Sildar states “My Friends!, let us secure lodgings. I’m told the local inn is very quaint!. I am going here in search of an old friend of mine, a human wizard named Iarno Albrek. He is a fellow member of the Lord’s Alliance. He went missing shortly after arriving to Phandalin”
They can following Sildar to the Stone Inn or go to the Sleeping Giant Tavern - if they go here Run REDBRAND Ruffians
IF THEY GO TO THE INN
SETTING: The Inn/Tavern/Trade Post: typical tavern style, the main area is dimly lighted by 3 candle chandeliers, there are 8 makeshift tables that look to be put together from previous furniture parts, each with their own candles some shorter and more burnt out than others. To the left of the entrance is the tavern bar, 3 large ale barrels provide the backdrop to the bar itself while a grizzled half-orc tends to 3 patrons sitting at the bar. He’s motioning like he’s telling a story of a recent scuffle he got into and the patrons are all ears. The walls of the tap room are all stone and feel damp and appear to be covered in moss and ivy. The bard is off center of the main room playing away telling ancient tales through song while inebriated patons dance and fall over themselves…
Inn Keeper/Trade Post Owner = Toblen Stonhill –Rough Half-Orc, bandaged and slightly wounded from recent encounter with the Redbrands. He believes the townmaster is weak for not dealing with the Redbrands sooner. He knows that Grunden and his brothers are treasure hunters but is slightly concerned because he hasn’t seen them in a while.
“The Rockseeker brothers would never forgive me if I turned away their companions, why don’t you stay here for the Night, and dinner is on the house!”
“I wish the Townmaster would do something about these Redbrands, they’ve been threatening businesses all throughout Phandalian for Months now. Making sure they get a cut of all sales, a little much if ya ask me. I wonder if some adventures like you could convince the townmaster to finally do something about it?” - Run Town Master Hall
“News came back yesterday from the Town Crier that the local sheriff went to deal with the Redbrands after he moved his wife and kids outta town, but no one has seen him in a ten-day.”
“With the Sheriff gone and the Towmaster a coward, If you could deal with those pesky Redbrands there may be a communal award given to you in the form of compensation”
“I’ve heard that the lad(Pip) over there in the greek frock and brown undershirt may know of a secret tunnel, no one knows where it leads to but it’s interesting to say the least, maybe there is treasure there” - Run alderleaf Farm.
“Oh, and don’t mind the heavy breathing ol’ Molly’s doing, she’s been the best cat I could ever ask for, Sister Garaele says she’s asthmatic which means she can’t breathe good. That Sister Garaele seems to have a lot of information about everything. She's always reporting back from her adventures about new discoveries, she says she has a lot of Luck on her side. She may know where the Goblins came from or even where Mr. Rockseeker has been taken to. Although she recently returned from her last adventure pretty shaken up but won’t talk much about it so I aint even sure what you can get out of her but it's worth a shot” - Run Shrine of Luck (try to wait till session 3)
After discussion with Toblen they can choose a side quest of shop for supplies, all quests will lead back to Redbrand Hideout
WHEN THEY CHOOSE TOWNMASTER
Setting: The Townmaster’s hall is made of study stone, out from there is a notice that reads: “REWARD - Orcs near Wyvern Tor!”Townmaster’s office is a disheveled mess, parchment flung all over his desk and floor. A candle almost burnt to the base flickers on the Townmaster’s desk but the Townmaster is nowhere to be found
(if they ask what is one the papers have them roll an intelligence check)Many of the pieces are complaints, burglary reports and reports of losses from Phandalins many businesses.. Players walkout of his office and shut the door, they hear an audible “Whew”, (if they ask what that sound was they can roll a perception check, If Higher than DC6 = go in and discover Townmaster, if Lower than DC6 go back to INN.
“Ugh, Ugh.. Townmaster Harbin at your service, who might you be?”
“Sorry I was hiding, I thought it might be the Redbrands coming to collect payment. I’m so frightened by them, especially since the sheriff left Phandalin in search of their hideout, we now have no defense.”
“But that isn’t the least of our worries, along Triboar Trail there is a crag with an Orc Encampment, these Orc’s have been spying on settlements around Phandalin for 6 months now. They have an Ogre companion. If you can take care of them, then maybe I will help you disband the Redbrands. I've gathered information from a scouting report which may prove useful to you.”
RUN WYVERN TOR
-SUCCESSFUL-
“Oh thank you so very much, finally the settlers outside of the main town and in the local areas can rest at peace, no more Orc Encounters.” As promised, here is your reward..”
