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Mountain's Toe Gold Mine DM Guide | How to Run Dragon of Icespire Peak

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ส.ค. 2024
  • Mountain's Toe Gold Mine DM Guide | How to Run Dragon of Icespire Peak
    Chapters
    0:00 - Intro
    1:13 - Quest Card
    2:23 - Quest Background, NPCs, & Goals
    8:16 - Travel to the Mine & Opportunity Knocks
    14:18 - Arrival
    15:26 - Section M1
    17:16 - Section M4
    22:17 - Sections M11 & M13
    23:27 - Sections M14 & M15
    26:51 - Evaluation
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ความคิดเห็น • 92

  • @JNJTabletop
    @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for watching! We've got many other DM Tips to help you get the most out of your games! Check them out on our channel and in this playlist... th-cam.com/play/PL6dmrZg4pm2qOzacuy1icbfxTvjj-PKf6.html
    For more tips on running the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure, check out our growing playlist here: th-cam.com/play/PL6dmrZg4pm2phOB99W_qDcTHfRO_ipO-i.html

  • @deJessias
    @deJessias ปีที่แล้ว +13

    I just ran this with three players (with this being our first campaign for all of us) and they actuallly loved it! They even said they liked the story in this quest better than the overall story of the campaign. And judging from their feedback, I could even see this being played as a one-shot. Though admittedly, there's a lot that could've been changed about the quest so that's exactly what I did.
    Very first thing I did was having Linene do a sales pitch for silvered weapons. "If you meet a devil or undead along the way, this will protect you!" She's a saleswoman, so I think it would've been logical for her to do a sales pitch. Obviously my players didn't know this would be handy later on. One of the players wanted a (silvered) maul, which I made Linene sell for 100gp, which I hope was the right price for such a thing. Even then, they had a warlock amongst them, so they wouldn't have been *too* screwed if none of them bought anything.
    I did change the actual premise of the quest though (thanks to a Reddit post): The miners haven't returned home to Phandalin for longer than they should have and Harbin is getting worried. Don-Jon is actually the old/previous overseer of the mine, who is accompanying the adventurers so they won't get lost in the mine. This way, Don-Jon already knows the lay-out of the mine. Also, I did give him a silvered dagger, exactly like you suggested.
    I found it weird why there were three entrances on the map, if practically, you aren't going to use them. So I made Don-Jon suggest that they maybe shouldn't go through the main entrance, because it might be guarded by whoever has taken over the mine, and search for a different entrance instead. I changed it so that the entrance to M11 (the room/hallway with the Carrion Crawler) previously had stairs on the outside in the time that Don-Jon was overseer, but at the time that the party arrives, they are destroyed (which Don Jon also makes a remark about). The players can only assume this was done by the Carrion Crawler that they will meet later. Since the stairs were destroyed and the party didn't want to climb, they chose to go to the third entrance where they met the dwarves. The dwarves are obviously catious by the people that have just entered the room, but once they saw Don-Jon, they warmed up. They explain the situation, that the mine is taken over by wererats and that they are currently being guarded. This let to the first battle with the five rats, once the pary tried to escape the room.
    They've left the dwarves behind for now, but gave them one sending stone, should anything go wrong. After a bit of exploring the rest of the cave, they get to the main hall, where they meet Zaheer. She welcomes them and asks them what brings them to the mine. The warlock tells her that they should leave, since they have taken over the mine. I, as DM, see this as the perfect moment to introduce the Carrion Crawler by letting Zaheer say that they indeed have taken over the mine, but there's still a monster residing in one of the hallways that they couldn't get rid off. Zaheer simply doesn't see the dwarves as either a threat or the inhabitants of this mine, and disregards them. This eventually also leads to her explaining the story of why they fled. Because indeed, if the party decided to go to The Shrine of Savras, I would've let Zaheer say "HA! Did you really think that you would get rid of us so easily? This is our home now!" but that's simply because I know that my players would've found it hilarious if they found out they had been tricked like that. Anyway, the party decides to take care of the Carrion Crawler first, and then decide what to do with the wererats. They assume that they will need to get rid of this thing as well before everything is safe anyway, so they do that first.
    They announce their victory to Zaheer, who again offers them to get rid of the Orcs at the Shrine. Since it took WAY too long for my party to decide what to do, it was definitely clear to Zaheer that they weren't going to help her, so I made her and her guards attack the party. Because of this surprise attack they became surrounded, with even the tank of the group getting down to 1HP before they leave the room and barricade the door, whilst only having killed one wererat. After quickly announcing to the dwarves that they should come help through the sending stone, they do a short rest in the sleeping quarters while strategizing. The next battle, two rounds of the Shatter spell from the warlock already takes care of most of the monsters, which luckily didn't give the chance for the dwarves to get attacked much whilst only wielding futile javelins (provided by one of the players). With some (un)lucky rolls, one dwarf did get to 1HP, though. Let's just say that this battle went much smoother. xD Afterwards they checked the rest of the mine, where they found the two remaining guards, who fled after realizing they were outnumbered.
    This was a bit of a long story, but it did take 6 hours to play xD. When I said that there are people who hate this quest, they couldn't believe it. They loved it! They mentioned they liked moral dillema if they should even kill these things since they are humanoid, and they liked that they had to decide if they could really trust the wererats. In fact, they thought it was the must fun quest so far!

