So, I decided to write a one-shot based on the Lost Mine of Phandelver module, but it's from the point of view of the goblins. I will drop the link to the Google Drive folder with the one-shot and some pre-gen goblin characters and NPCs. Any feedback is appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c2DfUDGwHNkgGpIhO1Wr1serWhk5dtHZ?usp=sharing

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A level 3 Goblin one-shot

Written by D. Robert Handy

Special Thanks to William Wiggins & Conrad500

"Goblins just try to get food to feed clan, maybe get some shinys. But no, stupid Klarg say we need to grab dwarf. Why? Dwarf stinky, taste bad. Klarg crazy! Say King Ghrol want map for a spider. Spider has booyahg, I don't believe. Ikx just want nice cave, plenty of meats, and some shiny. Too much to ask?"

This one-shot was a crazy thought from a couple of DMs. What if we told the story in Lost Mines of Phandelver from the point of view of the Cragmaw Goblins?

This is a level 3 adventure with pre-generated (pre-gen) level 3 goblins (included in a separate file) and an "invading party" based on the pre-gen characters from the Lost Mines starter set (in the NPC section at the end of this document). Other NPCs and monsters are taken from the SRD for ease of preparation and play.

This one-shot is intended as a compliment to the Lost Mines of Phandelver (LMoP) starter adventure and you may find it easier to run this one-shot with players who have completed the Lost Mines of Phandlever. You will need access to the LMoP adventure, for maps and references. Specifically, Chapter 1 Cragmaw Hideout, and Chapter 3 Cragmaw Castle.

Disclaimer

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Open Game License. All other original material in this work is copyright 2021 by D. Robert Handy and published under the Open Game License.

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Goblins are a race of small and numerous goblinoids common throughout Toril, often living in underground caverns near the surface known as lairs. Along the Sword Coast, the Cragmaw Goblin tribe (named after the jagged teeth of the members that resemble white or yellow crags in their mouths) operates around the Neverwinter Wood area. Goblins primarily worshiped Maglubiyet who inspired them with his feats of strength and treachery. As such, the tribe is known to take slaves for labor, entertainment, food, or ritual sacrifice. The main hideout was at Cragmaw Castle (renamed after them), located deep in Neverwinter Wood, while they also maintained several smaller hideouts around the area.

Goblin Pantheon

Maglubiyet the Mighty One, the Lord of Depths and Darkness, is the greater god of goblinoids.

You are members of King Grol's elite guard. Recently, King Grol made a pact with a mysterious figure known as the "Black Spider". The Black Spider has paid the Cragmaws to watch out for the dwarf Gundren Rockseeker and any of his companions (his brothers, or anyone else). The orders were to capture him and send him and anything he was carrying back to King Grol for delivery to the Black Spider.

He also tipped off that the dwarf had been seen in Neverwinter and would be traveling towards the Sword Mountains. You were sent to one such hideout, controlled by a bugbear named Klarg. Klarg’s hideout was tasked with attacking travelers and caravans along the Triboar Trail.

You gave Klarg King Grol’s message and then offered to wait at the ambush site for the dwarf. You ambushed Gundren and his bodyguard and took all his personal effects, including a map. You had no need for the bodyguard and as such, left him in the custody of Yeemik, Klarg’s second-in-command, to do with as they pleased.

You then set off for Cragmaw Castle to deliver your quarry to King Grol. The kidnapping was so successful that King Grol decided to make a job of it. You have been ordered to retrieve the bodyguard as he should be worth a handsome ransom too. King Grol’s last words to you before you left were "Don't come back without the hostage!"

Use the LMoP Cragmaw Cave map found in Chapter 1 for reference.

Area 1 & 2 You approach Cragmaw hideout and something isn’t right. You see goblin blood flowing down the shallow stream that flows out of the cave mouth. You make the signal to announce your arrival and get no response.

