Introduction Preparing the Adventure Before you show up to Dungeon Master this adventure for Welcome to Hillsfar Reclaimed, a D&D ExpeditionsTM a group of players, you should do the following to prepare. adventure, part of the official D&D Adventurers LeagueTM organized play system and the Rage of DemonsTM • Make sure to have a copy of the most current version storyline season. of the D&D basic rules or the Player’s HandbookTM. This adventure is designed for three to seven 1st-4th • Read through the adventure, taking notes of anything level characters, and is optimized for five 3rd-level you’d like to highlight or remind yourself while characters. Characters outside this level range cannot running the adventure, such as a way you’d like to participate in this adventure. A player with an ineligible portray an NPC or a tactic you’d like to use in a character can create a new 1st-level character or use a combat. pregenerated character. • Get familiar with the monster statistics in the The adventure is set in the Moonsea region of the Appendix. Forgotten Realms, in and around the city of Hillsfar. • Gather together any resources you’d like to use to aid

you in Dungeon Mastering, such as notecards, a DM The D&D Adventurers screen, miniatures, battlemaps, etc. • If you know the composition of the group beforehand, League you can make adjustments as noted throughout the adventure. This adventure is official for D&D Adventurers League play. The D&D Adventurers League is the official Before Play at the Table organized play system for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®. Players can create characters and participate in any Ask the players to provide you with relevant character adventure allowed as a part of the D&D Adventurers information. This includes: League. As they adventure, players track their characters’ • experience, treasure, and other rewards, and can take Character name and level • those characters through other adventures that will Character race and class • continue their story. Passive Wisdom (Perception)—the most common D&D Adventurers League play is broken up into passive ability check • storyline seasons. When players create characters, they Anything notable as specified by the adventure (such attach those characters to a storyline season, which as backgrounds, traits, flaws, and so on) determines what rules they’re allowed to use to create and advance their characters. Players can continue to Players that have characters outside the adventure’s level play their characters after the storyline season has range cannot participate in the adventure with those finished, possibly participating in a second or third characters. Players can play an adventure they previously storyline with those same characters. A character’s level played or ran as a Dungeon Master, but not with the same is the only limitation for adventure play. A player cannot character (if applicable). use a character of a level higher or lower than the level Ensure that each player has an official adventure range of a D&D Adventurers League adventure. logsheet for his or her character (if not, get one from the If you’re running this adventure as a part of a store organizer). The player will fill out the adventure name, event or at certain conventions, you’ll need a DCI number. session number, date, and your name and DCI number. In This number is your official Wizards of the Coast addition, the player also fills in the starting values for XP, organized play identifier. If you don’t have a number, you gold, downtime, renown, and number of permanent magic can obtain one at a store event. Check with your organizer items. He or she will fill in the other values and write for details. notes at the conclusion of the session. Each player is For more information on playing, running games as a responsible for maintaining an accurate logsheet. Dungeon Master, and organizing games for the D&D If you have time, you can do a quick scan of a player’s Adventurers League, please visit the D&D Adventurers character sheet to ensure that nothing looks out of order. SampleIf you see magic items of very highfile rarities or strange League home. Hillsfar Reclaimed Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 2

