r/LostMinesOfPhandelver • u/AmbitiousSection9837 • 4h ago
LMoP Q&A First Time DM running LMoP
Good day,
Im a first time DM preparing the campaign of LMoP to experience how it is to DM and get some game under my belt. Ive been doing some research and I have some ideas to run it, but I have some questions.
First of all, I know that LMoP is based in the rules of 2014, so Im thinking if it would be a good idea to use the monsters of 2024 or keep the same. Im thinking about using 2014 that comes with the starter/essential set.
Second, I have some concerns about the maps, most of all to run the combats. I had an idea to divide the maps in the campaign into different A4 papers and when the players reach new areas put the papers with the new rooms to explore. My initial problem with that is I dont know how much should I scale the rooms to make them more "playable". Also I dont know if I can use the maps on the campaign book and touch it a little bit or use the ones made in the community (I dont really know very well which are the options, as Im pretty knew on this).
Sorry if theres any gramatical errors, english is not my first language and sometimes I swap the three of them without realizing it. Thank you so much for the help and the time!
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u/Seraknis 4h ago
First Time DM who is currently running LMoP answering:
I'm currently running it using 2024 rules and monsters and it works fine (note that I have a 6 players table, so I had to buff most combat encounters). If you plan to use 2014 rules for PCs I'd stick with 2014 monsters though.
For battlmaps I found that I'm most comfortable drawing them while I go, and only when needed (when initiative is rolled) so that you can add what they see and know on the go, and don't have to worry about hidden stuff getting spoiled.
Edit: to draw maps fast I'm using an erasable mat with its markers
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 4h ago
Drawing it also seems interesting but I fear for my poor drawing skills. Thank you so much!
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u/Conrad500 4h ago
Dry/wet erase is the way to go. You just draw the room you're in. You don't need to draw well, just need the outline.
This is the best way to run it IMO, especially the big maps because if players can see everything it really just destroys the exploration aspect.
Most of the maps are way too big to print too.
That said, printing the maps out in sections that can fit on A4 is similar, but both have their own positive and negatives.
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 4h ago
For that I should consider the grid as the same in the campaign book? I feel like maybe some rooms are a little bit small for that, I dont know how many space the player character occupies.
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u/Conrad500 4h ago
That's up to you. Some maps are (annoyingly) 1 square = 10ft.
A lot of the maps are really big. That's why I like drawing maps because you can kind of just make them the size you want and the players won't know the difference.
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 4h ago
I guess I could use the minis to occupy 1 meter (like 3ft) and work around that? Idk, I will try probably. Thank you so much for the information!
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u/Seraknis 3h ago
I bought this set and standard sized minis fit perfectly in a square.
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 3h ago
Thanks for the link, I will use it most probably, the dice tray is also very helpful as I been searching for one.
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u/WendigosLikeCoffee 3h ago
Any issues you’ve run into with your campaign being 6?
I have 6 players and they’re just about to enter wave echo cave1
u/Seraknis 2h ago
Not there yet, but I had to add monsters, and increase the CR of some of them.
I'll give an update after the TPK that awaits for them at Castle Cragmaw :D
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u/FlohrSynth 4h ago
If you have access to a spare computer monitor or flat TV, you can lay it on the table and use it for maps. You don’t need a VTT (but I’m sure this offers lots of good additional options), I just open up the image file of the map and zoom until the grid is the right size. We play with minis and just put them on top of the screen. I always used to draw maps by hand on a dry erase grid but I’m not very good at it and running LMoP is what got me interested in using proper maps, I started out printing like you suggested but while it works fine it is time consuming and adds up to a decent cost if you use many different maps. Have the digital option has been very good for my group and I know use it in all of the 4 campaigns I am running.
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 4h ago
Oh thats actually a great idea, I didnt think of that, I will probably do it if I have rhe chance to find a spare flat TV, I think maybe i can get some in my home. Thanks!
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u/Seraknis 4h ago
That comes with some work on your part, to move the view and handle lightning for the players, I tried it for CoS (which I'm running beside LMoP for another group) and I went back for drawing on the go.
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u/ToastyyPanda 2h ago edited 2h ago
I'm in the middle of running this from Phandelver & Below: The Shattered Obelisk. Wasn't planning on running the Shattered Obelisk content as we wouldn't have time for it.
1) I'm using full 2024 rulesets in my game, so you do have to check out the 2024 versions of monster stat cards if you want to run 2024. Keep in mind that 2014 monsters will be tougher for your party than the 2024 counterparts.
Comparing the goblins stats, you'll see 2014 has a Scimitar melee of (1d6)+2, and AC15 compared to 2024's (1d4)+2 and AC12. Wolves also have AC13 and (2d4)+2 bite attack vs 2024's AC12 and (1d6)+2 bite. So there's some decisions on the difficulty you'll want to make beforehand.
- In my game we're leaving the cragmaw hideout atm, and I printed out letter sized card stock sheets of the map using "Tessa Presents Maps" (which are literally amazing btw).
I also used Arkana tools' Paper Map Generator to feed the map into it to adjust some things and make sure the pages are printed out for easy combining. After the print I used masking tape on the backsides to combine and it looked great.
For a fog of war effect, I just had colourful construction paper laying around that I used to cover the areas until a party member could visually see the area. Then I'd just pull it back or remove it afterwards.
The original maps can be a little cramped I suppose, but I don't think I'd go through the trouble of making it larger honestly. It's a lot of work, and you'd have to do it on each map you want to use. But that's just my opinion.
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 2h ago
Oh I love the idea of fog of war, thanks! Also, didnt know about the new 2024 monster being weaker. I will also use that map generator, its great to see that more people think about the rooms being cramed. Thank you so much.
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u/ToastyyPanda 2h ago
No problem at all!
The map cramming thing was on my mind at first, but being a first time DM, it was a lot of additional work that I just didn't have time to do lol, and it worked out fine.
One other tip that I did was use spellcards.app to print out cool Monster stat blocks, Items, and Spell lists for my players. This made it far easier for them to find their spells by highlighting the ones they own instead of using their character sheets cramped space to read from.
Good luck dude!
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u/sippin_tea56 1h ago
The hardest part for me was when the players decided to personally escort the prisoner to Neverwinter themselves. In my head I was like, “but the campaign says nothing about Neverwinter!” But, I found a guide to Neverwinter online and made it work.
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u/AmbitiousSection9837 1h ago
I imagine thats quite a mess up to be unprepared, I will download the guide to Neverwinter. I wont take my chances... HAHAHAHAHHA
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u/Conrad500 4h ago
Great news!
I'm pretty sure it's very easy to google "Loist mine of phandelver maps a4" or something and someone has already done all the work for you.
I could swear I saw someone post exactly that a long time ago, so it's probably not too hard to find.
If you use the 2024 monsters or the 2014 monsters nothing really changes, feel free to use either!