Ritual of Vintermas As Vintermas arrives a dark cult moves to bring back the old ways and remove the jolly new god of Vinterms, Sinter Nickolaus and replace him with something more sinister. By J Carmichael

Foreword First of all thank you for picking up this one shot adventure. I have attempted to design it to slot into any game setting but please feel free to edit and adjust any parts as you need to better fit your campaign, or alternatively run it as a completely separate one shot adventure as a chance to take a little break from your normal campaign or introduce a new player with a Christmas themed adventure. I have attemped to ensure the whole adventure can be completed in 2-3 sessions of 3 hours and a couple of test runs has proven that this is laregly dependant on the familiartity of your players with the game, so be prepared to run a bit longer if intorudcing new players! All in all there should be arounf 4-6 hours of material if played straight through. Balancing the combat was a little difficult so if your combat encounters are moving too quickly or appear too deadly please feel free to adjust health or damage on the fly, it is Christmas after all! Player Requirements This adventure was designed for a team of 4 level 5 characters, if creating new characters specifically for this adventure they should be equipped with a minimum of 2 Uncommon magic items and 1 Common magic item. Each player should also start with 2 potions of healing. 1

Ritual of Vintermas Sinter Nickolaus- the saint of Vintermas, has evolved over the years to better suit the current beliefs of the world, now a symbol of joy, warmth and giving - A demi-god of sorts with his own power and magic. Gone are the dark remembrances of winter, the warnings of the cold and hunger, the stories of the hunt and death. Gone… But not completely forgotten. A cult wishes to bring back the old beliefs and the true meaning of Vintermas, they have found an ancient ritual which will allow them to siphon off the power which Sinter Nickolaus holds and transfer it to this new being, made entirely of the darker aspects of winter, the cold, the hunger… The hunt. To pull this off they must first capture Nickolaus, they have laid a trap in the traditional starting point of the Vintermas festival, the first place Nickolaus visits on his Vintermas journey. The same place our party find themselves this night. Part 1 - Sinter Nickolaus Arrives The party are enjoying the Vintermas festival, some may live in this village, some may have travelled here as it is famous as the starting point of Saint Nickolaus on his Vintermas journey. He appears in the village square at midnight, provides gifts and joy to all present then calls for his stag-pulled sleigh before heading off to deliver gifts to the rest of the world. As midnight approaches the party can be partying, eating, drinking, playing games etc. until midnight arrives. At which point… The village elder calls for the square to be cleared and a countdown is started. Snow starts to fall gently, getting heavier the closer the count gets to zero, at which point a flurry coalesces into the form of a man, large, over 7 ft tall dressed in dark reds and burgundy’s of what appear to resemble very basic riding leathers and a large fur lined coat. He sports a long white beard which falls just to the top of his protruding belly. He blinks a few times in the torchlight as he takes in the crowd, throws open his arms and laughs, a deep resonating laughter which you can feel right in your stomach. You literally cannot stop yourself from smiling as the laughter washes over you. You are aware this isn’t just normal laughter as you can feel the magic emanating from the man in red, the joy he feels is literally lapping over everyone present. Sinter Nickolaus has arrived. The village elder steps forward to great him but before he can speak there is a rumble, the earth shakes beneath you for just a second before eruptions of force blast sections of the crowd from their feet throwing earth and snow into the air. Each player must make a Dexterity Save throw to stay on their feet, DC 12. Anyone who fals is knocked prone. Each player not knocked prone can now make a Perception check, DC 15 to try and determine the shape of these will reveal the eruptions appeared in points around a circle with Nickolaus at its center. Bright lights a sickly green colour glow following the paths of the eruptions before points race inwards to wrap around Nickolaus’s body. He cannot move, yet he does not seem to struggle, and while his laughter has stopped he is still smiling. Several humanoids in black robes and cowls step into the square, they chant in unison and more green energy flies from their hands and wraps around Nickolaus. As he stands, wrapped in the ribbons of energy his eyes scan the crowd, stopping, just for a second, on each of you. Then, as the chanting builds to a crescendo he says “Ho Ho Ho!” before the green energy flashes blinding you all momentarily. As your vision returns Nickolaus is no longer there, several of the figures in robes have disappeared as well but more remain, as the chaos resumes more figures enter the square and begin attacking the guards and villagers. What will you do?. The party will face off against several cultists, these skirmishes are happening all over the square but now that the initial shock has worn off the village militia/ guards have leapt into action to protect the villagers. The party do not have to contend with all of the cultists - only a few. This number should be equal to the number of members of the party. Once the fight has come to an end the party can take some time to check the village is ok and can begin to investigate/ interrogate the cultists who attacked, if the party did not capture any cultists alive then the guards will capture at least 2. They won't provide much information other than their general plan. If a party member succeeds on a DC12 intimidation check the captives will reveal that their leader, Asmodel, plans to use Sinter Nickolaus to summon a god of the Old Vintermas and that the full ritual could take 2 - 3 days but can be completed sooner if necessary. With either a good investigation/ survival check for tracks or by interrogating a surviving cultist they can work out they came from the north and members of the village can inform them that there is a mountain several miles to the north with a large cave system - this is where the cult plan on performing the ritual, in the heart of a frozen mountain. 2

