DM Help

[SonOfMoradin]

I am running a D&D game in the Forgotten Realms. I have 4 5th level players and 4 4th level players.

The first leg of the campaign involved the group (at the time only 4 characters) investigate Aencars Manor, looking to see about local reports of activity there. They discovered that the Cult of the Dragon was trying to collect the bones of the Dracolich that killed Aencar so that they could resurect it to lead them. They were unable to stop the Sorcerer in charge, but they were just supposed to figure out who was there and why, and they did.

So I need help with the next leg of the campaign. I was thinking that they get assigned to protect a powerful wizard who is known to have part of the dracolich. They go to protect him, stop an assasination attempt, and then find themselves besieged by the cult forces - including a dragon. They have to hold off assaults with the help of the wizard and his conjured troops.

The problem with this is I cant figure a good ending. How do the cult forces get defeated, or the group get out of the castle. I was thinking the piece would be a large claw, too big to move, so the group couldnt just grab it and run.

I also need good ideas on what would be in the wizards castle. I was thinking a library and a zoo of sorts, but need other suggestions.

Anything will be of help. Thanks.

[DDH101]

SOM, since you are involving the Cult of the Dragons, a major evil organization in the Realms, perhaps you would involve a good organization to balance it out.

For example, have the PCs goals to be killing the leader of the Cult forces or maybe hold off the assaults for a certain amount of time. Then after they accomplished this "goal", maybe the Harpers will come in force to aid the PCs and stop the siege. You could also make this powerful wizard a member of the Harpers to make this story seem more plausible. Another idea is to have friends that the PCs aided in the past to come and save them from the Cult of the Dragon. OR, to make it even more of a twist, have a dragon come in that is the enemy of the dragon that is part of the Cult. The dragon doesn't have to befriend the PCs, just maybe weaken the Cult forces severely and then flies away.

Hope this helps.

[Veshannatax]

"The Cult of the Dragon has many enemies. Another evil organisation might want something else of the wizard's, like the Zhentarim seeking a magical item of unknown power. If the players work carefully, they can put the two against each other.

The Dragon and the most powerful creature/mage of the Zhentarim would die in combat, and the forces of both would be diminished. This could allow the party to either have a greater fighting chance or have the time to have the wizard they're protecting summon up a gateway to take them and the claw to safety... or destroy the claw..."

[vernobattlehammer]

And you could always guide them into aligning them with a force that uses them for it's own evil goals. So they recover pieces of the dracolich and bring it to this new leader's holdout...and he/she/it uses them for it's own purposes.