The Most Holy of Caves
readily introduces herself and explains the situation:
The characters come across a tribe of desperate goblins
looking to resurrect their spiritual leader – but will the
characters be willing to risk their lives to aid the goblins?
In this encounter for 1st- to 5th-level adventurers,
the characters encounter a tribe of goblins that have
recently lost their shaman. To resurrect her, the goblins
have to get into a holy cave but the only one who knew
how to bypass the cave’s puzzles and traps was the
very shaman they’re trying to revive.
The characters can run into this encounter as they’re
traveling overland, or they may be motivated to seek
the goblin tribe out after learning that:
• A shaman in a nearby goblinoid cave has knowledge
the characters need to continue on their main quest.
• A nearby cave contains a magic relic that the
characters need on their main quest.
• A city official in a nearby town offers the characters a
reward of 100 gold pieces if they’ll aid the goblins in
resurrecting their shaman, as they fear that the tribe
will succumb to their violent tendencies without the
shaman’s guidance.
Beginning the Encounter
The encounter begins as the characters are traveling
down the road near the goblin’s holy cave. As they
come within 300 feet of the cave, they hear shrill
voices arguing in Goblin. Read or paraphrase the
following:
The arguing voices grow louder as two small shapes
come tumbling through the brush. Green-skinned and
wide-eyed, the goblins look much like any other goblin
you’ve seen, except that faint blue and pink flames
seem to dance along their naked skin.
If one or more characters speak Goblin, they hear the
following snippet of the goblins’ argument:
“Is lost cause! Yelzeblub nay be livin’, is lost cause!”
says one goblin with a leather patch over one eye.
“You’s idiot, Skum-Beetle! We’s keep tryin’ – soon we’s
goin’ to get in, I’s know it!” says the other, smaller
goblin, who has intricately braided hair.
“Bah! Is lost cause! Is me gonna be new shaman, yes!”
retorts Skum-Beetle and the argument continues.
As the two spellfire goblins spots the characters, the
braided-haired goblin – Tangle-Top – turns its eyes on
the characters and says in Goblin or Common:
“Uh... Is big-folk here,” the goblin says warily. “You’s
come to help? Yes, you’s can help! Big trouble for Clan
Blue-Burn – Shaman Yelzeblub be dead!”
While Skum-Beetle looks on suspiciously, Tangle-Top
Dead Shaman. Clan Blue-Burn’s shaman, Yelzeblub,
was crushed in a tree-felling accident three days ago.
Yelzeblub was the clan’s formal and spiritual leader
and the goblins are all but lost without her leadership.
With her dying breaths, she urged the clan to fetch
“sun water” from The Most Holy of Caves and give it
to her, so she could be resurrected.
The Most Holy of Caves. The cave is, as the name
indicates, a very sacred place to the goblins. Who
built it or why, the goblins don’t know, and, quite
ironically, only the shaman Yelzeblub knew how to
get past the cave’s puzzles and traps – information
she never saw fit to share with the rest of the clan.
For two days, the goblins have been trying to do
Yelzeblub’s bidding, losing half-a-dozen goblins in
the process.
The Blue-Burn Marks. Some of the clan’s goblins
have ingested potions of spellfire, which Yelzeblub
has gathered from The Most Holy of Caves, in such
large quantities that they have become permanently
infused with spellfire, turning them into spellfire
goblins.
After giving this explanation, Tangle-Top beseeches
the characters to aid Clan Blue-Burn, ensuring them
that Yelzeblub, upon her resurrection, will reward them
richly. Behind her, Skum-Beetle scoffs dismissively,
but doesn’t protest.
Approaching the Most Holy of Caves
If the characters accept, Tangle-Top eagerly takes
one of their hands and leads them half-running to the
mouth of The Most Holy of Caves, where more goblins
from Clan Blue-Burn are gathered (see Adjusting
Difficulty to determine their number and types).
Adjusting Difficulty
This encounter is designed for 1st–5th-level
characters. Below is advice on adjusting the
encounter to the desired difficulty and CPL*:
• Easy. 2 spellfire goblins, 1 goblin/2 CPL
• Medium. 2 spellfire goblins, 1 spellfire goblin/2
CPL
• Hard. 2 spellfire goblins, 1 spellfire goblin/2
CPL, 1 goblin/2 CPL
*Combined Party Level (CPL) is the sum of the characters’
levels, i.e. four 3rd-level adventurers have a CPL of 12.
