🌑 One‑Shot: “The Waters of Shanatar”
A D&D 5e adventure for 7 level‑3 characters
🌘 Act I — The Search Begins
Hook: The Dwarves’ Desperation
The party is hired by a dwarven reclamation clan who recently purged the valley of a lingering curse. Their next goal: find the Pool of Hearthseed, a mythical spring said to restore dwarven fertility and heal generational blight.
The dwarves know the pool is somewhere in the valley, but the curse warped the land, making old maps unreliable.
🌗 Act II — Why the Pool Is Hard to Find
Use two of the following complications to show the pool is hidden, magical, and recently disturbed. Each bullet is a self‑contained encounter or scene.
1. The Lights Malfunction
The artificial dwarven day‑night cycle is flickering.
Effect: The valley plunges into sudden darkness or blinding light at random intervals.
Challenge: Navigating becomes difficult; Perception checks are at disadvantage during flickers.
Reveal: The malfunction is caused by something feeding on the valley’s ambient magic — the same thing corrupting the pool.
2. Illusory Terrain Left by the Curse
Remnants of the old curse still linger.
Effect: The valley contains patches of illusionary stone walls, false tunnels, or phantom bridges.
Challenge: Investigation checks reveal the illusions; failure leads to detours or minor hazards.
Reveal: The illusions seem to “avoid” a certain direction — pointing toward the pool.
3. A Lost Dwarven Scout
The party finds a wounded dwarf hiding in a crevice.
He claims: “Something in the water… it weren’t natural. It moved.”
Clue: He carries a broken vial of magically‑charged water that glows faintly when pointed toward the pool.
4. The Stone‑Singing Fungus
A patch of bioluminescent mushrooms hums when touched.
Effect: A successful Nature/Arcana check reveals the hum resonates toward the pool like a tuning fork.
Complication: Disturbing the fungus attracts 1–2 Darkmantles or a small swarm of Underdark pests.
🌕 Act III — The Pool of Hearthseed
The party finally reaches a cavern lit by soft, warm artificial sunlight. The pool sits in the center, glowing faintly gold.
But it is corrupted.
What Happened?
When the curse was broken, a Choker Matriarch (or similar creature) crawled into the pool’s magical heart. The pool’s healing magic mutated it and spawned several smaller horrors.
You can choose one of these hazard themes:
🔥 Option A — The Pool Is Infested by Aberrant Growths
Enemies
1 Aberrant Choker Matriarch (use a Choker stat block, +20 HP, +1 AC, +1 attack die)
3–5 Choker Spawn (use Twig Blight stats but reflavor as fleshy tendrils)
Battlefield Features
Tendril Pits: Difficult terrain; creatures entering must succeed on a Dex save or be restrained.
Corrupted Water: Any creature shoved into the pool takes minor psychic damage.
Goal
Kill the Matriarch. When it dies, the pool purifies itself in a burst of golden light.
❄️ Option B — The Pool Is Frozen by a Magical Parasite
Enemies
1 Ice‑Warped Otyugh (reduce HP to ~60, add cold damage)
2 Ice Mephits
Battlefield Features
Slippery Ice Sheets: Dex saves to avoid falling prone.
Frozen Pillars: Can be shattered to deal AoE damage.
Goal
Destroy the parasite (the Otyugh). The ice melts, revealing the true pool.
🌫️ Option C — The Pool Is Guarded by a Spirit of the Curse
Enemies
1 Wight reflavored as a “Curse‑Wraith”
4 Shadows
Battlefield Features
Cursed Fog: Reduces visibility; undead can hide easily.
Runic Stones: Can be activated with Arcana/Religion checks to weaken the undead.
Goal
Break the curse’s last remnant. The fog clears, and the pool glows with renewed life.
🌄 Act IV — Resolution
When the hazard is defeated:
The pool glows bright gold.
The dwarves’ infertility curse is lifted.
The dwarves offer the party a choice of rewards:
A dwarven-crafted magic item
A land claim in the valley
A favor from the clan (future adventure hook)
You can end on a hopeful note — the dwarves celebrate, the lights stabilize, and the valley feels alive again.
🎲 Want help with maps, stat blocks, or treasure tables?
I can sketch out encounter maps, write boxed text, or tailor the difficulty to your group’s playstyle.
Absolutely — here are original homebrew stat blocks inspired by standard 5e formatting, but not copied from any copyrighted source. They’re fully usable at the table and balanced for a party of seven level‑3 characters.
Since stat blocks belong in code blocks, they won’t contain highlights (as required).
❄️ Ice‑Warped Otyugh
A corrupted aberration twisted by freezing magic
Ice‑Warped Otyugh
Large aberration, unaligned
Armor Class 14 (icy hide)
Hit Points 60 (8d10 + 16)
Speed 20 ft.
STR 16 (+3) DEX 10 (+0) CON 14 (+2)
INT 5 (–3) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (–2)
Saving Throws Con +4
Skills Perception +3
Damage Resistances cold
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Otyugh
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Frozen Aura.
The otyugh radiates numbing cold. A creature that starts its turn within 10 ft. must succeed on a DC 12 Con save or have its speed reduced by 10 ft. until the start of its next turn.
Ice‑Warped Constitution.
The otyugh has advantage on saving throws against being poisoned or diseased.
Actions
Multiattack.
The otyugh makes two tentacle attacks.
Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength save or be grappled (escape DC 13). While grappled, the target takes 5 (1d10) cold damage at the start of each of its turns.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one grappled creature.
Hit: 14 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Icy Vomit (Recharge 5–6).
The otyugh spews freezing sludge in a 15‑ft. cone.
Each creature in the area must make a DC 13 Dexterity save, taking 13 (3d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
The area becomes difficult terrain until the end of the otyugh’s next turn.
❄️ Ice Mephit (Variant: Frostling Mephit)
A colder, sharper version of the standard mephit
Frostling Mephit
Small elemental, neutral evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 17 (5d6)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft.
STR 7 (–2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 10 (+0)
INT 9 (–1) WIS 11 (+0) CHA 12 (+1)
Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning (from weapons heated by magic)
Damage Immunities cold
Damage Resistances nonmagical weapons
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Aquan, Auran
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Death Burst.
When the mephit dies, it explodes in a burst of razor‑sharp ice.
Each creature within 5 ft. must succeed on a DC 10 Dex save or take 5 (2d4) slashing damage.
Actions
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
Frost Breath (Recharge 6).
The mephit exhales a 15‑ft. cone of icy wind.
Each creature in the area must make a DC 10 Dex save, taking 7 (2d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
❄️ Environmental Hazard: Frozen Pool of Hearthseed
Frozen Pool Hazard
Environmental effect
The magical pool is encased in thick, enchanted ice.
Icy Surface.
The ground within 20 ft. of the pool is slick.
Creatures moving across it must succeed on a DC 12 Dex save or fall prone.
Shattering Ice.
A creature can attack the ice (AC 12, 20 HP per 5‑ft. section).
When a section is destroyed, shards erupt outward.
Creatures within 5 ft. must succeed on a DC 12 Dex save or take 4 (1d8) piercing damage.
Magical Feedback.
If the Ice‑Warped Otyugh takes fire damage while within 10 ft. of the pool, the ice cracks violently.
All creatures in that radius must make a DC 12 Con save or be stunned until the end of their next turn.
If you want, I can also create:
A full encounter map
Boxed text for each scene
Treasure tables or dwarven rewards
A pacing guide for running this as a 3–4 hour one‑shot
Just tell me what direction you want to expand next.
Absolutely — let’s build this out into a fully runnable one‑shot package. You’ll get:
A tactical encounter map (theater‑of‑the‑mind friendly, grid‑ready, and described clearly since I can’t generate images here)
Boxed text for every major scene
Treasure tables tailored to dwarven culture and your adventure’s themes
Everything is original content, so you can drop it straight into your game.
🗺️ Encounter Map: The Frozen Pool of Hearthseed
Below is a clear, grid‑ready map description you can sketch in under 2 minutes. It’s designed for a 30×30 grid but scales easily.
📐 Map Layout (Top‑Down Description)
Overall Dimensions
30 ft. × 30 ft. cavern
Ceiling height: 25 ft., with icicles hanging down
Zones
A. Entrance Tunnel (South, 10 ft. wide)
Leads into the main chamber
Slight downward slope
Ice patches begin immediately
B. Frozen Pool (Center, 20 ft. diameter)
Perfect circle of thick magical ice
Cracks glow faintly blue
The Ice‑Warped Otyugh lurks beneath until disturbed
C. Ice Pillars (Four total)
5‑ft. diameter each
Positioned at NE, NW, SE, SW corners of the pool
Can be shattered to create hazards or tactical advantages
D. Elevated Ledges (North wall)
Two 10‑ft. wide ledges, 5 ft. above ground
Frostling Mephits begin perched here
Jagged ice provides half cover
E. Hazard Zones
Slippery Ice: Random patches (DC 12 Dex save or fall prone)
Thin Ice: 2–3 squares that crack loudly when stepped on (alerting the Otyugh)
🧊 Map Key (for quick sketching)
Draw a 30×30 square
Add a 20‑ft. circle in the center (the pool)
Place four pillars around it in a diamond shape
Add two ledges on the north wall
Scatter ice patches randomly
Entrance tunnel at the south
If you want, I can also generate a grid‑labeled ASCII map.
🎭 Boxed Text for Each Scene
Use these as read‑aloud descriptions.
Scene 1: Entering Shanatar Valley
Boxed Text
The artificial dwarven lights overhead flicker like dying lanterns, casting the reclaimed valley in stuttering bands of gold and shadow. Frost clings to the stone walls, and the air tastes metallic — as if the magic here is strained to its limit. Ahead, a narrow path winds toward the cavern where the legendary Pool of Hearthseed is said to lie, its promise of healing drawing you deeper into the Underdark.
Scene 2: Approaching the Frozen Cavern
Boxed Text
The tunnel opens into a wide chamber glittering with frost. A circular pool dominates the center, sealed beneath a thick sheet of ice that glows faintly from within. Four massive pillars of frozen stone rise around it like silent sentinels. High ledges of jagged ice overlook the chamber, and the air hums with unnatural cold. Something shifts beneath the ice — slow, deliberate, waiting.
Scene 3: The Battle Begins
Trigger: The party steps within 10 ft. of the pool, breaks ice, or makes loud noise.
Boxed Text
The ice beneath the pool cracks with a thunderous snap. A massive shape surges upward, shattering the frozen surface as a twisted, frost‑encrusted otyugh erupts from below. At the same moment, shards of ice break free from the ledges above — revealing winged mephits with jagged, crystalline claws. The chamber explodes into motion as the cold itself seems to turn against you.
Scene 4: Purification of the Pool
When the Otyugh dies:
Boxed Text
The creature collapses into the shattered ice, its corrupted form dissolving into pale mist. A deep, resonant hum fills the cavern as golden light pulses from beneath the broken surface. The ice melts in seconds, revealing clear, shimmering water that radiates warmth. The Pool of Hearthseed has awakened — pure, vibrant, and alive once more.
Scene 5: Return to the Dwarves
Boxed Text
As you return to the dwarven camp, the artificial lights above burn steady and bright for the first time since your arrival. The dwarves gather around the restored water, their faces lit with awe and hope. For the first time in generations, the valley feels alive — and the future of their people feels possible again.
💎 Treasure Tables: Dwarven Rewards
These tables are themed around dwarven craftsmanship, fertility/blessing magic, and reclaimed heritage.
Table A — Mundane Rewards (Roll 1d6)
| d6 | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 | A masterwork dwarven tool set (smithing, masonry, or brewing) |
| 2 | A carved stone tablet describing ancient Shanatar history |
| 3 | A pouch of gemstone dust worth 50 gp |
| 4 | A dwarven clan‑mark cloak pin granting advantage on Charisma checks with dwarves |
| 5 | A cask of Hearthseed Ale (restores 1d4 HP once per day when drunk) |
| 6 | A map fragment hinting at another lost dwarven site |
Table B — Magic Items (Roll 1d6)
| d6 | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 | Stoneheart Amulet (advantage vs. being frightened) |
| 2 | Hammer of the Warm Forge (+1 warhammer that sheds warm light) |
| 3 | Belt of the Hearthseed (once per long rest, heal 2d8 HP) |
| 4 | Gauntlets of the Deep Delver (advantage on Athletics checks to climb or dig) |
| 5 | Lantern of the Ancestors (casts guiding bolt 1/day) |
| 6 | Rune‑Etched Shield (+1 shield; once per day, reduce damage by 1d10) |
Table C — Boons & Non‑Material Rewards (Roll 1d4)
| d4 | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 | Clan Favor — the dwarves will aid the party in future quests |
| 2 | Land Claim — a small home or forge in Shanatar |
| 3 | Blessing of Hearthseed — +1 to all death saves for 7 days |
| 4 | Dwarven Escort — a veteran dwarf joins the party for one future adventure |
If you want, I can also create:
A pacing guide for running this in 3–4 hours
A skill challenge for navigating the valley
A roleplay scene with the dwarven leaders
A follow‑up adventure hook tied to the restored pool
Just tell me what direction you want to expand next.
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