The Circle of Thunder

A Ser Killian Micro Dungeon Adventure

Spoiler Alert - This is another adventure loosely based on D&D's Dragon of Icespire Peak. Even so, it may have some spoilers. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

The Story So Far

After retrieving the sword of dragon slaying from the dragon barrow, our heroes return to Phandalin. There, they find a shaken Falcon, owner of the hunting lodge in Neverwinter Woods. He tells the party how a band of orcs accompanied by a giant boar destroyed his lodge.

"I thought we took care of that lot," Killian exclaims as he thinks of their adventure at the Woodland Manse.

"I fear not," replies Falcon, "and they are more dangerous than ever. Foul magic spurs their destruction."

Needless to say, Killian pledges to end the threat once and for all.

Approaching the Circle of Thunder

Falcon tells the party that he tracked the marauders back to a stone circle in the woods. He is too wounded to show them so he provides a map.

As our heroes approach the circle's vicinity, a band of blights attack. Killian and Haiden are wounded, but the party wipes out the blights.

Then they run into a band of orcs. The fight is a short and swift victory for our heroes.

Next, a corrupted tree lashes at them with its branches. Killian is wounded in the fight but they ultimately destroy the tree.

Finally, a pack of boars attacks, The heroes manage to drive them off without wounds.

Game Note: I used my Micro Dungeon approach, where there are essentially three levels - the first with 3 possible encounters, the second with 2, and then the boss. For this game, the wilderness approach to the circle takes the place of a formal dungeon.

Meeting Gorthok

Our heroes find the stone circle described by Falcon. In the center are 3 cultists chanting.

"Stop your vile proceedings!" commands Killian.

The cultists scoff and continue to chant. Then suddenly there is a clap of thunder and a massive figure the size of an elephant appears in the circle.

It is Gorthok, the thunder boar, avatar of the heathen god Talos!

The gigantic boar charges the party, bowling them over and knocking them to the ground. Despite this, Killian manages to score a strike. Black ichor flows from the beast's wounds.

Gorthok turns to charge again. Martin calls upon the power of Daeus and smites the beast with holy power. Enraged, Gorthok charges Martin, scoring him with its brutal tusks. Nevertheless, the fighters manage to score more hits.

Again and again, this pattern plays out. Our heroes adjust to Gorthok's pattern and they become adept at dodging the enemy charges. Every time, they score more hits.

Finally, the beast charges Haiden. He dives to the ground under the great boar and drives his sword deep into its vitals. It bellows in rage. Lightning crackles across its body. It begins to dissolve into nothingness, then with a crack of lightning it disappears!

The cultist priests stand shocked for a moment then flee.

"Shall we pursue?" asks Haiden.

"Nay," replies Killian. "This circle is the source of their power. Destroy it and they will no longer threaten the peaceful citizens of the realm."

With that, they proceed to tear down the stone circle. Martin calls upon divine power to shatter the stones then they scatter the remnants in the woods. It is done.

"Now we only have a dragon to deal with." announces Killian.

How will our heroes fare against the dragon? Find out next time!

GAME NOTES

That turned out easier than I planned. They did not use a single healing ability and they still had points to spare. Reasons for this?

• I based the adventure on the module, and other than Gorthok the encounters were not really that challenging.
• Still, I probably should have punched up the enemies' hit points a bit.
• With the way I run the adventure, the party has a chance to bypass some encounters. As it turns out, they avoided some of the more powerful ones - like more cultists and an ogre.
• I forgot to use some of Gorthok's special abilities.
• I also rolled extremely well for the heroes. Oh well, I guess they had some holy assistance.