Chapter 1
The start of the adventure is extremely short, simple, and straight-forward- at least, it seems that way at a glance.
The problem comes with the transition from the goblin arrows encounter to the dungeon crawl.
We shall soon explore that situation.
Goblin Ambush
Goblin x4
200 or (400)xp
The initial encounter is exactly on the threshold of being deadly.
This is a rather surprising way to open an introductory adventure.
Pretty much everyone agrees, this can actually T.P.K. unsuspecting players and DMs alike.
1 and 2. Cave Mouth & Goblin Blind
Goblin x2
100 or (150)xp
An easy encounter, especially if the players are strategic in their approach and get the drop on the goblins.
3. Kennel
Wolf x3
150 or (300)xp
A hard encounter, but only if the players engage it.
Most players will pass this by, and engaging the wolves is entirely optional.
Having the wolves set loose on the players has such absurd requirements, it will almost never happen.
6. Goblin Den
Goblin x6
300 or (600)xp
This encounter is 50% beyond the deadly threshold, making it almost impossible for a party of characters to engage directly and survive.
For aggressive players with no sense of strategy or wit, this is a T.P.K., especially since they are much more likely to have engaged Klarg first, rather than climb the walls.
The overwhelming numbers are supposed to encourage engagement with the side quest of rescuing Sildar through politics- but even that is ludicrous, because again it would require the heroes to have climbed the walls.
In the end, the only solution to this encounter is to outwit the goblins, possibly destroying the bridge as they cross it, or unleashing the flood trap on them.
The heroes will die otherwise.
Additionally, almost any strategy the heroes use against this encounter will kill Sildar.
He gets dropped off the cliff as soon as things go south and has 1 HP.
Unless someone can cast a healing spell on him in the first round, he has a 50% chance of dying within 3-5 rounds- rounds the players will likely spend running for their lives.
7. Twin Pools Cave
Goblin x3
150 or (300)xp
This is a hard encounter, but if the party managed to approach undetected, they'll likely get a round of surprise out of their foes.
Otherwise, they will likely already be damaged from the first flood trap, possibly the second as well, and will likely get ambushed by the goblins here.
All in all, this fight could be a cakewalk or an impossible barrier, depending on your heroes' intellect.
8. Klarg's Cave
Goblin x2
Bugbear x1
Wolf x1
350 or (700)xp
This is a 175% deadly encounter, making it unbelievably deadly- moreso than the goblin den, despite the lower action economy output.
It is weird that it is positioned before the goblin den, as it essentially means the entire tribe has to walk through his bedroom/office/throneroom every time they go on duty or come off it.
It also means that enemies who attack the keep are more likely to kill him without any backup from his off-duty minions.
Resolution
At a total of 1250xp, the first chapter is only 50xp beyond the adventuring day budget for a party of 4 1st level characters.
While the total xp is appropriate, the way it is divided is not.
There is only one reasonable opportunity for a short rest, after the initial ambush.
While that is correct, the remaining 800xp goes without rests.
As a consequence, a party is likely to be defeated during this stretch.
If they are combat-averse and really weird, they can mitigate the wolves and klarg, reducing the xp stretch by 500xp, dealing with only what is necessary to rescue Sildar.
However, this course is almost impossible, as it is highly opaque during play.
Changes I would recommend
First up, it is almost certain that the players will assume these goblins are all there is and move on.
In most games, goblins are mindless animal monsters with no culture, language, or strategy.
As a consequence, most players will see these goblins as arbitrary enemies that exist to be killed for experience points, not part of the narrative.
As a consequence, 90% of players will kill the goblins, not bother examining the dead horses, not put together any clues, not search for anything, and move right along to town to get their reward of 10gp.
Even if prompted by Barthen to go back and rescue Gundren, most players will not bother to do so.
Up until this point, Gundren is a faceless name who arbitrarily exists as a meaningless quest giver.
He is not a friend or companion, and his life/death means nothing to the players.
As a consequence, many players see no reason to go after him.
To fix this, make Barthen a close friend of Gundrens, and make him extremely worried about the dwarf's fate.
Have him offer a reward to the players for rescuing him- say another 10gp each.
This gives players reason to go after him in the cave, reason to rescue Sildar, and reason to pursue the trail to Cragmaw Castle.
To make sure this works, put in a safety net with the mayor, have him especially concerned about the bandits in town.
Have him hear adventurers are in town and seek them out for assistance.
If he hears about a goblin ambush, he will pay the players 10gp each for evicting the goblins from the area.
That is reason enough to at least go to the cave.
Having evidence that shows collusion between the goblins and the redbrands will also help motivate the players to go after the local gang when they arrive in town.
Perhaps have the players find goblins wearing red cloaks, as well as red cloaks in room 6.
Switch the keying for the goblin den and Klarg's cave.
This will require redrawing the map somewhat, such that there is a ledge in room 8 and piles of junk in room 6.
Doing this makes it much more likely for the players to engage the side-quest of negotiating for Sildar's life.
Additionally, there needs to be some guidelines as to what the NPCs do if the players break off their onslaught for a short or long rest.
With only one hit die, they can't benefit health-wise from the second short rest, but spellcasters will beg for it.
More likely, the players will see their resources dwindling after taking out the goblins in the trap cave and go to take a long rest.
There needs to be a guide of standing orders for what happens during such a rest-especially if the players do so in a place where they can be found and ambushed.
This validates taking additional rests and offers a mechanism by which later encounters can be reduced in difficulty or altered by the actions of the players in previous assaults on the dungeon.
For example: If the players leave rooms 6 and 8 untouched, Klarg has goblins from 6 replace the goblins killed in other areas- these goblins are now alert.
With 8 hours to prepare, and if the wolves yet live, klarg stations his personal goblin in the kennel to unleash the wolves on anyone who enters.
If the players take an hour rest inside the cave or at its entrance, they are ambushed by 1d4 patrolling goblins from room 6 on a roll of 13 or higher on a d20.
If they take a long rest in the cave, they are guaranteed to be ambushed.
If they set up camp away from the cave for a rest, they get ambushed by 1d4 goblins from area 6 on a roll of 17 or higher on a d20.
If they return to town for a rest, not only do the goblins make full preparations, but they also get reinforcements of 1d6 goblins from Cragmaw Castle and reset their traps on the path.
If the players wipe out everything but leave Klarg alive, he might hunt them down later on as a returning villain, possibly ambushing them on the road to Cragmaw castle, or meeting them there to bolster their forces and set them on alert.
One unconsidered thing that might happen is that especially strategic players might stage a stakeout to watch the cave entrance.
If they do this they should be able to gather some information about the cave and its inhabitants based on how long they wait in terms of rest length.
For example, if the players spend a short rest, they learn about the goblin blind- or they learn that the goblins have enough men to replace the individuals the players already killed.
If they take a long rest, they learn that once every hour, they send out a band of 1d4 goblins to watch the trail and ambush passers-by.
These goblins should be deducted from room 6, such that the players could choose to ambush the cave while the raiders are out.
Finally, every hour of stakeout they take they have a chance of seeing something important.