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Thank you so much for sharing your positive experience!! To be fully clear, our problem is with what the module provides and not the potential within the quest. It sounds like you did a FANTASTIC job making it your own and fit perfectly with your players! Well done!!

    • @deJessias
      @deJessias ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@JNJTabletop Yup, I completely agree, there's just so much missing from the stuff that the module provides you with... Luckily I managed to make it work haha
      Since I'm currently already running Axeholm, I'd love it if Woodland Manse will be the next quest you're gonna cover! (and hopefully before my players get there haha)

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That is the plan!! Hopefully this holiday weekend allows it to happen!

    • @melanyebaggins
      @melanyebaggins ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This was very helpful, I'm running this quest next weekend with my (nine-year-old) nephew and his parents. I want to make it fun for him and he loves combat (he very proudly plays a Dragonborn Eldridge Knight). He's going to LOVE this 😁

    • @paavohirn3728
      @paavohirn3728 ปีที่แล้ว

      That's great! Also shows that often giving a bit of extra info to the players is for the better. I know I've been skimping on informing my players/characters in unnecessary fear of spoiling the surprise.

  • @thekatablueprint2189
    @thekatablueprint2189 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    So I ran this just last night with my party after watching this video as well as Bob WorldBuilder's video.
    I was dreading it but my party insisted on going. I really leaned into Don-Jon Raskin's gas bagging (he would often launch into stupid war stories by saying "So there I was...."
    and that got a lot of laughs from the party. I also offered silvered weapons at the lion shield coster, and the frozen orcs were carrying hastily made orcish daggers with weak makeshift silver edging. Our party's ranger already had a silvered longsword, as he joined our party for the first time this session and I worked hunting the lycanthropes into his backstory as a revenge plot.
    The party, incl. Don Jon, numbered 7, so it made the lycanthropes very highly numbered.
    Our sorcerer and bard teamed up and made a very inspirational speech to the dwarves at the back of the mine to commit a mass-suicide mission attack on the lycanthropes, with the party offering the orcish silvered weapons and the home-brewed dwarf barbarian's TNT combined as a sleight-of-hand checked dirty bomb.
    I set the DC as 30, as it'd be damn hard to convince 5 dwarves (even malnourished and patriotic ones at that) to commit some kind of kamikaze attack, but the sorcerer JUST managed to roll over the DC by 1 point. The table went mad. The group ended up plotting and explaining their plan to me: they would cause a cave-in at the were-rat den with half the party, and the other half would use the sorcerer's minor illusion to cause the were-rats in M4 to all come running to attack (at which point the dwarves would activate the silvered dirty bomb). They had to pass a difficult sleight of hand (for rigging the bomb), arcana (for the minor illusion) and stealth (for hiding during the lure of the illusion brought the were-rats through.)
    It absolutely mopped everyone off. They slaughtered the entire clan of lycanthropes.
    I was so stupidly proud of the party and their radicalisation of the dwarves.
    We couldn't stop laughing the rest of the night.

  • @jimwalker1837
    @jimwalker1837 23 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I'm new to DMing and new to the game itself. I got lucky. My players were looking to buy better weapons in town, and I had just read in the player's handbook that for a price, you can have your weapons silver tipped! At the time, I didn't even realize this quest was coming up!

