Dungeons & Dragons: 11 Most Interesting Locations In Phandelver & Below The Shattered Obelisk
Summary
- The new additions to the adventure, such as the Ruins of Thundertree and Gibbet Crossing, provide interesting and challenging locations for players to explore and encounter unique enemies.
- Phandolin serves as the central hub for the adventure, evolving over time and involving players in strange conspiracies and quests to save villagers and stop imminent threats.
- The Far Realm Rifts and The Endless Void add a sense of madness and dread to the adventure, with players diving into pocket versions of the Far Realm and navigating unique hazards and themes.
When the Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons was released, it came with the starter adventure Lost Mine of Phandelver, which became a staple for beginners to the tabletop RPG. Wizards of the Coast now returns to Phandalin to expand the story, tweaking the formula and adding a new addition that extends your adventure to level 12.
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PostsWith this revisit to a beloved adventure, there are both new locations for veterans to explore and updated old classics. Here are some of the best places that you'll see as you and your party hope to help the people of Phandolin and uncover what plagues the Sword Coast.
There will be spoilers for many locations within this adventure. Many won't go into too much detail, but if you plan on playing this adventure, it may ruin many of the surprises.
11 Ruins Of Thundertree
Ash Zombie by Vicki Pangestu- Explored in chapter three
- Minor alterations from Lost Mines of Phandelver
The eruption of Mount Hotenow is an important part of canonical Fifth Edition lore, and Thundertree was one of the casualties. This once thriving town is now populated by ashen zombies and plant monsters, and only the druid Reidoth braves the journey to watch over the dangers.
Just like in the original iteration, Thundertree leaves little to the imagination of the players if they wish to clear through the ruins. What makes the location interesting is the development Reidoth instills as a green dragon has taken up residency within the tower. Few can avoid the temptation of a dragon, and the encounter can make or break the entire party.
10 Phandolin
Phandalin's Locals by Kent Davis- First seen in chapter two and acts as a hub for players
- Minor alterations from Lost Mines of Phandelver
A sleepy little town ravished by constant problems from the beginning, Phandolin is your anchor to this adventure throughout all 12 levels. It is what brings your party together to venture forth to all other areas, and it is what gets you involved with the strange conspiracies that string you from fighting goblins in the local manor to taking on psychic energies.
What makes this version of Phandolin special is how it evolves over time. Rather than being ransacked once and requesting aid, your party is returning to find the town being warped due to unknown events that push you to save villagers and stop an imminent threat.
9 Gibbet Crossing
Quanbraxel by Lily Abdullina- Explored during chapter six
- New addition, players can be any level between seven and nine
Chapter six gives an open experience by allowing players to choose where to start their hunt for obelisk shards. Gibbet Crossing is the ‘unknown’ option, a trading hub and crossroads deep within the Underdark. Ransacked by mind flayers like the other locations in this chapter, it's now overrun by strange monsters and instability, appearing to collapse at any time.
The intersection of different cultures is on display between the drow, duergar, and deep gnomes, even while in tattered ruins. There’s a strange magic lingering in the hallways, and it is here that your first encounter with a mind flayer can occur, hinting at the true villains.
8 Wave Echo Cave
- Explored in chapter four
- Minor Alterations from Lost Mines of Phandelver, players are level four
The ‘penultimate dungeon’ of the original adventure, Wave Echo Cave, still lives up to the hype in its expansive and dangerous navigation. You’re still greeted by death from the beginning, and the rhythmic booming of the cave sets the stage for an atmospheric adventure to find the villain behind all of your previous troubles.
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PostsMany of the changes are just in terms of balancing and numbers since the cave already contained everything you could ever want in a final dungeon. It does a great job of bringing an end to the starter storyline while leaving a few new nuggets of information to draw you into the next half.
7 Zorzula’s Rest
Overlook Forge Undead by Domenico Cava- Explored in chapter five
- New addition with players level five through seven
You’ll notice that many places in the second ‘half’ of this adventure deal with ancient ruins sullied by psychic magics, and Zorzula’s Rest is no different. Located east of Phandolin, this long-forgotten duergar mine sits guarded by massive obsidian doors. Getting inside appears to be a challenge at first, but with multiple ways in, it is a dungeon that rewards creativity.
The mine has been taken over by goblins for unknown purposes, but there appears to be more nefarious activity at work within these halls. Pieces of duergar architecture have been destroyed, only to have strange statues and symbols built on top of them for reasons you’ll find out soon.
6 Far Realm Rifts
Elder Brain by Brian Valenzuela- Visited in chapter seven
- New addition, players are level nine
The Far Realm is a place of madness, and to give you a taste, you'll be diving into three 'pocket' versions of the realm. The Feeder Trenches are likely to be the first to be found, a place that instills a constant state of hunger. Spawn Hollow gives the slaadi a place to grow their tadpoles autonomously as the skin of each player shifts continuously, and you’ll feel constantly watched within the Labyrinth of Eyes.
Each zone’s unique instability will reward the players with a key to the Far Realm proper, but it could also instill enough dread to wish that they never took this adventure in the first place.
5 Talhundereth
The Procession Hall by Chris Casciano- Explored during chapter six
- New addition, players can be any level between seven and nine
Dwarves know how to build extravagant underground temples, and Talhundereth is no exception. This temple to Dumathoin, god of buried secrets, was attacked by mind flayers, which resulted in its abandonment by its faithful, letting its riches and history be lost to the ages.
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PostsThis mind flayer stain has caused this gorgeous temple to have a permanent feeling of being haunted as if the psychic energies compel spirits to circle. Various monsters and enemies wander the halls now, along with a few bold enough to search for knowledge, giving a variety of dangers that make the search for the obelisk so much more interesting.
4 Crypt Of The Talhund
Rotating Sanctum by Michele Giorgi- Explored during chapter six
- New addition, players can be any level between seven and nine
If your party is able to solve a strange puzzle within the halls of Talhundereth, you’re rewarded with discovering the entrance to The Crypt of the Talhund, where the priests of Dumathoin were buried. The mind flayer’s psychic energies from their attack linger in the air, giving an already foreboding place a sense of dread and awakening horrible possibilities.
Your party will find fewer mutations and terrors within the crypts, instead finding those that have taken up residence after centuries of abandonment. There is also a fantastic puzzle at the centre of the crypt to reveal the final prize, one that may cause your head to spin.
3 Illithinoch
Illithonic Denizens by Brian Valenzuela- Visited in chapter seven
- New addition, players are level nine
Found deep under Phandolin is a secret stronghold of a fallen mind flayer empire, now overtaken by fanatics hellbent on bringing about a new god to the Sword Coast. This gives the derelict stronghold an aura of constant struggle for its purpose, with the old walls of a former empire now defiled by new symbols and languages.
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PostsBathed in an eerie green glow, Illithinoch will be a challenge for any player who steps in as Far Realm creatures guard the halls and scheming forces control different rooms. The truly unnerving part is that no matter where you go or what you kill, there’s always a feeling that something is watching you.
2 The Briny Maze
The Briny Maze by Craig J Spearing- Visited in chapter eight
- New addition, players begin at level ten
A terrifyingly spongy place of flesh and tissue, the Briny Maze is the buffer that protects Ilvaash’s personal realm from intruders by confusing those who enter before pulling them into the walls. To add to the unsettling visage, players who map the region can realize that the maze is shaped like a brain, with each lobe giving strange benefits to anyone in the region.
Players can find many dangers while wandering the visceral halls, such as those like the players who were looking to escape. It sets the stage for an unsettling voyage into the Far Realms, one where reality no longer looks the same as they know it.
