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 ...... 6 Mountain toe’s Gold Mine ...... 7 Shrine of Savras ...... 7 Tower of Storms ...... 7 Umbrage Hill ...... 7 Woodland Manse ...... 7 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

Sample file

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.

Sample file

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

4 overwhelm the characters. You can always add more LOCATION SUMMARIES orcs if you need to increase the challenge. The summaries below are meant to make it easy to run CIRCLE OF THUNDER each section of the adventure by collecting the • information in one place. If you have previously read the Quest: None • adventure, then these summaries should be enough to Recommended Level: 6 • allow you to prep right before a session without re- NPCs: o reading the entire section. It has the basic information Flenz, Narux, and Yargath, three about the adventure, and for some include ideas for ways anchorites (priests) of Talos. o to tie player characters to the adventure (a great way to Gorthok the Thunder Boar, a improve player engagement) as well as destructive elemental force of Talos recommendations from having ran the adventure. summoned by the anchorites. • Locale: Standing stones on a hill in the Neverwinter wood during a raging storm. AXEHOLM • Events: Yargath’s patrol (anchorite plus 2 orcs per • Quest: Open the mountain fortress of Axeholm and Character) attacks the party as they approach. make sure it is safe for habitation in case the dragon • Character tie-in ideas: The anchorites are sacrificing attacks. someone one of the Characters cares for or owes a • Recommended Level: 5 favor or debt. • NPCs: Vyldara, a banshee who haunts the halls. She • Reward: Potion of invisibility and a +1 shield. was once a moon elf ambassador who tried to foment • Recommendations: unrest amongst the dwarves. She was imprisoned, and o Characters can learn about this after killing two guards during an escape attempt, she location from Xanth the centaur at the was cut down by the dwarves. Afterwards she rose as a dragon barrow or Grannoc’s map in banshee, causing the dwarves to flee the keep. the Woodland Manse. • Locale: A small fortress in the Sword mountains. o Insert Tibor Westor being used as a • Events: None. sacrifice to tie to other parts of the • Character tie-in: An amulet of Moradin can be found adventure. in the dungeon. This could be tied to any dwarven o Using Gorthok to attack Falcon’s Character’s faith by changing the god and having it be Hunting Lodge or as the Characters a family heirloom. leave the woodland manse might be • Reward: 250 gp more interesting. • Recommendations: o The +1 shield is named Nightshroud o There is a lot of filler in this dungeon. I and is jet black with one purple circle cut at least half the encounters, since it in its center (an ancient symbol used was mostly the same monsters over by Shar in the empire of Shade) and and over, and none of the rooms were has metalwork indicative of the particularly interesting. Once the ancient empire of Netheril. The shield characters encountered the banshee I glows purple anytime the ancient just narrated the rest of the enemy of Netheril, the Phaerimm, are encounters. nearby. Anytime the armor stops a o The banshee is tough for a CR 4 blow, the wielder feels a flash of pain. monster. Be wary if the party is below the recommended level. DRAGON BARROW • Quest: The barrow mound of a warrior who wielded a BUTTERSKULL RANCH magical dragon slaying sword is close by, and • Quest: Butterskull Ranch was attacked by orcs. Find supposedly his sword is buried with him. out what happened to the owner, Big Al. • Recommended Level: 5 • Recommended Level: 3 • NPCs: • NPCs: Alfonse “Big Al” Kalazorn, former sheriff of o Lady Tanamere Alagondar, royal scion Triboar, now a rancher. He makes skull shaped butter of Neverwinter who defeated the green and has been captured by orcs. dragon Azdraka more than a century • Locale: A farm ransacked by orcs along the Triboar ago. Trail. o Xanth the centaur was driven from • Events: The Characters will encounter Big Al’s horses Neverwinter wood by orcs. He warns and his cow, Petunia, on their way to the ranch. the Characters of strange lights above • Character tie-in: Perhaps a Character worked on the the barrow and offers to take them to a farm growing up or had a parent who served with Big stone circle where half-orcs perform Al Sampleduring his time as sheriff in Triboar. fell rituals (thefile Circle of Thunder • Reward: Mithral Chain Mail if the Characters return quest). Petunia to Big Al, or 100 gp from Tibor Westin if Big Al • Locale: A mound (in fact a dragon’s buried body) near is dead. Neverwinter. • Recommendations: Beware making the characters • Events: None. fight all of the orcs in the house at once. Let them • Character tie-in: A character could learn they are a sneak and take out a few wandering outside the descendent of Lady Alagondar or someone in her farmhouse, and send them in waves so as not to adventuring party. • Reward: 250 gp

