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Lost Mines of Phandelver Guide

Avoiding a TPK with Venomfang (Or Not)

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One the perennial questions that I’ve seen come up online when it comes to running Lost Mines of Phandelver is “How can I avoid a TPK when the party faces the green dragon Venomfang?”

There are certainly some ways you can do this, but the first question you need to ask is, “Should I try to avoid a TPK at all?”

As a newbie DM, I was afraid that a TPK would completely demoralize my players. I felt that forcing my players to start all over again would perhaps scare them away from coming back to the table. However, after giving this issue some thought and reading how other DMs have dealt with Venomfang (and the prospect of a TPK), I realized that my fears surrounding a Venomfang TPK were misplaced.

Essentially, there are two ways you can deal with it. The first is to address the prospect of character death and TPKs in a session zero and the second is to be prepared with narrative escape hatches should the party be facing near certain death.

Address character death and TPKs in a session zero

Because I was so eager to get started with Lost Mines of Phandelver, I only spent about 10 minutes with my group establishing ground rules and expectations for the game. Although I have a wonderful gaming group and all of us seem to be on the same page as to what we want to get from a game, I still wish I had spent more time to ask my players more questions during a session zero.

One thing I failed to ask about was how my players felt about character death. As a player who had initially spent hours writing out the backstory for my first few D&D characters, I became very attached to them. I dreaded character death and assumed my players would too.

I was absolutely wrong. I remember a point in one of my games where the players were facing the prospect of death and a conversation started up about how they were excited to try out new characters should their current ones die. I hate to admit that I may have pulled some punches before this conversation and now I absolutely don’t.

TPKs, however, are a different issue than character death. While it’s easy to slot in a new character should one die, a TPK is disruptive to the narrative. It forces the entire party to roll new characters and it forces the DM to come up with a slightly contrived reason to connect the severed narrative thread with a brand new party.

I believe TPKs are avoidable in most cases. However, if the party decides to do something incredibly unwise, it may happen. It’s best then to be upfront to your players about it. During your session zero explain to them that a TPK is rare but should the party make a very bad decision that results in a TPK, they can start again as a new party and pick up where the old one left off. Either that or the players can start a new adventure at level 1. Ask them which would they prefer.

I missed this discussion during session zero, but as we approached Thundertree I did discuss the TPK issue with my players, and to my surprise everyone was on board with it. All of them felt that decisions should have consequences, and if their decisions resulted in a TPK, so be it. This is what sets D&D apart from other games, after all. After this discussion, I prepared the Venomfang encounter to make it as challenging as it deserves to be.

Preventing a Venomfang TPK

While the first step regarding TPKs is to discuss them in a session zero, there are a couple ways that we can prevent a TPK with Venomfang that fit with the story and aren’t a Deus Ex Machina.

A Hostage and a Favor

Remember that Green Dragons more than anything relish the thought of corrupting the heroic and pure hearted. While they would prefer to do this through deception, they wouldn’t be against using a hostage to force others to do their bidding.

Should the party engage Venomfang in combat and should a TPK become inevitable, Venomfang can grapple a fallen party member in its claws and threaten to kill them if they don’t parley.

“You have come into my home, sought to kill me and steal my treasure, and now I hold one of your lives in my claws. I am well within my rights to tear the flesh from your bones and no one would fault me. However…if you listen to what I have to say, perhaps I will let this one live”

Should the party agree with Venomfang, you can move out of initiative. Venomfang then proposes the following deal: he will hold a party member hostage and kill them should they not do a favor in return.

The hostage will most likely be a fallen party member, but there could be other ways to resolve the issue (drawing straws, etc). The fallen party member will then have to roll up a new character to replace the one being held hostage.

What might Venomfang ask the party to do? Here are some possibilities:

  • Drive Reidoth out from Thundertree (Or Kill Him) – If you really want to put the party in a tight spot, you could have Venomfang pit them against Reidoth. If the party is smart enough they could possibly convince Reidoth to leave temporarily.
  • Kill Cryovain, the White Dragon – Cryovain kicked Venomfang out of his territory and Venomfang wants revenge. This option would require buying the D&D Essentials Kit, but you could easily substitute Cryovain for another dragon or monster of your own devising.
  • Steal a Magic Artifact – Perhaps Venomfang heard of some valuable object that could grant him the ability to polymorph into a human (green dragons love subterfuge, so being able to assume human form would be a dream). Of course, Venomfang would lie about the nature of the artifact, but it’s possible a canny party member would see through the deception.

What happens after the party delivers what Venomfang wishes of them? If I were Venomfang, I wouldn’t want a group of heroes wandering loose who I couldn’t control and who could potentially become a liability. If possible, Venomfang would devise some sort of trap for the adventurers and kill them after they have completed the task. Of course, Venomfang may feel that the outcome of a fight is uncertain and so decide to honor the agreement, In this case he would turn on the charm and graciously release the hostage. The characters should feel as though Venomfang is letting them off easy. Green Dragons, however, never forget a slight against them, and will spend years or even decades to even a score. The party who insulted him shouldn’t fare any differently.

TPK Insurance

Another way of avoiding a TPK involves a little setup. For this, I took some inspiration from a post in the Lost Mines of Phandelver Facebook Group. If I remember it correctly, the post essentially described a magic elixir which the party drank (Likely as a reward for rescuing someone). This elixir essentially has the effect of bringing the party back 10 minutes before making a decision that lead to a TPK. The party would fall to Venomfang and later wake up with an incredible hangover, the elixir bottle which had been half empty now completely empty.

Of course, you don’t have to use the idea of an elixir. The basic premise of TPK insurance is to have set something up so that when the party finds themselves in a dire situation, the DM has a way to get the party out of it that they aren’t aware of.

TPK Insurance: A Foray into the Feywild

I really liked the elixir idea myself and decided to extend it a little further. On the way to Thundertree, the party encounters some Ghouls assaulting a Gnome family. Should the party rescue the family, they are brought in to see the village elders who live in hollows of a massive tree about three times the diameter of the largest tree on earth. The elders give them the sap of the tree to drink as thanks for saving them.

The sap of this sacred tree has the unusual property of transporting a recently deceased soul to a lifesize wooden statue in the feywild. Once imbued with a soul, these wooden statues have the ability to move as though they were flesh and blood. The party wakes up in a workshop full of these statues and are greeted by a fey servant of Baervan Wildwanderer, the god of the forest Gnomes. In order to return to the material plane, the party must find a way to turn their wooden bodies back into flesh. When they return, whoever killed the party will think that they are dead.

I plan to write a more detailed article about the Forest Gnome adventure soon, but I thought I’d share the summarized version as an example.

Don’t let the party off too easily

A TPK is a big deal, and you don’t want the party to get off lightly for it. In the case of the forest gnome adventure, I felt that a few sessions lost in the Feywild felt like a reasonable consequence for whatever unwise decision they choose to make.

