The Redbrand Hideout
So you found that letter from the Glassstaff. For reference, here’s what it said in that letter:
Hi,
Make sure that the goblins deliver the package safely to the castle.
Glassstaff, Leader of the Redbrands ™
From your previous research, you know that the Redbrands are hiding out back in Phandalin at the Tresendar Manor. The Tresendars used to live in that place until they all died or left the town for whatever reason. The only thing left now is rotting couches, drapes, and corpses in the crypts beneath the manor.
As you make your way through the town towards Tresendar Manor, you feel the townspeople looking at you. They seem to know where you’re headed. In their eyes, you can see hope. A glimpse of a better future, without the fear of being ruffled by the ruffians. Maybe, just maybe, Phandalin can become a better town. A great town, even. Maybe almost as great as it was in the past. Dare I say, again? Surely they could do better.
Anyways, you come to the manor grounds and surprise, surprise, it’s deserted.
The D&D Starter Set comes with a very fun adventure that takes your players through the Mines of Phandelver. Well, if you can get to the mines, that is. In my playgroup’s case, I prefer adding my own take on these pre-made adventures—not because I think I can do better, but because I think it’s more fun.
The text here contains my notes to run a specific section of this adventure. As such, it does require you to have the actual text of the adventure written by Wizards of the Coast to be present while you’re referring to these. I obviously cannot share the full text of the adventure, because of copyright issues, probably.
Pls excuse the bad jokes. Unless you think they’re good jokes. Then, yes, haha, I made you laugh.
Someone looks around.
What is this? Among the mud, dust, and unkempt grass is a track that leads to a stone staircase just off the empty ruin of a large kitchen. Is there food in the kitchen? Who knows! At the bottom of the stairs stands an unlocked door with a cellar beyond.
The door opens onto a five-foot-wide landing fifteen feet above a large cellar, with stone steps descending to the floor in two short flights. Another door stands beneath the stairs to the north. A large stone cistern occupies the western part of the room, whose walls are lined with kegs and barrels.
The barrels are full of some delicious salted pork and beef, finely ground flour, precisely crystallized sugar, plump apples, and scrumptious ale.
The cistern is full of water. It’s cold, fresh, and reminds you of the beautiful waters of the Neverwinter River. You know, like during the Summer Solstice Festival when everyone goes by the river and swims in it and little wizard kids cast fireballs at each other, but since they’re little and inexperienced the fireballs don’t really hurt anyone but only singe eyebrows. Good times.
Storeroom discovered.
Ah, this appears to be a storeroom pressed into service as living quarters. Two double bunks stand against the wall near the door, while barrels and crates fill the southern half of the chamber.
“Hey! The heck do you think you are doing, unsettling us in our silent time. You better prepare yourself for some ruffling you punks!”
“Imma smash y’all to bits!”
“Jeez, what are you some sort of Suicide Squad, rushing into our hideout?”
“Sick dude. You’re gonna die now.”
Someone discovers the secret door.
There seems to be something hidden in the wall. Upon fumbling with it for a good 13 seconds, you realize that this is a SECRET DOOR! What secrets lie behind?
Well. It’s a corridor. There’s a corridor behind the secret door, which leads you before a crevasse, from which emanates an odor, so foul, that it fills you with rancor.
Alternatively, they can take the long way. Either way, the rhyme should be read.
Thick dust covers the flagstones of this somber hallway. The walls are decorated with faux columns every ten feet, and the double doors at the west end of the hall are sheathed in copper plate, now green with age. A relief carving of a mournful angel graces the doors.
Somebody spot my spaghett — I mean somebody sees the trap.
Nice job! There is obviously a trap here. It’s literally the front door of a secret hideout, did you really think it would be THIS easy to enter this place?
Someone falls into the trap.
As you walk through the corridor, suddenly you feel very light. As if gravity has stopped working. By the gods, you’re flying~! Oh wait, nevermind, you’re falling. There was a trap and you fell. Way to go.
They’re in the crypts now.
Three large stone sarcophagi stand within this dusty crypt, and propped up against each sarcophagus is a human skeleton clad in bits of rusty mail. False columns along the walls are carved in the image of spreading oak trees. The double doors in the southeast corner are sheathed in tarnished copper plate.