/He hands them a partial map of the Redbrands hideout that shows 2 of the secret doors/
“I’m not sure where this hideout is located, however the last time the Redbrands were here one of them dropped this on the way out, I believe it is a partial map of their hideout.”
–UNSUCCESSFUL-
Return to the Townmaster’s office and he is DEAD, a note lays upon his desk with a dagger stuck in it. Written in Orc “Stay away from Wyvern Tor, the Orc’s rule this land” (If player can read ORC then the message can be read, otherwise they have no clue what it says)
Return back to Tolben at the Inn and let him know what happened.
“That’s terrible news, knowing now that the Townmaster wasn’t only dealing with the Redbrands but also the Orc’s at Wyvern Tor maybe he wasn’t such a coward however he was dealing with the greater of two evils. He shall have a proper burial, I will see to it!” Although, with no formal set government here at Phandalin we will now need to elect a townsperson to the status of Townmaster so the city may have some sort of order to it.” SILDAR BECOMES TOWNMASTER, he declines wanting to wait till he finds his wizard friend Iarno.
“Oye, while you were gone Pip came over and said he believes you two are the ones who could uncover the mystery of the tunnel he discovered at Quellin Alderleaf’s farm. He said meet him at the farm 8 hours past day break. You can stay here for the night or I heard Quellin might offer her hayloft at the farm if you decide to travel there tonight.”
WHEN THEY CHOOSE ALDERLEAF FARM
Setting:Players arrive at the farm, Fenced off from the mainland. The farm is quite large with 3 barns , two hay silos, and a main cabin house only big enough for one person. They find Pip emerging from a high loft barn, he has straw about his hair and his green frock is half buttoned on one side, looks like he’s been playing with the farm animals.
Pip: “Hey, Hey, over here, haha I knew you would come. I told Tolben you two would be great at discovering the tunnel mystery! Let me introduce you to Quellin.”
“Ms. Quellin, these are the two adventures I told you about, don’t they look like they can handle this?”
Quellin: “Oh my where are my manners, “cough”, clears throat, Hello, welcome to Alderleaf Farm’s my name is Quellin, what brings you into Phanderlin? I hear those Rockseeker brothers are in town and whenever they are it’s sure to be a hoot!”
Pip: Oh Quellin, who cares about those crazy brothers, they are always promising the discovery of Echo Wave Cave, I’m tired of their empty rhetoric, we could have our very own treasures found at the end of this tunnel I discovered”
Quellin: “Now Pip settle down and let the adventurers speak:
If they state that they were assisting Grunden with taking provisions to Phanderlan in search of the Cave, Quellin has the following response, If they speak about the Goblin Attack and Sildar’s suspicion that they took Gundren to Cragmaw Castle, Quellin says Reidoth can help them locate Cragmaw Castle as well.:
Quellin: “Ah if you are searching for Wave Echo Cave (and or Crawmaw Castle) I have the perfect acquaintance, I know an Old Druid, Reidoth Truthseeker He recently set out to the ancient ruins of Thundertree, He could help you since there isn’t an inch of this land he doesn’t know. Once we discover what's at the end of this tunnel, I can provide you with the location of Thundertree.Pip tell the kind adventurers what you saw when you discovered the tunnel”
Pip: “Well ya see, I’m always over here at Ms. Quellin’s farm playing with the animals and what not, and ug, well, it’s embarrassing but, one day I let loose a cow and she burst through the barn door and ran in that direction, *Points into the woods to the southeast*. I ran after her and after 2 hours of searching for her I discovered this tunnel protruding from the rock crevasse on this hillside. The closer I got to the tunnel I began to hear voices, suddenly two bandits came out along with two Redbrands. It was close. I thought for sure I was going to be captured. When they almost spotted me, the cow let out a bellowing MOOOOO. This distracted the bandits enough for me to get away.
As soon as I came back to the farm I told Ms. Quellin what I had discovered and she asked of me to go the Inn to find some experienced adventurers who would find out what was on the other side.
When I arrived at the tavern I sat in the corner and began to listen to all the stories, that’s when I saw you two walk in and begin to talk to Tolben. Once I heard your story of how you defeated the Goblin hideout at Cragmaw Cave, I knew I could count on you. So what d’ya say will you go see what’s on the other side of the tunnel?”
RUN REDBRAND HIDEOUT 8-12 then 1-7 (EXPLORE)
Setting:Cold damp crevasse divided the cavern, there are two stone columns supporting the 20 ft ceiling. Two wooden bridges span the chasm.
Players enter section 8 of the Redbrand Hideout.
