Faerie Falls (Patreon)

The realm of the faerie folk, beautiful and fickle. Mirthful and mischievous. A circle of stones might be a place to unload burdens and rest an aching back, or it might be the threshold to a world unknown. A waterfall enchants the senses with its beauty, the coda of its cascade burbling the merriest of songs. The tiniest of curious faces peek from between the leaves of an ancient tree. 

Hello Epic DMs!
This is a very special post. I'm beyond excited to share with you my first collaboration with the amazing people of dScryb. Special thanks to David Shulman, Megan Garner, and Nicola Aquino. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with you. I will always be grateful for all your faerie magic.
 
Visit dScryb HERE and see all the stunning work they do.
Use the code EPICQUEST during checkout to get a 14-day trial period for free.

This map-pack comprises the Faerie Falls setting and the portal in the Material Plane that leads one there. On the other side of the Circle of Stones portal, adventurers will find a bridge, tiny cottage, mushroom path, waterfall, hidden cave and lair, faerie tree, and Frogkin Court. There is so much to explore, with elements of danger veiled by the ravishing beauty of the plane.

Thank you for your trust and support!

QUEST

Here is an idea, I can give you some key points with which you can use as a base to create your own quest or adventure with this map pack.

Here we go...

1. The group is transported to Feywild diving through the reflection of the full moon in a magical pond. The heroes know they have limited time, as the portal doesn't stay open for long.

A circle of stones surrounds a pool of still water in a quiet glade, the ground lush with long grass and pertly petaled flowers—all cast in the cool blue light of the full moon hanging heavily above. The moss-laden faces of the stones are etched with flowing symbols, the lines so fluid they seem like natural veins. The reflection of the moon grows larger, the silvery white face filling the glacial center of the pool as if the celestial body has begun to plummet. You feel a sinking sensation followed by a tingling lightness as you are the one to fall, pitching forward into the pool. Your vision swims with color—bright green, sky blue, pink, purple—then the world reforms like a molten piece of metal being poured into a mold. But you are not where you were…

Once the adventurers reach The Plane of Faerie, something bad happens, the portal loses its magical power much faster than expected, in a matter of seconds it loses the energy necessary for teleportation and they can no longer return through it.

You find yourself on solid ground, a patch of dirt surrounded by the circle of stones. These standing granite faces wink with wisps of green magic. You hear a tinkling near your feet, a sound nearly like an impish giggle, as golden motes of magic bob along the ground. All around you, a verdant world awaits under the pink shade of a twilit sky. The rushing of water draws your attention to a waterfall cascading into a teal-blue pond. A path leading toward it branches off just outside the stones.

The path to the left from the circle of stones allows for the best view of the falls descending down two tiers of silvery-gray cliffs in a steamy froth, before ending in the pool below. A trail of red earth, surrounded by sprightly green grass, trees, and bright red mushroom caps, wraps around the glimmering pond fed by the waterfall. Scents of damp earth, wet stone, and ripe berries sweeten the air. You hear the croak of frogs, the happy hum of insect wings, and… a series of small rubbery noises. Scanning the grass around the lake, you spy some of the red and white-spotted mushroom caps wriggling, lively. With another elastic squeak! a mushroom hops out of the grass, revealing a small face set into the stalk just underneath the cap. Its shiny black eyes brim with curiosity and its squiggle of a mouth is upturned into a half-open smile—a look of childish glee. You hear their stalks squeak as they bounce along, following you.

From the circle of stones two paths of ruddy earth branch off, the one to the right leading to a small stone bridge. It arches over the languid stream flowing from the pond, clear waters reflecting dancing lines of light onto the bottom of the bridge.

Note: Adventurers can find items or clues under the bridge, or even get healed once, if they cross below it. 

2. Some local creature tells the group that the problem may be related to the loss of energy that The glowing tree has been experiencing. Make this character funny and likable (think Donkey from Shrek) it could be a young elf, a rabbit or fairy, your choice.

3. There is a magic rock under the tree (The Stone of Radiance) that opens the way across the waterfall to The Cave of the Giant Toad.

Note: The first person to touch the Stone of Radiance wins an inspiration token. Also, an almost invisible aura of energy surrounds this person, making them feel a subtle tingling around the body. This character now has a protection aura that gives +1 to AC.

