Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk (Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Book)

Product Information

Here's where it gets weird. The Lost Mines of Phandelver has been out for so long and is so widely available, being actively promoted for new players, it's going to be hard to find people who have been playing D&D who don't already know what half of this book is about. Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk is something that Wizards of the Coast really seem to be describing as a labour of love, arguing that this is visible in the artwork, the layout of the book, and the care and attention they're giving to the remaster of a 2014 classic. The inception of the story was apparently driven by a desire to preserve Phandelver as a hardcover book, and it's something they hope will look fantastic on players' shelves for years to come. Most Read Players who continue on through The Shattered Obelisk also get to face off against the idea of otherworldly threats that recent games and entertainment like Baldur's Gate 3 and Stranger Things have continued to bring to the public psyche. Should I Buy Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk?

A great option for whether you're running a plague or undead infestation in your own campaign. Taking cues from how the transformations happen to NPCs and players in stages perfectly displays the beginning of a devastating plague in your campaign. Between the touched-up Lost Mines of Phandelver content, and the new Shattered Obelisk questline I find that the overall collection sits in a bit of a strange place between celebrating nostalgia and taking a step forward. Based on how the book was marketed, this isn’t too much of a surprise. An early press event revealed the designers aged-up the campaign, taking away its family-friendly reputation and aiming it more towards experienced players. However, Phandelver doesn’t really commit to being entirely one thing – beginner-friendly or streamlined for long-time players. You can access all of the monsters and magic items from Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk in and out of the game.

What Is There For The Players?

This adventure also has some of my favorite dungeon designs I've seen in published 5e content including a dungeon with rotating passageways, and more naturally shaped dungeons including one shaped like a brain. The realization on players faces as they explore this maze and realize what shape it's in... Enemies Aplenty Importantly, having players notice as NPCs they've interacted with start to change (and even having them change themselves) in stages really makes things feel dynamic and also provides a sense of urgency. Lost Mines of Phandelver, and subsequently the town of Phandalin which features centrally in the adventure, is something close to a lot of players hearts - it was their first experience of the world of Dungeons and Dragons, and so it holds a lot of nostalgia and positivity for them. No new races or subclasses to do with these threats is a strange omission, but it may also be as OneD&D is ramping up for 2024 there's less of a desire to add new options for character creation that are going to immediately be contradicted/invalidated. Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk Review | Final Thoughts Drag & Drop over 85 magic items onto a character sheet to instantly arm a character, including brand new Mind Crystals that allow casters to manipulate spells (double your range or cast a spell as a bonus action!)

From here (or if prodded by Elmina in Phandalin), exploration begins! Encourage your players to consider what abilities might be useful in finding and following the nearby goblin trail. Then comes another surprise: traps! With two separate goblin-built traps placed at various points along the trail, there is ample room for both success and failure. This is another moment that simply captures a significant danger in adventuring, prompting your players once more to always be prepared. Transformations are a great way to not only keep your group involved in the story and its evolution but can also provide fun moments for roleplay and give your players an advantage if you allow them. Creating Characters For Phandelver And Below The Shattered Obelisk The first few adventures have your party dealing with low-level threats, as your average goblin ambush leads the party to the town of Phandalin. Once there, they'll encounter the Redbrand ruffians and learn the secrets of the lost mine and the gang terrorizing the town. Drag & Drop over 175 illustrated handouts into the virtual tabletop, depicting heinous five-headed hydras and stunning landscapes to set the scene I think there was a strong desire from folks in the studio to preserve Lost Mines of Phandelver in a hardcover book – which was just a booklet in the starter set”, she says. “We wanted to preserve and update that adventure to have that longevity and staying power. My hope in doing that is creating an adventure that goes places people don’t expect.”

From chapter five onwards, Phandelver and Below is a gradual decline into insanity. It plays upon the D&D community’s affection for Phandalin, dangling the idyllic setting and its wholesome inhabitants on a thread and leading you further into darkness. The writing is atmospheric, the encounters are varied, and the details that embellish every corner are excellent. The Lost Mine of Phandelver has been remade. You'll still run the same adventure for the most part, but you'll notice a few improvements and changes along the way. This portion of the adventure is also self-sustainable, and you can choose to end the adventure here if you'd like. This is suggested if you have players not necessarily interested in body horror or mutation elements of the following adventures. There is always an option to just start with the new content halfway through the game, though there's a chance you won't have those same connections with the NPC of the world. If you so choose, you can also have your players affected by these changes enacted by the Far Realm mind flayers. The same transformations happening to the NPCs can happen to your players.