Redbrand Hideout - LMoP New DM Guide
Alright, we're back to our Lost Mines of Phandelver Dungeon Master walk through and here's a great tip to start, sometimes it is better to end a session a little early and leave them wanting more. It can be much better than starting the next thing and running long on a work night or school night and having your players eyeballing the exits. Describing your players walking down the stone steps to explore below the mysterious ruined manor is a great place to hit pause. The moment they trigger a combat encounter is also always great. Starting a session by saying roll for initiative is fun. Having people watching the clock instead of the game is no fun. As you can probably tell that last post was going to be very long, so I split it up and now the Redbrand Hideout gets its own entry.
The party are probably going to enter in room 1, but there is another entrance and if the players asked around and spoke to Carp, they know about the secret tunnel into room 8. Secret tunnel! One quick note before we dive into the dungeon: Do not underestimate how useful Carp can be as an NPC. Especially if your player characters have not been acting very friendly and heroic in general. They're less likely to be total jerks to a kid, and even if they've been engaging with everyone, having a kid being in awe of our PCs can really boost them up and make them feel and act more like heroes. Carp, and kids in general, are great for that. Maybe have them ask for an autograph, or to hold a sword. Plus, any NPC we can get the players to care about is a huge asset. The players might not be all that motivated to find Wave Echo Cave or the Black Spider... until Carp gets snatched up. Don't overdo it or they'll stop forming connections, but once in awhile this is just the thing to light a fire under the PCs.
We're going to prepare the Redbrand Hideout the same way we prepared for the Cragmaw Hideout and Phandalin. We're going to read through it and make note of any named NPCs or important information. This place has about twice as many keyed locations as the Cragmaw Hideout, see how we're easing in to adventuring? Clever design. That's also telling you this will probably take your party about twice as long to complete. Don't assume you can get away just prepping 1-6 though, a couple secret doors is all that stands between both entrances and Glasstaff's quarters. You don't need to memorize everything of course, you can read each entry at the table to refresh your memory keeping the book behind the DM screen, but you want to be refreshing your memory. Use underlining, highlighting, note taking, repetition, whatever best helps you to feel prepared. For me I find going back to the map as I read what is in each room is big part of remembering the main gist of what's what when I hit the table. So grab the map and we’ll go room by room here.
1) This room can be viewed as a lesson in caution, if the PCs noisily tear this place up the ruffians in 2 are alerted. The boxed text only mentions the door heading to 3 but not the door to 2. This is a big oversight. Any time your players walk into a new room one of the main things to give them is the routes out. They're going to have to work for that secret door to 8, but the other ones are obvious. Using a map helps with this too. DC10 is easy to beat to locate the secret door, but they have to be close to it, maybe looking at those barrels on the south wall. It's harder to spot, but if the players find the satchel in the cistern, consider having a letter to Glasstaff in there to identify it. Either from Sildar asking after Iarno's progress, or the one from the Black Spider on pg 26. Maybe do both so the players connect all the dots.
2) If the players made a bunch of noise in 1 but proceed to 3, have these guys give chase. Having the last one standing run for the secret door is a solid way to show the party it is there. The three dirty scarlet cloaks might not sound like they belong in the treasure section, but clever players can use them to impersonate Redbrands. It's always good when designing dungeons to consider how players might try to use stealth, deception, some other approach than just kill all the things. It is their job to think of their approach, we've got enough to think about already and the players outnumber the DM, but it is smart to leave room for other avenues besides combat.
3) Here we have a teaching opportunity about traps. The lesson is: look for them. Make that door to 4 sound interesting and the players will likely head straight for it. Keep in mind this hallways is ten feet wide so the characters can be 2 across, and fall into the pit two at a time. Ask the marching order into 3 single file, then ask for the doubled ranks as they move through it. You can treat this as the default and ask the players if they changed it when it is important instead of asking who is in front every time they change locations. It's good to do this early in a dungeon, and not to wait until they're walking into a trap because then it simply becomes a signal to the players that something is up.
