Tyranny of Dragons: The Rise of Tiamat reaches its conclusion at the Well of Dragons, where dragons, giants, spellcasters, and armies clash spectacularly around the risen Temple of Tiamat. As they do, the adventurers take on the crucial assignment of infiltrating the temple and making a final stand against the servants of the Dragon Queen and their dark goddess.
The climactic finale of The Rise of Tiamat should be played only after all the other chapters of the adventure are complete and the characters have reached 14th or 15th level. In the chapters leading up to this one, both the Harpers and the Zhentarim have spies among the Cult of the Dragon. As such, both organizations can report that the cult’s preparations are nearing completion. That same information could also come from prisoners questioned directly by the characters during any of the incidents in chapter 13.
However it happens, from the moment this chapter kicks into action, events escalate rapidly. There is no turning back from that point onward, and characters who hesitate risk losing everything.
The Final Battle
The battle between the factions of the Sword Coast and the Cult of the Dragon plays out as a huge clash between armies and monstrous forces. The manner in which that battle plays out depends on the outcome of the “Council of Waterdeep” chapter, and on how successful the heroes have been bringing the various factions together. See “area Enemies and Allies,” later in this section, for more information.
Before or during the final battle, the adventurers have a chance to reconnoiter the Well of Dragons and undertake a stealthy infiltration of the cult’s redoubt and the Temple of Tiamat.
The Draakhorn
Since it began sounding, the
See area 8 in “area The Well of Dragons” for more information on the
Severin’s Triumph
Severin’s plan to bring Tiamat back to the world has been set up in five distinct stages:
- Assemble a treasure hoard worthy of Tiamat.
- Gather an army of dragons and other evil creatures to defend the Well of Dragons against interference.
- Capture hundreds of prisoners whose souls will power the magic that draws Tiamat to Faerûn.
- Perform the ritual that raises Tiamat’s Temple in the caldera of the Well of Dragons.
- Sacrifice the prisoners while performing the ritual that guides Tiamat from the Nine Hells to the world.
The first three stages of Severin’s plan are complete. Stage 4 will be completed by the time the characters arrive at the Well of Dragons. Stage 5 begins soon after the heroes and their factional allies arrive, and becomes the focal point of this final battle against the cult.
Stopping Severin
The heroes' goal is to thwart Severin’s plans and prevent Tiamat from passing from the Nine Hells into Faerûn. The characters' accomplishments up to this point have frustrated Severin and slowed his plans. But the only thing that can truly stop him now is ending the ritual performed by the cult’s Red Wizard allies inside the Temple of Tiamat.
Approaching the Well
As the characters and the forces commanded by the factions of the Council of Waterdeep approach the Well of Dragons, they should have no doubt that they are moving deep into enemy territory. The landscape for a hundred miles in all directions is a grim harbinger of what Tiamat’s rule would mean for the world.
Little remains in the territory surrounding the Well of Dragons, and the constant drone of the
Draakhorn has forced the local animals to flee or driven them mad. A handful of villages in the area are bloodstained ghost towns, and every farmstead is a charred ruin. The few survivors you encounter are headed in the opposite direction, all of them watching the sky for the telltale shape of a dragon on the wing.
Chromatic dragons patrol the area by day and night. You can call for DC 12 Intelligence (
Flying to the Well of Dragons is problematic. Whether they’re on metallic dragons or flying under their own power, the characters will be attacked by chromatic dragons long before they reach their destination.
The Well of Dragons
The Well of Dragons is the caldera of an extinct volcano at the northern end of the Sunset Mountains. For reasons no mortal understands, many dragons reaching the end of their lives come to the Well of Dragons to die, and have been doing so for millennia.
The caldera of a long-dead volcano rises from an ashen plane ahead. Along the cinder cone’s steeply sloped sides, thousands of creatures mill about or are lining up into ordered infantry ranks. In the air above, dozens of chromatic dragons wheel and shriek like a flock of immense crows, awaiting the bloodshed of the battle to come.
The Cult of the Dragon discovered the Well of Dragons long ago. Lava tubes snaking beneath the now-dormant volcano formed natural corridors connecting caverns that the cult enlarged for their own use. Within the central caldera, they raised a ritual space for creating dracoliches from dragons drawn to the site knowing they would soon die. Under Severin’s leadership, the caldera and the catacombs beneath it have been repurposed as the site where Tiamat’s vast temple will be raised and the Dragon Queen’s new reign begun. The floor of the caldera is blanketed with the bones of dragons, mounded into immense, tangled heaps.
