Community

OK, sure thing. Thanks.

The Wings of Ash
An Adventure for 5 characters of levels 11-13

This adventure can be used as a stand alone, or as part of a campaign that has a villain with a pyromantic nature and crave for power.

Background
Powerful magic, however great, is sometimes contained in the most unlikely places. Still, there are those that will stop at no end to find that power, and use it for their own ends.....
Legend tells of a mighty beast of fire, a pheonix named Vulskanariel, and the indomitable power she had. When she wakes, fires leap with life. When she cries, volcanoes erupt with shouts of celebration. And when she opens her wings, all turn to ash. To stop her threat, great wizard used his power to bind the roc to a stone. With it, he could control her, make her do his will. Being a benevolent man, the mage commanded her to sleep indefinitely in her lair on the Elemental Chaos: Smoulderheart Mountain. He then entrusted the artifact to a close friend, to be passed down along his family, forever keeping it safe from the hands of those that would use it for great evil. For centuries the heirloom, a red stone painted with a gold pheonix crest, has eluded those that seek it. But all that is about to change....

Hooks
The Wizard's Heroes: The Pcs, having become quite famous for their exploits, have gained the attention of Xandrakkan, a powerful yet old wizard. He sends them an invitation to visit him at his watchtower. There they learn the tale of the Smoulderheart Stone, and that the wizard is a descendant of the great mage that put the pheonix to rest. He has sensed the stone is about to fall into the hands of a great evil, and asks the Pcs to go to the town of Flinsor and seek the head of the Delgaunt family. They are to give him a message and protect the family and the stone from the coming threat.
Invitations: The Pcs recieve news of an old friend in Flinsor. It seems that Mithran Delgaunt, the son of a merchant the Pcs have good relations with, is going to have a wedding. The Pcs decide to go attend the wedding and wish their friend's son the best of luck.
Bodyguards: The Pcs are approached by Mithran Delgaunt, the son of a wealthy merchant from Flinsor. He requests the party's aid, wanting to hire them as professional bodyguards for a trip back to his home. He explains that he is about to get married, and wouldn't want any ill luck befalling him on his way home. He buys them some drinks and asks them to think it over. The next day, they find that they slept so long that Delgaunt left without them.

Part One: Ambush on the Road
The Pcs come across the remains of Mithran's carriage in the road. One of the survivors tells them that bandits attacked, and took the master into the forest. Within the woods the Pcs encounter half-orc bandits carrying Mithran with them. With Mithran freed, he thanks the Pcs and states that they should continue on to Flinsor. Along the way, he tells the Pcs of the man with the scar across his face that was leading the bandits and how he vanished after giving orders.
Once in Flinsor, the Pcs meet Mithran's bride, Narii Elsworth, a beautiful half elf. The Pcs are then free to explore the town, and have been invited to stay at the Delgaunt manor and attend the wedding. While all seems fine, the Pcs still know someone is out there.

Part Two: Screams in the Moonless Night
It is dark. No moon, no stars. It is a very dark night. A scream is heard, and everyone in Delgaunt manor rushes to investigate. A maid who had come to check on Lady Elsworth is struck with fear. Lying on the bed is not the lovely maiden, but the severed head of one of the bandits. The Pcs investigate (a Skill Challenge) and determine the following facts: No one has seen Lady Elsworth since sunset, a stranger in red robes has been seen around the clocktower, and strange activity has been reported in the forest caves nearby. The clocktower lead turns out to be a deathtrap designed to eliminate the Pcs (use some of your favorite traps that have an old mechanical feel). They do find one piece of evidence: a letter to Craigert from someone named Beltrigan telling him to take his band to the caves and meet him for the next step in the mission. The Pcs descend into the caves and are confronted by a ghost. It seems female, but they can't make it out. It seems it wants to communicate with them, but can't. A call for help comes from deeper within, and the ghost vanishes. The Pcs battle their way through cavern dwellers and fire bats. In some locations they find themselves ambushed by half orc zombies. In the deepest chamber they find Narii Elsworth, chained to the wall. As the party approaches, a visceral devourer, two blazing skeletons, and several other undead attack. If they notice, the party can see a scar across the devourer's face. When freed, Narii thanks the Pcs gratefully and start to cry. As they try to leave the caves, the ghost appears again. It seems like it tries to warn them of something. Narii asks why they stopped moving. It is then the Pcs realize that they are the only ones that can see the ghost. Narii asks if they can return home. The ghost vanishes.

