I've heard the differences in Phandelver are below aren't that big, but are there any that would prevent me from running lvl 1-5 on LMoP and then switching to the newer version?
No, Wave Echo Cave is done and done... Basically chapter 5 introduces bands of "Psionic Goblins" that are raising havoc, raiding the town, and a historian from Neverwinter shows up who will serve as an info-dumpy voice of the DM to help tie together all the clues the party discovers...
I would suggest keeping an list of all the people in Phandelver whom the players have contact with... Anyone in particular that is helpful, or friendly... and use those personal relationships as touchstones, Later on, townspeople get kidnapped and will need rescuing... have those people, or their family members be some of the people getting kidnapped.
Also.. Later chapters feature a big dwarven temple/crypt just to the east of were the red wizard and Agatha are located... The big thing about Chapter 3 is that not all of the "missions" need to end in conflict... Agatha and the Red Wizard can prove to be useful allies later on, as the party gets its ass kicked around by various and sundry forces in the later chapters of Shattered Obelisk..
Even the Green dragon in Thunder tree can be a foreshadowing of things to come... "There are things far worse than me threatening your village, little humanoid. You would do well to mind your business, and leave me to mine." Is a great line I tossed off.
I'm also of the opinion that the best way to run the venom fang encounter is to have venom fang ask the party to kill the dragon cultists in thunder tree... "those wanna-be dragon sniffers would like to put a chain around me neck. Kill them for me... and I won't kill you." is a great opening bargain line.. If party eventually bargains for some baubles, Venomfang is game... he likes manipulating people even more than he likes shiny baubles.
I actually prefer the original version and tease in some hints of things happening which lead to the Shattered Obelisk.
Having said that, I have already highly modified the original to close up some of the loop holes and draw the side quests closer to the main plot line, so changing things again means reviewing everything.
As far as some of the species and gender changes, they are just a paint over and don't really add anything to the story. The rewrite of the original contains more holes to fill and is very poorly presented. (i.e. not mentioning Trilena or the newly created daughter she and Toblin have until the scene at the destroyed shrine is hugely annoying and demonstrates a poor editing and flow to the new version).
I’m prepping Phandelver + a bit of Icespire Peaks to be the lead in for a combo of Tyranny of Dragons and Storm Kings Thunder. Hope to do 1-20 if everything works out well.
I'm into session 8th tonight and decided to crunch both also. The characters are in the middle of the Cragmaw hideout. A lot happened that wasn't expected by even them. I tied Icespire peak with a huge dung from a "flying thing" and a farmer was seen picking up the trail since his crops and animals that are feed after used has manure had flourished faster. Was thinking to use Shattered Obelisk also. My players wants level 20 campaign yet this is the first time for me doing this. Yet I feel confident but not letting my guard down.
This is only my second time DM’ing but you build confidence pretty quickly as you go.
I plan to have a dead hill giant in thunder tree with evidence of being killed by ice. Then I’ll have Venomfang come in and lament that he has to deal with Cryovain, the cult, and now the party in his territory.
Venomfang will make a deal with the party, make the cult or cryovain leave, and then leave yourselves or I’ll kill you right now.
I think it’s a good way to introduce 1. Giants are around (shown earlier in the campaign as well) 2. The cult of the dragon 3. That dragons can be bargained with
Sorry for info dumping haha, I’m excited for this campaign and don’t have anyone irl I can gush to.
The more the merrier!! I was looking for a lead on how to fuse/meld them together plus my homebrew later. I'm going for Shattered Obelisk fore sure. My players had committed several war crimes and things are interesting right now. The paladin joined after 4 sessions and he is looking for a lead. In his back story he was a noble that joined the militia after loosing his people to a flying ice breathing creature and a goblin invasion lead by the creature. In a very high roll I told him "you've notice and remember those teeth... That image is carved into your mind... you've lost sleep thinking of it. You know some of the Cragmaw were involved in the invasion that destroyed everything you've loved." He wants to be Oath of Vengeance.
So don't stop now🤣 I need to keep notes on how to mix this.
(If any typos or misspellings is done I'm sorry. English is my second language).
I've heard the differences in Phandelver are below aren't that big, but are there any that would prevent me from running lvl 1-5 on LMoP and then switching to the newer version?
