Leilon was once a mining town that sold copper, nickel, and silver to Waterdeep. It was also a small port where merchants sometimes offloaded goods on barges (since most proper ships cannot traverse the town’s shallow mud flats) to be transported to cities all over the Sword Coast.
Two hundred years ago, the wizard Thalivar made his home here and raised a tower at the town center to conduct his mystical studies. The House of Thalivar was topped with a planar beacon that lured creatures from other planes into the structure and trapped them there. After Thalivar mysteriously disappeared, the people of Leilon were content to leave his tower and the monsters within alone.
The Spellplague, a divine phenomenon that twisted Faerûn’s magic, corrupted the tower’s defenses. The creatures sealed within were freed to attack Leilon, and the magic of the planar beacon was redirected back into the Material Plane, causing humanoids who looked upon it to become paralyzed. Leilon was quickly overrun and subsequently abandoned and has remained that way for more than a century.
The first action the soldiery of Neverwinter took in Leilon was to destroy the planar beacon inside the House of Thalivar. The mage Gallio Elibro has now rebuilt the beacon and begun his own studies into the Ethereal Plane. See “Thalivar’s Beacon” for more information.
Before its fall, Leilon was defended by a loosely organized group of adventurers called the Swords of Leilon. When the House of Thalivar released its monsters, the Swords fought to cover the escape of the townsfolk. They died and became ghosts bound to Leilon’s ruins. They now watch the rebuilding of the town with caution, hoping that the reconstructed tower does not bring similar disaster.
When you are ready for the adventure to get underway, show the Leilon map to the players and read the following boxed text aloud:
The palisade of Leilon forms a semicircle on the northeastern side of the town, defended by an earthen rampart. To the southwest, docks line the shore of the mere, packed with barges ready to cross the marsh and meet merchant ships at sea.
Newly built houses with thatched roofs line Leilon’s muddy streets. At the center of it all, the House of Thalivar, a tall wizard’s tower, rises like a beacon, four times the height of every other building. The town below is bustling with merchants, workers, and adventurers-for-hire.
Visitors with coin to spend are welcome in Leilon, and adventurers are the settlers' favorites. For while there is much work to be done within the town, there are deeds to be done outside as told by notices on the job board at the fishery.
When the adventurers are ready to inspect the job board, proceed to the “area Fishery” section.
Exploring Leilon
The characters might wish to explore key establishments within Leilon. These locations are marked on the map of Leilon.
Aubrey’s Peculiarities Shoppe
This shop is crammed with curiosities dredged from the ruins of Leilon: old fishing rods, swamp idols, mining helmets, and other oddities. A whimsical Illuskan human male named Aubrey Silverspun runs the store. Roll a
Peculiarities
| d20 | Pecularity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Random Magic Item (Magic Item Table C) | 500 gp |
| 6-10 | Random Trinket | 10 gp |
| 11-20 | Unique tool kit (engraved, etc) | 50 gp |
A painted tryptic above the counter shows three adventurers: a dark-skinned warrior woman, a red-bearded dwarf, and a third whose portrait has faded with age. Aubrey explains that these are the “Swords of Leilon”: an old adventuring company local to the area.
Barge Yard
Six mud-covered barges are chained together and beached at the edge of Leilon where the town meets the marsh. The barge master is a gruff elderly female dwarf named Rorsta Anvilhand. She rents a barge for a tenday for 10 gp.
Fishery
The fishery building serves as the town hall. During the day the warehouse hosts several fishing-folk selling their daily catches at stalls and merchants who sell and repair fishing equipment. At night Leilon’s town council gathers within to discuss the business of the town and active threats in the region. The councilors include:
Grizzelda Copperwraught
Lord Neverember tasked this gruff female dwarf with overseeing Leilon’s construction work.Now the job is done, some folk whisper that “The Growler” should step down from the council, yet nobody dares say that to her face.
Sergeant Hazz Yorrum
This slovenly male Damaran human oversees Neverwinter’s soldiers but defers to the town wizard Gallio Elibro for most decisions.
Merrygold Brightshine
This amiable male halfling is the local priest of Lanthander, god of light. Merrygold helped found the town following its reconstruction and is loved by its people.
Valdi Estapaar
Lord Neverember gave this half-elf female the job of overseeing the town’s fishing industry. With the recent opening of the quayside, she’s now one of the most important figures in town.
