TEXT: The Dark Watchman
  The Dark Watchman
  The Dark Watchman
  The Dark Watchman
  The Dark Watchman
  
  T
      
      
  his adventure is one piece of a movement within the D&D community to invite, encourage, and include those who have not been
  both in the RPG community and nearly everywhere in real life. Wyrmworks Publishing is dedicated to using RPGs
  to help you make lives better, to provide tools, training, and a community to this end. We believe that this will extend
  far beyond the ever-growing RPG community as more and more people learn, grow, and give and receive
  acceptance. If you want to help make that happen, we invite you to support the Wyrmworks Publishing Patreon at
  https://patreon.com/wyrmworkspublishing and enjoy the additional benefits we offer to our patrons. All of our
  Wyrmling-level patrons ($9/month) get free access to our entire library, and we have other levels to get live access to
  our works in progress. 4K Combat Maps for this and other Adventures of the Week are available free to all patrons or for purchase
  from our map store.
  Sign up for our newsletter at https://wyrmworkspublishing.com to get a free subclass immediately and a lots of other
  free tips and resources!
  Wyrmworkspublishing.com is the first place to get notified when our compendium of comprehensive game mechanics
  for including characters with disabilities, mental illness, and neurodivergence in fifth edition goes live on Kickstarter.
     
     
  These adventures are designed to explore disability concepts, so some may be surprised that this adventure uses a ladder instead
  of a ramp. This choice was made to highlight Wynford's capability as an archer with the effect of the giant spider dropping. The
  Dungeon Master is welcome to modify that narrative for characters or player sensibilities that prefer a ramp spiraling through the
  Watchman. We have included ramp-based alternative maps in our battle map collection.
    
    
  This adventure includes topics of violence, death, and spiders.
  2
  
     
     
   
   
  A
  s the river carves its way through the marsh, the
  Watchman, a 500 foot tall lighthouse overlooks
  the passing ships, lighting their way and
  alerting them to dangers that would lurk in the
  shadows. But what happens when the shadows
  extinguish the light, and what purpose do they
  have?
  This adventure is designed for a party of characters around
  the third through fifth level with a combined total of about 20
  levels.
   
   
   
    
    
  The Watchman is a lighthouse overlooking a canal that’s a
  major commercial thoroughfare. The lighthouse allows for
  safe travel at night by allowing sailors to see other ships in
  the canal and any danger coming from the land. The light in
  the Watchman was lit by a trapped fire elemental, but the
  light recently went out.
  The light was extinguished by a darkling raiding party who
  released the elemental, which fell into the water and was
  carried by the current downstream until presumably
  extinguished. The darklings plan to hijack a merchant ship
  containing artwork.
  3
   
   
  Medium monstrosity, neutral evil
  Armor Class 12
  Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
  Speed 40 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  16 (+3)
  14 (+2)
  13 (+1)
  5 (-3)
  12 (+1)
  5 (-3)
  Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
  from nonmagical attacks while in dim light or
  darkness
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
  Languages —
  Challenge 2 (450 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +2
  Ethereal Awareness. The shadow mastiff can see
  ethereal creatures and objects.
  Keen Hearing and Smell. The shadow mastiff has
  advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on
  hearing or smell.
  Shadow Blend. While in dim light or darkness, the
  shadow mastiff can use a bonus action to become
  invisible, along with anything it is wearing or carrying.
  The invisibility lasts until the shadow mastiff uses a
  bonus action to end it or until the shadow mastiff
  attacks, is in bright light, or is incapacitated.
  Sunlight Weakness. While in bright light created by
  sunlight, the shadow mastiff has disadvantage on attack
  rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
  Actions
  Actions
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage. If the target
  is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength
  saving throw or be knocked prone.
  
