Encounter of the Week: The Watchers

Stoneheart Tower looms on a rocky cliff, its spire piercing the veil of mist that hangs overhead. What was once a place where powerful folk studied and plotted is now a dark, empty shell that lies in ruins. Grouting the crumbling stone bricks is a black corruption that corrodes the tower, sprouted from whatever rots inside. At the sight of adventurers emerging from the forest, three gargoyles perched on the battlements begin to move, wings creaking from decades in stasis. This week’s encounter is called The Watchers, in which the characters encounter beings who are more than meets the eye. 

Setting

This encounter can be set in any rainy, sparsely occupied coastal location in the Forgotten Realms or another plane, like Ravenloft. The tower overlooks a body of water, which can be an ocean or a large lake, such as the Moonsea or the Sea of Swords. You can look at possible adventure locations on this massive map of the Sword Coast, and read more about that area in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. The Watchers is designed for characters of 3rd to 5th level.

Background

A century ago, three adventurers sought out an arcane tower based on rumors that it contained riches, among them a priceless artifact: a mirror that would grant the keeper their deepest desire. The tower was once a place of study for wayward mages to experiment and craft magical items, but it was abandoned long ago. Not long after, the tower was found by a medusa. She ransacked the tower and discovered Abyssal magic that could enhance her already formidable powers. She corrupted the magic mirror with this magic, so that any who saw their own visage within it would see hers instead, petrifying them.

In need of test subjects, the medusa kindled the rumor to draw unsuspecting travelers to the tower. It worked, and the three adventurers were unwittingly transformed into gargoyles. Years later, the medusa is long gone and her mirror lies abandoned in an empty tower. Its cracked surface emits a dark corruption that has begun to spread throughout the spire. The gargoyles guard Stoneheart Tower, preventing others from suffering the same fate, and do whatever they can to deter adventurers.

Need more medusa magic? This encounter can be linked to Medusa’s Marble Menagerie.

Encounter Start

This encounter could begin when the adventurers hear a rumor or are given as a quest. Suggested options include:

  • A posting on a bulletin board reads: “Seeking adventurers who can retrieve an artifact from Stoneheart Tower. Treacherous journey, good pay. Inquire at the bar.” The bartender has a rough map to the tower.
  • While at a tavern, the party overhears an intoxicated patron talk about “the most powerful artifact you could ever find,” found within Stoneheart Tower which is located “off the coast, past the treeline.”
  • An ally from one of the characters’ past adventurers tells them of an item that they want to study: a mirror that they suspect is dangerous. They urge the characters to use caution, and relay the location to a place called Stoneheart Tower.

The encounter begins on a path through a forest. Read or paraphrase the following:

Spindly trees devoid of leaves creak and sway in the wind. A feeble drizzle coats the stone path that slices through the sparse forest, and the stone is slick underfoot.  The treeline fades away, but the path continues forward, leading to a stone bridge that spans a deep chasm over water. On the other side looms an ominous stone tower that peers over the coastline.

Crossing the Bridge

The bridge is 10 feet wide and 30 feet long, suspended 60 feet over the body of water below, and has no railings. The drop is steep and the water below is white-capped. Much of the stone bridge is crumbling and eroding. Characters who succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check see three points—3 feet in, 12 feet in, and 18 feet in—where the stones have fallen away, leaving the scaffold weak to concentrated weight. If more 300 pounds of weight are placed on the weak points, the stones below their feet give way and the characters fall into the ocean below. A character that falls through takes 6d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall when they strike the water below. This can be mitigated by proceeding slowly in a single-file line or with a clever use of a spell.

Simplifying Weight

Instead of asking your players for how much their characters and their gear weigh, you can instead rule that if two Medium creatures walk over a weak point at once, it collapses. Two Small creatures count as a single Medium creature for the purposes of simplifying weight.

When the characters are within 10 feet of the tower entrance, three gargoyles perched on the ringed battlement expand their wings. The center gargoyle flaps its wings once, which summons a giant eagle. The giant eagle lands on the bridge before the characters, wings expanded; it caws loudly at characters who attempt to proceed. If the characters continue to proceed toward the tower or make a hostile action toward it, the eagle avoids combat and flies off.

Stoneheart Tower

Characters who successfully cross the bridge reach the exterior of Stoneheart Tower. A 6-foot-wide ledge encircles the base of the 60-feet-tall tower. There are no windows.