On a 17 or higher on a d20 roll, they will encounter one of the following on a 1d4:
1. Klarg taking Ripper for a walk/leak.
2. The hobgoblin raiding party from Cragmaw Castle arrive and carry away a portion of the loot in room 8.
They loudly mention Cragmaw Castle amongst themselves.
3. 1d4 redbrand roughians arrive to pay the goblins with a chest containing 1d10x10gp.
They loudly mention Glasstaff as their boss and that he sends his regards.
4. The goblins behind the blind have a loud chat about how they can't wait to eat the old warrior they captured.
There needs to be a plan for what happens to the goblins who survive/escape this dungeon crawl.
I would recommend that any survivors go straight to cragmaw castle to bolster their numbers and set the place on high alert.
Likewise, there should be a plan by the goblins to reclaim their hideout after a certain number of days.
Say, if they don't get attacked within 7 days of the initial assault on the hideout, half their numbers move back into the cave and highway ambushes will resume.
Finally, because it is incredibly likely that Sildar will die, and because most players will assume goblins cannot speak and will murder them without consideration, it is highly likely that the players will come out of this with absolutely no information on where to go or what to do.
Leaving a letter in Klarg's chest that hints at their directions from the Black Spider and also mentions Cragmaw Castle will help prevent this confusion.
Chapter 2
This is essentially a carbon-copy of the first chapter, but includes a sizeable roleplay interaction component and introduces us to our first minor villain and some potentially interesting NPCs.
However, a distinct lack of flesh and overall vagueness here leaves a great deal to the DM to pull out of their ass from scratch.
The worst is the minor villain himself, who is nearly impossible to ever even hear of or encounter.
Redbrand Roughians
Redbrand Roughian x4
400 or (800)xp
It is extremely important to point out that, unless the players go straight for the INN for an immediate long rest, this encounter gets tacked on to the adventuring day from the previous chapter, putting it 850xp over-budget; that's a 30% difficulty spike for the adventuring day; although the heroes will have been allowed to advance in level without actually replenishing their resources.
This is an awkward transition- and possibly a game-ending one if your players are completely negligent of their own resources.
Other than that, at 800 adjusted xp, this is a borderline deadly encounter for a party of 4 2nd level characters.
2. Barracks
Redbrand Roughian x3
300 or (600)xp
This area seems to be set up with the assumption that the cellar is the most likely entrance for the heroes.
In fact, the whole dungeon is planned that way.
However, the adventure never actually gives the players any reason to approach from this direction!
The heroes have absolutely no reason to enter through the ruined manor house at all.
In fact, their only lead sends them to a side-entrance.
As a consequence, this is more likely to be their point of egress, if they even ever come this way at all.
It is highly likely that the players will never meet this hard encounter- and if they do, it will likely be an ambush, as there is no reason to rummage through the cellar crates.
There is a secret entrance around here.
There is no reason for anyone to search for it from this side, so it will likely go unnoticed.
The only logical method of approaching this area early is if the party deals with the nothic, notices the dead-end passage, searches it first, and passes the investigation check.
4. Tresendar Crypts
Skeleton x3
150 or (300)xp
This is an easy encounter, but the party is likely to be ambushed by it.
Even then, they are likely to defeat these enemies if they haven't wasted their resources on their approach to this room.
They are almost certain to be attacked.
There is no reason for the party to EVER know the secret password, and they almost certainly did not enter from the cellar, so there is a near-0 percent chance that they can pass off as redbrands and avoid the fight.
The main purpose of this encounter is just to eat resources and time, and to set up the party for a second ambush in room 5.
5. Slave Pens
Redbrand Roughian x2
200 or (300)xp
Another easy encounter.
Again, this is just to soften the players up and make a long-term attack on the dungeon a tall order.
Their main purpose is to serve the purposes of a quest in the town.
However, with the way the encounter is foisted on the players, they are far more likely to attack the dungeon before ever receiving any quests at all!
Remember, most of the quests are chapter 3 level content!
8. Crevasse
Nothic
450 or (450)xp
A medium encounter, but one that may be almost certainly optional, depending on how the DM interprets the keying.
It is interesting to note that the Nothic has roleplay motivations, but no combat strategy.
As a consequence, it will almost certainly be destroyed with ease in a game run by a new DM, who will likely assume that monsters in a dungeon exist to kill the players.
However, if played as a roleplaying encounter, the nothic is shockingly easy to buy over, and can make the dungeon incredibly easy to explore, as the bulk of its space is now safe, and you have an ally to drag enemies into.
9. Guard Barracks
Bugbear x3
600 or (1200)xp
This encounter is absurd.
It's a 150% deadly encounter.
That said, it's also an unlikely encounter.
The players will only see this if they blunder into it or if they decide to clear the dungeon out.
I didn't include Droop in the encounter difficulty because he is programmed not to participate in the encounter.
It is interesting to note that these bugbears are weirdly isolated, they have almost no motivation, and also have no combat strategy.
They play no role in the dungeon, except to be a potential T.P.K.- especially if the players have already exhausted themselves on preceding encounters.
10. Common Room
Redbrand Roughian x4
400 or (800xp)
This is a standard deadly encounter for an average party.
Depending on how they approach this room, the encounter can go a lot of different ways.
No matter what way it goes, the party is likely to win, as the whole enemy group is already poisoned.
Ambushing the enemy practically guarantees an easy win.
There's a weird optional side thing you can do of pretending to be redbrands and joining in their game, but there is no support for this strategy.
There are no details on how to simulate play of the game, or what happens next after tricking the redbrands.
12. Glasstaff's Quarters
Evil Mage x1
200 or (200)xp
This is possibly the most disappointing element of the dungeon.
First off, the party almost certainly did not come here looking for Iarno.
They came here to kill everyone.
That's the only real goal given for the entire second chapter: "the redbrands are dickheads, let's go kill them." Since the party most likely has not received any quests yet, they most likely will not even know Glasstaff exists.
There is no reason to search for hidden passages in the adjacent storage room, so the ambush will almost never happen.
The party will likely enter the lab and, without even stopping to look around, move directly to Iarno's quarters, where they will find nothing but some treasure, a note, and an open secret door.
This will likely leave the party confused.
Evidence of a wizard- but no wizard?
Why?
Also, there's no explanation of what becomes of his rat.
Resolution
If the players encounter and kill/defeat everything, they wind up with 27000 xp for their adventuring day.
This is 300xp in excess of a standard day, so it's rated as being slightly tough.
This assumes, of course, that the redbrand roughian encounter in town was not absorbed into the preceding day, which leaves their second day in town a little light on danger.
Either way, the second day is pretty much the same structure as the first: A deadly encounter, a moment for a short rest, followed by a long stretch with no reasonable opportunity for the second recommended short rest.
At second level, the players can actually benefit from 2 rests in the HD department, as they now have more than one die to spare, so the fact that no second rest opportunity was built into the second day seems unreasonable.
Changes I would recommend
First off, there needs to be some breathing room.
Give the players some time in town and have quest givers randomly seek them out.
