Yawning Portal Campaign: Volume 1 !! The Yawning Portal Campaign provides a compelling backstory and encounters to link the adventures found in Tales from the Yawning Portal into an epically deadly and epically fun campaign. Volume 1 introduces the backstory, provides a campaign hook, additional encounters and transitions for Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury, and Safehouse, an original adventure – taking characters from level one to level five. This campaign guide is flexible. You can follow the adventures in order, pick and choose encounters to match the Yawning Portal adventures that you want to run, or use the backstory, seven encounters and adventure for a treasure hunt of your own devising! by EBrun Illustrations by Patrick Pullen ! Sample file ! ! ! ! DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, 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. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Yawning Portal Campaign Guide: Vol. 1 1! ! Yawning Portal Volume'2!will!take!characters!from!level!five!to! level!ten!and!includes!encounters!for!the!Hidden! Campaign: Volume 1 Shrine!of!Tamoachan,!White!Plume!Mountain,! “Be careful going in search for adventure – and!Dead!in!Thay.!!Volume'3!will!take! characters!from!level!ten!to!level!twenty!and!will! it’s ridiculously easy to find.” include!encounters!and!context!for!Against!the! ―!William!Least!Heat-Moon! Giants!and!Tomb!of!Horrors.! ! ! Introduction! ! ! ! ! !!2! Campaign!Background!! ! ! !!2! Sunless!Citadel!!Encounters! ! ! !!8! Forge!of!Fury!Encounters! ! ! 12! Safehouse! ! ! ! ! 15! Aftermath! ! ! ! ! 15! Appendix:!Safehouse! ! ! ! 17! ! Introduction Campaign Background Tales!from!the!Yawning!Portal!presents!seven!of! This!tale!begins!over!a!thousand!years!ago!in!the! the!most!creative,!deadly,!and!entertaining! Kingdom!of!the!Stag,!located!in!present!day! adventure!modules!in!Dungeons!&!Dragons!lore.! Delimbiyr!Valley.!!Keraptis!was!a!power-hungry! Each!of!these!adventures!can!easily!be!dropped! magelord!and!protector!of!a!community!along!a! into!an!existing!campaign,!or!played!as!one-off! mountainous!ridge!in!the!valley.!After!decades!of! adventures.!!However,!the!compilation!also! mistreatment,!his!people!drove!him!from!his! presents!the!opportunity!to!create!an!epically! home!and!he!resettled!in!the!north.!!! deadly!and!epically!fun!campaign,!spanning! ! levels!1!–!20.! Obsessed!with!research!into!finding!a!pathway! ! Sampleto!immortality,!Keraptis!made!contact!with!an! file The!Yawning!Portal!Campaign!(Volumes!1-3)! evil!plane!wandering!demi-lich.!!The!demi-lich,! provides!a!compelling!backstory!and!encounters! Acererak!(often!referred!to!as!Acererak!the! to!provide!context!for!the!adventures!in!the! Enduring!or!Acererak!the!Devourer),!promised! official!publication.!!The!campaign!is!nominally! Keraptis!immortality!if!he!became!his!apprentice.!! set!in!the!Forgotten!Realms,!but!location!specific! True!to!his!words,!Acererak!granted!Keraptis! references!are!minimiZed!for!easy!transport!to! everlasting!life!with!a!catch!–!he!was!imprisoned! any!world.!Although!the!Yawning!Portal! in!a!desolate!demi-plane!until!Acererak!dies!or! Campaign!connects!all!of!the!adventures!in!the! ascends!to!godhood.!! Tales!from!the!Yawning!Portal,!you!do!not!need! ! to!use!them!all.!!The!campaign!background!and! To!reach!godhood,!Acererak!needs!to! hook!can!be!inserted!at!any!time!before!playing! simultaneously!devour!the!souls!of!three!gods! through!White!Plume!Mountain.!! and!three!legendary!heroes.!!To!this!end,! ! Keraptis!recovered!three!mythic!weapons!–! Volume'1!takes!the!characters!from!level!one!to! BlackraZor,!Wave!and!Whelm!-!imbued!with! level!five.!!Encounters!provide!context!and! fragments!of!the!souls!of!three!ancient!gods!-! transitions!for!the!Sunless!Citadel!and!Forge!of! and!devised!an!extra-dimensional!test!of! Fury.!The!original!adventure,!Safehouse,!is!also! intelligence!and!might.!!Keraptis!then!wove!a! included.!!! shard!of!his!consciousness!into!dozens!of!scrolls! Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Yawning Portal Campaign Guide: Vol. 1 2! that!he!scattered!across!the!multiverse.!!Each! Although!still!powerful,!the!hammer!will!not! scroll!attempts,!in!the!guise!of!an!heroic!quest,!to! reach!full!potency!until!awoken!