Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. C d&d e redits nCounters Sasquatch Game Studio Welcome to a special introductory edition of the Princes Lead Designer: Richard Baker of the Apocalypse™ adventure, designed specifically for Designers: Ed Greenwood, David Noonan, Thomas M. Reid, D&D Encounters™ (an official in-store play program) Stephen Schubert, Steven Townshend, Jeff Ludwig, Robert J. Schwalb and the D&D Adventurers League™ (the official D&D Editors: Michele Carter, Stacy Janssen organized play system). Interior Illustrators: John-Paul Balmet, Mark Behm, Eric Belisle, This edition of the adventure is designed for 1st- Filip Burburan, Christopher Burdett, Anna Christenson, through 4th-level characters, and is divided up Conceptopolis, Wayne England, Jason Engle, Jon Hodgson, into two parts, each of which contains a number of Justin Mayhew, Jim Nelson, Klaus Pillon, Claudio Pozas, adventure scenarios. Characters who finish both parts Ned Rogers, Lee Smith, Raymond Swanland, Matias Tapia, of the adventure should reach 5th level at the end. Richard Whitters, Kieran Yanner Characters of 5th level and above cannot play in this Cartographers: Sean MacDonald, Mike Schley D&D Encounters edition of the adventure, though they Typesetter: Nissa McCormack can play the full adventure of Princes of the Apocalypse. Wizards of the Coast Each part of the adventure should be played over D&D Encounters Edition: Scott Fitzgerald Gray, multiple sessions of play. For D&D Encounters, the Chris Tulach recommended session length is two hours. The full D&D Lead Designers: Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford adventure contains additional play beyond this edition Story Lead: Christopher Perkins (see “Additional Play” at the end of the adventure). Managing Editor: Jeremy Crawford Playing this adventure in store as a part of D&D Producer: Greg Bilsland Encounters is fun and offers additional benefits to Additional Design: Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, enhance the experience. Folios connecting characters to Chris Sims, Matt Sernett different factions in the world of the Forgotten Realms® Art Directors: Kate Irwin, Shauna Narciso are provided for players, containing information and Cover Illustrator: Raymond Swanland accessories, along with exclusive rewards. Dungeon Graphic Designers: Emi Tanji, Bree Heiss Proofreading: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes Masters (DMs) receive a folio as well, themed to the Project Management: Neil Shinkle, John Hay storyline season (for this season, Elemental Evil™). Production Services: Cynda Callaway, Jefferson Dunlap, Check with your store for more details. If you received David Gershman this adventure and aren’t currently associated with a Brand and Marketing: Nathan Stewart, Liz Schuh, store, you can find a nearby store by heading to our Chris Lindsay, Shelly Mazzanoble, Hilary Ross, John Feil, Store and Event Locator. Laura Tommervik, Kim Lundstrom, Trevor Kidd t d&d A Playtesters: Teos Abadia, Robert Alaniz, Rory Alexander, Jay he dventurers Anderson, Paul Baalham, Stacy Bermes, Joseph Bloch, L carlo bosticco, Ken Breese, Tim Eagon, Pierce Gaithe, eAgue Richard Green, T. E. Hendrix, Sterling Hershey, Paul Hughes Matthew Jording, Yan Lacharité, Shane Leahy, Ryan Leary, This adventure is official for D&D Adventurers League Jonathan Longstaff, Jon Machnicz, Farrell Madden, Matt play. The D&D Adventurers League is the official Maranda, Paul Melamed, Shawn MerwinLou Michelli, Rob organized play system for Dungeons & Dragons. Mickunas, Mike Mihalas, John Proudfoot, Rob Quillen II, Karl Players can create characters and participate in any Resch, Sam Sherry, Sam E Simpson Jr, Pieter Sleijpen adventure allowed as a part of the D&D Adventurers Disclaimer: Wizards of the Coast urges adventurers to remember that not all rock creatures League. As they adventure, players track their are earth elementals. A talking rock that controls boulders is a galeb duhr. A talking rock wearing jewelry is a dao. A silent rock that’s resistant to non-adamantine weapons is a characters’ experience, treasure, and other rewards, stone golem. A rock with wings is a gargoyle. A rock without a K is a giant bird. A rock that and can take those characters through other adventures sits there and does nothing could be just a rock or a balor disguised by an illusion. In all that will continue their story. cases, proceed with caution. D&D Adventurers League play is broken up into story line seasons. When players create characters, they attach those characters to a storyline season, which determines what rules they’re allowed to use to create and advance their characters. Players can continue SeaSon Length DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon The Elemental Evil storyline season for D&D Encounters