The adventure ahead
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Edoría is a mountain kingdom where men and magic are woven into every law, trade, and prayer. Its capital, Lumenhal, is a city of white stone built into the mountain's bones, famous for its enchanters, its floating lanterns, and its Royal Pearl—a relic that stabilizes the city's wards and blesses its markets. When the Royal Pearl is stolen, the crown cannot risk panic. The royal family hires a small team to find it quietly.
The investigation reveals a trail of mirror magic, paid informants, and a hidden conspiracy called the Hollow Crown. The party must recover the pearl before the city's enchantments fail, and before the thief's master learns they are coming.
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In Edoría, magic is not a secret. It lights the streets, seals the treaties, and prices the grain. Lumenhal, the white-stone capital, is the jewel of the mountain kingdom—a city of enchanters, merchants, and pilgrims. At its heart rests the Royal Pearl, a relic said to keep the wards strong and the royal line true. Last night, the Royal Pearl was stolen. The crown cannot announce the theft without causing panic, so Princess Aelira has hired you to find it quietly. You have three days before the Festival of Lanterns. Work fast, ask carefully, and remember: in Lumenhal, every stone listens.
Behind the screen
This free preview contains Act I of a longer campaign. The party begins at 1st level in Lumenhal, the white-stone capital of Edoría. They are hired by Princess Aelira to recover the stolen Royal Pearl without alarming the public. Act I is an investigation with three main phases: the palace and White Archive, the Lantern Market undercity, and the Sunken Vault. The central villain of this act is Corvin Thale, a royal enchanter who betrayed his oaths.
He is not the campaign's ultimate villain; he is a pawn of the Hollow Crown and its mysterious leader, the Gilded Voice. By the end of Act I, the party should reach 3rd level, recover the pearl or prevent its complete loss, and learn that the pearl is one of seven keys. The greater villain remains off-screen, known only through symbols, letters, and a missing shard. This preview is designed for 3-4 sessions and gives enough material to run the opening arc.
Hook 01
Princess Aelira Edoría summons the party to the Gilded Audience Chamber and offers a sealed royal writ. The Royal Pearl has been stolen, but the public believes it is being polished for the Festival of Lanterns. The party is hired to recover it quietly before panic spreads.
Hook 02
A nervous lantern vendor in the Lantern Market whispers that a royal enchanter paid for passage through the undercity with stolen palace silver. The vendor will talk for a few coins or a kind word, but Corvin's lookouts are watching.
The Royal Pearl of Lumenhal has been stolen from the white-stone city of Edoría. The royal family hires the party to investigate discreetly before the public learns that the city's greatest enchantment is vulnerable. The trail leads from the palace reliquary to the White Archive, through the Lantern Market undercity, and into the Sunken Vault. There the party confronts Corvin Thale, a junior royal enchanter who stole the pearl for a hidden conspiracy called the Hollow Crown. Corvin is only a pawn. The party can recover the pearl, but a shard escapes through a mirror gate, and the name 'the Gilded Voice' becomes the first hint of the true villain.
Read aloud
The audience chamber is carved from a single vein of white stone, its walls veined with gold that catches the morning light. Princess Aelira stands beside an empty pedestal. The Royal Pearl, she says, was the heart of Lumenhal's enchantments. It was taken last night. The city must not know. You are to find it quietly, before rumor becomes riot.
Open the campaign in the royal audience chamber of Lumenhal, the white-stone capital of Edoría. The party is hired discreetly by Princess Aelira Edoría. The public believes the Royal Pearl is merely being polished for a festival. If the party asks about suspects, the chamberlain names Corvin Thale only reluctantly. This scene is investigation and roleplay; no combat is expected. If the party causes a public disturbance, a patrol of 2 Guard arrives to restore order, but the royal writ should prevent arrest. Corvin Thale is the central villain of Act I and uses his forthcoming character sheet; do not represent him with a monster stat block.
Read aloud
The White Archive smells of ozone and old parchment. Enchantment circles glow faintly on the floor, but one is smeared and cold. A silver mirror shard lies in the corner, and the air hums with the aftertaste of a hasty spell. Somewhere deeper in the workshop, metal scrapes against stone.
