The Donjon: A 4-Hour Adventure For 5 - 10 Level Characters
The Donjon: A 4-Hour Adventure For 5 - 10 Level Characters
The village of Orașnou is panicked when a group of Bloodhand orcs appear at the edge of the
woods. They bring news and an unusual request that reveals a new foe.
Part Eleven of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.
ASH LAW
Adventure Designer
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Welcome to Barovia
Some characters may be arriving from Faerûn for
the first time. For those characters describe a heavy
fog bank rolling through their travel path while they
are in the Quivering Forest, and when it eventually
clears, they are on the outskirts of a small mountain
village. It’s heavy-handed, but such is the way of the
Demiplane.
Any character that participates in this adventure
earns The Demiplane of Dread story award if they
do not have it already. They should be made aware
that until this story award is removed, they may not
participate in any adventure that does not take place
in Barovia.
NOTE: This adventure may touch on some morally
dark moments. Please be careful to gauge your
player's comfort with such things, and remember
that the goal of a Dungeons & Dragons game is for
everyone to have fun!
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Orașnou Smiles break out on all three faces when the villagers catch
Estimated Duration: 30 minutes sight of your group. The woman in the group hits one of the
Spring is still a long way off. The recent troubles men on the shoulder and says “See they are here and now
have left a few homes even more decrepit and two we can keep our bargain and your Vistani friends will be
show signs of having been destroyed by fire. safe.”
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Troubleshooting
There may be parties that want to just kill the orcs in the
surrounding countryside. However, since the orcs are spread
out in camps, if they go after one camp those in the others
can attack the village. Scartia is not sure where the Vistani
went to buy supplies for them, so the adventurers can’t go
there and provide escort back to the village. Also they would
be breaking a bargain, not a wise thing to do in Barovia.
Then there are those who ask why doesn’t this tribe, if
they are numerous enough to threaten the village do this
themselves? Scartia does not know complete the answer to
that. She does know that the Bloodhands had tried a rescue
of some of their family and it was during that attempt that
Larga was captured, along with more of their kind.
The real answer is that Gmurk is a good enough leader to
get the orcs to terrorize a lightly defended village but not to
get them to potentially fight their enslaved members, or the
seemingly superior forces of the yuan-ti. He is using the
reading that Sybil did to “cover” the fact that he would not
be able to get the tribe to fight with him as their leader.
Treasure
Scartia gives the characters a handful of trinkets and
gems worth a total of 250 gp with the promise of
more upon their successful return.
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Ral is worried about the dragon that he has seen The Black Flowers
passing over the swamp, and wants assurances that
somebody is going to take care of the monster. Ral This area is a hill upon which black flowers normally
grow. At the top of the hill is a grave marker. The
says that sometimes when the dragon flies by, its
flowers are preserved in a strong covering of ice.
shadow freezes everyone in the swamp solid. He
believes that the dragon’s presence is why it is so
cold here. General Features
Provided Ral gets assurances that the adventures The hillock has the following general features:
will deal with the monster he'll let the adventurers Terrain. The hill rises out of the swamp and is dry
go on their way unhindered; he evens goes so far as land. Growing on the hill are non-magical black
to tell them about a nearby corpse in a boat that flowers, ordinary apart from their color. A large
probably has some boots that will fit the party. Ral stone (a grave marker) stands atop the hill. The hill
has seen orcs to the north doing building work, offers a good view of the desolate and lonely swamp
hauling stone blocks through the swamp. Ral surrounding it.
believes that the dragon has enslaved the orcs. Flowers. The flowers are non-magical; they are
exceptionally black in color and are closely grouped
Exploration. Among the Leech River together so that the ground beneath them is
obscured. They are covered in a coating of ice
The swamp is full of surprises, roll 1d4 if you decide
preserving them. If the ice is broken the smell of
that now is a good time for the adventurers to be
rotting vegetation.
surprised):
Light. The light here is dim, the clouds above
Leech River Surprises (Random Encounter) blocking out most of the illumination.