ampersand, Princes of the Apocalypse, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon runs from Wednesday, March 18, 2015, through Wednesday, Master’s Guide, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective August 12, 2015. This D&D Encounters edition of the logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All adventure contains enough play for 9 to 13 sessions. If you characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any start the adventure the first week and play the sessions in reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is the recommended two-hour weekly increments, you will prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. finish this edition well before the end of the D&D Encounters Sasquatch Game Studio and the Sasquatch Game Studio logo are trademarks of season. To fill out the rest of the season, see “Additional Sasquatch Game Studio LLC. Play” at the end of this adventure. ©2015 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. D&D encounters 2 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. to play their characters after the storyline season has tabLe of ContentS finished, possibly participating in a second or third D&D Encounters 2 storyline with those same characters. A character’s level Introduction 7 is the only limitation for adventure play. A player cannot Background 7 use a character of a level higher or lower than the level Overview 7 range of a D&D Adventurers League adventure. Red Larch and the Dessarin Valley 9 For more information on playing, running games as Red Larch 10 a Dungeon Master, and organizing games for the D&D Map: Red Larch 11 Adventurers League, please visit the D&D Adventurers The Dessarin Valley 13 Random Encounters 13 League home. Map: The Dessarin Valley 14 PrePAring the Valley Sites 15 Part 1: Alarums and Excursions 17 A dventure Trouble in Red Larch 17 Into the Wilderness 18 You don’t need to prepare this entire adventure for the Bears and Bows 18 first session. Simply get to know the different scenarios Designing D&D Encounters Sessions 18 Haunted Tomb 19 in the adventure prior to playing each scenario (but Lance Rock/Necromancer’s Cave 20 remember that the first short scenarios in part 1 can Tomb of Moving Stones 22 be played in any order). As you do so, spend some time Rewards 28 familiarizing yourself with the adventure’s locations, Developments 28 events, and characters—including the sites in Red Larch Part 2: Secret of the Sumber Hills 29 for part 1 of the adventure, and the select locations in The Missing Delegation 29 the Dessarin Valley for part 2 of the adventure. You’ll Adventure Start 30 also want to review the relevant statistics for any Beginning the Search 30 monsters or nonplayer characters (NPCs). Designing D&D Encounters Sessions 30 Each part of the adventure contains a “Designing Feathergale Spire 31 Skyriders 31 D&D Encounters Sessions” sidebar that talks about Spire Features 31 how to divide that part of the adventure up into two- Map: Feathergale Spire 33 hour sessions for D&D Encounters play. This adventure Knights’ Quest 34 features a wide-open play style that means you will most Manticore Hunt 35 often be creating sessions based on the characters’ Sighing Valley 36 goals and the players’ choices during the game, rather Rewards 38 than forcing the characters to adhere to a fixed roster of Rivergard Keep 38 events and locations. Reaver Ambush 38 In order to DM the game as a part of the D&D Investigating Rivergard 38 Adventurers League, you’ll need a DCI number. The Keep Features 39 Map: Rivergard Keep 41 DCI number is your official Wizards of the Coast Rewards 46 organized play identifier. If you don’t have a number, Developments 46 you can obtain one at a store event. Check with your Additional Play 47 organizer for details. Appendix: Cultists and Magic 48 B e P s efore ACh LAy ession This adventure is designed for three to seven 1st- You can do a quick scan of a player’s character to 4th-level characters, and is optimized for four sheet to ensure that nothing appears out of order. characters. Players that have characters outside that If you see magic items of very high rarity or strange level range cannot participate in the adventure with arrays of ability scores, you can ask a player to provide those characters. Players with ineligible characters can documentation for the irregularities. If a player cannot, make a new 1st-level character or use a pregenerated feel free to restrict item use or ask the player to use a character. Players can play an adventure they previously standard ability score array. Point the player to the D&D played or ran as a DM, but not with the same character Adventurers League Player’s Guide as a reference. (if applicable). d L owntime And ifestyLe Ensure that all players have official Adventure Log- sheets for