arrays of ability scores, you can ask players to provide Determining Party Strength documentation for the irregularities. If they cannot, feel Party Composition Party Strength free to restrict item use or ask them to use a standard 3-4 characters, APL less than Very weak ability score array. Point players to the D&D Adventurers 3-4 characters, APL equivalent Weak League Player’s Guide for reference. 3-4 characters, APL greater than Average If players wish to spend downtime days and it’s the 5 characters, APL less than Weak beginning of an adventure or episode, they can declare 5 characters, APL equivalent Average their activity and spend the days now, or they can do so at 5 characters, APL greater than Strong the end of the adventure or episode. 6-7 characters, APL less than Average Players should select their characters’ spells and other 6-7 characters, APL equivalent Strong 6-7 characters, APL greater than Very strong daily options prior to the start of the adventure, unless the adventure specifies otherwise. Feel free to reread the adventure description to help give players hints about Average party strength indicates no recommended what they might face. adjustments to the adventure. Each sidebar may or may not offer suggestions for certain party strengths. If a Adjusting the Adventure particular recommendation is not offered for your group, you don’t have to make adjustments. Throughout this adventure, you may see sidebars to help you make adjustments to this adventure for smaller/larger Dungeon Mastering the groups and characters, of higher/lower levels that the optimized group size. Most of the time, this is used for Adventure combat encounters. As the DM of the session, you have the most important You may adjust the adventure beyond the guidelines role in facilitating the enjoyment of the game for the given in the adventure, or for other reasons. For example, players. You help guide the narrative and bring the words if you’re playing with a group of inexperienced players, on these pages to life. The outcome of a fun game session you might want to make the adventure a little easier; for often creates stories that live well beyond the play at the very experienced players, you might want to make it a table. Always follow this golden rule when you DM for a little harder. Therefore, five categories of party strength group: have been created for you to use as a guide. Use these as a guide, and feel free to use a different adjustment during Make decisions and adjudications that enhance the fun the adventure if the recommended party strength feels off of the adventure when possible. for the group.

This adventure is optimized for a party of five 1st-level To reinforce this golden rule, keep in mind the following: characters. To figure out whether you need to adjust the adventure, do the following: • You are empowered to make adjustments to the

adventure and make decisions about how the group • Add up the total levels of all the characters interacts with the world of this adventure. This is • Divide the total by the number of characters especially important and applicable outside of • Round fractions of .5 or greater up; round frations of combat, but feel free to adjust the adventure for less than .5 down groups that are having too easy or too hard of a time.

• Don’t make the adventure too easy or too difficult for You’ve now determined the average party level (APL) for a group. Never being challenged makes for a boring the adventure. To figure out the party strength for the game, and being overwhelmed makes for a adventure, consult the following table. frustrating game. Gauge the experience of the players (not the characters) with the game, try to feel out (or ask) what they like in a game, and attempt to give each of them the experience they’re after when Samplethey play D&D. Give everyonefile a chance to shine. Hillsfar Reclaimed Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 3

• Be mindful of pacing, and keep the game session expenses maintaining his or her lifestyle. Some downtime moving along appropriately. Watch for stalling, since activities help with lifestyle expenses or add lifestyle play loses momentum when this happens. At the expenses. same time, make sure that the players don’t finish too early; provide them with a full play experience. Spellcasting Services Try to be aware of running long or short. Adjust the Any settlement the size of a town or larger can provide pacing accordingly. some spellcasting services. characters need to be able to • Read-aloud text is just a suggestion; feel free to travel to the settlement to obtain these services. modify the text as you see fit, especially when Alternatively, if the party finishes an adventure, they can dialogue is present. be assumed to return to the settlement closest to the • Give the players appropriate hints so they can make adventure location. informed choices about how to proceed. Players Spell services generally available include healing and should be given clues and hints when appropriate so recovery spells, as well as information-gathering spells. they can tackle puzzles, combat, and interactions Other spell services might be available as specified in the without getting frustrated over lack of information. adventure. The number of spells available to be cast as a This helps to encourage immersion in the adventure service is limited to a maximum of three per day total, and gives players “little victories” for figuring out unless otherwise noted. good choices from clues. Spellcasting Services In short, being the DM isn’t about following the Spell Cost adventure’s text word-for-word; it’s about facilitating a Cure wounds (1st level) 10 gp fun, challenging game environment for the players. The Identify 20 gp Dungeon Master’s Guide TM has more information on the Lesser restoration 40 gp art of running a D&D game. Prayer of healing (2nd level) 40 gp Remove curse 90 gp Downtime and Lifestyle Speak with dead 90 gp Divination 210 gp At the beginning of each play session, players must Greater restoration 450 gp declare whether or not they are spending any days of Raise dead 1,250 gp downtime. The player records the downtime spent on the adventure logsheet. The following options are available to Acolyte Background players during downtime (see the D&D basic rules or the A character possessing the acolyte background requesting D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide for more spellcasting services at a temple of his or her faith may request information): one spell per day from the Spellcasting Services table for free. The only cost paid for the spell is the base price for the

