cryovain
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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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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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A couple months back, I had some fun playing with the variant rule for dragons as innate spellcasters by applying it to Venomfang. Today, let’s travel south to the Sword Mountains and do the same for Cryovain. The Monster Manual’s variant rule for dragons as innate spellcasters: Dragons are innately magical creatures that can master…