Most of them seem as distraught as Tangle-Top and
meet the characters with a mixture of suspicion, fear,
and tentative hope. Read or paraphrase the following:
A crowd of goblins have gathered outside a 10-foot-
diameter opening in the small, rocky hill. Chattering
excitedly in goblin, they stand back as you make your
way through toward the cave.
Tangle-Top walks up to a tall goblin and snatches a
crumpled piece of parchment from it and hands it to
you. “Is Yelzeblub’s paper! We’s found it in her pocket.
Clever riddle, too clever. Is make no sense to Tangle-
Top, but maybe is make sense to you, yes?”
The note is written in Goblin and offers hints at how
to traverse the cave’s challenges. Meant only as a
reminder to herself, the note is deliberately confusing
so the other goblins wouldn’t be able to understand it.
If the characters can’t understand Goblin, Tangle-Top
happily translates the note to Common for them.
Twice the opposite of wrong,
Straight ahead but skip one,
Ahead and across in a line,
And all will be fine!
The frog clears the
pit,
The spider doesn’t ge
t spit,
The snake won’t get
hit!
In the end you will bathe,
te!
In the beast’s greatest ha
Yelzeblub ’s N ote
The Most Holy of Caves
The goblin tribe waits outside as the characters head
into The Most Holy of Caves, relieved that they won’t
have to brave the dangerous traps themselves.
General Features
All chambers within the cave have the following
general features unless otherwise noted.
Illumination. The caves are completely dark.
Walls. The cave’s sheer and slippery walls are
magically reinforced and impenetrable. Pitons and
hooks can’t find a hold, and a creature climbing the
walls must succeed on a DC 13 Strength (Athletics)
check for each 15 feet it climbs or fall down.
Weird Gravity. Gravity is warped within the cave. A
flying creature must succeed on a DC 13 Intelligence
saving throw for each 15 feet it flies or fall down and
it can’t fly until the start of its next turn.
Wild Magic. The cave is permeated by Wild Magic.
Any spell of 1st-level or higher cast within the cave
triggers a random magical effect, determined by
rolling on the table below:
d4 Effect
1 Any spells or magical effects on you end.
2 For the next minute, your proficiency bonus is
doubled.
3 For the next minute, the effective range,
duration, and area of effect of spells you cast
(including the triggering spell) is doubled.
4 You teleport in a random direction to the
furthest away unoccupied space within 30
feet.
These effects are an excerpt from the enhanced Wild Magic
Effects table in Milando’s Guide to Magical Marvels.
C1. Balance of the Fates
The wide tunnel ends at an overhang over a deep
chasm filled with bright light, before continuing on the
other side of the chasm. Rows of glowing disks hover
in the air 30 feet above the chasm’s floor, which is
covered by multicolored liquid. The corpses of several
dead goblins float in the shallow water.
This chamber is 50 feet high from floor to ceiling. The
characters can jump from disk to disk to get across,
though only some of the disks are safe to step on. Two
goblins have successfully made it across (both lie dead
in area C2. Triple-Trapped Tunnel), but the rest of the
clan can’t remember which route they took.
Magical Disks. The hovering disks of force are
strong enough to carry several thousand pounds safely
– except that most of them are enchanted to briefly
blink out of existence if more than 10 lbs are placed
upon them, sending unlucky creatures tumbling 30 feet
down to land prone in the sludge below.
Wild Magic Sludge. The water at the bottom of the
chamber has been warped by wild magic. Any creature
that starts its turn in the sludge or enters it for the first
time on its turn takes 1d6 force damage and must make
a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failed saving
throw, the target suffers a random magical effect,
determined by rolling a d4 on the table below. The
effect lasts for 1 hour, during which the character can’t
take damage or gain new effects from the magic sludge.
d4 Effect
1 You become poisoned. While poisoned in this
way, you have disadvantage on saving throws
against spells and other magical effects.
2 You transform into a random creature as with
the spell polymorph for 1 hour. Roll a d4 to
determine which beast you turn into (1: ape; 2:
bat; 3: frog; 4: giant scorpion).
3 You can’t take reactions, and you have
disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and
saving throws that use Intelligence, Wisdom, or
Charisma.
4 Your speed is halved and you have
disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and
saving throws that use Strength or Dexterity.
There are three likely ways the characters can cross:
Climbing. The characters can attempt to climb along
the chamber’s walls, though doing so is risky as most
climbing equipment is unhelpful and the walls are
sheer and slippery (see General Features).
