Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk expands a fan favorite adventure into a full-fledged campaign that suits new and longtime players and Dungeon Masters. Where Lost Mine of Phandelver took characters from 1st to 5th level, this new adventure book progresses all the way through 12th level.

Building on a beloved starting campaign, the events that unfold in and around the quaint town of Phandalin—particularly those in the earliest chapters of the book—are perfect for DMs of all experience levels to run. If you're daunted by the prospect of stepping into the storytelling spotlight, don't be! We’ve mined a fair share of expert advice that will set you up for success as you crack open that first chapter of the book.

• Establishing the Essentials: Motivation and Mechanics
• Notable Non-Player Characters
• Was It Fate? Planting Seeds for Future Leads
• The Quick Facts: Seeds, Things, and NPCs

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

This article contains spoilers for Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. If you are planning to experience this adventure for the first time as a player, consider turning back! The path ahead is open to those who do not fear this knowledge.

Establishing the Essentials: Motivation and Mechanics

What makes for powerful moments in an adventure? How does a new player experience those events? Here are a few tips we’ve gathered that will help level up your adventure in Phandalin.

Form a Connection With Gundren

Artist: Scott Murphy

Thanks in part to the spectacular introductory section of Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, this first chapter truly sets you up for success: The player characters should already be traveling together eastward from the city of Neverwinter, and each should have one or more reasons for their journey along the Triboar Trail toward the idyllic Phandalin. It is recommended that at least one character use the adventure hook of being a hired supply escort, tasked by “dwarf patron and friend” Gundren Rockseeker. The addition of a real personal connection to Gundren will be key in motivating your player characters throughout the early adventure.

This existing relationship may come in particularly handy at some tables. Whether by unfortunate dice rolls or a party that neglects to invest in Wisdom (who needs Perception?), the players have ample opportunity to miss a goblin trail leading to the first real quest that sets the story in motion. Or perhaps other character motives see the party hasten to Phandalin instead of chasing this lead immediately. In either case, the plot thread may be handed directly to them by Elmina Barthen, owner of the town’s biggest trading post: Gundren is missing! Gold is a great motivator, but isn’t the real treasure the friends we rescued along the way?

Paint Phandalin As Idyllic

Just as a yearning to help dear Gundren makes for powerful motivation at the adventure’s start, painting Phandalin as a town worth fighting for will cement your players’ desire to defend it—especially important in later chapters, when aberrant forces begin to warp the settlement. While the mining town and its inhabitants are greatly expounded on in the second chapter of the adventure, consider breathing life into the road to Phandalin, raising expectations for a vibrant, safe haven.

The characters might be treated to descriptions of lush, sun-kissed hills, of hand-painted signage inviting travelers to pick fresh produce at Alderleaf Farm, of pairs of initials carved into a tree at a picnic-worthy clearing. The sweet smell of warm grass and a pleasant buzzing of insects is sure to broadcast an air of peace about the region—when this is punctuated by the peril of ambush, their later arrival in the welcoming town will feel all the more like a homecoming.

Artist: Domenico Cava

The Phandalin Post Printable Handout

If your players head straight for Phandalin, you can plant seeds for the first chapters of the adventure with this downloadable copy of the Phandalin Post. It contains story hooks to help guide the party during the early parts of the adventure book.

Read Over the Major Encounters

The events of the first chapter provide a taste of each of the pillars of adventure: exploration, social interaction, and combat. Not only does this provide a chance for any given player to shine early on, but it also establishes what both a player and DM might expect in a typical adventure, and how to navigate aspects of each pillar. Use these as learning opportunities!

Combat With Goblins

The first encounter your players will face is a goblin ambush. In addition to rolling initiative and experiencing combat, this might reinforce that characters remain wary when suspicious circumstances arise—or that they have the power to lay an ambush themselves! Consider reviewing the rules on passive checks (such as Perception) and on surprise prior to running this encounter.

Following the Goblin Trail

From here (or if prodded by Elmina in Phandalin), exploration begins! Encourage your players to consider what abilities might be useful in finding and following the nearby goblin trail. Then comes another surprise: traps! With two separate goblin-built traps placed at various points along the trail, there is ample room for both success and failure. This is another moment that simply captures a significant danger in adventuring, prompting your players once more to always be prepared.

Following the trail to its end leads to the Cragmaw goblin hideout, the first real “dungeon” ripe for exploration! With the goblin ambush and traps behind them, are your players ready to put those rules to use in their favor? Perhaps they are well-equipped now to move with Stealth, to ambush any unsuspecting foes, or to set traps of their own.

Talk Down or Take Down the Goblins

Is the party prepared for more combat at the goblins' hideout? Among the party may be a character preferring to be peaceable, or to exercise their gift of gab. The goblins here know quite a bit, if they can be persuaded to divulge. Consider letting certain words in Common slip into overheard conversations. Make a point to ask whether any characters understand Goblin; this is a great way to hint to the players that there may be important information to be gleaned!

Notable Non-Player Characters

As mentioned above, Gundren Rockseeker is a pivotal character in the story that’s about to unfold. He and his brothers have rediscovered a mine once lost to time, and one that factors heavily into the events of the first portion of this adventure. While his rescue won’t come in the first chapter, it should be what primarily drives the characters’ actions, whether through personal loyalty or simple greed. His map disappeared along with him; if the power of friendship is not enough for your table, consider hinting at the untold riches to be obtained on its recovery (or to be prevented from falling into the wrong hands!).

