Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

I played ghis when it first came out..in fact my table had just completed lost mine of Phandelver ..and returned to Phandalin to see the horrors open up..all the more troubling since we had a connection to the villagers.. We then traveled to deal with the forces rising.. Character death ( for one , more than once) and worse , the horrors of squidface and their minions..is ever present.

This was the first campaign I played when I started playing D&D again in 2023 after not having played since the 80s. I really enjoyed it and it was a good campaign for me to get back into the game.

A great starter module! As a relatively new D&D player, this was the perfect to get that small town + Far Realm storyline; especially satisfactory for BG3 players, I think. Phandalin is great spot to practice those roleplaying skills as the town is generally full of fun and interactive NPCs, pending your DMs style of play, obviously. Overall, highly recommend!

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is the perfect starter adventure for anyone learning to play - and anyone learning to DM as well! It has the perfect blend of battle mechanics, roleplay, world-building, and story. However, the second half of the module is where things start to fall apart. The first half was initially released as a short, 4 chapter adventure for beginners, and the second half was tacked on in the re-release. As a result, the second half feels a bit muddled and disconnected to the first half of the adventure and lacks the nuance of the first half, with repeated dungeon crawls and encounters against monsters your players have already seen. I would recommend this module and definitely starting with the first half. If you're comfortable changing things up as a DM, then you can definitely make the second half work. But ultimately, this is a great adventure for beginners and would get 5 stars if not for the messy second half of this outing.

Phandelin has a dark secret, and this adventure takes you deeper than ever. A fantastic mix of mystery, a touch of horror, and old-school dungeon crawling. The obelisks themselves? Let’s just say they hint at something much bigger in the Forgotten Realms. A decent twist on a beloved setting.

It's fun! I think it needs a little TLC here and there, but if you like interacting with NPCs and having a very broad cast of fun reoccurring characters to play with, you'll love running this one. The dungeons are pretty good, and they build up to a delightfully eldritch conclusion.