their characters. Each player will fill out At the beginning of each play session, players must the adventure name, session number, date, and your declare whether or not they are spending any days of name and DCI number. In addition, the player also fills downtime. The player records the downtime spent in his or her character’s starting values for XP, gold, on the adventure logsheet. The following options are downtime, renown, and number of permanent magic available to players during downtime (see the D&D items. Players will fill in the other values and write Basic Rules or the D&D Adventurers League Player’s notes at the conclusion of the session. Each player is Guide for more information): responsible for maintaining an accurate logsheet. • Crafting (exception: multiple characters cannot commit to crafting a single item) D&D Encounters 3 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. • Practicing a profession eLementaL CryStaL • Recuperating This season provides one special certificate that is valid • Training throughout the duration of Elemental Evil. The elemental Other downtime options might be available during crystal is a single-use item found in the D&D Encounters kit. adventures or unlocked through play, including f action- specific activities. A C In addition, whenever a character spends downtime wArding ertifiCAtes days, that character also spends the requisite expense The D&D Encounters kit contains certificates for all for his or her lifestyle. Costs are per day, so that a permanent magic items and any rare or higher rarity character who spends ten days of downtime also spends consumable items found in an adventure. Whenever ten days of expenses maintaining his or her lifestyle. a character records such a magic item on his or her Some downtime activities help with lifestyle expenses logsheet, ask the organizer for a certificate from the or add lifestyle expenses. kit to award to that player. Certificates can be awarded PLAyer And dm foLios while supplies last. Certified magic items are a fun reminder of play, At your first session, check with your store organizer to but they also serve an important purpose: most see if faction-specific player and story-specific DM folios unlock the ability to trade a magic item to another are available. These are complimentary, and contain D&D Adventurers League character. Magic items great game accessories and rewards for DMs and earned without certificates cannot be traded to other players. Whenever a new player shows up, check with characters. the organizer to see if any more folios are available. Other items in the adventure might also be certified, A e P s including special rewards. If a special item or other fter ACh LAy ession reward has a certificate, it is noted in the adventure. As the characters progress through the adventure, ChArACter AdvAnCement they can earn treasure in the form of valuables such as gold, jewelry, and art objects, as well as magic items. A character who earns enough XP to advance a level can In addition, there might be special rewards that are do so at the end of a long rest or at the end of a session. story focused or intangible. Since a group’s composition A character who earns enough renown to advance a might change from one play session to the next, you’ll rank in his or her faction can do so at the end of either want to have players update their logsheets before part of the adventure. leaving the table. d r owntime And enown Players are responsible for maintaining their own adventure logsheets. At the end of each session, you At different points during the adventure, additional should give out rewards earned and each player should awards might need to be given out. record that information on his or her logsheet. Downtime days and renown are awarded twice Experience points (XP) are given out to each during each part of this D&D Encounters edition of player. Divide XP by the number of characters, unless Princes of the Apocalypse. In part 1, characters are otherwise specified in the adventure. awarded downtime and renown after the completion Coin, nonmagical treasure, and other wealth of the initial short scenarios, then after the completion rewards are totaled up in value. That total is then of the Tomb of Moving stones scenario. In part 2 of divided by the number of characters, unless otherwise the adventure, characters are awarded downtime and specified in the adventure. renown after the completion of the Feathergale Spire Consumable magic items are awarded at the end of scenario and of the Rivergard Keep scenario. each session. Potions, scrolls, and other consumable At each of these award points, each character is magic items are divided among the characters. A player awarded 10 downtime days, which can be spent notes the item obtained by recording it on his or her immediately