Adventure Primer Part 4: Viscous Cargo (75 mins).

The characters seek

out the missing squidlings in a nearby cave. The
characters quickly learn they’ve stumbled into the upper
My god! It’s full of stars! reaches of an ancient Xorvintrothian ruin. This is Story
—Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey Objective D.

This adventure is designed for three to seven 5th- to 10th- Story Awards
level characters and is optimized for five characters with At points in the adventure, this glyph, along
an average party level (APL) of 9. Characters outside this with an entry, describes how the specified story
level range can’t participate in this adventure. award is earned or impacted by the story. Ignore
This adventure occurs in southern Icewind Dale among it if it refers to a story award none of the characters have.

e
the treacherous peaks of the Spine of the World: from the If it refers to a story award the characters just earned, it
goliath stronghold of Wyrmdoom Crag to the crash site of a provides information for you and the players.
spacefaring vessel to the ruins of a long-dead city.

Background Adventure Hooks

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This adventure follows directly on from DDAL10-07 Into
The fallen star witnessed by the THUUNLAKALAGA Darkness, but if your players are new to the campaign, the
GOLIATHS isn’t what it appeared to be: it’s a NAUTILOID following hooks are potential ways to involve them in this
piloted by gnomish CEREMORPHS chased into one scenario:
of Auril the Frostmaiden’s great blizzards, and now lies Swords for Hire. While the characters are gathered
earthbound. somewhere in Ten-Towns, they’re approached by a giff
To make matters worse, the neogi masters of the mercenary—Lieutenant Prook—who seeks heroic souls to
DEATHSPIDER pursuing the nautiloid have arrived. help him avenge the death of his murdered comrades.
Slavers, the NEOGI have capitalized on the havoc Star Seekers. Characters with the acolyte, hermit, or
sown by the Everlasting Rime—capturing and enslaving sage backgrounds search for the “fallen star” in pursuit of
whomever they can find. One such captive—a GIFF named knowledge. Seeking shelter in Wyrmdoom Crag, they meet
LIEUTENANT PROOK—has managed to escape.
Upon returning to WYRMDOOM CRAG, the
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characters discover that the last of the clan’s hunters
have been captured by the neogi and must hatch a plan
to rescue them from within the ancient ABEIRAN city
Lieutenant Prook and the Thuunlakalaga goliaths, and
learn of their plight.
Guardians of the Wilds. Characters with the folk hero or
outlander backgrounds have heard tell that Thuunlakalaga
goliaths have been going missing, and so travel to
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of XORVINTROTH. Once there however, the characters Wyrmdoom Crag to offer help.
quickly learn neogi are the least of their concerns—the Gnome Ceremorphs Return. Characters who’ve already
city is festering with ABERRATIONS from the FAR encountered the gnome ceremorphs in Icewind Dale: Rime
REALM; long-dormant terrors that threaten the entirety of of the Frostmaiden have stopped at Wyrmdoom Crag to
ICEWIND DALE. seek shelter and resupply. While there, they discover the
nautiloid is back in the frozen north, and determine to find
Overview out why.
The adventure’s story is spread over four parts and takes
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approximately 4 hours to play: Xorvintroth, That Which Survives

Call to Action: An Unusual Request (10 mins). While Derived from Xorvintaal, the ancient “game” by which
speaking with Olgai and Lieutenant Prook, Grakal the dragons wage war and determine power among
characters of a strange message. themselves, this ancient Abeiran city was one of many
ruled by dragonborn. It was once a place of learning and
Part 1: To the Fallen Star . . . Again! (60 mins). The enlightenment, but a sect of dragonborn wizards dabbled
characters strike out to find the fallen star once and for with sources of magic best left undisturbed. Pulling back
all. As they draw closer, they happen upon creatures the veil of the stars and gazing into the madness of the Far
escaped from the wrecked Id Ascendant. This is Story
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Realm drove the wizards to open portals to the Far Realm.

Objective A. For thousands of years, the cities—and the horrors they
Part 2: Star Search (60 mins). A terrible blizzard befalls housed—lay dormant until the Spellplague in 1385 DR when
the characters—they must navigate the deadly weather, they were expelled from Abeir like a festering infection and
encountering malevolent haunts from the ancient city of transposed into the depths beneath the Spine of the World.
Xorvintroth along the way. This is Story Objective B.
Part 3: The Id Ascendant (45 mins). The characters meet
the gnome ceremorphs—captains of the disabled ship,
the Id Ascendant. The characters must persuade the
gnomes to let Lieutenant Prook use the ship’s workshop
and allow him to siphon energy from their vessel’s
magical helm in order to power his makeshift explosives.
This is Story Objective C.

