MADNESS AT GARDMORE ABBEY A FAN­MADE CONVERSION FOR D&D 5E

CREDITS Authors: Alistair B. and Mark D. Last Updated May 30, 2015

D&D and related product names are property of Wizards of the Coast

Introduction:

Madness at Gardmore Abbey is an adventure module for 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons. It’s one of my favourite modules (almost certainly the best one released for 4e) and did an excellent job of letting players solve problems in creative ways. It features the Deck of Many Things as a center­piece, but introduces it in a way that makes it clear how chaotic and dangerous the artifact can be. I decided it would be nice to be able to play this adventure in 5th edition, and then decided it would be even better to present my 5th edition port in a way that other people could use! First, this is meant to be a supplement to, not a replacement for, the original Gardmore module. This document assumes you have access to the books from the original module, without which this document probably won’t be very helpful. Where things are not replaced or changed, follow the material from the original book, to your discretion. For ease of use, this document follows the organization of the original module. In addition to the original module, this document uses rules from the 5th Edition Monster Manual, the 5th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide, as well as rules from the Unearthed Arcana online supplement (which can be found on the Wizards of the Coast D&D website). This conversion assumes a party of four PCs, who are level 5 at the start of the adventure. The combat encounters have been designed around a party consisting of four PCs and the NPC Sir Oakley being run as a full PC (Oath of Devotion Paladin­a possible level 5 version is included). If your PCs don’t accept Oakley’s help, or you don’t want to run him as a full PC, the difficulty of some encounters may need to be adjusted. This adventure can be inserted into almost any world, but it works best in your usual heroic fantasy setting. This conversion assumes the ‘Dawn War’ pantheon gods from the original module (the core 4th edition pantheon), but can be changed to fit the pantheon of other settings. There are several occasions in the module where the PCs can get bonuses from currying the favour of the gods; most of these have been changed to powerful one­time bonuses. If the PCs try to abuse these boons then they will earn the disfavour of the gods and be punished, but if you want your gods to be less fickle, consider removing the penalty and just have nothing happen after the first attempt. The adventure works best in a fairly high magic (i.e. lots of magic items) setting. In particular, the PCs can potentially conclude the adventure with some very powerful items. One of these is the much reviled Deck of Many Things, around which the adventure is based. If you prefer a lower magic setting, consider changing some of the rewards within the adventure. In general,

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this conversion includes suggestions for what treasure to give out, including instances of rolling on the treasure tables found in the 5th edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. Feel free to instead choose items specifically for your party, using the information in this document as a guideline. Like any written adventure, this adventure is not perfect. This conversion seeks to emulate the feeling and story of Gardmore Abbey in the context of 5th edition’s rules. Where applicable, this conversion will give suggestions regarding ways you can modify the adventure to suit your group. Feel free to keep what parts you like and get rid of the rest.

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Book 1: Gardmore Abbey

Starting the Adventure: Follow the setup for the adventure as described in the Using the Adventure section of Book 1. Note that if you are running this adventure as part of an ongoing campaign, you can have the PCs find one of the cards of the Deck of Many Things before the start of this adventure. Make sure to fill out the checklist determining where each of the cards is located.

Gardmore Village and Keep: For descriptions of the area and its features, use those presented in the original books. The orcs continually reinforce the main gates (area 1) if the guards there are defeated. Each time, add two additional orcs to the encounter. The ogre in area 1 can only be replaced twice, after which there are 3 additional orcs instead of the ogre. The creatures of area 7 are replaced only once, after that there are no more dire wolves or Eyes of Gruumsh. Thereafter there are only mundane orcs to defend the lower hall. For both areas 1 and 7, repeated attacks by the PCs may call the orcs to take a more proactive approach. Consider having the orcs set up an ambush for the PCs, or have them set up crude traps. After encounter 8, the death of the chieftain sends the orcs into chaos, and the keep is not repopulated as the ensuing power struggle leaves no orcs in a position to own the keep. If the adventurers successfully defend the watchtower (encounter 17), the surviving orcs flee the abbey, never to return. If they fail, the orcs retain control of the important tactical position of the Abbey and are soon reinforced by kindred tribes. It will be much more difficult to drive them off if this should happen. The Feygrove: Use the description of this area as presented in the original books. None of the creatures in the Feygrove are replaced in the time frame of this adventure, as both the dangerous creatures and the Eladrin are isolated and few in number.

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Dragon’s Roost: Use the description of this area as presented in the original books.. It should be noted that the staircase in Area 19: The Barracks connects to Area 32: Sun Hall of Pelor of the Vaults, and that the staircase in Area 20: The Hall of Glory connects to Area A of the Vaults (Not Area B, that is a typo in the original). The creatures who have taken up residence in the ruins of Dragon’s Roost are not allies, and do not present any sort of organized defence. If they are slain and no significant presence is brought into the Abbey, more scavengers are likely to move in to take their place, but that is likely to take a longer amount of time than the PCs will be in Gardmore. The Catacombs: Use the descriptions in the original books for this area. If you are using a pantheon other than the “Dawn War” pantheon, make sure to read through this section and make any changes needed to fit within your campaign’s setting. The mosaics in the Memorial Chamber (Area 25) are an especially good tool for telling the story of Gardmore in your setting. If you change the nature of the Serpent Crusade, you may need to change the story and appearance of the vampire raised from Zarel’s body (This is relevant for area 27, and the Forbidden Tomb in secret area B). Undead Reinforcements: The undead creatures in the crypts are the result of the chaos and corruption of the Abbey by the Deck, along with Vadin’s more recent meddling. After Vadin’s death and the elimination of these threats, trouble quickly fades away in the catacombs. Until that time, he takes advantage of any retreat by the adventurers to reinforce his defences. Vadin uses his spell slots to cast animate dead on more skeletons, creating more skeleton knights. He orders these knights to defend the Altar of Glory (area 23). How many of these creatures he can create depends on how long he has, following the restrictions of the animate dead spell. Note that some of the more powerful creatures he has raised are the result of experimentation with the Voidharrow, and he cannot reliably recreate these creatures. The flameskull, of course, reanimates normally.

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The Vaults: The original theme of these vaults is that there was once a great minotaur temple from an ancient minotaur civilization upon which Gardmore Abbey was built. The 5th edition monster manual returns to a description of minotaurs as solitary labyrinth dwellers rather than an intelligent race that built cities and empires. This document assumes the 4th edition flavour of the minotaur temple, but you could just as easily change the theme of the temple (and therefore the various mosaics and statues) to another race or civilization. As the minotaurs in the temple are there to reclaim it in the name of Baphomet, you may want to also change the creatures inhabiting the vaults. To keep the general story of the vaults, the vaults should be the remnants of a building much older than the rest of the abbey. In addition, use the Secret Area B (the shrine to Baphomet) to house whatever evil influence may have corrupted the temple and its ancient inhabitants and is now drawing them back. If you use a different pantheon, you will have to make the appropriate changes to the many murals and statues in these halls. Note also that the gnolls and minotaurs can speak limited Common which is enough to let them communicate that they don’t want to fight and send for their leaders who are more fluent. There are three possible ways to enter the Vaults. The first is a staircase from the Hall of Glory (area 20) which leads to Area A of the vaults. The second is a staircase from the Barracks (area 19) which leads to area 32 in the vaults. This staircase, however, is blocked at the top by rubble which requires some effort to clear. Finally, the tunnel leading out of the dragon’s lair in area 33 leads to a cave mouth on the western slope of the abbey’s hill. This entrance is visible from the outside, but is several hundred feet up and so requires either flight or a near­impossible climb to access. Without any sort of help, climbing the sheer face of the cliff is a DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check. If the adventurers defeat any creatures of the two rival factions (minotaurs and gnolls) and then leave and return after a significant time (i.e. a long rest or equivalent amount of time) then the other faction takes advantage and kills the remaining members of the now­weak side. The victors then spread themselves over the Vaults, but keep doors open and react quickly to the sound of combat in any area.

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The Deck of Many Things: When initiative is rolled at the start of combat, draw one card randomly from among those the PCs have collected as well as any present in the room. A symbol representing that card appears on the ground 5 feet away (in a random direction) from the card’s physical location (for the PCs, 5 feet away from the character in possession of the card). The symbol has a diameter of 5 feet. For Villain encounters (encounters where enemies are in the possession of the cards) ignore this initial random activation. The PCs must instead force the power of their cards to manifest. As a bonus action, a creature holding one or more cards can force a specific card it holds to manifest by succeeding on a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check. When this occurs, the previous symbol disappears and the new one appears on the ground 5 feet away (in a random direction) from the creature who holds the card. When the active card is changed in this way, all spells and effects created by the previous card end. The only exception to this is the spectral knight summoned by the power of the knight card, who remains until killed, even after another card has been activated. The power of the cards manifests through the symbols, creating a passive effect as long as a symbol is present. These passive effects are listed in the card descriptions below. In addition, any creature standing on a card’s symbol can use the card’s one­time active power. Once used, these powers are expended until recharged. The power of the deck is unreliable. Each day at midnight, draw cards randomly from among those expended. Cards drawn in this way have their active powers refreshed.The number of cards drawn depends on the total number of cards the PCs have in their possession:

1­5 cards: refresh 1d4 cards 6­10 cards: refresh 2d4 cards 11­15 cards: refresh 3d4 cards 16­23 cards: refresh 4d4 cards

When the PCs initially come to possess a card of the deck, whether it's power is expended or not depends on where it was found. Those cards found in the possession of a Villain (see below) are expended when the PCs get them. Those cards found unclaimed within the abbey are considered unexpended. Each Villain has a set number of cards in their possession. Which cards each Villain has is determined randomly as explained in the original books. If you prefer, you can decide the location of each card instead of choosing randomly. Note that the powers of the cards are not equal; be aware of this when determining their placement.

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At the beginning of combat, and at specific health intervals (determined by the number of cards in the Villain’s possession) the power of one of the cards in invoked. This occurs at the end of the turn where that health threshold is first reached. These values are listed in the stat blocks for these monsters, assuming average health. If you roll for health, you can determine the appropriate thresholds by dividing the total health by the number of cards in the villain’s possession. As this activation is due to the power of the deck, it requires no action (that is, it happens even if the creature is incapacitated or otherwise cannot take actions). When a Villain uses a card, it immediately uses the active power of the card. The Villain then gains a specific Villain passive as listed in the card’s description. When the Villain hits a new threshold and uses a new card, all spells and effects created by the previous card end, including the previous Villain passive. Intelligent creatures can tell that there is something unusual about these symbols, and all creatures can sense the raw power of the Deck. Once on a symbol, the Deck gives any creature the innate ability and understanding to use its power, regardless of their normal magical abilities. More intelligent creatures are more likely to try to use the power of the Deck against the PCs. When running combat encounters, remember to consider how NPCs react to the Deck’s magic. Having the powers of the cards manifest through symbols on the ground provides a measure of risk and helps to show that the Deck is fickle and can be used by anyone, making it an unreliable ally. These rules assume that you are using a tactical map or grid. Without a grid, it may be difficult to keep track of the location of the symbols during combat. If you do not use a grid, consider eliminating the rules for the symbols. Instead, allow the active ability of each card to be usable by the PC holding that card, and ignore the card’s passive abilities. Be aware that this makes the cards more powerful, as enemies cannot benefit from the Deck’s active or passive powers. The power of the Deck is too powerful to permanently be dispelled by magic regularly accessible to PCs. However, a character can use dispel magic to temporarily suppress the effects of the deck. A single use of the spell effectively cancels the effect of a single card. For a card which has manifested normally, the manifestation ends as do any ongoing effects from either the active or passive effects of the cards. For villains, it also removes the special villain passive. In this case, the villain will temporarily have no card effects until it reaches an appropriate health interval.

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Card Effects: Balance Active: As an action, you attempt to alter the balance of battle. One creature that you can see within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 6d6 necrotic damage. If, after dealing damage, the target’s current hit point total is greater than yours, you regain hitpoints equal to the damage dealt by this power. Passive: When damage is dealt by a creature on the Balance symbol, use the average value of each die used for the damage roll (rounding up) rather than rolling for damage. Villain: A villain with the Balance card has regeneration 5. Comet Active: As an action, you compel a creature to engage in single combat. Treat the power of the Comet card as if you had cast the Compelled Duel spell (spell save DC 14). Passive: A creature who successfully hits with an attack while on the Comet symbol gains 5 temporary hit points. The Comet symbol then moves to a random spot 25 feet from its current position. Villain: When the card is drawn, chose one creature as the villain’s favored enemy. Once per turn, when the villain damages its favored enemy with an attack or spell, the villain gains 5 temporary hit points. Donjon Active: As an action, you attempt to temporarily banish a foe to an extradimensional prison. One creature within 25 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom save or vanish. At the end of each of the target’s turns it may repeat this saving throw. On a successful save, the creature reappears in the space it left or the nearest empty space. Passive: Terrain within 5 feet of the Donjon symbol is difficult terrain. Villain: Enemies within 5 feet of a villain with the Donjon card take a ­2 penalty to attack rolls. Euryale Active: As an action, you attempt to temporarily petrify an enemy. One creature within 25 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution save or be subjected to the petrified condition. At the end of each of the target’s turns it may repeat this saving throw. On a successful save, the creature is no longer petrified. Passive: Creatures within 15 feet of the Euryale symbol take a ­3 penalty to saving throws. Villain: Creatures within 15 feet of a villain with the Euryale card take a ­3 penalty to saving throws.

