Prophet of the Star-Glass Staff | Lost Mine of Phandelver
A routine job turns into a hunt for a lost spell forge, and an obsidian staff emerges from a spider's nest.
$22.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Sunday - 11:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 12–15 Sessions
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
Phandalin clings to the edge of the Savage Frontier, a region of mineral-rich ranges, dark forests, and ruins scarring the landscape. What starts as a routine job pulls you into turf wars, goblin raids, and a town kept uneasy by hired badges. Whispers speak of a prophecy to find a missing mountain, reignite a spell forge, and flood the frontier with mage-wrought steel. And, somewhere from that tangle, an ancient black-glass staff has resurfaced, tugging threads of silk from the shadows. Expect small-town politics, claim-jumpers with spellbooks, and crossfire in cavern choke points. You’ll read grudges like maps, ride trail dust into sinkholes and cellars, and press into tunnels where new timber frames old stone. Exploration matters, clues link cleanly, and hard bargains are struck by lantern light. Under the hills, the geometry gets strange. This campaign welcomes first-timers and veterans at the same table. New players get a clear on-ramp and story thread; while experienced hands can push into side deals, riskier routes, and smarter play. If the table leans in, the hunt for the spell forge opens a web of paths, and the black-glass thread starts tugging toward deeper, stranger country. For those who want more, this adventure optionally extends into The Shattered Obelisk to level 12, and may be capstoned with Vecna: Eve of Ruin to level 20.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Tactical / Crunchy
Sandbox / Open World
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(11)
3 years on StartPlaying
85 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Voices
Average response time: 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
I grew up autistically obsessed with mythology - a kid who thought memorising the Greek pantheon was a legitimate survival skill. In the mid-80s I discovered D&D through the Dragonlance saga and Gold Box games, and I’ve been consumed with the game ever since. Other kids went outside; I was busy deciding how many hit points a minotaur should have. That obsession eventually spilled into theatre and film. I directed Troll Bridge (a Pratchett-approved Discworld comedy that got a lot of attention) and Blood on the Game Dice (my ode to the camaraderie and absurdity of tabletop chaos). These days I’m back where I belong: behind the screen, running narratively deep, character-driven games where myth and mayhem meet, fuelled by dice rolls and dangerous amounts of caffeine. Watch my video pitch here: https://youtu.be/htEhWDgKbsU If you’d like a further taste of my style, you can find my other works on that same channel.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
You’ll be creating your character on D&D Beyond, with the complete official 5e library. I'm also open to 3rd party content that pushes into Eldritch Horror and Western themes, but check with me first to confirm suitability. Homebrew isn’t on the table. Characters start at level 1 and use the point buy system with fixed hit points. For gear, take your normal starting equipment. You may sell anything back to the store you don't want. Please finish your sheet with details like height and weight; some traps pay attention to that. Completed sheets need to be submitted two hours before game time so I can import them into Foundry. You’ll have access to the game 30 minutes before the session starts if you want to test dice rolls or poke at macros.
During Session 0, we’ll create characters together and shape the party as a whole. The focus is on building a team that fits the tone and themes of the campaign, with characters who complement each other and help drive the story forward, both as a group and individually.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
💬 Discord: Install the app (not the browser version), make an account, and join the server link I send after you book. 💻 VTT: Foundry runs in your browser, you don’t need to buy anything. Use Edge for best performance (Chrome’s fine). Turn on hardware acceleration. 📜 D&D Beyond: Make your character there and send me the link before your first run—I'll need to import them into Foundry. It's free to sign up. 🎧 Audio gear: Headphones required. If we hear pets, fans, traffic, or typing, please enable push-to-talk. 🎬 Tech check: Join Discord 10 minutes early for a quick audio check and safety rundown. Then we kick the doors off their hinges. 🛰️ Connection: Stable internet. If your Wi-Fi is powered by sadness, plug in. Turn off your VPN and downloads—Foundry is data hungry.
What DM Dan Knight brings to the table
🐲 Master subscription on D&D Beyond for sharing the entire 5e digital library (and third-party content when it makes sense) ⚒️ Foundry VTT on Molten Hosting for accelerated network speeds 🎼 Syrinscape for licensed atmosphere and music 🗺️ Only the best third-party maps, tokens, and animation assets available 🎙️ Discord Nitro for exceptional speech clarity 🌈 A welcoming and inclusive game for everyone of all walks of life I run games from my studio with production-quality camera, lighting and audio. With a background in film, theatre, AV, and design, I bring a production mindset to the table. The space is built for your character to take centre stage with a focus on presentation, flow, and narrative punch - so every session plays like a live show built around your party’s story. Watch my video pitch here: https://youtu.be/htEhWDgKbsU
Homebrew rules
➤ Backgrounds are decoupled from ability score modifiers and origin feats. Instead, select those as appropriate to your character. You can leverage your backgrounds for d20 check advantages in circumstances that would narratively favour your background. ➤ Drinking a potion as a full action provides maximum results on all rolls. Drinking as a bonus action rolls dice as normal. Administering a potion is a full action with dice rolls. ➤ Critical hits provide maximum damage, followed by an additional roll of all dice. ➤ No reactions when surprised. ➤ No flanking, but gain advantage on attacking targets out of their line of sight. Reactions can be burned to change facing direction.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How DM Dan Knight creates a safe table
If the fiction gets too close to home, that’s completely valid - use the open door with zero judgment and come back when it fits. We practice self-care at the table: call a break any time, and we’ll always close with a quick debrief. Intimacy fades to black - curtains in the breeze, and it stays offscreen. No racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia. Any bias toward fantasy peoples (orc hate, drow misandry) is roleplay only, and it earns in-world consequences. Villains may threaten ugly things, including harm to children or animals, but we don’t linger on it, we keep it offscreen, and player characters never perpetrate it. The tone may brush up against horror at times, but the story is framed like a cinematic western: character-driven stakes, clear moral pressure, and cutaways from cruelty. There is strictly no PVP in this adventure - your characters need to find reasons for getting along. For everyone's safety, all sessions have their audio recorded.
Content warnings
Safety tools used