This adventure path has been rolling along consistently in the design process: I think about where I need the story to be, look at monsters available for the chapter's level, list out 12 encounters in a variety of themes, write up the 1500 word (or so) adventure, then seed in the right amount of treasure for the level. Repeat over and over!
I knew I wanted to get back into the forest threats for the 7th level adventure, and I have my eye on that scrap of forest at the eastern edge of my map. I've already name-dropped that as the Skaldwood. For 7th through 9th level there are lots of forest-type threats: arboreal regents, animate plants, trolls, and so on. But I noticed a LOT of fire-themed monsters right in the middle there, about 8th level. So I decided I wanted my story to veer that way for one level, and then get back to that forest. So I think the 7th level is the "outer" Skaldwood, complete with corrupted arboreals, and 9th level will be the "inner" Skaldwood, which I think I'll call the Trollgnarl. In between, the heroes will hit a nearby mountain--a volcano, really--and fight the fire creatures that make such a good fit for that level. All they while they'll be following the trail of demons, and even finally get to fight a few.
I'm still kicking through the 9th level adventure, "Death in the Trollgnarl," but here are the 7th and 8th level adventures!
Chapter 7: The Skaldwood Regents (7th
level)
At the
end of the last adventure, the heroes learned that the arboreals of the
Skaldwood have sworn their allegiance to a demon lord; if they don’t intend to
check this out on their own, the scholar Gendal lets them know he’s heard that
druids of the Circle of the Pruning Hook are the only ones who’ve been able to
enter the Skaldwood freely. The arboreals there had always been peaceful,
working to keep the trolls of the deep forest contained, but they’ve recently
started attacking travelers. The arboreals of the Skaldwood are plainly part of
the new, strange threat to the forests of the Northfells, and stopping them may
provide further clues. The Skaldwood is in the eastern part of the Northfells,
along the Steinvik River.
With only one exception, the arboreal monarchs of the
Skaldwood have been corrupted by demons in service to Treereaver. The demons
don’t remain with the arboreals, however (with one exception); they’ve either
retreated to the deep, inner forest called the Trollgnarls or left for a nearby
mountain to recover a magical cinder. The heroes are likely to hear about
demonic activity in this adventure but not face any demons other than a
frustrated vrock.
Part
1: The River Road
The
road along the meandering Steinvik River has never been truly safe, but
merchants and travelers the heroes meet on the way there tell them that no one
survives the trip through the Skaldwood any longer.
Encounter 1a (Moderate 7)
The
heroes come across an overturned wagon half-submerged in the Steinvik River. A
beautiful woman cries for help before going under the surface of the water, but
this is a ruse. She’s one of two evil naiad queens who want to lure
travelers close to kill them. If the heroes don’t fall for this ruse, both
naiad queens attack anyway. Goods scattered around the wagon include several
bolts of fine cloth worth 90 gp in total, a moderate
potion of swimming, and a greater
shrinking potion.
Encounter
1b (Moderate 7)
Where
the path through the Skaldwood starts to bend away from the Steinvik River
stands a statue of a man nearly 20 feet tall. The statue holds a large bowl of
water in one hand and a bowl filled with burning coals in the other. A naiad
queen named Aytessia reclining in the bowl of water has awakened the statue
with her primal magic, making it a giant animated statue. Aytessia
directs the statue in a fight to defeat anyone who would penetrate deeper into
the Skaldwood, but retreats to the river if badly wounded. The statue wears a
large crown worth 360 gp.
Encounter
1c (Moderate 7)
Where
the road becomes more of a muddy track, the heroes are attacked from beneath by
two ankravs and an ankrav hive mother who tunnel up from an
underground network they’ve dug. One of the ankravs still has an ornamental
short sword wedged in its spine; it’s not useful as a weapon but is worth 200
gp.
