CREDITS

Designer: Lucas Cockerham

Editor: Melanie McConathy
Template: Simple Microsoft Word Template by Laura
Hirsbrunner
Inspirations: Campaign guides published by Sean McGovern (A
Guide to Curse of Strahd), Session zero examples by Sly
Flourish (Mike Shea)
Playtesters: Nathan Champion, Mariana Studart, Steven Aaron
Cohen, Peter Parsons, Aaron Killingsworth

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all ot her Wizards of the Coast
product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.
pp
This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permissio n under the Community Content
Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Lucas Cockerham and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Credits ................................................................................ 1
Table of Contents............................................................... 2
Overview ............................................................................. 3
Adventure Flowchart ................................................................ 3
Session Zero .......................................................................4
Campaign Theme ......................................................................4
Six Truths About the Forgotten Realms ...............................4
Five Truths About the Sword Mountains .............................4
Establishing Character Ties ....................................................4
Fight! ............................................................................................4
Location Summaries ......................................................... 5
Axeholm ...................................................................................... 5
Butterskull Ranch ...................................................................... 5
Circle of Thunder ....................................................................... 5
Dragon Barrow ........................................................................... 5
Dwarven Excavation ................................................................ 6
Falcon’s Hunting Lodge .......................................................... 6
Gnomengarde ............................................................................ 6
Icespire Hold ............................................................................. 6
Logger’s Camp ........................................................................... 7
Mountain toe’s Gold Mine ....................................................... 7
Shrine of Savras ......................................................................... 7
Tower of Storms ........................................................................ 7
Umbrage Hill .............................................................................. 7
Woodland Manse .......................................................................8
Random Encounters ..........................................................9
Neverwinter Wood ................................................................... 9
Favria of the Ashmadai ...................................................... 9
Warriors from the Thayan Dread Ring .......................... 9
Shadows from the fallen Netherese city of Xinlenal .. 9
Gray wolf barbarian............................................................ 9
Displacer Beast .................................................................... 9
Injured Giant Owl ................................................................ 9
Triboar Trail ............................................................................. 10
Krea Chaucer, Traveling Peddeler ................................. 10
Half-Ogre Sluggers ........................................................... 10
The (small) Modron March ............................................. 10
Orc Raiders .......................................................................... 10
Those Aren’t Chickens ...................................................... 10
Marda Craw, Divinator of Savras ................................... 10
Sword Mountains ..................................................................... 11
To Find a Friend ................................................................. 11
Battle in the Skies .............................................................. 11
Murder in the Dark ............................................................ 11
Running with the Pack ..................................................... 11
Started from the Bottom .................................................. 11
Just a Phase ......................................................................... 11

2
OVERVIEW
The goal of this product is to help dungeon masters run
the adventure Dragon of Icespire Keep, especially if they
are new to dungeon mastering or low on preparation
time. It provides a flowchart that shows adventure
progression, a sample session zero, a bulleted summary
of each quest and location, and 18 random encounters
for the area of the Sword Coast where the adventure
takes place.

ADVENTURE FLOWCHART
Once the heroes arrive in Phandalin, they will receive
three starting quests from the quest board. The heroes
will receive one level per starting quest completed until
third level. Once two quests have been completed (and
the heroes reach third level), three more quests open.
The heroes will receive one level each time they
complete two quests, with another set of three quests
opening when two of the first three quests are
completed. The Logger’s Camp quest can lead the heroes
to Falcon’s Hunting Lodge, and the woodland manse can
lead to the Circle of Thunder. Once the heroes have
completed all the quests, they can travel to Icespire Hold
and battle Cryovain.

3
SESSION ZERO
The goal of a session zero is to let the players know the
goals of the campaign, understand the world they will be
playing in, complete character creation, establish ties
and relationships amongst the characters, and possibly
begin the campaign with a short vignette. I have used
SlyFlourish’s examples for other campaigns to create
session zero materials for Dragon of Icespire Peak.
ESTABLISHING CHARACTER
TIES
Have each player describe their character, then have the
group answer the following questions:
• Are any of the characters related to each other?
• What keeps the characters together as a party?
• What does each character like most about every other
member of the adventuring party?
• Why does your character want to stop the dragon?