Let them pick up information and missions for a minute so they have some motivation to push on.
Have them encounter redbrands harassing the people- the same group that is supposed to target the players.
That way, the players are motivated to engage the roughians as a means of being heroes, rather than just out of spite or coincidence.
Only have them harass the players if they show a distinct unheroic indifference to the plight of others.
There needs to be way more reason to go to Tresendar manor.
"Kill the jerks" is not good enough.
Again, showing their collusion with the goblins and having the mayor seek the assistance of the heroes will massively alleviate this deficiency.
A good reward from the mayor might be to award the party with a deed to the estate's land.
This has the added benefit of supporting one of the pregen's stated goals, and gives the players something in the region to be attached to, fuelling further motivation to protect the area from the Black Spider and Cragmaw goblins.
Next, there needs to be an easier way to get to the hideout.
As it is, the only lead to the place is the kid's rumor about the cave passage side entrance.
Add a side-quest or rumor that the manor is haunted and that the people would be grateful for the ghosts to be cleared.
(There are, of course, no ghosts, this is just people misunderstanding the activities of redbrands using the surface exit at night.) It might also pay to put up a board of properties showing the various locations around town that can be bought for various prices- and list the manor among them at the obscenely low cost of 800gp with an attached warning that it may be haunted.
Players might then take a look at the place just to consider buying it, or to seek the reward for clearing the ghosts, even if they don't actually care about the redbrands themselves.
There needs to be some verisimilitude to the redbrand gang.
They obviously don't all live in the manor dungeons together- there aren't enough beds, so these must be men from the village.
There should be negative consequences to killing them.
Just attaching a job title and list of local family to each one should be enough to represent the impact so much death would have on the town.
This will teach murderhobos that killing every enemy on sight is generally not a good thing to do.
This might inspire the more bloodthirsty players to take prisoners, allowing information to flow more readily to their ears.
Another way to encourage capture/interrogation defeats is to have the mayor offer a bounty of 2gp on every gang member captured and brought to the jail alive.
This allows the players and DM to put the jail cells in town to good use.
Likewise, the gang should be prepared to bribe the mayor at the end of each day to bust their guys out of jail.
Again, there is no way to research or stake out the enemy or their hideout.
Strategic players are forced to walk in blind.
Players who search the manor should be able to get some hints about the dungeon below, such as finding red cloaks in the cloak-room at the entrance, and footprints in the dust leading from the entrance to the cellar, but nowhere else in the house.
People who stake out the cave entrance should be able to find out things the same way as with the cragmaw hideout.
Using the same methodology,a short rest reveals that the redbrands do indeed use the cave entrance frequently, while at the cellar entrance nothing is learned.
A long rest stakeout at the cave entrance reveals that they are slavers, as they sell off the prisoners from room 5, causing the players to fail that quest if they do not intervene during the exchange.
Interfering with the slave wagon interrupts the long rest.
The slavers are just 1d4 orcs from the local tribe, and the slaves are being handled by 2 redbrand roughians.
Again, there is no consequence for resting mid-crawl.
There needs to be a guide for their chances of being ambushed during a short and long rest, as well as who might be ambushing them.
There needs to be a repopulation plan to redistribute forces and prepare for future attacks if the players leave the dungeon.
There should also be a plan for the redbrands to band together and hunt the party down in town as an angry mob if more than half of their members, (including the 4 in town) are cut down before the players take a long rest.
Droop needs a bit more support as well.
As a goblin, he helps the players willingly out of fear, but as an NPC he lacks enough information to explain what happens after the dungeon crawl.
Does he run away?
Does he stick with the party?
does he become a servant?
Does he betray the party?
What is his temperament and motivations?
Here is my guide:
Droop is an unwavering coward- moreso than any other goblin.
He has no loyalties except to save his own skin.
He does this by allying himself with whoever seems the most strong.
If the party accepts him among them, he joins in with glee- ever moreso if they treat him well.
His loyalty can also be bought- if the players house, feed, or outright pay him, he will not betray them.
If they simply treat him well, he sneaks off the moment nobody is looking and joins the cragmaw castle bunch, only to flee in terror when that place is attacked as well.
If the players treat him poorly, he will sneak off and set the cragmaw castle hideout on high alert.
He is, however, utterly useless in combat, feinting at the onset of initiative every time.
Additionally, regardless how loyal he may be to the players, he is still an evil monster.
When asleep or unaware, he will steal trinkets, small amounts of pocket change, food, and spare weapons/ammunition from their packs for himself.
If left alone in town, he will almost certainly try to steal from the people and get put in jail or killed.
If Iarno survives, he will take advantage of Droop's fear to set an ambush for the players in their home base, wherever that is.
Other than that, Droop is essentially a buttler.
Iarno is extremely disappointing.
Not only is he extremely unlikely to be encountered in the first place, the adventure gives no justifiable location for him to show up again later.
Even if he is encountered, he's likely to drop like a sack of potatoes with ease, as he is drastically outnumbered and fairly weak.
Players have no reason to seek him out or to care when they found out that the guy they killed was Iarno.
Giving them quests early on will mitigate this void of interest.
Instead of fleeing, have Iarno ambush the players when they enter his chamber, only fleeing if he reaches half health or less.
Additionally, have him call for help in the first round, bringing in any survivors from room 10 to back him up.
Have him actually deliver touch spells with his rat- especially if a player is carrying it.
If Iarno escapes and the players picked up his rat, Iarno should use it to spy on the players.
If more than half of the gang are dead, he abandons the gang and retreats to the Black Spider to feed him information gained from his telepathic bond with the rat.
If at least half the gang survives, he continues to lead them in secret, holding meetings in gang members' houses.
The gang attempts to assassinate the players the next time they take a long rest anywhere in town, ambushing them while they sleep, (Meaning the party is not wearing their armor and must spend actions to pick up shields- as well as being surprised for one round) Redbrands continue to harass townfolk despite the loss of their base.
However, they now avoid the players and flee instead of fighting back.
It should be possible to hunt down Iarno to some hiding place just outside of town if he doesn't run straight to the Black Spider.
Since he is likely to be spying on the players, he and 1d6 redbrand roughians can be lying in wait to ambush the party on arriving at this hiding place- likely an old loggers cabin.
Killing Iarno should cause the mouse to disappear, revealing its true nature if the players still haven't clued in.
Chapter 3
This is the worst chapter.
It is designed to play like a sandbox, but suffers from some pretty severe disorganization, Locations are sorted alphabetically by name, rather than by their associated questgiver, quest name, or quest title from the preceding chapter 2.
Additionally, all of the quests for chapter 3 are given in chapter 2.
There should be a distinct division: a list of chapter 2 quests in chapter 2, and a list of chapter 3 quests in chapter 3.
That way there's no overlap to accidentally motivate players to skip dealing with the redbrands.
Triboar Trail
For the various mission locations in this chapter, I will assume the players travel to the site from town and then back to town, add together the total distance, and then add the average xp from the average encounter rate on that travel to the total xp for the quest.
(That is to say, 432xp per 75 miles.)
