This series is going to be about eight videos long - it's a massive project. If you like this kind of content, please let me know by liking, subscribing, commenting! And if you need any tips for special player moments, drop a comment below with a breakdown of your party. -------------- ❤ Support the Channel ❤ -------------- 💚 Patreon: matthewperkins.net/patreon 💚 Donate: matthewperkins.net/donate 💚 Store: matthewperkins.net/store 💚 DM Guild: matthewperkins.net/dmsguild 💜 Twitch: matthewperkins.net/twitch 💜 TikTok: matthewperkins.net/tiktok 🧡 Discord: matthewperkins.net/discord 🧡 Facebook: matthewperkins.net/facebook 🧡 Twitter: matthewperkins.net/twitter 🧡 Instagram: matthewperkins.net/instagram 🧡 Reddit: matthewperkins.net/reddit ✏ Blog: matthewperkins.net/blog 📧 For marketing/business/sponsorship inquiries, email: mperkins.dm@gmail.com
Thanks for making these videos! I’ve started running a campaign for me and my wife, and both of us being new to D&D you have made it very easy for me to understand and run.
This video series RULES. Are you planning on covering more campaigns or even doing an original? This is the most useful DMing resource I've found on UA-cam by a long shot. Beautiful work man.
Thank you for this serie. I will run LMoP with a 5 player party. A Ranger, a cleric, a rogue, a druid and an artificer. Can you help me with the special player moments? Can I put the puzzlebox as a loot/price at the end of sidequest "sacrifice of innocense"?
"My character hates all the other members of the party, huhuh" Came here for LMoP, and I stay for your sarcastic player impersonations :) Great ideas, and really well-structured video, Matt
The first time I ever played DnD we had a guy whose character was specifically written as a "steals-from-everybody" Rogue (no really, regarding stuff like personality, bond, and flaws pretty much "kleptomania" and resulted him). What's funny is almost everybody in the group was a new player and that was a character-sheet pre-made by the DM himself specifically for that campaign, so we had a noob pretty much being trained by to be a munchkin by a somewhat experienced player but first-time DM, who was then surprised at how little progress the party made at saving the town over the course of several sessions of what was supposed to be a single-session one-shot.
Seeing BWB and Matty P engaging and supporting each other is so awesome. You're both awesome guides for ushering in a whole new generation of players into epic adventures!
Session 0 went amazing! The only experienced player said he thought this campaign would be amazing when he compared it to how the adventure started on his last LMOP campaign. I made the intro so that Sildar was a halfling and Gundren a Dwarf. So when entering they had sat on top of each other in a dark robe pretending to be and villian that had kidnapped Gundren as a prank. Amazingly from my description a player instantly said, is that two people on top of each other playing a prank? I asked if he said it out loud, he did. And their whole prank fell apart. It was a really fun start, thank you for your help!
I am about to run my first D&D campaign ever (using LMoP) and I am so nervous. Finding this video calmed down my nerves SO much while also giving me a lot of wonderful ideas to spice up the campaign. I appreciate you so much, and thank you for going so in depth with everything. You rock!!
Oh wow! Thank you :) I'm super glad to hear this has made you feel less nervous - the book can be pretty intimidating, but as long as you try to make whatever you do fun, you can't go wrong. Let me know how you go with your first session!
Sorry if someone else already suggested this--but changing the gender of the black Spider creates a great opportunity to refer to her as the Black Widow. Lends itself well to the whole Wild West reframing also :-)
I know I'm so late on this, but I just wanted to thank you so much for this! I'm running my first campaign as a DM (and I've only played DnD once before is a one shot!) and I decided to run LMoP. I stumbled across your videos in my week of prep before hand (I was very nervous because two of my players are experienced and the rest have never played before!). I was especially nervous because we had pre-decided we would start the module at level 3, so I had to figure out a way to make sure the encounters were still entertaining for my characters as well. I was so nervous about getting them personally invested in the story with these "character moments." A lot of my players had never made a character before but they did so well prepping for session 0, which was yesterday. We managed to actually start the adventure (getting through the goblin ambush). They did so well with character creation! Immediately my two half-elves decided that they were actually long lost sisters. One was searching for her mother who went missing looking for an ancient artifact known as "dragon heartstone" and I told her that she has learned that Phandalin was an area that was once rich in ancient artifacts. The fighter in our group decided he knew Nundro and he also provided that he had a gambling problem, so I decided that Nundro did too and told him that Nundro hadn't gotten along with Gundren and Tharden for many years. I decided I will eventually reveal that Nundro might have given away the fact that his brother has stumbled across Wave Echo Cave to the Black Spider in an attempt to pay his debts, accidentally causing the death of his brothers. And completely apropos of nothing, the dwarf ranger in our group (who has been turned into a mouse) decided to tell me that he was turned into a mouse by a Drow Elf, a follower of Lolth, the Spider Queen. ... this person has never played DnD before they just flipped to the deity page in the players handbook and made that up. So... insane. Thank you so much for such amazing breakdowns!
That sounds great! You and your players seem like you're approaching the game with the right the correct mindset :) It's all about leaning into the drama!
HOW has this got only 800+views!! This is the best LMoP guide I've come across as im preparing for my first DM sessions, wich me luck hehe. Very good production and layout, love the timestamps. Keep it up
800 views is pretty good for my channel :) Maybe one day I'll look back and think, "Pish! Only 800!" but for now it's good enough. I'm glad you like it though! Maybe after you've run it for your mates, if you send them this video series to let them see what happens behind the screen, we can get it to 804! Please let me know how your game goes and whether the guides end up being useful - I love hearing people's stories
HEY. MATTHEW. I APPRECIATE YOU. I'm about to run some pals through my version of this adventure and your advice is easily the most colloquial and one of the easiest to absorb. As one DM to another, here's something we all love to hear: Thank you for putting in the work.
Really great intro to the campaign, dude! I think changing published adventures is important to get a sense of ownership and investment as the DM. I struggle to get excited for published adventures because I want to run my own game, not someone else's.
Cheers mate! I am a homebrew-centric snob in general and don't go in for published adventures, but there are a couple of modules that cut through my BS - Lost mines and Curse of Strahd namely. I reckon putting the effort into customising Lost Mines is totally worthwhile, because it's a really tight little adventure.
I’m so excited I found this series. Five minutes in and as a first time GM with first time players (my husband and step kids) I’m less nervous now and way excited. I love the idea of customizing and streamlining and making it more unique! Thank you!
There are no GMs in D&D... Only DMs.... Because; DUNGEONS and Dragons.... It's kinda right there in the name... If you wanna be a GM, you have plenty of opportunity to play Barbie with your crew...
These how to videos are amazing - I'm a 43yo dad getting his kids into D&D and I'm time poor. These are great and also really help me think about the adventure whilst im washing up or something. I've got up at 6:00 to re-watch and make notes so I can re-craft LMOP as per your guidance as we've only just started. I know my kids are going to love your cut scene and other story ideas. Also, i find you hilarious and reminds me of the stuff i used to say when i was playing 1st or 2nd edition when i was 15/16! Please please do more of these!
Little late to the party here. Loving this series, it was a lot of help for me to piece together my campaign. Here's how I tried incorporating special player moments for each player: - One of the players is a half-orc barbarian that was exiled from a tribe over some dispute. I decided that the bandits at Old Owl Well are going to have some members from his old tribe. Before attacking them, he can choose to walk up interact with them, trash-talk, or even sneak in under the pretense that he wants to join them so that the party can more easily ambush the party. If they choose to just attack them it will kind of be a revenge and we can have some trashtalking between the members. - One of our players is a wild magic sorcerers decided that his sorcerous origin will be a magic crystal they found when they were small that comes back to him if he throws it away, like the relic in BG3. I decided that the rock will a part of the crystal at the Mormesk's staff and if he gets to Mormesk in Wave Echo Cave he can assemble it again and the crystal will have the shape of a d20 dice (since he's a wild magic sorcere he has to roll a d20 each time he casts a spell to see if he gets a random effect). He will get some buff when he does so, like maybe he rolls two wild magic surge dices and can pick which one to take, as a signal that he learnt to control the wild magic in it. Also, this will calm down Mormesk's soul, and if they pledge that they'll protect the mine he will say the sorcerer is his new 'heir' and that he reminds him of himself when he was young. Still need to come up with ideas to foreshadow Mormesk. - One of our players is a bard who was a spoiled drifter, playing at random pubs until one day his master disappears. He heard news that he is in Phandalin and when Gundren mentions it to the party he happens to be playing in that same tavern and asks to tag along. They will find his long lost master in the Redbrand hideout and afterwards I planned that his master will ask him to play a song together at the Stonehill inn. I will tell the bard that he feels like he has to sing and ask him what he wants to sing about, then from that moment on he will get an advantage on any performance checks when he sings about that thing. Also he will realize that adventuring is his calling and more things await him in the future. Also, if they don't find the cell before they start chasing Glasstaff, the bard will notice his master in the prison and will have to decide whether he will chase Glasstaff with the others or go to help his master. - One of our players is paladin who was posessed by a demon for years, got exorcised, then swore a paladin oath to fight against such evil. Now it turns out the demon they exorcised has possessed the necromancer in Wywern Tor. He will probably want to kill him, first instict, but the demon will tell him that he's searching for Bowgentle's spellbook as a part of his ongoing research: turns out he is tired of possessing people and wants to move over to the afterlife. Will the paladin help him or will he vanquish him again? Is the demon lying to him and using him to acquire more power or is he really trying to set himself free? - One of our players is a dragonborn rogue from the same tribe as the Barbarian. He will have a special player moment with the bandits, also he will get a secret mission from Helia like in the book to kill Glasstaff, even though Glasstaff will surrender. I also came up with this idea that Harbin Wester is actually a doppelganger and the real Harbin is tied up in his house's basement. Helia will approach him saying that Harbin was acting weird and collect evidence from his house what is going on. This gives the rogue a chance to use his investigation/lockpicking/stealth etc. skills to uncover a mistery
I'm having my first session 0 as a DM tonight, before we play LMoP. Thank you soooo much for this video, it has helped a bunch! I'm definitely going to watch your other videos on the campaign!
Matt, this is incredible! I'm a brand new DM running Lost Mines. I'm so glad I found this series literally a session before welcoming my players into Phandalin (it's taken us three 2-3 hr sessions to make it through my plot hook--meeting Gundren's siblings, who ask them to deliver the supplies--and Cragmaw Hideout.) After a a sort of lackluster RP of Yeemik and Klarg, I'm going to make a ton of much-needed changes to future villains based on your content. Seriously appreciate this (I particularly love your updates to the Black Spider and King Grol) and I'm excited to create some SPMs for my Earth Genasi fighter, Eladrin ranger, and Aasimar bard and cleric 😂
Like a lot of people watching this, I'm DMing my first campaign using LMOD soon! Very nervous, but I'm happy to have found this. Ive been playing DnD for years but the players are brand new. After taking a cursory glance at the book I'm really looking forward to seeing how you recomend tuning the encounters. The Cragmaw Hideout looks like it could be an easy TPK for new players as written.
