A Dungeons & Dragons tale: ‘The Misadventures of Monty the Goblin’

The Vancouver Convention Centre at Canada Place hosted the Terminal City Tabletop Convention (TCTC) from March 14 to 16, serving as a haven for tabletop enthusiasts. 

The event featured everything from the social deduction game Blood on the Clocktower to the ever-iconic Dungeons & Dragons. The latter is what drew me in on the final day. 

While waiting for my scheduled session, I explored the convention, browsing local vendors who were selling an array of unique treasures. I even picked up an adorable plush griffon for a newborn because why settle for a teddy bear when you can have a lion eagle hybrid.

The convention also spotlighted Canadian creators showcasing their tabletop games — some still in development, others ready for sale. But the highlight was my first ever game of Dungeons & Dragons. I joined a beginner-friendly session run by dungeon master Tristan Murphy. 

The adventure centred on finding a missing halfling girl named Litta. Our party included Muric the Dwarf Cleric, Luna the High Elf Wizard, Addison the Human Wizard, Oros the High Elf Wizard, Nick the Halfling Rogue, and myself as Maximilian Ravencroft, a pompous yet oblivious Human Fighter of noble birth.

Our investigation began with former adventurer Stella who led us to Litta’s wealthy grandfather’s home, where we discovered Litta’s older cousins interrogating a goblin tied to a chair in the basement. 

The goblin, though defiant, warned that his friends would come for him. Seeing an opportunity, Maximilian, ever the self-assured fool, hoisted the tied-up goblin onto his back like a living backpack, believing this would cause the goblins to attack us and not the townsfolk. What we did not know was that this goblin, whom I named Monty to his great irritation, was meant to be the session’s final boss.

With Monty in tow, we questioned townsfolk and followed leads until we had a set of foot tracks, but we were unable to follow it ourselves, so we had Monty track it for us. Strapped to my chest like a baby in a carrier, he begrudgingly guided us to Litta’s captors, who by then we already suspected and confirmed were not goblins. 

Thanks to Oros’s smooth persuasion, he convinced them to return to the village, framing them as Litta’s rescuers in a bid to avoid conflict. The ruse did not last, but instead of harsh punishment, the townsfolk settled for a more lenient resolution.

The adventure culminated in a lively planned festival, for a halfling’s 111th birthday. In a gesture of trust, I freed Monty. That turned out to be a mistake. With a whistle, Monty summoned his goblin allies, revealing his true nature as the final boss. 

But by then, we were too attached to our unwilling party member to kill him. Instead, we used non-lethal attacks, subduing the goblins while negotiating a truce. A well-timed history check with the dice convinced both goblins and halflings to coexist, with the goblins becoming the town’s hunters and defenders. 

Moved by the outcome, Monty pleaded to join Maximilian on further adventures. And so, the session ended with “The Adventures of Maximilian and Monty” just beginning.

Remarkably, not a single foe was killed during the session, not even a bear, which Luna put to sleep rather than harm. 

At the conclusion, our dungeon master revealed that no one had ever carried the final boss around as a backpack before. It was a perfect example of what makes Dungeons & Dragons so captivating — its ability to take a story off the rails in unexpected ways and the skill of dungeon masters like Murphy to roll with the chaos.