This series is going to be about eight videos long - it's a massive project. If you like this kind of content, please let me know by liking, subscribing, commenting! And if you need any tips for special player moments, drop a comment below with a breakdown of your party. -------------- ❤ Support the Channel ❤ -------------- 💚 Patreon: matthewperkins.net/patreon 💚 Donate: matthewperkins.net/donate 💚 Store: matthewperkins.net/store 💚 DM Guild: matthewperkins.net/dmsguild 💜 Twitch: matthewperkins.net/twitch 💜 TikTok: matthewperkins.net/tiktok 🧡 Discord: matthewperkins.net/discord 🧡 Facebook: matthewperkins.net/facebook 🧡 Twitter: matthewperkins.net/twitter 🧡 Instagram: matthewperkins.net/instagram 🧡 Reddit: matthewperkins.net/reddit ✏ Blog: matthewperkins.net/blog 📧 For marketing/business/sponsorship inquiries, email: mperkins.dm@gmail.com
Thanks for making these videos! I’ve started running a campaign for me and my wife, and both of us being new to D&D you have made it very easy for me to understand and run.
This video series RULES. Are you planning on covering more campaigns or even doing an original? This is the most useful DMing resource I've found on RU-vid by a long shot. Beautiful work man.
Thank you for this serie. I will run LMoP with a 5 player party. A Ranger, a cleric, a rogue, a druid and an artificer. Can you help me with the special player moments? Can I put the puzzlebox as a loot/price at the end of sidequest "sacrifice of innocense"?
"My character hates all the other members of the party, huhuh" Came here for LMoP, and I stay for your sarcastic player impersonations :) Great ideas, and really well-structured video, Matt
The first time I ever played DnD we had a guy whose character was specifically written as a "steals-from-everybody" Rogue (no really, regarding stuff like personality, bond, and flaws pretty much "kleptomania" and resulted him). What's funny is almost everybody in the group was a new player and that was a character-sheet pre-made by the DM himself specifically for that campaign, so we had a noob pretty much being trained by to be a munchkin by a somewhat experienced player but first-time DM, who was then surprised at how little progress the party made at saving the town over the course of several sessions of what was supposed to be a single-session one-shot.
Seeing BWB and Matty P engaging and supporting each other is so awesome. You're both awesome guides for ushering in a whole new generation of players into epic adventures!
I am about to run my first D&D campaign ever (using LMoP) and I am so nervous. Finding this video calmed down my nerves SO much while also giving me a lot of wonderful ideas to spice up the campaign. I appreciate you so much, and thank you for going so in depth with everything. You rock!!
Oh wow! Thank you :) I'm super glad to hear this has made you feel less nervous - the book can be pretty intimidating, but as long as you try to make whatever you do fun, you can't go wrong. Let me know how you go with your first session!
Session 0 went amazing! The only experienced player said he thought this campaign would be amazing when he compared it to how the adventure started on his last LMOP campaign. I made the intro so that Sildar was a halfling and Gundren a Dwarf. So when entering they had sat on top of each other in a dark robe pretending to be and villian that had kidnapped Gundren as a prank. Amazingly from my description a player instantly said, is that two people on top of each other playing a prank? I asked if he said it out loud, he did. And their whole prank fell apart. It was a really fun start, thank you for your help!
Sorry if someone else already suggested this--but changing the gender of the black Spider creates a great opportunity to refer to her as the Black Widow. Lends itself well to the whole Wild West reframing also :-)
Really great intro to the campaign, dude! I think changing published adventures is important to get a sense of ownership and investment as the DM. I struggle to get excited for published adventures because I want to run my own game, not someone else's.
Cheers mate! I am a homebrew-centric snob in general and don't go in for published adventures, but there are a couple of modules that cut through my BS - Lost mines and Curse of Strahd namely. I reckon putting the effort into customising Lost Mines is totally worthwhile, because it's a really tight little adventure.
