Running the Adventure

This book is written for the Dungeon Master. It contains a complete Dungeons & Dragons adventure, as well as descriptions for every creature that appears in the adventure. It also teaches you how to run a D&D game.

The other book that accompanies this one (called “the rulebook”) contains the information the players need to create and advance their characters (the adventurers and heroes of the story), as well as the rules you need to adjudicate situations that arise during the adventure.

Overview

A D&D adventure is a collection of locations, quests, and challenges that inspires you to tell a story. The outcome of that story is determined by the actions and decisions of the adventurers—and, of course, the luck of the dice. You can run Dragon of Icespire Peak for as few as one player or as many as five players. Each player starts with a 1st-level character.

The adventure is set a short distance from the city of Neverwinter in the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms setting. The Sword Coast is part of the North—a vast realm of free settlements surrounded by lawless, untamed wilderness. You don’t need to be a Forgotten Realms expert to run the adventure, as everything you need to know about the setting is contained in this book.

If this is your first time running a D&D adventure, read the “Role of the Dungeon Master” section.

Role of the Dungeon Master

The Dungeon Master (also called “the DM”) has a special role in the D&D game.

The DM is a referee. When it’s not clear what ought to happen next, the DM decides how to apply the rules and keep the story going.

The DM is a storyteller. The DM sets the pace of the story and presents the various challenges and encounters that the players must overcome. The DM is the players' interface to the D&D world, as well as the one who reads (and sometimes also writes) the adventure and describes what happens in response to the characters' actions.

The DM is a roleplayer. The DM plays the monsters and villains in the adventure, choosing their actions and rolling dice for their attacks. The DM also plays the parts of all the other characters who the adventurers meet, including helpful ones.

The most important thing to remember about being a good DM is that the rules are a tool to help you and the players have fun. The rules aren’t in charge. You’re the DM—you’re in charge of the game.

Choosing a Dungeon Master

Who should be the DM for your gaming group? Whoever wants to be! The person who has the most drive to pull a group together and start up a game often ends up being the DM by default, but that doesn’t have to be the case.

DM Tips

As the DM, you are the final authority when it comes to rules questions or disputes during the game. Here are some guidelines to help you arbitrate issues as they arise.

When in doubt, make it up. It’s better to keep the game moving than to get bogged down in the rules.

Embrace the shared story. D&D is about telling a story as a group, so let the players contribute to the outcome through the words and deeds of their characters. If some players are reluctant to speak up, remember to ask them what their characters are doing.

It’s not a competition. The DM isn’t competing against the player characters. Your job is to referee the rules, run monsters, and keep the story moving.

Be consistent and fair. If you decide that a rule works a certain way, make sure it works that way the next time it comes into play. Treat the rules and your players in a fair, impartial manner.

Modify the adventure to suit your tastes. The adventure has no prescribed outcome. You can alter any encounter to make it more interesting and fun for your particular group of players.

Keep a notepad and some graph paper handy. Use the notepad to keep track of details such as the characters' marching order. Graph paper will be helpful if you need to draw a quick map for your players.

Improvising Ability Checks

The adventure often tells you what ability checks characters might try in a certain situation, and the Difficulty Class (DC) of those checks. Sometimes characters try things that the adventure can’t possibly anticipate. You decide whether their attempts are successful.

Ability checks only come into play if there’s a genuine chance of succeeding or failing at the task. If it seems like anyone should have an easy time doing it, don’t ask for an ability check. Just tell the player what happens. Conversely, if there’s no way anyone could accomplish the task, just tell the player it doesn’t work.

If and when you decide that an ability check is required, ask yourself these questions:

What Kind of Ability Check

Use the descriptions of the ability scores and their associated skills in the rulebook to help you decide what kind of ability check to use.

How Hard Is It

Decide whether the task’s difficulty is easy, moderate, or hard, and use the appropriate DC.