Artist: Nikki Dawes

Accompanying Gundren from Neverwinter is Sildar Hallwinter, a middle-aged human and member of both the Lords’ Alliance and Waterdeep’s griffon cavalry. Players will find Sildar captured and held prisoner in the goblin hideout. He knows quite a lot of information that will thoroughly set up the adventures to come (see more below), and readily provides it to the characters once safely rescued. (Is a person in need not enough to encourage your players? Perhaps his mild fame precedes him, and a reward is all but guaranteed.)

The Cragmaw goblins, antagonists though they may be, act as rather notable NPCs as a group! In addition to being the catalysts for adventure, they too have a fair bit of interesting knowledge. Besides providing more immediately relevant information—the location of Sildar, for example—an interrogated goblin might reveal information that enables easier exploration of Cragmaw Castle (in chapter 3), or that hints of grander events to come in later chapters.

The most important NPC your players will meet, however, may be the one they become inexplicably attached to. Whether a sudden fondness for a goblin they meet on the road, or an unexpected interaction with one of Phandalin’s residents on their early journey into town, consider being prepared to elevate any NPC’s role to compensate for player interest. Perhaps the once-nameless farmer they bumped into outside of the Stonehill Inn takes the place of another townie in events to unfold. When supernatural forces later begin to warp Phandalin and its inhabitants, your party's favorite friend will be first on their mind!

Was It Fate? Planting Seeds for Future Leads

Artist: Ned Rogers

One of the hallmarks of memorable adventure is when seeds of information planted earlier on blossom into realizations of what is to come, or provide hints on how to overcome a particular obstacle. Laying this groundwork as a DM is extremely rewarding when it ultimately pays off. Fortunately, these seeds are plenty and scattered throughout this first chapter, offering bountiful opportunity to capture your players’ engagement.

Wave Echo Cave's Location

The first of many such seeds is information about the Rockseekers’ discovery. Loath to outwardly discuss his reasons for traveling to Phandalin, Gundren and his brothers found the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, the mines from the centuries-old Phandelver Pact. Early hints may be dropped even before the characters leave Neverwinter; perhaps one of his hires glimpses a coy smile on his face as he stashes a map. Sildar provides this information willingly once rescued, and Elmina Barthen mentions the same when the party reaches Phandalin. This intel is most crucial, as it begins to unveil motive for Gundren’s kidnapping, as well as building anticipation for recovering said map, and even for visiting the mines themselves—the finale of the first portion of the adventure found in Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk!

Glasstaff and Spider

One tidbit that might offer an exciting plot twist at your table is Sildar’s mention of the wizard Iarno Albrek, a fellow member of the Lords’ Alliance who disappeared from Phandalin months ago. Sildar aims to find Iarno on his arrival to Phandalin, giving the characters a description of his appearance. Throughout chapter 2, the party will hear rumors about a mysterious gang leader called Glasstaff, and will deal with his thugs—the Redbrands—while in search of Iarno. The delicious payoff? Iarno and Glasstaff are one and the same; he rebranded himself and gathered the Redbrands around him in an attempt to gain power.

Glasstaff is not working alone, however; he takes orders from another mysterious individual known only as the Spider. This is a name that is peppered throughout chapter 1 as well, laying the groundwork for some mighty realizations as the adventure progresses. The Cragmaw goblins may offer information about the Spider: He hired their king to capture Gundren and his map! Sildar knows this information as well, and is eager to relay it to his rescuers despite not knowing who (or even what) the Spider is. Dropping references to this mysterious Spider will pay off in chapter 4, when the characters investigate Wave Echo Cave.

Strange Goblins

The later events of Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk offer brand new adventure beyond 5th level, involving a being from the Far Realm warping the very reality around Phandalin, leading to its doom. If you and your players plan to continue with this story, there is ample opportunity even in this first chapter to sprinkle in breadcrumbs hinting at events to come. Both the Cragmaw goblins and Sildar have seen “strange goblins” about; the Cragmaws are unfamiliar with these odd goblins with elongated skulls, who may begin to cause mischief once the day has seemingly been saved. If you want to keep this adventure short and sweet, feel free to omit mention of these unusual goblins!

Artist: Kent Davis

The Quick Facts: Seeds, Things, and NPCs

“I just want to start playing with my friends!” Then let us boil down our advice and deliver the best tips for running the first chapter of Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk:

• Aim for a strong player bond with Gundren Rockseeker, and do your best to paint Phandalin as a home worth fighting for. Dangle that carrot of emotion!
• Triboar Trail? Try “Tutorial!” The earliest encounters offer a taste of everything, letting you and your players become comfortable with both the rules of D&D and the three pillars of adventure.
• Before settling in Phandalin, the characters will interact with Gundren Rockseeker, Sildar Hallwinter, and the Cragmaw goblins. Each offers ripe opportunity for planting seeds that will bloom, whether in this chapter or much further along. Don’t skate over these conversations; connecting plot threads is rewarding for your players!
• Don’t be afraid to elevate an NPC’s importance in the plot. Swapping one Phandalin townie’s name for another in crucial moments might alter little in the story, but much in player urgency!
• Plant tidbits of information early and often. If the players are invested in figuring out the connections they form, the rewards are all the sweeter!
• Continuing the full adventure through 12th level? Don’t forget the early background plot seed of those strange goblins!

Cameron Powell is a real-life bard who accidentally dumped Charisma, and has played Purloque the loxodon cleric on Dice, Camera, Action!. When he’s not causing mayhem as a Nyxborn satyr in Theros, he enjoys practicing yoga, listening to vinyl records, and writing ‘80s synth–inspired pop music.