Journey to the Ygg

Journey to the Ygg is a one-shot idea for winter. It is planned for 4-6 adventurers of 8th level.

Background Lore

In time long past, the 3 nations warred endlessly. Arctus, Lycos, and Chelona (árktos, lýkos, and chelóna, Greek for Bear, Wolf, and Turtle, Αρκτος, λύκος and χελώνα) were at war.

Arctus is the land of humanity and it's offshoots (halflings, changelings, tieflings, etc.) it is a cold, northern climate with boreal trees.

Lycos is the home of the more bestial races (lizardfolk, tabaxi, kenku, aaracokra, etc.) a rainforest on the western coast gives way to mountains, causing a desert in the rainshadow.

Chelona was the home of the long-lived races (elves, dwarves, gnomes, etc.) with rolling hills and thick woods. While some of their descendants still live, none have heard from their ancestral home in many years.

The Arch-Trees

A powerful druid -- some believe her to have been a goddess -- sought to put an end to the wars by giving them something to rally against. To this end, she began a dark ritual, summoning great monstrosities in the depths of the world. These monsters would filter out of the caverns, attacking the peoples of all 3 nations. In a show of her purpose, she broadcasted a message.

"Because you could not find peace amongst yourselves, you and your children shall never know peace. These beasts will continue to ravage your lands, unless you learn cooperation. A great tree grows in the north of your lands. You must make an offering to this tree each year, or the beasts will grow stronger, your crops will fail, your lives will be forfeit.

"These trees. Ygg in Arctus, Dra in Lycos, and Sil in Chelona, will be your protectors. Care for them, offer tribute, and you will continue to survive."

Chelona, the ageless elves in their woodland sanctuaries, the dwarves thinking themselves invincible in their mountain homes. Their pride was their downfall. Only a few years passed, and their tree fell.

The Ritual

The ritual varies for each tree. For Ygg, it requires a white hare, native to Arctus, a bronze brazier, firewood, 1lb of Chestnuts, native to Lycos, and several mistletoe berries, originally from Chelona, but now cultivated in Arctus.

A fire is started in the brazier, which the chestnuts are placed on the rim of the brazier. You then feed the hare the mistletoe berries before dropping the animal into the fire. The hare will leap out of the fire unharmed (the poison from the mistletoe is magically neutralized) and the fire will turn green and start spreading. Once the green flame makes contact with the Ygg, magical energy surges up the tree. The fire will extinguish itself, and the Ygg's branches will rapidly show new growth, it's roots tightening around the caverns that allow the monstrosities to escape. Finally, the tree will drop its seedpods onto the monstrosities nearby, killing them or driving them away.

Life in Arctus

It has been 1000 years since these events. For Arctus and Lycos, this has become a fact of life. Make tribute, and the wilds will remain peaceful, game will be plentiful, rain will fall in it's season.

For all but 12 days of the year, the way to and from the tree is blocked by harsh storms and avalanches. This leaves only a small window for the offering to be made.

Similar happens around Dra, though coarse sand instead of snow.

Plot-hook

In the land of Arctus, each year a pilgrimage is made to The Ygg, the great tree. Without the ceremony and offering, the Tree's roots weaken, allowing greater monstrosities to escape the caverns beneath. You were chosen for your strength, skill, and cunning, to guard the caravan to The Ygg. During the last cycle, the caravan failed, and hard times have come since. No one is sure what happened to the last caravan, but none returned. Many crops failed, game has been scarce, and this winter is looking colder than the years before.

But hard ground makes for stronger roots.

Your mission is, through stealth or strength, to ensure the priest makes it to The Ygg and completes the ceremony. The priest, Erelyn, has seen many cycles. He was retired, with a successor taking the mantle. But with the last year's failure, he has returned from retirement to make the pilgrimage once again.

Enemies

Bulette (1 in Set off)

Death Dogs (5 in Pack Hunting, 5 in Foot of Ygg)

Displacer Beasts (3 or 5 in The Morning Hunt, 2+ in Foot of Ygg)

Deep Crow Final encounter, harasses the party earlier on. Upsize on the map to Massive. if slain in Death From Above it does not appear in Foot of Ygg.

Yeti (5 in Misty Maze, only 1 required to fight)

Young Kruthik (several)

Adult Kruthik(several)

Kruthik Hive Lord upsize on the map to Huge (1 in Foot of Ygg)

Story Beats

Set off from town

The party meets with some fanfare and ceremony at the northernmost city of Arctus, Solemn. It is 3 days journey from the city to the tree.

A celebration is underway, cheering their triumphant exit from town. As you hop on the horses and carriage and the gates open for your departure, the fanfare is brought to an abrupt end, as the earth shakes. A monstrous creature, a Bulette, emerges from under the town square, snatching up 4 citizens. The guard rallies, and the guard captain (Veteran block) calls for the party to go. "Things will only get worse unless you succeed. We can handle this. Go!"

Battle Map

The Bulette dives up through the ground, eating townsfolk. The guards rally, with the guard captain being on-site to rush the townspeople to safety. 2-3 guards are stationed at each exit of the town, and 5 more pour out of the building.. Once the Bulette appears they all move towards it. If the party leaves without fighting it, the town guard takes care of it with little further casualty.