Part 2 - The Forest Path In the aftermath of the attack as you each recover from the sudden assault, the village elder steps forward attempting to gain some semblance of order over the town, he calls for any who are willing to search for Sinter Nickolaus to step forward now as they are trying to organise a rescue party. As you step forward several gruff men approach at the same time, they introduce themselves as the towns hunters, Wolfrick, a lean man with dark greying hair which falls around his ears and a close cropped beard. Baez, a large man with a rotund gut and severe underbite with lank greasy hair and a bulbous nose. And Norveg, a small man with a pointed nose, sunken eyes and a furtive nature. Unbeknownst to the party these three are lycanthropes, a werewolf, wereboar and wererat respectively, their mannerisms should reflect this. They are also the town's best hunters, that much is true, each with their own speciality, Wolfrick is the best tracker and marksman, Baez the best ambusher and strongest of the three while Norveg is the best trapper and most dextrous. The hunters will offer to help track the cultists who fled as they, and the town elder, believe that have taken Nickolaus to a cave in the North as it is a site of power and great magic, there they can draw on the land itself to fuel their ritual. Several hours after they set off the party will arrive at a clearing,the hunters will call a halt on the treeline before they enter as they claim to have spotted something. A DC 15 perception check from any member of the party will corroborate this as they can hear something just beyond the trees on the far side. While journeying the party will have had a chance to talk to the hunters if they wish, should they not suggest it however their guides will not strike up conversation. Wolfrick will be quiet but polite, engaging in conversation only when necessary to answer questions and will avoid or deflect anything too personal. Baez will be boastful and enjoys talking of himself, especially his combat ability, brandishing a large warhammer as he does, when he laughs he has a tendency to snort. Norveg will keep to himself and occasionally flinches if someone addresses him or says his name, his gaze tends to dart around him when he speaks, he stands in a way to make him appear as small as possible, he will not often laugh but Baez can occasionally draw a squeaking chuckle from him when talking about a particularly gruesome kill or fight. If the party grow suspicious of their guides and voice this they can make a DC 20 insight check, on a success they do not know the true nature of their guides but they become aware that they are not actually their allies. If the party don't stop the hunters then when they arrive at the clearing they will suggest splitting up and using their skills to take out the threat, they will slip away into the trees and move as if to circle around the clearing. Several minutes after they depart 4 wolves will move just into clearing from the north and look directly at the party (or in their general direction if they are hidden) and wait. If the party opt to wait for the hunters to engage then nothing will happen and after some time it may be necessary to remind the party that they are on a tight schedule. Once they move in to engage the wolves initiate combat, once half the party or more have entered the clearing the hunters will engage from their positions hidden in the treeline. Progress combat as indicted in the table below; Combat Timeline Round Actions 1 Hunters attack with ranged weapons. 4 more Wolves Appear 2 Hunters attack with ranged weapons. 2 more wolves and 1 giant boar enter clearing from the North and East 3 Wolfrick and Baez enter clearing from the West in hybrid form, attacking the closest player. A swarm of rats attacks the player furthest to the south. 4 Norveg joins combat in hybrid and attacks 1 ranged/ spellcaster player. Combat proceeds until all enemies are defeated. If combat is proceeding too quickly then have more wolves/ boar enter from the treeline. If the party attempt to converse with the hunters during combat about why they are doing this, the hunters, specifically Baez, will lament the fact that over the years the importance of the hunt and the need to gather food, has lessened. They believe that only through harsh winters can the strong truly flourish and the hunters are the epitome of this strength. The hunt is strength, the hunt is nourishment, the hunt is everything. 3 The 3 hunters will fight to the death, if any of the animals are still alive after another full round of combat they will attempt to flee. Aftermath With their guides dead and suffering the injuries of their fight the party must decide on whether to rest or continue on to their destination, if they do so immedeately then thew will be attempting to travel in the dark, a DC 20 survival check will allow them to reach the edge of the forest before dawn and cross the open barren fields which lead to the mountain 2 hours later. If they rest for the night and wait until dawn or fail their survival check then the light of dawn will reveal the mountain in the distance, they can travel there in 4 hours. The time sensative nature of their quest should be stressed to build tension and worry.