Encounter
1d
After
the ankravs are slain, a trapper named Ulf Nineskins pushes his way through the
dirt out of the ankrav lair where he’d been left to die by the ankravs. Ulf
thanks the heroes for coming along at just the right time. He openly admits to
being a werebear who prefers to hunt in isolated forests. Ulf heard that people
were staying away from the Skaldwood and thought to capitalize on the
fur-bearing animals there, but it’s proved too dangerous even for him. He lets
the heroes know about the arboreals of the Skaldwood follow four regents: the
Spruce King, Lord Rowan, the Aspen Queen, and the Birch Monarch. Three of
these—all but the aging Spruce King—has been corrupted by demonic forces. The
Birch Monarch has gone one step further and commissioned trolls to defend their
domain. Ulf gives direction to any of these domains the heroes wish. They can
approach the following four parts of the adventure in whatever order they
choose.
Part
2: The Spruce King’s Hill
The
only arboreal regent who hasn’t capitulated to demonic forces is the Spruce
King, an ancient spruce tree who inhabits a high hill. Reaching the paranoid
regent isn’t easy, although he has good advice to offer.
Encounter
2a (Moderate 7)
Three awakened
trees block the passage to the Spruce King’s hill. As their leader isn’t
entertaining any visitors, they indiscriminately attack anyone approaching, no
matter how peaceful their motives. If two are defeated, the last one flees to
warn the Spruce King but falls victim to the vrock clearcutting around the
Spruce King’s hill.
Encounter
2b (Moderate 7)
A vrock
sent to corrupt the Spruce King has wholly failed to win his allegiance and is
taking out his rage by destroying the trees that encircle the Spruce King’s
hill. The vrock’s deadly spores weaken the trees and prevent Spruce King from
awakening them. Once its evil work is done, it plans to kill the Spruce King
himself. The vrock parlays with heroes who approach, offering them riches
(which it doesn’t have) and information (which it doesn’t intend to give) if
the heroes kill the Spruce King atop the hill. The fact that the vrock isn’t
being genuine should be obvious and he probably ends up attacking the heroes
out of frustration, fighting to the death.
Encounter
2c
The
Spruce King atop the hill is grateful that the heroes killed the vrock he
recently rejected, and even more grateful when he learns the damage the vrock
was doing. He sadly expresses that his fellow regents have all been corrupted
by a demon lord named Treereaver. Treereaver isn’t in this forest, but is
working to extend his influence across the Northfells. The Spruce King promises
the heroes a cache of treasure, including a greater
animal staff and a lesser
sturdy shield crafted from his own bark, if the heroes put the other three
regents down.
Part
3: Lord Rowan’s Promontory
Lord
Rowan controls the region of the Skaldwood along the Steinvik River.
Encounter
3a (Moderate 7)
Two awakened
trees and an arboreal warden stand at the spit of land leading to Lord
Rowan’s promontory. They are diligent guards and fight anyone who would
approach Lord Rowan without his express invitation. The arboreal warden has a silver
and platinum necklace worth 180 gp in its branches.
Encounter
3b (Moderate 7)
Lord
Rowan, an arboreal regent, is always accompanied by two arboreal
wardens. They are working to befoul the Steinvik River with casks of toxins
provided by a demon envoy who is no longer present. Lord Rowan knows that it
will poison river life and people who live downstream, but he’s convinced that
doing so will allow the Skaldwood to grow larger and healthier. Unwilling to be
confronted on this delusion, Lord Rowan fights anyone two tries to stop him or
change his might, fighting until destroyed. The casks are mostly empty but
contain a dose of nettleweed residue and a dose of malyass root paste.
Part
4: The Aspen Queen’s Grove
The
Aspen Queen controls the largest swath of land in the south Skaldwood, where
large stands of aspen trees grow. The aspen are all connected and mystically
share information, both with each other and with the Aspen Queen in her
sheltered grove.
Encounter
4a (Moderate 7)
When
it’s clear the heroes have ventured into this part of the forest, the Aspen
Queen sends four arboreal wardens to eliminate them. These arboreal
wardens resemble the aspen trees so prevalent in the region and therefore use
their Stealth skills to try to get a drop on the heroes.
