Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Blood Hunter - 5e Adventure
The Blood Hunter - 5e Adventure
The Blood Hunter - 5e Adventure
On the Cover
In this cover illustration by Gordon McAlpin
and colorist Rebecca McConnell, a Blood Hunt-
designed by ANTHONY JOYCE er waves a flaming sword at an unseen enemy
while cradling the infant drow.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica 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 Commu-
nity Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Anthony Joyce, and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dun-
geon Masters Guild.
Adventure Primer
T
his 2-hour adventure is designed and
optimized for one 5th-level Blood
Descriptive
Hunter. Throughout the adventure, Bullet Points
the character experiences life as a This product uses descriptive bullet points
Blood Hunter and faces potentially originally developed by game designer James
difficult moral choices. Introcaso to help DMs parse information the
first time the character enters a new area.
Background • Text in italics like this can be read aloud or
The character has accepted a 100 gp Blood paraphrased to the players.
Hunter contract from Harbin Wester, the town- • (Text in parentheses like this contains
master of Phandalin, to hunt down and kill a information initially withheld from the
werewolf that recently slaughtered two teenag- character; DMs reveal at their discretion.)
ers. The adventure begins with the character
successfully tracking the werewolf to a small Musical Cues
rustic cottage. The events that unfold lead to a
much larger plot involving the fate of Faerun.
and D&D Beyond
This adventure was designed using certain
musical scores to enhance the overall theme
Overview and immersion of this adventure. These musi-
The Blood Hunter has four chapters and takes cal cues appear throughout the adventure with
approximately 2 hours to play. hyperlinks to Spotify for easy use.
Chapter 1: Another Day, Another Kill. The In addition, the majority of creatures featured
character confronts a werewolf they were hired in this adventure are from the Basic Rules and
to hunt down. hyperlinked to D&D Beyond for easy reference.
Chapter 2: Phandalin. The character returns
to Phandalin to complete their contract with
A Note from the Designer
Harbin Wester. Here they meet their sidekick,
Greetings friends! I hope you enjoy this one-
a halfling minstrel named Olos Bigbottom, and
of-a-kind adventure designed entirely around
the archmage Mordenkainen who has been
Matthew Mercer’s Blood Hunter class. This
awaiting their return. After confronting Harbin
adventure is an experiment in one-on-one
Wester, Mordenkainen sends them on a peril-
adventure design that focuses on maximizing
ous quest to recover a mysterious drow infant
the player’s immersion as they play their charac-
from a green hag named Myrci Emerald-Eyes.
ter. Every design choice I made in this adventure
Chapter 3: Swamp of Gilgar. The character
builds around the Blood Hunter class features.
searches the swamp for Myrci Emerald-Eyes.
This allows every moment of the adventure
They face many challenges in the swamp.
to showcase the character and their awesome
Chapter 4: The Infant. The character ar-
abilities!
rives at Myrci Emerald-Eyes’s hut and finds the
I hope you enjoy The Blood Hunter and ask
infant. They make a choice regarding Myrci’s
that you consider using #TheBloodHunter
fate before they leave the swamp.
on social media to tell others about your own
Appendices. This adventure includes player
adventure experience with this product and/or
handouts designed to increase immersion while
to share artwork of your Blood Hunter with the
serving as a means of transferring lore to their
Infant. Until next time, huzzah!
character. Also, newly crafted Blood Hunter
concoctions mechanics were designed specifi-
cally for this adventure. Ensure the player has Anthony Joyce
the Blood Hunter concoctions prior to begin-
ning play (see appendix H).
T
You are a Blood Hunter, feared by even the
he character begins this adventure most vile monstrosities throughout Faerun.
in front of the small rustic cottage Commoners shut their windows and lock
of Amfrey Brightwood (female hu- their doors as you approach, and small
man), a reclusive elderly beet farmer children cry at the sight of your unnatural
and natural-born lycanthrope. demeanor. Such is the burden of life as a
Amfrey was born with the incurable curse Blood Hunter.
of lycanthropy and has resisted its bestial rage Yesterday, you accepted a 100 gp contract
for the last 75 years. In her old age, she’s be- from Wester Harbin, the townmaster of
come less able to battle this curse. During the Phandalin, a small mining town southeast
last full moon, the curse became too strong to of Neverwinter.
suppress, and Amfrey unwillingly transformed The contract is simple: hunt down the
into a werewolf. That night she encountered werewolf that slaughtered two teenagers
two teenagers on a romantic stroll near Phan- during the last full moon and return to
dalin and tore them apart. Amfrey fled to her Phandalin with the werewolf’s head.
cottage in horror and hopes no one uncovers
her secret.
T
recognized as a Blood Hunter.
his chapter begins when the
character arrives on the outskirts
Once the character enters Phandalin read or
of Phandalin. The character
paraphrase the following:
needs to visit Harbin Wester in
the Townmaster’s Hall. Read or A small crowd gathers around a flamboy-
paraphrase the following: antly dressed young halfling singing a tale
of valiant adventurers fighting a notorious
The travel to the outskirts of Phandalin is
bugbear named Klarg.
uneventful. This once quiet mining town
Four muscular human men wearing tat-
nestled within the foothills of the Sword
tered crimson cloaks interrupt the halfling’s
Mountains is bustling with activity. The
tale. One of the men shouts at the halfling,
recent rediscovery of the legendary Lost
“Back so soon Olos? Didn’t learn your
Mine of Phandelver attracts many adventur-
lesson aye? Maybe this time a little scar on
ers seeking wealth and riches.
that pretty face will teach you!” The man
Give the character the map of Phandalin brandishes a shortsword and starts rushing
(see appendix B), and inform them of the towards the halfling.
following information:
The halfling is Olos Bigbottom, a youthful and
• Seek out Harbin Wester to claim the Blood
humorous adventuring minstrel with a big
Hunter contract reward; he resides in the
bottom who waddles as he walks. Olos coura-
Townmaster’s Hall in the center of town.
geously defends himself against the attackers
• The locals despise Blood Hunters; children
with his rapier, gracefully waddling about whilst
stick their tongues out at them and adults
hurling insults at the ruffians.
utter vile curses under their breath when
The muscular men are former redbrand
they see a Blood Hunter.
ruffians (use the bandit stat block) defeated
by the same group of adventurers Olos sings
Arrival in Phandalin about. The men attack Olos with the intent of
The marked map of Phandalin annotates knocking him unconscious and cutting a large
prominent locations in town the characters gash in his cheek. The ruffians attack anyone
might wish to visit. This adventure is designed who intervenes in their quarrel with Olos.
for the character to visit the Townmaster’s Hall If the character intervenes by using any of
followed by the Stonehill Inn. All other loca- their Blood Hunter class features, the crowd
tions do not play a direct role in this adventure immediately begins to “boo” the character for
and are described in Lost Mines of Phandelver being a “wretched Blood Hunter.” The locals
and Dragon of Icespire Peak. (This adventure despise Blood Hunters, however Olos is quick
takes place after the events described in Lost to intervene with the crowd and win them over.
Mines of Phandelver, so adjust descriptions After the fight, if the character helped save
accordingly.) Olos, he begins singing an exaggerated melodic
Map 2: Phandalin
0 100 200
Feet
l
r ai
rT
oab
Tri
Stonehill
Inn
Townmaster’s
Hall
l
i
Tra
r’s
ne
Mi
Concluding Chapter 2
Chapter 2 concludes when Mordenkainen
teleports the character to the Swamp of Gilgar.
The character gains the benefit of a long rest
when they conclude this chapter.
C
present and standing in the duplicate’s space.
If the illusory duplicate takes any damage,
enturies ago, the malicious hobgoblin
it disappears.
warlord Gilgar the Defiler marched
his legion of warriors through these
swamps in search of the Lost Mine of Optional Rule:
Phandelver. Character Death
By chance, Gilgar stumbled upon Myrci
In an adventure designed around one player,
Emerald-Eyes and her coven of hags. Seeing
character death effectively ends gameplay. This
their beauty and power, Gilgar grew obsessed
adventure is all about the character in every
and assaulted the hags with his legion of
aspect and offers a viable means to continue to
hobgoblins in an attempt to subjugate them. He
adventure in case of character death.
believed Myrci would help him find the legend-
Using this optional rule, character death is
ary lost mine and all the riches within.
treated as an alternate future. Mordenkainen
During his assault, Gilgar massacred Myrci’s
uses divination magic to show the character
sisters and had her dragged before him. As he
this alternate future to avoid their mistakes.
laughed atop the defiled hag corpses, Myrci, full
Read or paraphrase the following if a character
of rage, screamed so violently that a magical
dies and you are using this optional rule:
fog spewed forth from her and filled the swamp.
When the fog cleared, all the hobgoblins were A blinding white light subsides. Before you
brutally slain and Gilgar was found dead, with in the massive banquet hall, full of graceful
his entrails shoved down his throat. Gilgar dancing servants, stands Mordenkainen.
turned into a wraith and is trapped in a sub- “You see, these are the mistakes you
merged tower in area S5 until Myrci releases must avoid, time is of the essence and the
him or she dies. The hobgoblin assailants were Balance is at stake.” He snaps his fingers
cursed to wander the swamp as undead crea- and you find yourself back in the Swamp
tures for eternity. of Gilgar.
Myrci’s magic emanates throughout the
swamp in an attempt to keep travelers away The character may take a short rest and resume
from her hut. The swamp was named after play at a previously visited area of their choice.
“Gilgar,” after locals incorrectly came to believe
he haunts the swamps. Tracking Myrci
This chapter focuses on the exploration pillar
Regional Effects of play and highlights the use of the Hunter’s
The Swamp of Gilgar is considered Myrci’s lair. Bane class feature to track Myrci (a fey crea-
Her powerful fey magic creates the following ture) to her hut. Hunter’s Bane also benefits
effects throughout the swamp: Blood Hunters tracking undead creatures.
• Patchy fog lightly obscures the swamp; The sections that follow contain information
creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom that will help you run this part of the adven-
(Perception) checks that rely on sight. ture smoothly.
• The swamp is magically kept in a constant • Using the Swamp of Gilgar map (see
state of dim lighting. appendix B, “Map 3: Swamp of Gilgar”), let
Myrci Emerald-Eyes
Myrci Emerald-Eyes is a clever, outgoing, and
resourceful green hag defending her swamp
from intruders. Unlike the myths surrounding
hags, Myrci does not resemble a withered
crone; rather she is captivating and vibrant in
appearance. She has bewitching, glowing emer-
ald green eyes, and adorns herself with a black
pointed hat and elegant ebony robes trimmed
with elaborate scarlet lace. Myrci believes men
created lies about hags. Men, she believes, are
incapable of accepting that women can possess
powerful magical abilities without also being
hideous and evil. Myrci kills those who attack
her. Like any good environmental steward of
nature, Myrci consumes what she kills—to do
otherwise is to waste valuable resources.
Several months ago, Myrci came across a
crying drow infant in the bottom of a pit within
the Lost Mine of Phandelver known as Wave
Echo Cave. She knew immediately that fate
had destined this child for greatness, so she
continues to nurture and care for the child
S11
S10
S9
S7
S6
S5 S8
S3
S2 S4
0 100 200 S1
Feet
T
his chapter begins when the char-
acter arrives at area S11. Myrci
Emerald-Eyes (green hag) either
greets the character, if she thinks
they are an ally, or hides in her hut,
if she thinks they are an enemy.
Choices Matter
The drow infant is located in this hut in area
S13. The character’s choices leading up to this
point influence Myrci’s reaction to them. Below
are just a few examples you can modify to best
fit the style of play at your table.
Ally of Myrci. Myrci waits for the character
outside her hut in area S11 and greets the
character if they appear to be a possible ally.
She knows she cannot keep the drow infant
Meeting Myrci
forever and asks the character to take the drow Emerald‑Eyes
infant to safety. Before the character leaves with When the character meets Myrci, if she is not
the child, she asks for their help to kill Gilgar disguised as a victim in area S14, she shares
the Defiler in area S5. If the character accepts the following information with them:
to help her, she offers them to take a long rest • I hope you aren’t another hero looking to
in her hut. After the long rest, she leads them vanquish an evil hag. If you are, I’m afraid
to area S5 and beckons Gilgar the Defiler out you’ll find neither a hero or a hag here.
from the tower to confront him. Once Gilgar is • It seems fate smiles upon us. I’ve been
slain, Myrci offers to join the character on their waiting for someone to help me escape this
journey to find a safe haven for the child. place and find a safe haven for myself and a
Thrax the Vicious. If the character joins special child.
Thrax the Vicious to enact vengeance on Myrci, • I do not know who the infant is, I only know
she waits inside her hut in area S14 screaming that they are destined for a great purpose.
for help. She changes her appearance and Whether it is good or evil I cannot say, but
pretends to be a victim of Myrci. She attacks the I shall do what I must to see him raised good.
character when the opportunity arises. • You must help me defeat Gilgar the Defiler,
No Ally of Myrci’s. If Myrci determines the then we can escape to find safety far away
character is not her ally, she waits for them in from this place.
her hut, invisible, and tries to convince them to • The child I speak of is a drow infant. I found
help her kill Gilgar the Defiler. If the character him crying deep within the legendary Lost
refuses, she attacks. Mine of Phandelver. I was destined to find
him, and you were destined to find us.
S14
Escaping the Magic Fog The meat and bones are from those foolish
enough to attack Myrci in her swamp. She only
The magic fog keeping creatures in the swamp kills in self defense, but she cooks her kills
dissipates if Myrci is killed or if she commands afterwards. Her favorite dish is soft belly intes-
the fog to leave the swamp. The character is tine stew. The books in the bookcase cover a
unable to leave the swamp until Myrci’s magical plethora of topics, from the ecology of swamps
fog is gone. to poems about Waterdeep.
20
Queen of Spiders. When he died, Lolth claimed places throughout Undermountain and the
his soul and reincarnated him on the Material lower reaches of Waterdeep. But on occasion,
Plane. Her reasons are unknown, but the Spi- intruders have found their way into some of
der Queen is known to weave long, complicated these secret workshops. One group of adventur-
webs incapable of comprehension. ers found an infant drow in a magical workshop
The infant is truly an innocent being; even and decided to rescue it. They used one of
if he is the reincarnation of Nezznar, there is Undermountain’s many portals to stow the child
no guarantee that he will grow up to be evil or somewhere they believed to be safer, but were
good. Whatever he becomes, fate has decided destroyed before they could return for it. The in-
he must live and the character must keep fant drow is and is not Halaster, containing both
him safe. his powerful potential for magic and a fraction
Selvetarm, the Spider that Waits. The of his disturbed personality.
infant is infused with the essence of Selvetarm, Child of an Evil Avatar. While incarnated
the enslaved champion of Lolth known as in the mortal world in the body of an avatar,
the Spider that Waits. Selvetarm is the god an evil deity sowed a child with a mortal. The
of warriors and patron of male drow. Prior to infant is that child. Such half-divine children
Selvetarm’s enslavement to Lolth, he became can become important to a god’s long-term
attracted to the goodness of Eilistraee, the Dark plans. Although the dark gods Bane and Bhaal
Maiden. Selvetarm went on to confront and were destroyed during the crisis known as the
defeat Zanassu, a demon lord, but at great cost. Time of Troubles, both returned from death by
In his weakened state after the great battle, using their own progeny as vessels. In fact, that
Lolth corrupted Selvetarm and captured him. seems to have been their plan all along. This
She now keeps him trapped in her unbreakable drow child could be the scion of any evil deity
webs for eternity. His hatred for Lolth grew so you choose.
great, a piece of his essence manifested into the Potential Enemies. As alluded to in the
drow infant. adventure, two evil factions are also seeking
Halaster’s Clone. For over a thousand years, out the infant. The first is Gromph Baenre, the
the Mad Mage Halaster Blackcloak has ruled Archmage of Menzoberranzan and the second
Undermountain, the labyrinthine dungeon is the Szass Tam, leader of the Red Wizards
beneath Waterdeep. During that time he has of Thay. Each faction seeks to use the child for
created untold numbers of clones of himself. their own nefarious purposes.
Unable to resist experimentation, he often
tinkered with new versions of spells, creating Victory Song
clones in areas of wild magic. As a result, his When the adventure is complete, play
clones took many forms, differing from Halaster “Toss a Coin to your Witcher—Metal Version”
in appearance, race, gender, and personality. by Dan Vasc.
These clones were kept in stasis, hidden in
Blood H u n ter m
o o n , t w o l o c a l t e e n a g ers
u r i n g t h e l a s t f u l lm w n o f
D e a r ou r m a g n i fi c e n t to
on a ro m a n t ic s t r o l l n n d to r n
o rr i fi c a lly a tt a c k e d a
Phan da l i n w e r e h i n g fo r y ou r
u l w e re w o l f! I a m a sk
apart by a d re a d f i le m o n s t r o s-
d o w n a n d sla y th i s v
assistan ce . T r a c k o n c e m o re .
h a n d a l in s ha l l b e sa f e
ity, s o th a t P d i f y o u b r i n g t h e
t o f 10 0 g p i s p rom i se
Pa y m e n o f i t s d e a t h t o m e
h e a d o r o t h e r e v i d e n ce
werewolf’s a l l i n P h a n d a l in.
at the Townmaster’s Hwn, I do not wish more of
P le a se do nt
’ l e t m e d o b e a s t!
h e h a n d s o f t h i s fo u l
our pe o p le t o d ie a t t
Sincerely,
Harbin Wes ter
aster of Phandalin
I llustrious Townm
Feet
l
r ai
rT
oab
Tri
Stonehill
Inn
Townmaster’s
Hall
l
i
Tra
r’s
ne
Mi
0 100 200
Feet
n g las t m y w or th is be in g recognized.
At lo of finding
all that I am ca p ab le
I’ll show them li eg e in Thay.
gi n g it ba ck to ou r
the infant and brin I re turn with the
at ch h is ba ck . W h en
Elastor better w h is bo d y , and
ar h is h ea d fr om
prize I’ll be able to te
be n o on e to st op m e this time!
there will
— Z
B
lood Hunters utilize hemocraft and Concoction Types
corrupted alchemy to harness the
Concoctions can be crafted from hundreds of
essence of their slain enemies in
different creature essences. Concoctions that
concoctions that modify their capa-
can be crafted from more than one type of crea-
bilities in battle. These concoctions
ture’s essence are called versatile concoctions.
only work on those who have undergone the
The resulting concoctions are only super-
process of the Hunter’s Bane.
ficially different. For example, an amphibious
Harvesting the essence of a dead creature
concoction brewed using the essence of a giant
requires 1d6 minutes followed by a Intelligence
toad might be more viscous than one brewed
(Nature) check with a DC determined by the
with the essence of a green hag, but their effects
CR of the creature being harvested (proficiency
are identical.
with the alchemist’s supplies applies to this
check if the character doesn’t have proficiency Bullywug Concoctions
in Nature). On a successful check, the character Swamp Camouflage
harvests the essence of the slain creature. On a
failed check, the character is unable to harvest Drow Concoctions
the slain creature’s essence. If a creature is Fey Ancestry
dead for 1 hour, their essence becomes unhar-
vestable. Consuming a concoction requires a Giant Toad Concoctions
bonus action. Amphibious
Standing Leap
Harvesting check DC = 10 + monster CR
Crafting Time. Characters can craft a single Green Hag Concoctions
concoction after finishing a short or long rest. Amphibious
Crafting Components. Crafting a concoction Illusory Appearance
requires the essence of a creature, hit dice, and Invisible Passage
minor components expressed in terms of gold Mimicry
pieces (gp). The crafting process consumes all
of these components. Shambling Mound Concoctions
Required Proficiency and Tools. Concoc- Lightning Absorption
tions are crafted using alchemist’s supplies. Specter Concoctions
Concoction Effects. A Blood Hunter’s biolo-
Incorporeal Movement
gy is only capable of absorbing the effects of one
concoction at a time. Consuming an additional Werewolf Concoctions
concoction flushes the current concoction’s Keen Senses
effects from the Blood Hunter’s system and ap- Lycanthropy Antidote
plies the effects of the most recently consumed
concoction. Wight Concoctions
Hemocraft and Crafting Concoctions. Create Zombie
When crafting a concoction, Blood Hunters use
hemocraft to mix their Hunter’s Bane infused Will-o’-Wisp Concoctions
blood with the components of a concoction for- Incorporeal Movement
mula. This process consumes a certain amount Invisibility
of Hit Dice determined by the concoction
formula. These Hit Dice cannot be regained Wraith Concoctions
until the character consumes the concoction or Create Specter
the concoction is permanently lost or destroyed. Create Zombie
Incorporeal Movement