Lost Mine of Phandelver

INTRODUCTION

Thisbookis written for the DungeonMaster. It contains

a complete DUNGEONS& DRAGONSadventure, as well

as descriptions for everycreature andmagic itemthat

appears in the adventure. It alsointroduces the worldof

the ForgottenRealms, oneof the game'smostenduring

settings, andit teaches youhowto runa D&Dgame.

The smaller bookthataccompanies this one(hereafter

called"therulebook") contains the rulesyouneed to

adjudicate situations thatarise during the adventure.

Runningthe Adventure

LostMineof Phandelver is an adventurefor fourto five

characters of 1st level.During the courseof the adventure,

the characterswilladvance to 5th level.Theadventure

is set a shortdistance fromthe cityof Neverwinter in the

Sword Coastregion of the ForgottenRealms setting. The

SwordCoast is partof the North-avastrealm of free

settlements surrounded by wilderness and adventure.

Youdon'tneedto be a Forgotten Realms expert to runthe

adventure; everything youneedto know aboutthe setting

is contained in this book.

If thisis yourfirsttimerunning a D&Dadventure, read

"TheDungeon Master" section; it willhelpyoubetter

understand yourroleandresponsibilities.

The "Background" section tellsyoueverything youneed

to knowto set up the adventure. The "Overview" section

describes howthe adventure is expected to run andgives

youa broad sense of what the playercharacters should be

doingat anygiventime.

THE DUNGEON MASTER

TheDungeon Master (DM)hasa special rolein the

DUNGEONS& DRAGONSgame.

TheDMis a referee. When it's not clearwhatoughtto

happen next,the DMdecides howto applythe rulesand

keep the storygoing.

TheDMis a narrator. The DMsetsthe paceof the story

and presents the various challenges and encounters the

players must overcome. TheDMis the players'interface

to the D&Dworld, as wellas the onewhoreads (and

sometimes alsowrites) the adventureand describes what

happens in response to the clJaracters'actions.

TheDMplays monsters. TheDMplaysthe monsters

andvillains the adventurers battle against, choosing their

actions and rollingdicefor theirattacks. TheDMalso

playsthe partof all the othercharacters the playersmeet

in the courseof theiradventures, likethe prisonerin the

goblinlairor the innkeeper in town.

Whoshould be the DMfor yourgaming group?Whoever

wants to be! Theperson whohasthe mostdriveto pulla

2

INTRODUCTION

group together and start up a gameoftenendsup being

the DMby default, but thatdoesn't haveto be the case.

Although the DMcontrols the monstersandvillains -

the adventure,the relationshipbetween the players and

the DMisn'tadversarial. TheDM'sjob is to challenge the

characters withinteresting encounters andtests,keep me

gamemoving,and applythe rulesfairly.

Themostimportant thingto remember about being

a goodDMis thatthe rules are a toolto helpyouhavea

goodtime.The rulesaren't in charge. You'rethe DM-

you'rein charge of the game.Guide the playexperience

andthe useof the rulesso thateverybody hasfun.

Manyplayers of DUNGEONS& DRAGONSfindthatbeing

the DMis the bestpart of the game.Withthe information

in thisadventure, you'llbe preparedto take on thatrole

for yourgroup.

RULESTOGAME By

As theDungeon Master, youare the finalauthority when it

comes to rules questions or disputes during the game. Here are

some guidelines to helpyouarbitrate issues as theycome up.

When in doubt, make it up! It's betterto keepthe

game moving than to get bogged down in the rules.

It's not a competition. TheDMisn't competing against the

player characters. You'rethere to run the monsters, referee the

rules, andkeepthe storymoving.

It's a shared story. It's the group'sstory,so let the players

contribute to the outcome through the actions of their

characters. DUNGEONS& DRAGONSis about imagination and

coming together to tell a storyas a group. Let the players

participate in the storytelling.

Be consistent. If youdecide thata ruleworks a certain wayin

onesession, makesure it works thatwaythe nexttime it comes

intoplay.

Make sureeveryone is involved. Ensure everycharacter has

a chance to shine. If some players are reluctant to speak up,

remember to ask them whattheir characters are doing.

Be fair.Useyourpowers as Dungeon Master onlyfor good.

Treatthe rulesandtheplayers in a fair andimpartial manner.

Payattention. Makesureyoulookaround the table

occasionally to see if the game is goingwell.If everyone seems

to be having fun,relaxandkeep going. If the funis waning, it

might be timefor a break, or youcantry to liventhings up.

IMPROVISING ABILITY CHECKS

The adventure oftentellsyouwhatabilitychecks

characters mighttry in a certainsituation andthe

DifficultyClass(DC)of those checks. Sometimes

adventurers try things thatthe adventurecan'tpossibly

anticipate. It's up to youto decide whether theirattempts

are successful. If it seems likeanyone should havean

easytimedoingit, don'taskfor an abilitycheck;just