TEXT: The Ember Elk
  The Ember Elk
  The Ember Elk
  The Ember Elk
  The Ember Elk
  
  T
      
      
  his adventure is one piece of a movement within the D&D community to invite, encourage, and include those who have not been
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    
    
  This adventure includes topics of violence, death, and loss of a family member.
  2
  
          
          
  
  
  I
  t’s an old forest with majestic trees so thick that the
  canopy darkens the forest floor, but a looming danger
  is coming: the Ember Elk! What will happen to the
  forest when this flaming deer appears? And what
  about the goblin woman living in the cottage in the
  woods — can you save her?
  This side adventure is designed for four to six
  characters with an average party level of 4.
    
    
  The Ember Elk is known for its destructive nature. When it
  appears, it’s a sign of doom for the forest as it trots through,
  antlers blazing, leaving a blazing trail of destruction. Many
  believe that the Ember Elk is a demon or fire elemental for
  this reason. But truthfully, the Ember Elk is a celestial being
  that prevents the spread of invasive species such as russet
  mold that causes vegepygmies and thornies, needle spawn,
  spawn of Kyuss, and other fast-spreading plagues.
  Russet mold has been growing in this forest, which has led
  to a growing plague of vegepygmies, who manage well under
  the dense canopy of the lush beech trees that comprise most
  of the vegetation as smaller plants struggle to grow in the
  dense shade. If left unchecked, this plague of “moldies” will
  spread to wipe out the fauna of this ecosystem. The Ember
  Elk knows that this forest has reached the end of its life cycle,
  and it’s time to burn down the canopy so that life may begin
  anew, wiping out the plague in the process.
  Meanwhile, a lone goblin lives in an old wooden cottage in
  the forest, aware of the growing threat but seemingly
  unconcerned, insisting that she can handle these “walking
  salads.” But this goblin woman is more than she seems, a
  barghest that feeds on the goblin parties who use this forest
  for seemingly safe travel between outposts. Her cottage was
  once the retirement home of a decorated goblin war hero that
  she ate and is now posing as his widow. She is terrified of
  fire, has heard rumors of the Ember Elk, knows its true
  nature, and seeks to put an end to it by tricking the party into
  destroying it.
  A halfling ranger, Arieni Kettlewhistle, who specializes in
  plants and plant creatures has been fighting the vegepygmy
  threat. She is not familiar with the Ember Elk, but she is
  aware that the forest is due for a burn, and while she regrets
  that, she understands its necessity in the grand scheme of
  things.
  The party will need to decide how to handle this situation.
  Should they kill the Ember Elk to protect the forest from
  burning, thus also allowing this barghest to continue to
  victimize passing goblin parties? Can they convince this
  stubborn woman to leave her home in the woods? Perhaps
  she would find a home in one of the goblin villages near the
  edge of the forest! Or does she reveal her true nature to the
  party?
   
   
  This is an easy story to incorporate into an existing
  adventure, especially if the campaign follows seasons, as it’s
  best played in the early fall, when the ground is dry, and the
  leaves are turning colors but have barely begun to fall. The
  adventure begins as the vegepygmies attack the nearby
  cottage, looking for a meal.
    
    
  The forest grows thick with lush beech trees, their thick
  branches providing homes for the many wildlife species that
  populate it. Their leaves have begun changing color as they
  prepare themselves to shed them for the winter. The forest
  goes on for several days’ travel in every direction, and while it
  has no definite trails through it, hearty travelers who know
  their way around its branches can occasionally be seen
  cutting through, including goblin and orc parties who have
  villages and outposts on the perimeter of the woods and trade
  with their extended families and each other.
  3
  
    
    
  
  
  4
  
  
  Small plant, neutral
  Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 9 (2d6 + 2)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  7 (-2) 14 (+2)
  13 (+1) 6 (-2)
  11 (+0)
  7 (-2)
  Skills Perception +2, Stealth +4
  Damage Resistances lightning, piercing
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  Languages Vegepygmy
  Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +2
  Plant Camouflage. The vegepygmy has advantage on
  Dexterity (Stealth) checks it makes in any terrain
  with ample obscuring plant life.
  Regeneration. The vegepygmy regains 3 hit points at
  the start of its turn. If it takes cold, fire, or necrotic
  damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the
  vegepygmy's next turn. The vegepygmy dies only if
  it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't
  regenerate.
  Actions
  Actions
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft.,
  one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
  Sling. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range
  30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning
  damage.
  
  
  Medium plant, neutral
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  13 (+1) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 6 (-2)
  Skills Perception +4, Stealth +3
  Damage Resistances lightning, piercing
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
  Languages —
  Challenge 1 (200 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +2
  Plant Camouflage. The thorny has advantage on
  Dexterity (Stealth) checks it makes in any terrain
  with ample obscuring plant life.
  Regeneration. The thorny regains 5 hit points at the
  start of its turn. If it takes cold, fire, or necrotic
  damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the
  thorny's next turn. The thorny dies only if it starts its
  turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.
  Thorny Body. At the start of its turn, the thorny deals
  2 (1d4) piercing damage to any creature grappling
  it.
  Actions
  Actions
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft.,
  one target. Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) piercing damage.
  
  5
   
   
   
   
  Small humanoid (Stout Halfling), Neutral Good
  Armor Class 16 (scale mail)
  Hit Points 32 (4d10)
  Speed 25 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  14 (+2) 17 (+3) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 8 (-1)
  Skills Athletics +4, Investigation +2, Nature +2,
  Perception +4, Survival +4
  Damage Resistances poison
  Senses passive Perception 14
  Languages Common, Elvish, Halfling, Sylvan
  Spellcasting. Arieni is a 4th-level spellcaster. Her
  spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12, +4 to
  hit with spell attacks). Arieni has the following Druid
  spells prepared: 
   
  Cantrips (at will): control flame, druidcraft 
  1st level (3 slots): hunter's mark, cure wounds, zephyr
  strike
  Favored Enemy (Plants). Arieni has advantage on Survival
  checks to track her favored enemies, as well as on INT
  checks to recall information about them. She also learn
  one language of your choice that is spoken by your
  favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
  Natural Explorer (Forest). Arieni has a favored terrain
  type. Her proficiency bonus is doubled for proficient
  skills when she makes an INT or WIS check related to it.
  While traveling for an hour or more in her chosen
  terrain, difficult terrain doesn’t slow her group’s travel,
  her group can’t become lost except by magical means,
  she remains alert to danger even when she is engaged
  in another activity, she can move stealthily at a normal
  pace (while alone), she finds twice as much food while
  foraging, and while tracking creatures, she learns the
  exact number, sizes, and how long ago they passed
  through the area.
  Primeval Awareness. As an action, Arieni can expend one
  ranger spell slot (1 minute per level of spell slot) to
  sense whether any aberrations, celestials, dragons,
  elementals, fey, fiends, or undead are present within 1
  mile of her (or within up to 6 miles if she is in her
  favored terrain). This feature doesn’t reveal the
  creatures’ location or number.
  Lucky. When Arieni rolls a 1 on the d20 for an attack
  roll, ability check, or saving throw, she can reroll the die
  and must use the new roll.
  Brave. Arieni has advantage on saving throws against
  being frightened.
  Halfling Nimbleness. The halfling can move through the
  space of any creature that is of a size larger than its
  own.
  Stout Resilience. Arieni has advantage on saving throws
  against poison, and she has resistance against poison
  damage.
  Attention Deficit (Severity Degree 2). You have trouble
  choosing subjects to focus on. When you’re not
  completely interested in a subject at hand, your mind
  unintentionally wanders to other subjects, and you
  easily lose track of time. This leads to difficulties
  concentrating and indecision. You have a −1 per
  Severity Degree penalty to initiative rolls due to
  indecision. This works the opposite when you’re
  focused on something that holds your interest to the
  point that the rest of the world fades into the
  background. When performing any task requiring an
  Intelligence check or other sustained, potentially
  monotonous task, you must succeed on a DC 8 +
  Severity Degree Constitution check. Failure indicates
  that you’ve been distracted — subtract the modified
  result from the DC, and multiply the resulting number ×
  15 percent to determine how long the task takes. While
  distracted, you have a + (Severity Degree) on passive
  Wisdom (Perception) checks. On success, if the
  modified roll is at least 5 more than needed, you
  become hyperfocused and complete the task in
  ((modified result) − DC) × 10 percent less time. While
  hyperfocused, you have a −1 per Severity Degree
  penalty to passive Wisdom (Perception).
  Paralysis & Numbness (Right Arm, Severity Degree 3).
  You can neither feel nor move your fingers (Severity
  Degree 1), wrist to fingers (Severity Degree 2), elbow
  to fingers (Severity Degree 3), or shoulder to fingers
  (Severity Degree 4). Your fingers can use magic rings,
  but otherwise, you can’t use that appendage, and if
  exposed to damage, you don’t notice, which can result
  in further ongoing damage. Spells with Somatic
  components usually need to be modified to work
  within your physical range, requiring a day for every
  hour normally needed to inscribe into your spellbook
  and double the cost due to experimentation materials.
  Actions
  Actions
  Horde Breaker. Once on each of her turns when Arieni
  makes a weapon attack, she can make another attack
  with the same weapon against a different creature that
  is within 5 ft. of the original target and within range of
  her weapon.
  Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5
  ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
  Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
  range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing
  damage.
  