• consumed material component, if any. Catching up Faiths that can call upon spellcasting services in and around • Crafting (exception: multiple characters cannot Hillsfar include the following: Chauntea, Lliira, Mielikki, and commit to crafting a single item) Tempus. • Practicing a profession Character Disease, • Recuperating • Spellcasting services (end of the adventure only) Death, and Recovery • Training Sometimes bad things happen, and characters get Other downtime options might be available during poisoned, diseased, or die. Since you might not have the adventures or unlocked through play, including faction- same characters return from session to session, here are specific activities. the rules when bad things happen to characters. In addition, whenever a character spends downtime days, that character also spends the requisite expense for his or her lifestyle. Costs are per day, so a character that spendsSample ten days of downtime also spends ten days of file Hillsfar Reclaimed Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 4

Disease, Poison, and Other Debilitating Effects Adventure Background A character still affected by diseases, poisons, and other The city of Hillsfar and its Two Great Laws have caused similar effects at the conclusion of an adventure can many to seek refuge in and around the nearby village of spend downtime days recuperating until such time as he Elventree. Elanil Elassidil--the Moonsilver Herald of or she resolves the effect to its conclusion (see the Elventree and Harper agent--has been in communication recuperating activity in the D&D basic rules). with those sympathetic to the plight of the non-humans If a character doesn’t resolve the effect between sessions, recently evicted from the city. This inside information and that character begins the next session still affected by the that from the spirit of Meira Faerenduil (DDEX 3-7 debilitating effect. Herald of the Moon) has led Elanil to the conclusion that the time has come to strike out against the leadership of Death Hillsfar and force changes to their xenophobic policies. A character who dies during the course of the adventure The Demon Lord Graz'zt has escaped the Abyss and has a few options at the end of the session (or whenever has taken residence near the Underdark city of arriving back in civilization) if no one in the adventuring Maerimydra, infecting the Underdark with his madness. party has immediate access to a raise dead or revivify However, the denizens of the Underdark are not the only spell, or similar magic. A character subject to a raise dead ones feeling the effects of his presence; surface dwellers spell is affected negatively until all long rests have been are succumbing to the Demon Lord's pull as well. completed during an adventure. Alternatively, each The former drow city of Maerimydra is now the home of downtime day spent after raise dead reduces the penalty a band of fire giants led by the half-fiend Hledh to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks by 1, in Hellspawn--granddaughter of Graz'zt. Using the city as a addition to any other benefits the downtime activity might base of operations, Graz'zt's demonic agents have been provide. sent to the surface, intent on influencing the decisions of Create a New 1st-Level Character. If the dead Hillsfar's ruler, First Lord Torin Nomerthal. character is unwilling or unable to exercise any of the Graz'zt has sent a pair of succubi to Hillsfar with the other options, the player creates a new character. The sole purpose of driving the First Lord mad. One of them new character does not have any items or rewards has replaced Davon Maelida, the First Lord's most possessed by the dead character. trusted advisor. The other has created a new persona-- Dead Character Pays for Raise Dead. If the Davon's twin sister Thessaly. With Davon's help, character’s body is recoverable (it’s not missing any vital Thessaly has wormed her way into the heart of Torin; organs and is mostly whole) and the player would like the who plans to wed his new-found love. character to be returned to life, the party can take the The succubus has so far been successful in her body back to civilization and use the dead character’s seduction of First Lord Nomerthal while the incubus has funds to pay for a raise dead spell. A raise dead spell cast convinced him that it is in his best interest to ask for her in this manner costs the character 1,250 gp. hand in marriage. To that end, Torin has set his Character’s Party Pays for Raise Dead. As above, household to planning the most elaborate and expensive except that some or all of the 1,250 gp for the raise dead party Hillsfar has ever seen. spell is paid for by the party at the end of the session. The ball is being billed as The First Lord's Midsummer Other characters are under no obligation to spend their Masquerade. The wealthiest, human citizens of Hillsfar funds to bring back a dead party member. and the surrounding settlements have been invited to Faction Charity. If the character is of level 1 to 4 and a attend in their most elaborate costumes for the member of a faction, the dead character’s body can be celebration. The First Lord is the only guest who does not returned to civilization and a patron from the faction disguise his identity; all others are expected to remain in ensures that he or she receives a raise dead spell. masque and not disclose their identity. Finally, each guest However, any character invoking this charity forfeits all has been given a unique invitation they are to bring with XP and rewards from that session (even those earned them in order to gain entry to the party. prior to death during that session), and cannot replay that The factions see this as the perfect opportunity to gain episode or adventure with that character again. Once a further intelligence concerning the spies that they believe characterSample reaches 5th level, this option is not available. have embedded themselves in thefile First Lord's court. Hillsfar Reclaimed Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 5

