D&D 5e Nerzugal's Dungeon Master Toolkit 3

Nerzugal's Dungeon Master Toolkit 3 Foreword / Thanks Thank you so much for purchasing Nerzugal's Dungeon Master Toolkit 3! This is the third of my Dungeon Master Toolkits and my fifth book release. This product has been in the works for a full year and has been a pleasure to create and refine this content for you. My goal with each book is to create a massive set of resources that any Dungeon Master can add to their arsenal. This time around it is 6 adventures, 10 puzzles, 20 merchants, 100 trinkets, and 100 monster stat blocks! The content of this book is ready to use as is, but in Dungeons & Dragons each table is unique. Different players enjoy different kinds of content, so be sure to make your own creative changes as you see fit! If you players are all about hack and slash adventuring and getting huge piles of treasure, then remove the puzzles from the adventure and throw in a few extra magic items. If you like the idea of a monster, but it doesn't quite work for your campaign world - change it! This book is a guideline, not a ruleset, so let your own creativity flourish as you use its content! My goal is to create adventures that a first-time Dungeon Master could run with ease and one that a long-time Dungeon Master could craft to perfectly fit their homebrew world with minimal effort! I would like to extend a personal thanks to all of my friends who are my playtesters/guinea pigs for all of the content you find in this book: Justin, Bella, Jeff, Kelly, Rachael, and Hyde. Also a big thanks to my sister whose graphic design skills help me to create the covers of these products! These are the people who continue to fuel my passion for Dungeons & Dragons and make unique and creative decisions that alter my initial designs and ideas for the better! It is a joy for me to create this content and see all of the positive feedback from people who enjoy the adventures. Please let me know if there is anything you find confusing or that you don’t enjoy! I am a one-man team so there are always things that slip through the cracks, but I will do my best to update the content as I receive criticisms! I have changed my formatting since the last book to try to make it easier to run each of the adventures based on feedback from readers of my older books, so let me know if it is working! I occasionally drop spoilers and share completed content ahead of time on Twitter (@Nerzugal), so feel free to follow me there for additional information on future releases, to get teasers for future products, or as an avenue to share feedback with me. These beautiful layouts were created with The Homebrewery on Naturalcrit.com so a huge shoutout to the developer and be sure to help support them on Patreon! Art for this product is by Uyen Nguyen and Yulia Plokhaya with cover art by Sergey Schastny. Enjoy! 2

Ta b l e O f C o nte nts A d v e n t u r e s ( 0 0 6 ) T h e H a r v e s t Fe s t i v a l [ 1 - 4 ] ( 0 3 2 ) T h e A n o m a l y [ 1 - 4 ] ( 0 4 5 ) B e n e a t h t h e S u r fa c e [ 1 - 4 ] ( 0 5 6 ) G i v e a H O O T! [ 1 - 6 ] ( 0 6 3 ) My t h s o f t h e S a c r e d Te m p l e [ 1 - 8 ] ( 0 7 9 ) T h e G o r g e o u s a n d t h e G r o t e s q u e [ 5 - 8 ] P u z z l e s ( 0 9 2 ) C o m p a s s Ro s e ( 0 9 2 ) P u z z l i n g P a s s a g e ( 0 9 3 ) S i m p l e D o o r P u z z l e s ( 0 9 3 ) C r o s s e d Wo r d s ( 0 9 4 ) B a r r e d A l p h a b e t i c s ( 0 9 5 ) T h e Key e d C o d e ( 0 9 6 ) D e s k D e c o r a t i o n s ( 0 9 7 ) C u b i c C o n u n d r u m ( 0 9 8 ) M u s i c a l M e s s a g e s ( 0 9 9 ) To r p o r O r b s M e r c h a n t s ( 1 0 1 ) A r i a n n a N e r r a l a ( 1 0 2 ) C a d e n C a r l i s l e ( 1 0 3 ) D e l u g a C r e s t b r e a k ( 1 0 5 ) Faj i l l i ( 1 0 6 ) Fa r r a h ( 1 0 8 ) F l e e p ( 1 0 9 ) G o r o d o n ( 1 1 0 ) H a z i a T h e l b o r n ( 1 1 2 ) J i n l l a k ( 1 1 3 ) Ke l z e n o t h A KA Re d ( 1 1 4 ) K h a rj i m B l a c k fi s t ( 1 1 6 ) P e n ny A l l e r t o n ( 1 1 7 ) Re k a l l a S w i ft fo o t ( 1 1 8 ) R i l k a t h e C h a r m e r ( 1 2 0 ) R i m l y N i ffl e fo o t ( 1 2 1 ) S m u g G n a r l t o o t h ( 1 2 2 ) Te l l e n a r M a r k a l e t h ( 1 2 3 ) T h e H o o d e d O n e ( 1 2 5 ) To k’K a l o r a ( 1 2 6 ) Z u v i a T r i n k e t s ( 1 2 7 ) Tr i n ke t Ta b l e s N e r z u g a l’s E x t e n d e d B e s t i a r y 3 ( 1 3 0 ) A b y s s a l G u a r d i a n ( 1 3 1 ) Ax o t o n l ( 1 3 2 ) C e l e s t i a l C o m b a t a n t s ( 1 3 3 ) L u n a r Wo r s h i p p e r s ( 1 3 8 ) S o l a r Wo r s h i p p e r s ( 1 4 4 ) C o r p s e A n g l e r ( 1 4 6 ) C r e a t u r e s o f t h e Fey ( 1 4 6 ) Fey C r i t t e r s ( 1 4 6 ) B l o a t To a d ( 1 4 8 ) D r e a m M o t h ( 1 4 8 ) N o c t o a d ( 1 4 9 ) F l ay i n g M a n t i s ( 1 4 9 ) S p o r e H o u n d ( 1 5 0 ) W i l d C r e a t u r e s ( 1 5 0 ) C h a m e l e o x ( 1 5 1 ) Ve n t u s F l y d r a ( 1 5 2 ) Tw o - H e a d e d Fey L i z a r d ( 1 5 2 ) B a r k s k i n Tr o l l ( 1 5 3 ) S a t y r s ( 1 5 5 ) S p r i t e s ( 1 5 8 ) S y l p h s ( 1 6 2 ) D e v o r a t o r ( 1 6 3 ) D o l l s ( 1 6 5 ) D r a c o n i c C l a n s ( 1 6 6 ) D r a c o n i c Wa r r i o r ( 1 6 6 ) D r a c o n i c Wa r d e n ( 1 6 8 ) S c a l e d P r o t e c t o r ( 1 6 8 ) D r a g o n C a l l e r ( 1 6 9 ) D r a c o n i c S p e l l w e av e r ( 1 6 9 ) A p e x H u n t e r ( 1 7 1 ) E s s e n c e H a r v e s t e r s ( 1 7 4 ) E l e m e n t a l I n fu s e d B e a s t s ( 1 7 5 ) I c e B e a s t s ( 1 7 7 ) L i g h t n i n g B e a s t s ( 1 7 9 ) F i r e B e a s t s ( 1 8 2 ) Wa t e r B e a s t s ( 1 8 5 ) E a r t h B e a s t s ( 1 8 7 ) G i a n t H a g fi s h ( 1 8 8 ) M u s i c a l C o n s t r u c t s ( 1 9 3 ) O o z e s ( 1 9 6 ) P a n g o l o t ( 1 9 7 ) S a n i t y S n a t c h e r ( 1 9 9 ) S ke l e t o n s ( 2 0 1 ) Ta r d i g r a n d ( 2 0 2 ) Ty r a n t o f t h e D e p t h s ( 2 0 4 ) W i t c h e s A p p e n d i c e s ( 2 1 2 ) A p p e n d i x A: M o n s t e r s B y C R ( 2 1 3 ) A p p e n d i x B: M o n s t e r s B y C r e a t u r e Ty p e 3

Adventures In my past books, this section has been dedicated to one-shots, but the term does not apply as well to this book as four of the adventures are intended to take multiple sessions to complete! So in Nerzugal’s Dungeon Master Toolkit 3 they are simply - Adventures. These last from 3 to 12 hours depending on your party’s shenanigans, its size, and your pacing. The estimated times for each adventure are listed alongside them as well as the levels that the adventure supports. These are each self-contained adventures that can be dropped into your existing campaign world or be used as a one-off adventure with all-new characters. They are a great tool for new Dungeon Masters who might be hesitant to jump immediately into a full adventure or even an official module without first testing the waters. For experienced DMs, these can be a break from your traditional game night if you have players missing or simply be interesting set pieces to drop in your world without requiring a huge amount of prep time. I often enjoy paying tribute to famous movies and television shows with my adventures and this book is no exception. You will find tributes to Beauty and the Beast, Groundhog Day, Tremors, and Legends of the Hidden Temple in the following pages, though each of them has been transformed in significant enough ways that your players may not immediately realize the connection. Alongside these is Give a HOOT, which allows the party to save and bond with an adorable owlbear and bring a family back together (as seen on the cover of this book). The book also includes my previously solo-published adventure - The Harvest Festival - which can easily span 3 sessions and even has options for a PvP mode if you have enough players! Overviews The Anomaly Levels: 1-4 Expected Duration: 6-10 Hours Tags: Puzzle-Heavy, Combat-Heavy, Traps, Creative Problem Solving Inspired by the movie Groundhog Day, The Anomaly has the party trapped in the small mountain town of Pawney with an unstoppable army of orcs charging upon the city. When the orcish forces arrive, the entire town and the party are slaughtered, but the group wakes up in their beds unharmed as the day is reset. Only they and a few other individuals from around town are aware of the resets and it is up to them to uncover the truth hidden beneath Pawney. They will face monsters and traps that are otherwise insurmountable, but with as many tries as needed, it is merely a matter of finding the right tactics. How many times will the party die before they unlock the secret of The Anomaly? Beneath the Surface Levels: 1-4 Expected Duration: 3-5 Hours Tags: Combat-Heavy, Horror, Creative Problem Solving, One-Shot, High-Lethality Inspired by the movie Tremors, Beneath the Surface leaves the party trapped on the rooftops along with all of the citizens of the town of Adaven as monstrous rock worms burrow through the ground in search of food. The town is known for its prosperous mining industry, but when the townsfolk broke into a new rich vein of ore, they inadvertently awoke the creatures slumbering beneath the mountains. Now these blind, nigh-indestructible worms must be stopped! The party teams up with the leaders of the town and maneuver from disaster to disaster, all while trying to devise a plan to put these creatures in the ground permanently. Does your party have what it takes to save the town, or will they be left consumed by the massive wurms that lurk Beneath the Surface? The Harvest Festival Levels: 1-4 Expected Duration: 6-12 Hours Tags: Festival, Mini-Games, Heavy Roleplaying, Friendly PvP Mode, Replayable The Harvest Festival is a massive adventure that covers the events of the annual celebration in the town of Ankhor (or any city you'd like in your own campaign setting)! The party can either face off a rival adventuring group that calls themselves The Saviors of Revelheim, or you can put two groups of PCs against one another as they compete in the Gladiator's Gauntlet. This Gauntlet has six major events the party can choose from in a best of five, each highlighting a different set of abilities from cooking, combat, fishing, and even on-stage performance! Outside of these events, the party can partake in nine mini-game booths where they can earn prizes, patches for their outfits, or even spins on the Grand Prize Wheel! Which events will your party choose? Will they collect all nine of the mini-game patches? And do they have what it takes to emerge victorious in the Gladiator's Gauntlet? Find out at The Harvest Festival! 4

Give a HOOT! Levels: 1-6 Expected Duration: 2-4 Hours Tags: Heartwarming, Beginner DM Favorite, Moderate-Combat, One-Shot I hope you love owlbears, because this adventure has an entire adorable family of them. In Give a HOOT!, the party must help reunite a stolen baby owlbear named Nekosi with her mother and father. They are all rescued owlbears at the Humans for Outstanding Owlbear Treatment (HOOT) Sanctuary. Unfortunately, even when the party returns Nekosi back to the HOOT Sanctuary, they find that her parents broke out to go save Nekosi and are still missing in the woods. It is up to the party to track down these worried parents and get them safely back to the sanctuary before wolves can hunt them down or goblins can devour them! The pay for the job isn't the best, but the reward of seeing the family is still grand assuming your players Give a HOOT! Myths of the Sacred Temple Levels: 1-8 Expected Duration: 6-10 Hours Tags: Puzzle-Heavy, Moderate-Combat, Gut-Wrenching Trapped beneath the town of Gwenthas is a Primordial Earth Elemental that is desperately trying to escape its containment in an ancient prison. Fortunately for the people of the town, there is a way to reinvigorate the magics of the prison. Unfortunately, it lies in a temple filled with traps, puzzles, and creatures that only the most worthy of adventuring groups could hope to conquer! Your group will have all of their abilities put to the test as they travel through this temple, facing challenge after challenge with the help of a shapeshifting companion named Kirfog. If they fail, far more than the town of Gwenthas is doomed, but should they succeed they will be added to the Myths of the Sacred Temple. The Gorgeous and the Grotesque Levels: 5-8 Expected Duration: 5-8 Hours Tags: Multiple Paths, Combat-Heavy, Heavy Roleplaying Potential, Puzzle-Light In this Beauty and the Beast inspired adventure, the party will be tasked with rescuing a beautiful young woman named Emma from a werewolf that has captured her and locked her away in a castle. The party can choose to slay the beast or to aid the werewolf's father to find a cure for lycanthrope. Neither of these paths will be easy, as the enchantments placed on the mundane objects of the castle to help keep it safe from intruders and to keep it from crumbling without its servants have begun to go awry. The silverware, the suits of armor, and even some of the plant life around the castle grounds are out to stop the party in their goal! Will your party kill this ferocious werewolf or give him a chance at life again? Find out The Gorgeous and the Grotesque! 5

The Harvest Festival A Festive Adventure for Levels 1-4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adventure Synopsis The party finds themselves entering the city of Ankhor in the midst of its annual Harvest Festival. The entire town is filled to the brim with people from all walks of life indulging in food, drinking, games, and trade! As the party joins in the festivities, they are called out by another band of adventures - a group calling themselves The Saviors of Revelheim. The Saviors are still novices, but after their recent victory over an attacking squad of orcs, they are feeling quite confident in their capabilities - confident enough to challenge the party to competition in the Gladiator’s Gauntlet! The Gladiator’s Gauntlet was once a massive arena in which people and groups could face off against one another, but as time went on the people demanded a bit more flash and pizzaz than simply fighting with blunted weapons! Now, the Gauntlet has become an entirely new competition with events that can challenge every skill in an adventuring group’s arsenal. There is still some bloodshed on occasion, but now there’s also plays, feasts, and fearsome beasts! In Rooftop Rush, two runners sprint across the rooftops in the city’s living district while the rival team pelts them with non-lethal arrows - some of which are filled with oil or even glue! In the Culinary Confrontation, each team must compete to create the ultimate culinary experience, choosing a single (ordinarily repulsive) ingredient that their opponents must use in their meal! In the Passionate Performance, the teams must work together reenact a scene from a famous play, captivating audiences with their charm and swagger on the stage! And this is only a portion of the potential challenges! In between events, the party is welcome to indulge in any of the nine different festival games that are scattered all throughout the city. Some of these events are based on luck while others are based on skills, but all of them can potentially reward a Golden Ticket which allows for a spin on the Grand Prize Wheel in the town square! The prizes range from a stay at the finest inn of the city up to a bag containing up to 100 gold. Your players best be ready to utilize all of their skills as they venture into The Harvest Festival! A PvP Adventure!? This module can also be used as a PvP adventure! Two parties of PCs can compete against one another instead of against the Saviors of Revelheim! There are instructions alongside each of the events in the Gladiator’s Gauntlet that gives information on how to convert each of them to a PvP encounter rather than PvE. This will mean a crowded table, but will also hopefully mean a great deal of fun for everyone involved! Average Party Level (APL) This adventure uses the Average Party Level (APL) to scale the difficulty of encounters. This is simply the average of your players’ total character levels assuming you have 4 party members. If your group is larger than 4, increase your APL by 1 for each additional player. If your party is smaller than 4, decrease your APL using this same rule. Expected Length: 6-12 Hours The expected length of this adventure is 6-12 hours. I realize this is quite a large spread, but there are so many different things for your players to explore in this adventure and it is intended to be open-ended. There are mini-games to explore, NPCs to talk to, and the actual length of the main tournament can be shorter or longer depending on how the party performs. That being said, I would highly suggest more than one session as there is a lot to do at the Harvest Festival! Descriptive Text Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance that will be noted. New DM Disclaimer I would not recommend the PvP mode for a novice DM, as it will likely be overwhelming to try to manage up to 8 players at the table at once! 6

Harvest Festival Overview Sheet Major Events Arrival in Ankhor Getting a Copper Drinking Token Choosing a Tavern Meeting the Saviors Gauntlet Overview Competition Sign-Up Entering the Gladiator’s Gauntlet Best of Five Saviors ask to draw out tournament for gold if losing A Winner Declared Additional Rewards Saviors Sendoff Taverns The Glass Mug Ankhor Ale House The Tower Tavern Important NPCs The Saviors of Revelheim Marco Vargus - Human Fighter Relenas Tylina - Elvish Wizard Milo Thatch - Halfling Rogue Eldon Thatch - Halfling Paladin Gladiator’s Gauntlet Events Rooftop Rush Jubilant Joust Brawling Beasts Culinary Confrontation Passionate Performance Fishing Frenzy Specialty Food The Gauntlet Food Challenge Dragon Wings The Ramslay Special Spiked Apple Pie Goblin Balls Specialty Drinks Dragonflame Brew Ice Giant Ale The Bog Mindwarp Whiskey (Limit 1 per guest) Triple A (Ankhor Apple Ales) Game Booths Hammer Slam Dagger Toss Hot Pepper Challenge Drop in the Bucket Ferret Races Cake Walk Duck Pond Copper Mines Fishing in the Void 7

Welcome to Ankhor The city of Ankhor is quite large, spanning multiple miles with its vast trade district and numerous housing districts. The inner portion of Ankhor is surrounded by a thick stone wall. At one point in history, the entire city was protected by these walls, but Ankhor’s population has grown far too large for such constraints now. The businesses within the bounds of the walls are typically high-class while the areas on the outside are middle to lower class. There are dozens of other groups heading into the city as you make your way down a large hill that leads into the beautiful, sprawling city of Ankhor. The view is spectacular as magically enchanted bonfires cause brilliant flames to dot the town and sends colorful plumes of smoke up into the air. A pleasant aroma can be smelt even many hundred yards outside of town - the smell of baked goods and fried meats. As you approach, you see town guards in outfits decorated in red, yellow, and orange standing out front and handing each person that enters the city a small copper token. As each person enters the city, they are given a single copper leaf that is good for one beer at any tavern of their choice within the city - and there are many options available! It is growing late when the party arrives at Ankhor, so most of the festivities have moved into the taverns as the game booths and vendors have shut down for the day (aside from a select few offering specially seasoned beers and fanciful desserts infused with alcohol). The party can make their way to a tavern of their choice, but if they ask a local or a guard they will be told of the following: The Glass Mug, Ankhor Ale House, and The Tower Tavern. The Glass Mug serves all of their alcohol in see-through glass mugs and the strength of each drink is indicated by a special dye that is added to each. A blue drink is weak, but as they turn purple and then eventually red, the drinks grow stronger and stronger. This often leads to competition between patrons! Ankhor Ale House has all homebrewed drinks made here in town. They have over a dozen ales and beers from local breweries and pride themselves on the sweetness that is naturally infused with the alcohol from all of the fruits that grow in the area. Their apple and blueberry ale is especially popular at the festival. The Tower Tavern is four stories high, each with a large balcony that cuts across half of the room. The quality and price of the drinks increase as you get higher up the tower. For the price of five silver, you can “Ascend the Tower” and get a drink on each floor as you rise up to drunkeness! The Harvest Festival The annual Harvest Festival goes on for an entire week just after the bulk of the crops are harvested for the year. Ankhor has miles upon miles of orchards filled with fruits of all varieties. These are used to make apple ales and wines that keep the city prosperous and make it a hotspot for tourism. The festival started as a way for farmers to celebrate and to sell off their goods to anyone who enters the city for the festival, and while this still occurs, the festival has become so much more! Now the festival consists of hundreds of gaming booths, performances from individuals from all around the world, and fierce competition! People come from many towns over to enjoy the festival and it is something that people all across the region look forward to each year. The Saviors of Revelheim This section explains how the NPC group comes into conflict with the party. If you are planning on a PvP encounter for the group, you will need to set up the adventure so that the parties are forced to compete! You can start them off in the same tavern and simply let things unfold (the players will know that the spirit of this one-shot is competition, so some light trash talk as the challenge is extended gives some fun roleplaying opportunities!) When the players enter the tavern of their choice, they will find it is filled with individuals enjoying themselves. Once the party has grabbed some drinks and have had some time to settle in and chat with other tavern goers, a man approaches. You are approached by a drunk man wearing armor that is slightly damaged from combat. He has a massive greatsword slung across his back. He is a tan-skinned human with short black hair and an arrogant smile spread across his face. He looks you up and down, evaluating your group with critical eyes before loudly declaring, “The Saviors of Revelheim could use another member I suppose. Some of you look like you might not be completely useless on the battlefield.” He hones in on a single member of the party. “How do you feel about ditching these would-be heroes and getting with a group actually capable of doing great things?” 8

