Roleplaying NPCs | Dragon of Icespire Peak

[@BobWorldBuilder]

▶️ Fred's video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZqWZ5hpe8ipsKs 🌟 Patreon podcast: www.patreon.com/bobworldbuilder

[@beccamaydraw2626]

My players loved Facktoré from the Gnomengarde quest! They were dead set on convincing her to not kill them but instead come to Phandalin to build another autoloading crossbow to help fend off the dragon. A friendship I wasn’t expecting but loved, we ended up having a town meeting in Phandalin to see if the citizens would allow this mad gnome to build huge weapons in their town. Such great advice for the NPC’s thanks!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That’s amazing! Really a great idea and a fun one!

[@HowtoRPG]

Love your story. You are welcome.

[@Dreigonix]

Oh hey, someone else had that idea too! XD

[@HuseyinCinar]

Yo how did this turn out? My current party thought of the same thing!

[@O4C209]

Love that you and Fred did a collab. You two were the ones I relied on when I was prepping for Dragon of Icespire Peak. Regarding the Manticore encounter: I took inspiration from the current pandemic for running this module. Everyone is shut in, to avoid being killed by the Dragon. For Adabra refusing to leave, I had her motivation mirror medical workers. She refuses to leave, because she is the only one that can produce healing portions and she is willing to risk her life to continue.

[@HowtoRPG]

Glad you liked the video. I like your rational, but is there more going on?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks! Good to take some inspiration from real life! Glad you could be creative with our situation and use some aspect of it all in your game 👍🏻

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks Bob for taking the time to record this video. It's a necessary topic. I know how hard it would have been to edit the video call together. The end product was great.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

My pleasure, Fred! You shared a lot of good tips (and good jokes)! It took a while to put together this way, but I think it paid off for everyone :)

[@HowtoRPG]

@@BobWorldBuilder Excellent. Maybe next time Zoom ;)

[@someguy5218]

It's weird that people don't seem to like Harbin Wester because I've run Icespire twice and both groups loved him. I even took things to the extreme near the end when the dragon attacked the town and destroyed most of his house, yet he was still hiding behind the front door in spite of this.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That's hilarious! I'm glad your groups enjoy his antics, and that you played him so well :)

[@HowtoRPG]

I can just see it now, priceless. I think what you did has more to do with your Dungeon Masters than the Character as written.

[@someguy5218]

@@HowtoRPG I was the dungeon master, so that's true. A lot of the characters in the adventure are pretty thin, but that's where you get to take some license with them.

[@Dreigonix]

I’m revamping Harbin Wester a bit- in my campaign, he’s an ex-adventurer from Neverwinter, and he and Adabra Gwynn were adventuring buddies- and briefly lovers- when they were young. But one day, Harbin’s brother was killed by a dragon, and that traumatized him to the point where he just couldn’t muster up the adventuring spirit anymore. So, in their old age, he and Adabra decided to settle down in the relatively peaceful Phandalin, Harbin eventually being appointed Townmaster and Adabra content to live in the nearby windmill as the local alchemist. When Cryovain came, though, Harbin’s trauma resurfaced and he became too terrified to even leave his house.

[@samc2950]

Haha in my campaign. He's a short tempered man who can't admit his fear of the dragon

[@HighNoonTex]

My party's favorite NPC was from Lost Mine of Phandelver, which we played before Icespire Peak. There is a goblin named Droop, who they renamed Toby, and since I knew he was their best (and only) bet at finding Cragmaw Castle I gave him a cutesy Smeagol-like voice, and played him like a cowardly but really sweet and silly little goblin, and they were hooked :)

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Ahh yes I’ve heard Droop is pretty popular!!

[@HowtoRPG]

My own group have hired Droop to look after the Manor. Droops cool.

[@Dreigonix]

Oh my god, I remember him! We adopted him last time I played Lost Mines as well. XD

[@pollyunderlay]

My group has also adopted Droop. The keep dragging him along on dangerous quests disguised (poorly) as a human child even though all he ever does is cower, run away or hide at the first sign of trouble.

[@HowtoRPG]

@@pollyunderlay lol

[@EricKamander]

My group's favorite NPC was Adabra Gwynn, who they convinced to return to Phandalin. Every time they returned to town, she was eager to ask them what they had been up to, and when they would be escorting her back home. In the meantime, she shared her knowledge and expertise of arcana with them, as well as any puns I could work into the game.

[@HowtoRPG]

Interesting that the group liked her so much. Sound's like you were sensible and ignored the adventures guide.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha, always need an NPC with puns!

