Reddit mentions of Hoard of the Dragon Queen (Dungeons & Dragons)

As a player and Dungeon Master, it makes me so happy to see /r/DnD making it to bestof more than once. :)

For those interested, the newest edition being released book by book right now is 5e (previously D&D Next when it was still in the playtesting phase). Player's Handbook (PHB) and Monster Manual (MM) are the only rule books out right now. The main storyline book out right now is Hoard of the Dragon Queen (HotDQ) and soon The Rise of Tiamat (RoT).

What you need to play D&D IRL:

• D&D Basic Rules for Players and DMs
  
• 3-4 players (PCs or player characters) is ideal
  
• 1 Dungeon Master (DM), who runs the game
  
• Dice (Wiz Dice is a good starting point if nobody has dice. Just buy the big bag.)
  
• Paper and pencils
  
• Optional: A battle mat (like this one from Chessex)
  
• Optional: Miniatures (minis) to represent your PCs, NPCs, and monsters. I use dice to represent monsters in my games, because minis are expensive.
  
  If you want to play a D&D online tabletop:
  
  
• Roll20.net
  
• Use /r/lfg, /r/roll20lfg, or their dedicated LFG function/forums to find other people
  
• Roll20 itself has all you need to play the game - character sheets, dice rollers, built in webcam/mic, special view for DMs versus players, music, handouts, macros, etc.
  
  
  Shameless plug: My group streams D&D 3.5e (older edition) on Twitch almost every Monday night at 8pm EST. I also play and DM 5e, so I'm happy to answer questions about either edition!
  

So for 5e there are a couple of things you can look at getting:

• Basic Rules: Look at the section for "Free Basic Rules". These PDFs are basically what you need to start playing D&D. The D&D 5e Player's Basic Rules has information about the basics of the game for players. It's got 4 races (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, and Human) and 4 classes (Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard) and one "subclass" for each class (Life Domain Cleric, Champion Fighter, Thief Rogue, and School of Evocation Wizard). Items, customization, character building, and the general "here's how you play!" are included in this document. Great resource for a simple lookup if you want to introduce someone to the game, since the characters you can build out of it are generally solid characters. The D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Basic Rules is the starting point for your DM. For the most part is bunch of creature/enemy stat blocks with explanations on how to balance encounters to the players' levels, as well as a quick off-hand on how to generate magic items. DMs are the creative source of the campaign, so there isn't much required to actually build a simple campaign.
  
• Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set: This is the most basic form of the game you can get with most things included. Looks like it's $13 on Amazon right now, which is pretty good. The box set comes with a 32-page player guide (mini Player's Handbook), a 64-page Dungeon Master's guide (mini Dungeon Master's Guide/Monster Manual), a couple of pre-generated characters, and a few dice. It's good for getting into 5e if you've never played before since the rules are greatly reduced down to levels 1-6 and there are only 8 classes. Most of the content is the same stuff you can find in the Basic Rules, minus the story that comes with the Starter Set. If someone gets this, everyone else can download/print the Basic Rules and should be good. Most of the content is all about how to play the characters that are in the starter set, not about character generation and the like, so make sure to look at the Basic Rules if you want to play a Halfling Fighter for example. See this comment for more explanation.
  
• Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons 5e): This is the core of most of your games of 5e at this point. This has all of the basic necessities, like character classes, character races, items, spells, feats, etc. This is exactly what you need if you are a player, since this and some imagination allows you to build some pretty fun characters. If you end up playing 5e a lot, I'd recommend that everyone have somewhat regular access to a PHB, considering that 90% of the characters you make will come in most part from this books.
  
• Monster Manual: This is where you'll find the largest collection of all of the "basic" monsters that you can meet in a game of D&D. Enemies in general are in this book, and there is a lot of good explanation into the monsters, their stats, their decision routes, etc. This is super helpful since you can basically do whatever you want with this book and make some awesome fights. Find an enemy you like, but it's too high level? Nerf it somehow, and have your players fight it. I'm actually planning on setting a dragon with her wings clipped and her firebreathing removed, give them a fight, and see how they react.
  
