Phandelver & Below | Learn to Play D&D in this Epic Adventure
The frontier town of Phandalin is in trouble and only a bunch of bold and daring adventurers can save it. Will you rise to the occasion?
$25.00
/ Session
Details
6 players following this game
Weekly / Sunday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
Immerse yourself in an adventure rife with mystery, suspense, drama (and a decent dose of comedy) in this official D&D adventure. You will traverse both the wild outdoors and dark dungeons to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a dwarven miner, stop an enigmatic archvillain from claiming untold power, and eventually descend deep underground to stop an earth-shattering nefarious plot. 🌈 This adventure is LGBT+ friendly. ֎ DM does not use any generative AI. 📜 We'll be using the latest 2024 Rules, primarily using the Rules as Written (RAW), with Rules as Intended (RAI) and Rules as Fun (RAF) occasionally applied when it makes sense to. 🎒 Travel and resource management are key components of this adventure. 🐙 The first half of the campaign will play out just like a classic fantasy campaign with creatures and tropes common to the genre. In the second half, things get a little darker as the campaign adopts a cosmic horror feel. 🥳 You'll enjoy this adventure if you have a good sense of humor, love exploring side quests while keeping track of main missions, work well as a team, enjoy solving conflicts not just with violence but with guile and diplomacy as well, and love roleplaying your character's motivations. 🕒 Long-term campaign (about 2 years), ideal for committed players who love all three pillars of D&D: combat, exploration, and roleplaying.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Roleplay Heavy
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Dungeon Crawl
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(37)
6 years on StartPlaying
411 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Beginner Friendly
Average response time: 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
In a time long past, in what looks to be a tiny little bedroom, four young children are seen huddling around a simple small sketchbook, as one of them brings the rest on a grand fantasy adventure where the kids play no characters other than themselves and buy the lie that the fantasy world is real. Fast forward years later, one of those kids, for reasons unbeknownst to him, is drawn especially to two things—board games and speculative fiction. The board games that spoke to him most were Twilight Struggle, Pandemic Legacy, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroscape. These games, rooted in reality (well, except the latter two), told great stories with each play, and revisited the age-long conflict of light vs dark, good vs evil. On the silver screen, he remembers being terrified of the Terminator, the violence that descended upon the man who would soon be Robocop, and aliens bursting out of chests. He was also captivated by the imagined realities of Back to the Future and Last Action Hero. Oh, hi there! Hadn't realized you were here. I'm David! If you're looking for RPG sessions that are fresh, fun, funny, and full of roleplaying opportunities, you've come to the right place! I've been creating narrative experiences for audiences since 2000 as a stage director/actor/producer. So, when I discovered the world of tabletop RPGs in 2018, I instantly fell in love with its interactive and collaborative storytelling potential. I've since gone on to run all sorts of games, from high fantasy and urban fantasy, to supernatural and horror, to slice-of-life and sci-fi. I can't wait to share my love of RPGs with you, and hereby extend an invitation to you in joining me to discover exciting worlds, play awesome characters, and embark on unforgettable journeys. Note: the "timezone" listed on my profile is just for scheduling convenience, especially pertaining to daylight savings adjustments.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
📝 You can start exploring the character creation process on D&D Beyond. Please adhere to the guidelines provided in the Prep Materials (e.g. point-buy ability scores, no homebrew, legacy, or partnered content, and a focus on the 2024 classes, backgrounds from the 2024 Player's Handbook, Heroes of Faerûn, and Arcana Unleashed, and species from the 2024 Player's Handbook). You don't need to complete the process just yet. If you do, please be open to making revisions to your character during Session 0. 📈 Advancement will be story based. You'll begin at level 1, and by the end of the adventure, you will reach level 12.
▶️ The campaign will begin once we have enough players (at least 4 players at least 20 hours before the scheduled day and time. If we only get enough players fewer than 20 hours before, the campaign will begin the week after). 💬 Our first session together will be a Session 0, charged at the usual rate. 💬 New players who join us after the group Session 0 has taken place will need to partake in a one-on-one Session 0. It's an opportunity for us to go over the safety tools, table rules, expectations of players and the GM, and we can discuss your character ideas and how they're connected to the story. The session will run for up to 1.5 hours and is charged at the usual rate.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
﹠ You'll need a D&D Beyond account and a Discord account, both of which are free. 🗺️ Familiarity with D&D Beyond or D&D Beyond Maps is not necessary. I'll walk you through them. 📜 You do not need to have read the rules ahead of time as the rules will be explained as we play.
What David brings to the table
🗺️ Rollable character sheets with fancy 3D dice and beautiful maps in D&D Beyond Maps. 🎵 Official music, ambient sounds, and sound effects via Syrinscape. 📚 Access to the 2024 Player's Handbook, Heroes of Faerûn, and Arcana Unleashed on D&D Beyond.
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Headphones
Internet
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How David creates a safe table
📝 Before Session 0, a link will be shared to a Lines and Veils document for players to fill out. 📜 The Discord server has a code of conduct that everyone has to adhere to. ✨ The aim of this campaign is to have a fun storytelling journey together and to have a positive experience interacting with others. To this end, players are expected to be compassionate, supportive, and respectful of others.
Content warnings
Safety tools used