DC 10 (Easy). An easy task requires a minimal level of competence or a modicum of luck to accomplish.

DC 15 (Moderate). A moderate task requires a higher level of competence to accomplish. A character with natural aptitude and specialized training can accomplish a moderate task more often than not.

DC 20 (Hard). Hard tasks include things beyond the capabilities of most people without aid or exceptional ability. Even with aptitude and training, a character needs some amount of luck—or a lot of specialized training—to pull off a hard task.

Other Components

The box containing this adventure includes components designed to help you as the Dungeon Master. In addition to the rulebook, these components are as follows:

DM Screen

The inside of the folding screen has information that can help you while running the adventure. You can also use the screen to hide your notes and die rolls, thus keeping the players in suspense.

Poster Map

When you’re ready to begin the adventure, unfold the poster map so that the map of Phandalin faces up. Here is where the adventure begins. When it comes time for players to embark on quests, use the Sword Coast map on the reverse side to help chart their overland journey.

Cards

The box contains the following cards:

Combat Step by Step Cards. These identical cards outline the order of combat, as described in the rulebook.

Condition Cards. These cards describe various conditions that can affect creatures in the game. A player whose character is suffering from a condition can keep the card as a reminder, giving it back to you when the condition ends for that character.

Initiative Cards. After the characters and each group of monsters involved in a combat roll initiative, distribute these cards among the combat participants, from the highest to lowest initiative count. For example, whoever rolls the highest initiative gets the “1” card and acts first, whoever rolls the second highest initiative gets the “2” card, and so on. Keep the numbered cards for the creatures you’re running.

Magic Charm Card. This card describes a special charm (see “area Charm of the Storm.” You become charged with the power of the storm, to the extent that tiny sparks crackle in your eyes. You can cast the lightning bolt spell (3rd-level version) as an action. Once used three times, the charm vanishes from you.). Give the card to the player whose character receives the charm. Collect the card when the charm ends for that character.

Magic Item Cards. When the characters acquire a magic item and identify it, give the players the card for that item. Let the player whose character has the item keep the card for reference until the item is expended or no longer in that character’s possession.

Quest Cards. When a new quest becomes available to the characters, give that quest’s card to the players. Collect the card if the characters complete the quest or decide they don’t want to complete it.

Sidekick Cards. If you’re running the game for a single player, give the player these cards and let them choose a sidekick. The sidekick’s corresponding stat block can be found in the rulebook. If the sidekick dies, collect the card; the player can’t choose that sidekick again.

Adventure Maps

Maps that appear in this book are for the DM’s eyes only. A map not only shows an adventure location in its entirety but also shows secret doors, hidden traps, and other elements the players aren’t meant to see—hence the need for secrecy.

When the characters arrive at a location marked on a map, you can either rely on a verbal description to give them a clear mental picture of the location, or you can draw what they see on a piece of graph paper, copying what’s on your map while omitting details as appropriate. It’s not important that your hand-drawn map perfectly match what’s in the printed adventure. Focus on getting the shape and dimensions correct, and leave the rest to the players' imaginations.

The Forgotten Realms

The world of the Forgotten Realms is one of high fantasy, populated by elves, dwarves, halflings, humans, and other folk. In the Realms, knights dare the crypts of the fallen dwarf kings of Delzoun, seeking glory and treasure. Rogues prowl the dark alleyways of teeming cities such as Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate. Clerics in the service of gods wield mace and spell, questing against the terrifying powers that threaten the land. Wizards plunder the ruins of the fallen Netherese empire, delving into secrets too dark for the light of day. Bards sing of kings, queens, heroes, and tyrants who died long ago.

On the roads and rivers of the Realms travel minstrels and peddlers, merchants and guards, soldiers and sailors. Steel-hearted adventurers from backcountry farmsteads and sleepy villages follow tales of strange, glorious, faraway places. Good maps and clear trails can take even an inexperienced youth with dreams of glory far across the world, but these paths are never safe. Fell magic and deadly monsters are the perils one faces when traveling in the Realms. Even farms and freeholds within a day’s walk of a city can fall prey to monsters, and no place is safe from the sudden wrath of a dragon.

