The Legend of the Spirit Dragon exists in all cultures. With the inevitable passing of time and the natural, constant word of mouth, some details have changed or differ from place to place. But the main details remain the same: a dungeon buried deep beneath the Scaly Mountain Range, rumors of a majestic dragon, and talk of a spiritual challenge that is said to be even more dangerous than any encounter with wild beasts.
Oral Tradition. It is normal for myths, and legends to have differences when they are passed down through generations .
Named after its scale-looking cordillera, the Scaly Mountain Range, throughout the year, has sheets of snow covering its peaks, crests, and slopes in such a way that reflected sunlight creates a starry landscape.
Sierra. Even at night, the snow sheet covering the mountains shines as if it were empowered by unseen, ever-present magic.
Adventurers or brave explorers who wish to take on the journey to meet the Spirit Dragon are sent to the Frozen Anvil Fortress, part of the greatest dwarven kingdom in the norther territories. The white-bearded dwarves, know the tricky paths through the snowy mountains. Experienced dwarven guides offer their services to make their expedition easier.
Dwarves. The white-bearded dwarves have been around for thousands of years. They claim the Spirit Dragon is even older than them. Some venerate and consider this entity a demigod.
“The dragon can see your soul. It knows who you are and can detect all lies. There is no escaping its judgment.”
The Truth
The Spirit Dragon is not quite a spirit. A red dragon named Krav’Thar inhabits the lava rivers deep within the Scaly Mountain Range. Krav’Thar is older than the mountains themselves. This legendary creature does not fear men, though he has little interest in revealing his existence.
Krav’Thar has developed magical abilities throughout the centuries. And he has found happiness and entertainment in crafting a millennia-old legend: The fabled Spirit Dragon.
It is because of Krav’Thar’s magic that the snow in the mountain shines even during moonlight. It is because of this subtle incantation that people believe the elusive spirit inhabits the dungeon.
“The dragon is more than real. And it is a representation of your deepest fears. It challenges your mind, your intellect, your very eyes…”
Adventure Hook. The characters learn of the snow-sparkling mountain range. They hear rumors of a powerful draconic entity that challenges those strong enough to brave the inclement weather and delve into the eons-old dungeon. Will the heroes be motivated to explore it?
Reaching the Dungeon
The heroes are free to travel north and find the dungeon themselves (DC 22 Survival). Failing this check means they infringe upon the territory of yetis. Three yetis attempts to eat them.
Guide. The dwarves know the northern region well. If the heroes visit the Frozen Anvil Fortress to hire a guide, this check is not required.
The Dungeon. The guide’s job is to take them to the entrance, located at the end of a few hundred-foot-long network of underground tunnels. The dwarf cannot stay or wait for them but wishes the heroes the best. He gives them a one-use magic flare. When they come out of the dungeon, they simply have to shoot it at the sky. A dwarf guide will answer to this call and arrive in one day, which is the time it took them to get here.
This adventuring supplement is designed for D&D5e. On out Patreon page you can get it in PDF format (see image). Notice that some of the layout elements can only be presented as intended in the PDF layout (side-margin boxes and statblocks). The downloads include hi-res images for the maps.
1. Entrance and Crystal Ball
The double door opens to reveals pristine-looking floor slabs and walls. The dungeon’s incantations keep it clean, orderly, and well-maintained.
Spiked Pit. Whenever two Medium creatures approach the corner of this corridor, they trigger a spears trap (DC 20 Dexterity). Failing means they get impaled and take 6d6 Piercing damage.
Crystal Ball. This artifact reads visitors’ minds and reveals their true intentions. Evil-aligned characters are detected on the spot. Four wights come out of the standing sarcophagi and fight.
Treasure. If the wights are defeated, the heroes may retrieve 857 GP from their enclosures. The Crystal Ball is a wondrous item worth taking. This also triggers the wights’ release, though.
2. Elevator
The elevator ascends to area 5 (see map). The heroes must spend 10 minutes reading the documents on the shelves to learn the magic word (Erdhe) that activates the moving platform.
3. Chests and Trap
Spiked Pit. Approaching the stone chests triggers the pitfall trap (DC 18 Dexterity). The targets take 4d6 Piercing damage on a failure. The chests are empty; a temptation for fools.
4. Teleportation Portal
Circle. A teleportation circle rests by the far wall. Two dozen sets of bones surround it, illuminated by ever-burning candles. The characters infer that attempting to use this magic circle to either arrive at or leave the dungeon has lethal consequences, no check required.
Encounter. The heroes hear a low, raspy voice in their minds say in Draconic: “No easy way out or in. The Spirit Dragon hates shortcuts.” At the same time, the bones form eight skeletons and two ghasts emerge from the sarcophagi in area 2. “Prove to me you are worthy of my time!”
5. The Spirit Dragon
A red dragon awaits. It stands proudly and speaks in Draconic: “Defeat me and you shall be rewarded. You are no match for my might.”
The Illusion. Using a Detect Magic spell is the easy way out, or at least that is how Krav’Thar sees things. He believes that the presence of a dragon in such a confined space should be enough for any intelligent creature to realize something is off. And he is right. Why would a dragon be here? How could a dragon this size stretch its legs and wings? Those are the important questions.
Scaled Floor. Starting a turn standing on any of these floor slabs burns (1d6 Fire damage).
Challenge. The illusory dragon looks intimidating (DC 22 Wisdom save). If the heroes fall for it, they fail Krav’Thar’s test abysmally, the six statues (gargoyles) attack, and the adult red dragon does too. Treat the dragon’s attacks as (Psychic) damage. The heroes repeat the save to reveal the illusion whenever they take damage from it. They also fail the test if they employ magic to realize the dragon is an illusion. Either way, Krav’Thar’s voice sounds in their heads once more: “Such fools, your sub-par, weaker minds do not have the power that I, the Spirit Dragon, respect. Now, fight like the brutes you are. You cannot aspire for more, nor do I expect any more from you.”
A Battle. Defeating the enemies allows the heroes to live to fight another day. But Krav’Thar is disappointed at their lack of brains. He does not even bother to continue interacting with them, speak to them in any way, or explain what they needed to do for him to reward them.
Victory. The dragon rewards strong-minded individuals, those that recognize the ruse from the start. In Draconic, it says: “Ah, I always appreciate clever, insightful minds, even if they come from frail humanoids.” And no fight occurs. From the scales below the illusory dragon, a number of scales detach from the ground and float in place so that each hero can take one Krav’Thar scale. These magical artifacts require attunement and they work like the Shield spell. Once a day, as a Reaction, the wearer may add +2 to their AC toward an any upcoming attack. A shield of light in the shape of a dragon scale protects them.
| d6 | Details |
| The characters were followed by a group of dwarven thugs. A tough boss and his six tough goons threaten the heroes and fight. | |
| In Draconic, the characters hear Krav’Thar’s voice in their minds: “Eyes will never be more powerful than minds. Do you understand this?” | |
| Two random heroes trigger a dart trap (DC 18 Constitution). On a fail, they take 1d4 damage and have the Poisoned condition for 1 hour. | |
| Luck is on the characters’ side. They find a small alcove in one of the dungeon’s walls. It contains precious stones worth 574 GP. | |
| The heroes disturb three swarms of spiders that made a corner of the dungeon their home. They flee when reduced to half their Hit Points. | |
| The characters experience a vision in which they see themselves fighting a dragon. They come out victorious in this sudden dream. |
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