Getting the players at your table to care about the fates of Gundren Rockseeker and (to a much lesser extent) his brothers Nundro and Tharden is a problem as old as time itself. Okay, that was dramatic. But if you’ve run Lost Mine of Phandelver in the past, there’s a good chance you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The problem with following the Meet Me In Phandalin adventure hook is that players only hear about Gundren Rockseeker in passing. He’s the Dwarven patron who will pay the characters 10 gp each upon successfully delivering a wagonload of mundane mining supplies to Phandalin. But when he ends up riding back to Phandalin a day before the characters, an ambush makes it so that the characters won’t see Gundren again until they arrive at Cragmaw Castle in Part 3: The Spider’s Web.

Nobody even knows the names of Gundren’s brothers until the characters deliver the mining supplies to Phandalin, where Elmar Barthen makes a passing reference to the other Rockseeker brothers (Nundro and Tharden) camping somewhere outside Phandalin. And that he expects them back in Phandalin “any day now” to resupply.

Pop quiz, hot shot:

Q: Why have so many tables over the years adopted Droop the goblin, but seemingly couldn’t give a toss about Gundren Rockseeker, an NPC central to the quest for Wave Echo Cave?

A: Because the characters actually get to interact with Droop.

Let’s change that. Let’s give these brothers a higher profile in the adventure (without drastically changing the story) by providing players with an occasion to interact with the Rockseekers so these dwarves are something other than captives and corpses in the story.

I think the best opportunity to do this is the voyage to Phandalin. Rather than having Gundren ride out to Phandalin early, have him and his brothers travel with the wagon for a day and stay at an inn along the High Road before a mysterious message waiting for Gundren at the inn has him riding back to Phandalin early and unannounced. He just leaves a note for his brothers and rides off into the night, believing that Sildar Hallwinter as his escort is enough protection for the journey.

A night at the inn and another day or two in the wagon with the other dwarves should provide ample opportunity for they players to bond with these dwarves if you give them some fun personality traits and quirks. That way, when Gundren gets dragged off into the wilds by the Cragmaw goblins, the characters might care more about his fate, and the fate of his brothers when they blunder into calamity as well. Oh, and it eliminates any moral quandaries over whether it’s more important to rescue Gundren and Sildar from the goblins, or to keep their word and deliver a bunch of fucking shovels to Phandalin (this is an actual dilemma at many tables).

“But who will watch the wagon?”

Nundro and Tharden will watch the wagon. Maybe they’ll even haul ass back to Phandalin for reinforcements. NOW FORGET ABOUT THE FUCKING SHOVELS.

Anyone who frequents this space knows that I am fond of pulling elements from my favorite books, television shows, and movies into my games. So it will come as no surprise when I tell you that I think Bifur, Bombur, and Bofur would make a spectacular trio for the Rockseeker brothers. I have some ideas how I’d do that, and I’ll spend some time on it this week. Be sure to stop by.

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