- Reviewthe goblin statblockin appendix B. Sincethe
goblins are hiding,you'llneed to knowtheirStealth skill
modifier: +6.
Check to see who,if anyone, is surprised. Thepartycan-
not surprisethe goblins,but the goblinsmight surprise
some or all the characters. Makea Dexterity (Stealth)
check for the goblins, rollingonce for all of them.Roll
a d20,addthe goblins' Stealth skillmodifier (+6)to the
roll,andcompare the resultto the characters'passive
Wisdom (Perception) scores. Anycharacter whose score
is lowerthan the goJ1i-fls.:.checkresult is surprised and
loses his or her turnduring the firstround of combat
(see"Surprise" in the rulebook). - Usethe initiative rules in the rulebookto determine who
actsfirst,second, third,andso on. Keep trackof every-
one'sinitiative countin the marginsof thisbookor on a
separate piece of paper. - Whenthe timecomes for the goblinsto act,twoof them
rushforward andmakemelee attacks while twogoblins
stand 30 feetawayfromthe partyandmakeranged
attacks. Thegoblins' statblockcontains the information
youneed to resolve these attacks. Formore information
on whatthe goblinscando on theirturn,see chapter 2,
"Combat," in the rulebook. - When three goblins are defeated,the lastgoblin
attempts to flee,heading for the goblintrail.
DEVELOPMENTS
In the unlikelyeventthatthe goblinsdefeatthe
adventurers, theyleavethem unconscious, lootthem and
the wagon,thenhead backto the Cragmawhideout. The
characters cancontinue on to Phandalin, buynewgearat
Barthen's Provisions, return to the ambushsite,andfind
the goblins'trail.
Thecharacters might capture oneor moregoblins by
knocking them unconscious instead of killingthem.A
character canuseanymeleeweapon to knocka goblin
unconscious, succeeding if the attackdeals enough
damage to dropthe goblinto 0 hit points. Once it regains
consciousness aftera fewminutes, a captured goblin
canbe convincedto share whatit knows (seethe "What
the GoblinsKnow"sidebar on page8). A goblincanalso
be persuadedto leadthe partyto the Cragmawhideout
whileavoidingtraps along the way(seethe "Goblin
Trail"section).
Thecharacters mightnot findthe goblintrail, or they
coulddecide to continue to Phandalin. In thatcase, skip
ahead to part 2, "Phandalin."Elmar Barthen (theowner
of Barthen'sProvisions) seeks out the charactersand
informs them thatGundren Rockseeker never arrived.
He recountsthe goblin troubles andsuggests thatthe
characters return to the ambushsiteto investigate further
(aftertheyrest).Barthen alsotellsthe partythat Linene
Graywind of the Lionshield Coster(seepage 16) can
providemoreinformation on the goblinattacks.
RESTS
The partymightneedto rest afterthe goblinambush,
depending on howthe battleplaysout.See the rulebookfor
moreinformationon shortrestsand longrests.GOBLIN TRAIL
Afterthe charactersdefeatthe goblins,anyinspection of the
areareveals thatthe creatureshavebeen usingthisplace
to stageambushes for sometime.A trailhidden behind
thickets on the northsideof the roadleadsnorthwest. A
character whosucceeds on a DC10 Wisdom (Survival)
checkrecognizes thatabout a dozengoblinshavecomeand
gonealongthe trail,as wellas signsof twohuman-sized
bodiesbeinghauled awayfromthe ambushsite.
Thepartycaneasilysteer the wagonawayfromthe road
andtie off the oxenwhile the grouppursues the goblins.
Thetrailleads fivemilesnorthwest andendsat the
Cragmaw hideout (seethatsection). Askthe players to
determine the party'smarching order as the characters
movedownthe trail.Theorder is important,because the
goblins haveset twotraps to thwartpursuers.
Snare.About 10 minutes afterheading down the trail,
a party on the pathencounters a hidden snare. If the
characters are searching for traps,the character in the
leadspots the trapautomatically if his or her passive
Wisdom (Perception) score is 12 or higher.Otherwise, the
character must succeed on a DC12 Wisdom(Perception)
check to noticethe trap.If the characterfailsto noticethe
trap,he or shetriggers the snareandmustsucceed on a
DC10 Dexterity savingthrow.On a failure,the character
is suspended upside down 10 feetabovethe ground. The
character is restrained until 1 or moreslashing damage is
dealtto the snare's cord.(See the appendixin the rulebook
for the effectof being restrained.) A character whoisn't
carefully lowered downtakes Id6bludgeoning damage
fromthe fall.
Pit. Another 10 minutes downthe trailis a pit the
goblinshavecamouflaged. Thepit is 6 feetwide, 10 feet
deep,andit triggers whena creature movesacross it. The
character in the leadspots the hiddenpit automatically
if his or her passiveWisdom (Perception) score is 15 or
higher. Otherwise, the charactermustsucceed on a DC
15 Wisdom (Perception) checkto spotthe hidden pit. If
the trapisn'tdetected, the leadcharacter mustsucceed
on a DC10 Dexterity saving throw or fall in, taking Id
bludgeoning damage. Thepit'swalls are not steep,so no
abilitycheckis required to scramble out.AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Defeating the goblinambushers andfinding the Cragrnaw
hideout completes a storymilestone. Whenthe party
arrives at the hideout,award eachcharacter 75 XP.Make
surethe playersrecord thisgainon their character sheets.CragmawHideout
TheCragmaw tribeof goblins hasestablished a hideout
fromwhichit caneasilyharass andplunder trafficmoving
along the TriboarTrailor the pathto Phandalin. The
Cragrnaw tribe is so namedbecause eachmember of the
tribe sharpens its teethso theyappear fierceandjagged.
Theleader of the Cragmawbandits lairing hereis a
bugbear named Klarg, whohasorders fromthe chiefof
the Cragmawsto plunderanypoorlydefended caravans or
travelers thatcomethisway.A fewdaysago,a messenger
fromCragmaw Castlebrought newinstructions: Waylaythe
dwarf Gundren Rockseeker andanyonetravelingwithhim.7
PART1: GOBLIN ARROWS