-
The presence of the Redbrand ruffians in Phandalin should carry real weight at your table. They are not disposable mooks meant to be cut down and forgotten on the way to a side quest. Driving them out should feel less like clearing a dungeon and more like breaking the grip of a gang that has…
-
One thing I’ve seen Dungeon Masters tie themselves in knots over while running Lost Mine of Phandelver is what to do when a low-level party opts for the Thundertree quest. The presence of Venomfang, a young green dragon, creates a sense that a TPK is inevitable. I’m here to tell you it’s not. Venomfang is…
-
From the introduction of Lost Mine of Phandelver: “Known roads may be well traveled, but they aren’t necessarily safe. Fell magic, deadly monsters, and cruel local rulers are all perils that you face when you travel in the Forgotten Realms. Even farms and freeholds within a day’s walk of a city can fall prey to…
-
In Phandalin and Below:The Shattered Obelisk, the peril of the Dendrar family shifts from the threat of human trafficking (as described in the original Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure) to a scenario where the family is held hostage for a ransom. “The three human commoners imprisoned here are Mirna Dendrar and her teenage children, thirteen-year-old Nars and…
-
Let’s look at the Gnomengarde Wild Magic Effects table, as it appears in Dragon of Icespire Peak: Now, let’s do the math. When rolling a 1-6, there is a 30% chance nothing will happen. Nada. Zip. Zero. In an area suffused with wild magic – where something wild, wacky, or disastrous could happen the moment a spellcaster utters “obla di obla da”…
-
The first time I “read” The Fellowship of the Ring, I listened to it as an audiobook. Robert Englis was a wonderful narrator, but every time one of Tolkien’s Middle-earth songs entered the story and Englis started singing it, the needle would scratch across the vinyl for me, and I’d have a moment like Fred Savage…
-
I don’t know where you live, but it’s been cold here on the East Coast the past few days, and it got me thinking: evil mercenaries, stirges, and a young white dragon aren’t the only things characters should concern themselves with on a visit to Icespire Hold. There’s also the temperatures! Temperature. The temperature is slightly…
-
I never liked the explanation for ash zombies in Lost Mine of Phandelver: These zombies were created by the magical devastation when Mount Hotenow erupted thirty years ago. These zombies are burnt to a crisp to the point that, when hit with a melee attack, they produce an ash puff (or crumble into an ash…
-
Volo’s Guide to Monsters was published in November of 2016, two and a half years after Lost Mine of Phandelver – and there’s some good stuff in Volo’s about the Goblinoid worship of Maglubiyet that came after the publication of El Mop: “Maglubiyet’s holy symbol is a headsman’s axe, and the block is where it is blessed by…
-
The following is an exerpt from The Trove Lord’s Tribute: It’s not all business at the Phandalin Miner’s Exchange. Halia Thornton keeps a discreet reserve, making the Exchange an unofficial saloon once the day’s ore is tallied. Sourced from other locales in the North, Zhentarim caravans keep Halia stocked with the following libations: During Halia’s…
