Lost Mine of Phandelver

of miscreants led by a mysteriousfigurecalled Glasstaff.

A number of interesting NPCs canalsobe foundin

Phandalin, layingthe hooksfor short adventures in part

3. TheRedbrands try to runthe characters out of town,so
   the charactersreturn the favorandstorm the Redbrand
   lair.In a hidden stronghold beneath an old manor,they
   findthatlarno "Glasstaff" Albrek, the leaderof the
   Redbrands, is taking his ordersfromsomeone called
   the BlackSpider-and thatthe BlackSpider wants the
   adventurers out of the picture.
   Part 3, "TheSpider's Web,"provides the characters
   withseveral short adventures in the regionaround
   Phandalin as theysearch for more information aboutthe
   Black Spider andthe dwarves'lostmine.Thecluesthe
   characters picked up in Phandalin canleadthem to spy on
   a mysterious wizard at the ruinsof OldOwlWell,seek the
   adviceof a dangerous banshee, ousta bandof ores lurking
   at Wyvern Tor,andinvestigate the ruins of the town
   of Thundertree.
   Several of these leads pointto Cragmaw Castle,which
   is the strongholdof KingGrol,leader of the Cragmaw
   goblins. Herethe charactersdiscover thatthe Black
   Spider is a drowadventurer named Nezznar, andthatthe
   Cragmaw goblinsworkfor him(droware elveswhohail
   froma realm deepunderground). Moreimportantly, they
   recover Gundren Rockseeker's mapto the lostmine,or
   learn the mine'slocation fromoneof the otherleads they
   unearth during part3.
   Following the mapor the directionsto the lostmine
   brings the charactersto part 4, "WaveEchoCave."That
   lostunderground complex is nowoverrun by undead and
   strange monsters. Nezznar the BlackSpider is therewith
   his loyalfollowers, exploring the mines andsearching for
   the legendaryForge of Spells. Theadventurers havethe
   opportunity to avengeGundren Rockseeker, to ensure
   the prosperity andsecurity of Phandalin by clearing
   the richmine of its monsters,andto put an endto the
   troublemaking of the BlackSpider-if theycansurvivethe
   dangers of the LostMineof Phandelver.

AdventureHook

Youcanlet playersinvent theirownreasons for visiting

Phandalin, or youcanusethe followingadventure hook.

Thebackgrounds andsecondary goalson the character

sheets alsoprovidecharacters withmotivations for

visiting Phandalin.

MeetMe in Phandalin. Thecharacters are in the cityof

Neverwinter when theirdwarfpatron andfriend, Gundren

Rockseeker, hiresthem to escort a wagonto Phandalin.

Gundren hasgoneahead witha warrior, Sildar Hallwinter,

to attend to business in the townwhile the characters

followwiththe supplies. Thecharacters willbe paid 10 gp

eachby the ownerof Barthen's Provisions in Phandalin

whentheydeliverthe wagonsafelyto thattrading post.

TheForgottenRealms

Justlikea fantasynovelor movie,an adventure is set in a

larger world.In fact,the worldcanbe anythingthatthe

DMandplayers canimagine. It couldbe a swords-and-

sorcery setting at the dawnof civilization, where

barbarians battle evilsorcerers, or a post-apocalyptic

fantasy where elvesanddwarves wieldmagic amidthe

4

INTRODUCTION

wreckage of a technological civilization. MostD&D

settings are somewhere between those twoextremes:

worldsof medieval highfantasy withknights and

castles, as wellas elvencities,dwarven mines, and

fearsome monsters.

Theworldof the ForgottenRealms is onesuchsetting,

andthat's where the storyin thisadventure takes place.

In the Realms,knights darethe cryptsof the fallendwarf

kingsof Delzoun, seeking gloryandtreasure. Rogues

prowlthe darkalleyways of teeming cities suchas

Neverwinter andBaldur's Gate.Clericsin the serviceof

godswieldmace andspell,questing against the terrifying

powers thatthreaten the land.Wizards plunder the ruins

of the fallenNetherese empire, delvingintosecrets too

dark for the lightof day.Dragons, giants, demons, and

unimaginable abominations lurkin dungeons, caverns,

ruined cities,andthe vastwildplaces of the world.

On the roadsandriversof the Realmstravelminstrels

andpeddlers, merchants andguards, soldiers, sailors,

andsteel-hearted adventurers carrying talesof strange,

glorious, faraway places. Goodmaps andcleartrails can

takeevenan inexperienced youthwithdreams of gloryfar

across the world.Thousands of restlesswould-be heroes

frombackcountry farmsteads andsleepyvillages arrive in

Neverwinter andthe othergreat citieseveryyearin search

of wealthandrenown.

Knownroads maybe welltraveled, but theyaren't

necessarily safe.Fellmagic, deadly monsters, andcruel

localrulers are all perilsthatyoufacewhenyoutravelin

the ForgottenRealms. Evenfarms andfreeholds within a

day'swalkof a citycanfall prey to monsters,andno place

is safefromthe suddenwrath of a dragon.

Theregional mapshowsjusta tinypartof thisvast

world,in a region calledthe SwordCoast. Thisis a region

of adventure, where daring souls delveintothe wreckage

of ancient strongholds andexplore ruins of long-lost

cultures. Amida wilderness of jagged, snow-capped

peaks, alpine forests, lawlessness, andmonsters, the coast

holdsthe greatestbastions of civilization, including the

coastal cityof Neverwinter.

ROLEPLAYING AND INSPIRATION

Oneof the things thatyoucando as theOMis reward players

for roleplaying their characters well.

Eachof the characters included in thisset has twopersonality

traits (one positive andone negative). an ideal,a bond, anda

flaw.These elements canmakethe character easier andmore

fun to roleplay. Personality traits provide a glimpse intothe

character's likes,dislikes, accomplishments, fears, attitude, or

mannerisms. An idealis something thatthe character believes

in or strivesfor above all else.A character's bondrepresents

a connection to a person, place,or event in the world-

someone the character cares about, a placethe holds a special

connection, or a treasured possession. A flawis a characteristic

that someone elsecanexploit to bringthe character to ruinor

cause the character to act againsthis or her bestinterests.

When a playerroleplays a negative personality traitor gives in

to a drawback presented by a bond or a flaw,youcangivethat

player's character one inspiration as a reward.Theplayer can

then spend it when his or her charactermakes an abilitycheck,

an attack roll,or a saving throw. Spending inspiration givesthe

character advantage on the roll.A clever player might spend the

inspiration to counteract disadvantage on a roll.

A character canhaveonlyoneinspiration at a time.