In both sessions I’ve run Phandelver, both parties defeated Venomfang. I still have the TPK insurance ready to go, though. It will likely activate at a time that they have completely forgotten about it 😉

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DM Guide: The Orcs of Wyvern Tor

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Brughor Axe-Biter and Shurtak are Here to Shake up the Scene at Wyvern Tor

As DMs, how can we add flavor and depth to make the Orcs of Wyvern Tor more interesting and memorable? Both times I ran Phandelver, I decided not to develop the Wyvern Tor hook and had presented the quest to my players pretty much as written: there’s a notice on the Townmaster hall’s bulletin board with a 100gp reward for vanquishing some random orcs that they’ve never met and don’t care about. In both runs my party felt that the other quests were far more interesting and they never visited Wyvern Tor. Frankly, I can’t blame them.

In writing this guide, I decided to give the orcs a second look. During the course of my research, I realized that the orc leader Brughor Axe-Biter, far from being a slightly beefier orc with 30hp, could become a campaign defining character. By connecting this orc leader with the horde of orcs who had devastated Phandalin and Wave Echo Cave nearly 500 years ago, Brughor has a very strong reason to want to find the Lost Mine: He has a destiny to fulfill.

Brughor Axe-Biter’s Destiny

The one interesting detail the Lost Mines Module gives us is that Brughor hails from the Kingdom of Many Arrows (the module says “tribe” but it really is a kingdom). The Many Arrows is a (relatively for orcs) pacifist kingdom roughly 350 miles northwest from Phandalin. Unlike many orc tribes, they no longer roam from place to places as a horde sacking villages, but have an established capital and have made peace with their neighbors in the Silver Marches. They still, however, regularly fight the Uthgardt (werewolf barbarians who had sacked Conyberry) and occasionally participate in raids farther south for fun and profit.

Brughor Axe-Biter, Scion of Gruumsh, Descendant of Uruth

If we want to keep it simple, we could infer that Brughor is leading raids far from home so that his band can conduct violence without breaking the peace treaty with their neighbors. However, I believe that there is more we can do with Brughor’s story.

Reclaiming his Ancestor’s Legacy

What if, for example, Brughor believes he is the descendant of the legendary war chief Uruth who had laid waste to Phandalin and Wave Echo Cave nearly 500 years ago? A shaman of Gruumsh, let’s call him Shurtak, has had a vision and tells Brughor that he has Uruth’s blood running through his veins and that he is destined to overthrow the weak, peace-loving king of the Many Arrows and lead them to a glorious new age of war and bloodshed–just as the great god of the orcs Gruumsh had intended.

The Hand of Uruth: A Symbol of Gruumsh’s Favor

Shurtak tells Brughor that even though he has the potential to be king, he needs to bring back proof to the orcs of the Many Arrows that he is indeed a Scion of Gruumsh. This proof happens to reside in Wave Echo Cave where Uruth lost his hand in battle.

Finding the Hand of Uruth

Canonically, Uruth didn’t lose his hand in Wave Echo Cave, so everything that follows is homebrew. Essentially Uruth needs to have left something behind that he wouldn’t go back for, so his hand makes perfect sense.

The Prophecy of the Hand

Although the hand meant nothing to Uruth or his tribe once he lost it in battle, it grew in significance during the founding of the Many Arrows Kingdom. The shaman Achtel Gnarlfingers, who opposed the rule of King Obould, the founder of the Many Arrows Kingdom, prophesied that Obould’s descendants would rule the Many Arrows kingdom until a Scion would come to restore the “true way of Gruumsh.” This scion would find the Hand of Uruth, which Gruumsh had infused with “great power” and claim the throne for himself. Generations of the Many Arrows kings have tried searching for the hand to prevent a possible overthrow, but to no avail. Hartusk, the latest challenger to the Obould dynasty throne, had been defeated and killed, and many believed it was because he chose not to seek the hand of Uruth.

Where is the Hand?

There are three logical places for the Hand of Uruth to exist, depending on where the players go in Wave Echo Cave. The first is Area #9 where the majority of the ghouls are currently located. Every time they bite into the hand, the wounds in the hand reknit and cause necrotic damage. Thus the ghouls have learned to give the hand a wide berth.

The other possibilities are in area #19 among the possessions of Nezznar and in area #14 among the possessions of Mormensk the wraith. Both Nezznar and Mormensk would understand that the Hand is a powerful magical artifact and would want to keep it for study and possible use.

A Horrific Scrying Ritual

How would Brughor find the Hand of Uruth? To me, a scrying ritual where the orcs have to commit unspeakably horrific deeds in order to gather the ingredients makes sense. Brughor isn’t raiding along the Triboar Trail just to loot. Shurtak, Brughor’s shaman advisor tells him that he needs the right hands of 33 common folk combined with drop of blood from a descendant of Uruth. The hands would be placed in a circle, their wrists buried in the ground around a cauldron. Upon the surface of the water of the cauldron Bhrugor would contribute his own blood to complete the ritual, and be granted the location of the hand.

Since most of the content in Lost Mines is PG-13, it may be worth mentioning to your group that you’ll be introducing some R-rated horror elements if you choose to use this ritual. In case this is too graphic for some folk, you can scale it back so that the Orcs have potential sacrifices held captive until the ritual was ready–implements nearby prisoner cages would suggest that the prisoners are being kept for a live sacrifice.

This ritual can certainly lead into some more compelling plot hooks (discussed below). Should the party be on the Triboar Trail in pursuit of Hamun Kost or Agatha the Banshee they may run across some of the victims of the Orcs, their right hands removed.

Properties of the Hand of Uruth

Uruth was essentially a paladin of Gruumsh, and as such his flesh already had some minor magical properties. Because the weave was strong in Wave Echo Cave, Gruumsh could connect with the hand more easily, and over the centuries he imbued it with more and more of his divine power.

The Hand of Uruth is a unique wondrous item which has the following properties:

  • Requires Attunement
  • Like many magical items, it’s resistant to damage. The hand of Uruth can burn and bleed but will always heal very quickly. Very powerful magic could destroy it.
  • The possessor of the Hand of Uruth can cast the Thaumaturgy cantrip at will.
  • Orcs or half-orcs who possess the hand have advantage on persuasion and intimidation checks against orcs.
  • “Warrior of Gruumsh” – Once a day, an orc or half-orc can use the hand to call forth the great orc horde leaders of the past (led by Uruth) who will fight on their behalf. This essentially has the same effect as the spirit guardians spell. If you want to make this even more powerful, you could have this power summon 2-3 revenants in the forms of great long dead orc warriors.
  • When “Warrior of Gruumsh” is activated, in addition to the hand granting advantage on persuasion and intimidation ability checks against orcs, orcs will suffer a -5 to any ability check they make contesting the holder of the hand of Uruth’s persuasion or intimidation checks.