Map of the Sword Coast

The map below shows a region of the Forgotten Realms called the Sword Coast. This is a place of adventure, where daring souls delve into ancient strongholds and explore the ruins of long-lost kingdoms. Amid a lawless wilderness of jagged, snow-capped peaks, alpine forests, bitter winds, and roaming monsters, the coast holds such great bastions of civilization as the city of Neverwinter, in the shadow of the fuming volcano known as Mount Hotenow.

This map is for the DM’s eyes only, as it indicates the locations of places described later in this adventure. A larger, player-friendly version of the map appears on one side of the poster map included with this adventure. The poster map of the Sword Coast can be shared freely with the players as their characters explore the region.

Geographical locations marked on both the DM’s map and the players' map are described below in alphabetical order. This information is not secret, and can be shared with players if they request details about a particular location.

Conyberry

The Triboar Trail runs right through this abandoned town, which was sacked by barbarians years ago and now lies in ruins. A dirt road extending south of the town leads to a supposedly abandoned shrine dedicated to Savras (god of divination and fate). For more information on this location, see “Shrine of Savras.”

Crags

These rocky, windswept hills are dotted with old mines that have become infested with monsters.

High Road

This highway hugs the coast, connecting Neverwinter to the coastal cities of Luskan to the north and Waterdeep to the south. For years, the stretch of road south of Neverwinter fell into disuse because of frequent monster attacks. Of late, efforts have been made to keep the road safe, with light patrols of guards on horseback moving between Neverwinter and Leilon.

Kryptgarden Forest

This ancient forest tucked behind the Sword Mountains contains the ruins of bygone dwarven civilizations.

Leilon

This small town along the High Road is in the midst of rebuilding itself after being abandoned for years. Its inhabitants hail from Neverwinter and are in the paid service of the city’s Lord Protector, who has tasked them with turning Leilon into a fortified settlement that can ward off threats from the Mere of Dead Men.

Mere of Dead Men

Travelers on the High Road, which skirts the mere to the east, must resist being lured into this cold and desolate swamp by bobbing Will-o'-Wisp. Countless adventurers have perished in the mere, drawn by tales of ruined castles half-sunk in the mire.

Neverwinter

This city was badly damaged when Mount Hotenow erupted some fifty years ago. Now, the City of Skilled Hands works to rebuild under the watchful eye of its Lord Protector, Dagult Neverember, who rules in the absence of an heir to Neverwinter’s crown. At present, no legitimate heirs to the old Alagondar royal line are known to exist, and many believe that the line is ended. Lord Neverember, taking no chances, quietly pays off or disposes of anyone claiming a connection to the rulers of old.

Neverwinter Wood

The forest east of Neverwinter seems to have a magical quality about it, or at least an air of mystical secrecy. Reclusive spellcasters are rumored to dwell deep within.

Phandalin

This nondescript mining settlement, nestled in the foothills of the Sword Mountains, serves as the starting location for the adventure. For more information, see “area Welcome to Phandalin.”

Starmetal Hills

This range of rocky knolls is so named because the area has been the impact site of a number of meteor showers over millennia. The hills are haunted by ruthless barbarian tribes, giving others little reason to visit the area.

Sword Mountains

These steep, craggy, snow-capped mountains are home to scattered tribes of orcs as well as other monsters. Icespire Peak is the tallest among them. Their foothills are strewn with the ruins of bygone kingdoms, and more than a few half-forgotten dungeons and tombs.

Triboar Trail

This path south of Neverwinter Wood is the safest route between Neverwinter and the town of Triboar, located in the Dessarin Valley to the east (off the map). The trail is not patrolled, and monster attacks are commonplace.