[@EricKamander]

@@HowtoRPG I think I had heard the recommendations to give the PCs a chance to persuade her, and that made much more narrative sense. In a lot of ways Icespire Peak seems to have a goal of being as lightweight for new DMs as it possibly can, reducing the amount of NPC embellishment required to the bare minimum. Since my party consists of a dwarven barbarian and cleric, I figured it made sense to make the local "midwife and apothecary devoted to Chauntea" who lives on a dwarven cairn also an alchemist, scholar of the arcane, and dwarven lore enthusiast. So she wound up being a go-to contact for the party. FWIW, I ran Harbin as written, but my behind the scenes rationale with my group who has already played Lost Mine is that Sildar is out of town and warned Harbin not to screw things up. Avoiding contact is Harbin's approach to ensuring he's not culpable for anything that goes wrong.

[@thejawgz6719]

I don't really understand why the book insists that Adabra shouldn't go to Phandalin. There's just no reason she wouldn't.

[@md64762]

My players interact a TON with Barthen, Halia, Linene, Harbin (I had him come out of his home in my game), and a lot of the other Phandalites. What I love about DOIP is that you have so much freedom as a DM to insert your own ideas into the module. Another huge factor is the PC's themselves. After a while they end up making such an impact on the town and the NPC's change and evolve as the campaign goes on.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

I really agree with what you're saying about freedom as the DM! This was the first official module I ran, and now running Frostmaiden has me feeling blocked-in to certain elements of the story. I definitely liked how bare bones this was!

[@md64762]

@@BobWorldBuilder You've help quite a lot of us navigate DOIP. I started running it last year and was totally new to D&D and DMing. Your early videos helped me a TON. So thanks for that!

[@Andromeda7Music]

My players loved the dwarfs Dazlyn and Norbus. I think the flavour text says they "argue like an old married couple." I played them like Happy and Grumpy. One of my players Liked the art I had for Norbus and her character was impressed with his beard braid and negotiated that they would take care of the oozes with the added payment of him braiding her hair into pigtails. They loved them so much I brought them back to Phandalin and the players went on a bender with the dwarfs... I had a drunken Norbus admit that he had always wanted to be a barber/hairdresser and open up his own beard salon but his family made him become an archeologist/Minner hinting at why he is always grumpy. I love leaning into and riffing off players perceptions of characters.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That's amazing!! I am going to steal that for sure xD

[@sufferinsuccotash8981]

Two of my favourites together... thanks guys.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Ayyy, thank you!

[@HowtoRPG]

Lovely to hear. Thanks.

[@colclark87]

"Spare time at work"... yep! With nearly a decade of DMing behind me, the biggest advice I can give to new DMs is to allow yourself the means to write what comes to you! Most of the problems you give yourself to be solved will be done on your drive to work, in the shower, humdrumming your day away doing menial tasks. That's when your creative mind will solve the solutions for you subconsciously! So what do you do? Download a note taking app or carry a pad and pen around with you. Everywhere. I spent my lunch break writing down cool animal companion ideas that came to me subconsciously earlier on my drive to work. Writing for D&D doesn't have to be a chore. I treat it as a hobby now. I give my writing just as much love as playing the game. Trust me, it'll show at your table.

[@HowtoRPG]

I use Google Docs on my phone and hard cover note books.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

You’re totally right! I definitely have my best ideas for prep when I’m doing some other mindless task

[@Aligariusful]

One of the most interesting NPC interactions from the games I have DM'd are with Halia Thornton, both the Miner's exchange and being in charge of the Zhentarim.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That’s a good point! She didn’t really come up in my game because we didn’t think about loot too much, but she’s an important character in that respect and certainly one of the better-defined ones

[@Aligariusful]

​@@BobWorldBuilder Yeah, I really think it depends on the characters. In my most recent game, I am DM'ing for a party full of dwarves who are always looking for cool metals and gems. We also did something special for thanksgiving by doing a prosperity festival, so I had that 'sponsored' by Halia and the exchange.

[@HowtoRPG]

Halia has more depth to draw on from Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak. She also has more interesting motives. Halia showed up in my game a few times.

[@sammyboi1983]

I used Halia as a quest giver for the party Bard, who has ended up joining the Zhentarim as an agent. She gave the Bard the Shrine of Savras quest as an initiation and a test of his skills, which led to some interesting role play when the party arrived back with a massive golden bell! I'd played it that Halia didn't actually believe in the rumour of the lost treasure, she had sent the part on what she thought was a bit of a snipe hunt.

