Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Description

The adventure and its sequel pit player characters against the evil dragon queen Tiamat and her minions, set in the Forgotten Realms. The Cult of the Dragon, along with dragon allies and the Red Wizards of Thay, seek to return Tiamat from her prison in the Nine Hells to Faerûn. They sweep from town to town, laying waste to opponents and gathering a hoard of riches. The threat becomes so dire that groups like the Harpers and the Zhentarim band together against the cult. Player characters start at 1st-level and gain one level per chapter, reaching 8th-level by the end.

Publication history

In August 2014, Wizards of the Coast released Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the first half of a two-part adventure path called Tyranny of Dragons. This 96-page hardcover was designed by Wolfgang Baur and Steve Winter of Kobold Press, commissioned to create the debut adventures for the new fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Raymond Swanland provided the cover art, while interior illustrations came from Aaron Hübrich, Tyler Jacobson, Guido Kuip, Marcel Mercado, and Bryan Syme.

Wizards also launched related game supplements, video games, and other media at the same time. The adventure’s first three chapters were given away as part of a free D&D Encounters kit for the D&D Adventurers League, the official organized play program. The sequel, The Rise of Tiamat, followed two months later in October 2014. A month after that, Gale Force Nine released a licensed four-panel gamemaster’s screen for the Tyranny of Dragons storyline.

Five years later, in October 2019, a new edition of Tyranny of Dragons hit shelves exclusively in local game and hobby stores. This single volume combined Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat, featuring a full errata, a reworked opening chapter, and new cover art by Hydro74. It incorporated player feedback to smooth the adventure’s progression and included extra resources and behind-the-scenes concept art previously only available online. In January 2023, the book was re-released with new cover art but no changes to the content.

Reception

Jonathan Bolding, for The Escapist, wrote that structurally the premise is solid and interesting, but in play the middle sections tend to lag and create dragging, boring play where dungeon masters narrate hours of travel. He noted that only a bare handful of the many NPCs in the caravan north actually matter outside their adventure segment. One quest leads into an ambush by cultists, and if not anticipated, it becomes a very hard fight. She also noted the adventure starts heroes off as losers.

Gavin Sheehan of Bleeding Cool wrote that rewards are minimal, especially in experience for the first few episodes, leaving characters always on the cusp of being great when they truly need to be. He stated the story picks up at Castle Naerytar, much further down the road, ideally after reaching Level 5. DieHard GameFan called it a great co-release with the Player's Handbook, describing the adventures as fun, well written, and well balanced, with eight episodes offering a fantastic deal. Casus Belli (v4, Issue 13 - Jan/Feb 2015) also covered the module.