HOW has this got only 800+views!! This is the best LMoP guide I've come across as im preparing for my first DM sessions, wich me luck hehe. Very good production and layout, love the timestamps. Keep it up
800 views is pretty good for my channel :) Maybe one day I'll look back and think, "Pish! Only 800!" but for now it's good enough. I'm glad you like it though! Maybe after you've run it for your mates, if you send them this video series to let them see what happens behind the screen, we can get it to 804! Please let me know how your game goes and whether the guides end up being useful - I love hearing people's stories
HEY. MATTHEW. I APPRECIATE YOU. I'm about to run some pals through my version of this adventure and your advice is easily the most colloquial and one of the easiest to absorb. As one DM to another, here's something we all love to hear: Thank you for putting in the work.
I’m so excited I found this series. Five minutes in and as a first time GM with first time players (my husband and step kids) I’m less nervous now and way excited. I love the idea of customizing and streamlining and making it more unique! Thank you!
There are no GMs in D&D... Only DMs.... Because; DUNGEONS and Dragons.... It's kinda right there in the name... If you wanna be a GM, you have plenty of opportunity to play Barbie with your crew...
I'm having my first session 0 as a DM tonight, before we play LMoP. Thank you soooo much for this video, it has helped a bunch! I'm definitely going to watch your other videos on the campaign!
I've been saying Lost Mines of Phandelver for over a year. It was just pointed out to me that there is only one mine, not 'mines' plural in the title. Hearing you say mines plural makes me feel better about getting it wrong all this time...
Glad to help! Eventually - yes :) At the moment though I'm doing Storm King's Thunder and the new Candlekeep Mysteries book. Both series should start by the end of April.
THERE IS INTEREST IN THUNDERTREE. Specifically, I love both LMoP and the Essentials Kit module, Dragon of IceSpire Peak so much, that I plan to use them as lead-ins to Rise of Tiamat. (Not sold on Horde of the Dragon Queen.) There's two of my five required dragons for the collection.
For sure! It's a natural lead-in for the Tiamat adventures. One of my videos coming up will be about how I'd run Thundertree if I were to include it in the adventure - lots of changes!
Going to start LMOP, anyone have an idea to the first quest to get the puzzel box in a fun but not too distracting way? (BTW love your videos mate thx a lot!)
Thank you! I generally kind of improvise that part of the backstory, but I have something in the works for a prologue quest coming up in the next couple months
i'm starting as a new DM. Is there a preference which 4 characters to use from the 6 that are included? I really like player moments! How could i incorporate the pre-written characters? Thanks in advance!
Hey mate! DC stands for Difficulty Class. It's the number the Dungeon Master sets to accomplish a task. So in this case, I'm suggesting the DM get the players to roll a D20, they add their Intelligence modifier and try to get a 15 or higher.
These how to videos are amazing - I'm a 43yo dad getting his kids into D&D and I'm time poor. These are great and also really help me think about the adventure whilst im washing up or something. I've got up at 6:00 to re-watch and make notes so I can re-craft LMOP as per your guidance as we've only just started. I know my kids are going to love your cut scene and other story ideas. Also, i find you hilarious and reminds me of the stuff i used to say when i was playing 1st or 2nd edition when i was 15/16! Please please do more of these!
I don't want to rule it out, but it's not on the cards at all yet. I haven't run it, I haven't played it and I haven't read it. I'm going to blitz the rest of the SKT videos and then make a decision from there. But even then, that's still a few months away.
I know I'm so late on this, but I just wanted to thank you so much for this! I'm running my first campaign as a DM (and I've only played DnD once before is a one shot!) and I decided to run LMoP. I stumbled across your videos in my week of prep before hand (I was very nervous because two of my players are experienced and the rest have never played before!). I was especially nervous because we had pre-decided we would start the module at level 3, so I had to figure out a way to make sure the encounters were still entertaining for my characters as well. I was so nervous about getting them personally invested in the story with these "character moments." A lot of my players had never made a character before but they did so well prepping for session 0, which was yesterday. We managed to actually start the adventure (getting through the goblin ambush). They did so well with character creation! Immediately my two half-elves decided that they were actually long lost sisters. One was searching for her mother who went missing looking for an ancient artifact known as "dragon heartstone" and I told her that she has learned that Phandalin was an area that was once rich in ancient artifacts. The fighter in our group decided he knew Nundro and he also provided that he had a gambling problem, so I decided that Nundro did too and told him that Nundro hadn't gotten along with Gundren and Tharden for many years. I decided I will eventually reveal that Nundro might have given away the fact that his brother has stumbled across Wave Echo Cave to the Black Spider in an attempt to pay his debts, accidentally causing the death of his brothers. And completely apropos of nothing, the dwarf ranger in our group (who has been turned into a mouse) decided to tell me that he was turned into a mouse by a Drow Elf, a follower of Lolth, the Spider Queen. ... this person has never played DnD before they just flipped to the deity page in the players handbook and made that up. So... insane. Thank you so much for such amazing breakdowns!
That sounds great! You and your players seem like you're approaching the game with the right the correct mindset :) It's all about leaning into the drama!
Great stuff! I will be running this adventure for the first and first time DM in two weeks! I like how you simplified the NPCs and adventures. I have several questions. What's the best way to contact you? Also I'll give you the feedback on how the players take on the adventure. Thanks!
Cheers Travis! If you've got questions about Lost Mines in particular, RU-vid comment section is a good place to ask so if someone else has the same problem, they can see the answer. But the best way to chat about general D&D stuff is via our Discord: discordapp.com/invite/VJgHpzy
@@HowtoRPG Hey Fred, glad you put this on the radar - shared the channel with a few of the lads. Nice approach and presentation, it all hinges on the topics covered
MAN this content is so great. I've just finished session 1 of my LMOP campaign that I'm trying to customize to my PCs (my group didn't use the pregens, not our first D&D game). While I'm not taking a lot of your specific advice for transforming the campaign, explaining your motivations for what to change is suuuuper helpful as guidance for what to think about. Since my group has a druid and a wood elf from Neverwinter Wood, I'm keeping Thundertree, though changing it around quite a bit. Jamming some special player moments in there and making it more central to the campaign. Thank you SO much for this stuff. Your delivery and writing is also fantastic. No... it's... PHANtastic.... ugh that's terrible isn't it.
Thanks, Matthew! This has been tremendously helpful as I run a group of brand new players through LMOP. I just subscribed as a Patron, and I look forward to any future content!
Like a lot of people watching this, I'm DMing my first campaign using LMOD soon! Very nervous, but I'm happy to have found this. Ive been playing DnD for years but the players are brand new. After taking a cursory glance at the book I'm really looking forward to seeing how you recomend tuning the encounters. The Cragmaw Hideout looks like it could be an easy TPK for new players as written.
I have a High Elf Ranger, a Human Cleric, a Dragonborn Paladin, and a Wood Elf Rogue in my party. What interesting backstories do you think I could use? Also, where are you from? I’m trying to figure out your accent!
Hey Chuck! I'm from Australia :) What was your guess? I couldn't hit you with any special player moments without knowing who their characters are, sorry. It's something that should be unique to their backstories and personalities.
@@heyitsMattyP I was thinking Australia! Thank you so much for these videos. I am going to DM for my first time in a couple days. I was writing my own campaign for months but then thought maybe the best way to get my feet wet is by doing this prewritten one!
Great ideas here! Love the idea of giving the module a full workover. Do you have any thoughts on how a (bard) character's Hermit Discovery could best be incorporated into LMoP? Maybe something to do with the Forge?
Hmmm - I'm not sure sorry! Generally you want to tie your character to the campaign with more than just the character Background/Class. Locations, items, characters - these are all stronger hooks for you to attach your character to a campaign.
Hey Matt, I'm gonna start the campaign with 4 players/characters: druid, warlock, thief rogue and (evil) war domain cleric. Already got ideas for special player moments for the druid and warlock, but can you help me think of something for the rogue and cleric? Thanks man!
Might be a bit late to this response :-) but I thought the premade character sheet for rogue had an interesting tie: the thief was once a part of the Redbrands, but got wrongly accused of something and had to run for their life. Turns out that the rogue was set up by the Redbrands' mysterious leader Glasstaff and is now looking for revenge. That revenge could be a great special player moment!
Matt, this is incredible! I'm a brand new DM running Lost Mines. I'm so glad I found this series literally a session before welcoming my players into Phandalin (it's taken us three 2-3 hr sessions to make it through my plot hook--meeting Gundren's siblings, who ask them to deliver the supplies--and Cragmaw Hideout.) After a a sort of lackluster RP of Yeemik and Klarg, I'm going to make a ton of much-needed changes to future villains based on your content. Seriously appreciate this (I particularly love your updates to the Black Spider and King Grol) and I'm excited to create some SPMs for my Earth Genasi fighter, Eladrin ranger, and Aasimar bard and cleric 😂
What did u guys use as the puzzle box and what item did you put inside it? Also what prologue set up adventure did u use that the party obtained the box?