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  23 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      We very strongly believe this is the biggest oversight in the adventure module so we’re very happy you came across that before it became a possible issue for you!

  • @Bentron88
    @Bentron88 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    At least the weren’t wereboars! Those things are not only known to work with orcs, but actually like to spread their curse. Low-level characters against that wouldn’t have a chance!
    Although I could see wereboars working with the anchorites of Talos since they are known to shape shift into boars and then of course there is Gorthhok the Thunder Boar.
    That would make an interesting post campaign challenge: clearing out the mine of wereboars that are an offshoot of the anchorites.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Love using this as a sort of epilogue!! Great idea Bentron!!

    • @Bentron88
      @Bentron88 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JNJTabletop Have fun with this idea then!! Feel free to use it! Can’t wait to see your next video!
      Still wish I could join you guys in a campaign. Meh, some day maybe!

  • @tirinoarim
    @tirinoarim 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The frost damage (be it conversion or additional) on the dead Orcs weapons is a GREAT idea. Duly stol.. ahem... borrowed :)

  • @jenniferatterton1587
    @jenniferatterton1587 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a Kobold assassin in my group who in his back story, would play "Liar Dice" and rip off his clan and any travellers that come to his village or pass through. He came across a high-level rogue who disguised as an old man and ended up being a young dashing rogue who beat him at his own game. As a result, my rogue player begged to travel with him and teach him all he could, which they did for a few years. Then one night they planned a heist for the next day. When my rogue woke the next morning his mentor and friend had disappeared leaving all his gear behind, so suspected foul play. I read this adventure and decided it was, as you both said a bit of a mess, so I've added my players finding the rogues friend here and Zeleen intends to make him a mate by turning him, so this way it will make this adventure a bit more interesting. Haven't decided how Don-Jon will fit in yet but hopefully, this added extra will help bring this adventure (with the silver or magic weapons) into play and make it a bit more interesting.

  • @thekatablueprint2189
    @thekatablueprint2189 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hey thanks heaps for this whole series. I’ve never ever played before and have been semi elected to DM this campaign for a bunch of other guys who also have never played before. Our first session is coming up on the 23rd! Big thanks from melb, aus!

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It’s a great place to start for new players and DMs! We’d love to know how everything goes with your game!

    • @paavohirn3728
      @paavohirn3728 ปีที่แล้ว

      I hope you've been enjoying the game!

  • @doms.6701
    @doms.6701 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This quest definitely requires some leg work on the DM to prep but it's really open to the imagination. I ran this like you joked "sucks to suck, now gtfo". They are a gang which I expanded on and will become a criminal organization if not dealt with eventually. The party can come back. Don Jon left to report back in Neverwinter and get assistance.
    I guess it's railroading since there's only one way to get out unharmed but they are more than welcome to try it. I did make it clear in session zero that you may be adventurers but this isn't a movie. You will not just fight your way out 5v9, that's life.
    I did have a player try to get physical and don Jon had his back, but the leader laughed at them and said "we cannot be hurt by normal weapons", then shot one of the other warerats in the room.
    Don Jon was a jack of all trades, master of none type of guy. Did it all but not all that great lol. He was sent to find out why the supply of gold has decreased (the crawler was responsible for the deaths over the last couple months). Just so happened that the warerats came when they did and plan to use the dwarves as slaves to mine. I introduced the quest a week before he would arrive, the company put out an ad for escort. This made it time sensitive. One group did it, the other missed it and has no idea a warerat criminal syndicate has begun.

    • @doms.6701
      @doms.6701 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Great video btw. Subbed!

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      We are so happy you shared your experience with us because, like you said, it really does require some extra thought to make it work. Your ideas are BRILLIANT and giving the gang the goal of not necessarily killing the party is a really nice touch. Makes sense for a new gang to want information and connections too!
      We especially like that you set expectations for the group right off the bat that they could realistically die if they're outnumbered... no plot armor to rely on!