[@morriganpoole7271]

I want to use Halia as the questgiver for the Dwarven Excavation quest. My plan is to have the dwarven prospectors be Zhentarim members (moreso merchants than agents) and let the players actually take the gem from the Hall of Greed. Then Halia will tell them it's worth a ridiculous amount of gold, like 10,000gp, and that she'll need a week to find a buyer. When the players return to get their cut of the pay, she'll reveal that one of the dwarves cheated them and ran off with the gem, back to the Temple of Abbathor. So they chase him down and find that he's been killed by the orcs who took over after they left, and that the gem had driven him mad and is now doing the same to the orc leader, who's uncovered a deeper section of the temple. Ultimately the players will have to destroy the gem or unleash some kind of unholy power, and Halia will offer to let them join her organization.

[@MrT4ils]

I fed chocolate coins one by one from underneath my DM screen when paying my PCs. I also had Harbin run away from his door at any mention of the dragon.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

True dedication!

[@HowtoRPG]

lol. Nice play on the character.

[@MrT4ils]

@@BobWorldBuilder Its strange that so many people dislike Harbin. My PCs took advantage of the fact he pushes the gold under the door to deceive him into thinking he miscounted the amount he sent under, usually squeezing a few more gold out of him. The first thing they did on returning from the peak was bring Cryovains head to his door. At this point I had Harbin unlock numerous padlocks and bolts on his door and described him for the first time. Then had him pay, mostly, for a town party to celebrate and had him foreshadow the next three adventures while drunk in the tavern.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha that sounds like a great scene :)

[@Throthgars]

In my campaign, the crab transformed into an Aasimar Paladin thanks to the power of his master, Miraal. He has recieved an oath to protect the players in any way possible and I really hope the players will enjoy the company! (His name is Sebastian btw ;) )

[@HowtoRPG]

Nice twist.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Now that is special! Great idea :D

[@a.v.k.1168]

oh my gosh, yes! this is what i was missing while trying to run my first game. players seemed to like the npc personalities i created but felt super unconfident because i was making it up as i went along. ((: thanks bob!

[@HowtoRPG]

Glad you liked the video. All the best with your campaign.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Making it up as you go along is 90% of D&D!! Well done!

[@a.v.k.1168]

@@HowtoRPG thank you Fred!

[@PugsleyThePear]

I aged Harbin up a lot and described him as "a scared-looking Dick van Dyke with a white beard and half moon-shaped glasses" when they finally got a look at him. My group immediately went from hating him to pitying him and wanting to protect him.

[@no-tg4me]

Running Lost Mine as a first time DM with first time players. Very excited. This channel is a great resource. Thanks mate

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Happy to help! LMoP will be the next campaign I tackle on this channel, but in the meantime, Fred has a ot of material on it, and I recommend checking out Matthew Perkins too!

[@TheGray524]

You had me at the discussion on the apothecary taking shrooms. I am absolutely adding that element to an existing campaign.

[@HowtoRPG]

lol. Glad you liked it. Well it's not unheard of...

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Hahah, Adabra sells more than health potions!

[@benerickson5512]

One thing that's been a tremendous help for me is writing the story so that the things that I dislike about the characters, other npcs do as well. For example, when they tried to get the apothecary to come back, she immediately declined because they said it was Harbin Wester's request. Her exact words were, "Oh, a request from Harbin Wester? I'll tell you exactly where Harbin Wester can stick his request." This allowed me to stick the same idea in a couple other npcs as well, so it was clear the town wasn't thrilled with his cowardice and weasel-like nature. Then it wasn't just an annoying character trait that annoyed the party, but they had some relief. The two npcs my party really attached to are the crab (named Sebastian, of course, and given a strong Jamaican accent) and Halia Thornton in town. The crab became a sea elf when the spell was broken, and the party tried to recruit him to join them, but he went off to reclaim things he lost when he was cursed. However, because of this I'm going to use him to introduce a pirate cove or underwater cavern or something, to give the party a little extra loot since I've been a little stingy with it (this is my first game DMing). And they'll be glad to see him again. But they also love Halia, and I have at least 2 of my players trying to make secret deals with her to get information and procure trade goods. Since the adventure description tells that she's in a shadowy organization, and its mission, I made her very soft-spoken yet shrewd. She reads people (Insight check) whenever they come into the store, and has leads to several of their personal background quests as well. They also really liked Don Jon a lot. He was a crocodile dundee, Australian type. Talked a lot about various kills and hunts that he had done, things he has been a part of. And he fit it into every single question they asked, no matter how mundane. "Now, that reminds of the time I..." And he would constantly disappear. Rather than souping up his stat block too much (though I gave him silvered daggers), I had him sneak off to do helpful things while they talked. Like while the party was negotiating with the wererats after clearing the Shrine, he snuck around the other side of the mine to release the miner's and help them silver a few of their arrows. When combat broke out, he was nowhere to be found, but triumphantly entered with the miner's when the party was in dire straits.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Sounds like you did an amazing job giving life to these NPCs! Really well done :)

