Phandelver and Below | Learn to Play | Laidback and Chill
Dungeons & Dragons 5e | Campaign
About the adventure
What was meant to be a routine job turns out to be anything but. Tasked with protecting a wagon of goods on its journey to the modest town of Phandalin, you soon find yourself unearthing corruption, conspiracy, and the hordes of a figure known only as The Black Spider, all of which pales in comparison to the eldritch horrors that lurk far beneath the surface, and plan to make Phandalin the centre of their plans for domination of the entire Sword Coast... Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk is a story of two parts. The first part, The Lost Mines of Phandelver, sees you and your party journeying from the city of Waterdeep to the town of Phandalin with the supplies needed by the dwarf Gundren Rockseeker to continue his reestablishment of the magical and lucrative mines of Phandelver. On the road you will help a seaside village plagued by witches, and begin to uncover the dark plots of The Black Spider that only make themselves more evident as you arrive in Phandalin proper. The plans of The Spider hang heavy over The Lost Mines, and stopping this mysterious figure becomes your only hope of keeping the good people of Phandalin safe. The second part of your journey, The Shattered Obelisk, follows as you uncover a greater evil hidden in the depths of the region, as the threat of a new Dark God makes itself known, and the fate of the Sword Coast, not just Phandalin, becomes yours to decide. This campaign is designed to teach you everything you need to know about DnD as we play the first few sessions, helping you become adventurers of great skill on your journeys ahead to stop the threats looming over Phandalin, so don't worry if you're entirely new to DnD or are coming fresh from watching live plays like Dimension 20 or playing Baldur's Gate 3 and want to have a go, this campaign is for you! We will play at your pace, and will learn the game in a fun and easy to understand way, but don't worry if you're a player with more experience, there will always be something for you to enjoy here at this table, and once the rules revamp of 5.5 is released in September we will be switching to those, so this is also the perfect place to learn about the differences. I am also offering the option to pause and switch the campaign half way through. With Phandelver and Below being a story of two parts, we can pause after The Lost Mine and try something else. Feel like you know the game and want a new character, new story, or new setting? Then no problem, we can switch to another campaign or pivot to one with the same characters, leaving Phandalin behind and heading to Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, or even Barovia to see what a vampire like Strahd may have to offer you. Further, I also have a living homebrew world, with deep lore and history, and several other adventuring parties to impact the world with, so if you feel you want to journey there, you are more than welcome. So come and join for a relaxed game, easy to play and fun for all. Session 0 will be free!
5.0
(7)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
16 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Teacher, Inclusive
Additional details
How to prepare
You will need to have a Discord account and a microphone. FoundryVTT can be run on any browser but it runs better on Chrome based browsers, and requires screens of at least a laptop size. A webcam is preferrable but not a requirement. Knowing the rules is not a requirement especially since this is a learn to play campaign, but the rules will be provided in the Discord server for those who would like to read ahead or prefer learning that way, and knowing things will never come as a hinderance!
What I provide
Signing up for one of my games will get you an invite to my community discord server where all of my games are run. You will have access to all public channels where you can chat with other players, as well as channels for your campaign, which will have a link to all the resources we need, a place to talk to your party, and a channel to talk to me directly about the game and your character. I run my games over FoundryVTT, which requires no sign up on your part, just the link to our game which will be in the discord! I also use bots in this discord for music and ambience which will be used throughout our sessions. My games use high quality maps complete with Foundry's use of walls and lighting to make the game world feel truly alive. I also use top down models for tokens, made in Heroforge, which we will also use together to create the appearance of your character. I have many hours in Heroforge, and a pro subscription, so I can really enhance your models until they are exactly what you imagine, and provide you with high quality artwork of them. I have access to all of the official supplements and sourcebooks for DnD 5e, so there is no limit to the character you can make. My games are narrative and roleplay heavy, with a tone of serious but comedic, keeping the adventure fun but emphasising a meaningful, immersive, and character driven tale. I am always accepting of creativity, both in play and in character design. If you want to try something, so do I, and I’m happy to bend some rules to emphasise the fun and bring about the game you want, great plans and character moments will never go punished.
Gameplay details
I will send the CHECKLIST over discord to each member of the party to fill out before we have our free session 0. I will then compile all of the results to make our party's Lines and Veils which will be posted to the discord and also discussed during session 0 so that everyone is on the same page. Further, we will be using X, N, and O cards, which can be messaged to me privately over discord during a session in case there is anything that has not been covered. I am always approachable if you have any further concerns to talk to me about! I will also be in call for half an hour before and after our session for general introductions, getting into the zone, decompressing, and just generally getting to know each other more outside of DnD!
Content warnings
• Classism
• Death
• Fire
• Gore
• Hostages
• Memory Erasing
• Murder
• Scars
• Spiders
• Violence
Safety tools used
• Aftercare
• Breaks
• Debriefing
• Lines and Veils
• Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist
• Open Door
• Session 0
• Stars and Wishes
• X, N, and O Cards
How will character creation work
Character creation will take place during Session 0, with all of the party together on Discord making the characters in FoundryVTT before we begin the adventure. This will allow us to create a party with strong cohesion and focused within the story, building player and character relationships and helping group synergy right from the offset. Characters will start at Level 1 and we will be using the Point Buy method to establish Ability Scores. This is just a preference of mine, and if you feel strongly about another method then that is fine too. Character appearance will also be made in Heroforge, which does not require an account, but I have a pro-subscription so can help make your models exactly as you are imagining them.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
High
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Low
Experience level
Open to all
Platforms used
• Foundry VTT
• Discord
$15.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Weekly / Saturday - 9:00 AM UTC
Mar 22 / Session 12
3-4 Hour duration
4 / 6 Seats filled
Schedule
Requirements
Experience required: Open to all
Age: 18+