In "The White Dragons Hunt," the players are young white dragons tasked with retrieving a clutch of stolen dragon eggs from a crystal dragon's lair. The free D&D adventure can be completed in two to three hours by three or four players. It includes a free lair map from Fizban's Treasury of Dragons!

Korvarlatel, the white dragon

For centuries, the adult white dragon known by locals as Korvarlatel has ruled over nearby villages from her lair, an icy and subterranean cave network that lies hidden in a range of snow-capped mountains. She demands livestock and treasures from her subjects and is quick to feed on those that refuse her. With no one to oppose her rule, the white dragon has prospered and raised young white dragons — the characters — in her lair.

More recently, Korvarlatel has laid a clutch of three eggs, which are at the center of this adventure.

The white dragon's physical characteristics

Korvarlatel has the sleek profile characteristic of white dragons, but her scales are dull white with age. She has a patch of light blue scales on the crown of her head and sapphire-blue eyes speckled with white dots. After a close encounter with another white dragon, Korvarlatel lost her front-right claw, though she pays no mind to the missing limb.

Rysilandra, the crystal dragon

Rysilandra is an adult crystal dragon that dwells in an icy and crystalline palace atop a mountain near Korvarlatel's lair. She recently moved to the region, drawn by mountains that offer sweeping views of a valley dotted with villages of friendly commonfolk. As a crystal dragon, Rysilandra is kind and sociable but has found herself at odds with Korvarlatel after learning from the villagers how poorly the white dragon treats them.

Seeking to drive Korvarlatel and her young dragons out of the region, Rysilandra had a group of adventurers steal a clutch of dragon eggs from her lair. Rysilandra plans to issue an ultimatum when she confronts Korvarlatel. She and her young children must leave the region or else the white dragon eggs will be destroyed — a lie the crystal dragon hopes Korvarlatel won't sniff out. Should Korvarlatel agree, Rysilandra will look after the white dragon eggs and raise the wyrmlings as her own when they hatch.

The crystal dragon's physical characteristics

Rysilandra has biege and snowy white scales. Her crystalline spines float near her head and back and glint. These appear to dance whenever Rysilandra is content and stand at attention whenever she is upset. Unlike Korvarlatel, Rysilandra is free of scars. However, if you run the optional encounter with Rysilandra, when the characters meet her, she is injured after her confrontation with Korvarlatel.

Adventure summary

The players act as young white dragons tasked with infiltrating a crystal dragon's lair and retrieving a clutch of stolen white dragon eggs. While they complete their quest, Korvarlatel and Rysilandra are facing off elsewhere.

Player objectives

1. Fight their way across the ice bridge to the double doors on the outer edge of the anterior spires.
2. Solve the riddle presented by the quartz door in the promenade.
3. Defeat the band of adventurers known as The Light's Dagger, found near the grand spires.
4. Search the central spire for the three stolen white dragon eggs and return home with them.

Character creation

Each player will use the young white dragon stat block found in the basic rules. White dragons are the most animalistic of the chromatic dragons and make fearsome foes, though they are not known to be skilled tacticians.

When creating your character, take note of the following:

• Each character has the average hit points for a young white dragon.
• Characters can consume potions found in the lair.
• If a character would hit 0 hit points, they begin making death saving throws, just as if they were your typical player character.

Adventure start

Crawling out from your subterrenean lair at the base of an icy mountain, you set your sights on the highest peak, where a crystal dragon's palace can be found. Your mother, the feared white dragon Korvarlatel, has tasked you with infiltrating the palace and retrieving three white dragon eggs that have been stolen from her.

Allow the players to introduce their characters. Ask about their defining characteristics, how they get along with one another, and who among them is the leader. When the character are ready to journey to Rysilandra's lair, reading the following:

You stretch your leathery wings and take flight. As you weave through mountain passes, goats bleat and flee at your sight. You fly higher and higher until a valley with scattered villages comes into view. This is your mother's domain, though she promises that it will someday belong to the strongest among you.

The valley disappears from view as you pass up through dense clouds. Your scaled faces are pelted with snow and strong winds push against you until you reach the peak of the tallest mountain, atop which sits an icy and crystalline palace surrounded by clear skies and burgeoning wildlife. A bridge of ice connects the palace to an adjoining peak with a winding path that leads down to a distant mountain pass. 

Rysilandra is nowhere to be found in her lair. She has traveled to the valley to confront Korvarlatel and issue her ultimatum. Her lair is protected by the adventurers responsible for stealing the white dragon eggs, as well as by a group of archers.