First Session: Character Creation

Dungeons & Dragons is a game that requires several hours to play, but you can stop the game at any time and continue it later. The first session should focus on character creation—one of the most fun aspects of the game. If the players create and equip their characters with time to spare, you can begin the adventure once they’re ready to go. Otherwise, congratulate them on building their characters and begin the adventure with the next session.

During character creation, your role as the DM is to let your players build the characters they want, and to help them come up with explanations for how their characters came together to form an adventuring party. If you have only one player, work with that player to come up with their character’s backstory, then let the player decide if they want the character to have a sidekick (see “area Running for One Player” below).

Character Options

Each player has options when it comes to choosing a character race, class, and background. These options are summarized in the Character Options table. If there are multiple players in the group, encourage them to choose different classes so that the party has a range of abilities. It’s less important that the party include multiple races or backgrounds, as sometimes it’s fun to play an all-dwarf party or a troupe of adventuring entertainers.

Character Options

While your players follow the steps of character creation as outlined in the rulebook, pay attention to the choices they make. The backgrounds they choose define who their characters were before becoming adventurers, and also include roleplaying hooks in the form of ideals, bonds, and flaws—things that you, as the DM, want to know. For example, if a player chooses the Criminal background, one of the options for the character’s bond is, “I’m trying to pay off an old debt I owe to a generous benefactor.” If that’s the character’s bond, work with the player to decide who that generous benefactor is.

Running for Multiple Players

If you have two or more players, the easiest way to start the adventure is to assume that the characters know each other and have some sort of history together, however brief that history might be. The characters might have met in Neverwinter and traveled to Phandalin together, or they might have arrived in Phandalin separately and gotten to know each other while staying at the local inn.

Questions to Ask

Here are some questions you can ask the players as they create characters:

• Are any of the characters related to each other?
• What keeps the characters together as a party?
• What does each character like most about every other member of the adventuring party?

Running for One Player

If you’re running this adventure for a single player, you can give that player a sidekick as a secondary character. Let the player choose one of the pregenerated sidekicks from the selection of Sidekick Cards. Rules and stat blocks for sidekicks appear in the rulebook. You might need to help the player run the sidekick for the first few sessions. If a sidekick is lost or no longer needed, the character can return to Phandalin and acquire a new one.

Using Sidekicks

Make sure the player understands the roles and limitations of sidekicks in this adventure:

• Sidekicks are stalwart companions who can perform tasks both in and out of combat, including things such as setting up camp and carrying gear.
• Ideally, a sidekick’s abilities should complement those of the main character. For example, a spellcaster makes a good sidekick for a fighter or rogue.

Reading Ahead

As the players familiarize themselves with the character options and adventuring gear described in the rulebook, take advantage of the opportunity to read ahead.

“area The Adventure Begins” section tells you everything you need to know about what’s happening in and around Phandalin. It also describes quests that characters can pursue, leading them to other locations. The adventure is built around these quests. Hopefully, the characters will find them tempting enough to undertake.

Glossary

The adventure uses terms that might be unfamiliar to you. A few of these terms are described here. For descriptions of rules-specific terms, see the rulebook.

Characters: This term refers to the adventurers run by the players. They are the protagonists in any D&D adventure. A group of characters or adventurers is called a party.

Nonplayer Characters (NPCs): This term refers to characters run by the DM. How an NPC behaves is dictated by the adventure and by the DM.

Boxed Text: At various places, the adventure presents descriptive text that’s meant to be read or paraphrased aloud to the players. This read-aloud text is offset in boxes. Boxed text is most commonly used to describe locations or present bits of scripted dialogue.

Stat Block: Any monster or NPC that is likely to be involved in combat requires game statistics so that the DM can run it effectively. These statistics are presented in a format called a stat block. You’ll find the stat blocks needed for this adventure in the “Creatures” section.

