D&D 5E (2014) Ben Riggs talks to Richard Baker. Phandelver in 2018 alone sold 300k copies.

[TheSword]

Ive read it and I dont how people call it the best thing ever. What am I missing? It seemed pretty generic. We are talking about the old starter box adventure right?

I think that people appreciate the simplicity and the fact that it is a very generic style that can be fitted anywhere. It harkens back to old school adventures.

I agree with you, solid starting but hardly peak inventiveness. I’ve ran it and don’t see what all the fuss is about.

Forge of Fury is a great adventure though and Birthright was a tour de force that he should definitely resurrect.

 

[sevenbastard]

Ive read it and I dont how people call it the best thing ever. What am I missing? It seemed pretty generic. We are talking about the old starter box adventure right?

For a starter adventure it is head and shoulders above anything I have seen for any system ever. For a adventure made by WOTC it is better than the typical railroads.

Heck even Bryce recommend it.

[5e] – Lost Mine of Phandelver | tenfootpole.org

tenfootpole.org

 

[DarkCrisis]

I think that people appreciate the simplicity and the fact that it is a very generic style that can be fitted anywhere. It harkens back to old school adventures.

I agree with you, solid starting but hardly peak inventiveness. I’ve ran it and don’t see what all the fuss is about.

Forge of Fury is a great adventure though and Birthright was a tour de force that he should definitely resurrect.

Forge will always hold a special place in my heart

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

For a starter adventure it is head and shoulders above anything I have seen for any system ever. For a adventure made by WOTC it is better than the typical railroads.

I would say Buried in the Bahamas for Pirate Borg is better, but they're very similar in structure (constrained opening followed by player choice, eventually ending at a climactic dungeon crawl).

Lost Mine of Phandelver isn't the best adventure of all time, but it is the best starter D&D adventure so far. (And a very good D&D adventure generally speaking. The fact that it looks so simple is a testament to Baker's skills.)

 

[dave2008]

Ive read it and I dont how people call it the best thing ever.

That is true of any adventure someone claims is the best thing ever. There is not correct answer to that - it is, like D&D, very personal and subjective. What is great for your is terrible for someone else. That is the way.

 

[Parmandur]

I lucked out and got the free Beyond version offered during the Pandemic. I was disappointed that both Phandelver and the Shattered Obelisk got merged together rather than Phandelver getting a logical "expansion" keeping to its vanilla, classical play and the far realm/mind fayer plot didn't get room to breathe before the mind goblins (heh) attack. I get they were trying to play catch-up to latch onto the BG3 hype by doing it, but it feels tonally disjointed.

(I actually think both parts are good separately, with a little elbow grease at least. But they don't complement each other. It really feels like you're jumping from one module to another rather than playing a narrative whole).

Weirdly, I think the parallels between T1 Village of Hommlet and what happened with the final messy Temple of Elemental Evil book and how Phandelver got treated are extremely strong...

 

[Stormonu]

It's not outstanding in terms of story or places, but the original Phandelver overall feels very, very D&D. I think that is its greatest strength - it hits all the high notes at just the right time, with enough openness to take in many directions during and after the adventure.

It's a shame what we got with the expanded adventure - it took a left turn and tried to become something else - and it just fell flat rather than inspire.

 

[Zardnaar]

Rich is an incredibly underrated adventure designer. Forge of Fury is one of the best D&D adventures ever, and Phandelver probably has the #1 position in any list.

We played Forge of Fury last year for the first time.

One of my favorite dungeonhacks at least.

 

[Zardnaar]

Ive read it and I dont how people call it the best thing ever. What am I missing? It seemed pretty generic. We are talking about the old starter box adventure right?

Its a very well done basic adventure. Hits the D&D classic hits.

Compare it with other low level similar adventures. B2 very basic kinda bland dungeon hack.

T1 village of Hommlet. Better but still early.

Similar adventures turn up first time around mid 1990s. Book 1 night below, the 1999 starter adventure or Return to the KotBL. Structure wise is similar to the Paizo era obesity 2003/4 through to early Pathfinder.

Best D&D adventure ever? No but it's one of the better low level ones.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

A rare thread where people are talking about two adventures I've actually run

(Lost Mine of Phandelver and Forge of Fury)