• Dungeon Master's Guide: This is basically world building, combat building, enemy building, item building... basically, if it's not covered in the PHB or MM, the creation of object X or something similar will be in the DMG. It's there for the DMs to be able to balance items or enemies against certain requirements, since there is a lot to take into account. Helpful for the DM who doesn't have as much experience.
  
  So the Basic Rules help out a lot, the Starter Set is basically a physical copy of the basic rules (plus some), and then the core 3 books in order of (my personal opinion of) usefulness are PHB > MM > DMG. I'd say you probably want at least everyone to have a PHB, or access if you guys continue to play.
  
  Aside from that, most of the other 5e stuff you can pick up from wizards are modules. Modules are pre-created campaigns that have quests, items, locations, enemies (number, size, etc.) already pre-designed for you. Each of the following books has some sort of extra character information (like more subclasses, new races, etc.), but nothing is absolutely required. Generally if one person wants to play something (say, an Half-Elf Bladesinger Wizard) they should pick up the book to help build their character and to provide the GM with references to how the character works, but it's not necessary.
  
  
• Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat are two halves to the same campaign aimed at stopping the biggest baddest dragon of them all, the five-headed chromatic dragon Tiamat.
  
• Princes of the Apocalypse is a cool campaign all about cults related to the 4 elements (Air, Water, Earth, Fire) trying to be bad. Pretty well designed, I'm currently running this with my group. They seem to be liking it a lot, but then again, I'm throwing a lot of other things in with it.
  
• Out of the Abyss is a campaign set in the Underdark. it sounds really cool, but I haven't looked into it much.
  
• Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide isn't a campaign but rather a campaign setting book. It's useful for reading up on how the Sword Coast in Forgotten Realms (the "main" D&D world) works. It's interesting.
  
  If you need any other help, please feel free to ask!

Rise of Tiamat is the second half of the a 2 book adventure, the first being Hoard of the Dragon Queen: http://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458181435&sr=8-1&keywords=horde+of+the+dragon+queen

I DM'd all of Horde at a store, it needs a serious overhaul in order to be less of a railroad and to actually make sense. After Horde I DM'd the first 2.5 chapters of Rise of Tiamat which is better, but I would prefer it if PCs actually were able to succeed in the goals presented to them in the campaign. I can't give away more without getting spoilery.

The party starts at level 7 or 8 (depending on where Horde left off and if you are just skipping Horde and starting this fresh). The overarching plot is that a combination of factions need the PCs to act as their agents and stop the resurrection of Tiamat, who is being raised from Hell by a cult of dragons.

Also, I believe the campaign is from 7/8-15, but good luck killing the big T.
Neverwinter isn't exactly central to the story, it's just a 'base' for the party and the factions fighting the cult. This base could really be anywhere, it doesn't have to be Neverwinter. I don't know the lore behind Neverwinter, but apparently Neverwinter needed to be rebuilt and New Neverwinter is where you all are, or something like that? I can't remember, it's been a while.

There's all sorts of pre-made campaign modules that have already established worlds and towns and people and adventures. You can find them in game stores or pretty much anywhere online. A few of them include Curse of Strahd, Horde of the Dragon Queen, and Storm King's Thunder.

Best of luck with the DMing!

I play 5th edition and all advice is for that edition. 5E is pretty wallet friendly if you don't get it all at once. Here's a bunch of stuff you can look at to help your decision, though not all of it is mandatory.

• Number one, the cheapest, is to simply review the (somewhat limited, I'll admit) materials available on Wizards of the coast and start from there.
  
  
• Second is available in the form of the 5th edition starter set. I own one of these and it comes with everything you need for a game with a group of friends. A criticism I have of it though, is that experienced players will probably destroy the module included with it. I'd just forego this option entirely if you plan to buy any other materials, but it's a very low risk purchase.
  
