The Mountain Impasse
T
he party is tasked with restoring trade between
a mining settlement and the Dwarven city of
Radenovin in the local mountains. After
traversing hostile terrain, fending off fell
mountain beasts, and locating the source of
the trouble, the party must clear a cave of an
Ettin who has taken up inhabitance and now
threatens all trade along the mountain pass.
This adventure is geared towards a party of 3-5 characters
with an average party level of 3. Expect it to take 1-2 sessions
of play to complete.
The town of Gedrangr
Nestled within the foothills of the Hyggjarst mountains,
Gedrangr is a small mining settlement whose survival is tied
to their trade with the nearby Dwarven community of
Radenovin. Recently however, trade has completely halted,
with no Dwarven envoys having come down through the
mountain pass in weeks.
Gedrandr's cheiftain, Heinrik, is worried, as their own
messenger, has not returned after setting off to make contact
six days ago. Given that the round trip should take no more
than three days, his arrival is far past due. Without access to
the dwarven forges, the ore-rich deposits in the hills
surrounding Gedranger are of little use to the townspeople,
as they cannot be sold in such a crude condition. Winter is
fast approaching and their food stores are dwindling. If trade
can't be re-established soon, they may have to abandon their
town entirely.
The Quest
Heinrik requests that the party take the north road out of
town, the route most often travelled to get to Radenovin, and
investigate what would be blocking travel between their
communities. The party's objectives are as follows:
Determine the cause of stoppage in trade
Restore the trade route, and bring evidence of their deeds
Heinrik will promise the party 100 gp each in return for re-
establishing trade.
Heinrik's Advice
Heinrik will warn the party that the Hyggjarst mountains are
cruel and unforgiving. The weather can turn at the drop of a
hat, and beasts and monsters alike are known to prowl the
mountain peaks. He advises the party to be well rested before
they head out, and offers to host them in his hall for the night
should they need. They may also find wares helpful for their
journey in the town's general store.
General Store
The small town's lone store doesn't have much in
terms of specialty goods, but amongst the other,
common items one would find, list out the
following.
Mountaineer's Pack (12 gp) can be bought from
the town's general store, which contains a
backpack, crampons, climbing pitons, a
hammer, and 50 feet of hempen rope.
Winter Clothing (5 gp) allows the wearer some
protection against the bitter cold of the
Hyggjarst mountains. (Characters wearing
winter clothing will have advantage on CON
saves against the mountain's effects)
The Mountain's Kiss
The party exits the town by the north road, with the dusty
town quickly disappearing behind them as they weave their
way through the forested foothills approaching the
formiddable mountain range. Travel continues at this pace for
a few hours, with the party working hard despite the thinning
air and dropping temperatures. As their journey progresses,
the party feels the strain begin to etch its way into their
bodies. Each breath is more labored than the last, and as the
party works their way past the treeline to the snowy alpine
slopes beyond, a stiff wind penetrates their furs, exposing all
to the full brunt of the wintery mountain.
Mountain Hazard
All characters must make a DC 14 CON saving throw or suffer
the effects of the frigid mountain terrain. On a fail, the
character suffer's one level of exhaustion. If a character fails by
5 or more, they begin shivering uncontrollably and become
vulnerable to cold damage until they spend at least a short rest
to warm up. Characters wearing winter clothing make the CON
save with advantage.
Pushing forward on the winding mountain path, the
increasingly heavy snowfall slows travel to a crawl. As the
skies darken, a fierce wind begins to blow, driving a heavy
mix of snow and ice before the party. Using their skills, the
party must find a way to survive or else the storm will
consume them.
1

Skill Challenge: Winter Storm
Challenge Rules
Players take turn choosing skills they are proficient
in, giving a detailed explanation for how their use
of the skill will help the party survive the storm.
Once the player and DM agree that a skill is
appropriate, the player rolls to determine the
outcome. For this challenge the DC is set at 14.
The party must accumulate 5 successes before
suffering 3 failures to complete the challenge.
If a party member has a leveled spell that could
help resolve the situation (i.e. casting Tiny Hut or
Shape Earth) they can automatically pass their
check or even the whole challenge. This is up to
the DM's discretion. Each party member can only
use a given skill once.
Example Skills
Survival to build a windbreak from the party's
backpacks and camping gear.
Nature to know that the ground temperature is
likely warmer than the outside temperature, so
digging may give the party some protection.
Athletics to dig a shelter
Perception to determine the direction of the
storm and build a berm that will give the party
some shelter from that direction.
Failure Consequences
One Failure no consequence
Two Failures Sheets of ice rip through the
party's hastily erected shelter, forcing each
party member to make a DC=12 Dexterity
saving throw, dealing 3d6 cold and 3d6
bludgeoning damage on a failure or half on a
success.
Three Failures The storm's severity reaches a
chaotic climax, triggering an avalance. All
players must make a DC = 16 Dexterity saving
throw, taking 3d6 cold and 3d6 bludgeoning
damage on a failure or half on a success. If they
fail the DC by 5 or more they are buried
beneath the snow and considered suffocating
until they can get free.
Continuing the ascent, the party struggle to follow the beaten
path as the entire mountian has been dusted in a few inches
of snow. Rounding a corner, the party find themselves on a
treacherous stretch where the mountain road is only 5 ft.
wide flanked on the right by a sheer cliff and on the left to a
steep drop-off into a ravine hundreds of feet below. From
somewhere off in the distance, a lone wolf howls.
2
Encounter: False Ice.
Two shards of ice, roughly two feet in diameter lie in the
middle of the route, making travel difficult. To bypass each
shard without disturbing them, each party member must
suceed on a DC 12 Acrobatics. If any of the shards is
disturbed, both are revealed to be ice mephits and
immediately begin attacking the party, two more ice mephits
flit up from the ravine and join in the attack.
At the beginning of each round of combat, the howling of
the wolf grows louder. Finally, after three rounds of combat, a
winter wolf descends upon the party and attacks.
Encounter Notes
Feel free to adjust the number of ice mephits that join in
attacking the players from the ravine based on the size of your
party. Most ice mephits should be defeated by the time the
wolf arrives.
If the party does not trigger the ice mephits, or if the ice
mephits are defeated before three rounds of combat
conclude, the winter wolf descends on the party at the
conclusion of the mephit encounter.
A Foul Stench
The party continues along the winding path for another few
hours, until the sun sets behind the alpine peaks. A putrid
stench permeates the mountain air, and as the party
continues the snow looks darker in some areas than others. A
DC = 10 Perception check reveals the frozen blood stains
mixed in with the snow. Following the bloodstains leads the
party down the path a short distance before disappearing into
a cave on the side of the path.The terrible stench grows
stronger the closer the party gets.
Ignoring the Warnings
Should the party choose to ignore the bloodstains, they will
come across the shattered remnants of a mule-drawn cart, the
animals have been torn limb from limb and most of the meat
has been devoured by beasts. The cart itself appears to have
gone over the cliffside, with remnants of the ores and metals
within scattered along the mountainside below. Deep
markings in the snow reveal a path taken by a some large
creature towards where the party previously saw the
bloodstains in the snow.
If the party spends time trying to gather the cart's lost
resources, or if they continue on the road without
investigating the cart or the bloodstains, the Ettin will come
from his cave and attack the party.
The Ettin's Cave
The cave is in complete darkness as the party enters, but a
slight flickering of light playing off of a far cavern wall hints at
a lightsoure deeper within.
 Encounter: Dagmirolmir the Ettin
Cave Drawings The Ettin heads will bicker with each other until approached
The cave entrance is narrow, only large enough for or attacked by the party. Being stupid creatures, any overt use
one character to fit through at a time, if any of magic by the party frightens them into attacking.
member makes a Perception check, given with
advantage to dwarves, they can learn the following: Encounter Notes
They see bits of broken rock along the cavern The frozen pool in the cavern can be used to the party's
floors and scrape marks along the walls and advantage. The ice has 20 HP and is vulnerable to fire damage.
cielings, hinting that something larger than the If it is reduced to 0 HP it shatters. Anything standing on it
cave entrance has been passing through. The
when it shatters is plunged into the deep, fridgid waters and
bloodstains continue through the cavern
entrance. must make a DC = 16 CON Save taking 2d10 cold damage on
pictograms with some dwarvish script, a fail or half on a save. A character who starts its turn in the
pictograms are pictures of caravans hiding in a water must repeat the save.
cave from fierce mountain beasts
Inscriptions are short notes, some detailing
who was here before, mostly the names of Cave Treasure
dwarven traders populate the list.
On defeating Dagmirolmir, the party finds 1,700 CP, 500 SP,
If needed, the party can make an Insight check to 70 GP combined in the chests and coin purses that litter the
determine that this cave was a resting point for unfortunate dwarven traders. Additionally, the party find four
travelers along this route, it seems that many finely cut gemstones jet black in color (Onyx, worth 50 gp
dwarves used this spot to escape from the each).
elements or from the dangerous beasts that prowl
the mountain side, but now something larger and
more monstrous has taken up habitation here. Return to Gedrangr
Once Dagmirolmir has been defeated, the party can take a
long rest in the relative shelter of the caves. After, they can
venture back to Gedrangr, finding the weather on the
Passing through the narrow entrance, the cave opens up, mountain to have calmed considerably from the day before.
wide enough for two characters to stand abreast, and tall On reaching Gedrangr, Heinrik will want to hear of the
enough for even a large creature to stand unimpeded. The party's findings. If they bring proof of killing the Ettin, Heinrik
foul stench, a mixture of filth and rot is now becoming will gladly pay them their reward money. If they did not think
unbearable. to bring proof, Heinrik will only pay half the reward unless
Turning the corner, the party uncovers a grisly sight in the sufficiently convinced of the party's accomplishments.
alcove to the right. Limbs and pieces of torn armor and
weapons litter the alcove in a rotting mass. An invnestigation
check DC = 8 reveal the body parts to be dwarven. The
cavern walls are now bathed in a dim light as the party can
see a long corridor stretch further down into the cave, with
the lightsource coming from a chamber beyond.
At this point, the party can hear low grunts and growls,
seemingly two voices talking to each other in a harsh,
guttural language. If any in the party know Giantish, they will
understand the conversation, though it sounds like a
primitive and bastardized from of the langauge. The two
heads of the Ettin sound to be bickering, and the party can
use their distraction to their advantage.
(Dagmir: deep, growling voice) “Olmir, we are out of food”
(Olmir: higher, nasaly voice) “Yes Dagmir, more will come"
(Dagmir) “But I am hungry now, Olmir, let's hunt”
(Olmir) “You fool there is a storm about, be patient”
At the base of the corridor the cave opens up into a large,
circular chamber about 20 ft. high. A pool of frozen water lies
at the base of the circular chamber, and a disgusting,
muscular, two-headed giant sits by a fire, one head picking its
teeth with a bone, while the other gnaws the remaining flesh
off a dwarven femur. A pile of bones along with a few chests
and coins of previous travelers lie beyond the giant.

3
 Ettin Cave (20x15)

Encounter Resources
Ice Mephit - MM p. 215
Winter Wolf - MM p. 340
Ettin - MM p. 132
Written by: M20DM
Maps: Dungeonscrawl.com
Format: Homebrewery.naturalcrit