INTRODUCTION 9 his story isa Christmas-themed one shot designed and balanced for aparty of five characters at level 5, It is an EvilNeutral scenario intended to be run in isolation; through this scenario the players may receive opportunites ‘which would entirely derail s longer planned campaign This adventure is balanced and designed around the Sth edition ruleset (for which Basic Rules are available free online), but for your ease of adaptation is not tied in to a specific world, It takes place in the broad medieval fantasy setting, in and around a cold, Norther arca PREMISE The players are hired by a morally suspect toy company to infiltrate Santa's Workshop. They will be generously paid to. ‘Find out how he distributes toys ‘+ Stealiisable the means if possible + (Bonus) Kill Santa WORLD BACKGROUND The worl is not a happy place. A trip to the countryside means being tor apart by a pack of monsters. A good month means only one or two villagers have died painfully. “Being fit and healthy’ means you still have half your working teeth. It's ppethaps not surprising that chldren here are tough, cynical ite buggers. ‘Ask any kid if Santa is real and they’! laugh at you before they steal your coin purse, “ofcourse not The parents, however, know better. ‘Wintermas has always been a day of celebration, a day to ssther round the fire to drink and eat, but the presents ere a mystery. Not long ag, beautiful litte toys, sweets and cookies started appearing in every house aross the land all labeled from Santa’. Every Wintermas morning, without fil. Most people love these presents and accept it as a blessing, but there are others who see competition, SETTING THE SCENE It's the night before Wintermas. You're huddled inthe large stone archway of tall and narrow S-storey tower. The wind howls past and thick snow obscures your view beyond afew metres. A Aiserete brass sign on the door advertises. HarpyJoy Toy anp Tosacco Company NorTHERN REGION HEADQUARTERS FROSTHOLD ‘Your interview is nS minutes time, and it appears fom the small, crowd gathered [the other assembled players] that you're not the ‘only one who has been selected for this job. What would you like todo?ScENE 1: HappyJoy Toy AND TOBACCO COMPANY RECEPTION Motivational posters and adverts for dubiously virtuous Happyoy products line the walls. An advert fora teddy bear ‘that really smokes! catches the eye. A bored looking receptionist {using slate tablet and chalk. + The receptionist is uninterested in small talk and unimpressed by any of the players. She will take names and classes (players to describe themselves) and give ther ‘Hi, My Name ls. nnatne badges. Once all given out, the players are directed though into a lift (pulled by team fof gnomes who make elevator sounds) to the top floor QueNTIN HarpyJoy's Orrice A large painted portrait of «smiling man in a purple suit holding bunch of colourful balloons takes up most ofthe right wall, a small plague underneath it reads, Quentin Haprysoy SENTOR Founper, Harpyjoy FaMtty Toy Co ‘The far wall f the room is entirely taken up by alge window through which you can only see snow blowingpas, The only item of furniture is a dark mahogany desk holding a nat stack of parchment, a magical Newton's Crade and a slate tablet In front of you isthe geyest man you have ever seen Oe re This is Quentin Happyjoy junior, corporate businessman before his time. He'll briefly interview the players fora little RP introduction then provides a short summary of the quest. He skirts over the element ofkiling Santa, instead describing thoroughly achieving your KPIs! He'll explain they've sent scouts to Santa's home at the North Pole, but none have retumed and they've only received the briefest notes by sending stone; the entrance lies in a glacial crevasse, there are patrolling flying, Creatures, enchanted holly barbed wire and candy mins along the top something unclear about no man's lan Hel give each player 250g payment upfront and a further 750g each on completion. Hell warn that if they run withthe pre- payment, he'll place the 750g as a bounty on their heads. The encounter ends with the players offered an hourto collec any items they need; directed to the nearby town square (optional; see Appendix) to then return and be teleported to the North Pole by Quentin's Corporate Mages. To return, they are given an enchanted snowglobe which they may smash to create a temporary portal (1 minute) to Frosthold,ScENE 2: THE NorTH POLE APPROACH ‘As you land in a flash of ight, your first view is of snow and ice, ‘As you look up an icy plan stretches out infront of you, a bitter wind is howling i's dark but your way is lt by the stars, the full ‘moon, and an ineredible aurora above, About a kilometre in font of you, a huge elif of ice stretches hundreds of metres into the air. A wide, jagged crevasse cuts into its face. You can see many figures inthe distance in front of the opening, bu none appear to be moving. Ca a eS ‘There are approximately 50 figures in neat rows. On closer inspection they are snowmen Askill check from the players reveals that Whilst most are just vague lurnps of snow, three close to the crevasse entrance appear to bemore distinct, ‘The players may attempt to sneak past, but this will be very difficult. IFthey don't manage, or they ignore this entirely, the largest snowman will greet ther, ‘The top of the ice clifis essentially impassable, itis patrolled by flying creatures (see Paindeer) and strewn with traps. ———_____, ‘You notice the largest ofthe figures begin to shift as you approach, it tums to face you and you see it has coal eyes, a chest and two arms cenrrt nose, three blue gems in a line dow carved alongits sides, It appears to smile wide He will introduce himself as Frosty’ and will not be immediately hostile to the players. He'll happily greet them and tel them that Wintermas is tomorrow, they'll have to wait for their presents! He has two sidekick animated snowmen who are near to him but not immediately apparent amongst the decoys without having been searched for specificaly, or with a successful C18 perception check He will encourage the players to leave and not spoil the magic of Wintermas. ifthey do not leave quickly, it's time to roll initiative. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN Large construct, neutral Armor Class 12 (natural armor) Hit Points 78 Speed 40ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 961) 18 (+4) 12 (+1) 10(+0) 8(1) Damage Immunities Cold Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 13, darkvision 60ft Languages Common Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Berserk. Ifa companion is killed, Frosty goes berserk On each ofits turns while berserk, it attacks the nearest creature it can see, making an extra headbutt attack (+7 to hit, 148 bludgeoning darnage) in addition to Double Swipe Weakness to Fire. If Frosty takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn Actions Multiattack. Frosty can use Double Swipe and Chilling Ray on its turn, Double Swipe. Melee Weapon Attack: Two attacks with +7 to hit, reach 5ft, (1d10+4) damage plus (146) cold damage. Chilling Ray. (3 charges) Frosty targets one Creature itcan see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on aDC13 Constitution saving throw against this magic or take (346) cold damage and be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target ‘can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its tus. Taking any fire damage will end the effect, irmrnediately. successful, or the effect ends, the targets imrnune to Chilling Ray for 1 hour. ‘Snow Meld, As a bonus action, ifon ice or snow terrain the Snowman may disengage from any adjacent targets and meld into the ground, reappearing instantly at any space within 40ftpee a + lf the players have already noticed the two sidekicks, they will immediately start the fight with Frosty, otherwise add them to the initiative track and they will attempt a surprise attack (with advantage) on the players closest to then atthe start of their tum, ANIMATED SNOWMAN Medium construct, neutral Armor Class 12 (natural armor) Hit Points 41 Speed 40ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 9 (1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 8 (1) Damage Immunities Cold Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 13, darkvision 60ft Languages Common Challenge 3 (700 XP) Weakness to Fire. Ifthe snowman takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn, Brothers in Arms. The snowman has advantage ‘on an attack rll against a creature ift least one of its allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated Actions. Double Swipe. Melee Weapon Attack: Two attacks with +6 to hit, reach Sft, (1d8+4) damage plus (146) cold darnage. Snow Meld. As a bonus action, ifon ice or snow terrain the Snowman may disengage from any adjacent targets and meld into the ground, reappearing instantly at any space within 40ftSCENE 3: CAVERN OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS APPROACH As you step into the crevasse, you see along passage before you, starting wide and tapering to a point from which a dim gow femanates. Whilst itis mostly dark, looting ethereal Wintermas Lanterns illuminate patches ofthe path. Takinga