The Lost Mines of Phandelver is a simple, introductory adventure that many Dungeons & Dragons players have become familiar with. It was part of the Starter Set, and it’s honestly pretty fun to play. Now, D&D wants to go back to that story and expand upon it with Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. This is a new campaign book releasing on September 19 (pre-orders now live) for all D&D fans to enjoy.
A growing settlement for trade and prospecting, Phandalin is a sleepy village in the northern region of the Sword Coast. Unbeknownst to anyone, something horrible lurks in the darkness below, and it threatens all of Phandalin. If left unchecked, this threat could consume all of Faerun. It’s up to the characters to save the day!
The idea behind Phandelver and Below is that it starts with the same adventure of The Lost Mines of Phandelver, but then it expands into a much bigger story full of horror elements. The entire campaign is designed to take a group of adventurers from level one to level twelve. The team says that the new campaign offers a new take on the town of Phandalin, higher stakes, and a journey to the Underdark.
Senior Designer, Amanda Hamon, shared:
In Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, players are immersed in a story that gets stranger and becomes more ominous as the adventure goes on. Once the nature of the threat to Phandalin becomes clear, the characters must race against the clock to save this beloved town against classic D&D villains we’ve given a fresh, terrifying twist.
Bree Heiss, Art Director, added some information about how things have changed a bit:
The corruption doesn’t appear only in the story’s characters and locations, it is a part of how the book’s art and visual design shifts, too. We wanted to create an immersive and thoughtful experience for the players that was as visually compelling as the story is exciting.
In addition to the campaign, you’ll find 20 new creatures inside the pages of Phandelver and Below. There’s also a magic appendix with new consumable metamagic items and duergar magic. Are you excited to revisit Phandalin and Phandelver? The book launches on September 19, but digital access will open on D&D Beyond on September 5. You can check out the main cover art and alt cover below.