  6
   
   
  Large celestial, Neutral good
  Armor Class 12
  Hit Points 67 (9d10 + 18)
  Speed 50 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  18 (+4) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 16 (+3)
  Damage Immunities fire, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, paralyzed, poisoned
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  Languages Celestial, Elvish, Sylvan, telepathy 60 ft.
  Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
  Charge. If the Elk moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a
  target and then hits it with a ram attack on the same
  turn, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) bludgeoning
  damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a
  DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
  Innate Spellcasting. The Elk's innate spellcasting ability is
  Charisma (spell save DC 13). The Elk can innately cast
  the following spells, requiring no components: 
   
  At will: detect evil and good, fire bolt, pass without
  trace 
  1/day each: fireball, dispel evil and good, wall of fire
  Magic Resistance. The Elk has advantage on saving
  throws against spells and other magical effects.
  Magic Weapons. The Elk's weapon attacks are magical.
  Actions
  Actions
  Multiattack. The Elk makes two attacks: one with its
  hooves and one with its antlers.
  Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft .,
  one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
  Antlers. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft .,
  one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage + 3
  (1d6) fire damage.
  Purifying Fire (3/Day). The Elk touches another creature
  with its antlers. The touch removes all charms and
  diseases, neutralizes all poisons, and removes 1 level of
  exhaustion afflicting the target.
  Refiner's Fire (1/Day). The Elk emanates a flaming aura
  from its antlers that expend 10' per round for up to 5
  rounds. Each aberration, elemental, fey, fiend, and
  undead in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw.
  It takes 7d10 fire damage on a failed save, or half as
  much damage on a successful one.
  Legendary Actions
  Legendary Actions
  The Elk can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from
  the options below. Only one legendary action option
  can be used at a time and only at the end of another
  creature's turn. The Elk regains spent legendary actions
  at the start of its turn.
  Hooves. The Elk makes one attack with its hooves.
  Aura of Fire (Costs 2 Actions). The Elk creates a burning,
  magical field around itself or another creature it can see
  within 60 ft. of it. The target gains the benefits of a fire
  shield spell until the end of the Elk's next turn.
  Enkindle (Costs 3 Actions). The Elk is suddenly engulfed
  in blue flame and regains 10 (3d6) hit points.
  