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Fates Active: As a bonus action, you gain a brief vision of future events. Once during the next minute you may reroll a single d20 roll and may choose either result. You may make this reroll after knowing the result of the initial roll. Passive: A creature on the Fates symbol can use its reaction to force an attack against them to be rerolled, with a ­2 penalty to the second roll. The Fates symbol then moves to a random spot within 5 feet of the attacker. Villain: A villain with the Fates card gets a +2 bonus to AC. Flames Active: As an action, you harness the power of the Flames card to burn your enemies. Treat the power of the Flames card as the Burning Hands spell (1st level, spell save DC 14). In addition, every creature that fails the saving throw against the spell is set on fire. A creature on fire takes 2d6 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature may spend an action to extinguish itself or another creature within 5 feet, ending this effect. Passive: A creature on the Flames symbol has resistance to fire damage. If a creature is standing on the Flames symbol at the start of its turn, the Flames symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Flames card has resistance to fire damage. Fool Active: As an action, you cause a foe to laugh uncontrollably. Treat the power of the Fool card as the Tasha’s Hideous Laughter spell (spell save DC 14). Passive: A creature on the Fool symbol can use its reaction when hit by a melee attack. The attacker must make a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and be knocked prone. The Fool symbol then moves to a random spot within 5 feet of the attacker. Villain: When a villain with the Fool card damages an enemy with an attack or spell, the target is knocked prone. Gem Active: As an action, you harness the power of the Gem card to gain an edge in battle. Treat the power of the Gem card as the Haste spell. Passive: A creature on the Gem symbol may take two reactions instead of one each round. If a creature is standing on the Gem symbol at the start of its turn, the Gem symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Gem card can take 1 more legendary action per round. A villain with the Gem card that does not normally have legendary actions can instead can take two reactions instead of one each round.

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Idiot Active: As an action, you drain the intelligence of a nearby creature. One creature within 15 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw or be incapacitated. A creature incapacitated by this power may roll a save against this effect at the end of each of its turns. Passive: A 20 foot radius sphere centered on the Idiot symbol is void of all sound, as if by the Silence spell. Villain: When a villain with the Idiot card deals damage to a creature that is concentrating on a spell, that creature has disadvantage on the saving throw it makes to maintain its concentration. Jester Active: As a bonus action, you gain the ability to uncannily duck and weave through combat. For one minute, the creature who used this power does not provoke opportunity attacks for moving out of a creature’s reach. Passive: A creature on the Jester symbol can use a reaction when a melee attack hits them to tumble away from the attack. The damage dealt by the attack is halved and the creature using this power may move up to 10 feet. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. When the power of the Jester symbol is used in this way, the Jester symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet away from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Jester card may climb walls and ceilings, as with the Spider Climb spell. This ability does not require concentration. Key Active: As a bonus action, you use the power of the Key card to create a temporary passage between two locations. Treat this power as the Dimension Door spell. Passive: A creature on the Key symbol can spend a bonus action to teleport up to 25 feet. The Key symbol then teleports to a random space 25 feet away from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Key card can use a bonus action to teleport 25 up to feet. Knight Active: As an action, you summon a spectral knight (use monster Knight statistics). The knight is summoned to a random empty space within 5 feet of the Knight symbol. The knight obeys the orders of the creature who summoned it, and fights until killed. While the knight lives, the power of this card cannot be recharged. Passive: A creature on the Knight symbol may make opportunity attacks against creatures within 5 feet even if the provoking creature uses the disengage action. After a creature standing on the Knight symbol makes an opportunity attack, the Knight symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet away from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Knight card can use their reaction to make an opportunity attack against any creature that enters its reach.

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Moon Active: As a bonus action, you use the power of the Moon card to regain lost energy. You regain the use of any expended powers or features that would normally recharge after a short rest. Passive: A creature on the Moon symbol has a +2 bonus to saving throws. When a creature standing on the Moon symbol succeeds on a saving throw, the Moon symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet away from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Moon card gains a +1 bonus to the rolls of recharge powers. Rogue Active: As an action, you shift the loyalty of one creature within 50 feet of you. The target must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you. While the creature is charmed, it uses its turn to move towards a creature of your choice and uses its action to make a melee attack against that creature. A creature charmed this way can make a saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end this effect. Passive: A creature on the Rogue symbol has advantage on attacks against any creature that has none of its allies adjacent to it. When a creature successfully hits with an attack while standing on the Rogue symbol, the Rogue symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet away from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Rogue card has advantage on attacks against any creature that has none of its allies adjacent to it. Ruin Active: As an action, you drain from your foes the will to fight. Treat this power as the Bane spell (level 1, spell save DC 14). Passive: Creatures within 15 feet of the Ruin symbol deal only half damage with weapon attacks. Villain: Ground within 15 feet of a villain with the Ruin card is difficult terrain. Skull Active: As an action, you draw the life force from an enemy. One creature within 25 feet of you must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. The target may make a saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end this effect. Keep track of the number of failed saving throws. On the third failed save (including the initial save to resist the effect) the target dies. Passive: Any creature who ends its turn on or within 5 feet of the Skull symbol takes 5 necrotic damage. Villain: Enemies who end their turn within 10 feet of a villain with the Skull card take 5 necrotic damage.

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Star Active: As an action, you use the power of the Star card to improve the abilities of yourself and your allies. Treat this power as the Enhance Ability spell, except the spell affects you and each ally you can see. Each creature targeted this way can choose a different option for the spell. No concentration is required to sustain the spell for its duration. Passive: A creature standing on the Star symbol has a +2 bonus to AC. If a creature starts its turn on the Star symbol, the symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet from its current position. Villain: A villain with the Star card has a +1 bonus to all attack rolls. Sun Active: As an action, you conjure a globe of shining light. This power functions as the Daylight spell. In addition, the light shed by this power counts as direct sunlight. Passive: A creature on the Sun symbol has resistance to cold damage. If a creature is standing on the Sun symbol at the start of its turn, the Sun symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet from its current position. Villain: Light flairs from a villain with the Sun card, obscuring the villain’s form. Ranged attacks against the villain take a ­2 penalty. Talons Active: As an action, you conjure spectral talons to hold a foe. One creature within 25 feet of you must make a DC 14 Strength saving throw or become restrained. A creature restrained in this way can spend an action to attempt to escape the talons, rolling another Strength saving throw to end the effect. Passive: A creature on the Talons symbol has resistance against bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non­magical weapons. If a creature is standing on the Talons symbol at the start of its turn, the Talons symbol teleports to a random space 25 feet from its current position. Villain: Ground within 15 feet of the villain is difficult terrain for its enemies. Throne Active: As an action, you command your allies to attack. Each friendly creature that can see or hear you may immediately use its reaction to make one weapon attack. Passive: When an attack is made against a creature standing on the Throne card, the attacker must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the attacker must choose a different target or forgo the attack. When a creature fails to save against this effect, the Throne symbol immediately teleports to a random space 25 feet from its current position. Villain: Whenever a hostile creature moves to within 5 feet of a villain with the Throne card, it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened by the villain until the end of the villain’s next turn.

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Vizier Active: As a bonus action, you gain insight into the weaknesses of one creature within 25 feet of you. Your next attack against this creature has advantage, and deals an extra 2d6 damage on a successful hit. Passive: As a bonus action, you study a hostile creature. You learn one of the following pieces of information about a creature within 25 feet of you. The Vizier symbol then teleports to a space within 5 feet of that creature:

Choose a damage type. You learn if the creature has vulnerability, resistance or immunity to that damage type.

Choose an ability. You learn if the creature’s score in the chosen ability is higher, equal to or lower than your own.

Villain: The first time a villain with the Vizier card takes fire, acid, cold, lightning, radiant or necrotic damage, the villain gains resistance to that damage type for the next minute. Once the villain gains resistance to a damage type in this way, it cannot use this power again until the end of a short or long rest. Void Active: As an action, you banish the mind of one of your enemies into the void. One creature within 25 feet must make a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or be incapacitated. The target may make a saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end this effect. Passive: Attacks against creatures within 5 feet of the Void symbol have advantage. Villain: Any creature that ends its turn within 15 feet of a villain with the Void card is incapacitated until the start of its next turn. Once the PCs collect all the cards, they are in possession of the full Deck of Many Things. At this point, it becomes impossible to use the individual powers of the cards. If the PCs do not collect the whole deck and show no intention of doing so, the cards will eventually abandon them as the Deck’s goal is to reassemble itself. It should be made clear to the PCs that some change has happened when they assemble the full deck (perhaps all the cards fly out and shuffle themselves together). At that point, the Deck acts as the Deck of Many Things magic item as described on pages 162­164 of the DMG. The Deck is pleased that the PCs have brought it back together, so it is possible that they might gain some benefit when drawing cards from it. Perhaps they can nullify the effects of one or more ‘negative’ card(s) from their total draws; this is up to you. Alternatively, the PCs may decide from what they have seen that the Deck is an agent of chaos that ought to be locked up or destroyed. The destruction of the Deck is extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, and could lead the PCs on a quest that spans much of their adventuring career. It is also likely that drawing from the deck will create hooks for other quests and adventures. For example, if a PC draws the void card, it may be up to the rest of the party to find and recover the character’s lost soul.

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Book 2: Enemies and Allies

This book contains information on the various enemies the PCs will encounter in Gardmore, and explains their motivations. Most of them can be bargained with in some way, although in the long term the PCs may find these deals untenable. Use this information if the PCs attempt to talk to any of these major characters. Remember that the three major patrons will act differently if they are the secret collector. There is also information on the lesser characters that the PCs may interact with, specifically in the town of Winterhaven. This book also contains a number of quests which the PCs might choose to undertake within the ruins. Some of these quests can be used as a guideline for hooks into or out of the adventure if you are running this as part of a larger campaign. It is recommended that you use some but not all of these quests. Fifth edition does not have the same distinction of major and minor quests as fourth did, and so rewards for quest completion are different. In general, those quests which were labelled as minor should result in some small reward. Often these rewards will be the trust of an NPC, whom the PCs can later call on for a favor. For major quests, award XP equal to what would be rewarded for a Medium encounter of the PCs level. These major quests are usually significant moments; times when it is most appropriate to allow your PCs to level up. You can use these quests to give just the right amount of XP to level up, depending on how the PCs went about their adventures in the abbey. Alternatively, if you prefer using milestones for leveling rather than tracking XP, these quests give a great guide as to when awarding levels is appropriate. Keep in mind that the PCs should probably level up two times (possibly three if you want to level them up one last time when they finish) during the course of this adventure.

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The Secret Collector: One of the three major patrons ­ Lord Ernest Padraig, Sir Oakley, and Berrian Velfarren ­ is secretly trying to acquire the full Deck of Many Things. Two possible motivations are provided for each patron in the original adventure, one of which is good and the other evil. The Secret Collector and his motivation can be determined randomly as explained in the original books, or you can decide yourself which one you would like to run or even decide a new motivation that fits better with your wider campaign. The original module suggests that the final confrontation with the secret collector be the last significant encounter run as part of this module, occurring only once the PCs have acquired all the cards not owned by the secret collector. Although this generally works well, you should feel free to reveal the collector when you feel it works well within the larger story. Lord Padraig as the Secret Collector: Lord Padraig + 4 Padraig’s Guards. XP Award: 4600. Adjusted XP: 9200 The final confrontation with Lord Padraig most likely occurs after the adventurers have finished dealing with the orc threat, including defending the watchtower from the orc attack. They meet with Lord Padraig in the audience hall of his manor in Winterhaven, as before. However,he and his guards seem tense­ a fact which the PCs can determine with an active DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check. If the adventurers failed to protect the watchtower, Padraig’s attitude is worse as he has had to ransom them back from the orcs and he has lost a key tactical position. He is also more keen to get his hands on the Deck as a consequence of these failed efforts. After hearing about their successes within the Abbey, Padraig asks if they have found any cards while there. If they lie, he angrily commands the guards to arrest the adventurers and seize their cards. Padraig is more interested in having the adventurers as allies than as enemies, and can reward them with minor titles and even small grants of lands. He honestly believes that the area he rules over will benefit from his use of the Deck, which he hopes to use either to solidify his political power over the area or as a weapon with which to fight the orcs. If the adventurers will hand over the cards, there is no bloodshed. If they refuse or insist on a price that is too high for Padraig to pay, he orders his guards to attack. Lord Padraig and his guards fight like intelligent well­trained troops, and do not fight to kill. If the adventurers kill Padraig, remaining guards flee to spread the word. Should none escape, it is still likely that the death will be discovered and linked to them, depending on what measures they take to conceal what happened. They are branded as criminals and are no longer welcome in Winterhaven, and his death could have wider implications in your game world. His death leaves his underage daughter as his only heir, and the village and wider area are destabilized, especially if the adventurers failed to defeat the orcs in Gardmore. If the adventurers defeat Padraig without

