The adventure ahead
Embers of the Ashen Eye is a level 1-3 starter adventure for 5e. The frontier town of Thornwell has suffered weeks of coordinated goblin and orc raids. When the party defends the town from a sudden assault, they uncover strange black iron sigils and whispered references to the Ashen Eye. Following the raiders' trail leads to an abandoned mine, a hidden shrine, and a cultist named Sister Nera Vex. Defeating her reveals that the raids were only the first move in a larger conspiracy tied to a distant, shadowy master. This free preview contains Act I, enough for three sessions of play.
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Thornwell is a small frontier town on the edge of the Skarn Hills. For generations it has survived on logging, trapping, and a stubborn refusal to move. Lately, that stubbornness is being tested. Goblins have been raiding supply carts, and orc war bands have burned two outlying farms. Last night, a coordinated assault struck the east gate. You were in Thornwell when the alarm horns sounded. The town guard is brave but thin.
Mayor Elara Voss has asked for anyone willing to fight, track, and find out where the raiders are coming from. The pay is modest, but the town's survival is not. You have one night before the next raid is expected. Can you defend Thornwell, follow the trail into the hills, and cut off the invasion at its source? This adventure begins at level 1 and is expected to end around level 3. Bring a character ready to fight, investigate, and perhaps negotiate with frightened locals.
Behind the screen
Act I is a self-contained opening arc that establishes Thornwell, introduces the orc and goblin threat, and ends with the first hints of a greater villain. The central villain of this act is Sister Nera Vex, a low-level cultist of the Ashen Eye. She is not a monster; use her forthcoming character sheet for her statistics, spells, and tactics. The orcs and goblins are SRD monsters driven into aggression by Nera's rituals and promises.
The adventure is designed to take characters from level 1 to level 3. The party begins by defending Thornwell, then tracks the raiders through the Skarn Hills to the abandoned Skarn Mine. Inside, they face goblins, orcs, and an ogre before descending into the Ashen Shrine. There they confront Nera, disrupt her ritual, and recover the Ember Sigil. The sigil and a letter fragment point to a distant master called the Hollow Star.
This act should feel like a complete rescue-and-revenge story while planting seeds for later acts. Keep Nera dangerous but not overwhelming: she is a local agent, not the campaign's ultimate enemy. Her defeat should feel earned and should leave the party with more questions than answers.
Hook 01
Mayor Elara Voss stands on a wagon in Thornwell's square, shouting for anyone with a sword or spell to hold the east gate. Goblins and orcs are raiding again, and the town guard is too thin to last the night. She offers 50 gp each to anyone who defends the town and tracks the raiders to their source.
Hook 02
Tobin, a local trapper and miner, vanished near the Skarn Hills three days ago. His sister begs the party to find him. She mentions that the raiders have been seen dragging captives toward the abandoned Skarn Mine, and she fears Tobin is among them.
The party defends Thornwell from a goblin and orc raid, then follows the raiders' trail into the Skarn Hills. They discover the abandoned Skarn Mine, fight through its goblin and orc defenders, and descend into a hidden shrine. There they confront Sister Nera Vex, a cultist of the Ashen Eye who has been driving the humanoids into a frenzy. Defeating her ends the immediate threat and reveals the Ember Sigil, a clue pointing to a far greater villain.
Read aloud
Smoke curls over Thornwell as alarm horns split the evening air. Goblins swarm the east gate, cackling and waving crude blades, while two hulking orcs hammer the palisade with a fallen tree. Townsfolk scream and scatter. Mayor Elara Voss stands on a wagon, shouting for anyone with a sword or a spell to hold the line. The gate will not last much longer.
This is the opening combat. Use 6 Goblin and 2 Orc as the raiding party. The orcs fight recklessly, as if driven by something beyond ordinary bloodlust. The goblins try to set fire to a supply shed. The party can fight directly, rally the militia, or use the environment. Sister Nera Vex is not present; she watches from a distant ridge, then slips away when the raid turns. Do not use a monster stat block for Nera. After the fight, Mayor Elara asks the party to track the raiders before they regroup.
Read aloud
The forest is unnaturally quiet. No birds call, and the underbrush has been trampled by many clawed feet. A cold wind carries the smell of ash and old iron. Ahead, the trees thin into rocky hills, and a faint trail of broken branches leads upward. Every few hundred paces, you find a tree marked with a crude eye symbol scratched into the bark.
This is a tracking and exploration scene. Use 2 Wolf and 4 Goblin as a patrol. If the party is careless, add 1 Bugbear leading the patrol. The goblins are nervous and argue about 'the Whisperer' and 'the mine'. The trail leads to the abandoned Skarn Mine. Nera's sigils mark the path. The party can avoid the patrol with stealth or ambush them. If captured, a goblin can be intimidated into revealing that 'the eye lady' gives orders and that 'the big master watches from far away'.
Read aloud
The mine mouth yawns like a broken tooth. Timbers sag under the weight of the hill, and the air is thick with dust and the stench of unwashed bodies. Faint chanting echoes from somewhere deep below. Goblin voices bark orders, and the heavy tread of something larger shakes the ground. A rusty rail track disappears into the darkness.
This is a dungeon crawl through the upper mine. Use 6 Goblin, 2 Orc, and 1 Ogre as the defenders. The goblins are digging for something, while the orcs guard a makeshift pen holding a captive miner named Tobin. The ogre is a brute used to move rubble. The party can fight, sneak, or cause a cave-in. Tobin has heard Nera talk about 'the Ashen Eye' and a 'greater master'. He can guide the party to the hidden shrine if rescued. The mine is unstable; loud fights may attract reinforcements.
Read aloud
The tunnel opens into a chamber lit by red crystals embedded in the walls. A black stone altar stands at the far end, carved with a vast eye. Sister Nera Vex, a tall woman in ash-gray robes, chants over a glowing sigil. Two goblins and a bugbear guard her, their eyes glassy with devotion. The air hums with power. Nera turns, smiles, and says, 'You are just in time to witness the first ember.'
This is the Act I boss encounter. Sister Nera Vex is the central villain; use her forthcoming character sheet for statistics, spells, and tactics. She is not a monster and should not be given an SRD stat block. She is accompanied by 2 Goblin and 1 Bugbear. Nera fights with spells, misdirection, and summoned shadows, then tries to flee if reduced below half hit points. She is a low-level cultist, not the campaign's ultimate enemy. If defeated, she drops the Ember Sigil and a letter naming the Hollow Star. The ritual can be disrupted early, weakening her. The shrine collapses partially after the fight, forcing the party to escape.
Milestone: The party reaches level 3 after defeating Sister Nera Vex, disrupting the Ashen Shrine ritual, and recovering the Ember Sigil.
Sister Nera Vex
Sister Nera Vex is a tall, gaunt human woman in her late thirties, her ash-gray pallor and white-streaked black hair marking years of devot…
Free campaign generations include one villain sheet. Additional villain, NPC, and player-facing module character sheets are available in premium campaigns.
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Subscribe NowServe the Hollow Star by opening the Ashen Eye and returning the Ember Sigil to the Vault of the Unseen. She believes the raids are a necessary purification of the frontier.
Calm, mocking, and devout. She speaks in riddles and treats violence as a ritual necessity. She is not a mindless fanatic; she is calculating and willing to flee if the ritual fails.
Nera opens with spells to control the battlefield, uses misdirection, and lets her guards absorb attacks. She targets healers and spellcasters first. If reduced below half hit points, she attempts to flee through a shadow portal, but the collapsing shrine traps her. She fights to the death if cornered.
Defeated, she drops the Ember Sigil and a letter naming the Hollow Star. She can be interrogated if spared, but she knows little beyond her orders. Her final words are: 'You are too late. The Hollow Star already knows your names.'
