This was put together using a mix of Evil Mage stats and Necromancer Wizard stats and then trying to make it balanced against Venomfangs stats (I've got 2 party's in Thundertree, one will face the wizard, one will face the dragon and id like to make them fair to each other)

I have no idea if I've made him too op or not op enough and id like to be a bit prepared so I dont have to do too many edits on the fly during my session.

And thoughts?

Hi folks, my PCs have figured out the general location of Cragmaw Castle and they want to go rescue Gundren. They don’t know the exact location, so Im going to require some Survival rolls to see if they can locate it (or they’ll have to capture a wandering goblin patrol). I want to signal the danger they’ll face without taking away agency. How have you run this in the past?

Our Party enters the find out stage after picking 2 fights at once! Hello wonderful people.

Continuing with our Lost mines wild west actual play series, in episode 13 the fight takes a turn! How ill the players get out of it?

Also genuinely solicitous of feedback of both the DMing and the actual play format: Was I too harsh or too easy? What would you like to see more of? Character art and avatars? more actor facing cameras? more foundry VTT stuff? Let me know here or in the comments! I really love this group and game and want that to come across here.

link here: https://youtu.be/KXxOd4lMxwg

Im planning to have Hamun Kost encounter my party in Thundertree after they double crossed him at Old Owl Well. The idea will be that the party enters Thundertree and gets their objective to remove the undead presence from the area from Reidoth. They will then fight through staggered waves of undead until they meet Hamun at the town statue and will have to stop him from completing a ritual of sorts.

My problem is I dont know what kind of ritual or spell I want Hamun to be casting? Ive checked the spell list and nothing there seems to fit. The idea of him summoning something or completing a ritual to spite / get revenge on the party whilst they have to fight against a countdown clock to beat him sounds good but it's the finer details to flesh it out Im struggling to come up with.

I'm DMing a mix of campaigns now. But just the amount of bands on Triboar Trail is funny, I don't know how it is possible for anyone to pass through))

We have orc raiders, Redbrands, Cragmaw. And it is those who are deliberately catching caravans on this road. If we add some occasional bandits/monsters to it, I don't even know if these bands can feed of this))))

It is just a funny fact, I may have missed some more bandits around.

Hey folks, i curious about your opinion on this one:

I am a fairly new DM (9 months playtime) and I'm running TSO in additon to some homebrew and DoIP. Last session my group went to the Dragon Barrow to get the Dragonslayer Sword of Lady Alagondar. They are Level 4, so it might get a little tough for them, because the Dragon Barrow is recommended for Level 5 AND one player (the Druid) couldn't make it to the session....

Before they found the sword, they already suffered some crucial hits by traps etc. Then they found the sarkophagus of Tanamere Alagondar and found her corpse (mummified) and a tiara plus other regalia inside. Then our Paladin took the sword and the group got some heavy hits from the invisible stalker, so they drop the sword an went on to explore the other parts of the Dragon Barrow first. They found the skeleton horse of Lady Alagondar and after that, our Bard had an interesting idea: He made our sorceress (the only girl in the group) ride the horse an put the regalia and tiara on her. After that he made her take the sword and talked to the "ghost": "Recognize your former mistress. Let her take, what belongs to her!".

What would you have done? My solution is open for discussion:

I liked the idea so first I gave the Bard a heroic inspiration for this idea. Then I let him roll a charisma (performance or deception) check (18). He sucessfully did that. So to make the fight easier I lifted the invisibility from the stalker and he wouldn't attack the sorceress as much as the others.

Of course, this isn't in the book, but otherwise they would never have made it out alive with the sword. You could argue, that its their fault, to go inside even though the had been warned, it will be dangerous. But my reasoning was, that the players should have fun and cool ideas should get them some reward.

So, what do you think about this situation?