    • @doms.6701
      @doms.6701 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@JNJTabletop thanks. I want the world to be more dynamic. I've added and altered many things in this campaign and the extras that follow which are in Leilon.
      There are things the players might never know. Like who is pulling the strings. I made Talos a bigger influence. Took the lore that orcs took control of the clock tower in Neverwinter. And a young bronze dragon is actually their sidekick (they don't know yet). He came down from the sword mounts after cryovain appeared.
      The world is very sandbox. Think Skyrim dnd in size. I think my world is about 500 miles by 300 miles of the sword coast. Basically Luskan/ten towns all the way south to the warlocks crypt. The map in SCAG at the beginning is pretty much the world for my players.
      I kinda read every module and made everything happening in the world. Then added the epic encounters to the world too. There's always a bad person doing something somewhere lol. Went so far as to print the Faerun calendar and have a few festivals coming up in a few months (in game) that the players can attend. It really is "you can go anywhere" type of campaign.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I bet they appreciate the extra effort a lot!

    • @doms.6701
      @doms.6701 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@JNJTabletop not sure they even realize the extra work lol. My current groups are all new players. But since I've done so much work I can run any module or campaign based in the sword coast and have a bunch of extras ready to be added

  • @zacharylane4869
    @zacharylane4869 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Would just like to say thank you so much for this whole series, I really hope you continue you earned my sub

  • @avanciia
    @avanciia 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video! I’ve been watching your guides for this campaign since I just started DMing for a friend. Real helpful tips here. Much love from Philippines!

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      So happy to be of help!

  • @NinyaMonke
    @NinyaMonke 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    as a newer dm, I found that the best way to handle this was to have linene mention that there have been sightings of lycanthropes in the region so it might be a good idea to silver their weapons. I also gave the players some extra gold on one of the quests to be able to afford that, and luckily they followed her advice.

    • @NinyaMonke
      @NinyaMonke ปีที่แล้ว

      update: I ran this quest a couple of days ago, and even with all the balancing changes and the silver weapons, it still felt unfair, and I had to remove the lycanthropy ability of the bite because my players were attached to their characters and would probably have been upset to have them turn into rats haha
      we ended up rushing through the quest in like under half an hour. in my opinion it is by far the worst written quest in this module, but I'm excited to run the rest of the adventure

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Uggg I hate that this was your experience. In our opinion, it’s just incredibly poor. Good, honest communication between everyone in situations like this will help everyone grow.

    • @thebronzepill7892
      @thebronzepill7892 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I used the infection of the lycanthrope ability to create a quest to cure it, which ended up leading us far away from the source material for a while!
      I initially was a bit annoyed with Icespire peak but I think it actually works as a great launch point.

    • @NinyaMonke
      @NinyaMonke ปีที่แล้ว

      @@thebronzepill7892 that's a great way to go about it! at that time I wasn't (and probably still am not) very comfortable with steering away from source material, but it's something I have to work on

    • @Eredom
      @Eredom 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@thebronzepill7892 Oh using the infection as a quest driver sounds like an amazing idea

  • @rcccbarry
    @rcccbarry 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I will be running this quest for a second time in the near future. the first time my players went on this quest i made Lionshields have a "sale" on silvering your weapons.
    Luckly my players took this opportunity. I also had the dwarfs join the Batlle (they joined because they heard the fighting) after a few rounds because my party was still struggling after a while. for my second playthrough with different party i gave them a wand that kan make 2 weapons a magic weapon for like an hour (made lighting struck multiple times next to one of the players a little foreshadowing to the circle of thunder quest) and in some other quest i added a silver dagger as loot. my players decided to go clear the shrine so as a reward i gave them an extra lvl up (will be beefing up some monsters in next quests to balance this out) and i wil make sure some where rats will be gone next time they come back to the mine so that it wasn't a complete waste of their time to clean out the shrine. My biggest issue with this quest is the possibilty of lycantrophy because i have no idea how to properly inlude this in my campaign.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      This is definitely the worst designed part of the module. Looks like you’re doing a good job so far. As far as handling lycanthropy, do you mean something like finding a cure for it? If so, a trip to Neverwinter could do it by meeting with a Cleric there

