Essentials Kit: Dragon of Icespire Peak

A1. Outer Gauntlet

Axeholm's primary entrance and exit is this defensible passage, which is blocked by a sturdy portcullis (see "x" above). Arrow slits are spaced along the walls and murder holes line the ceiling, enabling fortress defenders to shoot ballistas at invaders or pour boiling oil on top of them. With the dwarves gone, the only remaining defenses are the portcullis and the double doors to the south, which are barred shut.

Characters hoping to get through the double doors must break them down, which takes a single character 1 hour. Multiple characters working together can reduce the time proportionately. The noise created by smashing down the doors is loud enough to alert all the dwarf ghouls in the fortress, which gather in area A4 and attack once the doors fall. The fortress contains three dwarf ghouls plus three additional ghouls for each character in the party, not including sidekicks. If these ghouls are killed here, the characters encounter no more of them in the fortress.

A2. Western Bulwark

This area contains seven ballistas pointed at arrow slits, a winch that raises and lowers the portcullis, and a stone staircase leading up to x. Each ballista is equipped with five bolts.

A3. Eastern Bulwark

This area has the same features as area A2.

A4. Mustering Hall

This great hall has a 40-foot-high ceiling supported by four thick stone pillars. A thick layer of dust covers the flagstone floor. In the middle of each wall past the entrance is a double door. Arrow slits are set high up in the north and south walls, and a small stone balcony protrudes from the wall above the east exit, 20 feet above the floor. (See x, 068, and 06a for details of these features.)

A5. West Hall

The floor is strewn with bits of armor and the gnawed bones of dwarves who were killed and eaten by ghouls. Lurking in the hall is one ghoul for each member of the party, not including sidekicks. The ghouls pursue prey that flees.

A6. Armory

The dwarves took all the weapons and armor from this area when they left. All that remains are empty stone weapon racks, wooden mannequins upon which armor once hung, and iron hooks in the walls that once bore shields.

A7. Main Barracks

Dozens of meager cots lie scattered about the floor. A pair of fireplaces stand cold and dark, their rubble-choked chimneys rising 120 feet through the mountain.

A8. Privies

Tattered wool curtains conceal three neglected privies, each with a wooden bench set against the back wall.

A9. Stirge in the Smithy

Standing before two blackened hearths are a pair of rusty anvils, which dwarves once used to fashion and repair their armor and weapons.

A fluttering noise can be heard coming from the southernmost fireplace, indicating the presence of a stirge near the bottom of the 200-foot-high chimney. If anyone shines a light up there, the stirge panics, flies out, and attacks the nearest character or sidekick. It ignores the characters otherwise.

A10. Tool Storage

Dwarven armorsmiths and weaponsmiths stored their tools here, which still hang from hooks along the walls. Though a bit rusty, the tools are in serviceable shape if the characters wish to use them.

A11. Inner Gauntlet

Four arrow slits line the walls of this corridor leading to Axeholm's throne room (x).

A12. West Guard Post

Two ballistas point toward arrow slits in the east wall. Each ballista is equipped with five bolts. The guard post is otherwise empty.

A13. East Guard Post

The gnawed bones, torn armor fragments, and rusty battleaxes of two dead dwarf guards lie in the middle of the room. The guards were trapped here by ghouls, killed, and eaten.

Two ballistas aimed at arrow slits in the west wall come equipped with five bolts apiece.

A14. Throne Room

Read the following boxed text out loud to describe this area:

Hiding behind the throne is a ghoul with 40 hit points. This undead creature is all that remains of Axeholm's dwarf castellan, who stayed behind to seal up the fortress after most of the garrison fled. The ghoul is the source of the hall's foul stench, which gets stronger closer to the throne. The hidden ghoul can be detected with a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check.

If any character inspects the throne, the ghoul lets out a shriek and attacks. Its shriek is heard by the ghouls in x, which crawl down the chimney and clamber out of the fireplace. This group contains two soot-covered ghouls plus one additional ghoul for each member of the party, not including sidekicks. After all other creatures in the hall have taken a first turn in combat, these ghouls join the battle, acting on the same initiative count as the former castellan.

A15. Dining Room

In the middle of this room, a carved stone dining table (15 feet long by 5 feet wide) is flanked by a pair of equally long wooden benches. Above the table hang two iron chandeliers, their candles long since melted away. North of the seating area is a sooty fireplace and an alcove containing a rough-hewn pit that descends 60 feet.

Abundant handholds and footholds allow a character to climb up or down the pit with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. The bottom of the pit contains moldy animal bones and other refuse discarded by the dwarves after their meals.

A16. Kitchen

The dusty room has all the trappings one expects to find in a dwarven kitchen, including metal dishware, utensils, and drinking mugs. A stone sink is equipped with a faucet which, when turned, spouts hot water channeled from a naturally heated underground spring.