Vangol Kuskolt
This fiery male dwarf priest stands for Tyr, god of justice, and adjudicates most legal disputes in the town.
A job board outside of the fishery holds notices for adventurers looking for work. If the characters inspect the job board, proceed to the “The Quest Board” section.
House of Thalivar
This wizard’s tower has been recently rebuilt as a garrison for the Neverwinter soldiery. Gallio Elibro is a brooding middle-aged male Rashemi human with the mage statistics (except that he has the
Gallio does not talk much about his work with adventurers but is willing to cast spells in exchange for gold. The mage casts the
Idol Island
Idol Island rises from the marshes a few yards from Leilon. It contains the remains of crumbled statues of forgotten human nobles. The settlers claim to hear whispered voices on the island at night, inviting them to view their destinies. If they characters walk by the island at night, they hear these whispers as well.
A character who spends the night on the island taking a long rest has vague, prophetic dreams of adventures to come. For instance, the character might view storm clouds swirling over Leilon, a galleon made from bones, or a glowing statue of a dwarf standing in a canyon. At the end of the rest, the character must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the character is bolstered by the strange dreams and gains inspiration. On a failure, the character gains a level of
Knight’s Goblet Inn
This coaching inn lay in ruin for decades, but has recently been rebuilt and reopened by Amrisiol Touchfire, a cunning half-elf female with the noble statistics. The inn caters to rich travelers and the wealthiest of Neverwinter’s officers. Visitors must surrender their weapons and swear a “knightly oath” on entry to treat their fellow guests with honor and respect. Those who break their oaths are banned forever from the premises.
Lathander Shrine
This shrine to Lathander, god of light, was the first temple to be reconstructed in Leilon. Merrygold Brightshine, an outgoing young female halfling priest, cares for the shrine and offers council to any who pray at the small stone altar to Lathander within. She conducts services at the shrine each day at dawn.
Merrygold casts the
Torver’s Post
Jack Torver is an optimistic young male Turami human who just finished building Leilon’s new (and currently only) general store. He is a devout worshipper of Lathander and attends the shrine’s services each morning then offers advice from the sermons to his customers.
Jack sells standard adventuring gear, with the exception of
Town Gates
The town’s north and south gates have recently been repaired and are now manned at all hours by 5 Guard and 1 veteran guard captain. Each night, the heavy wood gates are pulled shut, preventing entry to the town until they are opened again at dawn. Travelers passing through town must pay a road toll of 1 sp per horse, oxen, cart, or mule that enters the gates.
Town Square
The Leilon town square has become a place where local vendors and those passing through town can set up stalls to sell their wares. One vendor, a female Calishite human blacksmith named Zana Taylish, is a resident of Leilon who sells armor and weapons. More exotic items (such as
Tymora Shrine
A shrine to Tymora, goddess of luck, was recently erected in Leilon. Puck Caribdas, a lithe, rambunctious male elf, runs the temple and sells potions for the prices listed on the Puck’s Potions table. Other than
Puck’s Potions
| Price | Potion |
|---|---|
| 50 gp | |
| 50 gp | |
| 150 gp | |
| 150 gp | |
| 5,000 gp |
Tyr Shrine
The shrine to Tyr, god of justice, was recently repaired and reopened by Vangol Kuskolt, a male dwarf priest who clanks about on an iron peg leg. Many of the town’s disputes are settled by Kuskolt on the steps outside his shrine. For the worst crimes, the dwarf heats his peg leg over the fire and brands the offender on the chest before driving them from town.
Umber Hulk’s Shell Inn
Alion Malwyn, a kind-heartedhuman, runs this newly constructed two-story inn. A bed for the night costs 5 sp, while a meal costs 1 sp. If the characters stay here, Alion shares a tale from another traveler with them. Roll
Leilon Tales
| d6 | Tale |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Folk say they’ve seen Old Gnawbone flying over the lowlands. That green dragon usually stays put in her lair inside Kryptgarden forest. For her to hunt this far afield surely spells trouble.” |
| 2 | “Savage half-orcs have been spotted in the wilds outside of town, just standing there watching us. Trouble’s coming, that’s for sure.” |
| 3 | “There are a couple of fancy pleasure barges anchored just off the marsh. City folk no doubt, but why they’ve stopped here is anybody’s guess. Strange thing is, the crew have only been seen out at night.” (If the characters investigate the site, see “Icingdeath and Twinkle.") |
| 4 | “Fish are dying inside the Mere of Dead Men. Something is poisoning the marsh waters and killing the animals that dwell within it. Watch what you drink here in town!” |
| 5 | “Fisher folk have reported seeing strange fogbanks at sea that move against the wind. Those who dared sail closer say they heard the sound of drumming from somewhere deep within.” |
| 6 | “Crazy Gallio has been locked up in his tower for weeks now. The sergeant says he doesn’t let anyone up to the top floor anymore, and strange lights have been seen from his windows at night."(If the characters investigate the site, see “Thalivar’s Beacon.") |
Quayside
The recently rebuilt quayside has berths for town’s many barges and fishing vessels. Fishing nets, coils of rope, and crab pots are laid out over the jetties, which are busy at most hours. Demelza Tackwind, a gruff old female Chondathan human scout, serves as the town’s harbormaster. Vessels unregistered to Leilon must pay a berthing charge of 1 gp per day (part of which pays for Demelza’s nightly tipple at the Umber Hulk’s Shell).
