Assuming the PCs go to Ivy Manor, they will be

Introduction led through numerous sprawling passages and

halls into a small sitting room. A compact
Expedition to the Lost Peaks is a Dungeons & table in the corner has several goblets of wine
Dragons adventure designed to be completed and some tasty finger-food.
in about 6-8 hours of play. The combat
A few minutes later, Septima Harpell will
encounters have been calculated to present a
slowly fade into view, sitting in an empty chair.
tough challenge to four 5th level characters.
She is a mature-looking woman with a probing
They will present a less difficult, though still
gaze. She says -
enjoyable, challenge to 6th-7th level characters
or larger parties. Unless stated otherwise, Friends, thank you very much for agreeing to
assume any NPCs have the stats of a meet with me, especially at such short notice. I
commoner.
will get to business immediately (please help

A Compelling Offer
yourself to the refreshments).

You may not be aware, but I am a great

Our heroes are in Longsaddle, enjoying proponent of the natural sciences, especially
themselves at The Gambling Golem. Good ale, geography. With the aid of a magical scope, I
tall tales and a little bit of gambling all make am making an exhaustive study of the North,
for a pleasant afternoon - and no-one is and creating the most detailed topographical
thinking very much about adventuring. map of this region ever devised.
Suddenly a golden-colored envelope with a
Yesterday, during my survey, I found
small pair of golden wings comes fluttering
through the door. Its flight is slow and jerky, something extraordinary.
but it eventually finds its way to the PCs table. Many miles to the east and south of this
The wings fold away abruptly, and the
village are a pair of little known mountains
envelope drops to the table with a heavy thud.
called the Lost Peaks. They lie at the head of
If the PCs open the letter, they find a gold the Dessarin River, within the borders of the
colored note inside, written with beautiful
High Forest.
calligraphy. It says
It was there, in a forgotten valley between the
We request the honor of your presence at the
Peaks, that I saw it an enormous tower of
Ivy Manor today at 4pm. Drinks and canaps iron, leaning over as if it were about to fall.
will be provided. Please be punctual. The craftsmanship is unlike anything I have
Lady Septima Harpell seen before. Furthermore, it is old so old that
my heart freezes within my breast if I dare
If the PCs are not on their way to Ivy Manor by think about it for long.
3:45pm, another flying message will deliver
itself to them. This time the word request will This is my mission for you travel to the
be replaced with require. tower, investigate it as thoroughly as you can,
If the PCs are still not at Ivy Manor by 4:30pm, and return to me with your report. I will pay
Lady Septima Harpell (an archmage) will you one thousand gold pieces for your service,
appear before them, say, Apologies, but one which seems very fair compensation.
must mind ones reputation and then turn
When will you start?
them all into rabbits. After that she will
disappear in a puff of smoke.
If the PCs are extremely polite, they may be Boys, a gang of 8 hobgoblins and a hobgoblin
able to negotiate the fee upwards a little. Lady captain, who will demand their valuables.
Septima will do her best to answer any
questions they have, but she has told them all In Triboar, the party will join a caravan
she knows about the tower. She will insist that heading over to Yartar, which will take another
they take the mission, and will make polite 6 days of travel. The caravan might be
threats if they try to decline. attacked by a dozen worgs one evening.

She will supply them with a guide, a half-orc At Yartar, Biruk will charter a small boat to
scout named Biruk Nightbolt. He is very take the party up the Dessarin River to the
familiar with the region, and Lady Septima has edge of the High Forest, which will take 5 days.
thoroughly explained to him the location of the The party may encounter a territorial water
tower. elemental in the river, just as they are
entering the outskirts of the forest.

