An guard’s knowledge of Phandalin and its hinterlands would likely be sourced from military records, stories passed down through the ranks, or time spent with other guards descendant from elder races with long lifespans, such as dwarves and elves.
Intelligence (History) – Guard Background (Phandalin Lore)
| DC | Difficulty | What the Guard Might Recall |
| 10 | Easy | Phandalin was resettled a few years back. It is said the town’s lack of a constabulary or militia has made it a rendezvous for brigands and murder hobos, which also make the town vulnerable to attacks from monsters in the hinterlands. Gods only know why anyone would want to live out there. |
| 15 | Medium | Long ago, Phandalin was wiped out by a rampaging orc horde. It’s said the town lies in the shadow of a ruined hill castle of a knight who used to be the town’s protector. Rather than encourage another knight to take up residence there, the people of Phandalin have built their homes with stones from the castle’s walls. |
| 20 | Hard | An old Dwarven guard that you have shared past watches with used to recall bits of history to pass the time. One recollection was about a famous mine near Phandalin called Wave Echo Cave, which supposedly had a wondrous forge that was thought to be magical in nature. The location of the mine was lost after an orc invasion led to the mine’s destruction centuries ago. It’s said the same horde of orcs destroyed Phandalin. |
| 25 | Very Hard | When he was particularly bored (or drunk) this same Dwarven guard liked to boast of an ancestor who supposedly worked at this magical so-called “Forge of Spells” – and that his distant relative had crafted a magic sword for the knight who resided in Phandalin. The sword was named “Karadrong” (KAHR-uh-drong) which, in the common speech, translates to “Talon.” |
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