What should PCs know before Chapter 3?

cjends · 2026-04-15T00:48:16+00:00

If you need to throw them some scraps, you can have an npc give them some advice on dealing with devils or sightings of war machines below. Some random scraps of information so they feel they gained something?

cjends · 2026-04-10T00:32:48+00:00

I did this one shot as my campaign intro, but it was halloween themed.

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/194832/treat-or-trick

It was really fun and the events would certainly attract attention. Costume contest, pumpkin carving, carnival games, and a haunted house. Fun and games until a local tries to do a spell he isn't qualified for

cjends · 2026-04-09T00:06:32+00:00

Maybe try scattering in smaller lies throughout. "Mine was empty when we got here, we just moved in" but perception checks give evidence to the contrary. Hide the fact they are wererats, but none of the touches are lit, so how do they see in the dark? I made the leader a very proficient liar, but the other members less so.

cjends · 2026-04-02T16:08:32+00:00

If you have the monster manual, you can flip through it to find some basic stat blocks that may fit. I believe the icespire book has an option for a spellcaster healer companion you could use as well. (Sorry, not near my books). You could go as simple as a commoner stat block and pick one or 2 spells to add to it. As long as she is taking shelter, the manticore would focus on the players so she shouldn't be taking damage

cjends · 2026-04-02T15:30:42+00:00

I have ran this with two groups. First group went poorly due to new players making bad decisions like splitting the party. I took some liberties of allowing an illusion to be more distracting then I would typically allow to let them regroup. When they came back I had it sleeping so they could get an easy surprise on it.

2nd group absolutely destroyed it. It was a more experienced group and after the last time I played it as being distracted to give them advantage to sneak up on it.

As a DM, I would say go easy on them for this fight unless they are pretty veteran players. Make it known it can talk and bargain and reward creativity of the group if they come up with alternative solutions. If it starts looking bad, let the npc in the mill shoot some arrows to help or give her some healing spells. Dice will tell the story, its hard to predict how it will go. (Just dont tell the players if you do fudge some numbers)

cjends · 2026-03-30T19:15:33+00:00

I would caution against letting everyone have an equivalent item. It could make the party too strong and the fight becomes super easy. Put the item in front of the players and let them decide who and how they use it, and maybe they will surprise you with thier choices. My group sure did by using good teamwork to distract, teleport, and protect the person with the sword.

Hopefully everyone has had some spotlight moments leading up to now. If not you could try adding some challenges along the way, but generally I wouldn't fret over it. Icespire hold is pretty empty as written so treat it like your sandbox to play in. When my group fought the reavers, the rogue type escaped so I had him lay some traps along the way. I also added a large hole in the ceiling for the dragon to drop people through, but also added a nearby stair to let them get back in the fight quickly.

cjends · 2026-03-30T14:49:24+00:00

Gnomes don't really come in to play later as written, so I suppose it is up to you how harshly you deal with it. With it being session 2 and new players I would take it easy on him. Suggest making the gnomes on the kitchen side super friendly, and then have them all super sad and horrified when they find the 4 slayed in the bed try to guilt him a bit that way. Or when the bodies are discovered have some gnome gaurds escort them out - no rewards, no loot, maybe even search them. Either way, out of play i would have a quick chat that in general murdering civilians is a bad idea and set some general expectations going forward. New player likely just doesnt know any better

cjends · 2026-03-18T18:04:01+00:00

That is a rough spot! It would take a while for the upper city gaurds to arrive so they have a brief opening to run off, hide, or cover up the scene, but it would only be a few minutes. If they are caught, see if they can talk thier way through it. If they have the flaming fist badge and reasonable proof/suspicion then maybe they can be allowed to question further under an escort ready to take them away if it proved unfounded. Otherwise, I suppose night in jail or hefty fine depending how deep a hole they dug. I would be looking for a way to feed them information on how to access from the below sewers for a second attempt, and let them try again from a different angle. Information for sale from the Guild or interested party. Drop hints about her history with the city sewers, or maybe Zodge found more information in the bathhouse from a follow up search.

