105
votes
Accepted
What do jagged lines crossing a corridor mean on this old D&D map?
Those are "breaks" indicating that the cave keeps on going generally in the same way for X feet (' being the abbreviation for "feet"). Drawing that all out would make for scale problems on the ...
- 176k
94
votes
I unknowingly guessed what will happen next in the module and it's angering the DM
It is not metagaming and you should say so.
Metagaming is using outside (metagame) knowledge of yours to inform your character's decisions. If you don't know the module you do not a priori have any ...
- 16.6k
87
votes
Our group keeps dying during the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign. What are we doing wrong?
Your party isn't what the campaign was designed for
Honestly, the problem is simply that Lost Mines of Phandelver is balanced for a party of roughly 5 players, so you're already struggling because you ...
- 36.5k
84
votes
Accepted
Are Gundren Rockseeker and his brothers Mountain Dwarves or Hill Dwarves in the Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure?
They are (arguably) Hill dwarves
There's nothing to go on in the module book.
You're right, it is never stated explicitly anywhere in the module what kind of dwarf the Rockseeker brothers are. ...
- 25.2k
79
votes
Our group keeps dying during the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign. What are we doing wrong?
What is expected? To have fun.
Obviously, you aren't having fun if you are writing up posts like this.
What you are missing
The major thing that it sounds like you are missing is a big chunk of ...
- 7,766
79
votes
How do I respond to players who keep asking powerful NPCs to help them in ToA?
The world is always about to end
From the players' point of view, sure, this adventure is the end-all and be-all of saving the world. Folks like Laeral Silverhand, though, have a lot more on their ...
- 13.9k
73
votes
Accepted
Which item gets your soul first, Blackrazor or a Ring of Mind Shielding?
Blackrazor wins ... probably
Ring
If you die while wearing the ring, your soul enters it
Blackrazor
If this necrotic damage reduces you to 0 hit points, Blackrazor devours your soul.
Since ...
- 3,474
73
votes
Accepted
How do I, as a DM, handle a party that decides to set up an ambush in a dungeon?
You tell or show the party why they need to move on
It is always better to show rather than tell, so I would do something like this:
2 goblins appear coming down the cave, the party ambushes them, ...
- 30.3k
63
votes
How can my players even have a chance at resolving this Tomb of Horrors puzzle?
Tomb of Horrors is an Old School Adventure
Tomb of Horrors has a long and storied history. It was originally developed by Gary Gygax the co-creator of D&D specifically to kill high-level PCs:
...
- 216k
63
votes
Accepted
What is the lowest level character that can unfailingly beat the Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure's starting encounter?
Level 5 Variant Human Wizard
The Build
The wizard has the Elemental Adept (Fire) and Alert feats
The wizard prepares Shield, Mage Armor, and Fireball
The wizard has 16 CON and 16 DEX (using the ...
- 2,593
57
votes
Accepted
How can my players even have a chance at resolving this Tomb of Horrors puzzle?
Each of the seven doors is opened by one method, not all seven.
The text in the 5th edition is ambigious, and may be interpreted that each door requires a seven-step process to open. However, if you ...
- 84.5k
56
votes
Accepted
How can I add encounters in the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign without giving PCs too much XP?
I'm going to challenge your premise a bit - why not drop XP-based levelling altogether and use milestone levelling instead? In my time as a DM and a player, I've found milestone has a few advantages:
...
- 426
55
votes
Accepted
How can I get my PCs to stop harassing this character from Dragon of Icespire Peak that isn't supposed to do anything no matter what they do?
Offer an alternative way to fulfil the quest
It's unsurprising that the characters try to get her to come back, as the quest is described thusly (p. 10):
The local midwife — an acolyte of Chauntea ...
- 135k
54
votes
Accepted
How do I continue to progress the plot if the party kills the giants in chapter 10 of Storm King's Thunder?
Failure is an option
Players, through playing, can and should be able to meaningfully interact with the world. Usually they make the world better; sometimes they make it worse.
Don’t rob your ...
- 216k
52
votes
Accepted
What's the "magic similar to the Knock spell" referenced in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage adventure?
