Redbrand Hideout
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Poke around Tresendar Manor long enough, and you start to realize the Redbrand ruffians are far more sinister than they are presented in the pages of Lost Mine of Phandelver, and especially so in the sanitized reboot, Phandalin and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. Let’s talk about their criminality. Racketeering. The most obvious piece of Redbrand…
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In Phandalin and Below:The Shattered Obelisk, the peril of the Dendrar family shifts from the threat of human trafficking (as described in the original Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure) to a scenario where the family is held hostage for a ransom. “The three human commoners imprisoned here are Mirna Dendrar and her teenage children, thirteen-year-old Nars and…
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As his mother’s sanity unraveled and grief hardened in his sister’s heart, Nars Dendrar endured his family’s captivity beneath Tresendar Manor in a state of relative quietude. For he had known that, in their darkened cell, no ruffian, wizard, or fell magic beneath the manor would harm him or those he held dear. She had…
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I often feel like the Patron Saint of Seldom Used Rules, Mechanics, and Fluff in Dungeons & Dragons. If it’s there, I want to use it! If nobody at the table has ever had cause to don or doff their armor, rest assured that the character with the heaviest metal armor is going for an…
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Expelliarmus had to be a cantrip, right? Harry Potter didn’t sit down with The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 and memorize Expelliarmus every day. It was all in the reflexes; a spell etched into his memory to be cast over and over without any preparation. Do you think the boy who lived could ever…
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Some players may be clever and decide to use the dirty red cloaks from Tresendar Manor’s armory to engage in some subterfuge and try to pass themselves off as new recruits among the Redbrand ranks. And that’s always fun, but don’t let them off easy! Even if the Redbrands they encounter fall for the deception,…
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Wait, WAIT…hold up. Let me get this straight: the characters are about to explore the cellar of an ancient ruined manor where: It’s times like this I wish I wore glasses, just so I could take them off, rub the bridge of my nose for a long, dramatic pause before looking to the game designers and…