Part 3 - The Frozen Mountain As the party draw nearer to the mountains base they can begin to notice signs of life, tracks leading to and from which allow them to easily spot an opening to a cave which leads into the mountian. Once the party enters the cave have them roll a perception check DC 15, on a failed save they do not spot the precarious icicles hanging from the ceiling as they descend into the tunnel. All players must make a DC 15 dexterity save or take 2d6 piercing damage as stalagtites fall from the ceiling. If they succeeded on spotting the icicles then they can avoid them entirely. As you enter the mouth of the cave the path immediately begins to descend, a few snaking turns later and you find yourself in complete darkness but before you even have time to light a torch, you begin to spot points of light in the distance. You enter a large cavern, the walls and ceiling dotted by faintly glowing crystals giving the illusion of stars in the night sky as they give off a cold blue/ purple light. After several hundred feet you enter a large circular chamber from the north, directly opposite you spot a set of large bright metal doors which appear to glow faintly in the light of the crystals. This same light falls on 3 emaciated beings in heavy armour which stand to the western side of the cave, when you enter they make no move towards you but their eyes track your movements. The glowing crystals here and in the rest of the cave systems give off enough light to see by, where they are present the party can see as normal though most things are tinted blue/ purple. The 3 beings are Wights which will not move to attack the party until they attempt to cross the centre of the room or a party member attacks them. The room is 80 feet in diameter, cut from the stone of the mountain. When they enter the chamber have the players make a perception check, DC 12, to spot the slick black ice, 20 feet in diameter, at the centre of the room. Anyone who steps on this ice must make a DC 12 dexterity check or fall prone. They must continue to make this check each time they stand upright until they pass, on a pass the ice still acts as difficult terrain. The Riddle Door A large set of metal doors bars the tunnel ahead of you, the metal is bright and partially reflects the light from the nearby crystals making it appear to glow, on close inspection it is sealed shut with thick ice having formed in the narrow space between the doors themselves. As you near them a frost spreads form the centre snaking outward in creeping paths. It begins to form the shape of words written in dwarvish; “I am lighter than a feather yet no man can hold me for long.” 4 The doors and ice impervious to magic and fire, to open them the riddle must be answered correctly. You may also want to switch out the languaged used for one known by a member of the party. This riddle has two answers, either "Breath" or "Snowflake", to open the door a player must either breath onto it or press some snow to the surface. If a player speaks an answer out loud describe the ice vibrating and the door humming but remaining closed. If your players struggle to find the answer or fail to realise that they must press something to the door allow them to make a DC 12 intelligence or wisdom check and provide hints. As your breath/ snow touches the door a wave seems to rush outwards to its edges causing all ice in its path to melt away, a second later at the same point at which you breathed/ pressed the snow a thick red rust appears to form and spreads outwards lightening fast. The rust darkens in sections forming more words in dwarven, it appears as the following; “Although I am still, in families I run. I continue to live on in a living one. As one continues to draw breath, I will not rust. However, when one stops drawing breath, I will become mere dust.” The answer to this second riddle is blood and similar to before a party member must touch the doors surface with a drop of blood. From the point where you blood splatters/ smears the rust will vanish and a wave will again spread out across the door clearing all of the rust away, once clear the door will swing open silently. As the doors open you see before you another long dark tunnel with a tiny point of light at the far end, as you stand before the threshold a feeling washes over you. It’s the feeling of the cold, so deep and terrible that you worry you will never be warm again. A feeling of hunger, insatiable and biting, tearing at your insides. You feel small, tiny, like a field mouse or a rabbit and at the end of that tunnel waits the wolf, you can hear it’s breathing and it fills you with a fear you’ve never felt, the fear of the prey as it comes face to face with the predator. All of this washes over you in a second then is gone, as it passes sounds begin to drift down the tunnel, you can barely make them out, but it sounds like chanting...

