Overview

In the mist-wreathed coastland of Hollowmere, caravans vanish and the dead rise from forgotten cells. A cabal of merchant lords manipulates fear to secure monopolies, paying raiders to cripple trade routes. Beneath ruined bazaars lie dungeon networks where zombies plod through stalls, skeletons guard rusted weapons, a cyclops smith guards the Iron Vault, and a green dragon circles the cliff above the Dragon’s Teeth.

Hook

The party is hired to escort a fragile caravan carrying the Guild’s ledger. An ambush decimates the convoy and reveals a necromantic sigil on the raiders’ banners. The merchant coalition offers coin to uncover who finances the raids and to restore the routes.

Adventure arc

Act I: The Silted Bazaar. Navigate undead-infested stalls, outmaneuver traps, and recover a map fragment and the first key.
Act II: The Bone Corridor. Survive bone-fire defenses, defeat Thraxxus the cyclops guardian, and seize the second key.
Act III: The Dragon’s Teeth. Confront the young dragon linked to the necromancer and disrupt the rite empowering the raids.
Act IV: The Final Vault. Break the binding glyphs within the Vault of Brokers and sever the conspiracy.

Challenges and rewards

Tactical dungeon crawls, social intrigue, and tough moral choices about who truly profits from fear. Rewards include a Belt of Merchant’s Guile, a Warding Amulet against undead, a Dragon-scale Cloak, and gold that buys influence with Hollowmere’s factions.

Ending

If the ritual is stopped, trade routes reopen and the region stabilizes; the dragon retreats or is slain; Thraxxus may be redeemed or exiled. The merchant cabal loses leverage, but prosperity remains fragile, sowing seeds for future adventures.

This campaign is designed for 5e with modular encounters, side quests (counterfeit wares, a kidnapped envoy), and scalable difficulty.