  4
   
   
  Medium humanoid (human), lawful good
  Armor Class 12
  Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  11 (+0) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 13 (+1) 11 (+0)
  Skills Nature +4, Perception +5, Stealth +6, Survival
  +5
  Senses passive Perception 15
  Languages any one language (usually Common)
  Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
  Keen Hearing and Sight. Wynford has advantage on
  Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or
  sight.
  Stiff Neck and Back (Severity Degree 3). Your neck
  and back muscles are stiff, resulting in pain when
  moved sharply or quickly. Whenever anything jarring
  happens to your body (e.g. attempting a Strength or
  Dexterity check or saving throw, taking damage),
  you need to succeed on a DC 8 + (Severity Degree)
  × 2 Constitution saving throw. Failure results in
  taking 1 level of exhaustion until you take a short
  rest. This stiffness limits your head and neck
  movement, so you have −1 per Severity Degree
  penalty on all Wisdom (Perception) checks involving
  vision against Dexterity (Stealth).
  Actions
  Actions
  Multiattack. Wynford makes two melee attacks or
  two ranged attacks.
  Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach
  5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
  Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged
  150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing
  damage.
  
  5
    
    
  Medium beast, unaligned
  Armor Class 13
  Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)
  Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  12 (+1) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 3 (-4) 12 (+1) 4 (-3)
  Skills Perception +3, Stealth +7
  Senses blindsight 10 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive
  Perception 13
  Languages —
  Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
  Spider Climb. The spider can climb difficult surfaces,
  including upside down on ceilings, without needing
  to make an ability check.
  Web Sense. While in contact with a web, the spider
  knows the exact location of any other creature in
  contact with the same web.
  Web Walker. The spider ignores movement
  restrictions caused by webbing.
  Actions
  Actions
  Bite. Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  creature. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage, and the
  target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving
  throw, taking 7 (2d6) poison damage on a failed
  save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If
  the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit
  points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour,
  even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed
  while poisoned in this way.
   
   
  Large elemental, neutral
  Armor Class 13
  Hit Points 102 (12d10 + 36)
  Speed 50 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  10 (+0) 17 (+3) 16 (+3) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and
  slashing from nonmagical attacks
  Damage Immunities fire, poison
  Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled,
  paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained,
  unconscious
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages Ignan
  Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +3
  Fire Form. The elemental can move through a space
  as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. A
  creature that touches the elemental or hits it with a
  melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10)
  fire damage. In addition, the elemental can enter a
  hostile creature's space and stop there. The first
  time it enters a creature's space on a turn, that
  creature takes 5 (1d10) fire damage and catches
  fire; until someone takes an action to douse the fire,
  the creature takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start
  of each of its turns.
  Illumination. The elemental sheds bright light in a
  30-foot radius and dim light in an additional 30 feet.
  Water Susceptibility. For every 5 feet the elemental
  moves in water, or for every gallon of water splashed
  on it, it takes 1 cold damage.
  Actions
  Actions
  Multiattack. The elemental makes two touch attacks.
  Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft.,
  one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) fire damage. If the
  target is a creature or a flammable object, it ignites.
  Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the
  target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of
  each of its turns.
  
  6
  
  
  Small fey, chaotic neutral
  Armor Class 14 (leather armor)
  Hit Points 13 (3d6 + 3)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  9 (-1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 10 (+0)
  Skills Acrobatics +5, Deception +2, Perception +5,
  Stealth +7
  Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive
  Perception 15
  Languages Elvish, Sylvan
  Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +2
  Death Flash. When the darkling dies, nonmagical
  light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its
  body and possessions, other than metal or magic
  objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area and
  able to see the bright light must succeed on a DC
  10 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the
  end of the creature's next turn.
  Light Sensitivity. While in bright light, the darkling
  has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on
  Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
  Actions
  Actions
  Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
  reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4
  + 3) piercing damage. If the darkling has advantage
  on the attack roll, the attack deals an extra 7 (2d6)
  piercing damage.
   