I went to Michaels in Town and bought a craft jewelry box. It comes in rough unpainted wood, and I just stained it with some light wood stain. Haven't come up with what to put inside yet
Rather than an adventure, we just kind of told the story together without playing any of it out. My party had to buy it at an auction - not very exciting! Inside was a melted key, which unlocked a magical lock around the Forge of Spells.
Preparing a game now on roll20, so the puzzle box is not going to be physical prop. But I created it as a handout on Roll20. I downloaded a cool picture of a wooden carved box and put in som text along the lines of "it feels light, it doesn't seem to open, and there is something metallic rattling inside it, if you shake it". It is of course openable with a DC15 INT check on a short rest or if they otherwise decide to spend an hour trying. I am planing to run the prologue like this: Players owed Gundren a big favor, and he needed a puzzle box retrieved from a crypt in the Neverwinter cemetery. He'd been to a funeral some months ago, and saw a gnome that he knew well attend it, as he knew the dead nobleman too. He saw that the gnome gave a wooden box as an offering for safe passage to the other side, and he knows that this is now inside the crypt with a lot of other trinkets and offerings. Gundren is sure that this must be the part he needs for something special, npt letting the players know exactly what. So he lets the party know that they have to get it without harming anyone, and that they must not try to open it. Telling this in past tense I let the players know that they were able to retrieve it from the crypt, by having the bard cast sleep on the guard and the wizard spending a scroll of locate object that he's once obtained, and it all worked like a charm. The guard never knew that he'd not just fallen asleep, and no one noticed the box missing from the tomb. The day after they meet up with Gundren and to thank them, he let s them in on his plan to mine for "something BIG" outside Phandalin and gives them the quest with the supply wagon, promising them that there will be more to come for them, since they've proven worthy of his trust now. He has to go early because of urgent matters "with mining permits", and lets them know that Sildar will be his protector, but that they, the players must keep the puzzle box hidden on the waggon, as waggons will not be searches thouroughly going out of Neverwinter. A rich merchant dwarf and his escort might be ... Regarding the box: I put a gold medallion inside engraved on both sides. Side a has a gnome with a wand (a wizard) and a cauldron on the other side. It is part of another puzzle to open a lock at the spell forge, and The Black Octopus (on of my players has arachnophobia) has already aquired the other two medallions needed (a similar silver one with a dwarf wizard and a bronze one with a human wizard on them). The medallion is faintly magic, if they should try detecting so, but they won't be able to know in which manner, except if they roll a nat20. Hoping for it to go smoothly ...
The player who let me know he's make a wizard ended up making a rogue in stead - also the bard didn't choose sleep as one of his spells ... so .... Made it out, so the bard used minor illusion in stead to lure a watchman away and the rogue sneaked his way in.
One of my players is playing as Flags, a lawful good young tiefling born in the nine hells to a cruel bone devil taskmaster who escapes into the material plane for some unsanctioned heroism and Good Deeds. He's a warlock who is leasing his power through his aloof devil father who doesnt know and would not approve of the virtuous ends to which it is being used.
Yep! Sounds rad. For a kind of edgy storyline with a Warlock, I would have either the Banshee, the Nothic, or Mormesk the Wraith offer to make a second pact for some kind of boon. Maybe you could allow him an extra or unique Eldritch Invocation, but make it clear that interfering with his established pact magic might draw the ire of his current patron. Meaningful choices like that where the player understands the nature of the consequences have been really satisfying in my groups, regardless which option the player chooses - they just like the moment of attention and an option.
For the puzzle box I'm thinking on making this origami cube and have my players unfold it to retrieve the trinket inside: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0oMf8L9ekys.html Edit: THIS SHIT WAS IMPOSIBLE, DON'T DO IT I LOST A LOT OF TIME ON IT AND IT DIDN'T WORK OUT
If we're doing a voice for the black spider, how do the players not figure out it's her when she tries to trade for the puzzle box? Or don't they know that the shadowy character in the cutscene is the black spider?
