How to run Phandalin NPCs and fix the Black Spider in LMoP - D&D 5th Edition Starter Set Guide 3

[@heyitsMattyP]

If you're running this module alongside these video guides, please share your story! I'd like to make a storytime video later about everyone's experiences with the adventure. And if you like this kind of content, please let me know by liking, subscribing, commenting! -------------- ❤ 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: [e-mail]

[@23432fdsasde]

I'm running this campaign pretty much right in line with how you've recommended. My group is 7 very blue-collar people (3 guys, 4 girls) who have never been exposed to D&D in their lives. We had session 0 two weeks ago then session 1 this past weekend. it was a blast and all of them have messaged me privately looking forward with excitement to the next session this Friday. I subbed to your patreon and I'm using the additional content. It's going SUPER well, but is there a better way (less public maybe) to write about my experiences?

[@steveward1306]

Man, I wish I seen this earlier. Felt the black spider want a threat, so had assassin's come after the party, then a kidnapped sister. Don't know how it will end!

[@ddaquisitionsincompetent3577]

Well, my first session of this story is on Saturday with a group of Newbs, so I’ll keep you updated. I’m mixing it with Acquisitions Incorporated, so this is their first franchisee mission. Will be interesting to see how it plays 🤗

[@MegaCyberleader]

I added a drug den to the town.. cause you know... potions

[@jazzman51978]

Teaching my kids the game, never used roll20 or played this module. Very helpful

[@kiwikiwi8966]

I love how I am a Texan DM that often gives my NPC english accents, and here we have a DM with an english accent giving his NPCs southern accents.

[@edwardsawdy2348]

I think he's from New Zealand

[@heyitsMattyP]

Melbourne Australia :)

[@edwardsawdy2348]

@@heyitsMattyP my apologies lad, just about to run LMoP for my brother's mates soonish and I'm going over these again. Great material, thanks so much

[@bruhdon4748]

Why are Americans so bad at identifying accents holy shit 😂 he’s Australian.

[@MrTwitcher9]

“Horses.” *picture of alpaca* Congrats, you made me spit take!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Come to me, Shadowfax! **clip** **clop** **clip** **clop** "Blegghhhhhh"

[@Fystikia1987]

Ahh yes. The infamous Schrodinger potion. Being simultaneously poison and healing potion until someone drinks it. Quantum alchemy is weird like that.

[@crapphone7744]

Kinda like the Heisenberg potion. When someone is carrying it around, if they know exactly where they put it then they don't know how fast they're going, and if they know how fast they're going then they can't find the potion.

[@nickymason2008]

I love the change to the Black Spider's role! I'm DMing this module right now, and the black spider has presented herself as the friendly/cocky local rogue. The party love her and are having lots of friendly banter. They went out of their way to save her life in the Taphouse, and while she's spending time giving herself an alibi hanging out with them, Monteith (posing as the cart driver who brought them to Phandalin) was busy turning over their rooms at the inn. At the minute, they suspect everybody but her of being the Black Spider - including the old cat at the inn! I'm having lots of fun watching them get paranoid, as is Nezzar. The only tell is that she's not dealing Sneak Attack damage, but nobody seems to have noticed that yet.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh nice! Very well done. I hope you're ready to rip off that band-aid ASAP, so the party get enough time before the end of the campaign to form a relationship with her as a villain.

[@nickymason2008]

@@heyitsMattyP Absolutely! They've only just visited the Taphouse, and I have a fairly savvy and paranoid group so I really needed to establish her in their good graces before I let the other shoe drop. Next session I'm planning on proposing the trade, so things should escalate quickly from then on!

[@benvoliothefirst]

4:04 "When we're cutting all this content, the goal is to simplify it, to the point where you could comfortably run the whole session of Phandalin without EVER having to look at your notes." SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Haha! This had to become my method because I always get so caught up in the game, I forget to look at my notes anyway

[@benvoliothefirst]

@@heyitsMattyP 100% agreed. If I can't figure it out in the time it takes to sip a beer, it's too long!

[@darondax]

Sometimes my players throw me some crazy hard turns, so I need longer than a sip to think about how to handle it. That’s when I call for a potty break to give myself time to think up a viable solution. Good thing I drink a lot of water! lol

[@heyitsMattyP]

​@@darondax The loo is a holy D&D space - I once got a PM from a DM who was hiding in the toilet during their session so they could tell me about how their Nezzar introduction was going after watching these guides haha

[@benvoliothefirst]

Sildar and Bart are great polar opposites, or sides of a coin: Sildar probably SHOULD have retired before this mission, but doesn't want to admit he's past his prime. Realizing he should leave it to the party would be a great arc for him. Bart, meanwhile, is tired of the violence that has come so easy to him in the past. He keeps trying to retire to a life of peaceful tavern/shopkeeping, but the Redboys keep goading him for his cowardice. Imagine Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.

[@heyitsMattyP]

That's legit very good! What a fun way to develop Sildar a little better by using Bart as a foil. Thanks for the suggestion - and for subscribing and all the comments, too :)

[@jackfranciswest3778]

The way I literally watch these vids nightly to go to sleep brainstorming

[@heyitsMattyP]

Haha Jack that's very high praise! Thank you :)

[@elmattador8776]

They also did something hilarious with Harbin the town master! Ok, they rock up to the inn, and meet Amos the inn keeper, and Buddy the asthmatic cat, (I had to change his name because one of our players name is Bart,) and they loved his whole deal. Super strong and tough, but gentle and kind, and a good cook! We have a half-orc in our party, who also likes to cook, that really wants Amos as a mentor to help him find that balance. Anyways, after meeting Amos, they immediately went looking for Redbrands to, in their words, “put an end to.” They find their tap house, and head that way. I let them interact with the Redbrands as long as they wanted which was about 10 seconds, and they start attacking. They pulled no punches! “A Mysterious woman in black” shows up, helps them, then bolts, because the crowd is cheering and she doesn’t want that type of attention, then the townmaster Harbin, who they haven’t even met yet comes out to scold them for upsetting the Redbrands. “We have a problem in this town,…no not the Redbrands…whats wrong with the Redbrands? No it’s those orcs! Those disgusting filthy creatures!” And then I had him turn to our half orc and say, “No offense son…at least you’re only half…anyway…” Oh they hated him after that!!! Our Half Orc Paladin arrested him on the spot. Cuffed him and dragged him to the cell under the townmaster’s office. I had Sildar sitting at a desk looking at papers, and without even looking up says, “I see you’ve met the town master…” It was so awesome!!!

