TEXT:  
   
  A Hole in the World 
   
  Threats from outside Melvaunt and within push heroes to the brink as a terrified populace 
  counts on the bravery of a few heroes to avert total disaster. Part Three of The Chaos in 
  Melvaunt. 
   
   
  A four-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters 
   
   
  Christopher Sniezak 
  Adventure Designer 
  Adventure Code: CORE 1-3 
   
   
  Producer: Baldman Games 
  Core Administrator: Shawn Merwin 
  Development, Editing, and Layout: Encoded Designs 
  Cartography: Andrew Smith 
  Organized Play: Chris Lindsay  
  D&D Adventurers League Wizards Team: Adam Lee, Chris Lindsay, Matt Sernett  
  D&D Adventurers League Administrators: Robert Adducci, Bill Benham, Travis Woodall, Claire Hoffman, Greg Marks, Alan 
  Patrick 
   
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  express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. 
   
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  Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. 
   
   
  
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  CORE 1-3 A Hole in the World 
  2 
  Introduction 
  Welcome to A Hole in the World, a D&D Adventurers 
  League adventure, Part Three of The Chaos in 
  Melvaunt Trilogy. 
   This adventure is designed for three to seven 1st-
  4th level characters, and is optimized for five 3rd-
  level characters. 
   The adventure is set in the Moonsea region of the 
  Forgotten Realms, in the city of Melvaunt. 
  The D&D Adventurers League 
  This adventure is official for D&D Adventurers 
  League play. The D&D Adventurers League is the 
  official organized play system for DUNGEONS & 
  DRAGONS®. Players can create characters and 
  participate in any adventure allowed as a part of the 
  D&D Adventurers League. As they adventure, 
  players track their characters’ experience, treasure, 
  and other rewards, and can take those characters 
  through other adventures that continues their story.  
   If you’re running this adventure as a part of a store 
  event or at certain conventions, you’ll need a DCI 
  number. This number is your official Wizards of the 
  Coast organized play identifier. If you don’t have a 
  number, you can obtain one at a store event. Check 
  with your organizer for details.  
   D&D Adventurers League play is broken up into 
  storyline seasons. When players create characters, 
  they attach those characters to a storyline season, 
  which determines what rules they’re allowed to use 
  to create and advance their characters. Players can 
  continue to play their characters after the storyline 
  season has finished, possibly participating in a 
  second or third storyline with those same characters. 
  A character’s level is the only limitation for 
  adventure play. A player cannot use a character of a 
  level higher or lower than the level range of a D&D 
  Adventurers League adventure.  
   For more information on playing, running games 
  as a Dungeon Master, and organizing games for the 
  D&D Adventurers League, please visit the D&D 
  Adventurers League home at: 
   
  www.dndadventurersleague.org 
   
  Preparing the Adventure 
  Before you show up to Dungeon Master this 
  adventure for a group of players, you should do the 
  following to prepare. 
   Make sure to have a copy of the most current 
  version of the D&D Basic Rules or the Player’s 
  Handbook.  
   Read through the adventure, taking notes of 
  anything you’d like to highlight or remind yourself 
  while running the adventure, such as a way you’d 
  like to portray an NPC or a tactic you’d like to use 
  in a combat.  
   Get familiar with the monster statistics in the 
  Appendix.  
   Gather together any resources you’d like to use to 
  aid you in running this adventure--such as 
  notecards, a DM screen, miniatures, and 
  battlemaps.  
   If you know the composition of the group 
  beforehand, you can make adjustments as noted 
  throughout the adventure.  
  Before Play at the Table 
  Ask the players to provide you with relevant 
  character information: 
   Character name and level  
   Character race and class  
   Passive Wisdom (Perception)—the most common 
  passive ability check  
   Anything notable as specified by the adventure 
  (such as backgrounds, traits, flaws, etc.)  
  Players that have characters outside the adventure’s 
  level range cannot participate in the adventure 
  with those characters. Players with ineligible 
  characters can make a new 1st-level character or use 
  a pregenerated character. Players can play an 
  adventure they previously played or ran as a 
  Dungeon Master, but not with the same character.  
   Ensure that each player has an official adventure 
  logsheet for his or her character (if not, get one from 
  the organizer). The player fills out the adventure 
  name, session number, date, and your name and DCI 
  number. In addition, the player also fills in the 
  starting values for experience, gold, downtime, 
  renown, and number of permanent magic items. He 
  or she fill in the other values and write notes at the 
  conclusion of the session. Each player is responsible 
  for maintaining an accurate logsheet.  
   If you have time, you can do a quick scan of a 
  player’s character sheet to ensure that nothing looks 
  out of order. If you see magic items of very high 
  rarities or strange arrays of ability scores, you can 
  ask players to provide documentation for the 
  irregularities. If they cannot, feel free to restrict item 
  use or ask them to use a standard ability score array. 
  Point players to the D&D Adventurers League Player’s 
  Guide for reference.  
   If players wish to spend downtime days and it’s 
  the beginning of an adventure or episode, they can 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  3 
  declare their activity and spend the days now. 
  Alternatively, they can do so at the end of the 
  adventure or episode. Players should select their 
  characters’ spells and other daily options prior to 
  the start of the adventure, unless the adventure 
  specifies otherwise. Feel free to reread the 
  adventure description to help give players hints 
  about what they might face. 
  Adjusting the Adventure 
  Throughout this adventure, you may see sidebars to 
  help make adjustments for smaller/larger groups, 
  and characters of higher/lower levels than the 
  optimized group.  Most of the time, this is used for 
  combat encounters. 
   You may adjust the adventure beyond the 
  guidelines given. For example, if you’re playing with 
  a group of inexperienced players, you might want to 
  make the adventure a little easier; for very 
  experienced players, you may want to make it a little 
  harder.  Therefore, five categories of party strength 
  have been created for you to use as a guide. Feel free 
  to use a different adjustment during the adventure if 
  the recommended party strength feels off for the 
  group. 
   This adventure is optimized for a party of five 
  3rd-level characters. To figure out whether you 
  need to adjust the adventure, do the following: 
   Add up the total levels of all the characters 
   Divide the total by the number of characters 
   Round fractions of .5 or greater up; round 
  fractions of less than .5 down 
   
  You’ve now determined the average party level 
  (APL) for the adventure.  To figure out the party 
  strength for the adventure, consult the following 
  table: 
  Determining Party Strength 
  Party Composition 
   
  Party Strength 
  3-4 characters, APL less than 
  Very Weak 
  3-4 characters, APL equivalent 
  Weak 
  3-4 characters, APL greater than 
  Average 
  5 characters, APL less than 
  Weak 
  5 characters, APL equivalent 
  Average 
  5 characters, APL greater than 
  Strong 
  6-7 characters, APL less than 
  Average 
  6-7 characters, APL equivalent 
  Strong 
  6-7 characters, APL greater than 
  Very Strong 
  Running the Adventure 
  As the Dungeon Master of the session, you have the 
  most important role in facilitating the enjoyment of 
  the game for the players. You help guide the 
  narrative and bring the words on these pages to life. 
  The outcome of a fun game session often creates 
  stories that live well beyond the play at the table. 
  Always follow this golden rule when you DM for a 
  group:  
   Make decisions and adjudications that enhance 
  the fun of the adventure when possible.  
   To reinforce this golden rule, keep in mind the 
  following: 
   You are empowered to make adjustments to the 
  adventure and make decisions about how the 
  group interacts with the world of this adventure. 
  Doing so is especially important and applicable 
  outside of combat, but feel free to adjust the 
  adventure for groups that are having too easy or 
  too hard of a time.  
   Don’t make the adventure too easy or too difficult 
  for a group. Never being challenged makes for a 
  boring game and being overwhelmed makes for a 
  frustrating one. Gauge the experience of the 
  players (not the characters) with the game, try to 
  feel out (or ask) what they like in a game, and 
  attempt to give each of them the experience 
  they’re after when they play D&D. Give everyone a 
  chance to shine.  
   Be mindful of pacing, and keep the game session 
  moving along appropriately. Watch for stalling, 
  since play loses momentum when this happens. At 
  the same time, make sure that the players don’t 
  finish too early; provide them with a full play 
  experience. Try to be aware of running long or 
  short. Adjust the pacing accordingly  
   Read-aloud text is just a suggestion; feel free to 
  modify the text as you see fit, especially when 
  dialogue is present.  
   Give the players appropriate hints so they can 
  make informed choices about how to proceed. 
  Players should be given clues and hints when 
  appropriate so they can tackle puzzles, combat, 
  and interactions without getting frustrated over 
  lack of information. Doing so helps to encourage 
  immersion in the adventure and gives players 
  “little victories” for figuring out good choices from 
  clues.  
  In short, being the DM isn’t about following the 
  adventure’s text word-for-word; it’s about 
  facilitating a fun, challenging game environment for 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  4 
  the players. The Dungeon Master’s Guide™ has more 
  information on the art of running a D&D game. 
  Downtime and Lifestyle 
  At the beginning of each play session, players must 
  declare whether or not they are spending any days 
  of downtime. The player records the downtime 
  spent on the adventure logsheet. The following 
  options are available to players during downtime 
  (see the D&D basic rules or the D&D Adventurers 
  League Player’s Guide for more information): 
   Catching up 
   Crafting (exception: multiple characters cannot 
  commit to crafting a single item)  
   Practicing a profession  
   Recuperating  
   Spellcasting services  
   Training  
  Other downtime options might be available during 
  adventures or unlocked through play, including 
  faction-specific activities.  
   In addition, whenever a character spends 
  downtime days, that character also spends the 
  requisite expense for his or her lifestyle. Costs are 
  per day, so a character that spends ten days of 
  downtime also spends ten days of expenses 
  maintaining his or her lifestyle. Some downtime 
  activities help with lifestyle expenses or add lifestyle 
  expenses. 
  Spellcasting Services 
  Any settlement the size of a town or larger can 
  provide some spellcasting services. Characters need 
  to be able to travel to the settlement to obtain these 
  services. 
   Spell services generally available include healing 
  and recovery spells, as well as information-gathering 
  spells. Other spell services might be available as 
  specified in the adventure. The number of spells 
  available to be cast as a service is limited to a 
  maximum of three per day total, unless otherwise 
  noted. 
  Spellcasting Services  
  Spell  
   
   
   
  Cost  
  Cure wounds (1st level)  
   
