Phandalin or Bust - Part 2

So, as the DM for this new (and I mean new) group of gamers, I admit that I have fudged some of my monster attack and damage rolls for the sake of fun and interaction.  This is not uncommon at low levels since after all a hobgoblin could easily kill a gnome sorcerer.....twice.

Let me clarify Brocc's situation:  he was killed but as DM, I knew the momentum of the game would be dissolved with the death of a character so instead, I opted for his unconscious body to be kept "barely alive" while the player used Sildar as his character - who had no armor and very few hit points.  

Yemeek advised the party to where Klarg could be found and the best way to surprise him.  Well, they screwed that up pretty good by being loud and clanky.  Two goblins were waiting for them behind the stalagmites in the pool area where half of the pool had previously been released when the party got partly washed away, before the gnome got killed.

The party was whacked pretty good by just 2 goblins, but surprise generally does that and being the conscientious DM that I am, I made sure no one died.......except the goblins.

The party, now assuming they had the upper hand, snuck into Klarg's quarters in an attempt to hide and surprise him unknown that the third goblin from the pool area had already warned Klarg so the hobgoblin chief was prepared.

What a battle - Klarg, his wolf and 3 goblins were all at 1/2 cover so they were damn hard to hit.  The wolf was taken out by the Ranger, Brynwyyn, with much remorse.  Klarg presented himself in the open once his wolf went down and with the other 3 goblins quartering to take advantage, well, let's say the dice rolls were on the side of the party and yes, again I fudged some rolls to prevent a TPK - for the sake of the future.  Everyone got really low on hp except the dwarf, Bruenor, who is hard to hit with his 19 AC.  I've also subbed out some treasure for a few 2d4+2 healing potions.

This wasn't even the big ending!  They had to get back to Yemeek with evidence that Klarg was dead so their end of the bargain was complete - except Yemeek is a double crossing no good hobgoblin!  Hehe.....

Now the team gets into role play more than just being murder hobos because they are basically whipped.  With Yemeek holding Brocc's life in his hands, the party negotiates enough to get Yemeek distracted so Bruenor can lay in to the goblins and Brynwyyn can get a shot off at Yemeek - with a really good roll she hits him, thus turning the tide of the skirmish.

Long story short, the party survives and gets some loot but the best part - they all want to know when we can play again and start looking at the upcoming calendar.  

It's great being the DM!

- DM Dave

Phandalin or Bust - Part 1

The party had the long weekend to rest, recover and well, go nowhere seeing as they were on house arrest for their little "adventure" in helping Tipper get his money back.

The reward was confiscated by T'jer and sent to the characters families along with a note explaining that he was taking care of them and they were "learning a lesson".

The party seems to have an adventuring itch and the eagerness to expand their horizon outside of the Neverwinter region so T'jer has coordinated a provisions escort for Gundren Rockseeker where the party simply has to deliver the last wagon, with all of it's goods intact, to Gundren in Phandalin - shouldn't take more than a week.

Headed down the road, the party had to make basic decisions on who rode where and who looked for what, etc.  It was good role playing time.  Once they rounded to corner and saw the dead horses, they were all in. 

DM advice - with a new group, be very descriptive in the surrounding using visual, auditory, sensory queues to really set the stage.  The group will be overwhelmed with quick combat and stats thrown at them so take it easy even if the first few kills are easy.  The people need time to adapt to the game style. 

So, funny thing happened, once they skirmished with the arrow shooting goblins, the pit and rope trap, the team emerged from the forest so I had Breunor Jr make a perception roll to see if he could see the cave entrance and he rolled a "1".  I said "you look up and point straight ahead and shout 'mountain'!".  They just rolled!!

The party found the entrance, role played nicely for noobs, simultaneously attacking the goblins that were supposed to "ambush" them, dispatched them nicely and then stealthily entered the cave.

I created puzzle-like maps for this adventure segment (sorry it's upside down):

They stealthily entered the cave - Breunor, Brynwyyn, Fallon and Brocc, in that order.  Breunor was agressive and attacked the wolves.  He's beefy (AC 19) so the party hung back and let him do his thing.  Once dispatched, they headed deeper into the cave and were spotted by the guard on the bridge.  The goblins triggered the water trap washing the heroes back to the entrance except for the Brynwyyn who quickly plugged the goblin with some arrows.