Pack Hunting

A deer runs across the trail. Unnervingly, the deer's thigh sloughs off and falls to the ground in the middle of the road. The deer stumbles and falls, as a wolf pounces on it. A head turns towards the party as the other eats the discarded flesh.

A successful nature or survival check (DC 10) identifies it as a Death Dog. DC12 they are informed of the nature of the diseased bite. DC15 recalls they are afraid of fire, and won't attack anyone holding a torch or other flame. Ranger with Monstrosity focus automatically identifies them and has advantage on the latter 2.

As one head has the group in it's sights, the other howls.

In 2 rounds reinforcements arrive. 2 on round 3, 1 more on round 4, and 3 on round 6.

Battle Map

A forest road, the road goes north to south, 25x25. Additional dogs come from the right.

Frontier Settlement

Just off the road is a small village, Raynham. The main building is an inn. Rickety towers dot the outskirts, unmanned, and townsfolk can be seen going about their business. In one of the outlying farmsteads, beyond the walls, a man is watching as his sheep eat in the field. A shrouded woman walks up to the man and begins singing. He stops what he is doing to listen to her. Just then, several winged creatures dive from the sky, each making a grab for a sheep. As they approach, they all make a wisdom save (DC14) against the song.

As they resist or come to, DC10 nature or survival identifies the creatures as harpies. DC15 identifies the woman's singing as a Harpy Matriarch's song.

Round 1 sees 5 harpies landing on sheep. An arrow from the farmhouse's rooftop flies towards the cloaked woman.

Raven		Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
Class	Ranger (Hunter)	11	16	14	12	16	10
Race	Half-Elf (Wood - MotW)	0	+0	+2	+1	+2	0
Favored Enemy	Beasts & Monstrosities	Proficiency		+3	Initiative		+3
Favored Terrain	Forest & Mountain	Saves
Fighting Style	Archery	+3	+6	+2	+1	+3	0
Hunter's Prey	Horde Breaker
Defensive Tactics	Steel Will

Raven is an androgynous youth, local to Raynham, who tries to drive off the harpies and calls for the party to help.

The harpies will attack the sheep, flying off with them once they are dead. There are 20 sheep. Any harpies that take a hit immediately try to flee from combat, leaving their prize behind. Raven shoots at the matriarch, casting ensnaring strike to pin it down.

If the matriarch is slain and any sheep survive, Raven inquires about the party and asks if they can join them on the pilgrimage, as it was their dream to see it firsthand.

Raven is added to the party and serves as a backup character should a player die.

Battlemap

Raven starts on top of the farmhouse. The farmer and matriarch are in the bottom right corner of the field. There is a 4ft fence surrounding the field, and 20 sheep scattered about the field. The harpies appear next to sheep.

Death from above

As dusk settles, storm clouds settle overhead, and they hear an echoing "caw" in the distance... Nature or survival DC15 identifies that as a Deep Crow, only heard of in stories. Erelyn recommends getting underground immediately whether they identify it or not. Conveniently, there is a 10x10 cave entrance nearby. Alternatively, they can fight the crow, though this is not advisable.

The party can make camp at the mouth of the cave for a long rest and proceed either through the cave (see 3.1 below) before or after a rest, or continue overland in the morning (see 3.2)

so you have chosen death

The Deep Crow will only make hit-and-run attacks. It will use the dark sky as cover to use the hide bonus action each round. If it succeeds on the Mandibles attack, it brings the target into the sky with it, where escaping the grapple can cause a potentially-lethal fall. Though staying in it's maw may prove more lethal. Once someone has died to the creature, it will take the corpse in tow and leave back to its lair. Roll a die appropriate to the party size to determine who gets to play Raven.

If they choose to disengage, the cave is in the bottom-left corner of the map where the dark ground is.

...and below

As they journey deeper into the caves, perception check of 12 allows them to hear a faint clicking from deeper down. Nature or Survival check DC12 identifies the clicking as a Kruthik. DC15 recalls that they are attracted to heat, so fire should be a no-go, DC17 recalls they have tremorsense, so everyone needs to step very lightly. If anyone doesn't have dark-vision, they are in the dark for this next section and must rely on those who do, or they face a much higher chance of attracting the monsters' attention.

Battle Map

The Kruthiks are tucked into the various alcoves throughout. They can detect the party from 60ft. If the party steps lightly they may pass by... maybe.

The morning hunt

As the party starts moving above-ground again, anyone with a passive perception above 14 (or an active perception if called) will notice some tracks left in the mud. A keen eye --survival or nature -- DC10 recognizes they are feline. DC12 Notes there are many footprints in the same line. DC15 intuits that it is the tracks of a displacer beast. DC20 recalls details of such beasts, such as their tentacles allowing them to disguise their true location, and their tendency to hunt for entertainment, as well as their ambush strategy.

As they continue up the road, they find one of the beasts, it's back half and tentacles appear pinned under a rockslide. If they didn't know earlier, they may make a survival, nature, or history check to determine what they know of the creature (same DCs as above.)