It is important to note that everything but Cragmaw Castle is optional.
It is possible for the players to do it all and come out of it way above level, or they might do none of it and come out barely scraping by.
Let's talk about the encounter chart.
For every hour of travel they have a DC17 (20%) chance of encountering something from the table.
That means that on average they will have one encounter per 5 hours of travel.
The probability of certain things attacking depends on the time of day.
Let's take a look at these encounters.
Stirges x1d8+2
75 or (150) to 250 or (625)xp
This ranges between less-than-easy to plainly medium.
However, the guidelines are severely misleading here.
Stirges punch above their weight because an initial hit results in subsequent guaranteed hits and drains action economy from players who attempt to remove the stirges from their bodies.
6 or more can be a potential T.P.K. if the players don't know when to run.
Ghouls x1d4+1
400 or (600) to 1000 or (2000)xp
This ranges between borderline medium to 125% deadly.
Ghouls punch hard.
Really hard.
Each one is equivalent to 2 level 3 PCs!
A full pack of 5 can easily be a T.P.K. in the first round if the party fails their saves against paralysis.
Ogre
450 or (450)xp
This is, shockingly, the lamest encounter on the chart.
What should be a terrifying and powerful threat is actually more like a big kitty-cat, compared to the other entries on this list.
An easy encounter for anyone who actually fought the enemy in the preceding two chapters.
The only way to make this fight challenging or interesting is to put effort into running the monster in an interesting way.
Goblins x1d6+3
200 or (400) to 450 or (1125)xp
This ranges from easy to hard.
It is important to note that the party is almost guaranteed to always be outnumbered in this encounter.
Hobgoblins x1d4+2
300 or (600) to 600 or (1200)xp
This one ranges from medium to hard.
Hobgoblins are weird in that their actual threat level depends very strongly on how harsh the DM is with applying their tactics in combat.
If they make good use of their traits and actions, they can easily overwhelm the party.
If they just charge in and attack in a wild melee, they aren't much of a threat.
Orcs x1d4+2
300 or (600) to 600 or (1200)xp
Unlike the bugbears, the orcs don't really gain anything except action output from large numbers.
They can hit hard individually and need no special tactics.
As such, the orcs are likely far more dangerous than the hobgoblins in the hands of a beginner DM.
Otherwise, they're pretty much identical to the hobgoblin encounter.
Wolf x1d4+2
150 or (300) to 300 or (600)xp
This one ranges between easy and medium, and aside from the ogre is probably the gentlest thing on the list.
Just remember, if they use their tactics well, wolves can punch over their weight like low-class hobgoblins.
Owlbear
700 or (700)xp
Slightly tougher than the ogre, but still massively disadvantaged in the action economy department.
Could wreck a party if it targets a low AC and low HP character off the bat though.
Resolution
All together, this is a really schizophrenic setup.
The encounters range between laughably easy to straight-up suicide.
Without a doubt, traveling by night is a terrible idea.
It seems rather ridiculous that any kind of trade is happening at all, given how unbelievably hazardous the roads are.
The best part is that the wandering monster chart is keyed with encounter motivations and individual treasure for the intelligent ones.
This is rarely seen in any adventure containing wandering monsters, and is a huge boon.
Changes I would recommend
Again, I would like to see some guidelines for events that happen due to resting.
Like, are the Cragmaw goblins really just going to accept that their hideout was purged and leave it be?
How long does it take them to repopulate the hideout?
What impact does this have on their numbers at the castle?
Redbrand bandits should be added to the encounter charts.
That way, if the players haven't eliminated the gang yet, they'll harass the players as they travel in the area.
Defeating the gang, (By killing half of them or capturing/killing Iarno) should remove their entry from the encounter list.
I'd also like to see the random encounter chart expanded with non-combat encounters, such as road obstacles, benign wildlife, scenic details, and wandering NPCs.
I'd like to see one column added for encounters that can occur when the party takes a long rest.
The potential for a long rest to be interrupted is significant, and gives players reasons to try and choose good camp sites in an effort to persuade the DM to grant advantage on such checks.
Finally, I would really like the DC to be a group check made by the players, not something abstract.
This could tie in to the features of rangers and outlanders, and give practical use to either the nature or survival skills in the module.
Conyberry and Agatha's Lair
120 miles to and from means 1 encounter for 432xp.
This quest is pretty unlikely to happen.
The quest they get sent here on is pure side-mission from sister Garael to ask a question about a book.
There is a secondary side mission to come here and ask about the builder of a tower, which can make this an extension of the Old Owl Well quest.
Otherwise, there are no rumours that would give the players reason to ask her about Cragmaw Castle, and doing so is stupid, since the castle is so much closer than Conyberry.
Resolution
The players only stand to gain roughly 432 xp for this adventuring day, which is far below the 1600xp rest requirement.
As such, the only reason the players might take a rest is to sleep to avoid ranks of exhaustion on their way to or from the place, depending on the time of day they set off.
Changes I would recommend
Add some rumours that the spirit of Agatha is ancient and knows much.
Make it clear that when people are desperate, they are willing to travel to her lair to beg for advice- but she aswers only one question per person.
Make a side-quest from the order of the gauntlet to drive her out or slay her.
This gives a Witcher-esque element to the game.
Players may very well be grateful to her for her services, or desire her services, but if the reward is good enough some unscrupulous or dogmatic characters might be willing to go for it anyways.
Add a condition for Agatha to become hostile and attack.
Ideas include:
* Blatant rudeness
* Stealing from her lair
* Attacking her
These changes make an otherwise flat and minor event into a potentially significant element of the campaign, and gives the DM a safety net they can use to deliver the location of Cragmaw Castle or Wave Echo Cave if the players accidentally fumbled the missions that are supposed to reveal that info.
(Say, for example, a group that allowed both Sildar and Gundren to die.) If the players are flummoxed, simply have a helpful villager offer the advice that they should seek out old Agatha of Conyberry.
Old Owl Well
140 miles there and back means 1 encounter worth 432xp.
An optional quest from Edermath Orchard.
The only way the players would get this quest is if they were too cheap to pay for INN stay and decided to try and sleep in a hay loft instead.
This side quest is interesting, in that it can end a whole bunch of different ways.
The most likely ending is that the players come out here and try to kill everything on sight without even acknowledging the wizard's address.
Zombie x12
Evil Mage
800 or (2400)xp
This is a 150% deadly encounter with the party at a huge action disadvantage, and the enemies have a spellcaster.
The players will likely be slain if they are not prepared to engage so many enemies- especially if the DM runs them well.
Otherwise, the encounter at old owl well is pretty benign.
The wizard hails the heroes and calls off the zombies if they respond, then offers them additional side quests.
If the party has already taken the quests for Conyberry and Old Owl Well, this opens potential for them to be doubly rewarded for those quests.
Otherwise, they can just walk home!
The trip to and from Conyberry is only 40 miles, so it is unlikely the players will earn any xp from it.
Likewise, Wyvern Tor is only 20 miles away and unlikely to generate any random encounters as well.
That said, the camp DOES have a sizeable encounter built into it.
