The Spellforge in the Snow
The Spellforge in the Snow
Read aloud
A courier's sled limps into Phandalin with its runners rimed in ice and a broken piece of blue crystal wrapped in canvas. Sister Garaele says it came from the ruined mage tower in the hills, where old tales promise enchanted treasures. If the party can reach the tower and recover something useful before Cryovain's shadow falls over the village, Phandalin may have a chance to stand its ground.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find a way into Veyra Morn's tower.
- 2Discover what has awakened inside the ruins.
- 3Secure the forge relics before the remnant can claim them.
- 4Learn how the Spellforge can help defend against Cryovain.Optional
The clock
Each time the party takes a short rest inside the tower or triggers a major ward, roll once on the complications table. After the third such roll, the forge's instability peaks: the next complication occurs automatically, and Malrec's Remnant becomes aware of the party's exact location.
Scenes
- 0:00A Relic in the Snow
- 0:30The Hill of Broken Stone
- 1:15The Bell-Hung Gallery
- 2:15The Last Imprint
- 3:00The Black Forge
Cast
- Sister GaraeleQuestgiver and ally
- Tobin AlderWitness
- Veyra MornWildcard and ally
- Malrec's RemnantAntagonist
The hook
Set the scene
Read the hook aloud, then let Sister Garaele explain that Tobin Alder found the blue crystal near the tower's old road. She offers a modest advance, a hand-drawn route, and a promise of additional reward for any safe-to-use relics. Tobin can describe the chime, the monsters, and a collapsed entrance near a stone marker shaped like an anvil.
How Sister Garaele asks
Sister Garaele asks the party to meet her at the Shrine of Luck after Tobin Alder brings in a blue crystal fragment recovered near the ruined tower.
She explains that the relics may be useful against Cryovain, but emphasizes that the tower's safety is unknown. She offers 75 gp up front for supplies and promises the remaining reward upon the party's return.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4.5 hours0:00
30 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Relic in the Snow
The Shrine of Luck and the nearby village green in Phandalin.
Sister Garaele explains the risk and the reward. Tobin shares what he saw, and the party can inspect the crystal fragment, buy supplies, or question locals for rumors.
NextThe party follows Tobin's route into the foothills, reaching the tower's outer grounds before nightfall or choosing to camp nearby.
0:30
45 min
exploration
2. The Hill of Broken Stone
A wind-scoured hillside, the tower's ruined courtyard, and an anvil-shaped boundary stone.
The party explores the broken outer wall, chooses between a collapsed stair and a narrow service entrance, and finds signs that the tower's monsters are being drawn toward its lower levels.
NextA route through the service passage leads into the Bell-Hung Gallery; a party that thoroughly searches may also find a concealed stair that avoids the chimes.
1:15
60 min
combat
3. The Bell-Hung Gallery
An interior gallery suspended above a rubble-filled lower level.
The party crosses a trapped gallery of hanging chimes while animated guardians defend the route. They can fight, disable the chimes, or use the broken balconies to bypass the guardians.
The Bell-Hung GalleryNextThe gallery's far door opens into a study where Veyra's image can be encountered, leading to the forge's sealed lower stair.
2:15
45 min
social
4. The Last Imprint
A ruined study lined with scorched books, star charts, and a glass window overlooking the dark forge below.
Veyra's imprint appears and asks the party to speak her name at the control dais. The party can question her, examine her notes, or test the forge's wards. Malrec's voice interrupts if the party accepts his offer or touches the sealed core.
NextVeyra can identify a safe path into the Black Forge, but the remnant's ward must be confronted, circumvented, or dismantled there.
3:00
90 min
combat
5. The Black Forge
A subterranean forge chamber built around a glowing, cracked core and a deep smelting pit.
The party enters the Black Forge, where they must contend with Malrec's Remnant, its shadowy allies, and unstable vents while deciding whether to stabilize or shut down the core.
The Black ForgeNextWith the core secured or silenced, the party can search the forge cache, choose which relics to carry, and return to Phandalin with the consequences of their choices.
Behind it
What people believe
A ruined Spellforge Age tower stands in the hills near Phandalin.
Local reports tell of enchanted treasures still inside, but monsters have moved into the ruins, and travelers speak of a dark presence below. Sister Garaele asks the party to explore the tower, recover useful relics, and return with knowledge that could help Phandalin withstand the threat of Cryovain.
Background
In the final decades of the Spellforge Age, the arcanist Veyra Morn built a tower in the foothills north of Phandalin.
Its heart was a forge capable of tempering enchanted objects, not creating power from nothing. When Veyra allied with a cruel warlock called Malrec, the tower became a storehouse for weapons and experiments. A strike against the tower ended their work, but the place was sealed in a collapse and its forge went cold. Now monsters nest in the ruins, and an echo of Malrec's will has begun stirring. The tower's surviving relics may give Phandalin's defenders a fighting chance against Cryovain.
The stakes
If the party fails, Malrec's Remnant may escape with the forge core or the tower may become an active source of threats near Phandalin.
If they succeed, they gain limited but meaningful tools and knowledge for the coming conflict with Cryovain. The forge cannot by itself defeat the dragon.
Encounters
2The Bell-Hung Gallery
Combat
A long gallery with hanging iron chimes, broken balconies, and a 15-foot drop to a rubble-strewn lower floor. Chimes can be silenced with a successful Dexterity check using thieves' tools or a suitable spell.
