my players are about to jump into the new Campain DotMM, but my personal thoughts mixed with the way my player play I would like a bit more of a hook for the start of the Campaign. I grabbed the letter written by Durnan as a hook here on DnD Beyond by someone (linked below) and added a quick starting point plus encounter for my players to try and get them hooked without it seeming like I'm railroading them too much into the Dungeon.
Anyway, I have linked the Letter below from here (definitely not my work) and my attempt at writing here too.
p.s I am a newish DM and would love to hear peoples thoughts and feedback to help me out!
Will be using Waterdeep as the setting and will start characters at level 4.
The smell of dirt and stale bread hits your nose, but all you see is darkness. As your thoughts slowly grip you, it feels as if you have been sleeping forever. Your last memory was you and your companions delving into an unexplored cavern after hearing of a goblin hideout that has been smuggling people and slaves out of small towns around the foot of the Sword Mountains never to be seen again. Your sight slowly starts to return, turning from an abyssal black to little streaks of light breaking through the darkness every so often. You think back once again, to walking through the entrance to this enormous cavern, seemingly abandoned. When all of a sudden “BOOM” the floor gives out from under your feet and all of you are plummeting to your certain doom. Tumbling down through rocks and rubble, the walls of this cave rushing past your face. Then black. Silence. Those are your last memories. You think to yourself how lucky you are to even still be thinking. To even be here right now, wherever you are.
Suddenly your head rocks back, and like a jolt of lighting your senses return to you. That smell of stale bread and flour hits you once again, a red sunlight pierces your closed eyes forcing you to flinch away. As you feel a rough bag covering your face you attempt to raise your right and to pull it away but your hands a bound tightly together. You reach both hands up and rip the hessian bag off your face and the bright sun assaults your eyes for what seems like the first time in days.
As colours other than white slowly fade in, you look around and see you companions, fellow adventures, and some would even go as far as saying friends or at least the closest thing you can get in your line of work. Adventuring for treasure and gold is a tough gig but it can pay well, and to be together with the same party for almost a year now is a luxury most are not blessed with.as you glance around all of you are in the exact same position as yourself. All stuck in this tiny wagon surrounded by a steel cage hands tightly bound. (character players introduce themselves) as you are looking at your friends seeing they are fine, a voice cries out, “I was wondering when you would all wake up” (deep heroic tone)
The man they are speaking to is Grimlock Stonejaw a 6’4 Huge Human Barbarian level 6 wearing nothing but some animal hide shorts and boots with I bright red cloak with 2 gold pins holding it around his neck. He has a grizzled look, scruffy beard with long blonde untamed hair and a big scar down the side of his face. Grimlock is a General in The Red Cloak Concord, an adventure group/militia. He was captured by a group of goblins same as yourself. He knows information about the goblins and their activities as he has been in this cage for a 10 days now. He will happily give up information about the goblins but will not give too much info about himself or his dealings. He has a letter form Durnan in the yawning portals inviting Grimlock and his party to lodge at the portal. this letter is hopefully there to hook players into heading to Waterdeep (the letter is above) Grimlock also knows a rescue attempt is about to take place and is readying himself for the 2 survives of his party to attack the convoy.
If the players look around the convoy is described below:
Enemies
1 Large Hobgoblin – clearly the leader, standing on top of the back wagon, screaming orders in goblin
2 Bugbears – one at the front and one at the back of this convoy, the one at the front has what looks like a large animal leg bone from maybe a mammoth or something bigger, and the one at the back has the mast of a small ship as a club with huge nails driven through the end.
10 goblins – 2 riding each of the 2 wagons, six walking along in between the convoy
Surroundings
Convoy - In a large convoy with 3 wagons front 2 are prison wagons with a big steel cage covering the top. The last one seems to be a supply wagon which holds the Hobgoblin Leader.
Path Travelled – the path is an overgrown track through a thickly forested area, quite dark as only some sunlight breaks through the canopy and the Bugbear up front is clearing the path. Off to the right side is a big drop off quite steep all though not quite sheer. The drop varies from 20 ft to 200 ft in places.
Wagons – all wagons have an anti-magic shield rune build into the metal (arcana or history DC 20 check will tell you it is an ancient magic that has been forged into the metal, obviously stolen by the goblins) your wagon is filled with you adventuring party along with Grimlock Stonejaw, the back wagon is full of mainly woman and children and some older men all looking very malnourished. All wagons have a large metal box on the back, full of the party’s weapons and bags. The last wagon is just full of supplies.