CAMPAIGN THEME FIGHT!

A white dragon has recently begun terrorizing the areas It works well to follow this up with a quick, simple
around the Sword Mountains. The dragon’s appearance combat that lets the players try out their characters in a
has disrupted trade along the Triboar Trail and thrown low stakes environment, especially for new players. One
many residents into panic. However, not everyone in this goblin per two players characters in a roadside ambush
relatively remote region of the Sword Coast is aware of as the characters travel to Phandalin is a good, simple
the dragon’s depredations. The sleepy little prospecting option.
town of Phandalin sits at the epicenter of the dragon’s
domain, and anyone wishing to help the situation in the
area would do well to travel there. Besides notifying and
protecting the region’s denizens, perhaps clues can be
found to the location of the dragon’s lair so it can be
driven off or slain.

SIX TRUTHS ABOUT THE

FORGOTTEN REALMS
• The Realms is prototypical high fantasy.
• The Realms is a smorgasbord: huge cities, large areas
of wilderness with only small towns, faraway lands
with varying cultures.
• Lots of magic exists in the world; most villages have
someone who can cast minor magic.
• Extremely powerful magic exists in the world and has
consequences for everyone, but common folk are only
aware of the consequences.
• The gods exist and interact in the world but are
fallible.
• Many powerful, more advanced civilizations existed in
the past.

FIVE TRUTHS ABOUT THE

SWORD MOUNTAINS
• There are many mineral resources in the mountains,
and no shortage of miners and prospectors looking to
find a vein and get rich.
• 50 years ago, Mount Hotenow violently erupted,
destroying a large part of Neverwinter, the only major
city in the area. Commerce and trade are still
recovering from the event.
• Many secretive organizations operate in the area,
seeking to gain control of its significant resources.
• Monsters and threats are abundant in the mountains
and forests of the area.
• Travel can be dangerous.