[@benerickson5512]

@@BobWorldBuilder I've been an avid roleplayer since High School, so that aspect of it at least came fairly easy :) A few changes that I wish I would have made though, since like I mentioned it's my first campaign DMing. Though I might introduce a few Leilon npcs before they finish DoIP, so there's some connection there for when they finish. If other DMs are planning on continuing the adventure, some potential hooks might be having the oddities magic shop guy stop in to see Halia while the players are there, or having Inn keepers exchanging notes one time. Have some Leilon travelers getting dinner at the tavern. Or perhaps toward the end of DoIP, when the party's accolades are starting to be known, have the leadership from Leilon approach the group to have them come to town once the dragon is dealt with.

[@clafount388]

So I too noticed the difference in quality between the NPCs and the sidekicks, but I never thought to replace some of them! This is a great tip!

[@zenovkayos5811]

Make sure to populate the town with the sidekicks even if they don't join the adventuring group. They r adventurers themselves and can take care of the quests the characters do not take Or show up to help if u accidentally make the encounters so deadly to avoid a tpk 😊 Pickled pete also does prospecting and the shield dwarf is a blacksmith ;)

[@HowtoRPG]

Smart advice.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah, I think it’s great to have the sidekicks around!

[@Ashes024]

I really like Falcon because when I read the description of his room it said "Falcon’s bedroom is cozy and warm, but untidy." I just really love that detail. I also like the stable hand because I think that being mute in a medivel setting is a very neat character detail.

[@seanbagels6524]

My player (only one because I wanted to try out the sidekicks) loved Barthen for no apparent reason, and since he was playing a bard, he always rolled extremely well for his persuasion to lower his prices lol. Great helpful video!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha, I love that! Well done!

[@HowtoRPG]

Glad you liked the topic Sean.

[@teachergeoff9833]

For Harbin Wester I could tell the cowardly thing was going to get old fast. Once I had him slip his coins under the door. Afterward, I had him set up a pully system from his second-story window to lower a bucket of gold to the players instead. It was cute, but still kind of one-dimensional. Since Harbin was pretty disconnected from the story (aside from being afraid of the dragon and having a brother at the logging camp) I just had him killed off and made another character that the players had interacted with more take on the role of townmaster. Big Al Kazalorn is now a stable master and townmaster! Oh and the crab became a major NPC and even sidekick who became a cleric at the shrine of luck!

[@HowtoRPG]

Brilliant. I like that much more.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Wow crab cleric and town master Big Al! I love it! But now I’m just hoping that somewhere out there, someone’s party made the crab the town master

[@daveyjones9994]

As somebody who has never played but have always wanted to. Thank you for this content. It has given me the motivation to pick up an essentials kit and try my hand at playing with my girlfriend and I. I've always thought I needed a group of friends to play and frankly that always turned me off. I feel much more confident trying this game as a one on one type of scenario. So again thank you so much!

[@ericlambert1354]

I like Big Al also. I made him a massive fat slovenly man who came back to Phandalin and became the new Constable and organized a town guard. He rebuilt his ranch just outside the north side of the town. I actually had Harbin Wester die, when Cryovain attacked Phandalin. He hid under his bed, the dragon crashed into his roof collapsing it on him and trapping him. The party was helping evacuate the town to Axeholm and Harbin died trapped while hiding. I liked Linene so the town elected her as the new town Mayor. She and Big Al have begun to build the city up as we moved into the follow-up modules. Veleen Stormcrow comes in to run the Coster as Linene is busy running the town.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Nice! I’m glad Big Al had a big role in your game! And what a fitting end for Harbin!

[@HowtoRPG]

Why do I like the idea of Harbin Wester dying?

[@ericlambert1354]

It was never the plan from the start. My players really like the feel of Phandalin and loved many of the NPCs that are in the city. They grew concerned more and more. They really thought he was up to something for a while then just saw he was unfit to lead. I mean, they even broke into his home and snooped around at night, as they did not trust him. I watched and listened to my players, and to what I thought would ramp up the story for them. Before his death, they wanted to be rid of Phandalin, after they call it home. I awarded them the ruins of Tresendar Manor after the Dragon, and they have invested most of their gold to it and the building up of the town. After the Dragon, they wanted downtime for winter, so they spent that time building a palisade around the town. Harbin Wester was a block for them and I fixed it.

[@kurtpflegl9724]

As far as who gives the quests, we made a counsel for the town like in the mod, "In Volo's Wake." It's made up of Harbin, Sildar and Trilena. Her area of power became getting information about impending threats to the town from outside of it, since she runs the Inn and gets to know so many travelers. She became the one to recruit the party as agents to go and deal with problems outside of town. SIldar became in charge of the town's constabulary.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

A town council makes a lot more sense!