  
• Third is just a player's handbook, which you really should own regardless of anything . The 5th Edition PHB has enough material to easily homebrew your own campaign with, but it will definitely leave you wishing you had more to work off of.
  
  
• Fourth is any of the several available modules for the game out right now. Having only played Hoard of the Dragon queen (And it's direct follow up, Rise of Tiamat), I can say that with the exception of a long, slightly boring segment in the middle, it's a solid adventure all the way through for the players.
  
  
• Fifth is the supplemental Dungeon master's Guide and Monster Manual, additional resources to help you craft better campaigns, but unnecessary until later. The monster manual should definitely be the first of the two purchases, in my opinion. I wouldn't even recommend the sword coast adventurer's guide unless you plan to specifically adventure in Faerun.
  
  So now that books are out of the way, let's talk figurines. You really don't need them, because ANYTHING can represent things on a board. But they're a fun thing to collect and use. BUT they are a great and fun thing to have. What we do at my table is have everyone acquire their own. I like to buy from Reaper Miniatures, but local comic book and hobby shops might have them as well. Make sure you have bases that are less than an inch wide (A square inch works best), because if you're using miniatures, then you're using a battle grid.
  
  Speaking of battle grids, they're also not entirely necessary, but they definitely help. This is a very reliable one if you take care of it and don't crease it too much. But the fun thing is, if you have a printer, you can print your own Battle Maps! Just set it to print a grid set to 1-inch increments and have as big or as small as a battle mat as you need. 5E technically uses a hex grid for outdoor maps, but we've always ignored that at our games.
  
  As for dice, I think it's the players responsibility to acquire their own dice, but on the off chance you just want to buy the things for everyone, I find a lot of enjoyment in picking through a Chessex Pound-o-Dice, or a Wiz Dice 100+ pack just so everyone has some. Plus, you never know when you'll suddenly need 20d6 for maximum fall damage!
  
  Other than that, just have pencils, paper, and a good way to keep notes handy and you're set.
  
  This is far from a comprehensive guide, and probably the worst thing you could do is buy everything or nothing right at the start. Consider asking friends or checking libraries for these books (And secondhand bookshops near you!) to save a penny or two.
  
  So, in summary, if I were starting out DMing and buying anything, it would be a player's handbook, a set of dice, and if I weren't confident in my ability to homebrew, I'd buy a module or a dungeon master's guide. But you can go further or less far if you like.

A mere 4 months ago I was in your very shoes, having never played DnD but wanting to DM. Now I'm running 3 weekly games [Protip: Don't do this]. Luckily for me I found a couple great resources to help me out:

The Dungeon Master Experience is a collection of articles written by one of the best: Christopher Perkins. He's not only a Senior Designer for DnD, but he's also the DM for a number of groups including Penny Arcade, Robot Chicken, and the other designers over at Wizards of the Coast. This will be your most valuable resource.

New DM Guide Reddit's #1 Resource for new DMs.

So You Want To Be a DM: A great collection of starter tips.

/r/loremasters: A subreddit dedicated to worldbuilding.

/r/dndnext: Like /r/dnd but solely for 5e.

The Angry DM: He can be a bit preachy at times, but Angry DM has a great amount of thought put into everything he writes.

/u/famoushippopotamus If you see him post on something, just read it. He's been DMing longer than most of us have been aware that DnD existed.

DnD Encounters is a weekly event at your friendly local game store. Check it out. It's also a great place to recruit players!

[Your head!](Link Not Found): The only thing you really need to get started is an idea, write it down. You'll learn a lot just putting your thoughts on paper and thinking of how to flesh it out.



I would recommend that you go and pick up the Starter Set (HOLY SHIT GUYS ITS $12 RIGHT NOW. BUY BUY BUY!). It comes with the basic rules, a set of dice, a prewritten adventure, and some characters for the adventure. Get a couple players together and this is all you need to get started. After that you can move onto other prewritten adventures, like Horde of the Dragon Queen, or you can write your own.