They gathered themselves and continued into the cave, this time turning left and running into some goblins by surprise!  This melee round resulted in Brocc being killed (unconscious) and heavy negotiating by the party.  Some ad-hoc by the DM resulted in the second-in-command hobgoblin agreeing to let Sildar go with the party while he watched over Brocc - ensuring he would not let the halfling die.

The agreement - the party had to kill off the leader Klarg thus putting Yeemik in charge of the looting operation........what could go wrong?

Let's Get This Party Started.....

If you have not read through the character backgrounds, please do so......thus begins the adventure!

With the players being new to D&D and RPG overall, I wanted to coach them into the setting:

15th day of Kythorn (new moon of spring)

 

As you make your way to the pavilion, the gentle easterly breeze brings with it the aroma of the bustling food court along with the ever increasing buzz of conversation and children’s chatter.  You wind your way around and through the crowd to find a comfortable seat alone while you take in the celebration of this springs festivities and methodically try to decide on which fine fare to partake of first.

You take notice of a jovial older man standing in front of a makeshift meat pit, his silhouette framed with wispy puffs of smoke swirling from the roasting fire giving the impression of an ogre guarding a treasure chest.  The top of his balding head shimmers with sweat that flows like small streams down from the crown of a hill and through the circlet of grayish hair above his ears and around the back of his head, matted and disarrayed giving some hint as to how little sleep he had last night.  He lifts the heavy lid with his left hand giving escape to the sharp sizzling as though it were singing to its freedom.  You see his nails are brown and stubbly with no hair on his hands or arms, no doubt a consequence of a craft that he most certainly enjoys despite the occasional pain it may bring.  From the back you can tell he wears what appears to be a long dark leather apron over a sweat-stained, tattered sleeveless shirt exposing the hair on the back of his upper arms and shoulders.  He also wears stained breeches with a dark kerchief wadded and dangling from his back left pocket with mid-high boots folded over at the top.  As he turns quarterly to his right you can see he has a scruffy gray beard with brown streaks about the mouth and jowls which you soon realize with a chuckling smile that the staining must come from some yet-to-be-sampled wild game basting in sauce which indeed must be very good as he passes a chunk over to the man next to him who takes is with a greedy, hearty smile.  

Who is the man?

What is he cooking?

What time of day/year is it?

What direction are you walking?

How old are you?

This exercise brought the group into the action and helped open their theater of the mind for game play.  I slipped from this straight into the scene where Breunor Jr. was shoved by some ruffian teens which was followed immediately by a "roll initiative" moment.

Simple combat - without weapons - resulted in some really good role playing with grappling, punching, maneuvering, etc.  The fight was soon broken up by the local constable, T'jer Gilthanis, a half-elven ranger of renown - and also uncle to Brynwyyn....

The group was interrogated individually with T'jer knowing all of them and their families although some in more detail than others. With the potential for my players to read this, I will just say that each character has within their background an adventure hook should any opportunity arise to tie that in with the current - or future - adventure.

Needless to say, the kids (yes, they are all young adult characters) had to be punished so T'jer gave them clean up duty along the merchants row.  This is where the out of town merchants line up their carts to sell their goods like semi-permanent street vendors.

Nearing the end of the third day of cleaning the streets, the group heard some gentle sobbing from the last cart on the row....

As you make your way down the sides of the dusty road, meandering behind the remaining merchants wagons as they make preparations to depart and go back to their respective homes, you can’t help but mumble to each other about how this unfair punishment should befall you on such a beautiful afternoon since you didn’t start the fight to begin with.  As you briefly pause to take a break from the finger pointing, you faintly hear a low whimpering sob from somewhere up ahead.

On your approach to the last wagon on the merchants’ road, you see that it is an ornately covered wagon made of aged hardwood.  It sits caddy to the edge of the road with the overhead covering still in place, the tasseled ends tickled by the ocean breeze.  You see many wares, mostly trinkets, hanging from the sides of the wagon and scattered among the cubbies on the countertop of the open front store – varied and colorful hats, many small musical instruments, fishing nets, worn shoes, tattered books and pretty boxes.