Members of The Saviors The characters of the Saviors of Revelhiem are going to be critical to this adventure. This will give you insight into their attitudes and their individual personalities. Stat blocks for each member of the Saviors are provided at the end of the module. Marco Vargas - Human man in his mid-twenties. Fighter that uses a greatsword in combat. He is confident and proud, but shifts to arrogant and cocky with a few drinks in him. He loves the spirit of competition and will do whatever is needed to keep his party safe. He is considered the leader of the Saviors simply because of his attitude. Relenas Tylina - Elvish woman nearing the end of her third century. She is a wizard that specializes in protection magics, keeping her allies in the fight even without healing. She is calm and reserved - quite intelligent and incredibly calculated in her actions and responses. She typically remains silent, only speaking when needed. Milo and Eldon Thatch - A set of halfling twins that are bitter rivals in almost all aspects of their lives. Milo is a rogue while his brother, Eldon, is a paladin. Eldon uses a warhammer and shield combo and worships the God of Justice. Milo is a master with traps and constantly messes with his brother in non-so-subtle ways that just continues to fuel their rivalry. Despite this, the two are inseparable. They are both at the end of adolescence for halflings and still have some growing up to do, which is made obvious by their rather obnoxious mannerisms and their hammer meets nail approach to almost all problems. Goading to Competition This man introduces himself as Marco Vargus, leader of the band of heroes that were named Saviors of Revelheim after they stopped a group of orcs from destroying the small town. He brags about their exploits, embellishing the incident as best he can as he drunkenly flaunts his supposed superiority. He will ask the party of their accomplishments before suppressing a laugh and once again prompting the party member he singled out if they would like to switch allegiances. An elvish woman in flowing blue robes comes over and puts a hand on Marco’s chest. She appears regal with silvery hair that is twisted up in a set of intricate braids that are held in place with a twin set of hair spikes. Eyes as silvery as her hair regard you as she apologizes. “Come on, Marco, stop harassing these people. They are just trying to enjoy the festival,” she says and uses a bit of force to try to push him away from your group. Marco seems to give in to her urging and turns away, but after about three steps he deftly spirals out of her grasp and runs back up to your table. “I extend a challenge! Face off against our group in the Gladiator’s Gauntlet! All those I have challenged thus far have chosen cowardice! If you think yourselves better than us, then prove it before the entire city!” The elvish woman sighs and walks over. “You really don’t have to do this. He just gets a bit. . . competitive when he is drunk.” A set of halflings (the Thatch brothers) walk up and flank the elf. They are clearly related, sharing the same green eyes, short nose, and matching smiles. They address the elf as “Rel” and proclaim how excited they are to step into the Gauntlet, that the competition is sure to be fun, and that it will only help spread their renown in the area. Challenge Accepted If the players are still hesitant, one of the Saviors will tell them that the average competitor makes at least 15 gold so there really is nothing to lose. As long as they can put on a show, people will come to observe and they will make money! Your players will likely have questions about the competition so be sure to read the descriptions of the events in the sections below so you can provide these details via tavern NPCs. Your players may also want to challenge a group with more renown to earn some extra gold, but groups of higher status will refuse to compete against those with no experience as it loses money to compete against rookies. Once the challenge is accepted, Marco is thrilled and tells the party to meet them in the central square near the Brawling Beasts arena so they can sign-up. The party can continue drinking and asking questions before turning in for the night. In the morning they can make their way to sign-ups where they will need to list the members of their team and come up with an official name for the party. They will then get to choose the first event (as they were the ones challenged) and are given a time slot to show up to compete! With that done, you are now ready to move onto the competition portion of the one-shot! The Saviors will always lead off with the Brawling Beasts event when given the choice of events, but after that you can simply roll randomly for the next event they choose. 9

The Gladiator’s Gauntlet You can check each of the sections below for more information on specific Gladiator's Gauntlet events and their mechanics. Entry and Rewards To enter the Gladiator’s Gauntlet, each member of each team will be required to throw in 10 gold pieces. At the end of the Gauntlet, the winning team takes all of the initial buy-in. Both teams then split a cut of the entry fees paid by fans to view these events. The more exciting the competition, the more money the party can make in the end. For this module, the amount of gold the players make at the end of the competition scales with the APL. The numbers listed below are modified by individual event performances though! (The players know that they stand to earn more gold with a longer competition but don’t know the actual amounts). These amounts are the values awarded to an entire party, not per individual. Base Gold Rewards APL 3 Rounds 4 Rounds 5+ Rounds 1 50 Gold 75 Gold 100 Gold 2 100 Gold 150 Gold 200 Gold 3 200 Gold 275 Gold 350 Gold 4 300 Gold 400 Gold 500 Gold Competition Structure The Gauntlet is a best of 5 event. The team that was challenged gets to choose the first event and from then on out, the loser of the last event gets to choose the next. There are many different groups facing off in the gauntlet, so the party does get a bit of time in between events where they can go and watch others compete and get some insight into the challenges that lie ahead of them or simply enjoy the rest of the festival. Depending on the downtime options you give your players, this adventure could go quite long! Be sure to factor your time constraints and consider just moving directly to the next event if necessary! Since the Saviors of Revelheim were the challengers, the party will get to choose first from the list of events below and are free to ask the patrons of the tavern what these events are and which are their favorites! Gauntlet Events There are six total events that the party can partake in when they go up against the Saviors. They each emphasize different strengths and weaknesses. Simple combat prowess is not nearly enough to come out on top in the Gladiator’s Gauntlet! These events are Rooftop Rush, Jubilant Joust, Brawling Beasts, Culinary Confrontation, Passionate Performance, and Fishing Frenzy! Quick Overviews These descriptions can be used to give your players a quick description of the events. You can deliver this through whichever NPCs you wish. Rooftop Rush One member of each team must run through an obstacle course on the rooftops of homes in one of the housing districts of the city. The runners can take on challenging jumps and feats to get an edge, but must constantly be on alert, for the enemy team will have an archer firing arrows upon them that are tipped with glue, oil, or simple rubber. Jubilant Joust Parties must make their way into the forest on the outskirts of town and use limited resources and time to capture mounts to use in a jousting tournament. Each of the mounts have their own strengths and can provide an edge in the competition. From there, it is a best of three with each round of the joust requiring a different rider. Brawling Beasts This is the simplest of the events. Both of the parties face off against a set of powerful beasts in the arena. Each team fights creatures of relatively equal strength and the team that defeats their beasts in the fewest number of rounds is considered the winner! More daring and exciting maneuvers lead to more excited crowds that can earn the party additional coin! Culinary Confrontation The teams meet up under a massive tent with two matching cooking stations setup within. The parties assign the opposing team a grotesque and unusual special ingredient that they must use to prepare a delicious meal for a panel of celebrity judges. Each team is given limited gold and time to find the ingredients needed for their perfect meal. Passionate Performance The parties band together to put on a performance in front of a live audience. They are required to act out a scene from a popular play in the area - The Desolation of Nayala. Each team has three roles to fill and the superior actors walk away with both the crowds' heart and victory. (Disclaimer: This event requires your players to actually read from a script to put on a play. Make sure they are aware of what they are getting themselves into before they select this event!) Fishing Frenzy The parties are set loose on Lake Orenska and have a limited amount of time to gather bait, find the perfect fishing spot, and return back to the docks with the biggest fish they can catch! Different types of baits are better at catching different fish and each fishing location attracts specific species - some bigger and harder to catch than others! 10

Rooftop Rush Overview Rooftop rush is a challenge that takes place on multiple fronts. One member of each team will be designated as a runner that will need to sprint and leap from building to building in one of the housing districts of the city. People crowd the streets down below to watch as the runners can choose a number of routes to try to make it to the far side of the course as quickly as possible. This is made a bit more difficult by the archers firing upon the runners. Each team gets to choose two members of their group to act as archers, firing arrows tipped with either rubber, oil, or glue at the runners. Each archer has only one of each type of arrow, so they will have to choose wisely when to use them and how! The Runners The runners climb up a ladder to the top of a home at the edge of the district. The length of the run is about 500 feet, finishing as they jump down into a large pool of water on the far side of the course. The runners are not allowed to wear armor for this competition, so their AC is simply 10 + Dexterity Mod (unless other bonuses apply). The runners also need to have a Strength score of at least 10 or they cannot succeed on even the easiest of jumps. No magical enhancements are allowed in this competition and you are not permitted to interfere with the other runner. Doing either of these results in an immediate loss of the event! This competition takes place in twelve stages. During any of these stages, the runners may have to deal with an arrow being fired at them and make the appropriate checks. On some stages, they will have a choice in route to take - making a dangerous jump or maneuver to keep along the straightest path to the end or take a longer, safer path. For every two shortcuts a runner succeeds, they advance one extra stage. Additionally, for every two successful shortcuts completed by the runner, the party received an additional (10 x APL) gold at the end of the tournament. Keep in mind, the characters will very likely be on different stages after a few rounds as checks are failed or shortcuts are taken! If a runner ever falls off the roof as the result of failing a shortcut attempt, they will need to climb back onto the roof of the most recent building they stood on firmly. This simply causes the runner to repeat the most recent stage of the race again. Marco is the Savior’s runner for this event. He has the following relevant stats: Athletics [+5] Acrobatics [+1] Dexterity saving throws [+3] Strength saving throws [+5] AC 11 The Archers The archers move as a squad, being pulled parallel to the runners in a horse-drawn wagon. Each archer is equipped with a shortbow or longbow (archer’s choice) and one rubbertipped arrow, one glue arrow, and one oil arrow. Each time a runner enters a new stage of the race, the archers can choose if they want to fire. If they do, they will also have to decide which type of arrow they wish to use. With each arrow, they will need to make an attack roll against the runner. On a hit, the arrow strikes true and its effect triggers. Milo is the archer for the Saviors and has a +5 bonus to hit with his shortbow. Rubber-Tipped Arrows - The runner is struck by this heavy rubber-tipped arrow, threatening to knock them off balance! The runner must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or stumble off the rooftop. If they fall, the runner must repeat the current stage of the race. Oil Arrow - The archer fires an oil arrow at either a runner or at the surface at the edge of a jump. The AC of a surface is always 10. Eave of a Roof - If the oil is fired at the edge of a jump, the runner must make the jump with disadvantage. Directly at a Runner - The DC of their next three jumps is increased to 14 as their hands are slicked by the oil. Glue Arrow - The archer fires a glue arrow at either a runner or at the surface at the edge of a jump. The AC of a surface is always 10. Eave of a Roof - After the runner succeeds on the jump, they must then succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or become stuck. This player cannot act during the next round of the contest as they must use that time to free themselves. Directly at a Runner - If the arrow is fired at a player, at the beginning of the next 3 stages that contain a jump, the runner must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or make their jump with disadvantage as their boots stick to the roof. 11

Stages Below are quick descriptions of what happens at each stage of the competition. Stage Option 1 Option 2 1 Sprint across the rooftops to the first jump. No checks required. N/A 2 Jump to a nearby building on the right. Shortcut - Perform a mighty leap to a building far ahead. DC (10 + APL) Strength (Athletics) check or fall and repeat this stage. 3 Run around the edge of a pointed-rooftop building to avoid the sloped center. Shortcut - Run straight up the slanted roof, balancing carefully as to not fall. Succeed on a DC (10 + APL) Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or slip, roll off the roof, and repeat this stage. 4 A stretch of small jumps between homes constructed near one another. N/A 5 More narrow gaps between builds that curve around a small social square in the district. Shortcut - Attempt a very difficult jump to land on top of the well at the center of the social square and then leap to the next building. Succeed on a DC (12 + APL) Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to make a narrow jump onto the roof of the well. Then make a DC (10 + APL) Strength (Athletics) check to leap to the next roof which is far away! Failure on either of these rolls forces the runner to repeat the stage. A success on both counts as two shortcut successes. 6 Circling back around the rooftops to get on a direct path to the end of the race. N/A 7 Jump over and run across the roof of a horseshoe-shaped bath house. Shortcut - Try to zipline down a clothesline leading from one set of buildings to the next. Requires success on a DC (8 + APL) Strength (Athletics) check to hold on during the slide or fall and repeat this stage. While ziplining, if the runner is hit by any arrows, they must repeat this saving throw in addition to the other effects. 8 Leap onto the roof near the peak of a tall church building. N/A 9 Carefully descend the far side of a roof with its steep incline and jump to the next building. Shortcut - Slide down the rooftop and attempt to jump at the right moment and roll onto the roof of the next building over. Succeed on a DC (10 + APL) Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or mistime the jump, slide off the edge, and repeat this stage. 10 There is a fairly substantial gap between the next two roofs but there is a board laid between them that you can carefully cross. Shortcut - Choose to simply jump the gap! Succeed on a DC (12 + APL) Strength (Athletics) check to clear the jump or fall and repeat this stage. 11 Run around the outside of the tavern, almost at the finish line! Shortcut - There are little pieces of stone jutting out of the side of the tavern. They are thin and spaced a few feet apart. Succeed on a DC (8 + APL) Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to leap between the stones carefully and to the next building. On a fail, fall and repeat this stage. 12 Final sprint across rooftops. Leap off the edge of the last building and splash down into the pool to the cheers of the crowd! N/A 12

Mounts d20 Mount Name Training DC Special Benefits 1-3 Riding Horse 10 Domesticated. Rider automatically succeed on Animal Handling checks. 4-6 Camel 10 Spit. Gives the opponent a -1 modifier to their lance attack roll. 7-8 Giant Ram 11 Stalwart. Cannot be intimidated. 9-10 Giant Boar 11 Charge! Opponent must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or get a -3 modifier to their lance attack roll as they cannot reposition the weapon in time. 11-12 Giant Lizard 11 Agile. +2 bonus to Dexterity saving throws and a +1 bonus to lance attack rolls. 13-14 Giant Toad 12 Mighty Leap. Opponent must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or get a -4 modifier to their lance attack roll as they cannot reposition the weapon in time. 15 Axe Beak 12 Agile. +4 bonus to Dexterity saving throws and a +1 bonus to lance attack rolls. 16 Worg 12 Intimidating. Opposing rider must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check or get a -5 modifier to their lance attack roll as their mount is startled. 17 Elk 13 High Ground Advantage. Rider gains a +2 bonus to lance attack rolls. 18 Tiger 13 Intimidating. Opposing rider must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check or get a -5 modifier to their lance attack roll as their mount is startled. 19 Displacer Beast 15 Displacement. Gives the opponent a -3 modifier to their lance attack roll. 20 Unicorn 16 Lucky (2/Day). Rider can reroll any saving throw or skill check and take the higher of the two results. Jubilant Joust Overview Jubilant Joust is a fun twist on traditional tournament jousting. It still contains the common act of two riders charging at one another with lances and trying to dismount the other, but what makes this particular event unique is that the mounts the contestants ride upon can vary drastically. Before the joust begins, each team is released into a large fenced-off area in the woods to the northwest of town where a variety of potential mounts have been set loose. Each party must capture at least two of these mounts without harming them as they are property of the city. They have a few supplies to help them in this endeavor and different creatures provide different bonuses during the joust portion of the competition! The teams then compete against one another in a best of three joust event using these mounts. The teams must use both of their captured mounts and must use three different riders. There are two different types of lances that can be used - one for dexterous competitors and the other for strong competitors. The first team to two dismounts is victorious! Obtaining Mounts The first step of the competition is to capture mounts. This is done in a fenced-off area of the forest just to the northwest of town. The competitors take turns entering the forest and capturing mounts. The team that did not choose this event gets to capture mounts first! They will be able to search for exactly one hour, which gives them six rolls on the table below. If they fail on a check to capture a mount, they get no second try and must roll on the table again. The party is also given a few tools to help in the capture of the mounts: 2x Bag of Treats 1x Lure 1x Mount Handbook The bag of treats gives the players advantage on a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to befriend a creature. The lure allows the party to roll twice on the Mount table and take the result of their choice. The handbook lists all of the mounts in the forest and gives the party rough information on the creature's special benefits. (e.g. An axe beak is especially agile and will allow the user to more easily adjust against opposing mounts that might use special movements.) It also gives a general rarity for a creature (e.g. Riding Horse - common, Giant Boar - uncommon, Unicorn - rare). Searching Roll on the table below to determine which creatures the party encounters as they journey through the area. The party can capture any number of mounts, but they can only have a total of two with them at once so they might need to release one when another is caught. If a team does not manage to capture two mounts during their search, then they automatically lose the event. If neither team captures two mounts, it is a draw. The party can choose to use a lure during their search to get advantage on the roll, but this expends the lure and it is no longer usable. Capturing When the party encounters one of the mounts in the forest, they can attempt to tame it with a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. The party can increase their odds of befriending the mount by offering it a bag of treats, but they only have 2 of these total to use so they must choose wisely! Magic is allowed for the taming process as well, so spells such as animal friendship can be especially useful. The DC of the Animal Handling check is listed on the table below. If the party fails this check, the mount does not trust them and this check cannot be attempted again. 13

Capturing (cont.) If one of the teams captures a unicorn, displacer beast, tiger, or elk, remove that creature from the table below and reroll if you land on that portion of the table during exploration. To determine the mounts for the Saviors, roll three d20 and choose the two lowest numbers to represent their mounts. If this would cause them to have the same mount (for example, if you rolled two 3's) then take the higher value or roll again to ensure they have mount diversity. The Joust! Once capturing is done, the party takes their mounts to an arena setup just outside of town. Assistants help the party's mounts get setup with the appropriate saddlers for a rider. All of these animals are trained and can obey orders from a skilled rider, but they are still animals and so they may be affected by the abilities of the opposing team's mounts. The jousting area has row upon row of bleachers on each side and they are packed full of onlookers excited to see the competition! Before the tournament begins, each party must choose the order of their riders and which mount they would like to use for each round. A different mount must be used for the first and second round, but either mount can be used for the third if a winner has not been decided. Each rider must also choose either a lance that uses Strength for its attack rolls or Dexterity for its attack rolls. Competition! Once the mounts and their riders have been chosen, the competition begins with the mounts at opposite ends of the arena. Each rider is given a large wooden shield and their chosen lance. They must ride towards each other and attempt to knock the other rider to the ground by striking them with the lance! All riders are given protective padded armor to ensure they are not too badly injured if they take a blow from a lance. During this portion of the competition, no spells are permitted as this is a display of pure skill. Anyone caught using spells to enhance their riders receives an immediate loss. The confrontation has a few checks that must be made: The first is a DC 10 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to determine how well a rider is keeping control of the mount. A failure on this check gives the rider a -2 modifier on their lance attack roll for this clash as it is more difficult to keep their lance on target. Second, check to see if either of the mounts inflicts a detriment to the opposing mount. Make any appropriate rolls and let the players know how their attack rolls are being modified. Third, the riders each make an attack roll against the opposing rider. The shield provided and the padded armor gives each rider an AC of 15 no matter their Dexterity or any other AC bonuses they might ordinarily receive. The attack roll with a lance is Str Mod or Dex Mod + any additional modifiers. If the rider is proficient with a lance, they may also add their proficiency bonus. The result of the clash is determined by the result of the attacks: Both Miss - Neither rider manages to land a solid blow against the other. The riders reset and repeat the clash! Both Hit - The riders successfully hit one another, but both manage to stay on their mounts! They use their shield to keep aloft or shift their bodies to absorb the blow! If one of the riders rolls a natural 20 for the attack, they dismount the opponent even if they managed to land a hit as well. If both riders manage to roll a natural 20, both are dismounted and it is a draw for the round! One Hit, One Miss - One rider is superior with their strike. They get enough purchase with their lance to knock the opposing rider to the ground! The round is over and the next set of riders move into place unless a winning team has been declared. Putting on a Show! The competitors can choose to put themselves at risk or perform dangerous maneuvers in order to please the crowd and receive extra gold at the end of the tournament. For example, one of the riders could choose to decline wearing the padded armor. This causes them to take 1d12 + Str Mod or Dex Mod whenever they are hit but they maintain their normal 10 + Dex Mod AC for the joust. They could also close their eyes on the approach, choosing to intentionally roll at disadvantage. Any such actions will grant the team an additional (25 x APL) gold at the end of the Gauntlet. If the party wins the jubilant joust with a 2-0 record, they also receive an additional (10 x APL) gold at the end of the Gauntlet. 14