Tenday: In the Forgotten Realms, a week is ten days long and called a tenday. Each month consists of three tendays—thirty days total.

The Adventure Begins

The adventure begins in the mining town of Phandalin. There, the characters receive quests and can choose which ones to pursue.

The “Adventure Background” section describes the events leading up to the adventure and the main threats the characters will face. The “area Welcome to Phandalin” and “area Exploring Phandalin” sections describe the town where the adventure begins. Knowing Phandalin well will ensure a smooth start.

Adventure Background

Driven from lands farther north by more powerful dragons, a young white dragon named Cryovain has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. Typical of its kind, Cryovain is dim-witted and cruel. The dragon patrols the skies around Icespire Peak, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.

A crumbling fortress on the northeast spur of Icespire Peak serves as the dragon’s lair. Cryovain seized the icy fortress from a tribe of savage Orc, killing the orc war chief and forcing the tribe’s survivors to flee into the foothills and forests. Enraged by the death of their war chief, the orcs have called upon ancient allies—evil, shapechanging, half-orc spellcasters who bless and advise them. These half-orcs worship Talos, an evil god of storms, and many dwell in the dark depths of Neverwinter Wood. In stormy weather, they gather on remote hilltops to summon Gorthok the Thunder Boar, a primal entity that serves Talos. Like the god it serves, Gorthok delights in destruction.

The orcs aren’t the only creatures thrown into upheaval by Cryovain’s sudden arrival. A manticore driven from its mountaintop nest by the roaming white dragon has migrated to the foothills and begun terrorizing folk living on the outskirts of the mining town of Phandalin. Other monsters in the region have been similarly displaced.

Welcome to Phandalin

The frontier town of Phandalin is built on the ruins of a much older settlement. Hundreds of years ago, the old Phandalin was a thriving human town whose people were firmly allied with neighboring dwarves and gnomes. Then an orc horde swept through the area and laid waste to the settlement, and Phandalin was abandoned for centuries.

In the last three or four years, settlers from the cities of Neverwinter and Waterdeep have begun the hard work of reclaiming the ruins of Phandalin. The new settlement is home now to farmers, woodcutters, fur traders, and prospectors drawn by stories of gold and platinum in the foothills of the Sword Mountains. The arrival of a white dragon threatens to destroy all that they’ve worked to rebuild.

When you are ready for the adventure to get underway, show the poster map of Phandalin to the players and read the following boxed text aloud:

Nestled in the rocky foothills of the snow-capped Sword Mountains is the mining town of Phandalin, which consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings. Crumbling stone ruins surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past.

Phandalin’s residents are quiet, hard-working folk who came from distant cities to eke out a life amid the harsh wilderness. They are farmers, stonecutters, blacksmiths, traders, prospectors, and children. The town has no walls and no garrison, but most of the adults keep weapons within easy reach in case the need for arms should arise.

Visitors are welcome here, particularly if they have coin to spend or news to share. The Stonehill Inn at the center of town offers modest lodging and meals. A couple of doors down from the inn, posted outside the townmaster’s hall, is a job board for adventurers.

When the adventurers are ready to inspect the job board, proceed to the “Townmaster’s Hall” section.

Exploring Phandalin

The characters might wish to explore key establishments within Phandalin. These locations are marked on the map of Phandalin and the corresponding poster map.

Stonehill Inn

This modest, two-story roadhouse has six rooms for rent on the upper floor. A bed for the night costs 5 sp, while a meal costs 1 sp. The proprietor is a short, friendly male human named Toblen Stonehill. Toblen is a native of the town of Triboar to the east. He came to Phandalin to prospect, but soon realized that he knew a lot more about running an inn than he did about mining. If the characters talk to Toblen, he shares a brief tale told to him by one of his regular patrons. Roll a d6 and consult the Phandalin Tales table to determine which tale Toblen knows, or pick a tale the characters haven’t heard yet.

