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Meet me in Phandalin, You say?
Ten gold pieces doesn't go as far as it used to. Gone are the days when, for 10 dragons, a coupla lowly rat catchers like you and me might treat ourselves to a splendid evening beneath the roof of some luxurious inn, wining and dining like some powdered dandies from Waterdeep.
Of course, a thrifty freebooter might stretch the same coin as far as the eye can see, opting for accommodations that purchase a hundred inglorious nights at some squalid dockside inn. You'd sleep with a dagger beneath your pillow each evening and then squat into the same bucket with all the other guests each morning, but there'd be little else to worry about for an entire season while awaiting the next job.
What I'm saying here is 10 gp is no longer considered a fair bit o' of coin. These days, it barely buys enough drinks for folk who swing their sword for a living. Got yourself 10 gp and need one of these adventurous types to spend three days walking your wagon of mining supplies to some backwater nobody worth knowing has ever heard of? Chances are they'll toss your coin back atcha and say "no, you meet me in Phandalin."
Alternate Hooks
If you're disinclined to use the Meet Me In Phandalin adventure hook to begin your telling of Lost Mine of Phandelver, consider offering these alternate adventure hooks to the players at your table. Each adventure hook is associated with a background listed in the Player's Handbook.
Acolyte: Tymora's Servant
Powerless to stop the harassment of Phandalin by the Redbrand Ruffians, Sister Garaele petitions other devotees of Tymora for assistance. One such letter finds a sympathetic audience with Curran Corvalin, the priest of Fairfortune Hall in Daggerford. Corvalin convinces the character to journey to Phandalin in service of Lady Luck, duty-sworn to reverse the misfortunes brought upon the town by the Redbrand Ruffians.
Charlatan: The Pretender
Bearing a set of forged documents fixed with the seal of an imaginary Duke, the character arrives in Phandalin posing as the rightful heir to Tresendar Manor, along with its adjoining lands and incomes.
Criminal: On The Lam
With no functioning government or constabulary to speak of, the remote frontier town of Phandalin is an ideal destination for lawbreakers avoiding justice. Any criminal contact worth their salt knows that ol’ Grista at the Sleeping Giant tap house allows fugitives to sleep by her hearth for up to a tenday (in exchange for a favor).
Credit
Written by RJ Stanley
Art Credit: Frontier Town by Matt Morrow
Entertainer: Along For The Ride
Chance met upon the High Road, the character befriends a caravan of nomads with queer accents and personalities as bright and colorful as their manner of dress. Fond of song, music, and stories, the nomads invite the character to travel with them in their barrel-topped wagons to the town of Phandalin for a seasonal festival.
Folk Hero: Dark Tidings
A letter from a friend or family member who has settled in Phandalin paints a grim portrait of day-to-day life in the town. A truculent band of ruffians has plunged the townsfolk into a deep state of fear and despair. According to the letter’s author, “these thugs call themselves the Redbrands, and they’re little better than orcs.”
Guild Artisan: Phandalin's Boom
Seeking to increase the town's commercial prospects, Phandalin's townmaster, Harbin Wester, extends an invitation to several major trade guilds along the Sword Coast with an offer of free housing and workshop space for any artisan willing to repair and inhabit one of the towns many derelict houses.
Hermit: Haunting Melody
Each evening at twilight, the disembodied voice of a woman fills the thoughts of the character with a haunting, beautiful melody only they can hear. This lilting song calls out to the character from the wilds, drawing them in the direction of Phandalin, ending only when you find themselves at the Shrine of Tymora.
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Noble: Reclaiming A Birthright
An antiquated tome of lineages discovered at Candlekeep’s Great Library has led to a revelation that the character is the last living heir to House Tresendar, a noble lineage thought to be extinct since 951 DR. According to an emissary from The Lords’ Alliance, the Tresendar heir has a rightful claim to the family’s ancestral home, Tresendar Manor, located in the town of Phandalin.
Outlander: Shake Off The Dust
In need of a hot meal, a long soak, and a feather bed, the character ventures into Phandalin to seek the comforts of The Stonehill Inn after months spent in the hinterlands. The town's newest inhabitants (The Redbrands) have made the town a bit less hospitable than previously remembered.
Sage: Revival Of The Triboar Trail
With ambitions to resettle several ruined sites in the vicinity the Triboar Trail, The Lords’ Alliance seeks an adventurous academic to survey these remote and dangerous locations, with the promise of a generous fee.
Sailor: Marooned
A well-earned day of shore leave and carousing in Waterdeep's Dock Ward leads to a weeks-long bender at every tavern, inn, roadhouse and brothel along the High Road. The character finally comes to their senses when they wake up in a farm wagon parked in a sleepy backwater town named Phandalin.
Soldier: Aspiring Zhent
With their considerable martial talents wasted in times of peace, highly-trained soldiers often find themselves subject to the indignities of spinning a heel for the city watch while awaiting the next campaign.
Professional mercenary companies, however, are always on to the next campaign. They have the best horses, the best gear, the best chow and, of course, the best pay.
The character has heard a thing or two about the best of the professional companies: the Zhentarim. Word has it there’s a Zhent recruiter in Phandalin of all places - though no one seems to know who the recruiter is.
Urchin: Greener Pastures
For the guttersnipes living among the rooftops and alleyways of Waterdeep's Dock Ward, The City of Splendors offers little splendor and an abundance of danger. For an ambitious orphan, the frontier town of Phandalin offers an opportunity to start a new life, far from the stews of Waterdeep.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2023 by RJ Stanley and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.