PART 1
Introduction
The land of Rien has thrived for centuries under the reign of kings and queens descended from the elder line of Rienne. It is a land of prosperity, of peace, and is the pride of the Ravenswood Region. Recently, a dark shadow has started to encroach on the borders of Rien, distorting all that it consumes. As the shadow threatens to envelop the land, a mysterious figure appears and takes his place as the advisor to King Lenath Rienne, current ruler of the capital city of Chelira.
A dark fantasy adventure, The Dark Veil of Rien is meant for 1st level characters. This guide is for you, the Dungeon Master. A supplement, The Player's Guide to Rien, is a separate document that you should hand out to each player. If that's not possible, at least have one copy available for your players to share at the table.
Throughout the course of the adventure, the group will visit several key areas, including:
- Tenran: A small village near the encroaching shadow
- Chelira: The capital city of Rien, and location of Castle Rienne
- Hogen: A town nestled in the snowy foothills of the Ireil Mountains
- Ruins of Nirthog: Mysterious ruins of a town that appeared in the plains of Rien as the shadow spread
- Shadowfell: The realm of shadows
While these areas are key parts of the story, you can—and should—encourage players to explore. You can use online generators to build a list of NPCs, towns, dungeons, and anything else you think players should find in this world. A list of the tools we recommend is in Appendix XX.
This adventure is designed to begin with a party of four to six 1st-level characters, who should advance to XXth level or higher by the adventure’s conclusion.
You can let your players develop backstories for their characters, or they can choose a preset backstory from the Player's Guide. Work with your party to determine the reason they'd receive a note from Sergeant Shale, and if they have any prior contact with him. Some of the prebuilt backgrounds contain these hooks already.
Adventure Summary
A group of adventures has gathered in the Tenran tavern, Swallow's Pride, thanks to an invitation from Sergeant Shale, Scout of Chelira. They may not know each other at the start of the night, by sunrise they'll be inexorably linked in a fight to save the land.
Swallow's Pride
Swallow's Pride is the lone tavern in Tenran, and also serves as the general store, armory, inn, and bathhouse. It's stood proud for over 80 years, but renovations are clearly needed. Patrons range from traveling minstrels to minor lords visiting to placate the populace. Gambling thrives, with dice and card games constantly beign played both inside and out.
Sergeant Shale speaks with the party in a private room, and informs them of a dark power that has infiltrated the captial city of Chelira. King Rienne is no longer acting like himself, and this all started when Trista Wyrmblood became his new advisor. Just as the party goes to leave, the tavern falls dark.
Having barely escaped Tenran, the party arrives in Chelira after days of travel. There they encounter the deposed princess, Allyra Rienne, next in line for the throne. She will help your players infiltrate the city to investigate and discover what has come over the king.
Meanwhle, a Shadow Lord has set his eyes on the plains west of the city. There he continues to spread corruption, entrapping souls all the while. He rules from the Ruins of Nirthog, a ruined city exposed to the material plane when the Shadowfell encroached upon it.
Allyra will guide the players to several small towns to meet other members of a growing resistance, including the frozen city of Hogen. Hogen overlooks a mysterious dungeon that should serve as a shortcut to Nirthog, if the players can survive the journey.
Eventually, the players will end up in Shadowfell itself to face off against the Shadow Lord's minions and, hopefully, the Shadow Lord himself. Defeating the Shadowlord will cause Shadowfell to retreat off the land of Rien. All that's left is to oust Trista Wyrmblood from Chelira.
Running the Adventure
To run this adventure, you need the D&D fifth edition core rulebooks (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual) and The Player's Guide to Rien.
The Monster Manual and Volo’s Guide to Monsters contain stat blocks for most of the creatures found in this adventure. Enemies marked in bold use stat blocks from the Monster Manual. You don’t need Volo's Guide to Monsters to run The Dark Veil of Rien, as all the necessary stat blocks are included with the new monsters in appendix XX.
Spells and equipment mentioned in the adventure are described in the Player’s Handbook. Magic items are described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, unless the adventure’s text directs you to an item’s description in appendix XX.
Starting the Adventure
As the players arrive at Swallow's Pride, they should be ushered by a host to a waiting area. There is a special magic on their notes that identify them to this host. To get things rolling, read or paraphrase the following to your players once they are settled.
Swallow's Pride is busy this evening, as a storm has moved over Tenran causing the population to seek shelter. You sit near a door marked with the emblem of Chelira. Clearly official business is conducted here more regularly than you might have expected.
Some patrons stare at you while you wait for Sergeant Shale to let you in. The don't seem to think highly of outsiders here, and you are all clearly outsiders.
While your players wait for Shale, invite them to introduce themselves to each other. Perhaps they can explain what brought them to Tenran, or even to Rien.
Before you introduce Shale, a DC 10 Perception check will let the players notice a woman staring at the party from across the room. She's wearing a dark green cloak with a familiar looking emblem on the clasp. A DC 16 Wisdom check will let a player know what the emblem represents: it is the emblem of Hogen, and the woman seems to be a hired mercenary from the mountain town.
Sergeant Shale
The first major character the players will interact with is Sergeant Shale, Scout of Chelira. He will beckon the party to join him in the Chelira office, and will explain the situation in the city.
Read the following when you're ready:
As the players move to leave, Swallow's Pride shakes and the lights go dark. A DC 12 Perception check will let players see the slight purple glow in the eyes of Shale and his two guards. If at least two players notice this, they won't get the jump on the party.
Encounter in the Tavern
Shale uses the Scout stat block and has two Guards with him.
The room is small, only 15 feet by 20 feet. If you decide to move out into the tavern, bar patrons will join the fight as they all have been corrupted too. Roll 1d4 to determine the amount of Commoners that join.
Encounter Loot
TBD
Future Encounter Planning
Forest Encounter
- 2x Corrupted Wolves (Wolf)
- 4x Guard Dogs (Mastiff)
The scene is presented as a hunting party that's been ambushed. Something dragged the humans off into the woods, and there are 6 dead creatures on the sides of the road. A Shadow Dancer emerges from the woods (potential encounter follows) and reanimates the creatures uses unleashed spirits.
Shadow Dancer (Minor Encounter)
- 1x Shadow Dancer
- 1x Shadow
- 1x Shadow Wolf (Dire Wolf)
The players are no match for this enemy, and you need to make this clear. If they fight her, they will die. However, if they do not back down, the Dancer will leave the fight after summoning the Shadow.
Before the fight starts, the wolf that dragged the humans away appears by the Dancer's side. Round one, the Dancer summons their Shadow. Shadow + Wolf = this fight.
Note: If the players start this encounter without finishing the previous one, those animals join this fight.