In yesterday’s thoughts, I wondered aloud who Phandalin’s local hero would be. If you’re familiar with online forums like r/lostminesofphandalin where novice Dungeon Masters look for advice on how to run Lost Mine of Phandelver, you know that player characters are often not the heroes. Left to their own devices in a fantasy roleplay world free of real life consequences, many adventuring parties start to resemble the Bloody Mummers more than the A-Team.

I ruled out retired adventurer Daran Edermath, one of the only martial NPCs in town. I had forgotten to mention Sildar Halwinter, the retired knight who seems more interested in finding Iarno Albrek and Gundren Rockseeker than dealing with the ruffians menacing Phandalin (though he does pay out a reward if the characters put an end to the Redbrands). Simply put, the old guys have moved up to management, and see fit to delegate rather than roll for initiative themselves.

So, who then? Perhaps the local hero doesn’t actually live in Phandalin proper, but wanders into town from time to time. For local hero options, we’d need to jump from one box set adventure (Lost Mine of Phandelver) to the other box set adventure (Dragon of Icespire Peak), where the local heroe candidates aren’t entirely local. They are Phandalin-adjacent, for lack of a better term – because if they lived in town, the Redbrands probably wouldn’t have settled in at all.

So who fits the role?

Don-Jon Raskin? Nah. He’s just a company man, passing through Phandalin for the first time on his way to a job out at Mountain’s Toe.

Big Al Kilorn? Eh. He’s closer to Triboar than to Phandalin. Like Daran Edermath and Sildar Halwinter, he’s also retired. Anyway, these days, he’s more interested in churning butter than cracking skulls. If any orcs would concern him, it would be those that threaten his dairy farm on the western stretch of the Triboar Trail.

That leaves us with Falcon the Hunter, also known by his less cringy given name, Gustaf Stellern, of Falcon’s Hunting Lodge in the Neverwinter Wood.

Stellern likes his wine. Good wine. And no, not that mushroom plonk from Gnomengarde. Since merchant caravans don’t pass by his hunting lodge in the middle of the Neverwinter Wood, he’d need to source his vin de pays from somewhere else. The closest shop to him that sells finished goods would be the Lionshield Coster in Phandalin.

Or maybe he has a romantic interest in town – someone he visits once a season, keeping just enough distance to preserve his independence.

Despite not living in Phandalin, perhaps Stellern is in town just enough to have a fondness for Phandalin and its folk – and takes exception to those who would prey upon them.

At the time of Lost Mine of Phandelver, Stellern might have just left town days before the Redbrand Ruffians moved in. Eventually, the ruffians will get theirs when Falcon (douche chills) wanders back into town next season for a few cases of wine, some oh-la-la, or – on a fantastic visit – both. But until then, Phandalin suffers.

Or perhaps it’s close to that time of the season, and he’s on his way back into town, becoming an ally of the characters if they’ve been inspired to become the town heroes.

If the characters’ confrontation with the ruffians at the Sleeping Giant goes off the rails, perhaps it’s Falcon the Hunter (shudder) who comes charging to the rescue, saving them from a common foe, and introducing himself as a friend of the town.

And who wouldn’t want help from a large (6.6 ft) man who shows no fear and oozes casual confidence even in difficult situations (and has a Challenge Rating 4 😆)?

Bronn took one look at him and grinned. “Always follow a big man into battle.”

Tyrion threw him a hard look. “And why is that?”

“They make such splendid targets.”

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