While the Hand of Uruth isn’t very useful for most PCs, should an orc like Brughor get his hands on it, he’d quickly take leadership of the Many Arrows Kingdom, unite the disparate orc tribes and we’d have an orc uprising that the Sword Coast hasn’t seen for 500 years. Bad times to not be an orc.

Quest Hooks for Wyvern Tor

The quest hooks we are given for Wyvern Tor are from a bulletin board notice in front of the Phandalin Townmaster’s Hall with a reward for 100gp1 and from Hamun Kost who offers to answer some of the party’s questions should they get rid of the orcs pestering him at Old Owl Well2.

It’s tempting to change these quest hooks to make them more urgent. I saw a YouTube video which suggests that the orcs kidnapped the daughter of Harbin Wester, Ophelia Wester. This would explain why Wester is more interested in the Orcs than the more immediate problem of the redbrands. However, I already have a plot hook where sister Gaerele goes missing investigating Hamun Kost, so for me another missing person quest seems a bit redundant.

Modifying the Bulletin Board Hook

The bulletin board idea actually may be more compelling if we change the details of the request. For example, what if no one knows that the raids on the Triboar trail are orcs? Instead, travelers have found trading wagons ransacked and merchants dead with their right hands cut off for the dark scrying ritual mentioned above? Then the quest becomes more than a kill quest, it becomes a mystery that the party needs to solve. So far, no one has learned who is behind the raids, but party members can investigate the scene(s) of the crime and perhaps find clues as to who is behind the raids. Even if the party decides not to take Harbin Wester up on the Orc quest, they will run across the devastation the Orcs have left behind on the Triboar Trail.

Additional Phandalin Hooks

When the Party visits Barthen’s provisions they will notice that the shelves are sparse. Should the party asks about it, Barthen will mention the goblin raids to the north cutting off supplies from Neverwinter and the mysterious raids (with the missing hands) cutting off supplies from the Triboar trail.

“Raids I understand!” says Barthen, “But hands? Who cuts off hands?? I told old Harbin about it and he put up quite the reward, but no one has taken up the offer. I guess they value their lives more. Don’t blame ’em”

The lack of shipments have affected the Stonehill inn as well. Ale is overpriced as they’re running low. Cider is cheapest since it comes straight from Edermath’s orchard.

Players who visit the Lionshield Coster will notice a similar lack of goods on the shelves. When asking Linene Graywind about the lack of goods. She’s already missing the one shipment from the Goblins and she is hesitant to call for a shipment from Triboar because of the raids.

The Hamun Kost Hook

The Hamun Kost Hook can work as is. However, there should be details around Old Owl Well that would signify this had been an orc outpost for quite some time. Also, Kost may have had his familiar spy on the orcs while they were snooping around and picked up some details about them. He may suggest Wyvern Tor as their hideout as well since he has studied the region rather thoroughly.

Wave Echo Cave Encounter

If the party decides to leave the orcs alone, they will have reached Wave Echo Cave before the party. I think the it makes sense for them to be engaged in combat with the Ghouls in Area #9, because this is where the hand happens to be. The party can stealth and leave the orcs alone as the Brughor picks up of the Hand of Uruth. Should they do that, there will likely be dire consequences in a future campaign.

Approaching Wyvern Tor

When the party approaches Wyvern Tor, it should be clear that these are no ordinary marauding orcs. This is what the party sees:

Placed in a circle around a cauldron are hands partially buried in the ground, sticking straight up. An orc dressed in red robes with a single eye painted on the back chants in front of the circle as the sky starts turning a deep blood red.

To give the sense of a larger band, you could some of Brughor’s henchmen go out on a raid. If the party decides not to move, the ritual commences:

A very large orc in bone armor steps up to the cauldron and makes an incision across his palm with a ritual dagger. In that moment all the hands around the cauldon rot, decay, and turn to dust. The dust turns black, and swirls in the air before surging towards the surface of the water in the cauldron. It boils black and red. The orc in robes nods while the large orc reaches inside the boiling water, grimacing against the pain and pulls out a skeletal arm, red and black. With a howl of triumph the large orc throws it on the ground, and it slowly turns toward the west…

The orc in robes is Shurtak, priest of Gruumsh. The large orc in the bone armor is Brughor. The skeletal arm is pointing toward Wave Echo Cave.

Building the Wyvern Tor Combat Encounter

There isn’t a particularly good Orc Shaman stat block out there for lower levels. The Eye of Gruumsh is fun, though a little overpowered. The Death Priest from the NPC Statblock Compendium developed by /u/gaylordqueen69 on reddit I think is a good choice. Just do a text search for “Death Priest” on the pdf and it should pop up. It’s recommended that you use Kobold Fight Club to adjust the encounter. The encounter is originally structured to be deadly, with the possibility of a TPK if the party approaches the situation unwisely. However, since the orcs are preoccupied with the ritual they may overlook party members sneaking up on them. A surprise round with some early spells released is likely the way to go.

In terms of Orc Tactics in battle, I really must bow down to Keith Amman’s brilliant writeup on Orcs from his excellent site on D&D Monster tactics, The Monsters Know What they’re Doing. Read that twice and you should be good to go. There is also a second orc article from Keith, based on insights from Volo’s Guide to Monsters, although these focus mostly on orcs with abilities that might be too much for a lower level party. Do consider including them, however, if the party meets the orcs in Wave Echo Cave.

Roleplaying the Orcs

Since the party may succeed in eavesdropping on the orcs or perhaps even be captured by them, it’s worth fleshing them out a bit. Consider giving each of the orcs a name and a one sentence personality. Below are some ideas about Brughor and Shurtak.

Brughor Axe-Biter

Brughor Axe-Biter is extremely cunning and intelligent for an orc. He can read and write and speaks common with an above average vocabulary. He has an above average intelligence (12) and wisdom (12), which means he’s practically a genius for an orc. Role play him as such. Although he may speak gruffly, as do most orcs, inject a little eloquence to take the PCs off guard. He doesn’t seem to listen to many of the other orcs except for Shurtak.

Shurtak

Shurtak absolutely loathes the peace loving ways of the Many Arrows Kingdom. For years he has prayed to Gruumsh to find a way to overthrow the current king. Eventually he was granted a vision of Brughor as a leader of great hordes and as a descendant of Uruth. Shurtak sought Brughor out, convinced him of his birthright, and helped him quietly build a small band of followers. He was the one who suggested that Brughor seek the hand of Uruth, since Hartusk, the last war chief who rebelled against the king failed without it. Shurtak is very protective of Brughor and treats him like a son.

Further Reading/Watching

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DM Guide: Hamun Kost and Old Owl Well

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The first we hear of the Thayan red wizard Hamun Kost’s activity is through Daran Edermath, a member of the Order of the Gauntlet who has retired from his adventuring life in favor of making cider in Phandalin. Apparently there has been some “undead chasing away prospectors” near Old Owl Well and he wants the party to investigate it. According to the module, “Daran knows that the that the ruins are an old watchtower of an ancient magic empire known as Netheril, and he worries that dangerous magic might be dormant there.”1

Plot Hook: Sister Garaele is Missing!