[@elmattador8776]

And they want to make Molly, the little girl, the new Townmaster. Because “she’s the only one who has a clue about what’s going on in this town.”

[@emuman42]

Came from Reddit, not disappointed! I've ran LMoP before (as a very new DM) and this series hits all the spots I would polish up for a second run.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Mike, I hope you give it another go sometime! LMoP is the perfect excuse to convert more of your mates into D&D players

[@thomasemikkelsen531]

P

[@thomasemikkelsen531]

@@heyitsMattyP åå

[@geekyghecko5732]

That moment when you're 2 days away from the first session in Phandalin... and realise its back to the drawing board. All the tips around condensing locations and NPCs make a lot of sense now i think about it! I wouldn't have thought to condense down the out-the-box Phandalin, and haven't done it the exact way you did but got down from like 8 locations, 11 NPCs (if not more) down to 4 locations, 6 NPCs including Sildar. Basically combined the similar purpose characters e.g. Linene and Elmar combined. I kept Lionshield because I've already given the players info on it in the hideout and didnt want to retcon haha!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Sounds like you're on the right path! Redundancy can be good for ensuring players don't miss crucial content, but it's not helpful making the session easier to run

[@mikeglowatz2273]

I used to play when I was a kid in the 80s im 43 and just got back into dnd.i saw the starter set at Walmart and picked it up. But I never dm before but man your video really helped me out.my first chapter in phandelver was awesome. Everyone can't wait to play again.you have a new subscriber. Keep up the good work dude.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thanks so much Mike! That's heartwarming to hear. I only picked it up about five years ago - I reckon this edition is the perfect time to get back into it :)

[@rasmusrubk5221]

I just started running LMoP and I feel extremely lucky that I discovered your videos just in time to incorporate quite a lot of your material in my campaign. Thanks mate! In my humble opinion your videos are among the absolute (if not the) best on the subject. Keep 'em coming!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh man! That's such a nice thing to say - thank you :) Please let me know how your sessions go!

[@DaBigBoss100]

I do truly love and appreciate the humorous yet subtle backdrops and edits while you yourself never break composure. All around very high quality and informative for someone new like me needing insight.

[@jeanne-emerycoleman214]

I disagree with your standpoint on verisimilitude and designing from that standpoint, but you made a well produced video with some good ideas. Loved it, thanks!

[@heyitsMattyP]

That's my goal - unpopular ideas, good production! I'll win you over yet :)

[@calash517]

My players took note of sister G's ability to talk to the Dead, and have already mentioned potentially trying to talk to gundren if he's dead before they find him! I'll keep you updated. I love your videos, and they have really helped me provide a great experience for my players so far

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh that's so rad! I hope they follow through with it :)

[@justa_randomfailure6250]

first time as a dm with a ton of first time players and i cannot say enough how helpful this series is! it's been so much fun, thanks a ton!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Happy to help! Thanks for the comment :)

[@Domina7ion]

You got me good with the paperclip

[@heyitsMattyP]

(sorry)

[@stompwaterjack9078]

I'm supposed to be running Lost mines of Phandelver tomorrow afternoon and I totally feel unprepared. I'm glad I found this youtube!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Jack! Glad to help :) Hope your session has gone well

[@philpeters92]

Love your work mate, I'm going a different direction with the campaign but I'm keeping up with your videos because you definitely give stuff to layer in, even if I'm not running exactly how you would, and tbh your style and humour give you a real point of difference to other channels doing similar things. Keep up the good work, and damn you for making me rewind and pause the video. You know when.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Hahaha - don't blame me, blame Clippy the Paperclip! I wouldn't want you to run it exactly like I do anyway :) I hope your game is something unique to your table and something catered to entertain your players.

[@westarrr]

My players really liked the Lost Mines module, they're still talking about certain things in the module even though we're now playing another one (and this time, I'm not the DM either). However, they completely got wrecked by the Black Spider. Didn't tweak him at all, the spiders completely slanted the fight against the player's side. One of the players started out with the ex-Redbrand background and he ended up making his own band, the Bluebrands. I gave them a hideout in the basement of the tappery and they could recruit locals to join join them... Also Daran Edermath was a retired BAMF with his entire wall covered in hunting trophies. He basically knew the Volo's Guide To Monsters by memory and even gave the Folk Hero player an archery training course as they went out hunting together, the folk hero ended up being allowed to borrow Daran's bow (Longbow +2) for a day. On his sidequest with the necromancer, they convinced the necromancer to join them to fight off the orcs. The necromancer was carried by 4 zombies as they were headed there, and now that's a running gag too.. The necromantic cleric of the current campaign is also being carried by zombies.

[@stimtzern2459]

Love what you do here! As a new DM, you really gave me the confidence to change stuff around and make my own game. Thank you so much.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thank you :)

[@jasonn292]

This one's a solid video my dude! Keep up the good work.

[@heyitsMattyP]

You too!

[@SSJ4GundamWingGoku]

I started my Session 0 last weekend and my players really enjoyed it along with the end scene introducing the big bad. I am super excited since one of my players is a Male Drow Fighter and the scene involving the Black Spider can be made even more exciting playing off of the societal Matriarchy of the Drows.

[@chouette1789]

I wish you had started this earlier, or that I had started running LMoP a little later -- great stuff though, please continue!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Guess you'll just have to run Lost Mines again sometime :D Thanks for the support!