     
     
   
   
  Read the following to the players:
  As you travel through the woods, you notice what appears to
  be a wooden cottage not far away. At first, you thought it was
  a brush pile, as it’s not in much better shape, and its thatch
  roof provides unintentional camouflage. You see some
  movement by it as the sounds of the forest are interrupted by
  an angry scream.
  As the party draws closer to the cottage, they notice what
  appear to be moving masses of fungus and sticks advancing
  on the building. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception)
  check reveals that the mounds look vaguely humanoid, while
  others look something like green bears. As the party
  approaches, they may hear the hissy whistling of the
  creatures, although the screams of Vralmea the goblin may
  drown them out.
  When the party reaches the cottage, they will find it
  besieged with four vegepygmies and two thornies. (If the
  party has more than eighteen combined levels, the Dungeon
  Master may want to add one or two vegepygmies to the
  encounter to increase the challenge.)
  The creatures are trying to get into the cottage and are
  about to do so. Vralmea the goblin is swinging a large butcher
  knife and rolling pin at them, shouting in goblin, “I’ll toss you
  like the salads you are,” and, “Back off, you walking radishes!”
  When the party gets near, the creatures notice the party
  and turn their attention to them, as they pose a larger threat.
  If the party attempts to use fire, Vralmea will scream at them
  to put it out, shouting first in goblin, then quickly switching to
  common, “Put that fire out! The forest is dry! You’ll burn the
  whole thing down! What are you thinking?!” If more than
  three of the plant creatures are killed, they will attempt to
  flee.
  7
   
   
  Large fiend (shapechanger), neutral evil
  Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 90 (12d10 + 24)
  Speed 60 ft. (30 ft. in goblin form)
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  19 (+4) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 14 (+2)
  Skills Deception +4, Intimidation +4, Perception +5,
  Stealth +4
  Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning,
  piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  Damage Immunities acid, poison
  Condition Immunities poisoned
  Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive
  Perception 15
  Languages Abyssal, Common, Goblin, Infernal, telepathy
  60 ft.
  Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +2
  Shapechanger. The barghest can use its action to
  polymorph into a Small goblin or back into its true
  form. Other than its size and speed, its statistics are the
  same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or
  carrying isn't transformed. The barghest reverts to its
  true form if it dies.
  Fire Banishment. When the barghest starts its turn
  engulfed in flames that are at least 10 feet high or wide,
  it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or
  be instantly banished to Gehenna. Instantaneous bursts
  of flame (such as a red dragon's breath or a fireball
  spell) don't have this effect on the barghest.
  Innate Spellcasting. The barghest's innate spellcasting
  ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). It can innately
  cast the following spells, requiring no material
  components:
  At will: levitate, minor illusion, pass without trace 
  1/day each: charm person, dimension door, suggestion
  Keen Smell. The barghest has advantage on Wisdom
  (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
  Soul Feeding. A barghest can feed on the corpse of a
  humanoid that it killed that has been dead for less than
  10 minutes, devouring both flesh and soul in doing so.
  This feeding takes at least 1 minute, and it destroys the
  victim's body. The victim's soul is trapped in the
  barghest for 24 hours, after which time it is digested. If
  the barghest dies before the soul is digested, the soul
  is released. 
  While a humanoid's soul is trapped in a barghest, any
  form of revival that could work has only a 50 percent
  chance of doing so, freeing the soul from the barghest
  if it is successful. Once a creature's soul is digested,
  however, no mortal magic can return that humanoid to
  life.
  Actions
  Actions
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
  
   
   
  The cottage is made from beams and branches of the local
  beech trees. It’s small and messy, with one wooden chair, a
  straw mat for a bed, and piles of dirty dishes next to a
  washtub that looks like it hasn’t been changed recently.
  Characters with a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 12 or
  higher may notice that there’s no fireplace or stove of any
  kind. If asked about this, she says that her husband was the
  gourmet in the family, so she lives on vegetables and berries
  foraged in the woods.
  Vralmea thanks the party for their help. She tells them that
  she has lived alone in this forest for many years. Her husband
  was a retired goblin soldier who built this cottage, and it’s
  special to her. “When I touch the beams, it’s like I’m holding
  his hands, and I can still smell the blood, sweat, and tears he
  shed here.” When asked about the vegepygmies, she says,
  “The moldies are increasing in number, but I can handle
  them. They don’t scare me.” She will quickly change that or
  any other subject to news about the Ember Elk. She heard
  from a recent passing orc party that it has been seen in the
  area. There’s fear in her voice as she talks about it, telling the
  party that it’s a force of destruction, an elk with burning
  antlers, leaving a fiery path in its wake. It’s fall, so the leaves
  are dry. If the Ember Elk so much as enters this forest, the
  whole woods will burn to cinders. She begs the party to find
  it and kill it to save the forest.
  Knowledge of the Ember Elk requires a successful DC 20
  Intelligence (Nature) check to have heard about the Ember
  Elk burning down forests and a DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana)
  check to know that it’s a celestial, an even higher DC for more
  information than that.
  Vralmea tells the party that, if they head south, they’ll
  probably just have to watch for smoke to find it. If they need
  motivation, she tells them, “The forest has dozens of villages
  around its perimeter. If you stop the Elk, you’ll be heroes to
  all of them!
    
