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ToD - HotDQ - Ch2 - Stragglers

Tyranny of Dragons - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Characters spot this group’s cooking fire smoke from several miles away, because the stragglers stopped to roast a few prairie hens for a meal. They sought shelter in a low spot between surrounding hills, where tall boulders have rolled into a loose jumble. In fact, the surroundings offer no protection while making it easier for enemies to sneak up on the site.

By observing for a few minutes, characters can discern that there are four human cultists and eight kobolds in the group. The kobolds and humans distrust each other, and although the cultists act as if they’re the bosses, their leadership amounts to nothing more than ineffectual bullying. The humans’ weapons are stacked against a rock, out of easy reach. The kobolds have their weapons on their belts.

If the group is left alone, the kobolds grab their share of the half-cooked lunch and move about fifty yards away to eat, while the humans continue squabbling over how to cook a hen and the uselessness of kobolds as allies.

If characters choose to bypass this group, a detour can get them around it with no difficulty. They could run into these stragglers again on their way back to Greenest.

If characters attack, then unless they give away their presence on purpose (by hailing the camp, for example), they gain a surprise round. The humans spend their first turns retrieving their weapons and shields. The kobolds drop their food and scatter, then regroup and counterattack on round four, using their slings as much as possible. They stick around and fight only as long as any of their human allies are still fighting. As soon as the humans are all defeated, the remaining kobolds slink away into the hills and aren’t seen again.