Brawling Beasts Overview This competition is the most straight forward of all of the events and is always the first one that the Saviors of Revelheim will choose when given the opportunity. The teams are led to an arena and will be set to face off against deadly creatures captured from the nearby area. The team that completes the task the fastest is the winner! The saviors finish their battle in (d4 + 2) rounds. If the players finish on the same round, it is a tie and no one will gain points towards victory! The loser of the last event will get to choose again! There are two different sets of monsters that the party can face. The team that did not choose the event gets to choose which set of creatures they wish to fight and force their opponents to fight the other set. The Beasts The types and number of creatures the party faces depends on APL: APL Option 1 Option 2 1 3x Wolf 3x Giant Wolf Spider 2 2x Brown Bear 2x Dire Wolf 3 2x Ogre 2x Ankheg 4 2x Owlbear 2x Giant Scorpion Once the enemy is chosen, the party will step down into an arena with fans watching from about twelve feet up. There are a few low walls in the battlefield that provide cover, but nothing else of note. There are a few wrought-iron gates around the edge of the arena - some small and others quite large. The party will have time to choose a position before the enemy is released from a random gate. As the party goes through this fight, the crowd will cheer and ask for the group to use specific tactics. Remind your players that the crowd is watching and expecting a show. If your players go above and beyond in their description of attacks in this combat, they receive an additional (10 x APL) gold at the end of the tournament. If the party put themselves at a distinct disadvantage or perform a daring activity to please the crowd, they receive another (10 x APL) gold. Culinary Confrontation Overview In this event, your players will use their cooking skills to earn the sweet taste of victory! All members of each team can participate in this event, as having more people helping isn’t necessarily advantageous. The entire team is being spectated by the crowd and hosted by a charismatic half-elf named Tydallen. This event is essentially a cooking show in a D&D setting, so be sure to have fun with it and get a little less serious. The way the competition unfolds is as follows: First the teams will pick a special ingredient for their opponents to use in their meal. There are six options and the team that did not choose this event gets to pick first! The teams will each be given 3 gold and access to the marketplace for ten minutes to gather whatever other ingredients they need for their meal. The teams will then be given two hours to prepare their meal in a kitchen with everything needed they need to prepare a luxury experience! Both groups will be in the same kitchen, but at different cooking stations. At the end of the two hours, they will present their dish to a set of three judges who will evaluate the meal and decide on a winner! The plates are judged on selection of ingredients, quality of ingredients, taste, and presentation. These will be determined by rolls made by the party throughout the competition. Characters with proficiency in Cook’s Utensils will give a player a solid idea of how to cook using these special ingredients even without a check. They are trained in the kitchen and will be a huge help in this challenge. Characters with proficiency in Alchemist’s Supplies, Brewer’s Supplies, Herbalism Kits, and even a Poisoner's Kit can glean some information from the DM about their particular ingredients and effective ways to prepare it. To The Kitchen! You walk through a back entryway into a massive white and gold-colored tent. The sound of an excited crowd echoes through the area. The interior of the tent is almost completely empty but there are two fully functional cooking stations setup side by side. They are equipped with an array of chef’s knives, a range, a cauldron with a fire pit beneath it, and all of the plates and bowls needed to present a beautiful meal. Roughly thirty feet from these kitchen setups is a long table with three chairs behind it all facing towards the kitchen. Lined up on this table are six jars, each containing a strange substance. Standing next to the table is a handsome half-elf man. He beckons you over to him, a charming smile spread wide on his face. 15

This is Tydallen Fierren, the host of the Culinary Confrontation. He pulls the parties over and ensures they know the rules of the competition. He also lets them know that there is a huge crowd waiting just on the other side of the tent. Make sure to answer any of the party’s questions and let them know what they need to be doing for this event. The party can see shadows dancing around as well as cheers of excitement and whispers of anticipation. When the party is ready, some attendants rush in and drop the edges of the tent, revealing a crowd of hundreds and hundreds of excited fans! Tydallen is a showman at heart and will try to make every detail - no matter how mundane - seem exciting. He will interact with the party, asking them personal questions and making jokes to get a reaction from the crowd. Use this as an opportunity for some fun role-playing with your group! Starting the Show! Tydallen steps between the two kitchens and turns to address the crowd, pulling out a magic wand as he does so. He holds this wand up in front of his mouth and when he speaks his voice booms loudly through the area. “Hello everyone! What a beautiful Harvest Festival we have this year. Am I right?” He pauses as the crowd cheers, soaking in their adoration before turning to face you. “Looks like we’ve got some new faces today in the Culinary Confrontation Kitchen (Sponsored by Marius’s Magnificent Meats - Why settle for mediocre when you can have Magnificent?)” He steps over to the party. “So, what do you call yourselves?” He then moves to follow up questions: Is this your first time competing? Do you have a strategy going into the competition? Which one of you is the best cook? Star Judges Once Tydallen is done with introductions he goes over the rules once again for the crowd. “The teams will now choose a special ingredient that must be used by their opponents in their meal. The teams will then be given 3 gold and ten minutes to buy ingredients from the market - so you better move fast! You will have two hours to use your gathered ingredients and craft the perfect meal for our judges. No magic can be used during this competition and only ingredients you gathered at the market are permitted to go on the plate! Once we hit the two-hour mark, it is knives down and you must present your meal - complete or not - to our judges. Speaking of which . . . let’s bring ‘em out!” Tydallen introduces the panel of judges. Choose whichever celebrity chefs you wish to populate your panel. I give some examples below but you are free to use your own as well! “This half-orc man may have been raised in the wilds, but now he brings ferociously delicious meals to the kitchen. You love to hate him! It’s Goredawn Ramslay!” ”This chef may be a gnome, but his personality towers over other chefs. Don’t let those spectacles fool you, he can see right through a fancy presentation covering up a bad meal! It’s Baltonrown!” ”This elf is famous for his spices kicking his meals up another notch. With some of the best restaurants in the city, let’s give a big welcome to Lerime Essagal!” ”This half-elf woman can breathe life into even the foulest of meals. With her charming smile and joyful optimism, she is sure to delight even the grumpiest of audience members as well! It’s Rachelle Sunray!” Special Ingredients Next, Tydallen will lead the party in the selection of their special ingredients. He will read each of the items out loud and the crowd will cheer and wretch in response! The potential special ingredients are as follows: Jar of Gelatinous Jelly - A jar of heavily acidic jelly from a gelatinous cube. It will dissolve through most other ingredients, has a strange texture, and almost no discernible taste or smell. If used correctly, it can unleash the true flavor of other ingredients! Ingesting too much of this causes stomach ulcers. Pickled Intellect Devourer Brain - This large pickled brain has a horrid texture and smell, but surprisingly delicious flavor. The presentation is gruesome, so it will need to be heavily disguised to allow the person eating the food to appreciate the taste. Ingesting too much of this causes vivid hallucinations and short-term memory loss. Nothic Eye - This eye is nearly six inches in diameter and continues to stare out aimlessly. The juice contained in the eye is considered a delicacy, but extracting it is less than pleasant. If done improperly, it can completely overpower a meal with a taste that is similar to that of blood, but if used correctly it has a strong umami taste. Ingesting too much of this causes terrible nightmares and paranoia. Spectator Tentacles - These long, slender tentacles are covered in slime that must first be carefully removed to use the ingredient. The tentacles are quite tough and if prepared incorrectly are all but impossible to chew. Different tentacles provide different flavor profiles - some spicy and others naturally sour or salty. Ingesting too much of this item causes a short-term superiority complex and illusions of grandeur. Basilisk Heart - This large heart has a good flavor if you can extract the tiny pieces of stone from within it. The last thing a meal-goer wants is to consume little chunks of stone as they eat their meal! It must be added to the meal late, as it slowly petrifies other ingredients if left near them for too long. Ingesting too much of this item leads to the development of kidney stones. Magmin Flame Sac - This sac filled with an orange jellylike substance that is spicier than the hottest of peppers! Taking a bite out of a raw flame sac will cause someone to sweat profusely before passing out from sheer pain and losing the ability to taste for many weeks. Using the correct amount to get the spice without the pain is tricky, as is extracting the jelly without burning yourself. Ingesting too much of this causes painful chamber pot adventures, temporary loss of taste, and heartburn. 16

Common Dishes Jar of Gelatinous Jelly - Gourmet peanut butter and gelatinous jelly sandwich with peach jelly cobbler for dessert. Pickled Intellect Devourer Brain - A diced brain salad with a potent sour vinaigrette alongside a pickled brain omelet and roasted potatoes. Nothic Eye - Cream of mushroom and onion with a nothic eye juice base and an eye-juice glazed pork with pineapple slices. Spectator Tentacles - Meatballs and spectator tentacle noodles with garlic bread and a white chocolate coated tentacle pretzel for dessert. Basilisk Heart - Basilisk heart and broccoli with teriyaki sauce alongside basilisk heart bacon and maple donuts. Magmin Flame Sac - Flame sac roasted chicken and rice with hot and sour soup and a spicy tomato cocktail. Choose a random ingredient for the Saviors to assign. All are fun and challenging in their own way. The Saviors will make one of the meals listed in the section above. The players are free to come up with whatever dish sounds fun and delicious! If one of the party members has proficiency in a skill relevant to cooking, give them some of the ideas above as well. This is meant to play out like a cooking competition television show, so keep that in mind as you play out this event! The Marketplace Once the players have their special ingredient, they can form a game plan for what they would like to prepare. Give the players a few minutes to discuss before setting them loose. Each team is allowed to only use the three gold given to them for this event. A judge will follow the players around, taking note of the ingredients purchased and the amount of remaining gold. Tydallen will walk over during this time and ask the party their thoughts and what they think of their special ingredient. Vendors know the competitors are out for the highest quality ingredients and will attempt to lure them to their booths. Some can give advice on using the ingredient in a dish and why the items at their booth are the perfect match. Some of the vendors have long lines of ordinary citizens and the party may need to shove some people out of line or bribe them to get to the vendor in time! The characters can use a variety of skills to aid with this purchase of ingredients and make sure they get the most bang for their buck! Charisma (Persuasion) checks can lead to better prices and allowing the players to buy higher quality products. Intelligence or Wisdom (Survival) checks can help to know which items in the market are going to pair well with their special ingredient. Wisdom (Insight) checks can let the party know if they are being overcharged for an ingredient or if a vendor is stretching the truth about an item’s common usage to get a sale. Players will need to make a total of three checks as they interact with these vendors. These checks will determine the quality of their ingredients compared to the opponent. To determine the Savior’s total, roll 3d20 + 10. Vendor Options Marius’s Magnificent Meats Beatrice’s Fresh-Baked Breads Veronica’s Fresh-Off-The-Vine Fruits and Vegetables Pierre’s Pasta Emporium Jamal’s Jellies and Jams Sabrina’s Spice Shelf Daria’s Dessert Destination Let’s Get Cooking Once time is up in the marketplace, the teams rush back into the tent to start cooking! Only three characters can work effectively at the cooking station at a time, so the players will have to choose those with the most relevant skills to represent them! Tydallen walks around the area making comments about how good the food smells, complimenting the techniques the competitors are using, and questioning the introduction of certain spices as the crowd oohs and ahhs. He will even pull one of the party members aside and ask them personal questions, trying to pry out tragic history to share with the crowd. He will even go so far as to lean in and whisper in their ear, “It doesn’t even need to be true. The crowd just eats this up!” Determining Quality The party will need to perform three checks for cooking and plating their meal. The players can justify which stat and proficiency they would like to use. All characters in the kitchen must contribute one roll and the same check cannot be made by two different characters (except a Cook's Utensils check). This could be an Intelligence (Cook’s Utensils) or Wisdom (Survival) to prepare the exotic food, a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) to carefully cut the ingredients, or even a Charisma (Performance) check to plate the ingredients in a pleasant manner. The Savior’s will use 3d20 + 8 for their bonus for this portion of the competition. If the party’s total from the marketplace and cooking rolls is between 81 and 95, they receive (10 x APL) additional gold at the end of the tournament. If the total is 96 or higher, they receive (20 x APL) additional gold at the end of the tournament. Alternatively, if your party’s total is 65 or lower, this also brings in (20 x APL) additional gold because people love to watch the tragedy unfold. 17

Judging! When the plates are sat down before the judges, their total score across the marketplace and in the kitchen determines their reactions. 65 and below - The meal is vile. The meat might be raw or the special ingredient is used at dangerous levels. The judges are disgusted and refuse to eat the food with snide remarks and disappointment. The food may literally kill someone. 66 - 80 - The food is edible but doesn’t highlight the special ingredient or does not look appealing on the plate. Spices added at incorrect levels. May be slightly burnt. 81 - 95 - A good meal. It has a nice presentation and makes good use of the special ingredient. This is the kind of food they would expect to receive at a nice restaurant! 96 and above - The meal is mind-blowingly delicious! Even some of the professionals don’t know if they could have created such a unique and effective combination to highlight the special ingredient. They each clean their plates and the crowd goes wild! The winner is the team with the highest total score across their six rolls. Passionate Performance Overview In this portion of the gauntlet, the competing teams will have to use a bit of cooperation to appeal to an onlooking crowd. They are given a script with assigned parts and must act out a short scene from a famous play. The winner of this branch of this event is chosen by the cheers of the crowd that have gathered around to watch the show! When the party first arrives at this event, they are pulled backstage and a stack of scripts are laid out before them. The team that did not choose this event gets to decide which set of roles they would prefer to play. The first set of roles is Rivaldes, Celes, and Silva while the second set is Sir Laranot, Dawnbright, and Argus. There are three roles in each set of scripts, one major role and two minor. One party member will also need to play the role of narrator for the nondialog lines. Read the players the section below to give them an overview of the play before forcing them to decide which set of roles they want to play. If the Saviors are given the option of choosing, they will decide on Sir Laranot, Dawnbright, and Argus. The teams are given an hour to rehearse their part and get into costume before they are to perform in front of the crowd. They are permitted to keep their scripts when they perform as it is such short notice, but the crowd still expects a heartfelt and passionate show! See The Play Section below for setup for your players. The Desolation of Nayala Read this next section aloud to your players to give them context for the play and let them get adjusted to their character’s role! The Desolation of Nayala is a play that has been performed in these lands for over a hundred years, so the locals know it quite well. It tells the story of a fey princess, Rivaldes, that comes to the world of mortals and falls in love with a man named Traxler. She brings her love back to Nayala, her homeland, where it is revealed that Traxler's adoration was simply part of a plot to gain access to Nayala so he can conquer it. He overthrows the fey council and their beautiful forest falls to chaos and blight. Rivaldes is cast out her world by Traxler and wanders the land of mortals in seek of anyone that may help her slay this evil. Rivaldes’s trust in creatures of this world was destroyed by the betrayal and this play tells the story of her journey back home. She faces brutal challenges, makes new friends, and regains faith in the creatures of this world through the guidance of the Nature Spirit, Silva, and with the companionship of her faithful toucan, Celes. She falls in love with a brave knight named Sir Laranot along the way. He is a man that prides himself on his strength and valor and was broken by a recent defeat in which he let arrogance get the better of him. He travels with his young squire, Argus, and his sentient blade, Dawnbright. Together, Sir Laranot and Rivaldes make the dangerous trip back to Nayala to defeat Traxler. They are successful, but Sir Laranot is killed in the final battle. As Rivaldes weeps over his body, she is finally deemed worthy by the spirits of the forest to ascend to the role of Emerald Queen and with her newfound magics she is able to return her love to life. You are to play out a scene from Act II of the play, when Rivaldes first meets Sir Laranot after facing the horrors of the Bog of the Hag. 18

The Play The party members playing Rivaldes, Laranot, Silva, and Argus all dress up in elaborate costumes that match their characters. The party members playing Celes and Dawnbright are in all black outfits with props that match their respective characters. Celes is an elaborate toucan puppet and Dawnbright is a sword that goes alight when a button on the side is pressed. The scene takes place on a path deep in the forest and starts with Rivaldes and Celes walking out into the middle of the stage. Along the way, characters will need to make Charisma (Performance) checks (though your players may be able to argue Deception as well). If they have been pouring themselves into the role and playing along with this event, have them roll with advantage. If the Saviors are acting out the Rivaldes’s lines, Relenas plays the role of Rivaldes, Eldon plays the role of Celes, and Marco plays the role of Silva. If they are acting out the Laranot’s lines, Marco plays the role of Sir Laranot, Relenas plays Dawnbright, and Eldon plays Argus. When the play is over, the crowd goes wild and rises to their feet, tossing flowers onto the stage. The parties step up one at a time and the crowd cheers and claps. A few judges survey the volume and intensity of these accolades. Have each of the party members that performed make a Charisma (Performance) check. Give them advantage if they really gave it their all during the show! The Saviors roll 3d20 + 8 for their total. Once both parties have stood before the crowd, they are ushered backstage and the winner is announced!. If the players got advantage on at least 1 of their performance checks, they receive an additional (10 x APL) gold at the end of the tournament. If all of the players got advantage on all of their performance checks, they receive and additional (25 x APL) gold at the end of the tournament instead. 19