4
LOCATION SUMMARIES
The summaries below are meant to make it easy to run
each section of the adventure by collecting the
information in one place. If you have previously read the
adventure, then these summaries should be enough to
allow you to prep right before a session without re-
reading the entire section. It has the basic information
about the adventure, and for some include ideas for ways
to tie player characters to the adventure (a great way to
improve player engagement) as well as
recommendations from having ran the adventure. Note
that the reward bullet is meant to capture the gold
reward given by Harbin Wester for completing the quest,
as that is a value I found myself frequently having to
look up as I ran the adventure, as well as any noteworthy
rewards from the adventure.
AXEHOLM
• Quest: Open the mountain fortress of Axeholm and
make sure it is safe for habitation in case the dragon
attacks.
• Recommended Level: 5
• NPCs: Vyldara, a banshee who haunts the halls. She
was once a moon elf ambassador who tried to foment
unrest amongst the dwarves. She was imprisoned, and
after killing two guards during an escape attempt, she
was cut down by the dwarves. Afterwards she rose as a
banshee, causing the dwarves to flee the keep.
• Locale: A small fortress in the Sword mountains.
• Events: None.
• Character tie-in: An amulet of Moradin can be found
in the dungeon. This could be tied to any dwarven
Character’s faith by changing the god and having it be
a family heirloom.
• Reward:
o 250 gold from Harbin Wester.
o A dread helm and gauntlets of ogre
power in the secret vault.
• Recommendations:
o There is a lot of filler in this dungeon. I
cut at least half the encounters, since it
was mostly the same monsters over
and over, and none of the rooms were
particularly interesting. Once the
characters encountered the banshee I
just narrated the rest of the
encounters.
o The banshee is tough for a CR 4
monster. Be wary if the party is below
the recommended level.
BUTTERSKULL RANCH
• Quest: Butterskull Ranch was attacked by orcs. Find
out what happened to the owner, Big Al.
• Recommended Level: 3
• NPCs: Alfonse “Big Al” Kalazorn, former sheriff of
Triboar, now a rancher. He makes skull shaped butter
and has been captured by orcs.
• Locale: A farm ransacked by orcs along the Triboar
Trail.
• Events: The Characters will encounter Big Al’s horses
and his cow, Petunia, on their way to the ranch.
• Character tie-in: Perhaps a Character worked on the
farm growing up or had a parent who served with Big
Al during his time as sheriff in Triboar.
5
• Reward: Mithral Chain Mail if the Characters return
Petunia to Big Al, or 100 gold from Tibor Westin if Big
Al is dead.
• Recommendations: Beware making the characters
fight all of the orcs in the house at once. Let them
sneak and take out a few wandering outside the
farmhouse, and send them in waves so as not to
overwhelm the characters. You can always add more
orcs if you need to increase the challenge.
CIRCLE OF THUNDER
• Quest: None
• Recommended Level: 6
• NPCs:
o Flenz, Narux, and Yargath, three
anchorites (priests) of Talos.
o Gorthok the Thunder Boar, a
destructive elemental force of Talos
•
summoned by the anchorites.
Locale: Standing stones on a hill in the Neverwinter
wood during a raging storm.
• Events: Yargath’s patrol (anchorite plus 2 orcs per
Character) attacks the party as they approach.
• Character tie-in ideas: The anchorites are sacrificing
someone one of the Characters cares for or owes a
favor or debt.
• Reward: Potion of Invulnerability and a +1 shield in
separate caves.
• Recommendations:
o Characters can learn about this
location from Xanth the centaur at the
dragon barrow or Grannoc’s map in
the Woodland Manse.
o Insert Tibor Westor being used as a
sacrifice to tie to other parts of the
adventure.
o Using Gorthok to attack Falcon’s
Hunting Lodge or as the Characters
leave the woodland manse might be
more interesting.
o The +1 shield is named Nightshroud
and is jet black with one purple circle
in its center (an ancient symbol used
by Shar in the empire of Shade) and
has metalwork indicative of the
ancient empire of Netheril. The shield
glows purple anytime the ancient
enemy of Netheril, the Phaerimm, are
nearby. Anytime the armor stops a
blow, the wielder feels a flash of pain.
DRAGON BARROW
• Quest: The barrow mound of a warrior who wielded a
magical dragon slaying sword is close by, and
supposedly his sword is buried with him.
• Recommended Level: 5
• NPCs:
o Lady Tanamere Alagondar, royal scion
of Neverwinter who defeated the green
dragon Azdraka more than a century
ago. She died fighting the dragon, but
it is good to remember her name since
her story is closely tied to this location.
o Xanth the centaur was driven from
Neverwinter wood by orcs. He warns
the Characters of strange lights above
the barrow and offers to take them to a
 stone circle where half-orcs perform
fell rituals (the Circle of Thunder
quest).
• Locale: A mound (in fact a dragon’s buried body) near
Neverwinter.
• Events: None.
• Character tie-in: A character could learn they are a
descendent of Lady Alagondar or someone in her
adventuring party.
• Reward:
o 250 gold from Harbin Wester.
o A necklace of fireballs, a lute of illusions,
and a dragon slayer.
o A character can bond with Lady
Alagonder’s undead riding horse.
• Recommendations:
o The Will’o’Wisps are more interesting
as lures than for actual combat. They
can be used to lure the characters into
pit traps or the collapsing tunnel.
o Show the party a picture of the
invisible stalker entry from the second
edition monster manual if they are not
familiar with it. It is the best monster
depiction ever.
GNOMENGARDE
• Quest: Get magic items from the gnomes, donate to
town and receive 50 gold.
• Recommended Level: 1
• NPCs:
o Gnerkli, king of Gnomengarde, partner
of Korboz. Seeks to restore his
partner’s sanity. Unfortunately glued
to his chair.
o Korboz, kind of Gnomengarge, partner
of Gnerkli. Went mad after an attack by
a mimic, but no one knows what
caused his affliction.
o Facktore, crazed, obsessive female
gnome who invented crossbow turret.
o Fibblestib and Dabbledob,
gnomengarde’s foremost inventors,
They are trying to cure Korboz’s sanity
with a “sanity ray” or “straight
jacket”, respectively.
• Locale: Secret cave formed in a mountain base around
a waterfall. Wild Magic!
• Character tie-in: A gnome character or artificer has
previously studied with one or both of Fiddlestib and
Dabbledob.