If they decide to roll a INVESTIGATION CHECK and beat a DC of 15 they will detect the Nothic
Nothic: *Speaking in Whisper, telepathically * “Who is it that enters my domain? I am the great and mighty Nothic, Xur. You know nothing of the power you are about to experience. I am in need of being fed, feed me and I may spare your life… If your meal is worthy enough I may provide you with information regarding your surroundings, hahaha”.
(IF THEY DETECT with INVESTIGATION CHECK HE WILL NEGOTIATE)
Xur knows the following:
The leader of the Redbrands is a human wizard known as Glasstaff, due to his staff being made of glass. His chambers are at the West end of the stronghold
A Mysterious figure known as the Black Spider has hired the Redbrands to frighten off adventurers and intimidate the locals, for reasons unknown. The Black Spider has sent bugbears to reinforce the Redbrands and provide extra muscle
The Redbrands have a handful of captives in a holding area “near the old crypts” which are full of skeletons.
AFTER Xur Encounter Run remaining on SideQuest as laid out.
Upon SUCCESSFUL completion of REDBRAND HIDEOUT End Session 2. Thundertree will being session 3
Sildar states “My Friends!, let us secure lodgings. I’m told the local inn is very quaint!. I am going here in search of an old friend of mine, a human wizard named Iarno Albrek. He is a fellow member of the Lord’s Alliance. He went missing shortly after arriving to Phandalin”
Before I take this apart bit-by-bit, I'm going to ask how new your group is and if they're OK with this level of handholding? Handholding isn't necessarily bad, but this is removing opportunities for the party to roleplay. Sildar Hallwinter's information should be thus:
He needs a rest before he can resume his business.
If asked about an inn, he and the party can go together or travel seperately to find a suitable inn. There's a one in two chance they'll come across the Sleeping Giant Inn, the "wrong" inn.
If asked about his business, tell them he's looking for a friend. Depending on how the party's treated him, he might say his friend is with the Lord's Alliance or his name is Iarno Albrek, a wizard. Though the party has saved his life, Sildar still has his loyalties to the Lords' Alliance and can't give up information that may scare the townsfolk of Phandalin.
Sildar doesn't know Iarno's gone missing; all he knows is Iarno hasn't talked to the Lords' Alliance. His disappearance can be discovered the following day when he goes to investigate, letting the party do their own investigations.
They can following Sildar to the Stone Inn or go to the Sleeping Giant Tavern - if they go here Run REDBRAND Ruffians
IF THEY GO TO THE INN
SETTING: The Inn/Tavern/Trade Post: typical tavern style, the main area is dimly lighted by 3 candle chandeliers, there are 8 makeshift tables that look to be put together from previous furniture parts, each with their own candles some shorter and more burnt out than others. To the left of the entrance is the tavern bar, 3 large ale barrels provide the backdrop to the bar itself while a grizzled half-orc tends to 3 patrons sitting at the bar. He’s motioning like he’s telling a story of a recent scuffle he got into and the patrons are all ears. The walls of the tap room are all stone and feel damp and appear to be covered in moss and ivy. The bard is off center of the main room playing away telling ancient tales through song while inebriated patons dance and fall over themselves…
Inn Keeper/Trade Post Owner = Toblen Stonhill –Rough Half-Orc, bandaged and slightly wounded from recent encounter with the Redbrands. He believes the townmaster is weak for not dealing with the Redbrands sooner. He knows that Grunden and his brothers are treasure hunters but is slightly concerned because he hasn’t seen them in a while.
“The Rockseeker brothers would never forgive me if I turned away their companions, why don’t you stay here for the Night, and dinner is on the house!”
“I wish the Townmaster would do something about these Redbrands, they’ve been threatening businesses all throughout Phandalian for Months now. Making sure they get a cut of all sales, a little much if ya ask me. I wonder if some adventures like you could convince the townmaster to finally do something about it?” - Run Town Master Hall
“News came back yesterday from the Town Crier that the local sheriff went to deal with the Redbrands after he moved his wife and kids outta town, but no one has seen him in a ten-day.”
“With the Sheriff gone and the Towmaster a coward, If you could deal with those pesky Redbrands there may be a communal award given to you in the form of compensation”
“I’ve heard that the lad(Pip) over there in the greek frock and brown undershirt may know of a secret tunnel, no one knows where it leads to but it’s interesting to say the least, maybe there is treasure there” - Run alderleaf Farm.