[@benry007]

Same, I wish I'd seen this a while ago. If I run the adventure again for others I'll totally follow these videos. There were way to many locations and npcs. After the 4th npcs goes 'redbrands bad please kill them' it starts to get repetitive.

[@ann-mariekorhonen-chamorro1624]

Loving this series! I'm introducing a couple of friends to D&D using LMOP and you've been a huge help

[@christophersbyers]

Dude all your videos are top notch, thank you for helping newbie DM’s like me have this kind of support!

[@heyitsMattyP]

tytytyty :) hope your players are digging it!

[@calash517]

Thank you so much for the series! It's been an invaluable resource for my campaign. One thing I think is kind of a cool addition this works for me is for sister G. I took what you said about her being able to speak with dead, but the reason she wants to be able to do it in my game is that she wants to say goodbye to her recently deceased dog, and wants to play fetch with it one last time. It gave me a good reason to give her precedence in using her ability after the players return the Spellbook, and created a pretty good "tug at the heartstrings" type moment

[@heyitsMattyP]

Tragic! Players would love that little addition -- great work :)

[@avengingblowfish9653]

In my game, as the players enter Phandalin, Sildar says he needs to set up at the Townmaster's Hall and that the players should meet him there after delivering the supplies to Bart. After Sildar departs, perceptive players notice a dark figure on the rooftops watching them who disappears from sight shortly after. After delivering the supplies and talking with Bart, Sildar arrives to ask the players about their backgrounds and if they have the puzzle box with the before abruptly leaving to attend to some other "business". Sildar is actually Monteith the Doppelganger who is there to assess the players and confirm that they have the puzzle box. When the players meet up with the real Sildar at the Townmaster's Hall, he asks how Bart is doing and has no recollection of being there earlier in the day. At the Townmaster Hall, the players also encounter Harbin who talks about how the town needs the Redbrands for protection, but maybe they wouldn't need to rely on them so much if players take care of the Orc problem. Harbin has also been replaced by a Doppelganger, but more on this in my comment on your Triboar sidequest video. As the players continue to explore the town, they are confronted by the Redbrand Ruffians who have been tipped off by Monteith and are there for the puzzle box. When there is one Ruffian left and the players have clearly won the fight, Nezzar kills him from a rooftop and jumps down to greet the party and offer a healing potion to the most injured player. She proposes a trade for the puzzle box and if the players agree to meet her later to trade, as a show of good faith, she will tell the players about the secret entrance to the Redbrand hideout. She had a deal with Iarno to be her eyes and ears in Phandalin to locate the Wave Echo cave, but now that she has Gundren and the map, she doesn't really need the Redbrands anymore. Besides, Iarno has gotten greedy and demanding lately and convincing the players to wipe them out means that she no longer has to give them a cut of her profits. Nezzar has her Doppelgangers assume different forms and pretend to be the Black Spider in order to protect her identity. The only Black Spider Iarno has ever met was a male Tiefling. Iarno will refer to the Black Spider as a male if questioned by the players.

[@Inzanti]

I love the idea of Nezzar just completely turning on the Redbrands for her advantage. And Monteith getting more use in throwing the PCs off her trail as the Black Spider.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Sounds like you played it perfectly!

[@alarin612]

Your paperclip got me. Worth it.

[@heyitsMattyP]

GOT 'EM

[@guillaumepaquet5116]

Your guide has been invaluable to me. Running a Hub town with so many side quests and NPCs is always where I start stressing about a campaign. I'm becoming better at story-telling thanks to your videos

[@heyitsMattyP]

Glad to help! I always focus on prepping NPCs with value, then improvise the rest

[@Turtleslingshot]

This is exactly what I've been looking for to introduce new players to Eberron! And the tip about not describing things that players know what looks like is.. so simple! I always find the game to grind to a halt whenever there's a description blurb in an adventure. Great work as always, Matthew!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Glad I could help! Cheers :)

[@Jack-rj6iu]

Started this with a few of my friends and only just got up to the this chapter as we are all new to D&D. This is hands down best video I can find anywhere that goes into each specific "whats the point of 'blank'". Thank you.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thanks Jack! Glad to help!

[@macedo1ne]

Cant wait to get to see the episode about Gragmaw Castle. I have to run it soon and I like your ideas a lot. Just subscribed your patreon today =)

[@heyitsMattyP]

Aw thanks Vanukas! I'm writing the Cragmaw Castle video over the next couple days and filming it this weekend. And thank you for your patronage - you're in the credits of the latest video :)

[@marxmeesterlijk]

this is very useful. Love to see how you prepare a game. One thing that feels a bit weird to me is that you let sildar just turn up if the party doesnt safe him. I would like to see some consequence for failing part of the adventure. Maybe just let them struggle through without his info or let him return as a disgruntled nemesis.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Glad you like it! Re: Sildar, it just comes down to the purpose of the character. Without Sildar or an NPC to fill Sildar's role, some groups will flounder, which can make the game harder to run or less fun to play - neither of which I want. If the players left Sildar in the cave because they didn't find him or didn't know he was there, I wouldn't punish everyone (including myself!) by leaving him out or making him a hinderance. BUT if the players purposefully left him there, I'd probably just have the goblins kill him, because his role as an exposition master requires him to be trusted and liked by the players, which I'm guessing isn't the case if the players left him to die.

[@marxmeesterlijk]

@@heyitsMattyP that makes sense. Thank you for replying.

[@jeanpaultiblier88]

I'm actually a new D&D player who also became a DM so I could teach my friends how to play. I too am a Texan, but I am bad at accents, so this helped me realize my accent is already perfect for our campaign. These video are really helping me out and making my preparations fun. You are amazing!

[@heyitsMattyP]

The best DM I've ever played with never did any accents for any of his characters - embrace what you've got! :)

[@Turtlpwr]

Always come back to this content when running LMOP and most other WOTK adventure modules

[@BoisterousBeard]

Running the mine itself tomorrow. Great things again to add to the game. Kinda sorry that I couldn't postpone tomorrow's game, so I could wait for your next video

[@heyitsMattyP]

The mine itself! You're on the business end of the adventure for sure. Watch out for that encounter near the beginning with the million Stirges - they're a lot deadlier than you'd think! The next instalments for the series are: - Triboar Trail sidequests - The Redbrands - Cragmaw Castle - Wave Echo Cave - Maybe something about Thundertree? - Maybe a fun retrospective about the adventure?

