Chapter 1
Black Dragon Rebellion (Level 10)
Classes (since they're just brave, regular people the classes are more homemade and inexperienced)
Barbarian: An angry town brute who uses their strength to defend the weak or knocking the Tiamat cultists down a peg
Bard: A popular town musician who spreads their art around town to foster joy in the end-times
Cleric: An acolyte of the town's banned religions now that only Tiamat worship is permitted
Druid: A devotee to a god of nature and nature itself which the dragons have completely ruined to form lairs
Fighter: A militia member or town guard who lives in the town
Monk: An underground bare-knuckle brawler who works illegally or normally a meditative pacifist who's chosen to fight for freedom
Paladin: A knight squire or acolyte of the town's previous religions or personal code who protects civilians from the overreach of the Dragon Cult
Ranger: A hunter or woodsman who works on the outskirts of the town and dragon and humanoid would be perfect favored foes
Rouge: A Robin Hood like individual who stealthily defies Tilvaxus
Sorcerer: Draconic bloodline sorcerer fits perfectly but any type who's decided to use their powers for good
Warlock: Commoner who made a bargain with otherworldly entities out of desperation or were forced into a pact with Tiamat
Wizard: An ex-Dragon Cult member or a sage who subtly spies on their magical rituals
Starting Gear
Class and background starting gear
1 basic healing potion per party member
1 scroll of a level that can already be cast (full casters only)
Plot Overview
While in the slowly failing town tavern/homeless shelter/orphanage the party meets an undercover, human priestess of Bahamut in a Breastplate, named Jasmine (she's actually a shapeshifted Ancient Silver Dragon but will never reveal this) who informs them that Tilvaxus has to go out to mate tomorrow and that would be a perfect time to overthrow the cultists that work for her. If questioned how she knows this, she claims to have used Divination to find out.
After an announcement of who's in control while Tilvaxus is away by a cult leader the party can sneak in, talk their way in, or fight their way into the small fortress battling low tier cultist fanatics and the man in charge, Durkerax (a Dragonborn war priest of Tiamat). After battling him Tilvaxus' horde is accessible to the party but Jasmine contacts them with Sending to get them to leave the fort.
After the party leaves the fort, they're greeted with shock and awe at their boldness and actually fighting for freedom instead of submitting out of fear and Jasmine is definitely proud of them but knows the job's not done yet because when the black dragon comes back, she'll be mad.
Two days later the party has gotten to decide what to do with the horde and have been celebrated by all the townsfolk but that all ends and infuriates the returned Tilvaxus who decides to make an example of the inn building by melting it to a puddle, before raising crop taxes for the next decade and demanding mortal sacrifice to Tiamat.
Now that she's alone and unprotected Jasmine tells the party that now's the perfect time to strike at the tyrant and she plans to help by gifting them leveled scrolls and better health potions
The party can easily make their way back to the swampy courtyard where Durkerax and the horde he was guarding were and after finding out who ruined her domain, she'll try to make sure it will never happen again.
When Greenest has been freed, the party are heralded as heroes and Jasmine and Bahamut see great potential in them. Whether the party goes out to liberate more towns or stays back to take care of Greenest is their choice; Jasmine prefers the former, but the townsfolk will enjoy the latter.
Chapter 2
Dragon Slayers (Lv. 12)
The party has chosen to either stay and lead Greenest or venture out with Jasmine to find ways to liberate more of society from the Chromatic dragons. They're given whatever they could ask for from Greenest citizens and Jasmine is happy to follow them, so they stay safe (and fed using Create Food and Water). Dragon cultists have been known to come from the road out of Greenest and will do so as long as they don't know that Tilvaxus has perished.
Plot Overview
If the party has decided to stay in Greenest then they can take downtime to restore the place physically and emotionally, but it is besieged by Dragon cultists who take the road to the town leading to Jasmine to further urge them to follow their footsteps back to where they came from. If they've already decided to travel, they are freely supplied whatever they need (and silver weapons for fighting monsters) in thanks and waved off by the whole town and Jasmine is very pleased to follow them.
