D&D 5E - The Rise of Tiamat

Galin does not know the identity of the green
wyrmspeaker, or the location of Neronvain and Chuth’s
lair. However, from the meeting place, he has watched
the dragon flying off on a course due southeast and he
has noticed that the wyrmspeaker’s clothes and hair
are often wet.
In t o t h e F o r e s t
Neronvain’s stronghold lies thirty miles from Altand
through dense, fog-filled forest. As they seek the
wyrmspeaker and his dragon, the characters meet
an old druid who can help or hinder their quest, and
must deal with the spidery guardians Chuth has set
outside his lair.
A T i m e l y R e s c u e
As the characters travel through the forest, they hear
the crunch of a large tree breaking, followed by a female
voice crying out. If they investigate, they see a venerable
woman with her leg trapped under a heavy fallen tree.
She calls out for help when she sees the party. This
druid is the caretaker of this part of the forest.
Three awakened trees are hidden among the other
trees nearby—one of which has intentionally and
harmlessly fallen across the druid, allowing her to feign
injury and draw the characters to her. She guesses
correctly that the group are seeking the dragon, and
wishes to give them a boon to aid their fight against
this scourge of her forest, but she wishes to test their
strength of character first. She w ill not help those who
do not help others.
If the characters help the druid without reservation,
read the following.
It takes all your effort to lift the tree, knowing that you put
yourselves at risk if it shifts against you. But then even as
you are close to freeing the woman, the tree begins to rise
on its own. Two other trees standing nearby shift back
along the ground as the elf stands and smiles, showing no
sign o f injury.
“ Heroes at last!” she says. “ How many might fall back
in fear at the sight o f a stranger in the woods, or think
first o f their own safety before helping another? I grant
you my blessing. May your hearts prove true where others
fear to tread."
The woman picks flowers from her hair that you
swear were not there a moment ago, then twists her
fingers to weave them into garlands as if by magic. She
lays a garland around each of your necks, then suddenly
transforms into an owl. Her awakened tree servants
stomp after her into the forest.
As long as the characters wear these garlands, they
are invisible to Chuth’s animal spies (part of the magic
imbued into the area around the dragon’s lair) as they
approach Neronvain’s stronghold. In addition, the
first time a character wearing a garland is confronted
by Chuth, he or she feels a stirring warmth from the
garland and automatically succeeds on the saving throw
against the dragon’s Frightful Presence.
If the characters ignore the druid, she calls out
pitifully for help as they move away, offering a last
lament against their cowardice as they disappear. If the
adventurers attack the druid, the awakened trees attack.
They fight to the death as the druid turns into an owl
and flies away.
S p i d e r s ’ H a u n t
A quarter of a mile from Chuth’s lair, thin strands of
spiderweb begin to be seen, hanging nearly invisible
in the misty air. The webs mark the overlap between
the dragon’s lair and the hunting grounds of a brood
of spiders. The webbing combines with the dense mist
of the forest to make the area around the lair heavily
obscured and difficult terrain, up to when the party
reaches the pool (area 1). Because the webs are moist,
they do not burn away easily. The direct application of
fire destroys webs, but fire doesn’t spread among them.
A character with a torch can use an action to clear the
webs within reach.
As the characters advance, the webbing becomes
thicker and shows birds and animals trapped within
it. Any movement through the webbing alerts the 3
ettercaps and 7 giant spiders lurking nearby. The
ettercaps attack with web garrotes, while the spiders
use the webs to drop into the party’s midst. If two
ettercaps or five spiders are slain, the rest flee.
N e r o n v a i n ’s St r o n g h o l d
The Green Wyrmspeaker has established a stronghold
for himself and Chuth within a cave complex in the
Misty Forest, its entrance hidden behind a waterfall
that tumbles down a high cliff. The green dragon has
taken over the largest cavern of the stronghold as one of
its many lairs.
Neronvain is served by a group of cultist bodyguards,
while Chuth has won the service of a number of ettins
to help guard the stronghold. The dragon also controls a
terrified group of elf prisoners Neronvain brought back
from one of their raids, who fight for the dragon and the
wyrmspeaker unless they can be convinced to flee.
Chuth is an adult green dragon. See appendix A
for Neronvain.
G e n e r a l F e a t u r e s
Secret Doors. Secret doors inside the stronghold
are little more than cracks between chambers, just
large enough for Medium creatures to squeeze through.
They are obscured behind loose rocks or other cover,
and require a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation)
check to notice.
Light. The stronghold is dark except where
otherwise noted.
L P o o l
The pool at the foot of the waterfall is 20 feet deep at
its center, its surface obscured by an emerald haze that
marks this place as a green dragon’s lair.