10/17/2023

Happy Tuesday and welcome to the 1st encounter of the Lost Mine of Phandelver. If you have not played this adventure, you might want to stop reading now because there will be SPOILERS!

The PCs have been hired by a dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker to take a wagon filled with supplies from Neverwinter to the small town of Phandalin, which is a couple of days’ journey Southeast. Gundren was going to ride ahead with his warrior escort, Sildar Hallwinter.

Here are our heroes with their wagon: (From Left to Right) Sorin Fireweaver, Bardin Stonebeard, Huckleberry “Huck” Goodbarrel, and Elowen Swiftfoot.

As the party travels down the Triboar Trail towards Phandalin, they spot a couple of dead horses blocking the road ahead of them. Each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it. The woods press close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side.

At this point, we still haven’t placed the UDT on the table. (It is still sitting on the table behind the DM.) “What would you like to do?”

I would go around the table and ask each player what they would like to do. Once I know what each player is doing, I would repeat their actions while narrating the scene (who was moving up to investigate the horse, who was keeping an eye on the surroundings, the noises coming from the forest, etc).

Any player that approaches the horses will recognize them to be the horses of Gundren and Sildar. Once the PCs have investigated the horses, I would roll the Stealth checks for the goblins, then ask the players for their Passive Perceptions. As the players are looking those stats up, I would place UDT on the table and allow the players to place their miniatures on the board where their PCs were.

After the PCs are placed, I would place the four goblins on the UDT. At this point, we would roll initiative. Anyone who failed their perception check will not act during the first round. Two of the goblins will attack from a distance with their short bows while the other two goblins rush into melee.

We would continue to go through the initiative order until the combat is over. If three goblins are defeated, the last goblin will flee back to the hideout. The players can decide to follow it or continue to Phandalin. If the goblins win, they will leave the PCs unconscious and loot all of their equipment and supplies from the wagon.

Keep on gaming!