Phandalin

Phandalin is a frontier settlement located south of the city of Neverwinter, nestled within the warmer air of the Phandalin Valley. Accessible via the High Road by turning east into the rugged wild foothills, this small town serves as a vital trading hub in the otherwise untamed wilds of the Sword Coast, attracting brave merchants, travelers, and adventurers alike. The region continues to rebuild in the wake of the Wailing Death, a devastating magical plague that afflicted Neverwinter and its surrounding frontiers approximately a year prior.

Commerce, Culture, and Local Establishments

The town relies heavily on trade caravans navigating the perilous regional roads. Local merchants, such as Barthen, receive essential stock through contracted deliveries, which often require hired protection to fend off threats like the goblins of the Cragmaw tribe.

Recently, the explorer Gundren Rockseeker and his companion Sildar Hallwinter contracted a band of adventurers—initially hired for a simple supply run but now known as The Magnificent Five (or The Fantastic Five, comprising Farwald, Gilmore, Nalini, Hope, and Er’evyn)—to escort a critical supply cart from Neverwinter. During their journey, the adventurers successfully recovered stolen provisions belonging to the Lionshield Coster (along with a Jade Statuette of a Frog) from the goblin-infested Cragmaw Hideout. This outpost was commanded by a bugbear named Klarg, who famously refused to believe Farwald was a wizard because Farwald did not wear a wizard’s hat. The recovered goods were returned to Linene Graywind of the Lionshield Coster, from whom Gilmore and Farwald later purchased healing potions and gear.

Travelers and residents frequently gather at the Stonehill Inn, operated by the halfling tavern keeper Toblen and his gossipy wife, Trilena. For those seeking less reputable entertainment, a makeshift fighting ring operates in the basement of the Sleeping Giant Inn, where combatants like Hope can earn coin in underground brawls.

Following their regional exploits, the party also rescued Mikael, a wayward merchant who had been mugged. In exchange for safe escort back to Phandalin, Mikael agreed to paint a portrait for the adventurers’ manor and assist them in fencing the melted-down gold remnants of a humongous bell salvaged from an abandoned temple of Ioun. Gilmore sold these gold bits to Deacon for 2,600 gold pieces. To facilitate further travel, the party rented two horses: a dappled white and brown mare named Trixie and a black stallion named Glory.

Origins of the Heroes

The backgrounds of the Magnificent Five are deeply interwoven with the Sword Coast and the forces shaping Phandalin:

Highharvesttide Celebration

Following the defeat of the Forge Guardian and the securing of the Spell Forge, Phandalin erupted in celebration for Highharvesttide, the last day of summer. The main square was decorated with banners, paper lanterns, and glowing fireflies. Picnic tables were laden with feasts of cherry pies, green bean casseroles, fresh bread, cheese and spinach pastries, spiced mead, and strawberry wine. Exhausted parents drank strawberry wine while children played tag around the tables, participating in festive activities like tug-of-war and a pie-eating contest, while Deacon set up a makeshift “Fortune Telling” stand.

During the celebration, a young girl with brown braids named Milly and an older boy approached Nalini, debating if she was a real fairy. Gundren Rockseeker—whom the Spider had claimed was dead, but who had actually been rescued from Cragmaw Castle by Sildar Hallwinter after the goblins scattered—reunited with the heroes in the town square. Though sporting alarming bandages on his throat and arm, Gundren’s eyes held a lively glint as he confirmed Nalini’s status as a real fairy and celebrated the recovery of the Forge of Spells.

The heroes spent the festival in quiet reflection amidst the merriment. Hope offered a silent prayer, quietly reciting a poem of wandering. Er’evyn slipped away to the small graveyard to visit Halia’s fresh grave. Gilmore sat drinking with Gundren and Farwald, relishing his newfound freedom. Farwald stretched his legs and remembered his late wife.

Governance, Factions, and the Redbrand Threat

Phandalin’s local authority is headed by Townmaster Harbin Wester, who is frequently overwhelmed by the challenges of governing the frontier, aided only by his single guard, Reckon. Sildar Hallwinter, fully recovered and wearing his armor and Tabard of Neverwinter, serves as a prominent ally. Sildar was later recalled to Neverwinter’s elite Griffon Knights as tensions and war-preparations with Luskan escalated.

Lately, the town was harassed by a gang of ruffians known as the Redbrands (sometimes called Redguards), led by the wizard Glasstaff (Iarno). Nezznar’s journal later revealed that Iarno had turned his back on his Neverwinter masters in exchange for gold, promises, and a fancy staff, keeping the blind priest Deacon and Halia distracted. Deacon first noticed their suspicious activity around the ruins of Tristan Manor (a site historically tied to Gilmore’s Stork family). Operating from a secret cellar laboratory beneath the manor, the Redbrands terrorized the populace, kept a dangerous Half-Ogre/Ogrillon ally, and even hoarded zombies in the manor’s dining room.