Add that encounter's xp to the total of this one if the players do it as well, but ignore the travel xp I listed for it.
When I do my assessment for this chapter, I will treat each quest as an independent, rather than stacking them together in this way.
It is possible to march to old owl well and do both of the side quests it sends you on in a single day without encountering anything.
As such, the 800xp for killing the zombies is the only xp the players might get out of this, aside from the xp for the other two encounters being tacked on.
That 800xp is only half of what they should deal with before needing their first short rest however, so again their only rest will likely be a long rest on the road to avoid exhaustion.
Changes I would recommend
I would recommend a map be added for this.
It is a complex encounter with many moving and stationary parts.
The description of the site is extremely vague and confusing.
This really should have had some kind of a map.
The main problem is that it initially sounds as though the tent is in the center of a crumbled ring of the tower walls.
Then it sounds as if the tent is next to a crumbled tower that can actually be searched for historic information.
Then it sounds like the tower has an attached ring of crumbled walls for some reason.
Exactly what is happening here, and why it is not possible to see the 12 zombies in a 40ft ring from the nearby ledge overlooking the site, is very unclear.
I would also recommend adding some hidden treasures at Old Owl Well that the mage has not found.
This gives some freeform adventuring for the inquisitive party members who want to dig into the local history.
The crown treasure I would recommend: A level 1 spell book inside a locked water-tight chest at the bottom of the well.
Give the wizards something to hunt for.
Ruins of Thundertree
This is essentially an outdoor dungeon crawl.
Its inclusion is significant, because it shows beginner DMs another way to build an adventure site.
This site is also important because it ties into a pregen's storyline- and because it contains a dragon.
However, these strengths are also its weaknesses as we shall soon see.
Thundertree is a 110 mile stretch there and back again, so players will likely meet at least 1 encounter on the way.
Tack an extra 432xp onto the end of this one.
1. Westernmost Cottage
Twig Blight x2
50 or (75)xp
This is an inconsequential encounter.
It's also unlikely to happen unless someone decides they want to clear the town.
That might actually happen if a certain pregen happens to be in the party.
This encounter simply exists to exacerbate the threat of the encounter in area 2.
2. Blighted Cottage
Twig Blight x6
150 or (300)xp
This is an easy encounter.
The addition of reinforcements from area 1 does nothing to make it more challenging, it just takes a little longer and eats a few more resources.
3. The Brown Horse
Ash Zombie x4
200 or (400)xp
Another easy encounter.Ash zombies hit over their weight though, thanks to that ash puff trait that'll have the players choking for most of the fight.
Even so, it's certainly not more threatening than a medium encounter at most.
4. Druid's Watch
It's probably a good thing that this is likely to be either their first or second area visited during their exploration of the site.
This is great because it gives the players an opportunity to do real information gathering.
This benefits strategic players who will try to outsmart threats before they become a hazard.
He also gives them some specific goals to achieve at Thundertree, making a sort of quest-within-a-quest.
Especially interesting: It is entirely possible that he could allow the players to skip saving Gundren and go straight to Wave Echo Cave, SKIPPING THE ENDING OF CHAPTER 3!
Doing so is the act of a highly non-heroic or extremely disorganized/forgetful party.
Luckily, the chances of this are very slim.
There are no mentions of Wave Echo Cave prior to Cragmaw Castle, so only blatant metagaming could achieve that result.
However, it is just as likely that the players will walk right past the building or try to kill Reidoth on sight.
5. Blighted Farmhouse
Twig Blight x8
200 or (500)xp
An easy encounter, nothing more than a time and resource waster.
The fact that the enemies enter in waves makes the battle even more gentle.
6. Ruined Store
Giant Spider x2
400 or (600)xp
This is a medium encounter, but the real threat is dependent entirely on how stupid your players are.
If they actually try to interact with the webbing, they are in for a really bad day.
Otherwise, they will almost certainly be tipped off by the webs and prepare an ambush of their own for the spiders.
7. Dragon's Tower
Let's be honest: For aggressive players, this will be their first destination.
They will see the tower on the hill as a giant quest beacon and go straight for it without consideration for the dangers or treasures of the surrounding town.
They will probably do this even without direct motivation from any quest.
It's a ruined tower, and in fantasy RPGs, that means treasure and xp.
Young Green Dragon
3900 or (3900)xp
This beast is a 243% deadly encounter.
The Venomfang will almost certainly annihilate the party for even attempting to attack it.
That said, the dragon is technically at half health, with "defeat" resulting in the dragon fleeing through the roof.
The only way the players could actually kill the dragon is if the whole party is custom-built characters focusing on enemy control.
This encounter will almost certainly result in a T.P.K. if the players are idiotic enough to actually side with the dragon cultists.
The big downside is that there is absolutely no guidance for a roleplay solution to this situation.
You're just told to go kill a nearly unkillable enemy.
8. Old Smithy
Ash Zombie
100 or (150)xp
This is an inconsequential encounter.
It is also very unlikely to happen, given the route the players would have to take to get here.
Only people hoping to clear the ruins will see this.
9. Herbalist's Shop
This is the destination for the only quest that sends the players to this location.
Their job is to find the hidden necklace and return it.
Sadly, the chances of them achieving this goal are very low as completion is barricaded by a pass-or-fail search check.
Thus, it is highly likely that the party will search the whole town and fail the quest, even if they bust in here.
11. Old Garrison
Ash Zombie x5
250 or (500)xp
This is yet another easy encounter.
There is no reason to go here.
12. Weaver's Cottage
Twig Blight x6
150 or (300)xp
This is a borderline easy encounter.
The only reason it exists is to set up an encounter with the cultists in area 13.
13. Dragon Cultists
Dragon Cultist x6
150 or (300)xp
Again, no real reason for the players to go here.
Again, an easy encounter.
This only exists for completionists who hit the tower last, and to try and set up a tie-in for HotDQ.
Overall
Ruins of Thundertree is an extremely easy adventure site.
As long as the heroes don't harass the dragon or stupidly get eaten by spiders, they'll pretty much walk through this place unhindered.
Including killing the dragon, there's potentially 5982xp to be earned here- but only for completionist players who REALLY strategize before hitting that dragon.
Most players will only earn a fraction of that xp, and sane players will likely avoid the dragon completely.
Unlike the dungeon crawls, this town is extremely open to rest opportunities.
The inhabitants are largely passive, static, or benign unless triggered to act.
There's no worry about the 1/3 adventuring day rest schema here- the party can safely rest any time they need to.
Sadly, despite being the home of a dragon, part of the game's namesake, most players will never go here.
The only motivations are ONE of the pregens' backstories, and one inconsequential side-quest that doesn't even necessitate interaction with the dragon at all.
Changes I would recommend
First off, because the dragon is so incredibly lethal, it is imperative that the players meet that druid right away.
Make his cottage stand out.
It is clean, with unshuttered windows, a bright garden out front, and a trail of smoke rises from the chimney.
The door has two signs etched in it.