THERE IS INTEREST IN THUNDERTREE. Specifically, I love both LMoP and the Essentials Kit module, Dragon of IceSpire Peak so much, that I plan to use them as lead-ins to Rise of Tiamat. (Not sold on Horde of the Dragon Queen.) There's two of my five required dragons for the collection.
For sure! It's a natural lead-in for the Tiamat adventures. One of my videos coming up will be about how I'd run Thundertree if I were to include it in the adventure - lots of changes!
Great channel Matthew, love seeing content from another Melbourne dweller. Will be my first time DM’ing a campaign and planning on doing LMOP. I’ve expanded on the adventure hook and prologue by setting it in the crossroads tavern pre-damaged, and having a drink with Gundren before he leaves you to acquire the mystery box off some swindlers in the gambling room that have some muscle with them. Whilst it could lead to combat, it’s more of setup to help new players think laterally about how you would approach a situation, with all roads leading to the muscle ruffian causing the roof to collapse knocking the box off a table to the players, giving them the chance to escape. This gives the players a little bit of time to explore ideas around persuasion, intimidation, perhaps bartering or pickpocketing or gambling to acquire the box. It also gets them familiar with the crossroads tavern which is helpful for the future side quest, and gives you some characters to use in the post-session zero monologue with the black spider’s encounter. You can pick to keep these new characters in your back pocket in case you need to push the players in a certain direction as well. Thoughts? Tried to mix in a couple things without it taking too long as a prologue “encounter”
@Matthew Perkins surprisingly haven’t managed to get everyone together. you would think I could have with the number of public holidays we kept getting, but alas it’s still in the works. Hopefully in the next fortnight I can make it happen
@Matthew Perkins haha, of all things I was planning on doing a big tip run that day after my boys 2nd birthday, then of course it’s like… surprise, holiday, tip is now closed
MAN this content is so great. I've just finished session 1 of my LMOP campaign that I'm trying to customize to my PCs (my group didn't use the pregens, not our first D&D game). While I'm not taking a lot of your specific advice for transforming the campaign, explaining your motivations for what to change is suuuuper helpful as guidance for what to think about. Since my group has a druid and a wood elf from Neverwinter Wood, I'm keeping Thundertree, though changing it around quite a bit. Jamming some special player moments in there and making it more central to the campaign. Thank you SO much for this stuff. Your delivery and writing is also fantastic. No... it's... PHANtastic.... ugh that's terrible isn't it.
By the way this series is pure gold and I was quite happy to sign up on the Patreon to access those PDFs. Looking forward to running a simple chase as well as potentially sneak in some of the drinking rules if they decide to have a night of debauchery in Phandalin. I have a feeling the Redbrands are going to take advantage of their loosened state.
One of my players is playing as Flags, a lawful good young tiefling born in the nine hells to a cruel bone devil taskmaster who escapes into the material plane for some unsanctioned heroism and Good Deeds. He's a warlock who is leasing his power through his aloof devil father who doesnt know and would not approve of the virtuous ends to which it is being used.
Yep! Sounds rad. For a kind of edgy storyline with a Warlock, I would have either the Banshee, the Nothic, or Mormesk the Wraith offer to make a second pact for some kind of boon. Maybe you could allow him an extra or unique Eldritch Invocation, but make it clear that interfering with his established pact magic might draw the ire of his current patron. Meaningful choices like that where the player understands the nature of the consequences have been really satisfying in my groups, regardless which option the player chooses - they just like the moment of attention and an option.
This would’ve been great to watch before yesterday. Hahaha I’m a brand new DM, but I played a good amount D&D and my friends nominated me to be the first DM of the group, alternating at the end of our respective campaigns. I’m running Mines. Lol I have 5 players with two being brand new and one who has only played it once before and not for a full campaign length. We just finished Goblin’s Arrows and they decided to bed down for the night in the clearing before ascending the trail to Cragmaw Hideout. One of them failed their check during their watch and the party was ambushed. One of the goblins was killed and the other managed to escape. And that’s where we left off.
In previous playthroughs, my players agonized over the secret meaning of the jade frog statuette in Klarg's trove... only the module doesn't appear to have any. Your videos gave me the answer... it's the macguffin, the thing Nezzar (excellent and mandatory name fix!) needs to unlock the forge of spells. The Phandalin Phorge Phrog. The clues were there all along!
That's a good fix! Every group stumbles on that frog. I've taken to making it a Figurine of Wondrous Power which gives players a temporary frog familiar.
Glad to help! Eventually - yes :) At the moment though I'm doing Storm King's Thunder and the new Candlekeep Mysteries book. Both series should start by the end of April.
I've been watching video's on LMoP on at least 5 different channels, and found this one the most helpful as a step 2. It skips over the the very basic essentials - for which there are plenty of other videos - and gives me immediately what I most needed after reading the module. Thank you so much!
Love the ideas! I ran LMOP and Dragon of Icespire Peak together, throwing out...maybe a quarter of mines and half of icespire. The two together give you a real banquet of options.
Oh nice! I haven't read Icespire, but it's been on my bookshelf for months. I can also see based on your comments you're on a binge-watch session Craig -- thanks man! I'm glad you're digging these videos :) If you want to help out, I'd appreciate you sharing with your mates! I'm at the pub right now, but I'll read your other comments and respond properly later tonight.
Been running and playing for over 30 years now. Just started a new campaign and thought I would use LMoP as I never ran it. Thank you for making these videos they have given me so many ideas.
Thanks, Matthew! This has been tremendously helpful as I run a group of brand new players through LMOP. I just subscribed as a Patron, and I look forward to any future content!
I love playing around with the elements of this adventure. It's simple enough to run out of the box and has enough "space" to customize it without needing to rewrite everything.
@@heyitsMattyP Well said. For example, the biggest opening in LMOP is the Black Spider's motivation. You don't NEED more than is there, really, for a new DM to just run this adventure and have fun. But its absence leaves room for an experienced DM to fill it in. Your answer there is great. I made mine an outcast drow who left the evil matriarchy of his home in the underdark going to find a male - dominated surface world and, finding it more egalitarian than he hoped, decided to make a nation of his own.
Excellent video, and also the first time I've heard Linda Evangelista mentioned since like the '90s 🙂. I've only recently discovered your channel and I gotta say you are very informative, and I am digging the down-to-earth, friendly presentation.
Hey Mathew, I need to get some praise in your direction: You Basicly gave me the strength to run my first homebrew Campaign. And all of that, because the good energy in your videos. (commenting under a two-years-old video 😂) A big thanks from my Side. Keep going.
Thank you! I always appreciate this kind of feedback :) I don't want to be any kind of expert or D&D guru, but I'm good at getting people to shake off the jitters and run their first game. Glad it worked out for you!
i bought 3 of the starter sets as part of a hand out for 3 other gms who where willing to run the model with me as a first time GM and them as the players. Its been very very very fun. YOu have been awesome teching me how to open up with my role play
I've just started running this and I've never DM'd before. I have been a player but that was a few years ago. Wish me luck I hope my players have as much fun as I did
Mr. Perkins! Finally ran my first session 0 this past Friday! It was good! And in inspiration from your other videos on changing up the adventures for LMoP, I decided to give my players one encounter after character creation... in order to retrieve the puzzle box! They had to retrieve it from some bullywugs. Definitely made some mistakes (which actually benefited my players... otherwise there might have been a couple of deaths!), but overall, we all had fun. And I definitely used your prologue with doppleganger and The Black Spider. I've got them hooked! Can't wait to delve into the other adventures, with your suggested changes! Thank you for putting all of this work together to make this an amazing campaign!
Excellent! This series changes a lot about the Starter Set in small ways, but I think it's all for the better. By the time you finish running this, I'll be partway through my new series on how to run Storm King's Thunder, so I hope you'll join me on that adventure too
I wish I had seen this series before I started my LMoP campaign last year! Great stuff. We did 4 sessions before COVID forced us to hit "pause," but we're back up-and-running now, and just finished session 5. My players are on their way to Cragmaw Castle now, and I think I can incorporate some of your ideas into my own game. Thanks!
Not sure if you are still paying attention to this series, but thanks a ton. Already had my session zero so weaving in Gundren up front may be hard. However, I was already going to have a prologue where they meet Gundren in delving into an old dwarves tomb. So that’s perfect for them to get to meet him and get the puzzle box. Hopefully also gets them to level 2 for the goblin ambush and cragmaw cave. Not 100% sure of the player moments, but have been trying to tie stuff in: 1. Half-Elf paladin feomthe dalelands far to the east and on her iniation rite into a knightly order. 2. Half-elf ranger/scholar with major Lara Croft/ Indianna Jones vibes and possession of an old tome, maybe related to the puzzle box or forge of spells. 3. Lizardfolk Druid, a far traveler from a far away continent. All into meeting new people and learning new languages. 4. Halfling Monk (Ninja?) with no backstory figured out at all 5. Kalashtar Cleric or Light, also on an initiation quest with the paladin. My prologue was going to be they just got back from a mountain town doing heroic deeds and leading a group of refugees back to Neverwinter. Gundren is in this group and when the opportunity arises, grave some mining gear and some horses to delve into and old tomb leaving the refugees with a pair of horses short and the adventurers need to go get them back and track Gundren to the tomb. Together they explore it and find some nifty things and get an intro to the forge of spells and now your puzzle box.
I still read and respond to every comment, but sometimes it takes me a while! Glad you're enjoying the videos :) For your special player moments, try to match the effort of the players. If they put a lot of effort into their character, find a good moment for them. If they make a throwaway character, you're OK to find just a small moment.
I have never played D&D but I tried to play today without success because it was on Discord and they were in session 3 and even though I want to DM this game for players who haven’t played before I think this will be a fantastic teaching tool for me so thank you
Hey Matt, I am brand new to this - have played a few times with mates, but never DM'ed. I bought the D&D Starter Set as I wanted to take a shot at DM'ing - however it's pretty daunting when my group will all be hardcore RPG veterans, who have DM'ed hundreds of different RPG's... This video made it that bit less daunting - so thanks man!! Loved it mate - looking forward to more.