It's OK if the party work out the Black Spider is bad earlier than you planned. They need to work it out eventually anyway. The goal for the puzzle box is just to have an excuse for the Black Spider and the party to interact and develop a relationship.
You are helping me soooo much! Thank you for these videos, it's my first time trying to DM for my friends and this is exactly what I needed to feel good about starting. Will get on your Patreon asap!
I love the puzzle box idea but unfortunately I found your video too late! I didint do a session 0 about the puzzle box and my party already had one session . now theyre about to enter cragmaw hideout . any help? maybe I should let Klarg have it and write a story around it ?
Also... side note.. I see you like to add narratives for situations the players aren't directly privvy too... I hadn't considered that - I generally try not to tell them anything they haven't seen or know - but this is just good story telling. I'll have to do more of it
I have a Druid who really wants to find specific seeds and plants to do Druid things/spells with them, what would be the best way to put those in the game either naturally or through a shop? Or just specific items people are looking for as well. It’s my first time playing dnd and I am playing as the DM. Also for example shops in phandalin, do you have a special tool to generate shop items, or do you “stock” it according to what people are looking for/shop type? Thank you for the videos, they are very helpful!
Hello there. Trying to put think up some good player moments for: - A Dwarf fighter who's tired of his typical Dwarven lifestyle, and now seeks money and glory as a mercenary, without really knowing what the profession entails - A Halfling Warlock who went from a life on the streets to being commanded by his new patron, a fire Genie who he refers to as "God", to serve the party. - A Chromatic Dragonborn Druid from the Evermoors who feels the need to use his magical prowess to prove his worth to others. - A Tiefling Bard who has spent most of his life as a carnival master's servant, but now has been given the opportunity to life out the epic tales of heroism he's heard so much about from passing adventurers.
Aw thanks mate! I'm digging your comments. Coming up I've got a handful of videos in the LMoP series, then some silly stuff before covering the new Rime of the Frost Maiden module
Late to the party here, but I'm loving this series. Thanks a bunch for this amazing guide! :D I invited 7 (!) players for this campaign, because I thought many would say no, but everyone wanted to come. So I made two of them play an Ettin, an ogre-like race with two-heads. Each player controls one head. They found a halfling druid outside Neverwinter, who is carrying the mystical box. It came floating to him when he was little. If you have some good suggestions as to how to incorporate this box in a fun and suitable way, I'd love to hear your thoughts. The druid is a lonely person living in a swamp, and feels like his health is connected to the swamp. The swamp is dying (somehow) and therefore he feels like he is also dying.
Hey another amazing video! I love the scene from the black spider at the end, nut when you talk like her, doesn't that spoil the serprise that she is indeed evil. Because at there first encounter(in one of the next sessions) she seems to be on side of the party. How do you manage this?
Thanks Raymond! Appreciate the support :) You're right, and it might be a little silly, but here's a few reasons I'm OK with showing my hand so early. 1) The players will forget about this prologue scene until it's way too late, because that's what players do. The rule of thumb is to treat any clue as something the players will definitely miss, and treat any outright statement as if it's something the players will probably miss :) 2) The goal isn't to trick the players into thinking she's good, the goal is to establish a relationship between her and the players. You measure this by looking at the final encounter and asking "Do these two parties have good reasons to hate each other?" 3) Even if the players *do* remember and cotton on that Nezzar being the baddie from the beginning, it's still OK. Because there's a strange-bedfellows trope of the good guys and bad guys briefly working together which is pretty fun. Is that helpful at all?
People ask all the time, "Why would you gender swap the villain?" That's a great justification I'd never thought of which could make that question go away.
Hey Mathew! I'm running Lost Mine for a group of 3 new players. Before we decided to play it, we played the one shot A Most Potent Brew to see how interested they were in DnD. If you're familiar with that adventure, do you have any ideas of how to weave the black spider, puzzle box, and gundren into that? I've thought of inserting the puzzle box into the cellar dungeon the adventure takes place in, but I'm not sure how to include the black spider into that. I've also thought of having the quest giver from a most potent brew to be good friends or family of Gundren, but I don't know how to include the puzzle box with that. I'd love to hear any ideas you come up with, any help would be much appreciated! Edit: I own a puzzle box myself, so I'm super interested in implementing that, but I'm unsure what type of item to put inside
I'm not familiar with that adventure, sorry! For what to put in the puzzlebox, just walk around your house and look for the raddest thing you own. Come up with a justification in the game after finding the item.