Encounter
4b (Severe 7)
All
aspen trees grow by germinating clones from shoots and suckers along its roots,
and the Aspen Queen is no different. She’s been cultivating a successor in this
grove for many years. Treereaver’s demons delivered primal secrets from
Treereaver himself to expedite this growth, which the Aspen Queen eagerly
accepted. But these primal secrets are corrupted and have infected both the
Aspen Queen and her clone. Now, two arboreal regents—each a duplicate of
the Aspen Queen—occupy this grove, but they are both visibly sickly and attack
intruders in a rage. The arboreal regents are connected by pestilent strands of
moss that prevent them from traveling more than 20 feet from each other.
Cutting these strands doesn't hurt the regents, but allows them a bit more
mobility. The Aspen Queen’s grove has a wand
of heroism hanging from an ordinary aspen tree, affixed by a murderer’s knot.
Part
5: The Birch Monarch’s Dell
The
demons considered the Birch Monarch the most important arboreal regent to
corrupt, as they controlled the land around the Trollgnarl, the central region
the demons consider the most important part of the Skaldwood. It is here the
demons intend to create a mystical gate to allow Treereaver to step directly
into the Skaldwood. But the Birch Monarch was already long ago corrupted by
proximity to the Trollgnarl, making deals with troll witches and allowing
voracious trolls free passage. This has proven the arboreal’s undoing, as a
troll king recently killed the Birch Monarch and taken the arboreal’s wooden
throne as his own.
Encounter
5a (Moderate 7)
The
area around the Birch Monarch’s realm is patrolled by an unfortunate troll
who does her best to keep two shamblers moving. The shamblers merely
want to stop and wait for prey to come along, but the troll was ordered—under
the threat of being eaten—to goad the shamblers into patrolling the region. The
heroes likely hear the troll barking orders at the plants from a distance. All
three of these foes fight any creatures they encounter. If the heroes defeat
the shamblers first, the troll seizes her opportunity and flees the Skaldwood
entirely.
Encounter
5b (Moderate 7)
Near
the dell where the Birch Monarch keeps their court, four trolls are
eagerly ripping several dead arboreals apart. The tree-people taste awful, however,
so the trolls are eager for fresh meat and attack until slain. One of the
trolls has most of a gnome it’s been snacking on; the gnome’s +1 resilient breastplate is still
functional.
Encounter
5c (Severe 7)
A troll
king lounges on an elaborate wooden throne at the center of the dell, its warty
feet propped up on the dead body of the Birch Monarch. The troll king makes a
big show of holding a court, and might even give polite heroes some clues about
how the Birch Monarch got a little too comfortable with the nearby troll clans
and paid for this carelessness with its life. Ultimately, though, the troll
king’s appetite gets the better of him and he attacks the heroes. The throne
has a two tree feather tokens hanging
from it.
Conclusion
When
the three evil arboreal regents are dead, the Spruce King provides the heroes
with his promised reward. He’s also been able to question some of the nearby
trees. The demons who came to the Skaldwood were planning to burn part of it
with unholy fire and open a magical gate for Treereaver to come through. The
Spruce King knows that many demons went to capture the unholy fire from the
nearby mountain called Forgepeak, an extinct volcano that rises from the plains
west of the Skaldwood. He suggests the heroes go there.
There’s a chance the heroes want to instead explore the
Trollgnarl first, as it’s right here in the Skaldwood. You can allow them to do
so, but they should be able to retreat if the dangers prove too much for
them—they’ll get back to the Trollgnarl before too long.
Chapter 8: Forgepeak Fires (8th level)
The extinct volcano of Forgepeak was once the home of a clan
of dwarves who were slaughtered by a red dragon named Zarvendishar generations
ago. Yet Zarvendishar wants to awaken Forgepeak again and blanket the land in
fire. To do this, she’s slowly cultivated a link to the lands where the Plane
of Fire and Plane of Earth meet to recover a magical cinder suffused with
primal power called the magma spark. Treereaver wants his demons to
steal the magma spark and use it to
burn a gate into the Skaldwood, but the crafty dragon already defeated the
demon thieves.
