As a bit of context, I'm currently running through the Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign with a group of three brand new players. We're all having a fantastic time, and it's become the highlight of all of our week. They've never played before, and while they're all big RPG fans, and have at least passing knowledge of D&D, they're new to the concept of total character freedom.
Over the past 3 sessions, I've slowly introduced more complex mechanics and ideas for the players, to help them really identify with their characters, try new things, and get into the roleplaying aspect of their characters.
In session 2, the player running the fighter finally started to try out new things in combat, beyond 'I attack this guy. Now I attack this guy.' In the climactic battle of the session against the bugbear, Klarg, he was instrumental in leading the party to victory, managing to position Klarg between a fire-pit and himself with a shove, and utilising the dodge action to stay alive while the other two players took care of the goblins. He got really into it, and suddenly was roleplaying with voice-acting, dramatic motions as to how he was duelling this massive bugbear, dodging attacks and hurling insults. It was fantastic for everyone.
The next session, in Phandalin, the player running a bard came to the fore, trying out lots of different persuasion and performance skills, including leading the locals in the tavern in a rousing sing-a-long, much to the ire of the Redbrand ruffians. Again, great roleplay was to be had, and he really got into his character, suddenly bringing it to life in fantastic new ways, and feeling supremely valuable to the team, in that it was he that uncovered many of the plot leads.
The final player is the most hesitant of the group to break out of his shell, with the least knowledge of D&D. He's playing a wizard, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying it from a mechanics point of view. He's doing fine - casting spells in combat - asking around town about clues - chatting to the other players. But I'd really like to help give him a moment to really connect with his character as the others have - to be able to ignite that spark that'll really help him get excited about what his character brings to the party, and give him a moment in the spotlight.
I think the battle against Iarno 'Glasstaff' Albreck in the Redbrand Hideout could give him that opportunity. As the first time the party have faced a magic user, this could be the time for our wizard to shine. Glasstaff wields a Staff of Defence, and I'm in the fortunate position that none of the players, in-character or out, know what that is, nor how spells such as shield work. To the players, I imagine they'll engage Iarno, the wizard will cast an ineffective Magic Missile and nobody will have any idea why its not working.
Now to the crux. I'd love for our wizard to have the opportunity to be instrumental in identifying what the staff is, what it's doing, and why it's making it so darn hard for the fighter to lands hits and this wizard's most reliable spell to simply smash against a magical shield. I've got a couple of options - either I make it obvious that the wizard can simply identify it, but I'd rather the wizard have to figure out that he can spend an action (or reaction) to identify the spells that it's casting, and therefore work it out. Thus giving the players an opportunity to disarm Iarno, or otherwise rethink their plan.
Ultimately, I'd like to encourage our wizard to start thinking like the party member responsible for the arcane. I think when he, like the others already have, finds his niche, he'll go to a whole other level in terms of connecting with his character.
Ideas? I don't want to make the encounter too hard (or easy), and Iarno is supposed to simply flee when the players arrive... but I really feel this could be a turning point for our wizard. I'm totally open to suggestions! Thanks.
First off, if possible, try to find a situation where he can identify a magic item to just make him baseline aware that he can do so. Give him inspiration for it, and specifically say it for thinking and roleplaying like a curious wizard in and out of combat (or something along those lines, if his ideal or personality traits align with such then mention that as well). This will have him associate his character and specific role in being the party liaison to the arcane, and hopefully set him up to continue playing in that manner.
Secondly, don't be afraid to bring another player in on the idea. Pull your fighter aside and tell him you want your wizard to have a moment like he did with the bugbear. You don't have to tell him much about what will happen in the fight, just mention that they'll be up against something overtly magical, and that if his character could frustratedly yell at the wizard "HEY MAGE, WHY DOESN'T MY SWORD WORK ON THIS GUY!?", that'd be great. It may feel hamfisted doing it that way, but having the cue come from another player rather than the DM is actually something that solidifies the immersion rather than breaking it. The wizard is now teaming with the fighter to solve the puzzle of how to properly killed their first arcanist, and if done right, will do so in the same manner for many a magician to come.
The fight against glassstaff will need som serious tweeking for it to be a challenge for the whole group.
Another way to make the wizard "shine" could be something like this:
As far as I remember in Glassstaff's room the party can find a note from the black spider to Glassstaff. You could have that note be "encrypted" with some sort of magic code that only makes sense to the wizard. Could be combined with a handout that only makes sense to the wizard.