The White Archive is a royal workshop of enchantment. Corvin Thale has fled, leaving guardian constructs to delay pursuit. Encounter: 2 Animated Armor and 1 Flying Sword. These are official SRD creatures. The constructs attack intruders who lack the royal writ; with the writ, the party can attempt DC 13 Persuasion to calm the archive's spirit-seal and avoid combat. If combat occurs, the constructs fight until destroyed. After the encounter, the party can search the workshop. Corvin Thale is not present. Do not use a monster stat block for him.
Read aloud
Below Lumenhal's white streets, the Lantern Market glows with colored glass and floating lights. Merchants sell spell components beside smoked fish and stolen relics. Every shadow could be a lookout, and every whisper could be a clue. Somewhere below, a stolen pearl is waiting.
The Lantern Market is a bustling undercity bazaar where magic and trade mix openly. The party must gather information without starting a riot. Encounter: 3 Bandit and 1 Spy, who are Corvin's lookouts. They can be avoided with stealth, bribed with 20 gp, or fought. If fought, they prefer to flee toward the Sunken Vault to warn Corvin. The Spy uses SRD statistics. Corvin Thale is not among them. Keep the scene tense but not a full dungeon crawl.
Read aloud
The vault is half-flooded, its walls carved with a hollow crown. Corvin Thale stands before a tall silver mirror, the Royal Pearl floating in a cage of light. 'You are too late,' he says. 'The Gilded Voice already has what it needs.' The mirror ripples, and armed figures step from the shadows.
The Sunken Vault is a flooded ritual chamber beneath the Lantern Market. Corvin Thale is the Act I villain and uses his forthcoming character sheet; do not use a monster stat block for him. Encounter: Corvin Thale, 2 Thug, and 1 Cultist. The Cultist is an official SRD creature. Corvin fights from range with spells and mirror tricks, using the thugs as shields. If reduced to 10 hit points or fewer, he tries to flee through the mirror gate.
If the party disrupts the ritual, the pearl is saved but a shard escapes. This is the climax of Act I. The greater villain is not present and should not be fought here.
Milestone: At the end of Act I, the party reaches 3rd level, recovers the Royal Pearl (or prevents its permanent loss), and learns the name of the hidden conspiracy: the Hollow Crown. The pearl is revealed to be one of several keys, setting the path toward the greater villain beyond this preview.
Corvin Thale
Corvin Thale is a wiry, pale man in his early thirties, with the stooped posture of someone who has spent six years being overlooked in roo…
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 NowCorvin Thale was a junior royal enchanter drowning in debt and overlooked by his superiors. The Hollow Crown offered him wealth, forbidden mirror magic, and a chance to matter. He convinced himself that stealing the pearl was a victimless crime, but he is now terrified of the Gilded Voice and desperate to escape before his master discards him.
Corvin is precise, anxious, and defensive. He speaks in technical terms about enchantment and ritual, but his hands shake when he is cornered. He is not a true believer in the Hollow Crown; he is a frightened man who made a terrible bargain. He respects competence and can be reasoned with if the party offers him a way out.
Corvin begins combat behind the ritual mirror, using ranged spells and mirror tricks to confuse the party. He orders the Thugs to block melee combatants and the Cultist to protect the ritual. If reduced to 10 hit points or fewer, he attempts to flee through the mirror gate. If the gate is destroyed, he surrenders or fights desperately. He never uses a monster stat block; use his forthcoming character sheet.
Corvin can be defeated, captured, or convinced to surrender. If captured, he reveals that the Hollow Crown is older than Edoría and that he was paid in platinum and promises of power. He does not know the Gilded Voice's true identity. If shown mercy, he may become a reluctant informant in later acts, but he is too frightened to betray the Hollow Crown openly.
Recommended party: 4-5 characters, 1st level, any SRD classes. At least one character should have Arcana or Investigation; a rogue or bard is useful for social and stealth scenes. A cleric or paladin helps against the cultist and undead-adjacent magic in the Sunken Vault.
Before play, discuss the campaign's themes: political intrigue, theft, secret conspiracies, and the tension between public order and hidden truth. Establish safety tools such as the X-card, lines and veils, and open-door policy. Ask each player to create a 1st-level SRD character with a reason to work for the crown or care about Lumenhal. At least one character should have Arcana or Investigation; a rogue or bard is useful for social and stealth scenes. A cleric or paladin helps against the cultist and undead-adjacent magic in the Sunken Vault. Clarify that the campaign begins with a quiet investigation, not a public war, and that the greater villain will remain off-screen during this preview.