Without cloaks or password
There is a sense of dread as you enter this room. The air feels thick and cold and you can smell rot and decay. As you despair, you see the skeletons glow with an unholy aura as they come to life and attack you.
Past the skeletons somehow and into the Slave Pens
This long room is partitioned into three areas, with iron bars walling off the north and south. Filthy straw lines the floors of those cells, the hinged doors of which are secured by chains and padlocks. A pair of disheveled human women are held in the cell to the south, while a human boy is confined to the north. All are dressed in plain gray tunics and have iron collars fitted around their necks. A heap of discarded clothing is piled carelessly against the far wall.
“Well, well, well, strangers in the dark eh? It’s too late to run now punks.”
“Ooh imma gonna ruffle you up real good!”
“Welcome to Smashville. Population, you!”
“My name is Mirna Dendrar and these are my children! Those AWFUL ruffians killed my husband. They were gonna sell us to slavery OH HOW AWFUL! Luckily you saved us! Heroes! Champions!”
“There is a wizard in here somewhere. Evil looking fellow. Holds a glass staff, which seems counterintuitive as a weapon, but hey what do I know, I’m just a miner’s wife.”
“I don’t have anything to offer, but my family hails from Thundertree. It was a beautiful place, full of life and joy and happiness. Until the dead arrived. Now where there was life, there is death, where there was joy, there is sorrow, and where there was happiness there is sadness. Also, I think we may have a family heirloom there. It’s yours, if you find it.”
Then they entered the armory.
Racks of weapons line the walls of this chamber, including spears, swords, crossbows, and bolts. A dozen dirty red cloaks hang from hooks by the door.
It looks like the Redbrands are planning to expand their horizons, diversify their portfolios, verticalize, expand production, etc. Etc.
Past here, is a stock of things.
This area is the north end of a large natural cavern, but it has been finished with dressed stone block walls and a flagstone floor. Several barrels are stored against the walls here, along with a number of empty crates, straw for packing, hammers, pry bars, and nails.
The cavern continues for some distance to the south. You can make out several passages that open up off the larger cavern, and what looks like a deep pit or crevasse in the floor.
Secret door to the Glassstaff’s Quarters
Another secret door in the wall! Of course, a dungeon has to have these things. It leads you into Iarno’s chambers.
Examining the Crevasse
A cold breeze fills this large natural cavern, carrying with it the faint scent of decaying flesh. A crevasse divides the cavern and is flanked by two rough stone columns that support the twenty-foot-high ceiling. Two arched wooden bridges span the chasm.
My boy, the nothic speaks
You hear a terrifying voice that feels as though it’s coming from everywhere at once. It reverberates in your skull and fills you with cold and loneliness. A hissing, snarling, voice speaks to you.
“LIGHTS IN THE DARK, CAME FROM ABOVE TO UNDERGROUND. FEED THE MAW THAT SEES OR WITHIN THE VOID YOU WON’T BE FOUND.”
“WE OBEY THE GLASSSTAFF, A PAWN TO A PAWN. THE WEB HAS BEEN WOVEN. YOU ARE NOUGHT BUT FLIES TRAPPED.”
“WASPS OBEY THE SPIDER. THE GLASSSTAFF’S REACH IS AN ILLUSION. NO ONE ELSE RULES THE WEB BUT ITS MAKER.”
“THE EYE KNOWS YOUR HEART. WE WOULD REVEAL MORE BUT FRAGILE MINDS NEED NOT KNOW THE ELDRITCH.”
“THAT IS NOT DEAD WHICH CAN ETERNAL LIE, AND WITH STRANGE AEONS EVEN DEATH MAY DIE”
“YOUR HEART WILL EXPLODE.”
“NO ONE TRUSTS YOU.”
“YOUR SCHOLARSHIP IS SUBPAR.”
“A HEART OF ROCK IS DOOMED TO SHATTER.”
“METAL BREAKS AND FLESH IS MORTAL. LIGHT FADES, BUT DARKNESS ETERNAL.”
“THE MAW HUNGERS. THE MAW BECKONS.”
“ALL PLACES… ALL THINGS HAVE SOULS. ALL SOULS CAN BE DEVOURED.”