It's referencing any spell, item, class feature, monster ability, or effect that allows you to magically unlock a door.
In part, this is future-proofing -- you don't want some spell or magic item ...
- 78.3k
52
votes
Accepted
In Out of the Abyss, one character requires an item yet starts with it confiscated. What should I do?
There are quite a few things that the Cleric can do ...
This cleric requires his holy symbol to really do anything.
That's not quite true.
What cantrips does the cleric have?
The following ...
- 144k
50
votes
The GM ruled that we didn't get XP for killing the boss because an enemy caster's spell killed them. Is this allowed?
The rules don't say that player characters need to kill enemies to earn XP.
From the Core Rulebook, chapter 12 "Gamemastering" gives an overview of how to run combats and combat rewards. The text ...
- 31.6k
49
votes
Sildar Hallwinter died, what now?
Failure is an option
A mistake that many people make is thinking there are only 2 end states for an adventure: the party wins or the party dies. In fact, there are a multitude of outcomes and some of ...
- 216k
49
votes
Accepted
What is a reasonable player cost for Manor rebuilding?
11k gp renovation; 10gp/day upkeep/operating costs, or maybe less.
Renovation/Rebuilding
I'll tell you what's reasonable: referencing 2e's The Castle Guide. In previous years I've done comparisons ...
- 102k
48
votes
Accepted
How would you behave while playing an adventure you were already a DM of?
Roleplay
Let's assume you play an elf (which you are not in real life). And you play a ranger (which you are not in real life). The character can shoot a moving target without fail (which you cannot ...
- 23.7k
47
votes
Accepted
Convincing my Curse of Strahd DM to reduce an inflicted character flaw that goes against my character's core beliefs
You're in Ravenloft, a setting designed around dread, horror, and the inevitable moral corruption of even the best good people, exploring the temple of the darkest forbidden knowledge in known ...
- 244k
47
votes
Accepted
How do I play in an adventure as a player that I have run as a DM?
Take a back seat
While this might be hard to implement advice when you're already a few sessions in, the best thing would be to play a character who does not wish to lead or make decisions. This does ...
- 5,686
47
votes
I unknowingly guessed what will happen next in the module and it's angering the DM
This Is Absolutely Almost Certainly Not Metagaming
Taking you at your word that you've never read or played this module (and I do believe you-- I have no reason not to) then this is not metagaming and ...
- 45.7k
46
votes
Accepted
Can I let my players play any official class/race in published adventures?
Sure, you're the DM
The books listed on the back are the books you will absolutely need, because Storm King's Thunder references monsters and rules found in those three books.
Other than that, you're ...
- 36.5k
45
votes
For the Dungeon of the Mad Mage adventure, how is a room's ceiling height determined?
Width is the Shorter Side
According to 5e's lead designer: "Unless the rules explicitly expand, narrow, or completely redefine a word, that word retains the meaning it has in idiomatic English". What ...
- 13.1k
44
votes
How do I, as a DM, handle a party that decides to set up an ambush in a dungeon?
The other answers seem to think that the PCs have the Goblins trapped. The map tells another story.
- 16.4k
43
votes
Accepted
What to do about a character being a thief in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Let Waterdeep take care of it.
I had a similar situation where a player got into a chase in broad daylight, started falling behind their quarry, and pulled out a scroll of fireball.
SCREEECH went the ...
- 102k
41
votes
Accepted
Can I string the D&D Starter Set campaign into another module, keeping the same characters?
Yes, you can reuse characters.
There is nothing particular or special to Lost Mines of Phandelver that requires handling differently from any other content. Characters are not implicitly one-and-done -...
- 49k
41
votes
Accepted
What does "Summoned creature has maximum hit points" actually mean?
It means that the elementals will have 144 Hit Points
If the designers instead wanted the air elementals to have rolled or average hit points they could have said:
Summoned elementals have their ...
- 76.8k
41
votes
Accepted
How can I showcase characters that aren't stealthy in a stealth-based mission?
Not everyone needs to be stealthy
I alluded to this in this other answer. Just because you're not the one sneaking into steal something, doesn't mean you're not helping advance the plan.
Think Mission:...
- 41.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible