The Surrounded


I played a different version
of this beautiful adventure
back in the 2nd edition days. It
is an anonymous story which was
passed from DM to DM, evolving with each DM’s
interpretation over the course of the years. I am not sure
if anyone knows who wrote the story in the first place or
what was it like back then (if the original author is
reading this: e-mail me!). This is my attempt on re-
designing the adventure into a module for all to enjoy.
I would like to thank Dmytro Zinkevych and Patrick E.
Pullen for their beautiful (free) art, Solbera from Reddit
for the fonts, Erinç Gücer for his fantastic advisory on all
matters regarding D&D and also for proofreading, Özgür
Cebeci for his ideas, and last but not the least Levent
“Low Quality” Günbattı for sharing his version of the
adventure and its details with me.
Design, writing, art direction and map drawings
(Inkarnate.com) by Erdem Acır (erdemacir@gmail.com)
© 2020.

The Surrounded makes use of the information in these
core D&D rulebooks:
• Player’s Handbook (PH)
• Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG)
• Monster Manual (MM)
• Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGTE)
• Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide (SCAG)
Information on the monsters encountered in the
adventure can be found in the MM. You will need PH for
spells and general gameplay. If you don’t own a copy of
the PH or MM you can always Google “D&D 5th Edition
SRD”. SCAG can be used to bring further information on
Cormyr into the adventure.
2
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast,
Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, the dragon ampersand,
and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and
their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the
Coast in the USA and other countries.
This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of
the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used
with permission under the Community Content
Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
All other original material in this work is copyright (2020)
by Erdem Acır and published under the Community
Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

The Surrounded is a 5th Edition D&D adventure where
players are the actual enemies of each other but this
situation stays (partially) a secret until the end of the
adventure. At the beginning of the game, players have
varying levels of power and knowledge of the story line.
Only the DM knows what is hidden in the sleeves of each
player. As the real intentions of the characters surface,
the party faces a series of unavoidable internal conflicts.
The adventure features a few encounters, NPCs and
locations which resembles any other fantasy adventure.
The story is quite railroad, the order of the events are
almost unchangeable.
So, what makes this adventure worthwhile? The driving
power behind The Surrounded is the hidden animosity
and the gradually rising tension between the players.
The DM is expected to set the scene and be completely
fair as conflicts arise. With good execution, this session
can easily turn into one of those amazing D&D moments
that keep being told for years to come.
The module is a one-shot and best played in a single
session.

The story takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting.
The adventurers start the module in Cormyr and move
to The Storm Horns in the course of their quest.
 The Surrounded
The DM is free to change the names and properties of
the places, towns, NPCs, guilds & factions freely in order
to make the adventure work in anywhere else in
Toril/Faerûn. The module might be re-published into
new settings (which may include dragons, knights and
kenders maybe?) if WotC introduces new worlds in the
following time period.
The backgrounds and the motives of the PCs & NPCs are
better left untouched because the adventure depends
on the balance of power between the player characters.
The Surrounded is an adventure designed for exactly
four players.
But as always, the DM is the king.

Raedra Obarskyr, the ruler of Cormyr, had a long and
successful reign. This is partly due to the support she
received from her group of extraordinary of advisors.
The public knows that one of her most trusted advisors
is Miramon who is an old but sharp witted man who
bears a long beard and elegant clothing. Miramon, in
truth, is a Gold Dragon in disguise and he voluntarily
helps Raedra in fighting off the evil in his lands.
One of those evil forces, an Adult Red Dragon named
Baeloxxar, stole a dragon egg 7 days ago and brought it
to his cave on the top of the Storm Horns which is
warded with strong magic. Not surprisingly, the egg is
the offspring of Queen's very advisor Miramon. If the
egg hatches to bring a new good-willed gold dragon to
life, it will definitely change the balance of power in the
region. Knowing this, Baeloxxar steals the egg, hoping to
corrupt (or slay) the new-born dragon.
Thus, Raedra Obarskyr sends word to the Knights and
other renowned adventurers around Cormyr kingdom.
Four powerful adventurers heed his call for the quest on
retrieving the egg back from the deadly claws of
Baeloxxar and are now at the court of the Queen.

The Queen's call for help is answered by two famed
knights, a devoted priest and a powerful wizard. Yet
there are some filthy hidden secrets to be revealed
underneath those shiny titles.
3
Sir Gawain is the most famous Purple Dragon Knight
alive whose fame goes beyond the borders of Cormyr.
He is a Paladin of Torm. Ranked as the Battlemaster (2nd
commander in charge) of the Purple Dragons in Cormyr,
he is nothing short of a living legend, an ever-shining
beacon of the good and a champion of the Gods. As soon
as he hears the call of the Queen, he steps up for duty.
Since the Red Dragon is an immensely powerful foe, he
prevents his loyal knights from Purple Dragons joining
him, hoping to save them from the annihilation
Baeloxxar will unleash.
Sir Robert is a champion fighter residing in the
neighboring Elturgard. He is a follower of the light and a
devotee of the Lords’ Alliance. His faction believes in
uniting against evil and striking it with might before it is
too late thus they send in Sir Robert to answer the
Queen’s call.
Sir Robert has never met Sir Gawain, but he grew up with
the stories of his courage and valor. Although he is a
hero himself, Sir Robert is thrilled to go on an epic quest
with his role model.
Father Tristram is the highest ranking priest of the
Brotherhood of the Glorious Sun (a sect of the church of
Lathander) in Berdusk. He is also a member of the Order
of the Gauntlet. Father Tristram is a reputable religious
figure and a true champion of the light. He volunteers
for the quest and decides to meet up with Sir Robert
before leaving for Cormyr. They start travelling to the
court of Queen Raedra together.
Varius is a powerful wizard. Despite his advanced age
and deteriorating health, he is an indisputable master of
magic and sorcery. There are some shady rumors on
how he achieved such power, but most believe those are
just jealous gossip spread by his competition.

Sir Robert and Father Tristram joined forces in
Scornubel, sent a letter to the Queen and started
travelling together. Due to ill fate, however, they never
got to reach Cormyr: The heroes were ambushed by
members of Zhentarim shortly after leaving the city.
Zhentarim –or The Black Network– is an organization
looking to amass wealth, power, and influence through
all means. They believe Zhentarim is their only family
and that family members look out for each other.
 The Surrounded
Zhentarim sends two outstanding members (nicknamed
Ironclad and The Bishop) to ambush and kill Sir Robert
and Father Tristram, so they can replace their identities
and retrieve the invaluable dragon egg for Zhentarim. Sir
Robert and Father Tristram fight bravely but are
treacherously butchered by the cowardly use of magic.
The impersonators take their possessions and wear their
clothes and armor. Since no one from Cormyr knew the
faces of the fallen heroes, the killers aim to stay
undercover until the last minute and escape with the
dragon egg back to the safety of their headquarters.
♦♦♦
The rumors common folk heard about Varius are not
true: He is neither a demon worshipper nor in league
with the fey. He is an old man with failing health, who
has almost infinite knowledge about spells and magic.
There is just one tiny detail the stories miss though: He
is a Red Dragon.
Varius’s real name is Jyverroth. He is an Ancient Red
Dragon and even more powerful than Baeloxxar. He
enjoyed many good years of fire breathing, pillage,
murder and destruction. But there is always this one
group of adventurers, who has this incomprehensible
source of motivation and courage. Those pitiful
creatures dared to enter his lair and thought that they
can “slay the dragon”. Jyverroth has seen the arrogant
humans, elves and dwarves killed one by one. But before
his last breath, their impertinent wizard somehow
managed to pull out a weird looking wand and used it to
polymorph Jyverroth into a human being.
The mighty dragon didn’t care much about the situation
at first but quickly realized that this was no ordinary
magic – this unusual wand with tremendous eldritch
powers has permanently transformed him into a puny
human with only a few draconic features. No matter
how much he tried, he could not break the curse.
Fearing his former minions could swallow him up, he
escaped his own lair with a few items he could carry with
his old, weak arms (a spellbook, a magical staff and
some valuable gems). Being transformed into what he
despised the most, he quickly began
the search for a cure. There was
one big problem, though: humans
had a very short life span and his
new body was already old for
human standards. He was
Gold Dragon Egg
slowly dying of old age, trapped in this fragile shell.
Jyverroth, now called Varius, continued his research for
almost 20 years in Cormyr and finally found a glimmer of
hope. He got his hands on an ancient scroll that can
break the curse and turn him back into the mighty Red
Dragon he once was. The only problem was the spell
required an incredibly rare item, an intact dragon egg,
as a material component. “Fate” thought Varius as he
read the invitation of the Queen, “if this is not fate, what
is?”.
Varius plans to get his hands on the dragon egg and
create an opportunity to perform the ritual that will help
him return to his true form.
♦ ♦♦
Sir Gawain is the only person who is being completely
honest about his identity. He really is the person he
declares to be and he has no reason to think that the
others would be any different. Sir Gawain believes that
he is riding along with an honorable knight, a venerable
priest and a power hungry but well-meaning wizard.
His goal is to bring the dragon egg safely back to Queen
Raedra.