Crystal dragon lair

The following features are found throughout the crystal dragon's lair:

• Floors are icy stone covered in a thin layer of snow and walls glint with embedded gems, notably quartz.
• Most ceilings are 80 feet high. Windows with colored glass decorate the areas with the anterior spires and grand spires.
• The lair is brightly lit by wall sconces affected by continual flame spells.
• Ice sculptures of various types of dragons decorate areas enclosed by anterior and grand spires. The sculptures are indicated by circled stars on the map.

View Player Version (Art by Dyson Logos)

Ice bridge

The bridge is made from ice and crystal and groans as you approach. Tents, campfires, and a dozen or so village folk dressed in yeti furs dot the bridge. Banners depicting a dragon holding a pitchfork in its mouth hang from the bridge and flap in the harsh winds.

Rysilandra's arrival to the region and her plan to oust the white dragons has inspired the local folk to band together. Seamstresses wove banners for the united villages and commonfolk have gathered outside the closed doors of the crystal dragon's lair to ask Rysilandra to be the valley's ruler and protector. The villagers are guarded by four archers.

Dragon attack. When the characters are spotted, the archers attack. The villagers scream and run for the doors into the crystal dragon's lair. After 1d3+1 rounds, they are let in by Habfel, a male harengon that serves as the palace's keeper. He wears bejeweled white fox furs and carries a lute (use the bard statistics). He assists the archers in combat but flees inside the palace when reduced to half of his hit points or fewer.

If the characters are badly wounded following the combat encounter, consider permitting a short rest while they speak with or feast on any survivors.

Interrogating survivors. Villagers can be interrogated with a successful DC 8 Charisma (Intimidation) check. This check is made with advantage if the archers have been killed. They know the following:

• Rysilandra hired a group of three adventurers called The Light's Dagger to steal the clutch of white dragon eggs.
• Rysilandra plans to oust the white dragons from the region and use the dragon eggs as collateral.

The archers are hired hands and only know that Rysilandra is seeking to oust Korvarlatel and the characters. They will reveal this information with a DC 11 Charisma (Intimidation) check or with the promise that they won't be killed after revealing what they know.

Anterior spires

If the doors into Rysilandra's lair are closed, read the following:

Double doors tower over you and bar the way forward. Each is made from oak and has been carved with elven runes and painted royal blue and gold.

Explosive trap. A glyph of warding has been cast on the doors and can be spotted with a successful DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check. The doors can be safely opened using a passcode provided by Habfel. The harengon will reveal the passcode with a successful DC 13 Charisma (Intimidation) check.

The doors can be blown open with a Cold Breath or forced open with a successful DC 20 Strength check. In either case, the glyph explodes in a 20-foot radius sphere centered on the doors. Each creature caught in the blast must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 5d8 fire damage, or half as much on a successful one.

Once the doors are open, the characters can safely enter the dragon's lair.

The anterior spires of Rysilandra's palace resemble inverted icicles and are embedded with magical gems that light this parlor. The floors are covered in fine rugs that are partly buried in snow. Four statues — each depicting a different kind of gem dragon — stand proudly in the corners of the room. 

Habfel makes his home here. A living room set decorates the northwestern side of the parlor and a four-poster bed and nightstand are tucked between the eastern spires. The nightstand contains a potion of healing. Since the arrival of the villagers to Rysilandra's palace, the harengon has remained by the doors to warn any approaching villagers that the doors are trapped.

A missing gem dragon. Each statue depicts a different kind of gem dragon. Only four of the five kinds of gem dragons are represented here: amethyst, emerald, sapphire, and topaz. This information is important if the characters are to solve the riddle in the promenade.

Promenade

This promenade is lined with small windows that overlook a sheer drop. The stairs here wind upward to a massive door made from fine quartz.

Approaching the door triggers a magic mouth spell that calls out in a silky voice:

"You missed me in the parlor when you met my friends, but speak my kind aloud and with a song and dance I'll make amends."

The solution to the riddle is "crystal." If the incorrect answer is given, the door mocks the characters. This alerts the adventurers in the next area that intruders have entered Rysilandra's lair. (See "Preparing for battle.")

Breaking down the door. The door has 50 hit points, is immune to damage from nonmagical weapons excluding siege weapons, and has resistance to all other damage. Attacking the door causes it to mock the characters, which alerts the adventurers in the next room. (See "Preparing for battle.") When the door is reduced to half of its hit points or less, it pleads with the characters to find the riddle's solution rather than destroy it. Nevertheless, the door refuses to provide the riddle's solution.