4) Of course the skeletons are going to animate and attack. You know it, the players know it. That makes it more tense, not less. It will also keep it tense when the dead inside the sarcophagi don't attack. Here's another lesson in not just reading out box text, if we've entered through the double doors don't finish the description with them, finish the description with the doors into 5 and 6. In general the players will pay the most attention to the first and the last thing you describe, so don't have a tremendously long middle, and put the threats or features to interact with as the book ends.
5) Another couple of classic dungeon features: a locked door and non-hostile NPCs inside this dangerous place. Prisoners are usually a good way to do that, and vary up encounters. It is easy to pick this lock, hard to brute force it. If everything fails let your players attack it and damage it enough for the prisoners to squeeze out after a couple good hits. Mirna's quest here doubles down on Thundertree. The adventure wants the party to go there and find that dragon on the cover of the box. Multiple hooks again. Move the necklace if you want them somewhere else.
Prisoners always present a challenge to the party. Should they just let them go or should they escort them back to safety? The first time out my players barely let them go at all. They befriended a goblin and later the nothic, but for some reason they did not trust this poor woman and her two daughters. I think they misinterpreted the pile of clothes from the other prisoners. These things happen, plan to be surprised. If your PCs are pretty low on HP and resources it might be smart to take this family topside and have a rest. Short rest: nothing changed down here. Long rest: there are a couple extra Redbrands investigating their dead friends. The players don't know how many bad guys the book says are down here, don't be afraid to add more. If Mirna and co. are sent on their way as the party pushes forward, I'd let them make it out safely. Maybe we see them back in town later.
6) Nothing magical here but we might be looking at weapon upgrades for some of our PCs. I bet they search this room for even better stuff, if they roll pretty high on perception I might give them the secret door back in the hallway that leads to 7.
There's a bit of a bottleneck here. We need the party to find one of the secret doors to reach the western half of the hideout. At DC10 they are easy to find, but they players still have to look. It is OK if they struggle a little bit here, they've heard about goblins, bugbears, and a wizard named Glasstaff, plus maybe a one eyed monster, so they are aware there is more to this place and will probably start hunting for things they missed. If all else fails or the dice hate them, going back to town will get them Carp and his cave entrance into 8, or someone experienced like Sildar or Daran Edermath can tell the PCs straight out that they probably missed a secret door.
7) Here's another classic D&D thing that I have mixed feelings about: weird treasure. You can definitely make the effort to make this interesting: who's carrying thirty beaver pelts and who is going to give us gold for it? Barthen seems the obvious candidate, and if they visit him he is sure to ask the party how the search for Gundren is going. See how useful it can be to stack functions on an NPC so the players keep coming back? Keep this in mind when you start making your own NPCs and adventures. That hermit outside of town can sell magic potions, and send the players on a fetch quest for components, maybe identify magic items and have knowledge about the dungeon nearby, plus she turns out to be a powerful druid if the PCs cross her. OK, back to this adventure.
8) The Nothic is maybe the best part of this dungeon, and there's a reason all routes lead here. Don't always hide the cool stuff away in the final room behind a secret door, put it front and center where the players are sure to find it. Plus, look at the cool things we can interact with if we fight here. The crevasse to fall or shove enemies into, the bridges that might collapse, plenty of columns and corners to hide and take cover behind. If PCs pull back from 9 or 10 they could end up fighting here later. But keep in mind they don't have to fight the nothic. You might be excited to describe a PCs arm withering away as a character reflexively holds up in the beam of the withering gaze, but this starts as a social encounter. The nothic is hidden and it is in the PCs’ heads. Another lesson: how to give your monster time to talk.