(bird call whistle) comes from the trees Grimlock: “I hope you are ready for a fight” you see Grimlock sitting there with a smirk on his face, cracking his knuckles and stretching his neck. He motions to the left of the road with his head and (with a perception DC of 15 or higher) you catch a glimpse of a green hooded figure running in the treetops with a distinctive bright red on the underside of the hood. (whistle of an arrow hitting a goblin) an arrow flies out nailing a goblin in the shoulder and he flies off the side of the cart. As that happens a huge ball of fire erupts on top of 2 other goblins. The heat is harsh and as you flinch away from it (horse rears up in panic) the horses rear up and fall of to the side, as they fall right the cart follows, starting to sliding down the side of a huge 150-foot embankment. The cart goes end over end your world is completely disoriented. The cage of the car lands on its roof and starts to slide rapidly down this side of this almost sheer drop until “Bang”! You all get thrown to the front end of the cage slamming against the steel. (unless doing something to stop it take 2d6 bludgeoning damage) as the cart comes to a holt you here the sound of screeching goblins from above can be heard, as you look around the cage you see the door has been slammed open. An even more gruesome sight, you see Grimlock has been impaled by a 30cm in diameter branch that is coming from the tree the cart now rests upon at the bottom of this large valley. He looks to you and as he tried to speak nothing coming out but a splutter of blood, and as both his hefty hand's rap grasp the tree piercing through his rib cage… he goes limp and his head drops forward drooling bright red blood onto the floor. (if Grimlock is searched you find 50gp and a letter from Durnan is hidden in the boot “see above”)
PLAYERS! WHAT DO YOU DO!
Surroundings – the walls of the valley are quite steep but players can walk up (with an athletics, survival check of 15 or higher otherwise take 1d6 bludgeoning damage) they is a small stream running down the middle where they can walk along. It is a thickly forested area with lots of covers
Goblins – the noise from the goblins above has died down as they managed to kill the other 2 members of the Red Cloaked Concord. They were weak to start with and were low on numbers, running on pride and loyalty alone. Remaining goblins are:
1 hobgoblin leader
1 bugbear carrying the mask with nails through it
As many goblins as needed to make a difficult fight
Cart – all the player items and weapons are in the back create on the cart, otherwise, it is damaged beyond repair and the magic has been dispelled from it.
If the players did not search Grimlock they find the letter elsewhere
Sounds like a good starter to me. I want to point out that Grimlock should introduce himself and if the players don't immediately ask to do a perception check, you should prompt them to do so near the beginning and tell the one with the highest score: "... You also spot the edge of some paper poking out from the rim of Grimlock's boot." That should kick their curiosity enough to get it moving.
I'm running Lost Mines of Phandelver with 2 players. They're in the first goblin cavern now, and i have another session with them tonight. The session after that i'm gonna run DotMM with the same guys, +2 new players. With this hook i can wipe them in the cavern and still bring their characters with us on the DotMM campaign starting in 2 weeks. Fantastic! Thanks buddy!
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Hey All,
my players are about to jump into the new Campain DotMM, but my personal thoughts mixed with the way my player play I would like a bit more of a hook for the start of the Campaign. I grabbed the letter written by Durnan as a hook here on DnD Beyond by someone (linked below) and added a quick starting point plus encounter for my players to try and get them hooked without it seeming like I'm railroading them too much into the Dungeon.
Anyway, I have linked the Letter below from here (definitely not my work) and my attempt at writing here too.
p.s I am a newish DM and would love to hear peoples thoughts and feedback to help me out!
Durnan Warning Letter
https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/368-dungeon-of-the-mad-mage-durnans-warning
My Writing
Will be using Waterdeep as the setting and will start characters at level 4.
The smell of dirt and stale bread hits your nose, but all you see is darkness. As your thoughts slowly grip you, it feels as if you have been sleeping forever. Your last memory was you and your companions delving into an unexplored cavern after hearing of a goblin hideout that has been smuggling people and slaves out of small towns around the foot of the Sword Mountains never to be seen again. Your sight slowly starts to return, turning from an abyssal black to little streaks of light breaking through the darkness every so often. You think back once again, to walking through the entrance to this enormous cavern, seemingly abandoned. When all of a sudden “BOOM” the floor gives out from under your feet and all of you are plummeting to your certain doom. Tumbling down through rocks and rubble, the walls of this cave rushing past your face. Then black. Silence. Those are your last memories. You think to yourself how lucky you are to even still be thinking. To even be here right now, wherever you are.
Suddenly your head rocks back, and like a jolt of lighting your senses return to you. That smell of stale bread and flour hits you once again, a red sunlight pierces your closed eyes forcing you to flinch away. As you feel a rough bag covering your face you attempt to raise your right and to pull it away but your hands a bound tightly together. You reach both hands up and rip the hessian bag off your face and the bright sun assaults your eyes for what seems like the first time in days.
