In my previous article, I said there were 4 nodes in the sandbox section. But there is one more node: Cragmaw Castle. I didn’t include it in the previous article because it’s a destination node. How do I know this? Because Gundren Rockseeker is there. If the PCs go there, they can fulfill one of their objectives (if they accepted Sindar’s quest), and there is information there that will lead them into the next story section. The whole point of this section is for the PCs to find information on two things: where is Cragmaw Castle, and where is Wave Echo Cave.
So we have 4 nodes and we need to set them up using the Three Clue Rule. There need to be clues leading to each other node, as well as
the destination node.
| Nodes | Clues to Other nodes | Optional clues |
| Agatha and Conyberry | Orc corpse has clue to Wyvern Tor; Agatha mentions Necromancer at Old Owl Well; party sees a green Dragon fly over (Ruins of Thundertree). | Treasure map leading to another adventure. |
| Old Owl Well | Kost the necromancer wants the orcs at Wyvern Tor removed; he wants to ask a question from Agatha; Most had green Dragon scales, mentions Thundertree. | Something that mentions the megadungeon. |
| Ruins of Thundertree | Druid Reidoth knows the location of Cragmaw Castle and Wave Echo Cave; Green Dragon mentions Necromancer at Old Owl Well; Reidoth warns the party about Agatha at Conyberry; party finds letter mentioning Wyvern Tor. | Reidoth mentions that the twig blights have moved on from somewhere east of this area; perhaps mentions Guldias the renegade druid. |
| Wyvern Tor | If party defeats the orcs, they find a journal that describes the other nodes and Cragmaw Castle. | Something that mentions the orc artifact, or their war plans. |
You can see that some of my optional clues are vague. That’s because I don’t have a current group going through this adventure, and since optional clues lead to other adventures and the adventures that I choose depend on the players, I’m keeping it open.
Next time I will look at each location in depth, and show you how to adapt what is written to your particular game.
The Cool Mama 