Lost Mine of Phandelver

PART 2: PHANDALIN

Thefrontier townof Phandalin is builton the ruinsof a

much oldersettlement. Hundreds of yearsago,the old

Phandalin wasa thriving human townwhose people

were firmlyalliedwiththe dwarves andgnomes of the

Phandelver's Pact.However, the sameore hordethat

sacked the minesat WaveEcho Cavelaidwaste to the

settlement, andPhandalin wasabandoned for centuries.

In the last three or fouryears,hardy settlers from

the citiesof NeverwinterandWaterdeep havebegun

the hardworkof reclaiming the ruinsof Phandalin. A

bustling frontier settlement hasgrown up on the siteof

the old town,andis homenowto farmers, woodcutters,

fur traders, andprospectors drawn by storiesof gold

andplatinum in the foothillsof the SwordMountains.

Unfortunately, morethan a fewbandits andbrigands have

settled hereas well,taking advantage of the factthatthe

area hasno locallordor authorityto chase them off. A

gangknown as the Redbrands hascontrolled Phandalin

for the pasttwomonths, extorting andbullying everyone

in town.Thegangis led by a mysteriousfigureknownto

the townsfolkas Glasstaff.

When the charactersfirstarrive in Phandalin, read:

The rutted trackemerges froma wooded hillside, and you

catch yourfirstglimpse of Phandalin. The town consists of

forty or fiftysimple log buildings,some builton old fieldstone

foundations. Moreold ruins-crumbling stone walls covered

in ivy and briars-surround the newer houses and shops,

showing howthismust havebeena much larger townin

centuries past. Mostof the newerbuildings are set on the

sidesof the carttrack, whichwidens intoa muddy main

street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on a

hillside at the eastsideof town.

As you approach,you see childrenplaying on the towngreen

and townsfolk tending to chores or running errands at shops.

Manypeople lookup as you approach,but all returnto their

business as you go by.

If Sildar Hallwinter is withthe party,add:

Sildar seems much more at ease.

"Myfriends," he says, "let us securelodgings. I'm toldthe

localinn is veryquaint."

Sildar's planis to get somerestat the StonehillInn,then

search Phandalin for signs of the missingwizard, Iarno

Albrek.When his investigation hitsa deadend,he sets

14

PART 2: PHANDALlN

up a meeting withTownmaster Harbin Wester (seethe

"Townmaster's Hall"section).

During thispartof the adventure,the characterscan

visitthe variouslocations in Phandalin andtalkto the

NPCs there.(See the "TownDescription"section for

details.) Thetownis smallenough thatit takes onlya

fewminutes to strollfromoneendto the other.However,

the characters arrive latein the dayandcan't get to more

than oneor twolocations before it's timeto seeklodgings

for the night.

Some locales the charactersshould visitinclude

the following:

Barthen'sProvisions.If the charactershavethe wag-

onload of supplies fromthe "MeetMe in Phandalin"

adventure hook,theyare meant to deliverit to thisshop.

. LionshieldCoster.If the charactersretrieved the stolen
goodsfromthe Cragmawhideout, theymightwant to
return them to the rightfulowner.
StonehillInn.If the charactershaveSildar Hallwinter
withthem,the knightsuggests heading for thisinn to
findlodgings. If the charactersare otherwiselooking for
a place to eat andsleep,theydiscover thatthe Stonehill
appears to be the bestavailable option.

Encounters in Phandalin

Whenthe charactersexplore Phandalin, youdon'tneed

to keeptrack of howmuchtimeis spentat eachlocation.

Instead, imagine thatyou'redirecting an old-style

western movie.Yourgoalis to presentseveral scenes in

which the adventurerswalkintoa storeor saloonand

meetthe peoplethere. By interactingwiththese NPCs,

the adventurerslearn whatthe NPCsneedor what

information theywantto share, thencanmoveon to the

nextlocation. These scenes are a seriesof roleplaying

encounters thattakeplace overthe courseof a coupleof

daysof gametime.

To begin,ask the playerswhere theywant to go and

whattheywantto do in town.Forexample, youcould tell

them,"There's an inn,a townhall,a shrine, general stores

andtrading posts, anda fewother homes andbusinesses.

Where do youwant to go?"Whenthe playerspicka spot,

referto the descriptionin the followingsection, illt~

the NPCsthere, andlet the interactionbegin.

The StonehillInn.If the playersaren't surewhat

theircharacters should do, encouragethemto begin at

the StonehillInn.TheNPCs there are "pointers"who

candirect the characters toward the variousadventure

opportunities andimportant rumors thatcanbe foundin

otherparts of the town.By visitingthe inn,the characters

learnwhat otherplaces theyshould visit.