➢ The player playing Sir Gawain should be totally oblivious
to the situation. He believes he is travelling with a good-
hearted knight, a holy man and a maybe neutrally
aligned wizard – but he doesn’t expect anybody to be
evil. The truth is; he is surrounded by evil.
Sir Gawain is the most powerful character and the
natural leader of the party. You can choose the most
easily trusting, naïve player in real life to play Sir Gawain.
➢ The player playing Varius is the second most powerful
character in the party. He also has a hidden agenda and
a step ahead of Sir Gawain. However he is unaware of
the fact that he is not the only evil heart in the group.
You can choose the most min-maxer or arrogant player
in real life to play Varius.
➢ The players who will play the Zhentarim are the least
strong among the group but (unlike others) they are a
team and have a better understanding of the situation.
Tell those players that they will have to look for
4
 The Surrounded

opportunities to defeat both Baeloxxar and their against each other. Alternatively, they might try to buy
companions. the wizard since Zhentarim believes that everything and
everyone has a price.
 Inform the players on Zhentarim if necessary. This works
 out best when you inform those players separately.

➢ Sir Gawain is the stereotypical paladin. Tell the player

As the DM, you will have to talk with each player
that he/she must play Sir Gawain as a very noble
separately and explain their backgrounds and characters
spirited, good hearted character with an adamantine
in private before the game starts. This is extremely
devotion to his duty. Nothing can keep him from
important; as players must not know the motives of
completing his mission and he will go until the very end
each other.
to see it done. Tell the player that, Sir Gawain feels that
➢ Varius thinks he is superior to the others simply because it is his responsibility to personally escort the dragon egg
he is a Red Dragon. The player playing Varius should back to the Queen.
bring forward his arrogance through roleplaying. Tell the
Inform the player on chivalry and knighthood if
player that he/she might even hint a bit about his
necessary.
nature, thinking the knights are too stupid to
understand anything.

Varius thinks that he is alone (read: surrounded) and in 
danger among good characters until he transforms.

The adventure begins with the characters being

Although he has tremendous spell casting powers,
summoned to Suzail, the capital of Cormyr. Sir Robert
Varius is very old and in this human form he is extremely
and Varius already reside in Cormyr so they don’t travel
fragile. In game terms, he has a spell list extending to
long distances to arrive at the court. Read this dialogue
high levels but has low Hit Points and physical ability
at the start of the game:
scores. Make sure the player understands that he is
going to have a hard time in physically demanding Entering through the palace gates, you are
situations. stunned by the beauty and magnificence the
building possesses. The proud stance of the
Tell this player that Varius must perform the ritual palace reminds you of the tales about the
(which takes 2 full rounds without any need for past glories of Cormyr.
components) with the dragon egg. If he doesn’t act in
time, he might never get the egg back from the powerful As soon as you enter the main corridor, every
knights. one of you has been welcomed and hailed as
a hero. Noblemen and regular folk alike offer
Inform the player on dragons and their abilities if their sincerest gratitude to you for heeding
necessary. the Queen’s call.

➢ The agents of Zhentarim don’t care anything other than You are offered elegant guestrooms in the
gaining power for their order. But they are not strong palace and the best food and wine money can
enough to fight the knight and the wizard together. So buy. After a brief dinner, you head to the
they will have to make a plan to drop the number of rooms to get some rest.
enemies to one. Tell the players that they are
strong as long as they are a team
– but they can’t slow down the
pace of the game session. They
will have to be creative to
communicate.

They can try to play the good

knight and the arrogant wizard

5
 The Surrounded
The players spend the night resting at the palace. They
are guests but are not allowed to wander around or
leave the castle. If the players insist to do so, the
crowded groups of guards patrolling the palace warn
them kindly. They have clear orders to protect the
adventurers (and the Queen) until next morning. But the
guards tell the players that they are free to visit each
other in their rooms which are all adjoining.
The next morning all four of you are
summoned to the Great Hall in Castle
Obarskyr to meet Queen Readra of Cormyr,
daughter of Irvel Obarskyr.
You walk past hundreds of Purple Dragon
knights and approach to the throne. At least a
dozen advisors are lined behind the Queen.
You can’t help but notice the oldest advisor
with the golden gown and long beard who is
standing right next to the Queen.
Queen Raedra stands up with excitement and
greets you with a genuine smile.
“Only in dark times can we appreciate the
true value of virtue. Brave heroes from
Elturgard and the champions of Cormyr, I
welcome you to my palace!”
“As you already know, a Red Dragon named
Baeloxxar is terrorizing our lands. 7 days ago
he stole a gold dragon egg. We believe he
brought the egg back to his cave in The Storm
Horns and only Gods know what evil plan he
has in mind. He must be stopped and the egg
should be returned to Suzail.”
“I am counting on you to save our lands from
this terrifying creature. My advisors are going
to answer the questions you might have as I
have other matters waiting for my attention. I
wish you the best of luck.”
After her speech, the Queen promptly leaves the hall
and Miramon approaches the group. He gives the
following information to the party:
➢ Before it was stolen, the egg was hidden in the
tunnels beneath The High Moors. If pressed,
Miramon will say that he is tasked to follow the
situation regarding the egg but will give no more
details. If the players somehow guess that Miramon
6
is a dragon or the egg belongs to him, Miramon will
laugh off the claims and change the subject.
➢ Baeloxxar’s lair is in a cave within The Storm Horns
Mountains. The adventurers must pass the river
around the mountain, climb the skirts of the
mountain and go inside the lair.
➢ The dragon’s lair is protected by spells, minions and
probably by other defenses. For example, there is a
magical barrier around the mountain which prevents
the good dragons to fly close (Miramon knows this
because he could not get close to the mountain
himself).
➢ Also, the deep river near the mountain started to run
much faster than usual in the last months. Also,
some water currents never seem before are
reported to occur around the mountain lately.
Miramon thinks, the evil Red Dragon magically
altered the flow of the river to prevent the passing of
armies.
➢ The adventurers are expected to sneak into the
mountain, hoping to reach the lair unnoticed.
Otherwise they might become an easy prey for
Baeloxxar.
➢ Once they are inside, their mission is retrieving the
gold dragon egg and bringing it to the king. They
don’t have to defeat the dragon but the people of
Cormyr will be grateful, if they can get rid of the evil
creature which is a constant threat to their lives.
The players can ask Miramon more questions. He will try
to answer as best as he can. If the players somehow
guess that Miramon is a dragon or the egg belongs to
him, Miramon will change the subject.
During this dialogue you can make Varius roll an Arcana
check against DC 20. If he succeeds, he instinctively feels
that Miramon is a Gold Dragon in disguise.
Miramon
 The Surrounded
Right after this dialogue, the adventurers are expected
to leave for Storm Horns on horseback.
You pack your gear and get ready for the
journey. A group of Purple Knights and War
Wizards escort you to the city walls. After that
point you are on your own. You start following
The Way of the Dragon, which is the main
road to the north of Suzail. The road leads to
the small town of Waymoot which is the
largest settlement inside the King’s Forest
and a defensive stronghold of Cormyr.


This bit of the module is completely optional, you can
skip it without any concern. However this quest can help
the party members to warm against each other and
make some conversation leading up to tense but also
secretly funny moments.
A short while after the party leaves the city, read:
You leave the city doors and start to advance
towards your epic quest. A few words are
exchanged among the party about the road,
the weather and other trivial subjects but
mostly an awkward silence hangs in the air.
Some minutes later you hear the faint ringing
of a lute accompanied with a melody sung by
a male voice. Looking around to locate the
source of the performance you spot a bard,
sitting on a broken wall with his colorful
clothing and a long black moustache which
dances with every move his mouth makes. He
taps his foot along the chords he plays with
his lute and sings the the words of a song
which you haven’t heard before in perfect
tune:
“Rose Gawain of Suzail / Swinging his sword,
The dragon attacked / With a mighty claw...
Stopping his singing abruptly, the bard starts
to advance towards the party with a
contagious, toothy smile:
“Ah there they are. Hey! Over here master!”
7
The name of the man is Elros Glimmergaunt, often
referred to as Elros the Bard. He wants to write a song
about the quest for slaying the dragon however he
doesn’t want to travel with the party because it is too
dangerous. So, he starts the songwriting process from a
safe distance. He wants to chat with the party as much
as possible to implement realistic details from their
attire, equipment, behavior and manners into his song.
He will easily admit his goal if he is asked why he was
waiting for the party on the road.
Being a cultured individual, Elros knows stories about all
the characters eventhough he hasn’t met any of them
before. Sir Gawain is a living legend, Sir Robert & Father
Tristram are heroes of moderate renown in their
homelands and Varius is a curious figure that attracted
the attention of the nosy bard. As a result, Elros knows
little details about their past adventures, nemeses, brief
biographies and so on. As the DM, improvise some
stories about the characters on the spot.
Sir Robert and Father Tristram can sweat a little bit
about during “their” stories since they are Zhentarim
agents in reality who secretly took over the identities of
those heroes. No need to worry though, the bard will
take whatever those players tells him as a fact.
Make sure that the encounter with the bard doesn’t
cause any problems among the party and he leaves after
a while (if not sent away by the party already). His tales
and songs are always exaggerated pieces of rumors and
he tries to collect more information from the group to
fine tune his craft. This quest only aims to create a
harmless tension for some of the players and act as an
icebreaker among the group.


This act begins as the party advances into the King’s
Forest. Sir Gawain knows the road and terrain well, so
he can lead the way. The journey to Waymoot is
eventless and takes about half a day on horseback. The
Way of the Dragon is a skid trail snaking through the
dense and evergreen King’s Forest.
You can skip this part of the adventure and head directly
to the “Crossing the River” chapter if you have shorter
play time.
 The Surrounded
A day of horseback riding after leaving Suzail, the party
gets closer to Waymoot. When they do, read:
You notice a dark smoke rising above the
trees ahead of you. You hastily ride your
horses in the swirling forest road to see the
cause of the smoke.
As the path brings you to an opening you see
the wooden walls of Waymoot –or what is left
of it. The town and all its inns, temples, shops
and houses are burnt down to the ground.
The dark grey fumes rising from the burning
buildings are covering the sky. It seems that
Waymoot has been visited by the fearsome
Red Dragon.
Sir Gawain has been to Waymoot many times and feels
deeply upset about this tragedy.
If the players wander inside the walls and search the
town, they will see that the fires have consumed every
living thing in Waymoot.
The streets and torn down buildings are full
of corpses burnt to a crisp. It seems that
people from all ages are mercilessly
slaughtered by the dragon. The sky is filled
with a grey, intoxicating fume rising from
some the fires emerging from what is left of
Waymoot. There is a daunting smell of death
in the air which would disturb even the most
seasoned warrior.
During their search they hear a faint coughing sound.
The sound is coming from a Purple Knight who is fatally
wounded.
The Purple Knight, who is lying under a pile of
logs and stones, stands only seconds away
from his death. His chest is barely moving but
his eyes light up when he sees Sir Gawain. But
his momentary relief is devoured by an
expression of despair and shame shadows his
face:
“It killed the War Wizards first… We couldn’t
stop… forgive us Sir…”
After a few painful twitches and seizures, he
ceases to breathe and passes away.
8
If the dead soldiers in Waymoot are brought back to life
by magic, they are completely loyal to Sir Gawain. There
is nothing valuable left in plain sight at the town, almost
everything is burnt down by the dragon’s fire. If the
party thoroughly searches the town (for at least half an
hour) they will find a pair of Gloves of Swimming and
Climbing among the wreckage of a temple called The
Sheltering Hand which was dedicated to Tymora,
Goddess of Luck whose symbol is a face up coin.
From here the road takes a turn to the east (The Way of
the Dragon) and to the west (Ranger’s Way). The
mountains can be seen rising to the west on the top of
the trees and Sir Gawain knows that the party must
follow this road to reach Storm Horns Mountains. If they
insist on following the road to the east, the road goes to
the town of Dhedluk. The people at the town are fleeing
the area in the fear of the dragon. At that point, there
are not many options left for the party other than
returning to the eastern road for the sake of the quest.
If the party follows the eastern road for 6 hours on
horseback, they leave the forest and arrive at the skirts
of the mountains. Refer to Map 2 for a section of this
area.
You leave the forest behind and The Storm
Horns greets you with all its might. You are
quick to notice the difference in the
environment you step in. The smell of sulfur
emerges from the mountain; the animals and
wildlife are almost absent. It is obvious that
you have arrived at the dragon’s territory.
Your eyes catch a dark cave entrance at the
top of the closest peak. The description
matches with the information Miramon has
provided you with. This might very well be the
dragon’s lair.
The sulfur smell is coming from the flowing waters
pouring out of the holes between the rocks. The
entrance above leads to Baeloxxar’s cave indeed.
However a steep walk is ahead as the party must first
cross the river and then climb for 2 hours to reach the
cave entrance. Treat the mountain as difficult terrain
and occasionally roll Athletics checks to determine
climbing speed.
 The Surrounded

 rope/lumber bridge another character must stabilize the

For the purpose of obstructing the passage of Cormyrian
armies to his territory, Baeloxxar created a magical river
around the mountain which runs in great velocities. It is
obvious that the river is magical. The water is running
incredibly strong, constantly beating the rocky hills.
Describe the river:
You notice several springs of water running
strong between the rocky alcoves and cliffs
around the mountain, bursting bubbles and
spitting big splashes of water around. The
current seems normal from a distance but
closer examination reveals that the water runs
in an unnatural way, even defying gravity at
times. The velocity of the water is quite high
and it is difficult to determine the depth of
the water which seems to vary from place to
place.
A DC 15 Arcana Check reveals that the river is created by
powerful evocation magic that cannot be dispelled with
any means the party can employ. Refer to Map 2 for a
map of this area.
The river runs strong enough to prevent passage for the
characters. Horses are afraid of the unnatural river and
cannot be forced to pass the water. Make it clear to the
players that a character must show extreme physical
effort to cross the river by swimming.
The party can cross the water by;
bridge by holding it. When in cooperation, the
characters can cross the bridge with ease.
The combined efforts on crossing the river usually take
15 to 20 minutes of in-game time.
If a character drops into the water and cannot make the
DC 20 Athletics Check, he is dragged along by the water
and lands on a rock 300 yards (275 meters) away and
takes 6d6 bludgeoning damage. Moreover, if the
character cannot make a DC 15 Constitution save, he
falls unconscious for 10 minutes or until someone else
help him recover.
This area becomes more important on the way back.
Characters who devise a plan to escape with the dragon
egg might use the wild river to their advantage.

After crossing the river, the party is 2 hours away from
the cave at the top of the mountain. The climbing angle
gets even steeper and it becomes harder to advance. 1
hour into the climb, 1 Lizard King, 1 Lizardfolk Shaman
and 6 Lizardfolk which are loyal to the Dragon launch an
ambush from their hiding spots between the rocks,
surprising the party.
The Monster Tactics text box regarding this encounter is
provided to aid the DM. Remember the Monster Tactics
are always optional and DM is always the king.

• Swimming and holding the rocks around (must

succeed a DC 20 Athletics Check)
• Building a rope bridge,
• Building a lumber bridge (made with
the few trees at the mountainside)
• Building a makeshift boat (made with
the few trees at the mountainside)
• Magic (for example Varius can cast Levitate and
Father Tristram -The Bishop- can cast Water Walk)
• Magical items (a character wearing
Gloves of Swimming and Climbing
can swim as if he is swimming in difficult terrain)
Lizardfolk
The party can improvise other ways not specified in this
list. The trick here is to encourage the characters to
cooperate. Notice how all options on crossing the river
(other than the ones involving magic) require at least 2
physically able characters helping each other. For
example, when one character is crossing the

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 The Surrounded
MONSTER TACTICS
Lizardfolk Scouting Party (MM, Page 204)
• The Lizardfolk Shaman can engage the knights with
spells such as Entangle or Heat Metal.
• The Lizard King will attack the tallest and strongest
looking character (which is normally Sir Gawain) and try
to eliminate the leader.
• The rest of the Lizardfolk might attack randomly.
This encounter shouldn’t pose any real challenge to the
adventurers and they should be able to defeat the
monsters without much effort. Baeloxxar sends this
weak group of servants to measure their strength. Any
captured lizardfolk will rather die than to betray their
dragon lord, thus it is impossible to obtain any
meaningful information from these creatures through
dialogue or torture. Magical interrogation only reveals
that Baeloxxar lives in a large cave which features a
hidden treasure room.
Once the encounter is over, there is only one more hour
of climbing left to reach the lair of the dragon which is
clearly visible now.


