Frozen Depths Adjusting Combat - dndduet.com€¦ · the frozen lake that leads to the mine. On the...

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Frozen Depths

A Duet Adventure for PCs of levels 4-5

Introduction ThisadventuretakesplaceinthenewportcityofOvergatenearthedwarvensettlementatHammerfellinAzuria.ThisadventureisscaledforPCsoflevels4-5.IfyouprefertoruntheadventureoutsidetheworldofAzuria,wesuggestsettingitinornearamountainregionoranyenvironmentwithfrozenwater.

How to Use this Adventure Thisadventureassumesthatyouhaveaccesstothe5ESRD.ItemsorcreaturesthatarenotpartoftheSRDcanbefoundintheappendix.

Text box example: Text that appears in a box like this

may be read aloud, paraphrased, or omitted as you

prefer. It is intended to help describe scenarios and

environments.

Sidebar example

Text that appears in sidebars is also optional and/or intended to provide extra background information or lore that may be helpful as you flesh out the adventure.

Creatureswithstatblocksappearinbold,magicitemsappearinitalics.[NotesforGMsonscaleorRPappearinbrackets.]

Adjusting Combat Regardlessofwhetheryouarerunningthisadventure1-on-1orforagroup,oneofthemostimportantrolesoftheGMisbalancingandtweakingencounterstosuitthePC.Thecombatshouldfeelweighty,butfun.Somestrategiesincludereducingorraisinghitpointsorchangingthenumberofcombatantsbeforethesessionbeginsormakingadjustmentsduringcombat.Formoreinformationandresourcesaboutplayingthisone-on-onestyle,pleaseseedndduet.com.

Adventure Premise DwarvesanddeepgnomeshavecometogethertomakeOvergateawelcomingtradehubinwhichsurface-dwellersandthefolkoftheUnderlandmaycomfortablyexchangegoodsandinformation.Muchdiplomacyandefforthavegoneintothecreationofthecity,anditsatmospherehassparkedthemindsandheartsofmany.Inthisadventure,ayoungdwarvenmage,Glabrobelle,hasperhapsgottenherself,quiteliterally,inoverherhead.Heraunt,afamousrangerandexplorer,seekstheparty’saidinrecoveringherniece.Todoso,they’llneedtotravelthroughapartiallyfloodeddwarvenminewhereanapprenticeconjurerfacesoffagainstafierce,waterybeing.

Adventure Hooks Youmightpushyourplayersintotheadventureinafewways.

• ThepartyhasconcludedsomebusinessinOvergateandhasdecidedtotoastajobwelldoneattheGlitteringPromiseTaproomwhen,overhearingtheircelebration,RangwynnFrostbraidapproaches.

• Thepartyanswersamissingpersonsadthatreads:Urgentassistancerequestedinlocatingaheadstrongfool.100gpreward.SeeRangwynnFrostbraidattheGlitteringPromisefordetails.

Adventure Background RangwynnFrostbraidledanexcitinglifeasarangerroamingtheUnderlandfromtheupperlayersofthedwarvenkingdomofHammerfelltotheedgesoftheDarkDepths.Talesofheradventuresandexploitsfueledtheimaginationofherniece,Glabrobelle,whosemorebookishinclinationsultimatelyleftherfeelinglikeshewasmissingexcitementandadventure.

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Grove Guardian Press, “Frozen Depths” 2

Instead,Rangwynn’snieceturnedtoarcaneexplorationsandhasrecentlydiscoveredanaffinityforConjuration.Twodaysago,GlabrobelleleftOvergateandhasnotreturned.Rangwynnfoundanotereading:Iamseizingmyowndestiny.NomorewillIwonderifIcan.IfIcan’t,atleastI’llhavetried.TherangeriscertainthatGlabrobelle“can’t”andfoundcluestoherwhereaboutsthatpointtoalong-abandonedmine.She’dgogetGlabrobelleherself,buttheentrancetotheseminesisunderwater,andRangwynndoesnotswim.[GM’snote:IfyourPCisadventuringalone,andyouwouldlikeacompanioncharacterforthem,amendRangwynn’shesitancyforherlookingforsomeonetoaccompanyherinhersearchforhernieceinstead.]

Part One: Deep-Delve AftermeetingwithRangwynnFrostbraid(Appendix),sheagreestoaccompanythepartytothefrozenlakethatleadstothemine.Onthewayacrossthefrigidfrontier,thepartyandRangwynncomeacrossayetiprowlingthefrostylandscape.Afewhours’trudgeaftertheyetiencounter,afrozenlakeappearsinthedistance.

The Frozen Lake

“The sound of the snow crunching under your boots

changes subtly as you make your way out onto the

frozen lake nestled at the foot of the northern

mountains. There are no trees to cut the whistling of

the frigid wind as it screams down from the peaks and

blows snow off of the ice.”

AsuccessfulDC14Wisdom(Perception)checkrevealsaholeintheiceontheeasternedgeofthe

lake.SucceedingonaDC14Intelligence(InvestigationorArcana)checkallowsacharactertodeterminethattheicewasmagickedawaybyacontrolwaterspell.Peeringintothelake,aPCcanseethecarvedopeningofanoldmine60ft.away.Intheentrance,thereisamagicalbluelight.Rangwynnisexcitedtoseethelightandentrance,astheysuggestherniecestilllives,butcanproceednofurther.Asthecharactersswimdowntotheentrance,thebluelight(whichisactuallyawill-o’-wisp)driftsandilluminatesthewayintotheMineEntrance.

Can’t Feel My Fingers

Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks made in the mine are made with disadvantage unless the characters specify how they warm their hands. Additionally, at the GM’s discretion, characters that become immersed in water and then emerge without spending at least half an hour drying off and warming themselves must succeed on a DC 15 Con save or take a level of exhaustion from the cold.

Partsoftheminearesubmergedbeneaththelake,butseveralroomsremainabovewaterlevelunderground.TheupperportionoftheminemapintheAppendixshowstheroomsandtheirelevations,keyedtothefollowingareas:

Mine Entrance

“You surface at the opposite end of the tunnel,

freezing, on the western edge of a long room,

illuminated only by the magical blue light. Signs of

long-abandoned mining work, destroyed and rusted

iron tracks, broken tools, and upset carts litter the

area.”

Inthisroomare4xzombiesthatarehalffrozen.Unlessnearasourceofwarmth,theseundeaddwarvesmoveathalfspeed.Whenthezombiesattacktheparty,themagicalbluelightrevealsitsmaliciouswill-o’-wispnatureandattacksaswell.[GM’snote:KeepaneyeonactioneconomyheredependingonwhetheryourPChascompanionsornot.Iftheyarealone,considereliminatingatleasttwoofthezombies.]Afterthewill-o’-wisphasbeendefeated,therestofthemineisincompletedarknessunlessthePCsupplieslight.

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Grove Guardian Press, “Frozen Depths” 7

Map Below,you’llfindtheGM’sreferencemapforrunningtheadventure.Attheendofthissupplement,you’llfindafull-pageversionofthemap.