Jumping. Aided by Yelzeblub’s Note, the characters
can get across by jumping on the safe disks (marked
with an X on the map of The Most Holy of Caves).
Magic. The characters may employ magic such as the
spells misty step and flying to get across, though using
magic in the caves is risky (see General Features).
C2. Triple-Trapped Tunnel
The tunnel turns a sharp corner stretching on for
another 30 feet, narrowing into a width of around 3
feet at its narrowest point. Halfway down the 10-foot-
high tunnel lies the corpse of a goblin.
This narrow tunnel is fitted with three magical traps
that trigger when a creature moves down the tunnel.
Spiked Pit Trap. A few paces feet into the tunnel, a
5-by-5 feet square pit is concealed by illusory magic.
A creature who can see through illusions or who can
sense magical auras notices the pit and can easily
jump across it. The pit is otherwise undetectable. A
creature that falls into the pit must succeed on a DC
13 Dexterity saving throw or fall 10 feet down, taking
1d6 bludgeoning and 1d6 piercing damage. A character
who can see into the pit or falls into it finds a dead
goblin at the bottom.
Poison Dart Trap. Halfway down the tunnel,
almost imperceptible holes fill the bottom and top
four feet of the tunnel’s walls on both sides. When
a creature moves in front of the holes, spring-loaded
tubes shoot out 1d4 darts at it (each dart has +5 to hit
and deals 1d4 + 1 piercing damage plus 1d6 poison
damage). A creature with a passive Perception of 17
or who is searching for traps and succeeds on a DC 13
Intelligence (Investigation) check notices the holes just
before moving in front of them. Because the tunnel is
so narrow here, a Small or Medium creature who sees
the trap can suspend itself by its arms between the
walls and climb past the holes without any part of its
body being in front of the holes.
Lightning Bolt Trap. At the end of the tunnel sits a
5-foot tall dragon statue with its fanged maw open,
facing toward the tunnel. When a creature comes
within 10 feet of the statue, it exhales lightning in a
15-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that
line must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw,
taking 2d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or
half as much damage on a successful one. A creature
with a passive Perception of 17 or higher, or who is
searching for traps and succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom
(Perception) check notices sparks of lightning in the
dragon’s mouth just before coming close enough to
trigger the trap. A creature that is prone on the ground
when the trap is triggered automatically succeeds on its
saving throw against the lightning.
Yelzeblub’s Markings. To jog her memory, Yelzeblub
has scribbled a small sign on the wall just before each
trap is triggered: a frog before the spiked pit trap, a
spider before the poison dart trap, and a snake before
the lightning bolt trap. A creature with a passive
Perception of 13 or higher notices each marking as it
comes within 5 feet of it.
C3. The Most Holy of Fountains
The tunnel opens up into a round chamber. In the
middle of the chamber is a small, empty water basin
with a stoppered glass flask on its edge. Before the
basin sits three stone figurines: a beautiful angel, a
fearsome vampire, and a grotesque troll.
The basin in this room is magical and can produce
different types of magical materials.
Stone Figurines. Each figurine is 1-foot-tall and
weighs 10 lbs, and has AC 8 and 10 hit points. If a
figurine is destroyed, removed from the chamber, or
placed within the basin, all three figurines vanish. The
figurines reappear only after the next full moon.
Filling the Basin. When one of the three figurines is
placed within the basin, the figurine crumbles (as does
the other two) and dissolves as the basin slowly begins
to fill with one of three types of material:
Necrotic Sludge. When the angelic figurine is placed
within the basin, the basin fills with a syrupy, black
liquid. A creature can fill the glass flask with the
sludge to make a potion of liquid death or drink from
the basin to gain the potion’s effect.
Radiant Water. When the vampire figurine is placed
in the basin, the basin fills with glowing, radiant
liquid. A creature can fill the glass flask with the
liquid to make a potion of radiant revival or drink
directly from the basin to gain the potion’s effect.
Spellfire. When the troll figurine is placed within
the basin, the basin fills with blue-and-pink flames.
A creature can fill the glass flask with the flames to
make a potion of spellfire or submerge themselves in
the basin to gain the potion’s effect.
Once a potion has made from the basin, or a creature
has gained its effects by drinking from or submerging
itself in the basin, the basin becomes empty again.
Conclusion
When the characters have retrieved a potion from the
basin, they can retrace their steps to get out safely.
If they managed to obtain a potion of radiant revival,
the characters can use it to revive Yelzeblub. Alive
once more, the shaman thanks the characters profusely
and offers them three potions of spellfire she has
gathered during previous visits to the cave.
