Though not explicitly stated, King Korboz’s malady sounds a lot like Indefinite Madness. Providing Korboz with evidence of the mimic’s demise restores the mad King’s sanity, somehow making it the equivalent of a spell of Greater Restoration (which is an actual in-game mechanic for curing indefinite madness).

With all due respect, the Wyle E. Coyote-esque “sanity ray” that Fibblestib and Dabbledob are contemplating sounds like a more plausible cure for madness than asking King Korboz to attend a viewing for a mimic.

Which begs the question: how would one construct a sanity ray, anyway?

I’d go with a wand or rod of the one of the following spells:

• Calm Emotions
• Lesser Restoration
• Remove Curse
• Dispel Good and Evil

This isn’t me being clever. The rules for curing madness state that each of these spells can suppress the effects of madness, but they do not cure indefinite madness. It would likely be necessary to blast King Korboz with the sanity ray daily to keep him lucid. But it’s a moot point. Based on the common magic items laying around Gnomengarde, it’s unlikely the Gnomengardians would be capable of crafting an item of such power.

So, how to help King Korboz with his affliction?

What if I told you that, somewhere in the shadow of the Sword Mountains, there is a magical grove capable of curing “all diseases, curses, poisons, and insanity.”

The grove is called The Place of the Unicorn, and for whatever reason, it hasn’t made its way into 5th Edition just yet. But it’s canon, and it lays among The Lost Hills (which also haven’t made their way into 5th Edition. SMDH).

The Place of the Unicorn is a sacred grove where an avatar of Lurue is said to occasionally appear, and that anyone resting within the grove finds relief for their malady. The grove only appears at night.

The Lost Hills are said to be afflicted by dark magic which causes travelers to become hopelessly lost when passing through the hills. This is significant, because it just so happens that previous editions of D&D state both Old Owl Well and Wyvern Tor are also located among The Lost Hills, which has the potential to neatly turn clunky side quests into encounters with a more organic feel.

As a Dungeon Master, you could plot a course for your party that takes them from Gnomengarde, to The Lost Hills, to Old Owl Well, to Wyvern Tor, to The Place of the Unicorn, and then back to Phandalin (where the gnomes depart from the party and journey back to Gnomengarde on their own).

That’s the Gnomengarde quest spurring two other quests, unprompted, with some unstructured elements in the form of The Place of the Unicorn and The Lost Hills, allowing you to flex your creativity as a DM!

So there you have it: two forgotten locations within a stone’s throw of Phandalin (one of them providing a plausible cure for King Korboz’s madness), in addition to a blueprint for your very own homebrewed sanity ray, and a suggestion of how to link a couple of side quests from Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak together.

Now I want to take another group to Gnomengarde!

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