One is a druidic rune meaning "Home" and the other is a thieves' cant mark indicating "Safe House",
I would also recommend moving the necklace from the herbalist's shop to the dragon's lair, along with a C.R. 5-10 treasure hoard on the top floor in case the dragon is actually slain.
Take some advice from the monster manual and add in the lair traits to the entire adventuring site.
There should be a sour-smelling fog that fills the place even during bright days.
All of the thickets in town are the 1ft=4ft difficult terrain thickets derived from the green dragon.
There should be a nature/perception check for players to notice a sudden absence of wildlife before arriving.
The dragon should be made aware by its rodent and bird spies, that adventurers have arrived near its lair.
That means it should be expecting them, and should also be well aware of the other people already living in town.
Give a roleplaying element to the green dragon.
It needs goals, motivations, reasons to interact with the party in ways other than just killing them on sight.
My suggestion would be that it wants the town cleared.
It doesn't really care how this gets done or who does it, but it would prefer the players do it because they have no plans on staying.
The dragon should also want the players to drive the good druid out of town, giving some players reason to trigger his escape plan.
In return, the dragon will give the players half of its treasure horde, including the quest-item necklace.
If the players drive the dragon off, it shouldn't remain driven off.
It should eventually return after some days.
If the party took its treasure, it should seek revenge to try and reclaim the treasure, attacking the town the party is living at after they've completed Wave Echo Cave.
This gives the players an opportunity to really put their level 5 characters to the heroism test.
Wyvern Tor
At 150 miles there and back, Wyvern Tor nets the players exactly 2 random encounters on average, for a total of 864xp just for the walk.
Ogre
Orc x7
1150 or (2875)xp
This is a 179% deadly encounter.
A head-on assault is likely to end with a T.P.K.
The party's success depends on the strategy and tactics they use to force the orcs through the choke point of the dungeon entrance.
This is one of the places that really should have had a map.
Overall
This is a real adventuring day.
After the 1 random encounter on the way out, a smart party will take a short rest before taking on the over-stuffed orc camp.
They will likely see fit to take another short rest before marching out again, which will likely result in a second random encounter.
As far as xp recommendations go, Wyvern Tor is built pretty by-the-books, they just took some xp from the end portions and crammed it into the middle.
Changes I would recommend
Nothing really, this is just a really dangerous thing the players can do.
I would like to see an obvious benefit come from it however: Defeating the orcs here should remove the orc encounter from the random encounter list, leaving that entry space a blank, and eliminating a major threat in the area.
Cragmaw Castle
Okay folks, here we are at the third set-piece dungeon crawl for the adventure!
This one is kind of a wonky castle-siege type deal, so it plays pretty different from the maze-caves the players have seen thus far.
It's only 60 miles to and fro the place, so the party is unlikely to experience any danger on the road during this part of the adventure.
So, it's worth mentioning that it is entirely possible that the party will dead-end before they get here.
If they fail to rescue Sildar and kill everything in sight in the first two chapters, they will have no idea that Cragmaw Castle even exists.
This is why I added details to show those collusions in the absence of quest-givers in my recommendations for those chapters.
Another thing worth pointing out: The dungeon faces West and assumes the party will approach from that direction.
The party will almost certainly approach from the South however.
In an odd moment of game design surrealism, there is also a contingency for approaching from the North, for which I can think of no specific justification.
3. Archer Post(s)
Goblin x2
100 or (150)xp
Goblin x2
100 or (150)xp
The goblins are surprisingly docile.
Even once the party enters the dungeon, they don't leave the room to try and fend off the invaders, instead preferring to remain in their rooms unless attacked.
These two encounters are completely inconsequential.
4. Ruined Barracks
Goblin x3
150 or (300xp)
This is an easy encounter.
If the party assassinates the bunch without a fuss, no problems.
However, it is more likely that the goblins in room 7 will join the fight in round 2, jumping the encounter to
*Goblin x11
550 or (1650)xp
a 137% deadly encounter.
It is interesting that the kitchen goblins will attack these guys, but these guys can't be alarmed to defend the entrance if the party charges in.
You'd think fighting in room 1 or 2 would cause an alert to be sounded!
6. Hobgoblin Barracks
Hobgoblin x4
400 or (800)xp
This is a hard encounter.
At least these guys have a reason to ignore fighting in the absence of an alarm, but as the other encounters aren't keyed with an alarm condition, there is no program to activate them to defend the castle.
This seems to have been a minor oversight- or the developers just assumed the DM would have the goblins raise an alarm naturally without having to que the DM to do so.
7. Banquet Hall
Goblin x8
400 or (800)xp
Another hard encounter, but this one puts the players at a numbers disadvantage.
The only weird thing about this is that their program to flee if Yegg dies can easily be forgotten if they investigate area 4, resulting in some parties dispersing the goblins, and others being forced to kill the whole pile of them.
It's important that room 10 gives these goblins reason to raise an alarm if the players are noisy.
This means the castle is better defended on its Southern wall than it is in any other direction, even though it has no standing portcullis!
8. Dark Hall / 9 Goblin Shrine
Grick
450 or (450)xp
A solidly medium encounter.
This is one of two heavy-hitters lurking in the castle.
(The other, an owlbear, being a bit tougher.)
Goblin x3
150 or (300)xp
An easy encounter, especially since they're programmed to attack separately from the grick.
This area combined is interesting because it is conceivable that a party who has encountered stiff resistance might barricade themselves in here for a short rest.
I know I've certainly had players who did just that.
Sadly, it seems the developers weren't quite as defensive-minded as some players are.
We'll talk about the rest issues associated with this site shortly.
12. Guard Barracks
Hobgoblin x2
200 or (300)xp
This is an easy encounter, but it exists to serve a purpose.
This encounter is present to activate an alarm situation for king Grol in room 14.
It's interesting to note however, that there's no programmed process that transfers an alarm from the East castle to the West castle, or vice-versa.
You'd expect that someone would run for help immediately when a fight broke out- goblins are cowards after all.
Grol should be ready for a fight the moment someone starts busting heads!
13. Owlbear Tower
Owlbear
700 or (700)xp
This is an entirely optional hard encounter.
There is no reason to go here, and players who explore willy-nilly or try to clear the castle are punnished for it with this rather tough and unnecessary fight.
But, hey, at least they get some xp out of it.
14. King's Quarters
Hobgoblin
Doppleganger
900 or (1350)xp
This is a low-end deadly encounter, and reasonably so.
This is the crowning moment of this adventure site.
The whole reason the players are here is to make it to this room.
It's a fascinating encounter as well.
There's a rescue in process, and one of the enemies wants to kill the captive if they get the chance.
There's conflicting objectives between the two villains here, and they could be exploited against each other.
Additionally, this room actually has an alert condition plan to be prepared for intruders!
Returning Warband
Hobgoblin x4
Wolf x2
500 or (1000)xp
This is an entirely optional hard encounter.
You know, just in case you really want your players to feel the burn.
Overall
3550 out of 4800 makes Cragmaw castle a slightly under-challenge adventuring day.
It includes a space that can be used for a short rest as well, which is great.