The caldera of the Well of Dragons is roughly oval-shaped, with high, steep walls. The dragons flying above it are not scouting for infiltrators, thankfully, but are quarreling and posturing for each other before the battle.
In the past, the number of cultists at the Well of Dragons seldom exceeded one hundred. Now, with ultimate victory near at hand, their numbers have swelled. Only cultists live and work in the warrens beneath the caldera. The thousands of mercenaries, giants, devils, and monsters serving the cult are camped chiefly along the north and east slopes.
The Temple of Tiamat
The map of the caldera shows the outline of where the Temple of Tiamat will appear when it is raised by the Red Wizards' magic. That job will be finished by the time the characters and their allies arrive to do battle with the cult.
A mind-numbing structure has pushed up from beneath the tangled bones to tower above the blasted volcano. Partly volcanic ash fused with dragon bones and partly stone imbued with the dark magic of the Nine Hells, the Temple of Tiamat is all chaotic angles and jutting buttresses. Within that snarl of cornices and soaring angulation, you make out five asymmetric towers topped by twisted steeples.
Lava Tubes and Warrens
Lava tubes form natural pathways beneath the caldera of the extinct volcano. Over the decades since the Cult of the Dragon claimed the Well of Dragons, cultists enlarged the natural caverns connected by the lava tubes and excavated new ones.
Most of the lava tube entrances are marked by visible paths along the slopes of the volcano. **area Entrance 2A ** sees little use, so the characters are likely to overlook it without a careful search. Entrance 3 is never used; the cult believes that this tunnel is still blocked after a collapse sixty years before.
General Features
Corridors
The lava tubes range from 15 to 25 feet in diameter. They are large enough for dracoliches and dragons to move through easily.
Light
The lava tube corridors are dimly lit by lamps or torches hung on the walls at wide intervals. Chambers within the Well of Dragons are brightly lit by lamps unless otherwise noted.
Sound
The sound of the
Within the Well of Dragons
As the time for the ritual draws near, the Well of Dragons is crawling with cultists and their allies. Whether using stealth or disguising themselves as cultists, the characters can easily survey the entrances to the lava tubes or see the risen temple from the edge of the caldera. However, once the adventurers enter the Well of Dragons, disguises prove ineffective. The cultists working in and patrolling the caverns are on high alert, and use a complex system of checks and passwords as proof against spies and enemy agents.
The advanced state of the ritual means that all cultists have been ordered to patrol or prepare for battle. If the characters tarry too long in one place or wander around the Well of Dragons without purpose, add additional guard patrols based on existing encounters.
1A, 1B, 1C. North Entrances
Entrance 1A sees the heaviest use of all the tunnel entrances along the north side of the caldera. All the treasure brought to the Well of Dragons passes through it on the way to area area 6 or area area 7. Each of these entrances is guarded by 3 Dragonwing, 3 Dragonclaw, and 2 Guard Drake (see appendix D for these creatures statistics).
Entrances 1B and 1C are within sight of each other, but 1A is hidden from the other two by the curve of the mountainside.
2A, 2B, 2C. East Entrances
Of the tunnel entrances on the east side of the caldera, only 2C is heavily used. All the prisoners held in the warrens are brought through that tunnel on their way to areas area 16, area 17, or area 18. Entrance 2A is seldom used. Entrance 2B is used by the cultists who live in areas area 12 and area 13, but by no one else.
Entrances 2A and 2B are guarded by 1 dragonwing and 3 Dragonclaw each. Entrance 2C is guarded by 1 dragonfang, 3 Dragonwing, 5 Dragonclaw, and 3 Guard Drake. See appendix D for these creatures statistics.
3. Forgotten Entrance
No cultist has used this entrance since the tunnel collapsed at the three-way intersection sixty years ago, rendering the passageway useless. Recently, an umber hulk burrowed by accident into these tunnels, reopening the passage in all three directions. As a result, this tunnel offers an unguarded entrance into the caldera and the warrens.
A character who scouts the mountain before charging in notices this entrance with a successful DC 12 Intelligence (
A thin wall of rubble still standing to the east of the three-way intersection makes the cultists believe the passage remains completely blocked. However, the wall can be carefully taken down to allow movement in that direction. Characters at the three-way intersection can feel air moving along the northern part of the tunnel, suggesting open space beyond.