“Oh, and don’t mind the heavy breathing ol’ Molly’s doing, she’s been the best cat I could ever ask for, Sister Garaele says she’s asthmatic which means she can’t breathe good. That Sister Garaele seems to have a lot of information about everything. She's always reporting back from her adventures about new discoveries, she says she has a lot of Luck on her side. She may know where the Goblins came from or even where Mr. Rockseeker has been taken to. Although she recently returned from her last adventure pretty shaken up but won’t talk much about it so I aint even sure what you can get out of her but it's worth a shot” - Run Shrine of Luck (try to wait till session 3)
After discussion with Toblen they can choose a side quest of shop for supplies, all quests will lead back to Redbrand Hideout
Love the setting description, that's all good.
I don't think Toblen should be giving away room and board because of some ill-defined relationship he has with them. That's no way to run a business. Now letting the party have a free room and drinks on the house after they've done something heroic, like dealing with the Redbrands? That's much more like it. If the players want to try and persuade Toblen to let them have free food, they can roll CHA (Persuasion). If they anger Toblen, they can have Sildar step in and offer to pay for the meal or stay for saving his life.
I like the idea of Toblen telling the party to go to the Townmaster rather than running the Redbrands out themselves. It's a good lead into another building.
The Sheriff being an unnamed character thus far is good, especially if Sildar's not around to hear Toblen's rumour about him being gone. This allows the players to take this information to Sildar, and compare notes.
I would forget the Pip rumour, or at the very least make it sound a lot more mundane. If the players want to pursue it, mention a tunnel but have it blown off as "probably one of the old mining tunnels" or "he says it's an owlbear's burrow, but it's probably nothing more than a mole hill."
As for Sister Garaele, the idea of the asthmatic cat is a very nice touch, but you needn't provide so much information. Let the players know that she's smart, and if they ask further about her, tell them they ought to see if she knows anything about whatever subject takes the party's greatest amount of interest. You might want to add some intrigue though such as "just go easy on her; she's not been looking so hot lately."
Setting:Players arrive at the farm, Fenced off from the mainland. The farm is quite large with 3 barns , two hay silos, and a main cabin house only big enough for one person. They find Pip emerging from a high loft barn, he has straw about his hair and his green frock is half buttoned on one side, looks like he’s been playing with the farm animals.
Pip: “Hey, Hey, over here, haha I knew you would come. I told Tolben you two would be great at discovering the tunnel mystery! Let me introduce you to Quellin.”
“Ms. Quellin, these are the two adventures I told you about, don’t they look like they can handle this?”
Quellin: “Oh my where are my manners, “cough”, clears throat, Hello, welcome to Alderleaf Farm’s my name is Quellin, what brings you into Phanderlin? I hear those Rockseeker brothers are in town and whenever they are it’s sure to be a hoot!”
Pip: Oh Quellin, who cares about those crazy brothers, they are always promising the discovery of Echo Wave Cave, I’m tired of their empty rhetoric, we could have our very own treasures found at the end of this tunnel I discovered”
Quellin: “Now Pip settle down and let the adventurers speak:
If they state that they were assisting Grunden with taking provisions to Phanderlan in search of the Cave, Quellin has the following response, If they speak about the Goblin Attack and Sildar’s suspicion that they took Gundren to Cragmaw Castle, Quellin says Reidoth can help them locate Cragmaw Castle as well.:
Quellin: “Ah if you are searching for Wave Echo Cave (and or Crawmaw Castle) I have the perfect acquaintance, I know an Old Druid, Reidoth Truthseeker He recently set out to the ancient ruins of Thundertree, He could help you since there isn’t an inch of this land he doesn’t know. Once we discover what's at the end of this tunnel, I can provide you with the location of Thundertree.Pip tell the kind adventurers what you saw when you discovered the tunnel”
Pip: “Well ya see, I’m always over here at Ms. Quellin’s farm playing with the animals and what not, and ug, well, it’s embarrassing but, one day I let loose a cow and she burst through the barn door and ran in that direction, *Points into the woods to the southeast*. I ran after her and after 2 hours of searching for her I discovered this tunnel protruding from the rock crevasse on this hillside. The closer I got to the tunnel I began to hear voices, suddenly two bandits came out along with two Redbrands. It was close. I thought for sure I was going to be captured. When they almost spotted me, the cow let out a bellowing MOOOOO. This distracted the bandits enough for me to get away.
As soon as I came back to the farm I told Ms. Quellin what I had discovered and she asked of me to go the Inn to find some experienced adventurers who would find out what was on the other side.
When I arrived at the tavern I sat in the corner and began to listen to all the stories, that’s when I saw you two walk in and begin to talk to Tolben. Once I heard your story of how you defeated the Goblin hideout at Cragmaw Cave, I knew I could count on you. So what d’ya say will you go see what’s on the other side of the tunnel?”
