THE RPGBOT.PLAY POSTMORTEM Part 2 (ACHTUNG! Spoilers!) - Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

In this second episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, we continue our postmortem from our recent play of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen. From the streets of Kalaman to the ruins of Vogler, our characters face challenges and make tough decisions in the Dragonlance Shadow of the Dragon Queen campaign.

SUMMARY

In this second part of the conversation, Randall and Tyler talk with Ash about their experiences playing the Dragon Lance campaign and specifically focus on the exploration of the Northern Wastes. They mention the challenges they faced, such as Lord Soth's pursuit of the cataclysmic flame and the army that was coming to Calaman. They also talk about the mechanics of the hex crawl and the various encounters and obstacles they encountered.

Randall discusses the decision to switch to gritty realism during this chapter and how it affected their gameplay. They also touch on the City of Lost Names and the lack of information about it at the time. In this part of the conversation, Tyler and Ash discuss their experience with the changes in the game and the challenges they faced. They talk about the resource strain on spell slots and the limitations it imposed on their gameplay. They also mention the use of random encounter tables and how they modified them to fit their playstyle. They share their thoughts on the City of Lost Names and their clever approach to infiltrating it. They also discuss their decision to climb the tower and their unexpected solution to escape the collapsing city. In this part of the conversation, the hosts discuss the events leading up to the final confrontation with Lord Soth.

They mention how they used a mirror to paralyze Soth and then sent him to the astral plane using a portable hole and a bag of holding. They express their disappointment with the way the adventure handled the defeat of such a cool villain. They also mention the puzzle involving the cataclysmic flame and the different ways it could be destroyed. The cleric in the party used divine intervention to ask their god for help in destroying the flame. The final part of the conversation focuses on the ending of the Dragonlance campaign. The players discuss their expectations for the final boss fight and express disappointment with the way it played out. They also critique the tie-in board game, Heroes of Kryn, and its lackluster gameplay. Overall, they enjoyed the campaign but felt that the pacing and some narrative choices could have been improved.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE

RPGBOT.Podcast Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Review

TAKEAWAYS

• Modifying random encounter tables can enhance the gameplay experience.
• Creative problem-solving can lead to unexpected and exciting outcomes.
• Adapting the adventure to fit the players' choices can create a more engaging and personalized experience. The hosts were disappointed with the way the adventure handled the defeat of Lord Soth, feeling that it didn't do justice to such a cool villain.
• They used a mirror to paralyze Soth and then sent him to the astral plane using a portable hole and a bag of holding.
• The puzzle involving the cataclysmic flame offered different ways to destroy it, including using a dragon lance or divine intervention.
• The cleric in the party used divine intervention to ask their god for help in destroying the flame. The players expected the final boss fight to be against Lord Soth and were disappointed when it turned out to be a random dragon
• The tie-in board game, Heroes of Kryn, received negative reviews and was considered tedious to set up
• The players felt that the pacing of the campaign could have been improved, with some sections being too easy to rest and others having too many hard fights in a row
• The lack of plane hopping in the Planescape campaign was seen as a missed opportunity
• Troop monsters from Pathfinder 2 were recommended as a solution for running large-scale battles in D&D

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Tyler Kamstra

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Ash Ely

• Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
• Twitter: @GravenAshes
• YouTube@ashravenmedia

Randall James

• @JackAmateur
• Amateurjack.com

Producer Dan

• @Lzr_illuminati