Overall Leg 1 Structure: “The Ash Wastes to Casalon’s Echo”
(DM Prep Note: Before starting this leg, after the party leaves Vathirond and enters the Mournland proper, communicate the following to your players):
DM to Players (Regarding Mournland Travel & Resting):** “As you step fully into the Dead-Gray Mist, the oppressive atmosphere of the Mournland settles upon you like a physical weight. You recall warnings, or perhaps it’s an instinctual understanding shared by all who brave this land: true, restorative rest is a near impossibility out here. For the duration of this leg of your journey, until you reach a significant potential shelter like Casalon, even if you take a full eight hours to recuperate at the end of each day, you will only be able to gain the benefits of a Short Rest. These short rests will allow you to spend Hit Dice and regain abilities that recharge on a short rest. However, spell slots, Hit Dice pools, and other resources that normally require a Long Rest to recover will not replenish during these nightly pauses until you find a true haven between legs of your journey.”
DM to Players (Regarding Mournland Fatigue): “The constant stress and unnatural wrongness of this place can also wear down your mind and body in a unique way. We’ll be tracking ‘Mournland Fatigue.’ If you gain a level: Level 1: You suffer -1 to all d20 rolls (attacks, saves, checks) and your Spell Save DC is reduced by 1. Level 2: You suffer -2 to all d20 rolls and your Spell Save DC is reduced by 2. Level 3: You immediately gain 1 level of actual Exhaustion, and your Mournland Fatigue level resets to 0. Having a successful day of travel may allow you to alleviate some of this fatigue.”
DM to Players (Regarding the Skill Challenge): “Navigating each day through the Ash Wastes will be a collective effort. Each day will be broken into three phases – morning, midday, and evening. In each phase, two of you will describe your primary approach to overcoming the challenges presented, and make a relevant skill check. For each day, the party as a whole needs to achieve 3 successes before you accumulate 3 failures to consider that day ‘Successful.’ A Successful Day means you make good progress. A Failed Day will result in setbacks, including the risk of gaining Mournland Fatigue and other negative consequences. Your overall goal for this leg is to reach Casalon, and your condition upon arrival will depend on how many setbacks you’ve endured over the entire journey.”
Overall Leg 1 Info
- Goal: Reach Casalon’s Echo - The Village of Frozen Moments.
- In-Game Duration: Planned for 3 days (can extend if they have many “Failed Days”).
- Daily Skill Challenge: Each day, the party aims for 3 Successes before 3 Failures.
- 6 skill checks per day (each of the 6 PCs contributes one significant action/check).
- A “Day” is divided into 3 phases (Morning, Midday, Evening), with 2 checks per phase.
- Successful Day Outcome: Good progress made. No additional setbacks from that day’s travel difficulties. Characters who have Mournland Fatigue reduce its level by 1.
- Failed Day Outcome: The day is particularly arduous or they make a significant misstep, resulting in a specific Setback (Lingering Dread check for MF + one other from the list).
- Reaching Casalon: They will reach Casalon after a determined number of in-game days (e.g., baseline 3 days, +0.5 or +1 day for each “Failed Day” due to lost time, up to a cap if you wish). Their condition upon arrival is determined by how many total Setbacks they accumulated over the entire leg.
Kytra Roric’s Advice & Its Impact:
(DM Prep Note: If the party sought out and heeded Kytra Roric's advice in Vathirond to head south-southeast towards Casalon's Echo and avoid Kalazart):
- Mechanical Benefit:
- They gain advantage on the first three skill checks the party makes during Day 1 of navigating the Ash Wastes (these can be for any relevant skill used by any party member for that initial push). This also means they are heading towards your planned set-piece (Casalon) rather than a different, potentially more dangerous area.
