D&D 5E Holiday Challenge: Vow of the Silent Knight

[iserith]

VOW OF THE SILENT KNIGHT



The Sitch

Long ago, the legendary treant Tannenbaum was the heart of a beautiful forest climbing the sides of a temperate mountain. That was until the mistletoe dryads - parasites by nature - came calling, charming and manipulating the good-natured treant. In short order, they corrupted Tannenbaum and began to control it, causing it to neglect its woodland realm. The forest went into decline as snow and ice, once kept at bay by the treant's goodness, covered the land.

Recently, after witnessing a star fall to the earth, the fey knight Noëlle had a revelation that, with this heavenly light, she could banish the mistletoe dryads and restore Tannenbaum to its former glory. Vowing to the Ancients not to speak until she placed the fallen star atop the treant, Noëlle and her spritely squire, The Little Drummer Boy, set out on a quest over the river and through the woods to undo what evil the dryads had wrought and rekindle the light.

Noëlle, however, needs help to complete her quest.

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Protagonists

Four 3rd-level player characters
Noëlle, The Silent Knight, an elven paladin

Spoiler

NOELLE, THE SILENT KNIGHT
Medium humanoid (wood elf), neutral good

Armor Class 16 (breastplate)
Hit Points 27 (6d8)
Speed 30 ft.

STR 15 (+2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 10 (+0)
INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 13 (+1)

Skills Nature +2, Perception +3, Religion +2
Senses passive Perception 13, darkvision 60'
Languages Common, Elvish
Challenge -

Fey Ancestry. Noëlle has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put her to sleep.

ACTIONS

Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage, or 8 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.

Lay on Hands. See Player's Handbook, page 84. For the purposes of this ability, Noëlle is considered to be 3rd level.

The Little Drummer Boy, a sprite (MM, pg. 283, equipped with a drum which he constantly plays)

The initial meeting between the player characters and Noëlle should represent something of a social interaction challenge. She tries to explain to them the dire situation of Tannenbaum, the evil of the mistletoe dryads, and her vow to restore the treant to its former glory. She must do this entirely through what amounts to a game of charades which the DM is encouraged to act out at the table. If a player correctly guesses a given fact offered via sign language to the PCs, he or she earns Inspiration. If the players are struggling, the Little Drummer Boy can interpret for them, but the players earn no Inspiration in the doing.

It takes a full day of travel to reach Tannenbaum's grove. The forest is full of natural hazards, beasts, monstrosities, and fey creatures that work to exhaust and confound outsiders that dare trespass upon this cursed land. It is left to the DM to work out appropriate challenges on the way to the grove. Even finding the grove before exhaustion begins to set in can be a suitable exploration challenge.

Finally, while it is possible for a player character to climb the treant and place the fallen star to restore Tannenbaum, this does not satisfy the vow that The Silent Knight has taken. Noëlle herself must climb and place the star atop the tree to complete her quest. Upstaging her in this regard may change her attitude from friendly to hostile. Figuring out how to protect Noëlle and support her efforts is as much a part of the challenge as avoiding, countering, or surviving the worst of what the dryads or Tannenbaum can dish out (see below).

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Antagonists

Tannenbaum, a treant (MM, pg. 289)
Cinnamon, Holly, Nutmeg, dryads (MM, pg. 121, neutral evil, armed with shortbows)

Spoiler

Add the following trait:

Kiss of the Mistletoe Dryad. The dryad delivers its Fey Charm ability by kissing a creature. By doing so, the target has disadvantage on its saving throw.

The mistletoe dryads endeavor to charm those that visit the cursed grove, asking those that succumb to leave a valuable gift (e.g. magical items, a lot of gold, etc.) under the treant before departing forever. A charmed creature isn't under the control of the dryad, but a player that chooses to have his or her charmed character accede to the dryad's request gains the blessing of the mistletoe dryads while charmed. This blessing means that no fey creature or beast in the forest can attack them.

Creatures that resist the charms of the dryads are subjected to their attacks - clubs and shortbows. They tend to stay at range using their Tree Stride ability, putting hazardous terrain between them and their foes. They encourage Tannenbaum to shove any creature that tries to climb it, preferably as it approaches the top so that the fall is particularly nasty.

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Features of the Area

Dangling Icicles: From the branches of the treant hang innumerable sharp icicles which fall when disturbed. Each creature under Tannenbaum or in its branches when this occurs must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 2d6 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much as a successful one. Disturbances include the treant moving its limbs (such as when it shoves someone), carelessly climbing the treant (DC 10 Athletics while climbing or the icicles are disturbed), or hitting the treant with a weapon or physical spell attack.

Dryads' Gifts: At the base of the tree are many gifts given to the dryads by creatures they have charmed, ranging from objects of purely sentimental value to food to gold and magic items. Among these gifts is a labeled potion of climbing which can be found with some effort. It is up to the DM as to what other kinds of treasure might be found here. If Tannenbaum is successfully restored, the grateful treant offers the dryads' gifts to the adventurers.

Icy Rocks: The 15-foot ring of sharp, icy rocks that surrounds Tannenbaum is slippery. Normal or hasty movement across the icy rocks requires a measure of acrobatic or athletic skill, a failure of which results in 1d6 slashing damage and falling prone. A creature moving at half its speed is not at risk of this.

Tannenbaum: This is an enormous treant, some 80 feet tall and 40 feet wide. Tannenbaum is under a form of curse placed upon it by the mistletoe dryads. Its frozen limbs limit its ability to move or attack, allowing it only to shove other creatures. It can also use its Animate Trees ability, but only to animate a single tree which has a speed of 20 feet. It will do none of these things unless deceived or persuaded into doing so by the dryads (DC 10) as an action. It does not communicate with anyone other than the dryads while cursed, though a character can try to hinder a dryad's efforts by appealing to the treant's good nature as a reaction, setting the DC the dryad's have to hit with an appropriate roll. The dryads can use Tannenbaum for their Tree Stride ability, appearing under or upon any of its branches within range.

Woodland: The trunks and branches of the bare trees of the woodland provide half-cover. The forest is thick enough where creatures with 30 feet or more distance between them have total cover from each other.

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Conclusion

Will the characters help Noëlle complete her quest and restore the forest to its former glory? Will they fall prey to the dryad's charms? Will they have to complete the quest for the Silent Knight and possibly incur her wrath? Play to find out what happens! How do you think your group would set about this challenge?

I welcome your questions and constructive feedback below. And special thanks Bawylie for helping me brainstorm this scenario. If you would like to see some additional scenarios, click here.

Happy Holidays!

 

[pukunui]

Woot! Thank you for posting this, [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION]!

I am definitely going to run this for my Boxing Day adventure. However, first I will need to adjust it to be challenging for a group of three 5th level PCs. What would you recommend I do?

 

[iserith]

Woot! Thank you for posting this, [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION]!

I am definitely going to run this for my Boxing Day adventure. However, first I will need to adjust it to be challenging for a group of three 5th level PCs. What would you recommend I do?

It's probably fine for three 5th-level PCs, especially if Tannenbaum is persuaded to animate a tree. Just make sure they're aware that the Silent Knight's vow requires climbing the tree and placing the fallen star atop it, personally. (This means fly is not the best solution.) If you think it needs to be a little more difficult, you can always add a fey creature, beast, or monstrosity that serves the dryads like a winter wolf, owlbear, or the like.

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION]: Sounds good. Now, you mention the chance of exhaustion ... is the idea that they have one night in which to fulfil the quest, so taking a long rest will be out of the question?

 

[iserith]

Now, you mention exhaustion - is the idea that they have one night in which to do fulfil the quest, so taking a long rest will be out of the question?

You can set a time limit on it if you want and then provide a challenge where the stakes are (success) arrive on time with no exhaustion or (fail) arrive on time without exhaustion. The light of the fallen star might be fading, for example. Mostly you'll just want to be aware that the difficulty will probably be best after a full adventuring day (DMG, pg. 84). A fully-rested party with all of its resources available will tend to have an easier time of things.

 

[pukunui]

The light of the fallen star might be fading, for example.

That was the first thing that popped into my head.

So is the idea that the dryads pose the greatest danger to the PCs with their charm ability, whereas the treant is mostly going to be a threat to Noëlle insofar as it will keep trying to push her back down to the ground? And what happens if/when she manages to get the star to the top? It drives away any remaining dryads and restores Tannenbaum to its rightful mind?


