Grey Mist Peak

GREY MIST PEAK

Return of Keraptis

Introduction: Three powerful magical items have been stolen from the vaults of their wealthy owners: Bloodrazor, the deadly sword; Gildenvaul, the golden shield; and Vandomyr, the mighty longbow. A call has gone out for adventurers to recover the missing items. The only information on the whereabouts of the lost relics comes in the form of a cryptic poem. Will you be the heroes who recover the legendary items?

An adventure for 6th – 9th level characters

by Shamus Williams

Note from the Author: Inspired by an online discussion, I created this adventure as a tribute to one of the most iconic D&D adventures of all time. Those familiar with the modules from the early days of gaming will undoubtedly recognize the parallels. It serves as a new addition to the “funhouse dungeon” category of adventures, and it is my sincere hope that it provides a memorable source of gaming enjoyment for D&D players everywhere.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright [2017] by Shamus Williams and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All art included in this product has been created specifically for this purpose and licensed from the creators for commercial use. Cover art by Hugor and Hugorky Rodriguez SampleBack cover art, and illustration on page 40 created by Veaceslav (Drimba3) file Illustrations on pages 10, 18, 28, 29, and 31 created by Ruben (maaot10)

Introduction Grey Mist Peak is the local name for a low mountain that is recognized on geological maps as Tolver’s Mountain. It stands among the Cloud Peaks of northern Awm, west of Candlekeep and south of the Werewoods. There exists a confluence of meteorological circumstances that cause this particular mountain to be covered with fog most of the time. Hence, those who live nearby call it Grey Mist Peak, or a similar colloquial name. The prevalent fog has contributed to the reputation of the place, with good reason. While it is no more or less hospitable than any other forlorn mountain, the consistent concealment has made it the favored territory for numerous humanoid tribes, bands of outlaws, and monsters of all types. Those who consider prying eyes to be troublesome find the mountain a fair place to retreat to, even if it is a bit rough. Thus, Tolver’s Mountain – or Grey Mist Peak – was known to be a place to be generally avoided, but its reputation did not extend far beyond Awm. That changed just a few days ago. Three mighty magical items disappeared from their owners’ homes in Waterdeep, Silverymoon, and Neverwinter. The wealthy owners of the legendary items applied all their resources to finding the lost treasures, to no avail. A tenday after their disappearance, a note was found at each of the three places where one of the items was taken. As well, several copies of the note were found posted throughout each of the cities, in prominent locations. The contents of those notes is as follows:

Cross the world with eye or spell You’ll see no sign of the three In forsaken house they all now dwell To find them, I answer your plea

South past ruin, river and road You must go to the misted peak Once you climb to the high abode Victory yields the key you seek

Into the depths you must then swim With all four as if in one hand No trek to be taken for lark or whim But at last deep below you will stand

Through rainbow hall and gladiator’s gates Lies Bloodrazor, beyond the silent knight Through whirling steel you’ll learn Gildenvaul’s fate ‘Cross bladed pit and hourglass of night

Past tunnel of blades and winding maze Waits Vandomyr, past locks and stone With three in hand you’ve finished that phase To run the gauntlet back home Sample file Run fast and far as best you can A furious, bloody race

Hounds will hunt with one dark plan To stand triumphant in your place

These words I grant to answer prayers To find what has been lost They guide the path of any who dares But belittle not the cost

