Dragon of Icespire Peak: Session 1
Our heroes will be on their way to their first quest
Characters in this session
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 orcs, 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.
It began in Phandalin
Our journey starts in Phandalin, a small town on the Sword Coast between Neverwinter and Waterdeep. Unknown to them, both our heroes will meet in the settlement while looking for work. They found a job board outside the townmaster's hall.
Harbin: "Greetings, adventurers! Phandalin is grateful to have you. Recently, Phandalin has seen a lot of activity from surrounding areas. Rumors say that a young white dragon has now taken the mountain as its permanent residence, and this has caused several monsters to relocate. These new activities have brought some harm to the residents of Phandalin and others living in the surrounding areas. We need brave adventurers and heroes to help us sound the alarm."
This is where Mulush and Leia met for the first time, both having chosen a quest from the board. They went to meet Townmaster Harbin to learn more about the missions and their rewards. Harbin explained to them that he wasn't allowing anyone to venture out alone—the area was too dangerous. If they wanted to take on a mission, they would need to do it together.
Mulush: "Sure, I could use the company."
Leia: "Hmmm, fine, whatever... Let's get started, no time to waste."
Missions
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.”
Gnomendarge 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.”
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.”
The temple of Abbathor
Our heroes agreed to take the Dwarven Excavation Quest, simply because it was the first one on the list, no need for them to be picky at this time.
Mulush and Leia walked for about three hours before reaching their destination. This is where they met the dwarves just outside the temple.
The canyon’s rocky walls rise to a height of eighty feet. At the end of the canyon, a twenty-foot-high wall of black stone has a broken gate carved into it, with one stone door hanging precariously by a hinge and the other door missing. Beyond this open gate, in the shadow of a great mountain to the east, lies a ruined settlement. All is quiet.
The dwarves, Dazlyn and Norbus, welcomed and greeted them. This is when Mulush and Leia told them about the white dragon and suggested that they should probably return to Phandalin to reassess their priorities or be extremely vigilant, because a white dragon is nothing to scoff at.
Dazlyn: "Should we head back, or should we finish what we've started?"
Norbus: "We're probably safe inside. The white dragon wouldn't come underground—it just flies around the mountain. It probably won't trap us in here. So I guess we have time. We should finish what we've started. Maybe we can ask them to help us. It might be easier and faster. What do you think, Dazlyn?"
Dazlyn: "Thanks for the warning, but we've decided to stay here and resume our excavation. There are things to find, and we'd like to make a small profit from our work. So returning to Phandalin now isn't an option for us. But. There's an ochre jelly in here, and it's bothering us. We would like you to how to say it. Dispose out of it?"
Norbus: Yes, kill it. And if you can do that and make it safer. We would offer you standing stones, but also share anything valuable we find. What do you think? Do you agree? Do you agree?
Mulush: "Of course. Anything to help."
Leia: "This isn't our task. We came here, we warned them, now we head back to Phandalin and get our 25 gold pieces each. The mission is done."
Mulush: "What, are you afraid?"
Leia: "Of course not. There's nothing that frightens me. What are you saying?"
Mulush: "Perfect! That settles it. When it's done, we'll head back to Phandalin. We'll get 25 gold pieces, plus half of what the dwarves find. We came here to help, so we'll do that, and we might even get a little wealthier doing it."
Leia: "Fine..."
Temple Features
The temple (areas E4 through area E11) is smoothly hewn from solid rock. The following features are common throughout.
Ceilings. Ceilings throughout are 10 feet high and flat.
Doors. All doors are made of carved stone with stone pins for hinges. Secret doors blend in with the surrounding stonework. Finding a secret door requires a search of the wall and a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. Dazlyn and Norbus have found one secret door thus far, in area E4. The others have yet to be discovered.
Dust and Debris. The temple is choked with dusty rubble. Rubble-filled squares are difficult terrain.
Light. There are no light sources in the temple, since the dwarf priests of Abbathor relied on darkvision to see.
Mulush used his Light cantrip to help Leia see properly in the dark.
Once inside the main room, the dwarves showed them the ochre jelly. It was clinging to the ceiling above a bloodstained limestone altar at the far end of the room.
Dazlyn: "Here it is!"
Norbus: "Kill it, kill it!"
It was the first time Mulush had seen one of those things. Luckily, Leia knew about them and decided on a plan of action.
Leia: "Those creatures are slow and have a short reach. We'd better stay far away and attack from a distance."
Dazlyn & Norbus: "Hell yeah!"
Leia was first to attack, using her Hunter's Mark spell and a longbow attack. She easily reached her target, dealing 10 damage.
Mulush then attacked with his Sorcerous Burst cantrip, dealing another 5 damage. No need for him to spend energy on a leveled spell against a slow-moving monster like an ochre jelly. It took them 3 rounds of attacks to defeat the ooze.
Dazlyn and Norbus: "Yeah! You did it! Here you go—the sending stones as promised."
Sending stones are magical stones that allow their users to communicate with one another across large distances. Mulush and Leia appreciated having such a useful tool.
Without the ochre jelly in their way, the dwarves were able to continue their search and found, hidden in a pillar, a cavity filled with dwarven skulls and 15 gemstones (worth 10 GP each). They split them with our heroes. Leia was able to negotiate rounding up, so they got 8 instead of 7.
That was enough for Leia, who wanted to get back to Phandalin, not interested in wasting more time in this place.
Leia: "Let's head back. We did what we had to do and more."
Mulush: "Fine by me. Thank you for helping out. I agree. Alright, Dazlyn, Norbus, be careful out there. Come back when you're done."
Dazlyn: "Sure, thanks again!"
Norbus: "Yeah, yeah, just have to find more treasure first."
When Orcs Attack
On their way back to Phandalin, our heroes came face-to-face with two orcs looking for a new lair for themselves. Knowing that the dwarves were still inside, Mulush and Leia decided to protect the entrance. A fight ensued.
The orcs acted first, running toward Mulush and Leia with their greataxes. The first orc was able to hit Leia for 9 damage, greatly hurting her. The second orc missed.
Mulush then used his Chromatic Orb spell, dealing 19 damage to the first orc and killing it instantly in a burst of flames.
Leia then hit the second orc with her scimitar, dealing 9 damage, and her shortsword, dealing 3 damage, almost killing her target.
The orc, deeply wounded, tried another attack on Leia but failed due to its injuries.
Mulush was able to finish it with a simple Sorcerous Burst attack.
Leia then used her Goodberry spell to regain energy and help heal her wounds.
They then traveled back to Phandalin for a well-deserved rest and a big meal at Stonehill Inn. A modest, two-story roadhouse has six rooms for rent on the upper floor.
Very interesting to read through this, as I have also played the module. Its some of the only d&d I actually played, so it is fun to see the contrast with your experience so far.
Good start. Looking forward to the next session.