We're coming up to the climactic battle in HOTDQ. If you are unfamiliar, all the factions and folks you've talked with throughout the campaign rally their forces and march on the Well of Dragons to stop a big bad ritual. It takes place in the caldera of a volcano, where the Cult of the Dragon has built a big bad spire to house their big bad ritual.
Honestly, it's pretty ballin'. Not everyone likes the Wizards prewritten modules but I found this one really fun. And it ends with a bang, a huge battle between good and evil for the fate of the world. The battle is basically a distraction so that the party can sneak in to the spire to stop the ritual. It's a smart way to essentially make the fights appropriate for the DnD structure, which emphasizes skirmishes and battles with less than 25-50 people. So you're having a regular dnd shesh in sneaking around a tower and killing small groups of people, but the outside is a huge pitched battle.
One thing Tom (DM) said struck me as we were prepping for the battle with our allies. The head of the council asked the party if we had any suggestions for the battle. It always feels good to get asked for feedback like that, like we can plan anything or throw out any kind of idea and it will actually impact the progression of the campaign for good or ill. That freedom is one of my favorite things about DnD, and planning and scheming before a fight is probably my favorite way of engaging with the DnD world.
So, here are 10 weird ideas I came up with to help the battle.
1. We bring a team of Dwarven Sappers to dig underneath the tower and topple it
2. Artillery fire with a series of Eleven spotters on the edge of the caldera using semaphore to guide the fire.
3. Kamikaze griffons with explosive strapped to them (Emerald Enclave might nix this one)
4. Druids with necklace of fireball turned into birds on a bombing run
5. Mass Blessings - Exodus 17:12 "When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset."
6. A river runs nearby the Well of Dragons, a floatilla with marine strike forces to flank the army, also see Harriet Tubman's famous raid. Perhaps with the aid of the spirit if the river?
7. Erupt the volcano somehow.
8. One spy infiltrates the spire and disguises himself as the head of the Cult and sows confusion (maybe run out and scream contradictory orders at the army)
9. Release a group of doppelgangers in the high Cult command.
10. Distribute leaflets among the Cult army that offer pardons and remind men of their past duties. Many of the folk in the armies are there against their will, and might desert.
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