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 Call to Action:
An Unusual Request
Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Story Award:
The characters have returned to Wyrmdoom Crag after
narrowly escaping a ruined city infested with horrors
Lieutenant Prook

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from the Far Realm. The group found no survivors among If any of the characters have this story award,
the missing goliath hunters they were searching for. the giff mercenary is present and accompanies
However, Lieutenant Prook has a new plan: blow the crater the characters in the search for the fallen star. One of the
surrounding the ancient, alien-infested city to smithereens players who has this story award (chosen at random if
and bury it forever. more than one has the story award and the players can’t

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agree) can control Lieutenant Prook as a sidekick during
this adventure. Give that player handout 1.
Call to Action
The characters must escort Lieutenant Prook to the fallen star
and find a way to power his planned explosive device.
A Meeting of Minds
The characters and Lieutenant Prook meet with Ogolai
Orcsplitter (“Old Goat”), chieftain of the Thuunlakalaga

Character Introductions goliaths, and the goliath bard Grakal Dawnbearer, in

Wyrmdoom Crag’s main hall. If Lieutenant Prook isn’t
Allow each character a minute or so to introduce their with the group, see “No Lieutenant Present” for guidance
character, describe their appearance and mannerisms, and on how to initiate the search for the fallen star. Give the

e
their reasons for embarking on this quest. Be sure to give
everyone equal time in the spotlight and be prepared to
gently stop people if they run on. Character introductions
are crucially important for the players to understand who
the other characters are, to build a basis for roleplaying
characters a chance to briefly explain what happened
during their mission to the crater and the ruins therein,
then read the following:

A fire crackles in the center of the great hall where the

pl
opportunities, and for you, the DM, to learn more about
goliath chieftain, Old Goat, leans on her greataxe. She
the characters so you can create story elements that really
speak to the characters. stares into the flames, her brow furrowed, taking in the
Award inspiration (explaining what inspiration is and grave news that her hunters have been slain. Her comrade,
how it works) once everyone’s had a turn. the bard Grakal Dawnbearer, paces the room as Lieutenant
Prook, the hippopotamus-headed mercenary, speaks:
Lieutenant Prook (lef-TEN-ant pr-OOK) “We entered those ruins to rescue a unit of goliath
Lawful neutral giff interstellar mercenary
hunters and to put pay to their captors, the neogi. The
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Lieutenant Prook (he pronounces lieutenant as “leftenant”

and prefers to be addressed as such) once commanded a same neogi who wiped out my entire crew. We were
brigade of hippopotamus-headed giff mercenaries, but his overrun there by monstrosities the likes of which I’ve never
entire unit was captured by neogi slavers. Of them, he’s the seen. It is strikingly apparent our troubles now exceed the
sole survivor. The neogi ship recently crashed in Icewind Dale
plight of the goliaths of this hall.”
while pursuing the Id Ascendant—an illithid nautiloid piloted
by gnomish ceremorphs. In the chaos, Lieutenant Prook
managed to escape, but underestimated the cold.
What They Want. While Lieutenant Prook’s immediate goals Upon hearing this, Old Goat’s frown deepens and
Sa

are survival and recovery. Once out of the woods, he her muscles tense. Allow the characters to add to the
plans to find a way to exact his revenge on the neogi who conversation if they wish before reading the following:
enslaved him and killed his unit.
Gruff and No-Nonsense. Lieutenant Prook doesn’t waste
“Neither is it a matter of avenging the death of my crew,”
time on pomp and circumstance; he focuses on his goals
with laser precision and those who question his orders continues the lieutenant, “For the witless neogi have
(yes, orders) or methods are quick to earn a scathing awakened something beneath the ice, something alien and
admonishment. To that end, however, he’s loyal and terrible that poses a clear and present threat to life as we
honorable without apology. He would throw down his life to
save those he considers allies. know it. The solution is obvious: we must blow that horror-
infested hellhole to smithereens!”
Lieutenant Prook strokes his chin, “A set of arcane
explosives should do the trick... Now all I need is a
workshop to create the devices… That and a magical power
source to charge them with…”

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 Hatching a Plan Overlapping Icewind Dale:
Rime of the Frostmaiden
While Lieutenant Prook ruminates on his plan, Grakal
nervously tells Old Goat that they’ve been experiencing Characters who’ve encountered the Id Ascendant’s crew before
not only know what Grakal is referring to, but also where it is
strange voices in their head since Nararhak Tree-Eye’s
and who crews it.
disappearance. Over and over, the voice in their mind
repeats:

No Lieutenant Present
“Nautiloid down. Emergency protocols enabled. Crew safe,
If Lieutenant Prook isn’t with the group, Old Goat suggests
but vessel imperiled. Psi crystal needed. Come at once.” the characters seek out the fallen star to see if the answers

e
to their problems can be found there—she insists it’ll likely
play a role in the events to come.
Grakal has no idea what any of this means, but Lieutenant
Prook identifies a nautiloid as a type of ship: a powerful,
spacefaring vessel which travels between worlds. He claims Ogolai (oh-GO-lie) Orcsplitter
that if the ship has any functionality, it’s bound to have a “Old Goat” Thuunlakalaga

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workshop where he can craft explosives, and if he could Lawful neutral goliath warrior
siphon energy from the magical helm that powers the The chieftain of the Thuunlakalaga goliaths is an elderly
vessel, he could easily charge the devices. Old Goat reasons goliath with a heavily scarred face. She dresses plainly in goat
that the nautiloid and the fallen star spotted in the skies hide clothing and carries an immense greataxe fashioned
over Icewind Dale by her clan could be one and the same from white dragon bone. She has a crippling fear of griffons
thing. With this revelation, the giff hurriedly begins packing stemming from a childhood trauma that’s created tensions
between her clan and the Akannathi goliaths of Skytower
for the long journey ahead, encouraging the characters
Shelter (see Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden).
to do the same. Old Goat provides the group with enough
What They Want. Old Goat’s first priority is the safety and
provisions to complete their trip to the site of the fallen star. prosperity of her clan—especially in these unusual and
trying times. She’s quick to stymie dissent, particularly from

e Kaskur Spearsong. She fears his disagreements will turn

violent, but does everything within her power to delay this
apparent inevitability for as long as possible.
Done It, Seen It; but the End Is Nigh. Old Goat has been
around a long time and seen many things. This experience
lends her a tremendous amount of wisdom to draw on
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when making decisions. However, she’s getting old and
refuses to surrender the yoke of leadership until a worthy
(equally wise) replacement is found. If it weren’t for his
sharp tongue, Old Goat would’ve offered Kaskur the mantle
of leadership years ago. However, she fears what the clan
would become under his leadership.

Grakal (Grah-KUHL)
Dawnbearer Thuunlakalaga
m

Lawful good goliath bard

So named due to the colors of their hides and clothes, worn
to look like a sunrise, with a personality to match. Grakal
is softly spoken despite their extremely loud appearance.
However, Grakal is easily the funniest and most joyous
of Souljoined. (The other two members of Souljoined are
Nararhak Tree-Eye and Thugeo Goatchaser.) Their ability to
respond with snide remarks is unparalleled, but it’s generally
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only heard by the other two resulting in “random” fits of

laughter.
Grakal’s prize possession is a large blanket with different
tales of the goliaths’ culture woven into a beautiful
pictography. Throughout, trinkets and baubles from other
cultures are woven in. Grakal often tries to incorporate their
love of goliath cultures, other cultures, and color into their
outward appearance. Some see it as ostentatious; Grakal
knows it allows others to lower their guard around them so
they can teach with less resistance.
What They Want. To never lose the family unit they’re in.
Grakal would give their life for the other two Souljoined and
can’t imagine a world without them.
Not Enough Flair. Grakal loves going to Good Mead and
interacting with Ten-Towns. Grakal has a weak spot for food
and flashy items from other cultures.

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 1
To the Fallen Star…Again!

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Estimated Duration: 60 minutes
A cave mouth gapes in the mountainside before you:

The Search Begins large icicles hang from its roof like rows of teeth, giving

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the place the appearance of a dreadful, open maw. A heat
Themes: Exploration, survival. haze emanates from three serpentine monstrosities which
The characters strike out to find the fallen star once and
snake around the cavern on countless legs. They snap
for all. As they draw closer, they happen upon creatures
escaped from the wrecked Id Ascendant. at two, large, wormlike creatures which recoil from the
heat—curiously, these creatures are wearing harnesses.