It shouldn't be that difficult to find people to play with, some people might care that you've never been a PC, but you don't need to play with them. If you have friends who enjoy gaming see if they're interested. And check out your FLGS (friendly local game store). If none of those work, there are plenty of online options as well.

One last note: In my short time DMing I have to say I did not expect the sheer amount of prepwork that goes into a single session. Players have to inhabit a single character and their mechanics. You need to understand not only the characters at the table, but every NPC, trap, and monster you put in front of them. It can be time consuming. It can be hard. But it is also one of the greatest feelings in the world when you hit that flow state where you and your players are building your world together.

Good luck! And welcome to DnD, where the rules are made up, and the rules don't matter either, as long as what you're doing is awesome.

Looks like HOTDQ and Rise of Tiamat are also on sale for around $20:

• Hoard of the Dragon Queen
  
  
• Rise of Tiamat
  
  Volo's and Xanathar's are around $30:
  
  
• Volo's Guide to Monsters
  
  
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything
  
  SCAG is $30, as is the not-yet-released Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes:
  
  
• Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
  
  
• Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (pre-order)
  
  ...and scrolling down the list, it seems a bunch of normally $50 adventures are also on sale around $30-34. The DMG is $32 and the Monster Manual is $34:
  
  
• Dungeon Master's Guide
  
  
• Monster Manual

(5e) New DM (just finished the 5e starter pack). I plan on running Tyranny of Dragons soon and I just bought the adventure book (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965649/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Will I need any additional books ( I.e the monster manual or dungeon guide?)

Hoard - not Horde it turns out - of the Dragon Queen

Rise of Tiamat

Princes of the Apocalypse - available April 7

If you're looking for an adventure to adapt that's set in the Astral Sea there's Hunt for the Heretic in Dungeon #203 http://www.dmsguild.com/product/155343/Dungeon-203-4e

The upshot is that there's a pirate ship that's been raiding the world from the Astral Sea and the authorities want to bring that to an end. It's geared toward players around level 14 or something like that so you'll need to pull the numbers back quite a bit, but the bones of it might make for a fun adventure--you might even make whole different encounters with different, more level appropriate threats.

Another suggestion if you want to go with a published adventure would be Horde of the Dragon Queen. At the end of that adventure you end up teleporting to a somewhat unusual location to face off against the main villain. That final battle could just as well be on the Astral Sea, at which point the PCs might find themselves having that place to themselves, as in they have a stronghold (ehem and potentially a dragon friend) to enact their Skyrim fantasies as they fly around IN THE ASTRAL SEA!

Here's that one on Amazon if you're interested:
https://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506588515&sr=8-1&keywords=Horde+of+the+Dragon+Queen

There aren't a lot out there specifically for 5e (assuming you're playing 5e, don't remember if you mentioned it) yet. In fact the only ones I'm aware of are of the campaign variety (a string of 'adventures') and there's nothing wrong with any of them. I've run Hoard of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat, Princes of the Apocalypse and I'm currently running Out of the Abyss..

You can always take a module from an older version of the game (or from a completely different game even) but you'll have to do some work to get it ready. The stats for the monsters will be different - you'll need to look up the same or similar monsters in the Monster Manual and have the stats ready. Other than that though the plot, maps and the rest can be used as-is.

DriveThruRPG has some modules that don't cost too much. You get them as a pdf instead of a physical book, but everything you need is there. Again, if you use one from an older version of the game you'll have to do some prep work.

You can find them on EBay as well. Some of the most famous ones are Tomb of Horrors (really though - don't do it. Your players will hate you), Ravenloft (my personal favorite module of all time which a Redditor has converted to 5e) and here's a list that I largely agree with.

