Lost Mine of Phandelver

PART 4: WAVE ECHO CAVE

Fifteen mileseastof Phandalin, in the deepvalesof the

Sword Mountains, liesWaveEchoCave.Therichmine

of the Phandelver'sPactwaslostfivehundred years ago

during ore invasionsthatdevastated thispartof the North.

In the centuries since,countless prospectors and

adventurers havesearched for the lostmine,but none

succeeded untilthe Rockseekerbrothers foundthe

entrance a month ago.Unfortunately, the Rockseekers

did not realizetheywerebeingtrailed by spiesworking

for Nezznar,the BlackSpider, andtheyinadvertently led

the drowvillain to theirprize.Nezznar andhis followers

dealtwiththe twoRockseekers whowereguarding their

find,thenarranged for Gundren's ambush. Learning of the

adventurers' involvement withGundren or theirexploitsin

andaround Phandalin, the BlackSpider hasgivenorders

for the charactersto be dealtwith.Meanwhile, Nezznar

hasbegun his explorationof WaveEchoCave.

Thedrowis searchingfor the Forgeof Spells, where

the humanmages of old Phandalinenchanted dwarven

weapons andgnomegadgets. However, Nezznar's

exploration hasbeenhindered by the restlessundead and

dangerous monsters thatlurkin WaveEchoCave,forcing

himto proceed withgreat caution.

Theadventurers nowhavethe chanceto aid Gundren,

avengehis kin,andput a stopto the nefariousschemes

of the BlackSpider. Andof course,the hoardof powerful

magic rumored to be hiddenin the minesis a richprize.

CharacterLevel

Thispartof the adventure is designedfor charactersof

at least4th levelandassumes thateachcharacter has

earned at least2,700XP.If the adventurers skipped too

many of the optionalinvestigations andencounters in part

3, theymight not be 4th level,andmany of the encounters

in thissection mightbe difficultfor them.

Experience PointAwards

In thispartof the adventure,XP is awarded for

overcoming monsters, as in parts2 and3. However,

XP awardsfor monsters is not givenin the encounter

description. Instead, the amountof XP thata monster

is worthis notedin its statblock(seeappendix B). You

calculate the awardby totaling the valuefor eachmonster

the charactersovercome. Additional XP awards, andthe

reasons for them,are describedin the text,under the

"Awarding Experience Points" heading.

WanderingMonsters

Monsters roamthrough all areas of the mine.Random

encounters remind players thatmonsters aren't

42

PART4: WAVEECHO CAVE

necessarily confined to specificareas, andthatno partof

the dungeonis safe.Encounters withwandering monsters

are an effectivewayto keepthe playersandcharacters

on theirtoes,alleviate playerboredom, andtax party

resources. However, havingtoo manyrandom encounters

canbecome tedious, so usethem sparingly.

If the charactersspend a longtimein a givenarea,you

cancheck for wandering monsters by rollinga d20.On a

roll of 17-20,an encountertakes place.Conversely, if the

players seemrestless, youcandecidethat an encounter

occurs. Rolla d12andconsult the WanderingMonsters

tableto determine whatthe partymeets.

WANDERING MONSTERS

d12Roll Result

1-3 Sti rges (2d4)

4-5 Ghouls (ld4)

6 Gricks (ld4)

7-8 Bugbears (ld4)

9 Skeletons (1d6)

10 Zombies (ld6)

11-12 Ochre Jelly(1)

GeneralFeatures

Themine is cold,damp,andsurprisingly drafty.A

noticeable breeze blowsthrough manyof its passages,

flowingfromarea 1 toward area 16.

Ceilings.Tunnels are 10 feethighunless noted

otherwise. Rooms have20-foot-high ceilings, while

natural caverns have30-foot-high ceilings dotted

withstalactites.

Doors.Unless notedotherwise, all doors are 6 feettall,

4 feetwide,andmade of six-inch-thick cut slabsof stone

fittedwithironhandles andhinges. Thedoors are lowand

wide-perfect for dwarves.

Wal1s.Thewalls are hewnstone.In a fewareas (14,15,

19, and20),theyare dressedwithwell-fitted stone blocks.

Floors.All floorsare smooth,natural stone.

Light.Noneunless otherwise indicated. Theboxed

textassumes thatthe charactershavelightsources

or darkvision.

Stalagmites. Found in manyof the naturalcaverns,

these spires of rockriseup fromthe floorandcanbe used

for cover(see"Cover"in the rulebook).

KeyedEncounters

All the encountersin thispartof the adventureare keyed

to the mapof WaveEchoCave.