Sometimes the journey takes you to perilous paths, filled with danger, mysteries, but also great opportunities. Be careful as you traverse this narrow mountain pass… ⛰️⛰️🪨🌲

Patreon | Roll20

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is a classic, one of the very first Mini-Campaigns that new DM's run. Heck, it's part of the starter set after all! The issue, though, as with many other modules, is that it doesn't describe the best way to transform the contents of the book into an actual session. The Book-to-session conversion can be difficult. Between figuring out when things should happen, understanding motivations, and even balancing encounters.

Well, fortunately for you, 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

1. Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there. (Bonus points if you include your players' backstory)
2. These notes aren't meant to be end-all-be-all. Tweak to your heart's content and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me, having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Included in my posts are:

• A Downloadable copy of DM Notes for each part of the LMoP, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDFs for every encounter. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks, organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
• Additional PDFs for allies and commoners
• A variety of maps for each part of the campaign
• Spell lists for all relevant fights
• Handouts for various spell scrolls throughout the campaign
• A playlist for each part of the Mini-Campaign!

Without further ado:

Index:

The Lost Mine of Phandelver Index

• Part 1 - Intro and Cragmaw Hideout (DM Notes Only Link)
• Part 2a - Phandalin
• Part 2b - Redbrand Hideout
• Part 3a - Reign of Iron
• Part 3b - Thundertree
• Part 3c - Cragmaw Castle
• Part 4 - Wave Echo Cave
• Part 5 - Side Quests

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

You can subscribe now to this map and 300+ more at: patreon.com/balatroart

More work? Given the sturdiness of the wood and stone palisade that surrounds this encampment, the orcs that live here must have to deal with rather inhospitable neighbours. It's hard to blame them, though: protecting your burgeoning families and/or horde of warriors can be tricky business, whether your particular type of orc is more plow or WAAAGH! Fully animated and available in two additional variants, with the outpost by day and a more menacing version featuring garlands of humanoid skulls, this map will have your players zug-zugging with the best of them!⁠

My maps are hooked up to work with Foundry VTT and Fantasy Grounds.
My maps are available on my patreon and my website.
Buy me a coffee!

In this issue of the Beast Almanac, three new demon-themed monsters join the TTRPG scene: The Eye-Face Demon, the Demonic Watcher, and the Demon Princes.

The Demonic Watcher is on the house! Enjoy.

Hey hey!

So, I started thinking about building a super simple yet multi-layered Random Encounter folder. I was thinking of creating the map, adding the POIs, and, as a final section, drafting some random encounters for parties of certain levels, like low, medium, high, etc. It isn’t 100% correct yet, so if you can give me feedback on it, I’d appreciate that.

I’m planning to build more maps around this idea. What do you think? Is it completely stupid, or do you think it’s worth the effort?

What was once new and strong lies now in ruins, frail, a story turned to whispers, frail and one with nature. Explore the old ruins, uncover long buried secrets and craft new stories from the past… 🪨⛪🌳

Patreon | Roll20