Woodland Manse Quest

Woodland Manse is balanced for characters of 5th or 6th level, though characters of 3rd or 4th level can survive the challenges of this quest if they rest between encounters.

Location Overview

Many years ago, a half-elf wizard interested in the exploration of ancient elven ruins built a stone house in Neverwinter Wood, not far from several ruins that piqued her interest. In the course of her explorations, the wizard disappeared, and the protective magical wards on her home expired. The house fell into disrepair, then eventually into ruin. Ivy has all but engulfed it in the years since.
Recently, a half-orc anchorite of Talos named Grannoc took over the ruined house and planted seeds at the bottom of its well. From these seeds, a malignant tree grew to fill the well and began spawning evil plant monsters called blights (see "Blights" in the Creatures chapter). The blights obey Grannoc, who uses them to defend his woodland manse and kill trespassers within the forest.

Quest Goals

To complete the Woodland Manse Quest, the adventurers must eradicate the evil dwelling in and around the manse. Their reward awaits them at Falcon’s Hunting Lodge.

Arrival

Characters who come here from Falcon’s Hunting Lodge arrive from the west. Those coming from the Circle of Thunder arrive from the north.

Woodland Manse Features
The manse is a dilapidated stone villa enveloped in ivy. Its common features are described below.
Ceilings. Ceilings on the ground floor are 8 feet high and flat. Second-floor ceilings are 15 feet high and peaked, with wooden rafters crossing below them at a height of 10 feet.
Doors. Normal doors are made of wood, and are so rotted as to be soft and easily breakable (no ability check required). Secret doors are made of stone and blend in with the surrounding walls. A secret door can be found by a character who searches the surrounding wall and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check.
Ivy. The ivy enveloping the manse is poisonous and makes the walls difficult to climb. Scaling a wall requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. A creature that comes into contact with ivy must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 2 (1d4) poison damage.
Light. Most locations on the ground floor are dark, as the ivy blocks out the natural light except in areas that are open to the sky (such as the courtyard) or that have openings through which sunlight or moonlight can enter. Rooms and halls on the upper level are dimly lit by natural light that filters through holes in the roof.
Windows. Windows are 2½-foot wide, 5-foot-high apertures with wooden shutters but no glass. Those along the outside walls are covered with ivy, which must be cleared away before the shutters can be opened or closed.

Describe this location to the players by reading the following boxed text aloud:

Following a trail through the woods, you come to a foggy clearing, in the midst of which stands a crumbling two-story manse all but hidden beneath thorny ivy. The large house is set atop a six-foot-high stone foundation, and the main entrance has a balcony above it. Pumpkins grow wild in patches around the manse, with several wild boars feeding among them. The boars snort with contempt as you draw near.

The trail heading north off the map leads to the Circle of Thunder. The trail heading west leads to Falcon’s Hunting Lodge.

Woodland Manse Locations

The following locations are keyed to the map of the woodland manse.

W1. Pumpkin Patches

Nine boars graze in the pumpkin patches — one per patch. Of these, six are actual boars. The other three are anchorites of Talos in boar form. The anchorites ignore the characters until they try to leave (see “Leaving the Manse”). If the characters attack a boar, it flees on its turn by darting into the nearby woods. If the characters attack an anchorite, all of the boars and anchorites retaliate. If you need to determine whether a boar is an anchorite or not, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, the boar is an anchorite in disguise.
Pumpkins. A detect magic spell reveals a dim aura of transmutation magic around each pumpkin. As an action, a character can carve open a pumpkin to reveal six servings of seeds within. Any creature that eats a serving of pumpkin seeds as an action regains 1 hit point. If a creature eats more than five servings of pumpkin seeds in 1 hour, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1d4 hours.

W2. Portico and Balcony

Describe the main entrance of the manse as follows:

Stone steps climb to a portico with a stone balcony overhanging it at a height of ten feet. Vines wrap around the balcony’s support pillars and its crumbling stone railing. The ground-floor entrance features a double door with a giant boar’s head crudely carved into it. An unmarred double door stands closed on the balcony.

A character can climb up to the balcony with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. If another character assists, the check is made with advantage. Both sets of double doors are free of ivy and safe to open.

W3. Downstairs Hall

This undecorated hall features a creaky and moldy wooden staircase.
Trapped Stairs. The staircase climbs 10 feet to area W14. Its upper half has been weakened to the extent that it collapses under 50 pounds or more of weight. A creature on the collapsing stairs must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to avoid falling onto a bed of wooden spikes planted underneath the staircase. On a failed save, the creature lands on 1d6 wooden spikes, each one dealing 1d6 piercing damage.

W4. Parlor

The door to this parlor has been smashed to pieces. The room is strewn with broken furniture — the remains of chairs, side tables, and a wine cabinet. A moldy circular rug covers most of the stone floor.