Recommended party: 4-5 characters, level 1, with at least one healer and one character skilled in Survival or Investigation.
Discuss themes of frontier survival, cult manipulation, and moral choices. Ensure players are comfortable with violence against humanoids and cultists. Establish why each character is in Thornwell: are they locals, travelers, or hired help? Review 5e rules for conditions, grappling, and spellcasting. Ask players to create characters with ties to Thornwell or the Skarn Hills. The adventure begins at level 1 and ends at level 3.
For a party of 3, reduce goblins by 2 in each encounter, remove the ogre from the mine, and give Sister Nera Vex 10 fewer hit points. For a party of 6, add 2 Orc to the raid, 1 Bugbear to the trail, and 1 Ogre to the mine. If the party is level 3 and well-optimized, Nera can begin with 10 temporary hit points from her ritual. If the party struggles, have Mayor Elara send 2 militia to help in the raid, or have Tobin provide a shortcut that avoids one wave of mine defenders.
Act I is a three-session arc. Session 1: The Raid on Thornwell and Trail of Ash and Iron. Session 2: The Skarn Mine. Session 3: The Ashen Shrine and Sister Nera Vex. Keep Nera mysterious; she is not the ultimate villain. Use the Ember Sigil and letter to point to the Hollow Star. If the party struggles, have Mayor Elara send a militia scout to help. If they excel, have Nera's ritual empower her with 10 temporary hit points. The shrine collapses after Nera is defeated, forcing a dramatic escape. Award level 3 after the party returns to Thornwell with the Ember Sigil.
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Sister Nera Vex
Sister Nera Vex is a tall, gaunt human woman in her late thirties, her ash-gray pallor and white-streaked black hair marking years of devot…
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 NowServe the Hollow Star by opening the Ashen Eye and returning the Ember Sigil to the Vault of the Unseen. She believes the raids are a necessary purification of the frontier.
Calm, mocking, and devout. She speaks in riddles and treats violence as a ritual necessity. She is not a mindless fanatic; she is calculating and willing to flee if the ritual fails.
Nera opens with spells to control the battlefield, uses misdirection, and lets her guards absorb attacks. She targets healers and spellcasters first. If reduced below half hit points, she attempts to flee through a shadow portal, but the collapsing shrine traps her. She fights to the death if cornered.
Defeated, she drops the Ember Sigil and a letter naming the Hollow Star. She can be interrogated if spared, but she knows little beyond her orders. Her final words are: 'You are too late. The Hollow Star already knows your names.'
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Suggested Level: 1
Wooden palisade, broken gate, supply shed, wagon, scattered crates and barrels.
15 gp in goblin pouches, plus 50 gp each from Mayor Elara after the fight.
Sister Nera Vex is not present; she watches from a distant ridge and slips away when the raid turns. Use the goblins to set fire to the supply shed and the orcs to hammer the gate.
Suggested Level: 1-2
Dense forest, rocky hills, marked trees, broken branches, cold wind.
10 gp in goblin pouches, a scrap of black cloth with an eye sigil, and a crude leather map showing the Skarn Mine.
If the party is careless, add 1 Bugbear leading the patrol. A captured goblin can be intimidated into revealing that 'the eye lady' gives orders and that 'the big master watches from far away'.
Suggested Level: 2-3
Unstable mine tunnels, rubble, rusty rail tracks, red crystals, black stone altar, glowing sigil, collapsing floor.
Ember Sigil, a letter naming the Hollow Star, 150 gp in offerings, and Nera's Ashen Eye Charm.
Sister Nera Vex is the central villain; use her forthcoming character sheet for statistics, spells, and tactics. She is not a monster. The mine defenders can be fought in waves. The shrine begins to collapse after Nera is defeated.
Ember Sigil
Completed
Ashen Shrine altar
no
Ashen Eye Charm
Completed
On Sister Nera Vex's body
yes
Whispering Coal
Completed
Skarn Mine overseer's quarters
no
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