D&D 5E - The Rise of Tiamat

F a c t i o n a l A s s e t s
O rder o f the Gauntlet. Troops of the Order of the
Gauntlet are among the toughest, most steadfast
soldiers on the Sword Coast. Besides serving in their
own units, their leadership bolsters other troops.
Em erald Enclave. Druids and rangers of the Emerald
Enclave answer the call to arms by bringing their treant
and griffon allies from the forests and mountains of the
Sword Coast.
Zhentarim Assassins. These silent killers stalk and
kill enemy leaders and messengers. Though only a
handful of Zhentarim assassins have joined the fight,
they can paralyze an enemy unit at a decisive moment or
prevent a crucial order from reaching its destination.
H a rp e r Agents. Intercepting intelligence during battle
is a Harper specialty, and Harper agents can provide
key information about cult plans and deployments. As
well, Harper archers, infantry, and spellcasters can have
an enormous impact on the battle.
M etallic Dragons. The metallic dragons w ill be
outnumbered by their chromatic cousins. However, they
cooperate with allies better than the evil dragons do,
giving them a greater impact on the battlefield.
Devils. Certain powerful devils don’t want to see
Tiamat unleashed on Faerun, knowing that their own
power w ill be curtailed in a world in which humanoids
no longer rule. Agents of the Nine Hells are ferocious
fighters, but their presence in the battle makes many
other soldiers uneasy.
Giants. If the factions of Waterdeep secured the
allegiance of giants, they delight in squaring off
against the chromatic dragons. Trouble might arise
between giants and metallic dragons, however, if the
two contingents aren’t given assignments of equal
importance and kept apart.
L o rd s ’ A llia n ce Army. The massed forces of the
separate members of the Lord’s Alliance are second
only to the Order of the Gauntlet in fighting power, and
far more numerous. These form the backbone of the
attacking force.
Skyreach Castle. If it’s available, the flying castle
could prove a great boon in the battle. Skyreach w ill be
assaulted by chromatic dragons the moment it appears
above the Well of Dragons, drawing those powerful
combatants away from defending the caldera.
A rcane Brotherhood. Members of the Arcane
Brotherhood are a match for the Red Wizards fighting
for the cult. However, the spellcasters of the Arcane
Brotherhood don’t take orders from anyone except other
powerful spellcasters—which almost certainly means
another member of the Arcane Brotherhood.
T h w a r t i n g t h e D r a g o n Q u e e n
The process of bringing back Tiamat involves four key
components—the treasure amassed by the cult, the
Mask o f the Dragon Queen, the sacrifice of prisoners,
and the ritual that is the culmination of all Severin’s
mad plans. The crashing or capture of Skyreach
Castle has already set back the cult in its goal of
collecting suitable treasure for the Dragon Queen,
making the other three stages of the process that much
more important.
The mask, the sacrifices, and the ritual can all be
targeted by the characters. Doing so effectively might
actually end the ritual and prevent the appearance of
Tiamat. Even if the heroes cannot manage to end the
threat before it begins, however, disrupting any part of
the ritual process weakens the Dragon Queen.
Fa c i n g T i a m a t
When the forces of good have been deployed and
the battle begun, the characters w ill take on the
most important goal of assaulting the Temple of
Tiamat. Making their way through the caverns
beneath the caldera provides a number of options for
reaching the temple.
Whether the characters fight Tiamat directly or
prevent the summoning ritual from being completed
depends on their actions during the final battle. But
when the characters see Tiamat’s heads forcing
their way through the Red W izards’ portal, they w ill
understand that this is no mere monster they face.
As should be clear from her statistics in appendix A,
Tiamat is a god. If she manifests through the portal
at full strength, she can demolish multiple 15th-level
parties with ease. A huge battle against Tiamat while
her temple collapses to ash and bone is a memorable
way to wrap up a campaign—but the characters might
not survive as anything more than memories.
During the battle in the temple, read the following
text aloud after 10 rounds of the summoning ritual have
been successfully focused by five or more Red Wizards.
The magical maelstrom filling the central apse o f the
temple suddenly splits open with a crack o f thunder.
The gargantuan heads o f five dragons begin to tear
and gnash their way out o f the rune-lined pit o f fire
that forms there. Tiamat the Dragon Queen is about to
burst bodily from her confinement in the Nine Hells and
enter the world.
T i a m a t ’s A p p e a r a n c e
Tiamat’s heads enter the battle starting on the second
round after the ritual is completed, in the following
order: white, black, green, blue, and red. Her red head
announces the Dragon Queen’s full appearance in the
sixth round after the ritual is completed. Until that
round, Tiamat can make use only of her bite attacks and
breath weapons. This gives the characters a last chance
to try to weaken the Dragon Queen before she appears.
Once Tiamat appears in full, she spends as many
rounds as necessary to laughingly devour her hapless
servants five at a time—Rath Modar, any remaining Red
Wizards, then Severin (or his corpse, as long as it is
wearing the Mask o f the Dragon Queen). The following
round, she turns her wrath on the adventurers.