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killing him, his aspirations are crushed and his sanity mostly restored. He allows them to take his cards, and does not call for their arrest or attempt to drive them from the village. However, he becomes noticeably more withdrawn from his people. Berrian Velfarren as the Secret Collector: Berrian Velfarren + 5 Eladrin Fey Knights. XP Award: 5300. Adjusted XP: 10600 The final confrontation with Berrian most likely occurs after the adventurers have completed his quests including discovering the truth of the knight’s artifact, as described in the section detailing the quests from Berrian in the original module. Insightful PCs might notice that Berrian and his knights seem more reserved than usual. Berrian listens to what the PCs have to say about the truth of the Deck and brings forth his cards, asking the adventurers to give them theirs. The two suggested possible motivations for Berrian are outlined in the original books. One is that Berrian believes that humans and their tendency to abuse power are a danger to him and his kind, and he intends to use the power of the Deck to break the connection between the Feywild and the world that is established in this place. In the other, Berrian begs the adventurers for the cards in order to save his father from the corruption of the watchtower. If the adventurers have already rescued and healed his father, Berrian still asks for the power of the Deck in order to protect his family. In either case, if the PCs refuse to hand over the cards, then Velfarren and his knights attack. The original module and this conversion assume that Analastra and Zandrian are not present or at least do not involve themselves. If you think they should be present, you must decide how they will react and behave. Analastra, especially, may behave differently based on her past experiences with the group. Berrian’s knights have sworn a special oath to their charge; an oath powerful enough that it manifests physically on Berrian as shining suit of eladrin armor. When not in danger, Berrian appears dressed in ceremonial­looking studded leather, which offers more in the way of style than protection. However, when threatened, Berrian’s knights instinctively call upon their oath, calling the armor into existence. In game terms, this effect gives Berrian a +2 bonus to AC for each knight within 30 feet of him (included in Berrian’s stat block). So long as all five knights remain within 30 feet of Berrian, the armor appears solid and whole. However, for each knight killed or moved too far away from Berrian, the armor fades, becoming spectral and translucent. As a DM make sure to hint at the mechanical effect of the presence of Berrian’s bodyguards by playing up the appearance of his armor. Berrian and his knights fight well as a team. The knights at first stay close to Berrian to take advantage of his auras but then use their fey step ability to go after vulnerable back­line party members, making sure to stay close enough to Berrian to continue to provide him the protection of their oath.They do not fight to kill, but instead knock PCs unconscious and move on. If the PCs defeat Berrian without killing him, his dreams are crushed but his mind seems restored. He plans to return home to the Feywild and restore any damage done there by the Deck. This is a

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possible continuation of the adventure, if the PCs are interested. If the PCs kill Berrian, it does not affect the adventure much in terms of this module, but it could have wider ramifications in your world. In either case, the PCs can claim Berrian’s cards. Sir Oakley as the Secret Collector: Possible Combat encounter: Sir Oakley. XP Award: 8400 The final confrontation with Oakley occurs in the temple in the Dragon’s Roost after Sir Oakley has finished purifying the temple. If Oakley died in this part instead, the PCs find on his body the money owed them(2000g) and also the cards in his possession. After finishing the rite, he spends several minutes in prayer at the altar, and then confronts the party. He demands their cards, either because he feels a draw from the Deck is his reward for faithful service, or because he believes that the Deck is a force of evil and chaos and he wishes to destroy it. He does not wish to fight but is absolutely convinced of what he tells the party. If the PCs hand over the cards willingly, the encounter ends without combat and Oakley proceeds to pay them as he promised. If they refuse, Oakley sees no alternative but to take the cards by force. Infused with the divine power of Bahamut in this holy place, he is far more powerful than usual (see his Villain stat block). Oakley fights methodically. He targets backline PCs, especially if one of them has the majority of the cards of the Deck, using his shield bashes to displace frontline characters and then advancing relentlessly on the weaker members using shove and move. He tries to keep his various smite effects active as much as possible, using the fears and blinds to render frontline PCs useless and using searing and branding smites on weaker members. He does not fight to kill, but tries to knock characters unconscious one at a time before moving on to less injured party members. If Oakley defeats the characters, he takes the cards and then wakes them up with Lay on Hands. He apologizes that it had to come to violence and thanks them for their prior service, paying them what he promised them. If the adventurer’s defeat Oakley without killing him, he accepts his defeat as a sign of Bahamut’s disfavor and is more humble, apologizing for his mistake. He pays the adventurers what he owes them and gives them the cards he has for safekeeping. In any case, if Oakley survives he goes to work restoring the temple and it’s ancient order of knights. If the adventurers kill Oakley, they can claim his cards and gold. Without his presence, however, the restoration of the Abbey is sure to be short lived.

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The Rival Adventurers The rival adventurers are presented here as 5th level PCs. Given the suggested outline for assigning CRs to monsters as presented in the DMG, fighting the five of them is an encounter with difficulty XP equal to 7800XP. However, the difficulty of this encounter depends highly on how you run the rivals and what resources they have left. They should work as a team and as such present a serious (i.e. deadly) threat to the group. Note that because they are built as full PCs, running encounters involving the rival adventurers will be more complex than a typical combat. As such, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the stat block of each rival before the PCs encounter them. Use the descriptions of the rivals and their interactions with the PCs in the original books as a guide for how to play them. The PCs encounter the rivals (or evidence of them) four times throughout their adventure in Gardmore. The specific moments at which these encounters take place are determined randomly by which cards the rivals have. Again, at your discretion you may also choose which encounters are replaced, which cards the rivals have, or both. Note that sometimes the areas where the rivals are encountered imply consequences that aren’t addressed in the original module. For example, it makes no sense for the PCs to encounter the rivals in Encounter 28 after fighting the spiders in the Hall of Glory above them (how did the rivals get into the vaults without defeated creatures in the way?). Make sure you think about the implications of where your PCs will encounter the rivals. How many resources the rivals have changes depending on when the PCs encounter them:

In the first encounter, the PCs find evidence of a recent battle. In the second encounter, the PCs find the rivals in the middle of combat, with both the

rivals and their foe having already suffered injuries and/or losses. For this encounter, the rivals should have already expended a portion of their resources. Each rival is at ⅔ of their maximum hit points. Tam has used her action surge and two of her superiority dice. Grosh has used one of his two rages. Both Kurik and Lenna are down to 2 level 1 spell slots, 2 level 2 spell slots and 1 level 3 spell slot.

The third time the PCs encounter the rivals, the rivals have little to none of their resources, and do not want to fight. Each rival is at ½ of their maximum hit points. Tam has used her action surge and 3 of her superiority dice. Grosh has used both his rages and his relentless endurance feature. Kurik and Lenna are down to 1 level 1 and 1 level 2 spell slot each. They will attempt to flee if the PCs attack.

The fourth time, the rivals have all their resources and want to fight the PCs in order to take their cards. In this fight, the rivals use their cards as described in the original book.

When portraying the rivals, use the descriptions of them in the original book. Make sure you understand the motivations of the rivals and how they should behave in conversation and combat. The rivals are driven mostly by greed and a desire for either power or wealth. However,

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the majority of them would rather have their lives than the Deck. Tam is cautious by nature, and might try to make a deal with the PCs in order to save her group if she thinks things are going poorly. Grosh values the friendship of his companions and being able to be in a group which accepts him. He will fight to the death to protect himself and them. Arvan’s instinct of self­preservation is strong, but so his is desire for power. The last two members of the group are the most polarized members of the group, and as such might present an avenue for the PCs to try to fracture the rivals. Kurik is the only truly evil member of the group, driven by the greed typical to followers of Tiamat. His cruelty spurs on his companions and brings out the worst in them. In contrast, Lenna tends towards good, despite being driven by a desire for knowledge and greater magical power. The amoral attitudes and behaviours of her companions are starting to make her wonder about her membership in the group, and if there is more to life than this. As such, she might not participate in combat with the PCs as aggressively as she could, especially if the PCs have been polite, kind, or helpful in their previous interactions with the group. She might not use her deadliest spells, or might surrender quickly. Consider letting the PCs use their insight to determine her unrest with her companions during their interactions in Gardmore, or in the final confrontation, They might try to convince her either in private somehow or overtly in combat to side with them. On the flipside, Kurik is contemptuous of what he sees as Lenna’s weakness, and this is probably not difficult to notice given the right sort of interaction.

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Bakrosh and the Orcs: Bakrosh and his tribe of orcs think themselves the rulers of Gardmore, despite the fact that they actually control only a small portion of the Abbey. They have been using Gardmore as a base to spread their influence over the northern lands, which is what prompted Lord Padraig to look for help in the first place. The orcs are aggressive and warlike, but they might be willing to treat with adventurers if they think they can get something out of them, especially if those adventurers come from a position of strength. The original notes on roleplaying Bakrosh and on how the PCs can negotiate with him don’t really need much alteration. Bakrosh doesn’t want to lose face in front of his tribe, so he responds to outright threats very negatively, but he is clever enough to realise that fighting the PCs might be more trouble than it’s worth. He possesses two of the cards from the Deck, but apart from the fact that he can tell they have some sort of power he doesn’t really value them that much, seeing such things as mere trinkets which cannot match the brute strength of an orc. He is therefore happy to trade them away in return for the PCs clearing out threats in the town, as listed in the original books. If the PCs eventually convince Bakrosh to aid them in clearing out the other threats in the Abbey as explained in the original content, send what aid you think is reasonable. Most likely, Bakrosh sends a single orc. He instructs this orc to look after himself and return to deliver news instead of trying particularly hard to help the PCs.

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Vadin Cartwright: Vadin Cartwright is a priest of Tharizdun, the Chained God. Previously the leader of the cult of the Elder Elemental Eye, he has fled to hide in the ruins of Gardmore Abbey. When he first arrived, he delved into the vaults and took a number of treasures before he was driven off by the arrival of Mekkalath. Among these was a tiny vial of red liquid, glittering like crystal, streaked with gold and flecked with silver. This liquid, called the Voidharrow, can move of its own accord and contains a fragment of the will of Tharizdun. Vadin is infected by the Voidharrow, and has been totally driven mad by its influence and his devotion to the mad god Tharizdun. The sores which cover the upper part of his body, along with his hunched posture, cause him to move strangely and awkwardly. He does not seek power, but rather is intent on continuing his experiments with the Voidharrow, believing it will be the key to releasing Tharizdun. He has also discovered some of the cards of the Deck. Although they are not his main focus, he believes they are omens and is trying to determine their significance. In his madness, he likely thinks they are signs of Tharizdun’s return. Depending on whether or not you are running this adventure in its original setting, you may need to alter the details of Vadin. He could serve a different god, or perhaps his madness originates solely from the substance he found. Perhaps he seeks a different sort of secret in this crypt, or merely delights in raising the bodies of the once­proud knights as undead servants. Moonbane: Vadin has found a second great treasure in the crypts of Gardmore: Moonbane, the ancestral sword of the Markelhays, the human family which rules Fallcrest and who have ties to the Feywild. This is a powerful artifact, due both to its magical enchantment and it’s long history. Here are two options for including Moonbane in the adventure:

1. Moonbane acts as a Sun Blade (DMG pg. 205), with flavour of the weapon changed such that its radiance is similar to moonlight instead of sunlight.

2. Moonblade provides the opportunity to give the characters a storied weapon that grows in power over time. Use the Moonblade presented in the DMG (pg. 217) as a guideline, but instead of giving the weapon the power of all the runes when the weapon is first attuned, it begins only as a +1 or +2 longsword. The wielder must unlock further powers of the blade over time. Use the unlocking of these runes as alternate rewards in this adventure and even in adventures beyond. A new rune could alight each time the wielder’s proficiency bonus increases (the blade responds to the growing inherent power and mastery of the wielder). Alternatively, the blade could reward the user for accomplishing goals it considers important. In the original setting, the blade might reward someone who tried to re­unite the scattered humans or

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re­establish the fallen nation of Nerath. If you have tied this adventure into your own world, the blade could belong to any number of fallen heroes or be the similarly lost blade of some ancient house.

Mekkalath the Red Dragon: Mekkalath is a young dragon, only recently establishing his lair in the vaults of the old abbey. He values treasure and power, and little else. He is prepared to deal with the PCs, but only if they show him the proper deference and respect. Like most red dragons, he is supremely arrogant, but he responds well to flattery and gifts (i.e. grovelling and tribute). He is likely to be angry if the adventurers have slain all the inhabitants of the vaults (as they bring him tribute), but he believes (rightly) that the minotaurs and gnolls are holding out on him, so he reacts positively if the adventurers give him riches stolen from those groups. If the adventurers have killed his kobolds, Mekkalath is likely to demand restitution of some kind. If the adventurers show him the proper deference and give him tribute, Mekkalath might tell him what he knows. However, in the long run a deal with the dragon is impractical if they wish to secure the Gardbury Downs, and the dragon will soon become a bigger threat than the orcs. It should also be pointed out that Oakley is unlikely to be a supporter of such a deal, as he is a follower of Bahamut. In addition, the dragon has in his hoard the Chalice of the Dragon ­one of the sacred items needed to purify the temple­ and several cards from the Deck. He considers these items to be his property, and refuses to give them up. If he learns that there are more cards, he demands the adventurers bring any such cards to him. Mekkalath might make a temporary deal with the adventurers if he thinks he can use them to get what he wants. He knows that Vadin stole some treasures which he considers to be rightfully his, and he is willing to tell the PCs what little he knows (That Vadin stole two things, a sword and a vial of liquid, and took them to the crypts under the temple). He graciously tells them they can keep what trinkets they find in the crypts, provided they return to him these two items. If the adventurers managed to sneak in and steal something from his trove while Mekkalath was away, the theft of this property throws Mekkalath into a rage. This makes him more active in his attacks on the Downs, and also makes any deal with him impossible if he realizes the PCs are the ones responsible. The Beholder: The original module’s notes on RPing the beholder should work fine for this conversion. If the PCs make a deal with the beholder (either because it defeats them or because they don’t want to fight it) then this should come back to haunt them later, and they will almost certainly have to deal with it eventually.