The Scripts Rivaldes’s Group Major Character Rivaldes, The Princess in Green. Rivaldes is a beautiful fey princess from the city of Nayala. She wears a beautiful tiara of vines and glowing green leaves. This tiara combined with a beautiful dress that shifts color to match the forest assures that Rivaldes appears regal. She has come to this world in search of a hero that can help save her people from a horrible blight. She is a confident, powerful woman. She put her trust in another and it led to the plight that currently plagues her people, so she is hesitant to trust humans of this world. Minor Characters Celes, Rivaldes’s Toucan Companion. Celes is Rivaldes’s loyal friend and has been with her for over twenty years. Celes speaks incredibly quickly in a high pitched voice that is easy to understand despite coming from a bird. She tries to be a voice of encouragement to the princess that is now so distrusting of those she must rely on for help. Celes hates seeing her friend suffer and will do whatever it takes to bring happiness and faith back to Rivaldes. Silva, The Forest Spirit. Rivaldes prays to Silva when she is in need of guidance. The once glorious Forest Spirit’s power has begun to wane with the blight brought to Nayala by Traxler. He is the entity that grants Rivaldes her spellcasting abilities and tries to guide her down the path of an Emerald Queen. He speaks in a slow, steady voice and provides advice to the princess when she needs guidance. Laranot’s Group Major Character Sir Laranot, The Hero of Raythorn. Sir Laranot is a brave and noble knight that has proven his worth on and off of the battlefield. In over fifteen years he was never on the losing side of a battle . . . but a few months ago it finally happened. He was challenged to a duel to end a conflict between kingdoms. A duel he lost because of his arrogance. Sir Laranot decided to journey into the wilderness to reflect after the humiliating defeat. He wears a shining suit of plate mail and wields a glimmering sentient sword called Dawnbright. He speaks in a confident, stern voice - the voice of a warrior. Minor Characters Dawnbright, Sir Laranot’s Sword. Dawnbright is the sword Sir Laranot claimed after facing the Trial of Champions. It sees valor and protecting the weak as the ultimate goal for any knight and will constantly press Laranot to go to the aid of those who may not be able to help themselves, even if it means going up against great danger. Dawnbright has a slightly feminine voice and uses firm, but encouraging, words to guide Laranot down the path it sees best. Argus, Sir Laranot’s Squire. Argus is Laranot’s squire and has been training under him for two years. He is a mere sixteen years of age and still has much to learn. He is not confident in his own skills at all. Argus sees Laranot almost as a deity despite what happened in the dueling arena and wishes more than anything for him to return to his old self. His voice is still high pitched and always filled with excitement, even when nervous! Dialog Rivaldes (relieved): After that filthy bog it is wonderful to be on solid ground again! Though I will admit I have no idea where we are! Celes (reassuring): Don’t worry, Rivaldes, we will find our way to people! I’m sure one of them will be willing to help us! You are so beautiful that these mortal men will jump at the opportunity to impress you! Rivaldes (annoyed): I don’t want them to aid us to impress me, Celes. I want them to aid us because they are pure of heart and want to see our world made whole again. I just question whether there are any people who meet that criteria left in this horrid place. Their trees don’t even speak to me! Celes (reassuring): You don’t give these people enough credit, Rivaldes. Just because Traxler was - Narrator: There is a loud crack of sticks crunching underfoot and the clank of metal rings through the forest. Celes and Rivaldes hide behind one of the trees in the background of the scene. Sir Laranot, Argus, and Dawnbright enter the scene from the left of the stage. Argus is notably wearing a comically large backpack. Sir Laranot (amused): If you can’t carry that bag then you will never be ready to don a set of plate mail, young Argus! Argus (straining): With all due respect, sir. I’m not sure carrying a giant bag of boulders is comparable! Sir Laranot (amused): Alright then, let’s take a break here before you go and collapse on me! Narrator: Sir Laranot takes off Dawnbright and takes a seat on a tree near where Rivaldes and Celes are hidden. Argus (relieved): Thank the gods, I wasn’t going to make it much further. Narrator: Argus drops the bag to the ground and is accompanied by a loud bass drum hit. Argus (excited): I believe it is time to eat! This jerky we got from the last town is so delicious. Narrator: Dawnbright begins to glow, flickering as it speaks. Dawnbright (calm, then excited): Perhaps not, young squire. We are not alone in this forest. I sense another here. A powerful presence - a foreign presence! Narrator: Sir Laranot jumps back to his feet and unsheathes Dawnbright. Sir Laranot (cautiously): Who goes there!? Show yourselves or be slain! Narrator: Celes comes flying out from behind the tree! Celes (panicked): No need for that, we are friendly! Please don’t attack! (whispering) Rivaldes is already frightened enough of your kind. Let’s not give her more reasons! Rivaldes (frightened): What do you think, Silva? Can they be trusted? Narrator: Silva steps out from beyond a nearby tree, standing behind a partially translucent sheet with a backlight to make him appear glowing. The rest of the characters in the scene freeze as a new conversation begins. 20

Silva (serene): These are not questions I can answer, child of the forest. Part of being an effective Emerald Monarch is making such judgments on one's own. This is a fear you must conquer if you hope to claim the throne. Rivaldes (trying to build courage): I know . . . I just. . . I can’t get him out of my head. I can’t believe I was so foolish. My judgments cannot be trusted. Silva (encouraging): A monarch that has never made a mistake is a monarch that has never been presented with a challenge. Leadership is not always making the right choice, but learning from our mistakes and persisting regardless of the past. The past is a tool, not a weapon! Rivaldes (still frightened): But what if this human is like . . . him. Silva (sternly): Traxler. Narrator: Rivaldes shivers. Silva (calmly): If you cannot speak his name, he still controls you. Your journey is far from over and it will likely only grow more difficult, but your people need you. Every moment wasted is another tree lost to the blight. Narrator: Rivaldes takes a deep breath and time resumes for the rest of the characters in the scene. Rivaldes (confidently): I am princess Rivaldes of Nayala, future Emerald Queen and protector of the forest. You need not fear me, human. Narrator: A green light pans and illuminates Rivaldes. Sir Laranot and Argus both gasp in awe of her beauty. Sir Laranot (astonished): I am Sir Laranot and this is my squire, Argus. I don’t believe I have ever heard of a fey princess. What brings you to our realm, my lady? Rivaldes (regal): My people are under attack by a terrible, malevolent force from your world. A dark sorcerer by the name of Traxler. I seek the aid of brave warriors that may be able to help save my people! Narrator: Dawnbright pulses brightly with energy. Darnbright (eager): A maiden in need of aid! We have no choice but to respond to her call! Celes (confused): Who was it that spoke just now? I did not see the mouths of the humans move! Argus (ironically): Says the ridiculous talking bird. (excited) Let’s do it Sir Laranot! This is the opportunity you need to prove yourself again! Celes (angry): I am no mere bird! I am a lesser spirit of the forest and guide to the future Emerald Queen! Narrator: Sir Laranot eyes Argus angrily. Sir Laranot (apologetic): Forgive us, Lady Rivaldes, he is still young and requires some training in etiquette! Narrator: Rivaldes lets her determined and confident facade break for a moment as she giggles. Rivaldes (playful, then serious): It is quite alright. Celes is an anomaly in your world. As am I. But as we stand here and speak, the forests of my lands decay further. Soon my people will fade as the trees they worship turn to dust. I cannot fight this evil on my own. Narrator: Silva illuminates once again in the background. Silva (encouraging): Do it! Take the leap of faith for your people! Narrator: Rivaldes takes a deep breath. Rivaldes (confidently): Will you be the champion my realm needs and fight alongside me? Narrator: Dawnbright explodes with light. Dawnbright (ecstatic): Of course he will! Argus (happily): If this doesn’t break you out of this slump, I don’t know what will. Celes (happily): Looks like the spirits of luck may be on our side as well, Rivaldes! Narrator: Sir Laranot grabs Dawnbright and slams the blade into the ground as he kneels before Rivaldes. Argus falls to one knee as well, a wide grin across his face as he bows before the fey princess. Rivaldes goes alight with emerald energy and we see Silva disappear into a burst of leaves in the background. Sir Laranot (powerfully): You have my blade and my dedication. The sorcerer that has a stranglehold on your home shall taste the steel of Dawnbright before the end of this. I will slay this evil on your behalf or die trying! I swear this oath to you, Lady Rivaldes. Rivaldes (smiling): Excellent. Then rise, my champion, and let’s prepare for what comes next! Narrator: End of scene 21

Fishing Frenzy Overview The two competing groups are taken to Lake Orenska near the northern edge of the town. To the east of the lake is a moderately sized forest that is protected by the city from any additional developments. They wanted to maintain some of the natural beauty of the area even as the city grew. There are numerous docks surrounding Lake Orenska. These are mostly used to take boats out on the lake for leisure fishing and romantic excursions. For this event, the players will be given access to a boat and basic fishing equipment but no bait. They are not permitted to purchase bait and must find it themselves in the forest or shallow waters. They must then use this bait to go and try to catch the largest fish. The competitors are given ninety minutes to get this done! They must be back at the docks at the end of the ninety minutes or none of their fish count! The lake is filled primarily with bluegill, largemouth bass, and catfish. The catfish are the largest of the potential fish but also the most difficult to catch. Largemouth bass are also quite big and can easily win the competition. Catching a bluegill is simply a backup in case you can get nothing else. Bluegill can also be used as bait for catfish! The players will need to use their knowledge of nature, their survival skills, and a bit of luck if they hope to come out the winners of the Fishing Frenzy! Gathering Bait The first step of the tournament is to gather bait. There are many different options in the forest and the shallows of the lake. Different baits work better on different types of fish. For simplicity, we will narrow this down to just a few options. Each time your players make a check to find a type of bait, it takes 5 minutes. On a success, they get enough for 2 skills checks of fishing. On a fail, they get enough for 1. Do not show the chart below to your players, but any of them can make an Intelligence (Nature) check or a Wisdom (Survival) check to gain general information about what types of fish prefer specific baits. You can also give them insight as to which are “better” and which are “more difficult to obtain” using the chart below (but never give specific numbers). Bait Name Location Effective For Survival Check DC Fishing Check Bonus Nightcrawlers Forest ALL DC 5 +3 Crickets Forest Bluegill, Bass DC 8 +4 Frogs Shallow Water Bass, Catfish DC 10 +5 Crayfish Shallow Water Catfish DC 13 +6 Minnows Shallow Water Bass, Catfish DC 16 +8 Bluegill Deep Water Catfish N/A [Caught via fishing] +10 Picking a Spot Once the players have gathered their bait, they can head out to the boat and get ready to do some fishing. There is a map sitting on the seat of the boat along with oars and two fishing poles. There are replacement hooks, fishing lines, and sinkers as well. The boat can seat up to six, though with that many it is quite crowded! A smaller boat with a judge follows after the party to ensure they do not cheat in their catching of fish. The map in the boat shows some of the key fishing spots in the area. The markers simply communicate the location and the distance from the docks. Any player can make an Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check to learn more about these locations. On a result of 10 or more, they learn the types of fish that are likely to be at each location. On a result of 15 or more, they learn that bluegill can be caught and used as bait for catfish. On a result of 20 or more, they learn relative odds of getting snagged at each location. Location Distance From Dock Bluegill DC Bass DC Catfish DC Snag Range Size Modifier Open Waters 0 minutes DC 15 DC 22 DC 30 N/A 1d6 The Shaded Cove 10 minutes DC 12 DC 20 DC 28 1-2 1d6 Lily Pad Inlet 10 minutes DC 10 DC 18 DC 26 1-4 1d10 The Sunken Ship 10 minutes N/A N/A DC 22 1-6 2d6 Fallen Logs Cluster 15 minutes N/A DC 16 DC 25 1-8 2d8 22

Fishing! When the party arrives at an area, they can immediately begin casting. Each competitor that is fishing (maximum 2) gets to make 1 check every 5 minutes, assuming they have the required bait. A fishing check is a d20 + (Wisdom Mod or Dexterity Mod) + Bait Modifier. If the raw d20 value is within the snag range for the area, the line breaks and that character loses 5 minutes as they restring or add new tackle to their pole. This occurs even if the total roll exceeds the DC to catch a fish! These spots are high risk, high reward! Otherwise, the type of fish is of the type of the highest DC that is passed by the check. Determining Size Each type of fish has a base length. You then get to add the size modifier for the area to this length. Bluegill - 2 inches Bass - 5 inches Catfish - 8 inches Back to the Docks Remember, your fish only count if you get back to the docks before the 90 minutes is up! So be sure your players are aware of how much time is left in the competition so they can plan accordingly! If they want to press their luck, they can perform a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to try and get back to the docks in half the time, but on a fail they do not make it and are disqualified! The Saviors will spend the entirety of their fishing adventure out at the Lily Pad Inlet. They manage to catch 2 bluegill, 2 bass, and 1 catfish. Roll the size of these fish (using the base lengths plus a d10 for the area) and see which one is the largest! Compare their largest fish to the party’s largest fish and declare a winner! If the party manages to catch a fish of at least 15 inches, they earn an extra (10 x APL) gold at the end of the tournament. If they catch a fish of at least 18 inches, they earn an additional (20 x APL) gold at the end of the tournament! Drawing It Out The first team to three victories across events is the winner! Whenever the PCs are at two wins, if the Saviors are behind, they will have an aside with the party. Marco will tell them that their bouts have been pretty popular and they could all make a decent amount of money if the contest went as long as possible. He will suggest the party takes a dive so they can even things up 2-2 before the final event to draw the largest crowds! It is up to the party whether or not they want to go through with it, though. A Winner Declared Once one of the teams has reached three victories in the Gauntlet, they are declared the winner. Both of the teams are gathered in the square of the town where there is a ceremony in front of all of the fans they have earned over the course of the competition. Tydallen (from the cooking contest) is the spokesperson for this as well. He will recap all of the events, the winners, and any spectacular feats the parties accomplished (spectacular being those that earned additional gold). He will then give each of the members of the winning team a special gold leaf token, similar to the copper leaf the party received when they arrived in the city. Tydallen looks to the crowd and speaks. “This Gladiator Gold Leaf is good for one round of free drinks for every person in the tavern at any of our fine establishments during the Harvest Festival, so you may want to find out where this bunch is staying tonight!” The group that gets second place receives a set of Gladiator Silver Leaves. Each of these are good for ten drinks at any tavern in the city during the harvest festival. Once these rewards have been given out, two men carry a chest out onto the stage. The gold that the party initially paid to enter the competition has been converted into silver and copper to fill this chest to the point of overflowing. The men sit it down in front of the winning team and Tydallen calls for one final round of applause for the winners before ushering everyone off stage. Additional Rewards Tydallen will then call over both groups. His hyper energetic and excited demeanor fades and he talks to the party like a normal person. “Great work out there, both of you. Take these scrolls over to the Festival Treasury and they will get the rest of your gold paid to you. You can also trade out all of that silver and copper for gold and platinum while you are there.” He hands each of the teams a scroll and gives them a bow before going off to mingle with the crowds. Calculate the amount of gold your party is to receive based on their APL, the number of rounds in the competition, and the additional rewards they may have earned during events. Saviors Sendoff Win or lose, the Saviors are quite gracious after the competition. There will be some trash talk about how they gave the party a run for their money or perhaps stating that they should meet up again next year for a rematch. They will invite the party to the tavern where they offer to buy everyone a round of drinks with their coins and get to know each other a bit better. You can play this out if you’d like or simply skip over this bit if you are running low on time! 23

Other Festival Activities! As mentioned at the beginning of this module, there is more to do at this festival than simply the Gladiator’s Gauntlet. There are all kinds of games the party can indulge in as well as specialty food and drinks! Depending on your time constraints, you can simply guide your players from event to event, but if you want to play out the downtime, feel free to see the sections below for some extra fun! Specialty Products Drinks Dragonflame Brew An extra spicy beverage made with just a hint of dragon pepper that leaves a nice burn. People are warned not to chug the beverage, as those who are not prepared can sometimes pass out from the heat. Usually consumed with an Ice Giant Ale to provide a cooldown afterwards. This combo is served at most taverns and is called a Remorhaz. Ice Giant Ale This brew made with a glacial root only found up in the mountains remains icy cool even on the hottest of days. It is quite strong, even more so if the root is left out in the heat for a few days before being crushed and added to the drink. Often paired with Dragonflame Brew as it provides a cooling effect to the other drink’s heat. This combo is served at most taverns and is called a Remorhaz. The Bog This is a drink typically served only during the Festival and is as far from a delicacy as one can get. Patrons of the bar order five drinks or any variety. The bartender then pulls out a special bowl that contains thick spheres of ice. All of the alcohols are poured together into this bowl and the ice forms “islands” in the dark mixture of drinks. Patrons then put the drink at the center of the table and get refills as needed. It tastes foul but will get you intoxicated in a hurry. Mindwarp Whiskey (Limit 1 per guest) This whiskey is served neat in a small glass. It is made using a bit of blood from a slain beholder. This drink is high brow, typically costing ~2 gold for one drink. Fifteen minutes after downing the drink, the consumer will start to have vivid hallucinations. It also provides a sense of euphoria if consumed at exactly the amount given in a shot. This persists for a full hour before wearing off. If someone is sneaky and has someone bring them a second shot, these visions quickly become nightmares and can lead to permanent insanity. Triple A (Ankhor Apple Ales) Ankhor is famous for its apple orchards and its apple ale alone draws in crowds from all around. There are a few key variations of the ale - red, green, and purple. Red is a stronger drink with a crisp taste. The green is sweet with a bit of a sour aftertaste and not nearly as strong as red. Purple is a careful mixture of the two that creates a strong, but sweet drink. The purple is often seen as the most dangerous as it tastes delicious and it is easy to overdrink because it is unclear just how much alcohol is being consumed. Food The Gauntlet Food Challenge This 1 gold meal is sure to put your stomach to the test. There are six courses to this challenge - a heaping bowl of chips and fire giant salsa, a bowl of duck egg soup, a serving of catfish, a spinach salad with mushrooms, a sixteen-ounce owlbear steak, and finally a fruit salad with whipped topping! Anyone who finishes the entire meal (DC 20 Constitution saving throw) gets their name up on the wall of the restaurant and five free game tokens! Dragon Wings The name typically draws in tourists who think they are going to be eating deep-fried dragon’s wings, when in reality these are merely chicken or duck wings spiced with the dragon peppers grown in the area. These wings provide quite the kick and a server is always sure to suggest a tall glass of milk to go with the meal! The Ramslay Special The signature dish of the city’s famous half-orc chef, Goredawn Ramslay. It is a simple dish that is brought to life primarily by the spices and rubs used on the three different types of meat on the dish. It contains a slab of thick cut bacon, a medium-rare steak, and a serving of bass on a bed of rice with a side of roasted spirit sprouts. All of these are products from within the city’s bounds. Spiked Apple Pie These delicious apple pies are served at many booths after the ordinary festival events have come to a close for the day. The apples used to make the wine are soaked in alcohol for a few days before being used and it is cooked with some Ankhor apple ale. The result is an apple pie that is delicious but comes with a kick! Goblin Balls Fortunately for festival attendees, these sweet treats contain no actual goblin parts. The interior is a deep-fried dough ball with a nice crunch. The dough ball is then dipped in a sweet cream cheese and wrapped in a thin, flavorless leaf that is found on the trees around Lake Orenska. These are folded in such a way that they cover the dough ball and end in two little points that resemble goblin ears. Some restaurants will also add two little dabs of chocolate to give them eyes and make a full goblin head of the treat. These are usually served by the dozen or half-dozen and sometimes on a large skewer! 24

Game Booths There are many game booths scattered all throughout Ankhor. Each of them have some minor prizes as well as the chance to win a Grand Prize Ticket! At the center of town is a Grand Prize Wheel where festival-goers can turn in these tickets for a chance to spin for one of many fabulous prizes including up to 100 gold or 25% off any purchase of a magical item! The mini-games also each have their own Harvest Festival Patches! In addition to being able to sew these stylish patches onto your outfits, those who have obtained multiple patches get additional spins on the Grand Prize Wheel! Be sure to collect all nine to show off how much fun you had at the festival and to get additional chances to win big! Buying Patches Many don’t care about the special festival patches as much as others. It is technically against the rules of the festival to get badges in ways other than earning them yourself . . . but many people do so regardless. Some patches cost more than others to obtain. See the chart below to determine the cost to buy a patch and how much the players can make if they sell the ones they collected! Game Patch Buy Price Sell Price Hammer Slam Hammer 5 gold 3 gold Dagger Toss Dagger 5 gold 3 gold Hot Pepper Challenge Dragon Pepper 5 gold 3 gold Drop in the Bucket Mug 5 gold 3 gold Cake Walk Cupcake 3 gold 15 silver Ferret Races Ferret 4 gold 2 gold Duck Pond Duck 1 gold 5 silver Copper Mines Pickaxe 5 gold 3 gold Fishing in the Void Fishing Pole 3 gold 15 silver Buying Grand Prize Tickets! It is in even worse spirit to buy a Grand Prize Ticket rather than earn it, but once again people do it and if you know who to talk to you can buy or sell them. Members of this organization will buy tickets for 3 gold each and sell them for 10 gold. Hammer Slam Each play of this game costs 1 silver. The player is given a large sledge hammer and can smash it down on a device that will send a counterweight up to hit a bell. A player that manages to hit the bell can choose to play again to increase the difficulty and to receive a better prize. They must pay the 1 silver again to do so. They are free to walk away after any stage and receive the current prize. If they fail to hit the bell on the new difficulty, the player receives no prizes! There are 5 stages in total. Each time a player swings the hammer they make a raw strength check. Stages and Prizes Stage Strength check DC Prize 1 10 A small bag of rock candies. 2 12 A certificate to get a steak dinner at any restaurant in town. 3 14 A miniature version of the game with tiny mallet and bell mechanism. 4 16 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Hammer. 5 18 A Grand Prize Ticket and a Hammer patch! On additional wins, the player instead receives a certificate for a free weapon engraving and a Hammer patch. 25