If the characters retrieved one of the other potions,
or refuse to use the potion of radiant revival to bring the
shaman back to life, the goblins become agitated and
can only be dissuaded from attacking the characters
with a successful DC 13 Charisma (Deception,
Intimidation, or Persuasion) check. If an attempt
to calm them fails, the goblins attack. They fight
zealously, but flee if more than half of them are slain.
Adjusting Difficulty
The Most of Holy of Caves is designed with a party
of 1st-level characters in mind. At higher levels,
you can adjust difficulty by increasing the DCs
and damage of all traps and effects as such:
• 2nd Level. Increase damage by 1d6.
• 3rd Level. Increase DCs by 1.
• 4th Level. Increase damage by 1d6 (+2d6 total).
• 5th Level. Increase DCs by 1 (+2 total).
• 6th Level. Increase damage by 1d6 (+3d6 total).
• 7th Level. Increase DCs by 1 (+3 total).
• 8th Level. Increase damage by 1d6. (+4d6 total).
• 9th Level. Increase DCs by 1 (+4 total).
• 10th Level. Increase damage by 1d6 (+5d6 total).
SpellFire GOblin
Small Humanoid (Goblinoid), Typically Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class 15 (studded leather)
Hit Points 13 (3d6 + 3)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
8 (–1) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 8 (–1) 14 (+2)
Skills Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)  Proficiency Bonus +2
Warped. When a spell or other magical effect targets the
goblin or would deal damage to the goblin, it causes a
random magical effect, determined by rolling a d4:
1. The goblin has advantage on any saving throw it makes
against the spell or magical effect and resistance to all
damage dealt by it before the end of the goblin’s next turn.
2. The goblin has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes
against the spell or magical effect and vulnerability to all
damage dealt by it before the end of the goblin’s next turn.
3. The goblin gains 5 temporary hit points and it can
immediately use its reaction to make one weapon attack.
4. The goblin takes 3 (1d6) fire damage and 3 (1d6) force
damage as spellfire explodes from it. Each creature within
5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw
or also take 3 (1d6) fire damage and 3 (1d6) force damage.
Actions
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 80/320 ft.,
one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions
Nimble Escape. The goblin takes the Disengage or Hide
action.
Spellfire. The goblin envelops a weapon or missile it is
holding in magical flames that last until the end of its turn.
While ablaze, the weapon or missile deals an additional 3
(1d6) fire damage and 3 (1d6) force damage on a hit.
Magic Items
Potion of Liquid Death
Potion, Rare
This glass flask contains a small amount of death made
liquid. When you drink this potion, you gain the
following benefits for 1 hour:
• Your creature type becomes Undead. You no longer
need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep.
• You gain resistance to necrotic damage.
• You are immune to the poisoned condition and have
immunity to poison damage.
• If damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you can make
a Constitution saving throw (DC of 5 + the damage
taken), unless the damage is radiant or from a critical
hit. On a success, you drop to 1 hit point instead.
Potion of Radiant Revival
Potion, Rare
This glass contains a shimmering, golden liquid.
When you drink this potion, you gain the benefit of
a regenerate spell. If poured into the mouth of a dead
creature that has died within the last 10 days, it instead
functions as a raise dead spell.
Potion of
L iquid D eath
Potion of
R adiant R evival
Potion of Spellfire
Potion, Uncommon
This glass flask contains liquid spellfire. When you
drink it, you gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
• As a bonus action, you can sheathe one weapon or
missile you are holding in magical flames that last
until the end of your turn. While sheathed in flames,
the weapon or missile deals an additional 1d6 fire
damage and 1d6 force damage on a hit.
• You become warped. When a spell or other magical
effect targets you or would deal damage to you, a
random magical effect is caused, determined by
rolling a d4 on the table below:
d4 Effect
1 You have advantage on any saving throw you
make against the spell or magical effect and
resistance to all damage dealt by it before
the end of your next turn.
2 You have disadvantage on any saving throw
you make against the spell or magical effect
and vulnerability to all damage dealt by it
before the end of your next turn.
3 You gain 5 temporary hit points and can
immediately use your reaction to make one
weapon attack.
4 You take 1d6 fire damage and 1d6 force
damage as you explode with spellfire. Each
creature within 5 feet of you must succeed
on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or also take
1d6 fire damage and 1d6 force damage.
Potion of
S pellfir e