Lost Mine of Phandelver Dungeon Master Guide & Tutorial. The Lighthall Platform is now offering free online live classes for Dungeon Masters that I will be facilitating in one week. The student sign-up is free and the link is below, www.lighthall.co/class/d336b3e7-aac8-4070-b57f-a5f421cc793a
To forestall players attacking him immediately, I would have a sign posted near his camp with a “mining and exploration permit” from the Phandalin mining office. That would defer lawful good players. He would also claim diplomatic immunity as an envoy from Thay, and retribution as they are crying on his progress. Further he would state that he bought the undead on the market fair and square as laborers. Plus he would exchange information. I imagine him as the anti-archaeologist villain from the Raiders of Lost Ark. as a red wizard he might also be willing to craft or order a magic item for players for delivery.
I think this is a fine idea, except that, if he's already been to Phandalin and gotten a permit, why does Daran Edermath need to send them here to "find out what's going on?"
When reading through the LMoP, I always thought Hamun Kost was just another prospector looking for the Wave Echo Cave. When reading through pg 49 under the description of the Booming Cavern "The echo suggests that this cave might be one arm of a much larger cavern to the northeast." Since the Old Owl Well is off to the east and it makes sense that a well would pull from the water of the larger cavern. Haman could probably detect faint magics coming from the well.
Kost always becomes a party favorite npc in my games. I always play him as a kind old high ranking red wizard of thay. When my campaigns move on he keeps showing up and is usually a good benefactor and helpful in keeping the party alive if they enter Thay.
Great Video! I'm thinking of making Hamun Kost another plot hook for the Forge of Spells. Considering having him attempting to resurrect someone that had been to the forge of spells before in attempt to determine it's location.
Some information he has is the knowledge of where the raiding Orcs are located in this area (Wyvern Tor), which is one of the quests they learn of from the Town master.
i agree that this was a soft encounter for the the NPC. He traveled all the way from Thay, and really wouldn't logically have made it past Cormyr. I did tweak his level and spells. Kost also got 6 acolytes, Red Wizard novices and wanna-be's, who exist to strongly emphasize that this is not a combat encounter. Still, PCs can be murder hobos, the game is what it is. A Red Wiz this far from home should be no slacker, stepping on his/her plans should have a price beyond a long rest to recoup spells.
I'm using him as a key point in a side quest with the pregen Oghma wizard and a Oghma cleric where they have to go find him cause he has a book with information on cragmaw castle (seven spires) and the two Oghmites are trying to reinstate the place of worship
Oh my goodness it has been awhile since I've posted an update on my campaign. Left off with the Red Brand hideout. They killed everyone but the prisoners and one guard. The Notic was bribbed some potions and then they used this to learn about the area and what could be around. After the Notic was viewed to be no threat since 6v1 they felt safe and ignored it. Glass staff escaped cause our wizard likes loud exposive spells. They reported back to Silgar and due to a improvised goblin spy called Gerry they know Glassstaff also goes by Iarno. They were on there way to Agatha and found Koth...and apon seeing the skeletons went straight to assuming EVIL and killed him. Not sure where the story will go from here lol thank you again so much for all the information.
Thanks. You are right, it is a re-upload with the start and end trimmed back. I am starting to realize that some people on my channel like the live stream personal interaction and others like the edited version.
Awesome video, thanks! Could he be digging for the corpse of another lich? Who would that be? Could that be helpful in his own secret arcane ritual to become a lich himself?
Hamun kost was just a crazy necromancy science dude for my group. Minding his own business. My party charmed him, and killed him lying in his bed. Sad story. I never look at my players as before this slaughter.. Just because he was a necromancy....
@@HowtoRPG They are in Yartar now, running StormkingsThunder. Maybe soon its time to have some red wizards seeking for revenge for the murder? 😆 Or maybe the powerful wizard lich who built Old Owl well Tower?
One of the things I think is a big problem with this encounter is the zombies. Players see zombies and think evil. They are immediately ready for combat. Changing the zombies into human laborers would go a long way toward diminishing the chance that this becomes a combat encounter. If you want to keep the "magical" labor, even turning the zombies into skeletons would help. It puts them a step away from "humanity", and gives the option that they could just be piles of bones when the adventurers come by.
That is certainly the case. My post is just a suggestion for how one might nudge the encounter toward a place where there might be a higher chance of some roleplaying in the situation as opposed to just a battle. In a sandboxy adventure like LMoP, where the characters often have a fair amount of leway in the encounters they run into, I think it's nice to have some controls where you can encourage the characters toward a bit of roleplaying to break up the fighting, if they end up in a run of encounters that just lead straight to battle. If the group just wants to chuck dice and fight stuff, it's a different story, I suppose.
@@jasonwoodburn2010 Just combat was never the intention of Dave or Gary. The Zombies performing labouring duties like humans could help aswell has indicating that a fight could be disastrous for the Characters. When combat encounters are stacked against a Party there is a better chance the players will seek an alternative approach.
