Redbrand Ruffians. Sooner or later,the adventurers
run intothe thugs who runPhandalin. All youneed to do
is choosewhen the ruffiansappear. Afterthe characters
havehada chance to visitseveral locations in townand
talkto the townsfolk, they mightdecide to go looking
for the Redbrands.When theydo, runthe "Redbrand
Ruffians" encounter. Alternatively, if the characters are
reluctant to seekout the ruffians,the Redbrands cancome
looking for them at a time of yourchoosing.
Finding CregmawCastle.Thecharacters mightwant
to seekout CragmawCastle to findandrescue Gundren
Rockseeker. Most of the townsfolkare preoccupiedwith
the Redbrands,and no onein townknows the locationof
Cragmaw Castle. Qelline Alderleaf, Sildar Hallwinter, and
Halia Thornton canoffersuggestions on howthe party
mightfindsomeone who knows the location.ImportantNPCs
Here is a quicksummary of the mostimportant NPCs in
Phandalin, andtheir relevance to the adventure.
ToblenStonehill Innkeeper
ElmarBarthen Owns a trading post; owesmoney to the
partyif you are usingthe "MeetMe in
Phandalin" adventure hook
Daran Edermath Member of the Order of the Gauntletwitha
quest for the party
LineneGraywind Runsa trading postand offersa reward for
retrieving her supplies
HaliaThornton Member of the Zhentarimwitha quest for
the party
Qelline Alderleaf Helpful halflingfarmer whose son,Carp,
knowsa secret way into the Redbrands'
hideout
SisterGaraele Elf clericofTymora andHarper agent witha
quest for the party
Harbin Wester Townmaster of Phandalin witha quest for the
party
Sildar Hallwinter Member of the Lords'Alliancewithtwo
quests for the partyROLEPLAYING PHANDALIN NPCs
If you're not surehow to runan NPC,a goodwayto start
is to havethe character introduce himself or herself,
welcome the adventurers to Phandalin, and ask whothey
are andwhat theywant. Youdon't need to be an actoror
stand-up comedian to get gooddrama or humor out of your
NPCs, but if youwant to ham it up, here'ssome advice:
Relax. Don'tworry about impressing your players with
your thespian skills (or lackthereof).
Getinside the NPCs' minds. Imagine howtheymight
react to the characters, andstrive to be realistic.
Mugit up. Scowl, smile, snarl, flutteryour eyelashes,
pout,cross your eyes,rub your hands together-what-
everit takes to make your NPCs come to life.
Trydifferent voices. Borrow distinctive speech patterns
fromreallife,movies, and television. Adjust the volume
as appropriate. An NPC canbe loud,soft-spoken, or
something in between.
Keep the game moving. Let the playerssteer the inter-
actions withthe NPCs.
The characters haveno reason to fightordinary townsfolk.
Hence, no game statistics are providedfor them. If
statistics become necessary, usethe commoner statblock
to represent an adult NPC of anyrace.TownDescription
Phandalin is small,so the characterscanvisitmultiple
locations andNPCs throughout a givenday.If the players
choose to havetheir characters splitup, theycancover
more ground, but you'll haveto taketurns running
each interaction for each player.Splitting the party also
makes the "Redbrand Ruffians" encounter potentially
more dangerous.
Thefollowing sections detail specific locations in town.STONEHILL INNIn the centerof town stands a large,newlybuiltroadhouse
of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers. The commonroom
is filledwithlocals nursing mugs of ale or cider,all of them
eyeing you withcuriosity.Thismodest inn hassix roomsfor rent(Sildar Hallwinter
takes one).If the characters decide to stayhere,see "Food,
Drink, andLodging" in the rulebookfor pricing.(The
characters' other alternative for lodging is to campoutside
the town,or to persuade a farmer such as Daran Edermath
or QellineAlderleaf to let themsleep in a hayloft.)
Theproprietor is a short, friendly young human male
named Toblen Stonehill. Toblen is a native of the townof
Triboar to the east. He cameto Phandalin to prospect,
but soon realized that he knewa lot more about running
an inn thanhe did aboutmining. The newtown offered
a goodopportunity to becomeestablished. Toblen is
upset that the Redbrandshavebeen allowed to terrorize
the town,and thatHarbin Wester, the townmaster, has
done nothing to curtail them. However, he tries not to
stirup trouble for fearthat the Redbrandsmight retaliate
against his wifeand children.
Rumors. Spending a littletimein the common
roomandchatting up the townspeoplecanprovide the
characters witha number of goodleads to explore in and
around town. NPCs present in the StonehillInnandthe
rumors they pass on include:
Narth, an old farmer:"Sister Garaele, who oversees the
Shrine of Luck, recently left townfor a fewdays, then
returned wounded andexhausted." (Seethe "Shrine of
Luck" section for more information.)
Elsa, a gossipy barmaid: "DaranEdermath, the orchard
keeper, is a former adventurer." (See the "Ederrnath
Orchard" section for moreinformation.)
Lanar, a miner: "Oreraiders havebeen seen on the
east endof TriboarTrail. Thetownmaster is lookingfor
someone to runthem off."(Seethe "Townrnaster's Hall"
section for more information.)
Trilena, the innkeeper's wife:"Thcl Dendrar, a local
woodcarver, stood up to the Redbrandsa ten dayago
when theycame by his shopand leered at his wife.The
ruffians murdered him. Several townsfolk sawit happen.
TheRedbrands grabbed his body,andnowhis wife,
daughter, andsonhavegonemissing too."(Unknown15
PART 2: PHANDALIN