Phandalin

Phandalin was a village in the Sword Coast North that enjoyed much prosperity in the 10 century DR. It was raided by orcs in 951 DR and subsequently abandoned. It was eventually resettled in the late 15 century as a frontier settlement of farmers and prospectors.

Description
In the late 15 century DR, Phandalin was a modest and architecturally boring town of farmers, woodcutters, trappers, and miners built atop the ruins of the old Phandalin. The town quickly grew to about fifty well-maintained structures built of logs and flagstones with three deep wells providing water. The town was dominated by an apple orchard on the west side and a ruined manor atop a hill to the east. The townsfolk would congregate in a small town square and an adjacent town green.

Geography
Phandalin was located in the Lost Hills of the Sword Mountains south of Neverwinter Wood. It was northeast of Leilon where the road that ran from the High Road to Triboar faded into a trail. This was a region rich with both natural resources and adventuring opportunities.

The climate was temperate with an average yearly rainfall of.

Government
When Phandalin was first reestablished, it had no real functioning government, and the Phandalin Miner's Exchange began acting as a center of records-keeping for local mining claims. The townsfolk also annually elected a "Townmaster" who served as a judge and mediator as well as kept town records. In 1491 DR, Harbin Wester was the perennial Townmaster.

After diminished faith in the abilities of a single Townmaster to address threats to the village during the early 1490s DR, the townsfolk instead elected a three-member Town Council, originally consisting of Harbin Wester, Sildar Hallwinter, and Trilena Stonehill. Trilena was eventually replaced by Halia Thornton, who subsequently disappeared. As of 1496 DR, the townsfolk moved to expand the council from three to five and additionally to elect a mayor.

Trade
Phandalin was adjacent to land which was good for farming and ranching, and was near enough to Neverwinter Wood to support a woodcutting and logging industry. Most of the wealth, however, was from mining in the nearby Sword Mountains for gold, platinum, ore, timber, skins, and cold iron.

History
Phandalin was originally a farming community and a member of Phandelver's Pact, giving them access to the Forge of Spells and the mining operations in Wave Echo Cave. However, when the orcs of the realm of Uruth Ukrypt had destroyed all game in their realm, they went in search of food and turned on the human settlements in the area, raiding them. Phandalin was one of these settlements, and in the, it was overrun and then abandoned.

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. By the mid-to-late 14 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. 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.

Following the Spellplague, Phandalin once again was in ruins. Beginning around the, settlers from Neverwinter and Waterdeep began resettling the ruins of Phandalin once again, and the rebuilt town was well-established by the.

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, but also to increased intendents of visiting nobles and hapless thrill-seekers landing themselves in danger with local monsters.

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, an unusually intelligent ogre named Stuuzant began attacking local livestock in the middle of the town's first mayoral election between Harbin Wester and Sildar Hallwinter.

Notable Locations

 * Stonehill Inn: A modest inn that was run by a short, friendly young human man named Toblen Stonehill. Toblen came from the east of Triboar, seeking opportunity in prospecting like many others. He soon found that he knew more about running an inn than mining, and so he established the inn.
 * Barthen's Provisions: The biggest trading post in Phandalin, staying open from sunup to sundown. It was run by a lean and balding, middle-aged man with a kindly manner, Elmar Barthen. This shop was converted to the Temple of the Coinmaiden, dedicated to Waukeen, in 1496 DR.
 * Edermath Orchard: An orchard field with the simple cottage of a silver-haired half-elf named Daran Edermath. Daran was a retired marshal in the lands of the Dragon Coast. When he retired, he returned to the Neverwinter region, which was his original home.
 * Lionshield Coster: A weapons and armor supplier owned by the Lionshield Coster. The master of this post was a sharp-tongued woman named Linene Graywind.
 * Phandalin Miner's Exchange: A trading post where miners had their finds weighed and paid out. The townsmaster's records were kept here, with responsibility of no local lord. The exchange was run by a Zhentarim agent who attempted to slowly take control of Phandalin.
 * Alderleaf Farm: A simple farm that was run by a wise female halfling named Qelline Alderleaf. She was long-time friends with the druid, Reidoth.
 * Shrine of Luck: A small shrine made of stone from the ruins and Phandalin's only temple, dedicated to Tymora. It was in the care of a zealous young elf and member of the Harpers, Sister Garaele.
 * Shrine of Waukeen: A small shrine built in the briefly resettled Phandalin in the late 14 century DR.
 * Danley and Sons Inn: The only inn in the briefly resettled Phandalin in the late 14 century DR.
 * The Sleeping Giant: A rundown, dirty, and dangerous watering hole. It was known for being frequented by a bandit group, the Redbrands. It was operated by a surly female dwarf named Grista.
 * Townmaster's Hall: A small building that served as the town's council building. It also housed a small, but serviceable jail in the cellar. It was run by the townsmaster, Harbin Wester.
 * The Smithy: A local blacksmith.
 * Tresendar Manor: More of a castle than a manor, it was an ancient building that was abandoned after the orc raids of 951 DR. The cellars were turned into the hideout of the Redbrands. The cellars once served as a safe haven when the estate was attacked. It also served as a resting place for the deceased members of the Tresendar family. It was later turned into a guildhall for an adventuring company.

Inhabitants
Circa the 10 century, Phandalin boasted a large community of humans, gnomes and dwarves that prospered thanks to the wonders brought about by the Forge of Spells and Phandelver's Pact. This cooperative nature was highlighted in the writing, The Wonders of Phandalin.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Lost Mine of Phandelver • The Orrery of the Wanderer • Dragon of Icespire Peak • Storm Lord's Wrath
 * Princes of the Apocalypse • Storm King's Thunder • Sleeping Dragon's Wake • Divine Contention
 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
 * Baldur's Gate III
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * In Volo's Wake
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * In Volo's Wake