When I ran through Lost Mines as a player, our DM never mentioned the Old Owl Well quest to us, even though we met Daran Edermath, and after I had read the module, I can see why. First off, Phandalin is beset by the more urgent problem of the Redbrand Menace. Second, all the Daran offers the party in terms of a quest hook is “rumors of undead” and “ancient magical ruins”. While the mention of magical ruins might be enough for adventurers hungry for magical items, for most parties it doesn’t seem more compelling than the main storyline.

If Sister Garaele, the devout cleric and friend of Edermath (I assume so since they’re neighbors) went missing while looking into the activity at Old Owl Well, however, then we have a whole new level of urgency. In both runs I did of Phandelver the party took a vote to decide whether to go after Garaele or the Redbrands first.

Here’s a link to the article about the Sister Garaele plot hook: https://cros.land/2019/09/old-owl-well-agatha-plot-hook-sister-garaele-is-missing/. Since this hook is intertwined with the Agatha the Banshee quest given by Sister Garaele, I created a separate article for it.

TL;DR for the above article:

  • Sister Garaele’s Harper superiors are worried about Hamun Kost’s activity in the region
  • Sister Garaele goes to investigate and Hamun Kost gets the drop on her
  • The party can pursue several clues to determine that she had went to Old Owl Well (clues provided in above article)

How Would Hamun Kost Deal With Sister Garaele?

To me, Hamun Kost’s main motivation is the completion of his research and Sister Garaele is an impediment to it. He’s trying to keep a low profile and he knows that he can’t just let her go. However, he’s not saturday morning cartoon villain evil either, so he’s keeping her tied up until he can decide what to do with. Most likely he will let her go after his research is done. He may even return to Thay after he gets what he wants from the Well.

Hamun Kost’s Quests

When the party visits Kost, they’ll likely confront him about Garaele (both my parties did). Should the party kill off the orcs of Wyvern Tor or successfully parley with Agatha on Kost’s behalf, he’ll let Garaele go free. He may want some assurances from the party that they won’t interrupt with his research after he lets Garaele go, so a few persuasion checks may be involved.

Vanquishing the Orcs of Wyvern Tor

This seems like a pretty straightforward quest for the party. Since orcs have occupied Old Owl Well many times over the ages, it makes sense that the Orcs of Wyvern Tor have used Old Owl Well as a temporary outpost with plans of reclaiming the glory of the 600 strong orc tribe that made the Well their home over 100 years ago. It’s clear that they would consider Old Owl Well their territory, and perhaps have already made some incursions. See this article on the Wyvern Tor Orcs for more background.

Questions for Agatha the Banshee

Although I had originally thought Hamun Kost’s question about who built the tower at Old Owl Well was a useless trivia question, I realized the answer could prove a of great value to a scholar like Hamun Kost. Hamun Kost knows that Old Owl Well was a Netherese outpost, but knowing just who built it could lead to more clues about the place. If Hamun Kost knew the builder of the well, he could focus his studies to just one or two books in the 15 volume history of Netheril he carries around with him.

However, this might not be as interesting as other possible questions. Hamun Kost may, for example, have uncovered one of the entrances to the complex already, but needs to know the answer to a riddle to open it. So the question might be something like: “What is the motto of the Netherese family [insert family name here]?” This may give the party a small hint that there is something more to Old Owl Well than they think. Not only that, but should they revisit the Well later, they would know the password which opens the doors to whatever lies beneath the Well.

It’s also possible that Hamun Kost may want to know the location of an important magical item. Depending on how you play him, he could be arrogant and unwise enough to give this question to the party. This might be even more likely if they earn his trust.

Hamun Kost’s Backstory and Motivation

Since Old Owl Well happens to be an outpost from the massively powerful ancient magical empire of Netheril and because the Red Wizards of Thay are a Nation ruled by power hungry evil wizards who happen to use the undead as slaves, it’s not hard to deduce that Hamun Kost is after magical power himself, either in the form of long-buried magical items or long-forgotten magical knowledge. It’s not clear, however, if Hamun Kost is after something specific or after magic power in general. This is where the DM’s creativity can come into play.

Hamun Kost, the Rebel

In Tyranny of Dragons, there’s a splinter group that seeks to ally itself with the Cult of the Dragon, summon the god Tiamat, and with Tiamat’s aid overthrow Szass Tam, the current lich ruler of Thay. It makes sense that Hamun Kost would be allied with this group in search of powerful artifacts that may aid the Cult in its goals.

However, this splinter group doesn’t necessarily have to be allied with the Cult of the Dragon. Indeed you can easily replace the Cult of the Dragon with any other nefarious group that happens to be the focus of whatever campaign you choose to run after Lost Mines. To me, this opportunity feels too delicious to pass up. In some future session, characters could potentially travel to Thay to meet with the lich Szass Tam’s inner circle and forge an uneasy alliance against this mutual threat some time down the road.

Hamun Kost, the Arrogant Buffoon

I find it amusing that Hamun Kost chose to travel alone to Old Owl Well and decided to keep his rather ostentatious red wizard garb, especially in a land that would treat red wizards with suspicion. Not only that, but he sets up a bright vermillion tent in the middle of nowhere and raises a whole bunch of zombies to do excavation work. For someone who wants to keep a low profile, he’s not doing a great job.

To me, this can be easily explained both by the arrogance of the red wizards (they believe they can go where they please without hiding) as well as the fact that Hamun Kost is oblivious to anything not pertaining to his beloved research–very much like an absent minded professor. Hamun Kost will likely be preoccupied and want to get the adventurers out of his hair as soon as possible.

What is Hamun Kost Looking For?

According to Forgotten Realms lore, it turns out that beneath Old Owl Well there was a vault full of chardalyn, priceless gems that could hold spells indefinitely. These gems could be used for epic spells that the Netherese had been known to cast:

The Netherese could:

These epic 10th level spells can no longer be cast because reasons. However, learning the secrets behind these spells could lead to creation of new 9th level spells with similar though lesser effects. Furthermore, there may be a magical item or chardalyn left behind with a single charge of one of these spells left in them. If a Hamun Kost and his allies got their hands on this item, Faerûn is going to have a bad time.

Since chardalyn seem to be an essential component for these epic spells it follows that a powerful arcanist may have wanted to set up a secret stronghold where there happen to be large amounts of these gems. This is a prime opportunity for to insert a dungeon. In fact I plan on creating a dungeon for my players, so stay tuned!

What Does Hamun Kost Know?

Old Owl Well has a long history of being occupied by various powers, so if Hamun Kost is after magical power, he has to be in possession of some knowledge about this place that others who came searching for it did not have. Perhaps when players enter Kost’s tent they see a large stack of books written in Thayan on the history of Netheril. Somewhere in this mountain of books Hamun Kost found mention of an underground complex in the form of an ancient vault (or laboratory or temple or library etc) and thus he has sent his zombies digging in search of it.

