Shrine of Savras

“Shrine of Savras” is balanced for characters of 1st to 6th level. This location is not connected to any quest, though one of the entries in the Phandalin Tales table might lure adventurers here. Characters might also visit the shrine after hearing of it from the wererats in the Mountain’s Toe Gold Mine.

Location Overview

Five miles south of area Conyberry is a shrine dedicated to Savras, god of divination and fate. Many years ago, the shrine’s priest-seers foresaw a barbarian attack on Conyberry, giving the townsfolk time to escape. Not all the townsfolk chose to flee, but those who did went to the shrine and brought much of the town’s gold with them.

The barbarians eventually tracked the townsfolk to the shrine, besieged it, and slaughtered everyone inside. In the days leading up to this final battle, the priest-seers helped the townsfolk hide their gold in plain sight. They melted down the coins and recast them into a bell, which they painted and hung in the shrine’s belfry (replacing the old iron bell). The gold bell hangs there to this day.

Over the years, many other creatures have occupied the shrine. Most recently, a gang of wererats laired here until they were driven out by orcs displaced by Cryovain the white dragon. Recently, ogres wandered by the shrine, saw the orcs, and decided to join them.

Arrival

An old dirt trail stretches from the outskirts of Conyberry to the shrine, which characters first see from a distance. Read the following boxed text aloud:

A ruin stands in the middle of a vast field north of the rocky foothills of the Sword Mountains. An old stone temple with a belfry jutting from its peaked roof is enclosed by stone walls, many sections of which have collapsed. The trail ends at a crumbling gatehouse, the doors to which were sundered long ago. Three of the four towers that once stood at the corners of the outer walls have collapsed. Only the northeast tower remains, and a guard stands atop it.

The guard spotted atop the northeast tower (area area S6) is an orc. During the day, the characters can’t approach the shrine without being seen by this sentry, as there are no places to hide in the level field surrounding the shrine. If the characters wait until nightfall, clouds obscure the moon and enable them to approach unseen, as long as they stay outside the 60-foot range of the orc’s darkvision. If the orc spots the characters, it cries out, rousing the shrine’s other occupants. Once roused, all those occupants attack.

The Enemy Roster table adjusts the number of Orc and Ogre in the shrine based on the level of the characters and the number of characters in the party, not counting sidekicks.

Enemy Roster

When rolling initiative for these foes, roll once for all the orcs and once for all the ogres.

Shrine Locations

The following locations are keyed to the map of the Shrine of Savras. Squares filled with rubble are difficult terrain (see the rulebook).

S1. Gatehouse

The gatehouse is 20 feet high, and its outer doors have been smashed to flinders. A rusty iron portcullis blocks the south exit, but is bypassed by a rubble-filled hole in the southwest corner of the gatehouse. The winch to raise the portcullis has been destroyed, but the portcullis can be lifted manually with a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check if desired.

S2. Courtyard

The orcs and ogres camp in this grassy courtyard, which is littered with bones, broken weapons, and shattered armor from past battles. The courtyard has four quadrants. The ogres claim the southeast quadrant, while the orcs claim the remaining quadrants. See the Enemy Roster table for the number of Orc and Ogre present.

The courtyard’s northwest and northeast quadrants contain rotted wooden troughs and posts that were once used to feed, water, and tether horses.

S3. Northwest Tower

This tower is open to the sky and strewn with rubble.

S4. Southwest Tower

This roofless tower has a rubble-filled break in its southeast wall.

S5. Southeast Tower

Little remains of this tower. Lying amid the debris is a rusty iron bell that weighs 500 pounds.

S6. Northeast Tower

This tower is the only one of the shrine’s four towers that has not fallen. An iron ladder inside the tower climbs to a stone trapdoor in the ceiling, through which characters can reach the tower’s battlemented rooftop. An orc watches the surrounding countryside from atop the tower.

S7. Main Hall and Belfry

Rows of crumbling pillars support the 40-foot-high vaulted ceiling of this hall. Humanoid bones litter the dusty floor, and a 10-foot-square hole in the ceiling leads to the belfry. No rope hangs from the bell, which appears to be made of untarnished copper. The belfry can be reached from outside by climbing the outer walls and rooftop, which requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. Characters can reach the belfry from inside using magic such as a spider climb or fly spell.

Treasure

Close examination of the bell reveals that it’s thin sides are solid gold covered with peeling copper paint. The bell, which is 3 feet wide and weighs 50 pounds, hangs from an iron fixture bolted to a wooden crossbeam. A character with carpenter’s tools or smith’s tools can use them to detach the bell from the beam in 1 minute. Any creature under the bell when it falls must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity check to get out of the way, or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage. The gold bell is worth 2,500 gp.

S8. Visitors' Sanctuary

Guests of the shrine were housed here. Later, the wererats used this area as a lair. The room contains six beds with moldy mattresses, the shattered remains of a wooden table and six chairs, and a soot-stained fireplace containing a rusty cauldron hanging from a spit. A narrow break in the north wall provides an alternative exit.

S9. Priest-Seers' Sanctuary

The priest-seers of Savras slept and cooked their meals here. All the furnishings in this area have been destroyed, and part of the south wall has collapsed.

S10. Altar of Fate

Six stone pillars brace the vaulted ceiling of this temple, the floor of which is buried under a thick layer of dust. Also covered in dust are four humanoid skeletons in tattered priestly vestments, lying near a stone altar situated in an alcove under four narrow windows. Carved into the front of the altar is a humanoid eye.

A detect magic spell reveals an aura of divination magic around the altar. If Cryovain has been slain, nothing happens when a character touches the altar. Otherwise, any character touching the altar experiences a vision lasting 1 minute, during which time the character is incapacitated. In the vision, the character floats through the roof of the shrine, soars toward Icespire Hold, and sees the Young White Dragon asleep on the fortress’s rooftop. (The divination power of the altar is effectively telling the characters where they must go to defeat the dragon.) A character receives this vision only once. Nothing happens to a character who touches the altar a second time.

Treasure

Any character who searches the altar and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check realizes that the altar’s base doesn’t quite touch the floor. The altar has stone rollers built into it and can be pushed 3 feet to the south, revealing an unlocked wooden coffer tucked inside a 1-foot-square cavity in the floor. This coffer contains 57 gp and a mystery key. If the characters acquire and identify the mystery key, give the players the Mystery Key card or they can reference it in the Magic Items Listing.