Three gargoyles are perched atop the tower’s battlements. One gargoyle flies down from the battlement at the top of the tower and positions itself between the characters and the door. Its flight knocks a hail of gravel and scree down upon the characters. Creatures below the battlements must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the character takes 1d4 bludgeoning damage from the loose debris. The other two gargoyles leer ominously at the intruders, and grunt a simple command in Terran: “Turn back.”

Gargoyles

The gargoyles speak only Terran. If spoken to in Terran, the gargoyles share their story and warn the characters to not proceed. Otherwise, they are not hostile toward the characters, simply trying to deter them from entering the tower. If attacked, the gargoyles attempt to flee combat, retreating to the battlement. As a last resort, they attempt charades to convey their warning. The gargoyles wave their hands about, wriggling their fingers next to their heads like snakes to mimic the medusa who cursed them, holding up their palms to their faces as if gazing into a mirror. Their movements are slow and rigid, but are unmistakably some form of communication.

Although the gargoyles presented in the Monster Manual are chaotic evil, these gargoyles were not constructed for this purpose and were once people. Like ghosts, they have a purpose now that keeps them bound to the tower.

Exterior Stones

Characters who examine the stones of the tower can make a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check. On a success, the character notices a thick black substance seeping through some of the exterior stones. Any creature that isn’t a fiend or undead that touches the sticky goop takes 1d6 necrotic damage. Making a successful DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that the substance is demon ichor, and may be residue from some ancient contact with creatures of the Abyss.

Inside the Tower

Stoneheart Tower is two stories tall, although the second floor is more of a loft and partially open to the main floor. The door leads to a wide area that once served as the library.

1. Library

The main floor of the tower is lined with rotting, bloated bookshelves, all of which are empty. All that’s left now are blank scraps of parchment. The only item in this room is a cracked handheld mirror. The mirror has a golden frame that has tarnished. Black ichor branches out from the mirror like roots, climbing up the walls.

Characters who succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check determines that the item is cursed. A creature of flesh and blood that touches or looks into the mirror or a broken shard of the mirror must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature is instantly petrified. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to turn to stone and is restrained. The restrained creature must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn, becoming petrified on a failure or ending the effect on a success. The petrification lasts until the creature is freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.

However, a petrified humanoid creature petrified turns into a gargoyle after 24 hours pass. Casting remove curse turns the gargoyle back into a petrified humanoid for 24 hours, during which time greater restoration can restore them to life.

Destroying the Mirror

A character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana or Investigation) check discerns that the mirror can be destroyed, preventing the spread of ichor and corruption. The characters can destroy the mirror by breaking it entirely via weapons or magic. The mirror has AC 10 and 5 hp. While it remains intact, so does its cursed magic.

If the mirror is broken, the spectral essence of the medusa’s curse bursts forth and attacks. This being appears to be a medusa with all her serpentine locks severed. The specter uses deathlock statistics. She attempts to claim the broken mirror to wield against the characters.

Alternate Statistics. If you don’t have access to Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, you can use a ghost instead of a deathlock.

2. Staircase

A 12-foot-tall staircase leads from the main floor to the second floor. Broken steps create a 3-foot-wide gap in the middle of the staircase.

3. Laboratory

The second story once functioned as a laboratory. A stone workbench overlooks the main floor below. The shelves and crates are empty and dusty. Characters who make a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check see remnants of arcane experimentation in the form of black scorch marks on the workbench and on the ceiling above. Characters who make a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) find a piece of parchment which reads the following note. The handwriting is clumsy, the letters much too large, for they were inscribed on the parchment by one of the gargoyles.

Mirror cursed. Leave and don’t return. Don’t become one of us.

Conclusion

The story is about the lengths adventurers will go to find treasure, despite the risks. If the characters retreat from Stoneheart Tower, the gargoyles resume their positions, solid and stoic, ever-watchful. The ichor eventually consumes the tower and it crumbles into the sea, and the mirror is lost to the murky depths. If the characters succeed in destroying the mirror, the ichor ceases to spread, and both the gargoyles and the tower remain as a warning, dutiful in their protection.


Did you like this encounter? If you want to read more adventures, take a look at the other encounters in the Encounter of the Week series!


Ashley Warren is a contributing writer for D&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast, Adventurers League, Kobold Press, Onyx Path Publishing, and more. She is the director of the RPG Writer Workshop, the producer of the Uncaged anthology, and the creator of numerous bestselling titles on DMs Guild. Ashley is a member of the Guild Adepts and a cast member on Tales from the Mists, the gothic horror show on the official Dungeons & Dragons Twitch channel. Learn more at www.ashleywarrenwrites.com or connect with her on Twitter, @ashleynhwarren.

 

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