Barthen’s Provisions

The shelves of this general store stock most ordinary goods and supplies, including backpacks, bedrolls, rope, and rations. Barthen’s doesn’t stock weapons or armor, but characters can purchase other adventuring gear here, with the exception of items that cost more than 25 gp. (For prices, see the rulebook.) Characters in need of weapons or armor are directed to the Lionshield Coster. Those looking to buy Potion of Healing are urged to visit Adabra Gwynn at Umbrage Hill (see the “area Potions of Healing” sidebar).

The proprietor, Elmar Barthen, is a lean and balding human man of fifty years. He employs a couple of young clerks (Ander and Thistle) who help load and unload wagons, and who wait on customers when Barthen isn’t around. Characters who engage Barthen, Ander, or Thistle in friendly conversation are told a tale. Roll a d6 and consult the Phandalin Tales table, or pick a tale the characters haven’t heard yet.

Lionshield Coster

Hanging above the front door of this modest trading post is a sign shaped like a wooden shield with a blue lion painted on it.

This building is owned by the Lionshields, a merchant company based in the city of Yartar over a hundred miles to the east. The company ships finished goods to Phandalin and other small settlements throughout the region.

The master of the Phandalin post is a sharp-tongued human woman of thirty-five named Linene Graywind. Linene keeps a supply of armor and weapons, all of which are for sale to interested buyers. (For prices, see the rulebook.) Linene won’t sell weapons to anyone she thinks might be a threat to the town. If the characters talk to her, she recalls a tale told to her by one of her neighbors. Roll a d6 and consult the Phandalin Tales table, or pick a tale the characters haven’t heard yet.

Phandalin Miner’s Exchange

Miners come here to have their valuable finds weighed, measured, and paid out. The exchange also serves as an unofficial records office, registering claims to various streams and excavations around the area. Enough wealth is hidden in the nearby streams and valleys to support a good number of independent prospectors.

The exchange is a great place to meet people who spend a lot of time out and about in the countryside surrounding Phandalin. The guildmaster is a calculating human woman named Halia Thornton. She is also an agent of the Zhentarim, a shadowy organization that seeks to exert secret control over the North through wealth and influence. Halia is working slowly to bring Phandalin under her control, and she can become a valuable patron to adventurers who don’t cross her. If the characters get on her good side, Halia tells them a tale. Roll a d6 and consult the Phandalin Tales table, or pick a tale the characters haven’t heard yet.

Shrine of Luck

Phandalin’s only temple is a shrine made of stones taken from the nearby ruins. It is dedicated to Tymora (goddess of luck and good fortune) and is normally in the care of a zealous elf acolyte named Sister Garaele. However, she is out of town for the duration of this adventure.

Sister Garaele is a member of the Harpers, a scattered network of adventurers and spies who advocate equality and covertly oppose the abuse of power. The Harpers gather information throughout the land to thwart tyrants. They aid the weak, the poor, and the oppressed. Sister Garaele regularly reports to her superiors on events in and around Phandalin, and is currently in Neverwinter doing exactly that. In her absence, the shrine is left untended.

Phandalin Tales

Townmaster’s Hall

The townmaster’s hall has sturdy stone walls, a pitched wooden roof, and a bell tower at the back. The job board next to the front door features a sparse number of notices, all written in Common and in the same hand.

If the characters inspect the notices on the job board, proceed to the “Phandalin Quests” section.

Potions of Healing

No place in Phandalin sells Potion of Healing. However, characters who wish to purchase one or more such potions can do so at the Umbrage Hill windmill, located a few miles south of Phandalin. The windmill is home to a midwife and acolyte of Chauntea (goddess of agriculture) named Adabra Gwynn. For more information on this location, see “Umbrage Hill”.

Phandalin Quests

The job board outside the townmaster’s hall is where adventurers can learn about quests. Each quest is printed on a card, which you can give to the players when that quest becomes available (see “area Starting Quests” and “area Follow-Up Quests” below). Let the players choose which quest to complete first, second, third, and so on. If the players don’t like a particular quest, they are under no obligation to complete it. However, completing quests helps the characters become more powerful (see “area Leveling Up").