W5. Dining Room

The walls are covered with crude drawings in blood that depict boars chasing stick-figure humanoids. A fireplace dominates the south side of the room, and a smashed wooden dining table lies in a heap in the eastern half of the room, surrounded by six broken chairs.
If the characters met the shapechanged anchorite of Talos on the way to the loggers’ camp and let it get away (see “A Boar-ing Encounter”), small twig figures rest on the mantelpiece — one representing each party member (including sidekicks). These are twig blights that attack if they are touched or harmed.
Treasure. Amid the ruined furnishings is a tarnished silver candelabrum worth 25 gp.

W6. Kitchen

Nature has run roughshod over this kitchen, whose furnishings are wholly decayed. The outside door was broken down years ago, and rats have chewed holes in the bottom of the door leading to the pantry (area W7).

W7. Pantry

Much of the roof above this chamber has collapsed, leaving debris scattered across the floor. Birds have made nests on the wooden shelves that line the north and south walls. Rats long ago devoured anything they could reach, and all other foodstuffs have rotted away.

W8. Courtyard

Describe this area to the players as follows:

Stone steps lead down to a flagstoned courtyard that has a pillared arcade to the east. Seven windows on the upper level overlook the courtyard, in the middle of which is a five-foot-wide stone well with thick vines erupting from it.

If the orcs in area W18 have not yet been dealt with, add the following:

Guttural snorts and yells erupt from the southeast corner of the manse, signaling the presence of orcs nearby.

Characters who understand the Orc language can overhear the orcs planning some sort of attack.
Gulthias Tree. The well, which is 30 feet deep, contains a Gulthias tree, the roots of which extend deep underground. With little room to spread out, the tree has grown into a malformed column of twisted wood with narrow gaps between its curling branches.
Hidden in the shaft are a number of vine blights — one blight plus one additional blight for each member of the party, not including sidekicks (maximum five blights). The blights form a descending column, with the closest one 5 feet below the well’s mouth. With their blindsight, they can sense intruders in the courtyard. However, they emerge to attack only when they or the Gulthias tree take damage, or when Grannoc (see area W10) commands them to do so. Once the blights are out of the shaft, a Medium or smaller character can climb down it, slipping between the branches of the tree with ease (no ability check needed).
The Gulthias tree is a Huge plant with blood for sap. It has AC 15, 250 hit points, vulnerability to fire damage, and no actions, reactions, or defenses. Like an ordinary tree, it’s immobile. Unless it’s completely uprooted, however, it regrows from its roots even if it’s reduced to 0 hit points, regaining 1 hit point every 24 hours.
On any night when the moon is blood red, the Gulthias tree can spawn 2d6 twig blights, 1d6 needle blights, or 1d4 vine blights. These blights split from the tree and crawl out of the well, ready to do Grannoc’s bidding.
Sounding the Alarm. Any loud noise in the courtyard alerts the creatures in areas W10 and W18. Roll initiative for these creatures and the vine blights in the well, and have them react as follows:

• Grannoc and the twig blights in area W10 investigate immediately. On their first turn, they enter the courtyard, whereupon Grannoc commands the vine blights to emerge from the well. Grannoc and the blights then use their actions to attack their nearest foes.

• The orcs in area W18 use their first turn to drop down into area W9. They barge through the door and join the battle on their second turn.

W9. Apprentices’ Room

Describe this area to the players as follows:

This room was once a bedchamber, kitchen, and dining room rolled into one. Four beds stand along the south wall, with shuttered windows and nightstands between them. Against the west wall are four wardrobes and a cabinet full of plain dishware and cutlery. Four chairs surround a small dining table in the northeast corner, and a trestle table strewn with pots and cooking utensils stands near a blackened fireplace. All the furnishings are made of wood.
The ceiling in the southwest corner of the room has collapsed, filling the area below with debris and leaving a jagged hole through which the room above is visible.

The wizard who built the manse had four apprentices. When it became clear that the wizard wasn’t coming back, the apprentices pillaged the library (area W11) and fled, taking their personal belongings with them.
Any loud noise in this area alerts the orcs in area W18. On their first turn, they drop down through the hole in the ceiling. On the following turn, they attack.
Adventurers can move tall furniture underneath the hole and climb up it to reach area W18 without having to make an ability check.

W10. Wizard’s Laboratory

The door on the east side of this room has been smashed down, but any light from the courtyard isn’t enough to illuminate the room. Characters with darkvision or a light source see the following:

What used to be some sort of laboratory lies in ruins, its furnishings broken and heaped against the walls. In the middle of the room, painted on the floor with mud, is a ten-foot-wide symbol depicting three lightning bolts joined at their tips.

Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check recognizes the symbol as that of Talos, the evil god of storms. A cleric with the Tempest domain succeeds on the check automatically.
If the characters manage to get this far without alerting Grannoc, they catch him performing a ritual:

Where the lightning bolts converge, a half-orc wearing hide armor performs an eerie dance while consuming the entrails of a dead possum. Standing around the half-orc are several small twig figures.

The half-orc, Grannoc, is an anchorite of Talos. Under his command are a number of twig blights — three blights for each character in the party, not including sidekicks. Characters who watch Grannoc without alerting or interrupting him can determine that he’s performing a ritual with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check. Grannoc hopes Talos will answer his prayers and rain destruction down upon Falcon’s Hunting Lodge. Any interruption by the characters spoils the ritual and incurs Grannoc’s wrath.
Map. Grannoc has a map scrawled on the torn-off flap of a leather satchel. It shows Neverwinter Wood and marks the location of the Circle of Thunder.