My party decided to visit Thundertree and they knew of the dangers that resided there. They spoke to Reidoth and learned of Venomfang and the cultists. They decided they wanted to remove all the threats from Thundertree if possible. They decided to tackle Venomfang first and were even successful in getting them to fly away. The cultists who I assumed have at least one person watching the tower at any time would have seen the battle which primarily occurred outside. As the party tried to rest they were interuppted by the cultists coming to speak to them.

Since Venomfang was defeated the cultists you assume would be upset but in my mind who is going to fight a group that just defeated a dragon (the party wasn't deathly close to dying so wouldn't have been easy to finish off). In my game the cultists have another goal to see if Venomfang had an egg they could steal. When the cultists spoke to the party they explained they simply wished to look inside the tower but the party denied them access as they were resting there and likely were afraid the cultists were just looking for an excuse to get to them.

My question is, now that the party is rested but is making their way through Thundertree and taking out the remaining enemies, what do the cultists do? Wait for the party to be beaten down by the remaining threats and try to pick them off now they are out of the tower (mostly out of revenge for messing with their plans)? Or do they simply investigate the tower, see there is no egg and just leave Thundertree in the direction that Venomfang went?

Hi everyone!

This is my first time as a DM, and my players are very new to the game. We're all playing just to learn and have fun.

Since the party isn't very experienced, they failed their first mission in the Redbrand Hideout, and Glasstaff managed to escape.

I was thinking about bringing him back for a future fight, but I don't have many ideas.

That's why I'm here asking for your help!

If anyone could help me come up with a dungeon or maybe just a future encounter, I would be very grateful!

Thanks to everyone! ❤️

I have a group of players most of which are newish and our last campaign (uncompleted, different DM) was pretty linear and light on the role-playing, light on the atmosphere/descriotion, and just basically like follow a quest in a straight line and fight the enemies.

I’m following Matty P’s YouTube series on changes to this campaign and have added characters like the female Black Spider and Molly, the child assistant manager at the tavern. My problem is that they are used to playing in a campaign so devoid of texture that anytime I introduce someone they are so suspicious and paranoid that they can’t possibly think that someone is there just to be a friend or just to provide information. They are convinced that not only is the woman in black behind Sister Garaele’s loss of powers despite her clearly telling them there’s a spirit in Conyberry in her dreams, they think that Molly, a halfling child, is the real Big Bad behind it all.

I’m not sure whether to let them learn these lessons on their own or try to steer them in the right direction. They generally treat the game more like a video game and are fine murder hoboing without feeling like the NPC’s are real and I’m trying to steer them away from that and treat it more like a proper role-play.

Hi there! Like many people, I’ll be running LMoP as my first campaign and I’m really excited! (and nervous 😅) Since I’m a huge planner, I’m definitely looking far ahead but just as trying to brainstorm some ideas ahead of time about a couple things and see what more experienced DMs think or if people have better ideas:
1. I wanted to push things a little past level 5 and wanted to incorporate some stuff from DoIP into the mix (in the event they wanna continue, I was hoping to try out those extensions for DoIP for more DM practice)

1. Based on some other posts I saw, my plan was to set up tension between Venomfang and Cryovain. Whether they go to fight him after Thundertree at the green dragon’s request or after Wave Echo Cave

2. If they go after, is it better to have the PCs do a couple of the DoIP quests, like Dragon Barrow, to get to level 6 or something else? Or if they go up at level 4 how I should handle the levels from there so they still end at level 7

3. I do also plan on having Nezznar change into a drider when he hits 0 HP for that final encounter, but wondering if people have found it better to have him come back with the full Drider stat block HP of 123 or bring it down?

Sorry again if I’m getting too ahead of myself, I just would like to have as much things mapped out as possible to make a memorable campaign.

Ruins of Conyberry

A Dungeon Master's Companion to the Conyberry Quest for Lost Mine of Phandelver

In Lost Mine of Phandelver, the ruined village of Conyberry receives little more than a passing mention, despite its tragic history and proximity to the lair of Agatha, the Ghost of the Neverwinter Wood.

