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I still have three possible side quests left from the cinematic I’m using for the Lost Mine of Phandelver West Marches campaign I run for my friends. One of them is a trek down to Cragmaw Castle. Since I want to get it done in a one-shot, I played around with the Cragmaw Castle adventure…
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Lord Eric Merryweather isn’t the only member of Waterdhavian noble stock to appear in the pages of In Volo’s Wake. There’s also Frestin Cohlver, a minor noble who has traveled to Phandalin not for profit, but because Volothamp Geddarm made the region sound exciting in his most recent book. Cohlver arrives in Phandalin, searching for…
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A young Waterdhavian dandy inspired by the idealized adventures of Volothamp Geddarm in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Lord Eric Merryweather aspires to become a famous adventurer himself. Unfortunately, his confidence far exceeds his experience, and he recklessly ventures into the Crooked Forest with little understanding of how dangerous adventuring truly is. Initially overconfident and naïve,…
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In yesterday’s blog, Lanar’s rumor mentioned Swallow Lake. You’d be excused if you’ve never heard of the place. For as much time as I’ve spent tramping around the hinterlands between the High Road and the Long Road, I hadn’t heard of Swallow Lake until recently, when I stumbled across In Volo’s Wake by accident. Which…
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Because Dragon of Icespire Peak was originally designed as a starter-set adventure for new Dungeon Masters, Cryovain’s presence is introduced with very little subtlety. The module wants players rolling dice and confronting danger almost immediately, so the threat of the young white dragon is established upfront through increasingly frequent sightings and attacks. As the adventure…
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The thing about sitting atop a frozen treasure hoard in an isolated, abandoned fortress is its potential to become a siege. Because recovering a white dragon’s frozen treasure should not be quick process. Characters aren’t simply shoveling loose coins into a pile of sacks before heading back to Phandalin for celebratory drinks at the Stonehill…
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Continuing on yesterday’s thoughts, finding Cryovain’s hoard is one thing. Claiming the treasure hoard is something entirely different. Anyone who thinks collecting a white dragon’s treasure is as simple as scooping coins and gemstones into a collection of sacks or dumping it all into a bag of holding is in for a rude awakening. If…
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The most absurd omission in Dragon of Icespire Peak is that Cryovain has no treasure hoard. You’ve got a dungeon. You’ve got a dragon. There needs to be a payoff of some kind. To do otherwise would be like hitting the jackpot of a lottery, only to be rewarded with a nicely written congratulatory note…
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Poke around Tresendar Manor long enough, and you start to realize the Redbrand ruffians are far more sinister than they are presented in the pages of Lost Mine of Phandelver, and especially so in the sanitized reboot, Phandalin and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. Let’s talk about their criminality. Racketeering. The most obvious piece of Redbrand…