[@PeninsulaPaintingProjects]

Hey buddy, I'm running this. 1st session went terrible as I gave my players too much freedom and they basically took over the town. This was pre covid. My 2nd session dming was this week. Went really well and we all had fun. Your videos will help me develop this realm into my own

[@chizpaotoole2366]

Thanks, dude, this videos have been great for me, a new DM. Obviously lots of work from you side, and therefore lots of appreciation from mine!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Glad it's been helpful :)

[@chrisrosser9179]

Terrific series, keep them coming!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Cheers Chris! And thanks for the re-tweet :)

[@craven1927]

I like how you've changed up the black spider a bit. Having the players interact with him/her from an early stage is a good idea. One of the problems I have with Lost Mine of Phandelver is just the simple fact that the big bad is a drow. For those of us that know the history and lore of the drow, that may be enough. But this is a Starter Kit that is designed for new players. And unless they've read the books, chances are new players aren't going to know what a drow is. Sure they're listed in the PHB but, for them it would be no different than the big bad being a half-orc, or a dragonborn, or a tiefling. All they're really going to get out of it is, "oh, a dark elf wizard. Ok." I mean I've read the Salvatore books and even for me, it just feels kind of lackluster for a big bad. You could easily change his race to anything else and it really wouldn't make a difference. Without the backdrop of delving into the Underdark, making the big bad a drow just feels meh to me. Lost Mine also suffers from encounters that don't really have anything to do with the story. Wyvern Tor could be left out entirely if you just didn't feel like doing it. And let's be honest, Thundertree could be pulled completely out as well and it wouldn't affect the story in any way. The only reason you even go there is for directions, which can easily be assigned to any other NPC of your choice. Or just move Reidoth to a different location. Which leads me to my other big problem with Lost Mine, I don't like how the dragon encounter is thrown in as an afterthought. This is Dungeons and Dragons after all, dragon encounters should be meaningful, not just, "oh we need a dragon in here somewhere, let's just stick one there." I prefer running Dragon of Icespire Peak from the Essentials Kit, as the main focus of the entire story is in fact a dragon. New players don't need to have a dragon explained to them, they know it's a serious threat, and it's a foe that can get excited about. Though I admit it's not a perfect story either. The middle tier of quests suffer from the same lack of cohesion, but I've come up with a way to help with that. I've pulled select encounters from Lost Mine and integrated them into Icespire Peak. The orcs that attack Butterskull Ranch are from Wyvern Tor now, linking those two events together. The orcs are in Wyvern Tor because the dragon drove them down from the mountains. The orcs in turn drove the wererats out of Wyvern Tor, which is what leads them to take Mountain's Toe Goldmine. This at least creates a cause and effect link between otherwise random quests. Next, I pull the Redbrands into the story as well, keeping the Redbrand hideout encounter mostly intact. I like to portray the Redbrands like the Cowboy gang from the movie Tombstone. I have Sildar show up, looking for Iarno like normal, and Glasstaff is still the Redbrand leader. The change here is I remove the black spider. Glasstaff is now working for the dragon cultist, Favric from the Thundertree encounter. The note they find in Glasstaff's room is from him. Favric is there to collect treasure and resources (remember it's a mining town) as well as strike an alliance with the dragons (plural) in the area. At this early stage the players only know about the one dragon. They find out there's a second dragon when they travel to Thundertree to confront Favric. That will be a nice surprise. Favric of course wants to run off any adventurers that could potentially kill the dragons, thus ruining his plans. And what better way to bribe the dragons than by having an unlimited supply of treasure from a mining town that is under your thumb? Favric's stats should be boosted up a bit to make him a tougher mini-boss encounter, perhaps with a dragon themed magic weapon or something. But the main focus for the players is still removing the dragon threat from the area, of which there are now two. And the dragons are aware of each other, but they don't like one another. They are competing for the territory so that can open up some interesting roleplay situations if you want one of the dragons to try and pit the players against the other, offering help before betraying them. This revised plot line will also segue into Rise of Tiamat very well, should you want to continue with the story into a larger campaign. This is how I'm currently running it.

[@Nepharian]

I don't usually interact with videos, but here you go. I think this is is the third time I've watched it. Good stuff.

[@JoyfromHope]

These videos are amazing! Thank you for your hard work. I threw in both the cat and Molly to the inn - I thought my players would go for the cat more but they are ready to defend Molly with their LIFE! I ended my session with a cut scene in a forest and a blood curdling scream (banshee) and they said "If that is Molly someone is going to DIE!" ... I guess now it may be Molly after all... ;)

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh nice! It's fun how you can never predict what the players are going to latch onto. Though it's usually whichever NPC you've prepped the least haha

[@braydenwagner2908]

Thanks for these videos, I watch them everyday because I am running LMoP this saturday and this helps a bunch!

[@honestreviews8445]

It took three videos, but you made a new fan. Great work. Keep it up. I’ll be running LMOP again much in-line with the recommendations

[@HWORD-xg6hi]

Oh that paperclip joke was most certainly worth the pause!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Phew!

[@paulh3892]

This video is SO helpful! This part where the module cracks wide open was a bit daunting, but thanks to trimming the fat of the town locations, refining key NPCs, and having a more clear picture of story hooks to seed this isn’t too bad after all. Thanks for sharing

[@heyitsMattyP]

No problem :) Thank you for watching!

[@aidannicholas-alexander6028]

Love these vidoes so much ! I'm a brad new DM and it's my party's first time playing DnD to so we are all lil noobs and these vidoes have helped me so so so much ! Keep up the good work! These videos deserve to get far more views than they do !