First off, if possible, try to find a situation where he can identify a magic item to just make him baseline aware that he can do so. Give him inspiration for it, and specifically say it for thinking and roleplaying like a curious wizard in and out of combat (or something along those lines, if his ideal or personality traits align with such then mention that as well). This will have him associate his character and specific role in being the party liaison to the arcane, and hopefully set him up to continue playing in that manner.
Secondly, don't be afraid to bring another player in on the idea. Pull your fighter aside and tell him you want your wizard to have a moment like he did with the bugbear. You don't have to tell him much about what will happen in the fight, just mention that they'll be up against something overtly magical, and that if his character could frustratedly yell at the wizard "HEY MAGE, WHY DOESN'T MY SWORD WORK ON THIS GUY!?", that'd be great. It may feel hamfisted doing it that way, but having the cue come from another player rather than the DM is actually something that solidifies the immersion rather than breaking it. The wizard is now teaming with the fighter to solve the puzzle of how to properly killed their first arcanist, and if done right, will do so in the same manner for many a magician to come.
Solid ideas here. I'd thought about a 'soft-run', with the wizard finding a magical item to identify, but I didn't want to provide something too powerful at this stage. Perhaps some form of magical ward on the entrance to the Redbrand Hideout? Some arcane runes that hint that there may be a mage lurking within? I don't want to provide too many hints that Glasstaff is a mage though - I reckon they'll very quickly put two and two together if they remember that Iarno Albreck is a wizard.
I hadn't thought about pulling another player aside, and that's a great idea! I might mention it, without railroading it into the situation, I might mention in passing to the fighter that it'd be great to see the wizard using his innate arcane knowledge, to organically bring that situation out in combat.
The fight against glassstaff will need som serious tweeking for it to be a challenge for the whole group.
Another way to make the wizard "shine" could be something like this:
As far as I remember in Glassstaff's room the party can find a note from the black spider to Glassstaff. You could have that note be "encrypted" with some sort of magic code that only makes sense to the wizard. Could be combined with a handout that only makes sense to the wizard.
Great idea! And yes, I was worried that Glasstaff might be too easy - though it's only a party of three. Perhaps if he had a couple of Redbrands with him? As soon as the party figures out the staff is giving him his advantage, that's when he'll turn tail. I'll try and work him into the adventure later on - perhaps fleeing to Cragmaw Castle.
If your party havent killed the Nothic monster in room 8 you can have glassstaff flee to this place and the group will fight both at the same time. Would be a challenging "End fight" for that dungeon.
Another idea would be if Glassstaff flee outside and if the group chase him the fight would take place outside in the woods. Give him 2 extra Redbrands to help him.
Or like you say let him flee to Cragmaw castle for the "final encounter" with him.
About the hand-out you could make 2 versions of it: One for if the non wizards try to read it (if they pick it up first), and one for when the wizard character have deciphered it.
Solid ideas here. I'd thought about a 'soft-run', with the wizard finding a magical item to identify, but I didn't want to provide something too powerful at this stage. Perhaps some form of magical ward on the entrance to the Redbrand Hideout?
Maybe throw a common magical item from XGtE at them. Not too powerful, good chance to flex some identify spells.
Hi DMs, thought I'd run some ideas past you.
As a bit of context, I'm currently running through the Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign with a group of three brand new players. We're all having a fantastic time, and it's become the highlight of all of our week. They've never played before, and while they're all big RPG fans, and have at least passing knowledge of D&D, they're new to the concept of total character freedom.
Over the past 3 sessions, I've slowly introduced more complex mechanics and ideas for the players, to help them really identify with their characters, try new things, and get into the roleplaying aspect of their characters.
In session 2, the player running the fighter finally started to try out new things in combat, beyond 'I attack this guy. Now I attack this guy.' In the climactic battle of the session against the bugbear, Klarg, he was instrumental in leading the party to victory, managing to position Klarg between a fire-pit and himself with a shove, and utilising the dodge action to stay alive while the other two players took care of the goblins. He got really into it, and suddenly was roleplaying with voice-acting, dramatic motions as to how he was duelling this massive bugbear, dodging attacks and hurling insults. It was fantastic for everyone.
The next session, in Phandalin, the player running a bard came to the fore, trying out lots of different persuasion and performance skills, including leading the locals in the tavern in a rousing sing-a-long, much to the ire of the Redbrand ruffians. Again, great roleplay was to be had, and he really got into his character, suddenly bringing it to life in fantastic new ways, and feeling supremely valuable to the team, in that it was he that uncovered many of the plot leads.
