The Dragon Urn

A couple of years ago I came across an illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien that has been used as an interior illustration for some editions of The Hobbit. “Conversation with Smaug” (1937) depicts an invisible Bilbo Baggins parlaying with the great dragon of Erebor, who lies atop a mound of golden treasure.

I find Tolkien’s drawings extremely charming, but my eyes were really drawn to the great terra cotta jars or cups filled with treasure that seemed to line the dragon’s lair. These are extremely tall, given the ladders needed to reach the top, filled with treasure, and marked with mysterious runes. Just one of these would hold a tremendous hoard. Who built these massive vessels, and to what purpose? Were they perhaps made to carry tribute to Smaug?

The eminent Tolkien scholar and RPG designer John Rateliff has noted that the words on the jar are English using Tolkien’s Tengwar script, which Rateliff translates as “... gold [of] Thror [and] Thrain ... accursed be the thief.” So these great jars seem to have held dwarven allotments of treasure, and carried a traditional curse.

In any case, I knew then I wanted to write an adventure for the Great Dungeon of the North around these containers, which eventually became “The Dragon Urn,” which I ran for some friends this last February. As previously noted, I used a map from Dyson's Delve for a new unexplored area of the Great Dungeon. The setup was simple enough: “Reports of a lost treasure hoard on the Fourth Level create a stir in Delvetown.”

I had several 5e pregens for the boys and they picked six 3rd-level PCs: Malcolm (human cleric), Robb (elf ranger), Jimmie the Nimble (human fighter), Volevert of the Firs (human barbarian), Greybough Longleaf (elf wizard), and Dravynn (dragonborn sorcerer).

Beginning at the Staff of the Magi inn, the adventurers learnt that three years ago the wizard Metriochus the Mysterious had returned to Delvetown claiming to have discovered a new area on the Fourth Level that contained a giant urn guarded by a dragon. While the dragon killed the rest of his party, Metriochus found a way to lower a portcullis, trapping the dragon and its treasure. Most listeners assumed the wizard was a liar, and only weeks later Hrodgoth the Barbarian killed Metriochus and soon his story was largely forgotten.

However, a week earlier some thieves claimed to have rediscovered the lost area on the Fourth Level, and Greybough and his companions believed they recognized where this fabled urn might be found.

My simple key for the dungeon follows:

The Dragon Urn

Room	Contents	Encounter	CR
1	Monster	2 Giant Toads	Easy
2	Empty
3	Monster	Veteran and Bandit	Medium
4	Trap	Gas Vent
5	Monster	Chuul	Medium
6	Special	Room of Geases
7	Trap	Sickening Gas
8	Monster	1 Wererat and 2 Giant Rats	Medium
9	Empty
10	Empty
11	Special	False Fireplace
12	Monster	Black Pudding	Medium
13	Trap	Posion Gas Trap
14	Trap	Nausea Gas
15	Monster	2 Black Dragon Wyrmlings	Hard
16	Monster	Ghost	Medium
17	Empty
18	Special	Ardeth Inkscale (Young Black Dragon)	Deadly

As the party explored the new area the players began improvising their characters’ backstories. It came to pass that Greybough had once been a fairly powerful wizard and patron to the rest of the group, but the long years had ravaged his once brilliant mind and he had steadily regressed in ability until he was no longer any more powerful than his much younger clients. Confined to a home for aged wizards, his loyal clients had sprung “Pops” to take him on one last adventure: to kill a dragon. Greybough was cranky and forgetful, but still remembered enough magic to effectively contribute to the expedition.

The party eventually found their quarry: Ardeth Inkscale, Daughter of Delith, Granddaughter of Old Brokehorn, the terror of Black Lake. Ardeth was a young black dragon trapped behind a magic portcullis and guarding a great urn of treasure. The party raised the portcullis, but Ardeth turned on them and in the ensuing fight killed two of the party before being killed herself.

“Pops” finally got to kill his dragon and the urn held some choice loot: 900 cp, 12,000 sp, 2,200 gp, 100 pp, 11 50-gp gems (carnelian, moonstone, sardonyx, citrine, quartz, moonstone, chalcedony, bloodstone, moonstone, star rose quartz, sardonyx), and a longsword +1.

The game was a blast to run, and I hope to bring this crew back for future adventures.