4. Naergoth Bladelord
Before Severin assumed control over the Cult of the Dragon, the Well of Dragons was used to transform dying dragons into dracoliches. Naergoth Bladelord (see appendix D for statistics) is a wight who commanded this site for centuries in the name of the Cult of the Dragon. After devoting many lifetimes of selfless service to the cult, he was shunted aside in favor of the new order. Though his loyalty remains unshakeable, Naergoth fears that Severin will succeed in his plans, and that Tiamat will destroy the cult that freed her.
As a wight, Naergoth has little use for quarters, but the presence of objects that belonged to him in life make this a pleasing spot for him. The chamber looks like the home of a noble knight that was abandoned centuries ago, its contents now covered in dust and hung with cobwebs and pathos.
Intruders skulking through the warrens can run into Naergoth anywhere. Use him as a roleplaying encounter or add him to a battle that is going well for the party at a time of your choosing.
5. Unused Chamber
Whatever purpose this empty chamber served during the years of the dracoliches is long forgotten.
6. Main Treasure Chamber
The well-traveled entrance to this chamber is guarded by 1 dragonfang (see appendix D for statistics) who commands 2 Flesh Golem.
The treasure that the cult has stolen from across the Sword Coast to create a hoard for the Dragon Queen is stockpiled in this chamber, creating a sight beyond even the greediest character’s dreams.
You see gold—mountains of it. And jewels… and pearls… silver plate and gilded mirrors… jeweled swords and the armor of kings… caskets and boxes and barrels filled to overflowing with the treasure of the Sword Coast, packed into a cave the size of a cathedral and stacked to the height of a giant! Pathways wind through a glittering mass whose reflected light dazzles your eyes, like a million twinkling stars close enough to touch.
Prowling through the narrow paths between the heaped treasures are 4 Guard Drake (see appendix D for statistics). They are used to the vaults being unoccupied (rank-and-file cultists are not allowed here), and attack intruders or move to join fighting at the entrance at once.
Treasure
This cavern holds treasure beyond counting. If the characters seek a particular item and have hours to spend searching, they can probably find it here. A
7. Secondary Treasure Chamber
Art objects, valuable books, fine linen, crystalware, and especially fragile magic items are stored here less haphazardly than in area 6, piled carefully on shelves and tables.
8. The Draakhorn
As the characters advance up the lava tube toward this chamber, the tones of the
For any character entering area 8, the sound fades to silence—because any creature that enters the chamber is temporarily
After the din of the tunnel, this chamber seems preternaturally silent—until you realize you are completely
deafened in the presence of the fearsomeDraakhorn . Carved from the massive horn of an ancient red dragon, it hangs suspended by chains from the ceiling of this chamber, blasted with fire to a dark ebony hue and bound by thick bands of bronze. Draconic runes etched into its surface glow with a purple eldritch fire.
An air elemental sounds the horn with its endless breath, guarded by a stone golem. If the characters interfere with the horn or the air elemental, the golem and the elemental attack.
The
If the horn’s sound ceases for more than 1 minute, 1 dragonsoul, 1 dragonfang, and 4 Dragonwing arrive to investigate. See appendix D for these cultists' statistics.
Draakhorn
The
The low, moaning drone of the
Those with knowledge of the
9. Planning Room
In this currently empty chamber, Severin meets with his inner circle and other cult leaders to make plans and issue orders. A long table is flanked by several benches and chairs, with a few small writing tables along the walls for scribes who keep notes.
10. Leaders' Quarters
This well-appointed dormitory houses the most important Wearers of Purple staying at the Well of Dragons. Rows of beds line the north and east walls, with locker-style wardrobes holding mundane gear along the west wall. As the activity at the Well of Dragons reaches its peak, this chamber is empty.
11. Severin’s Quarters
This chamber is the personal quarters of Severin, and contains a bed, a trunk holding mundane personal belongings, a wardrobe for robes and regalia, a large writing desk, and a wood-and-iron display stand for the dragon masks. The stand’s construction allows for the masks to be displayed separately or combined into the single
12, 13. High-Ranking Cultists' Chambers
Cultists of dragonsoul and dragonfang rank stationed inside the warrens use these quarters. The chambers are arranged like barracks, with cots for sleeping and trunks for storing personal belongings. With so many strangers presently in and around the Well of Dragons, the cultists who use these chambers have arranged for 4 Guard Drake (see appendix D for statistics) to watch the area.