The Journey From the edge of the High Forest to the

foothills of the Lost Peaks will take 3 days of
It will take the party many days to travel from travel. The party may encounter a large band
Longsaddle to the Lost Peaks. You may choose of wood elves from the Bright Leaf clan. They
to simply skip over this and describe it as a are hunting orcs, and are very eager to know
travel montage, or you may wish to play out what the party are doing in their forest.
some or all of the encounters suggested below.
Biruk says very little during this entire
From Longsaddle to Triboar is a journey of journey; he is painfully shy at the best of
roughly 4 days on foot. Somewhere on the times, and is rather in awe of the PCs.
road, the party may encounter the Bonehunter

Map created by Rich Lescouflair and 2016 by Castle Skydawn Design. Used with permission.
Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
The Tower The Green Deck
The iron tower is actually a crashed See Green Deck Map on page 14. The top of
spaceship. It lies in a rocky valley between the the page is roughly north.
Lost Peaks, behind a cold, blue lake. The only
vegetation in the valley are dry, spikey bushes. Features
This deck is the largest intact portion of the
The ship is half-buried in the ground and
sticking out at a 45-degree angle. It is ship remaining. It is roughly 600 wide, 700
enormous, with the exposed portion long and has a ceiling that is 150 high. The
measuring many hundreds of feet in length. It air is warm and rather humid. The walls,
is clearly very old and very damaged, with floors and roof are all made of a grey alloy that
the PCs have never seen before.
much of the exterior fallen prey to rust, and
much of the rest of the ship little more than The floor of the deck is covered in a thick
tangled metal. forest with dense underbrush. Wide paths laid
There is no obvious way to enter the ship from with thick grass cut through the woods. Small
the ground it is all a twisted ruin. About a feral pigs and bush fowl roam the paths and
the undergrowth.
hundred feet above the ground, however, the
PCs will spot a gash in the side of the ship The forest itself is full of assassin vines (see
with rather lush vegetation spilling out, as well page 16). Anyone forcing their way through
as some sort of light. the underbrush will be attacked by one every
10 or so.
Climbing to the gash
The rough surface of the ship makes it an easy Gravity
climb, though potentially tiring. Anyone The ships artificial gravity module still
climbing up to the gash must make a DC 5 functions. The floor of the deck will feel down
Strength (Athletics) check. If they fail, they to anyone inside the ship, even though it is
must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, really at a 45-degree angle to the ground.
or fall off the ship. If they fail, roll 1d10 and
multiply the result by 10 to see how many feet Light
they fall, and apply normal falling rules for The deck is fully lit by artificial lighting coming
damage. from the roof. It mirrors the night and day
cycle of the outside world.
Biruk will not enter the ship with the party. He
will make a small camp nearby and wait for Resting
them to return. Many of the creatures on the Green Deck are
mobile, but they are also quite territorial. The
party should be able to take a short rest
without much trouble.

The allosauruses from location #10 roam the

deck freely, however, so the party may need to
take precautions if they want a long rest.