[@franciscobrugal8787]

The two npcs were not in the module but they were the most memorable . In the goblin arrows encounter they managed to intimidate a goblin (nat 20) to serve our resident necro wizard and named him Gobby. She remembers him every session in someway (died at cragmaw cave). Gobby was enamoured with every word that his master said. The other npc is Elsa Stonehill the daughter of the innkeeper and a bar maid in the inn. She is very welcoming to the party and keeps them on their toes on what happens with npcs that frequent her bar.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Ahh, I have heard of others gaining a goblin companion AT Cragmaw Cave. And always good to have intel from the innkeeper :)

[@MrBrianofarrell]

Halia ended up being the main quest giver, starting with the source of information for the dwarf & gnome starting quest, and then the gold mine. Also the side quest rumours came from Halia as well. And then ultimately Harbin was thrown out on his ass and Halia commissioned the taking of Axeholm for the safety of the town.

[@MrBrianofarrell]

It would play out like this Whilst the party rested in the Stonehill Tavern, stories of an attack on Big Al's ranch out by Conyberry came flooding in. A ranchhand had survived and rushed to Phandalin looking for assistance. The party were hired to take on the job, but before leaving town, Nicola approached Prujen to advise him that they should investigate the rumours that the people of Conyberry may have buried their treasure near their shrine to Savras. Nicola was Halia's assistant, Prujen was the party rogue. The party found the bell, and naturally Halia was able to help them liquidate the value.

[@HowtoRPG]

Halia has finally gotten what she wants. Great story.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That’s awesome! Total power shift in the town at the hands of the players 😆

[@charliemurphy6457]

I've played the town master as the door guard for the entrance to the wizard OZ chambers in Emerald City.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Hahah perfect!

[@stephenwells2464]

My players still go back to visit the crab from time to time. They loved Xanth too and even convinced him and some of his friends to help fight the dragon... they forgot to go and get him for the battle though... probably for the best since they would have been sad if/ when he became a block of ice or got dropped off the tower.

[@thejawgz6719]

The two groups I played this for loved Harbin Webster. I played him like a comical, cowardly curmudgeon and they loved the slipping-the-payment-under-the-door gag. In the end, he conquered his fear and helped defend Phandalin from orcs as best he could after a rousing speech, dying heroically. I played Falcon as a Han Solo type and Don Jon Raskin as a smooth-talkin’ southern gent. Lastly, I portrayed Adabra Gwynn to be old as dirt, mostly because your Gameplay video of that quest made me laugh. 😁

[@HowtoRPG]

All great ideas. Harbin Wester dying was my favourite

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Ahh Han Solo / Falcon is pretty genius!

[@TheHareedo]

The crab in my game was Claude. I changed Halia from the Miner's Exchange into a Tiefling with a flying snake pet who secretly ran the town and had the town master under her thumb. The town master never showed his face and caused a rivalry with one of my players who has made it his mission to take his job.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha no love Harbin :P

[@TheHareedo]

@@BobWorldBuilder Harbin Wester has also gone so far as to call in a newspaper from Waterdeep to run a smear campaign against him. Think J Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man, only a Gnome.

[@tristanbutcher8211]

Thank you mr. Builder

[@BobWorldBuilder]

You're very welcome!

[@HowtoRPG]

Bob's a nice guy. We both wanted people to have more to work with for the NPC's.

[@SCwirlify]

I would love to see your take on the Icewind Dale quest in Targos, 'Mountain Climb'! I'm having my players start in Bremmen, so I assume they will visit Targos quite soon. I am following your suggestion to make 'Cold-Hearted Killer a Mystery; spanning several sessions. So thank you for inspiring me to do so :)

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you for commenting! Targos and Bremen are probably being combined in the next ID DM guide at the end of the month!

[@sammyboi1983]

My party loved Big Al, who I played as a gentle giant who has been bottling up his aggressive tendencies by living a quiet life as a farmer (bit of a John Wick vibe). My party were only level 3 on that quest, and they quickly realised that Big Al was a superior fighter to anyone in the party, so they healed him up, gave him a weapon, and let him lead the counterattack on the occupying orcs. The orcs got absolutely *wrecked*. We ended the scene with Big Al torturing the captured orc boss who had previously tortured him in the basement. Lots of 'stop hitting yourself' stuff, with a clear undertone that Al was going to draw this out for *days* in revenge. The party decided not to stick around to witness the aftermath!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That's brutal! Yeah I kind of regret not giving Big Al more time to shine in my game. Well done!