Also, while the charades thing is cute, I'm sure my players would demand that she be given a piece of paper and a pen.

 

[iserith]

That was the first thing that popped into my head.

So is the idea that the dryads pose the greatest danger to the PCs with their charm ability, whereas the treant is mostly going to be a threat to Noëlle insofar as it will keep trying to push her back down to the ground? And what happens if/when she manages to get the star to the top? It drives away any remaining dryads and restores Tannenbaum to its rightful mind?

The dryads also have shortbows and clubs and can deceive or persuade Tannenbaum into animating a tree.

Tannenbaum is restored when the fallen star is placed on top. Whatever happens from there is up to you. You're the DM!

Also, while the charades thing is cute, I'm sure my players would demand that she be given a piece of paper and a pen.

If they don't want the Inspiration, that's their choice.

 

[pukunui]

The dryads also have shortbows and clubs and can deceive or persuade Tannenbaum into animating a tree.

Right. But the fey charm thing seems more of a threat really, since it can potentially remove a PC from the encounter all together (since the fey tell them to offer a gift and then leave).

But my point was more that the dryads (and the animated tree) or more for the PCs to fight, while Tannenbaum itself is more for the knight. Or do you envisage the dryads trying to kiss and/or otherwise attack Noëlle herself?

If they don't want the Inspiration, that's their choice.

So you reckon I should just state outright that if they play along with the game of charades, I'll give them inspiration; otherwise, they can just cut to the chase and not get inspiration?

 

[pukunui]

Am I correct in thinking that a treant with no attacks of its own (just those of the trees it can animate) would only be CR 5? [As an aside, am I also correct in thinking that the animated trees can only make one Slam attack each round - that is, that they don't have multiattack?]

I'm also thinking that I'll replace the dryads' shortbow attack with a magic snowball attack (inspired by the magic stone cantrip):

Magic Snowball. Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) cold dmg.

I think I like the image of the dryads throwing snowballs at the PCs more than having them shoot arrows at them.

 

[iserith]

Right. But the fey charm thing seems more of a threat really, since it can potentially remove a PC from the encounter all together (since the fey tell them to offer a gift and then leave).

Not really. While the charm is their go-to (and the kiss is holiday-appropriate), Fey Charm doesn't compel a character to do anything except treat the dryad as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The charmed condition means the PC can't attack the dryad. Inspiration and the blessing of the mistletoe dryad are ways to incentivize a player into having the character do what his or her trusted friend requests. If a player does not have the character comply with the request, that's okay in my view. Not being able to attack the dryad and reference to gift giving and leaving gifts under the tree is sufficiently challenging and reminiscent of holiday tradition to achieve my design goals.

Some DMs would be more forceful with this and demand a player have the character act a particular way with regard to requests, perhaps even having the dryad make ability checks to influence a character, but that's not how I roll. You may play it otherwise.

But my point was more that the dryads (and the animated tree) or more for the PCs to fight, while Tannenbaum itself is more for the knight. Or do you envisage the dryads trying to kiss and/or otherwise attack Noëlle herself?

It really depends on how the players decide to approach the challenge. I honestly couldn't say. I designed it so that it's open-ended in this regard.

So you reckon I should just state outright that if they play along with the game of charades, I'll give them inspiration; otherwise, they can just cut to the chase and not get inspiration?

I would just tell them if they figure out what the elf is trying to communicate, they get Inspiration. If they decide they'd rather break out a pen and paper instead, they'll just get the information, same as asking the sprite.

Am I correct in thinking that a treant with no attacks of its own (just those of the trees it can animate) would only be CR 5? [As an aside, am I also correct in thinking that the animated trees can only make one Slam attack each round - that is, that they don't have multiattack?

I didn't do the math on the CR, but that sounds fair. As for the aside, that's how I read it, yes. I also slowed the tree down to a speed of 20 feet so that clever players might use the difficult terrain to kite it. The attack modifier and damage the animated tree can do is pretty high for this level.

I'm also thinking that I'll replace the dryads' shortbow attack with a magic snowball attack (inspired by the magic stone cantrip):

Magic Snowball. Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) cold dmg.

I think I like the image of the dryads throwing snowballs at the PCs more than having them shoot arrows at them.

Cool, I like that.