Dagger Toss Each play of this game costs 1 silver. The player is given three daggers to throw at one of two targets. They must make attack rolls with the dagger to hit the target, receiving different amounts of points based on the accuracy of their throws. They receive prizes depending on the number of points earned during the game. One of the targets is 20 feet away from the counter. There are three-point values for this close-range target. The outer ring is worth one point, the secondary ring is worth two points, and the central circle is worth three points. The other target is 60 feet away from the counter. There are three-point values for this long-range target. The outer ring is worth one point, the secondary ring is worth three points, and the central circle is worth five points. Keep in mind that 60 feet is longrange for a dagger! These attacks are made with disadvantage which makes three inner-ring hits quite challenging! Targets Target Outer Ring AC Secondary Ring AC Inner Circle AC Short-Range 8 10 13 Long-Range 10 12 15 Prizes Total Score Prize <5 No prize! 6-8 A toy dagger. 9-11 A toothpick crossbow. 12-14 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Dagger. 15 A Grand Prize Ticket and a Dagger patch! On additional wins, the player instead receives a certificate for a free weapon engraving and a Dagger patch. The Hot Pepper Challenge The cost to take on this challenge is 1 silver piece. The challenger approaches a stand with a line of progressively hot peppers. The challenger must take a bite of the pepper and then wait thirty seconds without taking a drink of ice cold milk that is sat before them. If they manage to beat the heat, they can drink the milk and select a prize. Otherwise, they can pay the 1 silver again and try the next pepper! If the challenger ever caves and has to drink the milk without enduring the full thirty seconds, they leave the booth with no prizes and some tears in their eyes! Stages and Prizes Stage Type of Pepper Constitution saving throw DC Prize 1 Magmin 10 A bag of magmin peppers 2 Hellhound 13 A bag containing one of each of the peppers from the booth 3 Efreeti 15 A flame mephit stuffed animal and choice of ten peppers. 4 Fire Giant 17 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Dragon Pepper. 5 Dragon 20 A Grand Prize Ticket and a Dragon Pepper patch! On additional wins, the player instead receives a choice of forty peppers and a Dragon Pepper patch. 26

Drop In the Bucket The cost of this booth is 1 silver piece. There is a large, clear container that is partially filled with beer. It has strange proportions with domed pockets along the outside and some adjustable pieces that can dramatically adjust the shape of the container. Once you have paid your fee, you choose from a huge set of wooden mugs on the counter. Each of these mugs has a number painted on the bottom of it. This number represents how many mugs of beer you think are in the container. These mugs are numbered from 25 to 60. Once enough of the mugs have been taken, the man behind the counter will start filling the mugs of competitors and counting them off until the keg is empty! To play this game, roll 5d8 + 20. This number determines how many mugs of beer are in the container. The players can then walk up and examine the strange container and try to determine exactly how much is inside. Have these players make an Intelligence check and consult the table below for results. Each player in the group that wants to compete in this round of this mini-game must roll at the same time and you give information from lowest to highest for the Intelligence checks. Gathering Info Intelligence check total Information <5 You know it is at least 25 . . . but that is about it. 6-15 Roll a d10. Then randomly decide to add or subtract the value from the actual result. Tell the player that the true amount is within 10 of that number. 16-20 Roll a d6. Then randomly decide to add or subtract the value from the actual result. Tell the player that the true amount is within 6 of that number. 20-23 Roll a d4. Then randomly decide to add or subtract the value from the actual result. Tell the player that the true amount is within 4 of that number. 24+ The player knows the exact amount. Prizes Distance From Actual Amount Prize 5+ No prize! But you got a drink out of it! 4-3 A coupon good for 6 mugs of beer at any local Ankhor brewery. 2-1 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Mug. 0 A Grand Prize Ticket and a Mug patch! On additional wins, the player instead receives a Mug patch and a beautiful silver mug engraved with scenes from the Harvest Festival. This mug provides a 1 copper discount on all drinks from local brewers for life! Cake Walk The entry cost for this event is 5 copper. There is a large circular walkway around an area with 50 painted squares, each with a number written upon it (starting at 1 and ending at 50). Participants in the event will have to choose a square for themselves and claim it. Once all of the squares have been filled up, a nearby band starts playing music and people walk around the path until the music stops about a minute later. Each player progresses 2d20 + 10 squares during this time. Once the players go above 50, they immediately wraps back around to 1. So if a player started on 40 and the progressed 17 squares, they are now on square 7. Once everyone has determined their new square, roll a d100 and determine the winner. (If you roll above a 50 on your d100, simply subtract 50 from the result). They will call a total of 5 numbers and give out prizes before they clear out the area and start another Cake Walk! Order Prize 1st Winner A Grand Prize Ticket and choice of a certificate for a custom large cake that serves 24 or a special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Cupcake. On additional wins, the player instead receives the certificate and the Cupcake patch. 2nd Winner Certificate for a customized large cake that serves 24. 3rd Winner Certificate for a customized medium cake that serves 12. 4th Winner A box containing a baker’s dozen beautiful cupcakes. 5th Winner A box containing six beautiful cupcakes. 27

Ferret Races The cost to participate in this booth is 2 silver. There is a large counter with “Ferret Races” written on a sign over it, but behind it is a massive network of tubes and obstacles. Running around in a play area adjacent to this obstacle course are a dozen ferrets with varying colors and patterns. Some are sleeping out in the sunlight while others twist and dance as they play. Every fifteen minutes there is a race. The ferrets are gathered up and put at the beginning of the obstacle course. The first ferret to make it back to the play area is the winner! The ferrets each have different payouts for winning the race based on their general performance. The slowest and most easily distracted of the ferrets come with a special prize for all that bet on him if he wins - a Grand Prize Ticket! When the race begins, roll a d100 to determine which ferret is the winner. The amount shown is what is given back to the person betting on the race when it is complete if their ferret wins the race, otherwise they walk away with nothing. If Oatmeal wins the race multiple times, players get 90 silver on all additional wins. Name Payout Winning Range Name Payout Winning Range Pancake 12 silver 1-15 Cupcake 14 silver 55-67 Waffle 36 silver 16-20 Donut 13 silver 68-83 Crepe 18 silver 21-30 Bearclaw 45 silver 84-87 Gravy 24 silver 31-38 Muffin 24 silver 88-95 Biscuit 21 silver 39-47 Bagel 60 silver 96-98 Syrup 28 silver 48-54 Oatmeal Grand Prize Ticket! 99-100 Describe the race in great detail. A few of them start running out of the gates, but it doesn’t take long before they get distracted, start fighting, run backwards, or even pass out atop the obstacles. The racecourse is less than fifty feet long in total, but can take up to 5 minutes for a winner to be chosen as the ferrets run around in chaos. Each round, one of the ferrets is given a special harvest festival vest to wear. Players know which ferret is in this vest before they place their bets. If that ferret wins the race, anyone that placed a bet on that ferret receives a special harvest festival patch as well as half of the ordinary payout. This patch depicts a Ferret! Duck Pond The cost to play this game is 5 copper. There is simply a small pool filled with carved wooden ducklings - 100 of them in total! Each of the ducks has a number carved into the bottom of it and those numbers correspond to prizes! Unlike many of the other events, everyone's a winner at the duck pond! And if you are incredibly lucky, you just might pull the duck labeled 100 which grants you a Grand Prize Ticket! Once a player has paid, they simply walk over to the pond, grab a duck, and see the number it has beneath. Have that player roll a d100 to determine their duck number. Usually the booth owner will let 10 or 15 people choose ducks before calling everyone over to claim prizes. Once they have been distributed, players put their ducks into a bucket that is dumped into the pond. The person running the booth then raises a quick barricade and stirs the ducks a bit to make sure no one can track the location of the high-value ducks before the next set of guests attempt to get that Grand Prize Ticket! Duck Number Prize 1-20 A miniature wooden duckling souvenir. 21-30 A half-dozen fresh duck eggs. 31-40 A bag of egg-shaped sour candies. 41-50 A fine hat with a beautiful duck feather plume. 51-60 A hand-carved duck call. 61-70 An adorable duck stuffed animal. 71-75 A jar of homemade duck sauce. 76-80 A dozen fresh duck eggs. 81-85 A finely painted wooden ducking souvenir. 86-90 A large bag of chocolate egg candies. 91-95 A duck stuffed animal with three ducklings. 96-99 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Duck 100 A Grand Prize Ticket and a Duck patch. On additional wins, the player instead receives a Duck patch and small solid silver duckling worth 10 silver. 28

Copper Mines Each play of this game requires a single copper coin. There are rows of these machines scattered all throughout the city. They are in secured wood and glass boxes and always have a guard standing nearby. Densely packed copper coins line the bottom of each of the boxes and a mechanism causes a small pickaxe lying on its side to move back and forth in the box. This pickaxe pushes copper coins towards a ledge at the front of the device that feeds to an open container below where the player can retrieve them. Each time coins are knocked down, a few of them are filtered off to side compartments that are kept by the game booth owner. There are signs on the front of each of the machines that warn players to not shake the box. The city is quite strict on this and it is considered theft to do so! The guards near the device will haul off anyone who tries to rob the game booth of its coins through such methods! Magical cheating practices fall under this as well, but is sometimes harder for the guards to spot. Stealing the coins from a single Copper Mines machine yields (1d4 x 100) + 4d6 copper coins. To play the game in the traditional fashion, a player needs to merely drop a coin through a slot at the top of the box. This coin falls down and adds to the coins along the bottom of the box. The pickaxe then slides in and uses this new coin to push the others closer to the edge! With each new coin added, there is a chance that some of those near the edge will fall. Sometimes a player will get lucky, but other times the coins will stack up in frustrating ways! Each time a player puts a coin in the machine there is a chance for a win. The player wins only if they roll the max value on the corresponding die! See the chart below to determine which type of die they should roll. Any time a player walks up to a machine that “looks good” or has some coins teetering near the edge, start them out with 10 attempts. There will only be about 3 of these machines at any cluster. The rest are “fresh” and will start at 0 attempts. Total Attempts Die Payout 0-9 d20 1d6 copper 10-18 d10 2d4 copper 19-24 d6 3d4 copper 25+ d4 4d4 copper Each of these machines also have special prize coins stacked on top of the copper coins to encourage more play. These coins can be exchanged at the booth for the special prize depicted on it. These coins are kept face down so a player won’t know what it is until they win! This prize coin can be any from the table below! Whenever a player wins any amount of coins on a machine, have them roll an additional d10. On a result of 10, a special prize coin falls down as well! Roll a d6 and consult the table below to determine what sort of prize is awarded from the coin! Result Prize 1 Mystery Bag! Contains a random prize from below and a 25% chance to contain a Grand Prize Ticket as well! 2 A miniature pickaxe with a silver head worth 3 silver. 3 A coupon for a 30-minute footrub at the Dryad’s Allure Massage Parlor. 4 A strip of special tokens that give one free play at five other game booths! 5 A Gladiator Silver Coin. Good for ten regular drinks at any tavern in the city. 6 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Pickaxe. Fishing in the Void Each play of this game is 1 silver. The player is given a fishing pole with a blunted claw on the end of it. They must stand behind a counter as they lower the claw into a bag roughly a foot wide. The claw disappears into an extra dimensional space and the player tries to fish out something good! Players are given ten seconds before they must pull the claw back out of the bag. Roll a d100 to determine prizes! d20 Result Prize 1-32 Better luck next time! The claw came back empty. 33-66 A pouch containing 2d6 copper coins! 67-70 A stuffed animal owlbear! 71-75 A stuffed animal catfish! 76-80 A stuffed animal ferret! 81-85 A frosted glass Harvest Festival mug! 86-90 Two Harvest Festival shot glasses (tied together with twine). 91-95 A small plastic cupcake that can be traded for four cupcakes at Daria’s Dessert Destination! 96-98 A special Harvest Festival patch that can be sewn onto an outfit. It depicts a Fishing Pole. 99-100 A Grand Prize Ticket and a Fishing Pole patch! On additional wins, the player instead receives a Master Fisherman patch and a bag containing 2d4 silver coins. 29

The Grand Prize Wheel! The grand prize wheel at the center of town is nearly six feet across and is covered in colorful decorations. Some sections are much larger than others, but there are all kinds of valuable prizes spread across the wheel. There is one tiny sliver at the top of the wheel that simply has a picture of a stack of gold coins painted on it. Off to the side of the wheel is a stone building locked up tight with numerous armed guards standing at the ready. A sign over it reads “Prize Shed”. Fiendish players may hope to break into this shed to steal the prizes! It contains roughly 1,000 gold worth of coins and coupons but is constantly under watch. Many folks gather around to watch others try to win big on the wheel. When your players arrive at the wheel, they will need to hand their ticket to a beautiful woman standing nearby. She will guide the player over to the wheel and get the crowd excited about the fabulous prizes available! A player ordinarily gets to spin the wheel one time, but if they have gathered a few of the infamous Harvest Festival patches, they get additional spins and get to choose the reward they like best. The player gets 1 additional spin of the wheel for every 3 unique Harvest Festival patches they have acquired! Have the player roll the appropriate number of d100s and consult the table below for their prize! d100 Result Prize 1-15 A free night’s stay at The Estate Inn with complimentary breakfast. The finest Inn in the city! A 3 gold value! 16-40 An hour long full-body massage at the Dryad’s Allure Massage Parlor. A 2 gold value! 41-50 Four Free Tickets to the Tavern Crawl! An event each evening where guests are carted around to a dozen different bars and are served their specialty drinks! A 4 gold value! 51-55 A bag containing 10d10 silver pieces! 56-75 A ticket for VIP seating at all six of the Gladiator’s Gauntlet events! A 5 gold value! 76-95 The Gauntlet Survival Pack! A crate of goods containing Cook’s Utensils, a fishing pole and tackle, a quiver of arrows, a fine dagger, a miniature lance, and a book containing the story of The Desolation of Nayala. A 10 gold value! 96-99 Coupon for 25% off an item costing 50 gold or more at Marick’s Magical Market. 12.5 Gold value minimum! 100 A bag containing 10d10 gold pieces! Once the prize has been won, the woman disappears into the prize shed and comes back out with it a few moments later. She will give a big speech to the crowd about what a great deal this prize is and how wonderful the establishments are, etc… She is really just here to advertise! A player that uses more than 3 golden tickets will be scrutinized as you are only typically expected to win one from each type of booth. Obtaining more than 3 will often make the guard assume foul play is at hand and that the party is buying their tickets. This will cause the party to be followed by a pair of guards for the next few hours! Experience The experience listed below represents a blend of encounters of all types. Your players will fight creatures and endure a number of exciting challenges along the way that should grant them the experience needed to gain a level! APL XP Per Player 1 500 2 1,100 3 2,500 4 3,800 Loot The players are rewarded via a potentially huge amount of gold. Consult the chart below for a base value and add the extra gold that may have been earned from ticket sales during each individual event. APL 3 Rounds 4 Rounds 5+ Rounds 1 50 Gold 75 Gold 100 Gold 2 100 Gold 150 Gold 200 Gold 3 200 Gold 275 Gold 350 Gold 4 300 Gold 400 Gold 500 Gold 30

Saviors of Revelheim Stat Blocks 31 Marco Vargus Medium human fighter, chaotic good Armor Class 16 (chain mail) Hit Points 4 + (8 x APL) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 8 (-1) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) Saving Throws Dex +4, Str +5 Skills Athletics +5, Insight +2, Performance +4, Persuasion + 4 Senses passive Perception 10 Languages Common, Elvish Actions Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage. Relenas Tylina Medium elf wizard, lawful good Armor Class 12 (15 with mage armor) Hit Points 2 + (5 x APL) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 7 (-2) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 18 (+4) 11 (+0) 10 (+0) Saving Throws Int +6, Wis +2 Skills Animal Handling +2, Arcana +6, Nature +6, Stealth +4 Senses passive Perception 10 Languages Common, Elvish Spellcasting. Relenas is a Wizard. She uses spells to aid her in certain events during the competition, but those spells are listed in each of those sections and depends on your party's APL. Actions Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage. Eldon Thatch Small halfling paladin, lawful good Armor Class 18 (chainmail, shield) Hit Points 4 + (8 x APL) Speed 25 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 8 (-1) 16 (+3) 8 (-1) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) Saving Throws Cha +4, Wis +3 Skills Athletics +4, Intimidation +4, Performance +4, Religion +3 Senses passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Elvish, Halfling Actions Warhammer. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage or 7 (1d10 + 2) bludgeoning damage if used with two hands. Milo Thatch Small halfling rogue, chaotic good Armor Class 15 (studded leather) Hit Points 4 + (5 x APL) Speed 25 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 17 (+3) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) Saving Throws Dex +5, Int +3 Skills Acrobatics +7, Deception +3, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +7 Senses passive Perception 8 Languages Common, Elvish, Halfling Actions Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or ranged 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 80/32 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage

The Anomaly A One-Shot Adventure for Levels 1-4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adventure Synopsis The party wakes up in the Grumpy Groundhog Tavern and heads downstairs for breakfast. They are waiting for an informant to arrive that evening so they have some time to kill. They overhear a group of men talking about the raids that have been occurring in some of the nearby towns. The waitress spills a beer on a man in the corner and he leaps up in a rage, causing a small tavern brawl. A child running recklessly down the stairs falls and breaks his arm. In the market, there is a tattered man preaching that the end of days are upon us and that the townsfolk must repent for their misdeeds. That evening, a band of orcs rolls into the town and kills everyone inside - hunting down every member of the party and executing them. The party wakes up from this terrible nightmare safe in their bed at the Grumpy Groundhog Tavern. They are waiting for an informant to arrive that evening so they have some time to kill. They overhear a group of men talking about the raids that have been occurring in some of the nearby towns. A strange sense of deja vu sets in as the party realizes they all seem to have shared the same dream. The waitress spills a beer on a man in the corner and he leaps up in a rage, causing a small tavern brawl unless the party intervenes. Things are growing stranger still. That evening, a band of orcs rolls into the town and kills everyone inside - hunting down every member of the town and executing them. And this day repeats until they can stop their deaths and end the cycle. Even if the party tries to flee the city or hide, the orcs will find them. If they try to hide in the basement of the tavern, the orcs rip up the floorboards or burn the building down. Yet something always brings them back - some force that is giving them an extra chance to survive - The Anomaly. Average Party Level (APL) This adventure uses the Average Party Level (APL) to scale the difficulty of encounters. This is simply the average of your players’ total character levels assuming you have 4 party members. If your group is larger than 4, increase your APL by 1 for each additional player. If your party is smaller than 4, decrease your APL using this same rule. Expected Length: 6-12 Hours The expected length of this adventure is 6-12 hours and it is recommended to break this adventure across two or even three sessions. Of course these are expectations and what you experience may change based on player choices and pacing. Descriptive Text Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance that will be noted. Adventure Introduction (Optional) This is suggested if you are running a one-shot separate from an overarching campaign and want to kick things off swiftly. If you are embedding this adventure in an existing campaign, there may be better ways to throw the party into the action, but I will leave that decision up to you! You wake up in cozy beds on the second floor of the Grumpy Groundhog Tavern in the town of Pawney. There is a chill in the air as the entire area is covered by a fresh sheet of snow that fell during the night. You gather downstairs for a nice warm breakfast, a cup of coffee, and the heat of the fire. The tavern is quite busy this morning with a dozen different members of the small town gathered and indulging in the tavern’s delicious food. You are expecting a messenger to meet you in the town square this evening with some information about a powerful magical item hidden in a nearby dungeon, but until then you have the day to explore the town of Pawney and interact with the locals! Perhaps there is more to this quiet little mountain town than meets the eye! The following sections contain overviews and information on the town. To kick off this adventure, proceed to Day One - The Slaughter below. 32

The Anomaly Key Events Reminder This page can serve as a quick reference to remind of major events, NPC names, locations, and any other relevant information that you may need during the adventure! If you are running this at the table, I would suggest printing this out and having it at the ready to get yourself back on track no matter what happens! Major Events Breakfast at the Grumpy Groundhog Brawl at the Bar Exploring the Town The Attack! The First Repeat Deja vu at the Grumpy Groundhog Meeting with Parket Grumpy Groundhog Anagram The Grumpy Groundhog cellar Obtaining the Hourglass Key Into the Tunnels Ooze Attack! The Subterranean Bunker The Trap Gauntlet Skeletal Showdown! Unlocking the Shortcut Puzzling Passage The Anomaly Defeating the Guardians! Unifying the Town The Sacrifice The Orcish Attack! Cleaning up the Mess Important NPCs Korin - Local doomsayer Parket - Head of the Pawney Historical Society Jerry Arryn - Pawney Mayor Camilla - Grumpy Groundhog owner / bartender Notable Locations Pawney The Grumpy Groundhog Tavern Rashida’s Potions and Wellness Oils Rekka’s Armory Gorrish’s Winter Survival Apparel 33