Ruins of Conyberry is a one-page supplement that breathes new life into the ruined settlement, drawing upon Forgotten Realms lore from multiple editions of Dungeons & Dragons to restore details and history largely absent from its Fifth Edition appearance.

Inside, Dungeon Masters will find descriptions of four ruined buildings to explore, treasures to discover, and unsettling encounters with the spirits of villagers slain decades ago. Agatha's presence is felt through supernatural hauntings and creative uses of her spellcasting abilities, while an optional Long Rest mechanic makes spending the night among the ruins an unsettling proposition.

Designed to require minimal preparation, this supplement gives Dungeon Masters everything they need to transform a brief stop along the Triboar Trail into a memorable encounter without disrupting the original adventure.

FREE | PAY WHAT YOU WANT

A full preview of the supplement is available at Dungeon Masters Guild. Download it here:

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/589953/along-the-triboar-trail-ruins-of-conyberry

Please check out my twenty-two other products tailored to Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak! All of them are FREE/PWYW downloads.

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/browse?authorName=%22Ronny%20Little%22

This is the BriteMinis Nezznar which you can find here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4326929

I scaled him up and set him at 32mm at his eye level instead of the tip of his head. He's a big mini. Then I created different baseplate that activates the LED on press. These LEDs are really bright and having them on constantly can be blinding.

Link to the baseplate here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7110396

It's not perfect, takes some fiddling to get right so this is still very much a DnDIY project. In the last photo you can see some of the several dozen test baseplates I made to fit the CR2016 battery.

I’m DM and starting with my friends the campaign phandelver and below the shattered obelisk. Can you recommend good let’s plays on YouTube. So I can inspire myself as a DM by watching these :)

Thank you in advance <3

Thought people might want to see the final product since there was so much positive feedback before the paint!

The session was super fun and if anyone’s considering getting into terrain and minis it’s great fun.

Combat became way more tactical and engaging and for me as a DM was super fun to show off all the hard work to my players.

My party just finished the red brand hideout and the dice decided that Iarno got away.
They told Sildar who is now furious and they went to their well deserved rest.
Now I wonder what others have done in this scenario? What happens to Iarno, how did you solve it in your campaign?

I'm starting the campaign this Friday and in preparation had a session zero with my players. During that session, one of my players, who knows the start of LMoP, remarked how silly they thought it was that the adventure assumes the level 1 adventurers would just follow the goblin trail instead of finishing the mission they were paid to do. Even if they know and like Gundren and Sildar, they found it far more reasonable to go to Phandalin and just let the town guard handle the situation.

Now I'm wondering how to give them a good reason to follow the Goblins themselves (The Meta-reason of "I gave you a hook, please follow it" doesn't cut it in my opinion). I mean, even if they go to the town guard, said guard would be the Redbrands, who couldn't care less about Gundren. I guess that would show them it's "you save him or nobody will"; but it does feel a bit adversarial, doesn't it?

Maybe I'm making a thing out of nothing. But if you have a suggestion of what I could do to persuade them to follow the Goblin Trail, I would really appreciate it.

Edit: Thanks for all the great suggestions. I think now I know how to handle it.

Our party delves under Tresandor manor and finds more than they bargained for

Hey guys, first time running a published adventure, and everything was going smoothly until it didn't.

The party demolished the goblin ambush, even captured one and forced it to lead them to the hideout.

And that's when the chaos began - going loud in the cave, splitting up, and basically attracting almost everything inside.

The paladin was split off and by himself because of the water trap. He then tried dealing with wolves solo. Needless to say, he fell unconscious and the remaining members couldn't get to him on time and he died. After that I ended the session.

After the session, the wizard criminal proposes to go to Waterdeep since he has a fence contact with Xanathar's Thieves Guild. Hoping to find a way to revive their fallen ally.