Since this underground complex was built by a mega-powerful magic empire, it may make sense for the party to revisit the area beneath Old Owl Well when they reach a higher level. If left alone, I imagine that Hamun Kost would spend several more weeks digging until he found the entrance to the the complex beneath the Well. Eventually, he would be chased away by the magical construct guardians the Netherese left behind. Perhaps later, Hamun Kost would manage to recruit some adventurers, fellow Red Wizards or evil allies like the Cultists in Tyranny of Dragons (or your minions of choice) to aid him with further excavation of the vault. The party would catch wind of this through various clues, and revisit the well.

Old Owl Well History (Cliffs Notes Version)

The ideas above have taken some liberties with Forgotten Realms lore and history, so I thought it might be good to provide a cliffs notes version of the actual history of Old Owl Well so that DMs can get a little more background.

Who Built The Well?

Old Owl Well is an old outpost built by the Netherese, an ancient civilization so advanced in their command of magic that they could, as mentioned above, literally uproot a mountain and make it float in mid air. The Netherese drilled a hole five miles deep as well as a complicating piping system so that the well in the courtyard supplies fresh water to this day.

Why Was Old Owl Well Built?

The Netherese built the well under the direction of a mysterious Sarrukh (powerful ancient lizard race) named Arthindol. Arthindol was a shapeshifter, lich, and powerful mage who took the form of a human and as far as I can tell, the Netherese didn’t know about Arthindol’s true form. Arthindol had been dubbed the “Terraseer” for his ability to see events happening everywhere in the world. Ostensibly, Arthindol set up the well and watchtower to spy on some nearby elves and to supply trade in the area.

A Vault of Magic Gems

This appears to be a cover story, however. What the Terraseer was really after was an ancient vault left over by a Sarrukh empire that was ancient even when Netheril existed. This vault was filled with valuable chardalyn gems which had the ability to store magic spells. Arthindol wasn’t the only one after these gems, as the area had been protected by over 3000 owlbears that evil deepspawn had created. Eventually, the Netherese slaughtered the owlbears and the deepspawn. The gems (probably not all of them) were secured and from then on the outpost became known as Old Owl Well in honor of the dead owlbears.

Personally, I don’t find the Sarrukh or deepspawn very compelling, so instead of a Sarrukh vault, I like the idea that there’s a natural deposit of chardalyn under the well. That way the story is more focused on the Netherese and their arcanists and is not muddied by details about the Sarrukh.

What Happened to the Well After the Fall of Netheril?

Because the well was an endless source of fresh water, and because there wasn’t another reliable water source in miles, various powers have vied for possession of the well over the ages after Netheril fell. The last power to occupy the well were soldiers of Neverwinter. My guess is that after Neverwinter was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Hotenow, nobody was around to pay the soldiers and they disbanded, leaving the ruins unoccupied except for the occasional roving band of orcs that made camp there.

If we’re going to be true to the lore of the Well, the description of a crumbling watchtower with a courtyard could use a little more work. There should be evidence of the many civilizations who had made this place their outpost. The Well, could, for example be surrounded by crumbling stone wall of various architectural styles. The latest defenses by the Neverwinter soldiers, perhaps some hastily set up stockades, still remain in fragments, and since orcs (perhaps the orcs of Wyvern Tor?) have made camp here in the past, perhaps there are crude shrines left behind to the God Gruumsh as well as graffiti of the Wyvern Tor orcs on the stone walls.

Further Reading/Watching

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Quest: The Redemption of Agatha the Banshee

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The Redemption of Agatha the Banshee is a homebrew supplementary quest to Lost Mines of Phandelver which players can discover when visiting Cragmaw Castle. In this supplement, Auglatha refers to the true elven name for the Banshee Agatha. For more information on the suggested backstory for Agatha in this quest, please see the NPC Guide for Agatha the Banshee.

Summary

According to the backstory suggested in the NPC Guide for Agatha the Banshee, Cragmaw Castle (formerly known as Melarue Keep) used to be property of Agatha’s (Auglatha’s) family, the Melarue clan. The Melarue were an elven family devoted to Sehanine Moonbow, a goddess skilled in the arts of divination and illusion. Clues in the altar room of Cragmaw castle lead to the family secret sanctum beneath. In the sanctum, the party learns a little bit about Auglatha the Banshee’s former life and the pursuit of a magic sword leads the party to the Banshee’s lair. Should the party play their cards right, the DM can choose to reward the party with a powered down version of a Moonblade (details below).

Cragmaw Castle: The Defaced Shrine

Below are some additional details to add to area #9 of Cragmaw Castle.1

When the party first enters the room they see a stone altar. On top of it is a wooden block covered in darkened blood which has spilled over the edges and onto the altar of stone. Laid neatly in a row in front of the block are the heads of hobgoblins, bugbears and goblins lined up as well as some humans. These beheaded goblinoids were executed for incompetence. These heads are also offerings to their God, Maglubiyet. At the end of the row are the remains of a statue’s head sundered in half . The sundered stone head appears to be the face of a beautiful elven woman (DC 15 Religion check to learn it is Sehanine Moonbow, the elven Goddess skilled in divination and illusion. Religion check should be made with advantage for elves/half-elves).

On the northern wall of the room is a simple steel axe hanging from pitons crudely hammered into the wall. There appear to be smears of red all across the walls. Any character with a passive perception above 15 will notice that the red smears appear to be an effort to deface the symbols of the god who was once revered here. Behind the axe, you can make out what appears to be the symbol of a full moon and a bluish gray semicircle. Extending from the moon are painted representations of blue and silver rays of moonlight. These rays stretch across the walls and although the paint has nearly worn away, you can see evidence of a single moonbeam that stretching all the way across the floor to the opposite wall.

Also upon the wall is a phrase in elvish:

“The path opens for our Goddess, her feet bathed in moonlight“

At the southern end of the room is a marble statue of a woman with the head removed. The statue appears to be facing the wall instead of into the room. The statue’s feet are attached to a stone circle. There is a small half inch gap between the edges of the stone circle and the floor. A DC 15 investigation check reveals that it may be possible to rotate the statue. Players may be able to figure this out themselves without the check.

If the statue is turned in the direction of the moon symbol, there are clicking and clacking sounds and the altar moves aside (cue Zelda secret door sound).

Should the party not enter the altar room or not figure out the statue puzzle you can easily have another entrance near King Grol’s quarters. In this case, you probably need to have a grick or two waiting below (which would explain why the Cragmaw goblinoids haven’t ransacked it yet).

The Melarue Family Secret Sanctum

Map of the Melarue Family Secret Sanctum.
(link to map without numbers)

Overview

A swirl of dust spirals into the air when the party descends into the Melarue family sanctum. The noises of the goblinoids in the castle fade to nothing here–the silence feels absolute.