All your videos are very enlightening, although i can't see why my players would want to risk 2 days travel just because Daran "wants to know" with no reward whatsoever... Even when players get there and engage parley with the wizard, they are asked to get to the banshee, on the other end of the map, just for free once again... I can't see any other way to gain with this despite killing them all and take the wizard treasure. Although i see that this might be a great path to cook some homebrew adventure.
so doing the math ,, Human Kost needs to be a minimum of LEVEL of 5th to cast the 3rd level spell of ANIMATE DEAD according to the books of 5e D&D ,, and going by the MATH and common sense as a MAGE.... HE must be at least a lvl 15 wizard specializing in Necromancy ,, this is due to the cost of up keep for the 12 ZOMBIES he keeps up during a given 24 hour period ,and not spending al high spell slots, , and also allowing him to do any and all research needed and deemed to him by the RWoT ,, thus also allowing him spell slots of the following each day AFTER he has regained control over his Zombie hoard ,,, LVL 15 wizard , sub class necromancy ,, spells per day / per level 4/1rst , 3/2nd , 3/3rd 3/4th 2/5th 1/6th 1/7th ,1/8th lvl spells plus any wisdom bonuses,, and no to mention 5 cantrips per day .. the write up in the book only has him at 4th level ,, and unable to cast Animate Dead .. something to think about,, ~A GYGAXIAN
My character's love killing indiscriminately even when they obviously shouldn't and no matter how many times it comes back to bite them.. so yeah Hamun's coming back as a Lich..
they foyund out the name of the mage he was looking for at old owl well and now theyve decided hes a trusted ally, his goal is to take over their home and continue his quest to become a lich
Lost Mine of Phandelver Dungeon Master Guide & Tutorial. The Lighthall Platform is now offering free online live classes for Dungeon Masters that I will be facilitating in one week. The student sign-up is free and the link is below,
www.lighthall.co/class/d336b3e7-aac8-4070-b57f-a5f421cc793a
To forestall players attacking him immediately, I would have a sign posted near his camp with a “mining and exploration permit” from the Phandalin mining office. That would defer lawful good players. He would also claim diplomatic immunity as an envoy from Thay, and retribution as they are crying on his progress. Further he would state that he bought the undead on the market fair and square as laborers. Plus he would exchange information. I imagine him as the anti-archaeologist villain from the Raiders of Lost Ark. as a red wizard he might also be willing to craft or order a magic item for players for delivery.
Brilliant. This gets pinned.
And you get a heart for A+ feedback. Thank you.
I think this is a fine idea, except that, if he's already been to Phandalin and gotten a permit, why does Daran Edermath need to send them here to "find out what's going on?"
What if they bring Hamun Kost to the wave echo cave? Would he be able to create better magic items than just plus 1.
Great ideas
When reading through the LMoP, I always thought Hamun Kost was just another prospector looking for the Wave Echo Cave. When reading through pg 49 under the description of the Booming Cavern "The echo suggests that this cave might be one arm of a much larger cavern to the northeast." Since the Old Owl Well is off to the east and it makes sense that a well would pull from the water of the larger cavern. Haman could probably detect faint magics coming from the well.
That seems like a reasonable link. Great feedback.
That’s clever!
@@nestorskip9410 Yeah :)
this series has helped me be a returning DM better than just reading the book. very clear, detailed, lots of ideas to play off of. hats off to you.
Thanks James. All the best with your campaign :)
Kost always becomes a party favorite npc in my games. I always play him as a kind old high ranking red wizard of thay. When my campaigns move on he keeps showing up and is usually a good benefactor and helpful in keeping the party alive if they enter Thay.
A novel way to play a red wizard.
Thanks for the handy tips! Will definitely use Hamun for a larger story in the future and have a good backstory for him, so thanks for the tips!
You are welcome. Have a rollicking good time :)
Great Video! I'm thinking of making Hamun Kost another plot hook for the Forge of Spells. Considering having him attempting to resurrect someone that had been to the forge of spells before in attempt to determine it's location.
Thanks. That is a great idea.
Thank you very much for all the phandelver video! I will really consider the Amazon links for any future purchases.
Thank you Bruce.
Some information he has is the knowledge of where the raiding Orcs are located in this area (Wyvern Tor), which is one of the quests they learn of from the Town master.
Yep, did I miss that?
i agree that this was a soft encounter for the the NPC. He traveled all the way from Thay, and really wouldn't logically have made it past Cormyr. I did tweak his level and spells. Kost also got 6 acolytes, Red Wizard novices and wanna-be's, who exist to strongly emphasize that this is not a combat encounter. Still, PCs can be murder hobos, the game is what it is. A Red Wiz this far from home should be no slacker, stepping on his/her plans should have a price beyond a long rest to recoup spells.
Fair enough.
I'm using him as a key point in a side quest with the pregen Oghma wizard and a Oghma cleric where they have to go find him cause he has a book with information on cragmaw castle (seven spires) and the two Oghmites are trying to reinstate the place of worship
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and intension with Hamun Kost as a character.
Oh my goodness it has been awhile since I've posted an update on my campaign.
Left off with the Red Brand hideout.