DWARVEN EXCAVATION • Reward: If the characters restore Korboz’s sanity, they

get a clockwork amulet, a pole of collapsing, a wand of
• Quest: Alert the dwarven prospectors about the pyrotechnics, and a hat of wizardry.
dragon.
• Recommended Level: 1
• NPCs: Dazlyn Grayshard and Norbus Ironrune, Shield
ICESPIRE HOLD
Dwarf prospectors. Once the characters warn them • Quest: Defeat Cryovain!
about the dragon, they will ask them to clear out the • Recommended Level: 6
excavation. • NPCs:
• Locale: Abandoned temple of Abbathor, dwarven god o Delsendra Arnzarr, warlord who built
of greed the fortress
• Events: Orcs attack as the characters leave. o The Stone Cold Reavers
• Character tie-in: None ▪ Syleen Wintermoon, risk-
• Reward: 50 gold from Harbin Wester. taking human woman with
• Recommendations: It is good foreshadowing to allude red hair that lies
to the orcs being pushed out of their keep by the compulsively and assumes
dragon if any are captured everyone else does too.
▪ Runa Vokdottir, muscular

FALCON’S HUNTING LODGE woman of few words from the

frozen north. She is as cruel
• Quest: None as the cold lands where she
• Recommended Level: N/A grew up.
• NPCs: ▪ Brakkis Elspaar, aging
o Falcon the Hunter (really Gustaf opportunist who is always
Stellern), archer who lives in the looking for an early
woods and hates orcs retirement and loves dogs.
o Corwin, Falcon’s elderly and world- ▪ Jabarl the Orc-bite, criminal
weary cook brute who likes riding horses
o Pell, mute 12-year-old stable hand and bashing skulls. And
• Locale: Lodge in the middle of Neverwinter Wood probably biting orcs.
• Events: Falcon tells the heroes tales of the orcs who • Locale: Abandoned fortress high in the Sword
have been entering the wood in greater numbers Mountains.
recently. • Events: Characters encounter a frozen ogre, slain by
• Character tie-in: Falcon is a follower of Silvanus and Cryovain, who has potions of healing if the party needs
will look fondly on any other followers of Silvanus in them.
the party. • Character tie-in: Something meaningful to a character
• Reward: None. is buried in Cryovain’s hoard.
• Recommendations: Play up the personality of Falcon • Reward: Cryovain has little treasure in the adventure
as a righter of wrongs and dashing adventurer. He can as written, and there are no specific rewards. A couple
be useful for helping the characters out of tight spots interesting magical items to give the players as a
or helping to push the story forward. reward for defeating Cyrovain seems like an
appropriate adjustment.