The Melarue Family secret sanctum served several purposes. This was where Auglatha’s father, Quarion Melarue, kept his private study. It also housed a more intimate private shrine to Sehanine Moonbow as well as the sacred Well of the Moon (area 3). Finally, this was a refuge area for family members to keep safe should the keep ever fall under attack. In addition to the secret entrance from the altar room above, a secret tunnel leads out from the sanctum to a location in the woods outside Cragmaw Castle.

The Attack on the Sanctum

Auglatha’s lover, Gwinforth the human bard, learned of the sanctum’s location through Auglatha. Betraying her trust, he shared the story with Chuth, the Green Dragon with whom he was in league. When the family retreated into the sanctum, Gwinforth opened it up, and Chuth spewed his deadly poison gas into the underground chamber, killing the whole family except Auglatha who had by luck had been gathering medicinal herbs in the woods. Kobolds who served Chuth brought the bodies up to their master who devoured them one by one.

Secret Sanctum Locations

The following locations are keyed to the map of the Melarue Family Secret Sanctum.

1. Quarion Melarue’s Study

This was where Quarion Melarue, Auglatha’s father, studied the arcane arts as well write most of his correspondences. Most of these books are not spellbooks, but rather books on the theory of divination and illusion magics.

Mya’s Skeleton: Hidden underneath the desk is a small skeleton wearing the clothes of a very young elven girl. This is Mya Melarue, Auglatha’s younger sister. Although Mya had succumbed to the Green Dragon’s poison, her body had been overlooked by the Kobolds. Auglatha learned about what happened to her by casting speak with the dead. Mya had observed a human riding the back of the Green Dragon and and by her description Auglatha deduced that it could have only been Gwinforth behind her family’s death.

Bookshelf: A thorough search of the shelf will reveal a spellbook with 3-4 divination and illusion spells of the DMs choice as well as a book on the Melarue family history. Should an elven or half-elven party member be related to the Melarue family, their grandfather’s name will be written in the family tree.

Chest: The lock on this chest has been smashed open. At first glance the chest is empty. However, there is a false bottom in the chest which will be revealed with a DC 15 passive perception. Inside the false bottom is Quarion’s journal and a platinum signet ring with the Melarue family crest (worth 50gp). This signet ring may come in handy later when speaking to living members of the Melarue clan. The journal expresses concern about a Green Dragon who has made its lair near the keep, as well as concern about Auglatha spending too much time with her human lover, the bard Gwinforth.

2. Sanctum Shrine

This is a small shrine dedicated to Sehanine Moonbow. There is an alcove in the wall where a beautifully painted statue of the Melarue’s patron goddess stands. If anyone in the party has Melarue blood, they are immediately drawn to the alcove and they sense something important is behind it. A DC 10 perception check reveals that the alcove is turned slightly to the side. Auglatha, in her haste to seek revenge on Gwinforth failed to seal the alcove properly when she left.

3. Well of the Moon

The secret door to the Well of the Moon is behind the shrine to Sehanine Moonbow. Inside is a small pool that emits a bright silvery light akin to that of a full moon. Upon the surface of the water is the image of a large full moon. This was where members of the Melarue family partook in the Silver Truth (see below) as well as perform scrying spells.

Boon (The Silver Truth): Beside the well is a silver dipper set upon an ornate wooden side table with the following words written in elvish on its surface: “May the silver truth guide you”. If any party member drinks the water of the pool, they are imbued with the single-use power to remove delusions and self-deceptions from any being. They will also be able to detect delusions in any being as they speak. Once the water is imbibed, the full moon in the pool gradually fades to a faint crescent moon and to the darkness of a new moon. The well takes 30 days to return to a full moon state, whereupon a drinker can receive the Silver Truth boon again.

Sword sheath: At the south end of the room on two iron hooks is an ornate sheath of a sword with platinum and gold filigree. It looks to be valuable. Should a party member pick it up, they see a line of what seems to be moonlight pointing in a Southeastern direction. A successful Investigation or Acana check (DC10) will reveal that this is probably the location of the sword for this sheath. The sword is located in Conyberry and is in the possession of Auglatha the Banshee.

After Auglatha had cast speak with the dead on her sister to learn what had happened to her family, she went straight to the well to scry on the location of her lover Gwinforth, who was heading towards Conyberry. In a rage, she took the sword from the wall, neglecting the sheath as well as neglecting to completely seal the shrine’s secret door and left in pursuit of him.

4. Ransacked Supplies

Broken barrels and crates are strewn all about this area, covered in the fine layer of dust. These crates had been torn open by the kobolds who worked in the service of the green dragon Chuth. Nothing is in them. Anything that was not consumed on the spot was carried away.

5. Bedchambers

These bedchambers served as an emergency sleeping area for the family in case of a siege. Judging by the thick layer of dust, no one has been here in a long time.

Secret Passage: To the south of the room, a DC 15 perception check will reveal a secret passage to the south. This passage leads to the woods outside of Cragmaw Castle.

6. Privy

Three rudimentary toilets line the far end the room.

7. Secret Passage

This secret passage is 8ft tall by 5-6ft wide. It progresses for about 500 feet before ending up in the woods outside of Cragmaw castle.

Returning to Auglatha’s Lair

Characters following the moonlight trail emitting from the sheath will eventually make it back to Auglatha’s lair. When presented with the sword and/or asked about her family’s demise she will tell her story: Of her relationship with Gwinforth and of Gwinforth’s betrayal and the attack on her family’s keep. Finally, she will tell the party about her confrontation with Gwinforth. When Auglatha faced Gwinforth to attack him, the bard pulled the sword from her hands with a telekinesis spell, and sent it straight back at her heart (and she will point to the dark hole where her heart once was). Inside the black hole in her chest is the Moonblade, the Melarue family heirloom and sacred sword.

Setting Auglatha Free

Should a party member have received the silver truth boon (mentioned above) they will notice their hands start to glow with moonlight when Auglatha speaks. According to the Monster Manual, A Banshee is “forced to relive every memory of their life with perfect recall, yet always refuses to accept responsibility for its doom.”2 so it should follow that anyone using the silver truth boon could potentially help a banshee see how she contributed to her own demise.

It was mentioned by Maciej Krzysztoszek, a member of the Lost Mines of Phandelver DMs Facebook group, that the banshee lore as it stands leads too far into victim blaming and I have to agree. Instead, it may be better to flip the lore and make it so that the reason Auglatha is a banshee is because she refuses to grant herself forgiveness. She is consumed by her guilt and fails to see how she others were more responsible than she was. To me, this is a stronger story and only requires a small tweak of the lore.

Upon using the silver truth boon on the banshee, a brilliant beam of moonlight arcs from the hand of its wielder. Upon impact with the banshee, the moonlight bursts from Auglatha’s eyes. She reaches her hand to cover her mouth and an otherworldly scream pierces the air. Since the scream is muffled, the damage to party members is not as much as a Banshee’s wail. All party members must make a DC 13 constitution save. If they fail, they take 3d6 damage. If they succeed, they take half as much.