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thanks Aidan! This is a great adventure to cut your teeth on, regardless of which side of the DM Screen you're on -- you're gonna have a blast! These videos are small-time for now, but the reception has been so positive, I bet they'll keep growing. Thanks for the support!

[@aidannicholas-alexander6028]

@@heyitsMattyP Yeah we are enjoying it so much and your changed and additions have made it 100% Stronger, all the way from the big changes to the Special Player Moments. We are playing through the 2nd Chapter (this video) on Sunday, would you end the session after the Redbrand Encounter and Nezzar offers the trade to the players? Or in your opinion would it be ok if they wanted to contiune to do some sidequest things shall i let them? How important are the side quests with regards to your changes/ altercations? I just would not want to let them continue and miss some of your awesome changes in future videos! Of course though if you can't say because of your plans for not spoiling future videos I completly understand, no worries at all. But whatever myslelf and the party decide to do I will be subscribing and watching your content from now on ! Thank you :)

[@heyitsMattyP]

​@@aidannicholas-alexander6028 Thanks Aidan! Glad you're on the team :) So I reckon the purpose of this Phandalin session is to seed as many quests as you can so that the players make an informed decision about what goals they want to pursue, establish some priorities. I'd recommend you keep a list of all the bits of information you want to disseminate in Phandalin, and if you get stuck trying to figure out what to do next or the pace starts to drop, look at your list and find a way to supply some information and cross it off. The last time I ran this session, we finished after an interrogation scene, because the players captured one of the Redbrands after a confrontation. But if your players decide to rush ahead and chase one of the sidequests, that's cool too. I'm literally editing the video right now that covers all the sidequests (and our original quest to meet the Black Spider for a midnight trade). It should be out in about a day and a half. Let me know how you go!

[@aidannicholas-alexander6028]

@@heyitsMattyP Ah I see that helped alot! I read this just before we were about to start the session and I added some extra bits of your comment and it went really well! We did a sidquest and the party did really well with picking up little breadcrum trails that I dropped in on what to do next. The only thing is they really disturst Nezzar and think somthing is up with her motives and morals. That night in game they opened the puzzel box and took out my item I put in there, and they decided that they are going to go to the meeting Nezzar and give the EMPTY box to her for trade! I was so proud haha. Ah amazing can't wait for the next video and thanks again for the advice and taking the time to reply to me, I know that last message I sent was a long one haha. I really appreciate it!

[@lemake72]

This is exactly what I needed. Thank you!

[@heyitsMattyP]

You're so welcome!

[@alarin612]

I love dilemmas. One of my favorites is giving the players a reason to like someone, then a reason to fight them. In Phandalin, I made the Redbrands more ambiguous. I drew on stories my mom told me about North Africa, where most towns have a band of local tough guys they rely on for protection, but who are also definitely criminals. I even included a raid from the Wyvern Tor orcs, wherein the orcs tried to steal a bunch of horses and the Redbrands helped the heroes defend the town.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Yeah, I sometimes think of what I heard about urban gangs in the USA. Like, they're doing violent stuff, but they're also protecting the community and imposing some kind of order in a weird way.

[@alarin612]

@@heyitsMattyP yeah, it's a dangerous combination. A sense of belonging and loyalty that gets the members more and more comfy doing worse and worse things. Might be something to bring to the Redbrands - like, only the higher ups know the gang is into slavery.

[@mploehrer]

Great content! I'm prepping to run this for my nephews and nieces and this is really helpful. Thanks a ton.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh cool! I ran a session for my nieces and nephews and I think it was the most fun we've had together :) You're gonna have a blast!

[@ryliecurn6412]

You had me at "Uggh I'm a Player" *subbed*

[@miauwoof716]

Hello Matthew! Thank you so much for your guide through the Starter Set, I think it really helps bringing out it's best potential. This is my first time DMing (first time playing for all my players, I've played for the past 2 years) and I started before watching your videos but as I liked it so much I found a way to work the puzzle box into the adventure nontheless. I planted it on the wagon of supplies with a letter from Gundren to keep it safe and some visions of the black spider searching it for the wizard. My players were really excited about that mystery. They just arrived in Phandalin and next session is going to be all in the town, I'm really nervous about that one actually, because the sheer amount of sidequests is really confusing to me. What I'm not sure about is as I'm using the pre-generated character sheets (wizard, cleric, rogue)on how to deal with all the NPCs mentioned there that I actually wanted to cut out but my players are going to ask about them? Also, the rogue basically knowing everything about the Redbrands? I really don't want her to betray the party because my party only consists of 3 ppl and, well, betrayal could certainly kill. (I played the Starter Set and we were 5ppl, one got killed bc the rogue betrayed us) Do you have any advice on how to run with that character and not spoil too much as she knows everything about the Redbrands? And maybe general advice on how to adjust the adventure for 3 players (Some encounters I nearly accidentally killed them all, others were too easy)? Thank you so much for all your time and energy spent on these videos, it's really good work!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Glad you're enjoying the videos :) re: balance for three players, my general advice would be to never make the party fight more than three enemies at once re: the NPCs, I think you have two options. You could either say to the party that you've changed some things about the adventure and it might not always line up 1:1 with what their character backgrounds say. OR you just say, "Yeah, that NPC moved out of town ages ago." re: your Rogue knowing about the Redbrands, that's something I know nothing about sorry. You could limit their knowledge to basic stuff, with some useful parts. Like, they don't know anything about the recent goings on of the gang, but they might know the location and layout of the Redbrand Hideout.

[@tylerts97]

This is actually my first LMoP video from you, but my way of running the module has had a fan-favorite NPC(created by me in session one, as a player couldn't make it to the session) framed for the murder of the townmaster(as one of my players is planning on rolling a new character, I'm planning on that PC becoming the new townmaster as an NPC) by doppelgangers, which led to a fun encounter where the party fought doppelgangers disguised as themselves. They lost their companion Droop the goblin in the fight. I'm also running Nezznar as a more competent villain, even having him plan to actually try and recruit the party. I also portrayed the townmaster as a drunk, and he redeemed himself and started going sober after the Redbrands situation. He was murdered while they were out taking care of the orcs at Wyvern's Tor

[@tylertantin]

4minutes in and I love this already! Wish i hadn't just introduced my 3rd group to the town last game :(

[@heyitsMattyP]

Tyler, oh no! Maybe fourth time lucky :D

[@Das0s]

Laughing so much at your description of Harbin, I did the exact same thing with the 'wobbly cheek talk' in my session of this.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Great minds, Walter :)

[@jamiemcf1847]

Stellar as usual!

