Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk - A twisted tale of cosmic horror
Wizards of the Coast have unveiled new information about Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, a cosmic-horror-themed adventure inspired by tales of 80s and 90s fantasy horror. The book releases on 19 September 2023 (although can be accessed as early as 5 September 2023 for those who preorder digitally), and will - as always - come with an alternate art cover.
What is Phandelver and Below?
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk is a 226 page adventure for characters of levels 1 to 12. The first third of the book is a remastered version of Lost Mines of Phandelver, an adventure that was featured in the 2014 Starter Set.
The alt art cover showcases the green theme running through the story, as well as the cosmic horror influences of the 80s and 90s (Wizards of the Coast)"In Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, players are immersed in a story that gets stranger and becomes more ominous as the adventure goes on,” says Amanda Hamon, Senior Designer in the D&D Studio and the book’s lead designer. “Once the nature of the threat to Phandalin becomes clear, the characters must race against the clock to save this beloved town against classic D&D villains we’ve given a fresh, terrifying twist.”
Lost Mines of Phandelver, and subsequently the town of Phandalin which features centrally in the adventure, is something close to a lot of players hearts - it was their first experience of the world of Dungeons and Dragons, and so it holds a lot of nostalgia and positivity for them.
Wizards of the Coast are keen to deliver on this nostalgia, illustrating previously unseen characters, mapping out previously unmapped locations, and polishing some of the hooks and encounters. Generally, Wizards claim it runs smoother than the original, has more depth, and a greater feeling of inclusivity thanks to some of the revamped characters, which have even had their race or gender changed.
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Many characters have had their race or gender changed, including the now-female druid Reidoth (Wizards of the Coast)Although things start out pretty idyllic in Phandalin, the town is soon put in peril. This peril escalates in true Dungeons and Dragons fashion, until the players are forced to take action. What begins as a strange investigation then turns into "the strangest adventure ever", with the big bad threat being kept a secret even from us.
What we do know is that the goblins, original known as the Cragmaw Goblins, also now feature a new set of goblins with strange psionic powers. Early parts of the adventure hint at general weirdness, which is symbolised by a slimy green motive running through a lot of the artwork and descriptions in the book.
Although goblins can often be a bit of comic relief in D&D, these psionic goblins are genuinely quite frightening, with otherworldly abilities and links to the cosmic horror unfolding underground. Despite this, the humour does persist in places, with some of the artwork featuring some very funny images of goblin graffiti.
The adventure now features strange psionic goblins - who are they, and what do they want? (Wizards of the Coast)New monsters, characters, and even a new mechanic
So what does the new adventure bring to the table? Firstly, characters are depicted that weren't before. This includes Linene Graywind, the merchant owner that runs Phandalin who will likely be the first point of contact for the players, as well as the banshee Agatha that players meet in the areas surrounding the city.
Some characters have been reimagined, such as Reidoth the Druid who is now a woman, and there are some completely new characters, including a tattooed dwarf from Neverwinter who is in Phandalin visiting her sister, and an archaeologist gnome who stumbled into a trap and became artificially aged.
Both bring knowledge that will be invaluable to the players, either through things they know, or things they have seen. This turns out to be helpful for the party, since the threat faced by Phandalin is something that's probably unlike anything they've ever seen.
Although Wizards of the Coast are keeping things a surprise for us, it's clear that something terrible is going on underground. This "something" involves corrupting magic coming from the depths, that seeps upwards. Because it's strongest at source, it's there that It not only mutates monsters, but also corrupts players thanks to an optional "corruption" mechanic that is featured in the book. This mechanic is largely flavour but it adds immersion, bringing the existential threat directly to the players directly in an unavoidable way.
Speaking of mutated monsters, the book contains multiple "new" monsters, which are actually twists on existing monsters - they're monsters you know, but not as you know them. Wizards hope the recognition of creatures with added unknown aspects will add a layer of fun for players and DMs, while keeping things fresh, exciting, but scary.
Some creatures have mutated and have new statblocks and abilities, including this mutated Cloaker with a dwarven skeleton attached to his face (Wizards of the Coast)As well as mutations there are also a lot of new monsters, most of them with a tinge of creepy weirdness that fits the cosmic horror theme.
As always, the book features a lot of artwork, from flavour images and chapter openers to maps and monster shots. In the beginning, this artwork is idyllic - it shows Phandalin as something worth saving and preserving, and also helps players feel that nostalgia from 2014 that they've been looking for all this time. As the book progresses however, the artwork gets darker and more grim, and the maps begin to change, reflecting the corrupting nature of the underground.
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The artwork starts out idyllic but gets darker as the story progresses. (Wizards of the Coast)"The corruption doesn’t appear only in the story’s characters and locations, it is a part of how the book’s art and visual design shifts, too,” says Bree Heiss, Art Director in the D&D Studio. “We wanted to create an immersive and thoughtful experience for the players that was as visually compelling as the story is exciting."
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk is something that Wizards of the Coast really seem to be describing as a labour of love, arguing that this is visible in the artwork, the layout of the book, and the care and attention they're giving to the remaster of a 2014 classic. The inception of the story was apparently driven by a desire to preserve Phandelver as a hardcover book, and it's something they hope will look fantastic on players' shelves for years to come.
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