Part 1: Outer Chambers
Forgepeak is a labyrinth of chambers around the volcano’s
flanks. The outermost chambers are easy to spot from a distance at night, as
they glow with firelight. Finding the entrances during the day requires a
successful DC 24 Perception or Survival check. These chambers all connect to
each other, but the inhabitants are so territorial that the connecting passages
haven’t been used in years (or longer). The heroes can approach any of the
locations in the first three encounters, but only the fire giant caves lead to
the dwarven hearths in Part 2. The temperature throughout these chambers is
severe heat (1d6 fire damage every hour).
Encounter 1a
(Moderate 8)
Heroes approaching the mountain draw the attention of a chimera with a red dragon head and
three flame drakes that follow in
its hunts, fighting for scraps. Their cave contains the remains of past victims
and a jade bauble.
Encounter 1b
(Moderate 8)
One of the caverns that seems the least used is actually one
of the most dangerous; a patient roper
lurks among the stalagmites of cavern and attacks anyone who ventures near. This
volcano-adapted roper has resistance to fire 10 and a weakness to cold 10. The
roper’s treasure includes fifteen gems worth 15 gp each, a greater
comprehension elixir, and a javelin of
lightning.
The Encounter 1c
(Moderate 8)
The largest cave is the home of a fire giant named Graxim who, along with his brother Arxim, was exiled
from a distant fire giant clan for unsuccessfully attempting to overthrow the
clan’s king. Graxim keeps an eye on the mountainside for likely targets. He
starts combat by hurling rocks and then charges with his greatsword. If reduced
to fewer than 30 Hit Points, he flees the mountainside for good.
Encounter 1d
The fire giants have a cave set aside as a storeroom. It
contains several banners from their ill-fated overthrow attempt as well as a
coffer with funds they had intended to use to bribe supporters before they were
driven away. The coffer contains four emeralds worth 100 gp each and silver
earring worth 25 gp.
Encounter 1e
(Moderate 8)
The innermost of the three chambers claimed by the fire
giant brothers is a combination of sleeping chamber and workshop; any hero Investigating
this chamber discovers old dwarven ruins indicating this was once the entrance
to a dwarven outpost. The fire giant
Arxim works here, unwilling to go outside like his brother because of severe
agoraphobia. Arxim nevertheless is a brutal bully who attempts to kill anyone
entering his chamber. The worktable contains a necklace of fireballs type II. The back of this room holds the old
iron door to the dwarven hearth deeper in the mountain, which the fire giants
haven’t used.
Part 2: The Dwarven Hearths
The dwarves who once occupied these chambers are all long
dead, killed by Zarvendishar long ago. The primal energies they used to keep
their forges a consistent temperature have all run wild, creating several
elemental creatures. The temperature here throughout this area is extreme heat
(1d6 fire damage every 10 minutes).
Encounter 2a
(Moderate 8)
The large forge chamber is now a playground for fire
elementals. A fire wyrm and two living wildfires cavort in this area
and are quick to attack any intruders.
Encounter 2b (Severe
8)
The largest forge is lit, but only because it now houses an elemental inferno that attacks the
heroes. Upon defeating the elemental inferno, the heroes can find a red dragonslayer’s shield (which the
dwarves created but never got the chance to use) and the sole passage from the
dwarven forges to deeper into the volcano.
Encounter 2c
(Moderate 8)
The stone-lined passage to the center of the mountain seems
open, but it is trapped with a lava
flume tube trap. When the heroes approach this trap, the passage closes in
front of them, barring the way. The only way to move forward is to enter the
lava flume tube (whether or not the heroes were able to disable it).
Part 3: Realm of the Stone
Giants
Zarvendishar thinks she has nothing to fear from intruders
blocked by the lava flume trap, as she believes the only opening to the heart
of the mountain is closed. As the heroes will learn, she’s wrong. In the cold
stone near the base of the extinct volcano, a tribe of stone giants labors to
sculpt the rock and train their loyal beasts. These stone giants are initially hostile
to intruders, but by strength of arms the heroes can win the respect of the
tribe.
Encounter 3a
(Moderate 8)
At the borders of the subterranean lands claimed by the stone
giants, the heroes encounter two bulettes
on patrol. These creatures are aggressive and fight to the death. Both bear
a knot of crystals protruding from their flesh, like a brand made of quartz.
