D&D 5E Phandelver first game experience

[Nebulous]

For my 2 experienced players, 5th edition has put fear back into them, a fear they did not have in 4e at all. They know they are vulnerable so they try to play smart and take advantage of any opportunities to minimize risk to themselves. They avoid combat if they can, but down here in the mine the enemies just savagely attack no matter what.

The very hardest encounters are yet to come next session and I really don't know what will happen. But i'm afraid it will go poorly for the PCs if they make any miscalculation or a few bad dice rolls.

 

[Gilladian]

I loosely planned to have a sahuagin island and a series of outposts, a sea elf tribe in sime caves, and many passages leading off to other places. Could have been the whole campaign. I may still have the pcs hear that the sahuagin have raided the mine.

 

[Nebulous]

Wow. Flameskulls. Holy shnikey.


I should have next recap posted later today.

 

[Nebulous]

Session #10

https://app.box.com/s/ops46h99au8bvlbwis7m


We're not done yet, but TLMoP has given us 20+ hours of a gameplay, and there were multiple sidetreks skipped.

 

[Nebulous]

Session #11
https://app.box.com/s/csi5ilthft6lqzvc6dci

A short one, but we're nearing the end. We've already gamed over 6 hours in the last map alone, and there's still a good bit left unexplored.

 

[Nebulous]

SO...I'm in the interesting position here that I've allowed the PCs an out - Hand over the Forge of Spells to the Black Spider and walk away, and he'll give them a Magic item.

It will be the Deck of Many Things, something that the BS is willing to trade up as he does not like to gamble with such potential losses.

But how much can this drow be trusted? For that matter, how much can the PCs be trusted to honor the deal? Is this going to devolve into a Mexican standoff? Those are questions I don't exactly have answers to. My *intention* is to have the BS honor the deal - kill the guardians, leave the forge, and then get the F out of this mine and don't come back. If the heroes can get something out of the deal, namely loot, and the dwarf Gundren, they might be obliged to agree.

But what does the BS have to lose by leaving them alive? It might be in his best interest to leave no witnesses. I mean, I guess he is 100% chaotic evil. In addition, the Forge wont' work outside its little chamber, so any magic will have to be conducted there. And I have an add-on scenario where there's a Beholder Lord in Midion (Where The Monsters Go) who is the one who really wants the Forge. The Black Spider is just the middleman sent to find it.

 

[Nebulous]

Holy &*$&.

Final room. 5 PCs. Eight bugbears, 4 giant spiders, a drow wizard and a doppleganger.

They escaped, barely, with only one PC killed.

 

[Nemio]

That must have been an awesome battle

I'm interested in hearing more about who's using the Black Spider as middleman in your story.
I was thinking myself that he's probably not the real BBEG

 

[Nebulous]

That must have been an awesome battle

I'm interested in hearing more about who's using the Black Spider as middleman in your story.
I was thinking myself that he's probably not the real BBEG

It's a beholder Lord in another underground city, I'm using the template from The Seven Pillared Hall. They PCs almost leapt through a portal leading there last night, but there were too many unknowns, so they didn't. Which mildly disappointed me.

 

[Nebulous]

Session #12

We're now EIGHT hours into the final level of the lost mine and still not quite done. I'm definitely getting a lot out of the map I put together.

https://app.box.com/s/z54coao1991ewpz2tftioite5ogqux7b