So I just started running this campaign with my nephews and nieces, following your advice. I used a puzzle ring instead of a box and it was a huge hit! Unfortunately, I just learned my nephew lost the ring at the playground 😂 Should I get a token to represent the puzzle ring or make them face the consequences of not having it? Does the Black Spider still try to bargain with them, not knowing they've lost it?
That's rad! If I were you, I would look for a way to acknowledge what happened to the ring in-game without it feeling like any kind of punishment. What that looks like, I'm not sure. EG. If you think it was lost in the sand pit, I'd try to bring a desert theme into the item's story.
I wish I had seen this series before I started my LMoP campaign last year! Great stuff. We did 4 sessions before COVID forced us to hit "pause," but we're back up-and-running now, and just finished session 5. My players are on their way to Cragmaw Castle now, and I think I can incorporate some of your ideas into my own game. Thanks!
Great video Matt! I'm currently running the LMoP for the first time and these videos are extremely helpful. I like the flashback/ cutscenes. I'm considering doing them for my group but don't you feel like that gives away some of the mystery? If they know the Black Spider is looking for the Puzzle box and that she has a doppelganger henchman, they probably won't trust her if she "helps" them out.
Glad it's been helpful Joe! Here's the thing about the cutscenes: you would be amazed what the players forget or don't notice. It all depends on how much you describe the scene. "The Black Spider, who is a woman with a French accent, and her doppelganger ally are frustrated that the puzzlebox you have is missing from its resting place." This would be too specific. But when you obscure the facts, focus on building intrigue for the next session, you can totally hook your players into the story's premise.
Hey dude! Great work on all of these vids. Quick question; on the cutaway at the end of S0 to the scene where the BS notices the puzzle box has already been taken; you read her line in her voice (soft French), but would this not give away who she is the first time they speak to her and she sounds the same? Would you recommend just reading her bit in my voice in S0?
Cheers! I think the role of a DM is to set up dominos for the players to knock down. So your mysteries are solvable, and your players feel clever when they work it out. But in this case: you would be surprised how many clues the players miss. They won't notice.
First time DM here and trying to get this campaign ready for my players. Your videos are INCREDIBLE. You have given me so much confidence that I can do this! Thank you.
I'm working on making a character with my fiancé. She is going to be soloing the adventure, so I'm adjusting some things to be easier and giving her a little extra to start with. I'm also giving her an animal companion to use with a sidekick class depending on what animal she would like. Any tips to get started?
Sounds great! For a solo adventure, drop down the number of combatants drastically, because whichever side of the conflict has more actions is the side more likely to win. There's also Sidekick rules in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything or Xanathars's Guide to Everything (I don't remember which).
Thanks! If you only take one bit of info from this video: the players should meet the Black Spider in some capacity immediately, like next session. You don't want them to meet for the first time in the final fight!
In previous playthroughs, my players agonized over the secret meaning of the jade frog statuette in Klarg's trove... only the module doesn't appear to have any. Your videos gave me the answer... it's the macguffin, the thing Nezzar (excellent and mandatory name fix!) needs to unlock the forge of spells. The Phandalin Phorge Phrog. The clues were there all along!
That's a good fix! Every group stumbles on that frog. I've taken to making it a Figurine of Wondrous Power which gives players a temporary frog familiar.
So I am running LMOP and SKT immediately following that. So I am making Nezzar a Blue Adult Dragon who change shape into Nezzar and then she will keep showing up throughout both campaigns and continually harrass the adventurers and when they face Irmyth at the end of SKT, Nezzar turns out to be one of her daughters...So when they first meet Nezzar she is insanely powerful that there is no way she can be killed. She's wearing killer armor that the adventurers eventually can take from her when they are the appropriate level. 8+. Additionally, I kept Thundertree but instead of it being about fighting, it is designed to slow things down a bit and its a major info dump on what is coming with SKT, so like the green dragon is there but he is searching for an adult blue dragon who has shapeshifted into a human/drow creature. It will also address what is going on with the giants and why there is potential unrest.