The Magnificent Five successfully infiltrated Tristan Manor. While Gilmore managed to drink three out of four bandits under the table during a poker game, the party rescued the surviving members of the Tristan family (including Myrna Tristan) from the cellar. Er’evyn dramatically shot the staff out of Glasstaff’s hand when the locked-in wizard called for aid, allowing the party to dispatch him despite the wizard critically injuring several members (particularly Er’evyn) before Nalini healed them. Gilmore dealt with the Half-Ogre, which Er’evyn finished with a well-placed arrow. In the laboratory, they recovered several magical relics, including the Blade of Tristan from the crypt, a Bag of Holding, the wizard’s Glasstaff, and a book titled “The Rise and Fall of the Pact of Phandelver” by Elminster Aumar, alongside a direct note from The Spider confirming that Gundren was taken to Cragmaw Castle.

In gratitude, Myrna Tristan bequeathed the deed of Tristan Manor to the adventurers to serve as their home and headquarters. Harbin Wester presented the magical deed to them in his office, officially requiring them to choose their party name: The Magnificent Five. Following the Redbrands’ defeat, the party turned in the surviving bandits, and Nalini put her talents to work, using the remaining zombie ashes mixed with mushrooms as fertilizer for the manor’s garden. Er’evyn briefly departed on personal errands, promising he was never far away if needed. Farwald sold off excess gear from the basement and purchased spell scrolls from Deacon. Afterward, the ancient dwarf Gotrek was invited to shelter at Tristan Manor upon arriving in Phandalin. Gotrek’s cursed Berserker Axe, gifted to Hope, was subsequently cleansed at the manor when Farwald and Dusty dispelled its curse.

Following these events, Harbin Wester convened a makeshift council in his office with Sildar Hallwinter, the returned midwife Aadabra Gwynn, the town’s allies, and the party. They discussed looming threats, the lack of aid from Neverwinter (“The city will not aid us. They can barely feed themselves”), the potential utility of the Spell Forge, and whether the reclusive druid Reidoth or the local gnomes could aid them.

Behind the scenes, the town was also a hub for faction agents. Halia Thorton, the Spymistress of Phandalin, was secretly a member of the Zhentarim—an ancient guild of spies, thieves, and smugglers—alongside Lucian Nightshade and the party’s own Er’evyn. Sent to infiltrate Gundren’s expedition, Er’evyn trained with Halia for weeks. However, when they attempted to spy directly on The Spider, the mission went awry; Er’evyn was forced to kill Halia to ingratiate himself undercover with The Spider. Her lifeless body was later found hanging by a rope in the entryway of Wave Echo Cave.

Following her death, Halia was buried in the small graveyard outside Phandalin, her temporary wooden headstone inscribed: “Citizen of Phandalin. ‘She died so that we could live.’” At her grave, Er’evyn discovered a dragon-shaped amulet with its wing bent inward and a small moon in its mouth, left by a mourner. Touching the amulet triggered a magical message from Halia, warning of a schism within the Zhentarim and revealing its chapter leaders:

Er’evyn later traveled to Neverwinter to meet with Lucian Nightshade, who officially absolved him of Halia’s death, recognizing the impossible choices forced upon Zhentarim agents under pressure.

Ancient History and the Pact of Phandelver

The region is deeply intertwined with ancient mysteries, compiled in Elminster Aumar’s historical work, The Rise and Fall of the Pact of Phandelver. A thousand years ago, King Phandelver II brokered an alliance of stone, leaf, and flame between human settlers, Queen Kima of Axeholm (a dwarven sovereign of stubborn pride), and Archmage Larellion (steward of the Hand of Sehahine, an ancient tower of elven magic). The Gnomes of the Vale lent their ingenuity to help construct the legendary Forge of Spells, buried deep where regional leylines braided.

Each city bore the unique mark of its makers:

During their travels, the party freed Gotrek, an ancient dwarf who had been petrified for 1,000 years (near where Er’evyn discovered a Ring of Protection). Gotrek shared details of life under the Pact, revealed the location of Axeholm, and reluctantly gifted his cursed Berserker Axe to Hope. He was subsequently invited to shelter at Tristan Manor.

Further clues lie with the legendary elven sisters Agatha and Vyldara. Agatha, now a banshee lingering in the ruins of nearby Conyberry, revealed through a sad dirge that the Elves of the Hand were cursed, her father requires forgiveness, and Vyldara remains trapped in Axeholm. Nearby in Conyberry, at an abandoned temple of Ioun, the Knowing Mistress, the adventurers bargained with a mysterious sorcerer sporting a many-headed dragon tattoo, trading information on the dragon Virethas for a humongous golden bell. Using the altar of Ioun, the party learned the location of Cragmaw Castle, discovered Farwald’s forgotten identity, and learned that Cryovain’s ultimate desire is to usher in an eternal winter with the help of mysterious allies.