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Kashatri, Minotaurs, and Gnolls: Use the original notes on the origins of these groups. Note that the fourth and fifth edition understanding of minotaurs is very different. If you prefer to keep minotaurs as solitary labyrinth dwellers, you may want to consider using a different monster type completely to replace the minotaurs. Both the minotaurs and gnolls are willing to deal with the adventurers, especially if the adventurers approach from a position of strength or have evidence that they have already defeated some of either faction's’ enemies. The guidelines in the original module outline what deals are acceptable to either faction. In either case, the minotaurs and gnolls are evil and will probably betray the PCs when convenient. Kashatri has no inclination to deal with the PCs at all, although he may pretend to in order to lull them into a false sense of security.

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Books 3/4: Encounters

The Village and Keep Encounter 1: Main Gate. 1 Ogre + 6 Orcs. XP Award: 1050 XP. Adjusted XP: 2575 Tactics: The orcs have a large supply of javelins inside the gatehouse which they can throw, and the two on top of the battlements continue to do so until there are no targets outside which they can hit. The orcs and ogre attack from within the gatehouse with their javelins until they can trap one or more party members inside the front gate, at which point they lower the portcullis. Portcullises: Each side of the gate has a wooden portcullis (AC 15, 5d10 HP) Using the appropriate winch, a creature can lower the portcullis as a bonus action, or raise it as an action. Intimidating the Guards: If the PCs can kill the Ogre quickly (within the first 3 rounds of combat) then the orcs are impressed by this show of prowess. A character with 15 passive Insight can discern this, or you could hint at it and let them follow up with an an active Wisdom (Insight) check. A PC can then use a bonus action on their turn to make a DC 16 Charisma (Intimidation) check to convince the orcs to stand down. Treasure: The crates and barrels in the southern half contain a tusk carved as an idol of Melora (250g art object) and also contain enough scraps of clothing and armour to make convincing disguises as bandits or mercenaries for passage through the orc­controlled village. Encounter 2: Gardmore Village. In this encounter, the PCs are navigating the orc­controlled streets of the ruined Gardmore village. The village is full of orcs and other humanoids allied with them ­ at least 150, although the PCs cannot get a good count without scouting through the village or scouting from the higher vantage points of the Dragon’s Roost. It should be made clear to them that fighting through this many orcs would be deadly, and it would be easier to get through the village by other means. They can go about doing this in a few different ways, mostly likely either by stealth or disguise. The orcs are not particularly clever or observant, so as long as the PCs don’t simply rush in it shouldn’t be too hard to bluster or sneak their way through. As noted above, the PCs can use the scraps of clothing and armour in the gatehouse (or their own resources) to disguise themselves as

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bandits or mercenaries allied with the orcs. After that, attempts to deceive or persuade the orc should be Easy or easier. Using Charisma (Intimidation) should be closer to medium as the orcs consider themselves to be the ones in charge, but they respect strength and aggression. The PCs could also simply try to avoid confrontation altogether by using Dexterity (Stealth), made easier by keeping a careful lookout for where there are nearby orcs and by using Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) to make their lives easier by climbing behind buildings, over walls, on top of rooftops, and the like. Consider also letting them use Intelligence (History) or Intelligence (Nature) to see if they know useful things about orc culture or behaviour that may make their progress easier. If the PCs fail to avoid conflict with the orcs, or choose it, then they will have to fight some of the orcs. You can use some Orcs and a couple Orogs to throw together a quick encounter. The battle should not be a particularly challenging one (5 Orcs and 1 Orog is an easy level 5 encounter, adding 1 more Orog makes it medium.) If you like, you could also use bandits or mercenaries to vary things. However, as the battle goes on, more of the orcs and other enemies in the village will hear the sound of nearby battle and realise it’s not just other orcs having fun. Each round after the first, 1d4­1 orcs join the fray. Encounter 3: Double Talk. 1 Ettin. XP: 1000 You can use the social encounter as written. Encounter 4: Ruined Garrison. 1 Barlgura + 3 Specters. XP Award: 2400. Adjusted XP; 4800. Tactics: As soon as the door is opened, the demon and specters attack. Consider having the Barlgura lead with entangle to split the PCs, or invisibility to launch a surprise attack. Glyph of Warding: Vandomar cast a Glyph of Warding spell on these doors many years ago before his transformation, and it still remains. The glyph is triggered by a character opening the doors. It is inscribed with Explosive Runes of cold, which explode out from the point where the two doors meet. The creatures in the Garrison are aware of this power, and therefore stay sufficiently far away from the doors. In addition to the usual dispel magic spell, this glyph can be dispelled using the scroll found at the bottom of Vandomar’s tower (Encounter 5). A character wielding the sword of Hrom (See encounter 9) can also open the door without triggering the trap.

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Brazier of Silver Fire: The reliquary chest holds the Brazier of Silver Fire, one of the relics Oakley needs to purify the temple grounds. Use the following for the power of the Brazier of Silver Fire: If kept in this chest, the first time a creature opens the chest (which takes an action) each day, the brazier erupts in silver fire in a 15ft radius sphere centered on the brazier. Each undead or fiend in the area of effect must make a DC 15 Constitution Saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 4d6 radiant damage and is blinded (half damage and no blind on sucessful save). At the end of each of its turns, a creature blinded in this way can make a DC 15 Con save to end its blinded condition. The power of the brazier recharges each day at dawn. The locks on the chest can be opened by inserting the swords or with a successful DC 17 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check. Failing by 5 or more incurs the wrath of Bahamut, and the character attempting to pick the lock in this way is blasted with radiant power and takes 6d6 radiant damage. Treasure: Also within the chest is a Treasure Hoard for Challenge 0­4. This represents collected wealth and artifacts placed in the reliquary chest by the knights of Gardmore. If you are worried about the amount of magical treasure being awarded, given the Brazier and cards already being handed out, consider omitting this part of the hoard. Encounter 5: Arcanian’s Lab. 1 Flesh Golem + 2 Gargoyles + Warped Magic Trap. XP Award: 2700. Adjusted XP: 5400 Tactics: The flesh golem lies on a fallen obelisk in the centre of the room, covered by a sheet. It bears the head of a once­beautiful woman ­ the paladin Elaida who was Vandomar’s lover. The gargoyles begin outside. Use the triggers for beginning the combat as explained in the original book. The scroll atop the golem can be used to deactivate the Glyph of Warding at the Ruined Garrison. A DC 15 Sleight of Hand check is required to remove the scroll without waking the golem. The creatures can sense the Warped Magic squares and try to avoid walking over them, except for when the golem goes beserk. Warped Magic Trap: 5 squares in the room house powerful reservoirs of warped magic. It takes a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Perception) check to notice that something is strange about those squares, with the Arcana check giving more information as to what is going on. A detect magic spell also reveals the trapped locations. A successful dispel magic spell (DC 12) dispels only 1 square of the warped magic. This can also be accomplished with a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check by a character proficient with Arcana as an action, although failure by more than 5 on this check triggers the single target attack of the trap as written below.

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When a creature enters any of the squares of warped magic, it must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 2d8 damage of a type determined randomly by rolling a d6: 1­acid, 2­cold, 3­fire, 4­force, 5­lightning, 6­thunder. It takes half damage on a successful save. If this is the first time the trap has been triggered, roll initiative for the trap. On its initiative count, one remaining space of warped magic explodes out. Each creature within 5 feet of the space must make a DC 13 Reflex saving throw or take 2d6 damage determined randomly as above, or half damage on a successful save. This area is then difficult terrain until the trap’s next turn. Encounter 6: Arcanian’s Study. Vandomar + 4 Coldspawned Mummies. XP Award: 3600. Adjusted XP: 7200 Use the Roleplaying notes from the original module to roleplay Vandomar. He is not immediately aggressive, but obviously mad and will not let the PCs leave. Door: Vandomar has cast alarm on the door, except the spell alerts the flesh golem in the lower level. The door is also frozen shut, requiring a DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check to force open. Tactics: The mummies try to protect Vandomar and prevent any creatures from reaching him. Vandomar leads with wall of water and then proceeds to use his other spells to both hit the adventurers and turn the wall to frost. Deck of Many Things: One card from the deck is frozen in a block of ice at the far end of the room. Do not forget this when determining manifestations at the beginning of the battle. Treasure: See the notes on the scrolls and books in the Study found in the original books. In particular, the scroll called “The Southern Artifact” and a tome known as the Winterbole Codex are pertinent to the quests and interests of the party. In addition, Vandomar is carrying the following: Wand of Winter (rare, requires attunement) The wand has 7 charges, which are used to fuel the spells within it. With the wand in hand, you can use your action to cast one of the following spells from the wand, even if you are incapable of casting spells: ray of frost (no charges, or 1 charge to cast at 5th level; +5 to hit with ranged spell attack), sleet storm (3 charges, spell save DC 15), or ice storm (4 charges; spell save DC 15). No components are required. The wand regains 1d6+1 expended charges each day at dawn. If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 20, the wand melts away, forever destroyed.

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Encounter 7: The Chieftain’s Retinue. 4 Orcs + 2 Dire Wolves + Orc Eye of Gruumsh. XP Award:1250. Adjusted XP:3225. Tactcs: The orcs are initially hostile, although (at your discretion) they might be persuaded to let the PCs talk to Bakrosh, especially if the PCs make an impressive show of force. If combat begins, two of the orcs mount the wolves for the battle. The Eye stays on the upper level at first, using bless and spiritual weapon. If PCs come up to him, he meets them in battle, but will attempt to retreat to his chieftain if near death. Encounter 8: The Orc Chieftain Bakrosh + Khavra + 4 Orcs. XP Award: 2650. Adjusted XP: 5300 You can use the original description for this room. Refer to page 21 and the original books for information regarding dealing with Bakrosh. Tactics: Khavra and the other orcs wade into their enemies. Bakrosh also heads into melee combat, but tries to be a little more tactical in the interests of self­preservation. He uses Battle Cry early on while most of his orc guards still live. Bakrosh and Khavra are smart enough to avoid being near the hole, and given the opportunity will attempt to shove a creature down the hole. Treasure: A locked chest behind the throne contains the non­magical rewards from a CR 5­10 treasure hoard; this is the collected wealth that Bakrosh and his tribe have accumulated. Bakrosh and Khavra have a pair of sending stones, Bakrosh is wearing a cloak of displacement which he has made by killing one of the displacer beasts that inhabit the Feygrove, and has two cards from the Deck on his person. These magical items replace the magical items from the hoard (At the DMs discretion, you could keep some of the magical items from the hoard as well). The key to the chest is in Bakrosh’ pouch, and the lock on the chest requires a DC 17 Dexterity check to pick.

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The Feygrove and Watchtower

Encounter 9: Outer Gardens 2 Giant Spiders + 2 Phase Spiders. XP Award: 1600. Adjusted XP: 3200 This encounter occurs as the PCs try to cross what were once the gardens behind the keep on their way to the Feygrove. However, these gardens have been altered by the influence of the fey grove and are completely overgrown and infested with spiders. As the PCs move throughout the overgrown remains of the gardens be sure to describe the large amounts of webbing and other evidence of spiders. However, the spiders here are not keen on attacking the PCs unless they are threatened. As the PCs are making their way through the gardens, they should have a chance of spotting an area containing what looks like the remains of humanoid creatures. Among these are the remains, armour, and sword of the lost paladin Hrom. This sword is needed to open the reliquary chest from encounter 4. Also in this area is clear evidence of the spiders’ nest: eggs and increased amounts of webbing. If the PCs want to investigate the remains more closely and retrieve the sword, they will have to fight the spiders. The influence of the Feywild here has resulted in some of the spiders being altered to Phase Spiders. Encounter 10: The Whispering Grove 5 Autumn Nymphs. XP Award: 2250. Adjusted XP: 4500. The game as presented allows the players an opportunity to develop their characters. Allow the PCs to tell you their secrets confidentially, although if your players are good at avoiding the metagame and are willing, you could allow them to say it where everyone can hear. Use this game to either tell them information as outlined in the original book, or use it to connect the adventure into your wider campaign. If the adventurers fail to entertain the nymphs, the fey try to keep them in the grove for song and dance. If the PCs accept, this play causes them to each gain one level of exhaustion. They can also agree to dance and play even if they succeed at the game of secrets, in which case each individual PC who agreed to do so should gain a level of exhaustion. If the PCs refuse to stay or play the game of secrets, or start a fight, the nymphs try to knock the PCs unconscious before running away, as they only want to play. Consider awarding XP if the PCs succeed at the game of secrets and spend significant time in meaningful interaction.