Similar criticisms here as before: let the adventurers ask about what Pip knows, and let things follow naturally from there. I'd always imagined Pip and Carp to be children, so maybe throw in some tall tales to add some strangeness to the mix. For every truth there should be both implausible and realistic falsehoods thrown in. Have fun screwing around with the player's heads; maybe the voices Pip heard in his head are just made up, and totally not the one-eyed toad that lives in the caves?
Setting:Cold damp crevasse divided the cavern, there are two stone columns supporting the 20 ft ceiling. Two wooden bridges span the chasm.
Players enter section 8 of the Redbrand Hideout.
If they decide to roll a INVESTIGATION CHECK and beat a DC of 15 they will detect the Nothic
Nothic: *Speaking in Whisper, telepathically * “Who is it that enters my domain? I am the great and mighty Nothic, Xur. You know nothing of the power you are about to experience. I am in need of being fed, feed me and I may spare your life… If your meal is worthy enough I may provide you with information regarding your surroundings, hahaha”.
(IF THEY DETECT with INVESTIGATION CHECK HE WILL NEGOTIATE)
Xur knows the following:
The leader of the Redbrands is a human wizard known as Glasstaff, due to his staff being made of glass. His chambers are at the West end of the stronghold
A Mysterious figure known as the Black Spider has hired the Redbrands to frighten off adventurers and intimidate the locals, for reasons unknown. The Black Spider has sent bugbears to reinforce the Redbrands and provide extra muscle
The Redbrands have a handful of captives in a holding area “near the old crypts” which are full of skeletons.
AFTER Xur Encounter Run remaining on SideQuest as laid out.
Upon SUCCESSFUL completion of REDBRAND HIDEOUT End Session 2. Thundertree will being session 3
So first of all, the Nothic is positively mad. If it has a name, I would make it say a different name to each character. It calls itself Xur to one, and then calls it Klatuu to another, and Varata to another one, and so forth. Let it make its boasts and threats, but once more - and this is the thing I stress the most - let the players find out what it wants. They can probably recognise it's a nasty and evil being, and may want to bargain with it for safe passage.
Like with Pip, for every piece of useful information there should be a red herring or just plain gibberish. When asked what it wants, perhaps say "blood for the blood god, skulls for the skull throne," implying food. When asked for information, it shouldn't always be clear. If the players hit a nerve, the Nothic might speak clearly only once, before going back into its juvenile riddles and laughter.
~
Thus ends my feedback based on everything you've told us thus far. Given you've not told us about Glasstaff I assume you're fairly confident about that. Ironically I think that's the one encounter where Glasstaff would tell all, like you've written above, either to save his life or because he thinks the party won't live to tell the tale.
I hope that helps, and I wish you luck running the adventure. The key takeaway from all of this is "let the players roll their dice and roleplay their characters." They can't do that if you're giving them everything up front.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
Thank you for the great feedback. The two players are 9 and 10. This is their first campaign. I guess for their first run I wanted to provide the structure and guide a little heavy so they can see the possibilities of what they can do on their own in the next campaign. Almost using TLMoP as a training ground, does that make sense?
Thank you for the great feedback. The two players are 9 and 10. This is their first campaign. I guess for their first run I wanted to provide the structure and guide a little heavy so they can see the possibilities of what they can do on their own in the next campaign. Almost using TLMoP as a training ground, does that make sense?
That makes perfect sense. It's fair that you're guiding them quite a bit, but if you give them some room to do their own thing they might well surprise you. I reckon they're in capable hands! Good luck wth the adventure!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
Yeah the totally surprised me when we made it to the supply room in the red brand hideout and grabbed 2 red cloaks and put them on. My oldest said “oh let’s put them on and maybe they will think we are apart of them”…completely took me by surprise and put a huge smile on my face. They then proceeded to the skeleton room and kept asking why the skeletons wouldn’t even recognize them, then it clicked.