They killed everyone but the prisoners and one guard. The Notic was bribbed some potions and then they used this to learn about the area and what could be around. After the Notic was viewed to be no threat since 6v1 they felt safe and ignored it. Glass staff escaped cause our wizard likes loud exposive spells. They reported back to Silgar and due to a improvised goblin spy called Gerry they know Glassstaff also goes by Iarno.
They were on there way to Agatha and found Koth...and apon seeing the skeletons went straight to assuming EVIL and killed him. Not sure where the story will go from here lol thank you again so much for all the information.
You are welcome. Thanks for sharing your story sofar. 😊
nice re-upload!
Thanks. You are right, it is a re-upload with the start and end trimmed back. I am starting to realize that some people on my channel like the live stream personal interaction and others like the edited version.
Awesome video, thanks! Could he be digging for the corpse of another lich? Who would that be? Could that be helpful in his own secret arcane ritual to become a lich himself?
Thanks. That's a great idea.
Hamun kost was just a crazy necromancy science dude for my group. Minding his own business. My party charmed him, and killed him lying in his bed. Sad story. I never look at my players as before this slaughter.. Just because he was a necromancy....
lol
@@HowtoRPG They are in Yartar now, running StormkingsThunder.
Maybe soon its time to have some red wizards seeking for revenge for the murder? 😆 Or maybe the powerful wizard lich who built Old Owl well Tower?
😂😂😂
Why do none of the villain wizards in this adventure have spellbooks?
I don't have the answer. Put some in.
Give them books containing their spell list and a couple more.
would that not mean that the partys wizard gets a bunch of new spells for free? this seems kinda problematic to mee :D
One of the things I think is a big problem with this encounter is the zombies. Players see zombies and think evil. They are immediately ready for combat. Changing the zombies into human laborers would go a long way toward diminishing the chance that this becomes a combat encounter. If you want to keep the "magical" labor, even turning the zombies into skeletons would help. It puts them a step away from "humanity", and gives the option that they could just be piles of bones when the adventurers come by.
Red Wizards aren't good people, which is why it's normal for them to animate the Dead.
That is certainly the case. My post is just a suggestion for how one might nudge the encounter toward a place where there might be a higher chance of some roleplaying in the situation as opposed to just a battle. In a sandboxy adventure like LMoP, where the characters often have a fair amount of leway in the encounters they run into, I think it's nice to have some controls where you can encourage the characters toward a bit of roleplaying to break up the fighting, if they end up in a run of encounters that just lead straight to battle. If the group just wants to chuck dice and fight stuff, it's a different story, I suppose.
@@jasonwoodburn2010 Just combat was never the intention of Dave or Gary. The Zombies performing labouring duties like humans could help aswell has indicating that a fight could be disastrous for the Characters. When combat encounters are stacked against a Party there is a better chance the players will seek an alternative approach.
Holy shit!! I straight up did this w/o ever watching this video!!!
Smart DM.
Thanks 😊
All your videos are very enlightening, although i can't see why my players would want to risk 2 days travel just because Daran "wants to know" with no reward whatsoever... Even when players get there and engage parley with the wizard, they are asked to get to the banshee, on the other end of the map, just for free once again... I can't see any other way to gain with this despite killing them all and take the wizard treasure. Although i see that this might be a great path to cook some homebrew adventure.
Thank you. Not all the side quests need to be used, players will select what interests them.
so doing the math ,, Human Kost needs to be a minimum of LEVEL of 5th to cast the 3rd level spell of ANIMATE DEAD according to the books of 5e D&D ,, and going by the MATH and common sense as a MAGE.... HE must be at least a lvl 15 wizard specializing in Necromancy ,, this is due to the cost of up keep for the 12 ZOMBIES he keeps up during a given 24 hour period ,and not spending al high spell slots, , and also allowing him to do any and all research needed and deemed to him by the RWoT ,, thus also allowing him spell slots of the following each day AFTER he has regained control over his Zombie hoard ,,, LVL 15 wizard , sub class necromancy ,, spells per day / per level 4/1rst , 3/2nd , 3/3rd 3/4th 2/5th 1/6th 1/7th ,1/8th lvl spells plus any wisdom bonuses,, and no to mention 5 cantrips per day .. the write up in the book only has him at 4th level ,, and unable to cast Animate Dead .. something to think about,, ~A GYGAXIAN
Good thing NPCs play by different rules than the players!
I understand the neeeeed to do the math
@@stuartbanana5083 but you should be able to hand an NPC off to a player.. follow the sane rules.. don't cheat
I’m going to play him like the guy trying to take over the ski school in an 80s comedy. Very…. Thad like.
My character's love killing indiscriminately even when they obviously shouldn't and no matter how many times it comes back to bite them.. so yeah Hamun's coming back as a Lich..
lol. Fair enough.
My players have befriended him and taken him home with them
lol. Wonderful.
they foyund out the name of the mage he was looking for at old owl well and now theyve decided hes a trusted ally, his goal is to take over their home and continue his quest to become a lich
Hamun Kost's spells have a human cost
Are we just not going to talk about the pun? Human cost of necromancy, anyone? Just me?
There are many puns. Just you.
Engage in the USA :