suddenly being lit up by continual flames, revealing a metallic dragon perched atop each one amidst a cavern so big they can't see the bottom or the top
- the Gold introduced each of the other dragons, and then we role-played out the bargaining process. Hehe, the paladin promised a very large percentage of the recovered wealth, much to the chagrin of the Alliance...

 

[Eltab]

My Tiamat campaign is on hiatus (I got a seasonal job) and we haven't gotten this far yet. I was thinking about having each dragon take in 1-2 PCs for a private talk. Explain more deeply where his/her head is at. Then let the PCs get back together, talk it all over, and decide what to do from there. I have a Dwarf and an Elf in my group, so they may end up getting no help, or having to "give away the store" (as Lord Neverember is likely to think).

I retired my Paladin PC when I became the DM, but he might show up as an advisor - permanent Sending Stones (equals cell phone connection) - between the Council staff and the PC group.

 

[Eltab]

Has anybody found anything about how many metallic dragons can be sent to the various factions? My Paladin ex-PC is on the Council's staff now, and would like to help place them so as to aid travel, as well as the book's implied defensive commitments.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Has anybody found anything about how many metallic dragons can be sent to the various factions? My Paladin ex-PC is on the Council's staff now, and would like to help place them so as to aid travel, as well as the book's implied defensive commitments.

The only implied size of the Metallic Dragon groups is that as a whole, they are suitable opposition for the Chromatic Dragons answering the Draakhorn's Call. As a reasonable guideline, I'd suggest a CR-equivalence pyramid. That is, X Young Dragons <=> Y Adult Dragons <=> 1 Ancient Dragon. Another reasonable guideline is to use the Faction Leaders' actual CR, or HD, possibly modified by the leaders' Charisma bonus. Or you could just wing it, since (as written) most of the effect will happen off-screen.

The other thing I'd do is provide varying levels of support, depending on how well the characters negotiate. In which case, you'll also want to consider what could *harm* the dragon's attitude towards the characters.