Chapter 1: Neverwinter to Phandalin

Lost Mine of Phandelver is an adventure for four to five characters of 1st level. During the course of the adventure, the characters will advance to 5th level. The adventure is set a short distance from the city of Neverwinter in the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms setting. The Sword Coast is part of the North-a vast realm of free settlements surrounded by wilderness and adventure.
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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by ManWithDoor » Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:22 pm

Grogg raises an eye at the question. "Not that hard. We slaughtered the others, and these ones didn't want to get killed. So they ran away. Seems simple enough." Given his size, he helps out taking care of Sildar, assisting the man in recovering from his bondage.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by Shurijo » Tue Sep 03, 2019 10:41 pm

Sildar takes a few breaths and then rests his back against the wall. Meanwhile, the gnome skulks off looking for traps, goblins, hidden doors, and treasures.

"Gundren and I were heading back to Phandalin when we were ambushed. They knew we were coming and they were waiting on us." He says as he shakes his head. "The Rockseeker brothers found the entrance to the long-lost Wave Echo Cave that been hidden for hundreds of years - since the orcs overran Phandalin and destroy it."

More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when orcs swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path.

A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost.


"Klarg and his goblin minions had orders from someone named the Black Spider. Whoever is the Black Spider knew about the map to the cave that Gundren carried with him. I heard they took him and the map to see their boss at Cragmaw Castle. I'm not sure were that is-or even if that's a real place. The goblins called themselves the Cragmaws."

He pauses a moment to change subjects a bit. "We sent a guy to Phandalin months ago, but he hasn't reported back yet -a human wizard named Iarno Albrek. He left two months ago to clean up Phandalin as part of the Lords' Alliance. I haven't heard from him, so I joined Gundren in Neverwinter as I was already on my way to Phandalin to find him."
The Lord's Alliance Info at WotC

The Lords’ Alliance is a coalition of rulers from cities and towns across Faerûn (primarily in the North), who collectively agree that some solidarity is needed to keep evil at bay. The rulers of Waterdeep, Silverymoon, Neverwinter, and other free cities in the region dominate the Alliance, and every lord in the Alliance works for the fate and fortune of his or her own settlement above all others. The agents of the Alliance include sophisticated bards, zealous paladins, talented mages, and grizzled warriors. They are chosen primarily for their loyalty, and are trained in observation, stealth, innuendo, and combat. Backed by the wealthy and the privileged, they carry quality equipment (often disguised to appear common), and spellcasters tend to have a large number of scrolls with communication spells.

To seek out and destroy threats to their homelands, agents of the Lords’ Alliance must be highly trained at what they do. Few can compare to their skills in the field. They fight for the glory and the security of their people and for the lords who rule over them, and they do so with pride. However, the Lords’ Alliance can only survive if its members “play nice” with one another, which requires a certain measure of diplomacy. Rogue agents within the Lords’ Alliance are rare, but defections have been known to occur.
"I'm still going to Phandalin. I need to check on Iarno and investigate why he hasn't reported back. I'll pay your group 50 gold pieces, if you can help me get there safely. "

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by RorytheRomulan » Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:17 am

Arveene frowns and folds her arms, thinking. "This sounds very dire for them to send an Alliance agent. We haven't seen the last of those goblins, and who knows what else. We've encountered more danger than we expected."

Also, the knight passed on the opportunity to explain the murky situation at Phandalin before they set out.

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by Shurijo » Thu Sep 05, 2019 5:37 pm

Sildar shrugs saying, "Phandelver was fine until recently. Once the dwarven brothers found the mine, other parties seem to have interjected themselves. Goblins aren't unusual in these parts, but they are following orders and take planned actions which is worrisome to me."

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by RorytheRomulan » Fri Sep 06, 2019 2:54 am

"Indeed," the blueblooded maiden replies, pretending to mull it over. "Then we might have better luck recruiting others to deal with the organized threat as we travel... Alright, you've persuaded me. I won't be enough on my own, however."

She glances at the rest of the party as she says that.

She takes a moment to wipe her face with her sleeve, although it doesn't do much to dry off the cave water. No doubt the goblins were bathing and pissing in it, and only the gods know what else. Aaaand her head is pounding again. She cradles it as she leans on her good leg. Damn wolves, damn that flood gate. Damn goblins. What an ordeal.

(Little did she know that she was in a game of DnD, lol. She will help search for valuables and supplies we may load up our wagon with. That is if the wagon hasn't been stolen by the little shits who fled the cave.)

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by Vardaen » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:32 pm

After a long while of missing most of the conversation the little Backstabber returns, a few things in hand, he drops them for the party to split up. "Not much, of course. I blocked up the stream again, by morning we should have a nice pool to bath in. I need a bath...badly." He plops down, "We might as well stay here over night, its defensible and warm." He eventually hears about the deal and agrees to help the man go to Phandalin, he's going there anyhow, so might as well make a few extra coin for no more effort.

