This article assumes that the characters are not using DDAL06-02 The Redemption of Kelvan as their hook into the White Plume Mountain adventure. Although that adventure is the intended path to get characters involved, the following text can serve as a secondary route to get them here!

“There is something about the North, I think.”

I read the broadsheet from Neverwinter again. The headline was in large block letters, as plain as the rising sun: River of Blood! The article was sensational and graphic nearly to excess; someone had enacted a plan to turn stain Neverwinter River fully red with blood. Bodies were piled so high along the river bank that they reached the street level in some places, it claimed, and the river rocks will be forever stained.

“Utter garbage”, grumbled Durnan. “If y’ask me it was probably just four or six adventurers that ran afoul of the wrong kind of orc grog and fell into the Neverwinter River.” He continued cleaning the chipped steins behind the bar and didn’t bother to look up.

I kept reading, and once the article had extended off of the front page and into the back sections it discussed the accused. An entourage of nobles, led by Sir Bluto Sans Pite from Luskan, have been accused of slaughtering sailors and peasants alike and tossing their bodies into the river. The article didn’t make clear any reason for these actions, though it painted them in a fairly horrible light and included some fairly high-quality sketches of Sir Bluto’s face on the back page. Below the sketch could be seen a whole slew of charges, including murder, extortion, escape from prison, dereliction of duty, assault upon a priest of Ilmater, drunkenness, and more. The gold reward was substantial – 10,000 gold pieces!

“Durnan, some people are just mon-” I was interrupted by a pair of visitors that burst through the door, their voices loud and intermingled but all seemingly intent on confronting the grumpy barkeep.

The first, a brightly-dressed Shou trader named Fai Chen dug deep into his pouches while his words, much like his copper and silver coins, spilled out into the room. “DURNAN! Sir, this injustice will not stand!” he bellowed as he slammed a neatly-folded piece of parchment onto the countertop.

Durnan merely raised an eyebrow and continued wiping his steins.

The second, a thickly-scented wizard with a porcelain mask and deep anger in his eyes, presented a note as well. “My old friend”, and there was much emphasis on the word friend, “it appears that someone has taken it upon themselves to explore our stocks. The trader and I are in identical circumstances. I would strongly suggest that you examine your trophy case.”

At this, Durnan actually gave a start. I don’t know that I’ve seen Durnan look alarmed before, but that certainly washed across his face – he dropped the mug and hurried over to a locked trophy case next to the bar. He gasped, fumbled his keys into the lock, and removed a similarly-folded parchment from one of the shelves. The three of them fell into a hushed conversation and I realized that this was my chance.

Fai Chen’s note was still on the bar, and they were not looking in my direction. I gave in to curiosity and stealthily took it. I covertly unfolded it below the bar and read the contents:

Search ye far or search ye near

You’ll find no trace of the three

Unless you follow instructions clear

For the weapons abide with me.

North past forest, farm and furrow

You must go to the feathered mound

Then down away from the sun you’ll burrow

Forget life, forget light, forget sound.

To rescue Wave, you must do battle

With the Beast in the Boiling Bubble

Crost cavern vast, where chain-links rattle

Lies Whelm, past water-spouts double

Blackrazor yet remains to be won

Underneath inverted ziggurat.

That garnered, think not that you’re done

For now you’ll find you are caught

I care not, former owners brave

What heroes you seek to hire.

Through might, I’ll make each one my slave

Or send him to the fire.

As I completed my read, the trader paused in his barrage of whispers and cleared his throat. “Feathered mound? You don’t think… there was that fortress that recently appeared, as if constructed overnight by magic…”

The wizard interjected: “Keraptis. Damn him. He can’t be allowed to keep those artifacts; they’re simply too powerful and that’s why they were separated.”

The three shared a look, then as one swiveled to look at me (why the Yawning Portal was empty was a mystery to me; it was mid-day after all). Durnan maintained eye contact as he walked towards me. “You. You there! You look like the adventuring type – you want to make a massive pile of coins, right? Earn a few potential favors from my allies and me? Listen up…”

Spoilers below!