[@heyitsMattyP]

You too :)

[@ellenaerts2199]

I love these idea's and I'll definitely use them! I was wondering why the players would agree to trade the puzzlebox for anything, if Gundren asked them to retrieve it in the prologue?

[@Crooked_Raven_Project]

Running this session tomorrow! I’ll post it here or in the discord!

[@johnwill5117]

Thank you for making videos like these.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Cheers John!

[@ZombieFood1337]

Players *are* always saying that!

[@heyitsMattyP]

They are! Those darn players

[@brycethorne5482]

I googled exactly this! Well I wanted something a quarter as good but you forced a much better answer to my concern down my throat and I’m grateful. What the hell are they thinking doing a linear simple intro then immediately drop a cobweb of a dozen npcs with absolutely zero interest on new players each with vital information and options with no rhyme or reason?

[@amberpdavis]

I'm actually running LMoP as the start of a wild west campaign, so this is perfect

[@heyitsMattyP]

Perfect!

[@BobShanky]

Love this series so far, it's really helped simplify things since I'm a first time DM. My group is finishing the Cragmaw Hideout next session so I'm getting my notes on Phandalin in order. One question I have is how does Nazzar know about the puzzle box without making the players suspicious about her? I feel like as soon as she starts asking about and trying to trade for the box the party will get suspicious, and maybe that's the goal.

[@tiffanye.8585]

My party is super suspicious, how did you figure it out?

[@heyheyhey0220]

That's the goal

[@nathansmith9597]

First, these videos have been enormously helpful. Thank you! There is a lot of generic fluff that is safely cuttable in all of the published adventures. It is good to have someone break it down to the essentials. However, one small point I would make is that, before you cut something, take one moment to consider if there is an easy way to connect that content to one of the PCs. For instance, Wyvern Tor is not generic fluff if the bandits were part of the same gang that attacked a PC’s hometown five years ago. Maybe Daran Edermath stays in, if one of the players is interested in the Order of the Gauntlet. Even if you cut Thundertree (which I agree is a good move), the party’s Druid might enjoy running into Reidoth on the outskirts of Neverwinter Woods. (Of course, don’t let Reidoth know the location of the final dungeon, if you do that.) The filler in LMOP can provide some great opportunities to draw in your PC’s backstories, motivations, secrets, etc. You will still end up cutting a lot of the filler, probably, but some of it can be really great when it can connect with one or more of the PCs.

[@KatyG26]

I DMed LMoP this way tonight. First time playing it “off book” like this. My players LOVED it. Thank you so much!! They are all so in love with Molly that they spent half of today’s game making and buying her presents. 🤣

[@heyitsMattyP]

Haha that sounds so fun! Well done :)

[@adammetc]

This is really helpful. Makes me want to find some (more) players...

[@heyitsMattyP]

There's plenty more players in the sea! You can always fit a new campaign into your schedule Adam, don't believe the lies your brain tells you or bend to the calendar's constraints!

[@Romanus7867]

Just started DMing again after long layoff. I decided to use LMoP and Icespire Peak sort of combined, along with the follow up modules for Icespire. The Spider has only come up by name a little bit thus far, they just took out the Redbrand Hideout. This gave me such great ideas for flushing out The Spider's character. I'd like for her to stick around past Wave Echo Cave and become a sort of nemesis for the group. Love the content. Great ideas and entertaining.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Glad it's been helpful :) Keeping the Black Spider around would be great if you can. Somewhere in the comments, I saw somebody else talking about how the Nothic ended up becoming central to their whole campaign, and how the players recruited it to their headquarters for later adventures.

[@Romanus7867]

@@heyitsMattyP Had a mini session earlier today and they have adopted the Nothic, now named Ted. They are going to build a cave near the prison cells for him to live and keep an eye on prisoners.

[@heyitsMattyP]

"To keep an eye" -- brilliant :)

[@08fjohj]

Liked and subbed. New to being a DM. I ran a game with my friends after playing once. Just created my own story. This is my first multi session campaig. Really helpful. Thanks Man

[@heyitsMattyP]

Excellent! Thank you and glad to help :)

[@SirGlag]

What I did here for downsizing Phandellin: The town looks as if it's been ravaged by a violent raid or fierce battle. Rubble litters the streets, wisps of smoke still curl from charred ruins, and beleaguered townsfolk toil to rebuild their shattered lives. Basically this is why phandellin is so small now and why it has been consolidated into the four mentioned in this video. Later you learn from Harbin that it was a fight between the Redbrands and the Bandits (orcs). This cements his need to get rid of the bandits and why he's so split on having the Redbrands around. This cements the plot of going against both possibly.

[@aarond8562]

Love these! This, SKT and even wild sheep chase are so valuable to me as a DM! 😊

[@Zamun]

Thanks for the content.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thank you!

[@99zxk]

This is the second video of yours that I've watched, and they're fantastic. So much great advice. My issue is that I'm having to run LMoP for Adventure's League, so I can't make changes.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thank you! I'm starting my coverage of the NEW Starter Set this week, so maybe you can find a way to make that work for you? I've struggled with AL as a player, because I bounced off how rigid it was. It felt weird and synthetic to look around the room at a dozen other tables and knowing we're all playing the same content at the same time.

[@brianbays867]

Thanks for the effort put into this

[@samrushin2476]

You need more subscribers! I’ve only just discovered your channel so I’ve only seen a couple of videos but your content is brilliant and full of insight

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thank you! Things are going pretty well relatively. If things pick up a just little bit more, I reckon maybe 10k by the end of the year?