Connecting Nezzar to dragons is a good way to link the two adventures, but heads up that facing an insanely powerful villain can be frustrating for players, and sometimes they will facetank the combat encounter rather than flee the TPK.
Does Gundren let the players know that he has found the forge of spells? Or is that left up to the players to unlock as they go along? Running session 0 tomorrow and wondering how much information Gundren would give to the players before setting off.
I would personally say that Gundren alludes to a big prize he's found, but doesn't exactly elaborate. But I'd have Sildar tell them when they meet again in the Cragmaw Hideout or Phandalin.
This is great. Already ran it once as a first time DM and see how your adjustments would have made it even better. Looking forward to this series and others.
Excellent video, and also the first time I've heard Linda Evangelista mentioned since like the '90s 🙂. I've only recently discovered your channel and I gotta say you are very informative, and I am digging the down-to-earth, friendly presentation.
Hi Mathew. Due to some complications, we couldn't end our session zero with the introduction of Gundren, the puzzle box and Nezzar. Should I still try to fit in those new scenes at the beginning of the next session or should I skip it (just make Gundren give them the box) in order to improve pacing?
As a forever DM ive DM'ed this campaign 5 times now and got countless of people into DnD, now finally one of my players wanted to DM something and i gave him all my resources for LMoP, but now im just clueless as of what PC to make as i havent actually played in a campaign in a couple of years. So any cool background ideas/class ideas that would mesh well with the campaign would be appreciated.
Haven't played D&D in almost 3 years, but we're getting the band back together. I've volunteered to DM, on the condition that I don't become our forever DM -- Let's see how that works out. Anyways these videos have been invaluable and I am so excited to launch this later this week
This would’ve been great to watch before yesterday. Hahaha I’m a brand new DM, but I played a good amount D&D and my friends nominated me to be the first DM of the group, alternating at the end of our respective campaigns. I’m running Mines. Lol I have 5 players with two being brand new and one who has only played it once before and not for a full campaign length. We just finished Goblin’s Arrows and they decided to bed down for the night in the clearing before ascending the trail to Cragmaw Hideout. One of them failed their check during their watch and the party was ambushed. One of the goblins was killed and the other managed to escape. And that’s where we left off.
Should i scrap the backstories of the pregen. Characters and create new ones at session 0? I am going to play with new players Love your content! Keep it up!
Yep! Let the players play a personality that they like rather than the pregens. And your job is to steer them away from anything you think might be unproductive for the team. (Like, you wouldn't want the players to say, "And our two characters HATE each other")
"My character is going to try steal from everybody" that's actually what happend the first time i played this adventure, the Lawful good paladin took advantage of the downed characters to take all teir GP before healing us.
I've just started running this and I've never DM'd before. I have been a player but that was a few years ago. Wish me luck I hope my players have as much fun as I did
By the way this series is pure gold and I was quite happy to sign up on the Patreon to access those PDFs. Looking forward to running a simple chase as well as potentially sneak in some of the drinking rules if they decide to have a night of debauchery in Phandalin. I have a feeling the Redbrands are going to take advantage of their loosened state.
First time DM here who’s looking to run LMoP for my family. Like the idea of the puzzle box and was wondering if the quest to get it should be like a mini session/session 0 instead of it happening in the past?
My suggestion is to make it a backstory thing. The function is just to help give the characters a shared past, and to be an excuse to introduce the villain early - you don't need a full session to accomplish that.
Disaster! I love the innovations you've made to the Starter Set but only came across this once we were well into the game. How to introduce the Puzzle Box? Was I too late? Well, the party has just rescued Gundren. I realised he can be carrying it. I've made it a strange-shaped piece of metal hung around his neck that will fit into a door that is the Guardian of the Forge, thus neutralising whatever threat the Guardian will pose. Phew! Because my players are two thirds children I'm going to let them get to the Forge first, probably have the BS tailgate them through the door. The BS? I'm sure she'd love to be called THAT......
Oh no! A few people have had the issue of coming to these videos too late, but hopefully you'll find something to help you out with the ending. If nothing else, maybe you could run it for a second party :)