[@jimwalker1837]

I'm a brand new DM. Actually, I've never even played D&D. However, on our session 1, there was a character that I brought into the tavern named Gorm. Whenever Gorm would enter the tavern everyone would shout his name and then he would say something witty when Toblin would ask him if he wanted an ale. I think Gorm will be in every town and tavern my adventurers come to in the future!

[@mynameismarkchun]

This is phenomenal thank you so much

[@solojo13]

Awesome... Never a disappointment!!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you very much!

[@HowtoRPG]

I told you Bob had another video on Dragon of Icespire Peak :)

[@samgutshall7100]

Using other NPCs as quest givers is my favorite takeaway from this video. Most of these quests have obvious NPCs that would be better sources for these favors. It didn’t feel right that the same concerned, reclusive man was sending the party around to deliver messages to convince different people to return to the safety of the town. It also encourages and teaches new players that exploring can yield results when they continue to encounter significant NPCs since they decided to go to a place that seemed insignificant or unnecessary to go initially. As a DM, you can then count on your players taking the bait more consistently when you drop a hint to go here or to do something.

[@randomsleepyness]

Brilliant!

[@HowtoRPG]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you!

[@SteveHill3D]

Don-Jon Raskin was the NPC that had the biggest impact in our campaign. He was a teller of tall tales -- which became rather irritating after a time "Did I ever tell you about the time I ..... ". Fred might appreciate that he really was an Australian who had somehow been transported into the Forgotten Realms when he encountered a bunyip. He had a rather tragic backstory -- his mother had died in mysterious circumstances after their farm had been enveloped in an eldritch mist. He caught sight of a dark figure draining her of blood, but no-one believed his tale (guess who will be one of the Vampire Spawn in CoS). After that his father took to drinking and beating the young Don-Jon, so it was somewhat of a relief when he found himself in a new world. According to him, he witnessed the eruption of Mount Hotenow, worked as a woodsman, saw a demon and saw an eclipse of the sun. But the best thing was meeting the adventurers who listened to his tales helped him to come to terms with his loss. I also had Pell abducted by Orcs and Half-Orc Anchorites. The Orcs threatened to kill the boy unless Falcon relinquished the hunting lodge. At this point the Anchorites had a change of heart and turned on the Orcs and an entente between them and Falcon was established. Pell had been adopted by Falcon when he found him by the body of his mother. Pell had never spoken, but when rescued from the Orcs said "Thank you" and then never looked back. Falcon became quite soppy over the boy. The Westers were fun to play for comedy value. But there is something a little bit fishy about their source of income. He speaks of his "benefactors" but will not say any more. I wonder where that might lead.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Sounds like you really made the most out of your NPCs! I love it!

[@SteveHill3D]

@@BobWorldBuilder and I really appreciate your guidance on running this campaign. I incorporated many of your suggestions. This is the first campaign I have run for nigh on 35 years!

[@MrVotiga]

I am running this adventure (Dragon of Icespire Peak) parallel to another group I'm running through Lost Mines of Phandelver. In the LMoP group, Harbin Wester was run out of town after the Red Cloaks were defeated, for allowing the Red Cloaks to grow as much as they did. As his replacement, they appointed the town guild master and person who handled most of Harbin's paperwork, Halia Thornton who is an agent of the Zhentarim. Because I am running the games parallel, that meant that the normally absent town master of the DoIP campaign was quickly replaced by a much more present and ambitious Halia Thornton. Interestingly enough, the LMoP hated and mistrusted Halia, but my DoIP group loved her! They ended up doing all sorts of construction and engineering work for the town on her request. :)

[@Longshanks126]

My players just got to the Tower of Storms and first thing they did was make friends with the crab and ask if he would come with them, definitely seems like he's going to end up as a party favorite. Oh, and I ended up naming him Magnus, because when I saw his greeting was "Well met!" all I could think of was The Adventure Zone, "Hail and well met!"

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha, very nice!

[@HowtoRPG]

I totally get it. My players wanted to take the Crab home.

[@AnythingGodfather]

Funny enough, the alcoholic Falcon was my parties favorite npc

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha, not so boring after all!

[@AnythingGodfather]

@@BobWorldBuilder I played him like a veteran with "War stories" of his hunts and trophies of orc heads hung on his walls. They asked him to help with the Shrine of Savras. Because I could see he was quickly become a fan favorite I went ahead and rolled some ranger stats for him like a warrior sidekick but since he's a hunting guide I gave him bow proficiency. My players opened a tab for him at the Inn in Phandalin and he's been involved in the plot of a one shot and a resource my players trust for advise and help

[@Ashes024]

I made an NPC that shows the people around town she is a 5-year-old human child and I also plan on making her part of a quest that the players will do after they defeat the dragon.

