Flooded Cellars
A merchant hires the party after strange water damage ruins their goods, and all signs point toward the old mill by the river.
Campaign Overview
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Echoes Beneath the Sinking Mill
A sleepy river town begins suffering from flooded cellars, vanished workers, and strange green lights beneath the old millwheel. The party is drawn into a localized mystery that quickly reveals an occult scheme buried under the floodplains.
In Act I, the characters investigate the mill, uncover signs of tampering in the waterways, and confront the first agents of the scheme in the flooded undercroft. The tone is eerie, grounded, and investigative, with short bursts of danger in cramped, wet spaces.
The campaign preview focuses on a small frontier community, a compromised mill, and a villain who is using the river’s hidden channels to move secrets, stolen goods, and something far more dangerous.
Player Handout
Welcome to the River Town
The river has risen too high, too fast. Cellars flood overnight. Millworkers disappear after dusk. People whisper about green lantern light beneath the water.
You arrive in a community that needs help before the next storm surge hits. A local official asks you to investigate the old mill at the river’s edge, where the trouble seems to begin.
Tone: misty, tense, and mysterious
Starting hook: Find out why the town’s floodgates are failing and what is lurking beneath the mill.
Free Act I Preview
Echoes Beneath the Sinking Mill
Act I is a compact investigation-and-delve opener built for a single session or two. Start with the town’s flooding problem, plant clues that point to the mill, then move the party into a cramped undercroft where the villain’s local operation is exposed. Keep the pressure on with time-sensitive rescues, limited visibility, and rising water. The central villain should remain mostly offstage, but their methods and influence should be visible in every scene.
Adventure Hooks
Missing Millhand
A relative of a vanished worker begs the party to search the mill and uncover who has been taking people after dark.
Act Structure
Act I: The Flooded Mill
Recommended level: 1-2The party investigates a river town’s flooding crisis, uncovers a hidden smuggling route beneath the old mill, and confronts the local agents of a larger conspiracy.
Objectives
- Learn why the floodgates are failing
- Trace the sabotage to the old mill
- Defeat the mill’s armed guardians
- Recover clues tied to the central villain
Town Trouble at Dawn
Rainwater still drips from the awnings as townsfolk argue over smashed crates and flooded steps. Everyone seems to be waiting for someone else to solve the problem.
Open with urgency and a practical problem. Let the party gather rumors, inspect damage, and identify the mill as the likely source. This is a low-pressure social scene that should funnel them toward action.
Checks
- DC 12 Investigation to find fresh tampering marks
- DC 12 Insight to spot a witness lying about who was present
- DC 10 Persuasion to gain cooperation from workers
Clues
- The damage was intentional, not natural.
- Fresh mud matches the mill’s riverbank access.
- A worker heard lantern light under the floorboards.
Transitions
- Move to the mill for direct investigation
- Follow a witness to the riverbank
- Use clues to find the hidden hatch
The Old Mill Interior
Dust, soaked grain, and the creak of old beams fill the mill. The waterwheel turns even though no one should be working here.
The mill should feel occupied by people trying to hide evidence. Use small environmental discoveries, hidden compartments, and signs of hurried activity to build tension before combat.
Checks
- DC 11 Perception to notice concealed gear marks
- DC 12 Survival to track recent movement through wet wood
- DC 13 Thieves' Tools to open a jammed service door
Clues
- A hidden hatch leads below the mill floor.
- Supplies have been moved recently.
- The smugglers are using the flood as cover.
Transitions
- Enter the undercroft through the hatch
- Set up an ambush after learning the route
- Discover a coded cargo tag leading deeper
Undercroft Showdown
Water sloshes through broken stone channels as voices echo overhead. A final lantern swings into view, and someone orders the records burned.
This is the climax of Act I. Make the space dynamic with water, catwalks, and fleeing enemies. The villain should not necessarily be captured here, but the party must win the battlefield and secure the clue trail.
Checks
- DC 12 Acrobatics to cross slick planks safely
- DC 12 Athletics to force open a stuck gate
- DC 13 Perception to catch an escaping foe
Clues
- The operation has an organized supply chain.
- The villain’s name appears in coded notes.
- A route exists through submerged tunnels beyond the mill.
Transitions
- Pursue the escaped lead into later adventures
- Return to town with proof
- Use recovered notes to identify the villain
Milestone: Advance the party to level 2 after the undercroft showdown.
Villain Character Sheets
Varric Hale
Completed
Varric Hale presents himself as the sort of man a town can trust in a crisis: composed, courteous, and always ready with a practical soluti…
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Subscribe NowVillain Plans
Varric Hale Character Sheet
Motivation
Varric wants to control the river trade by sabotaging floodgates, moving contraband through hidden channels, and coercing townsfolk who know too much. He is building leverage over the town before revealing himself openly.
Personality
Calm, courteous, and unnervingly practical. He speaks like a civic-minded merchant, even when discussing threats or bribery. He never raises his voice unless the plan is already failing.
Resources
- A band of hired bandits
- Hidden river tunnels beneath the mill
- Coded ledgers and blackmail material
- Local informants intimidated into silence
- Control over floodgate sabotage
Battle Plan
Varric avoids direct combat in Act I, preferring to let lieutenants delay intruders while he destroys evidence and escapes through the submerged passage. If cornered, he fights defensively and uses terrain, darkness, and allies to break pursuit.
