Last Minute Concerns
WARNING. THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR WIZARDS OF THE COAST’S “LOST MINE OF PHANDELVER” INCLUDED IN THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 5th EDITION STARTER SET.
There are three things that have me a little worried for Session 02 which is due to take place this evening.
Firstly, the first part of Lost Mine of Phandelver is quite linear. There are certain circumstances where it’s possible to go slightly off-quest but this takes place at a point in the story where the DM can easily set the party back on track.
However, once the party moves into the town of Phandalin, the module opens up significantly and the party can pick and choose where they go. This means there is significantly more preparation required as a Dungeon Master. I’m genuinely worried the party will head to a location which might be beyond their means or where I’m not quite prepared.
The second issue plays very much into the first – I’ve had a very busy, and very stressful week caused by the loss of a family member and I’ve had very little time to do that preparation.
The third issue is that tonight’s session will really be the first point where the party are expected to roleplay and this is going to be a totally new experience for them. In fact, I expect that at least 25% of tonight’s session might just be conversation.
Couple of positives though. The party will move up to Level 2 quite early in tonight’s session. Also, I’m looking to introduce one of my first homebrew characters into the adventure tonight – a bard by the name of Gabriela who they’ll run into in Phandalin’s tavern.
Nervous, but excited. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to do so more reading before we begin.
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You got this man! #1 tip I’ve learned as a DM – don’t be afraid to give hints to your players about possible options. Often times new players don’t know what they can do. For example, as players approach the dead horses, I always tell new players that they have several option they can sneak to the dead horses, walk up to it normally, or roll perception check to gather surroundings.
And another tip: dont be scared to make harsh consequences for your players. If they attack random npc or do something stupid, use the guards to throw them in jail or fight them. Remember your players don’t have to be killed in a fight, if they all get knocked unconscious resulting in a TPK, you can have a fun escape from jail session. (Maybe the redbrand guards take the players to the Redbrand hideout to put them in jail). Having real consequences makes the world really feel alive. Looking forward to reading more!
That’s good advice. Definitely, if they all got incapacitated within a short period of time that isn’t something I’d necessarily considered. Something I’ll try and remember for the fight with Venomfang where a single breath attack can kill the entire party.
How would you play that out in a scenario where the Wizard takes fatal damage in the first round and he then fails subsequent death saves whilst the rest of the party continue to fight?
Fair warning, this module can be tricky to run without prep due to the open endedness like you mentioned, but I’ve also found that if you sit down and read through the bulk of it once or twice, it’s very very easy to remember a lot of the stuff. You will not need the book for a lot of dialogue or RP if you scen it before, only for dungeon room specifics, which are pretty breif. I am running this module also so I’m definitely curious to follow along your experience.