Foes
2 animated armors
1 flying sword
ComplicationThe chime above the stairwell rings if a creature crosses the chamber quickly or disturbs the hanging chains. If it rings, the next encounter begins with one additional lesser foe arriving after 2 rounds.
ScalingFor a level 3 party, use 1 animated armor and 1 flying sword. For a level 5 party, add 1 flying sword or have the second animated armor arrive after 2 rounds.
The Black Forge
Combat
A circular forge chamber with a raised central platform, waist-high machinery, glowing vents, and a narrow walkway around a deep smelting pit. The warding seal can be disabled with a successful Arcana check, by speaking Veyra's name at the control dais, or by destroying two visible rune-stones.
Foes
Malrec's Remnant, a custom incorporeal spellcaster
2 shadows
ComplicationAt initiative count 20 each round, the forge vents a burst of heat or cold. A creature standing on a marked vent must move or make a suitable saving throw to avoid damage. A character can use an action to jam a vent with rubble or a metal object.
ScalingFor a level 3 party, use Malrec's Remnant with 1 shadow and reduce its hit points. For a level 5 party, use both shadows and give the remnant one additional use of its custom force-bolt ability. Use appropriate 5E stat blocks for shadows; Malrec's Remnant is a custom creature, not an official 5E monster.
Cast
4Sister Garaele
QuestgiverQuestgiver and ally
WantsProtect Phandalin and provide the party with a practical advantage against Cryovain. She can offer maps and supplies, but wants the party to share any dangerous discovery.
“I don't need you to bring back a sack of glittering junk. Bring back something that can keep a dragon from turning my home into a snowbank.”
Tobin Alder
Witness
WantsA local prospector, Halia's former informant, escaped the tower's outer chambers and wants the monsters driven away before more travelers vanish. He fears the tower's bells because they seem to call creatures from deeper in.
“The old road is quiet until it isn't. If you hear a bell underground, do not answer it.”
Veyra Morn
Wildcard and ally
WantsThe spectral image of Veyra Morn wants the forge's dangerous core stabilized and Malrec's remnant quieted. She does not know whether she is a true spirit or only an imprint preserved by the tower.
“The forge remembers every hand that fed it. Give it a worthy offering, and it may remember yours kindly.”
Malrec's Remnant
Antagonist
WantsMalrec's remnant wants a living bearer to carry the forge's core away, allowing it to escape the tower's wards and eventually possess a body. It offers tempting bargains and hides its intention until it can act.
“The dragon will take what it wants. Why should I let you take my power first?”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Frostward Buckler, custom uncommon shield: once per long rest, when its bearer takes cold damage, the bearer can use a reaction to reduce that damage by 1d8. This does not grant immunity to cold.
Spellforge Lens, custom wondrous item: while held, it glows faintly within 60 feet of an active magical effect. Once per day, it can grant advantage on one ability check made to identify or understand a magical device.
Ember-Touched Weapon, custom weapon enhancement: the forge can temper one nonmagical weapon, causing it to shed dim light on command. Once per long rest, a hit can deal an extra 1d4 fire damage. The enhancement fades after 30 days unless the forge is stabilized.
Veyra's field notes, a useful research item describing the tower's wards and several possible preparations for facing a white dragon.
On a win
The party stabilizes the Black Forge or safely shuts it down, prevents Malrec's Remnant from escaping, and returns with at least one usable relic.
Sister Garaele arranges for the relics to be examined and makes clear that they are a useful edge, not a guaranteed victory over Cryovain. If the party recovers Veyra's notes, Phandalin gains practical guidance for preparing defenses against the dragon.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party flees or is defeated before securing the forge core.
- Malrec's Remnant escapes bound to a forge token. It becomes a recurring threat and may possess a creature or corrupt an item later.
- The party destroys the central machinery or triggers too many unstable vents during the final confrontation.
- The forge is damaged beyond safe use. The party can still recover one intact relic, but cannot awaken the forge or claim its full cache.
- The party leaves the tower without silencing the chime network or sealing the lower entrance.
- The relics are recovered, but the tower's disturbance draws monsters toward the roads and outskirts of Phandalin. The next local mission begins under pressure.
Complications (d6)
- 1A frost-choked vent bursts open, coating one passage in ice. The next creature to cross must move carefully or fall prone; the party can spend a few minutes clearing a safe path.
- 2A cracked chime rings once. Nearby monsters investigate the sound, arriving at the next occupied chamber after a short delay.
- 3A damaged ward marks one character with a faint blue sigil. Until removed by a successful Arcana check or suitable magic, nearby constructs and Malrec's remnant can sense that character through walls.
- 4A loose section of floor drops into a lower gallery. The first character across must catch a ledge or fall into the gallery, taking damage appropriate to the system; the others can secure a rope or find a safer route.
- 5The tower's forge-light flares and briefly animates a discarded suit of armor. It attacks the nearest creature, then collapses if reduced to half its starting hit points or if the forge-light is blocked.
- 6A breath of unnatural cold extinguishes unshielded flames and obscures the corridor with mist. The party must navigate by touch, wait for it to pass, or risk becoming separated.
Media
0 imagesNo images yet.
Turn The Spellforge in the Snow into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