As colours other than white slowly fade in, you look around and see you companions, fellow adventures, and some would even go as far as saying friends or at least the closest thing you can get in your line of work. Adventuring for treasure and gold is a tough gig but it can pay well, and to be together with the same party for almost a year now is a luxury most are not blessed with.as you glance around all of you are in the exact same position as yourself. All stuck in this tiny wagon surrounded by a steel cage hands tightly bound. (character players introduce themselves) as you are looking at your friends seeing they are fine, a voice cries out, “I was wondering when you would all wake up” (deep heroic tone)
The man they are speaking to is Grimlock Stonejaw a 6’4 Huge Human Barbarian level 6 wearing nothing but some animal hide shorts and boots with I bright red cloak with 2 gold pins holding it around his neck. He has a grizzled look, scruffy beard with long blonde untamed hair and a big scar down the side of his face. Grimlock is a General in The Red Cloak Concord, an adventure group/militia. He was captured by a group of goblins same as yourself. He knows information about the goblins and their activities as he has been in this cage for a 10 days now. He will happily give up information about the goblins but will not give too much info about himself or his dealings. He has a letter form Durnan in the yawning portals inviting Grimlock and his party to lodge at the portal. this letter is hopefully there to hook players into heading to Waterdeep (the letter is above) Grimlock also knows a rescue attempt is about to take place and is readying himself for the 2 survives of his party to attack the convoy.
If the players look around the convoy is described below:
Enemies
1 Large Hobgoblin – clearly the leader, standing on top of the back wagon, screaming orders in goblin
2 Bugbears – one at the front and one at the back of this convoy, the one at the front has what looks like a large animal leg bone from maybe a mammoth or something bigger, and the one at the back has the mast of a small ship as a club with huge nails driven through the end.
10 goblins – 2 riding each of the 2 wagons, six walking along in between the convoy
Surroundings
Convoy - In a large convoy with 3 wagons front 2 are prison wagons with a big steel cage covering the top. The last one seems to be a supply wagon which holds the Hobgoblin Leader.
Path Travelled – the path is an overgrown track through a thickly forested area, quite dark as only some sunlight breaks through the canopy and the Bugbear up front is clearing the path. Off to the right side is a big drop off quite steep all though not quite sheer. The drop varies from 20 ft to 200 ft in places.
Wagons – all wagons have an anti-magic shield rune build into the metal (arcana or history DC 20 check will tell you it is an ancient magic that has been forged into the metal, obviously stolen by the goblins) your wagon is filled with you adventuring party along with Grimlock Stonejaw, the back wagon is full of mainly woman and children and some older men all looking very malnourished. All wagons have a large metal box on the back, full of the party’s weapons and bags. The last wagon is just full of supplies.
(bird call whistle) comes from the trees Grimlock: “I hope you are ready for a fight” you see Grimlock sitting there with a smirk on his face, cracking his knuckles and stretching his neck. He motions to the left of the road with his head and (with a perception DC of 15 or higher) you catch a glimpse of a green hooded figure running in the treetops with a distinctive bright red on the underside of the hood. (whistle of an arrow hitting a goblin) an arrow flies out nailing a goblin in the shoulder and he flies off the side of the cart. As that happens a huge ball of fire erupts on top of 2 other goblins. The heat is harsh and as you flinch away from it (horse rears up in panic) the horses rear up and fall of to the side, as they fall right the cart follows, starting to sliding down the side of a huge 150-foot embankment. The cart goes end over end your world is completely disoriented. The cage of the car lands on its roof and starts to slide rapidly down this side of this almost sheer drop until “Bang”! You all get thrown to the front end of the cage slamming against the steel. (unless doing something to stop it take 2d6 bludgeoning damage) as the cart comes to a holt you here the sound of screeching goblins from above can be heard, as you look around the cage you see the door has been slammed open. An even more gruesome sight, you see Grimlock has been impaled by a 30cm in diameter branch that is coming from the tree the cart now rests upon at the bottom of this large valley. He looks to you and as he tried to speak nothing coming out but a splutter of blood, and as both his hefty hand's rap grasp the tree piercing through his rib cage… he goes limp and his head drops forward drooling bright red blood onto the floor. (if Grimlock is searched you find 50gp and a letter from Durnan is hidden in the boot “see above”)
PLAYERS! WHAT DO YOU DO!
Surroundings – the walls of the valley are quite steep but players can walk up (with an athletics, survival check of 15 or higher otherwise take 1d6 bludgeoning damage) they is a small stream running down the middle where they can walk along. It is a thickly forested area with lots of covers
Goblins – the noise from the goblins above has died down as they managed to kill the other 2 members of the Red Cloaked Concord. They were weak to start with and were low on numbers, running on pride and loyalty alone. Remaining goblins are:
Cart – all the player items and weapons are in the back create on the cart, otherwise, it is damaged beyond repair and the magic has been dispelled from it.
If the players did not search Grimlock they find the letter elsewhere
Sounds like a good starter to me. I want to point out that Grimlock should introduce himself and if the players don't immediately ask to do a perception check, you should prompt them to do so near the beginning and tell the one with the highest score: "... You also spot the edge of some paper poking out from the rim of Grimlock's boot." That should kick their curiosity enough to get it moving.
Thanks, that sounds really good. Definitaly will be adding something like that into the game play of it
Absolutely awesome for me to find this!
I'm running Lost Mines of Phandelver with 2 players. They're in the first goblin cavern now, and i have another session with them tonight. The session after that i'm gonna run DotMM with the same guys, +2 new players. With this hook i can wipe them in the cavern and still bring their characters with us on the DotMM campaign starting in 2 weeks.
Fantastic! Thanks buddy!