Defeat or Redemption
If defeated early, Varric’s papers reveal a larger supply network and a second stage of the plot. If spared or persuaded, he may trade names and routes in exchange for leniency, though his cooperation is unreliable.
Running Notes
Recommended party: 3-5 characters
Session Zero
This adventure works best with a grounded mystery tone. Ask players about comfort with threats to civilians, flooding, and criminal intimidation. Keep the horror light and the mystery clear. Use lines and veils for drowning imagery, child endangerment, and torture. Encourage teamwork, investigation, and practical problem-solving over dungeon crawling alone.
Scaling Guidance
For a smaller or weaker party, reduce each encounter by one creature and emphasize escape routes over stand-up fights. For a larger or stronger party, add one Bandit to the first two encounters, increase water-related difficult terrain, and let enemies use the environment tactically rather than increasing raw damage.
DM Advice
Give the players a simple clue in every scene. If they miss a lead, repeat it through a different witness, physical evidence, or enemy behavior. Keep the villain mostly indirect until the final scene so the reveal feels earned. The most important job in Act I is making the river feel like a system someone is actively abusing.
Secrets & Clues
- The flood damage is a cover for smuggling.
- The old mill has a hidden lower tunnel system.
- Varric Hale is not the town’s public face but controls the operation from behind intermediaries.
- The lantern room contains evidence tying multiple shipments to the same route.
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Villain Character Sheets
Varric Hale
Completed
Varric Hale presents himself as the sort of man a town can trust in a crisis: composed, courteous, and always ready with a practical soluti…
Premium Campaign Feature
Free campaign generations include one villain sheet. Additional villain, NPC, and player-facing module character sheets are available in premium campaigns.
Subscribe NowMonsters & Enemies
Premium Campaign Feature
Free campaign encounters use official monsters only and do not include generated monster sheets. Subscribe to create custom campaign monsters and enemy stat blocks.
Subscribe NowVillain Plans
Varric Hale Character Sheet
Motivation
Varric wants to control the river trade by sabotaging floodgates, moving contraband through hidden channels, and coercing townsfolk who know too much. He is building leverage over the town before revealing himself openly.
Personality
Calm, courteous, and unnervingly practical. He speaks like a civic-minded merchant, even when discussing threats or bribery. He never raises his voice unless the plan is already failing.
Resources
- A band of hired bandits
- Hidden river tunnels beneath the mill
- Coded ledgers and blackmail material
- Local informants intimidated into silence
- Control over floodgate sabotage
Battle Plan
Varric avoids direct combat in Act I, preferring to let lieutenants delay intruders while he destroys evidence and escapes through the submerged passage. If cornered, he fights defensively and uses terrain, darkness, and allies to break pursuit.
Defeat or Redemption
If defeated early, Varric’s papers reveal a larger supply network and a second stage of the plot. If spared or persuaded, he may trade names and routes in exchange for leniency, though his cooperation is unreliable.
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Encounters
Broken Floodgate Sabotage
Suggested Level: 1-2
The party finds a damaged floodgate with fresh tool marks, hidden gear wedges, and a nervous witness who saw figures at dusk.
Creatures
Terrain Features
- Narrow spillway ledges
- Slippery stone steps
- Fast-moving water below
- Partial cover from stacked barrels
Treasure
A tarnished signet ring worth 10 gp and a clue leading to the mill
DM Notes
Use this as a skill-and-social encounter with a brief combat option. Add one more Bandit if the party is very large or optimized.
Flooded Under-Mill Ambush
Encounter Builder
Moderate
Suggested Level: 1-2
In the submerged storage chambers, hidden raiders attack while the water rises and lantern light flickers through broken grates.
Creatures
Terrain Features
- Waist-deep water in parts of the chamber
- Narrow catwalks and broken planks
- Barrels that can be tipped as improvised cover
- Dark corners that limit sight
Treasure
11 gp, a set of thieves’ tools, and a damp map fragment of the lower tunnels
DM Notes
This is the main fight for Act I. Reduce one Bandit for a very small party; add a Giant Rat or more water hazards to increase tension.
Lantern Room Confrontation
Encounter Builder
High
Suggested Level: 2
The party corners the villain’s lieutenant in a lantern-lit chamber, where smoke, ropes, and swinging chains turn the room into a dangerous choke point.
Creatures
Terrain Features
- Hanging chains that can be used for cover or movement
- Braziers and lantern glass hazards
- Elevated catwalk over the flood channel
- Narrow doorways that create bottlenecks
Treasure
A pouch with 35 gp, coded notes, and a potion of healing
DM Notes
If the party is still level 1, remove one Bandit or have the captain attempt escape rather than fight to the death.
Magic Items
Lantern of Clear Sight
Completed
Lantern of Clear Sight
Uncommon
This oil lantern reveals invisible ink, hidden scratch marks, and fresh water stains within 30 feet, making it ideal for uncovering river-smuggling clues.
Location
Act I, hidden in the old mill undercroft
Attunement
False
Watershift Brooch
Completed
Watershift Brooch
Uncommon
A silver brooch engraved with wave lines. While worn, you can ignore nonmagical difficult terrain caused by shallow water for 1 hour per day.
Location
Act I, locked in the lantern room strongbox
Attunement
False
Charm of the Last Current
Completed
Charm of the Last Current
Common
A river-carved token that grants advantage on one check to swim, escape a grapple in water, or avoid being knocked prone by current.
Location
Act I, found among the floodgate sabotage tools
Attunement
False
Player Characters
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