Confessions of a Newbie DM: Have You Seen My Son?

Hello readers! I’m back with another tale of my adventures in DMing a 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Today, I want to tell you the story of how I learned that no DM’s plan survives contact with the players. No matter how many contingencies and directions you plan for, your players will absolutely find a way to pull off something unexpected. And when they do, I’ve found it’s best to just go with it. It’s creative and fun, and if you don’t appreciate a little chaos in your life, well then, the DM’s seat might not be for you.

In my last post, I introduced you to my players and their wonderful character concepts. Remember Algernon, the goliath paladin? Funny story, but a paladin of the goddess of chaos and tricksters doesn’t really stick to normal plans. This is the story of the party’s first combat encounter and how I learned to always expect the unexpected.

After completing the classic “You All Meet at an Inn” opening session, the party undertook a seemingly straightforward mission to locate a missing merchant. A tiefling ship’s captain named Artesa hired them to find her supplier who was 10 days late bringing her goods to sail across Exandria. She promised payment, and possibly trade, for returning with either her wayward supplier, or news of his fate.

Setting out from the seedy port town of Stilben, the party began making their west along the Silvercut Roadway, looking for clues and signs of the missing supplier. In spite of having proficiency in all the right skills, Ori, the rogue, struggled to find signs of the supplier’s journey. (Thanks Dice Gods!) Finally, after a few false starts and dead ends, they found what looked like a scuffle in the middle of the road.

So far, so good, right? My players were on the trail of their quest, they were working together and getting to know each other’s characters a little bit. I was excitedly waiting for them to run headlong into their first encounter (with bandits, because obviously), I had the stat blocks ready and the loot was ready to go. And then Algernon asked if he could scout ahead a little bit.

Being the benevolent DM that I am, I said of course he could do that. One successful Stealth check later, Algernon came within 60 feet of the bandit camp, full of armed folk standing guard, and tents and boxes. The rest of the party lagged behind, sort of vaguely flanking the camp ahead. I asked Algernon what he would like to do. And he said…

“I run into the camp, right towards the toughest looking one, screaming ‘HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON??’ full on Finding Nemo style.”

IMPORTANT NOTE: Algernon is a goliath in his early 20s, over 7 feet tall, armored and carrying a greatsword. If that came running at you, screaming about a lost child, what would do?

Readers, my poor bandit leader was so confused by this vision before him that he didn’t even look to see if this goliath was alone. So the party was able to flank the camp, and thanks to 2 good Deception checks from Algernon, they managed to get a surprise round on the bandits. A few rounds and a whole lot of wrecking face later, the bandits lay dead on the ground, the party had a few cuts and bruises, and Algernon was very impressed with himself.

The encounter didn’t….exactly go as planned. My bandits were carefully set up to maximize their ground coverage. They were all awake! The supplier was already dead, so none of them had to waste any time guarding him. This was going to be a tough level 2 fight for my players. But, thanks to Algernon’s hilarious and unexpected plan, my poor bandits barely got a shot off before getting pelted with acid and pincushioned with crossbow bolts.

And you know what? It was a way more fun encounter that way. The randomness, the chaos and the overwhelming success experienced by the party made for great party bonding. And the players felt really good, especially after how poorly the search itself had gone.

It was an important lesson to learn for myself early in my DMing career. I’d heard lots of very experienced DMs talk about the value of embracing the chaos, but nothing cements the knowledge quite like experiencing it for yourself. It changed the way I thought about designing quests and encounters, and encouraged me to anticipate more possible options and pathways for the party to take.

Tune in next time to see how I took the idea of expecting the unexpected to the next level as the party searches out the mysterious bandit leader, Zeth. In the meantime, may all your rolls be 20s!

Meet The Party

Algernon, the Goliath Paladin: Charming and uneducated, Algernon, aka Turtle, follows the Moonweaver, a goddess of the moon and secrets. He believes in supporting the little guy [and you all look little to him] and has ideas for a saffron based spice empire, thanks to that Heward’s Handy Spice Pouch he got his hands on.

Gnorm, the Gnome Barbarian: Though he is small, Gnorm packs a mighty wallop with his trusty axe. A veteran of the fighting pits in Vaselheim, Gnorm idolizes “Philip” and devours any and all information he can find on Philip and his adventuring band, the famous Vox Machina, who saved the world. A lot. He has a pet rock named George, and the ability to light things on fire, thanks to his Storm Herald aura.

Leaxus, the Firbolg Cleric: Slow to anger, methodical in battle, Leaxus is the party’s gentle healing giant. Dedicated as a War Priest to a minor nature goddess, Leaxus left his small firbolg clan to serve a greater purpose. Now he protects his party and keeps them from dying, while watching for signs from Mielikki of what comes next on his journey to cleanse corruption and protect nature. Hopefully his stubbornness doesn’t get in his way.

Ori, the Tiefling Rogue: Ori inherited a bit of magic from her mother, and her rogueish charm from her father. Orphaned young, she was raised in Emon by the famous thieves guild, The Clasp. Is she on the run from them, or from something else? She’s not saying. But she’s great with a bow, an expert at traps and locks, and if you’ve lost something of value, she can probably find it for you.

Stevid, the Gnome Artificer: An experimenter, a tinkerer and an inventor, Stevid’s promising career in alchemy was cut short when an explosion cost him his reputation, and a perfectly good eye. He spent several years tutoring rich merchant children in Stilben, but those jobs eventually dried up. He found himself alone and broke, in the Sunset Stride looking for work. He’s always working on new formulas, and enjoys trying them out against evil beasts. He’s recently discovered a knack for harvesting those creatures for valuable alchemical ingredients.

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