The final player is the most hesitant of the group to break out of his shell, with the least knowledge of D&D. He's playing a wizard, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying it from a mechanics point of view. He's doing fine - casting spells in combat - asking around town about clues - chatting to the other players. But I'd really like to help give him a moment to really connect with his character as the others have - to be able to ignite that spark that'll really help him get excited about what his character brings to the party, and give him a moment in the spotlight.
I think the battle against Iarno 'Glasstaff' Albreck in the Redbrand Hideout could give him that opportunity. As the first time the party have faced a magic user, this could be the time for our wizard to shine. Glasstaff wields a Staff of Defence, and I'm in the fortunate position that none of the players, in-character or out, know what that is, nor how spells such as shield work. To the players, I imagine they'll engage Iarno, the wizard will cast an ineffective Magic Missile and nobody will have any idea why its not working.
Now to the crux. I'd love for our wizard to have the opportunity to be instrumental in identifying what the staff is, what it's doing, and why it's making it so darn hard for the fighter to lands hits and this wizard's most reliable spell to simply smash against a magical shield. I've got a couple of options - either I make it obvious that the wizard can simply identify it, but I'd rather the wizard have to figure out that he can spend an action (or reaction) to identify the spells that it's casting, and therefore work it out. Thus giving the players an opportunity to disarm Iarno, or otherwise rethink their plan.
Ultimately, I'd like to encourage our wizard to start thinking like the party member responsible for the arcane. I think when he, like the others already have, finds his niche, he'll go to a whole other level in terms of connecting with his character.
Ideas? I don't want to make the encounter too hard (or easy), and Iarno is supposed to simply flee when the players arrive... but I really feel this could be a turning point for our wizard. I'm totally open to suggestions! Thanks.
First off, if possible, try to find a situation where he can identify a magic item to just make him baseline aware that he can do so. Give him inspiration for it, and specifically say it for thinking and roleplaying like a curious wizard in and out of combat (or something along those lines, if his ideal or personality traits align with such then mention that as well). This will have him associate his character and specific role in being the party liaison to the arcane, and hopefully set him up to continue playing in that manner.
Secondly, don't be afraid to bring another player in on the idea. Pull your fighter aside and tell him you want your wizard to have a moment like he did with the bugbear. You don't have to tell him much about what will happen in the fight, just mention that they'll be up against something overtly magical, and that if his character could frustratedly yell at the wizard "HEY MAGE, WHY DOESN'T MY SWORD WORK ON THIS GUY!?", that'd be great. It may feel hamfisted doing it that way, but having the cue come from another player rather than the DM is actually something that solidifies the immersion rather than breaking it. The wizard is now teaming with the fighter to solve the puzzle of how to properly killed their first arcanist, and if done right, will do so in the same manner for many a magician to come.
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone
The fight against glassstaff will need som serious tweeking for it to be a challenge for the whole group.
Another way to make the wizard "shine" could be something like this:
As far as I remember in Glassstaff's room the party can find a note from the black spider to Glassstaff. You could have that note be "encrypted" with some sort of magic code that only makes sense to the wizard. Could be combined with a handout that only makes sense to the wizard.
Solid ideas here. I'd thought about a 'soft-run', with the wizard finding a magical item to identify, but I didn't want to provide something too powerful at this stage. Perhaps some form of magical ward on the entrance to the Redbrand Hideout? Some arcane runes that hint that there may be a mage lurking within? I don't want to provide too many hints that Glasstaff is a mage though - I reckon they'll very quickly put two and two together if they remember that Iarno Albreck is a wizard.
I hadn't thought about pulling another player aside, and that's a great idea! I might mention it, without railroading it into the situation, I might mention in passing to the fighter that it'd be great to see the wizard using his innate arcane knowledge, to organically bring that situation out in combat.
Great idea! And yes, I was worried that Glasstaff might be too easy - though it's only a party of three. Perhaps if he had a couple of Redbrands with him? As soon as the party figures out the staff is giving him his advantage, that's when he'll turn tail. I'll try and work him into the adventure later on - perhaps fleeing to Cragmaw Castle.
If your party havent killed the Nothic monster in room 8 you can have glassstaff flee to this place and the group will fight both at the same time. Would be a challenging "End fight" for that dungeon.
Another idea would be if Glassstaff flee outside and if the group chase him the fight would take place outside in the woods. Give him 2 extra Redbrands to help him.
Or like you say let him flee to Cragmaw castle for the "final encounter" with him.
About the hand-out you could make 2 versions of it: One for if the non wizards try to read it (if they pick it up first), and one for when the wizard character have deciphered it.
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone