The Wizard of the Winter Palace

Guild of Lost Lore · Adventure SL-A-002

The Wizard of the Winter Palace

A festival one-shot adventure in the Claimed Lands of the Realm

 

PLAY TIME	CHARACTER LEVEL	ADVENTURE TYPE
4–5 hours	4th–6th level	Save the festival

Every winter, Grummeldor relies on the Goddess Aurora’s blessing to survive the season. This year, sabotage, betrayal, and an army of trolls threaten to plunge the city into ruin. Can the heroes restore the city’s faith and secure Aurora’s Grace before the fifth night of the festival?

Written by Sean D. Francis

Adventure Overview

The Wizard of the Winter Palace is a compact, three-act one-shot. The characters begin amid Grummeldor’s Winter Festival, are called to investigate the disappearance of the wizard Aglasha, cross the frozen Crystal Sea, and climb toward the Winter Palace. There they confront Count Kepannar’s alliance with Snarl, King of the Ice Trolls, free Aglasha, and race home with the supplies needed for Aurora’s annual blessing.

THE PLOT Count Kepannar sabotaged the Council Chamber teleportation circle and allied with Snarl. Aglasha has been imprisoned in the form of a snowy white owl. The heroes must reach the Winter Palace, survive the troll confrontation, release Aglasha, and bring her aid back before Aurora arrives. The adventure does not require the characters to solve a branching mystery; their choices determine how they overcome each obstacle.

What the DM Needs to Know

• Aurora’s blessing requires Grummeldor to care for everyone in need. She bestows it only once each year, on the fifth night of the festival.
• Aglasha coordinates the magical provisions needed to fulfill the city’s oath and works with the frost elves of Geliddon, who make trinkets sold to fund the city’s charity.
• Count Kepannar believes the sick and poor should be exiled. His alliance with Snarl is both a coup and a means of purging those he considers a burden.
• The Council Chamber teleportation circle has been destroyed. Even after Aglasha is freed, the party must improvise the return journey.

One-Shot Pacing

Segment	Target	Hard stop
Act I: Festival and summons	60 minutes	Leave Grummeldor by 1:00
Act II: Crystal Sea and mountain trail	90 minutes	Reach the palace by 2:30
Act III: Palace and return	105 minutes	Resolve Snarl by 4:00
Aurora and epilogue	15 minutes	Close by 4:15–4:45

If time runs short, run one festival contest rather than several, use the logging-clearing rescue as the only full wilderness combat, and describe the remaining mountain threats as a fast group challenge. Do not cut the palace confrontation, Aglasha’s release, or Aurora’s arrival.

The City, the Oath, and the Festival

Grummeldor is the northernmost human settlement, founded by political outcasts who fled tyranny nearly a century ago. The first winters nearly destroyed them. They built a temple to Aurora and promised that everyone within the city’s borders would be fed, clothed, housed, and maintained in dignity. Aurora accepted the agreement: if, one year later, no one was left wanting, she would grant the city her grace.

The town kept its oath. Aurora returned, surveyed the people, and bestowed her blessing. Each year the festival grew, drawing the destitute, the diseased, the lost, the hopeful, and those eager to exploit them. Frost elves began trading with the settlement and taught its people to use iceboats on the Crystal Sea. The wizard Aglasha came north to escape a civilization uneasy with her use of magic, then offered her talents to help Grummeldor meet the demands of its charter.

Now some councilors argue that the oath should protect residents rather than outsiders. Kepannar has turned that resentment into a plan: if the vulnerable are driven away, the city can claim that everyone remaining has been cared for.

Aurora’s Grace

FESTIVAL BLESSING In the source adventure, Aurora’s Grace grants every recipient one d4 that may be used once per day for one year. In terms of mechanics, this d4 can be added after the attack roll, saving throw, or skill check is made.

Key Locations in Grummeldor

Council Chambers.

A large rectangular hall with a long council table at one end and benches for the citizens. Behind the main chamber stands the teleportation circle connected to the Winter Palace. Offices nearby manage the census and the city’s charity. The circle has been deliberately destroyed.

The Long Houses.

Each guild-maintained long house shelters visitors and distributes food and clothing. A massive common room surrounds a cooking fire. Planks serve as tables by day and sleeping pallets by night; rafters provide additional sleeping space.

The Whale and Wind.

William Bitterroot’s old fisherman’s tavern has grown into a middle-priced inn. It retains the rough charm of the early settlement and is still favored by fishermen and iceboat crews.

The Snowdrop Inn.

Desiree and Edward Caster operate this lavish inn on a hill overlooking the festival square. It caters to nobles and wealthy visitors with imported wine, meat, and cheese. Rooms are usually available, though benefactors sometimes buy them to ensure no one remains unsheltered.

Iceboat Docks.

Frost-elven iceboats can travel over ice or through water. Fishing crews work throughout the festival to feed the city. Mary Bright and the Northwind Runner depart from here.

Act I — The Winter Festival

Goal: let the players experience Grummeldor’s generosity, establish the deadline, and place the party aboard the Northwind Runner within the first hour.

Scene 1: Arrival in Grummeldor

Snow drifts pile high against the stone walls as the northern city of Grummeldor opens before you. Woodsmoke, fish, and roasted meat scent the cold air. Music and laughter mingle with ringing bells while priests in colorful robes welcome every arrival in the name of Aurora.

Ask each player why their character came: the spectacle, free hospitality, Aurora’s Grace, charity, curiosity, or another reason. Priests and volunteers direct anyone hungry or cold toward food, warm clothing, and shelter. This is the visible proof of the oath the party is being asked to preserve.

Scene 2: Festival Games

Run one contest for a tight session or two to three if the group is moving quickly. A memorable performance is enough for the council to notice the characters; the summons also reaches proven adventurers regardless of contest results.

Ice Carving Contest

• Creativity: Intelligence check, DC 13 for a sound concept or DC 17 for something wildly creative.
• Execution: Dexterity check, DC 13 for a solid carving or DC 17 for masterful work.
• Uniqueness: Wisdom check, DC 13 for a distinctive piece or DC 17 for something singular.
• Passing one or two checks earns polite applause. Passing all three draws a crowd. A combined total above 52 earns a gold medallion worth 5 sp. A roll below 8 produces a comic mishap.

Snow Drift Running

• The contestant chooses Strength to drive through the drifts or Dexterity to skim across them, then makes three checks.
• Below DC 12 means no progress; DC 12 keeps pace; DC 16 or higher surges ahead. The contestant with the most successes wins.
• A dominant finish earns recognition as champion and the contestant’s choice of scarf, mittens, or a knitted hat.

Ballads and Odes to Aurora

• Make a Charisma (Performance) check. DC 14 earns strong applause and perhaps a flower crown. DC 18 inspires the priests, who award a snowflake pin and honorary membership in the Northern Lights Lodge.
• Failure brings mild embarrassment, but the priests still offer thanks.

Sea Plunge

• A DC 13 Constitution saving throw withstands the initial shock. On a failure, the contestant scrambles out and cannot continue.
• Swimming to the basket 100 feet below uses the normal swimming rules and repeated DC 13 Constitution checks as needed. A DC 12 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check frees a trinket, one attempt per round.
• A successful contestant surfaces with a pendant, charm, or carved token. Failure at depth requires rescue by rope or another contestant.

Riddles of the Elders

A character answers a riddle with a DC 13 Intelligence check using History, Arcana, Religion, or Nature as appropriate. A 13 earns a modest wooden token worth 5 gp. A 16 or higher earns one plot hint from the DM later in the adventure.

Festival Lore: The Five Riddles

Riddle	Answer
Why did the frost elves help Grummeldor after learning of its oath?	They expected the settlement to fail, but the settlers called on Aurora, a protector of the frost elves. Helping the town honors her.
Who signed the original oath?	Ten founding families, political outcasts from two kingdoms in Mystven, fled north and settled at the edge of the Crystal Sea.
Why did Aurora agree to the arrangement?	The surviving source leaves the priests’ full explanation incomplete. Use the founding oath itself: Aurora accepted a people’s promise to uphold dignity for everyone within their borders.
What magic wards off the worst weather?	Priests of Aurora cast control weather from the temple.
What animal is the most common wilderness threat?	Winter wolves: larger, more aggressive wolves that hunt in packs.

Scene 3: The Summons

On the morning of the second festival day, the bells change from celebration to alarm. Burghermeister Johli calls for adventurers. Characters who excelled in the games receive personal invitations; otherwise, their reputation or visible competence brings them to the Council Chamber.

Scene 4: The Council Chamber

Johli explains that Aglasha made only one delivery and has stopped responding. Sending spells have failed. Someone destroyed the teleportation circle. Count Kepannar has also disappeared, trolls have become active, and without the remaining healing potions, vitality potions, beads of nourishment, heroes’ feast scrolls, and frost-elven trinkets, Grummeldor may fail its oath before the fifth night.

JOHLI’S CHARGE Cross the Crystal Sea, reach Geliddon and the Winter Palace, learn why Aglasha is silent, and bring back whatever aid remains. The city does not have another route fast enough to meet the deadline.