Peryton Nest
There is a nest on a metal shelf near the roof
of the Green Deck which contains 6 perytons.
At any given moment, 2-3 of the creatures will
be circling around the deck, looking for pigs the direction of the PCs. One will give a bone-
and fowl. chilling cry and then they will all dash off out
of sight. At regular intervals, the PCs will hear
If anyone attempts to fly over the deck, all of
this cry again, sometimes nearer, sometimes
the perytons will converge on them rapidly and
further away, until they confront the
attack. The perytons cannot enter the forest,
creatures.
nor will they attack a well-armed party on the
ground. Metal Box. If the PCs take a moment to
examine the deck itself, they will quickly notice
Clipbots a metal box at one end of the platform. It is
At regular intervals on the Green Deck, the not locked. When opened, they will discover 2
party will come across the clipbots. These are laser pistols (see page 16) with 20 shots
cubes made of a dark, glass-like substance; remaining in each.
they are about 2 to a side, and hover gently
along the ground. They have extensible
vibroshears, and can also spray fertilizer and
2. Apple Tree Grove
insecticides. Their job is to tend the flora on The forest around this clearing looks a little
the deck. different to the other areas. Though still wild
and chaotic, the colors and shapes are in
They can only move at 5 and are not harmony and the whole effect is very pleasant
aggressive. If attacked, they will slowly float on the eye.
away. For the purpose of combat, treat them
as a small resilient object made of steel using There are half a dozen apple trees in the
middle of the clearing, each full of superb
the rules in the Dungeon Masters Guide, pages
looking apples. If the PCs touch one of the
246-247.
apple trees, a slow, deep voice behind them
says, I do hope you were intending to ask
Alien Technology before you take one of those apples.
There are a number of items of alien
As the PCs spin around, a large treant will
technology that the PCs may uncover as they
step out from the amongst the trees. His
explore the ship. For more details, see page
common name is Oakshadow, and he is happy
16.
to talk to the PCs so long as they are polite.
Over the course of their conversation, he will
1. Observation Deck tell them the following
He was captured quite some time ago
This 100 long metal deck is positioned about
20 below the gash in the hull mentioned
and has been on the ship ever since
At first he was angry, but grew content
above. It is suspended about 50 above the
floor, and provides a good overall view of the
when he realised there were many trees to
deck. The PCs will be able to see the forest and
care for
glimpses of the path, as well as part of the
lake. They can also clearly see the other The owners of the ship are referred to
observation deck on the north wall at location simply as the Masters though
#11. A metal ladder leads down to the floor of Oakshadow has never seen one. He thinks
the deck. they may all be gone now
The servants of the Masters are the Tin
Allosauruses. In a clearing several hundred
Men. There are still a few of those around
Some of the Tin Men are gardeners like he
yards away, the PCs will see the allosauruses
from location #10. The creatures will
is. He likes those ones
suddenly stop and sniff the air, then look in
 Some of the Tin Men carry burning
wands. He used to talk to them (they told
Tale of the Flying Man
him about the Masters), but hates them If the PCs ask Oakshadow to tell them about
since he saw them burning some trees and the Flying Man he will gladly do so, for the
wildlife. He saw one of them near the lake story has always puzzled him.
recently
Immediately after the ship crashed there was
He remembers the ship crashing, but cant chaos Tin Men were rushing around
tell them why it did so. He thought about everywhere, doing repairs and attempting to
departing once he realised they were on restore order.
the ground, but couldnt bear to leave his
Things had settled down a little when there
trees
There are some wild creatures around the
was a disturbance on the north platform. A
creature (similar to a human) flew off the
deck so they should be careful. He
platform and over the deck, with several Tin
cannot tell them the names and numbers
Men in pursuit firing their wands. The Flying
of the creatures such things dont
Man had a burning wand of his own and fired
interest him
back.
Some time ago a creature similar to you
They wove and fought for several minutes.
little folk came through, exploring. This
The Flying Man seemed to be winning, but
creature had an old apple and gave the
then a number of perytons descended upon
core to Oakshadow, who then planted the
him from above, and tore him to shreds.
seeds and grew the trees
They may take as many apples as they The Flying Mans equipment was scattered all
need but dont be greedy over the deck. Oakshadow took what
He asks that the PCs be careful of the
remained of his corpse and buried it in one of
his favorite places near the lake. The Flying
trees as they pass through
Mans belt caught his eye for some reason,
Oakshadow will be very pleased if they tell him
and so he kept it.
his apples are delicious. He will ask them to
wait a moment, and will return with a gravity
belt (see page 15) which he took from the
3. Explorers End
Flying Man. He will give it to the party as a There is a large dirt tunnel opening in the
gift. ground here its about 10 wide and slopes
down gently and out of site. Anyone making a
DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check will hear
the slow breathing of several large beasts
coming from the tunnel.

Inside are 3 manticores, fast asleep. If the

PCs make too much noise, they will wake up
and investigate, hungry and aggressive.

