⚒️ Lost Mine of Phandelver 🕷️ PbP | Beginner Friendly
A legendary mine. A frontier full of secrets. Race the Black Spider to Wave Echo Cave and claim its lost power!
$10.00
/ Session
Details
5 players following this game
Play by Post (Asynchronous)
Billed Weekly / Friday - 10:00 PM UTC
Oct 16 / Session 25
Session Duration / 1–2 hours
3 / 6 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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About the adventure
Phandalin is a town built on opportunity, danger, and old secrets. Beyond its borders lie goblin strongholds, ruined castles, forgotten settlements, ancient magic, and clues leading to the mysterious Wave Echo Cave. And you're not the only one searching! - 🗺️ Explore Your Way: Follow rumors, hunt monsters, help Phandalin, investigate ruins, or pursue the mystery of the Lost Mine. - 🕷️ Uncover the Black Spider: A mysterious enemy is weaving a web across the frontier. Find their agents, follow the clues, and discover what they're after. - 🎭 Character-Driven PbP: Your relationships, backstory, and choices become part of the adventure, with plenty of room for roleplay between battles. - ⚔️ Classic D&D Adventure: Dragons, goblins, ruined castles, dangerous dungeons, strange magic, hidden treasure, and a legendary lost mine. --------------------------------------------------- 99% of the time, RULE OF COOL applies! Who actually cares if drinking a potion takes 3 seconds or 6? We're here to tell a fantasy story, not to play an inventory management game! Combat is always an option, but most encounters can be dealt with through social interactions! When swords are out however, combat is quick and deadly: enemies use actual tactics, morale is real, and they'll run or hide before certain death, opening new roleplaying opportunities. A document explaining how to join, PbP dynamics, Session 0, and safety tools is provided as soon as you join. Everyone's welcome at the table, complete beginners to D&D or play-by-post, or seasoned veterans from past editions. I'll do my best to accommodate your needs and expectations! This is a legendary adventure that serves as a perfect introduction to new players who want to learn D&D!
Game style
Play By Post
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
4 years on StartPlaying
102 games hosted
Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, Inclusive, Storytelling
About me
Hi! I’m Capybara, a gamer and TTRPG enthusiast since 1995, with over 20 years of professional experience in writing and game design. I lean heavily toward the roleplaying side of the game, and my main goal as a GM is to set the stage for players to develop and grow their characters, creating truly unforgettable moments at the table. A fierce cultist of the Rule of Cool and the Rulings over Rules faction, I approach combat as something that should always feel meaningful, high-stakes, and cinematic. Currently, I’m running D&D 5e in a Play by Post format, with roleplay heavy takes on Curse of Strahd, Rime of the Frostmaiden, and The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
All characters start at level 1. You can bring your preexisting character or I can help you refine a character concept and fill your character sheet. Standard Array or Point buy is recommended. All classes from D&D 2024 are allowed. UA's is not recommended but always open to hearing interesting ideas!
We just reached Phandalin, and the party is investigating the town. All characters are at Level 2 and we currently have an Artificer, a Rogue and a Wizard.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You'll need a DnD Beyond account and a character to join the adventure. Through DDB, you can roll all your character's skills and attacks. We also use Owlbear Rodeo for battlemaps and tokens. You'll also need a Discord account and access to it whenever you want to post on our server.
What Capybara brings to the table
As a play by post DM, I focus on having new updates regularly so every time you come back you'll have something new to react to and build upon. I tend to prioritize dialogue and action over long descriptions or exchanges that don't add to character growth or move the plot forward. I also include character portraits, maps, handouts and music to get you immersed into the story as much as possible!
Homebrew rules
This being a Play by post game, some interactions can take a long time. We can always cut a scene and skip it if players prefer, doing a quick summary of what happened. This is particularly useful in downtime sections, or scenes like market purchases when there's not going to be any type of meaningful interactions. Also, we'll be using party wide initiative, this means that depending on the circumstances, your whole party, or the whole enemy group will get to attack first. This helps to keep combat fluid and allows multiple actions per post, so instead of taking days or weeks to finish a single combat, most encounters can be completed in a couple of posts. This approach speeds up play by post combat without sacrificing any of the tactical decision making!.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer or Mobile Device
Platforms used
Safety
How Capybara creates a safe table
Once per week, I'll send each player a private message through the server asking for feedback, Stars (what you enjoyed and want more of) and Wishes (what you'd like to change or see differently). In any case, everybody's free to leave or join back without offering an explanation, although feedback on how to improve is always welcome.
Content warnings
Safety tools used