The Starmetal Hills
The Starmetal Hills are a range of rocky knolls between Neverwinter Wood and the Long Road. They are so named because the area has been the target of several meteor showers over the millennia. The hills are haunted by various tribes of Uthgardt, giving few others reason to visit the area.
Deep in the Starmetal Hills, a group of dwarves devoted to Marthammor Duin (the dwarven god of explorers, travelers, and outcasts) established the village of Twilight Tor, on the shores of a cold, crystal-clear lake known as Lake Glorfindar. Few but the dwarves know of this place. Travelers of good will are welcome, and the stargazing is excellent.
A few miles north of Twilight Tor stands a long-forgotten tower, now in ruins. The top floors of the tower have collapsed, and its walls are overgrown with moss and creeping vines.
Wilderness Encounters
Twilight Tor may be relatively safe, hidden among the hills, but the surrounding area isn't as welcoming. Remember to keep track of marching order during the day and watch order at night.
Check for an encounter once during the day and once at night by rolling a d20. On a roll of 17-20, an encounter takes place. Roll on the Starmetal Hills Encounters table to determine what the party meets.
Starmetal Hills Encounters
| 2d6 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 pegasus flying gracefully through the clouds |
| 3 | 2d4 Uthgardt barbarians (CE human tribal warriors) led either by 1 Uthgardt shaman (50%) or by 1 chieftain (CE human berserker) (50%) |
| 4 | 1 crag cat, which will stalk the adventurers during the day and attack them at night |
| 5 | — |
| 6–7 | 1d4 stargazers (commoners) setting up camp |
| 8 | — |
| 9 | — |
| 10 | A small impact crater |
| 11 | 1 researcher (commoner) searching for impact craters. The researcher is grateful to receive any information regarding the location of a crater. |
| 12 | A small crater with a meteorite in its center. The meteorite weighs 5d6 pounds, and looks like an asymmetrical grey rock streaked through with veins of metal. It is composed of starmetal ore. |
The Uthgardt barbarians and chieftain listed on the table speak only Bothii, the language of the Uthgardt. The shaman listed on the table belongs to the Griffon tribe, which means its Innate Spellcasting feature gains the spells feather fall and fly, each of which the shaman can cast once per day.
Twilight Tor
This small village is populated almost entirely by dwarven devotees of Marthammor Duin. The villagers subsist mostly on fish caught in the always-warm Neverwinter River or in the colder Lake Glorfindar.
When the party reaches Twilight Tor, read the following text:
As you get closer, the sounds and smells of the settlement start filling the air: the thick odor of fish, the clang of a hammer striking an anvil, the deep ringing of a bell.
The inhabitants of Twilight Tor are welcoming enough to outsiders, but the village simply isn't equipped to deal with many guests (especially human-sized ones). The local tavern would be glad to host the adventurers for a day or two — provided they give the tavern their patronage.
Important Locations
Twilight Tor has a few establishments that may be relevant to the adventurers. In addition to thirty or so small stone houses, the village contains the following points of interest:
Chapel. The chapel is analogous in some ways to a town hall. Debates are held, disputes are settled, and religious and legal ceremonies are officiated within the chapel's high vaulted hall. This is because the position of alderman and the position of priest are held by the same person: an elderly lawful good shield dwarf female by the name of Helja Loderr. Helja is thin by dwarf standards, speaks in a calm, quiet voice, and has streaks of gray and white throughout her brown hair. Like many female dwarves, she sports a thick, braided beard.
Smithy. Some of the very first dwarves to settle this area did so in an attempt to become rich off of the starmetal strewn about the nearby hills. They failed, but they still learned the complicated techniques needed to work starmetal. The town's blacksmith, Travok Starforger, is the descendant of one of those settlers. Travok, a brawny, middle-aged lawful good shield dwarf male, is willing to pay the adventurers for any starmetal they find, and will tell them as such. He can also craft common magic items given enough money and time. He can even craft certain rarer items — especially weapons and armor — if provided with money, time, and an ample supply of starmetal.
Tavern. This tavern's name, Bruenor's Brewery, is something of a misnomer — it hasn't produced any alcohol in a hundred years. Still, it serves as a gathering place for the locals, and many a dwarf has stayed the night here after falling asleep. In this way, the tavern is the closest thing Twilight Tor has to an inn. Its proprietor, Bruenor Battlebrew, is a friendly lawful good shield dwarf male over two centuries old.
Important NPCs
Most of the notable NPCs in Twilight Tor are already listed under the "Important Locations" heading, but one more NPC deserves to be mentioned. Westria Brightwood, a neutral good human female commoner, is conducting research into the origin of starmetal and its anomalous properties. In her investigation, she found several mentions of a wizard named Mormesk in the Starmetal Hills, and set out to find the last of his research. Alas, after exploring the ground floor of Mormesk's old tower, she was attacked by a pair of gargoyles. She's been staying with Helja for the past few weeks, trying to convince people to escort her back to the tower.
She's willing to pay the adventurer's 10 gp apiece for their help in securing the research documents.
Mormesk's Tower
Hundreds of year ago, this tower belonged to the human wizard Mormesk Nuuhrelraft. When he died in Wave Echo Cave, the tower quickly fell into disrepair. A variety of creatures have laired in the tower since then. Currently, it is home to two gargoyles who take cruel pleasure in hurting anyone who gets too close.
1. Ground Floor
The tower's ground floor is essentially one large room.
Treasure
Hidden beneath the debris in this room is a wand of magic missiles. The wand is difficult to spot but can be found with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check.