For any backround information, just refer to the wiki:

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

For the adventures, buy either of the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496916563&sr=8-1&keywords=5e+starter+set

https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Kings-Thunder-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966009/ref=pd_sim_14_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786966009&pd_rd_r=G32SS8JKKV8E0RJEWD11&pd_rd_w=q2eos&pd_rd_wg=Fl90h&psc=1&refRID=G32SS8JKKV8E0RJEWD11

https://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496916592&sr=1-1&keywords=hoard+of+the+dragon+queen

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Tiamat-Adventure-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965657/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496916610&sr=1-1&keywords=rise+of+tiamat

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=princes+of+the+apocalypse+d%26d&sprefix=princes+of%2Cstripbooks%2C573&crid=1MNP7K2PCNO3F

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496917649&sr=1-1-fkmr0

You could also learn the lore while playing games like:

• Neverwinter Nights (1&2)
  
  
• Baldurs Gate (1&2)
  
  
• Neverwinter Online
  
  
• Sword Coast Legends

Hoard of the Dragon Queen

A bit of advice among other things for new DMs here, for your specifics, though I always recommend Curse of Strahd. I'm actually running it now and it's a beautifully written adventure but it does lead to the longer side at maybe 60-100 hours depending on your party but damn, what an antagonist. You could run death House first to get a feel for how your party like that atmosphere.


I hear Deep Carbon Observatory is about that length but I've not played it myself. Maybe not so high on the RP level but you can re-work it as needed. Hoard of the Dragon Queen would be a bit over that, maybe 30 hours I think.

http://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425978484&sr=1-2&keywords=rise+of+tiamat

Not pdf form but it's cheap enough on amazon that you can try it and see how you enjoy it. There's also a second book to this specific campaign and between the two takes the characters from level 1(? not sure) to around 15. Also keep in mind most of these are made for 4 person parties

Hoard of the Dragon Queen is not a free module. You can buy it on Amazon or at your FLGS.

Are you aware of the official adventure featuring exactly that? Would be a good resource for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Tiamat-Adventure-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965657

It takes a lot of time to design a campaign. The one I'm running now, I started penning two years before I even met these players. And it's just a heroic tier setting, for levels one through ten.

If I were you, I'd pick up Hoard of the Dragon Queen. I think this was the first full-sized adventure for 5e, apart from the starter kit. It should have plenty of material for you guys to enjoy.

There is a new adventure coming up soon called Hoard of the Dragon Queen which is designed as the starting point for player made characters and not specifically the Pre-generated ones in the Starter Set. Although there is nothing stopping you from using those as well. Since this adventure is coming out when the PHB does, expect to see some things in there that are not available in the Starter Set or free DnD Basic Rules.

You can pick out an Adventure (like this one and have one of your friends read through it and run the adventure for the rest of you. Adventures like that take much of the creation work off of the DM and typically provide a sort of stepping stone into play.

If you're open to trying other games:
Fiasco is a pretty good role-playing game you and your friends can play. It's much easier to learn and gives you a shot to try out role-playing with. Fiasco also lends itself very well to playing one session of it, then moving on. Most RPGs, D&D, Dungeon World and Fate included, tend to reward multi-session play.
I'm more interested in playing/running Fate Core or Fate Accelerated myself. As a game, it's more focused on narrative and player-characters doing cool stuff than D&D.
Dungeon World plays and feels similar to D&D, only it's far simpler to pick up and play. There are also a number of other games very similar to Dungeon World customized to different settings/genres, like Apocalypse World (post-apocalypse), Sprawl (Cyberpunk), Blades in the Dark (If you've ever played the video-game Dishonored, you'll see parallels in Duskwall), and probably more that I don't feel like looking up at the moment.

I'd be happy to introduce you to Fiasco or Fate, schedules willing. I've played and run both.
I have, but have never played or run Sprawl, Blades in the Dark and Dungeon World; if any of those sound like more fun and you don't mind me learning along with you, they're also an option.
While I've played and run D&D before, I don't find it fun anymore and would rather play/run other role-playing games.