WITHOUT RE-CURSE The mountain trading town of Pineforge suffers under a curse that dates back many years. In the summer months, all is well. When the winter snow flies down from the peaks, it comes bearing unearthly screams and howls. The snow falls fresh and clean, but when disturbed in any way, the upturned snow turns a lurid, shiny, red that does not fade until spring. The trade that drives the town’s prosperity is drying up as those that cannot stand the snow are moving away.

Uncover the secrets, break the curse, save the town!

HOOKS curse was twisted further by her magic; the whole area is wreathed in layers of magic. Bring the characters to Pineforge in one of these ways: Recently, Carinthiol has decided she wants to reclaim the  Noble connection – the family that governs this power of these curses, however, she still wants her region is disturbed by the weather, and wants it apology. Delf is fully grown and now runs the inn, with no dealt with. The party is tasked with visiting the understanding of how he is tied to the curse. Carinthiol cave and retrieving a figurine. has sent a letter demanding an apology, but nobody in  Fey Connection: a Fey patron may have pushed the town knows what to apologize for, or to whom. a warlock in the party this direction with bad Carinthiol has escalated with bad dreams. dreams. They have visions of a cave with an old ritual circle and a compulsion to visit it. Today, this one shot adventure presents characters the  Purest Coincidence: the party stumbles across opportunity to unwind the curse that envelops the town the cave in Chapter 1 by accident. of Pineforge. They will uncover the history of the curse, un-make the spells, and stand with Delf as he faces All of these will work best if the players do Chapter One Carinthiol. before they visit the town of Pineforge.

ADVENTURE BACKGROUND Centuries ago, a dwarven mining operation was LEGAL established in the mountains and the town of Pineforge DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, , grew along the road and river below the works. The , , , the dragon dwarves moved on when the mine played out, yet the ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast town thrived, due to the development of an Ice Berry product names, and their respective logos are Liqueur that sells well in the city. trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. Years ago, a Fey lordling named Carinthiol Methendellium travelled through Pineforge one winter in This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of her seeming as a little human girl in a white dress. the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used Accompanied by her adult-appearing staff, Carinthiol was with permission under the Community Content staying at the Berry and Bottle, the largest inn Pineforge Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. has to offer. One of the innkeeper’s children, Delf, threw snowballs at Carinthiol in the yard, and when asked to All other original material in this work is copyright 2019 by Steve Wright and published under the Community apologize, refused and ran away. Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. CarinthiolSample cursed the local weather, destroying the berry file crop and the town finances. Every attempt to resolve the

2 CHAPTER 1 — UP THE HILL UNDEAD ATTACK The remains of the assistants of the sorceress who cast A cold, clear day sees the party walking through fresh, this spell were left behind as guards. They rise as white snow. As the party gets close to the cave, they skeletons and zombies (1 opponent per member of the notice anywhere the snow is disturbed, including their party) and attack. tracks, it turns blood red. DM Note: if your players are not experienced, use The entrance to the cave is a set of double doors, sealed skeletons. To provide more challenge, mix in zombies. with rune-crusted lead seals. The lead is AC 10, has 10 HP. Breaking the seals causes 2d4 necrotic damage, or Tactics – the primary job of the undead in the room is to half that with a successful Dexterity saving throw, for protect the figurine. They will avoid stepping on the anyone within 5 ft of the door. If the character breaking ritual circle in the middle of the room and will prioritize the seal is using a long-handled tool, such as a spear, the attacks on party members who move toward it. damage is cut in half, or to zero on a successful save. This encounter is graded at Deadly. Inside, a small room with a ritual circle on the floor. CHAPTER REWARD You enter a rectangular room with no other exits. The Each player gains 50 XP for helping clear the room. air is cold and a little damp. A squat, golden, humanoid figurine sits on the floor, shining with an unnatural Golden figurine (150gp) – the unsettling light coming light. It sits in the middle of a circle of runes, the rusty from the figurine stops once the ritual circle is broken. brown of dried blood. The sound of rusty weapons Searching the undead will uncover 13 gp in addition to being drawn saws through the air as the undead the weapons they were carrying. crumpled near the walls rise up and lurch toward you. Careful investigation of the room will uncover a belt pouch hidden behind a statue in one corner of the room. The pouch contains a Potion of Healing.

AFTERMATH As the characters leave the cave, they notice the snow no longer turns bloody when walked on.

They are intercepted in the woods by a party from the town of Pineforge, including the mayor. Some older people in the group, including the mayor, look a little worried, but most seem happy to see the characters. They cheer that the snow no longer turns red and the party is invited back to Pineforge. There’s a fresh breeze through the trees as you walk back to town.

During the walk, the mayor will ask about the figurine. If the party admits to having it, the mayor will offer to buy it for 200gp “as a reward for their work.”

Townspeople buy drinks for the party late into the night. Their rooms at the Berry & Bottle, the best local inn, are Samplepaid for, and they are introduced file to the berry liqueur the town is moderately famous for. They sleep well.

