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 monsters, and no place is safe from the sudden wrath of a dragon.”

The operative term here is known roads, which would be the High Road and perhaps the Long Road if your adventure takes the party just past the western edge of the Sword Coast map to Triboar. That about covers known roads for either of the box set adventures.

If known roads aren’t necessarily safe, the much less-traveled and never patrolled Triboar Trail should be considered absolutely perilous. There’s a character hook in Phandalin and Below: The Shattered Obelisk that suggests guarding a caravan bound for Phandalin is an easier job than pulling a watch as a member of the Neverwinter Guard:

“(Soldier) You are a member of the Neverwinter Guard, and you suffered a terrible injury in the line of duty. You healed, but you’re not ready to return to work yet. Until you are, you’re taking easy jobs protecting merchant wagons headed to Phandalin.”

Sure, it’s an easy on-ramp for new characters – but from an in-world perspective, it’s wildly misleading. I’d think that if the Sword Coast were a location in the real world, much of it would warrant a Level 4 Travel Advisory from the U.S. Department of State (or the equivalent from your government for my international readers).

Phandalin is an isolated frontier town situated along a lightly traveled trade route between two known roads: the High Road and the Long Road. The lands surrounding Phandalin are largely unsettled, with no law and order to keep the peace. Should anyone encounter hostile tribes or unsavory brigands along the way, there’s no help coming. Some will survive these encounters. Others will not. Those who do survive may find themselves in situations not of their choosing.

The dangers outside a well-defended wall on the Sword Coast are well known. Truculent goblin tribes dot the landscape, as do marauding orc warbands. The Neverwinter Wood and its surrounding hills are claimed by wild folk – Uthgardt barbarian tribes like the Gray Wolves, whose reputation for violence isn’t exaggerated tavern gossip. In the recent past, they’d grown bold enough to attack a city-state like Neverwinter.

These are not hidden threats. They’re common knowledge among merchant caravans and soldiers alike, or anyone who spends time among either.

And then there are the other stories. Monsters in abandoned mines and ruins. Shambling dead near old battlefields. Shapes in the woods that watch travelers from afar. Most folks laugh these off as hearth tales. Others bear the scars.

Being a caravan guard – especially along the Triboar Trail or through the Mere of Dead Men –  isn’t light duty. It’s private security work in hostile territory. If you’re guarding a wagon load of supplies to Phandalin, you might as well be taking that wagon for a ride through a lawless, war-torn country that your government, upon learning where you want to travel, would be like, “Okay. It’s your funeral.”

When trouble starts on the Triboar Trail, no one is coming to save you. For Dungeon Masters, leaning into this reality strengthens the setting for your game. The road to Phandalin should feel tense and uncertain. Survival should feel earned.

When characters arrive safely in Phandalin, it shouldn’t feel routine. It should feel like they beat the odds.

If you’d like to support my work, please consider checking out my free/pwyw supplements for Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak over on Dungeon Master’s Guild!