AWAITING COVER

Gelatinous Gifts
Keys of Wonder Lore Guide
HKG W P G is a holiday-themed adven-
ture that tasks the party with escorting a lost
young slime called Cubert back to his home in
the Radiant Caverns. Reuniting Cubert with
his “slime mother” will ensure that he inherits
the important role as the new alpha slime.
Furthermore, it will spare the humble town of
Rockhearth from destruction, as a slime-poach-
ing villain named Wert Wallach vies to disrupt
the holiday festival - and eliminate all of the
slimes in the process! intention of being a mining town, but as efforts
were made to tunnel underground, the resi-
dents soon discovered that an entire ecosystem
Rockhearth of slimes and oozes called the depths home.
In the following years, a distant peace was
made between societies, strengthened by the
Rockhearth is located in the far northwestern fact that the slimes released nutrients into the
mountain passages of the Greenwold, between soil at the end of their life-cycles. This turned
Stonefast and Esker, near a system of caverns Rockhearth into an unexpected farming town
called The Luminous Caverns. When running despite the cold climate.
the adventure, the GM may replace the Radiant Sixty-seven years ago, Rockhearth’s mayor
Caverns with this location. - a dwarf woman named Aya Hillsunder - or-
Founded by dwarves eighty years ago, ganized the first winter solstice festival. Its
Rockhearth was initially constructed with the purpose was to celebrate their iconic harvests

GPK HW
G WK P
KH G
For more information on this adventure, the Greenwold, and
the rest of the Dungeon in a Box campaign, check out our site:

K trtsWPGK
Written by Chad Skiles. Edited by David Crennen.
Dungeon In A Box is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Wiz-
ards of the Coast® or Hasbro®. Dungeons & Dragons®, and D&D®
are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast®.