6
• Recommendations: None aside for creating a hoard as
a reward.
LOGGER’S CAMP
• Quest: Deliver Provisions to the camp, get 100 gold.
• Recommended Level: 3
• NPCs:
o Barthen, owner of Barthen’s
provisions.
o Vincent, the ox.
o Falcon, a ranger who lives in the
woods and despises orc raiders.
o Tibor Westor, Hardin’s half brother
and foreman of the camp, cowardly
and self-serving.
• Locale: Logging camp in Neverwinter Wood on the
banks of the Neverwinter River.
• Events:
o Barthen suggests the characters visit
Falcon on their way to the camp
o Encounter with an anchorite of Talos
wild shaped into a boar when the
characters enter Neverwinter wood.
• Character tie-in: None
• Reward: 100 gold from Harbin Wester.
• Recommendations: None
MOUNTAIN TOE’S GOLD MINE
• Quest: Escort Don-Jon Raskin (the new overseer) to
the Mountain’s Toe Gold Mine for 100 gold.
• Recommended Level: 4
• NPCs:
o Don-Jon Raskin, no-nonsense mine
overseer sent by the business
consortium that owns the mine in
Nerverwinter. Full of bluster about his
exploits as gold miner, prospector, fur
trader, privateer, and whaler. His
employers forced him to take an
escort.
o Zeleen Varnaster, new wererat
overseer of the mine and leader of the
Whiskered Gang. Wants the characters
to clear the orcs from their old
hideout, a shrine near Conyberry.
• Locale: Mine overrun by wererats to the northeast at
•
the foot of the sword coast mountains.
Events: Characters encounter orcs killed by Cryovain
on the way to the mine.
• Character tie-in: A character may have previously had
unfavorable business dealings with the consortium
that owns the mine.
• Reward:
o 100 gold from Harbin Wester.
o Goggles of night in the wererat den.
• Recommendations: Wererats are immune to
nonmagical weapons, and its very feasible for the
characters to get here with few options to damage the
wererats. If this is the case, make sure you give the
characters some warning about the creatures’
immunity.
SHRINE OF SAVRAS
• Quest: N/A
• Recommended Level: 1-6
• NPCs: None
7
• Locale: A dilapidated Shrine of Savras near Conyberry.
• Events: While not directly an event, try to make sure
the characters interact with the Altar of Fate, since it is
the easiest way to find the location of Cryovain.
• Character tie-in: A character might have an heirloom
or other item of value locked in a chest that the
mystery key could unlock.
• Reward:
o The location of Cryovain.
o A large, gold covered bell worth 2,500
gold.
• Recommendations: Be wary of this battle, especially at
lower levels. Encourage the characters to use
subterfuge and tactics, and a head on fight with
multiple ogres can be deadly, especially until the party
gets to at least 4th level. If the party does kick the door
in, I would split the monsters into three groups that
enter combat staggered by a few rounds each.
TOWER OF STORMS
• Quest: N/A
• Recommended Level: 3
• NPCs:
o Moesko, half-orc anchorite who
guards the Lighthouse
o A friendly giant crab who will retrieve
treasure if the characters help it.
o Miraal, a banshee who wants the
spellcasting focus Moesko took
returned.
• Locale: A lighthouse on a stormy sea cliff.
• Events: None
• Character tie-in:
o If a character has any kind of sea-
faring background, one of the wrecks
could be a former ship.
o One of the ships could have been
carrying a relative or friend of one of
the characters that was lost at sea.
• Reward:
o The magic items on the wrecked ships.
o The Charm of the Storm from the altar
at the Shrine of Talos
• Recommendations: The banshee is dangerous for a CR
4 monster. Be wary if the party is below the
recommended level.
UMBRAGE HILL
• Quest: Ask midwife Adabra Gwynn to come back to
town, get 25 gold.
• Recommended Level: 3 or less
• NPCs: Adabra Gwynn, acolyte of Chauntea, midwife
and apothecary
• Locale: Stone windmill near dwarven cairns
• Events: Manticore attacking as characters arrive.
• Character tie-in: Perhaps Adabra delivered one of the
characters or someone they know.
• Reward:
o 25 gold from Harbin Wester.
o A place to buy potions of healing over
the course of the adventure.
• Recommendations: This could be an extremely
dangerous combat for first or second level characters,
especially if the players are new to the game or the
party is small. Let the manticore be distracted and give
the characters time to prepare and a chance to attack it
 before it brings its full might o bear. Also make sure
the party has access to ranged weapons.

WOODLAND MANSE
• Quest: Orcs have fallen under the sway of evil
spellcasters in Neverwinter Wood and are attacking
anyone in the area. The spellcasters dwell in a ruined
manse, and Falcon would like the heroes to destroy it.
• Recommended Level: 5
• NPCs: Grannoc, a half-orc achnorite of Talos who
planted seeds that created a malignant tree that
spawns blights.
• Locale: A isolated manse in Neverwinter wood.
• Events:
o Talosian anchorites disguised as boars
attack the characters as they leave the
manse.
o One day after the Characters leave the
manse, Talosians summon Gorthok
the Thunder Boar to attack Falcon’s
hunting lodge.
• Character tie-in: A character may be related to the
half-elf who built the house or perhaps find some
magic or lore related to their backstory the current
tenants have overlooked.
• Reward:
o 250 gold from Hardin Wester.
o Dust of disappearance in the Library.
o Staff of birdcalls in the master bedroom.
o Cloak of billowing and an immovable rod
in the magic item vault.
• Recommendations: Have Gorthak attack the
characters as they leave the manse rather than have
the attack happen off-camera and Falon’s home.