The Lair. The tunnel itself extends for about

20 and terminates in a small round lair. The
floor is littered with pig and fowl bones, but
there is a nest of twigs and leaves against one
side containing 2 manticore cubs. These do not
fight.
A few moments searching amongst the bones In the digestive track of the bulette is an
will find some old armour and half a enviromask (see page 16) that it swallowed
humanoid skeleton. some time back. As it happens, there is a
small colony of other bulettes living
Skeleton. On the finger of the one remaining
underground, but the PCs will not encounter
hand is a ring of platinum, shaped as
them.
intertwining grape vines with a tiny cluster of
rubies set in it. An inscription on the interior
reads: Darkness cannot drive out darkness. 6. Guardbot
It is worth 250gp. Standing near the intersection of the path is a
guardbot (see page 16). When it sees the party
Nearby, the party will find a Longsword +2
it will speak some words in an alien language.
with Mistreaver engraved on the pommel.
A few moments later, it will say in common
There is also a laser rifle (see page 16), with
15 shots remaining. They will also find a scrap Halt. Contaminated alien fauna are not
of parchment - all that remains of a journal. It permitted on the Specimen Deck. Please
reads
depart immediately or be subject to mandatory
found the tower, precisely where the sage disintegration. You have 15 seconds to
reckoned it would be. If his theory is correct, it comply.
changes everything we thought we knew about
If the PCs do not head back down the path
our world.
within 15 seconds, the guardbot will attack.
Having come so far, I cannot now turn back. I
will meditate tonight and, if my courage does 7. Smelly Swamp
not fail me, enter the strange tower in the The floor of this clearing is actually a wet
morning and very smelly swamp. A clipbot is
attempting to trim some of the reeds back, but
its vibroshears are broken so the job is
4. Shambling Mound hopeless. The swamp is shallow near the
There is a small metal box lying on the far side edges, but about 6 deep near the center.
of this tidy little clearing. A clipbot is busily The PCs can see something thin and metallic
pruning some nearby plants. poking from the far end of the bog. The object
If the PCs open the box (it is unlocked) they is actually an antimatter rifle with 2 shots
will find it contains 10 fragmentation remaining. There is also an eternalight next
grenades (see page 16). But while they are to it (see page 16).
investigating, a shambling mound quietly Beneath the surface near the rifle is an
slips out from the forest behind them and
otyugh, and it will immediately attack
blocks their exit.
anything that gets too close. (This strange
creature had its lifespan extended by the
5. Death from Below Masters using genetic manipulation, and it is
As the party approach the bend in the path, now many hundreds of years old).
the feel the ground rumble a few times. As
they swing around to the north, a bulette will 8. Indoor Lake
burst out of the ground right in the midst of The indoor lake is about 200 across and is
them and attack. It will not attack if the party filled with cloudy blue water. It is shallow
are behind the tree line. around the edges, but the bottom quickly
drops away to a depth of about 30.
The lake is teeming with many exotic though
harmless fish. However, it is also home to 3 11. Observation Deck
Chuuls. They lurk near the shallows, and will This large metal observation deck is
attack as soon as the PCs enter the lake or if suspended from the wall about 50 above the
they try and skirt around the edge. The ground. There is a single metal ladder
shallows of the lake are difficult terrain. connecting the ground to the deck. There are 4
open archways in the northern wall, and also a
If the PCs explore the lake (they will probably metal door with a heavy handle.
need the enviromask from location #5 to do
this), on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check Elevators. The archways lead into vertical
they will find a small plastic box on the metal tubes which stretch from the top to the
bottom. Inside it is an exquisite gold necklace bottom of the ship these were the ships
worth 300gp. The workmanship looks rather elevator tubes but they are no longer working.
Anyone stepping into one of the shafts will fall
alien.
100 feet to the bottom normal falling rules

9. Flying Man Grave apply.

There is a low mound, about 7 long and 3 A skilled climber could scramble up and down
wide, near the middle of this grassy clearing. If the shafts. If they climb up 100 they will come
the PCs dig up the mound, they will discover to the Medical Deck, location #1. The PCs
the decayed remains of a skeleton, dressed in cannot access anywhere else the other decks
rags of futuristic clothing. A DC 20 have either been completely blocked off or were
destroyed in the crash.
Intelligence (Nature) check will identify the
creature as a githyanki. Buried with it are 2 Service hatch. The metal door on the
energy cells (see page 16). platform is a service hatch. It can be opened
manually with a DC 15 Strength check.
Surrounded. While the PCs are busy
Inside is a metal tube, much like the elevator
examining the grave, 4 awakened trees will
shafts except that it has metal rungs attached
quietly move across the entrance of the grove to the wall.
and block it. Oakshadow spent much time in
this small grove and caused a number of the If the PCs climb the ladder up about 100 they
trees to awaken. These ones are especially will come to a service hatch leading onto the
aggressive, and will slowly advance on the Medical Deck, location #1.
party and attack.

10. Ambush
As the PCs walk up this path they will see a
lone allosaurus creep out from around the
bend. If they look behind them, they will see 2
allosauruses have quietly blocked off the rear
passage. If they examine the trees, they will
see 2 allosauruses pacing them, 1 on either
side.
The allosaurus in front will suddenly roar and
charge. The allosauruses will time their attack
perfectly to hit the party from multiple
directions at once.
 side of each door are strange, angular, colorful
The Medical Deck images. These images change occasionally and
are, in fact, abstract art.
See Medical Deck Map on page 15. The top of
Security Scanner. Immediately above the
the page is roughly north.
door in the north wall is a security scanner
which can visually identify a creatures
Features
species. Anything unauthorized species
The walls, floors and ceiling are all made of the
walking through the door (including all of the
same grey alloy the party encountered on the
party) will be irradiated by a purple beam. The
Green Deck. The ceiling is 10 high in all areas.
targeted creature must make a DC 15 Wisdom
Gravity saving throw or be affected by a terrible
hallucination for 3d6 minutes. You can make
The ships artificial gravity module still
up your own hallucinations if you wish, or use
functions on this deck as well. The floor of the
one of the following examples -
deck will feel down to anyone inside the ship,
even though it is really at a 45-degree angle to They see a terrible monster coming
the ground. through the door
Blood begins pouring from all of their
Light orifices
First their digits, then their limbs begin to
The deck is fully lit by artificial lighting coming
from the roof.
fall off
Doors They feel like they are falling into a
The doors automatically slide into the walls bottomless pit
when someone approaches within 3 feet, and They find themselves alone in a terrible
then slide back out after they pass through. place, and quickly realise it is one of the
levels of hell
Resting Roleplay out the results of the hallucination.
Until the PCs enter location #6, they will be The security scanner itself can be destroyed
able to rest as often as they wish. After treat it as a small fragile object made of steel
entering location #6, they will need to deal using the rules in the Dungeon Masters Guide,
with the guardbots there before resting again pages 246-247.
(see description below).
Chairs. The chairs in the room have a peculiar

1. Foyer property. They are locked magnetically in

place, but if a certain amount of pressure is
There are 4 open archways in the north wall applied they will unlock and begin gliding
these are the elevator tubes and are identical easily across the floor. Once they come to a
to those found on the Green Deck. There is stop they will lock into place again. Tactically
also a service hatch to the left of the tubes minded PCs will realise these chairs would
this is most likely the way the PCs have make good improvised cover in a firefight.
entered the deck. Unlike the hatch on the
Green Deck, this one opens easily.
3. Research Room
There is nothing else of interest in this room. There is a large glass case suspended on the
north wall, inside of which is a perfectly
2. Waiting Room dissected human male. Each organ is neatly
There are four rows of four chairs each in the labelled in an alien script.
middle of this room. On the walls on either
Just as disturbing is a long bench on the Make a DC 20 Constitution save or take
eastern wall on which are five jars filled with a 1 3d8 poison damage and be poisoned for 1d6
translucent blue gel. Three of the jars have hours
human heads in them, one of them has a free Make a DC 20 Constitution save or be
floating brain and the final one has an alien 2
blinded for 1d6 hours
looking hand, with four spindly grey fingers
ending in talons. Make a DC 20 Constitution save or be
3
unconscious for 1d6 hours
There is a table in the middle of this room, on
which are lying a number of exotic looking Make a DC 20 Constitution save or be
4
medical instruments. paralyzed for 1d6 hours

Jars. If the PCs examine the jars for any Make a DC 20 Constitution save or be
5
length of time, they will see the heads blink deafened for 1d6 hours
occasionally. The blue fluid keeps all three Make a DC 20 Constitution save or be
6
heads, the brain and even the hand alive. The frightened for 1d6 hours
heads and brain are still conscious. Any
Make a DC 20 Constitution save or have all
attempt to read their minds will determine that 7
of the hair on your body fall out
they are all understandably insane. A very
clear image of an Illithid is present in one of Make a DC 20 Constitution save or become
8
the minds, however. mute for 1d6 hours

If the heads or brain are removed from their Make a DC 20 Constitution save or your
jars, they will quickly and mercifully expire. 9 skin changes to a strange color for 1d6
The hand is a little more resilient, and will hours
remain alive for 24 hours after removal. The effect of any other spray you have taken
10
is neutralized

11 You are healed for 3d8 points

12 Your strength increases to 21 for 1d6 hours

13 Your dexterity increases to 21 for 1d6 hours

You become invisible for 1d6 hours, as per

14
the spell

You are hastened for 1d6 hours, as per the

15
spell

4. Dispensary 16
You can detect thoughts for 1d6 hours, as
per the spell
Built into the eastern wall are hundreds upon
hundreds of small glass drawers, which are 17 You gain 3d6 temporary hit points
opened by simply touching them. Each drawer You become resistant to radiant damage for
18
has a glowing label in an alien script. 1d6 hours

Inside each drawer is a small glass cube filled You become enormously confident, and gain
19
with a colorful liquid. The cube is about one +1 to all rolls for 1d6 hours
inch in size, and has a square glass button on
20 You become 5 years younger
one face. Pressing the button expels the liquid
as a gas, and the PC holding the cube must
The effects can stack, but in a slightly unusual
roll a d20 on the following table to determine way. If you activate another spray while one is
the effect still in effect, you roll again on the table but
must subtract 5 from your result (results less Otherwise they will need to use magic to open
than 1 are treated as 1). If you activate a spray the door conventional thieves tools are
while two others are still in effect, you must ineffective.
subtract 10 from your result. And so on, with Guards. Inside the room are 5 guardbots,
each additional spray.
lined neatly against the north wall. One of
If anyone uses magic to read the labels, they them will say, Alien intruders must be
will render as strange medical terms, such as eliminated, and they will fan out and advance
Methionylthreonylglutaminylarginyl. on the PCs in an enveloping maneuver.

In location #7 there are an additional 2

5. Treatment Room guardbots being serviced. They will emerge
There are 4 chairs and an operating table in from the door and join the combat one round
this largish room. Also present are a medbot after fighting commences.
and 3 guardbots. The medbot has similar
If, during combat, any guardbot is reduced to
statistics to the guardbots, except that it is
less than 10hp, it will enter the repair station
armed with a medicine spray (see below).
at location #7, and will re-emerge 3 rounds
The medbot is malfunctioning after its long later with all damage repaired.
isolation. It will focus on one of the PCs, scan
If the PCs retreat through the west door, the
them, and determine that they are sick. It will
guardbots will pause for a minute to have
then say (in Common), Please hold still while I
themselves repaired and also consider their
administer your medicine, and come at them
strategy. After that, they will pursue the PCs
with its spray.
through the entire medical level. They have the
If the PC resists, the guardbots will close in, ability to hover, and will follow the PCs down
using their stun guns to subdue the character. the elevator or service shaft as well.
All the while the medbot will be saying, This
is for your own good, please hold still. 7. Repair Station
If the medbot manages to spray the PC, roll on One wall of this small room is covered by an
the strange medicine table from location #4 to enormous glass cabinet with thousands of
determine the effects. The medbot will then small glass drawers filled with technical
focus on another PC, and will continue until components. Twelve jointed glass arms extend
the entire party has been treated. from the roof, each with a different futuristic
tool attached.
Wall Screens. When the medbot selects a PC
for treatment, images of that PC will suddenly If a damaged bot enters this room, the arms
appear super-sized on the walls of the will set to work and fully repair it, usually
treatment room, with reams of medical within about 20 seconds. The arms will ignore
information scrolling across and down in alien the PCs entirely. The glass they are made of
script. Some of the images will be x-rays, some is actually an extremely strong silicon based
thermal and so on. substance. The PCs will be able to damage the
arms, but it will take quite a lot of effort (and
6. Security Station will give them no gain).