step forward, the sound ofthe howling wind becomes muffled. I's replaced by afar more ominous sound, a deep, low rumbling a if the ie were moving [A chip of ie fills from above and you see shadowy shapes Aying overhead, they don’t appear to have spotted you, The ice walls, however, re moving very slowly together. You need £0 bury, and would guess you've not got long before this cavern closes entirely. ae eS __ This section isa race against time set piece. Itcan be run in several ways to suit your group. ‘+ A seties of stealth checks running through the cave + Afight with an actual physi {¢4, 3 minutes pe enemy) ‘+ Afight with increasing risk of damage per round (falling ice) + Asimple fight against the Paindeer with along corridor to get through. limit + Depending on how they're doing, you ray introduce between 1 (easy) and 4 (deadly) Paindeer [As you reach the end of the caver, you can seBwhere the gov is coming from. Through a crack in the ice (about 10 ft wideand 20 0 tall) a gentle light shines and you can see snow falling slowly heyond. lt would sem youve found the entranceto Santa's Grotto, PAINDEER Large beast, neutral Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 60 Speed 50ft. (flying) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (44) 12 (41) 14 (42) 10 (+0) 12 (41) 8 (1) Damage Immunities Cold (1/2 damage) Skills Perception +5, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 15, darkvision 60ft Languages Common Challenge 3 (700 XP) AAs a Pack. The Paindeer has advantage on an attack rol against a creature if at least one ofits allies is within 5 feet ofthe creature and the aly isn't incapacitated Actions. Multiattack. The Paindeer uses both Bite and Gore on each attack Bite, Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach Sft, (2d6+4) piercing damage. Gore. Melee Weapon Attack +6 to hit, reach Sft, (2d6+4) piercing damage. On successful attack, target must make a DC12 Constitution saving throw, on a failed save target bleeds (144) damage at the end of every tur until 1 or more hit points. are restored or an action is spent tending to the wound. Snow Breath (Recharge 5-6). The paindeer cexhales a blast of freezing wind in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make aDC12 Dexterity saving throw, taking (448) cold damage (ona failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.ScENE 4: SANTA'S GROTTO ‘As you step through the wal, the scene changes immediately. ‘You're in beautfal caver it with a warm golden light, with gently falling magical snow coming from somewhere high up above you. Snow tipped stalactites and stalagmites rise from the floor and descend from the ceiling, not necessarily in thet order, Striped candy cane picket fences linea stone path which leads forwards toa simall central square dominated by a giant Wintermas tree before spitting into four, The air smells like peppermint and ‘Above you, a green banner with silver lettering hangs between two stala.. stones. It is written in gnomish. HE KNOWS WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING HE KNOWS WHEN YOU'RE AWAKE At the end ofthe four shor paths, you see three gingerbread houses, and set inthe centre ofthe far wal, a tall stone archway within which the air has a shimmering water-tike quality. They each have tiny signs next to them, which appear to be made from chocolate, with iced [gomish] writing on them. Tray tt +e t hist aad ++ ett OX het +++ Set + att tt+t+\ het ttttt++ att ttt tte att Wt tttt met t amet tt ae tt + Peiiastntt ++ aM ++ ttt t+ & +++ tt + + oa Pets Zz t+ re TTtte motttt ++++ Tee ptt tt +4+tt+t Peet tt+ +tt+++tt eB: tttttt+ tet + ttttttt gett t+ b+ tt tt he P+ tt + +t tt ++ Hept tt t+ ttt tert ttt+ RY ty WF Hartt zy ttt at + ty Ly + Santa's Cookie Lab (A) Ho He Holding Cells (B) ‘Santa's Workshop Portal (C) Paindeer Stables (D) 4 ee Throughout this area, everything is whimsical and magical, but detailed player investigation should be rewarded with hints of corruption; gingerbread is going mouldy, things look run down, a creeping sense of something sinister Ifthe players search for presents under the trees you may offer joke loot (optional; see Appendix) This is an opportunity fora rest. should the players need to recharge after the previous encounters. If they sleep or nap, they have strange and terrifying dreams which they can't remember any detail from upon waking. ‘There doesst appear to be any movement from any of the buildings. for now. What would you lke to do?A) Santa's CooKIE LaB This seems to be where the delicious smells are coming from, Strange machinery lines the walls ofthis small gingerbread house, and bags of sugar, cinnamon and lots of unknown magical dusts ate piled in boxes and shelves. Seven silver plats lien a row on. ‘bench fied tothe far end of the room. Each plate has a small le of cookies on it each with a different iced design This isa logic puzzle (see overleaf), the clue to solving which lies with Dave Grinch in the Holding Cells High DC investigation or detecting magic here will suggest sore of these ingredients are really prety strange.. magical characters rnay determine with a suitable check that they include Brain Stem Fluid and Infused Essence (of Consciousness; substances known for their ability to affect peoples minds. If the players are realy struggling, you can allow thern to decipher a recipe scrap to identify one of the bad’ cookies. _—————————— | B) Ho Ho Hotpine CELts ‘The door to this building locked, and there are candy cane bars fon the gingrbread window holes. Inside, there isa single cage {aking up half ofthe room, it contains a wild-eyed gnome with bright green hai. ‘This is Dave Grinch, prisoner of Santa. He is half-mad, irational and hostile. He hates hrisras ates jy,’ just ot ight, whats he after etc. His tribe are missing, he's followed tracks here and believes it's because of Santa He'll offer the players a deal, if they free him and bring him the head of Santa, he'll help them into the workshop and as reward, create ther any item they wish Social challenge tells ther that his tribe of Ice Gnomes are natural artificers, many of ther can duplicate and transport items, but sore of them (the tribe leaders) have the abilty to create ratter from energy, in either case, once per year. They ironically see this as a curse, they create presents but hate ther. If pressed about getting into the workshop, or ifthey accept his offer, he'll give them a riddle aaa Killing him (he will die wth a single blow) gives them it on a piece of paper found on his body. C) Santa's WorKSHOP PoRTAL A pale blue light emanates from this stone archway. The air within it shimmers lke a gently disturbed pool Players may walk through the porta, but nothing will happen unless they first eat the correct cookie Investigation reveals cookie crumbs on the floor ne! D) PAINDEER STABLES ‘You can smell hay and a strange sort of chocolate smell coming through the doorway ofthis squat building with wide, open doors. Inside you can hear snoring. Looking (stealthily) through the doors the players can see three Paindeer sleeping, and several empty bays. The Paindeer will attack if disturbed. (DC12 Stealth to pass through) They have strange names on their collars [Poner, Souvlaki and Gyros] Atthe far end of the stable on a very high shelf they can see a small statue of a Paindeer, with a ruby nose. Detecting magic orjustknowiedge / skill check shows it's a magical item, Appropriate DC16 skill check to retrieve failure initiates combat. ‘+ Once they hold the statue, a simple check identifies it as a Wondrous Statue, once per day as a bonus action they can summon Rudolf the Paindeer to aid them, he appears and casts a ray ofred light from his nose, causing (4410) radiant damage to a single target, halfon aDC15 Dexterity save —_—_—_____,COOKIE PUZZLE i The Moon cookie allows passage rough he portal, the Santa Hat cookie provides inspiration. “The Tree, Present and Holly cookies cause the player to be knocked prone and lose (14) Intelligence points ‘Taro aunong our number are just plain tasty treats Bat threcof usarll mess you up, and knock gou off yoar Feet ‘Choose unless you wish to wait here forevermore Tobelp you in your chotee ie give you these eles Four (One. Hoxiever slyly the bad ones try to hide You can akacy find one sitting ona plain cookie’ lePtside Tao. There's difference in those stood at either end, Bat uiben you're seeking to move Foresard, neither is your Friend. Three. Asyou ser clearly, theyre all diferent shapescand sizes Butneither Star nor Doon are filled with bad surprises, Finally The second left,and the second on the right Are ‘tusins once you taste them, though different at first sigbt Cera Ce: IO PLAIN PASS BAD BAD PLAIN BUFF PuzoSCENE 5: SANTA'S WORKSHOP This room is huge, Unbelievably huge, I's a giant stone dome, almost alfa mile in diameter, From halfway up the dome, the roofs enchanted to show stars and the aurora above. The same gentle golden light iaminates rows and rows of smal stone altar, all pointed to a cccular plinth which is raised up from the centre of the room. {At cach aay, gnome sits with a frozen smile on their face, staring blank-eyed towards the centre. A wide aisle euts a path through the endless concentric circles, leading from the portal behind you straight towards the centre. A large sthouette is visible upon the plinth, its back to you, it appears to be a very fat, very tall man, wearing a erown and large, bulky robes. What would you like to do? {As soon as the players move towards the centre ofthe room, the portal will disappear behind them. They may only notice this if they check. They may attempt a stealthy approach but, come on, ths is Santa. He's seen them as soon as they've entered the room, Once they get to within a reasonable range he turns and smiles. er Santa whecls round. His jolly voice booms out. Ho Ho Ho.. Hello, children. Wintermas isn't until tomorrow! 7 a ae Santa will ‘for presents’ to lure the players to the centre Perception will reveal the portal has closed, ‘Arn for sinister / creepy notes but overall very friendly demeanour. IF they get close enough, or delay for too long, he'll apologise that they're on his naughty list and attempt to possess one of the players. ——————— ‘As Santa locks eyes with you, you feo! an intrusive presence in your mind, Something isnt right. You hear screams and reality The player must make a DC15 Charisma save, failure means this player is now under the Control of Santa, who will initiate combat with the players. Saye (once per turn atthe start of each tur for affected player), breaking Santa's concentration cor damaging the controlled player ends the posession. ————_________, Fail: Darkness fills your vision and madness overwhelms you, Roll for initiative then hand me your character sheet. ‘Success; Through power of will you force the voices to stop. Roll for initiative, ee eee Santa's stat block is overleaf. Once a significant portion of Santas original set of health has been depleted (feel free to base on fight difficulty), around a few minutes, maybe a KO and around 2/3 of player resources expended, then Santa falls ‘Santa falls to the ground, unconscious, and his crown falls off ‘The gnomes surrounding suddenly stop, their eyes no longer blank, and cheer goes up around the room. They begin to rush towards the heroie players. They don't get far ‘A ringing, shrieking, metallic sound echoes ffom the spot where Santa fll, It almost deafens you, i's the sound of a giant suit of plate armor being tom in blf by » hundred pairs of metal claws. The air seems to twist and shatter ia front of you. This is all wrong. The gnomes look panicked and begin running the far walls. A ripple of shouts and coaversation passes rapidly between them. You catch three words aver the noise, “He is here’. Awrthing monstrosity unravels itself from the fallen crown, its form is hard to distinguish, all black smoke and boiling esh It-bends space and light as you look ati, shifting in and out of focus ike an optical illusion, at one moment it appears to be ‘made of tentacles, then a sereaming face, then a grotesque cluster of eyes and sinew. It's somehow all atound you whilst ccupyinga space infront of you. I is utterly terrifying Its voice sounds ikea raspy whisper in your ear but hurts asi it were shouting You HAVE INTERRUPTED THE PLAN. WE PREPARE FOR MY ARRIVAL IN THIS WORLD. I SEE Your THOUGHTS WE ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT Jon ME AND I WILL SPARE You. WEAR THE CROWN. WIELD POWER OVER ALL MINDS The monstrosity shifts and appears tobe closer to you. What would you like to do? Intelligence/History check tells players this is the avatar of an Old One. A challenging foe, but only a portion of the tue God's strength The players may accept its offeror fight it See final page for options and consequences.SANTA Large humanoid, neutral evil (possessed) Armor Class 15 Hit Points 134 Speed 40ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 24 (+7) 10 (40) 22 (+6) 18 (+4) 12 (41) 14 (42) Damage Immunities Cold (1/2 damage) Skills Perception +8 Senses passive Perception 18, Truesight 6Oft Languages Common, Elvish Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Winter's Aura. Cold winds swirl around Santa, any creature starting their turn within 5 feet of Santa takes (1d6) cold damage Legendary Resistance. Twice per day, upon failing a saving throw, Santa may instead choose to succeed. Almost Immortal, Upon reaching 0 hit points, Santa will fall unconscious and the Crown of Domination wil fall from his head. It may othenwise only be removed by a Remove Curse spell from a Sth level spellcaster. Legendary Action. Once per round, afteran ‘opponent's tum, Santa may choose to use one of his Actions, This does not count towards his two Action total Actions Faster Than He Looks. Santa can use two of the below Actions per turn (cannot use the same ‘Action twice on a single tur, Naughty or Nice. Close Burst Spell: each 10ft, (2410) psychic damage to all in range who darnaged Santa in the last tur, (14) healing to all who did not. Gnome Missile, Ranged Weapon Attack +7 to hit, ange 30ft, (246+4) blidgeoning damage. Santa telekinetically launches a Gnome ata target, within range. Crown of Domination. Santa attempts to lock eyes and control the mind of a creature within sight. Target must make a DC15 Charisma saving throw, on a failed save target s forced to take an attack, move or asa cantpatataget of Santa's Belly Blow. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 5ft, (2410+6) bludgeoning damage. Santa ‘wobbles his belly like a bow full of jell. then smashes it into a target. Cloak Swirl. Santa may disengage with a switl of his cloak and reappear instantly at any empty square within 20ft. OLp ONE's AVATAR Huge abberation, lawful evil Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 116 Speed 40ft (teleport) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (42) 10 (40) 14 (42) 22 (45) 22 (+5) 22 (45) Damage Immunities Psychic Condition Immunities blinded, paralyzed, prone, stunned Skills Perception +10 Senses passive Perception 20, truesight 120ft Languages Undercommon, Telepathy 120%, Deep Speech Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Weak Ties to This World. The Crown of Domination (whilst unworn) may be targeted with spell or melee attacks (AC12). Dealing 40hp of. damage will destroy the crown and banish the Old (One's Avatar immediately. Legendary Resistance. Twice per day, upon falling a saving throw, he may instead choose to succeed. Legendary Action. Once per round, afteran ‘opponent's tum, the Avatar may attempt to Dominate a target within 60% Target must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be forced to take a single movement, attack or cantrip action, —— Actions Multiattack The Avatar takes two of the below ‘Actions per turn (may use the sare Action twice) Psychic Tentacle Reach Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15ft, (2d6+4) psychic damage. On successful attack, target must make a DC12 Dexterity saving throw, on a failed save target is prone and takes 144 psychic damage at the start Of their next turn and again until upright. Telekinesis. This spell may function as per the Mage Hand cantrip, though capable of lifting up to 200} of weight up to a distance of 60ft. It may also be used as a ranged spell to lft a player into the ar or throw the against an object (OC14 Intelligence saving throw) at which point they will fall and take 446 damage (Dexterity save for half) Twist Reality. The Avatar makes a duplicated image of itself (may be repeated to make, 4, 8, 16 copies) at any square within 30ft Roll wth even chance to determine which image is the eal Avatar and whichis the image. A DC14 Perception check, damaging the correct Avatar or the correct Avatar taking a (non-legendary) Action will end the ilusionScENE 6: CONCLUSION Effectively the endings up to the players. They've now got several very evi routes to creating any item they ike, and disributing thousands of copies ofthat item to anywhere in the world, Accepting the power ofthe Old One should not come without consequences, so fel free to make this as poisoned a chalice as you se fi. ‘They also have the option for redemption, and if they help, Santa they can save Wintermas, but ify our play rs do evil anything like mine, Santa is probably dead and tortured, whilst the players are leading an army of 10,000 flaming dread steeds into the sunset, ‘A few suggestions for how this could play out ar suggested below. REFUSE THE OFFER, KILL THE AVATAR, LEAVE SANTA ALIVE AND WELL ‘Senta will be grateful, his intention willbe to destroy the crown, and the thrall cookies that he has been setting up to send, instead hell persuade the the gnomes to make normal toys and sweets, as equals, not slaves. Wintermas has been saved! He wil resist evil plans and fight the players ifthey attempt any thing ofthe sort TAKE THE OFFER, WEAR THE CROWN OF DOMINATION WITH THE AVATAR ALIVE The player will uin the ability to control minds (see Appendix), but be immediately under the control ofthe Old One, whose first imperative is killing Sant (no save). tthe players achieve this, they must make a DCI6 Charisma saving throw immediately, then again cach time they attempt to use the crown and upon waking each day. (On a failed save, the erown compels them to carry out a course of action for 24 hours, broadly to start a cult andr enslave the ‘world, and-1 is permanently added to the save DC. The crown cannot be removed without killing the player. REFUSE THE OFFER, KILL THE AVATAR, THEN WEAR THE GROWN ANYWAY ‘The player will feoly gain the ability to control minds, including the room full o gnomes who can duplicate and teleport items once, and Santa if hei stil alive (players ae immune to the effet having just defeated the Old One's Avatar but get a sense the crow is drawing strength ftom them. After (1410) days the (Old One compulsion returns, following save rules above. KIL SANTA The item copying gnomes will be terrified and attempt to fle. They will not assist the players in any way unless compelled, {for example through an extremely high DC persuasion check. If proof of death is taken to the Grinch he wll provide any itera within reasonable character knowledge / imagination, no greater than 58x58 in size. The Grinch cannot create sentient beings but can ereatea mindless construct in the manner ofa golem, FULFIL THE BRIEF AND RETURN TO HarpyJoy The players may return to Happy Joy should they wish, and they willbe paid the 750gbounty, and may negotiate for an extra 250g each if they have also killed Santa, WE'RE PUTTING THE CROWN ON OUR PET DOG / REINDEER/ DAVE'S HEAD. If the Avatars alive and the players choose not to wear the crown themselves i'l attempt to kill them. If they kill the Avatar the erown may be freely removed until (110) days have passed. Whoever or whatever wears the crown will uickly use it to try and full their character avals, the Paindeer are prideful and will force others to worship it and bring it food, the Grinch will force everyone out of his way and get his tribe back. In any case the consequences should not be pleasant.APPENDIX: CROWN Crown oF Domination Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement) This erown is ofa simple spiked desig, it appears to be cut {rom dark stone, but is surprisingly light. The crown has up to 4 charges, ad (Id) are restored daily at dawn, Whilst wearing it you may expend a charge to dominate the mind ofa single Powerful erature, or multiple weaker eeatures within & 1008 radius. Dominate. You may telepathically suggest a single, simple course of action, which the dominated subjects) will follow to the best oftheir ability, persisting even if this action causes harm. to themselves or others. The suggested course of action ca continue forthe entire duration Ifthe suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the effect ends when the subject Finishes what it was asked to do, You may specify conditions, for example; "You will atack the frst non-human to walk through that door” ‘Single target. You may target a single creature within range. If the target isa creature with a CR of S or higher, or 8 player character with 5 or more levels of experience, the target must rake & DC16 Charisma saving throw, On a failed save the target is dominated for up to 24 hours. On a successful save the own has no effect and they are immediately aware ofthe attempt to influence them, ‘Multiple targets. You may target any number of creatures within ange, each with an individual CR of 4 or ower, or ‘multiple player characters each with 4 or fewer levels of| experience. These weaker targets are immediately dominated for up to I year. They have no save vs. the effect and are unaware of the souree of their compulsion, Curse. Upon suggesting a course of ection, the wearer must rake & Charism saving throw, inthe fist instance with a DC of 15, On cach failed save their suggestion may be altered (as subtly or overtly as the GM chooses) to further the aims ofthe item's original creator, and the save DC permanently increases by 1 for this wearer. Upon reaching DC20, the crown may only be removed by the wearers death. Remove Curse has no effet APPENDIX: LooT Boots oF TELEPORTATION Wondrous item, rare Once per day a8 a bonus action you may speak a command word tormake these boots teleport to any space within 60. You do ‘ot move with them, Horn oF Invisipinity Wondrous item, rare (Once per day you may blow this horn to become invisible, You ‘ust Gontinic blowing the hoen to remain ivi It canbe fearé within a 3008 rads BRASSIERE OF ETERNAL FLAME Wondrous item, rare This item ig continually aflame and cannot be extinguished. IL appears to bea set of racy underwear Har oF Discourse SELF Wondrous item, rare Once per day this hat can cast disguise self The ha chooses when and what changes to RING oF Beast TURNING Wondrous item, rare (Once per day you may speak e command word totum a sin er day you may sp ge trast will slowly rotate an the spat until it is facing 180 degrees inthe opposite crccon, 2 ScroLt oF Mass Conruston Wondrous tem, rare This magical scroll appears to be very powerful It reqites a CSO Ineligencechesk to decipher” z: WAND oF Mactc DETECTION Wondrous tem, rare The gem atop this magial wand glows orange when a magical ian wat SUR, This nluds tecAPPENDIX: FROSTHOLD This isthe biggest town in the region, but that isn’t saying mach, It’s acieular walled town atop a hill, with four gates; North, East, South and West, Heading towards the centre there's a small square where most of the action seems to be happening. A bard sings Wintermas carols whilst locals and guardsmen are watching trans fined. Around the square there’s a Blacksmith that is also a Leatherworker, a combined general store and tavern on the comer with the windows covered up, and a Temple of Helm. There are also a few merchants selling their wares from stalls near the centre of town, including an alchemist, a jeweller and afew tradesmen selling Wintermas trees and Wintermas treats ‘You know this as @ tough town with a tough reputation, today though there's a generally happy hubbub as people go about their Wintermas preparations, The smell ofrossting meat and chestnuts fills the ait Usually this is a town full of gruff Northen workers; the work here is hard and the conditions unforgiving. The primary business hunting, collecting and processing bone and ivory for Hlappyloy's toys. Whilst everyone has a rough Northern accent, almost everyone the players pass today is like a "gee golly, mister’ Disney character, they'll talk about how happy and joyous they are on this ‘one day of the year where they can forget about the donkey blight, the pain pox, the bandit attacks and the constant fear. People may mention how glad they are for their miraculous presents, and how great itis that nothing bad has ever happened to Santa, OPTIONAL VIGNETTES Tiny Tom As they enter the general shop, an incredibly small human with 2 broken legand makeshift crutch is counting out copper pieces very slowly to pay forthe smallest pigeon available. Hel keep dropping his change and getting the price wrong. The players cant be served until this ends, Bic Crowssy ‘The bard here is singing with an incredible voice, and a group of guards and locals are watching transfixed. There’ large bat filled tothe brim with mixed coins (180gp) for the local orphanage and it doesnt look like anyone is watching it. Canby FROM A BABY ‘You see a mother negotiating fora Wintermas tree ata side-of- the-road vendor, her baby is next to her in ahasket, wrapped up warm and happily unwrapping. huge lollipop. It looks like a very tasty lollipop, POINTS OF INTEREST Mrcwart C HAMMER's SMITHY AND TANNER AA small bt well-stocked shop selling standard Armory gear Michael sells all simple and martial weapons and armor within reason at standard price rocks (Id4) +1 weapons at considerable cost (750gp) ina socure cabinet. Anything worth over 100gp is Alarmed. Tue Lecrtimate Business TAVERN AND STORE This large single storey buildinghas a bar and a small shop counter where the players may purchase aleohol, food, drinks, rations and adventuring gear ‘With successful check, e Thieves Cantor perception + persuasion, players may fence stolen items and can access a hack room with a black market catalogue, includinga selection of sketchy items; + Bear trap. (DC14 Dex save or prone, advantage to target if thrown) (S0gp) + Blade poison, (1d6 damage, 3 applications) (100~p) ‘+ Flashbang. (single target, thrown as rangod attack, disadv next attack) (50gp) + Knife boots. (adv on climbing, bonus action attack for 1d damage, -5A move) (50gp) + Klaxon-bomb. (distraction, 608 range, DC14 Wisdom saves) (S0gp) ‘+ Darkvision goggles. (gant darkvision, bonus action to activate) (100) + Cloak of Stealth (adv. on stealth checks) (750sp) + Serott of haste (500g) + Scroll of invisibility (5000) Bos’s BARGAIN BOTTLES Sells a small selection of sealed potions, unlabelled. Has 10 in stock. Al are 5Ogp. Some are alcohol, few are poison, some are useful. Rll (146) for contents. 1 = poison 2~ foul liquid 3 -aleohol 4 ~ common potion, (healing, climbing or darkvision) 5~ uncommon potion, (gascous form, greater healing) 6 rare potion, (potion of fire Breath, frost gant strength) Marvo's MiRAcULOUS MAGICAL MEDALLIONS Sells various gems at (PHB price +20%) and a range of amulets for 100g which have minor magical effects. Rel (1d6) for effect. 1- granting advantage on performance (dance) checks 2- ranting an impressive moustache 3- making hair billow dramatically 4 one weekly charge of message S- lowering voice pitch significantly 6- one weckly charge of thaumaturgy TeMPLe oF HELM ‘An altar ere holds 1 potion of healing holy water and a donation box which is very full of coin today (250gp Cota. ‘The priests here ean cast clri spells up to Level 3, for (100gp per spel evel)hi » EONS Sear .. SWINTERMASINTRODUCTION his story isa Christmas-themed one shot designed and balanced for aparty of five characters at level 5, It is an EvilNeutral scenario intended to be run in isolation; through this. scenario the players may receive opportunities ‘which would entirely derail s longer planned campaign This adventure is balanced and designed around the Sth edition ruleset (for which Basic Rules are available free online), but for your ease of adaptation is not tied in to a specific world, It takes place in the broad medieval fantasy setting, in and around a cold, Norther arca PREMISE The players are hired by a morally suspect toy company to infiltrate Santa's Workshop. They will be generously paid to ‘Find out how he distributes toys + Stealiisable the means if possible + (Bonus) Kill Santa WoRLD BACKGROUND The world is not a happy place. A trip to the countryside means being tom apart by a pack of monsters. A good month means only one or two villagers have died painfully. “Being ft nd healthy’ means you still have half your working teeth. It's perhaps not surprising that chen here are tough, cynical little buggers. ‘Ask any kid if Santa is real and they’! laugh at you before they steal your coin purse, “ofcourse not The parents, however, know better. ‘Wintermas has always been a day of celebration, a day to ssther round the fire to drink and eat but the presents ere a mystery. Not long ag, beautiful litte toys, sweets and cookies started appearing in every house aross the land, all labelled from Santa’. Every Wintermas morning, without fil. Most people love these presents and accept it as a blessing, but there are others who see competition, SETTING THE SCENE It's the night before Wintermas. You're huddled inthe large stone archway of tall and narrow S-storey tower. The wind howls past and thick snow obscures your view beyond afew metres. A discrete bras sign on the door advertises. HarpyJoy Toy anp Tosacco Company NorTHERN REGION HEADQUARTERS FROSTHOLD . ‘Your interview is nS minutes time, and it appears fom the small, crowd gathered [the other assemble players] that you're not the conly one who has been selected for this job. What would you like todo?ScENE 1: HappyJoy Toy AND TOBACCO COMPANY RECEPTION Motivational posters and adverts for dubiously virtuous Happyoy products line the walls, An adver fora teddy bear ‘that really smokes! catches the eye. A bored looking receptionist {using slate tablet and chalk. + The receptionist is uninterested in small talk and unimpressed by any of the players. She will take names and classes (players to describe themselves) and give them ‘Hi, My Name ls. nnatne badges. Once all given out, the players are directed though into a lift (pulled by tear. (of gnomes who make elevator sounds) to the top floor QuenTIN HarpyJoy's Orrice A large painted portrait of «smiling man in a purple suit holding bunch of colourful balloons takes up most ofthe right wall, a small plague underneath it reads, Quentin Hapryjoy SENTOR Founper, Harpyjoy FaMtty Toy Co ‘The far wall of the room is entirely taken up by alge window through which you can only see snow blowing pas, The only item of furniture is a dark mabogany desk holding a neat stack of parchment, a magical Newton's Cradle and a slate tablet In front of you isthe geyest man you have ever seen Oe re This is Quentin Happyjoy junior, corporate businessman before his time. He'll briefly interview the players fora little RP introduction then provides a short summary of the quest. He skits over the element ofkiling Santa, instead describing thoroughly achieving your PIs! He'll explain they've sent scouts to Santa's home at the North Pole, but none have retumed and they've only received the briefest notes by sending stone; the entrance lies in a glacial crevasse, there are patrolling flying, Creatures, enchanted holly barbed wire and candy mins along the top something unclear about no man's lan Hel give each player 250g payment upfront and a further 750g each on completion. Hell warn that if they run withthe pre- payment, he'll place the 750g as a bounty on their heads. The encounter ends with the players offered an hourto collec any items they need; directed to the nearby town square (optional; see Appendix) to then return and be teleported to the North Pole by Quentin's Corporate Mages. To return, they are given an enchanted snowglobe which they may smash to create a temporary portal (1 minute) to Frosthold,ScENE 2: THE NorTH POLE APPROACH ‘As you land in a flash of ight, your first view is of snow and ice, ‘As you look up an icy plan stretches out infront of you, a bitter 3 full wind is howling i's dark but your way is lt by the stars, ‘moon, and an ineredible aurora above, About a kilometre in front of you, a hug elif of ice stretches hundreds of metres into the air. A wide, jagged crevasse cuts into its face. You can see many figures inthe distance in front of the opening, but none appear to be moving. pie ‘There are approximately 50 figures in neat tows, On close inspection they are snowmen, Askill check from the players reveals that Whilst most are just vague lumps of snow, three close to the crevasse entrance appear to be more distinct. The players may attempt to sneak past, but this will be very difficult. IFthey don’t manage, or they ignore this entirely, the largest snowman will greet ther, The top ofthe ice clffis essentially impassable, its patrolled by flying creatures {ee Paindeer) and strewn with traps. —————______, ‘You notice the largest ofthe figures begin to shift as you approach, it turns to face you and you see it has coal eyes, a curt nose, three blue gems in a lise down its chest and two arms carved alongits sides, It appears to smile wide He will introduce himself as ‘Frosty’ and will not be immediately hostile to the players. He'll happily greet them and tell them that Wintermas is tomorrow, they'll have to wait for their presents! He has two sidekick animated snowmen who are near to him but not immediately apparent amongst the decoys without having been searched for specificaly, or with a successful C18 perception check. He will encourage the players to leave and not spoil the magic of Wintermas. iFthey donot leave quickly, it's time to roll initiative. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN Large construct, neutral Armor Class 12 (natural armor) Hit Points 78 Speed 40ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 961) 18 (+4) 12 (61) 10 (+0) 8(1) Damage Immunities Cold Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 13, darkvision 60ft Languages Common Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Berserk. Fa companion is killed, Frosty goes berserk. On each of ts turns while berserk, it attacks the nearest creature it can see, making an extra headbutt attack (+7 to hit, 108 bludgeoning, damage) in addition to Double Swipe Weakness to Fire. If Frosty takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn Actions Multiattack. Frosty can use Double Swipe and Chilling Ray on its turn, Double Swipe. Melee Weapon Attack: Two attacks with +7 to hit, reach 5ft, (1d10+4) damage plus (146) cold damage. Chilling Ray. (3 charges) Frosty targets one Creature it can see within 30 feet of it The target must succeed on aDC13 Constitution saving throw against this magic or ake (346) cold damage and be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its tums. Taking any fire damage will end the effect, immediately. successful, or the effect ends, the target is immune to Chilling Ray for 1 hour. Snow Meld. As a bonus action, ifon ice or snow terrain the Snowman may disengage from any adjacent targets and meld into the ground, reappearing instantly at any space within 40ftPee a + Ifthe players have already noticed the two sidekicks, they will immediately start the fight with Frosty, otherwise add them to the initiative track and they will attempt a surprise attack (with advantage) on the players closest to then atthe start of their tum, ANIMATED SNOWMAN Medium construct, neutral Armor Class 12 (natural armor) Hit Points 41 Speed 40ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 9 (1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 8 (1) Damage Immunities Cold Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 13, darkvision 60ft Languages Common Challenge 3 (700 XP) Weakness to Fire. Ifthe snowman takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn, Brothers in Arms. The snowman has advantage ‘on an attack rll against a creature if at least one of its allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated Actions. Double Swipe. Melee Weapon Attack: Two attacks with +6 to hit reach Sft, (1d8+4) damage plus (1d6) cold darnage. Snow Meld, As a bonus action, ifon ice or snow terrain the Snowman may disengage from any adjacent targets and meld into the ground, reappearing instantly at any space within 40ftSCENE 3: CAVERN OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS APPROACH As you step into the crevasse, you see along passage before you, starting wide and tapering to a point from which a dim gow emanates. Whilst itis mostly dark, oating ethereal Wintermas Lanterns illuminate patches ofthe path. Takinga step forward, the sound ofthe howling wind becomes mafed. I's replaced by ‘far more ominous sound, a deep, low rumbling a if the ice were moving A chip ofie falls from above and you see shadowy shapes Aying overhead, they don’t appear to heve spotted you The ice walls, however, are moving very slowly together. You need £0 hhury, and would guess you've not got long before this cavern closes entirely. ae a _ Sy This section isa race against time set piece. Itcan be run in several ways to suit your group. ‘+ A seties of stealth checks running through the cavern ‘+ Afight with an actual physi {64,3 minutes per enemy) + Afight with increasing risk of damage per round (falling ice) ‘+ Asimple fight against the Paindeer with along corridorto get through. limit + Depending on how they're doing, you ray introduce between 1 (easy) and 4 (deadly) Paindeer ‘As you reach thé end of the caver, you can sebwhere the gly is coming from. Through a crackin the ie (about 10 ft wideland 20 0 tal) a gentle light shines and you can see snow falling slowly heyond. It would sem youve found the entranceto Santa's Grotto, PAINDEER Large beast, neutral Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 60 Speed 50ft. flying) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (44) 12 (41) 14 (42) 10 (+0) 12 (41) 8 (1) Damage Immunities Cold (1/2 damage) Skills Perception +5, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 15, darkvision 60ft Languages Common Challenge 3 (700 XP) AAs a Pack. The Paindeer has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of its allies is within 5 feet ofthe creature and the aly isn't incapacitated Actions. Multiattack. The Paindeer uses both Bite and Gore on each attack Bite, Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft, (2d6+4) piercing damage. Gore. Melee Weapon Attack +6 to hit, reach 5ft, (2d6+4) piercing damage. On successful attack, target must make a DC12 Constitution saving throw, on a failed save target bleeds (144) damage at the end of every turn until 1 or more hit points. are restored or an action is spent tending to the wound. Snow Breath (Recharge 5-6). The paindeer cexhales a blast of freezing wind in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC12 Dexterity saving throw, taking (448) cold damage Con a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.ScENE 4: SANTA'S GROTTO ‘As you step through the wall, the scene changes immediately. ‘You're in beautiful caver it with a warm golden light, with gently falling magical snow coming from somewhere high up above you. Snow tipped stalactites and stalagmites rise from the floor and descend from the ceiling, not necessarily in thet order, Striped candy cane picket fence linea stone path which leads forwards toa smal c ‘square dominated by a giant Wintermas tree before spitting into four. The air smels lke peppermint and ‘Above you, a een banner with silver leteringhangs between two stala.. stones. It is written in gnomish. HE KNOWS WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING HE KNOWS WHEN YOU'RE AWAKE, At the end ofthe four short paths, you see three gingerbread houses, and set inthe centre ofthe far wal, a tall stone archway within which the air has a shimmering water-tike quality. They each have tiny signs next to them, which appear to be made from chocolate, with iced [gomish] writing on them. bot er ett tet ret betd + fb +4 $y t4 rs Fss diiatagt teatatatante & Bt tt et tai tterb tes Santa's Cookie Lab (A) Ho Ho Holding Cells (B) ‘Santa's Workshop Portal (C) Paindeer Stables (D) 4_ ee eee Throughout this area, everything is whimsical and magical, but detailed player investigation should be rewarded with hints of comuptn; gingerbread is going mouldy, things look run down, a creeping sense of something sinister If the players search for presents under the trees you may offer joke loot (optional; see Appendix) This is an opportunity fora rest. should the players need to recharge after the previous encounters. If they sleep or nap, they have strange and terifying dreams which they can't remember any detail from upon waking, ‘There doesst appear to be any movement ffom any of the buildings. for now. What would you lke to do? ttestte> eeeA) Santa's CooKIE LaB This soems to be where the delicious smells are coming from, Strange machinery lines the walls ofthis small gingerbread house, and bags of sugar, cinnamon and lots of unknown magical dusts ate piled in boxes and shelves. Seven silver plats lien a row on ‘bench fied tothe far end of the room. Each plate has a small le of cookies on it each witha different iced design This isa logic puzzle (see overleaf), the clue to solving which lies with Dave Grinch in the Holding Cells High DC investigation or detecting magic here will suggest sore of these ingredients are really prety strange.. magical characters rnay determine with a suitable check that they include Brain Stem Fluid and Infused Essence of Consciousness; substances known for their ability to affect peoples minds. If the players are realy struggling, you can allow thern to decipher a recipe scrap to identify one of the ‘bad’ cookies. ns B) Ho Ho Hotpine CELts ‘The door to this building locked, and there are candy cane bars fon the gingrbread window holes. Inside, there isa single cage taking up half ofthe room, it contains a wild-eyed gnome with bright green hai. ‘This is Dave Grinch, prisoner of Santa. He is half-mad, irational and hostile. He hates hrisras ates jy,’ just ot ight, whats he after etc. His tribe are missing, he's followed tracks here and believes i's because of Santa He'll offer the players a deal, if they free him and bring him the head of Santa, hell help them into the workshop and as reward, create ther any item they wish Social challenge tells ther that his tribe of Ice Gnomes are natural artificers, many of ther can duplicate and transport items, but some of them (the tribe leaders) have the ability to create rnatter from energy, in either case, once per year. They ironically see this as a curse, they create presents but hate ther. If pressed about getting into the workshop, or if they accept his offer, he'll give them a riddle aaa Killing him (he will die with a single blow) gives them it on a piece of paper found on his body. C) Santa's WorRKSHOP PoRTAL A pale blue light emanates from this stone archway. The air within it shimmers lke a gently disturbed pool Players may walkthrough the porta, but nothing will happen unless they first eat the correct cookie Investigation reveals cookie crumbs on the floor ee! D) PAINDEER STABLES ‘You can smell hay and a strange sot of chocolate snel coming through the doorway ofthis squat building with wide, open doors Inside you can hear snoring. Looking (stealthily) through the doors the players can see three Paindeer sleeping, and several empty bays. The Paindeer will attack if disturbed. (DC12 Stealth to pass through) They have strange names on their collars [oner, Souvlaki and Gyros] Atthe far end of the stable on a very high shelf they can see a small statue of a Paindeer, with a ruby nose. Detecting magic orjustknowiedge / skill check shows it's a magical item, Appropriate DC16 skill check to retrieve failure initiates combat. + Once they hold the statue, a simple check identifies it as a Wondrous Statue, once per day as a bonus action they can summon Rudolf the Paindeer to aid them, he appears and casts a ray ofred light from his nose, causing (4410) radiant damage to a single target, halfon aDC15 Dexterity save ——_____,COOKIE PUZZLE 0 a The Moon cookie allows passage trough he portal, the Santa Hat cookie provides inspiration. “The Tree, Present and Holly cookies cause the player to be knocked prone and lose (14) Intelligence points ‘To among our number are just plain tasty treats [Bat three of us anll messypu up. cand knock you off your Feet. Choose unless yoa wish to wait here forevermore Co belp goatsn your choice, sae give goa these ckues Four: ‘One Homever slyly the bad ones try tobide ‘You can alexays find one sitting ona plain cookie’ let sek> nn There'sa dif feregce in those stood at either end, Bat then you'resocking to move Formard, nesther Is your friend, ‘Chree. Asgoa see leary, theyre all dhiterent shpes and sizes Bat neither Star por (Door are filled with bad surprises Firmly Uhe scoord left and the second eon theright ‘Arc bina cnce gou tuste them, though different at first sight RRERBVK BAD PLAIN PASS PLAIN BUFF PunieSCENE 5: SANTA'S WORKSHOP This room is huge, Unbelievably huge, I's a giant stone dome, almost alfa mile in diameter, From halfway up the dome, the roofs enchanted to show stars and the aurora above, The same gentle golden light iuminates rows and rows of small stone altars, all pointed to a cccular plinth which is raised up fom the centre of the room. {At each aar, a gnome sits with a frozen smile on their face, staring blank-eyed towards the centre. A wide aisle euts a path through the endless concentric cireles, leading from the portal behind you straight towards the centre. A large sthouette is visible upon the plinth, its back to you, it appears to be a very fat, very tall man, wearing a erown and large, bulky robes. What would you like to do? {As soon as the players move towards the centre ofthe room, the portal will disappear behind them. They may only notice this if they check. They may attempt a stealthy approach but, come on, ths is Santa, He's seen them as soon as they've entered the room, Once they get to within a reasonable range he turns and smiles. er Santa wheels round. His jolly voice booms out Ho Ho Ho.. Hello, children. Wintermas isn't until tomorrow! 7 eS Santa will ‘for presents’ to lure the players to the centre Perception will reveal the portal has closed, ‘Arn for sinister / creepy notes but overall very friendly demeanour. IF they get close enough, or delay for too long, he'll apologise that they're on his naughty list and attempt to possess one of the players. ————E—————EEEee {As Santa locks eyes with you, you feo! an intrusive presence in your mind, Something isnt right. You hear screams and reality The player must make a DC15 Charisma save, failure means this player is now under the Control of Santa, who will initiate combat with the players. Saye (once per turn atthe start of each tur for affected player), breaking Santa's concentration cor damaging the controlled player ends the posession. ————_______, Fail: Darkness fills your vision and madness overwhelms you, Roll for initiative then hand me your character sheet. ‘Success; Through power of will you force the voices to stop. Roll for initiative, ee ee eee Santa's stat block is overleaf. Once a significant portion of Santas original set of health has been depleted (feel free to base on fight difficulty), around a few minutes, maybe a KO and around 2/3 of player resources expended, then Santa falls ‘Santa falls to the ground, unconscious, and his crown falls off ‘The gnomes surrounding suddenly stop, their eyes no longer blank, and cheer goes up around the room. They begin to rush towards the heroie players, They don't get far ‘A ringing, shrieking, metallic sound echoes from the spot where Santa fll, It almost deafens you, i's the sound of a giant suit of plate armor being tom in half by » hundred pairs of metal claws. The air seems to twist and shatter ia front of you. This is all wrong. The gnomes look panicked and begin runningto the far walls. A ripple of shouts and conversation passes rapidly between them. You catch three words aver the noise, “He is here’. ‘Awrthing monstrosity unravels itself from the fallen crown, its form is hard to distinguish, all black smoke and boiling esh bends space and light as you look at i, shifting in and out of focus ike an optical illusion, at one moment it appears to be rade of tentacles, then a sereaming face, then a grotesque cluster of eyes and sinew, It's somehow all atound you whilst ccupyinga space infront of you. I is utterly terrifying Its voice sounds like a raspy whisper in your ear but hurt as if it were shouting You HAVE INTERRUPTED THE PLAN. WE PREPARE FOR MY ARRIVAL IN THIS WORLD. I SEE Your THOUGHTS WE ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT Jomn Mz AND I wit SPARE You. WEAR THE CROWN. WIELD POWER OVER ALL MINDS The monstrosity shifts and appears tobe closer to you. What would you like to do? Intelligence/History check tells players this is the avatar of an Old One. A challenging foe, but only a portion of the tue God's strength The players may accept its offeror fight it. See final page for options and consequences.SANTA Large humanoid, neutral evil (possessed) Armor Class 15 Hit Points 134 Speed 40ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 24 (47) 10 (40) 22 (+6) 18 (+4) 12 (41) 14 (42) Damage Immunities Cold (1/2 damage) Skills Perception +8 Senses passive Perception 18, Truesight 6Oft Languages Common, Ehish Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Winter's Aura. Cold winds swirl around Santa, any creature starting their turn within 5 feet of Santa takes (1d6) cold damage Legendary Resistance. Twice per day, upon failing a saving throw, Santa may instead choose to succeed. Almost Immortal, Upon reaching 0 hit points, Santa will fall unconscious and the Crown of Domination wil fall fom his head. It may othenwise only be removed by a Remove Curse spell from a 9th level spellcaster. Legendary Action. Once per round, afteran ‘opponent's tum, Santa may choose to use one of his Actions, This does not count towards his two Action total Actions Faster Than He Looks. Santa can use two of the below Actions per turn (cannot use the same ‘Action twice on a single tur Naughty or Nice. Close Burst Spell: each 10ft, (2410) psychic damage to all in range who darnaged Santa in the last tur, (14) healing to all who did not. Gnome Missile, Ranged Weapon Attack +7 to hit, ange 30ft, (246+4) bludgeoning damage. Santa telekinetically launches a Gnome ata target within range. Crown of Domination. Santa attempts to lock eyes and control the mind ofa creature within sight. Target must make a DC15 Charisma saving throw, on a failed save target s forced to take an attack move or asa cantpatataget of Santa's Belly Blow. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 5ft, (2410+6) bludgeoning damage. Santa ‘wobbles his belly like a bow full of jell. then smashes it into a target. Cloak Swirl Santa may disengage with a swirl of his cloak and reappear instantly at any empty square within 20ft. OLp ONE's AVATAR Huge abberation, lawful evil Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 116 Speed 40ft (teleport) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (42) 10 (40) 14 (42) 22 (45) 22 (+5) 22 (45) Damage Immunities Psychic Condition Immunities blinded, paralyzed, prone, stunned Skills Perception +10 Senses passive Perception 20, truesight 120f Languages Undercommon, Telepathy 120%, Deep Speech Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Weak Ties to This World. The Crown of Domination (whilst unworn) may be targeted with spell or melee attacks (AC12). Dealing 40hp of. damage will destroy the crown and banish the Old (One's Avatar immediately. Legendary Resistance. Twice per day, upon falling a saving throw, he may instead choose to succeed. Legendary Action. Once per round, afteran ‘opponent's tum, the Avatar may attempt to Dominate a target within 60%. Target must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be forced to take a single movement, attack or cantrip action, —— Actions Multiattack The Avatar takes two of the below ‘Actions per turn (may use the sare Action twice) Psychic Tentacle Reach Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15ft, (2d6+4) psychic damage. On successful attack, target must make a DC12 Dexterity saving throw, on a failed save target is prone and takes 144 psychic damage at the start Of their next turn and again until upright. Telekinesis. This spell may function as per the Mage Hand cantrip, though capable of lifting up to 200} of weight up to a distance of 60ft It may also be used as a ranged spel to lft a player into the ar or throw then against an object (C14 Intelligence saving throw) at which point they will fall and take 446 damage (Dexterity save for half) Twist Reality. The Avatar makes a duplicated image of itself (may be repeated to make, 4, 8, 16 copies) at any square within 30ft Roll wth even chance to determine which image is the eal Avatar and whichis the image. A DC14 Perception check, damaging the correct Avatar or the correct Avatar taking a (non-legendary) Action will end the ilusionScENE 6: CONCLUSION Effectively the endings up to the players. They've now got several very evi routes to creating ny item they ike, and disributing thousands of copies ofthat item to anywhere inthe world, Accepting the power ofthe Old One should not come without consequences, so fel free to make this as poisoned a chalice as you se fi. ‘They also have the option for redemption, and if they help, Santa they can save Wintermas, but ify our play rs do evil anything like mine, Santa is probably dead and tortured, whilst the players are leading an army of 10,000 flaming dread steeds into the sunset, ‘A few suggestions for how this could play out ar suggested below. REFUSE THE OFFER, KILL THE AVATAR, LEAVE SANTA ALIVE AND WELL ‘Senta will be ratfl, his intention willbe to destroy the crown, and the thrall cookies that he has been setting up to send, instead hell persuade the the gnomes to make normal toys and sweets, as ‘equals, not slaves. Wintermas has been saved! He will resist evil plans and fight the players ifthey attempt any thing ofthe sort TAKE THE OFFER, WEAR THE CROWN OF DOMINATION WITH THE AVATAR ALIVE The player will uin the ability to control minds (see Appendix), but be immediately under the control ofthe Old One, whose fist imperative is killing Santa (no save). tthe players achieve this, they must make a DCI6 Charisma saving throw immediately, then again cach time they attempt to use the crown and upon waking each day (On a failed save, the erown compels them to carry out a course cof action for 24 hours, broadly to start a cult andr enslave the world, and-1 is permanently added to the save DC. The crown cannot be removed without killing the player. REFUSE THE OFFER, KILL THE AVATAR, THEN WEAR THE GROWN ANYWAY ‘The player will fcoly gain the ability to control minds, including the room full o gnomes who can duplicate and teleport items once, and Santa ihe i stil alive (players are immune to the effet having just defeated the Old One's Avatar but get a sense the crown is drawing strength ftom them. After (1410) days the (ld One compulsion returns, following save rules above. Kit SANTA The item copying gnomes will be terrified and attempt to fle. They will not assist the players in any way unless compelled, {for example through an extremely high DC persuasion check. If proof of death is taken to the Grinch he will provide any itera within reasonable character knowledge / imagination, n0 greater than Sfx 58 in size. The Grinch cannot create sentient beings but can ereatea mindless construct in the manner ofa golem, FULFIL THE BRIEF AND RETURN TO HarpyJoy The players may return to Happy Joy should they wish, and they willbe paid the 750gbounty, and may negotiate for an extra 250g each if they have also killed Santa, WE'RE PUTTING THE CROWN ON OUR PET. DOG / REINDEER/ DAVE'S HEAD. If the Avatar is alive and the players choose not to wear the crown themselves i'l attempt to kill them. If they kill the Avatar the erown may be freely removed until (110) days have passed. Whoever or whatever wears the crown will uickly use it to try and fulfil their character evals, the Paindeer are prideful and will force others to worship i and bring it food, the Grinch will force everyone out of his way and get his tribe back, In any case the consequences should not be pleasant.APPENDIX: CROWN Crown oF Domination Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement) This crown is ofa simple spiked desig, it appears to be cat {rom dark stone, but is surprisingly light. The crown has up to 4 charges, and (1d) are restored daily at dawn, Whilst wearing it you may expend a charge to dominate the mind ofa single Powerful erature, or multiple weaker eeatures within & 1008 radius. Dominate. You nay telepathically suggest a single, simple course of action, which the dominated subjects) will follow to the best oftheir ability, persisting even if this action causes harm. to themselves or others. The suggested course of action can continue forthe entire duration Ifthe suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the effect ends when the subject Finishes what it was asked to do, You may specify conditions, for example; "You will atack the frst non-human to walk through that door”. ‘Single target. You may target a single creature within range. If the target isa creature with a CR of S or higher, or @ player character with 5 or more levels of experience, the target must rake & DC16 Charisma saving throw, On a failed save the target |s dominated for up to 24 hours. On a successful save the own has no effect and they are immediately aware ofthe attempt to influence them. ‘Multiple targets. You may target any number of creatures within range, each with an individual CR of 4 or ower, or ‘multiple player characters each with 4 or fewer levels of experience. These weaker targets are immediately dominated for up to I year. They have no save vs. the effect and are unaware of the source of their compulsion, Curse. Upon suggesting a course of ection, the wearer must make « Charisma saving throw, inthe first instance with a DC of 15, On cach failed save their suggestion may be altered (as subtly or overtly as the GM chooses) to further the aims ofthe item's original creator, and the save DC permanently increases by 1 for this wearer. Upon reaching DC20, the crown may only be removed by the wearers death. Remove Curse has no effet APPENDIX: LOOT Boots oF TELEPORTATION Wondrous tem, rare Once per day a8 a bonus action you may speak a command word tormake these boots teleport to any space within 60" You do rot move with them, Horn oF InvisiBiLity Wondrous item, rare nee per day you may blow this hor to become invisible, You ‘ust Continue blowing the hoen to remain ivi It canbe ear within 5007 rai. BRASSIERE OF ETERNAL FLAME Wondrous item, rare This item ig continually aflame and cannot be extinguished. IL appears to bea set of racy underwear, Har oF Discourse SELF Wondrous item, rare Once per day this hat can cast disguise self The ha chooses shes andwhattebmger fan ues RING oF Beast TURNING Wondrous item, rare ‘Once per day you may speak « command word totum a single bast Tt will slowly rotate an the spat until it is facing 180 degrees inthe opposite circeon, 2 ScRoLt oF Mass ConFuston Wondrous tem, rare “This magical scroll appears to be very povverful It reqites a DCSO Ineligenee ches to decipher” z: WAND oF Mactc DETECTION Wondrous tem, rare The gem atop this magia wand glows orange when a magical fang wath SU8, Ths nelaesneci =APPENDIX: FROSTHOLD ‘This is the biggest town in the region, but that isn’t saying mach, It’s acireular walled town atop a hill, with four gates; North, ast, South and West, Heading towards the centre there's a small square where most of the action seems to be happening. A bard sings Wintermas carols whilst locals and guardsmen are watching trans ined. Around the square there’s a Blacksmith that is also a Leatherworker, a combined general store and tavern on the comer with the windows covered up, and a Temple of Helm. There are also a few merchants selling their wares ftom stalls near the centre of town, including an alchemist, a jeweller and afew tradesmen selling Wintermas trees and Wintermas treats ‘You know this as @ tough town with a tough reputation, today though there's a generally happy hubbub as people go about their Wintermas preparations, The smell ofrossting meat and chestnuts fills the at Usually this is a town full of gruff Northern workers; the work here is hard and the conditions unforgiving. The primary business hunting, collecting and processing bone and ivory for Hlappyloy's toys. Whilst everyone has a rough Northern accent, almost everyone the players pass today is lke a "gee golly, mister’ Disney character, they'll talk about how happy and joyous they are on this ‘one day of the year where they can forget about the donkey blight, the pain pox, the bandit attacks and the constant fear. People may mention how glad they are for their miraculous presents, and how great itis that nothing bad has ever happened to Santa, OPTIONAL VIGNETTES Tiny Tom As they enter the general shop, an incredibly small human with 2 broken legand makeshift crutch is counting out copper pieces very slowly to pay forthe smallest pigeon available. He keep dropping his change and getting the price wrong. The players cant be served until his ends, Bic Crowssy ‘The bard here is singing with an incredible voice, and a group of guards and locals are watching transfixed, There’ large bat filled tothe brim with mixed coins (180gp) for the local orphanage and it doesnt look like anyone is watching it. Canby FROM A BABY ‘You see a mother negotiating fora Wintermas tree ata side-of- the-road vendor, her baby is next to her in ahasket, wrapped up warm and happily unwrapping. huge lollipop. It looks like a very tasty lollipop, POINTS OF INTEREST MrcHart C HAMMER's SMITHY AND TANNER AA small bt well-stocked shop selling standard Armory gear Michael sells all simple and martial weapons and armor within reason at standard price rocks (Id4) +1 weapons at considerable cost (750gp) ina socure cabinet. Anything worth over 100gp is Alarmed. Tue Lecrtimate Business TAVERN AND STORE This large single storey building has a bar and a small shop counter where the players may purchase aleohol, food, drinks, rations and adventuring gat ‘With successful check, e Thieves Cantor perception + persuasion, players may fence stolen items and can access aback room with a black market catalogue, includinga selection of sketchy items; + Bear trap. (DCI4 Dex save or prone, advantage to target if thrown) (S0gp) + Blade poison, (1d6 damage, 3 applications) (100¢p) ‘+ Flashbang. (single target, thrown as rangod attack, disady next attack) (50gp) + Knife boots. (adv on climbing, bonus action attack for 1d damage, -5A move) (50gp) + Klaxon-bomb, (distraction, 608 range, DC14 Wisdom saves) (S0gp) ‘+ Darkvision goggles. (gant darkvision, bonus action to activate) (100) + Cloak of Stealth (adv. on stealth checks) (750s) + Serott of haste (500g) + Scroll of invisibility (5003p) Bos’s BARGAIN BOTTLES Sells a small selection of sealed potions, unlabelled. Has 10 in stock. Al are 5Ogp. Some are alcohol, few are poison, some are useful. Roll (146) for contents. 1 = poison 2— foul liquid 3 -aleohol 4 ~ common potion, (healing, climbing or darkvision) 5~ uncommon potion, (gascous form, greater healing) 6 ~ rare potion, (potion of fire breath, frost ant strength) Marvo's MiRAcULOUS MAGICAL MEDALLIONS Sells various gems at (PHB price ~20%) and a range of amulets for 100g» which have minor magial effets. Roll (1d6) for effect. 1- granting advantage on performance (dance) checks 2- ranting an impressive moustache 3- making hair billow dramatically 4 one weekly charge of message S- lowering voice pitch significantly 6- one weckly charge of thaumaturgy TeMPLe oF HELM ‘An altar here holds 1 potion of healing holy water and a donation box which is very full of coin today (250gp Cota. ‘The priests here ean cast clri spells up to Level 3, for (100gp per spel evel)