It's been too long! Got to run a session for our Lost Mine of Phandelver family campaign last night! With all the chaos over the past few months, we just haven't had time to play. Plus, the kids finally joined in! The party is now Rinn the elf fighter (my wife), Nova the dragonborn warlock (my brother), Mylo the human expert (older offspring), and Leo the tortle warrior/mage (younger offspring).

In our previous game, the party had ascended the path to Icespire Hold undetected and bypassing the gatehouse by climbing up the cliff face into the hold proper. Inside, they found some loot, fought a few stirges, then ended that game by finding Wylston the firbolg cleric's brother, Wartstew, dead: frozen by Cryovain's frost breath while giving the orc children time to escape through the undercroft. It was quite possibly the most emotional game we've played.

Last year, over 1,200 D&D players descended upon Provo, Utah, to set the Guinness World Record for the largest single D&D game ever played – and they did! I had planned to attend but, unfortunately, due to a combination of ADHD and... okay, probably just that... I put the wrong date in my calendar, didn't pay attention to the announcements on social media, and missed it entirely.

Over the weekend, my wife, brother, and I started a new family game running Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, the re-written and expanded Lost Mines of Phandelver adventure from the early days of 5th Edition. Since the kids weren't interested in playing this time around, we decided to try the sidekick rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything so we could still run a 4-person party.