Just started this campaign for the second time as a DM, but inspired by your videos I'm gonna run it much differently with this current group than I did the first time. They managed the goblin ambush with very few scrapes, as they played it wisely, and for the coming sessions i am on the lookout for at least one special player moment - not yet decided for which of the 4 PCs yet. Would love your input to spice it up, so here goes: PCs are: 1) Wood Elf Rogue with the criminal background (CN), who loves to kill things and talk about it. His ideal is to kill one of every species, not out of evil, but because he takes pride in it. Loves the forest and knows that death is a natural part of life. Gundren used him to do some dirty work in Neverwinter. 2) Lightfoot Halfling Bard with the entertainer background (LG), Lazy and lucky, but polite and kind even though always trying to talk other people into doing his chores. He is an everyday poet and dreams about becoming a folk hero, so he can marry the dauther of his hometown mayor. His backstory includes a very dependant relationship to PC#3. He plays almost evry instrument he can get his hands on, but setteld (for now) for lute and bagpipes. 3) Mountain Dwarf Barbarian with the hermit background (CN - I know ... it's weird, but...), Orphaned as a child having always spent his life on the outskirts of society he is a very knotted up dwarf that doesn't let anyone in. The barden PC#2 has though touched his heart deeply, and he feels the need to protect him. He drinks a lot and often, and game mechanically is in on this being a disadvantage, as the dice rolled on creating this PC was out of this world. STR 20 (with the dwarf bonus) for instance. 4) Hill Dwarf Cleric (life) with the acolyte background (LG), the only female character is a big fangirl of the paladin called Hubert The Noble, who faught for her gods of the cleric's faith. Limited on both social skills and charisma, she want to be on top of the faith order, but as of now she just wants to build experince by battling. Will do anything to protect her faith and gods, and she judges everyone harshly - herself included. She's Gundren's third cousing twice removed... They achieved the puzzle box by stealing it from a crypt by the way. The bard played tricks with the cemetary watchmen using his minor illusion cantrip, while the rougue snook in and got it. A well carried out non-violent encounter told to them in the past tense. Gundren made them "keep it secret - keep it safe". They did, and they still don't know what's inside it. They know that someone else wants it badly though.
YES! Keep it secret, keep it safe is perfect :) 1) Wood Elf Rogue If their big thing is: death is a natural part of life, then I would put an undead beast somewhere in the campaign, something which is an affront to the natural order, and it's the responsibility of an NPC you want the party to hate. They should want to take it down - just remember to seed the existence of this thing early. You could use it to replace the Nothic, the Owlbear, or the Ochre Jelly in WEC. 2) Lightfoot Halfling Bard Make up a little legend of a hero tied to the WEC, some feat of strength of bravery the bard could attempt to replicate. Maybe something an ancient folk hero died attempting, but the Bard has to opportunity to succeed in? 3) Mountain Dwarf Barbarian This one is difficult - the less a player gives you to work with, the harder it is to give them a special player moment. Maybe seed the story of how the Forge was used once to make a magical wine/beer that's out there somewhere in the world. They can either find the magic beer, or they can use the forge to bless their own beer? 4) Hill Dwarf Cleric This one's easy :) Her special player moment comes from Gundren - just remember to ham up how happy Gundren is to see his cousin
I found your channel when I watched your video on how to run “A wilde sheep chase” (great video, I’ve run it twice now for brand new players). I bought the starter set when I saw that you have this series. Looking forward to running this!
Oh nice! Wizards should sponsor me if I've helped make them a sale :) Once you've seen the whole series, let me know if you have any questions and I'm happy to help
@@heyitsMattyP I might start by running the CragMaw hideout cave as a one shot, then casually let them know that it is just the first part in a series. I love the puzzle box idea, I'll probably have Sildar give it to the party for safe keeping. The hard part will be making them care about Gundar if I don't do a session zero...
If they're keen after the "one-shot," don't be afraid to retroactively do their backstory and retcon anything if necessary --- sounds like a good solution :)
This was great, thanks so much. And I appreciate how you reply a full two years later. Really very nice. Here's what we've got, and I'd love your "special moments" advice, and just advice in general: First time DM (that's me) and haven't played in 30 years. My family is full of first time players: My wife (rogue), 14 year old Stranger Things obsessed daughter (wizard), my 7 year old and 5 year olds sons (both warriors). I don't expect to go through the mechanics with the two youngest, and will focus on moving the game along. The ladies in the party are both guild artisans. One of the warriors is an outlander who was kidnapped by an evil king and conscripted into his army (that's where he learned to fight), and then escaped to be a bounty hunter. The other is a noble who took lessons from the best sword masters in the land, and now wants to earn his independence from his family. They became friends with Gundren because he 1) got the rogue out of some trouble for pickpocketing the corrupt sheriff, 2) is a frequent customer of the bounty hunter, 3) stopped a bar fight the noble got into that was 4) over the wizard. Any advice is welcome! And I'm headed over to patreon now to support. This stuff really is helpful.
Hi. I'd sugest changing the bandits of Wyvern Tor for the evil king and his army, to make things more personal. If you look at the game map, the bandits operate on the far east side of the map, so you could make that the evil kingdom is in the east and the army is keeping travelers in check in that zone while the goblins take care of the west.
Also, in Phandalin is this little girl Molly who sells stuff in the inn. Maybe she is trying to learn the same kind of craftmanship that the guild artisans make, so they could teach her and help her start her own business.
Hmm I'm not sure! But I've gamed with my nieces and nephews a few times (ages 8 - 11), so I do have some advice for playing with little kids: 1) Only have them fight creatures that are clearly monsters (never people, never animals). Reflavour the Redbrands as secret shadow monsters or something, maybe cut the bandits, make the Cragmaws less person-like. 2) Short sessions are better - the most I could get productively out of kids of a similar age was about 70 minutes. 3) Little kids don't need any grand twist or complex story beats. Even the most basic story cliches can be new and exciting for them. 4) Your play space has to be 100% free from distractions. When I ran sessions with just me and the kids, they were laser focussed. But when their mum sat in on a session and was giving everyone snacks, they were impossible to settle. Good luck with your game!
Hit like @ 398 likes despite the satisfaction that would come with waiting to be the one to hit an even 400. That's how good you are. Excellent content!
Woah! Just what I needed :) I am starting tomorrow as a first time DM (with not much experience as a player but one wants to play haha) and I was kind of nervous on how to start so people liked it (tried another time and we couldn’t even reach s0). This is going to be definitively helpful. Just for your entertainment, I am starting LMoP but switching it a bit so it links with PotA (trough wave echo cave) with 5 players: - Druid Fairy - Eladrin Paladin - Duergar Paladin - Tabaxi Rogue - Tiefling Sorcerer I am thinking of developing their backgrounds on the go (don’t want to make a mega job on research and plot links in case the campaign doesn’t kick off… again hahaha)
Damn I wish I discovered these videos before I started the campaign. My party just did the once over in Phandalin and I’m going to try and retroactively incorporate as much of this into my game as I can
Session zero tonight! -Update!- Session zero was awesome! It checked all the boxes, I used the puzzle box idea to allow the characters a bit of role play and then set the scene for session 1. Thank you so much for this video series!
Would you mind to share with me how do you do this role-playing with the puzzle box? I lack any ideias. Should it have active gameplay or its just a narrative moment?
@@lucaslorencini3453 sorry it took so long to get back to you. My notifications were turned off. So, I had Gundren hand the players a receipt for an item he bought at auction and the requisition form for the mining supplies. I then had the players do a pure theater of the mind fetch quest with no combat and let their minds race with what the puzzle box was. It worked really well.
I just finished running a wild sheep chase as my first time DMing because of your video on it! after deciding that I wanted to run LMoP I was hoping to find an overview to help guide me along for prep and low and behold you have a full deep dive on it! im super exited to run this for my players and i just know these videos will help me out a lot! session 0 is in 2 weeks! woo!
Oh that's so cool! What a funny coincidence. There's also a brand new Starter Set coming out next month which I'm hoping to make some guides about. If you end up running that too, maybe I can catch you for a hattrick haha
Starting up a brand new LMOP game right now, and I like that part you mentioned about special player moments! It really got me brainstorming about ways to incorporate my players' backstories into the module. I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you and my fellow viewers: - The priest has fended off his village against a horde of banshees before, so the Agatha quest seems perfect to drop some seeds of his backstory in there! Word of his reputation has no doubt reached the ears of Sister Garaele as well. - The dwarven berserker hails from the same clan as the Rockseekers, so already he has a lot of reason to seek out the missing brothers and the Lost Mine. Besides that, maybe he can have a duel with the chief of the -orcs- bandits? - The mage of the group also happens to be a changeling, so I'm thinking of letting her share the same bloodline as one of the doppelgangers. Then there could be a private confrontation between them, where said doppelganger tries to win the mage over to the dark side. No consequences for the ones of many faces, and all that. - The summoner who can call upon the spirits of the woods, is also searching for her estranged father. I wanna make him an adventurer going around and doing good deeds, and eventually let the two of them come face to face, or at least let her come across signs of his father. In particular, I'd like some input on the last two points. Where would the doppelganger best reach out to the changeling mage, the town or the outdoors? Where can I leave behind signs of the summoner's father? Phandalin will probably be too easy and too soon, he's not likely to end up as a bandit, and a random human in Cragmaw Castle will just be too odd.
They all seem like great ideas! I'd recommend you focus on the "moment" part and try imagining the actual scenes or situations where these character facts would let the player take the spotlight. For the summoner, I wouldn't resolve the whole thing in the scope of this campaign. I would say the father was actually an old adventuring companion of Sildar. And let's say Sildar and Iarno were old adventuring companions too, so these three old men know each other. Sildar doesn't know what happened to this character's father, but hey, maybe if the party can find his old friend Iarno (secretly Glass Staff), maybe he can point them in the right direction? Then you can resolve it in a campaign epilogue.
@@heyitsMattyP Thank you so much! I'm not sure what you mean by focusing on it being a "moment" though, should I keep them shorter instead of planning the arc throughout the campaign?
@@24karatgolduck24 What I mean is: the goal is to have scene in the campaign where each player gets to feel like they were briefly the main character, like a scene where they got to roleplay an important decision, hand-crafted for their character and their backstory. So I'm suggesting you plan around THAT discrete moment, where the player gets to do the special thing related to their backstory.
I am so happy I have found this series. You have so many great ideas about how to reorganize story beats to make them work better for the overall narrative. I'm a first-time DM and running this adventure for a group of first-time players. We are only halfway through our prologue, which I cooked up so they can play the part when they are getting the puzzle box and get their first hint at the Black Spider. So in Neverwinter, before he met the players, Gundren was harassed by some random low-level thugs and the players had to rescue him. Later the rogue flexed his connections a little bit and figured out that the thugs worked for the very person Gundren hired to fetch the puzzle box from some dangerous dungeon or whatnot. Their surprised faces were priceless. They are now leaving town to fetch the puzzle box, and they will get a confirmation in the end that Gundren is indeed in danger and a letter from the Black Spider. Also, I stuffed a fun magic item into the puzzle box, which I think they will enjoy very much, so I kind of hope they are going to be assholes and try to open it soon. X'D
First time DM here and trying to get this campaign ready for my players. Your videos are INCREDIBLE. You have given me so much confidence that I can do this! Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to make this. I've run a few campaigns, but it's been a while and I'm always nervous when I go to shake the rust off in front of new players.
Haven't played D&D in almost 3 years, but we're getting the band back together. I've volunteered to DM, on the condition that I don't become our forever DM -- Let's see how that works out. Anyways these videos have been invaluable and I am so excited to launch this later this week
This is great. Already ran it once as a first time DM and see how your adjustments would have made it even better. Looking forward to this series and others.