The Town of Pawney Pawney is a quiet little town with around seven hundred inhabitants. They have a wonderful market even when the weather is poor - which it is when the party comes to visit. The people are friendly and helpful even to strangers. Many of the townsfolk are farmers and during this winter season they spend their time working side jobs or helping their neighbors. The town has a small jail with three cells, a sheriff (Tanya Bennett), and twelve guards that watch over Pawney’s citizens. At any given time, four of these guards are patrolling the streets and keeping their eye out for any illicit activities, but crime in Pawney is almost nonexistent. You will learn more about the town as you progress your players through their first day! The Loop In this adventure, the party is forced to relive the same day over and over again until they can prevent the town from being destroyed by a band of roving orcs that attack it in the evening. The orcish raiding party contains over one hundred members with many riding upon the backs of worgs. Even banding together the full strength of the entire town to fight back is not even close to enough to take down this powerful raiding party. The true goal is to reactivate the ancient defense system that is buried beneath the town. Pawney was once a fortress that was said to be unassailable. Many, many groups tried but not a single one succeeded despite the relatively small size of the fortress. Eventually, the war ended and the members of the fortress converted the area to an ordinary town. Only a few folks know the full story of the town - one of them is Parket, the local historian, who even knows of the secret tunnels that run beneath their streets. He is also one of only a few town members that is aware that the time loop is occurring. It is down in these tunnels that a powerful defense network lies in wait, hidden behind rather deadly security measures. The true reason the fortress that once stood here remained undefeated is because of The Anomaly. Whenever the base was assaulted, this mysterious force would select a handful of soldiers to repeat that same day and find a way to create a different outcome. It is unclear how the Anomaly works, but only a select few can recall the previous attempts and it is up to those select few to change the results for the better. There are theories about The Anomaly and why it protects the town - perhaps it thrives on having life nearby or is simply worried about being discovered and so it defends itself from foreign invaders through the use of others. No matter the reason, it is here and the party must use its capability to run the gauntlet of puzzles, traps, and monsters hidden just a few dozen feet beneath the ground to reactivate the weapons system that can save the people of Pawney from a horrifying death. Day One - The Slaughter The Grumpy Groundhog Tavern While enjoying a delicious breakfast platter of eggs and bacon, you overhear a conversation from a trio of gentlemen the next table over. They are discussing recent orcish raids and expressing their disappointment that Mayor Arryn has yet to send for soldiers to protect the townsfolk. They discuss how the town has no walls and almost no guards, so if those orcs come here it is certain that many will die! One even jokes that perhaps the doomsayer preaching in the town square is onto something! If the party inquires further or engages with these men, they introduce themselves as Phillip Candors, Larry Elliott, and Ned Ryneson. They are all human men in their early forties, all with the look of farmers - rough, bearded faces, calloused hands, and muscular frames. The party can get some information on the town from Phillip, Larry, and Ned. These details are described in the adventure or you can make up whatever interesting factoids about the town you wish! In the middle of one of the conversations or as the party simply sits in the tavern, the following occurs: A waitress is carrying over a fresh cup of coffee to a lone gentleman sitting in the corner of the room. As she approaches the table, she stumbles and spills the entire cup of coffee down the front of his shirt. He leaps to his feet with a cry of pain and smacks the table hard enough to send food flying to the floor. He turns at the waitress and screams, “What the hell is wrong with you, woman?” and raises a hand to smack her as she gets to her feet. The men from the table next to you leap to action to restrain the man. Screams erupt in the bar as the intensity of the situation rises. Fist meets jaw as a brawl breaks out in seconds Moments later, you hear an excited voice from upstairs cry out, “What’s happening?” as a child no older than eight years old runs out of one of the rooms and moves to bound down the stairs. He cleanly misses the top stair and soars a few feet before smashing down on the wood with the full force of his body. The boy stirs and raises a clearly broken arm as tears begin to flow down his face. This is a lot of text, but try to finish reading it before allowing the party to jump into action as it helps enforce the feeling of deja vu when the same thing happens the next morning. Let your players respond to the situations how they see fit. The brawl is still going and no one is even paying attention to the boy as he cries out in pain holding the broken limb. If the party does not intervene, the brawl ends with Phillip (one of the men from the table of three) knocking out the man in the corner (whose name happens to be Joseph Pate). 34

They may choose to attempt healing on the child, and while it helps, a broken bone needs time to mend without more powerful magics. They can find out that the boy’s name is Titus and he is in town with his mother, Julie, to buy some salted meats. His mother shows up less than a minute after Titus fell, still trying to lace up her outfit but coming quickly once the brawl dies down and she hears her son crying. Once the commotion in the tavern has calmed a bit, the party can take a moment to explore the rest of the town. Have them overhear an additional rumor about the crazy man who has been out in the market as of late preaching about the end of the world. Hopefully, that will get them interested enough that they will leave the tavern for a bit of exploration. Exploring the Town Korin - The Doomsayer At the center of town is an older gentleman wearing tattered clothes with long, matted hair and holding a sign in one hand that reads “Do Good Before You Can No Longer!” He cries out to people passing by to change their life because the end is fast approaching. Repent for their evil doings in this life to ensure they are embraced in loving arms in the next world. This man is Korin. About a year ago, he had a near-death experience when he was lost in the mountains and nearly froze to death. In his time of greatest need, he prayed to all of the gods - seeking out even a single one that would listen to his pleas. He promised that if he made it out of this situation he would spread their holy word with all he encountered. He fell into a delirious state in which the entire world enveloped in darkness and as he tried to outrun the void he heard a voice cry out “Make the world a better place than when you arrived!” and then everything went dark. When he awoke again, he was lying in a cot in a nearby village. He had apparently wandered into the area screaming about how he would do better. He took the vision to mean that the world would soon be shrouded in darkness and now he tries to make sure others know that the end is coming and that they need to change before it is too late! Korin is one of the people in town who is aware of the resets. Parket - The Historian Parket works at the Pawney Library and is the head of the Pawney Historical Society. He is an older man - pushing eighty years of age - but he remains in relatively good health. He has a long white beard, wears comfortable scholarly robes, and always has on a thick set of spectacles. He walks with a bit of a limp due to one of his hips that is in constant pain, but it only slows him a bit. Parket knows more about the history of Pawney than anyone alive. Everyone is aware that Pawney was built on the grounds of a military fortress, but few are aware of the significance of the fortress. Parket knows that the base was unconquerable and that many hidden tunnels still lie below the city. These have been sealed away for over a millennia according to one of the books in his possession - The Pawnerius Fortress. On the inside cover of the book is a strange riddle of sorts that will come into play later. Parket is one of the party’s primary resources for the adventure as he is also aware of the resets. Jerry Arryn - The Mayor Jerry is the mayor of Pawney and has been for over twenty years. He is a plump middle-aged man with a heart of gold but is incredibly clumsy and a bit naive. He is the first to raise up others for activities around the town. He is generally wellliked among the people of Pawney and his family has lived in the town for centuries. He has the largest house in town, which is still quite modest with only five bedrooms and roughly three-thousand square feet of space. He will invite the party into his house in a heartbeat and ask if they would like to have lunch with him and his beautiful wife - Leslie. On display around the house are numerous relics from the town - old weapons and armor, pieces of stone from the fortress walls, ancient coins, and a beautiful key whose end is an hourglass. This key is required for the party to enter the secret tunnels beneath the Grumpy Groundhog, so they will either need to convince Mayor Arryn that they need it or they will need to steal it from its locked glass display when the time comes. Sheriff Tanya Bennett Laura is a dedicated sheriff for the town of Pawney. While she is not part of the main objectives and is not part of the time loop, the party can turn to her for aid in achieving some of their goals if they can convince her that the threat facing the town is real. Fortunately, she has been trying to convince the mayor to ramp up defenses against the orcish threat already! It takes only a bit of extra convincing on the party's party to swing Laura around to their side. Laura is a tall woman with long black hair in dreadlocks. She has dark skin and eyes that are just as dark and quite beautiful. She is athletic as a result of constantly training with her officers and ensuring they are ready to keep Pawney safe. She always has a heavy crossbow slung across her back - her weapon of choice, but is also skilled with the shortswords that hang at her sides. She is honest and helping, like most people in the town. She can be used to rally the townsfolk to the party's aid or even to help them with some of the challenges that come later such as getting into the basement of the Grumpy Groundhog Tavern. Unfortuantely, no matter how skilled she and her other officers are, they are no match for the might of the orcish raiding party and quickly fall when they try to defend the town. Other Areas of Interest The town also contains an apothecary, a blacksmith, and a winter survival store if the party is interested in exploring any of these locations. These stores are Rashida’s Potions and Wellness Oils, Rekka’s Armory, and Gorrish’s Winter Survival Apparel. There are grocers in the area and general stores, but these listed are the main specialty shops that a party would find interesting. 35

The Attack The party may simply want to skip to the evening when their informant is meant to meet them in the town square. Korin will introduce himself to the party and try to convince them to lead good lives if they have not already approached him. Korin will tell them that is place is special and that something greater drew him here. Soon everyone will see what he does! You wait for thirty minutes but there is still no sign of the informant. It is getting dark and it is growing quite cold in the mountains. The still air is cut by the sound of a rumble in the distance and you can see light bleeding into the blackness of the night outside of town. As you glance into the valley about a mile away, you realize that the light is coming from hundreds of torches and the rumble is caused by an army charging towards the city! The party will have a few minutes to devise a plan against this orcish invasion, but the result will be the same no matter their actions - the death of them and the entire town. The enemies the party faces is the same no matter the party size and the total strength of the army is as follows: APL Enemies Any 80x Orc (MM Pg. 246) 60x Worg (MM Pg. 341) 20x Orog (MM Pg. 247) 12x Orc War Chief (MM Pg. 246) Now obviously you can’t manage this many enemies at once, so I suggest attacking the party with: 1x Worg-mounted Orc War Chief 2x Worg-mounted Orogs 3x Orcs on foot. If the party manages to clean these up somehow, attack them with another batch of the same composition. This should ultimately result in the death of the entire party. Don’t give the party any indication that they were meant to die here. They should think that their characters are dead, probably upset at you for throwing an unwinnable encounter their way. If the party tries to flee from the battle, the orcs will hunt them down on the back of worgs - seeming to know their location supernaturally! Once all of the party is dead, it is time to start again! Repeat You wake up in cozy beds on the second floor of the Grumpy Groundhog Tavern in the town of Pawney. There is a chill in the air as the entire area is covered by a fresh sheet of snow that fell during the night. The sound of chatter bleeds through the floor and the smell of coffee and cooked meat is heavy in the air. A strange sensation of deja vu sweeps over you and your stomach is in tight knots. The party emerges from their rooms and find that everything is exactly the same as it was on the day they first arrived. All of the same people are at the tavern and sitting in the exact same locations. The same conversation with the three men at the table is occurring. The waitress spills her coffee on the man in the corner and causes a brawl to break out. It all plays out with no deviation unless the party interferes. Everyone in the party remembers the previous night and can vividly recall dying at the hands of the brutal orcish invaders, but everyone else in the tavern seems to be completely oblivious. Replaying the Days A large part of this adventure is repeating the prior day up to a point and trying new things at the point of failure. There is no need to go through all of the motions each and every time as it is tedious, so as soon as the party finds a successful solution to a problem, simply recap the events of the day and take them back to the point of action unless they request to try something new during one of the events! An Affirmed Doomsayer It is a bit easier for the players to discover that Korin is repeating the same day, for he is shouting it from the top of his lungs at the center of town and frightening many of the townsfolk. He screams about how the cycle has begun and death is upon them. They are blind to the truth that death is charging towards them at this very moment - a pack of orcs riding on worg back to pillage and murder each and every person in the town. People keep a wide berth from Korin with parents shielding their children. As the party approaches Korin, read the following: The doomsayer looks over to you with eyes filled with wonder. "Newcomers, I have been blessed with foresight! Death rides for the town and we must prepare! You must believe me for the sake of us all! An army two-hundred strong will be at our doorstep by nightfall!" None of the townsfolk take notice of his warnings and it is frustrating. He wants to save them, but they don’t listen! When the party reveals that they are also repeating this day, Korin will offer to help without question. Throughout the rest of the adventure, Korin will continuously make things more difficult for the party as he will break into ravings of doom and the end which is nigh! Have this occasionally foil the party’s plans and try to make them grow rather frustrated with Korin! A Confused Historian On the first reset, Parket wanders through the town asking folks if they feel strange or remember having vivid nightmares. Have him cross paths with the party at some point and he will ask them the same thing which will reveal he has memories as well. He was cut down by the orcs in his home and then awoke as if none of it had ever happened. Once the party confirms they are in the same situation, Parket will invite them back to the library to discuss where he will tell them his theory on the situation. 36

“This town used to be a fortress that was thought to be protected by some sort of divine magic. No matter how outnumbered or how clever the enemy’s tactics, the Pawnerius Fortress could not be destroyed. The stories speak of supernatural insight by some of the commanders - knowing things they couldn’t possibly know. Well, I think we found out how they managed to do what they did - they got a second chance!” He will tell the party about a bunker hidden somewhere beneath the city, but the only clue he has ever found as to how to access it is in his book called The Pawnerius Fortress. He tells the party he has tried to find significance in its words for years, but with no luck. He opens the book and lets out a gasp. “The words have changed!” The Riddle This riddle is only visible when the days in the city have begun to reset. Otherwise, it simply reads, “When you need the town to defend itself, look no further than the words below.” But the page is blank beneath these words and no magic seems to reveal it! Only after the first reset has occurred do the following words appear: uh, go drop my grung This is simply an anagram for Grumpy Groundhog. This is where the entrance to the tunnels beneath the city is hidden. Skip to Grump Groundhog Cellar for next steps. (If the party gets stuck, have Parket suggest it is an anagram, but don’t make him provide a solution.) Grumpy Groundhog Cellar Once the party has cracked the code in the back of Parket’s book, they can head to the Grumpy Groundhog to investigate. The person working the bar on this day is a woman named Camilla, who also happens to be the owner. She is a tall blond woman with striking green eyes and an outfit that shows off her curves. She is attractive and knows it very well. She is not a pushover and takes great pride in her tavern. There does not appear to be anything of note on the main area of the tavern. There are simply chairs and tables and the bar itself, but no sign of any secret entrances. If they ask Camilla about such a thing, she will accuse them of being mad. Parket knows that there is a cellar for the tavern where they keep most of the alcohol, however. If there is a secret set of tunnels, it would likely be down there! If the party asks to see the cellar, Camilla will decline; it is private property after all. The cellar entrance is behind the bar and is locked, but the party can either pick the lock with success on a DC 13 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check or be breaking it with a blunt weapon. Alternatively, the party can come up with some convincing arguments and persuade Camilla to let them down there with success on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion / Deception) check. As mentioned before, once one of these persuasion techniques works, it will continue to work on each subsequent day. Down in the cellar are multiple barrels of whiskey, a wall covered in wine bottles, and numerous kegs of beer of all varieties. The area is pretty packed and there is little room for maneuverability. Have the party make Intelligence (Investigation) checks to search the area. On a result of 15 or higher by any character, they notice the outline of a door grooved into the stone behind the floor to ceiling wine rack. Pulling out some of the wine bottles reveals a small hole that doesn’t fit any traditional key, but there is a small hourglass painted on the stone next to the keyhole. There is also abjuration magic warding the door that prevents brute force entry, but won’t stop a knock spell or dispel magic. A failure on the investigation check results in the party spotting nothing of interest and they will need to be more detailed in what they do to search through the area to identify the hidden door. When the party finds the door locked with no key in sight, Parket snaps his fingers and gives out an “ah ha, I should have expected this!” Mayor Arryn has many artifacts from the older days of the town on display around his home. Parket has visited many times to observe them as he finds all of the items and the stories behind them fascinating. One of the items in his possession is a strange key with no teeth and an hourglass on the back of it. Getting the Key The party can easily find the location of Mayor Arryn’s home. You walk up to a home that is large for the area, but not near the lavish standards you may expect for the leader of a town - perhaps three thousand square feet in total. The home is two stories tall, made of a stunning interlace of grey and black bricks. It has a lovely garden that spans nearly the entirety of the front lawn. Massive windows look out towards the town and a small balcony on the second floor contains two rocking chairs guarded by a small overhang for poor weather. A cobblestone path leads up to the front door. When the party approaches, the door is answered almost immediately by Mayor Arryn’s wife, Leslie. Blond curls tumble down over her shoulders and she wears a massive smile with a comfortable, but still beautiful, navy blue dress. Leslie is as kind-hearted as they come and will immediately invite the party into their home and offer to go make some snacks and tea for everyone. A description of Mayor Arryn and his general attitude is found in the Areas of Interest section of the module if you need a refresher. The mayor will introduce himself and quickly tell everyone to simply call him Jerry. He asks the party if they would like to join him in the parlor if they are looking to chat. On the way, the party passes numerous statues, artifacts placed carefully on pedestals, and a multitude of hanging decorations that are all from a far-gone era. One of the items they pass is a beautiful glass case that contains a silver key with its backside shaped into an hourglass. If the party has Parket with them, he will be sure to point out the key. 37

Options From here the party has a few different methods to obtain the key. Smashing through the glass case and taking it is a quick and effective way to get the key, but will also result in the mayor calling for help and the guards that are constantly on patrol nearby will come running. The party can pick the lock on the display with success on a DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check. (Once a party member successfully picks the lock once, they always succeed on any additional days). Take the keys that open the display case from the mayor’s bedside table. This is unguarded, but the family does not simply let guests roam their house unattended, so they will need a reason to step away and will need to move quick! Convincing the mayor to part with the key. This is the most likely course of action, but the mayor will not believe the party’s ability to repeat this day over and over without some solid evidence. The party will need to find some way to confirm their capabilities. This could be a method of their own choosing as there are many possibilities, but it is up to you to decide if it is sufficient. You can choose to have the party make a Charisma (Persuasion) with a DC depending on how convincing their argument is. If the party asks the Mayor if there is any way to prove it to him, he will scratch his chin for a moment and say, “Alright, if you really can repeat this day, you will have no problem telling me the color of my undergarments as well as those of my wife!” He will give a coy smile as Leslie glares at him, but she does not stop her husband. On the first visit, the party will have no idea. They can ask and Jerry will tell them that his are light blue and his wife’s are white and violet, but he will not give them the key on this day. He simply says that if they are repeating the day to tell him when he presents the question again and that will be enough. Jerry is a man of his word, and if the party returns after another night of slaughter he will willingly give them the key after asking some questions about what is happening and if there is anything else he can do to help. Into the Tunnels With the key in their possession, the party can return to the basement of the Grumpy Groundhog and unlock the hidden doorway. This reveals a spiral stairwell that descends 30 feet before opening up to a large hallway. It is 15 feet wide and continues on for 120 feet before ending in a fine wooden door (though the party probably can’t see this down in the tunnels). Parket will opt to stay behind as his fighting days are far behind him and lord only knows what could be waiting down there! The air is foul and stale, having received no airflow for centuries. There are sconces on the wall for torches, but they are empty and the passageway is pitch black. There also appears to be massive chunks of stone missing from the ceiling - some lying in large rubble piles on the floor. It is unclear how stable the ground is in this tunnel, but it certainly seems dangerous. Oozing with Danger Towards the middle of the room, there is a particularly large area of fallen stone. This stone obstructs almost the entirety of the path, but the party can climb over and squeeze between to continue. Unfortunately, lurking up along the ceiling and are a few oozes that are quite hungry. The first party member that attempts to pass the threshold has an ooze drop on their head, making an attack with advantage before the party must roll for initiative. APL Enemies 1 2x Gray Ooze (MM Pg. 243) 2 3x Gray Ooze 3 1x Ochre Jelly (MM Pg. 243) 2x Gray Ooze 4 1x Black Pudding (MM Pg. 241) 2x Gray Ooze The oozes plop down from their hiding places among the debris on the ceiling and attack the players, shredding through their armor and weapons and leaving them even less prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. Keep in mind, the party may just immediately retreat, knowing that they will have an opportunity to catch the oozes by surprise tomorrow! When the party returns to this area for a second time, they are aware of the ooze’s presence and so the fight isn’t quite as deadly. You can choose to either have them go through this fight again and note their expended spells and hit points to use for future attempts or you can have them each only lose half of the resources and health as the first time through. They might also present a clever plan to avoid the oozes altogether! If they do, reward them for their creativity! At the end of the hallway is the fine wooden door that remains unlocked and leads to the Subterranean Bunker. 38