Harbin Wester, Quest Giver

All the notices on the job board are written by Harbin Wester, Phandalin’s duly appointed townmaster. Harbin is a pompous, middle-aged banker who lives in a house east of the townmaster’s hall. Reports of a white dragon in the area have turned him into a veritable shut-in, and he rarely goes outside except to get food and post new notices calling for adventurers.

Characters who knock on Harbin’s door hear his voice on the other side say, “If you’re a dragon, know that I’m far too thin and bony to make a good meal!” No matter what the adventurers do to allay his fears, Harbin refuses to open the door, preferring to talk through it. Other residents who trouble Harbin with complaints receive similar treatment.

If the characters ask him about a quest, Harbin sets them on the right track, offering payment upon their return. When the time comes to pay up, he slips the payment under the door one gold coin at a time.

Adventure Locations and Encounters

This adventure encourages characters to explore locations marked on the DM’s area map of the Sword Coast. When the characters embark on a journey to a location, flip to the section of this book that describes that location in detail. For example, if the players choose to undertake the Umbrage Hill Quest, go to the “Umbrage Hill” section. Each location includes an overview that briefly describes what characters can expect to find there. This overview is followed by information you’ll need to run the encounters at that location.

Running Encounters: This adventure describes what the characters see when they first arrive at a location, and what they’ll discover as they explore it. The adventure also tells you how the location’s inhabitants react to the characters' arrival.

No encounter has a predetermined outcome. For example, characters who explore Umbrage Hill are likely to encounter a manticore. Although fighting the monster is always an option, characters might decide to negotiate with the manticore instead. Be flexible, particularly when dealing with intelligent monsters. If every encounter becomes a fight to the death, your players might get bored and miss out on some fun roleplaying opportunities. Whenever possible, reward players for being clever. For example, characters who disturb the ankhegs at the Loggers' Camp might be able to escape from the burrowing monsters by jumping in the nearby river. Similarly, characters who are willing to negotiate with the wererats in the Mountain’s Toe Gold Mine might be able to forge a truce between the wererats and the miners, ending their conflict so that the mine can be reopened.

Starting Quests

When the characters first visit the job board, there are three quests posted. Give the players the cards for these quests so that they can choose which to pursue.

Dwarven Excavation Quest. “Dwarf prospectors found ancient dwarven ruins in the mountains southwest of here, and have been working an archaeological dig seeking treasure and relics. They need to be warned that a white dragon has moved into the area. Take the warning to them, then return to Townmaster Harbin Wester to collect a reward of 50 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, see “Dwarven Excavation.”

Gnomengarde Quest. “A clan of reclusive rock gnomes resides in a small network of caves in the mountains to the southeast. The gnomes of Gnomengarde are known for their magical inventions, and they might have something with which to defeat the dragon. Get whatever you can from them. If you bring back something useful and don’t want to keep it for yourselves, Townmaster Harbin Wester will pay you 50 gp for it.” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Gnomengarde.”

Umbrage Hill Quest. “The local midwife—an acolyte of Chauntea named Adabra Gwynn—lives by herself in a stone windmill on the side of a hill a few miles south of Phandalin. With dragon sightings becoming more common, it’s not safe for her to be alone. Urge Adabra to return to Phandalin. Once she’s safe, visit Townmaster Harbin Wester to claim a reward of 25 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Umbrage Hill.”

Follow-Up Quests

After the characters complete two starting quests, the following three quests are added to the job board:

Butterskull Ranch Quest. “Orcs have attacked Butterskull Ranch, five miles east of Conyberry along the Triboar Trail! Travel there with haste, assess the damage, and help any way you can. Ranch owner Alfonse “Big Al” Kalazorn is a retired sheriff who can reward you for your efforts. If he’s dead, return to Townmaster Harbin Wester with proof of Kalazorn’s demise to receive a reward of 100 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Butterskull Ranch.”