14. Prisoners' Effects
Personal items taken from prisoners are tossed into this chamber. Nothing of value can be found among the odds and ends, but daggers, darts, and shortswords here can be used to equip prisoners still capable of fighting.
15. Low-Ranking Cultists' Chamber
The cultists who stand guard over the prisoners in areas 16 to 18 sleep here. The chamber contains only straw mattresses spread on the floor, a few tables made of planks laid over barrels, and roughly made benches. When the characters enter, the room contains 3 Dragonwing and 9 Dragonclaw eating a quick meal before the battle. See appendix D for these cultists' statistics.
16, 17, 18. Prisoner Pens
Prisoners captured by the cult have been held in these dark, filthy chambers pending the day of the ritual and their eventual sacrifice. Two groups of guards patrol these areas while the prisoners are here, each consisting of 1 dragonwing, 2 Dragonclaw, and 1 guard drake. See appendix D for these creatures' statistics.
If the characters pass this way while the sacrifices are taking place, area 16 is empty except for a dozen corpses of prisoners who died of starvation. However, a half-starved fifteen-year-old human male named Stirling is hiding amid the corpses. Stirling can tell the character that the cultists ushered prisoners towards the caldera a few hours ago, but he knows little else.
With area 16 empty, a prisoner escort consisting of 5 Dragonclaw has begun to move prisoners from area 17 up to the temple. Additionally, a dragonfang, 5 Dragonclaw, and 2 Guard Drake working nearby arrive within 2 rounds if a disturbance breaks out. (See appendix D for these creatures' statistics) The prisoners aren’t shackled together, but most of them are weak from starvation. Ten human Commoner can fight alongside the characters if they acquire weapons. The characters are free to make use of these allies any way they see fit. If sent into combat, they quickly perish.
19. Drake Pens
The drakes that patrol the lava tunnels are kenneled in this chamber. When the characters investigate this chamber, 4 Guard Drake (see appendix D) are present, fighting over hunks of meat that are best left unidentified. Gnawed humanoid bones are scattered throughout the room, along with belt buckles, tattered boots, and scraps of blood-soaked clothing.
20, 21. Red Wizards' Quarters
The Red Wizards whose magic raises the Temple of Tiamat in the caldera and who will summon the Dragon Queen into this world are housed in these two caverns. Both areas are luxuriously furnished, but the Red Wizards keep their belongings packed in trunks and ready to teleport away at a moment’s notice. The larger area 20 is the residence of Rath Modar. All the Red Wizards are presently in the Temple of Tiamat.
22. Sinkhole
This portion of the caldera collapsed into an underground cavity ages ago to form a large sinkhole. The only current member of the Cult of the Dragon who is aware that a branch of a lava tunnel exits into this sinkhole is the wight Naergoth Bladelord (area area 4), and he believes the tunnel is still blocked.
The sinkhole is 30 feet deep. The sides are steep but composed of rough volcanic rock that’s easy to climb. Dragon bones cover the bottom of the pit to a depth of 5 feet, making the floor of the pit difficult terrain. Cultists never come to the sinkhole; the only creatures that might spot infiltrators in this area are flying dragons.
23. Northern Exits
The dragon bones that blanket the caldera have been pushed away from these exits to create a bleak open plaza connecting both tunnel exits to the entrance to the temple. This space extends 250 feet from east to west and 100 feet north from the temple gate, and is the scene of horrendous slaughter during the sacrifice ritual. Prisoners are ushered from the temple into the plaza, where five waiting dragons (One of each color of any age category) tear into them with teeth and claws.
Though these exits are not normally guarded, during the prisoner sacrifice, the each tunnel is blocked by 2 Barbed Devil and 4 Guard Drake (see appendix D for statistics). The devils' attention is focused toward the plaza, however, not down the tunnels or on what the guard drakes do. The guard drakes might notice approaching characters before the devils do, but they attack only if the fiends give the order. Therefore, the party might get the drop on these guards.
For characters who move beyond the cleared plaza, or who approach this area from the sinkhole, the piles of bones are difficult terrain.
24. Temple Exit
The main lava tunnel of the southern warrens exits inside the black chapel (area area 5) of Tiamat’s temple. Prisoners intended for sacrifice are brought up to the black chapel and marched to the temple entrance, and forced out into the plaza for the waiting dragons to feast on. This exit is unguarded.