8
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS cornered attacks and fights until bloodied, at which
point he transforms into a werewolf and fights to the
death.

NEVERWINTER WOOD
DISPLACER BEAST
R ANDOM E NCOUNTERS IN N EVERWINTER W OOD As the characters travel, they are stalked by a displacer
Roll Encounter beast. Give each character a perception check at different
times to spot the beast (DC 12). Each check should be
1 Favria of the Ashmadai used as an opportunity to increase apprehension in the
2 Warriors from the Thayan party and let them know they are being stalked by a
Dread Ring large, shadowy predator. If half or more pass, then the
3 Shadows from the fallen party is prepared when the beast attacks; otherwise, the
beast attacks the party with surprise.
Netherese city of Xinlenal
4 Gray wolf barbarian
INJURED GIANT OWL
5 Displacer Beast Stalks the
Party The characters come upon a Giant Owl with a gravely
6 Injured Giant Owl injured wing. If a single character, with aid from up to
one additional party member, succeeds at a DC 14 Animal
Handling check, they can get close enough to heal the
owl. Otherwise it hops away as best it can. If healed, the

FAVRIA OF THE ASHMADAI

owl will bond with a member of the party (preferably the
one who calmed or healed it) and serve them willingly as
The characters encounter a female shield dwarf, in ratty a mount.
and disheveled clothing. Her name is Favria, and she
speaks mildly incoherently with the characters, calling
herself the archdruid of Neverwinter Wood, but
presenting no immediate threat. In reality, Favria is
insane, but also a member of the Ashmadai, also known
as the Messengers of the Raging Fiend, a secret cult
dedicated to the worship of Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine
Hells. Favria notifies her contacts in the cult of the
characters traveling the wood. The next time the
characters rest in Neverwinter Wood, they are attacked
by a Bearded Devil sent to kill them to take their
possessions to add to the cult’s coffers. Add an
additional Bearded Devil if the party has more than five
characters, or the average party level is four or higher.

WARRIORS FROM THE THAYAN

DREAD RING
The characters encounter one dread warrior per 2
characters in the party (round down). These dread
warriors were created at a Thayan Dread Ring that was
destroyed some years ago. However, these undead
survived the destruction and have been roaming
Neverwinter Wood ever since.

SHADOWS FROM THE FALLEN

NETHERESE CITY OF XINLENAL
The characters encounter one shadow per party level.
The shadows are dressed like wizards and hiss the name
“Xinlenal” as they attack the Characters. Xinlenal was a
Netherse flying city that plummeted to its death in
Neverwinter wood during the fall of the great wizard
empire of Netheril centuries ago. These shades were
raised by Shadovar (living descendants of the empire of
Netheril) who are trying to revive the lost city.

GRAY WOLF BARBARIAN

The characters encounter a lone barbarian scout of the
Gray Wolves clan. The scout attempts to flee, but if

9
TRIBOAR TRAIL ORC RAIDERS
This group of orcs were driven out of Icespire Hold by
Cryovain. They are led by Orc Eye of Gruumsh named
R ANDOM E NCOUNTERS ON THE T RIBOAR T RAIL
Haguk the Mauler, plus one orc per two party members.
Roll Encounter The orcs fight until Haguk is slain. At that point they
1 Krea Chaucer, traveling willingly surrender (so long as they think the party will
pedaler show mercy). They tell the Characters they were driven
from Icespire Hold by a dragon and give the hold’s
2 Half-ogre sluggers approximate location.
3 The (small) Modron March
4 Orc Raiders THOSE AREN’T CHICKENS
5 Those Aren’t Chickens! The characters see an overturned wagon, a pair of men
chasing chickens (1 chicken per 2 characters), and
6 Marda Craw, Divinator of
another woman who is oddly stationary. As the characters
Savras
get closer they realize the chickens are not your typical
chickens, and one of the men shouts “Help! Our chickens
got loose!” The chickens are in fact cockatrices that
KREA CHAUCER, TRAVELING attack anyone who tries to capture them, though they