When the scream subsides, Auglatha looks up to the party. At this point, her horrible visage reverts to a spectral version of the beautiful elven woman that she had been before. She starts sobbing both out of repressed grief and of relief. She had believed that she was to blame in the tragedy that befell her family, and refused to acknowledge the fact that it was Gwinforth and not she who was at fault. Having finally come to terms with with fact with the help of the silver truth, she is set free.

The Moonblade

As a thanks to the party, Auglatha reaches into the black hole in her chest and pulls out her family blade. The black hole where it had been starts to slowly seal. She then disappears, free.

The moonblade (short sword) has two states, awakened and dormant.

The dormant moonblade has the following properties:

  • Requires Attunement
  • +1 to attack/damage. +2 to attack/damage against shapeshifters.
  • If the blade comes in contact with a shapeshifter, the blade will temporarily reveal their true form (they do not revert to their true form).
  • Grants the wielder the ability to cast the minor illusion cantrip.

Should the wielder engage in combat with any of the sworn enemies of the Melarue clan, the blade becomes awakened. In my run of this adventure the blade will become awakened when fighting the green dragon Chuth in Tyranny of Dragons.

The awakened moonblade has the following properties in addition to the dormant properties:

  • The blade becomes sentient, and has a personality.
  • +2 to attack/damage. +3 to attack/damage against shapeshifters.
  • Shapeshifters have a chance to lose their form when damaged by the blade (DC 12 Constitution Saving throw, once per round). They can use their action to repeat this save on subsequent turns.
  • Grants the wielder the ability to cast Spirit Guardians. 1/day. The Spirit guardians take the form of the Melarue family clan (including Auglatha). The wielder has advantage on concentration saves for this spell.
  • Grants wielder the ability to cast Silent Image. 1/day.

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Old Owl Well/Agatha Story Hook: Sister Garaele is Missing!

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Related Article: NPC guide to Agatha the Banshee.

The only two hooks we’re given for the Agatha the Banshee quest are from sister Garaele, a Harper who lives in Phandalin and Hamun Kost, a lone red wizard digging around Old Owl Well. Both of them want the answers to trivia questions which aren’t very interesting. Sister Garaele wants to know the “location of a spell book belonging to a legendary mage named Bowgentle” for which she offers 3 healing potions.1. Hamun kost wants to know “the name of the wizard who built the tower at old owl well”. In return Kost may give the party some “information they need”.2.

Not only are the questions a bit lackluster, but the party may not even meet sister Garaele in the first place because the rumor that “she came back from somewhere a little haggard” is not as compelling as the more immediate issue of the Redbrands bleeding the town dry.

This problem, however, is easily solved if sister Garaele left town for some reason and never came back. Further investigation by the party reveals that she has received word from her Harper contacts that a red wizard has arrived in the region and they task her to investigate it. Through various clues, the party can discover that Sister Garaele has been captured by Hamun Kost. Should they rescue her, she may trust them enough to give them the Agatha quest.

Clues to Old Owl Well

At this point you may want to brainstorm possible clues that sister Garaele or her harper contacts may have left behind to lead the party to Old Owl Well. Here are some possibilities:

  • Garaele could leave behind a silver mirror (used in scrying) and beside it is a sketch of Old Owl Well. However, this would make her at least a 9th high cleric and you’d have to explain how Hamun Kost, a less accomplished wizard, got the jump on her–which could be doable if she had let her guard down.
  • The Harper letter to Garaele mentions Old Owl Well to begin with.
  • The Harper letter to Garaele states that Hamun Kost was seen headed up the Triboar Trail. On the trail, the party could encounter two zombies carrying a handcart full of dead bodies toward Old Owl Well (more diggers for Hamun Kost’s excavation). The zombies would ignore they party unless attacked, and the wheel ruts obviously turn off to the location of the Well. The “squeak-squeak” of the handcart in the middle of the night is a lot of fun to play out.
  • Someone close to sister Garaele tells the party where she went. Daran Edermath would be a good candidate for this, since they’re neighbors.
  • Of course, you can always have the Daran Edermath hook3. Although I envision Edermath as a retired adventurer who has “seen too much” and just wants to make his cider. Having him as an active agent of the Order of the Gauntlet doesn’t fit for me.

You can also try the Scryberries hook below. In the two runs I’ve done of Lost Mines both parties actually had to cast a vote to decide whether or not to rescue Garaele or deal with the Redbrands. One party voted to go after Garaele first, and the other went to rescue Garaele after they had cleansed Phandalin.

How I ran it: Scryberries!

When the party approaches sister Garaele’s house, they notice that a faint blue light emanates from one of the windows. When they open the door, they find a stalk growing out of the ground from which 3 glowing berries hang. Sister Garaele, through her connection to her Goddess (I changed it from Tymora to Mielikki because the scryberries had more of a nature goddess vibe to them) has, through her divine magic fostered the growth of these berries. Should someone ingest a berry, they’re granted a vision of the the Red Wizard, Old Owl Well, and the surrounding Sword Mountains. You may even grant a vision of the zombies and Sister Garaele being tied up. A nature check (because of the mountains) or a history check (because of the well) will reveal a more specific location. If they fail the check, they can always ask people in the town about it. Sister Garaele had already eaten one berry, found where Hamun Kost was and left these for whomever might come after (perhaps another Harper).

Better Questions for Agatha

Finally we need to address the trivia question issue. The questions that Hamun Kost and sister Garaele ask Agatha should have more stakes and make the party think twice about asking the question. Hamun Kost should feel reluctant to give the question to the party, as it gives them a clue as to what he’s searching for at Owl Well or perhaps his greater plans. He considers having sister Garaele captive good enough leverage, however, to ensure that the party won’t betray him.

Similarly Sister Garaele’s question should be vital to Harper interests, and while perhaps Bowgentle’s spellbook may have some rare 9th level spells, magic items, and locations of powerful enemies are much more interesting.

Some possible questions for Hamun Kost

  • Where is the [powerful sounding magical item]? This could be an important item for later in the campaign. Perhaps it’s currently in possession of some powerful being so pursuing it would be foolhardy.
  • A weird question like: “What was Arthindol’s favorite animal?” Perhaps down in Old Owl well there’s a magic door that can only be opened by knowledge of this odd bit of information.

Some possible questions for Sister Garaele

  • Where is the [powerful sounding magical item]? This works just as well for Sister Garaele and her harper interests.
  • Who is the leader of [insert evil organization here] and where can they be found?
  • What is the reason for the red wizard activity on the Sword Coast?

It should be noted that the answers to some of these questions go beyond the scope of divination magic in DnD 5e. However, since Agatha is an ethereal being, it can be explained that she has access to greater divination magics than mere mortals do.

