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Dungeons
Lair · Small · Level 7 · Medium

The Candle Cellar

Green candlelight spills beneath the north door, and three voices hum one lullaby a beat apart.
Rooms
5
Foes
9, CR 1/4 to 4
Traps
3
Treasure
637 gp
12345Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Ash Entry

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

Three hags make their home in the cellar, posing as kindly old women when they can lure victims into a bargain.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    1 swarm× Grin MothsCR 1/2

    When: A loud noise or an uncovered flame draws them from cracks in the ceiling between rooms-0 and .A cluster of fat, pale moths with humanlike teeth flutters toward warm breath and candlelight.
  2. 2

    The Rag StagCR 2

    When: It appears when a creature takes a keepsake from the cellar without first asking permission from the shrine.A thin, antlered shape made from twigs and discarded clothing lopes on all fours, carrying a child's shoe in its mouth.
  3. 3

    1 swarm× Whisper LeavesCR 1

    When: They spill from the corridors when the coven is attacked or the shrine ward is triggered.A swarm of animated black leaves circles at head height, each leaf whispering a different secret in a familiar voice.

Rooms

5
1

The Ash Entry

2 foestreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

The low entrance chamber is crowded with damp crates and a cold iron stove. Four ordinary doors open toward the shrine, trap room, treasure room, and the hags' hall; from the north door comes a faint chorus of women humming the same tune out of time.

Features

  • Four doors lead to rooms 1 through 4; the door toward bears fresh scratches on its inner face.
  • The stove contains gray ash and a single unburned child's mitten.

What the GM knows

Monsters

2× CinderlingsCR 1/4

Two goatlike shadow-things with candleflame eyes crouch beneath the crates, created by the coven to watch the entrance.Tactics. They spring from cover to harry spellcasters, then retreat through the nearest open door if either is reduced to half its hit points.

Treasure

Keeper's emergency coins32 gp and 11 sp

A tin box under the stove holds the remains of an old keeper's emergency fund.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

Let the players hear the hags' distant singing before they meet the coven. The cinderlings do not fight to the death and may be followed to .

4 doors: N (archway), S (locked), W (normal), E (normal)

The place

What it is

A squat stone cellar lies beneath a hill where the locals once burned their autumn rubbish.

Atmosphere

The air smells of wet leaves, candle grease, and something sweetly rotten.

The threat

Three hags make their home in the cellar, posing as kindly old women when they can lure victims into a bargain.

History

The cellar was built generations ago by village stewards as a place to store harvest tools and burn spoiled offerings after the autumn feast.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1Three old women once cured the village fever, but none of the patients can remember their faces.
  2. 2A green flame burns beneath the hill on nights when the autumn moon is full.
  3. 3Children who lose a mitten sometimes wake with mud on their feet and a song in their mouths.
  4. 4The cellar doors lead to different places depending on which name is spoken before opening them.

Plot hooks

3
RescueThe Children Who CountSeveral children in the nearby settlement have begun sleepwalking toward the hill, each repeating a different phrase heard in a dream. The party must learn what the hags took from them and stop the next child from reaching the cellar.From: A worried village midwifeReward: A purse of 150 gp and a charm that grants advantage on one saving throw against being charmed
InvestigationThe Harvest BargainA farmer hired the coven for a cure and returned with healthy crops, but now his shadow moves a moment ahead of him. He wants the contract found and destroyed before the hags collect their promised payment.From: A stooped farmholderReward: A sack of rare medicinal herbs worth 200 gp
RecoveryInk Beneath the CageA local reeve believes the cellar contains the deed to land stolen from her family generations ago. The deed lies among the hags' hoard, but its ink records a pact that could expose the coven's weakness.From: A village reeveReward: The deed's recovered land or 250 gp, at the party's choice

Corridors

3

  • Passage between and

    Black candle stubs are wedged into cracks at knee height. Their flames kindle when someone lies aloud, then gutter when the truth is spoken.

  • Passage between and

    A trail of tiny muddy footprints runs along the wall, stopping abruptly at a blank stretch of stone. The prints belong to no creature currently in the dungeon.

  • Passage between and

    Bundles of dried apples, crow feathers, and red thread hang from the ceiling. Touching a bundle makes it whisper a visitor's childhood nickname.

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