[@elmattador8776]

I just ran this section with my group last night. They LOVED (and hated) the “mysterious French woman” as they called her. They do NOT trust her. Our half orc Paladin goes, “Oh shoot! It’s the chick from that post credit scene he did!” Thanks so much for these explanations you did. Simple yet much more satisfying story telling. I can’t wait for the next one where they will undoubtedly hate her even more!!!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh nice! It's grea they recognized her - that means they're paying attention!

[@ericness9660]

I love these videos, I don’t know if I can get 4-5 players to commit to a campaign. So far I’ve just been running a bunch of unrelated one shots and whoever can show up plays the game. I think cutting down the locations and NPCs like this will let me run this more like an adventure league style campaign. Maybe I’ll have all my players be part of an adventuring guild that has taken an interest in Phandalin. Sometimes the guild sends different people for different missions, but they always make mission reports available to the rest of the guild. That way missing players can read the summaries and hopefully stay up to date with NPCs and main story beats. I’ll probably have to curate the narrative experience (can’t use that dirty word railroad) and just tell them “This week the guild is sending you to help Bart do such and such”

[@heyitsMattyP]

That's a great idea! And "railroad" isn't a dirty word to me my dude - I have learned to love the railroad :)

[@JCasasbellas]

Hey Matthew! Thank you for the amazing video, I will be using some of your ideas for my campaing. Keep it coming please!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thanks, will do! And sorry for missing your kind message - how did the game work out?

[@benvoliothefirst]

My doppelganger and Black Spider are named "Nebbuk" and "Nezzar" respectively. Finally, my babylonian history course comes in handy! Also Magic: The Gathering.

[@ericmata3728]

Youre killing it bro. These vids are great

[@heyitsMattyP]

Cheers Eric!

[@ericmata3728]

@@heyitsMattyP I ran my 1st session ever recently. I gave one of the players a map of Phandalin (a gift from Gundren) cuz I thought it was cool. But now I think i will tell them that many of the places are shut down due to the Redbrands. That way I can consolidate NPCs like you suggest here.

[@heyitsMattyP]

That's a good way to sow some animosity towards the Redbrands! The maps says Phandalin is this great place, but the Redbrands have other plans

[@ntyson05nt]

Hey dude. First I want to say good job on this different take on the campaign and that I am following along with all of this. Currently my party rescued Sildar but hurried back to Phandalin to get to town safely. On the night of their first visit, they know about the Redbrands and that they are causing trouble in town. They plan on returning to the Cragmaw Cave to finish off Klarg, but what they don't know is that they are prepared for their return, I have hidden 3-4 goblins in the Goblin Blind for being look out. At the start of the fight, one runs back into the cave and tells Klarg and a new sentry on the bridge keeps an eye out and signals for the water to be released. Klarg and his wolf, along with 5 more goblins are waiting to ambush them. Still, they don't expect an attack from behind if the PCs use the Wolf Den to gain access. Maybe this time, the wolves break out and run free and escape the cave. My question I have for you...has your party ever question the Spy on being the BBEG on asking for the mysterious puzzle box? Since they were given the scene where someone was looking for the box? I am worried mine will and suddenly attack the Spy and possibly ending the campaign there. Now that I am thinking about it, the Spy could say she is working as a double agent for Gundren and that she was hired as a back up to retrieve the box and take it to him. Sorry for being all over the place. Much appreciate your wisdom and suggestions. Thanks.

[@gentryhayes]

Great video. Thanks!

[@azzakirk44]

Thank you for helping me run my game; really appreciate it bro.

[@greoryryryryryr]

Super late to the party. But I absolutely love how it was "what's the purpose of blank" as just text in the last episode, but this time... this time.. we got a theme tune to accompany it!

[@heyitsMattyP]

That's me! Goofs and gaffs to ASTOUND & DELIGHT

[@LoneWolffanwriter]

Love this series. Just an absolute life-saver. My characters are playing slow and cautious, so I've still got time to work in your suggestions. Might even be able to work in the puzzle box, because dang do I need to seed Nezzar earlier!

[@naomitd]

In our second session, at Phandalin, my group ended up spending the entire session making sure they talked to absolutely EVERY NPC they could. I seeded the Wyvern Tor Orcs, Agatha (who has been haunting Sister Garaele) and that somebody raided the graveyard recently of some corpses (in my game Hamun Kost recently lost a number of his zombies to an Orc attack and replenished his diggers). My group particularly loved "Craggy" the wheezing, half blind ancient crag cat pet for Barthen and all wanted to say goodbye to him before they (finally) left town.

[@keilmyths10219]

I like your MTG Cameos, like how Sildar is General Kudro of Drannith

[@heyitsMattyP]

You caught me! WOTC has great fan art licenses that let me use their MTG art :)

[@keilmyths10219]

@@heyitsMattyP They do have some pretty awesome art! On a side note, these LMoP videos are extremely good. I'm still fairly new to being a DM, and these videos are really helping me figure out how to tell an engaging story. Thank you, and keep up the good work!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Cheers Kyle! Good luck with your campaign

[@Aemery17]

Really appreciate these videos!!

[@TheFudRucks]

Appreciate your work!

[@heyitsMattyP]

My pleasure!