A DC 10 perception check reveals boot tracks that lead from the trail that leads to the ambush site on the Triboar Trail. You approach the guard position behind the blind and find the mutilated remains of Ikx and Valk. Both bodies have been looted, and Ikx’s head lies on the ground next to his body. A DC 15 nature or medicine check reveals that these bodies have been here for about a day.

Areas 3 - 7 At least a dozen goblin bodies, a bugbear body (Klarg), and 4 wolf bodies, all looted, could be found in various areas of the cave. A DC 10 medicine check should reveal that the bodies were felled by various types of attacks (melee, ranged, magical) and can be described as such. Refer to the Party NPC stat blocks for types of attacks that could have happened. Inspecting area 6 will reveal that the human bodyguard is gone. Inspecting area 7 will reveal that one of the rock dam pools was used, but that the 2nd remains intact.

Rock Dams. The goblins built simple dams to control the flow of water through the heart of the complex. One of the pools is mostly empty and the stream is flowing unimpeded.

Area 8 Inspecting area 8 will reveal that all the things have been looted, but the spoils (Lionshield Coster supplies) remain. Yeemik can also be found sitting on Klarg’s throne in area 8.

Fire Pit. The hot coals in the central fire pit deal 1 fire damage to any creature that enters the fire pit, or 1d6 fire damage to any creature that falls prone there. A creature can take each type of damage only once per round.

Natural Chimney. A niche in the western wall forms the top of a shaft that descends 30 feet to area 3. See that area for information on climbing the natural chimney.

Supplies. The piles of sacks and crates can provide half cover to any creature fighting or hiding behind them.

Most are marked with the image of a blue lion—the symbol of the Lionshield Coster, a merchant company with a warehouse and trading post in Phandalin.

Return to Cragmaw Hideout

Yeemik (Klarg’s second-in-command) should be found sitting on Klarg’s throne, musing to himself about his newfound position. When he sees the party, he panics a little and then improvises, "Ah, I see King Grol has sent a welcoming party to accept my promotion."

Yeemik tells them that Klarg was defeated and that Yeemik was knocked unconscious and left for dead. But with Klarg dead, he's in charge now. He says that he sent scouts to inform King Grol, and "he thought" that the party was here as a reply. He didn't send anyone to Grol (everyone else is dead), and all of this is a lie so that the party won't just kill him, which they would if they knew the truth: Yeemik worked with the adventurers to overthrow Klarg.

• The party can catch his lies (insight check), intimidate him, or persuade/deceive him that they're on his side to get all of the information. Yeemik can relay the following information:
• A group of the Dwarf’s allies attacked and slaughtered those in the cave.
• After a hard-fought battle, the attackers released the human who was the bodyguard for the dwarf. He told them of Cragmaw Castle. King Grol will need to be warned.
• Several of the attackers have booyagh (magic).
• The bodyguard knows the name Black Spider but nothing more.

Encounter 1 - Reclaiming Property

At some point during this exchange, a DC 10 Perception check will reveal voices entering the cave system. A group of humans bearing torches can be heard searching for the loot contained in area 8. The group consists of 1 Veteran and 1d6+2 Thug(s). Yeemik will attempt to escape through the chimney from area 8 to area 3 and escape.

Encounter 2 - Along the Trail

Ask the players to tell you the partys marching order, so that you know which characters are in the lead and whos bringing up the rear. When the party camps, ask which characters are on watch. This information is important if the party encounters something dangerous.

The Triboar Trail is not safe. As the adventurers travel throughout this area, they might stumble across hungry beasts, greedy bandits, or vicious monsters. Check for encounters once during the day and once at night by rolling a d20. On a roll of 17–20, an encounter takes place. Roll a d12 and consult the Wilderness Encounters table to determine what the party meets. During the return trip to Cragmaw Castle, roll for one or two of the following encounters. encounter on Triboar trail. Roll a d12 to determine the encounter.