They just discovered the captives and tonight will proceed to get rid of the redbrands and free them, at least that’s what they decided to do last night :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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**PICKING UP FROM THE END OF SESSION ONE**
Sildar states “My Friends!, let us secure lodgings. I’m told the local inn is very quaint!. I am going here in search of an old friend of mine, a human wizard named Iarno Albrek. He is a fellow member of the Lord’s Alliance. He went missing shortly after arriving to Phandalin”
They can following Sildar to the Stone Inn or go to the Sleeping Giant Tavern - if they go here Run REDBRAND Ruffians
IF THEY GO TO THE INN
SETTING: The Inn/Tavern/Trade Post: typical tavern style, the main area is dimly lighted by 3 candle chandeliers, there are 8 makeshift tables that look to be put together from previous furniture parts, each with their own candles some shorter and more burnt out than others. To the left of the entrance is the tavern bar, 3 large ale barrels provide the backdrop to the bar itself while a grizzled half-orc tends to 3 patrons sitting at the bar. He’s motioning like he’s telling a story of a recent scuffle he got into and the patrons are all ears. The walls of the tap room are all stone and feel damp and appear to be covered in moss and ivy. The bard is off center of the main room playing away telling ancient tales through song while inebriated patons dance and fall over themselves…
Inn Keeper/Trade Post Owner = Toblen Stonhill – Rough Half-Orc, bandaged and slightly wounded from recent encounter with the Redbrands. He believes the townmaster is weak for not dealing with the Redbrands sooner. He knows that Grunden and his brothers are treasure hunters but is slightly concerned because he hasn’t seen them in a while.
“The Rockseeker brothers would never forgive me if I turned away their companions, why don’t you stay here for the Night, and dinner is on the house!”
“I wish the Townmaster would do something about these Redbrands, they’ve been threatening businesses all throughout Phandalian for Months now. Making sure they get a cut of all sales, a little much if ya ask me. I wonder if some adventures like you could convince the townmaster to finally do something about it?” - Run Town Master Hall
“News came back yesterday from the Town Crier that the local sheriff went to deal with the Redbrands after he moved his wife and kids outta town, but no one has seen him in a ten-day.”
“With the Sheriff gone and the Towmaster a coward, If you could deal with those pesky Redbrands there may be a communal award given to you in the form of compensation”
“I’ve heard that the lad (Pip) over there in the greek frock and brown undershirt may know of a secret tunnel, no one knows where it leads to but it’s interesting to say the least, maybe there is treasure there” - Run alderleaf Farm.
“Oh, and don’t mind the heavy breathing ol’ Molly’s doing, she’s been the best cat I could ever ask for, Sister Garaele says she’s asthmatic which means she can’t breathe good. That Sister Garaele seems to have a lot of information about everything. She's always reporting back from her adventures about new discoveries, she says she has a lot of Luck on her side. She may know where the Goblins came from or even where Mr. Rockseeker has been taken to. Although she recently returned from her last adventure pretty shaken up but won’t talk much about it so I aint even sure what you can get out of her but it's worth a shot” - Run Shrine of Luck (try to wait till session 3)
After discussion with Toblen they can choose a side quest of shop for supplies, all quests will lead back to Redbrand Hideout
WHEN THEY CHOOSE TOWNMASTER
Setting: The Townmaster’s hall is made of study stone, out from there is a notice that reads: “REWARD - Orcs near Wyvern Tor!” Townmaster’s office is a disheveled mess, parchment flung all over his desk and floor. A candle almost burnt to the base flickers on the Townmaster’s desk but the Townmaster is nowhere to be found
(if they ask what is one the papers have them roll an intelligence check) Many of the pieces are complaints, burglary reports and reports of losses from Phandalins many businesses.. Players walkout of his office and shut the door, they hear an audible “Whew”, (if they ask what that sound was they can roll a perception check, If Higher than DC6 = go in and discover Townmaster, if Lower than DC6 go back to INN.
“Ugh, Ugh.. Townmaster Harbin at your service, who might you be?”
“Sorry I was hiding, I thought it might be the Redbrands coming to collect payment. I’m so frightened by them, especially since the sheriff left Phandalin in search of their hideout, we now have no defense.”
“But that isn’t the least of our worries, along Triboar Trail there is a crag with an Orc Encampment, these Orc’s have been spying on settlements around Phandalin for 6 months now. They have an Ogre companion. If you can take care of them, then maybe I will help you disband the Redbrands. I've gathered information from a scouting report which may prove useful to you.”
RUN WYVERN TOR
-SUCCESSFUL-
“Oh thank you so very much, finally the settlers outside of the main town and in the local areas can rest at peace, no more Orc Encounters.” As promised, here is your reward..”
/He hands them a partial map of the Redbrands hideout that shows 2 of the secret doors/
“I’m not sure where this hideout is located, however the last time the Redbrands were here one of them dropped this on the way out, I believe it is a partial map of their hideout.”
–UNSUCCESSFUL-
Return to the Townmaster’s office and he is DEAD, a note lays upon his desk with a dagger stuck in it. Written in Orc “Stay away from Wyvern Tor, the Orc’s rule this land” (If player can read ORC then the message can be read, otherwise they have no clue what it says)
Return back to Tolben at the Inn and let him know what happened.