How they act here determines how the encounter starts. The real displacer beast is behind the rock, not pinned. Approaching the rock, cautiously or not, calls for perception contesting the beast's stealth, as the real one stalks around the boulder to tackle a party member. Once it pounces, 2 more emerge from the woods, sneaking up to attack as well.

If they give the boulder a wide berth, the beasts withdraw back into the woods. The beasts know the party is there, and if that ambush fails they will evade them and try an ambush from behind once they stop moving again, be it a short or long rest.

Battle Map

A displacer kitten sits behind the rock, making the projection of the weakened one. 3 Full-size ones take positions behind the kitten, off the road to the right and to the left. The displacer beasts see this as a game, and only pounce if the party comes within 10 feet of the kitten.

The hunt resumes

The displacer beasts will pounce again once the party finishes a short rest or begins setting up for a long rest. This time there will be 5 total, 3 pounce on round 1, with 2 more joining the fray on round 4.

Battle Map

The beasts approach the camp from all sides. The first 3 come from 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock and 9 o'clock. The latter 2 come from 2 o'clock and 12 o'clock, bounding over the tents.

Kruthik Ambush

Regardless of if they fight the displacer beasts, as they continue on the path, they feel a rumble in the ground.

From the ground emerges 4 young Kruthiks and 1 Adult. Round 2 another 2 young and 1 Adult. Round 4 brings in 3 more young and a 3rd adult (space out more or omit if the party is struggling)

Battle Map

The beasts emerge from the ground under the party, up at the loop most of the way up the map.

The Misty Maze

The party should long rest again before continuing into this encounter, otherwise they do this at night were they are at a disadvantage.

At the end of day 2, they near the avalanche zone, which is impassable save for a 12 day gap. Erelyn tells them that the avalanche zone now forms a maze in the midst of the avalanche. Harsh winds above the snowdrift chill anyone who tries to climb above it to the bone. The party can try to pass on the top of the walls of snow, but will take 1d8 cold damage for each round they spend above it (2d6 if they go in during the night), and must still cover the distance. If a compelling reasoning for how they keep warm through this chilling wind is made, they may resist this damage. Non-magical flames may exist in the maze, but will be extinguished by the wind when taken above.

The destination is straight north from the entrance, but the maze does not offer a direct path. 4 yetis stalk the maze as well. They don't know the party is there until they get line of sight, but will immediately become aggressive. The yetis have advantage on sneaking in snow, so they may see the party even if the party doesn't see them, and can freely pass the walls thanks to their climbing speed and immunity to cold. The yetis do not travel as a group.

Another yeti stands just inside the maze, consuming an aurochs that drew too near. If the party doesn't sneak past it, it will attack.

Battle Map

Yetis stalk the maze, starting at the north end and in the center. If the yeti gets line of sight to the party, it attacks.

The Foot of Ygg

The frigid maze gives way to a valley, where the tree stands in the middle. The ground is riddled with caves and holes, all blocked by the roots of Ygg. Erelyn warns that while it appears quiet at the moment, once the ritual begins, the monsters will react. As the draw close to the tree, there is a pack of 5 death dogs sleeping. Once the party is within 40 feet one of the dogs' heads see the party and alert the others.

It is at this point where if anyone brought Tiny Hut, they have essentially won. If the person with Tiny Hut steps forward, they will need to have either mentioned it to Erelyn or started casting it at the base of the tree. Otherwise once the dogs are dealt with, Erelyn will proceed to the tree to begin the ritual. Once the ritual is started, the party will need to hold out for 1 minute (10 rounds) against several waves of monsters.

1. 2 Displacer beasts scramble out of caverns at the base of the tree.
2. 3 young Kruthiks emerge at the party's feet.
3. breather round. The deep crow's call echoes in the distance.
4. 1 Kruthik Hivelord emerges several feet away from the party.
5. breather round
6. The Deep Crow dives on the party. It stands and fights rather than the earlier hit-and-run tactics.
7. breather round
8. For the remaining 3 rounds, adjust to how the party is faring. If the crow is dying too quickly, it lets out a screech and 2 displacer beasts emerge from caverns.

Once the ritual has completed, the tree lights up with new life, and massive seeds drop onto all enemies, including the crow, breaking it's wings and gravely wounding it (10d6 bludgeoning, it lives on at least 1). The party can finish it as they will.

Battle Map

The other creatures pop out from the holes at random. The crow arrives in the middle of the field.

Canon Ending

With the crow defeated, the valley is quiet. At the other end, the maze is melting, as the mountain storms cease. As they walk back through, they notice bones on the ground, scraps of armor and rusting weapons that were hidden by the snow. It's the remains of last year's team. The journey back to town is much less eventful. Spring begins, and the party can go their own ways, until the next cycle comes, and they will be called on for the journey again. Erelyn tells them that next year the journey will be much less perilous, with no monstrosities until the maze, and certainly no crows.

Alternate Ending

As the crow dies, whatever remains of it's corpse rolls back and turns to dust, In the ashes, the party can see a deck of cards. It's a Deck of Many Things