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Encounter 11: Bell Tower 2 Displacer Beasts + X stirges. XP Award 1400 + 25 XP per stirge. At the beginning of the encounter, Analastra is fighting a desparate losing battle against the displacer beasts, but is knocked unconscious just as the PCs arrive. It should be made clear to the PCs that she is bleeding out and her blood is attracting the stirges from the bell tower. The displacer beasts turn to fight the PCs, but the stirges concentrate on the fallen Analstra. Unless the PCs intervene very quickly, she will likely die. The PCs can either stabilize her or bring her conscious by healing her. Her wounds continue to attract stirges unless she is healed above half her hit points. Analastra has used most of her resources in trying to fight the displacer beasts, and therefore only has 2 level 1 spell slots left. The battle begins with a single stirge flying out of the nest in the bell tower, but every round on the stirge’s initiative, another will emerge. The nest is at the top of the ruined tower. It has AC 11, 30 HP, and vulnerability to fire damage. Destroying it stops more stirges from emerging, and there are only 10 stirges maximum which will emerge to fight. Encounter 12: Groundskeeper’s Cottage 2 Owlbears: XP Award: 1400. The PCs can try to scare away the owlbears, using the skill challenge as a guideline. This requires the PCs to have knowledge that owlbears fear displacer beasts. They can learn this with a DC 18 Intelligence (Nature) or if they ask the eladrin camped at the Font. They then can use the displacer beast bodies from encounter 11, either skinning them or extracting their musk using either Wisdom (Survival) or perhaps Dexterity (Nature) (DC 10). The PCs can then use the scent and/or hides of the displacer beasts to scare the owlbears, preferably without the owlbears detecting any PCs who are not disguised. This will probably include some combination of Deception and Intimidation, along with perhaps stealth and nature. Allow the PCs to use spells or illusions to succeed or significantly lower your DCs. It’s possible they might not even need the displacer beast corpses at all if they can produce illusory sound and smells of sufficient quality. If they drive off the owlbears, award the XP. If the PCs do not attempt to drive off the owlbears or fail, then the owlbears attack. They fight to the death, attempting to kill PCs who injure their mate.

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Encounter 13: Font of Ioun This encounter is where the PCs meet Berrian Velfarren. Use the information presented in the original books to run the roleplaying encounters that can happen here. If for some reason the PCs try to fight Berrian and his allies, use the encounter presented above on page 15. Font of Ioun: The Font of Ioun is imbued with restorative powers, and drinking from its waters can bestow the blessing of Ioun in the form of a vision. Once the PCs gain Berrian’s trust, he gives them access to the Font, but warns that those who drink too greedily will likely incur Ioun’s wrath. The mosaic surrounding the font explains that the waters can be used to cure lingering effects such as diseases, poisons, and curses. A PC who has the ability to cast spells can use the font to cast the greater restoration spell on each creature immersed in the Font. Once cast, the power of the Font is exhausted. The power of the Font is restored each day at dawn. Drinking from the Font gives the PCs a vision granted by Ioun. Some possible visions are included in the original module. If you are using the module as part of a larger campaign, you could use these visions as hooks for future adventures or to explain more about past events. If a character tries to drink more than once from the Font, that character is cursed by the disfavour of Ioun for the next 24 hours, taking disadvantage on all Intelligence based ability checks and losing any beneficial effect from the Font which they currently have. When a character drinks from the font, choose from the following benefits and related visions. You can choose yourself, let the PCs choose which benefit they want, or determine things randomly. You should also feel free to make your own visions and benefits. These benefits last 24 hours.

1. Vision of past Valour. Benefit: For the duration, you have the Action Surge fighter class feature. If you already have this feature, you can use it twice instead of once per short rest.

2. Vision of inspiration. Benefit: For the duration, you regain the maximum number of hit points possible from all healing.

3. Vision of Purpose. Benefit: For the duration, your speed increases by 10 feet. 4. Vision of Heroism: Benefit: For the duration, you have advantage on all saving throws. 5. Vision of Endurance. Benefit: For the duration, you gain 5 temporary hit points at the

start of each of your turns. 6. Vision of Enlightenment. For the duration, you have advantage on all ability checks.

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Encounter 14 Watchtower Entrance 2 Mimics + 1 Black Pudding. XP Award: 2000. Adjusted XP: 4000. Entering the Tower: The tower has been warped by the magic of the Far Realm. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that the exterior features of the tower are only a ‘psychic echo’. Attacking the walls causes the wall to bleed small amounts of black ooze substance, which the PCs could recognize as reminiscent of some kind of an Ooze creature with a successful DC 10 Intelligence (Nature) check. Crossing the Chasm: The two mimics take the form of Cards which form a footbridge across the chasm. When a PC steps onto the cards, they are stuck to them and the Pudding climbs up to attack. It is not at all hard to see that there is some sort of movement in the black substance in the chasm. It is much harder to figure out what the mimics actually are, requiring a DC 20 Intelligence (Nature) or DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) to notice anything particular about them. Features: Inert bits of black ooze float through the air in the room. When a small size Black Pudding dies, it turns into such an inert black globule. These inert spawn do nothing, merely floating up into the seemingly endless ceiling. The walls of the room are very sticky, replicating the grappling effect of the mimics. In addition, the membranous floor is constantly moving and shifting, and at the start of an initiative round each creature is moved 5 feet towards the chasm. A character next to the edge of the chasm instead risks falling into the chasm (and the ooze) unless it makes a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. The only exit from the room is the Portal at the far end of the room, which looks like a door­sized card from the deck. A PC who touches this card gets carried into the next level of the tower. The PCs can flee from this encounter in this way, although if they do so they do not gain the experience for killing the monsters.

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Encounter 15: Far Realm Sojourn This encounter requires the PCs to navigate the Far Realm weirdness that has taken over the watchtower. The encounter is divided into three stages, which the PCs must go through sequentially. Success in each stage allows a character to progress safely through the tower, whereas failure results in that character progressing but also accruing a Chaos Point, the consequences of which are detailed below. This pocket of the Far Realm is devoid of gods and their influence. Any attempt to make Intelligence (Religion) checks, cast spells from the Paladin or Cleric class spell lists or spells given to those classes through class features, or use Paladin or Cleric class features such as Channel Divinity automatically fail and the attempting character gains 1 chaos point. (This assumes paladins and clerics whose power is derived from gods. If you play with the strange godless paladins of fifth edition, you may want to revise these restrictions). Reshape Reality: Throughout this encounter, characters can attempt to perceive the truth of their surroundings instead of directly interacting with the pocket dimension of Far Realm weirdness which has invaded the tower. Doing so requires a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check and allows them to bypass the stage with ease. If a character fails this check their mind is assaulted by the reality­warping influence of the Far Realm, and they gain a chaos point. Stage 1: The PCs find themselves trapped in an alien version of the tower. The only apparent means of escape is to travel upwards and out into the star­filled sky. Make it clear to the PCs that lingering in this area for long would be unwise. Allow each character a chance to make a check to ascend the tower. Below are some examples of different methods each PC can use:

Acrobatics (DC 14): The character leaps or grabs onto a rising globule. A successful check means the character quickly ascends the room. On a failed check, the character is absorbed completely by the globule, which eventually brings the character to the top of the room. The unpleasant experience of being engulfed in such a manner gives the character gains 1 chaos point.

Athletics (DC 13): The character climbs up the churning walls. Any character who fails this check is absorbed into the wall and drawn upward, gaining 1 chaos point.

Special: A character who can fly or has some other mode of vertical transport can automatically reach the top of the room.

Reshape Reality: On a successful DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check, the character perceives the true form of the spiral staircase ascending to the second level and climbs it without difficulty. On a failed check, the character still perceives the stairwell, but not before absorbing some Far Realm madness, gaining 1 chaos point.

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Stage 2: Each PC finds themselves alone, suspended in the void of space, and must determine a path that will most quickly return them to reality and to their friends. Ask each PC what action they wish to take to locate their friends and have them roll a skill check. Once each PC has made one check, all of the PCs find themselves back together. Those PCs who succeeded on their check experience this reunion as happening after only several minutes of searching. On the other hand, those PCs who failed their check instead experience a long and arduous journey, perhaps lasting several days. This experience causes those PCs who failed to each gain a chaos point. Below are some examples of different courses of action each PC could take:

Nature or Survival (DC 13): The character spots a familiar constellation of stars amidst their alien surroundings. Navigating towards these stars leads the character back towards reality.

Perception (DC 14): The character hears the voices (or otherwise senses the presence) of another PC. Following these clues leads the character back to their friends.

Insight (DC 16): The character uses intuition to guess the correct path. Reshape Reality: The character sees the other PCs milling about seemingly at random on

the tower floor, and can easily make their way to one of them. Stage 3: The PCs can see their goal, a trio of cards from the Deck of Many Things. However, madness in the form of a writhing forest of gibbering tentacled creatures still lies between them and their destination. Ask each PC was method they wish to use to make it through the tentacles. On a successful check, the PC makes it to the trio of cards unharmed. On a failed check, the PC is momentarily grabbed by the horrors and is exposed to the madness of the Far Realm, gaining 1 chaos point. Below are some examples of paths each PC might take:

Athletics (DC 15): The PC uses brute force to force through the mass of tentacles. Acrobatics (DC 14): The PC ducks, dives and weaves through the tentacles. Stealth (DC 16): The PC somehow disguises themselves in such a way as the tentacles

ignore him or her. Special: A PC can use a teleportation power to avoid having to walk through the forest of

tentacles, automatically succeeding on this stage. Reshape Reality: The character perceives the true form of the single door to the armoury

and can ignore the false horrors all around. Chaos Points: Interacting with the pocket dimension of the Far Realm is disorienting and potentially maddening for the PCs. Keep track of how many Chaos Points each character gets, which should be from 0 to 3. These points reflect how much the Far Realm has influenced the character’s mind, and they incur the following penalties:

1 Chaos Point: The character gains a long­term madness effect, as described on page 260 of the DMG.

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2 Chaos Points: The character gains a long­term madness effect, but its duration is indefinite and it can only be removed by the greater restoration spell or more powerful magic.

3 Chaos points: As with 2 points, but in addition the character also gains a short­term madness effect immediately upon encountering the beholder at the top of the tower (encounter 16). Also, the character undergoes a horrifying physical transformation: skin might peel away or change colour; extra limbs, eyes, mouths, or even heads sprout up; bones soften or dissolve. This physical change is cosmetic only, but may affect how NPCs interact with the character. The physical changes can be removed only by the greater restoration spell or more powerful magic. Encounter 16: The Last Defenders 1 Beholder. XP Award: 10,000 XP In addition to the stat block of the normal Beholder, this beholder has 3 cards from the Deck. He draws a card on the end of each of the following turns: The first turn of combat and the turns where he is first reduced to 120 and 60 hit points, respectively. This encounter occurs after the PCs emerge from their Far Realm Sojourn. The beholder will respond to any aggression in kind, but if the PCs try to talk, it is willing to talk as its main goal is to escape. In addition, the beholder’s desire to escape its prison is enough that it does not wish to kill the PCs, as it believes they may be able to help it escape. Consult the original RP notes and those presented on page 22 of this document for guides on RPing the Beholder. Note that this encounter is quite difficult, with a high chance of killing the PCs with either the Death or Disintegration rays. As such, and keeping in mind the beholder’s motivations, consider removing the auto­death conditions on those rays and re­flavouring them as you feel appropriate. This allows for an extremely difficult encounter without the high likelihood of death for one or more PCs. The four Aberrant Wretches in the room seem inert and do not get involved in the combat. These wretches are what is left of three knights of Gardmore and Zandrian Velfarren. When the three cards belonging to the beholder are reunited with with the rest of the PC’s cards, the tower and all the mutated creatures within return to their original forms. The greater restoration spell or more powerful restorative magic gradually restores their minds and permanently restores their physical forms. Morphic Zones: Each zone of morphic energy fills a 5 foot radius sphere. At the start of each round of combat, each zone moves 1d4 x 5 feet in the direction of the nearest creature, adjusting its path as necessary so that no two morphic zone overlap.

After moving a token, roll 1d6 to determine the effect of that token’s zone for that round.

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Roll Effect

1 A rocky spur springs up, raising the area 20 feet.

2 A mouthlike pit opens. Any creature standing in the zone falls 30 feet, reappearing through the ceiling at a random spot within 20 feet of the zone (3d6 damage from the fall and being knocked prone).

3 Tentacles explode outward. Each creature in the zone must make a DC 14 Dex save or be restrained until the start of its next turn.

4 A dimensional hole forms. Any creature in the zone can make melee attacks against any other creature within 50 feet of it.

5 Alien brain tissue sprouts up. Each creature in the zone must make a DC 14 Wis save or be poisoned until the end of their next turn.

6 A mass of bouncy jelly appears. The zone counts as difficult terrain, but any creature who jumps from a square within the zone has their maximum jump distance doubled.

Affecting the Zones: As a bonus action, the beholder or anyone trained in Arcana can attempt a DC 16 Arcana check. On a success, the creature can affect one morphic zone in one of the following ways:

Move the zone up to 1d4 x 5 feet in any direction. Reroll the zone’s effect Cancel the zone’s effect for the rest of the round.

Encounter 17: Defending the Watchtower This encounter uses the rules for mass combat published in Unearthed Arcana (http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Battlesystem.pdf). However, because of the small number of combatants, ignore the regular rules for unit integrity and isolated stands. The battle consists of the defenders of the watchtower and the attacking orc forces. The defenders include one stand each of the melee and ranged mercenaries in the appendix, and the player characters. The Orc forces are comprised of all the Orcs in Gardmore: 14 stands of Orcs, 1 stand of Orogs, a Hill Giant as a solo, and (if the PCs have not already killed him) Bakrosh, who is a solo joined as Commander to the stand of Orogs. If the PCs have killed Bakrosh, instead the Commander of the Orc forces is an Orc War Chief solo. These 15 stands of Orcs make up a single skirmisher Unit, Commanded by the Orc Chief.

