Another nice play report
I'm impressed by the quick improvisation with the doppelganger.
Thanks on both counts!
*SPOILERS WILL ABOUND THROUGHOUT THIS POST!*
Some questions if you don't mind.
1. How do you determine from which direction they approach the castle?
You use the region map and see which part they would see first?
For example if they are coming from Phandalin then they would most likely approach from the south.
You can draw/show the south wall and ask what they want to do.
If they want they can circle around the castle in the forest to see the entire layout and different approaches.
And can they do this freely or risk being seen?
Or am I just overthinking this and you just show them the entire layout from the start?
I handled things verbally until they told me that the Halfling would be invisible, then I just gave them the circumnavigated outline, and explained some details of where he saw movement, where he heard some noises, etc. It's certainly a fair concern though!
2. When using the castle or a similar dungeon I always wonder what happens when the PC's are detected. What's keeping all the monsters from joining together and attacking the heroes at once?
How do you keep the correct balance between realism & fun?
In this case, they came in to a location where the Goblins were probably at their noisiest. This did mitigate initial detection. If they had made a lot of noise outside, the open arrow slits would more likely have led to early detection but they were moving through areas where there were heavy closed doors and relatively intact walls, plus coming from a location from which noise is regularly heard. As per the blog, Lhupo and his two acolytes were aware when the party was fighting the Grick but I didn't have them get too excited just yet as they hadn't heard any warning cries and weren't fully in touch with what danger they might be in. Once the acolytes had to engage, Lhupo went to gather reinforcements: first, the toughest guys in his area, the Hobgoblins, then he would have gone for the other Goblins, and thought he had sent an ally to get them. It wasn't until fighting moved into the entry hall that I let the front tower Goblins become aware of intrusion, and they came at once only to be slept.
3. Which oppurtunities do you mean?
Did you give them any hints?
I've wondered about the hidden treasure myself.
How do you make sure that they know enough to search it without making it obvious that something is there?
I mentioned the temple brazier a number of times, even that it was not lit, thus a need for light. Once they were done in the area and were searching the supplies (finding Sildar's stuff), I mentioned they obviously wanted the stuff on the shrine alter (which they had said they wanted right when they saw it), then asked where else they were searching. They mentioned the Hobgoblin room and a couple other spots and after each I asked, "Anywhere else?" Until they started to fade off searching and discussing whether to take a short rest or press on. That seemed a natural thing, that after the adrenaline of combat faded and the quick excitement of finding treasure, they'd do just that. When they opted to press on, I did not dissuade them further. I asked once more prior to and once more after they bedded down for the long rest overnight in Grol's chamber.
4. How did you handle the part where the doppelganger took on the appearance of the Halfling?
Your players knew what was going on but they continued to RP correctly?
The players weren't completely in the know. The player of the Halfling was sleeping, as were the players of the Folk Hero and the Noble Hero, and we've had gameplay before where I've gently reminded them they were asleep or not there and thus not to speak or help out. That it was me voicing faux-Bulbo was disconcerting but I feel that lends itself to the uneasiness that the Elf would have felt that Bulbo was up and around when he should have been off duty. I played it by ear regarding what the reaction would be and since the player of the Elf Wizard was so adamant that he wasn't taking his eyes of faux-Bulbo, it just happened to work out. More following your next question . . .
5. The doppelganger has the following mentioned under Skills:
Deception +6, Insight +3
Furthermore he has advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and charisma (Deception, Intimidation and persuasion) checks when reading the minds of a creature.
Did these checks come into play for you?
I can imagine using Insight to determine if a party/PC is lying but how would a monster use Deception, Intimidation or Persuasion checks against a PC?
I rolled a few d20s in advance of that moment so that I could RP the situation without needing to alert the players that checks were being made. I let how the player's RPing suggest when I needed to consider if each successful roll was significant. I told the players no more than what they would perceive based on a combination of those checks and what they told me they were attempting to perceive.
Thanks again for taking the time to write this.
It's helping me prepare for my very first DM & DND session
I'm looking forward to the next part.
I do hope you get around to doing Thundertree.
Like you say it's the weakest part of the adventure (and the most dangerous) but I'm curious to see how you would handle it.
Thanks for following along with the blog. I'm thinking it is less and less likely they will visit Thundertree, though, and I'm not overly concerned. I'm going to look over the early portions of Wave Echo, see when they would likely need to level up to keep competitive, and probably throw a wandering encounter or two at them while still near town to ensure they have a chance to be so.
Maybe I'll have the Orcs and Ogre from Wyvern Tor assault Phadalin at night, perhaps with the help of the Evil Mage from Old Owl Well, just after some of his Zombies attack from another direction as a distraction (occupying the townsfolk). This would give them a nice chunk of the experience they would otherwise miss out on.
And maybe, as a finale, I'll have the Dragon Cultists be keeping an eye on them, have them already have persuaded the Dragon to be their ally, and have that group take on the PCs after they have dealt with everything at Wave Echo Cave.
It's all pretty modular, so I think these pieces can be shifted around. Once the PCs are 5th level, which they should be post-Wave Echo, they might stand a chance against the Dragon!