The Quest Board
The job board outside the fishery is where the adventurers can learn about quests. Let the players choose the order in which they tackle the quests. If the players don’t like a quest, they are under no obligation to complete it. However, completing quests helps the characters become more powerful (see “area Leveling Up").
Most of the notices on the job board are written by members of the town council. The council members are unable to provide context beyond what is written on the board. When the characters return to the fishery after completing a quest, the council pays the reward immediately.
Adventure Locations
This adventure encourages characters to explore locations marked on the DM’s map of the Sword Coast. When the characters embark on a journey to a location, use the section of this adventure that describes that location in detail. For instance, if the players choose to undertake the Dumathoin’s Gulch Quest, go to the “Dumathoin’s Gulch” section. Each location includes an overview that briefly describes what the characters can expect to find there. This overview is followed by information you’ll need to run the encounters at that location.
Starting Quests
When the characters first visit the job board, there are three quests posted. Describe or show each quest so they can choose which to pursue.
Gulch Quest
“Leilon is threatened with invasion from several cults, one of which has an ancient dragon in its employ. The gnomes of Gnomengarde have offered to supply a magical weapon to drive off this beast should it trouble the town. Meet the gnomes at Dumathoin’s Gulch, collect the weapon, and return to Leilon.” If the characters undertake this quest, see “Dumathoin’s Gulch.”
Icingdeath and Twinkle Quest
“Two rival factions vie for control of the High Road: the cult of Talos, god of storms, and the cult of Myrkul, god of death. An emissary representing the Sword Coast’s merchants would like you to sail to Neverwinter to petition Lord Neverember for troops to protect the road. The emissary’s ships are anchored in a bay near Leilon, and the town council offers a reward of 1,500 gp for successfully negotiating aid.” If the characters undertake this quest, see “Icingdeath and Twinkle.”
Thalivar’s Beacon Quest
“Leilon’s wizard, Gallio Elibro, has recently rebuilt the planar beacon atop his tower and is using it to trap and study creatures from across the planes.Gallio has called for your help taming these beasts to defend the town against invasion.” If the characters undertake this quest, see “Thalivar’s Beacon.”
Leilon Besieged Quest
There is no job board notice for this quest. Instead, it happens automatically after the players have completed two of the three starting quests. At this point, the rival cults launch their attack on the town to seize the House of Thalivar and steal the
Follow-Up Quest
After the characters complete the “area Battle for Leilon,” the following two quests from Lord Neverember are added to the job board. Completing both these quests quashes the threat to the town and completes the adventure.
Storm Lord’s Hideout Quest
“Seek out the undead galleon stolen by Fheralai Stormsworn, leader of the cult of Talos. Sink it to the bottom of the Sea of Swords, and then return to Neverwinter to collect a reward of 8,000 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, see “Storm Lord’s Hideout.”
Ebondeath’s Mausoleum Quest
“The dread mage Ularan Mortus, leader of the cult of Myrkul, has roused the spirit of the undead dragon Ebondeath. Seek out Ebondeath’s mausoleum in the Mere of Dead Men, destroy the dragon’s spirit, and then return to Neverwinter to collect a reward of 8,000 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, see “Ebondeath’s Mausoleum.”
Leveling Up
Characters advance in level by completing quests. Regardless of the number of characters in the party, the rate of advancement is as follows:
- Characters gain a level when they complete the “area Leilon Besieged” quest.
- Characters gain another level when they complete the remaining two follow-up quests in this adventure.