This scenario has been out for years, so there's lots of advice floating around your friendly neighbourhood search engine. Some thoughts:
1.) It's a starter scenario, but it doesn't pull its punches. If your group is new, be aware that many encounters are deadly to characters of the suggested level. This includes the very first fight, in which several goblins ambush the party: consider taming this fight by giving the party some cover, some goblins are preoccupied, etc. This is training for tailoring fights to be challenging but not unfair.
2.) The adventure is short, so do read it from start to finish before you play the first game. Keep ideas in mind for how to "nudge" the party from one location to the next in an order that won't cause them great pain. You want them to feel like they have agency, but you don't want them to head straight for Cragmaw Castle before they reach level 3. Beyond that, go with the flow. Preparation is key to handling what unpredictable insanity the party will end up doing.
3.) Assuming your players are using the prebuilt characters, make sure you and they read the backgrounds carefully: the pregens include "hooks" for why the characters are involved in this whole mess, and the adventure book does not give many ideas for party motivations. If your players happen to be making their own characters, steal background ideas from the pregens at least.
There are lots of resources for running LMoP. Do a Google search.
Here are some things to get you started.
There are a LOT of resources online for LMoP, including videos on YouTube of people playing through it. WotC even has an official play through of the first part of the adventure on their channel that will help you get a feel for it.
Thank you so much guys, this helps a lot. We're all versed in d&d, so the lethality shouldn't be an issue. But its my first time dm'ing so I want to make sure I'm not caught off guard with our groups tendency to 'forget about the plot and go exploring' :)
Thank you so much guys, this helps a lot. We're all versed in d&d, so the lethality shouldn't be an issue. But its my first time dm'ing so I want to make sure I'm not caught off guard with our groups tendency to 'forget about the plot and go exploring' :)
Just remember, the players don't know where all the side quest encounters are supposed to happen. If they go wandering, either have some random encounters that give them clues or nudges them back towards the main story, or just move one of the side quests in front of them. They'll never know that it wasn't supposed to be there.
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You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Don't be afraid to skip areas or have bad guys run away when fights seem to be stalling. For example, my party completely skipped Thundertree.
Also, basic DM advice: remember that you're not against the players, you're structuring their adventure. If they leave a session talking about some cool thing they did or wondering what comes next, you're doing a good job.
You can also ade some home brew stuff here and there to spice things up and customize it a little bit more for your players, or making small side adventures for when too many people are absent.
For example, I made a quick one shot where a few red brands leftovers that were coming back to the tresendar manor (a few days after the players cleared it out), captured Carp, Quellin’s haffling kid,
The he kid follows my players and geta captured. The bad guys took him to a small safe house inside the forest. They were making some time before deciding what do do next and what to do with the kid, now the redbrands were disbanded and they clearly could not come back to the manor nor the town
Hello!! I'd love to join this campaign, and if you want, you are free to join mine! I enjoy playing DnD, and I would enjoy playing it with people, even though I don't know you personally, but I'm sure it would be a good and enjoyable experience!!
Hello Kia_Akima, are you creating a LMoP group? I just saw your post. Thank you.
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Kazri - Level 10 Human Paladin (Oath of the Ancients) - The Tales of the Fellowship of the White Cloaks Droknin Palemane - Level 4 Leonin Barbarian (Path of the Beast) - Where the Cold Winds Blow... A Lost Mines of Phandelver Story Faelan (Cottontail) Whisperwind - Level 3 Ranger (Fey Wanderer) - Zorg's Lost Souls II
"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."
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Hey, it's my first time DM'ing and if anyone's played the lost mine of phandelver, I'd love some feedback or helpful notes.
Thanks :)
This scenario has been out for years, so there's lots of advice floating around your friendly neighbourhood search engine. Some thoughts:
1.) It's a starter scenario, but it doesn't pull its punches. If your group is new, be aware that many encounters are deadly to characters of the suggested level. This includes the very first fight, in which several goblins ambush the party: consider taming this fight by giving the party some cover, some goblins are preoccupied, etc. This is training for tailoring fights to be challenging but not unfair.
2.) The adventure is short, so do read it from start to finish before you play the first game. Keep ideas in mind for how to "nudge" the party from one location to the next in an order that won't cause them great pain. You want them to feel like they have agency, but you don't want them to head straight for Cragmaw Castle before they reach level 3. Beyond that, go with the flow. Preparation is key to handling what unpredictable insanity the party will end up doing.
3.) Assuming your players are using the prebuilt characters, make sure you and they read the backgrounds carefully: the pregens include "hooks" for why the characters are involved in this whole mess, and the adventure book does not give many ideas for party motivations. If your players happen to be making their own characters, steal background ideas from the pregens at least.
4.) Have fun!
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
There are lots of resources for running LMoP. Do a Google search.
Here are some things to get you started.
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Thank you so much guys, this helps a lot. We're all versed in d&d, so the lethality shouldn't be an issue. But its my first time dm'ing so I want to make sure I'm not caught off guard with our groups tendency to 'forget about the plot and go exploring' :)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Don't be afraid to skip areas or have bad guys run away when fights seem to be stalling. For example, my party completely skipped Thundertree.
Also, basic DM advice: remember that you're not against the players, you're structuring their adventure. If they leave a session talking about some cool thing they did or wondering what comes next, you're doing a good job.
You can also ade some home brew stuff here and there to spice things up and customize it a little bit more for your players, or making small side adventures for when too many people are absent.
For example, I made a quick one shot where a few red brands leftovers that were coming back to the tresendar manor (a few days after the players cleared it out), captured Carp, Quellin’s haffling kid,
The he kid follows my players and geta captured. The bad guys took him to a small safe house inside the forest. They were making some time before deciding what do do next and what to do with the kid, now the redbrands were disbanded and they clearly could not come back to the manor nor the town
it was an epic adventure for just 2 players
Hello!! I'd love to join this campaign, and if you want, you are free to join mine! I enjoy playing DnD, and I would enjoy playing it with people, even though I don't know you personally, but I'm sure it would be a good and enjoyable experience!!
Hello Kia_Akima, are you creating a LMoP group? I just saw your post. Thank you.
Kazri - Level 10 Human Paladin (Oath of the Ancients) - The Tales of the Fellowship of the White Cloaks
Droknin Palemane - Level 4 Leonin Barbarian (Path of the Beast) - Where the Cold Winds Blow... A Lost Mines of Phandelver Story
Faelan (Cottontail) Whisperwind - Level 3 Ranger (Fey Wanderer) - Zorg's Lost Souls II
"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."