Everything about the merchandise seems ordinary and could be found at any thrift store or neighbor-sales but the boxes catch your eye for they are of extraordinary craftsmanship.  They have a marbled wood grain, light in color with dark streaks flowing through it as though it were alive when the box was carved from it.  Round on the top with smooth edges and no trace of a seam in the lid, also there are no hinges or places for keys to fit. There are two sizes on the counter, one is small about the size of the pommel of a dagger and the other is larger, about the size of an ordinary book.

As you get closer still, you can clearly tell the sobbing sound is coming from the inside of the merchant’s wagon.  Peering in you see a round man with blonde hair sitting on a stool holding his head in his hands, shoulders drooped and lightly bouncing in cadence with his cries.

If you have not guessed yet, the man has been robbed.  He is Tipper and he is selling the normal types of wares except for these boxes.  These are special, magical boxes.  They have a spell cast on them along with a coin such that the box becomes completely sealed and airtight when activated.  The coin is the key.  Place the coin on top of the lid and the lid lifts off without any trouble.  Place the lid and coin back on the box, remove the coin and viola, the box is locked tight.

The biggest of his boxes - which is also his money box - was stolen sometime during the afternoon and Tipper is terribly upset.  He offers a reward in gold pieces in return for the party's help in retrieving his box.  The party made several investigation checks and talked to Tipper in hopes of uncovering clues.  They did discover that seemingly someone had climbed a tree that had an overhead branch on it and used it to snatch the box from above.  Once they found the trail, they followed it back through the neighborhood, between houses and building and out the northern gate.  They tracked the trail into the local forest for about an hour....

You can feel the excitement in your chest; you’ve never done anything this bold in your young lives.  Going off after what could be a dangerous thief is more than a scuffle or some rebellion leaving home – it’s real danger. 

The afternoon is getting late and you should be back to T’jer but you found clues, hints as to the direction the thief went and along with him, the merchants’ money box.

A good deed on top of the community service will surely bring you once again into the good graces of T’jer and your families, not to mention the reward Tipper has offered!  It’s been so long since you held a real gold coin.  You could do so much with it! Your mind wanders, slightly imagining what you could do with it, when you are abruptly brought back to reality at the glimpse of a campfire about 100 feet ahead of you …. and the soft voices of men talking.

This was a great combat round as the group was able to best the bandits and take some weapons from them.  I even had to bring in more bandits because of the great rolls the party was getting!  

They were able to retrieve the box and return it to Tipper who proceeded to elaborate on his endeavor to open a business based solely on these magic boxes.  He is going to call it "Tipper Wares".

Just as the party was groaning about my pun, T'jer approached and with a very stern look, issued another round of punishment to the party for leaving their station without permission.  This time, they will be taking a wagon of provisions to Phandelver for a dwarven business man named Gundren Rockseeker.....

DM Dave

Character Creation - Core Traits

After the introduction to RPG and the basic mechanics, we set out to expand on our characters by fully fleshing out the stats on the D&D character sheet.

This took two whole sessions because, well, everyone was new to the game and needed time to absorb the plethora of character race and class information.

My advice to old school DM's - know the 5e subject matter ahead of time and bookmark the Players Handbook.  Know the new answers to the old questions ahead of time.

CORE TRAITS
Be able to explain the character stats meaning to the person, the character and the game-play.

Strength is a physical attribute that determines your ability to lift, strike, push, grapple and pull.  It also correlates to the characters build and appearance - think musculature.  The person envisioning the character should correlate an 8 strength with a thin frame and an 18 strength with a brawny thick frame.  In certain cases, a high strength can have potentially negative effects on a delicate task - picking up a humming bird's egg for example.

Dexterity is a finesse attribute that determines your ability to do many coordination tasks such as balancing, juggling, lock-picking and rock climbing.  Dexterity should provide feedback to the person on how to play the characters subtleties.  A low dexterity could mean a clumsy character that is prone to tripping, having his/her drink run down their chin or sheathing a sword in their belt instead of where it belongs.  One of the DM options I like about 5e is a "near-roll" and dexterity is a good example.  Say a character is balancing on a rope strung between two buildings and rolls a 14 where he/she needed a 15.  As DM, you could have the character lose their balance but not fall to the ground - they would be left hanging by both hands having let go their weapon which is now on the ground.