Subterranean Bunker As you open the door, magical torches spring to life, casting the entire area in dancing yellow light. This room is absolutely massive. The ceiling is 20 feet high with a width and length of roughly 250 feet. Scattered throughout the room are hundreds of military cots, each with their own footlocker. On the far side of the room, you see a gleaming metal door. Beyond the cots and the door, this room doesn’t seem to hold anything else of interest, but you imagine the entire population of the city above could squeeze into this room. The party can check all of the footlockers, but they are all empty save a bit of dust and the occasional insect. The Trap Gauntlet Through the metal door on the far side of the bunker is an area known as the Trap Gauntlet. The entire hallway is an antimagic field, so no clever magics to get through the hall. The most important part of this hallway is to use vivid descriptions in the (likely) brutal evisceration of some of the party members. Even with a skilled rogue, this hallway is filled with incredible dangers. As the party enters the area, read the passage below: You push open the heavy metal door and reveal a hallway quite similar to the first you encountered in the tunnels - roughly 15 feet wide and 120 feet long. Unlike the first tunnel, the walls and ceiling in this path seem perfectly intact. In fact, magical torches go ablaze along the walls and reveals yet another door on the far side of the room. You can’t help but feel that the air is somehow different in this room . . . it is heavy somehow - almost oppressive. You also note that this room is on a slight upward incline. It is subtle but makes you feel off balance. Once the party realizes this hall is trapped, they can start checking for them. These each require success on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check as these traps are incredibly well hidden. As the party fails these traps and are cut down, they will learn special information about the traps so they can succeed more easily on future days. The hallway is broken down into multiple traps that are listed on the right: 1) As a character walks in front of the first set of torches, the entire passageway immediately goes dark. A few brutal cleavers fall from the ceiling and swing through a full fifteen feet of the path on either side of this trigger location. The triggering creature will need to make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, making the roll with disadvantage if they do not know about the trap and are blinded by the darkness. On a failed save, the creature takes 26 (4d12) slashing damage. This is enough to instantly kill many characters. 2) The next trigger is a set of carefully spread out pressure plates that are invisible to the naked eye. When a character steps on one of these pressure plates, a twentyfoot section of the path opens up to a pitfall trap. The trap is twenty feet deep and at the bottom is a set of jagged poisoned spikes. A creature must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw to avoid falling. On a failed save, they tumble into the pit, taking 11 (2d10) piercing damage and 14 (4d6) poison damage). The doors then immediately close up and leave that creature trapped until someone else triggers the trap. Party can tie a rope to themselves to prevent the fall on future efforts. 3) A little ways further down is another trap that is triggered as they reach the next set of torches. A fireball detonates in the middle of the hall. Each creature within 20 feet of the trigger location must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that knows about this trap has advantage on the saving throw. The party could also find special ways to mitigate the damage of the flames or to detonate it remotely. 4) Next up is another set of pressure plates. This causes the entirely of the hallway to fill with a deadly poison. Each creature in the hall must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 27 (5d10) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This poison clears after one minute. The party can fashion makeshift gas masks by asking around town or using their clothing to prevent this damage. 5) The final trap comes upon reaching the door on the far side of the room. The door at the entrance of the hall slams shut as the ceiling opens and a giant boulder drops down. The creature that opened the door must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 33 (6d10) bludgeoning damage as they are crushed beneath the mass of the boulder. The boulder then begins to roll towards the entrance of the hall. If creatures were inside when the door closed, they are trapped. They must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to manage to squeeze perfectly against the wall and avoid being crushed. Creatures that fail this saving throw take 22 (4d10) bludgeoning damage. A significant obstruction in the path or triggering of the pitfall trap at the perfect moment can stop the boulder. With all of the traps cleared, the party can finally move on to the next room! 39

Skeletal Defenders You step out of the trap-filled hallway and into a darkened chamber. This area contains no lanterns to illuminate the area, but you can smell the rancid odor of death thick in the air - trapped for hundreds of years in this place. The chamber is square with forty-foot wide walls and a ceiling that is twenty feet high. On the far side of the chamber is a ladder that ascends to the ceiling and then disappears into a tunnel that continues upward even further out of view. Scattered all throughout the area are massive piles of bones, some up to five feet in height. To the left is a large wall that reveals glyphs as party members approach. (This is detailed further in Puzzling Passage.) When a member of the party reaches the center of this room, the door to the previous hall slams shut and the skeletal remains around the room begin to spiral and coalesce into deadly humanoid figures. Weapons mend and reassemble as skeletons rise up with blades at the ready and red glowing eyes. At the center of the room, the bones swarm together to form a hulking monstrosity of a goliath skeleton wielding a great axe made of bone rather than a metal weapon like the other skeletons. It gives a roar and exudes a putrid gas as it smashes its weapon on the floor. Roll for initiative. APL Enemies 1 1x Rotting Skeleton 2x Skeleton (MM Pg. 272) 2 1x Rotting Skeleton 4x Skeleton 3 2x Rotting Skeleton 4x Skeleton 4 2x Rotting Skeleton 8x Skeleton On initiative count 20 on the second round of combat, poison darts erupt from tiny holes in the wall all around the room. Anyone who is prone evades these without issue, but creatures that are standing must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 2 (1d4) piercing damage plus (3 x APL) poison damage. On initiative count 20 on the fourth round of combat, explosives hidden beneath the piles of bones near the four corners of the room detonate! Any creature within 10 feet of these piles must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking (5 x APL) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. These are both intended to be trap elements of the fight that the party can avoid on any additional visits to the room if they happen to die. They may also discover that skeletons are vulnerable to bludgeoning damage and bring more appropriate weaponry on additional attempts. After the Battle Once the battle is over and the skeletons are defeated, the party can investigate the area. The ladder on the far side of the room goes up for nearly forty feet before ending in a glowing purple emblem emblazoned on the back of a stone slab. Once a creature touches it, they feel a spark of energy flow through their body as the stone slab flies open and water floods down into the passageway. It turns out the ladder leads up into the fountain at the center of town. This door can only be opened once all of the skeletons below have been defeated, otherwise it remains sealed. On future resets, the party can go straight to the fountain and the person that touched the symbol can press their hand to the stone in the fountain and reopen the doorway. When the door is opened in such a manner, the skeletons in the chamber below never stir from their slumber. The creature that touched the emblem seems to inherently know this when they wake the next day. The only other items of note in here are the letters on the wall to the left. The puzzle the corresponds with these letters is found on the following page. 40

Puzzling Passage The text “Stand together and see as one” is written on the wall for each individual, but below that is a single bit of text that is a fragment of a much larger whole. Each player sees a different set of letters as well as the two NPCs. When the full message is spoken aloud, the passageway opens to reveal another hallway beyond. The Message ONLY WITH UNITY CAN WE HOPE TO SURVIVE THE COMING PERIL Text Numbering 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 O N L Y W I T H U N I T Y C A N 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 W E H O P E T O S U R V I V 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 E T H E C O M I N G P E R I L The message is broken down into chunks depending on the number of PCs in the party. Parket will always have the second set of letters and Korin has the fourth set. To break things down, choose players at your table randomly and assign them slots one, three, and then five-plus until you run out of players. Each character only sees every Xth letter, where X is the number of PCs + 2. So for a 4 PC party, each member would get every 6th letter starting from their original position including spaces! For example, Justin is 1st, Bella is 3rd, Kelly is 5th, and Jeff is 6th. The NPCs are 2nd and 4th slots. For Justin, we start at position 1 in the text, which is O and then continue with every sixth letter so his final message will be “OIINO_V_GL”. Parket’s is 2nd, so we start at position 2 and continue with every sixth letter for a final message of “NTT_PSEC_” Bella is 3rd, so we start at position 3 and have a final message of “LHYWEU_OP” Korin is 4th, starting at position 4 with a final message of “Y__E_RTME” Kelly has a final message of “ _UC_TVHIR” Jeff has a final message of “WNAHOIENI” When you are telling people what their messages say, be sure to give them out in a random order so they do not assign any significance to them. Whatever you do, don’t tell them that they are in the Xth position or it will ruin the puzzle! This could potentially be a difficult puzzle, so if your players are not fans you could choose to skip this entirely or consider adding a glowing number above each of their messages that represents their starting position. That number will hopefully give them what they need to piece everything together much easier than going forward with no guidance. If the party tries to solve this without gathering the other NPCs, I would suggest stopping them and guiding them back to the text on the wall so hopefully they will realize the only way to solve the puzzle is with everyone. If they are struggling even with the NPCs present, you can also have Parket drop some hints such as: “We all have to be present, so all of our messages must mesh together somehow”, “Your message is the first with a space, so the first word must be made before that!”, or “If we try putting all of our first or last letters together can we spell out anything significant?” Once the puzzle is solved, the door slides open. Unifying the Town The Anomaly The doors slide open to reveal yet another long hallway. Over a hundred feet away, in an area that seems to open up much further than the hallway, sits a strange ball of energy. Even from this distance, you feel drawn to the blackness of this sphere and the arcs of deep green energy that occasionally leap across the room from this source. Moments later, torches along the hallway go ablaze and light the path forward. This hallway is a nice respite from the violence of all of the other halls in the bunker. It isn’t until the party reaches the room containing the Anomaly itself that things grow dangerous again. The void of the anomaly seems to extend on for an eternity - and perhaps it does - but it also seems to have some repelling force that stops anyone from approaching too closely. The room containing the orb is fairly large, roughly eighty feet on each side with a ten-foot-wide platform at the center above which the anomaly sits. It churns and flows in ways that don’t seem physically possible, collapsing in on itself and sometimes almost disappearing completely before surging back with great force. It appears to be made of some sort of thick liquid, but once again, no one can get close enough to it to touch it even with the strongest of magics. Activating the Defenses On one of the walls in this room is a switch that reads “Defense Network” and it is currently flipped to the off position. One of the players will need to turn this on, at which point. . . The room is immediately flooded with red light as the torches along the wall change color. The color is so deep and dark that it is difficult to see. Stone along the edges of the chamber slides open and from new alcoves emerge a set of constructs that approach you. They are humanoid in shape and size with glowing black orbs in their chests. One of these nearest to you turns and speaks in a deep robotic voice, “Defense network activated. Please speak the passcode or be destroyed.” 41

Now the party does not have the passcode, so their only real option is to fight! Roll for initiative! The types and number of enemies depends on your party’s APL. APL Enemies 1 2x Animated Armor (MM Pg. 19) with 16 hit points and no Multiattack. 2 2x Animated Armor 3 3x Animated Armor 4 1x Helmed Horror (MM Pg. 19) with 45 hit points. 2x Animated Armor The red light causes the whole area to be considered dim light and the only area for cover is the platform at the center of the room that contains the orb. The party can retreat back into the previous hallway, but as they do the door on the far end (where the passcode glyph is located) slams shut and traps them in. When the last of the constructs is about to perish, it cries out in a squeaking, pained voice, “Passcode - ‘I got you babe’ - not identified!” The party can’t do much without the help of the constructs, so they will have to wait yet another reset to come back down here, pull the lever, and give them the code. The Defense Network With the defense network active, the constructs are friendly and helpful to the party, but only one of them seems to speak. It identifies itself as a Protection, Helpful Information, and Labor construct, but he asks that the party simply call him PHIL. PHIL will inform the part that the Defense Network is dreadfully underpowered. In order for defenses to operate at peak performance when the attack arrives, they will need at least two hundred living entities present in the staging area and the rest can remain in the living quarters. The defenses of the facility have all been deactivated, so the townsfolk can move safely to the room with the cots. (Note: The oozes will still be present in the first tunnel). If asked what the staging area is, PHIL simply gestures to the room they are standing in. The essence of the living is how the Defense Network is powered, but with too few it will not work or will cause dreadful side effects to those that are present. Recruiting Townsfolk The next step is to get all of the townsfolk down into the staging area of the bunker. It will take their combined essence to give the Anomaly whatever it needs to work correctly in the battle to come. The party can go about this in a number of ways, but the best solution would be to convince Jerry of the coming danger and then he can help rally the townsfolk. The method your party uses to convince Jerry (or perhaps to go around him) can vary drastically, so simply use your best judgment to set the DCs for the interactions the party has to bring more individuals down into the bunker. If they fail, there is always tomorrow too! Korin will constantly speak up during these interactions if he is present and mention the coming destruction and death that will fall upon the city. This scares folks and will cause them to not cooperate and association with the doomsayer lessens the mayor’s confidence. The party will have to find a way to keep Korin calm or risk failing in their efforts. Nightfall The townsfolk are gathered down in the bunker, using the passageway in the central fountain to assure they can arrive without facing the dangers of the rest of the bunker. As more and more people flood into the area, the lights that fill the room grow brighter and the flicks of green energy that pulse through the Anomaly become more and more frequent until its color changes entirely from black to powerful, shining emerald green. Most of the citizens of Pawney remain uncertain and skeptical about what is going on - as they have nothing but the party’s word to assure them that the attack is coming. The Sacrifice Once the full force of the town is assembled, PHIL approaches the party: “Now all we need is the sacrifice of a Catalyst.” He gestures to the Anomaly with one rusted metallic arm. “The gift of foresight must be repaid in blood but the choice is ultimately yours.” Korin nods as if this message resonates with him deeply. “This entire time I have been trying to figure out what my role was in all of this. As much as I tried to help, I seemed to always make things worse, so this must be why I was brought along with the rest of you. This must be why I was saved from the mountains! I am the sacrifice!” He seems joyous as he says these last words. The party can decide whether or not they will let Korin sacrifice himself. Parket will attempt to talk him down and offer himself, as he is an old man that has lived a full life, but Korin is quite stubborn. The only way the party can talk himself out of this sacrifice is if one of them runs at the Anomaly first! The next time someone approaches, rather than being shoved away by the ethereal barrier, the Anomaly absorbs that creature, ripping them into its mass with the speed of a flying arrow. In an instant, they are gone - without even the time to scream in fear or in pain. With this sacrifice completed, the Anomaly settles into a full emerald green glow and vibrates steadily. A soothing hum emits from the Anomaly that calms the townsfolk but still leaves the horror of what just happened with the party. 42

The Attack Shortly after, the orcs descend upon the town. Townsfolk fill the room, families clustered together holding hands as the lights start to dim through the area. It is eerily quiet until the sound of churning earth rips through the chamber in a deafening crash that wakes up any who had dozed off and causes all of the children to burst into tears. Explosions boom up above and cause the room to tremble, bits of dirt and dust drifting down from above. The incredibly faint sound of screaming can be heard, but it is no louder than a whisper. The lights in the room go out as the area is cast into darkness. Many of the townsfolk begin to panic as the rumbling increases. One man cries out, “The whole roof is going to come down! We are going to die down here!” and makes for the doorway out. Others in the room are swept into this wave of hysteria and in the darkness people begin to shove and scramble. A few torches flick on, but people are already trampling one another trying to get to the ladder back to the surface! The party can do their best to calm the crowd through either intimidation or through kindness, making a DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Intimidation) check accordingly. They may even use Deception depending on their methods! On a success, others in the town begin to help out and calm those that are starting to lose it down in the bunker. On a failure, chaos breaks out and the townsfolk scramble out of the area (unless stopped by magical means). Success In the case of success, the rumbling continues on for just a few minutes longer before the lights come back on and the Anomaly is sitting in the center of the room with black swirling energy once again. All of the townsfolk are pale and feel lethargic and weakened, but no one is harmed. PHIL announces that the Defense Network has completed its task and it is safe to return to the surface. He then moves to one of the side areas of the room to shut down until he is needed again. Failure In the case of failure, people begin to run frantically for the ladder. They push each other to the ground and trample them underfoot in the dark as they desperately try to get away from the bunker and its potentially collapsing ceiling! As individuals leave, the lights begin to flicker back to life and the energy being cast off the Anomaly returns to a dull black. Townsfolk are left broken and bloodied on the ground in the area from the result of the frantic hordes of citizens. The party will have to charge into action to avoid further destruction. The Defense Network shuts down when it loses the power of the townsfolk and there are a few orcs still lurking up on the surface - though most have already been wiped out. As people go up the ladder, they scream in terror as they are cut down. Those few remaining orcs are wreaking havoc on the city. The first few citizens that make it to the surface are immediately slaughtered, causing the others to scramble and fall back down the ladder. The townsfolk back away as orcs begin to climb down into the area and the party will have to go to combat once again! The types and number of enemies depends on your party’s APL. For APL 1-2 groups, I recommend splitting the orcs into two separate initiative groups as it could be disastrous if all 4 were to go before the party. APL Enemies 1 4x Orc (MM Pg. 246) with 7 (1d8 + 3) hit points each 2 4x Orc 3 1x Orog (MM Pg. 247) 4x Orc 4 2x Orog 4x Orc Once the orcs are defeated, it is safe once again to return to the town of Pawney where they can see the aftermath of the assault. Return to the Surface The citizens return to the surface alongside the party and find over one-hundred orcs dead scattered from the front gates to the town square. There are a few scorched buildings in the distance, but the damage is minimal. Some of the orcs are scorched while others are impaled with multiple arrows. Some are blown into pieces and strewn across the area. It is certainly not a sight for children. The Mayor waits as the townsfolk slowly exit through the central fountain ladder and pour into the town square. Once they are all resurfaced, he gives a speech to thank everyone for trusting them in this time of great need; that - as always - they survived as a town and that the mountain folk are not ones to die so easily! He then turns to thank the party and Parket. He will mourn the loss of Korin (assuming he was the one to make the sacrifice) and announces that a statue will be erected in the center of the town to remember his sacrifice. He then tells everyone to go home and get some rest, keep their kids safe, and they will begin to rebuild and clean in the morning! Afterward, he invites the party back to his home and awards them with a sum of (200 x APL) gold and the eternal thanks of the town as well as a +1 weapon that was stored behind one of the display cases in his home. Be sure to give the party a weapon usable by at least one member of the party or even give them a Wand of the War Mage. He insists the party stay in his home for the evening as it is much more inviting and comfortable than the Grumpy Groundhog. The players rest for the evening and wake up finding that the day has finally passed! 43

Experience The Experience listed below represents a blend of monster encounters, non-combat encounters, and some bonus experience for finishing the quest. Feel free to adjust these values if you see fit. APL XP Per Player 1 500 2 1,100 3 2,500 4 3,800 Loot The reward your party receives for completion of this adventure is based upon the party’s APL. APL Reward 1 200 gold, +1 Weapon 2 400 gold, +1 Weapon 3 600 gold, +1 Weapon 4 800 gold, +1 Weapon 44

