Intro to DND - Lost Mine of Phandelver

About the adventure

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. For centuries, rumors of buried riches have attracted treasure seekers and opportunists to the area around Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the lost mine. In recent years, people have resettled the area. Phandalin is now a rough-and-tumble frontier town. More important, the Rockseeker brothers — a trio of dwarves — have discovered the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, and they intend to reopen the mines. Unfortunately for the Rockseekers, they are not the only ones interested in Wave Echo Cave. A mysterious villain known as the Black Spider controls a network of bandit gangs and goblin tribes in the area, and his agents have followed the Rockseekers to their prize. Now the Black Spider wants Wave Echo Cave for himself, and he is taking steps to make sure no one else knows where it is.

Additional Details

How to prepare

All players must have a microphone. I recommend that all players have a webcam - body language is a huge part of roleplaying! We will go over some of the rules of DND at the beginning of the session, so there is no need to pre-read or even buy the player's handbook.

What I provide

I will have everything set up within Roll20, prior to the adventure taking place. The maps will already be installed, as will the player and monster tokens. We will use my discord server for voice communication, and I will grant everyone access to the source books through DND beyond.

Gameplay details

This will be a crash course on how to use the Roll20 system, how to use DNDBeyond, and you will experience some of your first encounters in DND! You and your party will have premade characters to choose from (creating characters is a long process in its own right). We will be well into our first adventure together by the end of the first session!

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

There will be premade characters for this adventure. I will be leading a crash course on character creation in later adventures!

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.