  10 gp  
  Identify   
   
   
  20 gp  
  Lesser restoration  
   
  40 gp  
  Prayer of healing (2nd level)  
  40 gp  
  Remove curse  
   
   
  90 gp  
  Speak with dead   
   
  90 gp  
  Divination  
   
   
  210 gp  
  Greater restoration  
   
  450 gp  
  Raise dead  
   
   
  1,250 gp 
  Acolyte Background  
  A character possessing the acolyte background requesting 
  spellcasting services at a temple of his or her faith may 
  request one spell per day from the Spellcasting Services table 
  for free. The only cost paid for the spell is the base price for 
  the consumed material component, if any.  
  Disease, Death, and Recovery 
  Sometimes bad things happen, and characters get 
  poisoned, diseased, or are killed. Since you might not 
  have the same characters return from session to 
  session, here are the rules when bad things happen 
  to characters.  
  Disease, Poison, and Other Debilitating 
  Effects  
  A character still affected by diseases, poisons, and 
  other similar effects at the conclusion of an 
  adventure can spend downtime days recuperating 
  until such time as he or she resolves the effect to its 
  conclusion (see the recuperating activity in the D&D 
  Basic Rules).  
   If a character doesn’t resolve the effect between 
  sessions, that character begins the next session still 
  affected by the debilitating effect.  
  Death  
  A character who is killed during the course of the 
  adventure has a few options at the end of the session 
  (or whenever arriving back in civilization) if no one 
  in the adventuring party has immediate access to a 
  raise dead or revivify spell, or similar magic. A 
  character subject to a raise dead spell is affected 
  negatively until all long rests have been completed 
  during an adventure. Alternatively, each downtime 
  day spent after raise dead reduces the penalty to 
  attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks by 1, in 
  addition to any other benefits the downtime activity 
  might provide.  
   Create a New 1st-Level Character. If the dead 
  character is unwilling or unable to exercise any of 
  the other options, the player creates a new character. 
  The new character does not have any items or 
  rewards possessed by the dead character.  
   Dead Character Pays for Raise Dead. If the 
  character’s body is recoverable (it’s not missing any 
  vital organs and is mostly whole) and the player 
  would like the character to be returned to life, the 
  party can take the body back to civilization and use 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  5 
  the dead character’s funds to pay for a raise dead 
  spell. A raise dead spell cast in this manner costs the 
  character 1,250 gp.  
   Character’s Party Pays for Raise Dead. As above, 
  except that some or all of the 1,250 gp for the raise 
  dead spell is paid for by the party at the end of the 
  session. Other characters are under no obligation to 
  spend their funds to bring back a dead party 
  member. 
   Faction Charity. If the character is of level 1 to 4 
  and a member of a faction, the dead character’s body 
  can be returned to civilization and a patron from the 
  faction ensures that he or she receives a raise dead 
  spell. However, any character invoking this charity 
  forfeits all experience and rewards from that session 
  (both those earned prior to and after death during 
  that session) and cannot replay that episode or 
  adventure with that character again. Once a 
  character reaches 5th level, this option is no longer 
  available. 
  Adventure Background 
  Davol Port, one of the Merchant Lords of Melvaunt, 
  has made a deal with Zarhaug, the Orc Baron of Thar. 
  The deal is simple but terrible: Davol will facilitate 
  the orc army’s entrance into Melvaunt so Zarhaug’s 
  forces can sack the city. In exchange, Baron Zarhaug 
  has assisted Davol’s workers in securing several 
  mining deposits in the West Galena Mountains, while 
  destroying any competition in the area. 
   Meanwhile, a modron army in Mechanus is 
  gearing up to emerge through a portal in Melvaunt 
  to attack the city. To make matters worse, any 
  attempts to eliminate the portal are met with 
  resistance by Thomas Druat, another of the 
  Merchant Lords. He wishes to use the portal to open 
  trade with far-away lands. 
   Melvaunt is caught between a rock and a hard 
  place, but a group of adventurers who’ve found 
  themselves caught up in something larger than they 
  expected – and a Red Wizard interested in studying 
  portals and the planes – might be the last hope for a 
  city under siege from without and within. 
  Adventure Overview 
  The adventurers attend a meeting of the Merchant 
  Lords of Melvaunt. If they played either of the 
  previous adventures in the series (CORE1-1 A 
  Scream in the Night or CORE1-2 A Cog in the Wheel) 
  they have been invited by Captain Eledstra of 
  Melvaunt. If not, they are invited by friends or 
  faction allies to attend the meeting. 
   After relating their story (or hearing the story 
  from others), the adventurers watch as the Merchant 
  Lords decide the walls will hold the against the orcs, 
  making the portal the priority problem. The Council 
  decides to consult a Red Wizard currently residing in 
  Melvaunt, who may be able to assist with the 
  problem posed by the portal. 
   Once the meeting is over, Captain Eledstra asks 
  the adventurers to look some orcs who have been 
  seen around the city. Davol Port, one of the Merchant 
  Lords of Melvaunt, pulls the adventurers aside and 
  asks them to instead look into the Red Wizard whom 
  the council is planning to consult, believing the 
  controversial Red Wizards might not have the best 
  interests of Melvaunt at heart. 
   From there the adventurers either look into the 
  orcs or the Red Wizard. Their choice has 
  consequences as the problems in the city escalate. A 
  timer ticks down as the orc army approaches and 
  the portal slowly widens. Stopping the orcs first 
  means dealing with the modrons later, while dealing 
  with the portal first means dealing with more orcs 
  later.  
   The final encounter involves a battle in the streets 
  of Melvaunt for the city. Maybe the orcs sack 
  Melvaunt? Maybe the modrons gain a foothold in the 
  city?  Maybe those clever adventurers will figure out 
  how to get the modrons and orcs to fight each other 
  and save the people from a terrible fate? This 
  determines the city’s immediate future. 
  Adventure Hooks 
  If any of the adventurers have played CORE1-2 A Cog 
  in the Wheel, they know what is happening in 
  Mechanus and have already reported to Captain 
  Eledstra, who invites them to a meeting of the 
  Merchant Lords of Melvaunt to report their findings. 
   If none of the adventurers have played the 
  previous adventure, read: 
  You have an adventurer friend who sent you a message 
  asking you to meet her at the Blank Board Inn. You arrived 
  there and let the innkeeper know who you were looking for. 
  He hands you a message: 
   
   “Sorry I couldn’t be there to meet you in person. Things 
  are about to go a little crazy in Melvaunt. I know people who 
  know people, and they are telling me that multiple threats 
  are bearing down on the city. There is a meeting of the 
  Merchant Lords this morning. Make sure you attend, because 
  there will certainly be work there.” 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  6 
  Alternatively, you could ask a player the following 
  questions before reading the passage: 
   You have a friend in Melvaunt. What’s their name? 
   You owe them a favor for saving your life. What 
  did they save you from? 
  Part 1 – A Meeting of Lords 
  Purpose. This meeting allows the characters to 
  relate what they learned about the modrons’ plans 
  to the Council of Lords, hear what the Lords’ plans 
  are, learn about the approaching orc army, get the 
  request from Captain Eledstra about the orc sappers, 
  and hear the other request from Merchant Lord 
  Davol Port about the Red Wizard. 
   When this encounter is over, the adventurers 
  should know their options. 
  The Meeting of Lords 
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
  The hall of the Council of Lords is filled with decorative 
  polished wooden chairs and long semicircular tables on 
  several levels, creating an amphitheater centering on the 
  seat of the Lord of Keys. Many of the seats are filled with 
  well-dressed merchants of the city. Some you’ve seen, while 
  others you know by reputation only. All are wealthy to one 
  degree or another. 
   
  Captain Eledstra is there and beckons you to her side. 
  “Thank you for being here. Once we get things going, I’ll need 
  you to tell the council what you learned. You can sit here 
  until then.” 
   
  The meeting begins with the Lord of Keys, Trethon Bruil, 
  entering the room and standing at his chair, illuminated by 
  the morning light streaming in through the windows. “We’re 
  going to dispense with normal proceedings because we have 
  several pressing problems to deal with.” 
   
  The Lords murmur at this, uncomfortable with the break in 
  protocol. The Lord of Keys continues. “We have an orc army 
  approaching.” There are more murmurs and some grumbling.  
  “We also have another problem. A portal to another plane of 
  existence is inside Melvaunt’s walls, and it also is a threat. I’m 
  told these adventurers have been to the other side of the 
  portal and back again. Would you please care to let us know 
  what dangers threaten us from within our walls? 
  The Lord of Keys gives the floor to the adventurers 
  so they can tell the council what they found. Use the 
  Lord of Keys, Davol Port, or Thomas Druat to ask 
  questions that help fill in any gaps in the story they 
  miss. 
   If none of the adventurers at your table played the 
  previous adventure, another adventurer steps forth 
  to provide the details. 
   The meeting continues after this and the following 
  points are made and agreed upon: 
   An advance guard of the orc army will be at 
  Melvaunt just after sundown. 
   The orcs won’t be able to break through the walls 
  as long as Melvaunt’s forces are waiting for them. 
   The portal is the more serious problem at the 
  moment. 
   There is a Red Wizard in Melvaunt who is said to 
  be knowledgeable in planar matters, and she 
  might be able to assist in gauging the portal’s 
  threat. 
   The council decides to approach the Red Wizard 
  for help, and Council member Thomas Druat will 
  take the lead on gaining the Red Wizard’s 
  assistance. 
   
  The Lord of Keys then adjourns the meeting and the 
  Lords disperse. 
  Where are S133P13 and Truushee the Sage? 
  In the previous adventure, the characters may have made the 
  acquaintance of a malfunctioning quadrone called S133P13 
  and a half-orc sage called Truushee. Both of them are still in 
  Melvaunt. Captain Eledstra thought that bringing a modron 
  and a half-orc to a meeting discussing threats posed by 
  modrons and orcs might be counterproductive. They are 
  being kept in a safe location for the time being. 
  The Captain’s Request 
  Captain Eledstra pulls the adventurers aside and 
  asks them if they can help with a problem that she 
  doesn’t want to make public.  
   Last night a group of orcs were found within the 
  city walls, trying to sabotage one of the walls with a 
  magical scroll. Although the orcs were killed, it 
  appears they were waiting for a signal to destroy the 
  wall. That signal would probably be the arrival of the 
  orc advance guard. 
   Captain Eledstra strongly believes that more orcs 
  are hiding within the city, waiting to sabotage the 
  wall from the inside. Superintendent Lahn Joden of 
  the City Watch believes that the threat has been 
  averted and instead has his forces doing other tasks. 
  Eledstra asks the adventurers to search for more 
  orcs in the city. Their first step is to find Lieutenant 
  Drake Liston, one of the watch members stationed at 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  7 
  the North Gate guard post. He’s running down leads 
  and can provide the adventurers with more 
  information. Eledstra cannot pay the adventurers 
  now, but if the lead turns out to be true, she can pay 
  them a reward later. She cannot commit to an 
  amount. 
  Roleplaying Captain Eledstra 
  LeCampe Eledstra is a human of late middle age. She’s a 
  decent woman who takes her job of protecting Melvaunt’s 
  ordinary citizens seriously. Eledstra is tall, thin, and lanky 
  with a shock of unruly white hair through which she runs her 
  fingers constantly whenever she’s trying to think. She is very 
  bad at playing political games, which is why she only just got 
  promoted to Captain despite her many years of service in the 
  City Watch. She knows this promotion means that she will be 
  the scapegoat if things go terribly wrong. 
   
