Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to Storm King's Thunder

This guide is meant to help DMs plan out the new D&D adventure, Storm King's Thunder. This will be a work in progress for a few weeks, so bear with me and check back once in a while. Right now, all I have is the intro adventure. I figured I'd get started because I am pretty excited to get a look at what this thing is all about.

Official Links

Players Guide
DM Guide
Character Sheet

Rolling Magic Items: I see at least one instance where you have to roll a magic item on the table in the DMG. You might want to do that in advance to save time and so you've read and understood what it does already. Sometimes when you use these charts, you end up rolling over and over because the result is lame or doesn't fit any of the classes in the group.

A Great Upheaval

Megalith Sighting: Right off the bat, we get more megalith stuff. I talked about this here. Every official adventure so far has had at least one mysterious, unexplained megalith. In this case, four cloud giants stole it from Nightstone, thinking it to be an Ostorian artifact.

Basic Scenario: The giants attacked the small settlement of Nightstone. The villagers fled to nearby caves. It turns out that there's goblins in them thar caves and we have ourselves an adventure!

Arrival: The group comes to Nightstone to find it abandoned, save for goblins looting the village. Goblin MM page 166. They'll hear the church bells...

The Ringing Bell: The church bell is ringing. The group is likely to go check it out. The noise is caused by two goblins gleefully swinging on the rope connected to the bell in 5b.

1. Drawbridge: The group can find two sets of tracks:

• Villager tracks that lead north
• Goblin and wolf tracks that lead in the same direction.

3. Square: Worgs MM page 341.

4e. Summerhawk Residence: Antitoxin PH page 151. Herbalism kit PH page 154.

6a. Nandar Crypt and Graveyard: Specter MM page 279.

8. Nightstone Inn: Kella Darkhope is a Zhentarim agent that will be spying on the group through the hole in 8f. If you run the "Seven Snakes" event, Seven Zhentarim will come to the village and call out for her. They want to make this place a Zhentarim base.

8c. Morak's Bedroom: Potion of Heroism: DMG page 188. Gain 10 temporary hit points for one hour, gain the effects of bless (PH page 219) which is: gain +d4 to attack rolls and saving throws for one hour also!

8f. Kella's Bedroom: Spy MM page 349. Flying snake MM page 322.

9. Trading Post: Adventuring Gear PH page 150.

14a. Great Hall: 4 guards MM page 347. They are Sydiri, Torem, Alara and Kaelen. They know a lot and want guidance.

14d. Upstairs Hall: Flying Sword MM page 20.

Seven Snakes: This is really cool. 7 Zhentarim show up and what the characters did with Kella will have ramifications. Potion of Invulnerability DMG page 188. Resistance to all damage for one minute.

Ear Seeker: 20 Orcs fleeing elves! Orcs MM page 246. Scouts MM page 349. The elves can show up at a convenient time if you so choose.

Dripping Caves


1b. Hot Mud Bath: An ogre taking a bath! Ogre MM page 237.

2. Goblin Warrens: You might want to think about your players attitudes. These non-combatant goblins might create a "one player wants to kill the orc babies and the others don't" scenario.

3a. The Blob: A black pudding inside a stalagmite. Black pudding MM page 241. It has total cover, so that means it can't be targeted directly by an attack or spell.

Prisoners: The number in parenthesis denotes how many of that family or group there are:

• Morak Ur'gray: Dwarf innkeeper, leader of prisoners. Morak ends up handing out quests once this is done, so beware!
• Hiral Mystrum: Cowardly priest of Lathander
• (6) Unarmed, wounded guards.
• (2) Agganor Family: Tiefling devil worshipers
• (5) Delfryndels: Own the windmill. Son was eaten by the goblins.
• (5) Hulvaarn: Potato farmers.
• (2) Nesper: Two kidsm family is dead
• (2) Osstra: Wheat farmers
• (5) Summerhawk: Halflings, the father died, crushed by a rock.

Once it is all Over: Morak wants the group to go on a quest. You, the DM, should pick the one you want to do:

• Bryn Shander: Go to Icewind Dale and tell Markham that his sister, Semile, is dead.
• Goldenfields: Go tell Mirok Xelbrin that his parents are dead and bring him the tressym (winged cat).
• Triboar: Go tell Darthag's ex-wife the Darthag is dead.

They give you the travel times and everything, pretty nice.

It's All About the Journey: So this cloud giant ends up taking the group where they want to go in his tower with a wizard hat on it.
Aerie: Griffons MM page 174.

Day 3 Howling Hatred: Cultists from Princes of the Apocalypse! I like it. Invisible stalker MM page 192. Bag of holding DMG page 153.

If The PCs Are Losing: Zephyros will help out with a mass suggestion spell (PH page 258). It affects up to 12 creatures within 60 feet, Wisdom save DC 17, Duration 24 hours.

Considering the Cult's Offer: Contact Other Plane: PH page 226. Zephyros needs to make a DC 15 Intelligence save. He has a +1!! Fail: 6d6 psychic and insane until a long rest. Insanity means he can't take actions, he can't understand people, can't read and can only speak in gibberish.

Day 10 Operation Orb Strike: Silver Dragon MM page 117. Potion of gaseous form: DMG page 187. Gain gaseous form as per the spell (PH page 244). Your movement is fly 10, you have resistance to nonmagical damage, you can pass through small holes, etc.

That's where we're at. Once I get the book I'll be plugging away at this thing, so check back soon.