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Young White Dragon

The young white dragon is taken from the Dragons of Icespire Peak adventure. Cryovain the young white dragon is a roaming threat that can be encountered almost anywhere. When the dragon visits a location that is not its lair, it surveys the location from the sky, beyond the reach of ranged weapon attacks. If it spots nothing it can eat, it flies off after circling the location for a minute or two. If it spots something tasty, such as a mule, a horse, or a character, the dragon swoops down and attacks it. Once the dragon kills something, it grabs the carcass and flies off with it. Whatever it takes is then eaten within the hour.

If Cryovain loses more than 10 hit points in battle, the dragon disengages from combat and retreats to its lair at Icespire Hold, remaining there until it finishes a long rest and regains all its hit points. After any encounters, the party should be able to successfully reach Cragmaw Castle.

Cragmaw Castle is not a goblin construction, nor is that the structure’s original name. Raised by a talented wizard-noble of old Phalorm, an ancient realm that once controlled much of the North, the stronghold consists of seven overlapping towers; however, its upper levels have long since collapsed to heaps of crumbling masonry. Only the ground floor is still sound enough to be habitable.

What the party knows about Cragmaw Castle

The castle consists of seven crumbling towers of different sizes and heights, but the upper stories are all in varying states of collapse. A short flight of steps leads up to a terrace in front of the main entryway. Past the wreckage of a pair of sundered doors lies a shadowed hall. Round towers loom over the entranceway, with dark arrow slits looking down on the terrace.

The centuries have not been kind to Cragmaw Castle. The goblins have shored up the weakest areas beneath its falling towers with crude timbers, but it’s only a matter of time before the structure collapses completely.

Ceilings. Ceilings are 15 feet high unless noted otherwise.

Doors. Interior doors are made of wood reinforced with iron bands. They have neither locks nor keyholes. It takes a successful DC 15 Strength check to break down a door that is barricaded shut.

Floors. Cracked and uneven flagstones conceal a dirt floor underneath.

Light. A small amount of natural light filters through the arrow slits around the castle. During the day, this provides dim light in most areas. At night, all areas are dark.

Walls. Exterior walls and load-bearing interior walls are 5 feet thick, with 3 feet of mortared fill sandwiched between 1-foot-thick courses of hard stone blocks.

Interior walls are 1-foot-thick worked stone.

Arrow slits in the castle walls are 10 feet above the outside ground level, 4 feet above the interior floor level, 8 inches wide, and 4 feet high. A creature on one side of an arrow slit gains three-quarters cover against attacks from the other side (see “Cover” in the Basic Rules).

Area 1 & 2 - Main entrance and trapped hall. The main gates between areas 1 and 2 are made of bronze-covered wood, but they are corroded and collapsed. No monsters dwell here, but the goblin sentries in area 3 are supposed to be keeping watch.

Trap. The dusty plaster and rubble in front of the door leading to area 8 conceals a copper tripwire connected to linchpins hidden in the ruined ceiling. Spotting the tripwire requires a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of at least 20, or a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check if characters are actively searching for traps in the area. Once spotted, the tripwire is easily avoided and disarmed (no ability check required). Any creature that walks over or through the rubble without avoiding the tripwire triggers a cave-in of wooden beams and heavy stones. (The area of the collapse is marked on the map.) Any creature in the area when the trap triggers must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 bludgeoning damage from the falling rubble (half as much damage on a successful save). The noise of the collapse puts the monsters in areas 3, 7, 8, and 9 on alert.

Area 3 - Archer Post, two goblins occupy each of these two rooms.

Area 4 - Ruined Barracks, three goblins bunk here.

Area 5 - Store Room, no goblins.

Area 6 - Hobgoblin Barracks, four hobgoblins bunk here.

Area 7 - Banquet Hall. This hall holds seven miserable goblins and their leader—a fat, cantankerous goblin with 12 hit points named Yegg. Yegg is the chief cook for the Cragmaws, and he viciously bullies his unwilling assistants as they go about the work of putting food on the tribe’s table. If Yegg is killed, any goblins left alive flee to the east or west, avoiding the north door because of the trap in area 2.