  Quote: “Between the politicians and the external threats, I 
  have no idea how Melvaunt is still standing.” 
  Davol Port’s Request 
  After the adventurers are done talking with Captain 
  Eledstra, Davol Port asks if he may speak with them 
  for a moment. Davol asks if the adventurers would 
  look into the Red Wizard who is being asked to help 
  with the portal. He doesn’t believe any Red Wizard 
  has the best interests of the city of Melvaunt in mind, 
  and he will pay the adventurers 200 gp right now to 
  discover if the Red Wizard has any nefarious plans.  
  Roleplaying the Davol Port 
  Davol is a fit man, stout, well-groomed and finely clothed, 
  with a deep voice. He’s warm and yet forward about what he 
  wants or would like people to do for him. He doesn’t mince 
  words but is a businessman first, treating most things in life 
  as a transaction: payment for service and service for 
  payment. 
  Conclusion 
  When this encounter is over, the adventurers should 
  know the following: 
   It’s still morning. 
   There’s an orc army on its way, and it will be here 
  soon. 
   They have been requested to deal with orc 
  sappers in the city. 
   They have been requested to discover if the Red 
  Wizard has any ill intentions for the city of 
  Melvaunt. 
  Choices 
  The choices the adventurers make here influence 
  how things play out in the final confrontations. Also 
  the countdown clock begins, putting pressure on the 
  adventurers to act quickly and decisively. 
  Paths 
  There are two paths the adventurers can take during 
  this part of the adventure. They can hunt down the 
  orc sappers or they can look into the Red Wizard and 
  the portal. They can even jump back and forth 
  between the two paths, but if they do they’ll 
  probably not have enough time to handle everything 
  before the orc army arrives and the modrons attack 
  through the portal. 
  The Timer 
  There is a map at the back of this adventure that has 
  several circular spaces on it, depicting a path leading 
  to the city of Melvaunt. Please put this on the table 
  now and put a marker in the farthest outlying circle. 
  That is the orc army tracker.  
   From now on, at the end of every encounter, move 
  the orc army one step closer to the city. Reminders 
  are within the encounters, but if an encounter comes 
  up that is unexpected and you have to improvise, 
  then at the end of that encounter move the orc army 
  one step closer to the city  
   If the adventurers want to take a short rest, move 
  the orc army one step closer to the city. As events 
  unfold and the characters foil the plans of even the 
  most experienced adventure designer and DM, feel 
  free to adjust the counter as needed to make the 
  adventure both fun and tense for the players. 
   When the orc army reaches the city, it’s time to 
  move to Part 4: Battle in Melvaunt. 
  Advice 
  There are a lot of ways for this adventure to play out. 
  While it can be a straight run, some groups might get 
  clever and start splitting their resources. Here are 
  some things you should do so they understand the 
  stakes at hand. 
   Tell them this is a timed scenario when you place 
  the map timer on the table, and explain how the 
  timer works. Tell them when the marker gets to the 
  city of Melvaunt an event triggers. Just don’t tell 
  them what the event is. 
   If the adventurers want to split the party, tell them 
  that’s their choice. The marker only moves after both 
  of the split groups finish an encounter, but any 
  opposition they run into isn’t going to be easier just 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  because there are fewer of them. This is a situation 
  with few correct choices, and they’re just trying to 
  make the best of a tough spot. 
   If they split the party, cut back and forth with each 
  group, spending a few minutes with one group then 
  switching over to the other and spending a few 
  minutes. It is difficult even for an experienced DM to 
  run a split group effectively, so do your best. 
   If the party is split and one group gets into an 
  encounter that needs initiative, run through their 
  initiative and then spend some time with the other 
  group before moving back to the group in initiative. 
  Of course you should use your best judgement and 
  do whatever you feel is best for the table, but keep 
  the pace in mind and keep an eye on the players and 
  their engagement.  
   If they split up, do not go easy on them. They made 
  that choice and should deal with the consequences 
  of that action. 
  Part 2 – The Orcs 
  1. The North Gate 
  Purpose: To let the adventurers know how much 
  trouble the city is in and point them toward another 
  orc group in the city. 
  The Conflict: The encounter is about controlling the 
  fires, saving Drake Liston, and saving the armory, 
  which can affect Part 4. 
  You arrive at the North Gate and find people, wagons, and 
  goods flowing back and forth through the gate, which is 
  flanked by two 40-foot-tall towers. The walls are 30 feet tall. 
  It seems like nothing could breach those massive walls. 
   
  A number of guards of the City Watch patrol the area and 
  occupy the towers. Others check people and goods entering 
  the city. 
   
  Before you can start your inquiries, an explosion nearly 
  knocks you off your feet. Part of a two-story building near the 
  north wall is now aflame, and the side of the building is gone. 
  It is on fire, and the first begins spreading to other areas. 
  When this happens, everyone freezes for a second, 
  looking at the explosion, and then the panic sets in. 
  People run and scream, hurting each other to get 
  away from what is now clearly buildings in flames 
  and a significant breach in the wall. 
   While people panic, one of the soldiers looks at the 
  destruction, yells “Drake,” and runs in that direction. 
  The Situation 
  There is a building on fire, and the fire is spreading 
  to surrounding buildings. The people in the streets 
  panic. The person the adventurers were supposed to 
  meet was in the building that exploded, and one of 
  the buildings that the fire is spreading toward is a 
  city militia armory that houses equipment the militia 
  needs in order to field an effective army. 
  The Burning Building 
  The building that exploded is still on fire. On the 
  second floor, which is exposed because the walls 
  have been blown out, the adventurers see a charred 
  human soldier fighting an equally burnt orc. The 
  human matches the description of Drake Liston. 
   
  Rules for the Fire 
  At the end of every round of initiative, the fire can 
  spread to surrounding buildings and will make the 
  armory fire worse if not dealt with. 
   Every adventurer gets to act once in a round, in 
  any order. If players have trouble keeping track of 
  actions, just go into initiative.  
   If the characters can control the fire (see below), 
  there is a chance they can save the gear in the 
  armory. If no one controls the fire after a round, add 
  one to the inferno track on the armory. 
   To control the fire, ask the adventurers what they 
  wish to do, or give them the following options: 
   Hit some part of the building with a cold or water 
  spell. If it’s an attack spell, AC 12 is the target. The 
  fire makes saving throws at +0. 
   Find a spot where a part of the building can be 
  collapsed by attacking a support with a melee 
  weapon attack or some kind of force magic, thus 
  keeping the fire contained instead of spilling 
  outward. A DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) or 
  Intelligence (Investigation) check can find the 
  perfect spot. If it’s a melee weapon attack to do the 
  damage, the adventurer must make a DC 12 
  Dexterity saving throw to avoid 7 (2d6) fire 
  damage from the fiery rubble falling on them. 
   Any other action that seems like it would help uses 
  DC 12 as a base, or AC 12 if an attack roll would be 
  required. 
   
  Helping Drake 
  Drake is caught in a fight with an orc on the 2nd floor 
  of the exploded building. It collapses at the end of 
  the third round and kills him if the adventurers can’t 
  help. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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   The orc is injured and has only 5 hp remaining. 
  The orc’s AC is 16 because of the smoke, and the 
  adventurers begin 120 feet away. Once the orc is 
  dead, Drake can attempt to escape. However, the 20-
  foot jump from the building would kill him. 
   The adventurers must find a way to help him. A 
  variety of methods could save him: pull a wagon of 
  hay next to the building, spreading out a blanket to 
  catch him, etc. Any other idea or clever use of a 
  resource the adventurers come up with should be 
  entertained. Unless the plan is foolproof, use a DC of 
  12 as a base, and assign advantage or disadvantage 
  as you see fit. 
  The Armory 
  Burning pieces of the building that exploded are on 
  the armory’s roof, which is ablaze. Soldiers try to get 
  supplies out of the building before it collapses. The 
  adventurers can help contain the fire or help get the 
  weapons out.  
  Goal: If 10 units of gear get out of the armory before 
  the armory collapses, they are successful. 
   
  Rules for the Armory Collapsing 
   The armory collapses when it has 5 inferno 
  counters on it.  
   The armory starts with 2 inferno counters on it. 
   The armory gains an inferno counter at the end of 
  every round. 
   The armory can also gain an inferno counter from 
  the burning building at the end of every round. 
  Rules for Keeping the Fire Under Control 
  To control the fire, ask the adventurers what they 
  wish to do or give them the following options: 
   Hit some part of the building with a cold or water 
  spell. If it’s an attack spell, AC 12 is the base. The 
  fire makes saving throws at +0. 
   Any other action that seems like it would help uses 
  DC 12 as a base. 
  Rules for Getting the Armory Gear Out 
   At the end of every round roll a d20. On a 10+, two 
  units of gear are brought out by the soldiers. On 9-, 
  only 1 unit of gear is brought out. 
   If an adventurer helps, they can bring a unit of 
  gear out but must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving 
  throw or take 7 (2d6) points fire damage. 
   Bringing out 10 units of gear provides this part of 
  the militia enough gear to arm themselves for the 
  coming conflict. 
  Advice 
  This is a complex encounter, so here’s the 
  breakdown of what the adventurers can or should 
  be doing: 
   Helping Drake 
   Managing the Building Fire 
   Managing the Armory Fire 
   Bringing out Gear from the Armory. 
   
  When tracking what is going on, make sure these 
  things happen in order every round: 
   Make sure every adventurer gets to take an action. 
   Put inferno counters on the armory. 
   Check to see if it’s the 3rd round to see if Drake 
  dies from the collapsing building. 
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for adjusting this encounter. 
  These are not cumulative. 
  Very weak party: The armory collapses when it has 6 
  inferno tokens and it starts with 1 inferno token on it. Halve 
  the damage done to the adventurers. 
  Weak party: The armory collapses when it has 6 inferno 
  tokens on it. 
  Strong party: Add an inferno token to the armory to start. 
  Double all damage done to the adventurers 
  Very strong party: As Strong Party, and the floor Drake is 
  on collapses after 2 rounds instead of 3. 
  Concluding the Encounter 
  Once the fates of the armory and Drake Liston are 
  decided, go through the following checklist: 
   If the adventurers save the armory, note that the 
  armory was saved on the tracking sheet in the 
  Notes section. 
   If Drake was saved, write that in the Notes section. 
   Move the orc army token on the track. 
   
  Roleplaying Drake Liston 
  Drake is fairly young to be a Lieutenant in the City Watch. 
  He’s brash but not over-confident, athletic but short in 
  stature. He’s boyish and tends to wear a grin, even if he’s just 
  been almost killed. Drake has an adventurer’s soul but he 
  loves the city of Melvaunt, the city that raised him and that 
  he now protects as best he can. 
   
  Roleplaying Tara Sorkin 
  Tara is close to Drake, having grown up with him, so if Drake 
  is dead she’s not happy - but it’s anger more than sadness 
  that drives her at the moment.  
  
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  She’s a tough young woman with a little muscle on her, a 
  good head on her shoulders, and a drive to keep people safe. 
  She’s a little more level headed and risk averse than Drake, 
  but she has a good heart and a deep care for the people of 
  Melvaunt. 
  After the encounter one of the soldiers, Tara Sorkin, 
  (or Drake Liston if he’s still alive) comes to the 
  adventurers to thank them for their assistance, 
  regardless of success or failure. They know the 
  adventurers are working with Captain Eledstra. 
   Once the adventurers explain themselves, Drake 
  or Tara can let them know they’ve caught one of the 
  orcs trying to escape. They’re talking to the orc right 
  now. This leads to Encounter 2 – Discovering The 
  Plan. 
   If the adventurers want to know what happened, 
  Drake or Tara can explain on the way. As best they 
  can tell, a group of orcs placed magical scrolls on the 
  walls inside of the building. When Drake spotted 
  them and entered the building, one of the orcs set off 
  the scrolls prematurely, killing most of the orcs and 
  a number of soldiers. 
  2. Discovering the Plan 
  Purpose: To let the adventurers know where the orc 
  leader of this sapper force is. 
  Conflict: There’s a chance they take very little time 
  learning the information, so the orc army track 
  doesn’t move up. 
  The Situation 
  There is one orc captive. The orc is going to give up 
  the information – it’s just a matter of how long it 
  takes. If Drake Liston is still alive, substitute him for 
  Tara Sorkin. Read or paraphrase the following: 
  Tara Sorkin has brought you to the guard tower, where the 
  City Watch has secured the orc prisoner to a chair. 
   