This preview is built for 4-5 characters of 1st to 3rd level. For a party of three, remove one Bandit from the Lantern Market encounter and one Thug from the Sunken Vault. For a party of six, add one Animated Armor to the White Archive, one Bandit to the Lantern Market, and one Thug to the Sunken Vault. If the party avoids combat through stealth or persuasion, award experience as if they had defeated the encounter. Corvin Thale should feel dangerous but not unbeatable; if the party is reduced to half hit points, consider having him monologue or focus on the ritual instead of attacking. Never use a monster stat block for Corvin; use his forthcoming character sheet.
Run Act I as a quiet investigation with rising tension. The public must not learn the Royal Pearl is missing. Use the three-day countdown to the Festival of Lanterns to create urgency. Corvin Thale is the visible villain, but he is a pawn. The Gilded Voice and the Hollow Crown should remain off-screen, known only through symbols, letters, and the missing shard. Reward clever play, stealth, and social solutions as much as combat. If the party recovers the pearl, Princess Aelira rewards them and asks them to investigate the Hollow Crown beyond Lumenhal. If the shard escapes, the greater villain now has a piece of the key, launching Act II.
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Corvin Thale
Corvin Thale is a wiry, pale man in his early thirties, with the stooped posture of someone who has spent six years being overlooked in roo…
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 NowCorvin Thale was a junior royal enchanter drowning in debt and overlooked by his superiors. The Hollow Crown offered him wealth, forbidden mirror magic, and a chance to matter. He convinced himself that stealing the pearl was a victimless crime, but he is now terrified of the Gilded Voice and desperate to escape before his master discards him.
Corvin is precise, anxious, and defensive. He speaks in technical terms about enchantment and ritual, but his hands shake when he is cornered. He is not a true believer in the Hollow Crown; he is a frightened man who made a terrible bargain. He respects competence and can be reasoned with if the party offers him a way out.
Corvin begins combat behind the ritual mirror, using ranged spells and mirror tricks to confuse the party. He orders the Thugs to block melee combatants and the Cultist to protect the ritual. If reduced to 10 hit points or fewer, he attempts to flee through the mirror gate. If the gate is destroyed, he surrenders or fights desperately. He never uses a monster stat block; use his forthcoming character sheet.
Corvin can be defeated, captured, or convinced to surrender. If captured, he reveals that the Hollow Crown is older than Edoría and that he was paid in platinum and promises of power. He does not know the Gilded Voice's true identity. If shown mercy, he may become a reluctant informant in later acts, but he is too frightened to betray the Hollow Crown openly.
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Suggested Level: 1-2
Glowing enchantment circles, loose floor tiles, a silver mirror shard, and shelves of fragile parchment that can be toppled for cover.
Corvin's ledger, a map of the Sunken Vault, 25 gp in mixed coin, and a silver mirror shard.
This encounter introduces the party to Corvin's mirror magic and the Hollow Crown ledger. The constructs are official SRD creatures. Corvin is not present.
Suggested Level: 2
Crowded bazaar stalls, floating lanterns, narrow alleys, and a sealed stair behind a broken fountain.
20 gp in bribe money, a Hollow Crown seal, and a Potion of Healing.
The Spy uses SRD statistics. The bandits are loyal only to coin. A successful DC 13 Persuasion or DC 14 Intimidation check can turn one into an informant.
Suggested Level: 3
Half-flooded floor, a tall silver ritual mirror, a cage of light around the Royal Pearl, and walls carved with a hollow crown.
The Royal Pearl, a mirror-silver shard, and a letter bearing the Hollow Crown seal.
Corvin Thale is the Act I villain and uses his forthcoming character sheet. Do not use a monster stat block for him. The cultist and thugs are official SRD creatures. The greater villain is not present.
Mirror-Silver Shard
Completed
White Archive, hidden in Corvin Thale's strongbox.
no
Lantern of Quiet Wards
Completed
Lantern Market, traded by a vendor who does not know its origin.
no
Pearl-Dust Compass
Completed
Sunken Vault, resting on a ritual pedestal near the Royal Pearl's cage.
yes
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