Tiamat’s Temple
The temple in the caldera of the Well of Dragons is the same temple that marks the center of Tiamat’s realm on Avernus. The Red Wizards' ritual has brought it here to act as a beachhead and beacon for the Dragon Queen, melding it into the caldera floor in the process. The main gate into area 1 (the blue chapel) is the only apparent entrance, but a lava tube corridor from the cult’s subterranean warrens leads into area 5 (the black chapel).
When the ritual begins, the temple is the focus of the cult’s activity, with Severin’s Red Wizard allies (use mage statistics) at the center of the action. The souls of sacrifices provide the magical power to open a pathway between the Nine Hells and the Material Plane. The Red Wizards will then guide Tiamat as she claws her way into the mortal realm.
Temple Layout
The interior of the temple is a single open expanse. Though divided into distinct areas, the cathedral-like space has no interior walls or upper floors. Five chapels are devoted to one of the five aspects of Tiamat and the matching branch of chromatic dragons, all surrounding a central apse. The apse and all five chapels rise into separate spires, culminating in the sanctuary at the pinnacle of the central spire. Level 2 as shown on the map is a zone 50 feet above ground level; level 3 is a zone 100 feet above ground level, both of which can be reached only by flying.
Once your eyes adjust to the stunning chaos of Tiamat’s Temple, you see that its interior is a single, cathedral-like space that towers far overhead. Five distinct vaults branch off the central gallery. Though the overwhelming color of the place is a lifeless, ashen gray, each of the side vaults shimmers dimly blue, green, red, white, or black—the hues of the evil dragons and their world-consuming queen.
Red Wizards stand in each of the five vaults, chanting and channeling magical force into the central apse. There, a kaleidoscopic whorl of arcane energy rises above the blackened floor, stretching up into the twisting recesses of the temple’s central spire.
The numbered areas on the map are identified in the table below, which also identifies key NPCs during the ritual that will bring Tiamat to the Well of Dragons.
Key to Tiamat’s Temple
| # | Name | Occupant and Activity during Ritual |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entrance/blue chapel | Red Wizard performing ritual |
| 2 | Least apse | |
| 3 | White chapel | Red Wizard performing ritual |
| 4 | Green chapel | Red Wizard performing ritual |
| 5 | Black chapel | Red Wizard performing ritual; also the exit from the warrens |
| 6 | Red chapel | Rath Modar performing ritual |
| 7 | Great apse | Portal through which Tiamat emerges from Avernus |
| 8 | Blue spire | Red Wizard (flying) performing ritual |
| 9 | White spire | Red Wizard (flying) performing ritual |
| 10 | Green spire | Red Wizard (flying) performing ritual |
| 11 | Black spire | Red Wizard (flying) performing ritual |
| 12 | Red spire | Red Wizard (flying) performing ritual |
| 13 | Sanctuary | Severin (levitating) wearing the |
Any free wyrmspeakers the characters have previously interacted with can be present in their respective chapels in the temple if you wish, but their presence isn’t required. Wyrmspeakers not here are outside leading the Well of Dragons' defense.
Performing the Ritual
To successfully bring Tiamat from the Nine Hells into the world, the Red Wizards must successfully focus the summoning ritual for 10 rounds after the adventurers enter the Temple of Tiamat. Each round, at least five Red Wizards must use an action to perform the ritual in order for it to be successfully focused for that round, helping guide Tiamat across the planes.
At the end of the Red Wizards' turn, if fewer than five Red Wizards used an action to perform the ritual, the portal floating in the great apse (area 7) wavers and no progress in the ritual is made. If fewer than five Red Wizards perform the ritual for 2 rounds in succession, the portal collapses and the count of successfully focused rounds is reset to 0.
The
Enemies and Allies
By consulting the scorecard filled out during the four sessions of the Council of Waterdeep (see appendix B), you can assess the strength of the forces brought to bear against the Cult of the Dragon. The alliances forged by the characters during the adventure are essential to stopping the cult.
The Final Battle Assets table lists the creatures and forces fighting on both sides. “Factional Assets” covers the main possibilities for alliances created during the adventure, but you can modify the list as needed depending on events in your campaign.
Assigning Assets
When you’ve noted which assets are fighting against the cult, it’s time to decide how those forces of good attack. The characters are key figures in the allied force marching on the Well of Dragons, and their voices carry tremendous weight. As such, make sure the players know they have a key role to play in planning the battle.
