are near the end of thei r s hift and eager to move on;
they urge the characters to go home and cause no fur-
ther mischief.LADY GRALHUND'S MAP
Lady Gralhund gave her nimblewright a map showing
where to take the Stone ofGolorr, but she forgot to
tell it to destroy the map once the stone was delivered.
Characters who search the nimblewright's remains find
the folded-up map, which depicts one of Waterdeep's
wards. Written on the map is an X with a name next to
it. This map points the characters to where they need to
be, setting off a sequence of encounters (see "Encoun-
ter Chains" below). The main villain determines which
ward the map depicts and what name is written on it:
If Xanathar is the villain, "Grinda Garloth" is written
by the X on a map of the Dock Ward. (The X marks the
dock neighborhood of Mistshore, where Grind a lives.)- If the Cassalanters are the villains, the name "Cas-
salanter" is written by the X on a map of the City of the
Dead. (The X marks the location of the Cassalanter
mausoleum.) - IfJarlaxle is the villain, "Fenerus Stormcastle" is writ-
ten by the X on a map of the Trades Ward. (Residents
of the Trades Ward know Fenerus. He's a lamplighte r
with an alley dwelling. The X marks the alley.)
OBTAINING THE STONE OF GOLORR
The Stone of Colorr possesses an intelligent, alien intellect
and has enough prescience to realize that the characters
are destined to find it. The stone doesn't want to be found
too easily, though.
If the characters obtain the stone earlier than expected, it
proves uncooperative and tries to separate itself from the
party as quickly as possible, refusing to share any knowl-
edge with characters in the meantime. The stone tries to
take control of anyone who attunes to it, triggering a con-
flict (see "Sentient Magic Items" in chapter 7 of the Dun-
geon Master's Guide). If the stone fails to take control, it
can't try again against that character until the next dawn. If
the stone succeeds in taking control of its owner, it orders
that character to deliver it to whichever location sets into
motion the sequence of encounters discussed in this chap-
ter (see "Encounter Chains"). Once the stone divests itself
of its current owner, it tries to erase all knowledge of itself
from that character's mind (see the item's description in
appendix A). Any player whose character is forced to for-
get about the stone carries the burden of roleplaying that
memory loss. You can award inspiration to that character
as a way to acknowledge the player's good roleplaying.
As chapter 4 unfolds, you decide when it's time for the
characters to have a chance of securing the Stone of Golorr.
Try to keep it out of their hands for as long as possible to
maximize the suspense.
Once the characters have earned the Stone of Go/orr, it
no longer tries to take control of them. A character can
attune to it and learn the following information:- The location of the Vault of Dragons (see "Vault of Drag-
ons," page 94) - The three keys required to unlock the vault's doors (see
"Vault Keys," page 90) - The name of the vault's gold dragon guardian, and the
powers of the staff in its possession (see the description
of the dragonstaff of Ahghairon in appendix A)
OFl'APTER 4-I DRACON SEASON
- 1f Manshoon is the villain, "Thrakkus'' is written by
the X on a map of the Field Ward. (The X marks the
location ofThrakkus's butcher shop and residence.)
Encounter Chains
Eight encounters comprise the characters' hunt for the
Stone ofGolorr and the Vault of Dragons. They form a
chain, and their order is determined by your choice of
villain and season. The d iagram on the facing page illus-
trates the order of encounters in each chain. IfXanathar
is the villain, for example, the chain begins with encoun-
ter 2, "Mistshore," and ends with encounter 6, "Theater."
Don't feel bound by an encounter chain. Let the char-
acters' decisions and actions drive the story. You can
change the order in which e ncounters happen, remove
encounters you don't need, or create new encounters.
You can also modify encounters to suit your tastes.
If the characters stray, they might find themselves at a
loss for what to do next. You have a couple of easy ways
to guide them back on track:
A friendly faction that has information about the
whereabouts of the Stone of Golorr whereabouts can
bring that knowledge to the characters.- A treacherous underling of the villain reveals the loca-
tion of the Stone of Golorr for a price.
SPRING ENCOUNTER CHAIN
Ah, springtime-when beholder eyestalks are in bloom.
The Stone ofGoiorrwas originally snatched from Xana-
thar, and the eye tyrant wants it back. It sends monsters
and minions to do its dirty work.SUMMARY
The stone is delivered to Grinda Garloth, a mage who
has worked for Xanathar in the past. When she refuses
to give up the stone, members of the Xanathar Guild
try to take it by force (encounter 2, "Mistshore"). After
the characters defeat these attackers, they learn that
Grinda told her rat familiar to hide the stone in her fam-
ily's crypt in the City of the Dead. From this point on,
the characters are followed by a gazer (see appendix B),
through whose eyes Xanathar can see. If this gazer is
killed, Xanathar doesn't send another one to replace it.
Losser Mirklav, a halfling necromancer, raids the Gar-
loth mausoleum and takes the stone shortly before the
characters arrive (encounter 4, "Mausoleum"). As they
emerge from the mausoleum, members of the Xanathar
Guild attack them, believing they have the stone. A clue
left behind in the mausoleum leads the characters to
an old windmiU in the Southern Ward and a pair of
grave robbers (encounter 10, "Converted Windmill").
Fearing arrest, the grave robbers point them to a cellar
complex under the Trades Ward (encounter 9, "Cellar
Complex"). When the characters arrive, they find Losser
surrounded by foes and kenku working for the Xana-
thar Guild making off with the stone. A chase through
the streets on or before Trolltide (encounter 3, "Street
Chase") ends when the kenku, fearing capture. duck
into an old tower (encounter 7, "Old Tower"). If they are
caught and confronted, the kenku hand over the stone.