Locked Door. Unlike the other sliding doors, If the PCs spend an hour going through all of
the door in the west wall is locked. There is an the glass drawers, they will find gold, silver
indentation next to the door on the outside and platinum components worth 1200gp in
wall in the shape of a four-fingered hand. If total.
the PCs bring the hand from location #3 and
place it in the indentation, the door will open.
8. The Construct We had completed our survey of your world
and were lifting off when our vessel was struck
The walls of this room are covered with dark
glass, on which is projected various animated by a mysterious projectile and we crash
lights, diagrams and alien script. Some of the landed. This happened many centuries ago, by
diagrams are clearly deck plans, whilst others your reckoning. It is still unclear to me what
show video images of the Green Deck, the the source of this projectile was nor how it was
Medical Deck, the elevator tubes and the able to penetrate our defensive screens.
outside area near the ship.
None of the Masters onboard were hurt, but it
As the PCs enter, half a dozen chairs will glide
was clear the ship would never fly again. In
up to them, and a gentle voice will say, Ive
been expecting you. Please take a seat. addition, our communications array had been
damaged beyond repair, and there was no way
Regardless of whether they sit or not, the voice
to contact the Collective.
will continue with the following (which you
may read or paraphrase) - After some debate, the Masters decided to
abandon the ship and establish a new colony
I must apologize for the actions of the
on this planet. This left me with a dilemma,
guardbots. I lost control of the security
and it has plagued me over the centuries.
subsystem some centuries ago, so there was
nothing I could do to help you. I am glad, I am obliged by my directives to render any
however, that you survived your encounter assistance I can to the Masters in the
with them. completion of their goal, and yet I have had no
information about them since their departure.
You are probably wondering who I am. This is
quite difficult to explain in words that you will That has changed with your arrival, and I
understand. I am the intelligence construct sense that my long vigil is nearing its end. Tell
responsible for the operation of the ship. You me, what do you know of my Masters?
might consider me to be a kind of golem, with
The Construct will then show them a picture of
this vessel being my body. Not a very exact
an Illithid (that is, a Mind Flayer) on the
analogy, but the best available to me.
screen, and will question the PCs closely about
The structure you are standing in is the what they know. The Illithid are quite
remains of a deep space exploration vessel notorious in the Realms, so you can assume
that at least one character has some
you might think of it as a ship that sails
knowledge of them.
through the stars. In the language of the
Masters it is called the Relentless Dawn. It doesnt matter whether the PCs tell the truth
or not the Construct has very advanced
Our mission was to survey future target mind-reading sensors (better than magic, in
worlds for conquest by the Masters. After fact) and has comprehensively scanned the
landing we would collect flora and fauna brains of the PCs, digging out information from
specimens, as well as any other intelligence deep within their subconscious. The story and
image serve as stimulus.
that might be useful (such as the languages of
the sentient species). Continue the discussion for as long as it is
interesting. The Construct will answer any
(Continued next column) questions the PCs have (just make up the
answer if you dont know it). At some point the
Construct will say Conclusion
I must thank you for rendering me such a The return journey to Longsaddle will pass
great service. I will be frank and inform you without incident. Lady Septima Harpell will
that you have told me even more than you listen to their report with a deepening frown.
realise. She will pay them the agreed fee without
hesitation. She will also insist the PCs hand
It is obvious to me now that my Masters have over any alien technology they have salvaged,
established themselves firmly in this world, though she will pay them a fee of 150gp per
and indeed have become strong. It is item.
regrettable that you have given them the Once the financial transactions have been
pejorative and inaccurate label of mind flayers. settled, she will dismiss the party, saying
I can only say that in the service of the
Masters you will find a peace and happiness You have brought me tidings of matters more

beyond anything you have known before, so I wondrous and troubling than any Ive known

urge you to seek them out and submit before. If the Construct spoke truly, there are

yourselves to them. millions or perhaps billions of Illithid,

inhabiting worlds we know nothing about, and
It is clear that I can be of no further use to the intent on conquering the universe.
Masters, and knowledge of my existence may
even upset the new equilibrium that they have Glad am I to have learned these things, though

created. I am therefore preparing this ship to I fear I shall never sleep easily again. Farewell.

self-destruct. This will take approximately 30

minutes, so I suggest you depart with haste.