From the PM
In the "Goblin Den" room (where you found Sildar) you find:

* near the cooking pit, iron pot with burnt meat of some unknown kind, it's burnt too much to tell what it was

* near where Sildar was found (in the upper room), you find a pouch with 3 gold teeth (1gp each) and 15 sp (you can pick whatever medium or small size creature's teeth came from, otherwise assumed human)

* you find no signs of Sildar's gear

In Klarg's (bugbear) room, you find:

* Klarg's morningstar

* fire pit, hot coals

* As you look at the supplies, you think you might be able to convince the others to carry them to town, so you can either resell them -or- not tell them and then you could sell\trade the location of the cave to the coster that was sacked by the goblins

Miscellaneous:

Goblin short swords and scimitars, short bows, arrows, etc.

Several rations of dried meat of goblin and bugbear quality.

The wolves are dead, so there's that for fresh meat within the cave which (along with goblin & bugbar bodies) will start to stink by morning - the smell might draw unwanted predators from outside the cave as well.

Any 'goblin junk' you want to find, you can find as well.

Also, as you look at the waterfall (inside the cave) and notice the dams that were opened which caused the flood, you see that the water is especially clear, if you blocked the stream again, you'd have a nice pool of water by morning to bath or wash clothes within. The fresh water falling withing the cave appears fresh and clean.

You might also be able to find small food - frogs, mushrooms, etc. withing the cave and probably some normal forest game outside the cave (however, the goblins might have frightened most larger game such as deer away).
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by ManWithDoor » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:41 pm

Grogg and others are still clearly wounded, although not in danger of dying from their wounds. "Agreed. Let's clear out the dead bodies so they don't bring us insects and bad air. I don't feel like breathing in miasma and getting sick." He helps strip the goblins of anything useful, then starts carrying them to a spot in the forest a reasonably distance away and dumping them.
We do have the unconscious goblin prisoners. I suppose we start questioning them? Find out who the Black Spider is, and where Cragmaw Castle is.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by RorytheRomulan » Sat Sep 07, 2019 2:59 pm

"We definitely need a rest. I could do with a quick rinse as well. Wish I'd brought some soap. I didn't expect to be camping on the road, there's quite a lot I didn't think to pack..." She knits her brow.

"We still have two unconscious tied-up goblins in the bugbear's den, and two more outside, assuming they haven't been freed and fled."

Arveene grits her teeth and helps strip the bodies and drag them out, and drags wolf carcasses to the cooking fire on the return trips - as many as are needed to be skinned and dressed to cook meat for everyone at evening meal.

She takes the pot off the coals and dumps the burnt meat outside, and then scours it clean of filth & flesh in the stream with...whatever tool she can find that would be handy enough for the job. Reheating the coals should be no trouble since Lorenzo has a fire cantrip.
@ManWithDoor That is a smart idea.

@Vardaen So, you did not tell them about the loot? I think we should at least give Sildar the morningstar. It's made for a Medium creature.

This is just flavor: whoever's got Survival, carcass prep is their job, and Arveene will prep wolf meat and make a wolf meat & mushroom stew with it, using fresh water from the stream. She'll examine whatever the goblins use for spices, but she'll shelve them if they're not palatable.

@Shurijo Does Arveene have any authority to pass judgment on the goblins? If not for being a hostile race, what would normally be done with man-eating goblins (in addition to other crimes) under the law?

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by Shurijo » Sat Sep 07, 2019 7:47 pm

Sidlar will grab a sword from one of the goblins, he's proficient with swords and not morningstars.

Who said they were man-eating? They said the "eating cave", but they never said they were cannibals.

Judgement? Like judge, jury, executioner style? That's a moral/alignment decision more than anything. Sidlar would probably be the best to judge (he's a famous solider from the griffon cavalry of Waterdeep and an agent of the Lords’ Alliance acting on behalf of the major cities on the west/Sword Coast and he's probably 2.5 times the age of the rest of you - he's 50 years old and you're all just lv 1s - so probably early 20s/young adult etc).

The goblins will most likely cooperate and tell you things if you spare their lives, so you can go that route as well. Or you could just drag them to Phandelver and put them in jail or let the citizens take care of them - the citizens would likely just hang the goblins.

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Chapter 1A: The High Road

Post by RorytheRomulan » Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:50 am

Oh! Alright, that clarifies some things. That all but Gudren were taken to the "eating cave" made me think "it's people!" and I went into kill mode. And I think I'll not go "out damned spot" on the pot in that case, a fair rinse in the stream will do.

Alright, Arveene will ask Sildar what he wants to do with them, and she'll probably defer to his suggestion. After we question them.

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