The Lantern Road
OriginalOne-Shot · Classic road adventure with a spooky edge
A night escort through the Ashpine Pass for a caravan that's late, short of guards, and carrying something the dark wants back.
Character Level 3
Length 3–4 hours
Players 3–5
Read Aloud
The Caravan Master doesn't look up from her ledger. "Six wagons, one night, through the Ashpine Pass. Bandits are the least of it. Keep the lanterns lit, keep the wagons moving, and whatever you hear calling from the trees, don't answer. Five gold each now, twenty more at the far side. Still interested?"
The rest of this adventure is for your Dungeon Master's eyes only: its secrets, maps, encounters and rewards. No spoilers here. Switch to DM in the header if you're the one running it.
For the DM
One of the wagons carries a shrine lamp stolen from a mountain shrine and sold to a merchant who had no idea what it was. A gloamhound has followed its scent from the mountains, and the bandits of the pass have been told by a mysterious grey pilgrim that the lamp is worth a fortune. If the party reach the roadside shrine at the top of the pass and return the lamp, the light of a far greater guardian will show them the way home.
Scene 1: The Caravan
The party meet Orla Venn and her drivers, inspect the wagons, and learn about the night ahead. A nervous merchant, Pell Hamwick, insists his wagon must not be opened. Players who chat with the drivers hear about the howling in the pass and the light on the mountain that guides honest travellers.
Scene 2: Wolves at Dusk
As the light fades, a wolf pack shadows the caravan and attacks the rear wagon. The wolves seem to be fleeing something.
The Pack
- 5× Wolf (CR 1/4)
Keep the wagons moving: each round a wagon is left unguarded, roll a d6; on a 1, a wolf drags off a horse.
Scene 3: The Toll
Bandits have felled a tree across the road and demand Pell's wagon. Their captain is willing to talk, and lets slip that a grey pilgrim paid them to take the lamp. Clever players can turn the bandits against their employer or bargain their way through.
Ambush at the Fallen Pine
- 5× Bandit (CR 1/8)
- 1× Bandit Captain (CR 2)
Bandits flee if their captain falls or surrenders. Avoiding this fight is a perfectly good outcome.
Scene 4: The Thing in the Dark
At midnight, the lanterns gutter. The gloamhound attacks, going straight for Pell's wagon. When the party finally open the wagon, they find the shrine lamp, cold and dark. Lighting it from one of the caravan's lanterns makes it blaze white, and the gloamhound howls.
Gloamhound
- 1× Gloamhound (CR 3)
- 2× Wolf (CR 1/4)
If the shrine lamp is lit, the gloamhound can't use Umbral Step within 20 feet of it.
Scene 5: The Shrine
At the top of the pass stands a roadside shrine with an empty lamp niche. Returning the lamp brings a white-gold light from the mountain peak far above, and a vast, warm voice thanks the party. The caravan reaches the far side by dawn.
Characters
Orla Venn · Caravan Master
Gruff, efficient, and secretly fond of anyone who works hard. Pays exactly what she promised. Use the Caravan Master stat block.
Pell Hamwick · Nervous merchant
Bought the lamp from a peddler for a song and has been having nightmares ever since. Will confess if pressed. Use the Commoner stat block.
Captain Rusk · Bandit captain
Practical and greedy, but no fool. If he learns what's hunting the caravan, he'd rather be elsewhere. Use the Bandit Captain stat block.
Rewards
- 25 gp each from Orla, plus a bonus of 10 gp each if no wagon was lost.
- Potion of Healing ×2 from a grateful driver.
- The blessing of the Lantern: each character can reroll one failed saving throw before their next long rest.
Running It
- This one-shot is a perfect prologue for the Embers of the Lantern Wyrm campaign.
- Track the lanterns: give the players physical tokens for each lit lantern and take them away when the gloamhound comes.