Beneath the Surface A One-Shot Adventure for Levels 1-4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adventure Synopsis In this adventure, your party finds themselves in Adaven - a popular mining town up near the Spineridge Mountains. Many people come to this town to earn solid wages working in the mines for a few years before taking their earnings elsewhere and starting a life without such difficult manual labor. As the party arrives, the town has just discovered a new vein in the mountain abundant with silver and gold, so it is a night of celebration! However, their discovery awoke something else lurking in the depths. Festivities come to a swift end as an agonizing scream tears through the tavern and patrons of the establishment run outside and find shredded clothing, blood, and a massive hole in the ground. Before long, the entire town is scattered across the rooftops as powerful creatures burrow through the dirt and stone, attacking anything that touches the ground. Buildings begin crumbling one by one as these creatures burrow and break open new caverns and tunnels. With the help of two of the town’s overseers, Eldra and Valeria, the party must find a way to destroy these subterranean predators and save the people of the town before it is too late. Unfortunately, it seems arrows and magic aren’t enough to take down these creatures. It is going to require something bigger - something explosive; something that can only be found in the mines a few hundred yards from town across open ground. Can your players figure out a way to save this town from destruction before it is too late? Find out as they face off against these deadly creatures that send tremors through the ground in Beneath the Surface. Average Party Level (APL) This adventure uses the Average Party Level (APL) to scale the difficulty of encounters. This is simply the average of your players’ total character levels assuming you have 4 party members. If your group is larger than 4, increase your APL by 1 for each additional player. If your party is smaller than 4, decrease your APL using this same rule. Expected Length: 3-5 Hours The expected length of this adventure is 3-5 hours. Of course these are expectations and what you experience may change based on player choices and pacing. Descriptive Text Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance that will be noted. Content Alert This adventure contains lines of dialogue for NPCs that involves crude language that some may find inappropriate. I attempted to capture the demeanor and personalities of this small mining town accurately. If you are running this adventure for a group with children, you will likely need to clean up the language. Additionally, this adventure has a high chance for character deaths if the party is reckless. The creatures in this adventure are more of a puzzle to solve than one that can be beaten with sword and magic. If your players charge in without a strategy, they will almost certainly perish. The adventure sets the tone for how powerful these creatures are from the start, so a group that exercises caution shouldn't see more difficulty than any other adventure. Adventure Introduction (Optional) This is suggested if you are running a one-shot separate from an overarching campaign and want to kick things off swiftly. If you are embedding this adventure in an existing campaign, there may be better ways to throw the party into the action. You stumble into The Summit tavern in the small mining town of Adaven. It is a few hundred yards from a sprawling Spineridge Mountain range filled with gold and silver for those willing to work hard to extract it from the mines. You have been traveling all day and it is nice to finally have a place to sit down, rest your sore feet, and have a tall mug of beer. The Summit is packed to the brim with patrons. Barmaids push through the crowds with trays covered in drinks, a man plays boisterous music on the piano, and couples fill the dancefloor! The people here are filthy - clearly having come here after a day of work in the mines without taking time to bathe afterwards - but the mood is one of joy! 45

Beneath the Surface Key Events Reminder This page serves as a quick reference to remind of major events, NPC names, locations, and any other relevant information that you may need during the adventure! If you are running this at the table, I would suggest printing this out and having it at the ready to get yourself back on track no matter what happens! Major Events Arrival in Adaven NPC Intros and Roleplay Miner Attacked in the Streets! Investigation Commences Second Rock Work Attack! Rock Worm Grabs Lee Retreat to the Rooftops Rooftop Questions and Objectives Events Unfold Lost Dog First Wormspawn Attack! Tavern Ablaze Flying Wormspawn Attack! A Weakness Discovered - Flute Music! Setting the Trap Final showdown with the Rock Worms! The Aftermath Important NPCs Valeria (Mining supervisor / Ronah’s wife) Eldra (Mining supervisor / Val’s rival) Ronah (Bartender at The Summit / Val’s wife) Notable Locations Adaven The Summit Tavern 46

Striking Gold in Adaven The party will likely inquire as to why the tavern is so popular on this night. The miners stumbled into a new vein in the mines today. It is loaded with glimmering gold and silver and is sure to make them all a pretty penny! When the mining industry profits, all of the miners profit as well, and so tonight is a night of major celebration. The supervisor of that crew, a woman by the name of Valeria, bought a round for every miner in the Adaven Mining Company and they have been drinking ever since! Once the party has had time to mingle for a bit and perhaps settle down with some drinks, they are approached. A dirty, sweaty half-orc man walks up to you carrying a pint of ale that is half empty. He has olive-green skin, a bald head, dark brown eyes, and towers at six feet and seven inches tall! He is muscular and you note his hands are calloused. His tusks are quite prominent, nearly three inches in length, but the one on the right is broken about an inch from the tip and covered with a silver cap. “You new in town? Looking for work? With the gold we just struck we are going to have plenty of new positions so my crew is hiring!” This is Eldra, one of the other supervisors in the mine. He and Valeria (who goes by Val) have a bit of a rivalry with their crews. This is a friendly competition and helps to motivate the workers as they will often make bets that involve leaving the mines early, free drinks at the tavern, or simply bragging rights. He will offer the party a rate of 5 silver pieces per day of work - more than fair pay for mining! Val, Eldra, and Ronah These are the three main NPCs for this story. Val and Eldra are both supervisors at the Adaven Mining Company and are close friends despite their workplace rivalry. Ronah is Val’s wife and bartender at The Summit. Val is a half-elf with pixie-cut black hair, emerald green eyes, and a tall, slender build. For a miner, she seems to do well keeping up her appearances, clearly more of a facilitator of work than one to get in there with a pickaxe herself. In contrast to her clean appearance, Val’s attitude is grimy and tough. She is quick-witted and spouts off insults and expletives in rapid succession when she speaks. The people of the town love her because she is genuine. Despite the competitions between her crew and Eldra’s, Val’s number one priority when in the mines is the safety of her team. Ronah is a plump, short human woman with light blue eyes and long blond hair that is normally in pigtails. Her attitude, much like that of Val, is crude and fits the demeanor of the town’s occupants quite nicely. Ronah has only one arm, which makes her bartending all the more impressive. She lost the arm in a mining accident many years ago, which is what prompted Val to take on a leadership role that values the safety of miners above all else. She is compassionate and the miners love her, knowing she would be down there alongside them if given the chance again. Eldra is a loud, boisterous man who loves to play pranks on his employees but expects to have this behavior repaid in kind! He is fun-loving and leads by example rather than by punishment and harsh words. He seems to brighten whatever room he walks into with his optimistic attitude, but when things turn dangerous he will grab his greatsword and be at the frontlines in a moment’s notice. This is quite jarring for most for Eldra is such a large and intimidating figure that his cheerful personality creates quite the juxtaposition. After Eldra is done making a pitch to the party, Val makes her way over. She knows strong, capable miners when she sees them and is not about to let Eldra win out. She offers them 6 silver a day to come work for her and promises drinks on her after a hard day of work. Her wife is the bartender so she gets first dibs! Try to get the party engaged with each of these characters as they play major roles when things go to hell! The First Attack As the night goes on, people filter out of the tavern and head home but a few remain passed out at the tables. This seems to be normal in this tavern as the barmaids bring out pillows and put them under the heads of these sleeping patrons. The party can get a room on the second floor. There are six rooms in total, all of which open up to a walkway over the tavern area below. The rate is 1 silver per evening. Startled Awake You are awoken from your sleep by an ear-piercing scream of agony from a man somewhere nearby. You can feel the room itself tremble a bit, almost as if there were an earthquake happening. The man continues to wail in pain, begging for someone to help him, but it is sharply cut off. You can hear some of the remaining patrons in the tavern below crying out in alarm. This scream is the first attack by the deadly rock wurms that were awakened by the miners earlier in the day. He stumbled out of the tavern and the earth opened up beneath him. He did his best to hold on as the monstrosity grabbed his leg and pulled him down into the depths, but his strength was no match for a rock wurm. This awakes most of the town and people rush out into the streets with torches and lanterns. Most are in pajamas with a few wearing just their undergarments. Strewn across the street are scraps of clothing and chunks of flesh. A hand lies palm up in the dirt just a few feet in front of the tavern. In the middle of all of the mess is a giant hole nearly four feet across. Have your party arrive at the front entrance of the tavern at this point. Val comes sprinting down the road and over to Ronah who is standing out on the porch of the tavern with a hand over her mouth in complete shock. “What the hell happened here?” Val shouts. “Are you alright?” Ronah looks around, still gaping as more people arrive and gather around the hole, curious. Children are ushered back indoors and away from the scene. 47

Ronah clenches a fist in rage, “God damn it. It’s Roger. He passed out early in the night. Finally woke up and was headin’ home. Fuck! I just heard the screams! By the time I got outside . . . this.” She gestures to the blood and body parts. Rock Worm Behaviors Rock worms are vicious predators that burrow through dirt and stone using a combination of innate magics and a diamond-shaped head that breaks through most materials with ease. The species that is attacking the town is of a variety that goes through long cycles of feasting and slumber. These monstrous worms will gorge themselves on whatever food they can find, eating nonstop for weeks at a time before finally burrowing back into the mountains and slumbering. During this time of rest - which can extend for centuries - the rock worms grow larger. The rock worms in the mountains near Adaven were awoken prematurely as the miners broke into the new vein of gold and silver - a pathway that was created by the rock worms burrowing many decades ago, before the town was even established. Now that they are awake, they look to feast and slumber once again. The rock worms have no eyes but can sense even the slightest disturbance in the ground at great distances. They use this tremorsense to hunt creatures, opening rifts in the earth and grabbing their prey with a powerful clawed tongue and dragging them down into their tunnels before consuming them. Though, when they are particularly hungry they have been known to simply devour creatures whole, which is what happened to poor Roger. Rock worms are not intelligent, but they are effective hunters. They will remain dormant for extended periods to trick their prey into assuming it is safe to touch the ground once again. They keep most of their bodies buried in the ground even when attacking to ensure that minimal damage can be done to them - if something can even pierce their all but indestructible stone carapace. The only time they fully emerge from the ground are in times of desperation or rage, when the worm feels its life is threatened and it must destroy the target if it hopes to survive. Most creatures would flee when hurt, but the rock worms are far too savage for such behavior. Once the rock worms have feasted, they begin to grow new spawn deep inside their massive bodies. Once they have eaten enough to give life to these small rock worms, the parent will spit the spawn out near potential prey and let them feast and grow. Only those strong enough to devour prey survive to enter the great slumber and grow larger! Some of these spawns have the ability to fly when first born and others have powerful legs that allow them to leap to great heights. Once a worm enters its first period of rest and growth, these adaptations fade as the worm grows too large to make use of them anymore. Investigation and the Second Attack Ronah moves over to the party and asks them if they are ok. She then asked them if they saw anything on the road on the way in? At the same time, Eldra walks up in leather armor and a greatsword in his hands. Ronah is in a panic and stays close to Val. Allow the party to have some time to converse with the townsfolk and try to analyze the situation. They are all frightened an none of them have any idea what happened. Eventually, one of the townsfolk approaches the hole and drops a torch into it (if the party has not already done this). It falls for a few seconds before hitting the ground. “Must be at least fifty feet deep!” Some of the other townsfolk gather around and nod in agreement. Then the ground begins to tremble. The party may approach at this point to look down the hole as well. Either way, the torch disappears a few moments later as a massive shape moves through the tunnel below. “What the hell was that thing?!” One of the townsfolk shouts and jumps back away from the hole, falling onto the dirt road in a panic. The tremors grow stronger and the townsfolk break into full panic. Eldra holds up his greatsword and shouts, "Everyone, get off the streets! Climb on top of something! Find high ground!" The people of the town scatter in chaos. A few seconds later, the earth begins to swell like a wave just beneath the surface. People branch out and run, but one man stumbles and before he can make it back to his feet, a monstrosity is upon him! A worm with flesh of stone and iron, a full four feet across, erupts from the dirt of the road. Its head is a diamond shape, narrowing at the tip like a drill. The terror opens its mouth, splitting its sharply angled head into four shards. This creates a star shape and reveals a maw of jagged teeth. A thick tongue lashes out with what appears to be a claw at the end. It grabs hold of the man and he screams as it digs into his flesh and begins to pull. The creature starts to disappear back into the ground, dragging the man as he screams in terror, helplessly grasping at the dirt but finding no purchase. Eldra, who was still standing nearby, brings his greatsword down on the back of the creature’s head with a mighty swing, but it bounces off the worm’s exterior with a loud, metallic clank. Throwing the sword aside, Eldra grabs the man’s hand and screams for help! This whole scene plays out in a matter of seconds, so try to finish the description before your players intervene - though if they do that is ok too! Fight or Flight The party can leave Lee (the man being dragged down) and get to the high ground (many people are already clambering on top of the roofs of nearby buildings). Val has already grabbed a ladder and placed it against the side of the tavern and is climbing up behind Ronah. No one else in the town seems interested in going to Eldra’s aid. 48

The party can also help, but it is dangerous and difficult. The expectation is that the party will fail here and set the tone of the adventure, but through powerful enough magics the party can manage to get the rock worm to drop its victim. The creature is unbelievably strong and the man (who the party learns is named Lee from the frantic shouts of other townsfolk) is almost certain to die. By the time someone can get over to him, he is already most of the way in the hole. The tongue seems to be made of stone or even metal given how strong it is and the fact that weapons just bounce off of it. If the party tries to pull him out by hand, they will have the choice of letting go and allowing the creature to take Lee or to keep holding on! Only two people can help pull at a time because there is a hole in the way as well as Eldra. Let them know that if they hold on, there is a chance the creature will pull them down as well! If they still choose to hold on, have each creature helping make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failure, the creature is too strong and pulls Lee out of their grip. On a success, they hold on long enough to have the arm rip off near the shoulder and are left with a severed limb in their hands. They must then succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or fall down the hole after Lee and the creature. If this happens, any creature that fails tumbles down 30 feet, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage before hitting the tunnel below. The rock wurm has its meal and slithers away, leaving the character trapped. They will have to be pulled out with a rope or by some other means within 3 minutes or another worm will show up for its chance to feast! Give all players that attempted to hold on inspiration for helping even though they might be pulled into the tunnel of a giant predator. They Saved Lee!? This is not an easy feat to manage, but a spell such as Shatter or Enlarge \ Reduce might give them the edge they need to save Lee from the grasp of the rock worm. Someone can also take the drastic measure of cutting hit leg off at the knee and freeing him from the creature’s grasp that way. If this happens, the worm burrows back down to recuperate before returning to attack the townsfolk again. Give the players some bonus gold at the end of the adventure or some bonus experience for completing this difficult task. The players involved also still receive inspiration as noted above. On the Rooftops Once Lee is pulled below (or saved!), the party will need to get to the rooftops. As they run, a hole erupts in the ground one hundred feet away from the party on a side street and another of the townsfolk goes plummeting into the darkness below. Everyone else makes it on top of a building without issue. People are crying and panicking as they try to keep children calm. The townsfolk start shouting at one another in anger and fear and it doesn’t take long for the entire situation to descend into chaos. Val cries out, “Everyone, be quiet! Whatever these things are, we aren’t going to make it any better by fighting amongst ourselves! Calm down and we can discuss how we are going to get out of this!” She then starts to lay out what they know about these creatures - they appear to be giant worms with no arms or legs but a tongue that can grab, they can burrow through stone and dirt, and they can move fast as hell. So far they don’t seem to want to leave the safety of the ground. Eldra then chips in, "and their flesh is hard as steel." Objectives At this point, Val will turn to the party. They are a band of adventurers that seem quite capable and she is not too proud to ask for help when things look grim. “I know you just got here and you don’t owe people anything, but you are stuck up here with the rest of us so can we count on your aid to kill these bastards?” Have the party work with Val to coordinate a plan. Below are the questions that are presented and the answers are below - but how the party discovers those answers is up to them! During all of this, events occur to give the party additional trouble! They are detailed in the "Events" section below. Eldra didn’t see eyes. Are these things blind? They have a tremorsense of 60 feet, but are blind to anything beyond that. How many of them are there? Three of them are attacking the town. Exactly how fast are these things? Up to 60 feet per round above ground and while burrowing. Ronah suggests that some of the explosives out by the mine might be able to be used to blow these things straight to hell . . . but the mines are 1,200 feet away from town. This is how the townsfolk ultimately kill the rock worms and the rest of the adventure is working towards the goal of retrieving the explosives and blowing up the worms. One of the townsfolk suggests hopping on one of their horses and riding like mad out to the mines, but soon after, the sounds of horses screaming fills the air as the worms erupt for an additional meal. From the rooftops, the townsfolk can see a dozen horses running off into the distance and away from the giant worms as their stable is broken open. These questions can each be answered in a number of ways by your players. They are each open-ended enough that we will leave it up to their own creativity. Keep in mind that this is a mining town so there will be equipment scattered about. Reward unique solutions (within reason). For example, they might throw down kegs, have the creatures eat them, and then set them on fire! Most of the rest of this adventure details events that occur within the town while the party and the townsfolk work towards discovering a way to kill the worms. 49

Worm Attacks If a creature is ever attacked by a worm before the final battle with them, the worm makes an attack roll with a +6 bonus to hit. On a hit, the target takes damage based on the current APL of the party: APL 1 - 1d6 + 4 APL 2 - 1d8 + 4 APL 3 - 2d6 + 4 APL 4 - 2d8 + 4 That creature is also grappled by the worm’s claw-tipped tongue. They can immediately make a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to break free of the grapple and escape. On a success, they manage to scramble away from the worm’s grasp and escape for now. On a failed save, the worm starts to drag them down into the tunnels, still alive. This creature will almost certainly die unless drastic action is taken by the others. Loss of limb is common when saving someone that has been firmly grappled by the worm’s tongue. Events Lost Dog Shortly after the horses go running off, a dog comes running out into the street barking loudly. One of the children on the opposite roof begins to shout, “No, Rascal, git! Mom, they're gonna eat Rascal!?” The boy, who is no older than seven, squirms out of his mom’s arms and runs for his dog - leaving the safety of the rooftops. The woman tries to follow him but some of the others on the rooftop hold her back as she shouts, “Thomas, no! Come back! Let go of me!” The party must intervene and make some sort of distraction to lure the creatures immediately or they will erupt from the ground and consume both Thomas and his dog Rascal! This could be a member of the party smashing a weapon against the ground, casting a spell that causes an explosion, or even running to another nearby building. A fast character may be able to get to Thomas and Rascal first if they act immediately! There are plenty of solutions, so reward creativity! Structural Integrity The creatures continue to shift beneath the town. As they move, the ground at the surface ripples and shifts in dangerous ways. Eventually, the weight of certain buildings becomes too much for the soft ground below to handle and some of the structures begin to collapse. Have one of these be a building that at least two players are standing on (if possible) and another will be the building where Ronah and Val are standing (the tavern, unless the group has convinced them to leave for some reason). The building starts to groan loudly before the collapse, giving a bit of a warning where the players can react, but after just a few seconds it all falls down. Any player still on the roof of the building will need to succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw to jump to the roof of the nearest building in time. On a fail, they are too slow and go tumbling to the ground alongside the debris. In addition to players potentially falling, Ronah falls and ends up in the middle of the street as well. Val jumps down to help her out of reflex, but shortly after she reaches the ground, the tremors beneath the surface return. The two women stand perfectly still about ten feet from one another as one of the worms slithers below, eating through rock and dirt. The party will need to do something to distract the worms to save Val, Ronah, and any allies that may have fallen. If the players are not careful, they will be attacked by the rock worms and potentially dragged under. Otherwise, they get to the high ground and the worms decide to try a new tactic - worm spawn! Worm Spawn Attack! Once the worms have grown tired of their prey slipping away, one of them erupts from the ground and opens its strange diamond maw. It begins vomiting up chunks of stone that scatter across the ground with some even reaching up on the rooftops where people stand. Val will take multiple shots with her crossbow while the creature is exposed, but the bolts merely glance off of it. The large stones that the worm spit out are covered in a slimy substance. Eldra approaches one of them and pokes it with his greatsword . . . and it moves! All of the stones begin to shake aggressively, then unfold. They transform into what appears to be a bird without wings. They have stumpy stone legs, a diamond-shaped head, a long tail for balance, and no arms. The creatures turn their faces to the sky and sniff the air. After a few moments, they turn and point their sharpened beaks at various townsfolk and members of the party. Roll for initiative. The type and number of creatures your party faces depends on your APL. The stat blocks for these creatures are found at the end of the module. APL Enemies 1 6x Worm Spawn 2 10x Worm Spawn 3 3x Greater Worm Spawn 4x Worm Spawn 4 6x Greater Worm Spawn 2x Worm Spawn The townsfolk scramble away from the creatures, using whatever routes they can to get to safety. The party will have to intercept these spawnlings or those townsfolk will die. This does not impact the outcome of the adventure but may change the way the townsfolk view the party. Val and Eldra fight as well, attacking their own set of spawn a few buildings over. Once the battle is done, the party does not have much time to recover before the next incident befalls them. 50