Recently I’ve been getting into Dungeons and Dragons a lot more. I have been playing Tabletop RPGs for a couple years now and my urge to play grew larger the more I played. My wife and a couple close friends of mine are all on the nerdy side, enjoy fantasy themes and we all play video games together almost every night. A little before Christmas I decided to become a Dungeon Master and run the Lost Mines of Phandelver for a small group of friends including my wife.
I was nearing the end of the LMoP campaign I was a part of and figured it would be a good introduction for most of the people I had in mind for my first campaign. Although since 3 of them had never played D&D I figured I would start with a tutorial “one-shot”. The characters they played are the ones that came with LMoP so they can get accustomed to what their character is capable of.
At the moment of orchestrating this tutorial, I had not intended for it be canon. I was going to scrap all the items they acquired and not take into account the experience gain. Even the town mentioned is not part of the Sword Coast.
The campaign below will be told in narrative speech, any sections where I break narrative will be encapsulated as such.
Setting
Our story pans to the Sword Coast region of the Faerûn to a town south of Neverwinter called Ayurn. Ayurn is a small coastal town, sitting a couple miles off The High Road, the road from Neverwinter to Waterdeep. The population of this town is approximately 300-400 denizens, most of whom have been here for all their life. As expected from coastal regions, their main exports are fish and fruits. Both of which are used to trade with towns nearby for other goods.
Some of the more recent trading expeditions have mentioned a sudden appearance of Goblins along the once empty roads. Not too long after trade expeditions started disappearing, or some traders would make it back to town and yell of a goblin attack on the carts.
After weeks of facing such attacks, the town’s supplies were slowly starting to dwindle. Soon enough poultry and cattle were going unfed and restless, there was a shortage of fresh vegetables, and the townsfolk were quickly running out of their basic necessities.
Sasha, the townmaster, has sent several swift couriers far and wide asking for any help the other towns could muster. Unfortunately, the other smaller towns didn’t have enough fighters ready to help and the massive town of Neverwinter was too busy with their own affairs. During on town meeting, Sasha sent out a public plea asking for any of the inhabitants that were able to raise a weapon to come to the townmaster’s hall tomorrow.
Next morning seven townsfolk gathered at the townmaster’s hall, much to Sasha’s surprise. Sasha addressed the seven, “We’re at a dire point right now, our town is mostly out of supplies and very shortly we will start to weaken a community. If the goblins’ plan was to weaken us before attacking then they will be poised to do it in a couple weeks”.
She asked the folks there to provide their names, in case the mission was not a successful one and they needed to pay their respects. The first was a human, Jess Damaran, she had a nobler air around herself as suggested by how she carried herself. Another human went after her, Straff Venture, well known around town as a folk hero who helped often when there was trouble with predators coming from woods. A halfing going by Cade Tosscobble sat next to Straff, as the halfling stood, only about as tall as a sitting Straff, he said, ” I was part of one of the trade groups, I can lend a hand and offer aid as I have dealt with these goblins before”. The dwarf Rurik Ungart stood up next, mentioning that he can help tend to anyone that gets wounded. Kira Starflower, an elf who has been stranded here due to the lack of safe passage out of this town is desperately longing to get back to her tomes in Neverwinter and wishes to end this goblin distraction. An elderly dwarf goes after her, Malgrick Berylaxe, who does not stand up, he’s been sitting for a little while now and is having a harder time getting to his feet. He remarks that his age may be getting the better of him lately. After the 6 of them got done, attention turned the last one. In that instant, the lady stood and walked out without emotion or hesitation.
Each of them went through and introduced themselves, already divulging more information and creating a story as they sat there. Jess, played by Katie (my wife), Kira played by Alexa, Cade played by Brendan, Ruric played by Chris, and Straff played by Scott.
The party spent the rest of the day devising a plan with the townmaster, by the end of which they had something solid. The plan was to set up a reconnaissance when the next trade caravan came down that road. They would figure out the number of goblins, where they take the goods and how many more are in the hideout if any. After the planning, Sasha mentioned that some of the townsfolk came to her and handed her a couple of their simple healing vials amounting to a total of 5. Sasha handed them to the party and also said there would be some coin at the end of the road.
During the planning phase, Rurik started a conversation with Malgrick in Dwarvish and was able to convince the senior dwarf that he would do better waiting at the village in case the party failed their mission and goblins decided to attack.
For the purposes of the tutorial, I helped them devise this plan and we sped through the reconnaissance with a couple good perception and stealth roles. The party deduced that there were 7 goblins in the attack, they headed back to a cave about 45 minutes south of the road, and there were other goblins although that number remains unknown.
Execution
The day after the recon mission the party set out on their mission. Through some astounding survival checks, the party managed to find the goblin cave again. They set up camp further into the woods outside the cave and awaited a goblin excursion to go hunting for another caravan.
Shortly after an excursion of 7 goblins left the cave, Cade, the stealthy one tiptoed into the cave and scouted about 6 goblins in a large chamber inside the cave. The chamber was dimly lit with 2 glowing torches on either side. There was a stale smell in the air, much like rations being held in a room temperature environment for a couple more days than they should. Scattered around were slight glints of various pots, pans, and seldom even some coin.