or saved for later use. logsheet. Players should attempt to ensure an equitable distribution of consumable items. dungeon mAstering tiPs Permanent magic items are awarded at the end of each session. Permanent magic items are rare, and do As the DM running this adventure, you have the most not appear often. A player notes each item obtained by important role in facilitating the enjoyment of the game recording it on his or her logsheet. See the sidebar for for the players. You help guide the narrative and bring guidelines on how to distribute permanent magic items. the words on these pages to life. The outcome of a fun Other special rewards are awarded when noted in game session often creates stories that live well beyond the adventure, usually at the end of a session. the play at the table. Always follow this golden rule when you run an adventure for a group: experienCe and miLeStoneS D&D Adventurers League play does not use the milestone Make decisions and adjudications that enhance the experience rule. Characters track experience individually and fun of the adventure whenever possible. level up when reaching the appropriate amount of XP. To reinforce this rule, keep the following points in mind: D&D Encounters 4 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. • You are empowered to make adjustments to the permanent magiC item diStribution adventure and make decisions about how the D&D Adventurers League has a system in place to determine characters interact with the world of the adventure. who is awarded permanent magic items at the end of a This is especially important and applicable outside of session. Each character’s logsheet contains a column to combat, but feel free to also use the guidelines in the record permanent magic items for ease of reference. “Adjusting the Adventure” section (below) for groups • If all the players at the table agree on one character taking that are having too easy or too hard of a time in an possession of a permanent magic item, that character adventure. gets the item. • Don’t make the adventure too easy or too difficult for • In the event that one or more characters indicate an a group. Never being challenged makes for a boring interest in possessing a permanent magic item, the character who possesses the fewest permanent magic game, and being overwhelmed makes for a frustrating items gets the item. If there is a tie in the total number of game. Gauge the experience that the players (not permanent magic items owned by contesting characters, the characters) have with the game. Try to get a the item’s owner is determined randomly by the DM. sense of what each player likes in a game session (or simply ask the players), and try to give all players the experience they’re after when they play D&D. Give Party Magic. If a character in the party has access everyone a chance to shine. to a raise dead spell, a revivify spell, or similar magic, • Be mindful of pacing, and keep the game session he or she can choose to raise a dead character. If raise moving along appropriately. Watch for stalling, dead is used, the dead character’s soul must be free since play loses momentum when this happens. At and willing to be returned to life. A character subject the same time, try to provide the players with a full to a raise dead spell also takes a penalty to attack rolls, play experience that doesn’t finish too early. D&D saving throws, and ability checks that is normally Encounters sessions are about two hours long, so reduced each time the character takes a long rest. In try to be aware of when you are running long or addition, each downtime day spent after a character is short. Adjust the pacing accordingly. Each part of the subject to raise dead can reduce this penalty by 1, over adventure provides guidelines for breaking the action and above any other benefit the downtime provides. up into D&D Encounters sessions. Dead Character Pays for Raise Dead. If a dead • Give the players appropriate hints so they can make character’s body is recoverable and his or her soul is informed choices about how to proceed. Players willing to be returned to life, the party can take the body should be given clues when necessary so they can back to civilization and use the dead character’s funds to tackle puzzles, combat, and interactions without pay for a raise dead spell. A raise dead spell cast in this getting frustrated over lack of information. This helps manner costs the character 1,000 gp. to encourage immersion in the adventure and gives Character’s Party Pays for Raise Dead. As above, players “little victories” for figuring out good choices except that some or all of the 1,000 gp cost of the raise from clues. dead spell is paid for by the party at the end of the In short, being the DM isn’t about following the session. Other party members are under no obligation to adventure’s text word for word. It’s about helping spend their funds to bring a dead character back to life. to create a fun, challenging game environment for Faction Charity. If the dead character is 1st to 4th the players. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has more level and a member of a faction, the character’s body information on the art of running a D&D game. can be returned to civilization, where a patron from the faction ensures that the character receives a raise C d , d , hArACter iseAse eAth And dead spell. However, any character invoking this charity reCovery forfeits all XP and rewards from the session in which he or she died (even those earned prior to dying during that Bad things sometimes happen even to the heroes, and session), and cannot replay that portion of the adventure characters might be poisoned, diseased, or killed during with that character again. Once a character reaches 5th an adventure. The following rules can help you manage level, this option is no longer available. such events during a D&D Encounters season. Create a New Character. If a character cannot be diseAse, Poison, And brought back from the dead, a player can create a new other deBiLitAting effeCts character. The new character does not have any items or rewards possessed by the dead character. A dead A character affected by disease, poison, and other character keeps all his or her items and rewards, in case similar effects can recuperate during downtime to help the player decides to raise the character later. Other resolve those effects. (See “Downtime Activities” in characters cannot take a dead character’s treasure or the D&D Basic Rules). If a character doesn’t resolve an magic items, and can use a dead character’s money only effect between game sessions, that character begins the to pay for a raise dead spell for that character. next session still affected by the debilitating effect. deAth A character who dies during the course of an adventure has a few different options. D&D Encounters 5 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. A djusting the Noncombat XP awards are given either on a per character basis or as a lump-sum award to be divided A dventure by the party. Where awards are given to each character, you can award the same value to any number of This adventure has been designed for optimal play characters in the party. Where an award is given as by a party of four characters all starting at 1st level, a lump-sum value, divide the award by the number of and who will advance as high as 5th level by the end characters in the party. of the adventure. However, the D&D Encounters The Dungeon Master’s Guide has more information format allows for characters of 1st to 4th level, and on noncombat challenges and awarding XP. groups of from three to seven adventurers. If you r P are playing with a larger or smaller group, or with esourCes for LAy a group of four characters starting the adventure at higher than 1st level, you can make adjustments to the To run this adventure, you should have the following combat encounters to make sure the adventure plays resources available for your use: well for your group. (You can make the same sorts of • Monster Manual (all new monsters and NPCs are adjustments even for a group of four characters of the presented in the appendix) optimal level if those characters are having too hard or • D&D Basic Rules (player’s rules and Dungeon too easy a time in the adventure.) Master’s rules) r e • Dungeon Master’s Guide (recommended) eBuiLding nCounters The Dungeon Master’s Guide and the D&D Basic Rules provide guidelines for creating balanced combat encounters. If you have time before you play, use these guidelines to calculate the appropriate XP budget for your party and increase the number of monsters in an encounter as appropriate. A f djusting on the Ly To make adjustments to encounters while you play, you can increase the number of monsters. This approach works best for encounters with four or more monsters (equal to or greater than the optimal party size of four). Start by adding one monster to an existing group of monsters for each additional character in the party. Be careful if you find yourself doubling the number of monsters in an encounter. Many creatures—even low- challenge monsters—become much more dangerous in large numbers. In the event that you feel the need to increase the number of monsters in an encounter drastically (for example, if you have a large group of 3rd- or 4th-level characters starting the adventure), you should instead use the Dungeon Master’s Guide or the D&D Basic Rules to calculate XP budgets as you rebuild the encounters. n XP onComBAt Though this adventure does not specify noncombat XP awards, you can give out such awards as appropriate when the characters engage in good