The simplest approach is a one-to-one matchup, with specific good assets canceling out cult assets. Give the players free reign on matching assets, but weigh in on whether a specific plan has merit if you feel the need. For example, the players might decide that assassins provided by the Zhentarim should counter the sacrificial prisoners by infiltrating the cult complex and escorting those prisoners to freedom. In that case, you might remind the players that the Black Network’s expert killers can be put to better use against the cult leaders of Severin’s inner circle, while Harper agents or forces of the Lords' Alliance help in the tunnels beneath the caldera.
Certain matchups are obvious. The metallic dragons are instinctive foes of the chromatic dragons, and those two forces can be expected to keep each other occupied during the battle. More importantly, the metallic dragons will keep the chromatic dragons from interfering with the adventurers' plans.
Final Battle Assets
| Cult Assets | Factional Assets |
|---|---|
| Severin | Order of the Gauntlet |
| Rath Modar | Emerald Enclave |
| Cult leaders* | Zhentarim assassins |
| Cultist troops | Harper agents |
| Chromatic dragons | Metallic dragons |
| Devils | Devils |
| Giants | Giants |
| Evil mercenaries | Lords' Alliance army |
| Temple of Tiamat | Skyreach Castle** |
| Red Wizards | Arcane Brotherhood |
Cult Assets
Severin
The head of the cult remains in the temple sanctuary (area 13), wearing the
Rath Modar
Rath Modar leads the ritual of guidance, but any Red Wizard can take on that role. When the temple is attacked, he hands over his part in the ritual and leads the attack against the adventurers. See appendix D for Rath Modar statistics.
Cult Leaders
Wearers of Purple are venerated leaders among the cultists, and most of them are powerful combatants in their own right.
Cultist Troops
The Cult of the Dragon has thousands of combatants at the Well of Dragons, all armed and dedicated to the glory of the Dragon Queen.
Chromatic Dragons
The exact number of chromatic dragons present at the Well of Dragons is up to you, and could range from a few dozen to a hundred or more.
Devils
Devils fighting for the cult have been summoned by the Red Wizards, and serve fiendish masters dedicated to seeing Tiamat leave Avernus.
Giants
The few giants who fight for the cult believe that Tiamat’s return is inevitable, but they are sullen and uncooperative. They fight when they see easy victory but withdraw when they sense defeat.
Evil Mercenaries
Mercenary companies form the backbone of the cult’s army. Better trained than the cultists, these mercenaries are capable of standing against the best warriors in Faerûn.
Temple of Tiamat
The temple is necessary as the site of the ritual. Damaging it can help weaken Tiamat if the ritual is successful.
Red Wizards
Red Wizards not performing the ritual are embedded with mercenary units and troops of armed cultists to provide extra firepower.
Mask of the Dragon Queen
The magic of the mask is central to the ritual’s success. If it is claimed or destroyed, the ritual fails, but Severin uses all the power of the mask to keep it in his possession.
Factional Assets
Order of 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.
Emerald 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.
Harper 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.
Metallic Dragons
The metallic dragons will 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 Faerûn, knowing that their own power will 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.
Lords' Alliance Army
The massed forces of the separate members of the Lords' 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 will be assaulted by chromatic dragons the moment it appears above the Well of Dragons, drawing those powerful combatants away from defending the caldera.
Arcane 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.
Thwarting the Dragon Queen
The process of bringing back Tiamat involves four key components—the treasure amassed by the cult, the
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.
Facing Tiamat
When the forces of good have been deployed and the battle begun, the characters will 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 Wizards' portal, they will understand that this is no mere monster they face. As should be clear from her statistics in appendix d, 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 of the temple suddenly splits open with a crack of thunder.
The gargantuan heads of five dragons begin to tear and gnash their way out of the rune-lined pit of fire that forms there. Tiamat the Dragon Queen is about to burst bodily from her confinement in the Nine Hells and enter the world.
Tiamat’s Appearance
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
Weakening the Dragon Queen
The actions of the heroes in and prior to this final battle can reduce Tiamat’s power before she appears. Make a note if any of the following events occurs:
- The count of rounds over which the ritual is successfully focused is reset to 0 because the ritual is interrupted for two successive rounds.
