The Dowager Beneath the Yew
The Dowager Beneath the Yew
Read aloud
At dusk, a magistrate places a heavy purse on the table and says, “An old dragon has woken in Gloamwood, and it has taken people from our roads. Kill it before the next moonrise, and Bellweather will pay you.” Outside, every raven on the rooftops turns to face the forest.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Accept the contract and discover the route into Gloamwood.
- 2Stop the dragon's attacks on the village.
- 3Uncover the cause of the dragon's awakening and search for the missing.Optional
The clock
The next moonrise is two nights away. Each long rest or major delay allows another attack near Bellweather, increasing local fear and reducing the magistrate's willingness to negotiate alternatives to killing the dragon.
Scenes
- 0:00The Bounty at Dusk
- 0:40Tracks Among the Graves
- 1:35The Broken Ward
- 2:20The Last Breath of the Dowager
Cast
- Magistrate Elowen VaneQuestgiver
- Mara PellWitness and ally
- The Ashen DowagerAntagonist
The hook
Set the scene
The party meets Magistrate Elowen Vane in Bellweather's shuttered town hall. A muddy logger's cloak hangs over a chair, and the magistrate lays out a rough map of Gloamwood. Mara Pell waits by the door, visibly shaken, and asks the characters to find her brother as well as the dragon.
How Magistrate Elowen Vane asks
Elowen summons the party to the town hall after hearing of their arrival.
She offers a written bounty, a local guide's map, and access to the town's limited healing supplies.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
40 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Bounty at Dusk
Bellweather town hall, with rain tapping at shuttered windows.
The party meets Elowen, hears the bounty terms, and can question Mara about the missing loggers. Careful questions reveal that the trouble began soon after the crew cut a marked tree.
NextElowen gives the party a rough map. Mara offers to guide them to the logging trail, but will not enter the dragon's hollow.
0:40
55 min
exploration
2. Tracks Among the Graves
Gloamwood, where pale moss, leaning grave stones, and black branches obscure the trail.
The party follows the logging trail through oppressive fog, finds signs of a struggle, and may discover the broken ward carved into the yew roots. Use the complications table if a pacing prompt is needed.
The Watchers in the FogNextThe tracks converge at a ruined shrine. From there, the party can hear a voice calling them toward the yew hollow.
1:35
45 min
skill
3. The Broken Ward
A roofless forest shrine tangled in roots, with a shallow offering bowl and a split standing stone.
At the ruined shrine, the party finds offerings and a cracked stone ward. They can question Mara, inspect the damage, and choose whether to proceed directly or spend time attempting to restore the ward.
NextRestoring or understanding the ward provides the party a chance to calm or contain the dragon; otherwise, they reach the lair while it is agitated.
2:20
75 min
combat
4. The Last Breath of the Dowager
A root-choked hollow beneath the ancient yew, its creek running black in the moonlight.
The party confronts the Ashen Dowager. It speaks in borrowed voices and reacts to bright lights, noise, and movement near the yew roots. Characters can fight, flee, or attempt to use the ward and the dragon's confusion to end the threat without killing it.
The Wyrm Beneath the YewNextIf the party survives, they can gather proof, search the lair for signs of the missing, and return to Bellweather to claim or negotiate their reward.
Behind it
What people believe
An elderly dragon has awakened in Gloamwood and begun attacking travelers near Bellweather.
Magistrate Elowen Vane offers a reward for its death and asks the party to follow the trail of a missing logging crew to the dragon's lair. Locals report unnatural fog, strange voices, and a great shadow beneath the ancient yew.
Background
For generations, the people of Bellweather have left offerings at the edge of Gloamwood to keep its ancient dragon asleep.
The custom creature called the Ashen Dowager has grown frail, but its dreams still seep into the forest as cold mist and waking nightmares. A recent logging crew disturbed its lair, and the dragon has begun hunting near the village.
The stakes
If the party fails to stop the Dowager, Bellweather's roads will become unsafe and the dragon may attack the settlement itself.