“That’s terrible news, knowing now that the Townmaster wasn’t only dealing with the Redbrands but also the Orc’s at Wyvern Tor maybe he wasn’t such a coward however he was dealing with the greater of two evils. He shall have a proper burial, I will see to it!” Although, with no formal set government here at Phandalin we will now need to elect a townsperson to the status of Townmaster so the city may have some sort of order to it.” SILDAR BECOMES TOWNMASTER, he declines wanting to wait till he finds his wizard friend Iarno.
“Oye, while you were gone Pip came over and said he believes you two are the ones who could uncover the mystery of the tunnel he discovered at Quellin Alderleaf’s farm. He said meet him at the farm 8 hours past day break. You can stay here for the night or I heard Quellin might offer her hayloft at the farm if you decide to travel there tonight.”
WHEN THEY CHOOSE ALDERLEAF FARM
Setting: Players arrive at the farm, Fenced off from the mainland. The farm is quite large with 3 barns , two hay silos, and a main cabin house only big enough for one person. They find Pip emerging from a high loft barn, he has straw about his hair and his green frock is half buttoned on one side, looks like he’s been playing with the farm animals.
Pip: “Hey, Hey, over here, haha I knew you would come. I told Tolben you two would be great at discovering the tunnel mystery! Let me introduce you to Quellin.”
“Ms. Quellin, these are the two adventures I told you about, don’t they look like they can handle this?”
Quellin: “Oh my where are my manners, “cough”, clears throat, Hello, welcome to Alderleaf Farm’s my name is Quellin, what brings you into Phanderlin? I hear those Rockseeker brothers are in town and whenever they are it’s sure to be a hoot!”
Pip: Oh Quellin, who cares about those crazy brothers, they are always promising the discovery of Echo Wave Cave, I’m tired of their empty rhetoric, we could have our very own treasures found at the end of this tunnel I discovered”
Quellin: “Now Pip settle down and let the adventurers speak:
If they state that they were assisting Grunden with taking provisions to Phanderlan in search of the Cave, Quellin has the following response, If they speak about the Goblin Attack and Sildar’s suspicion that they took Gundren to Cragmaw Castle, Quellin says Reidoth can help them locate Cragmaw Castle as well.:
Quellin: “Ah if you are searching for Wave Echo Cave (and or Crawmaw Castle) I have the perfect acquaintance, I know an Old Druid, Reidoth Truthseeker He recently set out to the ancient ruins of Thundertree, He could help you since there isn’t an inch of this land he doesn’t know. Once we discover what's at the end of this tunnel, I can provide you with the location of Thundertree.Pip tell the kind adventurers what you saw when you discovered the tunnel”
Pip: “Well ya see, I’m always over here at Ms. Quellin’s farm playing with the animals and what not, and ug, well, it’s embarrassing but, one day I let loose a cow and she burst through the barn door and ran in that direction, *Points into the woods to the southeast*. I ran after her and after 2 hours of searching for her I discovered this tunnel protruding from the rock crevasse on this hillside. The closer I got to the tunnel I began to hear voices, suddenly two bandits came out along with two Redbrands. It was close. I thought for sure I was going to be captured. When they almost spotted me, the cow let out a bellowing MOOOOO. This distracted the bandits enough for me to get away.
As soon as I came back to the farm I told Ms. Quellin what I had discovered and she asked of me to go the Inn to find some experienced adventurers who would find out what was on the other side.
When I arrived at the tavern I sat in the corner and began to listen to all the stories, that’s when I saw you two walk in and begin to talk to Tolben. Once I heard your story of how you defeated the Goblin hideout at Cragmaw Cave, I knew I could count on you. So what d’ya say will you go see what’s on the other side of the tunnel?”
RUN REDBRAND HIDEOUT 8-12 then 1-7 (EXPLORE)
Setting: Cold damp crevasse divided the cavern, there are two stone columns supporting the 20 ft ceiling. Two wooden bridges span the chasm.
Players enter section 8 of the Redbrand Hideout.
If they decide to roll a INVESTIGATION CHECK and beat a DC of 15 they will detect the Nothic
Nothic: *Speaking in Whisper, telepathically * “Who is it that enters my domain? I am the great and mighty Nothic, Xur. You know nothing of the power you are about to experience. I am in need of being fed, feed me and I may spare your life… If your meal is worthy enough I may provide you with information regarding your surroundings, hahaha”.