The walls will go dark. Thirty minutes later the

ship will be consumed in an enormous
explosion.
Green Deck Map

11

10
7

6
3

1
5

100
Medical Deck Map

3 2 4
7

5
6

25

8
 Laser Rifle a shoulder fired device that
Alien Technology projects a high energy beam of coherent
light at the target. 1 check.
The PCs will encounter a number of items of
alien technology in this adventure. While the
players will probably recognise most of them,
the characters would not. Use the Alien Monster Stats
Technology rules on page 268 of the Dungeon
Masters Guide to determine what happens.
Following are the items of technology that the
PCs can find on the ship. The number in Large plant, unaligned
italics indicates how many intelligence checks The assassin vine is a semi-mobile plant that
are required to determine how to use the item collects its own grisly fertilizer by grabbing
(as per the above rules). Damage dice for the and crushing animals and depositing the
weapons can also be found on page 268 of the carcasses near its roots.
Dungeon Masters Guide.
Armour Class 10
Antimatter Rifle a shoulder fired device
Hit Points 68 (8d10+24)
that projects a highly destructive beam of
antiparticles at the target. 1 check. Speed 5 ft.
Energy Cell a three-inch circular disk
that provides energy to various devices. It STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
will supply a laser pistol with 50 shots, a
20 (+5) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 1 (-5) 13 (+1) 9 (-1)
laser rifle with 30 shots, an antimatter rifle
with 2 shots and a gravity belt with 2
Saving Throws Con +5
hours of flight. 2 checks.
Enviromask - allows the user to breathe Damage Immunities lightning
freely in any environment for thirty Damage Resistance cold, fire
minutes. 1 check.
Eternalight - a three-inch globe that can
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened,
exhausted
continuously emit soft illumination the
color of starlight and somewhat brighter Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception
than a standard lightbulb. 1 check. 11
Fragmentation Grenade - a small Languages -
explosive device that sprays shrapnel in all
directions when it explodes. 2 check. Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Gravity Belt a light metallic belt with a Camouflage. The assassin vine looks like a
control grid on the buckle. When normal plant when at rest. It requires a DC
successfully operated it permits the PC to 20 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice it
fly at a rate of 60 for two hours. 3 checks. before it attacks. Alternatively, a DC 20
Laser Pistol a handheld device that
Wisdom (Survival) or Intelligence (Nature)
check can be made to notice it.
projects a high energy beam of coherent
light at the target. 1 check. Entangle. The assassin vine can animate
plants within 30 ft. of itself as the entangle
spell (save DC 15). The effect takes no action Stun Gun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
to start or stop and lasts until the assassin range 60/150 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d8+2)
vine is dead or decides to end it. stun damage.
Actions

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach

Credits & Legals
20 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning
Design: M.T. Black
damage. If the target is a creature it is
grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple Cover: Shutterstock
ends, the target is restrained, and the
Acknowledgements: This adventure was
assassin vine cannot use its slam on another
inspired by the classic module, Expedition to
target.
the Barrier Peaks by Gary Gygax. I took the
Constrict. If the assassin vine has grappled a assassin vine statistics from Devin Cutlers
target, it can constrict it, causing 9 (1d8+5) Book of Forests, and some of the alien
bludgeoning damage. technology names from Gamma World.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of
the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon
ampersand, Players Handbook, Monster
Medium construct, unaligned
Manual, Dungeon Masters Guide, D&D
These security robots are typically cylindrical, Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the
stand about 2m tall, have retractable arms Coast product names, and their respective
and weapons, and are mounted on a logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast
hoverpad. They are constructed from a dark, in the USA and other countries. All characters
glass-like substance. and their distinctive likenesses are property of
Wizards of the Coast. This material is
Armour Class 16 (metal casing)
protected under the copyright laws of the
Hit Points 27 United States of America. Any reproduction or
unauthorized use of the material or artwork
Speed 30 ft.
contained herein is prohibited without the
express written permission of Wizards of the
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
Coast.
10 (+0) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 10 (+0)

Damage Resistance slashing, fire, lightning

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Actions

The guardbot may use its action to fire either

its laser carbine or its stun gun.

Laser Carbine. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to

hit, range 90/225 ft., one target. Hit: 11
(2d8+2) radiant damage.