Part Three: The Wedding of Sorrow
Despite what happened, the bride still plans to go along with the wedding the next day. It seems like a lovely ceremony, outside in a beautiful grove, but everyone is still on guard. Craigert might be dead, but the mysterious Beltrigan is still at large. After the vows are said, Mithran takes a pendant he has been wearing and places it around Narii's neck. The Pcs are told that it is a family heirloom from long ago, and that the stone is supposedly magic. It is then that the sky darkens as clouds swallow the sun. Fireballs strike the ground near the grove. Narii then takes a dagger out of her dress and slices Mithran's throat. The Pcs watch as she changes into a doppleganger. She then hands the stone to a figure in red robes that appeared near her. "At last, the Smoulderheart Stone is mine!" Beltrigan, an evil pyromancer, takes the stone and opens a portal to the Elemental Chaos. Before he leaves through it, he gives Mirror orders to kill everyone. She whistles and two hell hounds arrive. Mirror (a level 13 shadowborn stalker doppelganger assassin) then sets her sights on the Pcs, murder in her eyes as the poral closes.
Once Mirror and her hounds have been dispatched, the party must find a way to reach Beltrigan. Luckily, Xandrakkan had arrived late for the wedding and sees the plight of the Pcs. He then reopens the portal and warns them of the dangers they will face in Smoulderheart Mountain.

Part Four: Smoulderheart Mountain
Once through the portal, the Pcs are immediately assaulted by the environmental hazards of the fiery realm they have entered. Once they have regained their senses, the chase through Smoulderheart begins. (Any fire themed hazards, traps, and unique locations work well with this dungeon). Ambushed by magma brutes, trapped by lava, stopped by a beholder eye of flame, and facing down a small army of Fire Archons, the party reaches the core of Smoulderheart Mountain. There Beltrigan uses the heart to awaken the pheonix Vulskanariel and make her his servant. He calls forth his legion devil minions and fire lasher elementals to protect him from the pcs. If the Pcs fail to defeat him, then he will become a great threat to all. If they do defeat him and acquire the stone, they must use it to put the pheonix back to sleep (another Skill Challenge). Beltrigan plays dead in order to escape while the Pcs are busy using a hidden magic item, possibly making him a threat for the pcs at later levels, maybe involving fire giants. Once the Pcs have put Vulskanariel back to sleep, they discover that some of her feathers fell to the ground during the commotion. If any Pcs died, they can be revived with these. However, there are two left. The ghost appears again, pointing at the feathers, as if telling them to take them. The Pcs then remember that Mithran Delgaunt was killed by Mirror the Doppelganger and takes the two feathers back with them.

Conclusion
The Pcs return with the Smoulderheart Stone and the Pheonix feathers. Xandrakkan notices them and smiles. "Quick, over here with those." The Pcs find the bodies of both Mithran and Narii lying on the grass. "Found her corpse hidden in that clocktower. Seems Beltrigan had that shapechanger of his kill her and take her identity to get the stone. Now let's apply these feathers." Both Mithran and Narii seem to regain color, and awake as if from a dream. After all the havoc has been cleaned up, the wedding is held again. As they make their vows, an unexpected visitor attends. The female ghost appears, now more visible. It is a beautiful older half elf, the spitting image of Narii. She looks at it. "Thank you, mother. And you too heroes. Now where was I? Oh, that's right. I do."

A wedding-Mithran and Narii's wedding; though you might count Mithran and Mirror's wedding.
A painted stone-The Smoulderheart Stone; it's a red stone with a pheonix emblem painted in gold on it
A scar-The bandit leader is identified with a scar across his face. He just may be on some wanted posters in other towns.
A location in the Elemental Chaos-Smoulderheart Mountain; the lair of the legendary pheonix.
Resources: Not much need beyond the 3 core rulebooks, though I suggest checking out Dungeon and Dragon magazines for other great ideas.
If I used anything else, I didn't notice it. I also left stats out due to DM creativity. I figure different people have different ways of building up and lowering monsters and what they do. Now if you wanted me to craft it into a full adventure, I can do. I probably will anyway and run a game with it. hmmm...fire themed campaign. Thank Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert and James Wyatt, along with everyone else at WotC for the Monster Manual. It's perfect for a fire themed idea. Just as ice is going to be for the next one. Hey, now there's a new contest idea!
I don't know about anyone else, but I think I'll use Beltrigan as a recurring villain. I think I'll make him a tiefling with a mix of the Scion of Flame and Death Master templates, changing the Death Master to have a more pyromancer feel, but feel free to do whatever you like if you use this in your games. thanks for checking it out. -Nyk

man that sucks...could sworn I changed it after only 10 min. oh well...

Yeah, I like the Dungeon Delve Idea. That would be really fun.