(IF THEY DETECT with INVESTIGATION CHECK HE WILL NEGOTIATE)
Xur knows the following:
AFTER Xur Encounter Run remaining on SideQuest as laid out.
Upon SUCCESSFUL completion of REDBRAND HIDEOUT End Session 2. Thundertree will being session 3
*Note Session 3 order:
Thundertree
Shrine of Luck
Talk To Sildar
Cragmaw Castle
Before I take this apart bit-by-bit, I'm going to ask how new your group is and if they're OK with this level of handholding? Handholding isn't necessarily bad, but this is removing opportunities for the party to roleplay. Sildar Hallwinter's information should be thus:
Sildar doesn't know Iarno's gone missing; all he knows is Iarno hasn't talked to the Lords' Alliance. His disappearance can be discovered the following day when he goes to investigate, letting the party do their own investigations.
Love the setting description, that's all good.
I don't think Toblen should be giving away room and board because of some ill-defined relationship he has with them. That's no way to run a business. Now letting the party have a free room and drinks on the house after they've done something heroic, like dealing with the Redbrands? That's much more like it. If the players want to try and persuade Toblen to let them have free food, they can roll CHA (Persuasion). If they anger Toblen, they can have Sildar step in and offer to pay for the meal or stay for saving his life.
I like the idea of Toblen telling the party to go to the Townmaster rather than running the Redbrands out themselves. It's a good lead into another building.
The Sheriff being an unnamed character thus far is good, especially if Sildar's not around to hear Toblen's rumour about him being gone. This allows the players to take this information to Sildar, and compare notes.
I would forget the Pip rumour, or at the very least make it sound a lot more mundane. If the players want to pursue it, mention a tunnel but have it blown off as "probably one of the old mining tunnels" or "he says it's an owlbear's burrow, but it's probably nothing more than a mole hill."
As for Sister Garaele, the idea of the asthmatic cat is a very nice touch, but you needn't provide so much information. Let the players know that she's smart, and if they ask further about her, tell them they ought to see if she knows anything about whatever subject takes the party's greatest amount of interest. You might want to add some intrigue though such as "just go easy on her; she's not been looking so hot lately."
Similar criticisms here as before: let the adventurers ask about what Pip knows, and let things follow naturally from there. I'd always imagined Pip and Carp to be children, so maybe throw in some tall tales to add some strangeness to the mix. For every truth there should be both implausible and realistic falsehoods thrown in. Have fun screwing around with the player's heads; maybe the voices Pip heard in his head are just made up, and totally not the one-eyed toad that lives in the caves?
So first of all, the Nothic is positively mad. If it has a name, I would make it say a different name to each character. It calls itself Xur to one, and then calls it Klatuu to another, and Varata to another one, and so forth. Let it make its boasts and threats, but once more - and this is the thing I stress the most - let the players find out what it wants. They can probably recognise it's a nasty and evil being, and may want to bargain with it for safe passage.
Like with Pip, for every piece of useful information there should be a red herring or just plain gibberish. When asked what it wants, perhaps say "blood for the blood god, skulls for the skull throne," implying food. When asked for information, it shouldn't always be clear. If the players hit a nerve, the Nothic might speak clearly only once, before going back into its juvenile riddles and laughter.
~
Thus ends my feedback based on everything you've told us thus far. Given you've not told us about Glasstaff I assume you're fairly confident about that. Ironically I think that's the one encounter where Glasstaff would tell all, like you've written above, either to save his life or because he thinks the party won't live to tell the tale.
I hope that helps, and I wish you luck running the adventure. The key takeaway from all of this is "let the players roll their dice and roleplay their characters." They can't do that if you're giving them everything up front.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
Thank you for the great feedback. The two players are 9 and 10. This is their first campaign. I guess for their first run I wanted to provide the structure and guide a little heavy so they can see the possibilities of what they can do on their own in the next campaign. Almost using TLMoP as a training ground, does that make sense?
That makes perfect sense. It's fair that you're guiding them quite a bit, but if you give them some room to do their own thing they might well surprise you. I reckon they're in capable hands! Good luck wth the adventure!
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
Yeah the totally surprised me when we made it to the supply room in the red brand hideout and grabbed 2 red cloaks and put them on. My oldest said “oh let’s put them on and maybe they will think we are apart of them”…completely took me by surprise and put a huge smile on my face. They then proceeded to the skeleton room and kept asking why the skeletons wouldn’t even recognize them, then it clicked.
They just discovered the captives and tonight will proceed to get rid of the redbrands and free them, at least that’s what they decided to do last night :)