However, the programming for the castle's siege plan is patchy and only hinted at.
It takes a bit of reading to fully understand how this beast is supposed to behave as the players work their way through it.
Trying to run it on-the-fly without first reading the content is a bad idea.
Changes I would recommend
Take the coding for their alert plans and put it all together in a side-bar.
They need a plan for attacks from the North, West, and South entrances.
I would recommend that any alarm raised at any of these spots should set the rest of the castle into alarm and also bring in reinforcements from neighboring rooms.
EVERY encounter group should have a rule that if they get attacked, someone runs for back up, every time.
Additionally, the place needs to have a plan in case the players do take a rest from besieging the castle.
If the party retreats and returns, or if they barricade themselves in, the monsters need motivations to guide how they prepare for a subsequent challenge.
* If more than half the goblins are dead (Including survivors from the hideout), they abandon the higher ranking goblinoids.
* If the players barricade themselves in, any surviving hobgoblins should plan to bust down the door, which they achieve after 1 hour, ambushing the party just as their short rest concludes.
* If the party rests without reaching room 14, Grol strikes a deal with the doppleganger and sells the dwarf and map.
The doppleganger kills the dwarf and leaves with the map.
The same consequences happen if Grol dies but the doppleganger lives when the players rest.
* If less than half of the tribe members (Including survivors from the hideout and the returning warband) are alive when the party takes a rest or completes the castle, regardless of who those survivors are, they abandon the castle and the Cragmaw tribe disbands.
If the doppleganger survives the siege, he immediately flees to the black spider and alerts him to the oncoming heroes.
He also joins the black spider in the final fight.
If Grol survives and there are goblins still living in Cragmaw hideout, (For example, if they repopulated it) he and any survivors of the tribe relocate to the hideout and he becomes its leader, reestablishing the Cragmaw tribe.
If Grol dies, or if the Cragmaw tribe disbands without reestablishment, then the goblin and hobgoblin entries on the random encounter lists should be blanked.
This should make it possible for the players to see the beneficial effects their actions are having on the area, as travel becomes safer as they remove threats from the encounter list.
Resolution
Chapter 3 is kind of a big muddled mess.
There's quite a bit of looping around and redundancies, but few safety nets or backup plans to keep things on track.
Overall, each of the adventure sites represent roughly 1 adventuring day apiece.
Since they are almost all under-built for an adventuring day, players are likely to find this section fairly easy, aside from a couple of rough patches with single over-built encounters.
Depending on what players decide to do, and what information they fail to obtain, they might either walk through this chapter in a single session, or spend months slogging through the available content.
Changes I would recommend
Aside from the changes I mentioned for each of the quest sites, there is one major thing I would change with chapter 3 as a whole: There needs to be consequences for the time you spend during this chapter.
Let's say that each quest represents 1 adventuring day, and so do Cragmaw Castle and Wave Echo Cave.
(Though WEC might take more than 1 adventuring day, depending on what the players do in there.)
So, for each quest site, I would add the following program:
If Cragmaw Castle is untouched for 7 adventuring days, they repopulate their hideout.
On the 7th adventuring day, the orcs of Wyvern Tor attack Phandalin at nightfall with the intent of claiming it for themselves and enslaving the inhabitants.
If the dragon and dragon cultists are still alive at the end of 4 adventuring days, they form a pact, and the green dragon becomes a dracolich, and the cultists now reside in the tower.
2 adventuring days beyond that, the dragon drives the druid out of the site, whether the dragon cultists help him or not.
2 adventuring days beyond that, if the dragon had its treasure stolen, it attacks Phandalin.
The cultists aid in this attack if the dragon has become a dracolich.
For each adventuring day, the Black Spider advances in his investigation of Wave Echo Cave.
Day 1: Nezznar turns back to deal with Tharden's corpse, finds the magic boots he is wearing, and takes them for himself.
Day 2: Nezznar's forces storm the smelting room and kill the zombies and flameskull there. They now control the starry cavern and the sub-buildings therein.
Day 3: Nezznar's forces break down the doors into the sub-buildings and now control the soul forge.
Day 4: Nezznar figures out the limits of the soul forge and equips himself and his men with +1 armor and +1 weapons.
Day 5: Nezznar clears out the dungeon and populates it with his own minions, turning the place into a fortress while he tries to restore the forge of spells to its former glory.
Chapter 4
Ultimately, Chapter 4 is built almost the same as chapters 1 and 2; it amounts to nothing more than a big dungeon crawl.
Technically, it's just an extension of chapter 3, however, as any unfinished quests from chapter 3 still stand even after Wave Echo Cave is completed!
Wandering Monsters
This dungeon is special in that it is significantly less static than the others thanks to one special element: the wandering monsters table.
Let's break down that chart and analyze what kind of difficulty is being added to the adventure by it.
Stirge x2d4
50 or (75) to 200 or (500)xp
Universally easy, most likely less than easy threshold. Remember though, large numbers of stirges can easily be lethal.
Ghoul x1d4
200 or (200) to 800 or (1600)xp
Ranges between an easy encounter to a hard encounter. Again, ghouls are incredibly dangerous because they can completely remove a player from the fight in a single hit.
Grick x1d4
140 or (140) to 1800 or (3600)xp
This can be anything from a below-easy encounter, to a deadly one.
Bugbear x1d4
200 or (200) to 800 or (1600)xp
Ranges between below easy to hard.
Skeleton x1d6
50 or (50) to 300 or (600)xp
Ranges from inconsequential to easy.
Zombie x1d6
50 or (50) to 300 or (600)xp
Identical to the skeletons.
Ochre Jelly
500 or (500)xp
An easy encounter.
Overall
The average xp earned from a random encounter is 572. That said, there is no in-game trigger for these encounters. They are controlled exclusively by DM adjudication. Since there is no way to assume any standard or average rate of random encounter frequency, I will ignore this table completely in my overall analysis of the chapter. Simply put, this is optional content.
2. Mine Tunnels
Ochre Jelly
500 or (500)xp
This easy encounter is poorly keyed, as is the area. It is unclear where the boundaries of the maze are, and it is left up to the DM to decide where the encounter is waiting and how it is initiated. Overall an extremely vague and poorly thought out location.
3. Old Entrance
Stirge x10
250 or (625)xp
While this counts as an easy encounter, I must restate this fact: large numbers of stirges are incredibly dangerous. Add to that the fact that this will likely be an ambush on the players, and this encounter is surprisingly dangerous.
4. Old Guard Room
Skeleton x9
450 or (1125)xp
A medium encounter with the party at an action economy disadvantage. Also a pointless encounter. There is nothing of value here.
6. South Barracks
Ghoul x3
600 or (1200)xp
A medium encounter at a dead end. It is important to note that these ghouls are from area 9. The implication is that by encountering these ghouls here, that encounter is reduced by 3 members.
7. Ruined Storeroom
For the first time ever in this campaign, a rest location mid-site! What a shock! And it is sorely needed in such a massive site which could easily take multiple in-game days to resolve. However, they fail to include any kind of a repopulation plan for when the players actually make use of this feature- and it is very likely that the players will simply not ever find this place at all.