The road they follow leads to a camp of Dragon cultists and they're Black Abishai leader who are guarding a dragon egg hatchery. There are written plans that the cult has to find an Orb of Dragon kind (a powerful magic item that can control Chromatic dragons). When the people are dealt with, Jasmine strongly suggests destroying the Chromatic eggs and will be noticeably upset if the party refuses to help her (late at night she "takes watch" but during that she shapeshifts, goes back to the dragon hatchery and destroys the eggs with her breath).
The plans state that the cult is hunting a scholar who may know how to find the Orb but was last spotted in Elturel, a religious town near Baldur's Gate, and over a week away from the camp. The camp is never visited by people again and the amount of money on each resident means the party can loot the place and sleep soundly (after the adventure a shrine to Tiamat mysteriously appears in the camp location with no sign of anyone else having been there).
Getting to Elturel may require a map that Jasmine or a character has and takes 1 week and 3 days at a normal pace, but the way has the normal dangerous found in grasslands and on the roads (starving bandits, wild animals, and some dangerous monstrosities) but there are new supernatural encounters (bands of roving Abishai, cultists with drakes enforcing tolls, and a red dragon wyrmling) due to Tiamat becoming the overlord of the Sword Coast. (Level up)
The holy city of Elturel has had all signs of the previous faiths torn down by the Dragon Cult and it's current "king", Setula, the Adult Red Dragon (who's son the party killed on their way to Elturel) who enforces Tiamat worship to everyone with failure to comply results in crucifixion or being fed to the dragon. Even The Companion that floated above the place was cracked open and the angel killed by Tiamat. The party is intensely interrogated about where they came from and what they're doing at the city but they're most likely going to get in without too much trouble.
Asking the few Abishai and plenty of cultist guards about the location of the scholar is guaranteed to fail, Jasmine is sure of it if no one else is so they'll have to ask the citizenry. When in a private place a concerned but hopeful citizen (secretly a dragon) will reveal the location of Thomas the half-elf diviner who secretly worships Savras from the safe of his townhouse where the citizen can direct the party too.
Finding Thomas is easy enough with directions but the whole town is afraid to be seen interacting with the newcomers including Thomas who initially doesn't trust them but feels close to Jasmine for some reason (he casted detect thoughts before he opened the door, and she gave him her thoughts as a sign of good will). After inviting them in, checking for scrying sensors, and sketching a picture of everybody except Jasmine, he can inform them that the Orb of Dragon kind lies in the tomb of the Draco-lich only known as Skagen who is what used to be Axeholm.
To help them he'll gift each hero a magic item of their choice of uncommon rarity or lower and allow them to have a copy of the key to his house. Thomas only humbly requests that the adventurers can, after obtaining the Orb of Dragon kind, assassinate Setula while personally Jasmine believes they can do it sooner rather than later. Until they choose, the party can rest at the house safely. (Level up)
Thomas and Jasmine divining overnight reveals that Setula is planning his brief, weekly visit to his nest in 4 days for nothing but to check that his wyrmlings are developing perfectly. Jasmine suggests that instead of waiting for him to come back, the party take the head start to go to his nest (just North of Elturel in cave with his horde) and kill him there while Thomas and Jasmine will be planning a rebellion in Elturel.
Setula flies into a rage after finding out about the disappearance of his favorite son (and even more upset if his other wyrmlings have died) but after being slain his horde is free to confiscate it later. Back in Elturel Thomas used Fabricate for several days in a row to arm willing fighters with silver weapons while Jasmine recruited them and fostered hope amongst the populace. The silver weapons worked well against the few Abishai there (as planned) and the spells and overwhelming numbers ran off or killed the cultists in charge (also as planned).
The biggest obstacle of the rebellion was the Blue Abishai wizard who saw that his side was losing and teleported away to some unknown location, but while the cult's out of town the party can enjoy more glory in the eyes of the townsfolk and valuables from the dragon horde. With Thomas happily stepping up to govern after gaining some courage, the party has a new, powerful ally and a nemesis who barely knows of them in the form of Nexus, the Abishai mage.
Chapter 3
Dragon Slayers (Lv. 15)
The party has turned Elturel against its Red Dragon ruler and gotten an ally who provided magic items and drove off the cultists and Abishai. Jasmine decided to stay in Elturel with Thomas now that they're fond of each other. Thomas, to study more about the Cult of Tiamat and Jasmine to spiritually lead the religious town.