Each of these strange stones can be removed from the bulettes’ skin and is
worth 100 gp.
Encounter 3b
(Moderate 8)
A stone giant and
a triceratops march down the passage
the heroes traverse and command the heroes turn around. As there’s not any way
for the heroes to go that doesn’t involve leaving the mountain, they’re
unlikely to do so; the pugnacious stone giant attacks, directing his triceratops
to fight at his side. The triceratops has a quartz “brand” worth 100 gp, just
like the bulettes.
Encounter 3c
(Moderate 8)
In the larger chamber belonging to the stone giant clan, the
heroes see over a dozen stone giants hunkering down in their small huts along
with a variety of subterranean animals they keep (including giant lizards and
cave bears). The stone giant thane insists that the giants will overwhelm and
drive off the heroes with their numbers unless the heroes can defeat the
tribe’s champion: an elite stone giant
named Foshtran and his trained cave bear.
If the heroes win, they have proved their honor and the stone giants become
welcoming to them. The thane, Morovosh, asks what brings the heroes into the
mountain. Morovosh knows that the red dragon Zarvendishar commands a powerful
relic called the magma spark and that
demons recently came to steal it. Whether the demons fought with Zarvendishar
or allied with her, the giants don’t know; they try hard to avoid the arrogant
and violent dragon. Morovosh knows where Zarvendishar lairs and shows the
heroes the way through secret tunnels.
Part 4: Zarvendishar’s Lair
Forgepeak’s heart is exceptionally hot, and will be even
hotter once Zarvendishar finally awakens the volcano with the magma spark.
This area is incredible heat (4d6 fire damage every minute).
Encounter 4a (Moderate 8)
A magical laboratory created by Zarvendishar long ago is
where she keeps the magma spark when
she isn’t using it in the volcano’s core. Here, an efreeti smith and the efreeti’s two jann slaves work on the magma spark, constantly imbuing it with
elemental energy. The jann surrender if the efreeti is killed, but they’re in a
rough spot: the efreeti extended his fire immunity to them for as long as he
lived, so the jann aren’t likely to live long in the incredible heat once the
efreeti is slain. If the heroes arrange for the jann’s survival, they explain
that several demons recently crept into these chambers looking for the magma spark, but Zarvendishar discovered
and killed them. A wand of smoldering
fireballs (3rd level) is here in the workshop; the efreeti has been
tinkering with it.
Encounter 4b (Severe 8)
In the heart of the volcano lies a vast chamber where the elite
adult red dragon Zarvendishar works to stoke the lava to greater fury with
the magma spark and her own breath. She spends her time on a vast ledge
overlooking the seething, fiery core of the volcano. She is weeks or months from
completion, but nevertheless labors with an intense focus. She doesn’t suffer
intrusion lightly and fights to drive the heroes away so she can finish her
work. She gloats about what she’s doing and how she recently slaughtered “the
other thieves” who came to take away her magma
spark to the Trollgnarl, and she arrogantly insists she’ll kill the heroes
as well. The magma spark is here; it’s
a shard of solidified fire about a foot long that functions like a greater staff of fire.
Encounter 4c
A side chamber contains Zarvendishar’s hoard: 3,612 sp, an
obsidian statuette of a dwarven woman worth 30 gp, a belt of the five kings, a young red dragon’s breath potion, a
greater darkvision elixir, and a scroll
of breath of life in a brass tube worth 20 gp. There are also the charred
remains of two dead vrocks and a dead succubus, the remains of Treereaver’s
forces who attempted to steal the magma spark from the dragon. The succubus has
a scorched shoulder bag containing a leather map of the Skaldwood and the
Trollgnarl at its center. An arrow from the symbol for Forgepeak to the Trollgnarl
shows where the demons planned to take the magma spark once they retrieved it.
Conclusion
Whether through engaging with Zarvendishar or searching the dead
succubus in Zarvendishar’s hoard, the heroes know the demons have designs on a region
within Skaldwood called the Trollgnarl.