roleplaying to overcome a challenge, or when the adventurers undertake a complicated, risky strategy that allows them to bypass a dangerous encounter rather than face it. In general, if the characters are able to bypass a combat encounter with effective roleplaying and strategizing, award full XP as if the party had overcome the encounter, so as to ensure that characters can advance in the adventure as expected. However, in the event that a party later has to fight foes that were initially bypassed, characters gain no additional XP for the combat encounter. D&D Encounters 6 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. i ntroduCtion terrible threat gathers in the stronger, its corruption grows into madness. Cultists North. Throughout this region of the sink into insanity, lashing out at everything around them Forgotten Realms, savage marauders or destroying themselves in elemental cataclysms. Ruin bring destruction. Monsters are on the rules as the forces of nature become instruments of prowl, preying on flocks, rampaging destruction. through croplands, and attacking The four cults that make up Elemental Evil operate homesteads and travelers. In settlements, independently of each other. Each believes that its discord and suspicion grow. Sinister favored element is the most powerful and most worthy strangers lurk in the shadows, whispering about how of worship. In this D&D Encounters adventure, the everything is soon to change. characters have the opportunity to infiltrate and fight the forces of the Cult of the Howling Hatred and the Cult B ACkground of the Crushing Wave. The threat of Elemental Evil surfaces in different CuLt of the BLACk eArth worlds of the multiverse whenever the force known as The earth cult worships the implacable the Elder Elemental Eye tests its strength. Servants of strength and unyielding resistance of this malevolence seek to master elemental magic and elemental earth. Cultists seek the power unleash its destructive power everywhere. In its current to destroy the works of civilization with incarnation, Elemental Evil arises in the Sumber landslides, sinkholes, or mighty earthquakes, thus Hills of Faerûn—the world of the Forgotten Realms. demonstrating the true power of elemental earth and The scattered towns and isolated homesteads of this the futility of resistance. frontier now face a dire threat. If the forces of Elemental Evil can’t be defeated before they grow, madness and CuLt of the Crushing wAve destruction could spread unchecked through the North. Cultists of the Crushing Wave worship the The full adventure of Princes of the Apocalypse awesome power of water, from the surging sets the heroes against the forces of four elemental tides and deadly maelstroms of the sea to the cults growing in power in the Sumber Hills, claiming raging torrents of rivers in flood and the rock- abandoned keeps that connect to an underground crushing power of ice and glaciers. It is the duty of fortress once part of an ancient dwarven kingdom. Each Crushing Wave initiates to return nonbelievers to the of the four cults venerates a powerful entity of air, earth, primal waters by drowning them or shedding fire, or water: a Prince of Elemental Evil. Like their their blood. princes, the four cults are rivals, yet they all serve a CuLt of the eternAL fLAme mysterious force they call the Elder Elemental Eye. A prophet gifted with a powerful elemental weapon The followers of the Eternal Flame cult leads each cult. Those weapons—Windvane, Ironfang, worship the destructive power of fire in all Tinderstrike, and Drown—do not appear in this D&D its manifestations. They seek the power to Encounters adventure, but they are a primary focus in burn away the “corruption” of both the full adventure of Princes of the Apocalypse. If you civilization and nature with volcanic eruptions, forest continue on with that full adventure, the heroes will fires, heat waves, and droughts, creating a wasteland of build on their initial confrontations with the cult as they ash and cinders ruled by fire alone. seek to destroy the four weapons and prevent elemental CuLt of the howLing hAtred destruction from wreaking devastation on the Dessarin Valley and beyond. The followers of the air cult worship the This D&D Encounters adventure provides an destructive power of wind and storms, believing overview of the threat of Elemental Evil, and a brief that those who venerate elemental air gain the exploration of the town of Red Larch and some of the power to punish those who have wronged them. features of the Dessarin Valley. The full adventure Rather than seeing destruction as an end in itself, air of Princes of the Apocalypse explores the cult, Red cultists unleash destruction as an expression of Larch and its people, and the Dessarin Valley in much personal freedom or to earn things