An guide’s knowledge of Phandalin and its hinterlands would likely be sourced from roaming the Miner’s Trail, Triboar Trail, Lost Hills and Sword Mountains, as well as old trail markers, and oral stories told by trappers, hermits, and other guides met along the way.
Intelligence (History) – Guide Background (Phandalin Lore)
| DC | Difficulty | What the Guide Might Recall |
| 10 | Easy | Phandalin is situated among old mining trails and the Triboar Trail – a merchant route between the High Road and the Long Road. The town is growing, but the surrounding lands are dangerous. There’s good coin to be made for a guide in the wilds surrounding Phandalin. |
| 15 | Medium | Long ago, Phandalin was a mining town until orcs swept through the region with fire and sword centuries ago. Old game trails and smuggler paths still run through the hills and woods around the town – they’ve just been forgotten. |
| 20 | Hard | You’ve heard from other guides about a lost mine of some import hidden in the foothills of the Sword Mountains – Wave Echo Cave. Legend says the dwarves sealed it before being overrun, and that the echo of hammers can still be heard at night in the mountains. |
| 25 | Very Hard | You once saw a weathered dwarven trail marker near the foothills—a kind that indicates a sacred or secret forge. Combined with stories you’ve heard at shared campfires during your travels, you’re convinced Wave Echo Cave lies where three streams once met, and that dwarves enchanted the path to it so only those who “walked with purpose” could find it. |
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