Thundertree
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One thing I’ve seen Dungeon Masters tie themselves in knots over while running Lost Mine of Phandelver is what to do when a low-level party opts for the Thundertree quest. The presence of Venomfang, a young green dragon, creates a sense that a TPK is inevitable. I’m here to tell you it’s not. Venomfang is…
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I never liked the explanation for ash zombies in Lost Mine of Phandelver: These zombies were created by the magical devastation when Mount Hotenow erupted thirty years ago. These zombies are burnt to a crisp to the point that, when hit with a melee attack, they produce an ash puff (or crumble into an ash…
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There be dragons in Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak – and they’re often accompanied by grumbling Dungeon Masters, fretting over how encounters with Venomfang and Cryovain are unbalanced. There’s actually some really good advice on encounters with dragons in The Rise of Tiamat, which came out four months after Lost Mine…
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So there are ash zombies in Thundertree as remnants of Mount Hotenow’s eruption. There are dragon cultists in Thundertree because the Cult of the Dragon sent envoys to curry favor with the young green dragon residing there. And there are twig blights in Thundertree because, uh. Hmmm… I needed an explanation for this phenomenon, so…
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If you’re an experienced Dungeon Master running Lost Mine of Phandelver and looking for ways to make Venomfang more interesting or challenging for the party’s errand to Thundertree, consider using the variant rule for dragons as innate spellcasters, as described in the Monster Manual: Dragons are innately magical creatures that can master a few spells…
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I am the father of teenagers, and the weirdest part about the whole experience has been watching my kids go through growth spurts. For instance, my eldest son is now taller than me, seemingly overnight. I assume it explains why he suddenly sleeps and eats so much lately. Now apply that to a young green…
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Palien, the Neverwinter hero who defeated several Neverwinter Wood monsters around the time of Thundertree’s founding appears to be a historical figure created specifically for Lost Mine of Phandelver. There’s no mention of this hero in Realmslore prior to the adventure’s publication. So when the characters come across the weathered, leaning wooden statue dedicated to…
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At the conclusion of yesterday’s thoughts, I floated the idea of Venomfang as a quest-giver, using the dragon’s knowledge of the nearby Neverwinter Wood as a bargaining chip to convince the party to destroy the Gulthias tree out at the Woodland Manse. For years, the tree has spawned blights, and now they are overrunning his…
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When most people think of Thundertree, a young green dragon by the name of Venomfang comes to mind. But there’s a larger problem lurking within the ruins of the abandoned timber town, which is: Thundertree has a whole lot of twig blights. Twenty-four by my count. What do we know about blights? A Gulthias tree was a…