wrongfully greater detail. denied them. eLementAL CuLts overview Elemental Evil perverts the natural elements, limiting The adventure begins when the characters arrive in the them to aspects of destruction. This force wants to town of Red Larch, a small settlement on the western gain the power to tear down everything—morals, social side of the Dessarin Valley. Strange rumors and structures, governments, the laws of nature—and ominous signs have the townsfolk concerned, including reduce existence to a more elemental state, tainted reports of bandit attacks on the roads, piracy on the with conflict and madness. Elemental Evil uses mortal Dessarin River, and monster sightings too close to town. servants as a means to this end, tempting the broken, As the characters explore Red Larch and meet a the wronged, and the wicked. As Elemental Evil grows selection of its people in part 1 of this adventure, they Introduction 7 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. are given leads that allow them to investigate three potential threats near the town—a bandit lair, a haunted tomb, and a necromancer’s cave. Their success in these scenarios leads the townsfolk to seek the adventurers’ aid when a sinkhole opens up in the middle of Red Larch—and reveals a mysterious and magical site hidden beneath the town. In part 2 of the adventure, the heroes are called upon to investigate the disappearance of important travelers in the Dessarin Valley. As they do, an attack on the road leads them to the first of the so-called Haunted Keeps of the Sumber Hills. These long-abandoned fortresses are now occupied by strange new sects masquerading as harmless societies or reclusive orders. However, these outposts all serve Elemental Evil. (This D&D Encounters adventure sets the characters on a course to infiltrate two of the four Haunted Keeps. The other two are developed in the full Princes of the Apocalypse adventure—as are the keeps’ connections to a huge dungeon beneath the Sumber Hills, the new Temple of Elemental Evil.) These events make up an exciting adventure in their own right, but they can also be used as a springboard to play the full adventure of Princes of the Apocalypse or the exciting organized play adventures of D&D Expeditions. See “Additional Play” at the end of this adventure for more information. u m r sing onster eferenCes Throughout the adventure, each encounter presents monster names in bold. This is a visual cue pointing you to look up the monster’s stat block. If a monster comes from this adventure’s appendix, you should find a parenthetical note telling you to look there. Finding no such note, you should head for the Monster Manual. Introduction 8 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. r L d v ed ArCh And the essArin ALLey he rise of Elemental Evil in Faerûn Long Road. Inns cater to travelers anxious to sleep begins in the Dessarin Valley, a lightly safely within sturdy walls and enjoy good food by a settled region of caravan towns, warm fire instead of camping by the side of the road. isolated homesteads, and uninhabited Minor issues are nothing unusual in the Dessarin wilderness just a week’s journey from Valley, from bands of savage humanoids from the Sword Waterdeep. Residents in places such as Mountains or the Evermoors, to bandits gathering in the Red Larch or Triboar boast that their lonelier parts of the vale to waylay caravans traveling humble settlements are “the Gateway the Long Road or the Kheldell Path. But six months to the North.” Through these lands pass hundreds of ago, an insidious new threat began to grow in the area, caravans and keelboats each year, linking the great unsuspected by the locals or any passing adventurers. ports of Waterdeep and Neverwinter with places such Dreams and visions have drawn four elemental as Everlund, Mirabar, or Silverymoon. The steady prophets, one by one, to the Sumber Hills. Each prophet caravan traffic breathes life into the towns of this area, began to gather like-minded followers. Strangers supporting businesses in the settlements along the trickled into the Dessarin Valley in ones or twos. Some Red Larch and the Dessarin Valley 9 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only. were already cultists of Elemental Evil, eager to build a end of part 1 of the adventure sets up the characters’ place where they could openly practice their vile rites. fight against the forces of Elemental Evil in part 2. Others were brutal thugs, power-hungry dabblers in t r L rouBLe in ed ArCh forbidden magic, or fanatics lured by the call of evil. r L Red Larch serves as the starting point for adventure. ed ArCh When the characters arrive in the town, a few minutes Red Larch has been an important stop on the Long of conversation with any NPC reveals that the townsfolk Road for two centuries now. Named for