Leilon was once a mining town that sold copper, nickel, and silver to Waterdeep. It was also a port where merchants sometimes offloaded goods on barges (since most ships cannot pass the town’s shallow mud flats) to be transferred to cities along 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, trapping 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. Gallio Elibro, a mage, has rebuilt it to perform his own studies into the Ethereal Plane. See “House of Thalivar” 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, becoming 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 the characters first arrive at the town (after securing it during the quest “A Normal Day in Leilon”), show the Leilon map to the players and use the following read-aloud text:
Leilon is a ruined town encircled by an earthen rampart. To the southwest, new settlers attempt to build docks for barges, made to cross the marsh and meet merchant ships in the sea.
Outside of town, a settler camp nestles under the trees alongside the High Road. At the center of tower, the House of Thalivar, a wizard tower, rises like a beacon, four times the height of every other building. The town lies in ruin, but the settlers from Neverwinter work quickly, clearing and reconstructing.
Exploring Leilon
The characters might wish to explore key establishments within Leilon. These locations are marked on the map of Leilon. Some of the locations do not exist at the start of the adventure but may be built at a time of your choosing—after the characters first arrive in Leilon but before the end of the adventure.
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 male named Aubrey Silverspun runs the store. Roll a
Peculiarities
| d20 | Peculiarity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Random Magic Item (Magic Item Table C) | 500 gp |
| 3-10 | 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.
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 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 legend lore spell for 400 gp.
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 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 night, 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
Shrine of Lathander
This shrine to Lathander, god of light, was the first temple to be reconstructed in Leilon. Merrygold Brightshine, an outgoing young female halfling with the priest statistics, 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
Settler Camp
Circled wagons, tents, cook fires, and supply crates comprise the sprawling settler camp outside town. Most the town’s business takes place here, as the town council gathers regularly to plan the reconstruction and discuss any threats in the region. The councilors include:
Grizzelda Copperwraught
Lord Neverember tasked this gruff female dwarf with overseeing Leilon’s construction work. Behind her back, the townsfolk call her “The Growler.”
Sergeant Hazz Yorrum
This slovenly male Damaran 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 Lathander, 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.
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 human blacksmith named Zana Taylish, is a resident of Leilon who sells armor and weapons. More exotic items (such as spell scrolls or other consumable magic items) could be available from a traveling merchant in the square at the DMs discretion. The cost for such items should be high (and perhaps require a favor of the adventurers in addition to an exchange of gold).
The Quest Board
Unlike Dragon of Icespire Peak and the two adventures that follow this one, this adventure does not use a “quest board.” (See “area A Note on the Quest Board” sidebar below.) Below are a list of the quests and how they can be pursued.
Starting Quests
The first two quests occur as the characters are traveling to Leilon for the first time:
Attack on the Wayside Inn Quest
This quest occurs when the characters, traveling toward Leilon where the High Road meets the Triboar Trail, come upon an undead horde attacking a wayside inn. If the characters undertake this quest, see “Attack on the Wayside Inn.”
A Normal Day in Leilon Quest
This quest occurs when the characters arrive on the outskirts of Leilon to find the town has been evacuated because of an attack from the sea. If the characters undertake this quest, see “A Normal Day in Leilon.”
Follow-Up Quests
After the characters complete both the starting quests, they can take up residence in Leilon and be called upon to complete any of the other quests, except for the final quest. These quests are provided by various members of the Leilon community. These can be completed in any order.
Aid from Phandalin Quest
The town council asks the characters to accompany a gnome goatherd to Phandalin to sell her goats, as well pick up supplies needed by the town. If the characters undertake this quest, see “Aid from Phandalin.”
Foul Weather at Wayside Quest
This guest is triggered when the town notices that, on an otherwise fair day, a terrible storm rages in the distance, directly above the Wayside Inn. The town council, concerned about the phenomenon and anyone caught in it, asks the party to investigate. If the characters undertake this quest, see “Foul Weather at Wayside.”
House of Thalivar Quest
On a random evening, the party encounters soldiers fleeing from the House of Thalivar in fear. The soldiers are too afraid to return, asking the party to investigate and check on the well-being of Gallio Elibro, the wizard in charge of the towers rebuilding. If the characters undertake this quest, see “House of Thalivar.”
Missing Patrol Quest
One of the residents of the town, Breltora Red-Eye, notes that one of the patrols into the Mere of Dead Men is late to return. Although the commander is not concerned, the party can still choose to look for them. If the characters undertake this quest, see “Missing Patrol.”
Thunder Cliffs Quest
The final quest in this adventure takes place at Thunder Cliffs, when the local anchorite threat is based. There is no trigger or giver for this quest, since the location and significance of the threat is only learned after performing the other quests. When the characters undertake this quest, see “Thunder Cliffs.”
Leveling Up
Characters advance in level by completing quests. Regardless of the number of characters in the party, they gain a level when they complete three quests. The initial encounter, “Attack on the Wayside Inn,” does not count as a quest.
A Note on the Quest Board
Dragon of Icespire Peak uses an excellent campaign-control quest mechanic to point characters in the right direction: the quest board. The two other adventures in this series use the quest board as well. In general, the quest board idea works wonderfully to show the players what options they have for seeking adventure.
As this adventure opens, the town of Leilon doesn’t have a quest board, because the infrastructure of the town is not in place. It doesn’t make much sense to have a quest board when the adventurers are the only people in town who are capable of performing the tasks that the town needs done.
Instead, you can use the town council to introduce potential quests to the characters. Many of the quests in the adventure happen at the spur of the moment, so rather than having the characters learn about the needs of the town on a board, one of the three members of the town council will approach the characters directly.
If you still want to give the characters the freedom to choose from a variety of quests, the different members of the council could have different ideas of which quest is the most important and roleplaying the conflict between council members can add depth to the story. Will one council member be upset if the characters choose a different quest first? Will they have to do something to get back into that member’s good graces?