r/LostMinesOfPhandelver

We have session 3 tonight. Sessions 1 and 2 were really great in buildup and development towards Goblin Ambush and Cragmaw Hideout.

I am mostly prepared for tonight as I had everything ready just in case the party speed ran through the session 2 scenarios.

So sure, notes and maps and tokens are all ready to go. The player questions for team building are in place. I am ready in all the tangible ways to get going. And where I had the opportunity to cancel session due to outside circumstances, I have opted to press on, for both the party, but in many ways to push myself.

FULL DISCLOSURE:

I lost my mom a few years ago to cancer. My dad was absolutely wrecked after 40+ years of marriage and had been on a steady decline with myself being his only real support system.

Over Easter weekend, he passed. I found him, dead, in his home on Monday on a gut check wellness visit. I am the executor of his will and in charge of the trust. Have also been working to clear out his home, which was both my childhood home, and since he had purchased the home from my grandparents, was his childhood home. I am being encouraged by family to move my family to the house and keep it in the family, and raise my kids there.

It is a lot. And although I feel ok emotionally and have used the week for a ton of healing and therapy (mostly retail therapy, a new guitar, a big new tattoo, etc...) my creative and improvisation side feels... Empty? Like I'm drawing blanks?

The party knows what I'm going through and I know they will be understanding and supportive no matter what. I just want to give them a great session and I am 100% not canceling.

I plan on having them tackle the ambush immediately after we do the recap and development questions I prep for each session as an icebreaker and to get everyone warmed up for talking. After the ambush is resolved, I will level them up to 2 in session. Then we will see if they proceed to hideout or opt for Phandalin. I am not prepared if they opt for Phandalin, but two of my players are DMs in their own right, so I suspect they will go hideout no matter what, since that is how the story is sort of written to go.

Usually I'm brimming with ideas that are creative, whether writing ideas down or songwriting or even for work projects.

So, I guess what I'm hoping to tap into is some outside creative ideas for the ambush and hideout that can maybe help inspire or kickstart (or shit, even substitute and bail me out) my juices so I don't draw blanks tonight.

Thanks for tolerating this long, not LMOP specific, post.