Begin at the Beginning

Welcome to Beyond The Essentials: A Flexible Gamemaster's Guide to Expanding and adjusting the Leilon Trilogy!  I'm your humble host, Franchester the Wise. I ran this adventure for a party of PC's from November of 2021 through November of 2022.

Every table is different, every game is different and every GM is different, but I found I had to do a lot of work to adjust this adventure, to smooth out difficulties, and bring it into a form that made sense for me. The way this adventure is published is a little awkward, with it being released over time, in 3 different installments with different titles, but following the same characters through the same storyline. Lots of later adventures refer back to previous adventures, involving the same locations, organizations, NPC's, villains, and items, across three books with three separate Tables of Contents and Introductory chapters for each one.

Here, I will try to bring together the entire adventure under one roof, along with changes I made to "spruce it up". I have lots of deeper lore, meaningful motivations for villains and NPCs, and hopefully some other tips and tricks that will help future GMs run this adventure with less effort per session. My goal is to lay out this site as an easy reference, which can help you flexibly adjust your adventure as your players make unexpected choices, and ask questions about things not included alongside the stat blocks and maps in your source books.

Let's Complicate Things Immediately!

I am starting this adventure guide at level 7 with the "Leilon Trilogy" sequel material, without reference to the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure itself, which probably feels like starting in the middle, and may make a lot of my advice immediately not applicable to the game world you and your players have already built together during levels 1 through 6. There are a few adventures in that module that have a direct bearing on this adventure. Why would I make such a silly choice, you ask? Well, because...

I never actually ran the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure, at least not properly. I actually sat my players down at my table in May of 2021 to play the Starter Set adventure "The Lost Mine of Phandelver". (I will frequently abbreviate this adventure as "LMOP" going forward) The Starter Kit, however, doesn't come with a GM Screen, and my screenlessness was a situation I quickly sought to remedy. When I went to my local bookstore to acquire a screen, I found the "Essentials Kit" which not only included a screen, but a poster map featuring... The Town of Phandalin! the very town my players' characters were preparing to enter in search of their missing employer, Gundren Rockseeker.

I immediately picked up the box, and was delighted to find that in addition to my map and DM screen, this box included several small adventures all set in the same area my players were already exploring, which could easily be slotted into the Lost Mine of Phandelver as Side Quests. I decided to run a few of them in lieu of the LMOP side quests, which aren't very good in my opinion, but for the most part, we stuck to LMOP for most of levels 1-5. We did incorporate the Gnomengarde adventure, as well as Umbrage Hill, Axeholm, and of course the ultimate showdown with Cryovain himself at Icespire Hold. (We went on to eventually use the locations of the Circle of Thunder and the Tower of Storms, too, but in a very different sequence than intended. We will get to that eventually.)

Eventually, I will almost certainly include guidance for the Dragon of Icespire Peak (known more briefly as "DoIP") itself, but for now, if you are already running DoIP, consider that everything important you need to learn about the Talos Cult can be learned later, starting at level 7. Don't feel like you need to give them too much spotlight in the lower level material. the important thing for your players to know is that Talos cultists are a thing, at that they seem to usually be pretty bad news. 

So, without further ado... An Outline!

 (As I write posts on these subjects, they will turn into links. If it's not a link yet, just wait. This adventure took an entire year to run. I can only write so fast.)

Level Seven: Congratulations, heroes! You have been noticed.

Meet Lord Neverember!

Wayside Inn - Rescue an Inn from zombies with strange Myrkul symbols on their foreheads. Most of the staff of the inn are... SUPER TOP SECRET SPOILER AHEAD...Secret Talos Cultists.

Arrive at the emergency evacuation point. Rescue children, TRY to rescue fishermen. Become instantly valuable to the community. Learn that Talos Cultists really hate cities and walls, and "Planners and Schemers".

Have some downtime in Leilon! Maybe meet Aubrey in his weird little shop. (Have him be an illusionist, if it helps preserve the surprise that... SUPER TOP SECRET SPOILER AHEAD... He's actually a ghoooost!)

Eventually, investigate the giant obvious wizard tower in the center of town. Meet Ebrio, read Thalivar’s Journal, and learn of the Ruinstone.

Level UP!! You’re level 8 now! Congrats!

Missing Patrol - Learn about the Mere of Dead Men and its dangers, both alive and undead. Make some friends in the watch. Make a better man out of Hazz Yorum?

Aid From Phandalin - Learn about difficulties in seafaring trade, and rivalry between Myrkul Cultists and Talos Cultists.

Foul Weather at Wayside Inn - Big Payoff moment. “Echo” the zombies at the doors, reveal the traitorous nature of the inn staff, find the missing map with other Cult Locations, primarily Gadrille’s location at the Thunder Cliffs.

You’re Gonna Need a Boat to The Thunder Cliffs. - Allip Attack gives a Prophecy of Three Dragons and a Red Stone. Clear Out a Base of Operations and a major source of Funding for the Talos Cult. Definitely Learn about Fheralai, possibly learn about the Dreadnaught.

Level UP!! You’re level 9 now! Congrats!

Leilon, or Sail On? Approaching the Lighthouse by Sea or by Land are two very different approaches.

Cultist Cleanup — Player Motivated Side Quests, and/or Other Map Locations

Level UP!! You’re level 10 now! Congrats!

Iniarv’s Tower/Claugilyamatar’s Lair - Learn more about the Myrkul Cultists, Finally.

Dumathoin’s Gulch: War is coming. Dragons and Dreadnaughts are out there, and the Gnomes have made a weapon. Meet them at the Gulch, where they need to collect the final component.

Level UP!! You’re level 11 now! Congrats!

Gallio’s Betrayal in the Ethereal Tower, Ruinstone’s Retrieval, and...

 MASSIVE FLOWCHART BATTLE!!

Level UP!! You’re level 12 now! Congrats!

Cultist Cleanup - Dreadnaught

Cultist Cleanup - Mausoleum

Game Over, You win! Also Congratulations you’re 13th Level!!