(either!upon! lure!heroes!into!securing!Keraptis’!freedom.!! completion!of!White!Plume!Mountain!or!a! Over!the!past!millennium,!the!scrolls!have! condition!of!your!choosing).! passed!from!adventurer!to!adventurer,!but!none! ! have!proven!to!be!strong!enough!to!complete!the! The'Scroll'Tube.!An!ornate!scroll!tube!contains! task.! two!parchments.!!The!first!appears!to!be!a!poem! ! and!is!marked!with!the!letter!“K”!entwined!with! The'Campaign'Hook' snakes.!If!detect!magic!is!used,!this!first! The!following!hook!can!be!used!to!engage! parchment!has!a!slight!enchantment.!The!second! characters!in!the!backstory!and!the!search!for! is!a!letter!from!Sir!Bradford.!!Player!handouts!of! the!legendary!weapons.!!The!characters!can!find! these!documents!are!found!on!page!6!and!7.! the!scroll!tube!and!hammer!on!any!slain! ! adventurer!in!a!dungeon!of!your!choosing.!The! Parchment!1:!The!Poem! only!requirement!is!that!the!characters!find!it! Hammer,'blade'and'three.pronged'spear.' prior!to!the!start!of!White!Plume!Mountain.!! Weapons'worthy'of'the'greatest'heroes' However,!the!scroll!does!provide!hooks!to! Linked'by'fate'through'the'ages' Safehouse!(See!page!15)!and!The!Hidden!Shrine! ' of!Tamoachan!(Volume!2).! Bane'of'Giantkind,'protector'of'the'Dankir.'' ! Razor'of'the'night,'stealer'of'souls.' If!you!are!starting!the!campaign!at!level!one!and! Pride'of'the'Home'Sought'After,'evangelist'of'the' playing!Sunless!Citadel,!place!the!scroll!tube!and! sea.' hammer!with!Sir!Bradford,!the!paladin!and! ' Gulthais!Tree!supplicant,!in!area!56.! Testing'strength'of'mind,'might,'courage'and' ! cleverness.' The'Hammer.!The!beautifully!made!steel! His'servant'calls,'linking'thee' hammer!has!an!onyx!gemstone!embedded!in!the! Boon'or'bane'for'an'ancient'master' bottom!of!the!handle!and!the!giant!rune,!Uven! ' (enemy),!inscribed!on!the!face.! Wandering'across'planes,'he'returns' ! Sample He'rises,'enslaving'allfile ' Worlds'on'edge,'trembling'in'fear' ' Immortality'or'death,'despair'or'hope' Freedom'or'imprisonment.'' The'future'rests'on'your'shoulders. ! ! This!is!the!legendary!artifact,!Whelm,!in!a! dormant!state.!!In!this!state,!it!acts!as!a!+1! weapon.!!The!weapon!gains!an!additional!power! after!a!character!uses!it!for!the!first!time!to!kill!a! goblinoid!(goblin,!orc,!hobgoblin,!etc)!or! giantkind.!!On!a!recharge!roll!of!5-6,!the! character!has!a!dream!of!wielding!the!hammer!in! a!valorous!act!against!a!horde!of!goblinoids!or! giants.!!For!the!following!day,!the!hammer!can! cast!Thunder!Wave!once.! ! Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Yawning Portal Campaign Guide: Vol. 1 3! ! ! Parchment!2:!The!Letter! The!Font'of'Knowledge!is!the!Temple!to!Oghma! in!Waterdeep.!!However,!it!could!be!the!name!of! Mother'of'Light,' any!library!or!temple!to!a!god!of!knowledge!in!a! A'dark'evil'is'stirring'and'I'alone'have'been' large!city!of!your!choosing.!!If!the!characters! chosen'to'be'its'foil.'This'scroll'was'given'to'me'by' eventually!go!to!the!Font'of'Knowledge!they!will! a'traveling'sage.'The'old'man'claimed'he'saw'this' meet!Brother!Ejs,!a!researcher!that!can!help!with! as'my'destiny.''I'have'found'the'first,'a'great' their!research.! hammer,'in'a'tomb'of'the'ancient'shield'dwarves' ! of'Dardath.''The'blade'seems'lost'to'legend.''The' last'I'have'found'is'a'remnant'of'a'Journal'in'the' Brother'Ejs!is!a!half-elf!priest!of!Oghma.!!He! Font'of'Knowledge.''It'tells'of'a'sinister'priest'of' works!as!a!scholar!at!the!Font!of!Knowledge! the'Cult'of'Ebondeath'.'Strongor'Bonebag'.'who' (Temple!to!Oghma)!in!the!Castle!Ward.!!Ejs! possessed'a'night.black'greatsword.''But'that'was' serves!the!Harpers!as!a!researcher!specializing! hundreds'of'years'ago'in'the'Mere'of'Dead'Men.'I' in!elven!history.!!Ejs!talks!quickly!when!he!is! have'found'nothing'of'the'third.' excited!and!is!prone!to!making!social!gaffes.!!He! ' often!leads!a!sparsely-attended!weekly!lecture! I'fear'I'am'not'up'to'the'task.'My'devotion'is' from!the!temple!on!ancient!elven!empires.!! shaken.'My'nights'are'plagued'by'a'mocking'skull.' ! Dreams'of'glory'and'dreams'of'despair,'but' Dungeon!Master!Notes:!Ejs!is!always!on!the! always'the'skull.'I'sense'that'I'am'being'watched,' lookout!for!esoteric!information!-!especially!if!it! but'not'from'without.'I'seek'to'lessen'this'burden.' is!related!to!elven!history.!!He!is!an!excellent! ' researcher,!but!can!easily!become! Your'Son,' distracted.!!The!amount!of!time!for!his!research!