When the players reach the cave at the top, read:
You can see the entirety of the King’s Forest
and the stretching lands of Cormyr in the
horizon from the top of the mountain. Wild
winds try to knock you off your feet but you
firmly hold your ground.
After hours of climbing, you finally reach to
the top. The cave entrance is large enough for
an adult red dragon to get in and out. The dark
cave goes down into the depths of mountain
and a set of natural stairs within the walls of
the cave follow the decline into the darkness.
10
There is no other visible entrance to the cave. The
natural stairs popping out of the cave walls descend into
a large tunnel of 30 feet (9 meter) diameter. During the
descent roll DC 10 Dexterity checks to see if the players
slip and fall. Other players can roll DC 15 Athletics checks
to hold falling players. Falling players take 2d6
bludgeoning damage.
The descent takes half an hour and ends in a large
chamber within the mountain (Check Map 3).
The stairs bring you to a humongous chamber.
The floor of the chamber is filled with a lake
of lava and the only place that looks safe
enough to stand is a small rocky island
formation which can be reached from the end
of the natural stairs. The air is heavy with an
odor of sulfur, unnerving cracking sounds
echo between the walls.
The lava is extremely hot and will deal 10d6 damage per
round to any player who spends his turn in it. While the
island is safe from the searing lava, it is a trap set by the
dragon: Baeloxxar is hiding beneath the lava and will
burst out and use his breath weapon (surprising the
players) after all players set foot on the island.
But Baeloxxar is not the only dragon in the room. Varius
is quite familiar with those tactics and recognizes feint
activity on the surface of the lava before landing on the
island and successfully concludes that Baeloxxar is
hiding in the lava pool. Pass this information to the
player playing Varius secretly. If Varius shares this
information with the party, they are not surprised and
can surprise Baeloxxar instead.
MONSTER TACTICS
Adult Red Dragon (MM, Page 98)
• After the first round Baeloxxar uses his Lair actions in this
order: Volcanic gas, tremor and magma eruption.
• Baeloxxar will try to attack with his breath weapon
whenever possible. When his breath weapon is
recharging, he will land and focus his melee attacks (bite,
claw and tail) on Sir Gawain and Sir Robert.
• The Red Dragon is arrogant and will keep fighting until it
is too late to escape.
 The Surrounded

Baeloxxar is no match for the “heroes” and will be
defeated eventually. In the heat of the battle, Baeloxxar
can miss his chance to escape the scene. He tries to fly
and breathe fire upon them but the cave is not large
enough to fly and maneuver for long periods of time.
When he lands, the party gives him hell.
The amount of damage each player takes depends on
their combat abilities and the malicious plans the
players might have against each other.
Refer to Map 3 for an overview of the area where the
battle takes place.
When the players defeat Baeloxxar, an illusion over the
lava pool dissipates to reveal a stone bridge leading to a
door. If the party walks over the bridge, read:
You walk over the narrow bridge towards the
door, carefully avoiding the deadly magma.
Bubbles of lava spit on your legs from the
blistering lake. The gloss of gold shines
through the opening at the end of the bridge.
You conclude that, this is the treasure room.
The door opens to the treasury of the dragon which is a
sight to behold:
The treasure room has a lower ceiling and
smaller size compared to the main cave.
Magical lights flicker over the mountain of
coins, gems and ornaments; it is an amazing
sight to behold, filling the hearts of even the
humblest of beings with greed. At the top of
the pile, the Gold Dragon egg is standing on a
silver stand, waiting to be acquired.
Treasure: 42000 gp, 28000 pp, Jeweled Longsword Scabbard
(2500 gp), Ivory Drinking Horn (1500 gp), Potion of Supreme
Healing (DMG, 187), Oil of Sharpness (DMG, 184), Potion of
Flying (DMG, 187), +2 Studded Leather armor (DMG, 152)
Some players keep their secrets for the later stages of
the game and wait for the right moment to strike. Others
try to trick the other players. And there are some who
look for an open confrontation right away.
Whatever the result is, it is up to the players to decide
how the game will advance from here on. The DM
should only take the role of the referee.