Grand spires

When the quartz door in the promenade has been opened, read the following:

Opening before you is a vast throne room overflowing with gold, gems, and other treasures. Stained glass windows line the walls between the spires and four statues of crystal dragons decorate the corners of the room. Before you is a hollow central spire that contains a throne large enough for a dragon to sit in. Among the room's treasures are adventurers with weapons drawn.

The boldest among them, a knight with flowing blonde hair, shouts, "Halt, you foul beasts! Your reign of terror ends here, at the hands of the famous band of adventurers known as The Light's Dagger!" The others shout, "Hear! Hear!" They attack.

The adventurers protect Rysilandra's throne room and are comprised of the following creatures:

• Gunther: A male human knight in plate armor.
• Maylic: A female elf mage in ruby-red robes.
• Hale: A male dwarf priest in white and gold robes and a chain shirt.

Each adventurer is outfitted with boots of the winterlands and has the maximum amount of hit points available. For example, Gunther has 80 hit points, not 52. The boots are a gift from Rysilandra that allows the group to comfortably occupy the lair and keep her company. As seasoned adventurers, the group knows not to cluster together and to focus their attacks on one target at a time. They also fight to the death, knowing Rysilandra will pay to have them revived should they fall.

Preparing for battle. If the adventurers were alerted to the presence of intruders, they make the following preparations before the characters enter this area: Gunther equips a +2 greatsword, Maylic casts fly on Gunther, and Hale casts spirit guardians. 

When the adventurers are defeated, read the following:

As the adventurers meet their end, a stillness settles over the throne room. With Rysilandra absent, the treasures here are yours to claim.

Spire levels 2-3

The central grand spire is multi-tiered, with two perches housing Rysilandra's finest treasures. These upper tiers are off-limits to visitors unless they can amuse Rysilandra with a silly joke or an impressive tale. Aside from the piles of gold and gems found in Rysilandra's hoard, these are the most notable:

• 10 potions of healing
• 10 barrels of fine dwarven ale
• A pristine quartz that weighs 300 pounds
• A collection of coins from an ancient gith civilization
• A well of many worlds

Finding the dragon eggs. In addition to hiding the clutch of white dragon eggs amongst the treasure found on these upper spire levels, Rysilandra also set up decoy eggs that are trapped. Each of the three white dragon eggs can be discovered with a successful DC 11 Intelligence (Investigation) check. On a failure, a player discovers a decoy egg and triggers a trap. Roll 1d3 to determine the trap:

1. Touch of polymorph. The decoy egg is trapped with a glyph of warding armed with polymorph. The creature that triggers this trap makes a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or is changed into a rat, per the polymorph spell.
2. Arrow trap. An arrow shoots at the creature that triggers this trap (+6 to hit), dealing 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) fire damage on a hit.
3. More enemies to come. The decoy egg is trapped with a glyph of warding armed with enemies abound. The creature that triggers this trap makes a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw or is affected by the enemies abound spell.

When the characters retrieve the white dragon eggs, you may either continue to "Concluding the adventure" or include the following encounter.

Optional encounter: Rysilandra discovers the dead

As you draw the last of the white dragon eggs from Rysilandra's treasure hoard, the lair trembles with a wail. Peering down the promenade, you watch as the wounded crystal dragon Rysilandra rushes at you, her eyes filled with rage. "YOU KILLED THEM!" she roars.

Rysilandra has returned to her lair following a bloody confrontation with Korvarlatel. Discovering the remains of her followers, the crystal dragon abandons diplomacy and attacks the characters. Rysilandra uses the statistics of an adult crystal dragon, except she has 100 hit points.

Rysilandra is careful not to damage the white dragon eggs in combat and will stop attacking if the characters threaten to destroy them or use them as a bargaining chip in negotiations. She is willing to part with all of the treasures in her hoard in exchange for the eggs.

When the characters kill Rysilandra or successfully make a deal with her, move to the section "Concluding the adventure."

Concluding the adventure

With the white dragon eggs safely in the characters' possession, the group can return to their lair. There, they find Korvarlatel injured and resting atop an icy pile of gold coins. She nods approvingly when presented with one or more of the eggs. If asked about her injuries, she explains:

"Rysilandra and I battled in the valley. The coward had farmers with her! Pitchforks and torches! I froze the humans where they stood. Rysilandra was a tougher enemy. But when she told me that she had stolen the eggs, I said that I'd sent you to get them! She fled after that!" she laughs. 

Safely in their lair, the characters can rest and scheme. No doubt, Korvarlatel herself is already planning on how to punish the villagers for siding against her. But that is an adventure for another day!

Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering with his husband. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dog, Quentin.