They have called for a group of adventurers to gain access Adventure Hooks to the city and meet with an agent of the Rogue's Guild. The following adventure hooks can be used to draw the Overview characters into the story. Stopping at the Stop. The Stop, particularly The This adventure is divided into three parts. Plodding Plow, is the next best place to find adventure Part 1. The adventurers are instructed by their faction work in the Hillsfar area other than Elventree. The leaders to travel to the outskirts of Hillsfar to an old dead character is inside the inn when others, perhaps also tree about a half mile from the city. The tree is hollow and looking for work, sit down at the table you have chosen. has a secret door that leads to a subterranean passage Eventually, you are directed to meet with Elanil Elassidil. which when traveled leads to the sewers of the city. This At this meeting, the Moonsilver Herald instructs that you is where they meet the Harper contact, Isthana Ro, inside rendezvous with Isthana Ro; the Guildmaster of Hillsfar's the city. Rogue's Guild. Elanil describes a hollow tree as a means Once there, the characters are informed that Harper of entering the city, and once within, Isthana will provide spies have discovered what they believe to be a demonic a means of disguise to pass through it without notice. operative from the city of Maerimydra nestled within the The Harpers (Faction). Characters that are members court of the First Lord of Hillsfar, Torin Nomerthal. This of The Harpers are approached by a messenger that tells agent has worked its way into the Lord's inner circle and them to meet with Elanil Elassidil at The Stop. She needs has come to be a great influence in Torin's decisions to speak to them about a clandestine mission inside the regarding the city. The adventurers are given the task of city of Hillsfar. She awaits the characters at the Plodding sneaking into the city and meeting up with the Harper Plow Inn. Eventually, you are directed to meet with Elanil agents therein. Once they have infiltrated the city they are Elassidil. At this meeting, the Moonsilver Herald instructs to identify the demon agent. In addition, they are also that you rendezvous with Isthana Ro; the Guildmaster of instructed to learn what they are able to about the First Hillsfar's Rogue's Guild. Elanil describes a hollow tree as Lord's schedule for the next few months. This needs to be a means of entering the city, and once within, Isthana will done without alerting of anyone on the Lord's staff; provide a means of disguise to pass through it without should the investigation be discovered, the First Lord's notice. plans will no doubt be changed. Hillsfar Smuggler (Background). Those with the Part 2. Isthana believes entering a Masquerade hosted Hillsfar Smuggler background learn that a group of by the First Lord is the best way to gain access to the adventurers are gathering at The Stop to organize an First Lord's tower. The contact suggests that the infiltration into the city to obtain information on the characters get jobs as servers for the party thereby activities of the First Lord. The group is to meet with securing access to the tower. Elanil Elassidil at the Plodding Plow Inn. At this meeting, Part 3. Now at the party, the adventurers can mingle the Moonsilver Herald instructs that you rendezvous with among the guests and should be able to pick up tidbits of Isthana Ro; the Guildmaster of Hillsfar's Rogue's Guild. conversations. They might learn that the First Lord has Elanil describes a hollow tree as a means of entering the been seen with a young maiden in town and he seems to city, and once within, Isthana will provide a means of be very smitten. They can also overhear that the First disguise to pass through it without notice. Lord is about to take a rare trip out of the city. The characters might also come across a beautiful woman who is hiding in the wings of the party sending a message to someone outside the city. At some point during the evening the First Lord asks Thessaly to marry him and then chaos ensues when Thessaly is "killed" and the First Lord is teleported away. If the characters follow Davon, who carries the body of his sister to the gardens, they discover that both Thessaly andSample Davon are just fine and are actually a pair of fiends. file Hillsfar Reclaimed Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 6