Area 8 - Dark Hall. This chamber contains a grick—the special pet of the goblin Lhupo (area 9).

Area 9 - Goblin Shrine. Shrine to Maglubiyet, the god of goblins and hobgoblins. This shrine is home to Lhupo (a goblin with 12 hit points) and two ordinary goblins that serve as his “acolytes.”

Area 10 - Postern Gate. This side entrance to the castle is locked but unguarded.

Home to Cragmaw Castle

**Area 11** - Ruined Tower. Secret entrance. Area 12 - Guard Barracks. Two hobgoblins stand guard in this room. They are smart, tough, and loyal to King Grol. At the start of combat, one hobgoblin runs to warn the king in area 14, then returns 2 rounds later to rejoin the fray.

Area 13 - Owlbear Tower. The Cragmaws have captured an owlbear and confined it to this tower.

Area 14 - King’s Quarters. King Grol, Snarl, the doppelganger are all here.

Upon your return to Cragmaw Castle, you signal your arrival and are met with the appropriate reply. You immediately make your way into the castle, past the various other goblins, straight to King Grol’s Quarters. King Grol is a fierce old bugbear, he rules the Cragmaws through pure intimidation. Age has stooped his shoulders and hunched his back, but he remains surprisingly agile and strong. He is demanding and vindictive, and no Cragmaw dares to cross him. As Grol's elite guard you are always welcomed. Grol is attended by Snarl, his pet wolf.

As the party relays their information, Grol relates the following Klarg was weak. He laughs at the fact that Yeemik has taken over Klarg’s operation, and states he will deal with that later. He is confident that a few stupid adventurers are no match for the power of the Cragmaw tribes. A war band consisting of three hobgoblins led by Targor Bloodsword along with his two wolf pets have just left to raid an elf encampment north of here. As such, forces are light. Near the southwest corner of the room is Gundren Rockseeker, a dwarf commoner. He is unconscious but stable.

Shortly after entering the chamber a messenger enters and informs King Grol that Vyerith, a doppelganger and a messenger from the Black Spider, has arrived. She has come to collect Gundren Rockseeker and the map of Wave Echo Cave from King Grol. Grol asks you to leave while he negotiates with the doppelganger and tells you not to worry about the adventurers.

Encounter 3 - Defending the Castle

The final encounter should start shortly after the party is dismissed by King Grol. The players can act upon their desires, during which time the DM can make a series of rolls for the incoming party of adventurers. The goblin party knows the castle, its weaknesses, traps, defenses, etc., and should be able to use them as desired. The invading party, however, does not know of available traps, defenses, etc. The DM should make reasonable efforts to make similar mistakes (missing traps, etc.) as if the invaders are a player party. Goblin NPCs should be treated as normal, however, they should default to the direction of the party if they are given orders.

Roll a d20. On a 1-16 the party will enter Cragmaw Castle through area 1, on a 17-19, the invading party will enter through the side entrance in area 10, on a 20 the invading party will enter through the secret entrance in area 11. You can make stealth checks against the party’s passive perception scores to determine how far the invaders are able to access the castle before the party is warned. To determine the invaders' movement direction through the castle, roll a d4, 1 go north, 2 go south, 3 go east, 4 go west. If a roll goes nowhere or goes back to the last area, reroll as appropriate. The invading party should continue to move forward in the castle until a face-to-face encounter with the goblin party.

If the party wins the final battle

They are allowed to keep any of the loot found on the invading party. King Grol informs you that he is proud of the party and awards them Crawmaw Hideout (formerly belonging to Klarg and Yeemik), along with a small contingent of goblins and hobgoblins to continue raiding the trail and capturing valuable targets for ransom.

In the unlikely event that the party loses the final battle

The party awakes inside a cell inside the Townmaster’s Hall in Phandalin. You are left with only enough clothing to be considered modest and you are locked inside the cell. Several guards are stationed outside the cell. Sildar Hallwinter is there and identifies you as his kidnappers.

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*I wanted to get this out, I will edit it later to make it pretty.*