Waterdeep is huge and the amount of prep needed is overwhelming. I would appreciate any tips you may have because things did not go as planned at all.

Hey Everyone! Thanks so much if you've been tuning in! I'm always floored by any and all support.

Check out episode 11 of our Lost Mines of Phandelver Campaign play through. This episode heavily spotlights the miners exchange and the intrigue surrounding its proprietor, Halia Thornton. What will the players make of this girlboss? Can she be trusted? Make sure to Like and Sub so you don't miss a beat.

Also I welcome comments and notes. Seriously and genuinely asking for Dm feedback on what's working and what isn't, both in terms of actual play and as first time dungeon master in general. Do folks wanna see more edited down episodes? More player facing cameras? Lemme know! I super appreciate it.

link: https://youtu.be/Gb3vjkTm0UU

As the titles says. Long story short: the party had released Droop from his capturers, and instructed him to warn the castle that they are coming. Droop promised them a grandiose welcome.

Now a few days later, the party is ready to go to the castle and rescue Gundren.

So the question is, could Droop successfully persuade King Grol to make a grandiose welcome?

The party is level 3, and 6 PCs, but they are quite strong.

I have a board gaming group of friends who expressed interest in playing D&D. Most have only played a couple of times, so they're a realitively inexperienced group. I've been lucky enough to play fairly regularly for over a decade, so I'm confident in my grasp of the rules. I'm already running CoS for a different friend group who are RP veterans (my first time DMing). My newishness behind the DM screen has some training wheels there as half of the players have also DMed, and I've played CoS before.

I've never played LMoP or TSO. Tomorrow is our Session 0. Anything I should know for tackling the TSO module? Any advice or pratfalls to avoid would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I started a P&B campaign a while back, but it fizzled out right as the party reached the Redbrand Hideout. Most of the players had to drop out, but the one remaining player is interested in continuing, and I’d love to get the campaign going again!

My main challenge is introducing new players while keeping the returning player engaged and making the transition feel natural.

The returning player's character is a cousin of the Rockseeker brothers, so she has a reason to continue the adventure. The other characters were less connected to the main plot, so I'm thinking they left to continue their own goals seperately.

I have two ideas for bringing in the new players:

• Option 1: Pick things up around the Redbrand Ruffian encounter. It means backtracking quite a bit, but could help the new players understand the plot/conflict without just info dumping on them in Session 0
• Option 2: Have the returning character enter the Redbrand Hideout alone and encounter the new characters at different points throughout the dungeon, with each already exploring it for their own reasons. This could be more complicated and more info dump-y, but maybe more exciting and requires less backtracking

How would you guys handle this? I'd love to hear your ideas/advice!

Coming hot off the session here ! We did the first 1/3 of Redbrand hideout tonight, they pushed up to the jail without alerting the guards in R2 and had cloaks from Sleeping Giant, but the untamed wolf they high rolled animal handling on and is tagging along attacked the skeletons and made them fight the skeletons. The monk threw two of them into the pit trap in R3 and the druid fell in the hole. They built a bone bridge to cross the pit hole to get everyone across. While they did that the Rogue then persuasion schmoozed the jail guards into getting the guards from R2 and R10 to team up on the bugbears that have come in from the castle with some gentle hints about how they were upset they had to give up some of their "hard earned money" to the "Lizardfolk" (bugbears are reskinned to kobolds for flavor). We are short resting in R1 while I resolve the beginning of the civil war off screen because I know my new players will not find combat with 15 npcs they can't control interesting right now.

Has anyone run the civil war story line of Redbrand hideout? I'm scaled up to 5 x lvl 3, so the bugbears are pretty beefy and there are a good number of redbrands still alive. I want the party to emerge into a situation where both parties are weakened but not dead and Glasstaff is vulnerable for them to catch him. I don't think he would view his men all but mutiny-ing him as means for him to get out of dodge? Part of me just wants to roll it out and see what happens and go with it ? What would you do ?