Plot Overview
The party can go through downtime but after is urged to go after the Orb of Dragon kind in Axeholm ruins
The party should be able to travel without Jasmine as long as they take the High Road for most of the trip with the regular random encounters along the way, a pair of Green Dragon Wyrmling siblings who try to ambush, and a minority of Yugoloths working for the Scaled Tyrant trying to rob the party.
The final encounter is Nexus who approaches peacefully and promises to not harm them if the party tells him all they know about the Orb of Dragonkind. If they don't accept his offer 3 Black Abishai emerge from the shadows and a tamed Bulette comes from underground while Nexus Teleports away again assuming they'll die (Level up)
Skagen's lair is well hidden, and the path is booby-trapped and guarded by Kobolds with Drake mounts working with but also fearing the undead. The manufactured caves have been decorated by Kobolds according to Skagen's direction with several shrines to Tiamat (which allow her to see through them).
In an underground wing before Skagen's chamber is a laboratory of Lich who's been secretly crafting evil magic items for generations. He's guarded by 3 Wight and won't run from a fight because Skagen is his phylactery and he's sure of his immortality. The magic items in his lab are cursed or have horrible effects on victims, one of which is a Sword of Wounding which can halt regeneration meaning it can stop Tiamat's innate healing powers. As well as his Necromancy focused spell book. (Level up)
The party can rest and loot the lab since only the Lich goes in and out. Skagen can be found further back and up in the mountains by tracking the heat and claw marks. His chamber is an open cave with a balcony that leads outside and a pool of lava that makes up most of the floor since he's a Red Draco-lich and won't even feign peacefulness. (Level up)
The Orb is at the top of his horde and is etched in Draconic prayers to Tiamat making it Skagen's phylactery, meaning he'll always be with it. The horde has thousands of platinum pieces, some adamantine ingots, and crystals. With a Sending spell for confirmation Thomas requests the party tell him where they are so Jasmine and him can Teleport there.
Jasmine had a dream from Bahamut, and the god wants her specifically to deliver it to him to destroy forever. In an instant for everyone else she flashes away and returns with a beam of light looking much stronger physically and with plate armor without the Orb (Bahamut and his Council destroyed it in his realm and while a month passed for her, Jasmine leveled up to 13 and can use her dragon strength of 30 in Priest form).
Thomas needs rest before they can Teleport back to Elturel and the cavern has more than enough space for it as well as a lab that he can use. Jasmine will stomp through the whole cave system to destroy every Tiamat altar.
Chapter 4
Tiamat’s End (Lv. 20)
The party has become truly powerful and has now shown themselves to be threats against the Chromatic dragons and their allies. Now even Tiamat has taken notice of them through Nexus and the destruction of the Orb of Dragonkind. Nothing earns Tiamat's ire and lives for long but maybe these mortals will be different. Jasmine and Thomas have been cleaning out the cave system with only a few kobolds to deal with and are converting it to a temple to Bahamut and Savras plus whatever deities the party member's worship.
Plot Overview
After a few days of actual peace, a thud is heard outside the cave's entrance. Investigating it reveals it to be a Golden Half-dragon, Empyrean of Bahamut, who came to the Material Plane to kill Tiamat and he's willing to help this band of unexpectedly powerful mortals.
Jasmine knows this celestial figure as Madrador and trusts him immediately. He knows she's a Silver Dragon with his true sight but doesn't say anything because he assumed everyone knew already. Thomas already did his regular detect thoughts and trusts Madrador too.
The big issue is that nobody knows where exactly Tiamat could be. She flew quickly and anyone who saw her, she razed in a conflagration of the elements or natural weapons and most scrying spells can't find her due to her spell immunity.
If nobody else can come up with a way to find her Thomas can ask his mentor Mordenkainen where Tiamat was last seen and follow her path to her current location.
Anyone can Sending the powerful wizard Mordenkainen but he's staying in his tower in a demiplane that he created and is going to stay there until "This whole Tiamat mess is cleaned up". But he can determine that the dragon goddess was last seen flying to Chult's mainland. "Maybe she likes the climate… or the taste of the people…" the Archmage grimly speculates.