Going to DM for the first time with this adventure but was thinking of ways of making it my own! This video will really help me out, thank you so much!
Hello there. Trying to put think up some good player moments for: - A Dwarf fighter who's tired of his typical Dwarven lifestyle, and now seeks money and glory as a mercenary, without really knowing what the profession entails - A Halfling Warlock who went from a life on the streets to being commanded by his new patron, a fire Genie who he refers to as "God", to serve the party. - A Chromatic Dragonborn Druid from the Evermoors who feels the need to use his magical prowess to prove his worth to others. - A Tiefling Bard who has spent most of his life as a carnival master's servant, but now has been given the opportunity to life out the epic tales of heroism he's heard so much about from passing adventurers.
Thank you! I hope it keeps growing too. I set the unreasonable goal of hitting 5K this year, but I don't think that's going to happen short of some crazy luck spike. 3k maybe though!
You are helping me soooo much! Thank you for these videos, it's my first time trying to DM for my friends and this is exactly what I needed to feel good about starting. Will get on your Patreon asap!
Finished DoSI with my friends, taking a team of 6 into LMoP now, with their own rolled characters this time! should be great, also got the Arc Knight set to run it with a table top presence rather than ToTM.
@@heyitsMattyP the maps are gorgeous, and everyone loved having the minis on the table, something tangible for the combat of Goblin Ambush made a huge difference, plus me not having to fudge locations in my head for 12 individuals (6 players, 6 Gobbos) meant I got to spend more time describing and explaining everything. What I love with the ArcKnight minis is I have a library of HUNDREDS of goodies, baddies, and some terrain and other scattered that fits into a couple of little photo album sized folios.
Great video! I am trying out dm'ing and i found this playlist helpful for preperation I did a session 0 not long ago and had the party run a bit around neverwinter just collecting the things to travel, (cart and mystery box)
Wonder if you can help a bit with some possible special player moments? I have a guild aritsan monk who is working on self-control while a small annoying abberation pet (william) follows her around. She has darkvision through something from the past (eldritch adept as variant human) I have a lizardfolk barbarian who'se tribe died before hatching, so she didnt grow up with the problematic cannibalistic things. She befriended a dwarf owlbear who was her only friend before meeting Gundren, the dwarf helped her with travel from the island she was on to neverwinter to explore or something. Another player is a firbolg druid who is new to civilized society. The player hasn't come up with much backstory but ive helped him with suggesting Gundren helped him protest against deforesting the nearby neverwinter woodlands. There are 2 more players but they didnt make it to session 0 and haven't informed me of characters beyond one of them maybe doing a noble cleric
Hey! Thank you for the support :) MONK: If you've got something eldritch-related, I'd look for a special moment with the Nothic. BARB: There's an Owlbear held captive in the Cragmaw Castle! Seed that information early, let the Barb have Free Willy moment. DRUID: I'd look at Molly the Halfling child becoming friends with this character and teaching them stuff about Phandalin society, but of course it's all wrong and through a child's perspective.
You are wonderful to listen to. I’m introducing my family to ttrpgs and will be the dungeon master. Listening to the ideas for changes to the campaign makes me feel better about taking liberties to make the beginner module more tailored to my family.
Thank you! Back when I recorded this I was still super awkward speaking to a camera, but I think I've worked it out now haha And yeah - cut this adventure to pieces and build it into whatever shape works for you. It'll be way better than following anyone else's advice or doing what the book wants you to do!
Hi, you're super fun and easy to listen to. I'm a newb and only run one 4hr session (plus session zero stuff) and was already thinking about tailoring stuff slightly. This video has really helped with the how and other questions etc. Liked, subscribed and will be watching more. Thank you for your effort.
Thanks Kerry! You're joining at the best time, because i've almost got guides for the whole adventure published - just a couple more videos to go. Were some of my suggestions the same things you were thinking of tailoring?
I love the idea of the mysterious box... trouble is, we ended first session resting on the way to cragmaw hideout. They know 2 human npcs were dragged there and got info off a goblin that is tied up and showing them roughly the way to cragmaw hideout (I've added a couple mini player moments using character story stuff to see if they've really learned their characters (all 5 starter set ones and one addition) so... here, I thought I could add the mystery box found on the way. They could still have originally been employed to take the oxen pulled wagon as scripted and this could add the box without changing too much this far?! Is that workable?
Absolutely! Did they find the jade frog thing in Klarg's cave? Maybe you could make that the object that The Black Spider needs, something Klarg had recovered, but the player inconveniently stole. It doesn't need to be a puzzle box specifically, just an item that the Black Spider wants, something that gives you an excuse to have her interact with the party and develop a rivalry.
I've not got to the hideout yet so haven't found anything there 😂. But that's a good idea. I'm gonna watch more of your vids now and ponder. Thanks for the replies 😁😎👊
Aw thanks mate! I'm digging your comments. Coming up I've got a handful of videos in the LMoP series, then some silly stuff before covering the new Rime of the Frost Maiden module
These videos have been super helpful with understanding and plotting out the narrative. I have some pretty interesting backstories from my PCs and I really want to find a way to piece that into the plot of this campaign and potentially seed something for the next one. I’d love to bounce some ideas off anyone who is familiar with running LMoP. Thanks again Matt for all the hard work!!!!!
Glad it's been helpful! If you have questions, there's a community of people who have run this adventure using these guides over on matthewperkins.net/discord :)
Thanks for this series! I am starting DMing for my group using this module and having this help for session zero and the seeding of the puzzle box is a great idea.
Oh rad! One thing I want to make clear about the puzzle box (because I worry I was unclear in these early videos): ultimately it doesn't matter if the Black Spider gets this box or not. It only matters that the Black Spider and Party have an excuse to meet each other ASAP. If she gets it: hooray for drama! If she doesn't: hooray for drama!
Great video Matt! I'm currently running the LMoP for the first time and these videos are extremely helpful. I like the flashback/ cutscenes. I'm considering doing them for my group but don't you feel like that gives away some of the mystery? If they know the Black Spider is looking for the Puzzle box and that she has a doppelganger henchman, they probably won't trust her if she "helps" them out.
Glad it's been helpful Joe! Here's the thing about the cutscenes: you would be amazed what the players forget or don't notice. It all depends on how much you describe the scene. "The Black Spider, who is a woman with a French accent, and her doppelganger ally are frustrated that the puzzlebox you have is missing from its resting place." This would be too specific. But when you obscure the facts, focus on building intrigue for the next session, you can totally hook your players into the story's premise.
Hey Matthew. I've only just started playing/DMing DnD and so only just come across this series of videos as we're working fun the LMoP starter set. Just wanted to let you know these videos are brilliant, whether or not I use your changes, they're a great resource for new players to think about changes and sandboxing pre written campaigns. Subscribed, looking forward to looking through your video library
This is the single most informative and entertaining piece of media on this topic and will help my first time DMing immensely. Ty kind sir! Subbed and liked!
These videos have been SUPER helpful in planning me and 5 friends first experience with D&D (And yay, I got voted as DM lol). I saw that little combat cheat sheet and immediately went to patreon and subbed so I could have it, and then saw you zoom in so we could "not screenshot it" lmao. Either way, definitely don't mind supporting the channel. Thanks, man!!
I have a mute Druid in my campaign and they're my favorite. It's a very interesting character and the player roleplays them very well as a kind Druid who has literally never interacted with civillization in their whole life. Definitely can be done well
Cheers Ray! It's one of the best modules -- you'll love it :) Stop by the Discord server if you need. Plenty of people there who would be keen to help.
This series is going to be about eight videos long - it's a massive project. If you like this kind of content, please let me know by liking, subscribing, commenting! And if you need any tips for special player moments, drop a comment below with a breakdown of your party.
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Thanks for making these videos! I’ve started running a campaign for me and my wife, and both of us being new to D&D you have made it very easy for me to understand and run.
This video series RULES. Are you planning on covering more campaigns or even doing an original? This is the most useful DMing resource I've found on UA-cam by a long shot. Beautiful work man.
Thank you for this serie. I will run LMoP with a 5 player party. A Ranger, a cleric, a rogue, a druid and an artificer. Can you help me with the special player moments? Can I put the puzzlebox as a loot/price at the end of sidequest "sacrifice of innocense"?
LOVE. Great ideas for my PCs. Thank you!
"My character hates all the other members of the party, huhuh" Came here for LMoP, and I stay for your sarcastic player impersonations :) Great ideas, and really well-structured video, Matt
Mocking players is the most important role of a good DM - cheers Bob!
hahah yeah i hope this is gonna be a trademark we need more player jokes :D
The first time I ever played DnD we had a guy whose character was specifically written as a "steals-from-everybody" Rogue (no really, regarding stuff like personality, bond, and flaws pretty much "kleptomania" and resulted him). What's funny is almost everybody in the group was a new player and that was a character-sheet pre-made by the DM himself specifically for that campaign, so we had a noob pretty much being trained by to be a munchkin by a somewhat experienced player but first-time DM, who was then surprised at how little progress the party made at saving the town over the course of several sessions of what was supposed to be a single-session one-shot.
I could watch a whole video series on just his player impersonations lol
Seeing BWB and Matty P engaging and supporting each other is so awesome. You're both awesome guides for ushering in a whole new generation of players into epic adventures!
Session 0 went amazing! The only experienced player said he thought this campaign would be amazing when he compared it to how the adventure started on his last LMOP campaign. I made the intro so that Sildar was a halfling and Gundren a Dwarf. So when entering they had sat on top of each other in a dark robe pretending to be and villian that had kidnapped Gundren as a prank. Amazingly from my description a player instantly said, is that two people on top of each other playing a prank? I asked if he said it out loud, he did. And their whole prank fell apart. It was a really fun start, thank you for your help!
That's a such a great idea! And fantastic foreshadowing.
I am about to run my first D&D campaign ever (using LMoP) and I am so nervous. Finding this video calmed down my nerves SO much while also giving me a lot of wonderful ideas to spice up the campaign. I appreciate you so much, and thank you for going so in depth with everything.
You rock!!
Oh wow! Thank you :) I'm super glad to hear this has made you feel less nervous - the book can be pretty intimidating, but as long as you try to make whatever you do fun, you can't go wrong. Let me know how you go with your first session!
YO HOW'D IT GO?? im starting LMoP soon as DM and im also very nervous :((
I’m about to do the same thing next Wednesday. Party full of first timers ( myself included).
That narrative montage at 13:31 is straight fire, and I'm going to borrow heavily from it.
And by that I mean steal it whole cloth. :)
Please do :)
Sorry if someone else already suggested this--but changing the gender of the black Spider creates a great opportunity to refer to her as the Black Widow. Lends itself well to the whole Wild West reframing also :-)
That's a good idea! You're actually the first person to suggest this :)
What if it turns out they're related to one of the PCs and would rather they be caught alive so they can talk to them?