  “We need to know where their leader is so we can find out 
  if more orc sappers are planning to bring down the city wall. 
  We don’t have anyone who’s skilled at extracting information 
  present. I think I can get the orc to talk eventually, but I was 
  hoping one of you might be better suited to doing the task 
  quickly.” 
  Getting Information 
  The adventurers can use Charisma (Intimidation or 
  Persuasion) at DC 13. If they pass they get the 
  information quickly. If they fail, it takes a while and 
  the orc army tracker advances by one at the end of 
  the encounter. Also, the first time the adventurers 
  get information from the orc, he lies and gives them 
  a false location. This can be discerned with a DC 12 
  Wisdom (Insight) check. If the adventurers fall for 
  his lie, advance the orc army tracker by one. 
  However, this tracker should only be advanced one 
  space at the end of this encounter, not twice, even if 
  the adventurers fail at both checks. 
   If the orc, Tundrok, was saved from the collapsing 
  second floor of the burning building, then that’s the 
  orc who is captured, and he’s willing to tell the 
  adventurers everything to pay them back for saving 
  him: no check required. This is the same as passing 
  the check. 
  What is Discovered? 
  Tundrok tells the adventurers their war chief on this 
  mission is Seeth Vainscore, and the general 
  description he gives is enough for Tara Sorkin to 
  piece together that Seeth is in a building near the 
  wall in the northwest portion of the city.  
   Tara tells the adventurers she’ll round up some 
  militia members to go there, but it’ll take some time 
  with what’s happened here. She asks the 
  adventurers if they can get there as soon as possible. 
  She promises to be there as quickly as she can with 
  reinforcements. 
  Advice 
  If you have time and want to play this section out as 
  an actual interrogation, you can. You can also easily 
  draw a veil over that part of play by just letting the 
  adventurers tell you if they got the information by 
  being kind and making a deal with the orc, or by less 
  enjoyable methods and having them make the check. 
  The important part is how long it takes them to get 
  the information. If it is done within the first couple of 
  skill checks, do not advance the orc army tracker. If 
  it takes more than two, advance it one. 
  3. Seeth Vainscore 
  Purpose: To learn where the rest of the orc sapper 
  groups are. 
  Conflict: A fight with Seeth Vainscore and his 
  minions, to see if they get the plans from him or not. 
  Also to see if they learn of Davol’s involvement with 
  the orcs. 
  The Situation 
  Seeth and his 7 orcs are in the building, and they 
  have it rigged to explode. Seeth also has the plans for 
  where several other groups of orcs in the city are 
  planning to blow up the walls. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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   The building is two stories tall, and the side closest 
  to the city wall has a half-dozen magical scrolls 
  plastered on it. Seeth is on the second floor, and his 
  minions are spread out within the building. 
   Use the map in Appendix II to describe or draw 
  the building for the players. If the adventurers 
  survey the building, they can learn a little, or a lot, 
  depending on their rolls. A DC 12 Wisdom 
  (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check 
  reveals the location of 3 of the normal orcs, but not 
  Seeth or the others. A DC 16 check reveals the 
  location of Seeth and all the orcs. 
   If they make more than one attempt to case out 
  the building, advance the orc army tracker one space. 
  On the Lookout 
  While the adventurers might be watching the 
  building, the orcs are watching back. Unless the 
  adventurers use stealth or some sort of trickery 
  when casing or approaching the building, the orcs 
  are ready and waiting for the adventurers. 
  The Fight 
  Once the adventurers enter the house, which can 
  happen through any of the windows or doors on the 
  map, the battle begins.  
   At the end of Seeth’s third turn, he sets off the 
  magical scrolls in the building, described below. 
  General Features 
  The building has the following features: 
   Doors. They are locked but only require a DC 8 
  Strength (Athletics) check to break open or DC 8 
  Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check to pick the locks. 
   The Windows. An adventurer breaking through a 
  window makes a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or 
  they take 1d4 slashing damage from the broken 
  glass. 
  Tactics 
  As the battle progresses, the orcs realize what’s 
  going on and move from hiding to fighting to fleeing, 
  since they know Seeth plans to set off the scrolls. If 
  Seeth is dead, the orcs surrender if half their group 
  or more is defeated. They’re not cowards, but they 
  don’t want to die. Seeth, on the other hand, happily 
  blows himself up. 
   For Seeth to set off the runes, he simply needs to 
  touch the activation rune and speak the command 
  word (“ignite” in Orcish) as an action. The activation 
  rune is on a scroll Seeth holds. The activation rune 
  must be within 100 ft. of the other runes (spread 
  around the house) to work. 
  If the Building Explodes 
  If Seeth sets off the runes, anyone within 15 feet of 
  the north wall of the building must make a DC 18 
  Dexterity saving throw. Those who fail take 22 
  (4d10) force damage, with half damage on a success.  
  Anyone who is in the building or near it must instead 
  make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 
  (4d6) force damage, with half damage on a success. 
   In the aftermath of the building exploding, the 
  adventurers can manage to find the maps of the 
  locations of the other orc sapper groups in the 
  debris. It just takes longer to find them and piece 
  together their locations. 
   Move the Orc army marker one space on the track 
  if the building does not explode, and two spaces if it 
  does. 
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for adjusting this combat 
  encounter. These are not cumulative. 
  Very weak party: Replace Seeth with an orc, and remove 4 
  orcs. Quarter the damage done by the explosion.
  Weak party: Remove 4 orcs. Halve the damage done by the 
  explosion.
  Strong party: Replace Seeth with an orc war chief. 
  Very strong party: As Strong Party, and add 3 orcs to the 
  group. 
  Treasure 
  Seeth has maps and papers on a table in the second-
  floor room where he’s stationed. The maps show the 
  location of every orc group in the city. These maps 
  and papers have elegant writing on them, and a 
  couple of notes in the papers indicate that they came 
  from people connected to Davol Port. 
   If the adventurers succeed in this part, they are 
  given 200 gp by Captain Eledstra at the end of the 
  adventure. 
  Concluding the Scene 
  The first thing you need to do when concluding the 
  scene is move the orc army tracker along the track, 
  as indicated earlier. 
   Once the fight with the orcs is over, Tara or Drake 
  shows up with reinforcements. Once the information 
  is found about where the orc sappers are in the city, 
  the watch can move with their people to stop the 
  orcs from blowing up the wall any further. 
   If the adventurers have the information about 
  Davol Port, they can inform someone, but it’s not 
  information that will help with this adventure. 
   If the orc army tracker is at position 5, move 
  immediately to Part 4. If not, calculate where the 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  progress would be in Part 3 and allow the 
  adventurers to move there. 
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  Part 3 – The Portal 
  1. Spying on a Red Wizard 
  Purpose: Let the adventurers know the Red Wizard 
  isn’t actually evil, and is rather interested and skilled 
  when it comes to dealing with portals and 
  extraplanar travel. 
   Also, let the adventurers know the portal is 
  widening, which means the threat of the modron 
  invasion is imminent. 
  Conflict: Are they caught or noticed while spying on 
  the Red Wizard, and how much time does it take to 
  learn the information? 
  The Situation 
  Leona Krystal is a Red Wizard. Her superiors sent 
  her to the Moonsea area to act as a representative 
  and ambassador for their group, reporting back her 
  findings about opportunities for expansion in the 
  area, to keep an eye on the activities of the factions, 
  etc. 
   Leona is in Melvaunt specifically because she 
  divined there would be interesting planar activity 
  within the city. She is fascinated by portals to other 
  planes of existence. 
   She recently rented a two-story house in the 
  neighborhood where the portal currently sits. Her 
  work and experiments are on the first floor of the 
  building, and her living quarters are on the second. 
  She has an assistant named Cort and a blink dog 
  guardian called Jaymes.  
   You shouldn’t need them, but if you do, use mage 
  stats for Leona, noble stats for Thomas Druat, and 
  knight stats for Druat’s guard. 
  Roleplaying Leona, Cort, and Jaymes 
  Leona is brilliant when it comes to portals and loves to talk 
  endlessly about portals and the planes of existence. She’s 
  also very protective of her companions. She’s a human, 
  wears glasses and carries herself as if she’s older than her 27 
  years. 
   
  Cort is tall, lanky, thin, and Leona’s assistant. He helps with 
  some of the very fine crafting work because of his thin and 
  dexterous hands. He speaks well but quietly and takes his 
  cues from Leona. 
   
  Jaymes is a blink dog, very smart, and likes to sleep by 
  warm fires. He would do anything for Leona. Leona seems to 
  be able to understand him, and Jaymes understands 
  everything and everyone. 
  Development 
  Leona is having a meeting with Thomas Druat 
  concerning the portal when the orc army marker is 
  in the spot numbered 1.  
   While the meeting is going on, Jaymes and Cort 
  remain in the kitchenette and sitting room, making it 
  much easier for the adventurers to sneak around 
  and hunt for information. If the orc army marker is 
  anywhere other than on number 1, the meeting has 
  already happened. If the marker is on number 2, 
  Leona and her companions are moving about the 
  house, making it difficult to sneak in. At number 3 
  and beyond, Leona has left to investigate the portal. 
  If the adventurers were not present to save her, she 
  died at the hands of the modron assassination unit. 
  Finding Information 
  This is about getting information.  
   Speaking with Leona. If the players want to speak 
  with Leona while the orc army marker is in the first 
  space, they’re told by Cort she’s busy until later. 
  They can come back then or schedule an 
  appointment. If the orc army marker is not in the 
  first space, she’s happy to speak with the 
  adventurers. 
   Breaking In. Breaking into the house is about 
  being quiet and searching without getting caught. 
  The windows have silent alarm spells on them, and 
  all have curtains pulled over them on the 1st floor. 
  The 2nd floor has many of the curtains open, but the 
  back door doesn’t. A DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) 
  check or any kind of detecting of magic reveals the 
  spells on the windows. The door is locked and 
  requires a DC 12 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check to 
  pick the lock. Jaymes the blink dog is napping in the 
  house by the back door. Failure means Jaymes wakes 
  but doesn’t alert the adventurers to the fact he’s 
  awake. He pretends to sleep to observe the fools 
  who are breaking into his home. 
   Other Ideas. If the adventurers come up with any 
  other ideas for quietly breaking into the house, use 
  DC 12 as a base. The consequence for failure is that 
  someone in the house, either Cort, Jaymes, or Leona, 
  is alerted to their presence. 
  The House 
  The first floor is comprised of two rooms, with some 
  of the interior walls having been knocked out to 
  make space for the lab. 
   
