8. HOTDQ - The Road to Elturel

8. HOTDQ – The Road to Elturel

LiquidAnalog

March 1, 2024

This is part 8 of my guide for Hoard of the Dragon’s Queen campaign. You can read all chapters of this guide here:

Episode 4 – On the Road, part 1

As the heroes return with the new discoveries to Greenest – that the army is now blending with the regular traffic to Baldur’s Gate, they will likely want to pursue the carts on the fast route west to Baldur’s Gate.

However here the monk will have to provide good reasons for actually going east and reaching Elturel – he feels that Ontharr Frume might must hear about this, and that he might have actual help and advice. This might be a hard sell to players because it is indeed a strange detour the module introduced – but if you follow it it allows for some interesting and important story elements, besides allowing you to introduce iconic Forgotten Realms locations like Elturel.

In my game, the monk decided to lead the way to Elturel and introduce the heroes to Ontharr Frume. This was persuasive enough to shift the tide. You might also introduce the fact that carts that went east will take much longer time to reach Baldur’s Gate, so there is time to go there and still beat most of the carts.

Frulam and her Goblins encounter

I recommend to spice things up here on the way to Elturel. Its a wonderful opportunity to encounter Frulam again.

I copied this paragraph as is from this great post on EnWorld – this is an awesome touch:

On day 5, just a few miles from town at dusk, they spot a lone figure riding a fine horse on the crest of the hill. She is wearing purple robes and her dark hair is clearly visible. Frulam, who had escaped the PCs in episode 3 is looking for revenge. She tries to gather information from the players before turning to the bushes and saying to whoever is hiding there, “Kill them and be quick.” Frulam rides off down the hill to reappear later in the adventure and try to finish the PCs herself.
FreeTheWeasel on EnWorld

I gave the heroes the opportunity to spot this encounter from afar – the rider was too far away for them to chase her, and they were very edgy through the evening – and rightfully so. They set watch and went to sleep.

Indeed during the night, goblins sneak into camp and try to assassinate the characters (5 goblins and 1 boss) – first with a surprise attack of crossbows and then with swords. It was a dire night – and when the heroes barely survive this assassination attempt, they find a crude hand-drawn note on the leader’s body – with all party members drawn with their traits (A bald cloak wearing magic user, a big fighter with a huge sword, a short girl with a Katana), and the title: “Kill Them All”. Once they find it, the chilling notion dawns on them that its not them chasing, but that they are now being hunted. They might correctly suspect its Frulam that got away – but it definitely will keep the players on their toes for most of the journey ahead.

The Undead Hoard

The module fails to highlight the most iconic feature of Elturel, which is The Elturel Companion – as known in the Forgotten Realms canon, the city is protected by a radiant sphere that hovers over the city to protect against undead.

So, I recommend you introduce a dramatic encounter that intensifies this iconic location. As they ride towards Elturel by road, they see a glowing star that gets brighter as they get closer – maybe they know what this is, but its more dramatic if they don’t… During the last night, as the heroes climb a hill close to the town, they got attacked by a hoard of Undead jumping from the shadows of the hill onto their wagon. A crazy chase scene unfolded, where the undead hoard chased their galloping cart and tried to jump onto it – some got trampled by the horses, others succeeded to grab onto the cart and needed to get stabbed. As they escaped to cross the hill into the light at the last minute, and the Undead hoard got exposed to the glow of the companion – and fell down burning and screaming behind them.

Next: 9. HOTDQ – Episode 4 part II – Elturel