Daily Skill Challenge Flow (Example for one Day):
Start of In-Game Day:
DM: “The grey dawn of another Mournland day breaks, offering little warmth or hope. The Ash Wastes stretch before you, a monotonous expanse of [describe specific features for today - e.g., fields of jagged, glass-like obsidian shards, an area choked with petrified, grasping vines, or a region where the eternal campfires are disturbingly numerous]. To make good progress today, avoid serious misfortune, and potentially reduce any lingering Mournland Fatigue, the group needs to achieve 3 successes before you accumulate 3 failures. For this morning’s travel, what are your first two primary approaches or actions?”
Phase 1: Morning (2 Player Checks)
- PC 1 describes action & makes a skill check (e.g., Survival to navigate, Perception for hazards).
- PC 2 describes action & makes a skill check (e.g., Arcana to assess weird phenomena, Investigation of ruins).
- DM narrates outcomes, tallying successes/failures for the day.
Phase 2: Midday (2 Player Checks)
DM: “The morning’s efforts leave you [describe state based on S/F tally for the day]. As the dim light reaches its zenith, you press on. What are your next two key actions for this midday stretch?”
- PC 3 describes action & makes a skill check.
- PC 4 describes action & makes a skill check.
- DM narrates, updates S/F tally.
Phase 3: Evening (2 Player Checks)
DM: “The light begins to fade into an even deeper gloom. You need to find a defensible spot to attempt a short rest soon. What are your final two significant actions for today as you seek shelter?”
- PC 5 describes action & makes a skill check (likely Survival for shelter).
- PC 6 describes action & makes a skill check (maybe Perception for watch, or helping secure camp).
- DM narrates, updates S/F tally.
End of In-Game Day Resolution:
If 3 Successes achieved before 3 Failures (A “Successful Day”):
DM: “Despite the ever-present challenges, your skills and teamwork have seen you through today with success. You made good progress [describe a minor positive outcome, e.g., found a slightly better shelter for your short rest, avoided a minor hazard they spotted, navigated efficiently]. Furthermore, the small victories of the day help push back the oppressive gloom of this land; if any of you are suffering from Mournland Fatigue, you reduce its level by one. You find a meager but defensible spot to take a Short Rest.”
If 3 Failures achieved before 3 Successes (A “Failed Day”):
DM: “Today has been particularly brutal and disorienting. The Ash Wastes have exacted their toll. Firstly, [Apply the Universal Effect - The Lingering Dread (Wisdom save vs. Mournland Fatigue)]. Secondly, [Choose and apply one Additional Specific Setback from the list below]. Despite these hardships, you find a barely adequate spot to attempt a Short Rest, the weight of this cursed land pressing heavily upon you.”
(DM Note: After resolving the day's outcome, the party takes a Short Rest. They can spend Hit Dice. Spell slots and Long Rest abilities do not recover. Mournland Fatigue or actual Exhaustion levels persist unless specifically reduced by a game mechanic like a "Successful Day" reducing MF, or until a proper Long Rest is achieved between legs).
Failed Day Setbacks
Universal Effect - The Lingering Dread:
“The accumulated missteps, harrowing encounters, or sheer oppressive weight of the Mournland today bears down on you all. As the ‘day’ ends and you seek what little shelter you can, each of you must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the pervasive dread and psychic toll cause you to gain one level of Mournland Fatigue.”
DM’s Choice - Additional Specific Setback:
- In addition to the Lingering Dread check, you choose one thematically appropriate setback from your list based on the nature of the failures that day, or to introduce variety. This setback has its own distinct consequences, separate from direct Mournland Fatigue.
Corrosive Ash Storm / Wailing Winds:
“A sudden, violent wind kicks up, whipping abrasive ash into a blinding storm that lasts for hours [or a wind howls with the sound of a thousand mourning voices]. You’re forced to hunker down, losing significant travel time for the day. When it passes, each character must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, one piece of their non-magical gear (DM or player chooses from armor/weapon/pack) is pitted and damaged, imposing a -1 penalty to its effectiveness (e.g., AC, damage, or it’s just structurally weaker) until properly repaired (requiring 1 hour and Tinker’s Tools).”
