Lost Mines of Phandelver

LightAsmallamountofnaturallightfiltersthroughthe

arrowslitsaroundthecastle.Duringtheday,thisprovides

dimlightinmostareas.Atnight,allareasaredark.

Walls.Exteriorwallsandload-bearinginteriorwalls

are 5 feetthick,with 3 feetofmortaredfillsandwiched

between1-foot-thickcoursesofhardstoneblocks.Interior

wallsare (^1) -foot-thickworkedstone.
Arrowslitsinthecastlewallsare 10 feetabovethe
outsidegroundlevel, 4 feetabovetheinteriorfloorlevel, 8
incheswide,and 4 feethigh.Acreatureononesideofan
arrowslitgainsthree-quarterscoveragainstattacksfrom
theotherside(see“Cover”intherulebook).

L CastleEntrance

Themaingatesbetweenareas 1 and 2 aremade

ofbronze-coveredwood,buttheyarecorroded

andcollapsed.

Thecastleconsistsofsevencrumblingtowersofdifferent

sizesandheights,buttheupperstoriesareallinvarying

statesofcollapse.Ashortflightofstepsleadsuptoaterrace

infrontofthemainentryway.Pastthewreckageofapairof

sundereddoorsliesashadowedhall.Roundtowersloom

overtheentranceway,withdarkarrowslitslookingdownon

theterrace.

Nomonstersdwellhere,butthegoblinsentriesinarea

3 aresupposedtobekeepingwatch.Theyglanceonly

occasionallyoutofthearrowslits,however,socharacters

whomovequietlymightbeabletocreeppastthem.Have

eachcharactermakeaDexterity(Stealth)check.The

lowestcheckistheDCforthegoblins’Wisdomchecksto

noticetheparty.

Developments

Ifthegoblinsspotthecharacters(orifthecharacters

approachopenly),thegoblinsshootarrowsfrombehind

thearrowslits.However,theycan’tfiredirectlyatenemies

atorpastthebrokengate.Thegoblinsalsoshoutloudly

DisguisedCharacters

RatherthanstormCragmawCastlewithweaponsinhand,

clevercharactersmighttrytotalktheirwayinside.Forexample,

theymightdonthescarletcloaksoftheRedbrandsandclaim

tobeemissariessentbylarno“Glasstaff”Albrek,theRedbrand

leader,tomeetwithKingGrol.AgoodDMrewardsthiskindof

cleverthinkingbygivingthecharactersachancetosucceed.

It’sokayifthecharacterscircumventcombatandtalktheir

waypastcastledefenders.BoththeCragmawtribeandthe

RedbrandsworkfortheBlackSpider,sothegoblinoidsaren't

likelytoattackthepartyiftheyclaimtobeworkingintheBlack

Spider’sinterest.

Ifthecharacterstrytoperpetrateadeceptionasagroup,

havethemeachmakeaCharisma(Deception)checkcontested

bythemonsters’Wisdom(Insight)checks,andgivethe

charactersadvantageontheirchecksifthedeceptionis

particularlywellplannedorroleplayed.Ifatleastonecharacter

winsthecontest,thedeceptionisasuccess.YoumayawardXP

formonstersfooledbythedeception.Asthepartymakesits

waydeeperintothecastle,additionalchecksmightberequired,

atyourdiscretion.

^ ^

enoughtoalerttheircomradesinareas 4 and 6 thatthe

castleisunderattack.

2.Trapped Hall

Oncethecastle’sfoyer,thiswidehallmakesadangerous

battleground.

Doorsstandclosedtothenorthandsouth,withacrumbling

moundofrubblepartiallyobscuringthesouthernhall.Tothe

east,abroadcorridorendsintwomoredoorsleadingsouth

andeast.Thecorridorisclutteredwithdustyrubbleand

fallenplasterfromapartialcollapseoftheceilingoverhead.

Ifthegoblinsentriesinarea 3 raisedthealarm,the

goblinsandhobgoblinsinareas 4 and 6 comerunningout

ofthenorthandsouthdoorsatthesametime.Theyattack

frombothdirections,tryingtooverwhelmtheadventurers

anddrivethemoutofthecastle.

Trap.Thedustyplasterandrubbleinfrontofthedoor

leadingtoarea 8 concealsacoppertripwireconnected

tolinchpinshiddenintheruinedceiling.Spottingthe

tripwirerequiresapassiveWisdom(Perception)scoreof

atleast20,orasuccessfulDC 10 Wisdom(Perception)

checkifcharactersareactivelysearchingfortrapsinthe

area.Oncespotted,thetripwireiseasilyavoidedand

disarmed(noabilitycheckrequired).

Anycreaturethatwalksoverorthroughtherubble

withoutavoidingthetripwiretriggersacave-inofwooden

beamsandheavystones.(Theareaofthecollapseis

markedonthemap.)Anycreatureintheareawhenthe

traptriggersmustsucceedonaDC 10 Dexteritysaving

throwortake3d6bludgeoningdamagefromthefalling

rubble(halfasmuchdamageonasuccessfulsave).The

noiseofthecollapseputsthemonstersinareas3,7,8,

and 9 onalert.

AwardingExperiencePoints

Divide 100 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty

detectsorsurvivesthetrap.

3.ArcherPost

CragmawCastle’smaindefensesareitssecretlocation

andtheappearanceofhavingbeenabandoned.In

addition,KingGrolpostssentriestodriveoffintruders

whogettooclose.

Thissmallroomislitteredwithdebris.Thearrowslit

oppositethedooroffersafinefieldoffireovertheterracein

frontofthecastlegates.

Twogoblinsoccupyeachofthesetworooms.Bytaking

turnsshootingarrowsandduckingback,botharcherscan

fireeachroundattargetsoutside.Whencharactersenter

theroom,thegoblinsdroptheirshortbowsanddrawtheir

meleeweapons.

AwardingExperiencePoints

Divide 100 XPequallyamongthecharactersforeachpair

ofgoblinarchersthepartydefeats.

36

PART3:THESPIDER’SWEB