If the characters refuse to parley,YeemikshovesSildar
overthe edgeandcontinues withthe fight.Sildartakes
Id6bludgeoning damage fromthe fall,which is enough to
drophimto 0 hit points. Quick-acting characters cantry
to stabilize himbeforehe dies(see"Damage, Healing, and
Dying"in the rulebook).ROLEPLAYING SILDAR
Sildar~nter is a kindhearted human maleof nearly
fiftyyears whoholds a placeof honorin the famous
griffoncavalryof the great cityof Waterdeep.He is an
agentof the Lords'Alliance, a groupof alliedpolitical
powers concerned withmutual security andprosperity.
Members of the order ensure the safety of citiesandother
settlements by proactively eliminating threats by any
means, whilebringing honor andgloryto their leaders
andhomelafds.
Sildar me\Gundren Rockseeker in Neverwinter and
agreed to accpmpany himbackto Phandalin. Sildarwants
to investigatethe fateof larno Albrek, a human wizard and
fellowmembe~of the Lords' Alliance whodisappeared
shortly afterarriving in Phandalin. Sildar hopes to learn
whathappened to larno, assist Gundren in reopening the
old mine,andhelprestore Phandalin to a civilizedcenter
of wealth andprosperity.
Sildar provides the characters withfourpiecesof useful
information:
o The three Rockseeker brothers (Gundren, Tharden, and
Nundro)recently located an entrance to the long-lost
WaveEchoCave,siteof the mines of the Phandelver's
Pact.(Share the information in the firsttwoparagraphs
of the "Background" section to the players at thistime.)
Klarg,the bugbear wholeads thisgoblinband,had
orders to waylayGundren. Sildar heard fromthe goblins
thatthe BlackSpider sentwordthatthe dwarfwasto
be brought to him.Sildar doesn't knowwhoor whatthe
BlackSpider is.
o Gundren hada mapshowing the secret location of Wave
EchoCave,but the goblinstookit whentheycaptured
him.Sildar believes thatKlargsentthe mapandthe
dwarfto the chiefof the Cragmaws at a placecalled
Cragmaw Castle. Sildar doesn't knowwhere thatmight
be, but he suggests someone in Phandalin mightknow.
(It doesn'toccurto Sildar immediately, but a captured
goblinmightalsobe persuaded to divulgethe castle's
location. Seethe "Whatthe GoblinsKnow"sidebar on
page8.)
Sildar's contact in Phandalin is a human wizard named
IarnoAlbrek. Thewizard traveled to the towntwo
months agoto establish order there.Afterthe Lords'
Alliance received no wordfromIarno,Sildar decided to
investigate.
Sildar tellsthe characters thathe intends to continue on
to Phandalin, sinceit's the nearest settlement. He offers
to paythe party 50 gp to provide escort. Although he has
no moneyon him,Sildar cansecure a loanto paythe
characters within a dayafterarriving in Phandalin. First,
he hopes they'llput a stopto the goblinraidsby clearing
out the caves.
DEVELOPMENTS
If he is rescued andhealed, Sildar Hallwinter remains
withthe party but is anxious to reach Phandalin as quickly
as possible. He doesn't haveanyweapons or armor, but
he cantakea shortsword froma defeated goblinor usea
weapon loaned to himby a character.
If Sildar joinsthe party,see the "NPC Party Members"
sidebar for tipson howto runhim.TREASURE
Yeemikcarries a pouch containing three goldteeth(
gp each)and15 sp. Sildar's gear,alongwithGundren
Rockseeker, wastakento Cragmaw Castle.NPC PARTY MEMBERS
An NPCmight jointhe party,if onlyfor a short time. Hereare
some tipsto helpyourun an NPCparty member:
o Let the characters makethe important decisions. Theyare the
protagonists of the adventure. If the characters ask an N PC
party member for adviceor direction, remember that NPCs
make mistakes too.
oAn NPCwon't deliberately put himself or herself in harm's
wayunless there's a good reason to do so.
An NPCwon't treat all partymembers the same way,which
cancreate some fun friction. As an N PC getsto knowthe
characters, think about which characters the NPClikesmost
andwhich onesthe NPClikesleast,and let those likesand
dislikes affecthowthe NPCinteracts withthe party members.
In a combat encounter, keepthe NPC's actions simple and
straightforward. Also,lookfor things thattheN PC cando
besides fighting. For example, an NPCmight stabilize a dying
character, guard a prisoner, or helpbarricade a door.
o If an NPCcontributes greatly to the party's success in a
battle, the NPCshould receive an equal share ofthe XP
earned for the encounter. (Thecharacters receive lessXP as a
consequence.)
o NPCs havetheirown livesand goals. Consequently, an NPC
should remain withthe party onlyas longas doing so makes
sense for those goals.7. TWIN POOLS CAVE
If the goblins havedrained either poolto floodthe
passage, adjustthe following boxedtextaccordingly.This cavern is halffilledwithtwo largepools of water. A
narrow waterfall high in the eastern wallfeeds thepool, which
drains out the western end of the chamber to form the stream
that flowsoutof the cavemouth below. Lowfieldstone walls
serve as dams holding the water in. A wide exitstands to the
south, whiletwosmaller passages leadwest. Thesound of
the waterfall echoes through the cavern, making it difficult
to hear.Three goblinsguardthiscave.If the goblinin area 5
spotted the characters andwarned the goblins here,they
are ready for trouble. Thenoiseof the waterfall means that
the creatures in area 8 can'thearanyfightingthat takes
placehere, andviceversa.Therefore, as soonas a fight
breaks out here,onegoblinfleesto area8 to warn Klarg.11
PART1: GOBLIN ARROWS