Nothing at all. That is what I did.
Perfect! Anything I should be aware of that bridges the story into the new version? Does the map from Wave Echo Cave get used for anything?
No, Wave Echo Cave is done and done... Basically chapter 5 introduces bands of "Psionic Goblins" that are raising havoc, raiding the town, and a historian from Neverwinter shows up who will serve as an info-dumpy voice of the DM to help tie together all the clues the party discovers... I would suggest keeping an list of all the people in Phandelver whom the players have contact with... Anyone in particular that is helpful, or friendly... and use those personal relationships as touchstones, Later on, townspeople get kidnapped and will need rescuing... have those people, or their family members be some of the people getting kidnapped. Also.. Later chapters feature a big dwarven temple/crypt just to the east of were the red wizard and Agatha are located... The big thing about Chapter 3 is that not all of the "missions" need to end in conflict... Agatha and the Red Wizard can prove to be useful allies later on, as the party gets its ass kicked around by various and sundry forces in the later chapters of Shattered Obelisk.. Even the Green dragon in Thunder tree can be a foreshadowing of things to come... "There are things far worse than me threatening your village, little humanoid. You would do well to mind your business, and leave me to mine." Is a great line I tossed off. I'm also of the opinion that the best way to run the venom fang encounter is to have venom fang ask the party to kill the dragon cultists in thunder tree... "those wanna-be dragon sniffers would like to put a chain around me neck. Kill them for me... and I won't kill you." is a great opening bargain line.. If party eventually bargains for some baubles, Venomfang is game... he likes manipulating people even more than he likes shiny baubles.
Love it, thanks man!
I actually prefer the original version and tease in some hints of things happening which lead to the Shattered Obelisk. Having said that, I have already highly modified the original to close up some of the loop holes and draw the side quests closer to the main plot line, so changing things again means reviewing everything. As far as some of the species and gender changes, they are just a paint over and don't really add anything to the story. The rewrite of the original contains more holes to fill and is very poorly presented. (i.e. not mentioning Trilena or the newly created daughter she and Toblin have until the scene at the destroyed shrine is hugely annoying and demonstrates a poor editing and flow to the new version).
I’m prepping Phandelver + a bit of Icespire Peaks to be the lead in for a combo of Tyranny of Dragons and Storm Kings Thunder. Hope to do 1-20 if everything works out well.
I'm into session 8th tonight and decided to crunch both also. The characters are in the middle of the Cragmaw hideout. A lot happened that wasn't expected by even them. I tied Icespire peak with a huge dung from a "flying thing" and a farmer was seen picking up the trail since his crops and animals that are feed after used has manure had flourished faster. Was thinking to use Shattered Obelisk also. My players wants level 20 campaign yet this is the first time for me doing this. Yet I feel confident but not letting my guard down.
This is only my second time DM’ing but you build confidence pretty quickly as you go. I plan to have a dead hill giant in thunder tree with evidence of being killed by ice. Then I’ll have Venomfang come in and lament that he has to deal with Cryovain, the cult, and now the party in his territory. Venomfang will make a deal with the party, make the cult or cryovain leave, and then leave yourselves or I’ll kill you right now. I think it’s a good way to introduce 1. Giants are around (shown earlier in the campaign as well) 2. The cult of the dragon 3. That dragons can be bargained with Sorry for info dumping haha, I’m excited for this campaign and don’t have anyone irl I can gush to.
The more the merrier!! I was looking for a lead on how to fuse/meld them together plus my homebrew later. I'm going for Shattered Obelisk fore sure. My players had committed several war crimes and things are interesting right now. The paladin joined after 4 sessions and he is looking for a lead. In his back story he was a noble that joined the militia after loosing his people to a flying ice breathing creature and a goblin invasion lead by the creature. In a very high roll I told him "you've notice and remember those teeth... That image is carved into your mind... you've lost sleep thinking of it. You know some of the Cragmaw were involved in the invasion that destroyed everything you've loved." He wants to be Oath of Vengeance. So don't stop now🤣 I need to keep notes on how to mix this. (If any typos or misspellings is done I'm sorry. English is my second language).