Adventure Summary: A one-session wilderness expedition for four to five 4th-level characters. The party must cross a storm-wracked mountain basin, rescue a missing dwarven survey team, and stop a shard of the Hammer of Grondar from awakening an ancient icebound guardian. It can stand alone or begin immediately after Battle of the Mountain Pass.
Overview
Beyond the reclaimed goblin stronghold lies the Frostline, a high alpine wilderness that even the dwarves avoid in winter. A survey party sent to reopen the old road has vanished. Their final message warned that the mountain was “ringing like a struck bell.” Thrain Ironfist asks the adventurers to follow their trail before the next blizzard erases it.
Background
The missing dwarves discovered that a splinter knocked from the Hammer of Grondar during its theft was carried into the high country. The shard has lodged in an ancient stone beacon and is pulsing with thunderous magic, drawing predators, breaking the ice, and stirring the Rimehorn, a territorial frost-touched giant elk revered by the old clans.
Using This as a Sequel
If the group completed Battle of the Mountain Pass, begin during the celebration in the dwarven halls. The recovered Hammer of Grondar suddenly develops a hairline crack, and Thrain recognizes that a missing fragment is calling to it from beyond the pass. Surviving goblin scouts can reveal that Gorgak sent a runner named Snik Vell into the Frostline with “a spark of the dwarf hammer.” The characters keep any honors and relationships earned in the first adventure.
For a standalone game, Thrain hires the party as proven wilderness travelers. He explains that a stolen relic fragment is endangering his surveyors and offers 300 gp, cold-weather gear, and clan hospitality for their safe return.
Characters
- Thrain Ironfist: Stoic clan leader and returning quest giver. He is more worried about his people than the relic, though he struggles to say so.
- Orla Deepmark: Leader of the missing survey team. Practical, injured, and determined to keep the ancient beacon from collapsing.
- Snik Vell: A frightened goblin courier abandoned by Gorgak. He knows the safest route through the basin and wants protection, not revenge.
- The Rimehorn: A huge elk wreathed in blowing ice. It is an enraged guardian, not an evil creature, and can be calmed.
Setting
The adventure crosses the Frostline, a remote alpine basin beyond the reclaimed goblin pass. Its major locations are the ruined watchtower, the avalanche shelf, the survey camp beneath blue ice, the crevasse, and the rune-ringed Thunder Beacon. Bitter wind, unstable snow, exposed cliffs, and supernatural storms make the landscape an active threat.
Adventure Hooks
- The Hammer Calls: The recovered Hammer of Grondar vibrates whenever pointed toward the Frostline.
- Rescue Before Nightfall: A raven returns with Orla’s broken survey marker and a bloodstained scrap of map.
- The Closed Road: Merchants offer an additional 100 gp if the party makes the old high road safe again.
Plot Outline
The party follows the missing surveyors beyond the pass, survives an avalanche, decides whether to trust the goblin courier Snik Vell, rescues Orla Deepmark’s team, and reaches the Thunder Beacon. There they must calm or defeat the Rimehorn while grounding the unstable shard of the Hammer of Grondar.
1. Into the White
The expedition begins at the ruined goblin watchtower above the pass. The party can follow chipped dwarven trail marks with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check. On a failure, they still advance but lose one group Hit Die apiece to cold and exhaustion; a character proficient with cartographer’s tools, navigator’s tools, or vehicles (land) can prevent this loss.
Run the ascent as three successes before two failures. Useful checks include Wisdom (Survival) to read the trail, Strength (Athletics) to secure ropes across a wind-scoured shelf, and Intelligence (Nature) to predict a sudden whiteout. Creative use of spells or equipment grants advantage. Success brings the party to the basin unseen; failure triggers the avalanche encounter below.
2. The Avalanche Shelf
A deep metallic chime rolls through the mountain and fractures the snowpack. Each character must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a character takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage and is buried; an adjacent creature can free them with an action and a DC 12 Strength check. On a success, the character takes half damage and remains on the surface.