  1st Floor 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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   The Smaller Room. There are a lot of shelves with 
  material components for spells on them. Jaymes the 
  blink dog sleeps in the corner of the room. 
   The Lab. There is a magic circle, several more 
  shelves with items and books on them, and a long 
  table with two chairs with papers, books, and notes 
  all over it. 
   
  2nd Floor 
   Kitchenette and Sitting Room. This space has a 
  small stove, a cabinet for keeping dry foodstuffs, and 
  a table for eating. 
   Bedrooms. The left bedroom is Leona’s and the 
  right is Cort’s. They have beds and chests for their 
  clothing and personal goods, and a night stand with 
  a candle on it. Leona has an adventure novel called 
  The Planechasers on her night stand. 
   The Bathroom. There is a bathroom between the 
  two bedrooms. 
  Learning About Portals and Wizards 
  If the adventurers get into the lab, they can spend 
  time looking over the information and magical 
  experiments within. Use the bullet points to dole out 
  information. 
   
  Intelligence (Investigation) DC 12 
   The notes are all about portals: not just how to 
  open them, but how to manipulate them once 
  they’re open. 
   There are some specific notes for how to change a 
  permanent portal that leads to one place to 
  different place. It’s pretty theoretical stuff. 
   There’s nothing nefarious in the lab concerning 
  Melvaunt at all; in fact, the notes are all very 
  scientific and well written. 
   There is work here that indicates that Leona has 
  discovered a way to move a permanent portal 
  from one location to another. 
   
  Intelligence (Arcana) DC 12 
   The magical formula that are within the notes 
  shows how the Weave has recently converged on 
  Melvaunt as a nexus of chaos power. 
   The magic invented here is cutting edge, and some 
  of it is theoretical but looks like it could be used to 
  manipulate portals. 
   There are some rituals being developed here that 
  look like you can take a permanent portal and 
  change where it could lead to, but the magic looks 
  like it’s nowhere near complete. 
   The magic circle on the floor and the notes and 
  formula related to it are astounding. Using this 
  magic, someone could theoretically move a 
  permanent portal. 
  Taking the Notes 
  If the adventurers take the notes, someone who is 
  able to use magic and is highly skilled in Arcana 
  could use the magic to shrink or possibly move a 
  portal as a ritual. 
  Spying on the Meeting 
  If the adventurers spy on the meeting, they need to 
  first explain how they plan on doing that. Use DC 12 
  as a base for Perception and Stealth checks, or any 
  other plans the adventures might come up with. 
   
  What they Hear 
  Relate the following information if they eavesdrop 
  successfully: 
   Leona expresses that there is a gathering of chaos 
  energy in the area. It has nothing to do with the 
  portal directly, but it is disturbing nonetheless.  
   The portal within the city is growing, and unless 
  something is done, it will continue to grow. 
   Thomas Druat wants Leona to control the portal 
  but not close it. He wants to establish trade with 
  far-away places using the portal. Druat tells her 
  that he will work hard in the Council to get favors 
  for her and the Red Wizards if she will consider 
  his wishes when dealing with the portal. 
   Leona agrees that if she is given access to the 
  portal and has time to study it and use it, she can 
  probably alter it to allow connections to other 
  locations in Faerûn, as well as other planes. 
   Leona, hearing about the modron army from 
  Thomas, says she can probably shrink the portal 
  to the point where only one Modron at a time 
  could come through, making it easier to defend. 
  Development 
  If the adventurers are discovered in the house, or 
  obviously eavesdropping, things are tense as Cort 
  has a wand of binding that he’s more than willing to 
  use (DC 17 Wisdom saving throw) to resist hold 
  person.  
   Remind the adventurers that murdering people in 
  the city is against the law if they decide to start a 
  fight. It’s why Cort is using the wand of binding. He 
  also shouts for Leona and Jaymes. 
   If the adventurers are discovered, and Thomas 
  Druat and his guard are there, Thomas offers to have 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  them arrested. Leona would rather find out why 
  they’re there. If the adventurers tell Leona the truth 
  (or some variation of it) in front of Thomas Druat, 
  make a note that the adventurers have earned the 
  Thomas Druat has His Eye on You Story Award on 
  the notes section of the tracking sheet.  
   If they lie and fail at a DC 15 Charisma (Deception) 
  check, Leona lets Thomas arrest them. Captain 
  Eledstra gets them out of prison, but the orc army 
  tracker is moved 3 spots on the tracking sheet. 
   Once Leona and Thomas’ meeting is over, move 
  the orc army tracker one spot on the track. 
  If the Adventurers Waited 
  If the adventurers waited to have the meeting, Leona 
  tells them about her work and lets them go through 
  it to prove she’s not interested in hurting Melvaunt. 
   She is willing to reveal the information that 
  Thomas Druat gave her and talk about the deal she 
  made with Thomas, as it doesn’t violate any law 
  she’s aware of. 
   After the adventurers have this discussion with 
  Leona, move the orc army tracker one spot on the 
  track. 
  Advice 
  There are a lot of ways this could go, but it starts 
  with the choice of the adventurers either breaking 
  into Leona’s house or waiting to speak with her.  
   After that you just play out the situation and 
  remind them that killing people in a city is illegal and 
  punishable by imprisonment or death. 
   If in doubt about something the adventurers want 
  to try, ask them to tell you why they think they can 
  make that work. If it seems reasonable, set the DC at 
  12, assign a skill, and have them roll. If it’s 
  unreasonable, try to find a middle ground or just 
  make them roll with disadvantage. 
   The important information you need to get to the 
  adventurers is as follows: 
   The portal is a widening, which is one of the 
  indicators from the modron plans from CORE1-2 
  that the modron attack is imminent. 
   Leona is neither good nor evil to any great extent. 
  She’s just a Red Wizard with an interest in portals. 
  2. Modron Attack 
  Purpose: To let the adventurers know that Leona is 
  seen as a threat by the modrons to reinforce that her 
  skills are important to the portal. 
  Conflict: Modrons try to kill Leona and everyone 
  with her. 
  The Situation 
  The modrons and whoever is behind them have 
  learned about Leona and have sent a hit squad to 
  take her out. This occurs when the orc army tracker 
  is on the second spot (or third spot if the 
  adventurers waited and then talked with Leona). 
  Leona packs her gear and asks to be taken to the 
  portal, which the adventurers can do since they are 
  there. After leaving the house and heading into the 
  streets, dozens of modrons appear out of nowhere. 
  They do something that disables Leona and then 
  they try to kill her.  
   Cort and Jaymes move to handle one set of 
  modrons, while the adventurers are forced to deal 
  with three quadrones and six duodrones.  
  Tactics 
  The modrons’ orders are to kill Leona and then any 
  other living creatures with her. The duodrones 
  speak as they fight, saying “Kill the Red Wizard” in 
  mechanical, cold, and calculating voices. One 
  duodrone draws an opportunity attack so the others 
  can flow past any of Leona’s protectors that just 
  used their reaction. 
   While incapacitated, Leona is out in the open and 
  cannot move on her own. Her AC is 10, and she has 
  50 hit points. The modrons the adventurers face 
  attack her if they can get to her. The quadrones fire 
  missile at her unless she is provided cover by an 
  adventurer. 
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for adjusting this combat 
  encounter. These are not cumulative. 
  Very weak party: Remove two quadrones and three 
  duodrones.  
  Weak party: Remove one quadrone and three duodrones. 
  Strong party: Add one quadrone and three duodrones. 
  Very strong party: Add two quadrones and three 
  duodrones. 
  Development 
  Once the battle is over and assuming Leona lived, 
  she is quite grateful to the adventurers for their help. 
  Make a note that the adventurers who saved her 
  have earned the Leona’s Gratitude Story Award. 
   After everyone gather’s themselves post fight and 
  they have a conversation, advance the orc army 
  tracker one space on the track. 
  If Leona Dies 
  If the modrons kill Leona, they attack others until 
  dead. The modrons weren’t ordered to take anything 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  16 
  except lives, so Leona’s notes are still available. The 
  half-orc sage Truushee can still try to affect the 
  portal, but not with the same success as Leona could 
  have. 
   If the adventurers are not there, Leona is killed. 
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  3. The Portal 
  Purpose: To learn the portal can’t be closed and to 
  make a decision about what to do with the portal. 
  Conflict: The portal is growing ever bigger and 
  wider, and the adventurers need to choose to shrink 
  it down so only one modron can come through at a 
  time, or to do the risky thing and move it, which can 
  only be done by Leona. How much time passes while 
  they do so is part of the challenge. 
  The Situation 
  The portal can’t be closed. It can only be shrunk, but 
  any adventurer who is magically trained, or 
  proficient in Arcana, or is just intelligent, needs to 
  realize that. If they do it quickly, they don’t waste a 
  lot of time and can then make the decision. The 
  portal cannot be shrunk and then moved—it is one 
  or the other. 
   If Leona is dead, Truushee the half-orc sage might 
  be able to help the adventurers at least shrink the 
  portal, although moving the portal is well beyond 
  their combined capabilities. 
  Learning Information 
  The adventurers can choose one of their group to 
  study the portal, or they can assist Leona if she’s still 
  alive. A DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) skill check is 
  needed. Truushee can aid this check, providing 
  advantage to the adventurer. 
   If the check is successful, the options for the portal 
  are quickly learned, and the bulleted information 
  can be provided. 
   If the check is unsuccessful, it takes a while. Move 
  the orc army tracker one space. Here is the 
  information learned: 
   The portal cannot be closed There is some sort of 
  rare chaos magic that is keeping it open. 
   The portal can be shrunk down small enough so 
  that only a modron or two can get through at a 
  time, but this place stills need to be defended. 
   If Leona is there, she suggests she could possibly 
  move the portal. This will take some effort, the 
  adventurers and some of the city guards will need 
  to help. 
   The portal will reach its max energy at about the 
  same time as the orc army reaches the city. 
  Making a Choice 
  Now that the adventurers know what’s going on they 
  can make a choice. 
  Shrinking the Portal 
  If Leona is alive she can shrink the portal and it 
  doesn’t cost the adventurers any time. If Leona is not 
  alive, the adventurers can consult with Truushee the 
  half-orc sage to perform a ritual using Leona’s notes: 
  advance the orc army tracker one space. 
  Moving the Portal 
  This option is only available if Leona is alive. If the 
  decision is to move the portal, setting up the ritual 
  could cost so much time that the orc army token 
  move once on the track. Leona knows (and can let 
  the adventurers know) the risks of moving the 
  portal and having the modrons come through in 
  force while they’re moving it. 
   If there are two spots open on the track, they need 
  move quickly but have some room for error. 
   If there’s one spot open, then they better be 
  perfect or it’ll most likely open while they’re 
  moving it. 
   If there are no spots open, then they should just 
  shrink it. 
  The Most Important Question 
  Where do you move the portal? 
  Getting the Portal Ready to Move 
  Moving the portal requires them to get a large 15 ft. 
  by 15 ft. piece of cloth (it’d be better with a 
  constructed board but they don’t have that kind of 
  time) and then paint a number of arcane symbols 
  similar to ones found on Leona’s notes, then with a 
  final enchantment they can anchor the portal to the 
  cloth. At that point they can move it by picking up 
  the cloth, but they need to keep the cloth as stable 
  and sturdy as possible. 
   If they choose to do this, they have two tasks to 
  complete. Painting the cloth and enchanting the 
  cloth. 
  Painting the Cloth 
  Painting the cloth to the specifications of the notes 
  requires a DC 12 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check 
  and can be aided by someone trained in Perception. 
  Also, anyone who has a background with something 
  having to do with art can make their check with 
  advantage. Success means you didn’t lose any time, 
  while failure causes the orc army tracker to advance 
  one. 
  Enchanting the Cloth 
  Once the cloth has been painted, the enchanting can 
  begin. To enchant the cloth quickly one would make 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  a DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check, which can be 
  aided by someone giving up a spell slot of magical 
  power of either divine or arcane nature. Success 
  means you didn’t lose any time, while failure causes 
  the orc army tracker to advance one. 
  Lifting the Portal 
  Once all the magical preparations are complete, read 
  or paraphrase the following: 
  The cloth has been painted with the reds, purples, blues, and 
  blacks of the language of Mystra. Four guards the Captain 
  was able to spare after hearing your plan stand at each 
  corner of the cloth. Leona steps to the cloth and places her 
  hand on it a final time, and whispers a few words. The runes 
  begin to shimmer and the portal begins to shimmer. At first 
  they’re out of sync but after a few moments the shimmers 
  start to match. Once that happens Leona lifts her head and 
  signals to the guards, who all lift the cloth. It rises easily and 
  the portal rises with it. 
   