For the DM: For the DM: White Plume Mountain is most easily inserted into the Forgotten Realms near Neverwinter; it requires very little narrative revision to place it near to or even inside of Mount Hotenow

For Adventurers League purposes, Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor are owned by Durnan, Fai Chen, and Rastol Shan (the masked wizard above)

the Mountain refers to a small village near the mountain; you could use Thundertree (and thereby link back to The Sunless Citadel) or create a tiny logging village of 20 residents near the base of the mountain

Keraptis is from another D&D campaign setting: Greyhawk. Why he and his mountain-fortress has been transported to the Forgotten Realms is outside the bounds of the adventure, but he desires these items because he feels that he can use them to return home

spell effects like lightning bolt and fireball may have dire consequences in some areas

Sir Bluto Sans Pite and his minions should be from Neverwinter, Waterdeep, or some other suitably large location. They are not undead, but their faces may be recognizable (see the narrative text above) due to his involvement in the River of Blood mass murder case

this adventure runs best with four characters at level 8, but AL play allows for tables of 3-7 players of levels 5-10 (tier 2)

if the characters are considered to be ‘very weak’, remove one efreet from the end of the adventure. Conversely, if the characters are ‘strong’ or ‘very strong’, add 1 or 2 additional efreet as per the adventure text. Nobody knows your table better than you do, so be sure to challenge the characters without going overboard!

if the adventure runs long for your adventurers, you may wish to have the characters return to town after liberating each of the artifacts. refer to the FAQ for details on the rewards that are offered, as these rewards may help the characters more easily complete the remaining section(s) of the dungeon.

Lycanthropy. Refer to the standard Adventurers League rules regarding lycanthropy if a character becomes infected. In short: it it’s not removed at the end of the adventure, or if the character chooses to play a different adventure before curing it, that character is immediately retired from AL play until the lycanthropy is removed.

Refer to the standard Adventurers League rules regarding lycanthropy if a character becomes infected. In short: it it’s not removed at the end of the adventure, or if the character chooses to play a different adventure before curing it, that character is immediately retired from AL play until the lycanthropy is removed. Magic items. Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor may be used while the characters are still inside of White Plume Mountain. Once the characters leave – for any reason – the items must be surrendered as per the adventure text and the Adventurers League FAQ. Any character that chooses to retain one or more of these items is immediately retired from Adventurers League play. Refer to the FAQ for the full ruling on these items. “Pet” golems discovered within the White Plume Mountain are mystically enchanted to stay within the confines of this place. Not even a wish can overcome this effect. The ring with “many powers” (avoiding spoilers) only has these magical abilities while in the one room, and does not count as a permanent magic item – this does mean that it is neither considered tradeable nor consumable. If any of the rings powers indicate that concentration is needed, as soon as the bearer leaves the room the spell ends.

Thinking outside the box: Thinking outside the box: with tables of 6-7 players, consider some ways to increase the scope of the adventure and keep everyone entertained increase the size of the maps to 10′ squares instead of the normal 5′ square add 1-2 additional monsters to each combat

White Plume Mountain is a classic adventure, and many players may have already experienced it. Feel free to adjust traps and other thematic elements, such as changing the gynosphinx’s riddle in the beginning to another riddle of your choosing

consider using a stopwatch during the timed elements

many of the rooms in this complex work well if you evoke a “pulp” feeling – the heroics should be larger-than-life!

if your characters are extremely combat efficient, you may wish to either increase the frequency of the random encounters or give them a slight adjustment by adding an extra creature, mixing in a trap from the DMG or the glyph spell from the PHB, or even rolling every 10 minutes of actual play time (instead of time spent in-game)

although Keraptis is from another world, there may be consequences for the characters if they defeat him but do not destroy him. Surely, they will have marked themselves as powerful foes of a very powerful wizard…

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