A bit overdue, but here is the conclusion to my short-running dolmenwood campaign! Sadly due to scheduling conflicts it has no longer ongoing, but the ending was certainly a fun one. Below you'll find a session recap with some additional throughs at the end, enjoy!
Characters
- Modestus Ursus - Level 3 Human Cleric
- Moggy "Mog" Cottonsocks - Level 2 Grimalkin Fighter
- Pansy Strongboned - Level 3 Human Fighter
- Dorcas Everbright - Level 1 Human Cleric
Followers
- Agnel Dregger - Level 1 Magician
Action Report
The party wake after an uneasy rest in the strange glade. Traveling further eastwards they eventually reach an area known as the whispering caves, where as the name suggests strange whispers can be heard echoing through the caverns.
Meandering through the sandstone hills the group then arrive at the glade seen in the vision by Pansy. A stone circle stands at the centre of the glade with a stone altar in the middle. Behind the great dolmens looms a large and ancient barrow. Investigating the glade the group find the moss-covered skeleton of a stag lying upon the altar, as well as several strange metal owls with symbols carved into them. Some careful investigation lead the party to deduce that the symbols must be drunic. The dolmens and owls are ultimately deemed uninteresting and the party instead head towards the barrow.
While inside the group encounter several seemingly haunted chambers; flying holy-objects, levitating dancing skeletons, and a mirror which paralyzes Pansy as she steps in front of it. Luckily Modestus is able to cure her, and the characters move a statue of a beautiful fey-looking woman in front of the mirror to block it. In the deepest chamber the group find a pair of huge stone doors, with equally huge stone hounds to either side of them. A carving on the door reads "call to the companions", making the group conclude that speaking the names of the hounds opens the doors. Searching through the barrow only one name is found. Mog and Pansy instead stumble down a set of stairs into what they initially think is just a lower level of the barrow, but what instead proves to be a gate into the frozen fairy-land of Frigia...
The pair stand before a frozen lake with a tower in its centre. As a sled approaches the tower so do the characters and after some discussion with the goblin doorman the two are invited into the wedding feast that is apparently being held inside. Taking a seat alongside a selection of highborn frost-elves the pair thoughtlessly let slip that they traveled to the tower through a nearby gateway from Dolmenwood. A missive is sent to someone only referred to as "his majesty" and the characters are bid to wait for his arrival.
As Modestus and Agnel consider their next plan of action back in the barrow, a stranger barges into the open entrance. Dorcas Everbright, another (unproven) cleric of the one true god pledges to help his superior, having been drawn to the barrow after hearing of it being a site for drunic rituals. Together they conclude that the stairs are a portal which can be traveled back through by taking a hidden pathway in Frigia. As they too reach the frozen lake they are forced to hide in the snow as what looks like a royal entourage approach the lake from the opposite side.
As the party inside the tower is continuing Mog and Pansy are invited to the meed the bride herself; the so-called Snowfall-at-Dusk, princess of Frigia. Her likeness is recognized from the statue in the barrow and the elf lady explains that her love for the mortal Sir Chyde, the man who lies buried the great stone doors. The two were betrothed while Sir Chyde was alive and before the frost-elves were banished from Dolmenwood, their eternal love bringing the two worlds together and creating the portals to Frigia. If the group can bring the lady Sir Chyde's ring, the both of them will be together forever and the portal to Frigia will slowly close. The discussion is interrupted as the lady's father the Cold Prince arrives at the tower. Mog and Pansy are left no choice but to rappel out the window to escape the the fairy-lord's interrogation.
Chaos ensues as Mog and Pansy are joined by Modestus, Dorcas, and Agnel who battle the few frost-knights left to guard the entourage's horses outside the tower. It is quickly realized that any prolonged battle will be futile and the party make a fighting retreat towards the hidden pathway back into the barrow. A fairy servant is summoned to spook the horses of the knights, Modestus blinds and silences, and Dorcas almost pays with his life as the group only barely escape Frigia just as the Cold Prince himself rushes out of the tower.
While back in the barrow the group take a moment to breathe. The name of the second stone hound is discovered on a mould-covered tapestry and the doors to Sir Chyde's grave are opened. While inside the ghost of the Knight materializes and offers the party his grave-goods as payment for bringing his ring to lady Snowfall-at-Dusk. However before making another foray into fairy it is decided that the group will travel back to Castle Brackenwold to gather supplies. The trek back is uneventful and the party are able to put their feet up after a very cold and otherworldly adventure.
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| A lake of ice in a land of endless winter |
GM Thoughts
A great adventure all-in-all! In total the events described herein took place during three sessions of play. Winter's daughter has been lauded as a great starting adventure by others before, and I believe that also. What is nice about it is the lack of obvious combat encounters and focus instead on (diegetic) puzzles and social encounters, making for a very different playthrough than even the starting-adventure provided in the dolmenwood campaign book—the pipes on droomen knoll—which has several very hostile encounters.
The exploration of the barrow seemed to me to be very engaging experience, with many things for the players to find and interact with. My previous musings on having higher level characters was again not an issue here, since the lack of combat encounters meant that they couldn't really bring many numerical advantages to bear. When this did become a factor (as in the battle with the knights), it was still a near-run thing as the knights were even more powerful and numerous than the party. Throwing the Cold Prince himself into the scenario was certainly fun and felt like a natural response to the characters mentioning having just come from the mortal world far too openly.
As this is most likely the end of this mini-campaign, I'm left with several open-ended thread I could potentially use in a future campaign in Dolmenwood. The development of the portal in the barrow could prove to be the core of a mystery where the players are tasked with investigating several sightings of strange blue elves in the eaves of the forest. Although with my semi-recent Hill Cantons campaign ending with a big showdown with a bunch of cold-themed elves I'd perhaps choose some other part of the dolmenwood to focus on.