  “Hold it tight. If you drop it, I’ll be able to reset it but it will 
  take time which is something we don’t have much of.”  
   
  The guards being to walk with the cloth, atop it a portal to 
  another world, one shimmers and the other wavers in the 
  wind. 
  Now the portal can be moved. If the portal is moved 
  use Encounter 4 Moving the Portal. 
  4. Moving the Portal 
  Purpose: To move the portal wherever the 
  adventurers think it should go, preferably outside 
  the city walls. 
  Conflict: Seeth Vainscore and his orcs see the portal, 
  think it’s some kind of attack against them, and try 
  and stop it. 
  The Situation 
  The portal is moving and everything is going well. A 
  couple of modrons trying to come out but guards kill 
  them. Unfortunately, orcs have decided to attack.  
  Setup 
  Use the Streets of Melvaunt Map. Set the cloth and 
  the guards next to the building just south of the 
  gazebo, this is when the orcs spring their attack. 
   Before Seeth Vainscore and his 7 orcs attack 
  check the passive Perception of the adventurers. Any 
  of them with an 11 or lower are surprised. 
  Tactics 
  The 7 orcs and Seeth Vainscore aren’t the brightest 
  and don’t think to attack the cloth. They go after the 
  4 guards holding a corner of the cloth, who are all 
  surprised. 
   Leona/Truushee can’t help either, as every time 
  she takes her eye off the portal a modron tries to 
  come out of it. Cory and Jaymes, if present, hang back 
  to guard Leona and do not factor into combat. 
  The Portal 
  If a corner of the cloth is ever not in someone’s 
  hands for a full round, then the spell collapses and 
  the portal crashes to the ground. This causes an 
  explosion of energy. Everyone in the area must make 
  a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed back 10 
  feet and knocked prone from the wave of planar 
  energy released. 
   If an adventurer is holding a corner of the cloth, 
  then they have one hand they can use to do things 
  but are considered restrained while holding the 
  cloth. 
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for adjusting this combat 
  encounter. These are not cumulative. 
  Very weak party: Replace Seeth with an orc, and remove 4 
  orcs.
  Weak party: Remove 4 orcs.
  Strong party: Replace Seeth with an orc war chief. 
  Very strong party: As Strong party, and add 3 orcs to the 
  group. 
  Concluding the Encounter 
  If the portal is lost from the cloth, it’ll take Leona 
  time to set the spell up again so that they can 
  continue moving. Advance the orc army tracker one 
  space. 
   If this means the orc army marker reaches the end 
  of the track, there’s nothing she can do. The portal 
  opens wide and the modron army marches into 
  Melvaunt. 
   If the adventurers keep the portal from falling to 
  the ground, then they can bring the portal outside of 
  the walls of Melvaunt or to some other advantageous 
  location. 
  Part 4 – The Battle for 
  Melvaunt 
  Depending on what happened in Parts 2 and 3, there 
  are many potential situations happening 
  simultaneously:  
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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   If the adventurers dealt with the orcs successfully 
  in Part 2, they now need to deal with the modrons 
  in the city. Leona was killed, leaving the portal a 
  major threat. Play Modrons in the City below. 
   If the adventurers dealt with the portal 
  successfully, either by shrinking it or moving it 
  outside the city, they only need to deal with the 
  orcs in the city. The orc sappers were successful in 
  breach defenses, making the orcs a large threat. 
  Play Orcs in the City below. 
   If the adventurers didn’t deal with either side 
  successfully, they have to deal with both sides in 
  the city.  Play Orcs and Modrons in the City 
  below. 
   If the adventurers got the portal outside the city, 
  then they only need to deal with a few orcs inside 
  the city, as the modrons and orcs kill each other 
  outside the walls. Play The Portal is Outside the 
  City below. 
   
  Regardless of the outcomes above, the adventurers 
  must deal with the remaining threats in the streets 
  of Melvaunt. This fight the adventurers undertake is 
  a microcosm of happenings around the city. Each 
  encounter uses the Streets of Melvaunt Map. 
  Treasure 
  As the adventurers are moving to deal with the 
  threat in this part, they come across a priestess of 
  Loviatar named Zellani. Any characters who have the 
  Favor of Zellani Story Award from CORE1-1 A 
  Scream in the Night is provided with a potion of 
  greater healing. 
   Also, as this part plays out, regardless of which 
  encounter the adventurers play, they find loose 
  coins, gems, and jewelry on enemies or scattered in 
  the street worth a total of 500 gp. 
  Modrons in the City 
  Purpose: To see how much of the city the modrons 
  control after the battle for Melvaunt 
  Conflict: Adventurers versus the modron forces. 
  The Situation 
  The modron army is in the streets of Melvaunt. Read 
  or paraphrase the following: 
  The orc threat has been mitigated through your efforts. 
  However, no one was able to effectively deal with the portal. 
  Even at this distance away, you see the growing portal 
  shimmer blue and purple. The sound of metallic marching 
  echoes through the streets. The modron army is here! 
   
  They’re orderly, moving systematically through different 
  neighborhoods. You hear the sounds of fighting, with metallic 
  voices ordering the people of Melvaunt to obey the law and 
  order of Mechanus. 
   
  You have nowhere to go. There are orcs outside the walls 
  and the modrons are advancing on your location. There are 
  citizens here. People are scared, looking to you for. What will 
  you do? 
  Setup 
  The adventurers can put themselves anywhere on 
  the southeast part of the map, or if you’re playing 
  without a map they can describe how they have 
  positioned themselves. If they want to build some 
  quick barricades in the street or something similar, 
  they had some time to do that and they can be drawn 
  in. 
   This encounter has the modrons coming in three 
  waves over five rounds.  
   Start on the map: a tridrone and 4 duodrones. 
   Round 3: 2 quadrones and 2 duodrones 
   Round 5: a pentadrone and 3 tridrones  
  Each group appears from around the corner at the 
  end of the last modron’s turn of the round listed. 
  They break formation as soon as they see the enemy, 
  following orders from the highest-ranking modron 
  in the vicinity. 
  The Tracking Sheet 
   The Armory. If the armory was saved, remove 1 
  quadrone from the Round 3 wave. 
   Drake. If Drake was saved, remove 1 tridrone 
  from the Round 5 wave. 
  Tactics 
  The modron orders are to ask for obedience to the 
  new order and subdue any hostile forces. They deal 
  with obvious threats first, like the adventurers, 
  before moving on to the citizenry. If the adventurers 
  are not a threat, the modrons start going into the 
  houses and pulling people out, asking for obedience. 
  Any citizens who resist at all, either physically or 
  verbally, are killed. 
   The duodrones try to swarm opponents and will 
  use the Aid action to assist their higher commanding 
  modrons. The tridrones launch all three of their 
  spears with their first actions against the target who 
  is least armored and not behind cover, then wade 
  into battle against the closest opponent. 
   The quadrones target opponents with ranged 
  weapons and use flight to keep away from any melee. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  The pentadrone uses its paralytic gas only if it can 
  target two enemies in it. It doesn’t care how many 
  duodrones it hits with the attack. Otherwise it just 
  uses its five attacks on the opponent it is closest to. 
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for adjusting this combat 
  encounter. These are not cumulative. 
  Very weak party: Remove the tridrone from wave 1, a 
  quadrone from wave 2, and the pentadrone from wave 3
  Weak party: Remove 2 duodrones from wave 1 and the 
  pentadrone from wave 3
  Very strong party: Add a pentadrone to wave 3 
  Concluding the Encounter 
  If the adventurers win the fight, they’ve held the line 
  at this part of the city, and the modron threat is 
  eliminated. 
   If the adventurers lose this fight or choose to run 
  away, the City Watch is outflanked and the modrons 
  successfully occupy a portion of the city. 
  Orcs in the City 
  Purpose: To see if the city is sacked by the orc 
  forces. 
  Conflict: Adventurers versus the orc Forces 
  The Situation 
  The orc army is in the streets of Melvaunt. Read or 
  paraphrase the following: 
  The portal has been dealt with, but the walls of Melvaunt 
  have been breached. In the distance you can hear the battle 
  cry of orcs and the screams of the people of Melvaunt. The 
  orcs are savage and chaos incarnate, flowing though the city 
  like a fast spreading fire: razing and killing and looting. Drums 
  beat and the sound of battle comes closer. 
   
  The city is breached and you have few options as the orcs 
  are advancing on your location. There are citizens here. 
  People are scared and looking to you for help from their 
  windows and doors. What will you do? 
  Setup 
  This uses the City Map or Map #3. This encounter 
  has the orc forces swarming in over the course of 
  two waves. 
   Start on the map: 3 orcs and an orog 
   Round 3: 2 orcs and an orc Eye of Gruumsh.  
  The orcs appear on the south part of the map. At the 
  end of the orcs turn the next wave appears on the 
  southernmost part of the map. 
  The Tracking Sheet 
  Leona. If you have Leona’s gratitude, she has 
  ordered Jaymes to stay with the adventurers to 
  grant them assistance. This removes one orc from 
  each wave. 
  Tactics 
  The Orcs don’t really have tactics. They just try and 
  kill people but they’re more willing to break off and 
  start fires in the surrounding buildings. They have 
  the extra action: 
   Start Fire. As an action the orc starts a building it 
  is adjacent to on fire 
  The orog looks for the toughest looking adventurer 
  because it thinks killing that adventurer will prove 
  his worth. 
   The Eye of Gruumsh enters the fight with his 
  spiritual weapon already cast and casts bless on the 
  orog if the orog is still alive, himself, and one other 
  orc. Otherwise he just casts it on himself and the two 
  orcs with him. 
   The orcs just attack the closest adventurer or start 
  a building on fire. Every round a fire burns 
  unchecked make a mark on the building. If there are 
  three marks on a building, it burns uncontrollably 
  and is eventually destroyed. 
  Putting out Fires 
  Putting out the fires requires an action and some 
  way to extinguish them - water, a spell, or something 
  similar . There’s no check. It automatically happens 
  as long as an appropriate action is used. 
  Very weak party: Replace all creatures with orcs, and 
  remove 1 orc from each wave
  Weak party:  Replace the orc Eye of Gruumsh with an orc
  Very strong party: Add one orc to each wave 
  Concluding the Encounter 
  If the adventurers win the fight, they’ve held the line 
  at this part of the city. The orcs do only minimal 
  damage to the city and its population. 
   If the adventurers lose this fight or choose to run 
  away, the orcs run rampant through this part of the 
  city. The city is sacked completely, many lives are 
  lost, and much damage is done. 
  Orcs and Modrons in the City 
  Purpose: To survive a fight that is going to wreck 
  the city of Melvaunt and save as many people as 
  possible. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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  Conflict: Adventurers stand between the citizens of 
  Melvaunt and the attacking orcs and modrons. 
  The Situation 
  The orc army and the modron army are in the 
  streets of Melvaunt. Read or paraphrase the 
  following: 
  It’s all gone wrong. The portal is huge, shimmering blue and 
  purple, visible even above the buildings. The walls are blown 
  to bits. Orcs and modrons are everywhere in the streets 
  fighting each other, killing or subjugating or looting the city. 
  People are being killed left and right. It’s chaos. 
   