Cade reported back to the party waiting outside. Rurik informed the party that he can alter his or someone else’s voice to sound like a goblin. That way they can lure out the goblins and plan to ambush them as they leave the cave. Kira volunteered to lure the goblins out as she can speak their langue, while the rest got into position. Cade and Straff climbed the mouth of the cave entrance, prepared to strike the last two goblins to leave the cave. Jess was hiding in the woods, both keeping an eye out for the goblin excursion returning early and ready to strike the goblins in front after Cade and Straff take care of the back. Ruric was waiting on one side of the cave entrance holding some rope. Rurik then cast Thaumaturgy on Kira’s voice as she bellowed to the goblins inside “Bring out some help, humans are attacking us!“. Kira then ran to the other side of the cave entrance and held the rope low to the ground.
Four goblins come running out in a 2x2 formation, all of whom just happened to miss the rope underneath them. Cade and Straff waited just one more second to see if two more goblins came running out, and when none came they fired off their arrows. Two arrows, one from Cade’s short bow and the other from Straff’s longbow find their mark in the two goblins on the back line. Jess throws her javelin at one in the front impaling it in the goblin’s shoulder. Bleeding and unable to use that arm, the goblin still stands. A fight ensues and the party is able to take care of the last 2 goblins with ease.
The party then decides to send Cade in again to explore further into the cave, while the rest of the party trails back. Cade, after thinking he’s stealthier than he actually is this time, enters further into the case and noticed a tiny hallway at the end of the room. As he nears the back room, it takes a slight curve to the right. Cade peeks into the room and at the ready are two goblins with pots in their hands, and between them sitting another goblin. This one’s a little large than the other ones, even while sitting on a makeshift throne. A giant scabbard lies next to his feet, which he grabs as he rises and makes his way towards the halfling. The two goblins, who also heard Cade approaching had been ready for him and threw the pots at him. The first one missed because only Cade’s head was poking out through the hallway, but the little moment of distraction the clanging of the first pot provided was enough for the second to hone in on Cade’s face and critically wound him. Cade limped out of there before the Goblin Boss could close the distance, retreating back to the rest of the party.
In the main chamber, there are 4 pillars, arranged in a square as if they were holding the ceiling up. Rurik ran over to Cade’s aid behind one of the pillars, the elf, Kira, hid behind a pillar in the back. Jess and Straff being the slowest were unable to get in position and got as far as a little after the entrance.
As the two goblins and the Goblin Boss ran used all their movement to get into the roam, the party unleashed a barrage of blows at the Goblin Boss. Only Cade and Kira made contact, while Cade shot his short bow again, Kira’s right hand glowed in arcane purple energy as 3 missiles shot out of her palm and burst into a purple flare as they hit against the Goblin Boss’ chest. Astonished at their colleague’s newly demonstrated abilities, the party regrouped their focus as the Goblins turn came around.
The two goblins tried to fire arrows but both of them missed their targets. The Goblin Boss, looking a little concerned about the user of arcane arts fires a shot from a short bow which lands squarely in the elf’s clavicle. The elf is on the brink of unconsciousness as she holds on to the pillar.
Watching the elf get almost knocked out, Jess and Rurik try to rush the Goblin Boss in hopes to take on some of his aggression. Jess, Cade, and Kira are all able to land their blows this time. The mixture of melee and ranged attacks left little room for the Goblin Boss to dodge out and now he looks really rough.
The two goblins fire again, one hitting Cade, yet again leaving him looking bloodied and pale moments after the Cade took a healing potion. The Goblin Boss, yet again taken the brunt of the damage from the wizard fires another arrow at her. As that arrow connects right in Kira’s abdomen, whatever energy she mustered to hold on the pillar dissipated as her body landed on the ground, unconscious.
Watching Kira go down, not knowing whether she’s alive or dead, the gravity of the dire situation starts to sink in to rest of the party. Cade lines up a shot, aiming between Rurik and Jess right for the Goblin Boss’ heart and the arrow lands true. With a loud clatter of the short bow, followed by sounds of a couple of the skulls around the Goblin Boss’ waist crushing, the other goblins attempt to flee. The party makes short work of them.
Rurik runs over to Kira, tapped of any spells to immediately bring her back, she attempts to stabilize her. After stabilizing her, Rurik recalls that they all have healing potions and feeds one to Kira who immediately takes in a big breath of air.
I chose to attack Kira again, instead of the two people crowding the Goblin Boss, because I wanted to show the group what it means to drop below 0 hit points, how death save throws work, and how you help allies regain consciousness.
Knowing that this was not over, there were still 7 more goblins who left for the ambush, the party decided that it was in their best interest to avoid an altercation with the returning hoard. Instead, they piled the dead goblin bodies near the entrance of the cave and nailed the Goblin Boss to the cave opening. An hour later the goblin ambush party return with more supplies from a robbed caravan and a couple prisoners.
Rurik used Thaumaturgy on Kira’s voice again, who bellowed out the goblin’s words of threat and mockery and Jess lit the pile of dead bodies on fire. Those two threats combined, in addition to the Goblin Boss killed and hung to the cave opening, the goblin hoard decided it was best scattered. And they did.
Two party members returned to the village asking villagers to bring carts, caravans, and helping hands to bring whatever was salvageable back to the town.
Epilogue
That night the town celebrated a new, very battered group of heroes, who through their might and cunning destroyed a hoard of goblins double the party’s number. The celebration went on into the night, as the fire roared by the coast, children splashing in and out of the ocean, the feeling of relief as their toes entered the cold sand, accompanied by the heat of flame was enough to make the heroes forget out the wounds they had sustained earlier.
It was at this moment that I decided to make this canon. I figured the group already knows each other, and I had word of their deed travel far up north to Neverwinter, and upon Gundren's ears that his cousin is a folk hero. This became my hook, Gundren would travel down to Ayurn and offer his cousin and group of heroes a quick job of transporting his goods.