[@MrAyeSir]

I roleplayed Harbin as an absolute coward who's also easily deceived. One of my players collected flowers and placed them around the town, just for fun and decoration. They gave some to Harbin and convinced him they had protective properties that ward off dragons, and after the dragon was defeated, these flowers became part of certain cultural events and traditions in Phandalin. Goes to show how small interactions can help to give a location new cultural flavor. Anytime this group comes across Phandalin in the future, I'll be sure to mention the presence of certain flowers from now on! :)

[@beatdownerz]

I wasn't happy with how the campaign handles the non-quest related places like the Tower of Storms and the Shrine of Savras. That's why I let Halia Thornton contact the party rogue and and feeding him information about these places. She is getting the half of what the players find there and I think it works pretty well. She is now suddenly one of the more important NPCs. Other honorable mentions: My players of course loved the crab at the tower. Also I took your advice and played Don-Jon really wild west like; my players hated him for being so extra about it. :D But I think these strong feelings count as much! :D

[@HowtoRPG]

I like how Halia gets picked up by Dungeon Masters. Great strategy.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That’s a great use for Halia! Did the rest of the party know they were funding the Zhentarim??

[@beatdownerz]

@@BobWorldBuilder No, not yet. 😏 I'm thinking about something like the Zhentarim will help in some harsh situaton or I introduce them in the expansions I have yet to read. And afterwards it will clear up tgat they were already working for these shady people.

[@costanzafaust]

I turned the sidekicks into a couple of rival adventuring parties (since I figured on a large enough group not to need them) who are usually showing up at the job board just before the party and grabbing all the easy quests like "Kill the rats in the cellar" or "Spend a night in Tresendar Manor to prove it's not haunted" ... and I named the crab Simon and gave him some jokes like puns about the shark not feeling gill-ty about eating you, not claw-strophobic about squeezing into the shipwrecks, almost pulling a mussel bringing back the treasure, then apologizing for the jokes because he's just fishing for a laugh. Be careful though, an adventurer was swimming around a while back and started shouting "HELP! Shark, help!", he wasn't very bright. He should have known that shark wasn't going to help him. You could try disguising yourself as a shark to sneak past Daggermaw, but be careful, that trick is wearing fin...

[@greggatesjr1301]

Our crab was named Steve. He was definitely beloved.

[@sloesty]

My party had a blast with Big Al, by actually just running him into the ground emotionally. I played him saddened by the fact that everyone he loved died and his entire farm was in pieces (they killed his cow). They eventually left him in a burnt down farm, and a friend of mine (who plays games like an absolute psychopath) went back to big al, while he was on his knees, gave him a knife and told him "you'll know what to do with it". I've made it a mission to reference big al as much as I can now, to utterly have the table explode every time he gets mentioned.

[@zenovkayos5811]

Halia and Adabra, and Leliene We had a horny bard. Totally original

[@HowtoRPG]

lol. In true D&D style.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Can’t beat the classics 👍🏻

[@zenovkayos5811]

I am planning to running the curse of Strahd next, so I am foreshadowing a bit. The merchant guild Halia is trying to impress is in fact a front for the cult of the death House. The death House itself uses that to lure in adventurers to feast on. Also can be used to bring in magic items or victims to Barovia. Adabra insists on staying in her house despite not being safe and was just attacked by a manticore which doesn't make sense. Therefore Adabra was driven out of the town of phandalin by the merchant guild. She was threatened to stay away as she wouldn't simply submit to their control on free trade. She hints to the characters that things are not what they seem in phandalin. A vistana assassin attempts to shoot Adabra w a crossbow, and tries to flee. If forced into combat shapeshifts to werewolf form :)

[@BobWorldBuilder]

I have not run CoS yet, but that sounds like an excellent set up!

[@TheNerdrayray]

I used Pickle Pet as the Blacksmith lol

[@BobWorldBuilder]

You got it!!

[@HowtoRPG]

He will make a great NPC.

[@TheNerdrayray]

@@HowtoRPG he did and still does. Currently still running this Module

[@quaidoralious4181]

I started the game with 2 characters that had 3 sessions ending up at Big Al's, 2 more joined, i had them catch up by getting yelled at to go away by Harbin, they ended up at Barthens and met up wit Lianne their Harper contact, i made them Harpers and they were instructed to take on Barthen's job of delivering goods with Vincent to the Logging camp. Saw a plume of smoke in the woods off trail. Followed the plume and made it to Big Al's being assaulted by a band of desperate orcs who had set fire to the main house with the 2 players in it. Defending the house in a ranged shoot out from the windows while the house was burning around them. The 2 newbies to arrive attacked the orcs from behind reliazing that they were up to no good. They linked up, one of the players didn't want to give Petunia back to Big Al, a 10 year old almost becoming irate to keep the cow and i could tell it was almost murder hobo time. So, Big Al peacefully negotiated the cow back and leveraged the mitheral armor. Big Al wanted Petunia back to restart his business. With the 2 new players joining, i wasn't going to have Big Al throw down. But, other NPCs aren't going to be so nice, it will have to be some sort of learning lesson.