  You’ve managed to herd some innocent city-folk safely 
  into a building. They look at you, knowing that you’re the 
  only thing keeping them safe. That’s when the wall explodes 
  to your right as fire fills the building. What do you do? 
  Setup 
  This uses the city map. The adventurers are in the 
  building just north of the gazebo with around 20 
  citizens.  
   Outside of the building an orc just blew up the wall 
  with a vial of alchemist’s fire, which started the 
  building on fire. There is a force of orcs who are 
  trying to retreat into the building to find cover from 
  the modron force they’re fighting. The adventurers 
  are between all this and the citizens in the building. 
   Place 4 orcs, an orog, and an Eye of Gruumsh on 
  the map at the hole in the building. Place 6 
  duodrones, 2 tridrones, and a pentadrone 
  surrounding them. 
   Get some kind of marker for the citizens to remind 
  you they’re in the building as a mob. 
  Enemy Forces 
  The purpose of this encounter is not to kill the 
  adventurers (they have already had a pretty rough 
  time of it if they are playing this encounter). Instead, 
  only throw a couple of enemies at the adventurers 
  every other round to give the idea of threat. Let the 
  enemy forces kill each other, let the adventurers 
  fight a few and save the citizens in the process. 
  Putting Out the Fire 
  There’s a fire in the building. Putting out the fire 
  requires an action and some way to extinguish it - 
  water, a spell, or something similar. There’s no check. 
  It automatically happens as long as an appropriate 
  action is used. 
   Every round the fire isn’t put out after the second 
  round, 1d4 members of the citizenry catch fire and 
  die. 
  Calming the Citizens 
  A DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) 
  check calms the citizens that the adventurers are 
  trying to protect. Every round after the second that 
  they are panicking, 1d4 do something silly, like run 
  into the street, and are killed. 
  Concluding the Encounter 
  The adventurers just need to battle through and 
  survive. The city is going to be destroyed. There’s 
  nothing they can do about it. What they can do is 
  save as many people as they can. For each citizen 
  that survives the fight they get experience points. 
  The Portal is Outside the City 
  Purpose: To shore up the defenses of the city so 
  whichever army wins can’t get in. 
  Conflict: Fortify the defenses before the fight comes 
  to the city. 
  The Situation 
  The orc army and the modron army are clashing 
  outside the city. The walls have blown up, and they 
  need to be reinforced as fast as possible to help 
  defend against whichever army wins and then turns 
  on the city. 
  It’s going to plan. The portal is outside the city, but the walls 
  are a wreck. Captain Eledstra has found you.  
   
  “Good work with that crazy plan, but we’re in a spot. The 
  walls are in bad shape and we need your help. Please help us 
  patch them up as fast as possible since I’m pretty sure 
  whoever wins is coming after us next.” 
  Fixing the Walls 
  A lot of fixing the walls is about moving stones and 
  rubble in place to make sure the wall is at least 
  defensible. These are Strength (Athletics) checks  
   DC 14 gains a counter towards being done.  
   DC 19 gains two counters towards being done.  
   Less than 9 loses a counter as someone made a 
  mistake and destroyed part of the wall. 
  Anyone can use the Aid action by narrating how they 
  aid in the effort, and if it makes sense they designate 
  someone they aid to make the check. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
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   Any clever ideas for actions to help reinforce the 
  walls that use skill checks are at the same DC ratings 
  as the Strength (Athletic) checks. 
   Any clever ideas or use of magic or powers that 
  are resources can provide a counter towards success. 
   The Adventurers need to acquire 12 successes to 
  finish the wall before five rounds have elapsed.  
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Very weak party: Lower the DCs by 4
  Very strong party: Increase the DCs by 2 
  Procedure 
  Ask each adventurer what action they wish to take, 
  let them take it, check for complications, and then 
  start over.  
  Complications 
  End of Round 1: An orog is wrecking the 
  battlements the adventurers are trying to make. If 
  they don’t kill the orog by the end of any subsequent 
  round remove a success. Each round the orog is alive, 
  remove 1 success. For a very weak party, replace the 
  orog with an orc. 
  End of Round 3: Someone on the battlefield is 
  launching boulders. All adventurers are attacked. 
  +4 to hit; (8) 1d8 + 4 bludgeoning damage. Halve 
  damage for a very weak party; double damage for a 
  very strong party. 
  End of Round 5: Another orog attacks and another 
  boulder volley attacks. 
  Concluding the Encounter 
  The modron army eventually wins the field. If the 
  adventurers can gather enough successes before the 
  end of round 5 they succeed and their part of the 
  wall is held.  
   If the adventurers fail, then the modron army 
  breaks through their defenses into the city and 
  occupies part of it.  
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  23 
   
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  24 
  Conclusion 
  How this adventure ends is highly dependent on the 
  adventurers’ choices and successes. You’ll need to 
  narrate what the city looks like based on the way 
  things played out. If the adventurers succeeded in 
  their encounters, they earn the Hero of Melvaunt 
  Story Award. 
  Scenario 1 
  The modrons may occupy part of the city, depending 
  on how the adventurers faired in Modrons in the 
  City. 
  Scenario 2 
  The orcs either sacked the whole city or only a small 
  part of the city, depending on how the adventurers 
  faired in Orcs in the City. 
  Scenario 3 
  The orcs and modrons combined to destroy 
  Melvaunt, leaving it a war zone. 
  Scenario 4 
  The modron army has set up a small foothold 
  outside the city depending on how the adventurers 
  fared The Portal is Outside the City. 
  Rewards 
  Make sure the players note their rewards on their 
  adventure logsheets. Give your name and DCI 
  number (if applicable) so players can record who 
  ran the session. 
  Experience 
  Total up all combat experience earned for defeated 
  foes, and divide by the number of characters present 
  in the combat. For non-combat experience, the 
  rewards are listed per character. Give all characters 
  in the party non-combat experience awards unless 
  otherwise noted. 
  Combat Awards 
  Name of Foe 
   
   
  XP per Foe 
  Orc 
   
   
   
  100 
  Orog 
   
   
   
  450 
  Eye of Gruumsh  
   
  450 
  Duodrone 
   
   
  50 
  Tridrone 
   
   
  100 
  Quadrone 
   
   
  200 
  Pentadrone 
   
   
  450 
  Non-Combat Awards 
  Task or Accomplishment  
  XP per Character 
  Saving the Armory 
   
  100 
  Saving Drake 
   
   
  100 
  Saving Leona 
   
   
  100 
  Shrinking the portal 
   
  100 
  Moving the portal outside 
  200 
  Saving the walls  
   
  200 
  Defending the walls 
   
  100 
   
   The minimum total award for each character 
  participating in this adventure is 900 experience 
  points. 
   The maximum total award for each character 
  participating in this adventure is 1200 experience 
  points. 
  Treasure 
  The characters receive the following treasure, 
  divided up amongst the party. Characters should 
  attempt to divide treasure evenly whenever possible. 
  Gold piece values listed for sellable gear are 
  calculated at their selling price, not their purchase 
  price. 
   Consumable magic items should be divided up 
  however the group sees fit. If more than one 
  character is interested in a specific consumable 
  magic item, the DM can determine who gets it 
  randomly should the group be unable to decide. 
   Permanent magic items are divided according to 
  a system. See the sidebar if the adventure awards 
  permanent magic items. 
  Potion of Greater Healing 
  Potion, uncommon 
  A description of this item can be found in the 
  Dungeon Master’s Guide.  
  Treasure Awards 
  Item Name 
   
   
  GP value 
  Total reward from Davol  
  200 
  Total reward from Eledstra 
  200 
  Part 4 Treasure  
   
  500 
  Renown 
  All faction members earn one renown point for 
  participating in this adventure. 
  Downtime 
  Each character receives five downtime days at the 
  conclusion of this adventure. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  25 
  Story Awards 
  During the course of play, the characters have the 
  opportunity to earn the following story awards: 
   
  Hero of the Battle of Melvaunt. Historians will in 
  time write of this event: the day brave heroes fought 
  a battle on two front, against the mechanical menace 
  that came through the portal while at the same time 
  beating back an orc horde. Thanks to your help 
  Melvaunt survived. While in Melvaunt, you receive 
  free comfortable lifestyle when using downtime days 
  after adventures set in Melvaunt. 
   
  Leona’s Gratitude. You have saved Leona’s life, and 
  the Red Wizard is in your debt. She will make you 
  one common or uncommon potion for no charge. 
  This may only be used once, but the award may 
  come into play in later adventures. 
   
  Thomas Druat has His Eye on You. Council of Lords 
  member Thomas Druat is keenly aware of your 
  presence in the city. Right now that could be a good 
  thing or a bad thing. But you will definitely meet him 
  again. 
  DM Rewards 
  You receive 200 XP, 100 gp, and five downtime 
  days for running this session.  
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  26 
  Appendix 1 – DM Advice 
  The Time Line 
  Space 
  Event 
  One 
  The first building explodes and the meeting 
  between the Red Wizard and Thomas Druat. 
  Two 
  The portal starts to widen and an assassin crew 
  of Modron’s kills Leona. 
  Three 
  The Orc Prisoner tells what he knows. 
  Four 
  The Walls Explode and the Portal Widens. 
  Five 
  The Orc Army Arrives and the Modron’s Attack. 
   