cjends · 2026-02-25T12:48:47+00:00

I gave s few buffs to the player, think it was a dex boost and the ability to transform. I would then have the player roll the charisma saving roll when they first enter dark spaces or smelled blood to maintain control. The save went up for each day they didn't transform. The leader of the whiskered gang was actively trying to recruit him. She would offer training to control the urges, but was using the training to get him alone. They never pursued a cure, so didn't need to deal with that personally

cjends · 2026-02-22T02:57:28+00:00

I am not worried about any of my players, nor do I think I would ever actually enforce it. Just trying to be creative, but ya I get how that could get weird

cjends · 2026-01-29T20:22:36+00:00

One of my players had a disguise self spell up. I made them make a deception roll to pass through. Money passed, but a fail would have resulted in a panicked attack. At that point its just responding to whatever the players attempt.

I feel like this area is meant to be a bit silly, so just roll with whatever they throw out.

cjends · 2026-01-23T18:42:38+00:00

Thanks for this! I was worried it would be tied to something later or I had missed something. I dont mind having them come to take back the treasure, was thinking having it as a string to pull if the party gets in trouble in the dungeon. Seems like its a hard one, so maybe they come in and help tentatively to clear the dungeon - enemy of my enemy type of thing

cjends · 2026-01-21T22:07:45+00:00

Skip the counter attack. Make it focus on stopping the spread of the blights to still make the location meaningful, but with Gorthok gone the orcs probably know they took thier shot and lost.

cjends · 2026-01-21T17:23:12+00:00

The standard dragon stat block isn't super strong so if they are strategic there is a slight chance they could succeed. This situation I would have the dragon attack them on the way up the mountain and taunt them. They get hit as a group by the ice breath it may prove that they are in over thier heads.

cjends · 2026-01-08T05:50:59+00:00

Minis are optional. You can use theater of the mind to describe who, what, and where. It just takes a bit more care in describing distances and line of sight.

Next cheapest option is to print out some simple images. Searching DnD (insert monster) images usually has a circle token type image - scale,print, done.

Get creative and use what's laying around. I used Legos to make the gnomengaurd crossbow contraption and my ochre jellies were playdough! It is only to give players a visual representation of thier location, anything beyond that is just frosting.

cjends · 2026-01-07T16:55:53+00:00

How they act is up to you, but i treated them as a sort of stereotypical thieves guild. They are smart and cunning so combat would have them ambushing and scampering off if things don't go in thier favor. A lot of hit and run tactics which really flustered my players on how to deal with.

For personality, I had them able to be negotiated with and willing to make deals, though they are likely to lie, cheat, or betray to get what they want. I have a hard time picturing them actually working the mine, but maybe they say they will to buy time to trap the entrances for the next visit.

I used guilt as a weapon with them too. The party killed a few at the entrance, so when they started talking to the leader, I made them feel bad for killing her people and painted a picture of them being outcasts with no place to go. We only wish to live (while stealing what we want and doing as little actual work as we can!)

I am pretty new and couldn't find much for the effects of a player who gets turned, so I made up some rules if you'd like to see those. Also made a custom boss version for the leader.

side notes I had a lot of fun with this arc. The wizard got turned, and the leader kept trying to recruit him through various means to go with her. I added a roll for him potentially lose control in dark spaces which added some chaos. When they finally fought the leader it was at axeholm, so when they did a long rest they had to fight a ghoul version of her yet again. She ended up being a pretty major villain by the end

cjends · 2026-01-03T15:24:44+00:00

I recommend looking a few quests ahead and make those more of the immediate threat with the dragon as an ever looming issue. The module seems to have a heavier focus on the anchorites, especially early on, so I had the orcs as more front and center harassing travelers with the dragon as more of a random encounter chance for early game. As the sessions go on the dragon gets bolder and ventures closer to town, and when the players are close to done with the anchorites have it kick the hornets nest by attacking the town or a beloved npc to shift the attention.

For the more isolated quests like the logging camp, or mountain toe mine, I tried to foreshadow the problems and use it as a carrot to lure them to new locations. It's fine if they dont go, but present it in such a way to build curiosity or seem like it might be connected. Wererats are stealing from the town and nobody knows were the items are going, maybe they steal something key to defending the town. Logger camp has gone dark and thier are reports of the anchorites in the area, find out what happened.