Constitution is co-contributor to your personality (along with Charisma).  This is the inner trait that drives you to survive and influences the character's overall well being, health and stamina.  A low constitution could cause a lazy character that just hangs back and doesn't do much unless they have to.  On the flip side, sure, you can get the crowd going at the tavern with your jokes or songs but can you chug a mug of ale without stopping? 

Intelligence is basically how smart your character is.  Yes, this is book smart, the ability to remember details or spell and analyze complex problems.  Intelligence level also contributes to the overall personality of the character.  A dumb character will not be as outgoing for fear of looking dumb (or maybe they are too dumb to realize they are looking dumb) whereas a higher intelligence character could be arrogant and showy or alternatively humble depending on their childhood.

Wisdom is often confused with intelligence but is more street-smarts such as the ability to perceive something that may be obscure or the ability to intuitively know where the armor shop is based on the layout of the city or knowing the beggar is really an assassin who has been watching the party for two days.

Charisma is the more recognized trait of a characters personality.  This is the "popularity" side of the role-play which can determine if a character can control a rowdy crowd or persuade a judge to lower the bail or lead an army into an orc battle.

These two groups - physical traits and personality traits - combine to round out the character into the persona of the player, as they see themselves in their own minds, projected into this world of magic and fantasy called D&D.

Once the players have created their characters core traits, they turn to the details of appearance and equipment which has minor game mechanics relative to the above but is nonetheless important in fully harmonizing the player to the character.

DM Dave

Introduction to RPG

The following is how I introduced the group to RPG and D&D basics......

Setting:  Local campground at a state park near the river.

The group had stayed a few nights in a primitive campsite in individual tents.  The mornings have been crisp this spring and have welcomed the group with the delicate crackles of the previous evenings fire and the distant rumble of fishing boats engines firing up.

Initiative:  I explained the basics of d20 initiative and had each of them roll to see who came out of the tent first, second, etc...

The oldest boy (19) exited the tent first clearly noticing he was the only one away so I explained that he could do two things, move and act, in any order or combination.  He elected to gather his fishing gear and head to the riverbank.

The old guy (47) exited second and found one tent open and with a glance toward the river, could tell who was up and where he was heading with fishing gear in hand.  The old guy elected to stoke the fire, gather some wood nearby, then stoke the fire some more.

The girl (18) woke up third and came out of the tent to see her boyfriend headed to try and catch some fish with the dad stoking the fire.  She elected to gather clothes and head to the river to wash some clothes.....

The youngest (10) woke last - the group picked on him for sleeping in - and decided to take his slingshot to the woods to hunt squirrel for breakfast.

There was excellent involvement in the theater of the mind with this group which I was hoping would be the case since the adventure started in a location that they were all familiar with and had memories of.  I embellished the sights and sounds and had them relay their attire so we could all paint the picture.

The oldest was detailing what he was doing in his fishing attempt so I had him roll some "saving throws" to explain how actions were determined in game-play.  He made dexterity checks to tie the line and strength checks to cast the lure.  He made "attack rolls" to hook a fish and made "damage rolls" to land the fish.  This was hilarious because I had the chance to roll play critical hits AND misses with this fishing example.  He tied his fingers together, the rod slipped from his hands, he hooked big fish, but not good fish - it was a riot!

 The old guy got into the act when he made wisdom saving throws to gather dry wood and get the fire going again.  Not alot of dice involved but well played theatrically.

The girl did some simple basic rolls to avoid falling in the water (dexterity) and to see if she remembered to bring detergent from the campsite (intelligence).

The youngest was fun.  He is all about fighting and killing so we made basic core ranged combat rolls.  He rolled perception to see squirrels then attack rolls to hit with his slingshot and damage rolls as well.  This all played out nicely.

When I felt they were getting the gist of the game mechanics, I had each of them to stumble upon a few magical items - the oldest boy found a Ring of Swimming, the girl found a Stone of Luck, the old guy found a Periapt of Wound Closure and the youngest found Boat of Folding.

I then really poured it on having them roll d20 and taking the highest roll for the victim - I mean event.  The oldest boy had a dream that during the night, a dense fog rolled in and surrounded the bank, campsite and tents and when it faded out before dawn, he was standing in front of a pedestal with odd images on it.  He relayed his dream to the others and (with a dice roll) knew the general direction to where this "dream pedestal" might be.