  Each of the following happens when the orc army 
  tracker moves to a track space if the adventurers 
  don’t intervene. 
  One. When the orc army tracker is on this space the 
  building explodes in Part 1 – The North Gate. The 
  meeting between Leona and Thomas is also 
  happening at the same time. 
  Two. The portal starts to widen and grow. The 
  guards alert the Captain, who sends a runner to alert 
  the adventurers. If the adventurers aren’t there the 
  modrons kill Leona in their assassination attempt. 
  Three. If the adventurers weren’t there the orc 
  prisoner finally spills on where Seeth Vainscore is. 
  Four. The orc army arrives outside the gates and the 
  portal reaches its apex of power. 
  Five. The walls explode signaling the orc army to 
  attack, and the modron army attacks the city at the 
  same time. 
  A Little Advice 
  Here’s where you can make this adventure sing. One 
  of the themes is that time and events are spiraling 
  out of control, and the adventurers can only mitigate 
  so much of it. With a little cleverness they can handle 
  a lot of it, but one of your objectives here is to make 
  them understand things are happening outside of 
  their control, and event grow to a point where all of 
  the nine hells are going to break loose. So how do 
  you do that? 
   There’s a timeline. You can use that to let the 
  adventurers know about the other things happening 
  in the city. You need some way to deliver 
  information to them and let them know what’s going 
  on. Here are some tools. 
   Captain Eledstra. The Captain is constantly 
  looking for updates to keep the adventurers 
  informed of what’s going on. You can use Tara from 
  earlier as the runner to find and provide the 
  adventurers information. Now the adventurers 
  might not be easily found. If that’s the case, then 
  that’s ok, don’t drop people on them if it doesn’t 
  make sense. 
   Here’s an example. If the adventurers are 
  investigating Leona, it might be harder for the 
  Captain to keep them informed unless the 
  adventurers stay in touch or let the Captain know 
  what they are doing. If they’re dealing with the orc 
  threat, then the Captain is more easily able to find 
  them to let them know what’s going on with the 
  portal, such as the Red Wizard was murdered or the 
  portal is widening. 
   Really Noticeable Stuff. The building exploding 
  and the portal widening and growing are great 
  indicators of a city starting to spiral out of control. 
  You also have the track on the table, which is a bit of 
  a meta piece, but it will help increase the tension. 
   If the adventurers are looking into Leona, then the 
  building exploding is also a great way to make them 
  feel like things are happening in the city. Decide if 
  you want it to explode during or at the end of that 
  section. It’s cool. We trust you to do the right thing.  
   The portal itself starts to grow at some point and 
  become more noticeable. That’s another piece you 
  can use to show things are moving toward an end 
  point.  
  Crossing Over 
  If the adventurers feel like one problem is more 
  important than the other to deal with during the 
  scenario, let them cross over. Here are some good 
  points to let them do that, but you’ll probably need 
  to use your best judgement for where they can drop 
  into the other path if they switch.  
   The city is big, so  move the orc army marker the 
  each time they decide to switch paths. 
   After the first building explodes and they choose 
  or don’t choose to deal with the situation, they can 
  flip to Leona if they think the Captain and their 
  crew can handle the orcs. 
   After Leona has been killed and they learn about it, 
  they might be more interested in seeing her lab 
  and her work. You can relate that she had work on 
  portals and the planes in her lab through the 
  Captain’s runner or the Captain herself if present. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  27 
  Appendix 2 – NPC Summary  
  The following NPCs appear or are mentioned in this 
  adventure.  
   
  Davol Port (DAY-vall). Human male. Fit, stout, well-
  groomed and clothed, and has a deep voice. He’s 
  warm and yet forward about what he wants or 
  would like people to do for him. He doesn’t mince 
  words but is a business man first and treats most 
  things in life as a transaction. Payment for service 
  and service for payment. One of the merchant lords 
  of Melvaunt. 
   
  LeCampe Eledstra (eh-LED-strah). Human female. 
  Late middle age. She’s a decent woman who takes 
  her job of protecting Melvaunt’s ordinary citizens 
  seriously. Tall, thin, and lanky with a shock of unruly 
  white hair through which she runs her fingers 
  constantly whenever she’s trying to think. Very bad 
  at playing political games, which is why she only just 
  got promoted to Captain despite her many years of 
  service in the City Watch. 
   
  Drake Liston (LIS-tun). Male human. Young, dark 
  skinned, Lieutenant to Captain Eledstra. A bit brash 
  but confident, fit, athletic and a little on the short 
  side. Boyish and tends to wear a grin, even if he’s 
  just been almost killed. Has an adventurer’s soul but 
  he loves the city of Melvaunt, which he now protects 
  as best he can. 
   
  Tara Sorkin (SORE-kin). Female human. Tough 
  young woman with a little muscle on her, a good 
  head on her shoulders, and a drive to keep people 
  safe. She’s a level headed. Take measured actions but 
  will take risks when absolutely needed. Has a good 
  heart and a deep care for the people of Melvaunt. 
  Lieutenant to Captain Eledstra. 
   
  Leona Krystal (lee-OH-nah KRIS-tall). Leona is a 
  Red Wizard and a brilliant expert on portals and 
  planar travel. She’s also very protective of her 
  companions. She is a 27-year-old human who wears 
  glasses and carries herself as if she’s older. 
   
  Cort. (KORT) Cort is tall, lanky, thin, and Leona’s 
  assistant. He helps with some of the very fine 
  crafting work because of his thin and dexterous 
  hands. He speaks well but quietly and takes his cues 
  from Leona. 
   
  Jaymes the Blink Dog. Jaymes is a blink dog, very 
  smart, likes to sleep by warm spaces, and would do 
  anything for Leona. Leona seems to be able to 
  understand him and Jaymes understands everything 
  and everyone. 
   
  Thomas Druat (drew–AUT). Human male. Chubby, 
  tall, clean shaven and comfortably dressed. His tenor 
  voice is light and filled with promises and honey. 
  He’s crafty, seemingly kind, and imposing when he 
  desires and like to get people to think it was their 
  idea to agree with his plans. He plays the game of 
  political maneuvering and business well. One of the 
  merchant lords of Melvaunt. 
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  28 
  Appendix 3 – NPC/Monster 
  Statistics 
  Orc 
  Medium humanoid (orc), chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 13 (hide armor) 
  Hit Points 15 (2d8 + 6) 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  16 (+3) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 7 (-2) 
  11 (+0) 10 (+0) 
  Skills Intimidation +2 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages Common, Orc 
  Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) 
   
  Aggressive. As a bonus action, the orog can move up to 
  its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. 
  Actions 
  Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) slashing damage. 
  javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 
  3) piercing damage. 
   
  Orog (Seeth) 
  Medium humanoid (orc), chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 18 (plate) 
  Hit Points 42 (5d8 + 20) 
  Speed 30 ft 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  18 (+4) 12 (+1) 18 (+4) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 
  Skills Intimidation +5, Survival +2 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages Common, Orc 
  Challenge 2 (450 XP) 
   
  Aggressive. As a bonus action, the orog can move up to 
  its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. 
  Actions 
  Multiattack. The orog makes two greataxe attacks. 
   
  Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 14 (1d12 + 4 plus 1d8) slashing damage. 
   
  javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (ld6 + 
  4) piercing damage. 
   
  Eye of Gruumsh 
  Medium humanoid (orc), chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 16 (ring mail, shield) 
  Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18) 
  Speed 30 ft 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  16 (+3) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 9 (-1) 
  13 (+1) 12 (+1) 
  Skills Intimidation +3, Religion +1 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11 
  Languages Common, Orc 
  Challenge 2 (450 XP) 
   
  Aggressive. As a bonus action, the orog can move up to 
  its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. 
   
  Gruumsh's Fury. The ore deals an extra 4 (ld8) damage 
  when it hits with a weapon attack (included in the 
  attacks). 
   
  Spellcasting. The ore is a 3rd-level spellcaster. Its 
  spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 11, +3 to 
  hit with spell attacks). The ore has the following cleric 
  spells prepared: 
   
  Cantrips (at-will): guidance, resistance, thaumaturgy 
  1st level (4 slots): bless, command 
  2nd level (2 slots): augury, spiritual weapon (spear) 
  Actions 
  Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (ld6 + 
  3 plus ld8) piercing damage, or 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing 
  damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack. 
   
  Duodrone 
  Medium construct, lawful neutral 
  Armor Class 15 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2) 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  29 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  11 (+0) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 6 (-2) 
  10 (+0) 7 (-2) 
  Senses passive Perception 10 
  Languages Modron, Common 
  Challenge 1/4 (50 XP) 
   
  Axiomatic Mind. The duodrone can't be compelled to 
  act in a manner contrary to its nature or its instructions. 
  Disintegration. If the duodrone dies, its body 
  disintegrates into dust, leaving behind its weapons and 
  anything else it was carrying. 
  Actions 
  Multiattack. The duodrone makes two fist attacks or 
  two javelin attacks. 
  Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage. 
  Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 
  1) piercing damage. 
   
  Tridrone 
  Medium construct, lawful neutral 
  Armor Class 15 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3) 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  12 (+1) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 9 (-1) 
  10 (+0) 9 (-1) 
  Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages Modron, Common 
  Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) 
   
  Axiomatic Mind. The tridrone can't be compelled to 
  act in a manner contrary to its nature or its instructions. 
  Disintegration. If the tridrone dies, its body 
  disintegrates into dust, leaving behind its weapons and 
  anything else it was carrying. 
  Actions 
  Multiattack. The tridrone makes three fist attacks or 
  three javelin attacks. 
  Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage. 
  Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 
  1) piercing damage. 
   
  Quadrone 
  Medium construct, lawful neutral 
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 22 (4d8 + 4) 
  Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  12 (+1) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 10 (+0)  11 (+0) 
  Skills Perception +2 
  Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 12 
  Languages Modron, Common 
  Challenge 1 (200 XP) 
   
  Axiomatic Mind. The quadrone can't be compelled to 
  act in a manner contrary to its nature or its instructions. 
  Disintegration. If the quadrone dies, its body 
  disintegrates into dust, leaving behind its weapons and 
  anything else it was carrying. 
  Actions 
  Multiattack. The quadrone makes two fist attacks or 
  four shortbow attacks. 
  Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage. 
  Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 
  80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. 
   
  Quadrone 
  Medium construct, lawful neutral 
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 32 (5d10 + 4) 
  Speed 40 ft. 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  15 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 10 (+0)  13 (+1) 
  Skills Perception +4 
  Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 14 
  Languages Modron, Common 
  Challenge 2 (450 XP) 
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  30 
   
  Axiomatic Mind. The pentadrone can't be compelled 
  to act in a manner contrary to its nature or its 
  instructions. 
  Disintegration. If the pentadrone dies, its body 
  disintegrates into dust, leaving behind its weapons and 
  anything else it was carrying. 
  Actions 
  Multiattack. The pentadrone makes five arm attacks. 
  Arm. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 5 (ld6 + 2) bludgeoning damage. 
  Paralysis Gas (Recharge 5- 6). The pentadrone exhales 
  a 30·foot cone of gas. Each creature in that area must 
  succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or be 
  paralyzed for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the 
  saving throw at the end of each of its 
  turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. 
   
  Guard 
  Medium humanoid (human), Neutral 
  Armor Class 15 (chain shirt) 
  Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2) 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA 
  13 (+1) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 11 (+0)  10 (+0) 
  Skills Perception +2 
  Senses passive Perception 12 
  Languages Common 
  Challenge 1/8 (25 XP) 
  Actions 
  Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 20f60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 
  1) piercing damage. 
   
   
  
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  CORE1-3 A Hole in the World 
  31 
  Appendix 3 – Tracking Sheet 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/Adventure League/Convention Created Content/Baldman Games (BMG)/CCC-BMG-03 CORE 1-3 A Hole in the World.pdf