    • @rcccbarry
      @rcccbarry 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@JNJTabletop my main issue with the possibility that my players bevolen were rats are that it doesn't feel like a curse the bennefits far outweigh the drawbacks so im looking for good wars to make the curse a great story and An actual problem and not like ok you now have imunity to non Silver non magic damage.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Ah ok. Well, I guess it depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. If you read towards the bottom of the wererat page, the consequences are quite severe.
      Many tables ignore concepts like alignment, this is a prime example why you shouldn't. In this case, it makes them Lawful Evil and, by the rules, have every right to take control of their character. This is why I said it depends how far you want to take things.
      Do you want to take control of the character, having them stay with the wererat gang? You could use the sidekick rules to quickly through together another option for them to play. Maybe Sister Garaele is back from wherever she was and has the Remove Curse spell, but they need to get in position to use it on the infected character. Many paths to take, but it all depends on the dynamic at your table as to what will be most fun for you.
      www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/17055-wererat

    • @rcccbarry
      @rcccbarry 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@JNJTabletop hmm that could indeed be an option to make some side quest to cute there main characters bexaise they would otherwise join the were rats denn. Thanks

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Happy to help and thank you for sharing your experience!
      Just as a quick warning, taking over a PC can be quite jarring. Best to proceed with caution or know the dynamic at your table before you do that

  • @hardcoreish
    @hardcoreish หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hey Josh, cool hat.

  • @costanzafaust
    @costanzafaust 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I gave Don-Jon a silver dagger from his adventuring days so he would at least be able to help in a fight, but it really seems like this was intended to be a negotiation situation... it's too bad that in an adventure designed for new players and DMs, they didn't add a lot more advice on how to resolve stuff without fighting, although they did at least have the bit about sending them on a sidequest to the shrine. I also gave DJ a 'scouting map' that just showed there were 3 entrances but none of the interior, and one of his goals was to finish mapping out the claim.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The biggest thing for us is that it’s intended to be anything at all. In our opinion, it should just be a situation that can be handled in multiple viable ways. Is that “fair”? Not fully sure but the lack of warning signs (particularly for new players) is what troubles us most.

  • @paavohirn3728
    @paavohirn3728 ปีที่แล้ว

    Maybe let players found a silver dagger in the early adventures or have a merchant mention they have silver weapons newly stocked from Neverwinter or rumors about werecreatures in the Neverwinter Forest. Repeated hints from very early on so it's really player agency in play.
    Having a wererat investigating the orcs is a great idea because there are a lot of ways to defeat it or chase it away.
    I really like it that there are many ways this adventure could go and straight out fighting is likely the worst. There are many perks for careful and smart play. I agree that players shouldn't just be lead into an ambush they can't handle. I also like the map idea and the wererats hinting at the miners being there.

  • @BlackShortCurley
    @BlackShortCurley ปีที่แล้ว

    Got a lot out of this. Cheers for the heads up.

  • @zachl7078
    @zachl7078 ปีที่แล้ว

    My players wound up on the bad side of Halia Thornton the Zhentarim member in Phandalin. So, I had her steal an important item from one of the players. I basically rewrote this whole quest and had Halia be in charge of the mine (you find her at the Miner's Exchange afterall). So the players tracked her to the mine and I made it so that she had paid the wererat clan to protect her inside the mine from the players. I'm still a new DM sp it helped to keep the enemies and the broad strokes of the quest the same as what was in my book. But I was able to personalize the quest for my players in that way and make it more interesting for them.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Awesome! Any time you can personalize the stakes it's usually a good move! Nicely done, Zach!

  • @alittlebit_rusty5321
    @alittlebit_rusty5321 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Currently starting DoIP and I agree, it does seem a bit out of information. I think I'm going to have a badly hurt Dwarf run into them close to the Mine (trying to escape) mildly explaining about how his weapons did nothing and make up a DC to show he was part of the miners in sections M14-15. Tie it up a little and hint the need for Silver. Plus it then gives them a minor detail about helping the dwarves. I dunno ill see. But I've loved this series and am currently watching the playthroughs you've done, its great to watch.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Always great to hear that we’ve helped and about new ideas! Thanks for watching!

  • @wildstarmp
    @wildstarmp ปีที่แล้ว

    I left a bunch of silver daggers in the dwarven excavation map... symbols of the greed god after all

  • @tales8855
    @tales8855 ปีที่แล้ว

    I made the players meet Zeleen carrying a bunch of rats in her pack on the road while they did their first few quests she greets them jovially and ask if they can share a camp together as she is traveling alone.
    During the night her rats would try to run around the campsite doing a heist for a few gold pieces. Players with high perception might see the rats running about with coins in their mouths. Or find out that there were bite makes in their pouches in the morning after she had left.
    If caught she can be killed, the module stated that another will take her place anyways. But she will try to negotiate or if the party is willing to listen to her story while they camped together she will mention her that she's an older sister trying to take care of her younger siblings and is on the run because of money problems.
    They will meet her siblings later on in the mine and depending on what they did to Zeleen they might react differently and might even be allies for a future "siege".