Part 1: Looking For Work Smell. The foul smells of the sewers leave no doubt as to where you are. Those weak of stomach may have The adventure begins when the characters arrive at the trouble traveling through this area. hollow tree described by Elanil as a secret means of Sounds. The sound of running water and dripping is entrance into Hillsfar. constant here. The slightest sound created by the characters echoes throughout the chamber. All characters The Hollow Tree have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to move silently while in the sewers and advantage on Elanil's guidance leads the adventurers to a secret Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. entrance that leads to the sewers beneath Hillsfar. Water. In some areas, stinking, muck-filled water flows The directions given to you by Elanil have proven to be very in 3-foot-deep channels. Characters that enter the water accurate. As you follow the deer run, the trees give way to a must succeed at a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be small clearing. In front of you is a tree that has been overturned, poisoned for 10 minutes. most likely due to weather. Its enormous roots form a tangle Read or paraphrase: where the tree lifted the ground underneath it when it fell. The The dank passage opens up ahead into a room; dimly lit by a tree's bark has been stripped in patches, indicating that the deer single torch. Most of the irregular-shaped walls are made of the travel here to wear down the velvet on their antlers. same packed earth as the walls of the tunnel behind you, however, a wide patch of wall across from the entrance is With a successful DC10 Intelligence (Investigation) check reinforced with well-fitting stone blocks. You can hear the faint a character notices that the tree roots conceal a set of sound of running water from the other side of the stone wall. stairs made of packed earth that lead into the ground. There are no other exits from this room. The stairs go down about 15 feet below the surface and Beside the wall, and seated on a rock with a silk handkerchief then stop at a passage that leads north toward the city of draped over it is a well-dressed, immaculately-groomed, human Hillsfar. If the characters travel this passage for about two female wearing filthy, tall leather boots. Seeing the characters, miles the passage opens up into a room within a she smiles. basement in the city.

The Sewers Isthana happily shakes every person's hand in turn and surveys the party make up; her gaze lingering a moment Whether they get there using their own method or that or two longer on those that are obviously not human. which was provided by Elanil, the characters eventually If asked why she the boots she is wearing are so much arrive in a series of dark, wet tunnels of packed earth. different than the rest of her fine clothes, Isthana They do not appear to be the sewers. chuckles and says "because I don't want to get crap on my General Features nice shoes." The tunnels have the following general features: Roleplaying Isthana Ro Terrain. The tunnel descends slowly into the darkness. Isthana Ro is the leader of the thieves’ guild in Hillsfar. She is The walls and floors are of packed earth. Patches of mud wickedly smart and doesn’t give much of a damn about anything and other, unmentionable disgustingness sometimes other than her guild. This sense of self-preservation is tempered make for unsteady footing. The tunnels here vary between with an amazingly acute business sense and the ability to think ahead. Considering this, she has decided working with the 10 to 20 feet wide and the ceilings are high, ranging in factions to be the best thing for her guild at the moment. She height from 20 feet in some places to 40 feet in others. sees the First Lord as the biggest problem in Hillsfar. Climbing a wall requires a successful DC 25 Strength Quote: "Walk slower, these clothes are new and you're (Athletics) check. The walls are slimy with moisture and splashing." muck causing any check made to climb them to be made with disadvantage. Light. The sewers are completely dark. The characters must provide their own light source. There are sconces for Sampletorches intermittently placed along the tunnels. file Hillsfar Reclaimed Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 7