   
  Medium fey, chaotic neutral
  Armor Class 15 (studded leather armor)
  Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  13 (+1) 17 (+3) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 13 (+1)
  Skills Acrobatics +5, Deception +3, Perception +6,
  Stealth +7
  Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive
  Perception 16
  Languages Elvish, Sylvan
  Challenge 2 (450 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +2
  Death Burn. When the darkling elder dies, magical
  light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its
  body and possessions, other than metal or magic
  objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area must
  make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw. On a
  failure, the creature takes 7 (2d6) radiant damage
  and, if the creature can see the light, is blinded until
  the end of its next turn. If the saving throw is
  successful, the creature takes half the damage and
  isn't blinded.
  Actions
  Actions
  Multiattack. The darkling elder makes two melee
  attacks.
  Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
  5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage. If
  the darkling elder had advantage on the attack roll,
  the attack deals as: extra 10 (3d6) piercing damage.
  Darkness (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). The
  darkling elder casts darkness without any
  components. Wisdom is its spellcasting ability.
  
   
   
  The characters get drawn into this adventure as they cross
  the marsh by the attack of the shadow mastiffs.
    
    
  This adventure can be tucked into any existing campaign as a
  side-quest or one-shot. It takes place in a swamp or marsh
  with a river used for trade.
  In The Forgotten Realms, this fits well in Lizard Marsh,
  south of Waterdeep, or the Marsh of Chelimber on the
  eastern side of The High Moor. In Eberron, the Watchman
  may stand over the Shadow Marches along the Glum River.
   
   
  As the party crosses the marsh, a pack of 4 shadow mastiffs
  attacks.
  As you cross the marsh, you see a huge figure up ahead.
  Initially, it looked like a giant, but it’s not moving, yet the
  shape of what must be a 500 foot tower looks almost
  humanoid. As you ponder this shadowy figure, the shadows
  around you seem to move on their own and let loose a baleful
  howl. The next moment, the shadows leap at you, snarling.
  As the characters battle the shadow mastiffs, a humanoid
  figure approaches from the direction of the tower. He reaches
  a distance of 150 feet from the fray at the third round and
  fires an arrow at the nearest shadow mastiff, offering
  continuing assistance until the mastiffs no longer pose a
  threat.
    
    
  
  
  Once the battle ends, the archer, Wynford Teague, introduces
  himself to the party and invites them back to the Watchman
  for a rest.
  As you near the massive stone tower, which appears to be a
  statue of a hooded person holding a walking staff and a
  lantern, standing impossibly tall on such soft ground, you
  smell, over the mold and mud of the marsh, something like
  baking bread. Wynford invites you in, and as soon as the
  wooden door opens, the smell of baking barley bread wafts
  out. “Right, then,” he says, “Not much for furniture ‘ere, but
  the floor’s dry, anyway.”
  7
  
  The 200 foot diameter round stone room with a twenty-five
  foot ceiling consists of a straw sleeping mat that’s inclined on
  a wooden frame, a wooden table with two wooden chairs that
  don’t quite sit level, a stone hearth, a few wooden cabinets,
  and two bookshelves. The bookshelves are full of neatly
  arranged books on the top shelves, and the bottom shelves
  are mostly empty with a few books strewn haphazardly on
  them. The books cover a range of topics on local history,
  geography, and legends. Opposite the hearth, a rusty iron
  ladder leads through a hole in the ceiling. Wynford’s bow and
  quiver lean against the wall by the hearth.
  Wynford had just finished cooking a loaf of barley bread,
  which is still slightly warm. He shares it as he throws some
  turnips, leeks, and parsnips into a kettle to make soup, which
  he will serve from wooden bowls when it finishes cooking.
  The party may notice that he always keeps his back straight,
  has trouble bending over, and when he turns to look at
  someone, he turns his whole body, not just his neck.
  If asked about himself, he tells the party that he’s the
  lighthouse caretaker. “They just keep me ‘ere t’ clean up
  cobwebs an’ swat spiders, but the ship traffic passes th’ day,
  an’ nary a cap’n passes without a moment o’ convers’n.”
  As the party eats and tends to any necessary wounds,
  Wynford suddenly grabs his bow, and in one fluid movement,
  fires a shot at the top of the ladder. A giant wolf spider about
  the same size as the dogs they were fighting. It falls to the
  ground, dead. He winces in pain and starts shuffling over to
  the sleeping mat. “Yup, swatt’n spiders. Looks like meat’s on
  the menu for breakfast. Been more o’ that since the light
  went out. I c’n ‘ear the skitters. Gonna need t’rest the back
  now though.” He slowly lowers himself onto the mat, wincing
  again and again, and breathing a sigh of relief once he settles
  in.
  If asked about the light, Wynford explains that the lantern
  was brightly lit by a trapped fire elemental until just a few
  days ago. “I’d climb up’n check it, but with them creepers up
  there, I want to see where I’m goin’, an’ m’neck don’ go up.”
  If asked about his neck and back, he says, “I just woke up
  with it sore one day. Don’ know why, but ’ere we are, ’n I get
  along jus’ fine mos’ the time. You mind grabbin’ m’bow &
  quiver t’me in case we get more fuzzy guests?”
    
