Phandelver's Geographic Problem, Explained!

I personally prefer fantasy to be grounded in as much reality as possible so this kind of content is absolutely tremendous.

A Wild West 'Gold Rush' style scenario set in that region could be lots of fun.

Leilon is actually a fishing village, also supported by Neverwinter. When my heroes went there, after setting up a fortress near Conyberry, they had to be careful not to be seen as trying to take over.

Hmmm this is interesting! Makes me think that Sildar Hallwinter from LMoP may not be welcomed by some of the townsfolk of Phandalin due to his association with the Lords Alliance. This can give some more context for why the Redbrands/Glastaff have taken over and why Halia Thornton (Zhent) is already in town pulling strings. The Wild West feel is so, so right!

Er... many of the things you describe as towns are actually, according to the legend, just ruins: Thundertree, Conyberry, Leilon, etc. Not sure if the boxed sets describe them as intact, but assuming that they are ruins, I think it says a great deal about the danger level in the area. Phandalin really is a "point of light" in the sense that 4e used the term.

When we finished up Lost Mines I set up something similar. Considering that Dagult Neverember is the one in charge of Neverwinter and his likely hatred for Waterdeep after being ousted I have set it up where he is trying to grow Neverwinter at Waterdeep's expense. To that effect he is extremely interested in gaining control/allies in the surrounding area. Here I have set up Phandalin as a rather important transit town. Waterdeep is dependent on goods arriving from the inland to use for trade. Dagult seeks to redirect this to Neverwinter which makes Triboar running right next to Phandalin a huge potential asset to tap into trade from the inland. So far Dagult is making innocent enough moves where he offers the players (who has become the Lords of Phandalin) support in the form of patrols in the area to keep threats away. This however is going to materialize into a situation where he essentially demands fealty from them in his moves against Waterdeep.

I love a comparison of Phandalin to Deadwood so much. Just finished recently watching this show (very sad about 4th season tho) and it gave me a lot of inspiration. finally I can understand relation between Neverwinter and Phandalin (like Chicago and Deadwood). And why is Phandalin such a deal for people from greater towns.

My party wanted a river crossing phandalin for this exact reason, they solved it with engineering, high magic and gold.

Brilliant video that sparks the imagination of DMs everywhere. Thanks again!

Wow, just wow. That sort of background info would have been so useful for when I played this. Just a chapter in the starter box with this level of detail on the issues that can come up after the players do the "main" story line would have made this a must buy for any new GM. Great content.

I am currently in the early stages of a campaign loosely based on the ‘what if’ scenario of what happens in the Dark Lord’s lands after the Dark Lord has fallen. Prospectors, missionaries and adventurers abound. And this video contains lots of ideas for me. Thank you!

Can you make a Ravenloft Geopolitics? It would be super interesting to analize a society trap in time and space

I just picked up the starter set to introduce some friends to D&D, and it’s my first time attempting to DM as well. This gives a LOT of food for thought - thank you Dungeon Masterpiece!

Al Swearengen, now there is a character and what a performance by Ian McShane, some of the best acting on TV. Deadwood is a FANTASTIC place to emulate for a campaign background. In the same vein, Hell on Wheels, could also be the backdrop for your road paving adventure from Neverwinter to Phandalin. Good video M'Lord!

This is 100% the video I needed. I have been working on a post-LMoP setting and this definitely helps. Also Phandalin as Deadwood is EXACTLY what I was thinking... I am already making a Charlie Utter character to run the wagon delivery business and wondering if I should turn Halie Thornton into Al.

Two considerations I'd add are, 1) foothills with plenty of grassland would be perfect for sheep, I feel like there would be a large amount of this industry in the high valley around the city. 2) create water is a first level spell any cleric or druid could have, this could make 10 gallons of water per casting per level per day. It's not a replacement for a full river but it could allow some additional farming in the region. Barley, rice, or amaranth would all grow well in foothills with some irrigation.

I enjoy all of Dungeon Masterpiece videos

I’m running an outpost mining town sandbox rn, except it’s more remote and there is a river nearby. A lot of the conflicts are related to the trade difficulties you bring up here, as well as mystical/monstrous wilderness encounters.

These I'm sure take a lot of work to put together but your deep dives into geopolitics and geography videos for DM's are hands down your best work, great job.

this is really good! this adds a lot of details and better understanding of the different towns in the region.