I know I'm so late on this, but I just wanted to thank you so much for this! I'm running my first campaign as a DM (and I've only played DnD once before is a one shot!) and I decided to run LMoP. I stumbled across your videos in my week of prep before hand (I was very nervous because two of my players are experienced and the rest have never played before!). I was especially nervous because we had pre-decided we would start the module at level 3, so I had to figure out a way to make sure the encounters were still entertaining for my characters as well.
I was so nervous about getting them personally invested in the story with these "character moments." A lot of my players had never made a character before but they did so well prepping for session 0, which was yesterday. We managed to actually start the adventure (getting through the goblin ambush). They did so well with character creation! Immediately my two half-elves decided that they were actually long lost sisters. One was searching for her mother who went missing looking for an ancient artifact known as "dragon heartstone" and I told her that she has learned that Phandalin was an area that was once rich in ancient artifacts. The fighter in our group decided he knew Nundro and he also provided that he had a gambling problem, so I decided that Nundro did too and told him that Nundro hadn't gotten along with Gundren and Tharden for many years. I decided I will eventually reveal that Nundro might have given away the fact that his brother has stumbled across Wave Echo Cave to the Black Spider in an attempt to pay his debts, accidentally causing the death of his brothers. And completely apropos of nothing, the dwarf ranger in our group (who has been turned into a mouse) decided to tell me that he was turned into a mouse by a Drow Elf, a follower of Lolth, the Spider Queen. ... this person has never played DnD before they just flipped to the deity page in the players handbook and made that up. So... insane.
Thank you so much for such amazing breakdowns!
That sounds great! You and your players seem like you're approaching the game with the right the correct mindset :) It's all about leaning into the drama!
HOW has this got only 800+views!! This is the best LMoP guide I've come across as im preparing for my first DM sessions, wich me luck hehe. Very good production and layout, love the timestamps. Keep it up
800 views is pretty good for my channel :) Maybe one day I'll look back and think, "Pish! Only 800!" but for now it's good enough. I'm glad you like it though! Maybe after you've run it for your mates, if you send them this video series to let them see what happens behind the screen, we can get it to 804! Please let me know how your game goes and whether the guides end up being useful - I love hearing people's stories
@@heyitsMattyP now the video has 15k views
Oh my god... He doesn't care... That's how...
@@dudneunshf7f 59k* LOL!
HEY. MATTHEW.
I APPRECIATE YOU. I'm about to run some pals through my version of this adventure and your advice is easily the most colloquial and one of the easiest to absorb. As one DM to another, here's something we all love to hear: Thank you for putting in the work.
Glad I could help!
Really great intro to the campaign, dude! I think changing published adventures is important to get a sense of ownership and investment as the DM. I struggle to get excited for published adventures because I want to run my own game, not someone else's.
Cheers mate! I am a homebrew-centric snob in general and don't go in for published adventures, but there are a couple of modules that cut through my BS - Lost mines and Curse of Strahd namely. I reckon putting the effort into customising Lost Mines is totally worthwhile, because it's a really tight little adventure.
I’m so excited I found this series. Five minutes in and as a first time GM with first time players (my husband and step kids) I’m less nervous now and way excited. I love the idea of customizing and streamlining and making it more unique! Thank you!
Oh mate! So glad it helped. These books are always more intimidating when you try to unpack them in isolation - let me know how your game goes!
There are no GMs in D&D... Only DMs.... Because;
DUNGEONS and Dragons.... It's kinda right there in the name... If you wanna be a GM, you have plenty of opportunity to play Barbie with your crew...
Great video. “Discovered” your channel a couple of days ago and really enjoying your content. Keep on keeping on!!
Thanks Doctor! I reckon string of videos coming up should have a few bangers with these Lost Mines guides - I'm super grateful for your support.
These how to videos are amazing - I'm a 43yo dad getting his kids into D&D and I'm time poor. These are great and also really help me think about the adventure whilst im washing up or something. I've got up at 6:00 to re-watch and make notes so I can re-craft LMOP as per your guidance as we've only just started. I know my kids are going to love your cut scene and other story ideas. Also, i find you hilarious and reminds me of the stuff i used to say when i was playing 1st or 2nd edition when i was 15/16! Please please do more of these!
Oh that's rad Russell! I hope your campaign is going well :)
I'm so glad one of my players sent me this video, awesome stuff!
Cheers Andy! Good to see my spoiler warning works :)
Little late to the party here. Loving this series, it was a lot of help for me to piece together my campaign. Here's how I tried incorporating special player moments for each player:
- One of the players is a half-orc barbarian that was exiled from a tribe over some dispute. I decided that the bandits at Old Owl Well are going to have some members from his old tribe. Before attacking them, he can choose to walk up interact with them, trash-talk, or even sneak in under the pretense that he wants to join them so that the party can more easily ambush the party. If they choose to just attack them it will kind of be a revenge and we can have some trashtalking between the members.
- One of our players is a wild magic sorcerers decided that his sorcerous origin will be a magic crystal they found when they were small that comes back to him if he throws it away, like the relic in BG3. I decided that the rock will a part of the crystal at the Mormesk's staff and if he gets to Mormesk in Wave Echo Cave he can assemble it again and the crystal will have the shape of a d20 dice (since he's a wild magic sorcere he has to roll a d20 each time he casts a spell to see if he gets a random effect). He will get some buff when he does so, like maybe he rolls two wild magic surge dices and can pick which one to take, as a signal that he learnt to control the wild magic in it. Also, this will calm down Mormesk's soul, and if they pledge that they'll protect the mine he will say the sorcerer is his new 'heir' and that he reminds him of himself when he was young. Still need to come up with ideas to foreshadow Mormesk.
- One of our players is a bard who was a spoiled drifter, playing at random pubs until one day his master disappears. He heard news that he is in Phandalin and when Gundren mentions it to the party he happens to be playing in that same tavern and asks to tag along. They will find his long lost master in the Redbrand hideout and afterwards I planned that his master will ask him to play a song together at the Stonehill inn. I will tell the bard that he feels like he has to sing and ask him what he wants to sing about, then from that moment on he will get an advantage on any performance checks when he sings about that thing. Also he will realize that adventuring is his calling and more things await him in the future. Also, if they don't find the cell before they start chasing Glasstaff, the bard will notice his master in the prison and will have to decide whether he will chase Glasstaff with the others or go to help his master.
- One of our players is paladin who was posessed by a demon for years, got exorcised, then swore a paladin oath to fight against such evil. Now it turns out the demon they exorcised has possessed the necromancer in Wywern Tor. He will probably want to kill him, first instict, but the demon will tell him that he's searching for Bowgentle's spellbook as a part of his ongoing research: turns out he is tired of possessing people and wants to move over to the afterlife. Will the paladin help him or will he vanquish him again? Is the demon lying to him and using him to acquire more power or is he really trying to set himself free?
- One of our players is a dragonborn rogue from the same tribe as the Barbarian. He will have a special player moment with the bandits, also he will get a secret mission from Helia like in the book to kill Glasstaff, even though Glasstaff will surrender. I also came up with this idea that Harbin Wester is actually a doppelganger and the real Harbin is tied up in his house's basement. Helia will approach him saying that Harbin was acting weird and collect evidence from his house what is going on. This gives the rogue a chance to use his investigation/lockpicking/stealth etc. skills to uncover a mistery
Great job making these moments for your players! I bet they love it :)
I'm having my first session 0 as a DM tonight, before we play LMoP. Thank you soooo much for this video, it has helped a bunch! I'm definitely going to watch your other videos on the campaign!
Super helpful. I am running my first campaign with LMoP and I am definitely using all of this to help make the story better!
Sick! Glad to help :) Let me know how it goes!
Matt, this is incredible!
I'm a brand new DM running Lost Mines. I'm so glad I found this series literally a session before welcoming my players into Phandalin (it's taken us three 2-3 hr sessions to make it through my plot hook--meeting Gundren's siblings, who ask them to deliver the supplies--and Cragmaw Hideout.)
After a a sort of lackluster RP of Yeemik and Klarg, I'm going to make a ton of much-needed changes to future villains based on your content. Seriously appreciate this (I particularly love your updates to the Black Spider and King Grol) and I'm excited to create some SPMs for my Earth Genasi fighter, Eladrin ranger, and Aasimar bard and cleric 😂
“Lost Mine”
I’m about to launch my first campaign as a dm and the nerves are so high Dx watching this series helped me so much! 💜
Stevo! Absolutely happy to help mate - you've got this! Just remember the players are your friends and they're barracking for you to succeed
Like a lot of people watching this, I'm DMing my first campaign using LMOD soon! Very nervous, but I'm happy to have found this. Ive been playing DnD for years but the players are brand new. After taking a cursory glance at the book I'm really looking forward to seeing how you recomend tuning the encounters. The Cragmaw Hideout looks like it could be an easy TPK for new players as written.
THERE IS INTEREST IN THUNDERTREE. Specifically, I love both LMoP and the Essentials Kit module, Dragon of IceSpire Peak so much, that I plan to use them as lead-ins to Rise of Tiamat. (Not sold on Horde of the Dragon Queen.) There's two of my five required dragons for the collection.
I’m thinking about doing this as well!
For sure! It's a natural lead-in for the Tiamat adventures. One of my videos coming up will be about how I'd run Thundertree if I were to include it in the adventure - lots of changes!
@@heyitsMattyP can't wait for this video! I bet it has an AWESOME thumbnail.
This is the content I turn out for and what brought me to your channel. Keep it up man. This was awesome.
Thank you - Noted! Once this series is finished, I'll look into making similar guides for other adventures.
Yesterday I started my 3rd run through of this campaign with your fixes and it worked sooo well... Thank you so much for this. 😍🎊
Awesome! Glad it's helped Patrick!
Great channel Matthew, love seeing content from another Melbourne dweller. Will be my first time DM’ing a campaign and planning on doing LMOP. I’ve expanded on the adventure hook and prologue by setting it in the crossroads tavern pre-damaged, and having a drink with Gundren before he leaves you to acquire the mystery box off some swindlers in the gambling room that have some muscle with them. Whilst it could lead to combat, it’s more of setup to help new players think laterally about how you would approach a situation, with all roads leading to the muscle ruffian causing the roof to collapse knocking the box off a table to the players, giving them the chance to escape. This gives the players a little bit of time to explore ideas around persuasion, intimidation, perhaps bartering or pickpocketing or gambling to acquire the box. It also gets them familiar with the crossroads tavern which is helpful for the future side quest, and gives you some characters to use in the post-session zero monologue with the black spider’s encounter. You can pick to keep these new characters in your back pocket in case you need to push the players in a certain direction as well. Thoughts? Tried to mix in a couple things without it taking too long as a prologue “encounter”
All sounds good to me! Though I'm probably late and you've already run this haha
@Matthew Perkins surprisingly haven’t managed to get everyone together. you would think I could have with the number of public holidays we kept getting, but alas it’s still in the works. Hopefully in the next fortnight I can make it happen
@@Benchie The surprise Thursday holiday cooked me so bad haha
@Matthew Perkins haha, of all things I was planning on doing a big tip run that day after my boys 2nd birthday, then of course it’s like… surprise, holiday, tip is now closed
MAN this content is so great. I've just finished session 1 of my LMOP campaign that I'm trying to customize to my PCs (my group didn't use the pregens, not our first D&D game). While I'm not taking a lot of your specific advice for transforming the campaign, explaining your motivations for what to change is suuuuper helpful as guidance for what to think about. Since my group has a druid and a wood elf from Neverwinter Wood, I'm keeping Thundertree, though changing it around quite a bit. Jamming some special player moments in there and making it more central to the campaign.