    
  Whoever in the party has the highest passive (Wisdom)
  Perception hears voices coming from the hole. If asked about
  them, Wynford says, “Y’know, I thought I ’eard somep’n last
  night, but I fig’d I dreamt it. I don’t recall spiders chatterin’
  like ’at. Mus’ be some’n up there. Maybe they have somep’n
  t’do wit’ d’light goin’ out. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in
  a little recon? I’d put in a good word wit’ the magistrate for
  yeh.”
  The Watchman consists of twenty stories, each twenty-five
  feet, connected by iron ladders mounted to the wall. Most of
  the levels are empty except for large spider webs and an
  occasional rusty bucket, rotted mop or broom, broken oil
  flasks, and moldy rags. The party encounters another giant
  wolf spider on the seventh, ninth, and fourteenth floors. The
  spiders have webs attached to the ladders and will sense the
  party’s approach. They will attack each member of the party
  as they come up through the hole.
  The 15th story has a long hallway (the arm of the
  Watchman) that slopes upward, where 4 darklings and 1
  darkling elder lie in wait, ready to ambush the party as they
  come up.
  If the party manages to communicate with the darklings, a
  successful Charisma (Intimidation) check will reveal that the
  darklings released the elemental, causing it to fall into the
  river below, and the current washed it away. “Nothing like a
  little water to knock out that scintilla!” Whenever the
  darklings speak, as lovers of all things beautiful, they describe
  everything with vivid sensory descriptions.
  The darklings had planned to wreck a ship in the darkness,
  specifically the Fisgard, which is due to come through
  tomorrow night, filled with works of art.
  The darklings have 13 gp among them in pouches if
  searched.
    
    
  Once the darklings are defeated, if the party searches the
  arm, they will discover a brass amulet cemented into the wall
  at the end of the hallway. A wizard will be able to use it to
  summon a new fire elemental and bind it to the lantern.
  Attempts to remove the amulet from the wall will destroy it.
  8
  
   
   
  Once the party comes back down, they begin to smell smoke
  around the fifth floor, which is almost unbreathable by the
  time they get to the bottom. Wynford is standing in the
  doorway, bow in hand, and says, “Y’ave m’ gratitude, an’ I
  wanna ’ear the tale o’ what ’app’n’d upward, but looks like the
  ol’ lan’rn fire came back to roost ’r somep’n. Y’got anythin’ left
  t’ put out a fire now’t y’got another lit?”
  The fire elemental survived the river and has returned to
  get revenge on anyone and anything around the Watchman.
  Its fire is burning the wet vegetation of the swamp, causing
  massive smoke. All characters have disadvantage on Wisdom
  (Perception) checks, and every round, all characters must
  succeed on a DC 8 Constitution saving throw or gain one
  level of exhaustion from smoke inhalation. Wynford will lend
  his aid with his bow as soon as the elemental is in range.
  
  
  Once everything calms down, Wynford will offer to let the
  party get some rest at the Watchman with the promise of
  spider stew for brunch.
  9
  
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Lead writer, editor & developer: Dale Critchley
  Artwork public domain
  Watchman by Stefan Keller from Pixabay
  Shadow Mastiff modiﬁed from Herbert Aust from Pixabay
  Archer by marla66 from Pixabay
  Wolf Spider by lolaclinton 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
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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 Dark Watchman.pdf