Sometimes this first half of the post is hard to write. Especially when my ramblings about RPG’s have spilled over into other posts. And I have to admit whoever reads those brain dumps of mine have been very kind and not (so far) left comments saying that they are a load of b.s.

At the moment in GoodNotes I have started a notebook to collate the information for that taster one shot I am planning to run. I’ll post a pdf at some point with that information in.

When you do eventually see those notes you will see that I have the stats for a goblin shaman in there.

I got those stats from a handy pdf D&D Denizens: Goblins, which you can get from the D&D DM’s Guild online. But why do I need them? Surely the stats of a goblin will be fine. Yes and no. In the video about the dungeon itself Matthew Colville has a goblin shaman and the goblin boss (not a goblin as such, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise) performing some ritual. So yes I could have just used the regular goblin stats and added maybe a couple of spells. But before I did that, I thought let’s see what the internet has produced. And that’s how I came across this pdf.

I’ve included maps of Phandalin and the local area, assuming that this one shot is being set there, in the notes. Although technically seeing as it is a one shot, setting it in an inn in some nondescript location would be fine.

I just need to write in some of Colville’s encounter advice/guidance from his video on to the page. I really really like this video. I think the behaviour/tactics he gives to the goblins will bring them to life for the players and for the GM. One piece of advice I’m already planning to use in my Android adventure I’m creating.

In my travels on the inter web I’ve come across a couple of books called The Lazy Dungeon Master and it’s follow up Return of The Lazy Dungeon Master (both available as audio books, which means I get them free using my credits on Audible). I’m listening to them now, so will talk about them sometime in the future. But the author has a useful site with a reprinting of a series of articles from D&D Beyond with advice for the first time DM. In one of those articles the author talks about “Theatre of the Mind” for combat and not using minis. Which as soon as I saw the article I thought this is treating combat narratively just like Genesys and others of it’s ilk. It’s more descriptive and cinematic. It’s something I’d like to explore.

I suppose it’s time to find out what Dram has been up to.

After munching on a delectable plate of meat, cheese and bread as he copied his new spell Message in to his spellbook. Dram decided to test it out.

Dram pulled out a thin piece of copper wire from his ingredients pouch, and held it firmly in his left hand. His right hand then pointed in the direction of Grull. Dram then said the words that invoked the new cantrip. He then whispered a message to Grull warning him that Ace was stealing from him. Dram had wanted to say something funny but that was the best he could come up with, an unfunny bit of mischief.

The spell seemed to work. But there was no response from Grull. Dram made a mental note that he would have to discuss the spell with Grull, and let him know he can reply as well.

A while later the voice of Grull boomed through the floor boards and walls of the inn calling Dram down to the rest of the group.

Dram cast his new spell once again asking Grull what he wanted. Once again Grull’s voice thundered throughout the inn in response. At least the spell worked!

Dram finished off the last mouth full of food, washing it down with a large gulp from his tankard of mead. He then left his room to join the others downstairs.

Back with the others Grull explains to Dram that there is a reward for capturing Glasstaff. This piqued Dram’s interest. In their previous run in Dram had ended up with some cool magic items. As he thought of those items his hand tightened it’s grip on the glass staff.

The gnome wanted to go back and kill the dragon. Dram wasn’t keen on that idea. Despite being killed by the dragon. Which was an interesting experience for sure. Dram kinda liked the dragon. It was a wonderous creature. Instead of killing it, if they really wanted to go back to get it’s treasure, maybe they could trick it.

But after some discussion common sense won out, and they decided to get the reward from capturing Glasstaff.

Dram left the others arm wrestling a dwarf and each other for money. He returned to his room and a midnight snack of cold meats and bread.

The next morning while eating his breakfast in his room, Dram used the cantrip again to let the inn keeper know that Nick was not responsible for the ruckus he’d heard during the night after he’d retired.

Moments later a second breakfast with extra bacon had been bought to his room by the serving girl.

After polishing off the second breakfast Dram decided to join the others downstairs.

Sitting at a table eating his breakfast was Sildar. Dram greeted him, and they discussed how good the food was. During the conversation Sildar mentioned that the rewards was 450 gold for capturing Glasstaff alive. Dram was taken aback a little by the size of the reward.

The others arrived for their breakfast. Grull showed Dram a map of the area they had been given. It had the location of where it was believed Glasstaff was hiding.

Apparently the gnome enjoyed the discussion from the previous evening about their immediate plans, that he revisited the subject again. Once again wanting to go kill the dragon. And once again Dram started to argue the case for the mines they had heard about or capturing Glasstaff.

Eventually they got their gear together and headed off in the direction of Glasstaff and apparently some gnolls.

The adventurers camp at the junction where they were told Glasstaff was. It was an uneventful night. The next morning after yet more discussion they head off towards Glasstaff’s last known where abouts.

After a short while they come across a hut in the middle of a small clearing. This was where Glasstaff was meant to be hiding.

Dram uses the staff to give himself Mage Armour. It pays to be safe when you are not sure what you are walking into.

The group scout round the hut. It looked ok. No obvious traps.

Dram stayed at the back of the hut and cast a sleep spell into the middle of the hut. He then cast the Message cantrip to let Grull know that is what he had done.

There was a commotion from the front of the hut.

Dram dashes to the front of the hut to find the door kicked in.

As Dram entered the hut he saw the gnome being smothered by a rug, struggling to escape from it on the floor. The others were attacking the rug.

Dram decided to help out by casting Melf’s Acid Arrow at the rug. It seemed to have damaged the rug.

The others continued the attack and eventually freed the gnome. Who looked a bit bruised and worse for ware.

Sarmyar went to open the chest that was in the back of the hut. Boy did she get a shock when all of a sudden it trapped her arm in it’s mouth! This wasn’t a chest it was a mimic. Wow did Glasstaff have a sense of humour or what?

Dram left the others to get Sarmyar free of the mimic and kill it. He didn’t really have much option really because they had all crowded round it to attack it.

Once his companions had finished making killing a mimic look hard. Dram examined a book shelf that was near him. He was a little disappointed. There was nothing of interest there.

Dram went over to the desk. After the rug and mimic, Dram suspected that Glasstaff might have booby trapped the desk also. But magic comes with a price and Dram was prepared to pay that price.

As Dram opened the desk draw, a trap was tripped and he was wounded and poisoned. Inside was a glass marble, a silver potion and some weird looking glasses.

While fighting the affects of the poison Dram examined the spoils. He dipped his little finger into the potion. when he pulled out his finger, it was gone! This was a potion of invisibility. The glass marble when tapped lit up. It took Dram a little longer to figure out the strange looking glasses. But these allowed Dram to read dwarvish.

This was a pretty sweat stash to get his hands on. There was a certain book he was going to study in greater detail when he returned to his room at the inn.

Before continuing on the group decided to rest a little.

And that is where we leave our dysfunctional group of adventurers.