Synopsis
Following the appearance of a bright meteor in the sky, Professor Albright Whiskers, a
tabaxi astronomer staying in
Phandalin, is looking for adventurers to join him on an expedition to its landing site. Once there, the characters discover that some force filled the crater with a lush jungle in just a few hours’ time. Navigating through the jungle, the characters realize that they are not the only ones making their way to the heart of the crater, while a storm starts brewing above their heads.
Arriving at the center, a huge egg pulsing with life force did not only attract a group of treasure hunters, but also more monstrous creations. Characters have to decide whether to team up with the treasure hunters to fight off a bigger threat, or whether they want to follow a different course of action altogether.
Welcome to Phandalin
The characters are invited to the Stonehill Inn by Professor Albright Whiskers (CG male
tabaxi knight), an aged
tabaxi with long whiskers who is a bit eccentric and somewhat overwhelming in his mannerisms. Although he means well, he can sometimes be a bit forceful when ordering others around. When arriving at the inn, Toblen Stonehill directs them towards the table that Professor Whiskers sits at. Read the following:
| "Please, sit down," an old tabaxi says as you approach. "Welcome! I assume you are all here to join me on an expedition to find the site where the meteor landed?" |
Professor Whiskers will pay adventurers 50 gp each just to escort him to and from the meteor site. After answering any of the character's questions, Professor Whiskers declares that he is ready to embark.
Towards the Landing Site
According to Professor Whiskers, the landing site of the meteor he observed is located on the north side of the
Sword Mountains, many miles east of
Phandalin. He warns the characters that passing adventurers have brought news of a settlement of
yetis on that side of the mountain who established a small community there in the past year. The yeti encampment is not on the way to the crater, but if the characters decide to wander off course, they might stumble upon it.
Yeti Ambush
If the characters are not careful, they may run into a yeti ambush. On the second day of traveling, the characters approach a
yeti lying in wait for prey. Characters with a Passive Perception of 13 or higher notice the ambush from 30 feet away, at which point the yeti sees the characters too. Characters with a Passive Perception of 15 or higher notice the ambush from 60 feet away and can avoid the ambush. If the characters are unaware of the yeti’s presence, it initiates combat by throwing a large boulder with a +5 to hit, dealing 3d6 + 4 bludgeoning damage to anyone hit.
The Crater's Rim
After two days of traveling, the characters arrive at the crater’s rim. Upon arrival, read the following:
| Before you, the huge impact crater stretches out. All along the rim and within, the overwhelming sight of lush vegetation in lively green colors fills your entire field of view. The crater is filled by a jungle teeming with plants of various sorts, but eerily silent and devoid of all animal noises one would expect to find in such an environment. |
Treasure Hunters
While making their way through the jungle, the characters encounter some other adventurers. Reading the following:
| "Hurry up!" A rough voice suddenly pierces the air somewhere to your left. "We need to get there before anyone else does! You know, first come first served! And there is only one serving."
Through the thick vegetation, you see three figures cutting their way through the vines. Their features are hard to make out from here, but they sound dangerous.
"Treasure hunters," the professor whispers. "We cannot let them get there first." |
Three treasure hunters named Skiv (CN male
Tethyrian human veteran), Wade (CN male
gold dragonborn berserker), and Saya (CG female
lightfoot halfling spy) are making their way towards the center of the crater hoping to find something that could be valuable to the right buyer. They are currently unaware of the characters’ presence and could be surprised if sneaked up on.
All three were once farmers. Due to a bad season and failed crops, they took up this line of more dangerous work to feed their families. They want to score this “big fish” to ward off hunger until the next spring.
Confronting the Treasure Hunters
If confronted, the treasure hunters will be quick to accuse the characters of trying to get away with all the "heavenly riches" themselves without caring about the common folk that have fallen on hard times. However, with a tall tale of the dangers ahead they might be convinced that this job is above their skill level with a successful DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation) check.
If a fight breaks out, Saya will separate her group from the party using her
wand of infernal walls as soon as she sees an opportunity to trap as many characters as possible. If that is not possible, Skiv and Wade try to protect the Saya.
If Skiv dies and the characters loot his body, they find a child's drawing depicting a young boy that is gently pushed out of harm’s way while a knightly figure with features not unlike Skiv’s fights off an attacking
red dragon.
Race Against the Treasure Hunters
If the treasure hunters are ignored or the characters are unable to neutralize them, both teams will be trying to outrace the other.
If the treasure hunters are unaware of the characters, the characters will make three consecutive DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) checks. If the characters succeed on two out of three checks, the characters reach the center of the crater first.
If the treasure hunters are aware of the characters’ presence, they will both chase each other to the center of the crater. The party that travels the longest distance in five rounds reaches the center of the crater first.
Arrival
The center of the crater features a circular clearing in the jungle with a radius of 60 feet. When the characters reach the edge of the clearing, read the following:
| As you reach the edge of the jungle, you finally lay eyes on the goal of your expedition. In the middle of the clearing rests a large egg-shaped boulder beneath a sky now covered in storm clouds. Lightning strikes arc between the clouds and downwards striking all around the huge egg. |
If the treasure hunters reached the center first, also read the following:
| While you take in this vision, you see how a lightning bolt comes rushing down to strike one of the treasure hunters. With a pained shriek, you see them falling to their knees lifeless. |
The lightning randomly strikes one of the treasure hunters.
Emerging Threat
When the characters approach the egg at the center of the crater, six
vine blights appears at the edge of the clearing spread out somewhat evenly along the clearing’s edge. They are attracted by the storm conjured up by the egg. Their goal is to reach the egg and break it open to get closer to whatever is causing the lightning storm. On their turn, they will try to focus on crushing the egg, or retraining those trying to move closer to it. The egg has an AC of 18 and 20 hit points. The professor urges the characters to stop the vine blights.
On initiative counts 20 and 10, lightning strikes one random target - character, NPC, or monster - within the clearing for 2d6 lightning damage.
If the egg breaks, a
star spawn mangler will burst out and attack everyone near it except for the vine blights, who will start retreating into the jungle. The lightning will not stop until either the vine blights or the star spawn mangler are killed.
Conclusion
If the egg survived, Professor Whiskers will be able to study it further. Once the
vine blights have been killed and the storm is gone, the
star spawn mangler will unable to be summoned if the egg breaking. Regardless of whether the egg is undamaged or broken, enough adamantine lines the inside of it to create a set of
adamantine armor.
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