1d4 roll Surprise Sound. The wind rustles the black flowers,
1 An eyeless doll has been hung in a tree, the creating the sound of chimes.
doll strongly resembles one of the
adventurers. If the party has encountered Exploring the Hillock of Black Flowers
other eyeless dolls, then this one resembles a Exploring the mound reveals a campsite, and
different adventurer than the last one did. corpses. This looks like the remains of an
2 A swarm of quippers attack the party's legs as adventuring party; there is a rotted corpse of a
they wade through the swamp. warrior wearing rusty (and useless) plate armor,
one of the corpses carries a staff and is wearing a
robe, and the third corpse is wearing moldy, leather
armor. The equipment carried by the dead
adventurers has been exposed to the elements: it is
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On this hill once stood a tower, but many years ago it Adjusting the Encounter
collapsed in a fire. It is now partially sunk into the Here are some suggestions for adjusting this encounter.
swamp. The orcs enslaved by the yuan-ti have been These are not cumulative.
dragging away stone blocks from the ruins to use as
Weak or Very Weak Party: Remove five orcs
building material.
Strong Party: Add three orcs
Very Strong Party: Add five orcs
General Features
Muskeg Hill has the following general features:
Terrain. The area is covered in snow, creating Social Interaction. Just Orcs!
difficult terrain. The adventurers round the fallen tower to see orcs,
Light. A thick bank of storm clouds moves over hard at work loading stones from the fallen tower
the sky. onto wooden sledges.
Sound. The adventurers can hear the chirrup- If the adventurers hide from the orcs they will see
chirp squeak of bats from somewhere nearby, the orcs finish loading up and begin to drag the
though locating the source of the sound will take sledges away using rope harnesses. The orcs head
some exploration. north, following other drag marks. It is obvious that
this is not the first load of stones that they have
Exploring Muskeg Hill dragged away.
No roll is needed to hide behind rubble and listen
This low rise of land is the site of a ruined tower. At
some point in the past a fire caused this tower to in on the orc's conversation; the orcs are paying
attention to their work, if the adventurers don't
collapse partially into the swamp.
make themselves known to the orcs (either on
Drag marks lead north, and a successful DC 11
purpose or by doing something really obvious that
Wisdom (Survival) or Intelligence (Investigation)
attracts the orcs attention) then they go unnoticed.
skill check reveals footprints and drag marks that
You should role-play the orcs talking among
many groups of orcs over many days have dragged
themselves. The orc's conversation reveals much the
stones away using sledges.
same information as would be revealed by talking to
A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Nature) allows the
the orcs in Polderswale.
adventurers to recognize signs that bats are roosting
If the orcs become aware of the adventurers then
in the ruined shell of the tower's lower floors
they attack (run it as a combat encounter, as detailed
(guano, squeaking, etc.)—the crumbling stone of the
above).
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Larga is Rescued
If the adventurers rescued Larga Bloodhand she
thanks them and tells the party that the Bloodhand
orcs owe them a debt of honor. Her plan is to reunite
her scattered tribe and hunt down the yuan-ti who
escaped into the swamp. Larga plans to send some of
the tribe's shamans back to the hills that is their
homeland to manage the tribe's affairs while she is
away.
Treasure. Larga commands her shamans to give
the adventurers a reward a jewel-encrusted silver
torc worth 500 gp. If the adventurers also rescued
the orcs, the adventurers also receive a gem-
encrusted goblet worth 200 gp.
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Potions of Healing
Potion, common
A description of this item can be found in the Player’s
Handbook.
Gemstone Necklace
Trinket, common
This gemstone at the center of this rather homely
necklace glows as a light spell. This is the extent of
its enchantment.
Renown
All faction members earn one renown point for
participating in this adventure.
Downtime
Each character receives 10 downtime days at the
conclusion of this adventure.
DM Rewards
You receive 1,000 XP, 500 gp, and 10 downtime
days for running this session.