2. Second Floor
A pair of gargoyles crouch among the shadows in the broken ceiling above a desk on the far side of this room. The desk holds the research material Westria is after.
If Westria is with the party, add:
Each "potion" is actually a flask containing either acid or alchemist's fire.
Acid. As an action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage.
Alchemist's Fire. This sticky, adhesive fluid ignites when exposed to air. As an action, you can throw this flask up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames.
If a creature attempts to drink one of the "potions", they must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or suffer the appropriate effect.
A creature who has consumed a "potion" can use an action on a subsequent turn to induce vomiting by making a DC 15 Constitution check. On a success, the "potion" is regurgitated, along with the contents of the creature's stomach.
Developments
The ambient magic in the tower has seeped into the gargoyles over the years they've spent here. If a gargoyle is reduced to less than half its hit point maximum, its stone skin begins to crack and glow. Thereafter, any hostile creature who starts its turn within 10 feet of the gargoyle or hits it with a melee attack takes 2d6 force damage.
Treasure
Most of the valuables in the tower have been looted long ago, but Mormesk's research into cold iron is still in perfect condition, preserved by magic. In addition, several nuggets of starmetal are strewn around the room. They require no check to find, but a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check is required to determine their importance. The room contains approximately 10 pounds of starmetal.
Starmetal, also known as "cold iron", is a unique alloy of iron found only in meteorites. It possesses a number of strange qualities, not least of which is its ability to harm those creatures susceptible to silver. Folklore is rife with tales of fey and other extra-planar entities screeching in pain when exposed to cold iron, and though many of these tales are exaggerated, they all carry a kernel of truth.
For these reasons, and because of the obvious difficulty in securing reliable sources of cold iron, the alloy is worth a small fortune to the right buyer. When sold to an artificer, jeweler, or auction house, a pound of starmetal is worth 50 gold pieces, or half that in its unrefined form. However, finding a buyer in any place other than the most bustling of metropolises can be almost as hard as locating the metal itself, since most people can't tell the difference between starmetal and mundane iron.
Monsters
The following two monsters can be encountered in the Staremtal Hills.
Crag Cat
Large beast, unaligned
- Armor Class 13
- Hit Points 34 (4d10 + 12)
- Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 17 (+3) 16 (+3) 4 (-3) 14 (+2) 8 (-1)
- Skills Perception +4, Stealth +7
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
- Languages —
- Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Nondetection. The cat can’t be targeted or detected by any divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors.
Pounce. If the cat moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the cat can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
Spell Turning. The cat has advantage on saving throws against any spell that targets only the cat (not an area). If the cat’s saving throw succeeds and the spell is of 7th level or lower, the spell has no effect on the cat and instead targets the caster.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage.
The creature referred to in Northlander lore as the Hunter of Men is a sure-footed predator that can be found anywhere except deep forest, preferring ledges and cliffs in the mountains. Its cry resembles a human scream of terror. It often elicits such sounds from its victims, for it prefers human flesh to all other prey.
Crag cats blend in with natural surroundings. During the winter, their fur turns white to blend in with the snow. At other times of the year, their fur is gray, enabling them to hide among the rocks more easily.
The crag cat knows its territory and often attacks when its prey is asleep, exhausted, or otherwise weakened. Although crag cats are typically solitary, they can be found in family groups of two parents and 1d4 Small noncombatant cubs in the spring, or in hungry packs in severe winter weather.
Uthgardt Shaman (Griffon)
Medium humanoid, neutral evil
- Armor Class 13 (hide armor)
- Hit Points 38 (7d8 + 7)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 12 (+1)
- Skills Medicine +4, Nature +4, Perception +4, Survival +6
- Senses passive Perception 14
- Languages Bothii, Common
- Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Innate Spellcasting. The shaman can innately cast the following spells (spell save DC 12; +4 to hit with spell attacks) with a sacred bundle:
At will: dancing lights, mage hand, message, thaumaturgy
1/day each: augury, bestow curse, cordon of arrows, detect magic, feather fall, fly, hex, prayer of healing, speak with dead, spirit guardians
Actions
Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage, or 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage.
Uthgardt barbarians are suspicious and resentful of most kinds of magic. Seldom do they choose to become shamans. Instead, the role is thrust upon those who are born with a strong connection to the spirit world. To be a shaman is to stand apart from the tribe, with one foot in the land of the living and the other in the land of the dead. Those who walk the shadowed path between two lands do so because the spirits of the dead compel them. Other Uthgardt fear and respect a shaman’s power.
An Uthgardt shaman must possess a sacred bundle to cast spells. A sacred bundle is made up of sticks, bones, feathers, tufts of fur, and stones that have been “touched” by spirits. It takes a month for a shaman to assemble a sacred bundle, and a shaman can use only one such bundle at a time. A sacred bundle benefits only the shaman who created it, and it doesn’t replace the normal components of a spell.
In addition to the spells that all Uthgardt shamans can cast, a shaman of a particular tribe gains additional spells based on tribal affiliation (see the “Uthgardt Shaman Tribal Spells” sidebar).
By communing with their ancestors’ spirits, Uthgardt shamans can also learn secret rituals. These rituals almost always require some sort of blood sacrifice, and their effects are usually transformative. For example, some Black Raven shamans know a ritual that allows them to hatch giant ravens from normal raven eggs, and some shamans of the Griffon tribe can transform themselves into griffons by performing a ritual that requires them to drink copious amounts of horse blood.