PEDDELER
mostly try to disengage and get away. The men are named
Ravi and Jenner, and the now petrified woman is
The heroes meet a traveling peddler named Krea Kenestra. They will give the characters 5 gold for each
Chaucer. She is in her 40s, tall and a bit overweight, with cockatrice they capture, plus an additional 50 gold if they
short cropped grey hair, and walks with a pronounced capture all of the cockatrices. If the characters are able to
limp from an old wound on her right foot. She worships solve Kenestra’s petrification, she will give the party a
Silvanus and is immediately friendly and helpful to any potion of comprehension as well.
fellow worshippers. She has a mule and a wagon and
keeps a variety of items and claims to be prepared for
anything. She has a potion of healing for 50 gold, a spell MARDA CRAW, DIVINATOR OF
scroll of chromatic orb for 100 gold, and a dread helm that
makes your eyes glow red when you wear it for 75 gold. If
SAVRAS
she likes the heroes or they buy something from her, she Marda Craw is an older female Divinator on her way to the
will tell them a useful tale she has heard (in this case, a now abandoned shrine of Savras. She has three human
dragon was seen flying towards an old ruined keep in the guards with him named Xalvador, Gavin, and Kinnon. He
higher part of the Sword Mountains). also has a pair of horses pulling a large wagon overloaded
with random items. Barda is a diviner and follower of
Savras, and as such was able to predict when the
HALF-OGRE SLUGGERS characters would be on the road and has bought things
she thinks they would value to get them to help her. She
The party sees two large humanoids equipped with clubs greets the characters and offers each of them an item they
batting rocks at each other. If the heroes approach them, might value. She then tells them she travels to the Shrine
they will notice ogreish features. They introduce of Savras location to determine its state and attempt to
themselves as Bog and Tok and tell the heroes to give remove any monsters.
them their food and valuables, or they will brain them
with rocks. They can be easily outwitted, but any slight
Marda has something for each character. Some example
leads them to attack immediately. They are half-ogres,
ideas:
but instead of javelins they have the following attack:
• A +1 magic item that suits the character that
Line Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 30/90 somehow ties to their back story;
ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage. • A word in another language that ties to the
character’s backstory.
• A minor magic item associated with the character’s
THE (SMALL) MODRON MARCH patron deity;
• Information surrounding a mystery in the character’s
The characters encounter a group of 2 monodrones per backstory;
character and 2 duodrones. They are part of a Great
• An artisan kit or tools the character does not have
Modron March, an outpouring of modrons from the plane
though they have that proficiency.
of Mechanus at the behest of the god Primus. This can be
a group that got separated from a March long ago or more
recently, whatever best fits your story. They will not stop
to talk to the characters, and only retaliate if attacked. If
the characters try to keep up with them, they will only say
they must rejoin the March. If the characters follow them
it can lead to any place you like. Some suggestions would
be to the Yawning Portal and down into
Undermountain; all the way west to the Sea of Swords
where they proceed to March beneath the waves; or to a
cave that leads to the Underdark and eventually the
Labyrinth location from Out of the Abyss.

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SWORD MOUNTAINS or heal the eagle of at least 15 hit points of damage, the
eagle will be thankful and return the character at an
R ANDOM E NCOUNTERS ON THE T RIBOAR T RAIL opportune time to lend assistance later in the
campaign.
Roll Encounter
1 To Find a Friend MURDER IN THE DARK
2 Battle in the Skies Assuming the characters have previously fought one of
3 Murder in the Dark the many groups of orcs displaced by Cyrovain, they will
be stalked by an orc red fang of Shargaas named Zonak.
4 Running with the Pack
Zonak will find the characters at night while riding his
5 Started from the Bottom giant bat and descend nearby and attempt to kill a
6 Just a Phase character on lookout in the middle of the night, or the
most vulnerable looking character who is asleep. It will
begin with a pair of dart attacks from hiding and follow
TO FIND A FRIEND up the next round with a veil of darkness to magically
envelop the character it initially attacked. If the chosen
Shala (CG female wild elf druid) is a member of the Dusk
character survives the first two rounds of attack, Zonak
Circle, a secretive group of druids who live in
will flee to his bat and attempt to escape.
Kryptgarden forest. Shala has green eyes, a shorn head,