Getting to the island nation is extremely difficult for anyone especially those without a boat and even with a boat the voyage would take 2 weeks.
The party could go straight to the coast and find a boat to be wrecked there
They could try to make a boat and bring it to the coast themselves with a series of tool checks
Madrador offers to fly people, but he can only carry 2 people at a time, but he does claim that Jasmine could fly people too, unintentionally exposing her as a powerful dragon
Jasmine implies that divine intervention could teleport them all to Chult but it most likely wouldn't bring them directly to Tiamat herself
Thomas suggests that maybe, possibly he could Teleport them all to Chult but the location would be random and could face terrible mishap (he uses a Portent to avoid the worst things)
Regardless of how the party chooses to get to Chult they are flanked by 2 draconic pit fiends patrolling the perimeter of the Queen's new island. Since Mardrador's hands are full he can't really help in the fight but Thomas riding Jasmine can. (Level up)
Ending up on the coast of Chult reveals that it has been thoroughly warped by the fiendish magic of Tiamat and her servants. Towns have been destroyed and there are spires of glass because of burned sand and it is common to see Chultans enslaved by mostly bearded and chained devils
The volcano in the middle of Chult is obviously Tiamat's new lair since devils of all types can be seen flying out of it's mouth and the unholy Storm of Vengeance swirling above it. It used to be the Peaks of Flame but Tiamat excavated it to make it a deeper lair with a portal to Avernus under the lava pool she relaxes in.
Depending on where the party chose to arrive the new volcano could be days or weeks away, but it is always known and the trip there leads to conflict with:
Lesser devils capturing or hunting people
People trying to hide from the devils and dragons
Adult dragons who patrol the skies for intruders or escapees
Ancient Metallic dragons who have secretly come to help fight Chromatic dragons, but many have died
A tortured Solar sent by Torm to close the dragon's portal to Hell who gives her sword to the party before she dies (it's a Holy Avenger)
Eventually the party reaches the mountain and will be able to scale the cliff face meant for flying creatures and is met with Nexus and his superior, a Red Abishai along with 3d4 White Abishai grunts. (Level up) This shouldn't be too hard with Thomas, Jasmine, and Madrador as back up but Nexus vows vengeance as he dies.
Further into the cave is a Deathknight who's served Tiamat ever since he died 300 years ago. Now he leads a small "adventuring party" who kill Tiamat's well-hidden enemies that require a bit of finesse to access. They're composed of an Assassin, a Black guard, another War Priest, and a Warlock of the Fiend (the fiend being Tiamat). (Level up)
The entrance into the rest of the volcano is over 2 miles long and has smaller caves with treasure in them to rest in with minimal ground patrols. Any rest makes Madrador antsy and bloodthirsty, so he flies ahead, shouting prayers to Bahamut in every language he knows. He meets Tiamat at the very end along with army of fellow celestials of every good deity who combat Tiamat together (Tiamat is found bloodied, with 1 Divine Word left, and 3 Legendary Resistances left)
When the party reaches Tiamat's throne room, she sits in a crater of magma that covers her portal to Avernus. The blood and body parts of angels are scattered around the cavern; some remnants of them and Madrador can be seen in the teeth of Tiamat's many heads. She proclaims "I've destroyed GODS before you mortals! After I kill you ambitious wyrmlings I'll devour your ENTIRE PANTHEON!!"
At the start of battle a spectral Aspect of Bahamut appears with a radiant breath that blinds Tiamat for a round and stops her regeneration until the top of the next round. Another Red Abishai riding on an Adult Red Dragon arrives to focus on the mages while the martial party members can focus on Tiamat (ending her regeneration with the Sword of Wounding).
After Tiamat dies, she falls back to Hell and her portal closes behind her then Thomas or Jasmine (whoever survives) congratulates the party infinitely and knows that the other Chromatic dragons who didn't flee will be nothing to them. But they can be dealt with later, right now they just want a vacation, maybe in Chult. Thomas plans on going back to Elturel and governing it while rooting out Tiamat worship within the area and Jasmine wants to stay with her new husband to watch over it and clean up Baldur's Gate.
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