You’ve probably heard it a thousand times if you’ve spent any time around a tabletop. "Just run Phandelver." It sounds like a cliché because, honestly, it is. But there’s a reason this specific module—the one tucked into the original 5th Edition Starter Set back in 2014—hasn't been dethroned by the dozens of glossy, 300-page hardcovers released since. Lost Mine of Phandelver is a masterclass in how to teach a game without making people feel like they’re sitting through a corporate HR seminar.
It works. It just works.
Whether you're a brand new Dungeon Master or a grizzled veteran who remembers THAC0, there’s something strangely perfect about the layout of this adventure. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it gives you a very solid wheel and tells you exactly how to make it roll down a hill.
The Cragmaw Hideout: A Brutal Reality Check
Let’s talk about the goblins. Most people remember the first time they ran this. Your players are escorting a wagon. They see some dead horses. Suddenly, arrows are flying.
The "Goblin Arrows" encounter is infamous for a reason. It is incredibly easy to accidentally kill an entire party of level one characters in the first twenty minutes of the game. If those goblins get a surprise round and roll well on their stealth? It's over. Klarg the Bugbear, the boss of the first cave, has probably "TPK'd" (Total Party Kill) more groups than any other villain in D&D history.
Why is this good design? Because it sets the stakes. It isn't a video game where you can just tank hits and walk forward. It teaches players that positioning matters. It teaches them that a single well-placed crit from a morningstar can turn a hero into a puddle.
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Understanding the Phandalin Sandbox
Once you get past the initial cave, the game opens up into the town of Phandalin. This is where the Lost Mine of Phandelver really starts to shine as a teaching tool. It isn't a linear "go here, then here" story. It’s a sandbox.
The town feels lived in. You’ve got Sildar Hallwinter trying to maintain some semblance of Order. You’ve got the Redbrand Ruffians acting like a local mafia. You’ve got a dozen NPCs with different agendas.
- Toblen Stonehill: The innkeeper who just wants peace but hears everything.
- Halia Thornton: A ruthless opportunist linked to the Zhentarim.
- Sister Garaele: A priestess with a side quest that leads to a banshee.
Basically, the game gives you a home base and then points in five different directions. You can go fight Orcs at Wyvern Tor, deal with a necromancer at Old Owl Well, or try to infiltrate the Redbrand hideout under the manor. It’s messy. It’s non-linear. It’s exactly what D&D should be.
Why the Black Spider Kind of Sucks (And How to Fix Him)
If there is one major criticism of Lost Mine of Phandelver, it’s the villain. Nezznar, the Black Spider. On paper, he’s a drow mage trying to seize the Forge of Spells. In practice? Most players find him a bit... underwhelming.
He’s a "glass cannon." If the party wins initiative, they usually stomp him in one or two rounds. Plus, he doesn't really interact with the players much before the final showdown. To make this adventure truly sing, you have to bring him into the story earlier. Have his doppelganger minions impersonate townspeople. Let the players find letters he’s written. Make it personal.
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The Forge of Spells itself is another point of contention. It’s supposed to be this legendary site of power, but the actual mechanics provided in the book for using it are a bit lackluster. It gives items a +1 bonus for a few hours? That’s not a "legendary forge."
Most experienced DMs homebrew this. They turn the Forge into something that can actually create permanent magic items, provided the players find the right components. This adds a layer of long-term reward that the written text misses.
Transitioning to Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
In 2023, Wizards of the Coast released an expanded version called Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. It takes the first four chapters of the original Lost Mine of Phandelver and then tacks on a massive, cosmic horror campaign that goes up to level 12.
It’s an interesting pivot. The first half is classic high fantasy—goblins, dragons, mines. The second half is pure Lovecraftian weirdness—mind flayers, mutations, and creepy obelisks.
If you are running the original, you have to decide if you want that shift. Some players love the transition from "save the town" to "save the world from alien gods." Others find it jarring. If you prefer the grounded feel of the original, you’re probably better off sticking to the 2014 version and then branching off into something like Storm King’s Thunder.
Essential Tips for Running the Adventure
If you're prepping this tonight, here is the "real talk" on what you need to do to ensure the session doesn't flop.
Watch the action economy. In D&D 5e, the side with the most actions usually wins. When the players face Klarg, he has wolves and goblins with him. If the players focus solely on Klarg, the goblins will pick them apart. Remind your players (maybe through an NPC) that numbers matter.
Don't be afraid to kill the Redbrands. The Tresendar Manor dungeon can be a slog if you play it as a pure combat crawl. Let the players use the secret tunnel. Let them intimidate the ruffians. The Redbrands are bullies, not fanatics. If things go south, they should run away.
The Dragon Problem. There is a young green dragon named Venomfang in the ruins of Thundertree. New players will try to fight it. They will die. A green dragon’s breath weapon can do 42 damage on average. A level 3 wizard has maybe 20 hit points. Do the math. You need to signal very clearly that this is a social encounter or a "run away" encounter, not a "kill the monster" encounter.
Making the World Feel Alive
The "Lost Mine" isn't just a hole in the ground. It’s a historical site. The Phandelver Pact was a real treaty between dwarves, gnomes, and human mages. Use the lore.
When players find a piece of loot, don't just say "you find a +1 sword." Say "you find a blade with the seal of the Phandelver Pact, its edge still unnaturally sharp after five centuries." Details like that make the players care about the mine itself rather than just the gold at the end of it.
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Phandalin is a frontier town. It should feel like a Western. There’s no law. There’s no big army coming to save them. It’s just the players and a bunch of nervous miners. Lean into that isolation.
Actionable Next Steps for Success
To get the most out of Lost Mine of Phandelver, stop treating it as a script and start treating it as a toolkit.
- Adjust the first encounter: If your party is small (3 players or fewer), reduce the number of goblins to two. Don't let them hide every turn unless you want a very frustrated table.
- Flesh out the Black Spider: Give him a presence in Phandalin. Maybe he’s corresponding with Halia Thornton, or maybe he has a spy in the Stonehill Inn.
- Prepare for Thundertree early: Introduce the cultists or the druid Reidoth through rumors in town so the players have a reason to go there other than "it's on the map."
- Fix the Forge: Decide now if the Forge of Spells is a temporary buff or a permanent crafting station. If it's permanent, write down what materials (dragon scales, rare ores) the players might need to find to use it.
- Connect to the next adventure: If you plan on playing past level 5, start planting seeds for the next villain now. Mention the giants from Storm King's Thunder or the elemental cults from Princes of the Apocalypse.
This module is the backbone of modern D&D for a reason. It respects the players' agency while giving the DM enough structure to not feel overwhelmed. Take the bones it provides, put some meat on them, and you’ll have a campaign people talk about for years.