5 • Recommendations: o Fibblestib and Dabbledob, o The Will’o’Wisps are more interesting gnomengarde’s foremost inventors, as lures than for actual combat. They They are trying to cure Korboz’s sanity can be used to lure the characters into with a “sanity ray” or “straight pit traps or the collapsing tunnel. jacket”, respectively. o Show the party a picture of the • Locale: Secret cave formed in a mountain base around invisible stalker entry from the second a waterfall. Wild Magic! edition monster manual if they are not • Character tie-in: A gnome character or artificer has familiar with it. It is the best monster previously studied with one or both of Fiddlestib and depiction ever. Dabbledob. • Reward: If the characters restore Korboz’s sanity, they DWARVEN EXCAVATION get a clockwork amulet, a pole of collapsing, a wand of pyrotechnics, and a hat of wizardry • Quest: Alert the dwarven prospectors about the dragon. • Recommended Level: 1 ICESPIRE HOLD • NPCs: Dazlyn Grayshard and Norbus Ironrune, Shield • Quest: Defeat Cryovain! Dwarf prospectors. Once the characters warn them • Recommended Level: 6 about the dragon, they will ask them to clear out the • NPCs: excavation. o Delsendra Arnzarr, warlord who built • Locale: Abandoned temple of Abbathor, dwarven god the fortress of greed o The Stone Cold Reavers • Events: Orcs attack as the characters leave. ▪ Syleen Wintermoon, risk- • Character tie-in: None taking human woman with • Reward: 50 gp red hair that lies • Recommendations: It is good foreshadowing to allude compulsively and assumes to the orcs being pushed out of their keep by the everyone else does too. dragon if any are captured ▪ Runa Vokdottir, muscular woman of few words from the ALCON S UNTING ODGE frozen north. She is as cruel F ’ H L as the cold lands where she • Quest: None grew up. • Recommended Level: N/A ▪ Brakkis Elspaar, aging • NPCs: opportunist who is always o Falcon the Hunter (really Gustaf looking for an early Stellern), archer who lives in the retirement and loves dogs. woods and hates orcs ▪ Jabarl the Orc-bite, criminal o Corwin, Falcon’s elderly and world- brute who likes riding horses weary cook and bashing skulls. And o Pell, mute 12-year-old stable hand probably biting orcs. • Locale: Lodge in the middle of Neverwinter Wood • Locale: Abandoned fortress high in the Sword • Events: Falcon tells the heroes tales of the orcs who Mountains. have been entering the wood in greater numbers • Events: Characters encounter a frozen ogre, slain by recently. Cryovain, who has potions of healing if the party needs • Character tie-in: Falcon is a follower of Silvanus and them. will look fondly on any other followers of Silvanus in • Character tie-in: Something meaningful to a character the party. 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 very useful for helping the characters out of tight interesting magical items to give the players as a spots or helping to push the story forward. reward for defeating Cyrovain seems like an appropriate adjustment. GNOMENGARDE • Recommendations: None aside for creating a hoard as a reward. • Quest: Get magic items from the gnomes, donate to town and received 50 gp. • Recommended Level: 1 LOGGER’S CAMP • NPCs: • Quest: Deliver Provisions to the camp, get 100 gold. o Gnerkli, king of Gnomengarde, partner • Recommended Level: 3 of Korboz. Seeks to restore his • NPCs: Samplepartner’s sanity. Unfortunately glued o Barthen, ownerfile of Barthen’s to his chair. provisions. o Korboz, kind of Gnomengarge, partner o Vincent, the ox. of Gnerkli. Went mad after an attack by o Falcon, a ranger who lives in the a mimic, but no one knows what woods and despises orc raiders. caused his affliction. o Tibor Westor, Hardin’s half brother o Facktore, crazed, obsessive female and foreman of the camp, cowardly gnome who invented crossbow turret. and self-serving.