Winters Dark Spirit The chamber in which the ritual is taken place is 120ft in diamter, the tunnel opens from the eastern wall to a narrow bridge of stone which is 50ft long and 10ft wide, it ends in a circular platform which is 25ft in diamter. The bridge is solid rock which for the most part has shear sides which drop 30 feet to a slick icy floor which fills the rest of the cavern. At the point the the tunnel opens into the chamber either side of the bridge has a 10 foot wide incline which leads down along the walls of the chamber to the icy floor. At the centre of the circular platform stand 5 cultists spaced around a stone alter on which lies Sinter Nickolaus, still bound. The tunnel is long, several hundred feet, but as you near the end the point of light you saw grows into a large opening, around 20ft across, it leads into a large circular chamber which appears to have been cut from the rock around you. A large chimney like column rises up from the centre to what you assume is the surface, it’s insides covered in reflective gems which are currently guiding the moonlight/ sunlight into the chamber, bathing everything in silvery/ golden light. The floor of the cave, 30 feet below you, at first appears to be rough black rock, but as you draw closer you realise it is actually incredibly thick, but almost unbelievably clear ice suspended over a dizzying drop straight into a hole of perfect pitch blackness. From out of the darkness however you occasionally spot tendrils of smoke which seem to caress the ice gently before disappearing back into the abyss. From the tunnel entrance a bridge of stone, 50 feet long and 10 feet wide juts out 30 feet above the ice, ending in a small circular platform around which stand more cultists, dressed as those from the town. In their midst lies Sinter Nickolaus, lying on a stone altar, still wrapped in green energy. As the cultists chant, their voices rising and falling like a heartbeat, the green light pulses in time and each time is does Nickolaus shivers slightly and a puff of black smoke emanates from his body, it drifts off the side of the platform and falls through the ice into the darkness below. Once you step into the light of the one of the cultists swears and shouts “Shit! I can finish the ritual now, the New God will just have to finish devouring him later, just don’t let them interrupt me!” and as he begins a new, more fervent chant, the four remaining cultists nod their head and turn to face you. There are 4 cultists who move away from the ritual leaving just the leader behind. Before they close on the party 3 of them turn to the last one and begin to cast a spell, he draws a dagger, screams then slits his own throat. In his place a dark spectral being appears, an Allip. 5 While the party deals with the remaining Cultists and the Allip the lead cultist, Asmodel, will attempt to finish the ritual, which will take 2 full rounds from the party entering the cave. The lead cultist will hide behind the alter providing total cover, you should provide him with enough health to avoid your party one shotting him. After 2 rounds of combat have been completed read the following: As you attempt to fight your way into the cavern, the lead cultist, who you assume to be Asmodel, finishes chanting. He throws back his cowl to reveal a tiefling with ashen white skin and long jagged horns, he turns to face you all and places one hand on Nickolaus’ chest. More black smoke rises from his body and wraps around Asmodels hand, he pulls it to his face and inhales it through his nose. He shudders once, then an inky blackness spiderwebs across his eyes until they are as pure and dark as the abyss below you. He steps to the edge of the platform, smiles, and falls backwards towards the ice. Instead of striking the surface however he passes through it, you watch him fall into the darkness until it swallows him. The next section of the encounter will not occur until all remaining enemies have been defeated, if Asmodel was the only remaining enemy then the party have one round of combat to prepare. Once the final cultist/ the Allip has been slain you feel a deep rumbling beneath your feet, you look out to the ice and the darkness itself appears to be moving upwards in a great wave. It passes through the ice once more and forms in a great undulating cloud above the centre of the room, it seems to shudder once, then begins to spiral and coalesce into a point on the ground. As the darkness becomes more condensed it eventually fills out into a recognisable shape, now standing before you on the ice is a Winter Wolf with tendrils of black smoke hanging from it’s form, it shudders once and the whites and greys of its fur shift and darken to be very nearly black. It howls, then paces toward you. This section of combat takes place in parts, starting with the Winter Wolf which is the first form of the Forms of Winter . Each form will appear in dark greys and blacks as opposed to their normal colours and they will each also appear to have black smoke drifting from their body. While in each of these forms it has the features/ traits listed below if not already granted by the creature. Each of the stats provided is the maximum it can attain, if the form it has taken has lower stats it will use those instead. The total hit points for each form will depend on how long the party took to arrive. The following table shows how much health each form will have based on how many long rests the party took before arriving. Creatures Hit Points No. of Rests Hit Points per Form 0 80 1 95 2 110 3 125 6

