The adventure ahead
This campaign will be deleted in 6 days. Create a free account to claim all your generated content.
A betrayal mystery for levels 1–3.
Harrow's Rest is a frontier town built on an old promise: the Salt Oath, a pact that once bound its founders to keep the peace and remember their debts. When the town's oath-ledger vanishes and a courier named Deni Vell disappears with it, the party is drawn into a hunt that runs from the Weary Lantern's common room to a drowned mill, a mercenary camp, and a barrow beneath the marsh.
Everyone in Harrow's Rest has a version of the story. The marshal is helpful. The innkeeper is frightened. The watchman is drunk. The courier's sister is lying about something. Somewhere in the middle of all that kindness is a betrayal that has already been paid for.
Tone: warm frontier hospitality with a knife under the table. Big emotions, fast action, and villains who believe they are the hero of their own ledger.
Themes: oath, debt, found family, and the cost of being loyal to the wrong person.
Share with your players
Harrow's Rest is the kind of town where the innkeeper knows your name before you give it, the shrine keeper pours an extra cup for the road, and the marshal remembers every favor she has ever done you. It is also the kind of town where a courier can vanish with the town's oath-ledger and everyone has a different reason to say he ran.
You arrive on the night the bells ring. The Salt Shrine has been robbed. Deni Vell, the courier, is missing. Mara Vell, his sister and the innkeeper of the Weary Lantern, is the first person to ask for your help—and the first person to lie to you about why she is afraid.
Tone: frontier warmth, fast action, and the slow cold of realizing someone you trusted sold you out.
Starting hook: Mara meets you at the Weary Lantern with a torn satchel strap, a brass whistle, and a question: will you find her brother before the marshal's curfew closes the roads?
Behind the screen
This preview covers Act I: the starting region of Harrow's Rest and its three surrounding key locations. The central villain is Kestrel Vane, the Marshal of Ash, the town's trusted marshal and the betrayer at the heart of the mystery. Vane stole the Salt Oath ledger to erase her own name from its list of debtors and sold the town's protection to a distant patron called the Ashen Choir. She is not the campaign's ultimate evil—she is its first hand, and the ledger's last page is the first clue to the Choir's larger design.
The act runs as a chase: the party follows Deni Vell's trail from Harrow's Rest to the Drowned Mill, then to Greywatch Camp, and finally to the Sunken Barrow, where Vane tries to destroy the ledger and take the barrow's oath-stone. Each scene gives the party one hard piece of the truth and one reason to keep moving. The finale should leave the party with the ledger, the name of the Ashen Choir, and a road east—beyond this preview.
Pacing: 3–4 sessions. Scene 1 is investigation and roleplay; Scene 2 is exploration and a skirmish; Scene 3 is a rescue with a negotiable fight; Scene 4 is the boss confrontation. Vane should feel reasonable, warm, and terrifying when the mask slips.
Hook 01
Mara Vell meets the party at the Weary Lantern with a torn satchel strap, her brother Deni's brass whistle, and a desperate request: find Deni before Marshal Kestrel Vane's curfew closes the roads. Mara admits Deni took the Salt Oath ledger from the shrine but insists he was protecting it, not stealing it. She offers room, board, and 25 gp from her savings. The first clues point north to the Drowned Mill, where Deni's trail and Vane's shadow both lead.
Hook 02
Osric Thane, retired sergeant and town watchman, asks the party to clear giant rats from his cellar and seal a cracked wall to the marsh. Among the old soldier's gear they find a salt-light fragment of the Sunken Barrow's oath-stone and a campaign sword bearing the Salt Oath company mark. Osric recognizes the mark and admits Marshal Vane served with the company before her discharge. He offers to guide the party to the Drowned Mill if they promise not to hand Deni Vell to the marshal.
The party arrives in Harrow's Rest as the town's oath-ledger is stolen and courier Deni Vell disappears. Following Deni's trail through the Drowned Mill and Greywatch Camp, they uncover Marshal Kestrel Vane's betrayal and her bargain with the Ashen Choir. The act ends at the Sunken Barrow, where Vane tries to destroy the ledger and take the oath-stone.
Read aloud
The Weary Lantern is loud with rain and quiet with fear. Mara Vell sets a cup in front of you and does not let go of it. My brother took the ledger, she says. He would not steal. He would not run. Find him before the marshal does.
Mara is the opening giver. She knows Deni took the ledger but believes he was protecting it. The truth is that Vane robbed the shrine and Deni fled with the ledger. Clues point north to the Drowned Mill. If the party presses the watch, two Bandit ruffians in Vane's pay try to scare them off the road. Vane herself visits the inn to offer help and watch the party's faces.
Read aloud
The mill door hangs open. Water laps at the floorboards, and somewhere above you a beam creaks under a weight that is trying not to move. Outside, a man's voice calls to another: Check the loft again.
Osric guides the party here and can speak for them. Ilsa hides in the loft. Four Bandit mercenaries are searching the mill; they can be avoided with stealth, driven off with intimidation, or fought. Ilsa saw Deni taken toward Greywatch and has a pay slip naming Rhona Dax. She will not leave until the bandits are gone.
Read aloud
Greywatch smells of woodsmoke and wet wool. A cook with a ladle waves you toward the fire, then jerks his chin at the prisoner tent. Two guards stand there, bored and cold. The captain's tent is the big one with the grey braid on the pole.
Tibb gives the party the guard rotation and begs them not to start a massacre. Rhona holds Deni under Vane's contract, but the contract is unsigned. The party can negotiate, steal the key, or fight three Bandit and one Bandit Captain. Deni reveals Vane's name and the barrow key. If Rhona is treated with respect, she may switch sides or leave.
Read aloud
The barrow's stair is cold and black. At the bottom, salt-light rises from the floor like mist. A woman in a marshal's coat stands before the oath-stone with a ledger in one hand and a torch in the other. She smiles when she sees you. You took your time, she says.
Vane has two Bandit mercenaries with her. She offers the party money to walk away, then fights with precise, economical violence. Sister Venn can reveal that the oath-stone records betrayals and that Vane's name is on it. If Vane is bloodied, she tries to flee east, leaving the ledger. The ledger's last page names the Ashen Choir.
Milestone: The party reaches level 2 after freeing Deni at Greywatch Camp, and level 3 after the confrontation at the Sunken Barrow.
Kestrel Vane, the Marshal of Ash
**Kestrel Vane, the Marshal of Ash**, is a tall woman in a long ash-grey marshal's coat with silver salt-embroidered trim, and she is the w…
Free campaign generations include one villain sheet. Additional villain, NPC, and player-facing module character sheets are available in premium campaigns.
Subscribe NowFree campaign encounters use official monster sheets, plus the campaign villain character when referenced. They do not include generated custom monster sheets. Subscribe to create custom campaign monsters and enemy stat blocks.
Subscribe NowVane sold the Salt Oath company's ledger to a patron called the Ashen Choir to erase her own betrayal and buy power. She now needs the barrow's oath-stone to seal the bargain and leave Harrow's Rest behind forever.
Warm, disarming, and remembers everyone's name. She offers help before it is asked for and treats violence as bookkeeping. When crossed, her voice goes quiet and precise, and she stops pretending to be kind.
Vane opens by ordering mercenaries forward and using the barrow's pillars for cover. She targets the party's healer first, offers surrender terms when bloodied, and flees toward the eastern road if reduced below a quarter of her hit points, leaving the ledger behind.
Vane can be killed, handed to Greywatch, or pressed for the Choir's name. If spared and shown the ledger's list of her victims, she may turn witness—broken, not forgiven.
Recommended party: Four characters, level 1
Before play, discuss the campaign's themes of betrayal, debt, and loyalty, and confirm everyone is comfortable with a mystery that includes lying NPCs and a trusted authority figure as the villain. Use safety tools such as lines and veils, the X-card, and open table check-ins. Establish that player-versus-player betrayal is not allowed unless everyone explicitly opts in. Build character ties to Harrow's Rest: a debt owed, a favor given, a family member in town, or a reason to trust Marshal Vane. Clarify that Act I is a preview ending at level 3 and that the Ashen Choir is a distant threat, not a foe the party can defeat yet.
Act I is built for four level 1–3 characters. For a weaker party, remove one Bandit from any encounter, let NPC allies such as Osric or Tibb create distractions, and have enemies accept surrender or flee early. For a stronger party, add one or two Bandits, give Rhona Dax a patrol that arrives after three rounds, or let Vane use the barrow's salt-light to impose disadvantage on one saving throw. Never add a second villain; scale with minions, terrain, and tactics. If the party reaches the Sunken Barrow below level 3, reduce Vane's aggression and have her offer a deal before fighting.
Run Harrow's Rest warm and busy before the betrayal lands. Vane should be helpful, visible, and remembered for favors; her violence is quiet bookkeeping, not shouting. Plant at least two clues per location so the party never stalls. Let Deni be freed through clever play, not only combat, and let Rhona be negotiable. Use Ilsa, Tibb, Osric, and Sister Venn as witnesses who make the frontier feel lived-in. End the act with the ledger's last page, the name Ashen Choir, and a clear road east.