6 • Locale: Logging camp in Neverwinter Wood on the • Recommended Level: 3 banks of the Neverwinter River. • NPCs: • Events: o Moesko, half-orc anchorite who o Barthen suggests the characters visit guards the Lighthouse Falcon on their way to the camp o A friendly giant crab who will retrieve o Encounter with an anchorite of Talos treasure if the characters help it. wild shaped into a boar when the o Miraal, a banshee who wants the characters enter Neverwinter wood. spellcasting focus Moesko took • Character tie-in: None returned. • Recommendations: None • Locale: A lighthouse on a stormy sea cliff. • Events: None MOUNTAIN TOE’S GOLD MINE • Character tie-in: o If a character has any kind of sea- • Quest: Escort Don-Jon Raskin (the new overseer) to faring background, one of the wrecks the Mountain’s Toe Gold Mine for 100 gold. could be a former ship. • Recommended Level: 4 o One of the ships could have been • NPCs: carrying a relative or friend of one of o Don-Jon Raskin, no-nonsense mine the characters that was lost at sea. overseer sent by the business • Reward: The items on the ships. consortium that owns the mine in • Recommendations: The banshee is dangerous for a CR Nerverwinter. Full of bluster about his 4 monster. Be wary if the party is below the exploits as gold miner, prospector, fur recommended level. trader, privateer, and whaler. His employers forced him to take an escort. UMBRAGE HILL o Zeleen Varnaster, new wererat • Quest: Ask midwife Adabra Gwynn to come back to overseer of the mine and leader of the town, get 25 gold. Whiskered Gang. Wants the characters • Recommended Level: 3 or less to clear the orcs from their old • NPCs: Adabra Gwynn, acolyte of Chauntea, midwife hideout, a shrine near Conyberry. and apothecary • Locale: Mine overrun by wererats to the northeast at • Locale: Stone windmill near dwarven cairns the foot of the sword coast mountains. • Events: Manticore attacking as characters arrive. • Events: Characters encounter orcs killed by Cryovain • Character tie-in: Perhaps Adabra delivered one of the on the way to the mine. characters or someone they know. • Character tie-in: A character may have previously had • Reward: unfavorable business dealings with the consortium o 25 gold that owns the mine. o potion of healing • Reward: 100 gold. • Recommendations: Let the manticore be distracted • Recommendations: Wererats are immune to and give the characters time to prepare and get a nonmagical weapons, and its very feasible for the chance to attack it before it brings its full might o bear. characters to get here with few options to damage the Also make sure the party has access to ranged wererats. If this is the case, make sure you give the weapons. characters some warning about the creatures’ immunity. WOODLAND MANSE • Quest: Orcs have fallen under the sway of evil SHRINE OF SAVRAS spellcasters in Neverwinter Wood and are attacking • Quest: N/A anyone in the area. The spellcasters dwell in a ruined • Recommended Level: 1-6 manse, and Falcon would like the heroes to destroy it. • NPCs: None • Recommended Level: 5 • Locale: A dilapidated Shrine of Savras near Conyberry. • NPCs: Grannoc, a half-orc achnorite of Talos who • Events: While not directly an event, try to make sure planted seeds that created a malignant tree that the characters interact with the Altar of Fate, since it is spawns blights. the easiest way to find the location of Cryovain. • Locale: A isolated manse in Neverwinter wood. • Character tie-in: A character might have an heirloom • Events: or other item of value locked in a chest that the o Talosian anchorites disguised as boars mystery key could unlock. attack the characters as they leave the • Reward: Nothing besides the location of Cryovain. manse. • Recommendations: Be wary of this battle, especially at o One day after the Characters leave the lower levels. Encourage the characters to use manse, Talosians summon Gorthok subterfugeSample and tactics, and a head on fight with the Thunder file Boar to attack Falcon’s multiple ogres can be deadly, especially until the party hunting lodge. gets to at least 4th level. If the party does kick the door • Character tie-in: A character may be related to the in, I would split the monsters into three groups that half-elf who built the house or perhaps find some enter combat staggered by a few rounds each. magic or lore related to their backstory the current tenants have overlooked. TOWER OF STORMS • Reward: 250 gp • Quest: N/A