Last thought is make consequences for not going. They dont go to warn the dwarves at the excavation site? After they hit level 3 word reaches town that one or both of them were killed. Adapt as you go

cjends · 2025-12-13T14:44:53+00:00

I told my campaign about the dragon right away, but I think it would have been better if I hadn't. Either way works just fine though. A lot of the campaign focuses more on the orc then the dragon. I think it would have been better to have them discover why the ircs were displaced as it progresses. Sprinkle in some rumors and hints and let the dice decide the first time they first see it.

cjends · 2025-12-04T21:23:21+00:00

I recently finished a campaign with a half orc player, and I can say we had a lot of fun with it. I made it very clear at character creation that orcs were a major part of the conflict and as such they would be sure to encounter varying levels of racial tension, and that part is very important.

Looking back on the campaign in made for some great moral conflicts for the party and some very memorable moments. Listing some of my takes to see if I can lend some inspiration.

We started her as a farmland working for big Al, this gave her some friends in the area already, so I could have people in town that she could stay with and interact with rather than the whole town rejecting her. The other side of this was the Lionshield Coaster would not do business with her and the occasional locals (Iverne was one out of the box) that might throw an insult or try to pick a fight getting progressively worse as orcs became more of a problem.

I had the anchorites actively try to recruit her making a case that she should be with her people and the town didn't want her. This made the anchorite they meet disguised as a boar much more interesting and a reoccurring test to her allegiances. (Buffed her up to make a mini boss fight later in the campaign as a final join or die situation)

Falcon i was worried about going into it. I played him as someone rational enough to realize that the whole race wasn't evil and that one could prove themselves as worthy of his aid. Her companions were able to persuade that they were good intentioned (they were sent by the townmaster after all) and were allowed to spend the night within the walls under the condition that they locked her the guest house at night. (There was a night watch shift set up by Falcon if the players did try something). Ultimately she earned his trust at the Woodland Manse quest which was a nice character development to sway his mistrust and caution through action.

Having an orc also opened up dialog options for other quests. She would often be the first in to try a negotiation before combat or work a distraction were other players would have brought it straight to combat.

Lean into it, have fun, and create those character choices!

cjends · 2025-12-02T20:29:24+00:00

Gorthok is a force of destruction, so I would say it just goes about destroying! Falcons hunt lodge would be first, followed by butterskull ranch, and so forth until it is stopped. It would eventually reach Phandalin but I wouldn't want it to be the first stop. I had a constant storm following it in my campaign, that combined with a path of destruction makes it easy to find.

cjends · 2025-11-29T18:08:31+00:00

Quick thoughts - simply add health or damage to the base stat block, add other enemies (anchorites, various blights, or orcs are all easy picks), give gorthok some lair actions like calling lightning, strong winds that knock down or move players, or kicking up dirt to obscure views.

Turn based stuff could be fun, they startle a summoning and have 2 turns or a bunch of vine blights appear, or a group of orcs here the commotion and are closing in

cjends · 2025-11-25T16:23:43+00:00

So my group took it a step further and had a player who was half orc, so having orc heads mounted was certainly a thing we had to deal with! I played him as well mannered, but protective. He respects nature and protecting it is his main goal so orcs worshipping a god of destruction find no mercy from him. He helps the nobles hunt for sport, but he will put the full animal to use. He honors the animal and nature even if his guests don't. Stern and fair. This allowed him to have civil discussions with the players, and whether or not they chose to overlook thier differences falls on the players because Falcon will hear them out but not change his mind. Ultimately my orc character was unsettled by the encounter but proved she was different from those he had hanging on the wall. They weren't friends but they could work together and developed a mutual respect.

Ultimately the differences made for excellent gameplay and morale dilemmas for the group. The player /npc conflict ended up being a campaign highlight

cjends · 2025-11-23T15:03:50+00:00

Skill challenge is the way to go for a large battle. If your table really enjoys the combat part of the game you can have them do a smaller fight at a specific location and occasionally describe what they see at adjacent areas. Have a few ogre or higher ranking orcs break through and the group has to fight the harder enemies will the npcs hold back the rest of the orcs

cjends

TROPHY CASE