Discover intricate areas, locations, and points of interest that will bring your D&D world to life. Premium users get access to fully detailed locations including taverns, dungeons, cities, and more!
Level Up to Premium!Join the ranks of Dungeon Masters creating unforgettable adventures!
Kestrel Vane, the Marshal of Ash
**Kestrel Vane, the Marshal of Ash**, is a tall woman in a long ash-grey marshal's coat with silver salt-embroidered trim, and she is the w…
Free campaign generations include one villain sheet. Additional villain, NPC, and player-facing module character sheets are available in premium campaigns.
Subscribe NowFree campaign encounters use official monster sheets, plus the campaign villain character when referenced. They do not include generated custom monster sheets. Subscribe to create custom campaign monsters and enemy stat blocks.
Subscribe NowVane sold the Salt Oath company's ledger to a patron called the Ashen Choir to erase her own betrayal and buy power. She now needs the barrow's oath-stone to seal the bargain and leave Harrow's Rest behind forever.
Warm, disarming, and remembers everyone's name. She offers help before it is asked for and treats violence as bookkeeping. When crossed, her voice goes quiet and precise, and she stops pretending to be kind.
Vane opens by ordering mercenaries forward and using the barrow's pillars for cover. She targets the party's healer first, offers surrender terms when bloodied, and flees toward the eastern road if reduced below a quarter of her hit points, leaving the ledger behind.
Vane can be killed, handed to Greywatch, or pressed for the Choir's name. If spared and shown the ledger's list of her victims, she may turn witness—broken, not forgiven.
Get access to detailed NPCs, faction relationships, and character backgrounds that will make your campaign truly memorable!
Unlock Premium Features!Create compelling characters and factions that your players will never forget!
Unlock detailed quest structures, branching storylines, and meaningful rewards that will keep your players engaged for months!
Start Your Epic Journey!Join DMs creating unforgettable adventures with our premium quest system!
Free campaigns can't be played as a game. Premium campaigns become a 3D adventure you play in the browser: explore settlements, wilderness and dungeons with your party, and fight in real time with pause.
Level Up to Premium!Suggested Level: 1–2
The flooded lower floor is difficult terrain. A wooden ladder leads to the grain loft, and the broken mill wheel provides half cover. Reeds outside the mill offer hiding spots. The millrace is deep enough to slow pursuit.
A mercenary pay slip names Captain Rhona Dax and carries Vane's signet impression. A scrap of Vane's ash-grey cloak is caught on the mill wheel. The Bandits carry 12 gp among them. Ilsa Marr rewards the party with information, not coin.
For a stronger party, add one Bandit or have the survivors call a Wolf from the marsh. For a weaker party, remove one Bandit and let Ilsa distract a guard with a thrown pot.
Suggested Level: 2
A timber palisade and ditch ring the camp. Grey tents provide cover, the cook fire is a hazard, and the prisoner tent has a locked flap. The guard rotation leaves a blind spot near the cook's wagon.
Vane's unsigned contract bears her signet impression. Deni's coat contains the salt-iron barrow key. Rhona carries 40 gp and a captain's braid worth 10 gp. Tibb provides a hot meal and advantage on one Stealth or Persuasion check inside the camp.
For a stronger party, add two Bandit or have Rhona call in a patrol after three rounds. For a weaker party, remove one Bandit and let Tibb create a distraction that grants surprise.
Suggested Level: 3
The flooded stair is slippery and counts as difficult terrain. Stone pillars provide cover, salt-light reveals invisible creatures, and the oath-stone is a solid obstacle. Torches burn blue near the stone.
The ledger's last page names the Ashen Choir and lists other oath-stones across the frontier. Vane carries a salt-iron signet ring and 75 gp. Sister Venn offers to keep the oath-stone safe if the party returns the ledger to Harrow's Rest.
For a stronger party, add one Bandit or let Vane use the barrow's salt-light to impose disadvantage on one saving throw. For a weaker party, remove one Bandit and have Sister Venn distract Vane for one round.
Brass Whistle of the Weary Lantern
Completed
Act I — the Weary Lantern, given by Mara Vell after the party agrees to find Deni.
False
Salt-Iron Barrow Key
Completed
Act I — Greywatch Camp, hidden in Deni Vell's coat.
False
Osric's Oath-Sworn Longsword
Completed
Act I — Osric Thane's cellar in Harrow's Rest.
True — by a creature who has sworn an oath to protect Harrow's Rest
You need to register to create and view player characters in this campaign.
Register Now