    
  As the party heads south, they will see a small pile of cloth
  that seems to be moving, as if something is alive under it. The
  pile is actually Arieni Kettlewhistle, the halfling ranger, who is
  studying a mushroom, and due to her hyperfixation as a
  result of Attention Deficit Disorder, she doesn’t notice their
  approach unless they deliberately make noise to get her
  attention or poke the pile of cloth when they reach it. Once
  she notices them, she instantly jumps to her feet and draws a
  shortsword from under the leafy ground cover with her right
  hand but points the sword at the ground, not the party, alert
  but not threatening. She also has a shortbow, quiver, and
  other gear buried under nearby leaf piles. 
  Arieni is aware of the growing vegepygmy threat and is
  looking for a way to remove them from the forest. She has
  expertise with plants and plant creatures and recognizes the
  threat that russet mold brings to a forest. While she won’t
  want to suggest it and will attempt any other option first, she
  knows that the old growth forest is due for a burn to allow for
  new growth, and while she hasn’t heard of the Ember Elk,
  she will reluctantly realize that allowing it to run through the
  forest would start a relatively natural process that would
  likely start soon anyway, and it would get rid of the moldies.
  During the conversation, if the party discusses other
  matters beyond the plants in the forest and related matters,
  Arieni’s attention may drift. The party may also notice that
  she never uses her right arm due to paralysis, especially if
  they see her use her shortbow to hunt for food.
  8
  
   
   
  If the party settles on letting the forest burn, they must
  convince Vralmea to abandon her cottage. She will be angry
  with their decision and try to convince them otherwise,
  reminding them of all the villages on the periphery of the
  forest. She can eventually be convinced with a successful
  opposed Charisma (Persuasion) check since she is hoping to
  keep the status quo and knows she’d have to go far away to
  find another goblin crossroads.
     
     
  
  
  If the party convinces Vralmea to leave her cottage, it will
  take two days to walk out of the forest and stay ahead of the
  burning. If the party is small, During the first long rest, she
  will wait until they have removed armor and are mostly
  sleeping and then reveal her true nature, attacking the party
  in her true barghest form.
  
  
  As the party leaves the forest, assuming they don’t hunt it,
  they get a glimpse of the Ember Elk, which, when it sees
  them, bows its head in greeting. The forest hasn’t lit yet, but
  as the party reaches the edge of the forest, they smell smoke
  and shortly afterward see the sky glow with the end of this
  cycle of the forest’s life.
  9
  
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Lead writer, editor & developer: Dale Critchley
  Artwork public domain, by Dale Critchley, and from
  Portrait Gallery app
  Beech Forest by Hasse Lundqvist from Pixabay
   
   
  Dale Critchley is the owner, lead writer, and chief
  tea drinker at Wyrmworks Publishing. He’s been
  playing tabletop role-playing games since 1982
  and launched Wyrmworks Publishing as a hobby
  in 2001 to share his homebrew resources with
  the world. In 2021, after seeing the power that a
  TTRPG group can have to change the lives of the
  participants for the better, he rededicated
  Wyrmworks Publishing to focus on using
  TTRPGs to intentionally improve the lives of
  others and turned a hobby into a full time
  pursuit.
    
    
  
  
  What happens when people decide to level up
  their play by using the game to improve the lives
  of others? And how can YOU do the same with
  your game? Subscribe via YouTube / Podcast
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Adventures/D&D 5E Adventures/Accessible Adventure of the Week/Accessible Adventure of the Week - The Ember Elk.pdf