- The
Mask of the Dragon Queen is destroyed, or is removed from Severin’s body and taken from the temple sanctuary (area 13). - The characters hold any of the dragon masks, or can otherwise prevent one or more masks from being used in the ritual. (The
Black Dragon Mask might have been claimed by the characters in the previous adventure.) - Severe damage is inflicted to the Temple of Tiamat, as from an
earthquake spell. - The sacrifice of prisoners in front of the temple is stopped. This might have been previously accomplished by attacking the dragons or by cutting off the flow of prisoners to the area.
When any of the previous events occurs, the following penalties are applied to Tiamat, in this order:
- Tiamat’s attack and breath weapon damage is reduced by 15, and her hit points drop by 75.
- Tiamat loses her Regeneration trait, her hit point maximum is reduced by 75, and her immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons becomes resistance instead.
- Tiamat loses Limited Spell Immunity, and her hit point maximum is reduced by 75.
- Tiamat takes a–5 penalty to attack rolls, saving throw DCs, and to her AC, and her hit point maximum is reduced by 75.
- Tiamat can take only three legendary actions, and her hit point maximum is reduced by 75.
If all the above penalties are successfully applied, Tiamat is effectively reduced to a challenge rating 18 foe—but that’s still a deadly fight for four 15th-level characters. Without all five reductions, the characters stand little chance of surviving a battle against the Dragon Queen, much less winning it.
Banishing Tiamat
If the characters reduce Tiamat to 0 hit points, her Discorporation trait kicks in. The portal collapses as the shrieking Dragon Queen disintegrates and is dragged back to Avernus. She will remain trapped there until someone else can recreate the conditions of the ritual and try again to free her.
Ruthless Play and High Stakes
Except as noted above, Tiamat should not be arbitrarily weakened in the interest of a fair fight. Presenting the Dragon Queen as anything less than a deity undercuts the whole adventure. Characters who tangle with Tiamat must know that they are in the fight of their lives.
No individual’s survival matters against the goal of stopping the Dragon Queen’s return, and heroes sometimes die for the greater good. Certainly, fallen characters can be raised again if Tiamat is defeated. And if she’s not defeated, dying might not be the worst option.
Victory or Defeat
The fate of the world hangs on this final battle. Whether the heroes and their allies win or lose, the consequences will be felt across Faerûn.
The Horror of Defeat
A victory for the Cult of the Dragon is a real possibility in this adventure, and would be catastrophic for Faerûn. With Tiamat ascendant, the age of mortals comes to an end and the age of dragons begins. Nations and kingdoms shatter, civilization collapses into bloody war, and chaos reigns supreme.
None of the Dragon Queen’s mortal agents receive the rewards they expected. The Red Wizards who freed her are devoured or driven away, hunted by the forces of Szass Tam. The cultists who orchestrated Tiamat’s return fare little better, with the Dragon Queen not caring which mortals her draconic subjects hunt, consume, and enslave. The glorious reign of dragons that Severin hoped to usher in and rule becomes a brutal world where evil dragons dominate all.
Such dark times need not mean the end of your campaign, however. The characters have lost a crucial battle, but they might survive to continue the war. Their new goal is to find a way to banish or destroy Tiamat for good, bringing peace to the world once more.
Aftermath of Victory
Tiamat’s threat ends if she is sent back to the Nine Hells, but the aftermath of victory can create challenges the adventurers must deal with. This includes helping the hundreds of prisoners remaining in the Well of Dragons. Severin’s fall also leaves hundreds of unrepentant cultists still loose in the world, hungering for power and revenge in light of their recent failure.
Moreover, much of the wealth of the Sword Coast is sitting in the Well of Dragons. Along with dealing with vengeful cultists, the characters might take a lead role in getting the treasure back to its original owners or their next of kin, while dealing with con artists, thieves, and treasure hunters looking to exploit what has suddenly become the richest dungeon in Faerûn.
Among the cult’s former allies, the vindictive chromatic dragons scatter back to their lairs, but only after many of them try to claim choice pieces of treasure or barrels bulging with gold and gems from the cult’s hoard. Furious at having their queen vanquished, the chromatic dragons might engage in sprees of destruction not seen in Faerûn for centuries.
Even victorious, the armies of good will have paid a steep cost in the fight against Tiamat. In addition to soldiers, leaders representing the ruling nobility of countless regions and houses will have fallen in the fight. The situation is not all bleak, however. Stirring instances of generosity and cooperation will stand out amid the darkness—and none of those will be greater than the legend of the adventurers. For generations, folk will look to the exploits and sacrifices of the heroes for inspiration as they rebuild and set their sights on better days.