Scene 5: The Northwind Runner

At the iceboat docks, Mary Bright receives the party aboard the Northwind Runner. The craft skims across the frozen Crystal Sea toward the eastern shore beneath the Frostfall Mountains.

The wind snaps the Northwind Runner’s sails taut. Behind you, Grummeldor dwindles to a line of smoke and stone beneath the white horizon. Ahead, dark pines climb toward the Frostfall Mountains, and somewhere beyond them waits the silent Winter Palace.

Act II — Across the Frozen North

Goal: make the journey feel dangerous without allowing travel to consume the entire session. The logging-clearing rescue carries the act’s main combat; the remaining hazards can be resolved as a group challenge.

Scene 1: The Pine Tree Trail

From the Crystal Sea, the party climbs into thick pine forest. Ask for three DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) checks. One character may lead each check; a ranger may roll for the group. On a failed check, each character makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 1d6 cold damage on a failure. Suitable cold-weather preparation or magic may remove the need for the saving throw at the DM’s discretion.

FAST RESOLUTION If the party fails twice, describe the cold and lost time, apply the consequences, and bring them to the logging clearing. Do not add another detour.

Scene 2: The Logging Clearing

The trail breaks into a logging clearing where three frost elves are under attack by winter wolves and ice mephits. [Use Dire Wolf stat block] The party can intervene directly, draw enemies away, or use the terrain to reach the elves. Use enough creatures to challenge the party without exhausting the final act.

A sharp cry cuts through the trees. Three pale-cloaked figures stand back-to-back among stacked logs while winter wolves circle low and ice mephits wheel through the blown snow above them.

If rescued, the frost elves explain that shipments remain waiting in Geliddon, trolls have been moving near the Winter Palace, and Aglasha has not contacted the village. They guide the party onward.

Scene 3: Geliddon

Geliddon is a frost-elven village on the mountain side of the Crystal Sea. Aiselia and Farenden may speak for the villagers. The elves confirm that the charitable trinkets and other supplies are ready but cannot be delivered while Aglasha and the teleportation circle remain unavailable. Allow a short rest. Keep the scene focused on information, recovery, and urgency.

Scene 4: Trail to the Winter Palace

The final ascent is threatened by snow golems, ice mephits, and a troll. Choose one of the following treatments based on time:

• Full encounter: use one threat as a combat encounter, favoring the troll if the group has not yet faced one.
• Group challenge: require three successes before two failures using Survival to find a route, Perception to spot an ambush, Athletics or Acrobatics to cross dangerous ground, or an appropriate spell or feature. On a failure, apply damage, a lost resource, or a brief skirmish rather than a new scene.
• Narrated pressure: if the session is behind, describe the party evading snow golems and ice mephits while seeing troll tracks converge on the palace.

Regional Map

Grummeldor lies west of the Crystal Sea; Geliddon and the Winter Palace stand beneath the Frostfall Mountains to the east.

Act III — The Winter Palace

Goal: reveal Kepannar’s betrayal, survive Snarl’s force, free Aglasha, and complete the return to Grummeldor before Aurora’s arrival.

Scene 1: The Palace Walls

The Winter Palace rises white against the mountain, its walls half-lost in driven snow. Count Kepannar appears and reveals his bargain with Snarl. He condemns Grummeldor’s obligation to the sick, poor, hungry, and displaced, claiming the city can preserve Aurora’s favor by removing those who strain its resources. His alliance with the trolls will place him in power and make that cruelty policy.

Kepannar’s role here is revelation, not a replacement villain. After exposing his plan and placing the party in Snarl’s path, he flees. His escape remains part of the epilogue.

ROLEPLAYING KEPANNAR He frames exclusion as arithmetic and necessity. He does not think of himself as destroying the city’s oath; he pretends he is making the oath easier to satisfy by reducing who counts. His reasoning is the moral failure at the center of the adventure.

Scene 2: Snarl, King of the Ice Trolls

Snarl [standard Ice Troll CR8] emerges with four or five ice trolls [CR 5 – Ice Troll variant from Tyranny of Dragons] for the adventure’s decisive battle. The original encounter assumes a formidable force; adjust how many trolls engage at once to the party’s level and size, but preserve Snarl’s presence and the sense that Kepannar has brought an army to the palace.

Party	Suggested pressure
Four 4th-level characters	Snarl and a limited number of active trolls; keep others delayed by terrain or arriving in waves.
Five or six 5th-level characters	Snarl with several trolls, using waves so the action economy remains manageable.
Optimized 6th-level group	Snarl and the full visible threat of four to five trolls, with the DM controlling engagement pace.