  • @NicksMagicstorytime
    @NicksMagicstorytime ปีที่แล้ว

    My PCs had a +1 short sword they picked up at the Tower of Storms and have a larger amount of magic than most parties (wizard, druid, ranger, paladin, and an arcane trickster rogue). The only pc without magic was our silver Dragonborn fighter who has a one use breath weapon and because he is silver I decided the wererats were more intimidated by him more than they might be if he were different color. I was still worried that it wouldn’t be enough so I made Don Jon’s dagger magic, that he tossed to the ranger and also gave him a bull whip and a feat that allowed him to trip and pull the rats. A well placed entangle spell, magic missiles from the wizard, and an intimidating roar from the Dragonborn and the rats began to retreat (the ones that weren’t entangled). Most of the Wiskered Gang escaped the mine. Maybe they’ll show up again before the end of the campaign.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      It's definitely a tricky one to navigate. If your silver dragonborn tried to punch a wererat... would you have allowed it to deal damage?

  • @thefeature7041
    @thefeature7041 ปีที่แล้ว

    I gave one of my players a dream where they saw someone transforming into some kind of monster while surrounded by silver daggers. Then had them find a few silver weapons and arrow tips during an encounter while escorting Don Jon. So when Don Jon tells them its wererats they connected the dots.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      Sounds like a really good move! As long as it’s possible to beat them, you’re in good shape!

  • @gwenward2141
    @gwenward2141 ปีที่แล้ว

    My plan to avoid letting my players do this quest before I figure out how to run it (or give them silvered weapons) is to say the guy hasn't made it to Phandalin yet. He just sent notice ahead of time that he will need an escort, that will let me tailor when my players start this quest without getting to obvious... since I have no idea how they will act

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      It's an awkward quest for sure. You could also not post that notice until you're ready to run it, but I would just suggest cancelling the session if you're unprepared at that point. Removing your players ability to choose is not really ever a good thing, at least in our opinion anyway.

  • @jenniferatterton1587
    @jenniferatterton1587 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Jake did you not go any further in Icespire than this one? I can't find the next 3 adventures,
    Axeholm
    Dragon Barrow
    Woodland Manse.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      We ran them and those videos are in our playthrough but we have not made the guides yet. The next one on our list is Woodland Manse when we have the time.

    • @jenniferatterton1587
      @jenniferatterton1587 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@JNJTabletop Thank you Jake for your prompt reply and thank you,, I will look at your playthroughs and look forward to the guides.

  • @brettzimmerman
    @brettzimmerman ปีที่แล้ว

    I use Don-Jon to warn the group and try to convince them to not engage unless they have the silver weapons.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah, you have to give some kind of hint! It’s such a clunky design

  • @mattd3810
    @mattd3810 ปีที่แล้ว

    First time DM here. This has been really useful. My party consists of a barbarian, Druid, and cleric, almost all are first time dnd players. There is a very good chance that they’re going to pick this quest for the next session. Any further advice on how best to run this encounter would be appreciated

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That particular group sounds like they might have a better chance than most because the cleric and druid both have magic and barbarians are super tough.
      The best advice can be summed up into this…
      1: Give your players a chance to discover that this kind of fight is different (particularly since they’re new and especially if they don’t all have access to ways of being effective).
      2: If they don’t understand the first point before a fight breaks out, let them know that their methods aren’t working… that can be in your descriptions or even the wererats laughing off what they do. And I would also reward/allow any reasonable attempts to withdraw.
      3: Have multiple paths to putting a silvered weapon in your barbarian’s hands. That could be offering silvered weapons in the Coster with Linene, Don Jon having a magic dagger, or the dwarves having a weapon or two at their disposal.
      If you’re giving them the chance to succeed, which really isn’t something this adventure does well on its own, then you’ve done your job and the players can/should make their own choices. If they make bad ones, that’s really on them. I will say if you get the sense that being a lycanthrope isn’t ok with them, it can be fun to put together a quest for them to find a cure!