RUNNING WITH THE PACK

and a bluish tint to her skin. Her speech is punctuated by
frequent nervous laughs. For the last few years, she has
worked closely with loggers in the small town of Kheldel, The characters hear a great cacophony approaching
south of the forest, to selectively cut down trees and before they see a desiccated band of gnoll witherlings (1
replace them in a way that is harmonious with nature. per character, minimum 3) approaching. The witherlings
However, she fears a group of Zhentarim are looking to attack immediately. 1d4+1 rounds later, the rest of the
take over the camp and ruin the peaceful detente she has pack, 1 gnoll per character level, arrives. The gnolls
worked so hard to build. She is traveling north to shout “Flesh for Yeenoghu” in abyssal while attacking
Neverwinter Wood to ask Falcon the Hunter to come to and continue to attack until most of the pack is defeated
Kheldel to help her deal with the Zhents, as he has prior and there is little chance of victory, at which point they
history with the Dusk Circle and the Zhents that Shala run away yelping.
thinks would help broker an agreement that protects the
forest. If the characters can earn her trust and offer to STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM
deliver a message to Falcon, she gives the characters a
The characters hear a growling nearby, and if they go to
letter and a golden pendent to give to Falcon so he knows
investigate, find a large red guard drake. The drake is
the message really is from Shala. If the characters take
initially very hostile but does not immediately attack.
the message to Falcon, he thanks them and gives them a
Characters who succeed a DC 12 perception check notice
potion of animal friendship as a reward. The characters
it has a collar and tags about its neck; with a DC 18
may wish to accompany Falcon - if so, back in Kheldel
perception check they can make out the name “Aubrey”
they will run into a Zhent captain named Leth Lunad (NE
on its tag. A character who calls out to the drake with its
human male veteran with max hit points), a maniacally
name gets advantage on an animal handling check (DC
dedicated and competitive Zhent seeking to drive off the
14) to calm the beast. They will then be able to get close
druids. Leth has brought 10 Zhent warriors (NE human
enough to it to inspect its collar and see a listing for its
guards) with him. He is negotiated with the current head
owner, a man named Graham in whatever the next town
of the logging camp, a wizard named Ghelkyn (NG male
is in the direction the characters are traveling. Returning
mage), so that the Zhents can aggressively log the
the drake to its owner will get the characters a reward of
pristine wood themselves. Leth has been falsely
50 gold or an ambush drake loyal to the party.
negotiating an agreement to have the Zhents help with
transport of the logs to market, but in reality he is
gathering info on the town while he waits for a large
JUST A PHASE
force of Zhents to arrive so he can take the town by force. As the characters travel through the forest, give
perception checks and tell the player with the highest
check they see something, like a hallucination, shifting
BATTLE IN THE SKIES in and out of their vision. You can repeat this check
several times over the course of one or multiple days'
The characters can make a DC 15 perception check to
travel, each time providing more details (many legs,
spot a giant eagle being attacked by two griffons in the
many eyes, clicking sounds, etc). You could also require
air, approximately 150 feet away. The eagle is clearly
characters to make wisdom saves due to the fear and
outmatched and is trying to evade the two griffons. If the
constant distraction of the spider, with failure resulting
characters do not get involved, the griffons will take
in anything from a level of exhaustion to being surprised
down the eagle in 3 rounds. If the characters do get
when the phase spider finally attacks the characters. The
involved, one of the griffons breaks off and attacks the
phase spider will use ethereal jaunt to appear behind a
character who attacked the griffon. If the characters
larger (and thus more dangerous to its rudimentary
have horses with them, both griffons break off and
intelligence) foe to deliver a bite with advantage. If it can
attack, with a preference for mounted characters. The
paralyze a dangerous seeming target, it will then move
griffons will flee if either die, or one is reduced to 25 hit
on to another target. If the phase spider is reduced to
points. The eagle will land relatively near the characters,
less than a quarter of its hit points it will deliver a bite
and if a character succeeds a DC 15 Animal Handling
and then phase away without returning.
check, will allow the character to inspect its numerous
wounds. If a character can pass a DC 18 medicine check

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