Loggers' Camp Quest. “Deep in Neverwinter Wood, along the river that flows west toward Neverwinter, is a logging camp. Every two months, Phandalin delivers fresh supplies to the camp, which is run by the half-brother of Phandalin’s townmaster, Harbin Wester. Barthen, the local provisioner, has prepared a new delivery. He needs someone to bear the supplies safely to the camp. Return to Harbin Wester with a notice of delivery signed by his half-brother, Tibor Wester, to claim your reward of 100 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Loggers' Camp.”

Mountain’s Toe Quest. “The Mountain’s Toe Gold Mine lies fifteen miles northeast of Phandalin. The new overseer, Don-Jon Raskin, just made the trip from Neverwinter to Phandalin and needs to be escorted to the mine. There’s no telling what dangers lie between here and there. Once you deliver Raskin safe and sound, return to Townmaster Harbin Wester to collect a reward of 100 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Mountain’s Toe Gold Mine.”

After the characters complete two follow-up quests, another three follow-up quests are added to the job board:

Axeholm Quest. “Within a mountain fifteen miles south of Phandalin stands the ancient dwarven fortress of Axeholm, which has been sealed for years. If a dragon attack is imminent, the people of Phandalin might need to evacuate and take refuge in Axeholm. To that end, someone needs to open the fortress and make it safe for habitation. Once you accomplish these tasks, return to Townmaster Wester to collect a reward of 250 gp.” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Axeholm.”

Dragon Barrow Quest. “The dragon that besets us is not the first to threaten this region. Between here and Neverwinter lies the barrow mound of a warrior whose magical dragon-slaying sword helped fell a green dragon terrorizing the High Road a century ago. Rumor has it the dragon slayer sword is buried there too. Retrieve it, and let the sword be its own reward!” If the characters undertake this quest, proceed with “Dragon Barrow.”

Woodland Manse Quest. “The orcs have fallen under the sway of evil spellcasters in Neverwinter Wood, and have been sighted in growing numbers near Falcon’s Hunting Lodge. The spellcasters dwell in a ruined manse. Falcon needs someone to make a preemptive strike against it. Destroy the evil in the manse, then expect him to reward you.” If the characters undertake this quest, run “Falcon’s Hunting Lodge” followed by “Woodland Manse.”

Leveling Up

Characters advance in level by completing quests, using the guidelines for leveling up in the rulebook. Regardless of the number of characters in the party, the rate of advancement is as follows:

• Characters gain a level each time they complete a starting quest, until they reach 3rd level. Once they are 3rd level or higher, completing a starting quest has no effect on their level.
• Characters gain a level each time they complete two follow-up quests.
• Characters gain a level if they slay Cryovain the white dragon.

Where’s the White Dragon?

Cryovain the young white dragon is a roaming threat that can be encountered almost anywhere. Each time the characters arrive at a location tagged on the map of the Sword Coast or prepare to leave that location, roll a d20 and consult the Dragon’s Location table to determine Cryovain’s current whereabouts. Make your first roll on the table when the adventurers leave Phandalin for the first time.

When the dragon visits a location that is not its lair, it surveys the location from the sky, beyond the reach of ranged weapon attacks. If it spots nothing it can eat, it flies off after circling the location for a minute or two. If it spots something tasty, such as a mule, a horse, or a character, the dragon swoops down and attacks it. Once the dragon kills something, it grabs the carcass and flies off with it. Whatever it takes is then eaten within the hour.

If Cryovain loses more than 10 hit points in battle, the dragon disengages from combat and retreats to its lair at Icespire Hold, remaining there until it finishes a long rest and regains all its hit points. Only at Icespire Hold does the dragon fight to the death.

Dragon’s Location