W11. Library

This area extends through both floors of the house. Describe it to the players as follows:
This room has a ten-foot-high wooden balcony forming its upper level, reached by a wooden spiral staircase curling down to the flagstone floor. Tall, empty bookcases line the walls, their shelves mostly bowed and broken. On the lower level, east of two pillars, are four old desks with chairs tucked behind them. A few moldy books are scattered about.
Secret Door. One of the bookcases on the balcony conceals a secret door into area W12. Tugging on the bookcase causes it and the secret door to swing open.
Treasure. The books found here are old texts written in Elvish that describe long-lost elven kingdoms and civilizations. They are too damaged to be worth anything. Additionally, one desk has a small book tucked under one of its back legs to level it off. The book is titled Elvish Idioms, and its pages have been cut out to conceal a tiny leather packet containing dust of disappearance. If the characters find the packet and identify the dust, give the players the Dust of Disappearance card or they can reference it in the Magic Items Listing.

W12. Master Bedroom

A four-poster bed stands between two shuttered windows against the west wall. Other furnishings include a desk and chair against the north wall and an empty wardrobe against the east wall. A fireplace built into the south wall features an elegantly carved mantelpiece.
Treasure. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of conjuration magic emanating from the fireplace mantel. Any character who searches it and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check discovers that the mantelpiece is actually a lid concealing a long, hidden compartment. The wizard who built the manse hid her staff of birdcalls here. If the characters obtain and identify the staff, give the players the Staff of Birdcalls card or they can reference it in the Magic Items Listing.

W13. Magic Item Vault

This room has been sealed for years behind its secret door. When the characters open the secret door, describe the room’s features as follows:

Hanging on a hook on the far wall is a handsome cloak that billows softly as the door opens. Against the north wall sits a wooden chest with tiny clawed feet.

The chest weighs 30 pounds and is magically locked. A knock spell unlocks it, or the chest can be smashed open. It’s a Small object with AC 15, 20 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Treasure. The garment hanging on the hook is a cloak of billowing, and the chest contains an immovable rod wrapped in a black cloth. If the characters acquire and identify these magic items, give the players the Cloak of Billowing and Immovable Rod cards or they can reference them in the Magic Items Listing.

W14. Upstairs Hall

Describe this area to the players as follows:

The walls of this L-shaped hall are lined with closed doors and shuttered windows. Between them are hooks where decorations once hung. A fireplace along one wall has a large insectoid head mounted above it. Natural light enters through a hole in the roof at the east end of the hall. The floor beneath the collapsed roof is strewn with debris.

The wooden staircase that leads downstairs is trapped (see area W3).
The head mounted above the fireplace is that of an ankheg (see "Ankheg" in the Creatures chapter for an illustration).
The hallway leading to area W12 is dark. Stirges hang from the rafters here — three stirges per party member, not including sidekicks (maximum twelve stirges). The hungry stirges attack any warm-blooded creature that enters the area.

W15. Bathroom

This room has a conical roof and an open window to the north, through which ivy grows. A cast-iron tub with clawed feet stands in the middle of the room. Next to the tub is a rusty iron water pump that still works, drawing water from a hot spring under the house.

W16. Slanted Rooftop

Sections of this wood-shingled roof have collapsed into area W7, leaving gaping holes. The westernmost 15-foot-square section of roof collapses if 50 pounds or more of weight is placed on it. Any creature standing on this section of the roof when it collapses must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall into area W7 below, taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage on impact.

W17. Upper Arcade

This corridor is enclosed by two double doors and four open windows. Characters can easily sidestep the ivy growing in through the windows to the east. If the orcs in area W18 haven’t been dispatched yet, the characters hear their raucous talk through the southern double door.

W18. Guest Room

This room has been claimed by hostile orcs in league with Grannoc. Four orcs are here, plus an additional orc for each character in the party, not including sidekicks. The orcs are sharpening their weapons in anticipation of an attack on Falcon’s Hunting Lodge. The orcs have destroyed this room’s once-fine furnishings, leaving nothing of value. A hole in the southwest corner of the floor leads to area W9 below.

Leaving the Manse

When the characters finish exploring the manse, they are attacked as they make their exit. The attacking force consists of any anchorites of Talos and boars in area W1 that were not previously killed or forced to flee. In addition, needle blights emerge from the woods to join the battle — two blights for each character in the party, not including sidekicks.

Counterattack!

The day after the characters attack the manse, dark clouds settle over Neverwinter Wood as the anchorites of Talos stage a counterattack against Falcon’s Hunting Lodge. Gorthok the Thunder Boar smashes through the lodge’s palisade, allowing twenty orcs to storm the lodge.
If the characters aren’t present when the lodge is attacked, Falcon and his servants flee on Falcon’s riding horse and make their way to Phandalin, surrendering the lodge to the orcs.

Parent Plot

Dragon of Icespire Peak