The Simmering Flame
T
he town of Millstone is not one that would
typically be of much notice. Indeed, there is
only one road to the town, which ends at the
town itself, meaning none could venture there
by accident, and merchants would not pass
through while on their trade routes. Still,
Millstone is relatively prosporous. It lives in the
shadow of the nearby mountain, and has a large farmer
population, due to the incredibly fertile soil, which usually
draws a couple more to join the town every year. It is not
without dangers however, being isolated and without many
formally trained warriors the town is prone to attacks from
goblins and similar scavengers. As of late, however, the goblin
attacks have been growing more bold. They have killed or
taken livestock, and even grabbed any form of treasure or
gold they can get their hands on. To make matters worse,
Millstone has also been experiencing unnatural weather as
well. The snow-capped mountain seems to have more
avalanches than usual, and sometimes the earth under the
town itself shakes as if with anger. The villagers don't know
the nature of this new threat, but can only conclude that both
are coming from something sinister dwelling within the
mountain.
Running the Adventure
The Simmering Flame is an introductory adventure to
Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. It is designed for parties
of four to six adventurers that begin at level 1. This book is
meant for you, the Dungeon Master, alone. It assumes you
have the fifth edition Player's Handbook and Monster
Manual. When a creature's name appears in bold type, that's
a visual cue pointing you to the creature's stat block in the
Monster Manual.
Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud or
paraphrased for players when their characters first arrive at a
location or under a specific circumstance, as descrived in the
text.
Arriving in Millstone
The party arrives in Millstone in the early morning, just as the
town is recovering from the most recent goblin attack.
As you all clear the final hill, emerging from the forest you see
the town of Millstone. It is here that you agreed to make your
first stand as an adventuring party. It would be here that the
historians, chroniclers, and bards of the ages would record
your first grand tale. And what better setting could there be?
The town, although not entirely remarkable itself, rested in the
shadow of a great mountain, taller than all those within several
days march. The fields were a brilliant emerald green, with
rolling hills that flattened towards the town's base, as if the
landscape itself was trying to frame this simple town.
As you approach you notice that the sleepy-looking town
seems to be in a state of disarray. Noticeable to you is a
female dwarf building a new fence around a pasture, and an
elderly couple who are worriedly having a hushed conversation
next to a house that appears to be missing its door.
The dwarf is Daerna. She has the statistics of a Guard, but is
wielding a light hammer (+4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range
20/60ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludegoning damage),
and her AC is 14.
She came to the town about fifty years ago when her clan's
homeland was destroyed. She avoids the topic whenever
possible, and does not talk about her clan name, believing it
is not of much use anymore. She is rebuilding her fence that
was destroyed in last night's goblin raid, during which several
of her livestock were slain and mutilated. If prompted, she will
offer 100 gold to whoever can find and put an end to the
goblins.
The elderly couple are Mr. and Mrs. Grieves, they both
have the statistics of a Commoner. They only moved to the
town fifteen years ago as a quiet place to retire. Most of their
gold was stolen last night in the raid, and they are at a loss for
what to do, as they were already having trouble paying for
damages from the small earthquakes, without the recent
damage caused by the goblins.
Both Daerna and the Grieves upon being prompted, can tell
the party of the information from the introduction. They both
believe that the goblins are primarily hiding in the mountain,
have a strange sense of forboding about the place. They also
warn that another group of adventurers ventured up the
mountain not two weeks ago. They have not returned.