Each note is signed with the name “Keraptis, God of lost causes and hopeless quests.” No scholars are aware of the ascension of a deity covering the specific portfolio named in the letters, so if the claim is true, the pantheon has grown by one. Regardless, if the information provided in the stanzas is accurate, the “misted peak” referenced is thought to be Grey Mist Peak, which happens to lie south of where all three items were stolen. The rest of the poem must give clues to what awaits adventurers who seek the items, though how much help they will be depends on the cunning and insight of the individuals involved. Certainly none of the many groups of adventurers who set out to recover the great magical items is willing to share their thoughts on the matter. If desired, the DM can allow players to conduct their own research. One day of searching maps and geographical texts in a sizeable library should allow a Geography check with a DC 18. Characters from Awm may also make a Local Knowledge check with a DC of 16. If a character has a background or class feature that pertains to geography or travel (such as the Wanderer feature of the Outlander background), and that character has traveled through Awm, the DM can reduce the DC for the Local Knowledge check to 12. If the group fails to research the location of Grey Mist Peak on their own or simply decides to hire expert help, the DM is free to determine the cost of such professional services. For the sake of pursuing the adventure, the party should be successful in connecting Grey Mist Peak to the mysterious poem and ascertaining its location. The DM is, of course, free to make this process as easy or as difficult as desired. The party is presumed to have to journey to Grey Mist Peak to begin the adventure. The DM may handle travel to the area in whatever way is appropriate. There can be many encounters along the way, for example, where the PCs meet others on the same quest…a foreshadowing of future conflict. Once they arrive in northern Awm, there is a small town named Parliville approximately 15 miles northwest of the mountain. There, adventurers can leave horses, purchase food or basic equipment, and rest. The population is only about 600. It has two inns, three taverns, one boardinghouse, and the standard array of services normally available in a town. Adventurers should be able to find a place to lodge their horses if they do not want to leave them on the side of a mountain. Both inns currently house other adventuring groups who are also seeking the lost weapons. Tensions run high, and sabotage is to be expected. Weather should be a concern when traveling to and on Grey Mist Peak. There is a 75% chance that visibility on the upper half of the mountain is limited. If so, roll d100 x 10’ to determine maximum visibility. There is relatively frequent precipitation, though the exact nature of it is left to DM’s determination based on the season. It is generally damp and cool. Note: if you are running the adventure in another campaign setting besides Faerun, select a similar mountain range for Grey Mist Peak to be located in. Likewise, choose different cities from Samplewhich each of the three items was stolen, and replace other world-specific namesfile and information with that to match the appropriate campaign world.

The Giant’s Keep At the top of Grey Mist Peak is a stone house built to giant size. It is, in fact, inhabited by hill giants and their dire wolf pets. Beside the fortress-like house is a large kennel, a tower, and a well. If the DM desires, there can be other encounters and other lairs on the mountain. Remember that the giants hunt daily, so anything in the immediate vicinity would have been disposed of quickly. The tower provides a good view on clear days, and is nearly useless on the foggiest days.

The Surrounding Area The land has been completely cleared of vegetation larger than grass or weeds for nearly a half mile in all directions from the house. Although this is a good security measure, it is actually just the result of hill giant laziness. None of them want to do any more work than they have to. So, when ordered to gather firewood, they go to the nearest tree or bush and chop it down. Some tall grass grows in the area, but most of it has been squashed flat by giants and wolves. Piles of wolf and giant excrement are regularly seen throughout the area, despite the latrine to the south.

The Buildings The main structure is roughly 60’ high, with the protective wall around the roof reaching another 8’. The roof is made of heavy, overlapping slate. Both interior and exterior walls are 5’ thick stone. Doors and shutters are 1’ thick wood and can be barred from the inside. The floors are of stone, and the ceilings arch to 25’ high in the center of most rooms. The construction was obviously done by creatures more skilled than hill giants, regardless of the current occupants. The giants have been hard on the buildings, so the age is difficult to determine. A DC18 Investigation or History check will reveal that the structures are all relatively new, less than a year old. There are multiple continual flame spells placed on specific stones in ceilings and walls throughout the structures to provide light. The lights have wooden doors that slide over them to darken a room if desired, accomplished by using a pole in each room. The walls and doors of the kennel and tower are identical to that of the main building. The kennel is only one floor, reaching 25’ high in the center, 20’ high near the walls, with a heavy slate roof. The tower is 90’ high with an 8’ high protective wall around the roof. All of the buildings have been made to accommodate giants. Smaller creatures will have difficulty moving on the oversized stairs and using doors. Ascending stairs costs extra movement for anyone not of large size, so a PC must expend 2’ of movement for each 1’ traveled. Characters may try to move at greater than half speed with a DC14 Acrobatics check, though characters in heavy armor have disadvantage to the check. Success will allow a PC to run up or down the stairs at a normal rate. Failure means that the character falls prone after traveling 0-50% of the intended distance (1d6-1 x 10%), and those moving down the steps take 1d6 damage. Doors are heavy and require creatures smaller than large size to make a DC15 strength check to open them if unbarred, or a DC26 strength check when barred. Shutters are a bit easier, and require a DC14 strength check to open when unbarred, or a DC24 strength check when barred. The windows are almost universally shut and barred unless one or more giants are in the room. Doors have a 50% chance of being barred during the day, and are always barred at night. The first floor of the main structure, the entire tower, and the kennel have no windows. The windows on the Samplemain structure are 45’ from the ground, reachable by climbing with DC20 Athleticsfile checks.