Use the published statistics your table normally uses for trolls, ice trolls, ice mephits, winter wolves, and giant elk. “Ice troll” appears as the intended creature in the source; select a rules source appropriate to your edition and party. This document does not replace those stat blocks.

The palace approach should provide cover, elevation, or narrow access so the party can prevent every troll from surrounding them at once. Snarl fights as the king of the force, not as an incidental monster. Defeating or driving him off breaks the immediate threat and opens the way inside.

Scene 3: Inside the Winter Palace

Within the palace, the heroes find a snowy white owl confined in a golden cage. The owl is Aglasha. Opening the cage frees her and reveals the wizard’s true identity. She confirms Kepannar’s sabotage and imprisonment have prevented the deliveries.

A snowy white owl watches from behind the bars of a golden cage. Frost feathers the lock, but the owl’s eyes are bright, furious, and far too knowing.

Scene 4: Escape by Flying Elk

The destroyed teleportation circle cannot be repaired in time. Aglasha provides potions of flying, and the party guides teams of giant elk carrying the supplies back toward Grummeldor. Treat the return as a brisk triumph under pressure, not another full combat unless substantial time remains.

For a final group challenge, ask for three successes before two failures. Animal Handling can guide the elk, Survival can choose the safest line across the storm, Perception can spot hazards, and suitable magic can steady the flight or protect the cargo. Failure costs time or supplies but should not erase the completed palace victory; it determines how narrowly the heroes reach the city and how battered the arrival looks.

Scene 5: Return to Grummeldor

The teams descend over the city with Aglasha’s provisions. Crowds gather, and Johli greets the heroes. Kepannar has fled. The needed healing, nourishment, feasting magic, and charitable goods can now be distributed before the festival ends.

Bells roll across Grummeldor as the elk descend through the snow. Below, people spill into the streets and point toward the sky. Long-house fires burn, healers hurry to the square, and Burghermeister Johli stands waiting as the first precious cargo touches the ground.

Scene 6: Aurora’s Arrival

On the fifth night, Aurora descends in a spectacle of light and snow. She surveys the city and finds that its people have upheld the oath. She grants Aurora’s Grace to everyone within Grummeldor, including the heroes.

The night sky opens in bands of living color. Green, blue, and violet light pours across the snow until every roof and lifted face shines. Aurora descends through the radiance, and for one breath the entire city is silent. Then her grace passes through Grummeldor like warmth through frozen hands.

Epilogue

• The teleportation circle will take a year to repair.
• The trolls remain a regional threat even after Snarl’s immediate force is defeated or scattered.
• Kepannar escaped and may face pursuit in a future adventure.
• Johli offers the characters a contract for further service.

Failure Without Ending the Game

If the party is delayed or loses too many supplies, Grummeldor falls into unrest and receives no blessing. Kepannar’s treachery is still exposed, Aglasha can still be freed, and the surviving characters must live with the city’s harsher winter. Use this only when the players’ choices and results clearly produce failure; do not let a single travel roll nullify the adventure.

Running the Supporting Cast

Character	Role in the adventure	What the DM must preserve
Aglasha	Wizard of the Winter Palace; coordinates magical provisions and frost-elven goods	She is imprisoned as a snowy white owl in a golden cage and enables the flying-elk return.
Burghermeister Johli	Leader who summons and briefs the heroes	He identifies the crisis, sends the party, and welcomes them home.
Count Kepannar	Corrupt councilor and conspirator	He sabotages the circle, allies with Snarl, argues for exile of the vulnerable, reveals his plan, and flees.
Mary Bright	Captain of the Northwind Runner	She carries the party across the Crystal Sea.
Aurora	Goddess and patron of the city’s oath	She arrives on the fifth night and grants or withholds the annual blessing.
Snarl	King of the Ice Trolls	He leads the palace force and serves as the decisive physical threat.
Aiselia and Farenden	Frost elves associated with Geliddon	Use them to voice the village’s concern and the status of the waiting shipments.

Creature Roster

Creature	Use
Winter wolves and ice mephits	Attack three frost elves at the logging clearing.
Snow golems, ice mephits, and a troll	Threaten the trail from Geliddon to the palace.
Snarl and four to five ice trolls	Guard the Winter Palace and form the climax.
Giant elk	Carry people and supplies back to Grummeldor.

Clues and Answers

Question	Answer
Who destroyed the teleportation circle?	Count Kepannar.
Why has Aglasha vanished?	She is imprisoned in the form of the white owl inside the Winter Palace.
Why are the trolls involved?	Kepannar allied with Snarl as part of his coup and plan to purge the vulnerable.
What saves the festival?	Freeing Aglasha and returning the waiting magical and charitable supplies before Aurora arrives.

DM Quick Reference

Preparing this adventure in D&D Beyond Maps? Use the Scene Prep Workbook to organize its locations and scenes before transferring them into the VTT.

Opening Situation

• Festival day two; Aglasha has made one delivery and gone silent.
• Sending has failed; the Council Chamber teleportation circle is destroyed.
• The fifth-night blessing depends on caring for everyone within the city.

Non-Negotiable Beats

Beat	Result
Festival experience	Players see what Grummeldor is trying to protect.
Johli’s summons	Party receives the mission and deadline.
Mary Bright’s crossing	Party reaches the eastern Crystal Sea.
Frost-elf rescue and Geliddon	Party learns supplies are waiting and danger surrounds the palace.
Kepannar’s reveal	Betrayal and motive become explicit.
Snarl confrontation	Party overcomes the coup’s military force.
White owl in the golden cage	Aglasha is freed.
Flying elk return	Supplies reach Grummeldor without the teleportation circle.
Aurora’s arrival	Success or failure is judged.

Difficulty Knobs That Do Not Change the Plot

• Reduce or increase how many wilderness enemies engage at once.
• Turn the palace trolls into waves rather than placing every creature in the opening round.
• Award the Riddles of the Elders hint to a struggling group that earned it.
• Let clever preparation negate cold damage or earn automatic group-challenge successes.
• Compress repeated travel checks when the clock, rather than uncertainty, has become the real obstacle.

Session Checklist

• Choose rules statistics for the listed creatures.
• Select one to three festival games based on available time.
• Prepare a visible session clock or pacing notes.
• Keep Kepannar’s motive explicit: exclusion disguised as practical necessity.
• Reserve at least 75–90 minutes for the Winter Palace and return.

Player Handout

Every winter, people from across the Claimed Lands of the Realm travel to the port city of Grummeldor for the Winter Festival of Aurora. If the city successfully tends to the poor, the indigent, the ill, the lost, and the hungry, the goddess visits in a spectacle of light and grants Aurora’s Grace to everyone in the city.

To earn the blessing, Grummeldor holds mundane and magical feasts, establishes roving field hospitals staffed by clerics, collects charity, and sells trinkets to fund poor houses for all who need shelter.

Much of this work depends on healing potions, vitality potions, beads of nourishment, heroes’ feast scrolls, and frost-elven trinkets. The wizard Aglasha makes the magical items at the Winter Palace and coordinates with the frost elves of Geliddon, who craft the trinkets.

The goods normally reach the city through a teleportation circle in the Council Chamber. The festival lasts five days. Aglasha has made only one delivery, all contact with her has been lost, and someone has destroyed the circle. Even if she responds now, the remaining provisions cannot reach Grummeldor by the usual route before the festival ends.

YOUR MISSION Travel across the frozen Crystal Sea to the Winter Palace in the Frostfall Mountains. Learn why Aglasha has not made the remaining deliveries and restore the flow of aid before the fifth night.

Character Guidance

The original player packet offers pregenerated 4th–6th level characters: an aasimar Eldritch Knight fighter, dwarf Pact of the Tome warlock, halfling Mastermind rogue, arctic Circle of the Land elf druid, human Forge cleric, kenku Monster Hunter ranger, and tiefling Wild Magic sorcerer.

If the DM permits an original character, the packet allows one item from each category:

Weapons	Armor	Other
Any +1 weapon; any weapon of warning; or wand of magic missiles	Any +1 armor; ring of protection +1; +1 shield; adamantine armor; or mithral armor	Ring of warmth; potion of cold resistance; potion of greater healing; or potion of heroism

Table Conduct

• Do not be intentionally disruptive.
• Do not antagonize other players.

Source and Adaptation Notes

This assembled edition reconciles the supplied Winter Festival of Aurora adventure summary, the original Wizard of the Winter Palace draft, the player handout, and the regional map. It preserves the supplied plot, named characters, locations, central revelations, and resolution while reorganizing the material for a 4–5 hour one-shot.

The earlier draft labels the adventure as approximately ten hours and contains unfinished template material after the festival section. This edition removes that placeholder material and uses the complete summary’s three-act scene order to finish the playable structure. Travel and encounter scaling guidance changes session density, not story events.

Rules Note

Creature statistics and certain rules references may depend on the edition and books used at your table. The DM should select legal sources available to the group. The adventure’s intended creature identities and narrative functions remain as supplied.

Credits

Adventure by Sean D. Francis.
AI tools used in formatting, spelling, and grammar.