2
during the harsh winters, and to spread thank-
fulness to all beings - in all forms, and from all
walks of life. The townsfolk would decorate
Rockhearth’s square with holly and bells, ex-
change gifts, and leave freshly-baked treats
out for the slime residents of the nearby caves
to consume - as a small gesture of thanks for
the gift they bestowed on Rockhearth.
The event became an instant hit. The tra-
dition has persisted undauntingly, attracted
travelers from near and far who wish to partake
in the merriment - a night filled with copious
drink, song, and good cheer.
However, for the first time ever, a series of
unfortunate events has brought the wonderful
Rockhearth Solstice Festival into jeopardy at
the start of KPWGH . The party will
need to rise to the occasion, or the festival
will be cancelled and the town itself could be
destroyed!
The Radiant Caverns
Slimes are a strange and ancient variety of
creature. Even among the most impassioned
scholars, few claim to know when their spe-
cies settled in the subterranean depths of the
Greenwold. The slimes native to the Radiant
Caverns settled there ages before the humble
town was built upon the surface above.
The caverns’ structure and pathways have
changed drastically - albeit gradually - over the
years, as the slimes have dissolved the rock
away with their innate abilities. As occasional
explorers would venture into the caves, the
mostly-reclusive slimes would recede deeper
into the depths, creating new openings, narrow
tunnels, and natural slides (like the one that
appears in the adventure).
Prolonged exposure to the radiative auras
and fumes within the caves can imbue non-ooz-
es with temporary abilities, such as the ooze
durability trait.
Holiday Traditions
A number of holiday traditions have
developed since the first winter solstice
celebration. For many Rockhearthians,
the highlight is exchanging gifts - espe-
cially warm treats. For some local bak-
ers, the competition can be fierce! The
townsfolk are also fond of decorating
the town with bouquets of fragrant sage,
holly, and rosemary clusters, tied togeth-
er with bows. Children look forward to a
sleigh ride, pulled by oxen that plow the
bewitchingly-bountiful fields. Some of the
radishes grow so large, that the tradition
has emerged of carving them into figures
and dioramas! These often depict friend-
ship and togetherness, and are put on
display by the residents’ homes. And last,
but not least, there is the strong tradition
of music. Bells of all sizes and pitches can
be heard jingling during the solstice’s
celebration. The town’s Chorale is renown
for its moving performances, as explained
further in Alternate Plot Hook.
Ooze Durability
After spending ten consecutive hours within
the Radiant Caverns, there is a 30% chance
that a character acquires the following trait:
For the next 48 hours, your flesh is
malleable and ooze-like. It is indistin-
guishable from your original appearance
unless one of the abilities are activated.
• You may squeeze through narrow
passageways as small as 6-inches wide.
• 1/day - When you are damaged with a
melee attack from an enemy within 10 ft.
of you, you may use your reaction to halve
the damage, and deal 3d6 acid damage to
the attacker.
3
 Wert Walach
An adventurer and Rockhearth native named
Wert Walach once ventured into the Radiant
Caverns seven years ago, with hopes of finding
treasure and stories worthy of sharing over a
pint of ale. Impulsive and violent by nature,
Wert pushed his companions to clear out any
slime creatures in their path, and to find how
deep the caverns go.
However, his party was eventually over-
whelmed. They had peaked the hostility among
the slimes - ordinarily defensive creatures. As
they made a desperate retreat, Wert was the
only survivor. He watched his companions be
engulfed by a massive slime creature: a “slime
mother.”
Wert spent subsequent weeks sulking in
the local taverns, mourning his loss. However,
the sadness gave way to anger, and anger to an
insatiable fury. Wert retired from adventuring,
and began running “Wert’s Wares,” a shop sell-
ing potions.
In his spare time, Wert began plotting a
scheme for ultimate revenge: to slay the slime
mother and become a being even more pow-
erful than it. His workshop became the base
for his experimental brews, made using slime
harvested from the caverns.
Each year, during the Solstice Festival,
Wert has acted as a reliably scrooge-like pres-
ence, who curses the slimes - and his fellow
townsfolk for celebrating them as amicable
neighbors. “Foolish to trust creatures whose
only purpose is to liquify all it touches!” Wert
would bark. At times, after one-too-many ales,
he would shout warnings at the town square.
He warned that the slimes were no friends to
humanfolk, and that one day they would turn
on them all!
During the events of GELATINOUS GIFTS,
Wert believes his so-called prophecy has come
true, and it has motivated him to see his twisted
plot for revenge come to fruition!
4
Wert’s Wares Discoveries
During the adventure, the party may
investigate Wert’s potion shop. The
GM may add these optional discover-
ies there.
• In Wert’s private office, there is a locked
chest. It requires a DC 14 Dexterity
(Sleight of Hand) check to unlock it.
• Laying atop the chest is a quiver
of crossbow bolts that deal double
damage to all creatures with the ooze
type.
• Inside, there is a journal that recounts
the story of his forming adventuring
party falling to the slimes of the Radiant
Caverns, and Wert’s subsequent hatred
for their species.
GP A
H
The GM may use the following as an alternate
plot hook for GELATINOUS GIFTS, if playing
along with the Keys of Wonder campaign
setting. This information could be presented
in-person whenever the party returns to
Maestro Hewert’s tower, as a flashback, or as
a message sent to the party via courier or some
other means.
Read or paraphrase the following:
Maestro Hewert plays a harmonic melody on
the great calliope. It is rich and complex - upbeat,
yet moving. He pauses, letting a note ring out.
“Ah,” he says. “‘Feel the Winter’s Warmth’ - the
holiday folk tune of the Rockhearthian Chorale.
Some of the most beautiful music one could
ever hope to hear... especially with their voices
added!” The half-elf stands from the calliope’s
bench, and meanders over toward you, refilling
his tankard with wine.
“You see, their performance at the annual
winter solstice festival is a true wonder! Folks
trek their way through the windy mountains -
sometimes traveling a great distance - just to be
able to shed a tear as they listen. They have such
a strong tradition of practicing, that their choir
can - quite literally - produce a pitch unlike any
other! Marvelous! There is magic in a sound so
beautiful. And so, as I’m sure you’re gathering,
those notes must be recovered, and added to
our grand calliope. I think you’ll quite enjoy
the festival too!” the Hewert says, grinning into
his cup.

When the party arrives in Rockhearth, they

find the festival in danger of being cancelled. If
they succeed by the adventure’s end, they save
the festival. The choir’s performance lives up to
Maestro Hewert’s hype - and then some! The
party can record the note to their tuning fork
simply by tapping it against the stage during
the performance.