Phandalin
The Present Age Post The Second Sundering
Early History
Phandalin was originally a farming community notable for its mages and enchanters. It became a member of Phandelver's Pact circa the 10th century DR, giving the town access to the Forge of Spells and the mining operations in Wave Echo Cave. By the Year of the Doomguard, 950 DR, Phandalin boasted a large and prospering community of humans, gnomes, and dwarves, and thanks to the wonders brought about by the Forge of Spells and Phandelver's Pact, they aspired to eclipse nearby Neverwinter as a beacon of civilization on the Sword Coast North. The town's cooperative nature was highlighted in the writings of then-mayor Alderleaf, entitled The Wonders of Phandalin.
At that same time, the nearby orc realm of Uruth Ukrypt had exhausted their food supply from over-hunting, and so began to raid settlements in the area for supplies. Phandalin was one of these settlements, and in the Year of the Empty Hourglass, 951 DR, it was overrun and then abandoned. It was said that the orcs were supported by mercenary wizards, who went on to lead the orcs to raid Wave Echo Cave.
The town remained abandoned for centuries, with no inhabitants save for monsters and the occasional passing ranger making camp in one of the more secure structures.
First Resettlement
By the mid-to-late 14th century DR, Phandalin was notable as one of the better preserved ruins along the Sword Coast. Visitors were cautioned that although the town's three wells still contained water, one was tainted with an undetectable toxin that was fatal to all but orcs and half-orcs.
The town was resettled some years before the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR. The small village was a struggling hard-working community, with its most notable resource being mined in the nearby cold iron mines. The industrious man named Danley assembled a group of tough veterans of the Shadow War to clean the cold iron mines of their monstrous humanoid inhabitants and resume the cold iron production. The plan came to a halt when two representatives of the so-called "Cold Mining Company" arrived in Phandalin and declared ownership of the mines, and cleared out orcs and other creatures who infested it. Danley's suspicions were peaked as something was wrong about these claims. He suspected the Black Network or some nearby nation.
The "Mining Company" refused to employ people of Phandalin and sold the cold iron to some unknown source, never merchant caravans that passed the village. Danley allied with a group of mercenaries who worked for the merchant princess Sa'Sani to investigate the mines. Daniel Merriwether and Chester Paulson, the leaders of the operations, were revealed to be magically disguised oni mages Radbur and Gromcheck and miners – disguised orcs and bugbears. The "Cold Mining Company" was subsequently closed and claimed by Danley and the folk of Phandalin.
Second Resettlement
Following the Spellplague, Phandalin once again was in ruins. Beginning around the Year of the Nether Mountain Scrolls, 1486 DR, settlers from Neverwinter and Waterdeep began resettling the ruins of Phandalin once again, and the rebuilt town was well-established by the Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR.
Around this time, two challenges befell the town. One was a group of bandits known as the Redbrands, or the Redbrand Ruffians, who settled in Phandalin, making their lair under Tresendar Manor. They committed several terrible acts, such as racketing local businesses, kidnapping over a dozen travelers to sell into slavery, killing the woodcarver Thel Dendrar for his defiance, and later kidnapping his family. The other challenge was the appearance of Cryovain, a white dragon who claimed Icespire Hold as his lair and the region around Phandalin as his territory. The dragon terrorized the town and its neighbors, and further displaced orcs and monsters from of the Sword Mountains who likewise threatened Phandalin's safety. Unimpressed with how the townmaster, Harbin Wester, handled these challenges, the townsfolk restructured their government to include a three-person town council.
Soon after, Volothamp Geddarm passed through the town and wrote about it in his book, Volo's Guide to Monsters, causing the area to experience an influx of tourists and adventurers. This led a boom in the town's tourism industry, leading to an explosion of competition between the town's inns and taverns. The influx of tourists not only brought more business into Phandalin, but also led to increased incidents of visiting nobles and hapless thrill-seekers landing themselves in danger with local monsters. The town's newfound popularity coincided with the appearance of Gavmogon, a beholder with access to a powerful artifact that allowed him to spread madness in the region.
Over the next few years, much of the mineral wealth that was expected to flow into Phandalin failed to materialize. The town could go for months with no new income from the mining operations, and efforts to open the ancient mine at Wave Echo Cave were abandoned.
In the Year of the Duplicitous Courtier, 1496 DR, the town held its first mayoral election since its resettlement, with Harbin Wester and Sildar Hallwinter competing for the office. At issue in the election were things like the role of adventurers in the town's safety—exacerbated by the arrival of a franchise of the Acquisitions Incorporated adventuring company—and what to do about an unusually intelligent ogre named Stuuzant who had begun attacking local livestock.
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Campaigns
Phandalin Campaign
Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Exploration of the old Dwarven Fortress to inspect for habitation purposes of the Phandalin Residents.
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