They go past the Crevasse and arrive at the Guard Barracks
This barracks contains four roughly built wooden bunks, with heaped-up blankets and dirty dishes scattered about. A strong smell of unwashed bodies and rotten meat fills the air. Three tall, furry humanoids are lounging among the mess, barking orders at a sad little goblin that demeans itself for their amusement. Your sudden appearance causes the goblin to faint.
If the scarlet cloaks are being worn
“Hmph. We telled you stay away from bugbear. Why here?”
“TRAITORS?”
“We SPEAK. WE SPEAK! BUT WE DIE ALWAYS ANYWAYS.”
“Cragmaw Castle. In the depths of the forest. Here we draw map.”
Otherwise fight.
Droop is a sad goblin.
“Oh awful awful bugbears! They run me as slave you see? But you are LIBERATORS! I fight for the liberators! Not that great a fighter, but I got spirit. I even tricked fainting teehee.
Common room where there is gambling happening.
Several worn tables and chairs are scattered around this large room. Wooden benches are drawn up against walls decorated with draperies of brown and red, and several ale kegs are propped up and tapped.
Four tough-looking human warriors wearing scarlet cloaks are gathered around one of the tables. A stack of coins and trinkets is heaped upon the tabletop between them.
Wizard’s Workshop
This room appears to be a wizard’s workshop. A rat scurries across the floor and takes refuge under a large worktable set up with alembics, retorts, distillation coils, and other alchemical devices, all of it stewing and bubbling away. Bookshelves are crowded with sheaves of parchment and strange-looking tomes.
There is a tome here written in Dwarvish. It is a journal written by a certain Urmon.
More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, but the nearby human town of Phandalin prospered as well. Disaster struck when orcs swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path.
A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost.
For centuries, rumors of buried riches have attracted treaure seekers and opportunists to the area around Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the lost mine. In recent years, people have resettle the area.
They go past the Crevasse and arrive at the Guard Barracks
This barracks contains four roughly built wooden bunks, with heaped-up blankets and dirty dishes scattered about. A strong smell of unwashed bodies and rotten meat fills the air. Three tall, furry humanoids are lounging among the mess, barking orders at a sad little goblin that demeans itself for their amusement. Your sudden appearance causes the goblin to faint.
If the scarlet cloaks are being worn
“Hmph. We telled you stay away from bugbear. Why here?”
“TRAITORS?”
“We SPEAK. WE SPEAK! BUT WE DIE ALWAYS ANYWAYS.”
“Cragmaw Castle. In the depths of the forest. Here we draw map.”
Otherwise fight.
Droop is a sad goblin.
“Oh awful awful bugbears! They run me as slave you see? But you are LIBERATORS! I fight for the liberators! Not that great a fighter, but I got spirit. I even tricked fainting teehee.
Common room where there is gambling happening.
Several worn tables and chairs are scattered around this large room. Wooden benches are drawn up against walls decorated with draperies of brown and red, and several ale kegs are propped up and tapped.
Four tough-looking human warriors wearing scarlet cloaks are gathered around one of the tables. A stack of coins and trinkets is heaped upon the tabletop between them.
Finally at Glassstaff’s Quarters
The walls of this bedchamber are covered with drapes of scarlet cloth. The furnishings include a small writing desk with matching chair, a comfortable-looking bed, and a wooden chest at the foot of the bed.
Sitting at the desk is a short, dark-bearded human male in robes, studying a tome. He wears a princely mantle of ermine. A beautiful GLASS STAFF leans against his chair, within easy reach.
“Ah guests. I knew you would come visit. After all, why would you start slaughtering my good gentlemen? Alas, enough of this unpleasant conversation. Please, come, sit let’s talk.”
“Ugh, did that abominable drow send you here? Are you going to murder me? Please do not resort to such vile actions. We can be civil.”
“Those dreadful creatures… The drow really didn’t need to do that to me. Still, our business ventured proved to be quite successful, without their assistance.
“Well… The drow is looking for a certain Forge of Spells. But of course you know of this since you plundered through my personal belongings after all.”
“Oh. You are with Sildar then. I pray you do not tell him of my business venture… It would prove disruptive to my interests.”