    • @mattd3810
      @mattd3810 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JNJTabletop thanks so much for the advice dude!

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      😁

    • @mattd3810
      @mattd3810 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JNJTabletop update: everything went well for the most part. No Player deaths but the Druid got bit and is now a wererat

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      Did everyone have fun?? Do you think the Druid will want a cure?

  • @austinpietrobon5730
    @austinpietrobon5730 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hello, so new to dm and I've been trying to find spots to include some of the clans that have been running around or even the towns people. I have yet to do this quest, but it's on the board. I was thinking Harbin tells them to check with Halia Thornton for any info as they wait for the guy from neverwinter. She hires them to find something in the mine she marks it on a map of the place. She hired the rats initially, but they never followed through. So they need to be eliminated. I have a couple days before playing so still working out the details of how much to give them if they take this quest or what would give her more control over the town. Point is she has an ear for all the mines activities. Maybe copy of map of claim. Maybe someone slips the name while trying to talk to them to leave.
    Any rate thanks for the videos.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      It's our pleasure and thanks for your thoughts/insight!

  • @alanhuynh2000
    @alanhuynh2000 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I think most people take for granted that the game is suppose to be hard and force the players to do more than just smash in. You shouldn't have silver weapons at this point, and you should not be doing full damage. Its supposed to be hard. I did allow the players to role INT checks to realize they were wererats and that they need to be hit with magic or silver weapons, and they immediately knew they needed to back out and figure out a plan. That lead them around that back, met the dwarves and they devised a plan to take out the wererats in a bottleneck a few at a time with their help. Your players might have to roll death saves, they might die... O well, make new ones. its a learning module, they need to learn that its OK to die.

    • @Adam1984_
      @Adam1984_ 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The problem with that is that wererats aren't just resistant to non-silver non-magical weapons. They are outright immune. Not having a silver or magic weapon makes this encounter fully impossible for martial classes.

    • @alanhuynh2000
      @alanhuynh2000 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Adam1984_ Instead of doing all kinds of crazy stuff, just change it to resistance from immune. From how I read the module, the group should try to communicate with them. Since Umbral Hill, that seems to be a valid option. It says they will make a deal if you try to clear they old home, but won't actually leave. I read that as you make the deal, go to the old home, come back and THEN fight them.

    • @Adam1984_
      @Adam1984_ 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@alanhuynh2000 Absolutely. When has a D&D party ever taken the expected route, though? I will agree that changing the immunity to resistance is an easy fix that mostly mitigates the issue.

  • @cassandrathyme1411
    @cassandrathyme1411 ปีที่แล้ว

    Written across the doors in blood... Do Not Enter Monster Inside!

  • @ishi91
    @ishi91 ปีที่แล้ว

    One of my PC got cursed by a rat. Now, I've personally found this solution. By lore, wererats only infect other gang members and kill whoever is accidentally infected, or rogue members. The wererat lead decided to actively curse my PC because the party was killing everyone, as a pronouncement. 'You took everything from us, I take your freedom away' type of deal. The party let go 2 wererats who fled to Shrine of Savras and told them that was their initial house. So, how does my PC remove the curse? I feel like repairing the wrong done to the curser would lift it. Ideally, the party can decide to give the Shrine of Savras back to the rats and let them live in peace over there. And that's it: give back the rat's home to them lifts the curse. :)

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      A solid approach. In your version, would the wererats leave the min and go back to the shrine or is that just for curing the lycanthropy?

    • @ishi91
      @ishi91 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JNJTabletop well so, the mines have been cleared by the party. All except 2 rats that ran to the shrine; probably camping nearby trying to take it over. since my players liked the escapee rats (the let em go) they might help em out. I'd say the new wererat leader would probably make the Shrine their new basecamp. Rebuild, gather new troops... Sneak into the mines to steal some of their precious junk back...?
      Ofc this is all an idea with sole purpose of making the whole campaign lore work ...outside of the campaign itself.

    • @JNJTabletop
      @JNJTabletop  ปีที่แล้ว

      Oh yeah, it’s what this part needs tbh and it sounds like you’ve got a great plan that leans into the choices your players made to matter even more. You’re crushing it!

  • @inspiredwon2670
    @inspiredwon2670 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Don Jon Raskin = worst name in D&D ever