Goblin Arrows Overview
Section 1
The adventure begins as the player characters are escorting a wagon full of provisions and supplies from Neverwinter to Phandalin.The journey takes them south along The HIgh Road to The Triboar Trail, which heads east (as shown on the overland map).
When they're a half day's march from Phandalin, they run into trouble with goblin raiders from The Cragmaw Tribe. Read the boxed text when you're ready to start. If you create a different adventure hook, skip to the second paragraph and adjust the details as necessary, ignoring the information about driving the wagon.
In the city of Neverwinter, a dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker asked you to bring a wagon load of provisions to the rough-and-tumble settlement of Phandalin, a couple of days' travel southeast of the city. Gundren was clearly excited and more than a little secretive about his reasons for the trip, saying only that he and his brothers had found "something big," and that he'd pay you ten gold pieces each for escorting his supplies safely to Barthen's Provision, a trading post in Phandalin. He then set out ahead of you on horse, along with a warrior escort named Sildar Hallwinter, claiming he needed to arrive early to "take care of business." You've spent the last few days following the High Road south from Neverwinter, and you've just recently veered east along the Triboar Trail. You've encountered no trouble so far, but this territory can be dangerous. Bandits and outlaws have been known to lurk along the trail.
ADVICE
Before continuing with the adventure, take a few minutes to do the following:• Encourage the players to introduce their characters to each other if they haven't done so already.
Ask the players to think about how their characters came to know their dwarf patron, Gundren Rockseeker. Let the players concoct their own stories.
If a player is hard-pressed to think of anything, suggest something simple. For example, Gundren could be a childhood friend or someone who helped the player's character get out of a tough scrape.
This exercise is a great opportunity for the players to contribute to the adventure's backstory.
• Ask the players to give you the party's marching order and how their characters are traveling. Who's in front, and who's bringing up the rear?
If the characters are escorting Gundren's wagonload of supplies, then one or two characters need to be driving the wagon. The rest of the characters can be riding on the wagon, walking alongside, or scouting ahead, as they like.
Driving The Wagon
Any character can drive a wagon, and no particular skill is necessary.
Two oxen pull the wagon. If no one is holding the reins, the oxen stop where they are. The wagon is packed full of an assortment of mining supplies and food.
CONTENT
This includes:
-a dozen sacks of flour
The total value of the cargo is 100 gp. When you're ready, continue with the "Goblin Ambush" section. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 2 - 'Goblin Ambush'
Read the following boxed text to start the encounter:
You've been on the Triboar Trail for about half a day. As you come around a bend, you spot two dead horses sprawled about fifty feet ahead of you, blocking the path. Each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it. The woods press close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side.
If you are using the "Meet Me in Phandalin" adventure hook, then any character who approaches to make a closer investigation can identify the horses as belonging to Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter.
They've been dead about a day, and it's clear that arrows killed the horses. When the characters inspect the scene closer, read the following:
The saddlebags have been looted. Nearby lies an empty leather map case.
Four goblins are hiding in the woods, two on each side of the road. They wait until someone approaches the bodies and then attack. This will likely be the first of many combat encounters in the adventure. Here are the steps you should follow to run it effectively:
- Review the goblin stat block in appendix B. See Goblin Stat Block.
Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check for the goblins, rolling once for all of them. Roll a d20, add the goblins' Stealth skill modifier (+6) to the roll, and compare the result to the characters' passive Wisdom (Perception) scores. Any character whose score is lower than the goblins' check result is surprised and loses his or her turn during the first round of combat.
-When the time comes for the goblins to act, two of them rush forward and make melee attacks while two goblins stand 30 feet away from the party and make ranged attacks. The goblins' stat block contains the information you need to resolve these attacks.
DEVELOPMENTS
In the unlikely event that the goblins defeat the adventurers, they leave them unconscious, loot them and the wagon, then head back to the Cragmaw hideout.
The characters can continue on to Phandalin, buy new gear at Barthen's Provisions, return to the ambush site, and find the goblins' trail.
The characters might capture one or more goblins by knocking them unconscious instead of killing them.
A character can use any melee weapon to knock a goblin unconscious, succeeding if the attack deals enough damage to drop the goblin to 0 hit points.
Once it regains consciousness after a few minutes, a captured goblin can be convinced to share what it knows (see the "What the Goblins Know" sidebar on page 8). What the Goblin Knows - Phandelver A goblin can also be persuaded to lead the party to the Cragmaw hideout while avoiding traps along the way.
The characters might not find the goblin trail, or they could decide to continue to Phandalin.
In that case, skip ahead to part 2, "Phandalin." Elmar Barthen (the owner of Barthen's Provisions) seeks out the characters and informs them that Gundren Rockseeker never arrived.
He recounts the goblin troubles and suggests that the characters return to the ambush site to investigate further (after they rest). Barthen also tells the party that Linene Graywind of The Lionshed Coster can provide more information on the goblin attacks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 3 - Goblin Trail
After the characters defeat the goblins, any inspection of the area reveals that the creatures have been using this place to stage ambushes for some time.A trail hidden behind thickets on the north side of the road leads northwest. A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check recognizes that about a dozen goblins have come and gone along the trail, as well as signs of two human-sized bodies being hauled away from the ambush site.
The party can easily steer the wagon away from the road and tie off the oxen while the group pursues the goblins.
The trail leads five miles northwest and ends at The Cragmaw Hideout. Ask the players to determine the party's marching order as the characters move down the trail.
TRAPS
The order is important because the goblins have set two traps to thwart pursuers. Snare
About 10 minutes after heading down the trail, a party on the path encounters a hidden snare.
If the characters are searching for traps, the character in the lead spots the trap automatically if his or her passive Wisdom (Perception) score is 12 or higher. Otherwise, the character must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice the trap.
If the character fails to notice the trap, he or she triggers the snare and must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the character is suspended upside down 10 feet above the ground.
The character is restrained until 1 or more slashing damage is dealt to the snare's cord. A character who isn't carefully lowered down takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall.
Pit
Another 10 minutes down the trail is a pit the goblins have camouflaged. The pit is 6 feet wide, 10 feet deep, and it triggers when a creature moves across it.
The character in the lead spots the hidden pit automatically if his or her passive Wisdom (Perception) score is 15 or higher. Otherwise, the character must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot the hidden pit.
If the trap isn't detected, the lead character must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall in, taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
The pit's walls are not steep, so no ability check is required to scramble out.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Defeating the goblin ambushers and finding the Cragmaw Hideout completes a story milestone. When the party arrives at the hideout, award each character 75 XP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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