Thank you SO much for this stuff. Your delivery and writing is also fantastic. No... it's... PHANtastic.... ugh that's terrible isn't it.
I ran this for about 6 months with a lot of homebrew thrown in. Keep up the good work, Matthew!
Homebrew and homespun is the way to go! Cheers mate :)
By the way this series is pure gold and I was quite happy to sign up on the Patreon to access those PDFs. Looking forward to running a simple chase as well as potentially sneak in some of the drinking rules if they decide to have a night of debauchery in Phandalin. I have a feeling the Redbrands are going to take advantage of their loosened state.
tytyty :) Very glad to help!
One of my players is playing as Flags, a lawful good young tiefling born in the nine hells to a cruel bone devil taskmaster who escapes into the material plane for some unsanctioned heroism and Good Deeds. He's a warlock who is leasing his power through his aloof devil father who doesnt know and would not approve of the virtuous ends to which it is being used.
Is that enough for a Special Player Moment?
Yep! Sounds rad. For a kind of edgy storyline with a Warlock, I would have either the Banshee, the Nothic, or Mormesk the Wraith offer to make a second pact for some kind of boon. Maybe you could allow him an extra or unique Eldritch Invocation, but make it clear that interfering with his established pact magic might draw the ire of his current patron. Meaningful choices like that where the player understands the nature of the consequences have been really satisfying in my groups, regardless which option the player chooses - they just like the moment of attention and an option.
Thanks for this series of videos ! I will run LMOP for the third time and I love the way you changed it. Gonna steal a lot from you hehehe :D
Glad to help :)
This would’ve been great to watch before yesterday. Hahaha I’m a brand new DM, but I played a good amount D&D and my friends nominated me to be the first DM of the group, alternating at the end of our respective campaigns. I’m running Mines. Lol I have 5 players with two being brand new and one who has only played it once before and not for a full campaign length.
We just finished Goblin’s Arrows and they decided to bed down for the night in the clearing before ascending the trail to Cragmaw Hideout. One of them failed their check during their watch and the party was ambushed. One of the goblins was killed and the other managed to escape. And that’s where we left off.
It's a great campaign for new DMs -- you'll have a blast! And it's not too late to steal a bunch of my ideas haha
about to kick this off this afternoon, thank you for your efforts and passion
Cheers Chad! It's a great module - I'm sure you'll dig it
In previous playthroughs, my players agonized over the secret meaning of the jade frog statuette in Klarg's trove... only the module doesn't appear to have any. Your videos gave me the answer... it's the macguffin, the thing Nezzar (excellent and mandatory name fix!) needs to unlock the forge of spells. The Phandalin Phorge Phrog. The clues were there all along!
That's a good fix! Every group stumbles on that frog. I've taken to making it a Figurine of Wondrous Power which gives players a temporary frog familiar.
This helped me so much to run LMOP for first starters and as a newb DM. Thank you.
Can you do a similar video for Dragon Heist?
Glad to help! Eventually - yes :) At the moment though I'm doing Storm King's Thunder and the new Candlekeep Mysteries book. Both series should start by the end of April.
I've been watching video's on LMoP on at least 5 different channels, and found this one the most helpful as a step 2. It skips over the the very basic essentials - for which there are plenty of other videos - and gives me immediately what I most needed after reading the module. Thank you so much!
Cheers Kristen! I put a lot of effort into this series, so I'm glad it's worked out :)
Love the ideas! I ran LMOP and Dragon of Icespire Peak together, throwing out...maybe a quarter of mines and half of icespire. The two together give you a real banquet of options.
Oh nice! I haven't read Icespire, but it's been on my bookshelf for months. I can also see based on your comments you're on a binge-watch session Craig -- thanks man! I'm glad you're digging these videos :) If you want to help out, I'd appreciate you sharing with your mates! I'm at the pub right now, but I'll read your other comments and respond properly later tonight.
Dope video. Commenting for algorithms.
Been running and playing for over 30 years now. Just started a new campaign and thought I would use LMoP as I never ran it. Thank you for making these videos they have given me so many ideas.
Gracias por los consejos :3 es la mejor guía que existe en YT para dirigir la aventura
Gracias :)
Thanks, Matthew! This has been tremendously helpful as I run a group of brand new players through LMOP. I just subscribed as a Patron, and I look forward to any future content!
Thank you!
I love playing around with the elements of this adventure. It's simple enough to run out of the box and has enough "space" to customize it without needing to rewrite everything.
Yeah I much prefer an adventure to be underwritten than overwritten :)
@@heyitsMattyP Well said. For example, the biggest opening in LMOP is the Black Spider's motivation. You don't NEED more than is there, really, for a new DM to just run this adventure and have fun. But its absence leaves room for an experienced DM to fill it in. Your answer there is great. I made mine an outcast drow who left the evil matriarchy of his home in the underdark going to find a male - dominated surface world and, finding it more egalitarian than he hoped, decided to make a nation of his own.
Excellent video, and also the first time I've heard Linda Evangelista mentioned since like the '90s 🙂. I've only recently discovered your channel and I gotta say you are very informative, and I am digging the down-to-earth, friendly presentation.
Thank you! It's a quote from Aja roasting Valentina on RuPaul's Drag Race ua-cam.com/video/jinDrtN9QEA/v-deo.html
Hey Mathew, I need to get some praise in your direction:
You Basicly gave me the strength to run my first homebrew Campaign. And all of that, because the good energy in your videos.
(commenting under a two-years-old video 😂)
A big thanks from my Side. Keep going.
Thank you! I always appreciate this kind of feedback :) I don't want to be any kind of expert or D&D guru, but I'm good at getting people to shake off the jitters and run their first game. Glad it worked out for you!
i bought 3 of the starter sets as part of a hand out for 3 other gms who where willing to run the model with me as a first time GM and them as the players. Its been very very very fun.
YOu have been awesome teching me how to open up with my role play
Oh mate! Glad to help :) Roleplaying is fun!
This was super helpful for me as a first time DM trying to also teach first time players who initially had no interest in playing
Oh nice! Hope it went well
About to run this. Will be my first time DMing. This is massively helpful man
Cheer Sherbert! Hopefully it make the whole task a bit more approachable :)
I've just started running this and I've never DM'd before. I have been a player but that was a few years ago.
Wish me luck I hope my players have as much fun as I did
Good luck mate! Since you've played it once before, you'll be in a really good position to make it your own :)
Mr. Perkins! Finally ran my first session 0 this past Friday! It was good! And in inspiration from your other videos on changing up the adventures for LMoP, I decided to give my players one encounter after character creation... in order to retrieve the puzzle box! They had to retrieve it from some bullywugs. Definitely made some mistakes (which actually benefited my players... otherwise there might have been a couple of deaths!), but overall, we all had fun. And I definitely used your prologue with doppleganger and The Black Spider. I've got them hooked! Can't wait to delve into the other adventures, with your suggested changes! Thank you for putting all of this work together to make this an amazing campaign!
Bullywugs! Golly I love those slimy bug-eyed lads. Well done!
'Number one: we're gonna make the Black Spider a woman.' Yes. Done. Subscribed.
sameeee
Was about to bring folks into the D&D fold with this adventure and this video just took it up a notch. So glad you made the content. :)
Excellent! This series changes a lot about the Starter Set in small ways, but I think it's all for the better. By the time you finish running this, I'll be partway through my new series on how to run Storm King's Thunder, so I hope you'll join me on that adventure too
@@heyitsMattyP it helps rein it in for me for some newbies. And helps with building drama. Need to rewatch and start making my notes.
Number one is spot on. Changing black spider into a woman is the easiest “fix” that came to mind on my first reading.
Thanks - I think it's the most effective change for shaking up the DM's perception of the villain.
This is exactly what I am looking for. I want to change the Starter Set so that it's more in line for my plans. Thanks for this.
This is great thank you Matt, i saw you with fred from how to d&d, I completely agree about removing thundertree
Oh rad! Thanks for checking out the channel Josh. I'm super lucky Fred reached out to chat and it was good fun :)
I wish I had seen this series before I started my LMoP campaign last year! Great stuff. We did 4 sessions before COVID forced us to hit "pause," but we're back up-and-running now, and just finished session 5. My players are on their way to Cragmaw Castle now, and I think I can incorporate some of your ideas into my own game. Thanks!
Not sure if you are still paying attention to this series, but thanks a ton.
Already had my session zero so weaving in Gundren up front may be hard. However, I was already going to have a prologue where they meet Gundren in delving into an old dwarves tomb. So that’s perfect for them to get to meet him and get the puzzle box. Hopefully also gets them to level 2 for the goblin ambush and cragmaw cave.
Not 100% sure of the player moments, but have been trying to tie stuff in:
1. Half-Elf paladin feomthe dalelands far to the east and on her iniation rite into a knightly order.
2. Half-elf ranger/scholar with major Lara Croft/ Indianna Jones vibes and possession of an old tome, maybe related to the puzzle box or forge of spells.
3. Lizardfolk Druid, a far traveler from a far away continent. All into meeting new people and learning new languages.
4. Halfling Monk (Ninja?) with no backstory figured out at all
5. Kalashtar Cleric or Light, also on an initiation quest with the paladin.
My prologue was going to be they just got back from a mountain town doing heroic deeds and leading a group of refugees back to Neverwinter. Gundren is in this group and when the opportunity arises, grave some mining gear and some horses to delve into and old tomb leaving the refugees with a pair of horses short and the adventurers need to go get them back and track Gundren to the tomb. Together they explore it and find some nifty things and get an intro to the forge of spells and now your puzzle box.
I still read and respond to every comment, but sometimes it takes me a while! Glad you're enjoying the videos :)
For your special player moments, try to match the effort of the players. If they put a lot of effort into their character, find a good moment for them. If they make a throwaway character, you're OK to find just a small moment.
I have never played D&D but I tried to play today without success because it was on Discord and they were in session 3 and even though I want to DM this game for players who haven’t played before I think this will be a fantastic teaching tool for me so thank you
Good luck Blake!
Hey Matt, I am brand new to this - have played a few times with mates, but never DM'ed.
I bought the D&D Starter Set as I wanted to take a shot at DM'ing - however it's pretty daunting when my group will all be hardcore RPG veterans, who have DM'ed hundreds of different RPG's...
This video made it that bit less daunting - so thanks man!!
Loved it mate - looking forward to more.