Although there is no latrine inside the buildings, there is a trench approximately 200’ south where the giants do their business. They scrape up the wolves’ excrement and throw it as well. The smell is abominable, and all animals will shy away from that area. Any Perception checks within 60’ of the trench that rely on smell have disadvantage due to the overpowering odors. The hill giant chief, Thungol, ordered them to start using the spot. He only had to kill one giant for using the well before the others realized he was serious about the order.

Hill Giant Routine There are 18 hill giants total, ten females and eight males (including Thungol). There are ten more young hill giants, five each male and female, and 24 dire wolves. Thungol also has an Oni advisor, who rarely leaves his side, and a pet death dog named Rot. Thungol keeps Rot away from the dire wolves after the death dog killed two of the pack. The following section describes the normal activity of the giants. The suggested numbers may be changed by the DM if desired. Of course, any attack will bring all occupants running to battle as quickly as possible, and if giants go missing, Thungol will react appropriately. During daylight hours, the hill giants are active. At breakfast and dinner time they will all be in the house eating (though they fight over who eats first). Otherwise they are hunting, gathering and chopping firewood, napping, throwing rocks, or wrestling with each other. At night, they bar the Sampledoors and shutters, bring some dire wolves inside and sleep. file

On orders from Thungol, they always move about in groups. Thus, there will never be less than two encountered, and they usually have dire wolves with them. Although they do not have crafting skills, Thungol has ordered them to begin wearing armor, and they have found it beneficial since they hurt each other slightly less. Although it is merely thick hides with bits of metal sewn on, it still provides more protection than they would otherwise have. When awake, they will all be wearing armor. If sleeping, they may or may not have felt like taking it off (50% chance). On a typical day, two giants will be assigned to cook meals, remaining in the kitchen and cooking area just outside the house. The cooks will have 0-2 (1d3-1) children helping them. Mealtime finds all the giants and children and roughly half the dire wolves in the house. The giants do not have enough seats for everyone to eat at once, so they usually fight for spots, eat until full (or until Thungol says they are full), then leave, with another taking the empty seat. Children eat last. Thungol frequently (60% chance) remains at the table for the entire meal, then stands while the children eat. He knows that showing the children attention (other than beating them) will make them loyal to him. The tactic has worked, and the children love their chief. After breakfast, two groups of 2-5 giants (1d4+1) are sent out hunting. Each giant will have a dire wolf companion. There is a 40% chance for each group that one of the children will accompany them with another wolf. The hunting parties stay out until they have enough food, or until dinnertime (approximately sundown) before they return. After assigning the hunters, Thungol will designate 2-3 giants and 2-3 children to gather more wood. They haul it back to the house, chop it, and stack it on the north side of the house. Three giants are always assigned to the top of the tower to watch for enemies, and they will be relieved at noon by three other giants. On the occasions when the weather is so bad that visibility is poor (less than 300 feet), Thungol will forgo giants on top of the tower. This potentially means that most of the giants will be out of the house during the day. Any children remaining will split into two groups. One group will either be in the kennel with the dire wolves or in their room with 3-6 (1d4+2) dire wolves. The other group will be in the yard or on the roof, practicing throwing rocks. The rock throwers will also have a similar number of dire wolves with them, and if there are giants remaining in the house, there is a 50% chance of finding one or more here. Sample At night, the giants and children sleep in their rooms. Each room will havefile 2-4 (1d3+1) dire wolves by the door as guards. They also leave 2-4 dire wolves on the first floor, usually in the