The Rise of Tiamat

Description

The adventure is divided into eight episodes, beginning with Council of Waterdeep, where the party joins a council of factions to plan their next moves. Subsequent episodes include The Sea of Moving Ice, where the party seeks information about the Draakhorn, an artifact that can summon dragons; Death to the Wyrmspeakers, which involves tracking two cult leaders to the Serpent Hills and the Misty Forest; and The Cult Strikes Back, where cult agents attempt to assassinate the heroes. Player characters start at 8th level and gain one level per chapter, reaching 16th level by the end. The book includes appendices with notable non-player characters, new monsters, magic items, and artifacts. Suggestions are provided for players who did not play the first adventure.

Publication history

When Dungeons & Dragons launched its fifth edition in 2014, Wizards of the Coast brought in Kobold Press to craft the system’s first official adventures. That collaboration produced the Tyranny of Dragons storyline, split into two books. The first, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, hit shelves in August 2014, followed two months later by The Rise of Tiamat, a 96-page hardcover written by Alexander Winter and Steve Winter. Michael Komarck painted the cover, while interior art came from John-Paul Balmet, Nicole Ashley Cardiff, Guido Kuip, Marcel Mercado, and Bryan Syme.

Shortly after, Gale Force Nine released a licensed four-panel gamemaster’s screen for the campaign. Five years later, in October 2019, a revised edition bundled both adventures into one volume, available only at local game and hobby stores. This version included a full errata, a reworked opening chapter, and new cover art by Hydro74. It also added resources previously exclusive to online releases and a collection of behind-the-scenes concept art. That 2019 edition saw another release in January 2023, sporting a fresh cover but identical content.

Reception

Scott Wachter of RPGamer described the adventure as shallow, generic, excessively linear, and overall uninspired, though noting the attempt to revive classic multi-part adventures. DieHard GameFan stated that despite layout and editing issues, the product offered exceptional content and value for its price, calling it a fine way to end the Tyranny of Dragons storyline. Jason Hubbard of Irregular Magazine praised the production value and artwork, noting the excellent level of detail in many encounters and maps, though he observed that some parts, particularly the council events, lacked detail and required gamemaster input. Hubbard concluded that the adventure provides a comprehensive path across the Forgotten Realms and is an enjoyable product to play.