A17. East Hall in Ruins

The earthquake that hit Axeholm triggered a ceiling collapse that left this hall in ruins. The eastern half of the hall is strewn with debris and is difficult terrain (see the rulebook). The stench of death hangs heavy here, becoming stronger as the characters move toward area A19.

A18. Empty Room

This 15-foot-square room was cleaned out by the dwarves before they evacuated Axeholm. Only dust remains.

A19. Ghoul Den

Characters can reach this area by following the naturally formed tunnel from area A17 or by descending the stone staircase from area A24. The door to the north has been smashed open, and its remains are strewn on the floor.

The stench of death and decay grows stronger as the characters approach this room, and they can hear the hisses and snarls of the ghouls that lair here. The room contains one ghoul plus one additional ghoul for each member of the party, not including sidekicks.

After dealing with the ghouls, the characters can inspect the room more closely. Describe it to the players as follows:

A20. Narrow Tunnel

Ghouls dug this winding, rubble-strewn tunnel connecting the upper and lower levels of Axeholm. The tunnel is 2 feet wide, 5 feet high, and 60 feet long.

A21. East Upper Barracks

The ghouls trashed this room, leaving behind wrecked cots, chairs, tables, and other furnishings. A blackened fireplace is set into the east wall, its chimney rising 20 feet to the outside. Characters can use this chimney to enter or exit the fortress (see "x").

A22. Upper Bastion

This large chamber extends over the outer gauntlet of the main entrance (x) and contains many former defensive measures. Arrow slits to the north allow outside light to enter, filling the northern half of the room with sunlight or moonlight depending on the time of day or night.

Thick webs are strung between the walls and pillars. Lurking among them are several giant spiders—three spiders plus one additional spider for each character in the party, not including sidekicks. The spiders are spread throughout the southern half of the room and move to attack all interlopers.

Other defenses include two fireplaces, which were used to heat cauldrons full of oil that the dwarves poured through narrow slits in the floor. Three empty cauldrons are lined up along one of these slits. Arrow slits along the south wall open up onto x, and stone staircases descend to x and 04f.

A23. West Upper Barracks

A fireplace is built into the west wall of this room. Hanging from a hook above its mantelpiece is a nonmagical steel shield bearing the symbol of Axeholm: a dwarven gauntlet clutching a handaxe. Characters can use the fireplace's soot-stained chimney to enter or exit the fortress (see "x").

The room's other furnishings—cots, tables, chairs, and empty footlockers—are intact but covered in dust.

A24. Haunted Hall

The banshee haunts the east–west stretch of this L-shaped hall. The creature floats in the middle of the hall, outside the door to x. Describe it to the players as follows:

If the characters flee the banshee's presence of their own accord, it lets them go. If they advance toward the undead, attack it, or attempt to parley, it turns violent.

In the first round of combat, the banshee uses Horrifying Visage. On the second round, it uses Wail. After wailing, it withdraws to x, passing through the closed door as though it weren't there. In x, the undead makes its final stand.

A25. Upper East Hall and Balcony

The earthquake caused part of this empty hall to collapse. A double door in the west wall leads to a small stone balcony overlooking x.

A26. Ghoul Bath

Several ghouls gather here—a total of two ghouls plus one additional ghoul for each member of the party, not including sidekicks. The ghouls enter and leave the room through a 2-foot-diameter hole in the east wall, which breaks into the chimney of x.

In the middle of this room stands a carved stone tub filled with gnawed dwarven bones. The tub is equipped with a faucet which, when turned, spouts hot water channeled from a naturally heated underground spring. A stone plug seals the drain in the tub's bottom.

A27. Banshee's Bedchamber

This bedroom was set aside for honored guests, but its furnishings have decayed with age and are covered with dust and cobwebs. Vyldara once stayed here, but the elf's possessions were taken during her captivity, leaving nothing of value.

A28. Castellan's Bedchamber

A stone-framed bed with a moldy mattress stands in the middle of this room, covered in dust and cobwebs. Set into the south wall is a soot-stained fireplace. Stirges nest in the rubble-choked chimney—a total of one per party member (including sidekicks). The stirges attack anyone who pokes around in the fireplace.

A29. Secret Vault

Against the south wall of this otherwise empty room rests a 80-pound iron chest with clawed feet. Its built-in lock bears a tiny circular indentation instead of a traditional keyhole. Close inspection of the indentation reveals a tiny symbol of a handaxe clutched in a gauntlet. This symbol matches the one on the castellan's signet ring (found in x), albeit reversed. If the castellan's signet ring is placed in the indentation, the chest unlocks and remains unlocked until its lid is closed tight. The chest can also be unlocked with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, or by a knock spell or similar magic.

A30. Privies

Rusty chain mail curtains conceal a pair of privies, each with a wooden bench set against the back wall. The chutes for these privies descend deep into the mountain, passing just east of x.