Lost Mine of Phandelver

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Light.A smallamount of natural lightfiltersthrough the

arrow slitsaround the castle. During the day,thisprovides

dimlightin most areas. At night,all areas are dark.

Walls.Exterior walls andload-bearing interior walls

are 5 feetthick,with3 feetof mortared fill sandwiched

between 1-foot-thickcourses of hardstone blocks. Interior

walls areI-foot-thick worked stone.

Arrowslitsin the castlewalls are10 feetabovethe

outside ground level,4 feetabovethe interior floorlevel, 8

inches wide,and4 feethigh.A creature on onesideof an

arrow slit gains three-quarters coveragainst attacks from

the other side(see"Cover"in the rulebook).

1. CASTLE ENTRANCE
   Themain gatesbetween areas 1 and2 are made
   of bronze-covered wood,but theyare corroded
   andcollapsed.

Thecastle consists of seven crumbling towers of different

sizes and heights, but the upper stories are all in varying

states of collapse. A short flightof steps leads up to a terrace

in front of themain entryway. Pastthe wreckage of a pairof

sundered doors liesa shadowed hall. Round towers loom

overtheentranceway, with dark arrow slits looking down on

the terrace.

No monsters dwellhere, but the goblinsentries in area

3 are supposed to be keeping watch.Theyglance only

occasionally out of the arrow slits,however, so characters

whomovequietlymight be ableto creeppastthem. Have

eachcharacter makea Dexterity (Stealth) check.The

lowest checkis the DC for the goblins' Wisdom checks to

notice the party.

DEVELOPMENTS

If the goblins spotthe characters (or if the characters

approach openly),the goblinsshoot arrows frombehind

the arrow slits.However,theycan'tfire directly at enemies

at or past the brokengate.Thegoblinsalsoshoutloudly

DISGUISED CHARACTERS

Ratherthan storm Cragmaw Castle withweapons in hand,

clever characters might try to talktheirwayinside. For example,

theymight donthe scarlet cloaks of the Redbrands andclaim

to be emissaries sent by larno "Glasstaff" Albrek, the Redbrand

leader, to meet with KingGrol.A good OMrewards thiskind of

cleverthinking by givingthe characters a chance to succeed.

It's okayif the characters circumvent combat andtalktheir

waypast castle defenders. Boththe Cragmaw tribeandthe

Redbrands workfor the BlackSpider, so the goblinoids aren't

likelyto attack the partyif theyclaimto be working in theBlack

Spider's interest.

If the characters try to perpetrate a deception as a group,

havethem each make a Charisma (Deception) check contested

by the monsters' Wisdom (Insight) checks, and givethe

characters advantage on theirchecks if the deception is

particularly wellplanned or roleplayed. If at least onecharacter

winsthe contest, the deception is a success. Youmayaward XP

for monsters fooled by the deception. As the partymakes its

waydeeper intothe castle, additional checks might be required,

at yourdiscretion.

36

PART3: THESPIDER'S WEB

enough to alerttheircomrades in areas 4 and6 that the

castle is underattack.

2. TRAPPED HALL

Oncethe castle's foyer,thiswidehallmakes a dangerous

battleground..

Doors stand closed to the north and south, with a crumbling

mound of rubble partially obscuring the southern hall.To the

east, a broad corridor ends in twomore doors leading south

and east. Thecorridor is cluttered with dusty rubble and

fallen plaster from a partial collapse of the ceiling overhead.

If the goblinsentries in area 3 raised the alarm, the

goblins andhobgoblins in areas 4 and6 comerunning out

of the north andsouth doors at the sametime.Theyattack

frombothdirections, trying to overwhelm the adventurers

anddrivethem out of the castle.

Trap.Thedustyplaster andrubble in frontof the door

leading to area8 conceals a copper tripwire connected

to linchpins hidden in the ruined ceiling. Spotting the

tripwire requires a passiveWisdom (Perception) score of

at least20, or a successful DC10 Wisdom (Perception)

check if characters are activelysearching for traps in the

area. Oncespotted, the tripwire is easilyavoidedand

disarmed (no abilitycheckrequired).

Anycreature thatwalks overor through the rubble

without avoidingthe tripwire triggers a cave-inof wooden

beams andheavystones. (Thearea of the collapse is

marked on the map.)Anycreature in the areawhenthe

traptriggers must succeed on a DC10 Dexterity saving

throw or take 3d6bludgeoning damage fromthe falling

rubble (halfas muchdamage on a successful save).The

noise of the collapse putsthe monsters in areas 3, 7, 8,

and9 on alert.

AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS

Divide 100 XP equally among the characters if the party

detects or survives the trap.

3. ARCHER POST

Cragmaw Castle's maindefenses are its secret location

andthe appearance of having been abandoned. In

addition, KingGrolposts sentries to driveoff intruders

whoget too close.

I

This small room is littered withdebris. Thearrow slit

opposite the door offers a finefieldof fire overthe terrace in

front of the castle gates.

I

Twogoblinsoccupyeachof these tworooms. By taking

turns shooting arrows andducking back,botharchers can

fire eachround at targets outside. Whencharacters enter

the room,the goblins droptheirshortbows anddrawtheir

meleeweapons.

AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS

Divide 100 XP equallyamong the characters for eachpair

of goblinarchers the party defeats.