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A number of special rules detailed below are included for this battle. Victory Conditions: The first side to reach 10 Victory Points wins.

Defenders’ Victory Conditions: Protection: The defenders gain a Victory point at the end of each round of combat wherein the Tower is not destroyed and at least one stand of mercenaries is still alive. Killing the Giant: The defenders gain 2 Victory points if they slay the Giant Killing the Commander: The defenders gain 2 Victory points if they slay the orc Commander

Attackers’ Victory Conditions:

Destruction: For each section of tower which is destroyed, the attackers gain 1 Victory Point (this means that the tower is destroyed completely when 10 sections of tower are destroyed) Breaking the Door: The attackers gain 2 Victory Points for destroying the Door. Killing the Mercenaries: The attackers gain 2 Victory Points for each stand of Mercenaries they kill. Destroying the Ballistae: The attackers gain 1 Victory Point each for permanently destroying a ballista, (this can only happen when a ballista is permanently destroyed.)

If the Defenders win, the orc forces in Gardmore are broken. They disband and flee the area. Thereafter, PCs can move about the Village without conflict. Bakrosh, however, refuses to leave and sulks in the keep with his few loyal servants. If the Orcs destroy the tower but have few forces, they leave but are confident in their position and stay in Gardmore. They are soon reinforced by additional orc tribes from the north. If the orcs overwhelm the defenders, they kill all the mercenaries and capture the PCs, ransoming them back to Padraig who pays the price, but is not happy about it.

Grappling Hooks: 6 of the stands of Orcs (chosen randomly) have rope and grappling hooks, fashioned from ribs and sinew. Such a stand, if adjacent to the tower, can use their action to throw and attach their hooks to the top of the tower. They reach the top of the tower at the start of their next turn, and can immediately move to the nearest available empty space on the tower roof. During their climb, attacks against the orcs have advantage.

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Tower Door: The door to the tower is an old wooden door reinforced with rusted iron. It will not hold up long against the siege of the Orcs. The door has AC 15 and 27 HP.

Bracing the Door: A stand on the inside of the door can use its action to brace the door against impacts. While the door is braced, each instance of bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage against the door is reduced by 5. Mending the Door: A character with the mending spell can try to mend parts of the door during combat. For each round a character spends this way, restore 5 HP to the door, to a maximum of 40 HP.

Tower Walls: The walls of the tower are old, but well built. The walls have AC 17, 40 HP per 10 ft square section of wall, and a damage threshold of 20. This means the regular Orcs have little chance of breaking through the walls of the tower, but the hill giant is likely to create holes in the wall if he throws boulders at it. A sufficient reduction in structural integrity could be the end of the tower, which makes the giant a significant threat. As a DM, use your judgement to determine if the tower has taken significant enough damage to collapse (keep in mind the tower has a radius of about 25 feet and so a circumference of about 160 feet). Damage before then may still be dangerous to the defenders. For example, if a hole is made on the bottom level of the tower, orcs can pour in through that hole, making the defence of the bottom level very difficult, provoking the defenders to retreat up a level of the tower. Tower Floors: The tower consists of 3 interior levels and the roof. Consider each level of the tower to have high ground (pg. 3­4 of the mass combat rules) with respect to the next lowest level. Crenellations: Crenellations protect creatures on the top of the tower. Ranged attacks made against creatures on top of the tower have disadvantage. Ballistae: Two broken ballistae lie on the roof of the tower. These can be repaired for use in the battle. Rules for the ballistae are below. Once repaired, ballistae have AC 15 and HP 50.

Identifying the Problem: A character can use their action to make an investigation check on the Ballistae. On a 9 or less, the character cannot determine why the ballistae are broken or how to fix them. On a 10­14, the character understands where the damage is. They know that cannibalizing one of the the Ballistae would make repairing the other much easier, at the cost of making the other permanently nonfunctional. On a 15+ the character has some insight into how to fix both the ballistae, and can use this knowledge to help them in their repair efforts. Subsequent checks to repair the ballistae have advantage, assuming this character oversees the repairs.

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Repairing the Ballistae: There are several options available to the characters for repairing the ballistae. Cannibalizing parts from both is the easiest method, requiring a character to, as an action, succeed on a DC 8 unskilled Dexterity check. This repairs one of the ballistae, but the other becomes useless for this battle. repairing both without exchanging parts is more difficult. Repairing one ballista in this way takes an action and requires the character to succeed on a DC 14 unskilled Dexterity check. On a success, the ballista is repaired. If the check fails by 5 or more, the ballista is irreparably damaged during the attempt. The parts from a ballista damaged in this way can still be used to repair the other ballista (see above). A character with the mending spell may also spend their action to cast mending on a ballista to repair to working condition. This is only possible after a character has found the cause of the ballista’s inoperability (See: Identifying the Problem) Firing the Ballistae: A character can use their action to fire one ballista. It has the following attack: Bolt. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.

Morale: Normal morale rules apply for the Orcs. However, the mercenaries defending the tower are few in number. When either of these stands is at half HP or lower (i.e. half the members of that stand cannot fight) they must check morale as explained in the massive battle rules.

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Dragon’s Roost Encounter 18: Heroes’ Gate 1 Galeb Duhr + 2 Rust Monsters. XP Award: 2500. Adjusted XP: 5000 Tactics: The galeb duhr was summoned out of the Plane of Earth by the magic of the Deck, and has decided that it must defend this area from anything that would seek to pass. It has decided that the rust monsters are no threat to it as long as they do not seek to pass the gates, which thus far they have not. The galeb duhr sits motionless amidst the rubble of the large statue in the middle of the gatehouse (replace the statue with more rubble). As long as it is motionless, it looks like a large piece of rubble. When PCs with metal approach, the rust monsters instinctively attack, and seek out whoever is wearing the most metal. If the portcullis is lowered, they immediately turn to feast on it. The galeb duhr animates other pieces of rubble, staying motionless until it thinks it needs to personally act in order to prevent the PCs from passing. Features of the Area: The area of stripped of metal, except the raised portcullis and the top hinge of one of the great doors that led into the Dragon’s Roost. The ground in the gatehouse is covered in rubble. Damaged Doors: The one door which is still upright can be knocked over by a creature adjacent to it by making a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. The door then falls, and a creature on the other side must make a successful DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and be pinned (restrained and prone) under the door. A creature pinned in this way can escape by using its action and succeeding on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics). Portcullis: The iron portcullis is what has kept the rust monsters here so long, but they have not managed to get to it. A character can use an action to lower the gate with the winch, or cut the weakened cable (AC 11, 5 HP). If the cable is intact, a character can use the winch to raise the portcullis as an action. If the cable is cut, the portcullis slams down on any creature beneath it. Such a creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d8 piercing damage and be pinned (restrained and prone) under the portcullis. A DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check is needed to raise the portcullis off a creature trapped in this way.

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Encounter 19: Barracks 1 Bulette + 2 Carrion Crawlers. XP Award: 2700. Adjusted XP: 5400 Tactics: The carrion crawlers respond instinctively to defend the building, attacking as soon as an intruder enters. The bulette waits until the second round of combat, emerging from the ground and targeting the greatest concentration of creatures with its deadly leap. The crawlers and bulette do not fight each other, but they do not work together either. Features of the Area: The bunks are too weak to hold any weight, and collapse if a creature climbs on them. Collapsed bunks and all the rubble is difficult terrain. The Well is 30­foot deep, and requires a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check to climb up or down. Stairs: The stairwell in the south­east corner of the building is blocked by rubble, and is difficult to see at first because of this. With a successful DC 21 Wisdom (Perception) check, a PC can see the stairs going down beneath the rubble. This staircase leads down to the Sun Hall of Pelor (encounter 32). However, clearing the rubble takes effort and time, and makes enough sound that the creatures below are alerted and prepared for anyone who descends. Encounter 20: Hall of Glory 3 Swarms of Spiders + 2 Giant Spiders + 2 Ettercaps. XP Award: 1600. Adjusted XP: 3200 Tactics: The spiders have built up a nest in the collapsed hall, and will defend it instinctively. The ettercaps have come more recently, trying to convince or herd the spiders to join their colony in the Feygrove. They join the spiders in the defense. The spiders and ettercaps do not pursue creatures which flee from the Hall. Frescoes: The faded frescoes on the northern wall depict Bahamut striking down his enemies. In some places these frescoes are defaced, in other places splatters of blood and dirt obscure them, and the spiders webs cover part of the wall. Any character who examines the wall can tell with a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) or Religion (Arcana) check that faint echoes of Bahamut’s glory linger within the images. A detect magic spell also detects faint traces of enchantment magic in the wall. Characters who spend at least 10 minutes cleaning these frescoes earn the favour of Bahamut. Treat them as being under the influence of the bless spell during their next encounter (this takes effect the first time they would make an attack roll or saving throw, and lasts 1 minute. If the PCs take a long rest before they do so, they lose the chance for the blessing to take effect). Once the frescoes have been cleaned in this way, they cannot be cleaned again. Characters who try to regain this blessing (say, by dirtying then re­cleaning the wall) instead

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incur Bahamut’s disfavour, and have the same effect as above except that they are under the influence of the bane spell instead of the bless spell. Treasure: An especially thick tangle of webs in the north­east corner of the hall contains three small pearls, each worth 100gp. Encounter 21: Temple Anthar + Calaun. Award XP: 3600. Adjusted XP: 5400 Tactics: Anthar begins combat by activating call to worship (which is heard as half­intelligible preaching) as soon as the PCs come within range. On subsequent turns she uses her action to make claw attacks at the PCs, prioritizing those who are incapacitated. If Anthar is significantly outnumbered, or if all of the PCs have become immune to her call, she will retreat into the rafters, using her ability to fly to avoid damage. Also note that Anthar is aware of the power of the card hidden in the altar, and may attempt to use it if it works to her advantage. Calaun flies above the PCs, out of range of melee attacks but keeping the PCs in range of her babble aura. Calaun makes fly­by attacks, prioritizing those PCs affected by babble so as to avoid attacks of opportunity. Altars: Altars set in niches on the side walls of the temple were devoted to Kord, Moradin, Pelor, Erathis, and Iown (clockwise from the lower left). The altar at the north end of the temple is dedicated to Bahamut. A vestige of holy power lingers in these altars, granting a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls to worshipers of the related deity who stand within 15 feet of that altar (does not stack). Pool: As written in the original module, but replace the extended rest with long rest, and the reroll takes place without the use of a ‘free action’. Encounter 21: Bringing Light to the Darkness Once Oakley has recovered the three holy relics, he has the ability to perform the sacred ritual needed to purify the temples of Dragon’s Roost. First, Oakley visits the Heroes’ Gate, the Barracks and the Hall of Glory, in each location intoning the words of the ritual. At this point, no visible threat appears for Oakley and the PCs. However, as each location is visited, the characters progressively feel more unsettled. The air begins to chill. The light around them dims. A low whisper can be heard, coming from all around. By the time the group reaches the Temple, it is

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clear that a malign presence is unhappy with the ritual. Oakley lays the 3 relics at the base of the altar and begins the final phase of his ritual. Almost immediately, a veil of shadow falls around the temple, seeping through the cracks between the temple stones. As it is about to engulf the party, the Brazier of Silver Fire erupts in light, creating a bubble of sanctuary from the encroaching evil. Run this section of the ritual as a combat encounter. The PCs must protect Oakley until he can complete the ritual. Performing the Ritual: Oakley uses his action each round to perform the ritual incantations, including chanting and somatic motions. Because of the stress of the situation, Oakley must make a DC 10 Con save each time he performs these motions. On a failed save, he has momentarily lost his composure. The ritual is complete after he has succeeded in 5 such saves (see Completing the Ritual for effects of the ritual’s completion).

Taking Damage: Each time Oakley takes damage, increase the DC of the next Con save he must make by 2. Assisting Oakley: Creative PCs can find ways of aiding Oakley with his task. For example, a PC might use a Charisma (Persuasion) to bolster Oakley’s confidence, or a PC trained in Religion might make a Intelligence (Religion) check to assist in the ritual rites. Use your discretion in determining what actions make sense in this context. In general, such a check will be a medium difficulty task (DC 12­15) which requires an action to perform. A successful check grants Oakley advantage on his next Con save to perform the ritual. Death of Oakley: If Oakley should die during the process of performing the ritual, a PC trained in Religion can continue it in his stead. The PC must use their action each turn as above, making Con saves as normal. Continue to count the number of successful saves, including the successes gained by Oakley. After 5 successful saves, the ritual is completed (though at a terrible cost).

Animated Debris: Partway through the battle, the evil presence begins animating the stones of the temple, throwing them towards Oakley and the party. On initiative score 10 (losing initiative ties), starting on the second round of combat, randomly select 2 characters from among the party. Each must make a DC 13 Dex save or take 2d12 bludgeoning damage. In addition to those two characters, Oakley is also targeted each round. Oakley automatically fails saving throws against this attack.

Protecting Oakley: A PC can attempt to shield Oakley from the debris by preparing an action to jump in the way of the rubble. The next time Oakley would be hit by this attack, the defending PC is instead hit. The PC may still make a Dex save as normal, but in this case takes half damage on a successful save instead of none. The defending character

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may also still be randomly chosen as a target of the debris (making saving throws against each attack separately).