Winters Dark Spirit Various, chaotic evil Armor Class -

- Hit Points -

- Speed - STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 15 (+3) 10 (+0) Damage Resistances Non-magical Damage

Non-magical Damage Damage Immunities Cold

Cold Senses Darkvision; unaffected by magical darkness

Darkvision; unaffected by magical darkness Languages Common, Abyssal, Demonic, Deep Speech

Common, Abyssal, Demonic, Deep Speech Challenge 7 Forms of Winter. - When it drops to 0 Hit Points in any form other than the Larva Mage, Winters Dark Spirit evaporates into smoke, begins to spin in a vortex which touches down and forms into the next creature on this list; Winter Wolf, Troll, Remoraz, Larva Mage. The Creature's Hit Points are determined as above but it takes on all other stats and abilities from the creature it has become except any abilities which prevent it from regenerating after dropping to 0 Hit Points. Swirling Darkness. - Once per round it can impose disadvantage on one attack targetting it by causing the smoke emanating from it’s body to thicken and partially block it from view. This ability must be used after the attack is declared but before the attack roll is made What is Dead is Mine. - If any attack or spell would cause a target to drop to 0 Hip Points they must roll 1d6. Their Hit Point Maximum is reduced by that amount until they complete a short or long rest. Winters Dark Spirit is healed for the same amount. Flash Freeze (Recharge 5-6) - All creatures in a 20 foot radius centered on the creature must make a constitution saving throw (DC 15) or take 1d8 cold damage and be frozen (restrained) for one round. Successful saves are unaffected. Created but Incomplete - Due to being created by an incomplete ritual, when rolling damage dice it can roll no more than 2 of the indicated dice and any damage dice above a d8 are reduced to a d8 instead. Of the Cold and Ice - All damage types indicated except bludgeoning, piercing and slashing are replaced by cold. Once the creature has been defeated in its final form it will collapse into a swirling ball of black and grey energies which will float downwards through the ice and into the abyss once more. As you deal the final blow to this creature, this new god of the old vintermas, it’s body begins to evaporate into thick black smoke which falls away through the ice at your feet until there is nothing left. As soon as the last tendril fades into the darkness below you hear a crackling sound then a faint pop from the top of the platform, then standing at the edge appears Sinter Nickolaus, he looks down upon each of you and laughs merrily, the moonlight causing his eyes to glitter jovially. With a flick of his wrist the snow and ice at your feet becomes caught up in a violent flurry blinding you all momentarily, you feel your stomach drop and your footing shift, then all of a sudden the silence of the cave is replaced with the commotion of a town square. As the snow and ice falls away so too do the sounds around you, your vision clears and you are now back in the town of Vinterstad before the great tree. The townsolk surround you and upon realising that the figures which have just appeared before them are in fact you and Sinter Nickolaus a great cheer goes up as Nickolaus just laughs and waves to the crowds around you. After a moment or two he turns to you and says “Well, that was certainly an adventure I’m sure! Thank you all for coming to my aid, you have truly saved Vintermas this night and I would like to give each of you something.” He turns and reaches for a great sack on the ground next to him which you could all swear was not there a moment ago. Sinter Nickolaus should then provide each member of the party with a small gift relavent to them. As the Dm you can deicide whether this is a magical item or a flavour item. Once you has gifted each player he will wish everyone a Merry Vintermas and dissapear in a flurry of snow once more. After handing out the last of his gifts Sinter Nickolaus steps back and beams at each of you, he raises his arms and exclaims "Merry Vintermas!" before being caught up in another flurry of snow. In the silence you can just make out, floating on the wind "Ho Ho Ho!" before the town resumes it's delayed Vintermas Celebrations. 7

Relevant Material When creating this adventure I also created a special Paladin Oath for one of my players, the Spirit of Vintermas, it can be found here: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/rygLvAzpX Thank you Thank you for taking the time to read through this Christmas themed one shot, even if you haven't decided to run it I hope that it at least gave you some ideas to use in your own game. If you have any feedback then please send it to me at modifiedroll@gmail.com with the Subject Heading "Ritual of Vintermas". Any while you're here, if you are into D&D actual play podcasts can I suggest giving Modified Roll a listen, we run 5e in a homebrew open world setting and this one shot was created for our 2018 Christmas special! You can also find us on Twitter, we are @ModifiedRoll Thank you again and Merry Christmas! 8