The players don't know why they are making these charisma saves one by one as they check out this space. When they fail a creepy voice is in their head talking about their darkest secrets, flaws, or fears. It's fun to communicate to a single player and have them relay to rest of the group. You can make creative use of whispers, passed notes, text messages, or direct messages if you are playing online. You can use the flaw on the character sheet, pull details from backstory, or directly ask the player what insight the voice had about them. Eventually they'll spot this thing and I'd show them the picture on page 23 when they do. They can see the half eaten murder victim but don't see the treasure unless they actually go down there. Do they fight this thing or make a creepy ally? Something else? We don't know, but I'm excited for you to find out.
9) Droop! Here's a lesson, don’t be afraid to really ham it up in order to make a monster too pathetic to kill. And he can be a great ally because he can lead the party right to 11 or through the secret doors into 12 if they ask about Glasstaff. Mosk is also great, I like him switching which side his decorative eyepatch is on as he talks to the party. It is tight quarters in here for a fight and some party members might get stuck in the hall. Characters can move through allies spaces but can't share a space. The players outnumber you, don't worry, they'll figure it out between them. They might be level 3 at this point, and beating three bug bears with all their new abilites is going to feel great, though still likely challenging. I wrote a short piece on bugbears in the five minute monster series that you might enjoy if you want to spice these guys up. The Ruffians in 10 are drunk and noisy so they won't hear anything. Always remember if your players are outnumbered they are in real trouble.
10) Four drunken enemies doing everything with disadvantage and easily fooled. We're being shown that sometimes it's OK to throw an easy one at the party. We want to change up the challenge level, and this is a nice palate cleanser when paired with the three Bugbears. It is also always good to show the baddies just living their lives. These people aren't sitting around waiting for heroes to come kill them, they're sitting around a table playing a game with their friends, just like us.
11) Go to town describing this wizardy, mad scientist laboratory. Insight, Arcana, even Nature or Animal Handling can tell the players that this rat is actually a familiar. By the time they figure it out, Iarno has left the building. Books always equal a nice opportunity for a lore dump, plus we get news of a magic weapon to find, and whatever else you'd like to add here. Did this adventure give us an apothecary or alchemist to sell this treasure to? No, the only mention is of one that got buried in volcanic ash years ago. But we can always make one up. Whether they are intentional or oversights, there are often loose ends and blanks in an adventure that the DM can run with, and playing the game will likely generate more. Don't be afraid to add on to published content, that's one of the best ways to DM a game. If that is scary or you don't have the time, you can use Sister G who already has info and quests for our heroes. Again, complicated treasure can drive the story, not just add to the number of GP on a character sheet.
12) Glasstaff is probably going to get away. If the party comes through from 11, he's long gone, the chest is lying empty and the secret door is open, showing his escape route. You can leave a smoking pipe on the desk or a cartoonishly spinning empty scroll case or something to emphasize he just left. If they give chase immediately they're going to catch up just enough to see him cast Misty Step and dash out of reach. If they befriended the Nothic or Droop, or they got smart or lucky, they may have entered the secret back way from 7. In that case he'll try to chat the PCs up, but will certainly use his glass Staff of Defense to cast mage armor on himself and boost his AC to 16. In a fight this high intelligence wizard is going to try to take out the biggest threat with hold person first. Sucks for that player if they miss their save, but this is a boss fight. He'll try to back out through 11 and make his way to 10 and then 9 to gather reinforcements, using magic missiles upcast to level two that first time and shield on his reaction to pump his AC to a mighty 21.
He doesn't have much HP, so if damage does get through he's been saving that last 2nd level spell slot to misty step to safety and dash for room 1 and his bug out bag. If they players do manage to burn him down below half he'll try to negotiate. If they capture him, cool, but unless that last hit is melee and you come out and ask the player if they go non-lethal though, my money is on Glasstaff running or dying.
The adventure tells us if he gets away, or gets captured and escapes, we may see him later. I think the best place for him to pop back up is beside the Black Spider at the end, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Whatever way part two played out, the letter from the Black Spider points us back into our main story line, revealing we were actually there the whole time! And here's the point where we blow this adventure wide open. See you in part 3: The Spider's Web or as I like to call it, the Phandelver Sandbox.