Necrotic Darkness: The darkness around the PCs is formed of malign necrotic energy. It fills the entire temple, except for the area protected by the Brazier of Silver Flame (see below). Any creature who enters the darkness or starts their turn there takes 10 necrotic damage.

Brazier of Silver Flame: The light from the brazier keeps the necrotic energy at bay, but as the encounter progresses the flame begins to falter. Initially the protected area is a 25 foot radius sphere centered on the brazier. At the end of each round of combat, the radius of this area decreases by 5 feet.

Empowering the Brazier: The PCs can attempt to keep the brazier fully lit, so as to stop the encroachment of the darkness. Examples of such actions include casting a fire spell into the brazier or using a spell such as prestidigitation to increase the size of the flame. If, during a round, such an action is taken to keep the brazier lit, do not reduce the size of the brazier’s protective zone at the end of that round. Spells which normally would create a zone of light, such as light or daylight do not create their normal zones of light, but instead make the light given off by the brazier count as sunlight for their duration. In addition, any non­cantrip spell of this nature restores the radius of the brazier’s light to its maximum radius of 25 feet.

Monsters: Shadows:At the beginning of each round, 1d4 new shadows (MM pg. 269) coalesce from the darkness. They act on the round they emerge. Shadows will prioritize characters who are not within the Brazier of Silver Flame’s protective aura, and are more likely to attack divine characters, including Oakley. Ghost: At the beginning of the round after Oakley has succeeded on his 3rd check to complete the ritual, a ghost (MM pg. 167) also emerges from the darkness. The ghost will attempt to possess one of the PCs. If successful, it will then use the possessed PC to attack Oakley and stop the ritual. If the ghost is unsuccessful at possessing a PC, it will attempt to attack Oakley with withering touch until its possession ability recharges.

Completing the Ritual: Once Oakley succeeds on his 5th check to perform the ritual, the temple is purified. Blinding white light bursts forth from the three holy relics, and the darkness is dispelled. Any monster still alive immediately vanishes, and the rubble of the temple ceases to fly around the room.

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Bahamut’s Favor: As a reward for their service, each PC is given a blessing by Bahamut. As with all blessings, these should be tailored to be useful to the individual PCs, and so no examples are given here. Consult pages 227­228 of the DMG for information on boons. In addition, a shining platinum neckband appears at the bottom of the pool in the temple. This is a torc of justice (see below). Torc of Justice Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement by a creature of good alignment) This platinum neckband is inscribed with the mantra of Bahamut: Protect the weak, and bring justice to the wicked.

The Torc has a maximum of 10 charges. As a bonus action, you may spend a charge from the Torc. Choose a friendly creature within 30 feet. That creature regains health equal to your level. Using a charge in this way can restore a creature to no more than half of its hit point maximum. In addition, until the end of your next turn, the next time you would deal damage to one or more creatures, you deal bonus radiant damage to one of those creatures (your choice) equal to the amount healed.

The torc regains 1d6 + 4 charges each day at dawn.

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The Catacombs

Encounter 23: Altar of Glory Havarr of Nenlast + 2 Pale Reavers. XP Award: 2500. Adjusted XP: 5000 Altar: An ornate altar dominates the northern chamber, topped by twin rearing dragon heads (one a glorious platinum, the other a stern shadow). This altar is dedicated to Bahamut and the Raven Queen, and its power has resisted and reacted to the corruption of the crypts. Any character can realize the altar holds significant power with a DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) or Intelligence (Arcana) check. A detect magic spell also detects the latent magic of the shrine. A character devoted to (or willing to show devotion to) either or these two gods can spend an hour in prayer at the altar, which causes shimmering fire to briefly arc between the two heads. The character who prayed can determine with a DC 5 Intelligence (Religion) check that the following will occur: That character can hold a weapon in the fire, which gives it the enchantment below, and the character is automatically considered to be attuned to it. If multiple creatures prayed simultaneously, either (but not both) can hold a weapon in the fire. The flames disappear into the blade. If the characters attempt to hold two weapons in the fire, both are instead destroyed. If they do not put any weapon in the fire, it disappears after a minute. If they pray a second time, the flames will again erupt. If, however, they pray after the flame has enchanted a blade, nothing happens. At the DM’s discretion, the enchantment may be added to an item that is already magical, gaining these powers in addition to its previous ones. Weapon of Righteous Ending ­ Weapon (any) The weapon has two command words, one for fire and one for death. You can use a bonus action to speak either command word. Speaking the command words has the following effects: Fire: Flames erupt along the weapon, causing no harm to the wielder. These flames shed bright light for 40 feet, and dim light for an additional 40 feet. While the weapon is ablaze, it deals an extra 2d6 fire damage to any target it hits. Speaking the command word again returns the weapon to normal. Death: The weapon glows with a black aura. Non­magical bright light in a 20­foot­radius of the blade instead becomes dim light. While the weapon glows in this way, it deals an extra 1d8 necrotic damage to any target it hits. In addition, that target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, its life essence is transferred to you: its maximum health is reduced by an amount equal to the bonus necrotic damage, and you gain that many temporary hit points. A creature reduced to zero maximum hit points in this way dies. Speaking the command word again returns the blade to normal.

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Sarcophagi: Throughout the catacombs are many sarcophagi containing the remains of knights of the abbey. These sarcophagi are quite large; they grant half cover to any medium creature and three­quarters cover to a small creature. Unless otherwise specified, these sarcophagi are closed. Opening a closed sarcophagus requires a DC 16 Strength (unskilled) check. Doing so incurs Bahamut’s wrath; any character who opens a closed sarcophagus is treated as being under the influence of the bane spell until the catacombs have been cleared of evil influence. Once Vadin and all his undead servants have been vanquished, this effect ends as Bahamut forgives these sins in recognition of the PCs’ service. The sarcophagi in this room are decorated with elaborate carvings venerating Moradin, Pelor, Ioun, and Erathis. Each sarcophagus has a name on it: Rombert, Toren, Fror, and Sefgar. Open Sarcophagus: This sarcophagus is opened and defiled, and in it is a skeleton missing its skull (this is the flameskull in Area 25). Any character who ends her turn within 10 feet of the sarcophagus must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 1d8 necrotic damage. Any character can determine the following with a DC 13 Intelligence (Religion) check: After re­uniting the skull with its body, a character capable of casting cleric or paladin spells can expend a 1st (or higher) level spell slot while within 20 feet of the sarcophagus to cleanse it. In addition to ending the aura of necrotic damage, doing so earns Bahamut’s favour, cancelling the penalty for disturbing a closed sarcophagus for one character and granting a single use of the following power to the character who cleansed the sarcophagus: Breath of Bahamut: As an action, you can summon the radiant power of Bahamut as if you were a dragon spitting fire. Choose either a 15­ft­cone or a 30­ft long, 5 ft­wide line starting from you. Each hostile creature in that area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, they take 4d6 radiant damage, or half as much on a successful save. Encounter 24: Font of Divine Health 4 Skeleton Knights. XP Award: 1800. Adjusted XP: 3600 Tactics: The skeleton knights attack immediately. They have been ordered to guard this area, and as such will not pursue far beyond the room. They avoid being near the font on the north side of the room, as they can instinctively sense that its holiness is inimical to them. Features of the Area: Font: Fresh, pure water still flows from a spring deep below the abbey. A character can use a bonus action to drink from the font. Doing so gives resistance to necrotic damage for 1d4 hours. A character who drinks again before taking a long rest still gets this benefit, but also becomes poisoned for the duration, as the power of the font is too great for the PCs to easily contain. Any effect which would end the poisoned condition also removes the resistance.

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Mosaic: A stunningly detailed mosaic on the floor depicts the dragon­head symbol of Bahamut. This mosaic is dusty and chipped, but still holds a fragment of Bahamut’s power, giving any good­aligned creature a +1 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws while they stand on it. When the first skeleton knight is destroyed, the mosaic begins glowing with a dim golden light. Each time a skeleton is destroyed, the light grows in intensity, and damage to the mosaic begins to repair itself. Once all the skeleton knights have been defeated, each character in the room is treated as being healed as by the prayer of healing spell (regain 2d8+5 hit points). Secret Door: Characters searching the southeast wall of this chamber might see the secret door to the hidden shrine (Area A). A successful DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the door and the latch, with a subsequent DC 9 Intelligence (Investigation) to understand that the latch opens the door without trying it. Encounter 25: Memorial Chamber 2 Mummies + 1 Flameskull + 2 Swarms of Beetles. XP Award 2700 Adjusted XP: 5400 Tactics: The mummies are a result of a fusion between the life­giving energies of the Feygrove above and this part of the Catacombs, and are not directly under Vadin’s control. The power of the Voidharrow has allowed Vadin to bind the Flameskull here, which stands as his guardian of this chamber. The creatures are therefore not allies, and do not coordinate their attacks. If the flameskull feels that the situation is precarious and can hit multiple PCs with fireball it will do so, even if that means hitting the mummies and beetles as well. All the creatures fight to the death. Features of the Area: Ceiling: The 20­foot­high ceiling has cracks running throughout it, through which water drips and roots hang. A character can realize with a DC 11 Intelligence check that the roof is unstable and may be collapsed by pulling on the roots. The roof is mainly held intact now by the roots instead of its original construction, so the risk of a complete collapse is low. Roots: Thick, fibrous roots hang down to a height of about 6 feet throughout this room. A character can collapse the ceiling within 5 feet of him by pulling on the roots and making a successful DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check. Any creature beneath this area of ceiling must make a DC 13 Reflex saving throw or take 2d6+4 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone (half damage on a save). The rubble from the collapse creates difficult terrain in the area. Slick Floor: The water dripping from above has made the floor here slick. Any creature which tries to move by dashing while within the room must succeed on a DC 14 Reflex save or fall prone and lose their remaining movement.

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Sarcophagi: The four sarcophagi in this room have had their inscriptions worn away by time. One of them is open and infested with the corruption lying about the abbey, showing a skeletal body inside. Any character who ends her turn within 10 feet of the sarcophagus must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 1d8 necrotic damage. This sarcophagus can be cleansed in the same way as the sarcophagus in area 23 (except there is no missing skull to be returned), giving the same reward. Mosaic and Alcoves:The large rectangular pillar in the east of the chamber is covered in a series of mosaics which depict the history of the abbey. You can use the description of these mosaics in the original first book. In that case, they depict different crusades the knights of the abbey undertook. Alternatively, you can use these mosaics as a way of detailing how the Abbey fits into your world. The alcoves are memorials to the knights who fell in the events depicted in the mosaics. Secret Doors: Characters searching the north wall of this chamber might see the secret door to the hidden shrine (Area A). A successful DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the door and the latch, with a subsequent DC 9 Intelligence (Investigation) to understand that the latch opens the door without trying it. The door to the Forbidden Tomb (secret area B) lies within one of the alcoves and is much harder to notice. It requires a DC 21 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice this door or the slightly raised stone in the floor near it, with a subsequent DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) check to understand how the mechanism works without simply trying it. Encounter 26: Dragonslayer’s Tomb 2 Ghasts + 1 Wraith. XP Award: 2700. Adjusted XP: 5400 Tactics: The ghasts are starving for flesh and attack the PCs immediately. The Wraith hangs back behind the wall near the sarcophagi until the second round of combat. It has been bound here by Vadin, and as such will fight to protect it but will not leave the chamber. Features of the Area: Dragon Scale Curtains: These curtains are fashioned out of small chromatic dragon scales. Passing through a curtain costs an extra 5 feet of movement. The curtains are dusty, but a successful DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check shows that some of the dust has been smudged or wiped off (by Vadin’s previous passage through them). Sarcophagi: The four sarcophagi here have elaborate carvings venerating Bahamut. The names on the sarcophagi are defaced, and a character can see with a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check that small amounts of mortar, dust, and gravel are scattered around each sarcophagus. Opening these sarcophagi is easier, requiring only a DC 11 Strength (unskilled) check. Opening them does not incur Bahamut’s ire, as they are already opened (These are the skeleton knights in area 24).