Just started this campaign for the second time as a DM, but inspired by your videos I'm gonna run it much differently with this current group than I did the first time. They managed the goblin ambush with very few scrapes, as they played it wisely, and for the coming sessions i am on the lookout for at least one special player moment - not yet decided for which of the 4 PCs yet. Would love your input to spice it up, so here goes:
PCs are:
1) Wood Elf Rogue with the criminal background (CN), who loves to kill things and talk about it. His ideal is to kill one of every species, not out of evil, but because he takes pride in it. Loves the forest and knows that death is a natural part of life. Gundren used him to do some dirty work in Neverwinter.
2) Lightfoot Halfling Bard with the entertainer background (LG), Lazy and lucky, but polite and kind even though always trying to talk other people into doing his chores. He is an everyday poet and dreams about becoming a folk hero, so he can marry the dauther of his hometown mayor. His backstory includes a very dependant relationship to PC#3. He plays almost evry instrument he can get his hands on, but setteld (for now) for lute and bagpipes.
3) Mountain Dwarf Barbarian with the hermit background (CN - I know ... it's weird, but...), Orphaned as a child having always spent his life on the outskirts of society he is a very knotted up dwarf that doesn't let anyone in. The barden PC#2 has though touched his heart deeply, and he feels the need to protect him. He drinks a lot and often, and game mechanically is in on this being a disadvantage, as the dice rolled on creating this PC was out of this world. STR 20 (with the dwarf bonus) for instance.
4) Hill Dwarf Cleric (life) with the acolyte background (LG), the only female character is a big fangirl of the paladin called Hubert The Noble, who faught for her gods of the cleric's faith. Limited on both social skills and charisma, she want to be on top of the faith order, but as of now she just wants to build experince by battling. Will do anything to protect her faith and gods, and she judges everyone harshly - herself included. She's Gundren's third cousing twice removed...
They achieved the puzzle box by stealing it from a crypt by the way. The bard played tricks with the cemetary watchmen using his minor illusion cantrip, while the rougue snook in and got it.
A well carried out non-violent encounter told to them in the past tense.
Gundren made them "keep it secret - keep it safe". They did, and they still don't know what's inside it. They know that someone else wants it badly though.
YES! Keep it secret, keep it safe is perfect :)
1) Wood Elf Rogue
If their big thing is: death is a natural part of life, then I would put an undead beast somewhere in the campaign, something which is an affront to the natural order, and it's the responsibility of an NPC you want the party to hate. They should want to take it down - just remember to seed the existence of this thing early. You could use it to replace the Nothic, the Owlbear, or the Ochre Jelly in WEC.
2) Lightfoot Halfling Bard
Make up a little legend of a hero tied to the WEC, some feat of strength of bravery the bard could attempt to replicate. Maybe something an ancient folk hero died attempting, but the Bard has to opportunity to succeed in?
3) Mountain Dwarf Barbarian
This one is difficult - the less a player gives you to work with, the harder it is to give them a special player moment. Maybe seed the story of how the Forge was used once to make a magical wine/beer that's out there somewhere in the world. They can either find the magic beer, or they can use the forge to bless their own beer?
4) Hill Dwarf Cleric
This one's easy :) Her special player moment comes from Gundren - just remember to ham up how happy Gundren is to see his cousin
@@heyitsMattyP thank you ever so much. This will be fun to incorporate.
I found your channel when I watched your video on how to run “A wilde sheep chase” (great video, I’ve run it twice now for brand new players). I bought the starter set when I saw that you have this series. Looking forward to running this!
Oh nice! Wizards should sponsor me if I've helped make them a sale :) Once you've seen the whole series, let me know if you have any questions and I'm happy to help
@@heyitsMattyP I might start by running the CragMaw hideout cave as a one shot, then casually let them know that it is just the first part in a series. I love the puzzle box idea, I'll probably have Sildar give it to the party for safe keeping. The hard part will be making them care about Gundar if I don't do a session zero...
If they're keen after the "one-shot," don't be afraid to retroactively do their backstory and retcon anything if necessary --- sounds like a good solution :)
This was great, thanks so much. And I appreciate how you reply a full two years later. Really very nice. Here's what we've got, and I'd love your "special moments" advice, and just advice in general:
First time DM (that's me) and haven't played in 30 years. My family is full of first time players:
My wife (rogue), 14 year old Stranger Things obsessed daughter (wizard), my 7 year old and 5 year olds sons (both warriors). I don't expect to go through the mechanics with the two youngest, and will focus on moving the game along.
The ladies in the party are both guild artisans. One of the warriors is an outlander who was kidnapped by an evil king and conscripted into his army (that's where he learned to fight), and then escaped to be a bounty hunter. The other is a noble who took lessons from the best sword masters in the land, and now wants to earn his independence from his family.
They became friends with Gundren because he 1) got the rogue out of some trouble for pickpocketing the corrupt sheriff, 2) is a frequent customer of the bounty hunter, 3) stopped a bar fight the noble got into that was 4) over the wizard.
Any advice is welcome! And I'm headed over to patreon now to support. This stuff really is helpful.
Hi. I'd sugest changing the bandits of Wyvern Tor for the evil king and his army, to make things more personal. If you look at the game map, the bandits operate on the far east side of the map, so you could make that the evil kingdom is in the east and the army is keeping travelers in check in that zone while the goblins take care of the west.
You could also change Sildar to be the noble's mentor. That could be fun.
Also, in Phandalin is this little girl Molly who sells stuff in the inn. Maybe she is trying to learn the same kind of craftmanship that the guild artisans make, so they could teach her and help her start her own business.
The side story with Molly is a great idea. I bet my wife and daughter would love that.
Hmm I'm not sure! But I've gamed with my nieces and nephews a few times (ages 8 - 11), so I do have some advice for playing with little kids:
1) Only have them fight creatures that are clearly monsters (never people, never animals). Reflavour the Redbrands as secret shadow monsters or something, maybe cut the bandits, make the Cragmaws less person-like.
2) Short sessions are better - the most I could get productively out of kids of a similar age was about 70 minutes.
3) Little kids don't need any grand twist or complex story beats. Even the most basic story cliches can be new and exciting for them.
4) Your play space has to be 100% free from distractions. When I ran sessions with just me and the kids, they were laser focussed. But when their mum sat in on a session and was giving everyone snacks, they were impossible to settle.
Good luck with your game!
Running this for a 3rd time and this..THIS is what I needed. Fucking awesome man, thank you.
Hit like @ 398 likes despite the satisfaction that would come with waiting to be the one to hit an even 400. That's how good you are. Excellent content!
Now we've just got to get your comment to 400 likes and we're even :) Thanks so much for the support!
Running Phandelver and Below the Shattered Obelisk, session 0 is coming up and I’m hyped
Oh great! For what it's worth, this guide still applies to that adventure too, but you'll have to seed the second half of module content yourself :)
Woah! Just what I needed :) I am starting tomorrow as a first time DM (with not much experience as a player but one wants to play haha) and I was kind of nervous on how to start so people liked it (tried another time and we couldn’t even reach s0). This is going to be definitively helpful.
Just for your entertainment, I am starting LMoP but switching it a bit so it links with PotA (trough wave echo cave) with 5 players:
- Druid Fairy
- Eladrin Paladin
- Duergar Paladin
- Tabaxi Rogue
- Tiefling Sorcerer
I am thinking of developing their backgrounds on the go (don’t want to make a mega job on research and plot links in case the campaign doesn’t kick off… again hahaha)
Sounds great! Hope the first session went well :)
Damn I wish I discovered these videos before I started the campaign. My party just did the once over in Phandalin and I’m going to try and retroactively incorporate as much of this into my game as I can
Good luck! The main piece of advice I have for you is: introduce the villain early!
Session zero tonight!
-Update!- Session zero was awesome! It checked all the boxes, I used the puzzle box idea to allow the characters a bit of role play and then set the scene for session 1. Thank you so much for this video series!
Would you mind to share with me how do you do this role-playing with the puzzle box? I lack any ideias. Should it have active gameplay or its just a narrative moment?
@@lucaslorencini3453 sorry it took so long to get back to you. My notifications were turned off. So, I had Gundren hand the players a receipt for an item he bought at auction and the requisition form for the mining supplies. I then had the players do a pure theater of the mind fetch quest with no combat and let their minds race with what the puzzle box was. It worked really well.
I just finished running a wild sheep chase as my first time DMing because of your video on it! after deciding that I wanted to run LMoP I was hoping to find an overview to help guide me along for prep and low and behold you have a full deep dive on it! im super exited to run this for my players and i just know these videos will help me out a lot! session 0 is in 2 weeks! woo!
Oh that's so cool! What a funny coincidence. There's also a brand new Starter Set coming out next month which I'm hoping to make some guides about. If you end up running that too, maybe I can catch you for a hattrick haha
Starting up a brand new LMOP game right now, and I like that part you mentioned about special player moments! It really got me brainstorming about ways to incorporate my players' backstories into the module. I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you and my fellow viewers:
- The priest has fended off his village against a horde of banshees before, so the Agatha quest seems perfect to drop some seeds of his backstory in there! Word of his reputation has no doubt reached the ears of Sister Garaele as well.
- The dwarven berserker hails from the same clan as the Rockseekers, so already he has a lot of reason to seek out the missing brothers and the Lost Mine. Besides that, maybe he can have a duel with the chief of the -orcs- bandits?
- The mage of the group also happens to be a changeling, so I'm thinking of letting her share the same bloodline as one of the doppelgangers. Then there could be a private confrontation between them, where said doppelganger tries to win the mage over to the dark side. No consequences for the ones of many faces, and all that.
- The summoner who can call upon the spirits of the woods, is also searching for her estranged father. I wanna make him an adventurer going around and doing good deeds, and eventually let the two of them come face to face, or at least let her come across signs of his father.
In particular, I'd like some input on the last two points. Where would the doppelganger best reach out to the changeling mage, the town or the outdoors? Where can I leave behind signs of the summoner's father? Phandalin will probably be too easy and too soon, he's not likely to end up as a bandit, and a random human in Cragmaw Castle will just be too odd.
They all seem like great ideas! I'd recommend you focus on the "moment" part and try imagining the actual scenes or situations where these character facts would let the player take the spotlight.
For the summoner, I wouldn't resolve the whole thing in the scope of this campaign. I would say the father was actually an old adventuring companion of Sildar. And let's say Sildar and Iarno were old adventuring companions too, so these three old men know each other. Sildar doesn't know what happened to this character's father, but hey, maybe if the party can find his old friend Iarno (secretly Glass Staff), maybe he can point them in the right direction? Then you can resolve it in a campaign epilogue.
@@heyitsMattyP Thank you so much! I'm not sure what you mean by focusing on it being a "moment" though, should I keep them shorter instead of planning the arc throughout the campaign?
@@24karatgolduck24 What I mean is: the goal is to have scene in the campaign where each player gets to feel like they were briefly the main character, like a scene where they got to roleplay an important decision, hand-crafted for their character and their backstory. So I'm suggesting you plan around THAT discrete moment, where the player gets to do the special thing related to their backstory.