They shortly came across this:

It didn't take them 10 minutes to figure out they each had a piece of the pedestal - Earth (stone), Air (boat), Water (ring), Fire (periapt).  When they aligned their new items with the pedestal, they were engulfed in dense fog and felt themselves become weightless before losing consciousness......

I'm going to segue this into an adventure plot later.........

DM Dave

Welcome back, self!

Well, here I am.  I'm 47 and I've been playing D&D since I was 15.  I freaking love this game and I love being a DM, especially an older and wiser one!  I like to take the material, published or homebrewed, and twist it up.  You'll learn more about that later.

I wanted to start this blog because my best friend of 42 years and his two sons (and ones girlfriend) are playing D&D now....well, I did talk them into it!  Here are the actors and their backstory:

Bruenor Jr. (10 year old) - While you were yet a child, the Orc Armies of the North besieged Delzoun (your under-mountain home) in a surprise attack in which many of your kin did not survive.  Your quick witted mother whisked you away along with what she could carry on her back and now you find yourself traveling the lands with her as she takes on many odd jobs to support you two.  As a young Dwarf, you have picked up on a few basic fighting skills along the way in hopes of one day returning to your homeland to help drive the Orcs out and take back what is yours.

Your mother is working in the market square during the spring celebration today and the smell of smoked pork has brought you hungrily to the food court.

As you approach the smoke pit, three young street ruffians cut in front of you and laugh. This is the treatment you have endured for years but now you are a young Dwarf whose beard has started to show and you have had enough. You grab one by the waist and lift him off the ground! A fight is about to begin.....

Brocc (47 year old) - As Mount Hotenow progressively continues to rumble and threaten eruption, lava flows ooze quietly into the underground homes of your kin to the point that your family of gnomes decided to leave the hill country and settle into the city of Neverwinter taking jobs as gem cutters and tinkers.

Your dad is the highest sought after gem cutter and your sister is a fine tinkerer. Your mom succumbed to fever 4 years ago and you have felt somewhat out of place since then.

A close knit family, your dad and sister constantly try to teach you their crafts. However, after last years spring festival where you watched wizards entertain the crowds with their sparkles and tricks, you have become obsessed with magic. You can make a candle light without a fire but hey, you are teaching yourself!

You've snuck away this afternoon to enjoy the festival food market and to privately read some magic runes with hopes of learning something more. Your concentration is rudely interrupted by a young Dwarf being harassed by three street ruffians.  As a height challenged young man yourself, you are eager to help the fellow out...magically from a distance of course.

Brynwyyn (18 year old) - Well here you are and it’s completely not fair.  Being caught “spying” on the combat training grounds by the Head Master when you were simply observing what they were being taught so you could later practice those combat moves in the forest undisturbed.  As punishment, you are suspended from the Sharandar Academy of Knowledge for one summer session and you really don’t want to be at home right now. 

You are very strong willed and you think girls should be able to train in the combat arts just like boys. Why should the sword be the only “art” in the Academy reserved for boys?! You really do love the woods though and they seem to love you too.  You have wandered this forest further away from home than you probably should but your temperament has brought a rebellious streak, or so you tell yourself as your stomach growls at the smell of the festivals food court.

Fallon (20 year old) - Born and raised in Neverwinter, you have a flair for the dramatic and can often picture yourself taking after your uncle Sawyer who travels the oceans and once every year or three, brings tales of epic adventure.  Though not a fighter by nature, you are cunningly street smart and have been honing your skillful charm and good looks for a few coins now and then - whether given or taken is up for interpretation.

You are quick witted and quick handed. You can hold your own one-on-one but prefer to use your silver tongue to belay (and hopefully embarrass) your foe.

As you make your way through the food court playing your flute, seeking tips and spying anything that would be an easy pick, you hear a commotion over by the cooks and see a young Dwarf that may have bitten off more than he can chew........

Let that soak in and I'll tell you how I introduced and hooked them on D&D.......

DM Dave

Character Minis

Here are the groups minis I bought for them.  See if you can tell which one goes with which character.

DM Dave