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Bowl of Io’s Blood: The northeast sarcophagus contains the Bowl of Io’s blood, one of the three sacred vessels that Sir Oakley requires to purify the temple. If the bowl is filled with water from the font in area 24, a character can throw the water from the bowl either in a 15 ft cone or around themselves into the area within 5 feet of them. Any undead or elemental creature in that area must make a DC 15 Reflex saving throw or take 3d6 radiant damage from the power of the holy water. Carrying the bowl filled with water, however, takes both of a character’s hands. Secret Door: Characters searching the northern antechamber to this chamber might see the secret door to the hidden shrine (Area A). A successful DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the door and the latch, with a subsequent DC 9 Intelligence (Investigation) to understand that the latch opens the door without trying it. Encounter 27: Great Hall Vadin Cartwright + 1 Basilisk + 1 Vampire Spawn. XP Award: 4300. Adjusted XP: 8600 Tactics: The inhabitants of this room have probably been alerted by the sound of fighting in nearby rooms. Vadin is at the Void­harrow covered altar at the right side of the room. His basilisk pet is hiding behind the north­eastern pillar. Vadin has trained the basilisk to not meet his eyes. The vampire spawn hides behind the wall to the north­west. She has snake­like features due to Zehir’s influence (see the original book for more information). She hopes to catch a vulnerable member of the party in the back, especially if they have been restrained by the basilisk’s petrifying gaze. Vadin is insane, and it is unlikely the characters will come to a peaceful resolution although they can certainly try to talk to him. If and when combat is joined, the basilisk rounds the corner of its pillar and tries to catch as many PCs as possible in its petrifying gaze. Vadin leads with shield of faith on himself, and then wades heedlessly into melee to strike down his enemies with his Touch of Death ability. He targets servants of other gods especially; he hates them because their gods imprisoned Tharizdun. If near death, he targets any divine character still standing with blight, hoping to kill them before he falls. Don’t forget that he has false life and death ward cast on himself before the fight, and that he has expended one of his third level spell slots as well to cast animate dead on the skeleton knights in area 24. In addition, this is a Villain encounter. Vadin’s stat block explains when to draw his cards, and there is no initial random activation of the PC’s cards. Features of the Area: Among the many sarcophagi here is the resting place of Gardrin the Hammer, founder of the abbey, who lies in the far north­west corner, near the statue of Bahamut. All the sarcophagi are closed. Statue: The statue is a depiction of Bahamut as a human knight in plate armour. Small amounts of Bahamut’s power remain here. Adventurers fighting next to the statue gain a +1 bonus to

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attack rolls. In addition, a worshipper of Bahamut or any other LG god gains a bonus 1d4 radiant damage on any weapon attack while standing next to the statue. Treasure: Vadin’s collected belongings and wealth make up a single CR 5­10 treasure hoard. Replace the most powerful magic item you roll with Moonbane (discussed above, see page 14). You could also divide the wealth between different areas in the crypts. The Voidharrow: The altar to Bahamut set in the east wall is covered in a strange pale red substance with streaks of silver and flecks of gold. This substance catches light like crystal, but flows like a viscous liquid. If a character touches the Voidharrow, it quickly moves to cover the creature’s skin and seep into the flesh. The character must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns until it has either 3 successes or 3 failures (track them independently). If the 3 successes happen first, the liquid recedes. If instead 3 failures happen first, the character contracts Abyssal plague. Red crystal growths cover 10% of their body, their maximum health is reduced by an amount equal to whatever they gained the most recent time they levelled up, and they lose the hit die corresponding to that level up. This effect is a disease, and can be removed by any effect which can remove a disease. If left untreated, this disease will get more serious, as the crystal growths spread across the character’s body. Repeat the Constitution saving throw at the end of each long rest. On a successful save, nothing happens. On a failed throw, the disease advances through the following stages, retaining the effects of previous stages: Stage 1: As described above Stage 2: Sores and growths cover 50% of the character’s body. This makes it impossible to wear heavy or medium armour without extreme discomfort, and so a creature at this stage is treated as no longer having proficiency with medium or heavy armours if they previously did. In addition, they have disadvantage on all Dexterity saving throws. Stage 3: Sores and growths cover 90% of the character’s body, and they are increasingly disoriented. They lose proficiency with all weapons and armours, and have disadvantage on all skill checks and saving throws. In combat, they are treated as being under the effects of the confusion spell. Stage 4: The creature dies, consumed by the red crystalline growths. If the disease progresses, any effect which would remove a disease instead reduces the severity of the disease by one Stage.

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The Vaults Encounter 28: Hall of Erathis 3 Minotaurs * XP Award: 2100. Adjusted XP: 4200 Use the notes provided in the original book for the description of this room. Also use the roleplaying notes in the original book and in this supplement if the adventurers try to deal with the minotaurs. Tactics: If combat ensues, one of the minotaurs immediately rushes to the door to call for help from the room to the south (The Arena of Kord­Area 29). These minotaur allies respond quickly to the sounds of combat here. The gnolls, however, do not come to the aid of the minotaurs. The minotaurs do their best to make an orderly retreat to the Arena, as they believe they have a better chance of fighting there. Braziers: The two braziers in the room are filled with blazing coals. A character can kick a brazier over, forcing all creatures in a 10­foot cone to make a DC 14 Reflex saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one. The coals then remain on the ground in this cone, acting as difficult terrain and causing any creature which enters a coal­filled space or starts its turn there to take 1d6 fire damage. Encounter 29: Arena of Kord Leralix, minotaur magus + Shadow Demon * Award XP: 1800. Adjusted XP: 2700 The creatures here respond quickly to sounds of combat in Area 28, and vice versa. Together, these creatures make an encounter worth 3900 XP (Adjusted 7800). Leralix is the leader of the minotaurs in these halls. He will do anything, even allying with the adventurers, if he thinks it will help him reclaim the halls in the name of Baphomet. He also expects to be part of any deal, so the minotaurs in area 28 will likely call him if the adventurers try to treat with them. Checkered Floor: Use the rules and description in the original module, but alter the effects of the tiles as follows: A creature attuned to the red tiles gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls while standing on a red tile. Whenever it enters or starts its turn on a blue tile, its speed is reduced to 10 feet until the end of its next turn. A creature attuned to blue tiles can move on blue tiles without provoking opportunity attacks, as if they had taken the Disengage action. Whenever it enters or starts its turn on a red tile, it makes attacks with disadvantage until the end of its next turn.

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Secret Door: There is a secret door to the shrine to Baphomet in the south­west corner of this room (Secret Area B). Character searching this area can find it with a successful DC 22 Wisdom (Perception) check. The door is opened by pulling down on the nearest sconce, which players can discover by experimentation or with a DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) check. Encounter 30: Feast­Hall of Moradin Oni (Kashatri) + 1 Minotaur + 4 Gnolls. Award XP: 4000. Adjusted XP: 6000 Unlike the other creatures in the vaults, Kashatri has no interest in negotiating with the adventurers; he just wants to lull them into a false sense of security. Most of the food at the banquet table is covered in blood, but Kashatri offers to them a previously unnoticed plate of fruit that seems untainted. However, any character who eats the fruit find that it turns to dust in his or her mouth and they are poisoned for the next hour. A character can detect the illusory magic on this fruit with a detect magic spell, or by making a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check. Tactics: The creatures don’t fight together well at all. Kashatri uses darkness to separate and confuse the PCs, and invisibility to attack vulnerable members. He also uses cone of cold if he thinks he can catch most of the group, even if it means including his so­called allies in the blast. The minotaur and gnolls fight with their usual ferocity, but attempt to position themselves near to the doors to their allies. As soon as Kashatri dies, the rest of the creatures attempt to flee and get to their allies against the opposing group. Double Doors: The doors leading west to the dragon’s lair are barred, as well as barricaded with extra chairs, small tables, and piles of miscellaneous trash. Opening the doors from inside this area requires 5 minutes to clear this away, or a DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check. Opening the doors from the other side requires a DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check. Treasure: See the original notes for information on the treasure here. Encounter 31: Hall of Bahamut 4 Gnolls + 1 Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu * Use the original description of the Hall. A character with passive Wisdom (Insight) 16 or higher gets a sense that something terrible happened in this hall. The first character to use the power of a card sees the vision as described on page 19 of the original book 1. Tactics: The creatures here respond quickly to the sounds of combat in area 32. If combat breaks out here, the gnolls try to retreat south so that they can fight as one larger group.

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Features of the Area: Caltrops: Suspicious of the oni in area 30, the gnolls have scattered caltrops in the 10­foot square near the doors to that area. See page 151 of the PHB for a description of caltrops. Cauldron and Fire: The cauldron of stew on the fire can be knocked over with a DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check. Any creature in the 10­foot cone opposite the kicking player must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6+4 fire damage and fall prone. The stew remains, making the floor there slippery for a minute. Any creature which enters a space covered in stew must make a DC 11 Dexterity or fall prone. Any creature which enters the fire or ends its turn there takes 1d6 fire damage. Treasure: Use the original notes for the treasure here Echoes of the Deck: This room is where Havarr made his fateful draw from the Deck. This has the lasting impact of amplifying the powers and effects of the Deck in this hall. ­Any attack rolls made as part of a card’s powers get a +1 bonus ­DCs related to the powers of the cards are increased by 1 ­When a card token moves to a space under or adjacent to any creature(s), that creature take 1d6+1 damage. ­The DC to force a card is reduce by 2 (to 16) Encounter 32: Sun Hall of Pelor Gnoll Pack Lord (Nebrix) + 5 Gnolls * These creatures respond quickly to the sounds of combat in area 31, and if combat erupts here they will retreat north to their allies in that area. Together, the gnolls in these two areas form an encounter with 9 gnolls, 1 gnoll pack lord, and 1 gnoll fang worth 2450 XP (Adjusted XP 7350). Tactics: As soon as combat occurs here, Nebrix order an immediate retreat to the north. The gnolls use their ranged abilities to harass the PCs if they do not follow while other members of the pack wait in ambush at the door. Corrupted Sun Pool: This shallow pool of water once reflected the light of the sun filtering through the shaft overhead, which has long since collapsed. Now the pool has been corrupted by the evil which suffuses the Abbey. The pool is difficult terrain, and any creature that enters the pool or ends its turn there must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 2d10 necrotic damage (half damage on a successful save). Sun Circle: The flames dancing over the magic circle are harmless, but the lingering magic of Pelor remains. Any creature in the circle that deals fire or radiant damage with an attack or spell deals an extra 1d6 damage of the type being dealt. If a character in the Sun Circle uses a spell or attack which would deal fire or radiant damage and the area of effect includes any part of the

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corrupted pool, the water of the pool is instantly cleansed. Alternatively, a character able to cast cleric or paladin spells can stand within the circle and expend a spell slot (of any level) to channel the power of Pelor to cleanse the pool. Characters can learn this information by succeeding on a DC 13 Intelligence (Religion) check. Cleansed Sun Pool: If the players cleanse the waters, then creatures no longer take necrotic damage when in the pool. In addition, creatures in the waters are treated as being under the effect of the beacon of hope spell. Treasure: Use the original notes for the treasure here. Consider replacing the potions of healing with potions of greater healing Secret Door: There is a secret door to the shrine to Baphomet in the south­east corner of this room (Secret Area B). Character searching this area can find it with a successful DC 22 Wisdom (Perception) check. The trigger is concealed within the ear of a bull carved on the door’s surface, which can be determined by a successful DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) check. Encounter 33: Great Temple Mekkalath, young red dragon + 12 Kobolds. XP Award: 6200. Mekkalath the young red dragon makes his home in this ancient temple to Bahamut and the other gods of good. As he is just now establishing his hold on the area, he allows the other creatures in the Vaults to live and give him tribute. He spends much of his time in his lair directing his kobolds in their work and protecting his treasure from the other inhabitants of the vaults. However, he also needs to hunt and search for loot, and so there is a chance that he is not present when the adventurers arrive here. Roll a d20 and consult the table below when the PCs arrive in the Vaults and head to this area to determine what Mekkalath is doing.

d20 Activity

1 Mekkalath is receiving tribute from the Oni’s Bodyguards from Area 30

2­8 Mekkalath is present and awake. He could be eating, directing his kobolds in their efforts, or simply admiring his treasure.

9­16 Mekkalath is present but sound asleep on his pile of treasure.

17­20 Mekkalath is not present, but is instead out hunting game or searching for treasure.

Use the notes in the original book 2 and on page 23 of this document to roleplay Mekkalath. If he is asleep, he wakes if dealt damage or if adventurers significantly disturb his treasure. No matter what Mekkalath is doing, the kobolds are present. They are digging the tunnel, hacking away at the statues, or polishing treasures. They will fight the PCs on sight unless Mekkalath tells them

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not to. In the case where the gnolls and minotaurs are delivering tribute, those creatures most likely flee to warn their respective groups, unwilling to risk taking casualties in a fight. Use the stat block of a young red dragon for Mekkalath, with the addition of his cards from the Deck. Mekkalath has three cards which he uses at full, ⅔, and ⅓ health (178, 118, and 59) activating the cards at the end of the turn where he is reduced to or below the relevant health amount. In combat, Mekkalath is arrogant and aggressive. He flies to the center of the room, taking advantage of the 40­foot ceiling there, and uses his breath weapon to bathe the room in fire. If he is close to death, he attempts to fly out the passage which leads to outside. Should he escape, he is ruthless in his attempts to extract his vengeance on the party, looking for an opportune time to strike. Use the original notes for the features of the area. The dragon’s treasure pile is a single treasure hoard for CR 5­10; he has not yet amalgamated all the wealth in the Vaults, and therefore his hoard is not yet very large. If you prefer, you can increase the size of this hoard, perhaps by moving some of the wealth that the minotaurs and gnolls have to the dragon’s hoard. Also in the hoard are Mekkalath’s 3 cards from the Deck, and the Chalice of the Dragon ­ one of the sacred items needed to purify the temple. At your discretion, these items can replace magical items in the hoard or be in addition to them. Chalice of the Dragon: This chalice, adorned with the figure of a platinum dragon, is one of the three relics that Oakley needs in order to purify the temple. It also has magical healing powers bestowed upon it. One creature can drink water from the chalice to regain 4d4+4 hitpoints. This power recharges at dawn. If a creature drinks from the chalice before the power has been restored, there is no effect.

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Appendix A: Creature Statistics

Encounter 6:

58

Encounter 8:

59

Encounter 10:

Encounter 11:

60

Encounter 13/Berrian as Secret Collector:

61

Encounter 17:

62

Encounter 21:

63

Encounter 23:

64

Encounter 24:

Encounter 27:

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Encounter 28/29:

Oakley as Secret Collector:

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Padraig as Secret Collector:

67