I am so happy I have found this series. You have so many great ideas about how to reorganize story beats to make them work better for the overall narrative. I'm a first-time DM and running this adventure for a group of first-time players. We are only halfway through our prologue, which I cooked up so they can play the part when they are getting the puzzle box and get their first hint at the Black Spider. So in Neverwinter, before he met the players, Gundren was harassed by some random low-level thugs and the players had to rescue him. Later the rogue flexed his connections a little bit and figured out that the thugs worked for the very person Gundren hired to fetch the puzzle box from some dangerous dungeon or whatnot. Their surprised faces were priceless. They are now leaving town to fetch the puzzle box, and they will get a confirmation in the end that Gundren is indeed in danger and a letter from the Black Spider. Also, I stuffed a fun magic item into the puzzle box, which I think they will enjoy very much, so I kind of hope they are going to be assholes and try to open it soon. X'D
Gona be my first time to play as dm. your guides are wonders!
Glad to help! You're gonna do a great job :)
First time DM here and trying to get this campaign ready for my players. Your videos are INCREDIBLE. You have given me so much confidence that I can do this! Thank you.
Thanks for putting this together! I was volunteered to DM for a new group and I really want to put together a great experience for my players
Thanks so much, I am trying to learn dnd and also dm this adventure with my 2 girls (7 and 8) and my wife.
Glad it's been helpful! I've found that kids are great at D&D, so you're gonna have a blast :)
Thank you for taking the time to make this. I've run a few campaigns, but it's been a while and I'm always nervous when I go to shake the rust off in front of new players.
About to run this for the 9th time and this has been so Helpful!
9 times! That's great! Glad I could help you out :)
Thanks soooo much, I played this with my cousins and they loved it. The best parts were the prop box and the final scene.
Haven't played D&D in almost 3 years, but we're getting the band back together. I've volunteered to DM, on the condition that I don't become our forever DM -- Let's see how that works out.
Anyways these videos have been invaluable and I am so excited to launch this later this week
Nice one Jason! Glad to help :) Hope your campaign is going well!
This is great. Already ran it once as a first time DM and see how your adjustments would have made it even better. Looking forward to this series and others.
Going to DM for the first time with this adventure but was thinking of ways of making it my own! This video will really help me out, thank you so much!
Nice one! Glad to help! Believe in yourself!
Hello there. Trying to put think up some good player moments for:
- A Dwarf fighter who's tired of his typical Dwarven lifestyle, and now seeks money and glory as a mercenary, without really knowing what the profession entails
- A Halfling Warlock who went from a life on the streets to being commanded by his new patron, a fire Genie who he refers to as "God", to serve the party.
- A Chromatic Dragonborn Druid from the Evermoors who feels the need to use his magical prowess to prove his worth to others.
- A Tiefling Bard who has spent most of his life as a carnival master's servant, but now has been given the opportunity to life out the epic tales of heroism he's heard so much about from passing adventurers.
I discovered your channel a month ago and love your work! It's amazing and I hope you can keep growing your channel!!
Thank you! I hope it keeps growing too. I set the unreasonable goal of hitting 5K this year, but I don't think that's going to happen short of some crazy luck spike. 3k maybe though!
@@heyitsMattyP I'll continue sharing your content with my DM friends! I hope you reach 5K!
You are helping me soooo much! Thank you for these videos, it's my first time trying to DM for my friends and this is exactly what I needed to feel good about starting. Will get on your Patreon asap!
Finished DoSI with my friends, taking a team of 6 into LMoP now, with their own rolled characters this time! should be great, also got the Arc Knight set to run it with a table top presence rather than ToTM.
Siiiiick! I'd never heard of Arc Knight. Looks good!
@@heyitsMattyP the maps are gorgeous, and everyone loved having the minis on the table, something tangible for the combat of Goblin Ambush made a huge difference, plus me not having to fudge locations in my head for 12 individuals (6 players, 6 Gobbos) meant I got to spend more time describing and explaining everything. What I love with the ArcKnight minis is I have a library of HUNDREDS of goodies, baddies, and some terrain and other scattered that fits into a couple of little photo album sized folios.
Great video!
I am trying out dm'ing and i found this playlist helpful for preperation
I did a session 0 not long ago and had the party run a bit around neverwinter just collecting the things to travel, (cart and mystery box)
Wonder if you can help a bit with some possible special player moments?
I have a guild aritsan monk who is working on self-control while a small annoying abberation pet (william) follows her around. She has darkvision through something from the past (eldritch adept as variant human)
I have a lizardfolk barbarian who'se tribe died before hatching, so she didnt grow up with the problematic cannibalistic things. She befriended a dwarf owlbear who was her only friend before meeting Gundren, the dwarf helped her with travel from the island she was on to neverwinter to explore or something.
Another player is a firbolg druid who is new to civilized society. The player hasn't come up with much backstory but ive helped him with suggesting Gundren helped him protest against deforesting the nearby neverwinter woodlands.
There are 2 more players but they didnt make it to session 0 and haven't informed me of characters beyond one of them maybe doing a noble cleric
Hey! Thank you for the support :)
MONK: If you've got something eldritch-related, I'd look for a special moment with the Nothic.
BARB: There's an Owlbear held captive in the Cragmaw Castle! Seed that information early, let the Barb have Free Willy moment.
DRUID: I'd look at Molly the Halfling child becoming friends with this character and teaching them stuff about Phandalin society, but of course it's all wrong and through a child's perspective.
You are wonderful to listen to. I’m introducing my family to ttrpgs and will be the dungeon master. Listening to the ideas for changes to the campaign makes me feel better about taking liberties to make the beginner module more tailored to my family.
Thank you! Back when I recorded this I was still super awkward speaking to a camera, but I think I've worked it out now haha
And yeah - cut this adventure to pieces and build it into whatever shape works for you. It'll be way better than following anyone else's advice or doing what the book wants you to do!
Hi, you're super fun and easy to listen to. I'm a newb and only run one 4hr session (plus session zero stuff) and was already thinking about tailoring stuff slightly. This video has really helped with the how and other questions etc. Liked, subscribed and will be watching more. Thank you for your effort.
Thanks Kerry! You're joining at the best time, because i've almost got guides for the whole adventure published - just a couple more videos to go. Were some of my suggestions the same things you were thinking of tailoring?
I love the idea of the mysterious box... trouble is, we ended first session resting on the way to cragmaw hideout. They know 2 human npcs were dragged there and got info off a goblin that is tied up and showing them roughly the way to cragmaw hideout (I've added a couple mini player moments using character story stuff to see if they've really learned their characters (all 5 starter set ones and one addition) so... here, I thought I could add the mystery box found on the way. They could still have originally been employed to take the oxen pulled wagon as scripted and this could add the box without changing too much this far?! Is that workable?
As in it was dropped by gundren when he was taken
Absolutely! Did they find the jade frog thing in Klarg's cave? Maybe you could make that the object that The Black Spider needs, something Klarg had recovered, but the player inconveniently stole. It doesn't need to be a puzzle box specifically, just an item that the Black Spider wants, something that gives you an excuse to have her interact with the party and develop a rivalry.
I've not got to the hideout yet so haven't found anything there 😂. But that's a good idea. I'm gonna watch more of your vids now and ponder. Thanks for the replies 😁😎👊
Great video. :) Just found your channel recently, and I'm digging your content.
Aw thanks mate! I'm digging your comments. Coming up I've got a handful of videos in the LMoP series, then some silly stuff before covering the new Rime of the Frost Maiden module
@@heyitsMattyP You're most welcome. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on the other modules!
good work mate, content is killer, well organized, easy to understand, and i didn't feel scared of you for being from a penal colony
haha thank you
Nice intro ... I usually pick actors that I can emulate, then assign them to NPCs. Helps with mannerisms, etc.
Me too!
These videos have been super helpful with understanding and plotting out the narrative. I have some pretty interesting backstories from my PCs and I really want to find a way to piece that into the plot of this campaign and potentially seed something for the next one. I’d love to bounce some ideas off anyone who is familiar with running LMoP. Thanks again Matt for all the hard work!!!!!
Glad it's been helpful! If you have questions, there's a community of people who have run this adventure using these guides over on matthewperkins.net/discord :)
Thanks for this series! I am starting DMing for my group using this module and having this help for session zero and the seeding of the puzzle box is a great idea.
Oh rad! One thing I want to make clear about the puzzle box (because I worry I was unclear in these early videos): ultimately it doesn't matter if the Black Spider gets this box or not. It only matters that the Black Spider and Party have an excuse to meet each other ASAP. If she gets it: hooray for drama! If she doesn't: hooray for drama!
This is so helpful thank you!!!! Your advice makes the module so much more fun for my players.
Glad to help!
Yay! I’m so glad I found this! Thank you!
Glad to help Anna!
I REALLY appreciate your videos-thank you! I am turning two separate families onto D&D this summer and your vids have been invaluable
Terrific video, thanks! Can’t wait to see more episodes.
Chris! Thanks so much - very kind of you to say :) I’ve got the next two episodes filmed and ready to go, and I’m writing the last few this week.
Great video Matt! I'm currently running the LMoP for the first time and these videos are extremely helpful. I like the flashback/ cutscenes. I'm considering doing them for my group but don't you feel like that gives away some of the mystery? If they know the Black Spider is looking for the Puzzle box and that she has a doppelganger henchman, they probably won't trust her if she "helps" them out.
Glad it's been helpful Joe!
Here's the thing about the cutscenes: you would be amazed what the players forget or don't notice. It all depends on how much you describe the scene.
"The Black Spider, who is a woman with a French accent, and her doppelganger ally are frustrated that the puzzlebox you have is missing from its resting place." This would be too specific. But when you obscure the facts, focus on building intrigue for the next session, you can totally hook your players into the story's premise.
Hey Matthew. I've only just started playing/DMing DnD and so only just come across this series of videos as we're working fun the LMoP starter set. Just wanted to let you know these videos are brilliant, whether or not I use your changes, they're a great resource for new players to think about changes and sandboxing pre written campaigns.
Subscribed, looking forward to looking through your video library
Cheers Jon! Glad you're finding it helpful :)
This is the single most informative and entertaining piece of media on this topic and will help my first time DMing immensely. Ty kind sir!
Subbed and liked!
These videos have been SUPER helpful in planning me and 5 friends first experience with D&D (And yay, I got voted as DM lol). I saw that little combat cheat sheet and immediately went to patreon and subbed so I could have it, and then saw you zoom in so we could "not screenshot it" lmao. Either way, definitely don't mind supporting the channel. Thanks, man!!
I have a mute Druid in my campaign and they're my favorite. It's a very interesting character and the player roleplays them very well as a kind Druid who has literally never interacted with civillization in their whole life. Definitely can be done well
There's always the exception :) But in general, when I see players attempt the mute character, they usually end up frustrated with their own character
Love this series. Going to run it soon and am looking for all the tips I can get!
Cheers Ray! It's one of the best modules -- you'll love it :) Stop by the Discord server if you need. Plenty of people there who would be keen to help.