8. Fungi Cavern
Something went wrong with this room during development. It says Nezznar is reluctant to deal with the monsters here, which is supposedly preventing him from reaching the forge of spells. There's just one problem with that: the room is empty. There is a poison trap that is sprung, but it's honestly pretty mild, and with some creativity could easily be eliminated with some oil and a torch.
9. Great Cavern
Ghoul x7
1300 or (3500)xp
A 175% difficulty encounter. However, if the keying of room 6 is understood as a way of reducing this room's numbers, it could be much easier. Of course, that is all relative, because paralysis is so incredibly devastating to an average party. This area can be approached from 3 different directions, though the West entrance is rather unlikely given the order of events that would represent. With varying elevations and furniture obstructions, this can be a tactically interesting combat site.
11. North Barracks
Bugbear x5
1000 or (2000)xp
A threshold deadly encounter. This represents the front lines of Nezznar's investigation of the cave. Which is absurd, because his goal is a mere 150ft away with minimal threats in that direction. The book acts like there's all kinds of dangerous monsters pouring out of there, but looking at the map makes that narrative absurd. Nezznar (loosely) controls almost a third of the dungeon. How many monsters could possibly be heaped up in the forge area that he needed to barricade it off? The whole thing when looked at from a bird's eye perspective is just plain dumb.
12. Smelter Cavern
Zombie x4
Flame skull
1300 or (2600)xp
A typical deadly encounter. While the flame skull is an interesting threat, and punches over its weight, Nezznar statistically has the power and resources to walk through it. The idea that he has been stalled by this monster is silly. Additionally, if it really wanted to attack his people, it could just move from room 12 to room 18 and bypass his barricade. The descent requires no check for the zombies and the flame skull can fly. there's no reason for it to remain here unless it had no desire to leave in the first place.
14. Wizard's Quarters
Wraith
1800 or (1800)xp
A hard encounter, and likely one the players will have to plow through if they are still just a bunch of violent, grave robbing dicks. If the players negotiate with the wraith though, they might be able to get some loot out of it. A mildly entertaining alternate ending to an otherwise pointless fight. It is important to note that they get more loot if they just kill the thing, and there are no long-term benefits to letting it live.
15. Forge of Spells
Spectator
700 or (700)xp
This thing is apparently the only reason the wraith doesn't control the entire dungeon. Let's get one thing straight: Mormesk can kill a spectator with ease. Test it yourself. Run a PVP of you playing mormesk and someone else playing the spectator. As with Nezznar being held back by a flame skull and some zombies, it is absurd that mormesk is being held back here. Just plain dumb. It is interesting to note that while roleplay solutions are given for the enemy, there is little roleplay advice, which means new DMs will probably just have this creature attack the party on sight, despite the recommendation that it attack when things are taken. It's just not obviously written for roleplay as a primary solution option.
Whatever way this is resolved, the players wind up in control of the forge of spells. If they went East instead of North to start, they almost certainly gained control over it before Nezznar, underlining his obscene incompetence as a villain. With little examination, they can discover how to use the forge of spells to temporarily enhance their gear, which will allow them to curb-stomp the rest of the dungeon in a most anticlimactic fashion. This. Is. Stupid.
18. Collapsed Cavern
Bugbear x3
600 or (1200)xp
A medium encounter. There isn't much to say about this. The players have a 50% chance of coming here before hitting Nezznar's hideout. If they do, it's random chance. There's a possibility that running this encounter first will prevent an ambush in room 19.
19. Temple of Dumathoin
Nezznar
Doppelganger
Giant Spider x2
1550 or (3100)xp
This is a 150% deadly encounter. If the players go West instead of East, they get to ambush the villain. A reward derived from pure luck. However, once combat starts, the enemies from room 18 join the fight, boosting the danger significantly. All-in-all, getting into a fight here, especially after being worn down from the rest of the dungeon, is a good way for the players to die. That said, Nezznar is given roleplaying details. he is supposed to be charming and manipulative, which can lead to an incredibly wide range of results from this encounter.
Let me give one warning though: It is entirely possible for a group of bumbling nincompoops to allow sildar and the rockseekers to die, and then kill Nezznar on sight, without ever actually finding the forge of spells.
Resolution
In total, the dungeon offers a base value of 10050xp, not including random encounters. At 6800xp per adventuring day, this dungeon represents at least 2 days of adventuring, simply due to the likely rest requirements placed on party resources.
The dungeon is extremely poorly thought out and seems rather unfinished. There is no justifiable reason for why Nezznar is stalled, and why mormesk doesn't rule the caverns. They are simply more powerful than the threats that stand in their way. With the arrangement of enemies and events in the dungeon rooms, it is very likely that the party will gain control of the forge of spells early on, which renders the rest of the dungeon a complete joke.
Obviously, a lot of work needs to be done, so let's just get to it.
Changes I Would Recommend.
Let's start with stalling Mormesk. Replace the spectator with a full blooded beholder. It is simpossibly powerful, and therefore roleplay is the only viable solution. Make careful note that the beholder only attacks if people try to rob the place. He doesn't care if people use the forge of spells.
Next, let's make Mormesk more interesting. We need consequences for what happens if the players interact with this faction in the dungeon. Since Mormesk controls all of the undead, let's have it so that his death causes the undead to collapse as well, rendering the caves much safer than before, but also prompting Nezznar to charge straight for the forge of spells, launching a siege-like assault on the players' location. Alternately, if the players find a way to unsummon the beholder, Mormesk is grateful to them and instead gives the players the protection of the remaining undead in the dungeon- boosting their numbers against Nezznar.
Now let's stall Nezznar. Replace the zombies with ghouls and add a second flame skull. Make their presence and lethality obvious by littering these hallways with savagely destroyed bugbear corpses. To justify why the flame skull doesn't bypass the barricade, place bars in the channel at either end, with a DC21 strength check to bend them.
Next up, we need to populate the fungi room. Two revenants should be enough to turn pretty much anyone away. The revenants can speak and demand the party turn back and leave them to their rest, lest they slay them in revenge. This is enough to give Nezznar and the players considerable pause after just one round of combat.
Finally, let's make a show of the undead emanating from Mormesk. Move the zombies from room 12 to room 13. Have them ambush the party by rising from the dirt and grappling enemies in the first round.
All together, this pushes the party to encounter Nezznar first, and gives them a good reason to bargain with the villain. The fight on the way to the forge of spells will likely cause Nezznar to lose some of his men, and the players will likely be planning for the inevitable betrayal.
Closing Thoughts
While it may seem my analysis has been hyper-critical, I actually rather love this adventure, and have run it many times in the past. It is the single best introductory adventure ever made for any edition of D&D. Seemingly high praise to anyone who hasn't seen the train wrecks that preceded it. This adventure rarely goes the same way twice, and different players will always reshape it into a completely new and unexpected thing. I highly recommend this adventure to anyone looking to begin playing 5th edition D&D, but I also highly recommend that the DM very carefully read the whole adventure book before beginning play.
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