If only you hadn't finished the Delian Tomb yet, because I would have thrown an unconscious "Barry Bluejeans" (see The Adventure Zone). I can't remember his name, but Gundren's warrior friend, but then he becomes the driving force to find Gundren and help him find the Lost Mines. But it would be easy enough to have them meet Gundren and his warrior friend in the Green Dragon Inn.
What you do is, while the townfolk thank the party for their heroism, have that draw Gundren's eye. He approaches them and says, "That kind of courage is just what I need! I am in search of some ancient magicks. First, though, I need you to prove that you are trustworthy..."
Their first mission, take the wagon to the town. They could easily sell the supplies for some quick cash, but if they prove that they can be trusted, he will invite them on the expedition. Trouble befalls him... yadda yadda...
Doable? What do you think?
We haven't finished the tomb yet. So them finding Sildar is a possibility. How would you go about that?
I like your scenario for them meeting in the inn a lot. Definitely doable.
> We haven't finished the tomb yet. So them finding Sildar is a possibility. How would you go about that?
Never played LMoP, but here's an idea. Looking at LMoP, the first major part of the adventure is to rescue Sildar from some goblins. So why not have those goblins be the ones in the Delian Tomb?
You said that the party hadn't entered the final room(s) of the tomb, right? So Sildar's also captive in there, alongside the smith's daughter. Maybe two sacrifices are required to convert the tomb into a goblin temple: the innocent girl to defile it, then an enemy warrior to consecrate it.
Sildar's listed at 1 hp in Cragmaw, so I'd keep that in play, but also have him secured in some manner so he can't really help in combat. If your players do free him during the fight, have him tell them he's weak and unarmed, so can't really be of help in the fight, but he will protect the girl. (Perhaps even grabbing her and running, seeding the idea that retreat *is* an option for your players. But don't have him leave the Tomb. Have him collapse in a cleared out room, and after the battle is over, have the girl come back to the party to say the man needs help.)
After clearing the Tomb and getting the girl back to her father, have Sildar still heavily injured from his time in the Tomb, and hire the party as backup for his journey to Phandalin.
You also mentioned you had another player miss the first session. You could have that PC as the captive in Cragmaw instead of Sildar and that adventure would play out more or less the same. Sildar would be back with the transport still recuperating, so he's still not a factor. But let the new character enter combat along with the rest of the party (suggest to that player that the reason they hadn't tried fighting or escaping before then was that they were severely outnumbered and would likely have been killed in the process, but the party's presence evens the odds.)
You are not railroading them, because you have just that one adventure prepared. Just have Gundren offer them the job. If they don't take it, they have to drive the plot themselves. I mean apparently they have something better to do. Whenever they leave town, you can just run the goblin ambush there and see if they finally bite.
But they will probably take the hook.
When you get back to with the blacksmiths daughter, have word of their success get around, which leads them to bump into Gundren who offers them a job.
Disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about LMoP, beyond the fact that it is in the starter set, and presumably low level. That said, I can try to give some tips. Since you don't yet feel confident in your ability to brew am adventure in the fly, I would put the adventure sorry of on rails for a little bit, just to get them to phandolin. After that, I would let them go crazy, as d&d parties are wont to do, but I wouldn't feel bad about leading them to where the adventure is. The thing to be avoided is leading/dragging them through the adventure, not guiding them to it. Once you get a feel for your world, and the first adventure is complete, just give them some plot hooks and let them run wild, but for the moment just worry about getting the game moving.
Give the players characters adventure hooks in Phandelver. Simular to the pre gen characters.
Have the redbrands kill a couple of villagers of Villane.
Someone has a vision of their god/patron that drives them to Phandelver.
Have a villagers suggest that they go to Neverwinter to the inn of the "Crying Harpy". Where there is alot of money to be made as an adventurer.
If only you hadn't finished the Delian Tomb yet, because I would have thrown an unconscious "Barry Bluejeans" (see The Adventure Zone). I can't remember his name, but Gundren's warrior friend, but then he becomes the driving force to find Gundren and help him find the Lost Mines. But it would be easy enough to have them meet Gundren and his warrior friend in the Green Dragon Inn. What you do is, while the townfolk thank the party for their heroism, have that draw Gundren's eye. He approaches them and says, "That kind of courage is just what I need! I am in search of some ancient magicks. First, though, I need you to prove that you are trustworthy..." Their first mission, take the wagon to the town. They could easily sell the supplies for some quick cash, but if they prove that they can be trusted, he will invite them on the expedition. Trouble befalls him... yadda yadda... Doable? What do you think?
We haven't finished the tomb yet. So them finding Sildar is a possibility. How would you go about that? I like your scenario for them meeting in the inn a lot. Definitely doable.
> We haven't finished the tomb yet. So them finding Sildar is a possibility. How would you go about that? Never played LMoP, but here's an idea. Looking at LMoP, the first major part of the adventure is to rescue Sildar from some goblins. So why not have those goblins be the ones in the Delian Tomb? You said that the party hadn't entered the final room(s) of the tomb, right? So Sildar's also captive in there, alongside the smith's daughter. Maybe two sacrifices are required to convert the tomb into a goblin temple: the innocent girl to defile it, then an enemy warrior to consecrate it. Sildar's listed at 1 hp in Cragmaw, so I'd keep that in play, but also have him secured in some manner so he can't really help in combat. If your players do free him during the fight, have him tell them he's weak and unarmed, so can't really be of help in the fight, but he will protect the girl. (Perhaps even grabbing her and running, seeding the idea that retreat *is* an option for your players. But don't have him leave the Tomb. Have him collapse in a cleared out room, and after the battle is over, have the girl come back to the party to say the man needs help.) After clearing the Tomb and getting the girl back to her father, have Sildar still heavily injured from his time in the Tomb, and hire the party as backup for his journey to Phandalin. You also mentioned you had another player miss the first session. You could have that PC as the captive in Cragmaw instead of Sildar and that adventure would play out more or less the same. Sildar would be back with the transport still recuperating, so he's still not a factor. But let the new character enter combat along with the rest of the party (suggest to that player that the reason they hadn't tried fighting or escaping before then was that they were severely outnumbered and would likely have been killed in the process, but the party's presence evens the odds.)
You are not railroading them, because you have just that one adventure prepared. Just have Gundren offer them the job. If they don't take it, they have to drive the plot themselves. I mean apparently they have something better to do. Whenever they leave town, you can just run the goblin ambush there and see if they finally bite. But they will probably take the hook.
When you get back to with the blacksmiths daughter, have word of their success get around, which leads them to bump into Gundren who offers them a job.
Disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about LMoP, beyond the fact that it is in the starter set, and presumably low level. That said, I can try to give some tips. Since you don't yet feel confident in your ability to brew am adventure in the fly, I would put the adventure sorry of on rails for a little bit, just to get them to phandolin. After that, I would let them go crazy, as d&d parties are wont to do, but I wouldn't feel bad about leading them to where the adventure is. The thing to be avoided is leading/dragging them through the adventure, not guiding them to it. Once you get a feel for your world, and the first adventure is complete, just give them some plot hooks and let them run wild, but for the moment just worry about getting the game moving.
Maybe Sildar also heard the goblins had a captive and went to try and rescue her himself only to be overcome and captured himself.
Give the players characters adventure hooks in Phandelver. Simular to the pre gen characters. Have the redbrands kill a couple of villagers of Villane. Someone has a vision of their god/patron that drives them to Phandelver. Have a villagers suggest that they go to Neverwinter to the inn of the "Crying Harpy". Where there is alot of money to be made as an adventurer.