Story Objective
Finding the Id Ascendant is Story Objective A. The carrion crawlers entered the cave to consume the
remains of an axe beak mount and its long-dead rider
(see “Treasure”), when they were beset upon by the

e
Snow falls in light flurries as the characters head west
through the mountains from Wyrmdoom Crag. Lieutenant
Prook, if present, is emboldened by his plan to reduce
Xorvintroth to rubble, offering words of encouragement
as the group travels: “Let’s look lively! This den of alien
young remorhazes. The latter group have the upper hand,
they’ve surrounded the carrion crawlers and are closing
in for the kill (see “Creature Information”). The presence
of harnesses indicates that the carrion crawlers may be
domesticated and the character with the highest passive
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madness won’t explode itself you know!” (Wisdom) Perception score notices a stoppered vial
The site of the fallen star is roughly 50 miles away from strapped to one of the harnesses (see “Treasure”). The
Wyrmdoom Crag. Traveling this distance is beyond the carrion crawlers wear caparisons embroidered with a
scope of this adventure’s timeframe. If time isn’t an issue, strange looking vessel—a shell-like hull with protruding
you can roleplay the journey using the “Mountain Travel” tentacles. If Lieutenant Prook is with the group, he
rules in the opening section of Icewind Dale: Rime of recognizes the design as a depiction of a nautiloid.
the Frostmaiden, adding encounters as you see fit from Characters playing through Icewind Dale: Rime of the
the “Wilderness Encounters” section in chapter 2 of the Frostmaiden may recognize the carrion crawlers from
m

book. Otherwise, the characters come across the location previous dealings with the Id Ascendant’s crew—see the
described below after 40 miles of travel, which takes 10 “Overlapping Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden”
days with a dogsled or 20 days on foot, wearing snowshoes sidebar for guidance.
(if the group travels for 8 hours per day). You don’t need to
describe in detail what happens each day, and the group Area Information
can survive on the rations Old Goat provided.
The cave has the following features:
Dimensions and Terrain. A boulder-strewn mountain
Creature Cave pass leads to a 40-foot-by-50-foot natural cavern. The
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After many days’ travel, the air is pierced by shrill, ceiling is 40 feet high at its apex and hangs thick with
monstrous screeching and guttural roars echoing from a icicles.
rise up ahead. Three young remorhazes surround two Weather and Temperature. Below freezing with light
carrion crawlers inside a cavern, and the creatures are snowfall and a chill breeze. A storm is developing to the
locked in combat. Large boulders provide plenty of cover, west. The temperature becomes uncomfortably warm
allowing the characters to approach the cave stealthily to when in close proximity to the remorhazes.
better view the scene: Lighting. By day, the Dale’s eternal dusk offers dim light.
By night, an aurora billows overhead providing fragments
of dim light in otherwise pitch darkness.
Sounds and Smells. Whistling wind, monstrous
screeching like nails on a chalkboard, and the scuttling of
insectoid legs on ice.

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 Icicles. Every inch of the cavern’s roof is covered in icicles Do Nothing. If the characters remain hidden while the
which range between 1 and 7 feet in length. Combat in the monsters fight it out, the remorhazes defeat the carrion
cavern, coupled with the remorhazes’ heat, has weakened crawlers in three rounds then burrow away with their prey—
the icicle formations, causing them to fall and impale those including their harnesses—leaving the cavern bereft of life.
below them. At the end of every round during which combat Join the Fight. If the characters join the fray and target
occurs in the cave, an icicle falls and strikes one creature the remorhazes, the carrion crawlers hang back and
at random, including the remorhazes and carrion crawlers. attempt to flee when they can. They only attack a character
The targeted creature must make a successful DC 13 in self-defense. The carrion crawlers head straight for
Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) piercing damage. home—the Id Ascendant—which greatly assists the
characters in their continuing quest for the vessel across
Creature Information the tundra in “Part 2: Star Search.”

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This encounter features the following creatures:
Young Remorhazes. These creatures relentlessly pursue Overlapping Icewind Dale:
the carrion crawlers, toying with them and wearing them Rime of the Frostmaiden
down with their Heated Body trait. If a remorhaz takes If your group is playing through Icewind Dale: Rime of the
damage from any of the characters, it snaps its attention to Frostmaiden, there’s a chance they’ve encountered these

fil
the attacker and their allies. carrion crawlers before. If the group defeat the remorhazes,
Carrion Crawlers. These creatures are the domesticated and assuming the characters treated the carrion crawlers
pets of the gnome ceremorph, Vorryn. They were drawn agreeably at their last meeting, the creatures wriggle and
to the cavern—some distance from the Id Ascendant—by squirm against those characters affectionately. The carrion
the scent of carrion (see “Treasure”). They both have crawlers nudge them toward the cave’s exit before scuttling
several bite wounds and burns down their flanks due to off, homeward bound.
the remorhazes’ ambush, and each have 21 hit points
remaining when the characters arrive at the scene.
Their harnesses are made of tough leather fastened with Treasure
iron links. Each harness has the carrion crawler’s name Characters can find treasure by searching through the
written in Qualith (a braille-like script illithids read with following:

e
their tentacles) along one of the straps. Their names are
Igneer and Zukkul. Characters who learn their names have
advantage on any Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks made
when dealing with the carrion crawlers.
Combat Consequences
Carrion Crawler Harness. Strapped to the side of one of
the harnesses is a vial of gray liquid—an oil of etherealness.
Dead Explorer. A human and his axe beak mount lie at
the rear of the cave; they’ve been dead for a while. Their
bodies bear large puncture wounds, and shards of ice
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lie scattered around them, indicating they were crushed
A couple of options are open to the characters, and the beneath a falling icicle. Fresh bite marks reveal the carrion
encounter plays out differently depending on how they crawlers were feasting on the axe beak carcass. The man’s
react to the situation: skin is adorned with tattoos of constellations, and he wears
a frost giant toe pendant (a trinket) around his neck—locally
believed to be a good luck charm. A leather knapsack lies
half-buried in the snow nearby. Inside the knapsack is an
ornate telescope. Its lenses are broken, but the tube is
embossed with a mountain range beneath a star-filled sky.
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There’s also a sketchbook containing skillfully rendered ink

drawings of the skies over Ten-Towns.

Adjusting This Encounter

Here are some suggestions for adjusting this encounter,
according to your group. These aren’t cumulative:
Very Weak: Remove one young remorhaz. Each carrion
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crawler has 36 hit points remaining.

Weak: Each carrion crawler has 36 hit points remaining.
Strong: Add one young remorhaz.
Very Strong: Add two young remorhazes.

A Sense of Urgency
Once the cavern’s threats are cleared and any treasure is
found, the characters should feel compelled to be on their
way quickly. If they put an end to the young remorhazes, the
distant scream of an adult remorhaz reverberates through
the peaks. While the group won’t fight this monster, the
prospect of it turning up should hurry them along. If the
remorhazes escaped, the cavern’s icy ceiling creaks and
groans, as if more icicles could fall at any minute. Once the
group sets off, proceed to part 2.
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 2
Star Search

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Estimated Duration: 60 minutes a success. On a failure, they plunge 50 feet to the bottom
of the crevasse, taking 17 (5d6) bludgeoning damage

Worsening Weather and landing prone. Falling creatures can make a DC 15

Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to reduce this damage by half,

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Themes: Fear, hysteria, exploration. angling their bodies to land on a pile of snow.
A terrible blizzard befalls the characters—they must
navigate the deadly weather, encountering malevolent Area Information
haunts from the ancient city of Xorvintroth along the way. The cave has the following features:
Dimensions and Terrain. The chasm is 30 feet wide, 50
Story Objective feet deep, and 100 feet long. The slippery walls are formed
of thick, undulating, ancient ice, appearing in parts like
Finding the Id Ascendant is Story Objective B.
frosted glass receding into darkness.
Weather and Temperature. The blizzard howls
overhead, but the chasm offers some relief from the biting
As the characters journey on, the storm which threatened

e
during part 1 rolls in, enveloping the group in a blizzard.
The howling wind limits hearing to a range of 100 feet
and imposes disadvantage on ranged attack rolls. It also
imposes disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks
which rely on hearing. Torches are extinguished and
cold of the storm.
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visibility is reduced to 30 feet. Creatures without goggles
or other eye protection have disadvantage on Wisdom
(Perception) checks which rely on sight. More detailed
rules for blizzards can be found in “Wilderness Survival”
in the opening section of Icewind Dale: Rime of the
Frostmaiden.
After an hour traveling in these conditions, the group
unwittingly traverse a haunted crevasse, which lies
m

underfoot. Before running this encounter refamiliarize

yourself with the “Xorvintroth, That Which Survives”
sidebar in the Adventure Primer.

Primordial Crevasse
The ice over the crevasse breaks when more than 300 lb.
is placed on it—roughly the weight of one heavily armored
Sa

warrior, and easily exceeded by either of the carrion

crawlers. See “The Crevasse Calls Out” for guidance if the
characters don’t trigger this event—for example if they’re
airborne or particularly light on their feet. Otherwise, read
the following aloud:

A deep and dreadful noise grinds underfoot as the ice

fractures like shattered glass. It falls away in great chunks,
threatening to plunge you into darkness below!

The packed ice falls away tearing a 30-foot-by-100-foot

rend in the ground. Those on foot in the affected area must
make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, leaping to safety on

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