Please know this blog is not about summarizing what happened in the session. So I won’t be giving all of the story beats. I’ll give enough to orient you on certain decisions made and as reference for observations.
The characters introduced themselves and explained why they opted to accept the job of escorting Gundren Rockseeker’s provisions to the town of Phandalin.
Motivation is key. Let me repeat it again - just because it’s so important: Motivation is key. I always try to build up why characters might be personally invested in the quest at hand. But I’ll say this: it needs to be a 2-way street. Players: DON’T wait for the DM to come up with ways to motivate you. HELP OUT with that. Come up with your own reasons. If the quest is to find the magic chalice, don’t say to the DM, “My hard-boiled brooding loner character has no reason to want a magic chalice.” Find a reason. Make up something in your past that would make retrieving the chalice personal for you. It’s so much better for the game and your DM will love you for it.
Here are some examples of motivations I worked out with my players before session 1:
Vrykas, gith fighter; William, human paladin; Drakir, human cleric: all three of these characters were close personal friends, and combat training partners, of Gundren - whose kidnapping will drive the action of the story through level 4!
Twilly, human druid - her favorite aunt, who lives in Phandalin, recently passed, bequeathing the cottage that Twilly loved growing up in - to her. So Phandalin is now her home. Phandalin is also where her ex-girlfriend now lives (this will set up some really fun RP opportunities during their stays in Phandalin). More on that later.
JahZin, halfelf warlock - is seeking a tome that might answer questions about his patron - and heard whispers that clues to its whereabouts might be in Phandalin (this will pay off much later)
Vrykas, gith fighter - has the added motivation of being obsessed with the myth of the famed Lost Mines (which pays off at level 4)
William, human paladin - has the added motivation of knowing that a friend of his fathers (the ex-adventurer Edermath) is in Phandalin and has accepted the job of helping William set up a family base of operations there.
Auric, drow sorcerer - is being hunted by other drow and needs to ‘get lost’ in the wilds of Phandelver - and quick. Admittedly, I didn’t do a great job of tying this character personally to Phandalin - the player’s concept of their character’s history just didn’t lend itself well to it. However - there’s an Underdark element to this adventure, with a few drow involved, that should allow for fun RP opportunities.
On the road to Phandalin, the party is attacked by goblins and discover Gundren (and his warrior companion Sildar Hallwinter) have been waylaid on the road. Using a goblin prisoner, they learn that Gundren has been taken away to Klarg, the bugbear leader of the goblin clan, who is keeping prisoners in 'the eating cave.'
Because there are 6 members in the party, I upped the goblin ambush from 4 goblins to 6. I have to admit, I thought this was going to be a cakewalk for the characters, but because the goblins got the jump on them, and had position advantage from high ground and under cover, this ended up being a deadly fight! It reminded me of how important the element of surprise is in D&D. Being able to prepare for any encounter is a huge factor and you can greatly increase the deadliness of an encounter by adding the element of surprise.
It also always surprises me the massive difference between 1st level characters (very vulnerable) and 2nd or 3rd level characters (quite capable). The jump in power is SIGNIFICANT and your adventure has to take that into account.
The party took a goblin prisoner with them to the goblin cave and sure enough… the goblin gave them away at the cave entrance - losing the party the element of surprise.
It was nice being able to break out the Goblin Ambush AND Cragmaw Hideout battle maps included in the Legendary Edition in the very first session.
MIN-MAXING observation:
Twilly the druid took the variant human feat “Crusher” at 1st level - allowing her to move opponents 5’ in any direction when hitting with bludgeoning damage (as well as extra damage on a critical hit). At first I thought this an odd choice - “So the druid will be a little more effective with her Shillelagh?” - until she started constantly hurling Magic Stones - and moving opponents on every hit - off of bridges - into difficult terrain and threat ranges, etc. She’s also looking ahead to when she starts turning into Constrictor Snakes and Apes (bludgeoning damage) and is a bit more effective than usual. In no way game-breaking, but pretty interesting.
RP example:
This entire session was outdoors - during the day - really hamstringing the drow sorcerer due to sunlight sensitivity. The player used it as an opportunity for fun RP despite how frustrating it was. As DM, I much appreciate that over complaints. Much more underground adventure will come later, so he’ll be alright.
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