Sir Gawain wins by taking the dragon egg back to Suzail.
This usually means eliminating any or all players
opposing him. Sir Gawain is the character with the least
knowledge so it is expected that he will be surprised
with each betrayal.
Sir Robert and Sir Tristram win if one of them can bring
the egg back to the Zhentil Keep. Mostly the Zhentarim
team up with Sir Gawain against Varius and then stab
him in the back. But why not team up with Varius first
and stab him in the back later? It is completely up to
your players.
Varius wins by casting a spell from the ancient scroll
which needs the dragon egg as a material component.
The spell takes 2 full rounds to complete. As soon as the
spell ends, the egg becomes an empty shell weighing
much less than before but otherwise looks unchanged.
From this moment on, Varius can transform into an
Ancient Red Dragon with full hit points anytime at will.
This of course, makes him a much more formidable
opponent.
Baeloxxar

Tasting the potions a little bit or a 15 DC Arcana check

from a distance helps players identify the potions.

The real battle begins now. From this point on, the DM
has no agenda to push and shouldn’t provide any
guidance to the players. The evil players (Sir Robert,
Father Tristram and Varius) will be making their
advances to the dragon egg.


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 The Surrounded


The vital information about the Player Characters is given in this section. Refer to the PH and DMG to
complete character creation. Please note that the character levels, stats and items are selected specifically
for game balance. Major changes made to the characters can result in an unbalanced gameplay but DMs
can always adjust things as they see fit.

Sir Gawain Sir Robert (Ironclad)

(14th Level Human, Paladin of Torm) (11h Level Human Fighter)

STR 18 INT 13 HP STR 16 INT 11 HP

DEX 15 WIS 17 DEX 16 WIS 10
CON 18 CHA 19 CON 15 CHA 12

Background & Skills Background & Skills

Purple Dragon Knight of Cormyr A member of the Zhentarim
Ranked Battlemaster (2nd in command) Disguised as a Lords’ Alliance member
Oath of Devotion Champion Archetype

Items Items
Holy Avenger, Long Sword +3 (DMG, 174) Dragon Slayer, Long Sword +1 , 3d6 vs. dragons (DMG, 166)
Plate Mail (PHB, 145) Breastplate (PHB, 145)
Shield (PHB, 145) Shield (PHB, 145)

Varius Father Tristram (The Bishop)

(12th Level Human Wizard) (10th Level Human Cleric of Cyric)

STR 8 INT 19 HP STR 12 INT 15 HP

DEX 9 WIS 14 DEX 14 WIS 18
CON 7 CHA 17 CON 10 CHA 15

Background & Skills Background & Skills

Ancient Red Dragon A member of the Zhentarim
Permanently polymorphed into a human body Disguised as a follower of Lathander
School of Enchantment Trickery Domain

Items Items
Staff of Fire, 3 charges (DMG, 201) Potion of speed (DMG, 188)
Chain Shirt (PHB, 145)
Spell list: Morningstar (PHB, 149)
Cantrips: Light, Fire Bolt, Message, Prestidigitation, Blade Ward
1st: Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Feather Fall, Sleep, Shield
2nd: Alter Self, Darkvision, Enlarge, Levitate, Misty Step
3rd: Dispel Magic, Fireball, Feign Death, Slow, Vampiric Touch
4th: Evard’s Black Tentacles, Fire Shield, Stoneskin
5th: Telekinesis, Wall of Force, Bigby’s Hand
6th: Chain Lightning, Flesh to Stone, Globe of Invulnerability

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 The Surrounded



Player Map

This DM map shows marked the areas

3 mentioned in the game. The game starts at
Suzail, (1) and the players travel north
2 towards Waymoot (2).
4
Although there is a chance for the players to
travel to Dhedluk (3) they will have to go
5 towards The Storm Horns (4) eventually. The
Dragon’s lair (5) is the final destination of
their journey.
1
In case the players wander to other out-of-
module destinations like Hilp or Marsember,
Sir Gawain’s player might bring them back on
the track for the sake of the quest.

DungeonMaster Map

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 The Surrounded



Player Map

This player map shows a generic area from Storm Horns where the party tries to cross the magical river.
Alternatively, you can cut this map horizontally into two pieces and use one side for the first time the party
crosses and the other side for the way back.

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 The Surrounded

  

DungeonMaster Map

This map shows the lair of Baeloxxar from above. The players can go down and up from the spiraling natural
stairs. This is the how the minions of the dragon get in and out.

The stairs are simply rock formations on the wall of the shaft going from the floor to the ceiling. They connect
to one of the stalagmites in the main island. It is relatively easy to climb up and down from this route because
of the alterations and restorations the Lizardfolk have made over the years.

The ceiling of the main hall is 12 meters (40 feet) high. The ceiling of the treasure room is 6 meters (20 feet)
high.

15
The Surrounded

Player Map

16