Killing it ends the immediate danger but may leave the broken ward and the reason for its strange behavior unresolved.
Encounters
2The Wyrm Beneath the Yew
Combat
A circular hollow beneath a vast yew tree, with a shallow creek, slick roots, waist-high stone markers, and a cracked rock shelf. The dragon begins among the roots. A creature behind a stone marker has half cover from the dragon's breath.
Foes
The Ashen Dowager, custom weakened elderly dragon
ComplicationDuring the fight, the Dowager's breath freezes a section of the creek into slick ice. A creature that moves across it quickly must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.
ScalingFor a smaller or less capable party, reduce the dragon's hit points to 60 and have it use its breath only once. For a stronger party, give it 90 hit points and let it recharge its breath on a 5 or 6. This is a custom encounter, not an official 5E stat block.
The Watchers in the Fog
Combat
A narrow deer trail between thorn hedges and toppled grave stones. The fog limits sight beyond 30 feet. Characters can take cover behind a fallen stone or climb onto a low burial mound.
Foes
2 hollow-eyed wolves, use wolf statistics with 9 hit points each
ComplicationIf the party makes loud noise or leaves evidence of their approach, two hollow-eyed wolves approach from the brush during the next scene. They attack only if threatened or if the dragon calls to them.
ScalingFor a party that has already spent resources, use one wolf. For a stronger party, use three. These are wolves with cosmetic horror details, not a new official creature type.
Cast
3Magistrate Elowen Vane
QuestgiverQuestgiver
WantsProtect Bellweather from further attacks while concealing how the village has long appeased the dragon.
“Bring me proof it is dead, and Bellweather will owe you more than coin.”
Mara Pell
Witness and ally
WantsFind her missing brother and prove the dragon is responsible, even if the search endangers the party.
“It did not kill my brother. It called him by our mother's voice, and he walked into the fog.”
The Ashen Dowager
Antagonist
WantsPreserve its life and the forest sanctuary around its lair, though it has become dangerous and confused.
“I have slept beneath these roots for two hundred years. You are the ones who came to wake me.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A silvered handaxe recovered from the logging crew, worth 25 gp
A charm of black yew that grants advantage on one saving throw against being frightened; it crumbles after use. Custom consumable.
On a win
Bellweather's immediate danger ends when the Dowager is killed, driven away, or safely contained.
If the party brings back proof and reports what happened, Elowen pays the bounty. If they also investigate the ward and missing people, the settlement can begin making amends for the damage to Gloamwood.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party withdraws or cannot reach the dragon's lair.
- Bellweather loses trust in the party and refuses further aid. Mara may still offer help if the characters protected her or recovered evidence of her brother.
- The party loses the final battle or is driven from the lair.
- The Dowager survives and hunts near the village again within a week. The magistrate hires another group, and the party may return to find the settlement under curfew.
- The party completes the kill but ignores the missing people and evidence in the woods.
- The dragon dies, but the party leaves without confirming the fate of Mara's brother or the logging crew. Their families blame the party for abandoning the missing.
Complications (d6)
- 1A bank of pale fog rolls across the trail. Until it clears, characters more than 20 feet apart cannot see or hear one another clearly.
- 2A dead raven bursts into a cloud of moths. The sudden flutter draws a nearby forest predator toward the party's position.
- 3A character hears a trusted loved one's voice from off the trail, begging for help. Following it costs 10 minutes and leads to a dangerous patch of sinking ground.
- 4The party finds a bloodied logging axe bearing the mark of Bellweather. Its owner is alive nearby, hiding from a pair of restless dead.
- 5A windstorm scatters the trail markers. The party must spend 10 minutes navigating or arrive at the lair through the unstable ravine route.
- 6The dragon's distant groan causes a nearby tree to split and fall across the route, separating the party until they climb over or find a way around.
Media
0 imagesNo images yet.
Turn The Dowager Beneath the Yew into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