Lost Supplies & Treacherous Detour:
“A series of navigational errors or a landscape feature that proved far more treacherous than anticipated has led you on a long, fruitless detour. You’ve lost at least half a day’s worth of travel. Furthermore, during a risky climb [or crossing a rushing, befouled stream], [1d4 party members, or those who failed a key Athletics/Acrobatics check today] lose some minor but essential supplies – perhaps a waterskin bursts, a coil of rope frays beyond use, or some specialized tool is dropped into an unrecoverable chasm.”
Psychic Echoes / Haunting Visions:
“You pass through an area where the psychic screams of the Mourning are almost palpable. Each spellcaster feels a painful mental backlash. You must expend one spell slot of your lowest available level (if you have any remaining) as the energy is violently leeched from you. Non-spellcasters feel a splitting headache and have disadvantage on their next Intelligence or Wisdom-based skill check.”
Perilous Terrain & Minor Injuries (Direct HP Damage):
“Your misstep in navigation leads you blundering into unexpectedly hazardous terrain. [Describe: e.g., a field of razor-sharp obsidian shards nearly hidden by ash, a sudden tremor that opens small steaming chemical fissures, or a minor rockslide on treacherous scree]. Each character must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, they take 2d4 slashing, piercing, or acid/fire damage (DM chooses based on terrain) from the hazard as they stumble or are caught by the effect. This area also proves difficult to navigate quickly, costing an extra hour to bypass safely.”
Condition on Arrival at Casalon (End of Leg 1 - based on accumulated “Setbacks”):
- Baseline Journey: Assume it takes 3 “Successful Days” worth of progress to reach Casalon.
- Failed Days Add Time/Penalty: Each “Failed Day” and its associated Setback might also narratively extend the journey (e.g., “The blinding ash storm cost you nearly a full day of travel”).
Condition on Arrival at Casalon (End of Leg 1 - based on accumulated number of “Failed Days”):
Baseline Journey: Assume it takes 3 “Successful Days” worth of progress to reach Casalon. Each “Failed Day” might add a narrative half-day or full day to the perceived length of the journey due to setbacks and lost time, but the condition on arrival is primarily based on the count of “Failed Days.” You still aim for them to arrive after roughly 3-4 actual days of in-game skill challenges.
Condition on Arrival (after the ~3-4 day journey to Casalon):
(DM Note: Any remaining Mournland Fatigue levels are handled by these conditions. Actual Exhaustion gained from MF reaching Lvl 3 during the leg persists unless stated otherwise).
Good Journey (0-1 “Failed Days” during the Leg):
“You arrive at Casalon weary from the road but not deeply afflicted by the Mournland’s worst. Any current levels of Mournland Fatigue you possess are cleared. Additionally, each of you gains Inspiration for your perseverance.”
Average Journey (2 “Failed Days” during the Leg):
“The journey to Casalon has been arduous. You arrive feeling the strain. Any character with Mournland Fatigue Level 2 reduces it to Level 1. If at Level 1, it remains. You find no extra respite here to shake off the deeper weariness easily.” (They keep any actual Exhaustion. MF1 stays).
Poor Journey (3+ “Failed Days” during the Leg):
“The Ash Wastes have savaged your spirits and resolve. You stumble into Casalon deeply drained. If you are not already suffering from at least one level of actual (homebrewed) Exhaustion from Mournland Fatigue converting during this leg, you gain one now. Furthermore, the pervasive dread makes it difficult to focus your magical abilities; spellcasters in the party find their lowest available spell slot has been ‘forgotten’ until they can achieve a truly restorative rest.” (Any current MF is cleared, essentially converting into or being trumped by this actual Exhaustion. If they already had 1+ actual Exhaustion, they don’t necessarily gain another new one from this specific arrival condition alone, unless the wording “if you are not already suffering” implies that if they are, they might keep what they have and this applies. Let’s clarify: this condition ensures at least one level of actual Exhaustion if they didn’t get one mid-leg. If they already have one or more, they don’t gain an additional one just from this arrival text, but they keep what they have. The spell slot loss for casters is additional.)