The Secrets of Wave Echo Cave and the Defeat of the Spider

Upon returning to Tristan Manor, the party sheltered a strange gnome academic named Dusty, who had escaped the clutches of The Spider (revealed to be a Drider named Nezznar—a fallen Drow, half spider and half Dark Elf). Nezznar had defiled the ancient altar of Moradin (the All-Hammer) to dedicate it to Lolth. While bugbears and goblins excavated the main hall, Nezznar tortured Dusty to learn how to activate the legendary Spell Forge.

Dusty revealed that activating the Spell Forge requires first activating Gond’s Smelter, which demands three elements: the Mettle of the Dwarves, the Grace of the Elves (revealed by Nalini to refer to Sel('une, represented by the Moonbeam spell), and the Ingenuity of the Humans. It also requires blue-burning wood (a dark, dense wood found in the caves), local ore, and an elvish spell.

Dusty also observed that Nezznar coordinated with a mysterious “Wyrmspeaker” (specifically the scaly day-walker known as the Jade Wyrmspeaker of the Cult of the Dragon) via Phase Spiders. Nezznar had formed an alliance with “the Dragon ones,” planning a bargain where dragons control the surface while the Drow rule the Underdark. Nezznar had used goblins to capture Gundren’s map, though he grew increasingly frustrated by the silence of his agents Glasstaff and Klarg. Following Glasstaff’s death, a human wearing a red cloak joined the Spider, only to be sacrificed to Lolth when Nezznar demanded vengeance.

Venturing to Wave Echo Cave, Nalini used wild shape to transform into a spider to scout, discovering a colony of Myconids living in symbiosis with the gnomes of Gnomengarde. The Myconids agreed to aid in an ambush. During the climactic battle inside Wave Echo Cave, Nezznar’s forces were ambushed. Nalini summoned a ball of flame to incinerate the webs and spider eggs on the Altar of Lolth. Though Phase Spiders wreaked havoc and briefly downed Farwald and Nalini, Gilmore used his connection to the Matron of Ravens to grant them strength to keep going. Nezznar was ultimately killed, with Er’evyn (who had been working undercover) firing the killing blow through his eyes. The remaining goblins and bugbears fled into the mushrooms, and Nezznar’s journal was retrieved.

Following the battle, the party activated Gond’s Smelter. Although Gilmore’s family traditions dictated that he encase Elire’s purple soulstone in the molten metal of the smelter to lay her soul to rest, Gilmore ultimately chose not to follow through with this task, choosing his own path of freedom instead.

Stepping into the Spell Forge chamber, the party activated a magical hologram left by Gond himself, which detailed the historical Calamity and the creation of the Divine Gate that separated the Prime Deities from the Betrayer Gods. However, due to only 7 of 8 beacons being functional (78% power), they were forced to battle the Forge’s automated guardian—The Blacksmith, a colossal metal giant with one red eye and one green eye. By disrupting the chamber’s pylons, the party defeated the Guardian, recovering several relics from the Age of Arcanum: the Plate of the Pact, Cabal’s Ruin (a magic-absorbing cloak), the Circlet of Larellion, Nolzur’s Magnificent Pigments, and a Deck of Many Things.

Regional Threats, Dragons, and the Wild Wood

The fragile peace of Phandalin Valley is threatened by the return of Cryovain, the Everfrost, a formidable white dragon. Dragon sightings have been unheard of in the region for 300 years, ever since the era when a group of Chromatic Dragons (including Cryovain, Skaldreth the Red Rage, Barakis the Sandstorm, and Nocturne the Dread Prince) attacked the major cities of the North. In response, the Lords’ Alliance was formed, successfully pushing the dragons back and slaying the green dragon Virethas, the Jade Queen (also known as the Jade Serpent), outside Neverwinter.

This threat struck close to home when the party investigated Dragon Barrow. Gilmore drew the fabled Dragon Slayer sword from Lady Tanager Alagondar’s tomb. However, pulling the sword broke the magical ward holding back the green dragon. The Green Wyrmspeaker, Sidorna, successfully executed a dark reincarnation ritual, sacrificing a cultist wearing the Green Dragon Mask to revive Virethas. The skeletal, reborn dragon, now fused with the soul of Gilmore’s sister Elire, burst from the barrow and escaped into the northern skies.

Further wild threats are tied to Reidoth, a reclusive druid of the Neverwinter Wood who has recently gone rogue, harassing logging camps along the Neverwinter River. This aggressive bid to let nature reclaim the land resulted in the ancient druid Esfaloth choosing to seal Neverwinter Wood away from the Material Plane completely. Nalini, puttering around her morning routine at Tristan Manor, connected to the mycelium network and felt a mournful dirge and immense grief from the north, followed by a sharp, red-hot anger, indicating that nature itself is mourning.

Notable Residents and Allies