The slide exposes Snik Vell clinging to a dead pine. If rescued, he admits he carried the hammer shard beyond the pass on Gorgak’s orders, but abandoned it when “the horned snow-king” attacked. Kind treatment wins his help. Threats make him flee at the first opportunity and alert nearby winter wolves with his cries.
3. Camp Under Glass
The surveyors’ camp sits beneath a sheet of blue ice. Two winter wolves prowl outside while Orla and two surviving dwarves shelter in a crevasse. The party may fight the wolves, lure them away with rations, or use DC 14 Dexterity (Stealth) and Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks to reach the survivors quietly.
Orla has 8 hit points and cannot climb without help. She explains that the pulsing shard is embedded in a stone beacon half a mile uphill. Every pulse worsens the storm. She carries three grounding runes copied from the beacon; arranging them correctly allows the shard to be removed without breaking the monument.
4. The Thunder Beacon
The final site is a ring of waist-high stones surrounding a cracked obelisk. At initiative count 20, the shard releases a thunder pulse. Every creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 1d6 thunder damage and be pushed 10 feet. A creature adjacent to a standing stone can use it for cover and gains advantage on the save.
The Rimehorn uses the giant elk statistics with 76 hit points, resistance to cold damage, and the ability to deal an extra 1d6 cold damage once per turn. It charges anyone approaching the obelisk but will not pursue a creature that retreats from the stone ring.
The party can end the encounter in three ways:
- Calm the Guardian: Earn three successes before two failures using DC 14 Wisdom (Animal Handling), Intelligence (Nature), or a fitting spell. A character presenting the Hammer of Grondar gains advantage.
- Restore the Runes: A creature adjacent to the obelisk can use an action to attempt a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) or Dexterity check with mason’s tools. Three total successes ground the shard and calm the Rimehorn.
- Defeat the Rimehorn: Reducing it to 0 hit points ends the threat, but Thrain’s reward is reduced by 100 gp if the sacred guardian is slain without necessity.
5. Resolution
Once the shard is removed, the storm breaks with unnatural speed. The surviving surveyors can reopen the old road, and the Rimehorn bows once before disappearing into the snow if it survived. Thrain pays the promised reward and has the shard reforged into the Hammer of Grondar.
If Snik returns with the party, Thrain reluctantly grants him sanctuary in exchange for information about scattered goblin bands. This can launch a later adventure involving Gorgak’s hidden allies or a deeper dwarven ruin revealed beneath the melting ice.
NPCs and Monsters
- Thrain Ironfist: Dwarven warrior, AC 18, HP 65, Warhammer +7 (1d8+4), Leadership ability.
- Orla Deepmark: Injured dwarven scout, AC 14, HP 8, Handaxe +4 (1d6+2), proficient in Survival and mason’s tools.
- Snik Vell: Goblin courier, AC 15, HP 11, Scimitar +4 (1d6+2), Nimble Escape.
- Winter Wolves: Use the standard winter wolf statistics.
- The Rimehorn: Use giant elk statistics with 76 hit points, cold resistance, and an extra 1d6 cold damage once per turn.
Rewards
- 300 gp from Thrain Ironfist, plus 100 gp if the merchant road is reopened.
- Rimehorn Charm: Once, the bearer can cast pass without trace without material components. The charm then melts into ordinary water.
- Grondar’s Resonance: If this follows Battle of the Mountain Pass, the restored Hammer of Grondar can cast thunderwave once before the next dawn in addition to its existing properties.
Scaling the Adventure
For a 3rd-level party, use one winter wolf and reduce the Rimehorn to 60 hit points. For a 5th-level party, add two ice mephits at the beacon and increase each thunder pulse to 2d6 damage. If time is short, skip the wolves and begin the rescue as the avalanche uncovers the camp.
Mountain-Themed Table Gear
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- Mountain and waterfall sharp-edge resin dice set. A strong visual match for the Frostline, the frozen beacon, and the high peaks.
- Nature, forest, and mountain resin dice set. Well suited to the expedition’s transition from pine forest to alpine snow.
- Dungeon and wilderness terrain encounter dice. Useful for improvising hazards, discoveries, and side encounters along the old road.