a distinctive are concerned about strange events. Asking around stand of red larch trees that were cut down when about what’s going on in town or points the party toward the hamlet was founded, Red Larch is a prosperous the following NPCs: community facing dark times. The heart of the Sumber • Outlaws are lurking out on the Cairn Road, but Hills has become far more dangerous, with monsters Constable Harburk (area 11) hasn’t found anything. lurking seemingly everywhere. Banditry is on the rise, • Mangobarl Lorren (area 8) and Minthra Mhandyvver’s and the weather seems to be getting more severe and granddaughter Pell (area 13) have tales to tell about an more unpredictable. The townsfolk fear that dangerous old tomb not far from town. times are at hand, but no one seems to know what to • The Tarnlar children (area 7) are telling wild tales do about it. about plague out by Lance Rock. The inhabitants of Red Larch have become so • Kaylessa Irkell, the owner of the Swinging Sword Inn frightened by the recent “dark doings” that rather than (area 2), thinks the town’s troubles might connect to showing typical frontier reticence, they helpfully babble dark magic in a cave by Lance Rock. about everything they’ve seen and heard. Most hope to Speaking with the NPCs involved in these rumors convince adventurers to investigate and put an end to provides the characters with several leads to adventure the current troubles. opportunities in Red Larch. “Into the Wilderness” t B he eLievers describes three short adventure scenarios located near town—an attack on a bandit camp in “Bears and A dozen of the Red Larch town elders have a secret: Bows,” a spectral showdown in “Haunted Tomb,” and They belong to a hidden society that calls itself “the a necromancer’s cave near a landmark called “Lance Believers.” Some of the wealthiest and most powerful Rock.” When the adventurers have completed these people in Red Larch are members, using their secret initial scenarios (which can be played in any order), they association to guide town affairs, plot against business are called upon to investigate “The Tomb of Moving competitors, and sometimes take care of people who Stones”—an old dungeon-like mine chamber underlying cause problems when it becomes clear that “something part of Red Larch. must be done” for the good of the town. r L L The Believers formed years ago when local miners ed ArCh oCAtions discovered a secret underground chamber beneath the Here follow brief descriptions of important locations town. Strange things happened in the chamber, such as in town. Buildings shown on the map that don’t have heavy stones levitating and moving about when no one a number and a description are houses, sheds, or was around (this is described in the “Tomb of Moving outbuildings belonging to farmers, shepherds, and Stones” scenario that ends part 1 of this adventure). The local laborers. Believers gather secretly at the tomb once every nine Some of the locations in town feature information nights to see if any stones have moved—and if any have, meant to lead the characters into the adventure they covertly meet the next night to discuss what the scenarios in “Trouble in Red Larch” (see part 1 of this movements mean, and what is to be done. They keep the adventure). tomb and its strange secret to themselves. The full adventure of Princes of the Apocalypse The Believers have no knowledge of Elemental Evil. explores Red Larch and its NPCs in much more detail, However, the Cult of the Black Earth discovered their including revealing secret cult agents and potential secret and became interested. A Black Earth priest faction allies for the player characters. named Larrakh has come to Red Larch to steer the group toward the worship of elemental earth. The 1. ALLfAiths shrine discovery of a cult priest’s interest in Red Larch at the The Allfaiths Shrine is a wayside shrine used by many faiths and owned by none. Priests shuttle out from time in the reaLmS Waterdeep in pairs for month-long stays. The most The people of the Forgotten Realms number the years by the frequent combinations are Sune and Selûne, Tymora Dalereckoning calendar, which is abbreviated “DR.” Years and Lathander, and Tempus and Oghma. are also given names, which are drawn from the writings of a great seer from long ago. The adventure is set in 1491 DR, 2. the swinging sword the Year of the Scarlet Witch. This inn is a three-story stone structure, crowned by a Each month consists of three ten-day long weeks called steep slate roof that bristles with many chimneys. An tendays. People refer to tendays the way people in other worlds refer to weeks. inn yard with stables and outbuildings lies behind the building. While the Helm at Highsun is the place to hear Red Larch and the Dessarin Valley 10 Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.