-
No, really. Ghouls are totally gnarly. And in thinking through Sister Garaele’s side quest this week, I came to the realization that I haven’t leaned into their true nature on the occasions where I’ve deployed them in my games. Unless they’re under control by some outside force, ghouls are not guardians or belligerents. They’re predators.…
-
So for the past couple of days, my thoughts have been bent upon a barrow north of Gnomengarde that’s inhabited by a pack of ghouls. The barrow’s proximity to both Phandalin and Gnomengarde is of concern to Sister Garaele. An Elvish priestess of Tymora, Garaele journeys to the barrow by herself, with the expectation that…
-
In yesterday’s thoughts, I proposed a side quest given by Sister Garaele using the ghouls from the Wilderness Encounters table in Lost Mine of Phandelver Chapter 3: The Spider’s Web. With her religious training, Garaele knows the telltale signs of a ghoul pack, as well as what makes this particular undead creature dangerous. So, in…
-
Meanwhile, at the Stonehill Inn: Dungeon Master: So according to Ol’ Narth, Sister Garaele left Phandalin for a few days and then “returned wounded and exhausted.” Players: Hmm. Interesting. I wonder what happened? Dungeon Master: (oh, shiiiit…) Players: Let’s head over to the Shrine of Luck. Dungeon Master: (fuuuuuuhhh…) Don’t get caught flat-footed. If you’re…
-
If you’re going to spend an hour or two each day writing about life along the Triboar Trail (as I do), then I suppose it’s helpful to have a definitive answer for how long it takes to travel between the High Road and the Long Road. Thanks to this wonderful tool at AideDD.org, I was…
-
I have said this before, and I’ll say it again. If you struggle to bring a Phandalin NPC to life, pattern them after your favorite characters in literature, cinema, or television. After spending a bit of word count on the harrowing ordeal the Dendrar family experienced in Lost Mine of Phandelver, I think Katniss Everdeen…
-
If one were to run with the premise that Auntie Adabra was the driving force behind the bloodshed at Umbrage Hill (as I did earlier this week), you could keep pulling at that thread and build the annis hag into a destructive force among other societies that have fallen into ruin beneath the shadows of…
-
Tainted well water sickens several dozen townsfolk as Phandalin is afflicted by sight rot, a painful infection which causes bleeding from the eyes and eventually blinds the victim. Sister Garaele has the divine means to help cure those with the infection, but there are only so many townsfolk suffering from the disease that she can…
-
So, why would an annis hag take up residence at Umbrage Hill? This may come as a surprise to you, but I have some thoughts: Proximity to Phandalin. Adabra’s windmill is located in the shadow the Sword Mountains, atop a hill five miles south of Phandalin. Though not specifically stated in adventure, the faint outline…
-
If Adabra Gwynn were an annis hag, who would she take an interest in among Phandalin’s children? I think the ideal target for a hag would be Nars Dendrar, who is dealing with a lot in his life by the time the characters reach Phandalin. Needless to say, Nars has been through a lot in…
