D&D’s ‘New Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk’ Details Reveal a Hidden Villain
A hidden villain lurks at the heart of Phandelver, and new details about Shattered Obelisk reveal more about the upcoming adventure.
While Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants has been pushed back to August, the release schedule keeps rolling out, like some kind of unaware Autobot, having lost contact with Optimus Prime. And though the erstwhile hype-train is not nearly as cool a Transformer as Astrotrain, we make do with what we have.
And what we have are some new details about Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, the September D&D adventure. We’ve previously learned that Shattered Obelisk will feature all your favorite Phandelver delves. The Lost Mines of Phandelver is a classic adventure for a reason. But WotC has revealed new info, hopefully, info that won’t get Pinkertons sent after you for knowing it.
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk – New Details
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk is a high-fantasy adventure that begins in the beloved town of Phandalin as it faces unimaginable danger. Whether the heroes are newcomers to Phandalin or are returning after the acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons adventure Lost Mine of Phandelver, they discover hints of a threat lurking below the town. The heroes soon learn that the cult of a malevolent entity has set its sights on transforming Phandalin into the capital of its evil empire. To save the town from oblivion, the heroes must uncover a nefarious plot and confront the otherworldly cultists directly.
-
- Offers new Dungeon Masters and players the opportunity to dive into their first full-fledged Dungeons & Dragons adventure
- Retains the beloved Lost Mine of Phandelver quests that unfold into a brand-new adventure with classic D&D themes and a tinge of horror
- Presents a bestiary with approximately two-dozen new creatures that showcase psionic magic, body horror, and more.
- Provides a magic appendix that includes new consumable metamagic items, Netherese amulets, and duergar magic
- Includes a double-sided poster map with the Phandalin region on one side and the town of Phandalin plus key encounters in the adventure on the other
The full description of the product reveals some of what you can expect in the adventure. Notably that there’s a secret “malevolent entity” lurking below the town, waiting to claim it as its dominion.
But along with this will be new magic items, including “consumable metamagic items” which sound appealing to players. D&D 5th Edition struggles with consumable items in general. But the system isn’t really designed to take those into account. Why waste an action and a healing potion? Spells are better and can be infinitely refreshed, so the thinking goes.
But consumable metamagic items might help spellcasters, the favorite child of 5E, have more options. Martial characters can, presumably, get nothing and like it.
All this lurks in Phandelver and Below: the Shattered Obelisk, due out September 19th.