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Statistics
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Elvish, Sylvan
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Bullywug Innate Spellcasting. The dryad’s innate spellcasting
ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14). The dryad can
Medium humanoid (bullywug), neutral evil innately cast the following spells, requiring no material
Armor Class 15 (hide armor, shield) components:
Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)
Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft. At will: druidcraft
3/day each: entangle, goodberry
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 1/day each: barkskin, pass without trace, shillelagh
12 (+1) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 7 (−2) 10 (+0) 7 (−2)
Magic Resistance. The dryad has advantage on saving
Skills Stealth +3 throws against spells and other magical effects.
Senses passive Perception 10
Speak with Beasts and Plants. The dryad can
Languages Bullywug
communicate with beasts and plants as if they shared a
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
language.
Amphibious. The bullywug can breathe air and water.
Tree Stride. Once on her turn, the dryad can use 10
Speak with Frogs and Toads. The bullywug can feet of her movement to step magically into one living
communicate simple concepts to frogs and toads when tree within her reach and emerge from a second living
it speaks in Bullywug. tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an
Swamp Camouflage. The bullywug has advantage on unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree.
Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in swampy Both trees must be Large or bigger.
terrain.
Standing Leap. The bullywug’s long jump is up to 20 Actions
feet and its high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without Club. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit (+6 to hit with
a running start. shillelagh), reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4)
bludgeoning damage, or 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning
Actions damage with shillelagh.
Multiattack. The bullywug makes two melee attacks: Fey Charm. The dryad targets one humanoid or beast
one with its bite and one with its spear. that she can see within 30 feet of her. If the target can
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one see the dryad, it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom
target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage. saving throw or be magically charmed. The charmed
creature regards the dryad as a trusted friend to be
Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit,
heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under
reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 +
the dryad’s control, it takes the dryad’s requests or
1) piercing damage, or 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage if
actions in the most favorable way it can.
used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Each time the dryad or its allies do anything harmful
to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending
Dryad the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect
Medium fey, neutral lasts 24 hours or until the dryad dies, is on a different
plane of existence from the target, or ends the effect
Armor Class 11 (16 with barkskin) as a bonus action. If a target’s saving throw is
Hit Points 22 (5d8) successful, the target is immune to the dryad’s Fey
Speed 30 ft. Charm for the next 24 hours.
The dryad can have no more than one humanoid and
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
up to three beasts charmed at a time.
10 (+0) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 18 (+4)
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STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 13 (+1) 7 (−2) 12 (+1) 7 (−2)
Skills Arcana +3, Deception +4, Perception +4, Stealth Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4, Survival +5
+3 Senses passive Perception 13
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Draconic
Languages Common, Draconic, Sylvan Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
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Actions
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Multiattack. The shambling mound makes two slam
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, paralyzed,
attacks. If both attacks hit a Medium or smaller target,
petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
the target is grappled (escape DC 14), and the
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 11
shambling mound uses its Engulf on it.
Languages —
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
Echolocation. The swarm can’t use its blindsight while
Engulf. The shambling mound engulfs a Medium or deafened.
smaller creature grappled by it. The engulfed target is
Keen Hearing. The swarm has advantage on Wisdom
blinded, restrained, and unable to breathe, and it must
(Perception) checks that rely on hearing.
succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw at the
start of each of the mound’s turns or take 13 (2d8 + 4) Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s
bludgeoning damage. If the mound moves, the space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through
engulfed target moves with it. The mound can have any opening large enough for a Tiny insect. The swarm
only one creature engulfed at a time. can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.
Actions
Skeleton
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
Medium undead, lawful evil target. Hit: 5 (2d4) piercing damage, or 2 (1d4) piercing
Armor Class 13 (armor scraps) damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.
Hit Points 13 (2d8 + 4)
Speed 30 ft.
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If a player does not have a mobile device, please tell them to head to dndadventurersleague.org/results to enter
their results.
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