3 NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS THE BIG BAD The mayor, her assistant, the innkeeper, and the little girl Carinthiol Methendellium in the white dress are part of the plot. A minor Fey noble who always presents as a serious little girl in a white dress, regardless of season or occasion. THE MAYOR She is strictly polite and expects the same from others.

Name  Wants to end this curse to reclaim the magic, The position of mayor is chosen every five years by the but will not do it without an apology. town council. The council largely consists of leaders of  Willing to “encourage” the locals down that the web of growers and crafters who enable the path, because she knows humanoids are short- production of the local winter-berry liqueur, Liquid Ice. lived and won’t notice subtle hints. The position always goes to an able administrator who  She never jokes. puts the health of the town first.  Manipulative master of illusion magic. Lutitia is an older human woman who grew up in one of ARIOUS OWNSFOLK OF OTE the berry-growing clans. She has lived in or near V T N Pineforge her entire life. She wants the curse removed to Not required for the plot, but here if needed. maintain the health of the town economy. Festal Ironhammer  Can be bargained up on expense money, but not The Ironhammer family stayed in the region when the more than 50%. mine played out so long ago, working as smiths and  Will give the characters help as best she can. ironmongers. Will tell family stories about the glory days  Concerned about long-term issues for Pineforge. of the dwarven colony while selling tools, weapons, and armor to the characters. THE MAYOR’S ASSISTANT Arno the Glassblower Osric Underbough Arno is a half- of indeterminate age. He runs the small Hailing from a local family of foresters, Osric chose to live craft guild that makes glass on the edges of Pineforge. in town. He is cheerful, hard-working, and friendly. Also Most of the glass is used in bottling the local liqueur, but utterly loyal to the mayor and to Pineforge. Pineforge also enjoys more glass windows than other  Will help the characters find gear or supplies in towns in the area. town if they ask. Scintilla Luren  Will never go against the interests of the mayor The Distiller’s Guild operates with a substantial amount or the town, even in secret. of secrecy, and is run by the brilliant gnome Scintilla Luren. She has apprentices, but also spends much of her THE INNKEEPER time in the windowless distillery, maintaining the Delf Innholm equipment to an extremely high standard. Was a child during the original incident, horsing around between chores, until his mother called him inside to Bok Rik Thul peel some vegetables for the evening meal. Grown into a Rik Thul is the matriarch of the half- Bok clan, the burly human man, Delf now operates the inn. largest family of berry growers in Pineforge. She leads the Grower’s Union, maintains close ties with Arno and  Still has the letter demanding an apology. Scintilla, and is the most influential member of the town  Threw a lot of snowballs as a child, doesn’t even council. She can provide generous favors, but will always remember this particular incident. want a favor in return. Sample Until the dreams. So many bad dreams. file

4 CHAPTER 2 — THE NEXT DAY Characters able to sleep have troubled dreams. All characters lacking Elvish heritage make a Wisdom (Perception) DC 10 save.

 Fail: The character slept poorly and only receives the benefit of a short rest, rather than a long rest.  Success: The character has very clear dreams of the cave from yesterday, except with a corridor off to the left. Over and over again, they hear “Say you’re sorry” in a child’s voice, calm but insistent and oddly stern.

The party may delay responding to try again for a long rest, but each night they stay in the town without responding, the DC of the Wisdom save goes up by three.

In the common room of the inn, the other guests and the staff also look like they slept poorly. The Innkeeper looks especially disturbed, but if asked, will refuse to discuss it.

The Mayor’s assistant comes into the common room to seek out the adventurers. He asks that they come to the town administration building to discuss the situation with the mayor. Outside, the breeze is definitely warmer, and REVELATIONS rivulets of runoff are starting to flow down from the In addition to the talking points in the Things the Mayor mountain. The snow isn’t cursed any more, but an Knows sidebar, from the town records, she knows that unnatural heat wave is causing it to melt. the source of the heat wave is inside the cave where the party fought the undead. She offers the characters 300 gold pieces to go shut down the spell causing the heat Things the Mayor Knows wave. (Strong negotiators can get her up to 450.) Conversation with the mayor will reveal: In the meantime, she and the other town leaders will try  She had a dream demanding an apology. to figure out what the “apology” should be for.  She doesn’t know what that was about.  The bloody snow situation was the side effect BACK TO THE CAVE of a spell that got rid of the heat wave. (The The trail back up the mountain is slippery with melting town paid for that golden figurine.) snow and ice, rather than hard frozen. The cave does not  The heat wave was the side effect of a spell to look the same as it did before. A Fey illusion, hiding the cancel the first curse, torrential rain. side passageway, has been lifted.  The first curse was dropped on the town with a letter demanding an apology. The dwarven entrance hall, broken blood circle,

 The mayor can show you the 20-year old letter, crumpled undead, and all, is much like you last saw it, written in an elegant hand. It dates to the time but now there is a smooth circular tunnel off to the of the first curse. left, emitting a soft blue glow. That tunnel was not Sample She assumes the dream and the letter are file there before. linked, but is not sure how.

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