A younggreendragonnamed
Venomfang hasrecently claimed
the tower,havingpassed over
Thundertree whilesearching
Neverwinter Wood for a suitable
lair.Thegiant spider corpses
are the formerresidents
of the tower,killedby the
dragon afterit toreits way
through the roof.Since
then, Venomfang has
beenlayinglow.
Tower.The dragon lives
in the tower-asingleroom
with a 40-foot-high ceiling.
A 5-foot-wide staircase
circlesthe interior,rising to
the now-openedrooftop that
allows the dragoneasyaccess to its
newhome. Heavywooden beams andstair
supports crisscross the towerinterior.
Venomfang doesnot wantto giveup sucha promising
lair,but if the charactersreduce the dragonto halfits
hit points, it climbs to the top of the towerandfliesoff to
fightanother day.
Cottage.Thecottage contains dustyfurniture draped in
webbing, but nothing of value.If the charactersmake a lot
of noisein the cottage,the dragonhears them andsteels
itselffor a fight.
TREASURE
An old woodenchestbroken openon the towerfloorholds
the lastof the deadwizard's treasure: 800 sp, 150gp, four
silvergoblets set withmoonstones (60 gp each),a scroll of
mistystep,anda scroll of lightningbolt.Venomfang spends
muchof his timegreedily admiring the loot.
Thedragon hasbarelynoticed the mostinteresting item
in its hoard.Beneath the coinsis a rustyold battleaxe
of dwarven manufacture. Runes in Dwarvish on the axe
headread, "Hew,"andthe rustis misleading. Hewis a +1
battleaxe thatdeals maximum damage whenthe wielder
hitsa plantcreature or an objectmade of wood.Theaxe's
creator wasa dwarfsmith whofeudedwiththe dryadsof
a forest where he cut firewood.Whoever carries the axe
feelsuneasy whenever he or shetravels through a forest.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide2,000 XP equally among the charactersif the party
drives awayVenomfang. Giventheirlevel,the characters
aren't likelyto slaythe dragon,but it is worth3,900 XP.
- OLD SMITHY
This smithywas abandoned longago.
1
A wide chimney androtted pilesoffirewood jumbled outside 1
the wallsof this saggingbuilding suggest that it wasa smithy
in its day.
Twoash zombies(seethe "AshZombies" sidebar) are
slumped on the floor.Whenthe charactersenter,the
monsters climbto theirfeet(spending halftheir speed
to do so-seethe "BeingProne" section in chapter 2 of
VENOMFIING
the rulebook).Then theyattack. Whenthe zombieshave
caught sightof the characters,theypursue them no matter
where theygo.
A varietyof old tools-tongs, bellows, hammers, anda
pairof ironanvils-are scattered around the interiorof
thisbuilding.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide 100 XP equallyamong the charactersif the party
destroys the ashzombies.
- HERBALIST'S SHOP
This wasan herb andalchemy shop belonging to the
familyof Mirna Dendrar, nowa resident in Phandalin (see
encounter 5 in the "RedbrandHideout" section).
1
This ruined shop is cluttered withsagging storage shelves and 1
broken furniture. Shards of glassand piecesof potteryglintIn
the weedsand rubblenextto rotted books and casks.
All the reagentsandconcoctions herehave longsince
been ruined, andthe booksare unreadablemasses of rot.
However, a smallwooden caseis hiddenin a compartment
beneath the storageshelves. A character searching
through the wreckagecanfindthe casewitha successful
DC15 Wisdom (Perception) check.Thecheck succeeds
automatically if Mirna sentthe partyto findthe heirloom.
TREASURE
Thecaseis worthless but contains a goldnecklace witha
fineemerald pendant (200gp).
33
PART3: THE SPIDER'S WEB