[@danbuccini5659]

Excellent! (Bill and Ted style)

[@HowtoRPG]

lol. Does that make me Ted or Bill?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha 😁 thank you!

[@BLynn]

FRED!!!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

The real deal!

[@HowtoRPG]

Hi. How is it going : )

[@adolchrystin]

Don Jon Raskin was a fun NPC.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks for sharing.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah, he was one of my favorites!

[@roshnimukherjee6927]

Gaaah! This video is great! Phandalin really lacked interesting NPCs. Why didn't I think of adding the sidekicks as some of the NPCs! Also, my players have decided they will go to war for the awakened crab. It's their favourite NPC so far. Closely followed by Falcon. I think played Falcon's casual confidence in his skills too well. They kind of look up to him. Also, funny question bob! Since I couldn't find this info anywhere in the book, where did your players get to know the Dragon's name? I don't think any NPCs mention it. So, will the players have to kill Cryovain without knowing its name? It kinda defeats his barebones lore then. Right?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you! And that's a great point! I suppose I could watch the gameplay back, but I feel like I only referred to him as "the white dragon" while speaking in character. I know Grace learned the name from me out of chracter though. For gameplay purposes, I could see Cryovain proudly shouting his own name at some point for others to hear it.

[@roshnimukherjee6927]

Yeah... That could be possible. I am going to use your version of Dragon so, maybe the dragon is arrogant enough to shout his name. Or maybe they might get the information from Shrine of Savras. Lets see!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Ahh, the shrine is another great place for that to be revealed!

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Good video

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks Rivers!

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks for watching River. Glad you liked the video.

[@akanu21]

DOIP has some great quests and adventures, but the overall cohesiveness of the story is lacking, and its quest-giving is silly. These issues make it a far weaker adventure than LMOP. In my game, Sildar from LMOP was the quest-giver for Dwarven Excavation, and the reward for notifying Norbus and Dazlyn was paid by Gundren Rockseeker, who originally hired these two wayward dwarves. Nundro Rockseeker was the quest-giver for Umbrage Hill -- he was worried about Grista, who is pregnant and under Adabra's care. Adabra needs additional mushrooms from the rock gnomes for her salves and potions, and she became the quest-giver for Gnomengarde.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That’s a great combo! Way to capitalize on the NPCs :D

[@HowtoRPG]

Well thought out.

[@akanu21]

@@BobWorldBuilder Thanks! I really appreciate your perspective on D&D and your content -- it is inspiring! Here are a couple of other changes that may be of interest: I made the anchorites into a group acting as major antagonists of the PCs, who use vultures & ravens to communicate with one another over distances so that they are aware of the PCs doings. Also, I tied the three Dwarven sites together - Dwarven Excavation (Temple of Abbathor), Umbrage Hill (Dwarven Burial Site), and Axeholm. I moved Axeholm so that Umbrage Hill was essentially between it and the Temple of Abbathor, and made Axeholm the redoubt of a rival clan who was feuding with the Temple. It was that conflict caused the destruction of each. I replaced the banshee at Axeholm and put an Dwarven Allip there instead. And per your advice, I placed a magic item - the Heart of Silverbeard - in the Dwarven Excavation (E11), possessed by a dead priest of Clangeddin Silverbeard, that acts as a key to Axeholm, and allows a good aligned cleric to cast Aid 1/day.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That's awesome! I love filling in the lore. All of those gaps are one of the things I really like about this module :)

[@quaidoralious4181]

Yea.. I'm DM'ing for 3, 10 year olds and an adult and 2 of the 10 year olds are becoming Murder Hobo's. It's disconcerting.

[@prtwriter4660]

Sorry bob Ive been rebranding

[@HowtoRPG]

Is it a brand I would know?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

No need to apologize, PRT! Thanks for commenting!

[@whips_and_buckets]

Crab wins

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Every. Single. Time. 🦀

[@HowtoRPG]

Wally is a powerful force.

[@coryreid122]

My favorite reworked characters were Harbin, Big Al, and Adabra. I changed Harbin to be a grizzled, retired warrior. Adabra was a retired cleric, and Big Al was a retired warrior/ rogue and a jerk to boot! They were the previous adventures in the land and are happy to pass on the touch to my party.