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Any Additional Hooks?

What about you? How have you brought your players to Agatha the Banshee/Old Owl Well?

Lost Mines of Phandelver NPC Guide: Agatha the Banshee

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I have come to regard Agatha as one of my favorite characters in the Lost Mines module although she certainly didn’t start that way. Initially she seemed like a placeholder character in a tiresome fetch quest, but after taking some time to flesh out her backstory and motivations I believe (and I hope you’ll come to agree) that Agatha can be so much more than the trivia question answerer the module presents her to be.

First Things First: Let’s Call her Auglatha

As the My Realms Blog observes: “[The name Agatha] makes her sound like a character from an episode of Bewitched” and not an an infamous undead being who apparently knows everything about everything. (Incidentally, the My Realms blog has a WEALTH of ideas for deepening the story and lore behind Lost Mines Characters and Quests. If you want to run the Conyberry encounter with a little more depth than the module offers, this article on Agatha should be required reading).

According to the article, apparently in one of the D&D CRPGs “it was revealed that Agatha is actually a corruption of the banshee’s surname which is Auglatha meaning Winterbreeze“. This is so much cooler than the original IMHO. Also, at the end of the article we’re given a suggested given name for the banshee: Melarue.

Because Melarue seemed a better family name to me, I preferred to make her name Auglatha Melarue. Either way, the name certainly has a bit more gravitas to it.

To avoid confusion, the banshee will still be referred to Agatha with occasional references to Auglatha in parentheses.

Building Agatha’s Origin Story

While I’ve crafted my own backstory for Agatha (offered below), here are some important questions to think about should you write your own:

  • Who was Agatha in life? Elves live a very long time, so it follows that Agatha may have some living family members. If a member of your party is elven or half-elven they may even be related to her! Indeed, they could have a still living grandparents who knew Agatha personally. Consider incorporating this into a character’s backstory on session zero.
  • Since nothing in the Monster Manual seems to suggest that Banshees are adept at divining, it makes sense that Agatha was an adept of divination both in life as well as in undeath. How did she learn her powers of divination?
  • Banshees are, according to the Monster Manual, “the undead remnants of elves who, blessed with great beauty, failed to use their gift to bring joy to the world. Instead, they used their beauty to corrupt and control others.”1. How did Agatha corrupt and control others?
  • How did Agatha die? Banshees are forever bound to the place of their demise. She probably wasn’t a native of Conyberry, as it was a mostly human settlement of subsistence farmers. How did she end up there? Why did she die there?
  • Who was Agatha’s enemy? There are lots of beings in the realms who can live for hundreds of years. Whoever killed Agatha may still be alive somewhere out there (This could be the perfect hook for a future adventure). This enemy might be good or evil, and could have even been a former ally who betrayed her.
  • According to the Monster Manual Banshees are “forced to relive every moment of its life with perfect recall, yet refuses to accept responsibility for its doom.” Is there someone or something that out there in the world who can convince Agatha to accept responsibility for her evil actions, perhaps in a much longer character arc?

My take on the Agatha Story

For my take on the Agatha story I stole another idea from the My Realms Blog that was just too good: Agatha’s family actually owned Cragmaw Castle in the distant past. If a party member makes a high history check or does a thorough investigation of Iarno Albrek’s bookshelf (Iarno would likely be interested in the history and lore of the Cragmaw tribe’s current hideout), they may learn about the location of a “Melarue Keep”, somewhere in Neverwinter Wood. The connection between the Keep and Cragmaw Castle may not become clear until later, however.

A Family of Diviners

Agatha’s family, the Melarues, were expert diviners and as such they worshipped Sehanine Moonbow, the elven goddess who was particularly adept at divination and illusion spells. As a form of devotion, all family members had been trained in one or both of those arts. Agatha was particularly adept at divination and learned to scry at an early age. In Cragmaw Castle, the altar that had been defaced by King Grol’s priests was originally built to honor the Melarue patron goddess. In keeping with Sehanine’s love of illusions, Cragmaw Castle has a secret sanctum that the Goblins have not yet discovered (I will write about the secret sanctum in another article, but essentially this secret sanctum will lead to clue hooks which will start the quest for the Redemption of Agatha the Banshee.

A Gross Betrayal

I really wanted Agatha to be a character that the party could sympathize with. So instead of being corrupt, as the Monster Manual suggests, I envisioned her as being corrupt-ed. When I ran the campaign, Agatha was seduced by an evil bard in league with the green dragon Chuth (who makes an appearance in Tyranny of Dragons–feel free to replace Chuth with another long lived baddie to match your campaign). The bard tricked her into divulging the secrets of her family keep’s defenses (See the supplementary quest: The Redemption of Agatha the Banshee). When Chuth manages to break into the family’s secret sanctum and devour her family, Agatha seeks revenge on her lover at their favorite meeting place near Conyberry only to meet her end at his hand.

Building a Better Plot Hook

Building all this backstory for Agatha, however, may become a wasted effort if the party doesn’t feel like they want to go visit her in the first place. And honestly, the quest hooks that the module gives aren’t super enticing.

We need to build a better plot hook to get the party to be interested in meeting sister Gaerele or Hamun Kost in the first place (the only two quest givers). Since sister Gaerele is a Harper, and because Harpers are enemies of the Red Wizards, it follows that Gaerele would try to track down Hamun Kost and perhaps be captured by him. Should the partyrescue her, she may trust them enough to give them the Agatha quest.

Since this plot hook covers more than just the banshee, I have created a separate article for it: Old Owl Well/Agatha Plot Hook: Sister Gaerele is Missing!

Agatha/Conyberry Lore

When researching Agatha, I also looked looked into her lore and honestly I didn’t really find anything super helpful for her backstory. However, perhaps someone else can be inspired by a tidbit in the lore of Conyberry or Agatha when building their version.

Some interesting tidbits:

  • In the Halfling’s Gem, a novel by R.A. Salvatore, the heroes Drizzt Do’Urden and Wulfgar, upon recommendation from Malchor Harpell, an eccentric mage, visited the banshee in order to steal a magic mask that would essentially help Drizzt look less like a drow and blend in better. When approaching Conyberry, they encountered the villagers of Conyberry who seemed protective of her. They urged the two not to kill Agatha. They plugged their ears full of beeswax to protect themselves from the Banshee’s wail, snuck in, and stole the mask. This happened about 150 years before the events of Lost Mines, but I imagine she’s still bitter about it.
  • Apparently the villagers of Conyberry had a good relationship with Agatha. They would give her gifts that flattered her and she would in turn protect them from invaders.
  • Conyberry has been sacked by the Uthgardt Gray Wolf tribe–essentially barbarian werewolves. Should you want to involve werewolves in a future quest, this would be a great connection to make. Notably, the tribe seems to have had Orcish enemies, so this could make for a compelling connection with the Wyvern Tor quest.

Further reading/Watching:

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