[@tommasoug2995]

Amazing work, enjoying every ounce of it! Thanks a lot!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thank you very much for the kind words :)

[@tylerhoward6295]

My party had a wonderful time in Phandalin. A lot of really fun NPC interactions, but here's a story about my favorite: During the last session, two of my players' characters got into a bit of an ethical argument about some of the actions they've taken as a group (namely the quick and ruthless decapitation of Klarg). This matched really well with the characters' backgrounds and alignments (very proud of their RP skills), so I wanted to play on that conflict to create some more drama. Coincidentally, these same two characters have sort of developed into the leaders of our party, helping facilitate important decisions within the group. Let's call them Rogue and Fighter. I loved your idea of including the Black Spider in this chapter, so I had her disguised as a wealthy relic seeker from a far away noble family. She was (supposedly) in Phandalin to shop at the Miner's Exchange for any valuable relics that the miners may have brought in. Of course, her real reason being to acquire the Puzzle Box. As she knows our group has it, I decided she would flirt with one of the leaders of the group (Fighter) in an attempt to gain the trust of the party so they would sell the box to her. This worked like a charm, and all she had to do was mention that she was interested in Dwarven artifacts, and Fighter immediately revealed who had the Puzzle Box. A small argument ensued between the carrier of the Box (Rogue) and Fighter. Eventually Fighter won out and proudly presented the Puzzle Box to the Black Spider in exchange for a healthy amount of gold. I loved sneaking the BBEG into the story this early, and even got to tease a little bit of this character's ruthless personality when the party witnessed her slice the throat of a Redbrand thug that got a little too flirty with her. Of course, the party just assumed that the thug was a creep, and actually fought the rest of the onlooking Redbrand posse to protect the Black Spider's honor. I cannot wait to reveal the true nature of this character down the road (I have a feeling that Rogue is going to have a big "I told you so" moment).

[@heyitsMattyP]

Tyler that's rad! I like your players :) If I were you, I wouldn't sit on the secret of her evilness for too long, just because it's not enough for the players to know her as a character, they need to know her as a villain,. If the players develop a genuine hatred toward The Black Spider, they immediately have a direction for the campaign and know their role in the story - they'll want to fight her. Do you have any ideas for revealing her involvement?

[@tylerhoward6295]

@@heyitsMattyP Not exactly. I was planning on revealing "The Black Spider" and her involvement with each of the factions (Goblins, Bandits of Wyvern Tor, Redbrands) during the player's run of the Redbrand Hideout when they encounter/defeat Glasstaff. If they interrogate him, maybe he could reveal who the Black Spider is? Maybe they find the contract she's written up with the different factions' bosses on the desk of Glasstaff, and it has her name (that she gave the party) on it. Do you have any suggestions?

[@heyitsMattyP]

Absolutely! It's good to signpost her involvement in the overall plot as often as you can -- the players misremember and misunderstand things, so multiple big obvious clues are always worthwhile. But the gold standard is get PERSONAL with your villain. Whatever it is your party cares the most about, orchestrate it so The Black Spider messes with it. If it's Gundren, have her hurt him Infront of the players. If it's some other NPC, have her put that NPC in danger. If it's gold, have the money she traded be fake or cursed. Whatever it is, it has to be something the players care about, and there can't be any ambiguity about which villainous Drow lady is responsible. Does that help at all?

[@heyitsMattyP]

(and to add to that, I would definitely include a scene where the party finds the shattered puzzle box, indicating she's so ruthless she didn't even bother to open it to get what was inside)

[@tylerhoward6295]

@@heyitsMattyP Yes it does! Thank you so much for all of your help. The passion you have for your viewers is so admirable that I just had to start supporting you on Patreon! But I gotta say, getting the stat block for that Zombie Gundam definitely sweetens the deal ;) Keep up the great work!

[@zipperbitten5184]

Keep up the good work! Your videos are awesome!

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thanks, will do!

[@FD-lo8xr]

gteat help , LOVE your dnd guides mate cheers from brisbane !!

[@heyitsMattyP]

I grew up in Brisbane! I was Toowong / Indro till I drove to Melbourne when I was 25 :)

[@tysenp8193]

I’m preparing to start session zero of my first campaign and I’m loving these changes you’re suggesting!! One thing I’m gonna do is rename the black spider to the “Black widow” and use the symbolism of a red hourglass in a few locations instead of a spider. I think this might lead to some inherent confusion initially, with them possibly thinking the symbol belongs to the redbrands, or that she’s an ally of the redbrands, etc. It’s a small touch but I think it’ll be fun. I doubt they’ll talk to her enough to hear it but I might come up with some sort of story involving her losing a spouse or something. One of my players is also doing a female drow rogue so I’m gonna try to have the black widow confront her at night, away from the party, and try to convince her to turn over the box in exchange for something from her backstory.

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh sick! Great changes :)

[@saddy_d4ddy]

thanks for this great resource for my first campaign hope they appreciate all our hard work lmao

[@heyitsMattyP]

Thanks Saddy! Hope your campaign goes well :) You'll smash it!

[@diamend85]

great content and a nice lighthearted presentation with some laughs (man your player impersonations :D) if you keep it up you gonna hit those 5k subscribers faster than you think. you def won one in me

[@heyitsMattyP]

Oh thanks Lemanu! Things are definitely ramping up :) I'm gaining about 300 subscribers a month, so we're looking at 5k around May 2021.

[@TallGabe30]

Thanks for the tips. I’m running my kids through this as our first DND game

[@heyitsMattyP]

Good luck! How old are the kids? A few people have told me their running the game for younger people, and I might have to make a video about running games for kids. I've played D&D with my nieces and nephews (7-9), and some general D&D things don't exactly land with kids

[@TallGabe30]

@@heyitsMattyP my oldest and his friends are 11. Younger ones are 9. I’m leaving out the more complicated aspects of role playing but encouraging them to get into the role playing. Also trying to have a fight every session to keep them interested.

[@heyitsMattyP]

At that age, you'll be all good probably. Biggest considerations are 1) remind them that their characters are all the heroes and allies, 2) keeps sessions short, 3) limit distractions in your play space

[@ianpisarcik6327]

My players leaned WAY into the Spaghetti Western thing. The Paladin swapped out his cloak for a Clint Eastwood poncho, the wizard bought a staff that looks like a rifle, the Druid is basically a Cree shaman, and the rogue is plotting a stage coach robbery with Halia (my players wanted faction intrigue). It’s going great! Thanks, Perkins!

[@heyitsMattyP]

That's the best part of the Western element! The players know EXACTLY how to respond to the themes and it's an easy gateway to roleplaying. Great job with your campaign mate - keep it up!

[@TonyTh3Tank]

Great content!