A shimmer of magic plays on the wind, like the softest note on a pan flute. The topmost tier of the waterfall parts like a curtain to reveal an arched threshold of reddish clay brick. You cannot see beyond the mysterious shade totally shrouding the entryway. The jumping bodies of the mushroom-spirits squeak more fervently—the looks on their faces a mixture of excitement, wonder, and amusement.

The Cave of the Giant Toad:
You pass through the falls to find yourself in near total darkness. The dampness clings to every inch of you, and a sulfurous stink akin to a bog hangs rife in the air. While you find uneasy footing on stretches of stone, there are many patches not so firm, giving way to thick pools of cold mud. In the dank corners of this slippery corridor, you come across piles of stained, humanoid bones.

Atmospheric ominous music composed by me!
Use this track when your adventurers enter the "Cave of the Giant Toad".
Track available for everyone for a limited time, and available for Celestial and Epic Legend tiers forever.
Download until September 30 HERE 

You hear a single, deep gurgle from within the cave and a mound of mud wriggles before heaving upward. The wide, gray-brown face of a giant toad—as wide across as a horse cart—breaks through the muck. It lets loose a thunderous CROAK that bounces off the walls of the cavern and makes the ground shudder. A forked glob of a tongue peeks out from between its mud-caked lips.

4. Inside this cave there are remains of past unlucky visitors, and perhaps some small treasure, where they will find a very special potion of diminution, that one of the adventurers will use to get the necessary size to enter the Tiny Cottage that is hidden next to the waterfall. This house is magical and cannot be destroyed or raised.

The Tiny Cottage
You crest a verdant hill draped in long grass—flowing as softly as nymph’s hair—and a bevy of red-and-white capped mushrooms, some of which wriggle every so often. A thin line of earth, much too small for humanoid feet, leads up to a miniature home surrounded by a mane of small red flowers. Tiny golden orbs, much like the motes you encountered at the circle of stones, hover between the carmine blooms, shimmering like chimes in a clement breeze. The home, if it had been built for larger folk, might have been an impressive sight with its three-story-structure and bold A-frame roof. But here, nestled in blades of grass, it seems like a dollhouse misplaced by a forgetful child. The windows emit a faint yellow glow, as if from candle flame, and you catch the silhouette of something—someone?—moving within.

5. You (DMs) decide what happens inside this tiny house. It can be a social encounter, or a battle that will make the adventurers get a magic scroll split in half. Even in this bad state, it has enough magical power to reopen the waterfall with the Stone of Radiance, this time opening an entrance to the Frogkin Court, where the other half of the scroll is located. 

You find yourself in a pristine royal court with smooth columns, smoldering braziers, and hanging tapestries. A rectangular pool of ink-black water cuts through the perfectly polished marble floors, floating stone slabs leading up to a throne at the end of the chamber. A tree similar to the specimen outside, pink-leafed and heavy with golden berries, hangs above the throne like a many-armed guardian. Frogkin in noble attire—coats and gowns drizzled in finery—turn their squat heads toward you. Some ribbits of delight and surprise chirrup from the disparate cliques. A stuttering croak sounds—akin to a polite clearing of the throat. A gray-skinned frogkin in a blue tailcoat approaches. He expands his neck into a translucent bubble. “Excuse me, adventitious guests,” he says. “Where is your invitation?”

This is where you could have the final encounter, or the Boss fight. Put some armored Frogfolk or Grippli Warriors, or even a homebrew a Lizard King/Queen with two heads... anything goes! Give the replica of the Glowing Tree behind the throne some magic attacks or protection for the Frogfolk.
Make some enemies come out of the dark water, or make them try to push the adventurers into the lava pit, make the local character who was guiding and helping them since they got here, betray them in this encounter. Whatever you can think of to make this encounter a challenging one, make it memorable and epic.

At the end of the encounter, the party will obtain the other part of the scroll, and by joining both parts, the heroes can read an enchantment that will channel the energy of the replica tree, and restores the energy of the Glowing Tree. The adventurers will also use the enchantment on the Circle of Stones to return to the material plane.

This is just an idea, you can also do it backwards, making the heroes enter the court first, where the frog king/queen asks them for help finding the other part of the scroll to heal the tree, sending them to the cave of the giant toad. Secretly, the villain just wants the other half to control the energy of the Glowing Tree, and when the adventurers deliver the scroll to the court, they will try to kill them.

Ok, that's the seed of the quest, ...now gather your friends and family and make it epic.

I hope you enjoy ...and survive, your visit to the Feywild.
David

Celestial Exclusives

Court (Magic Energy)

Court (No Magic)

Celestial + Legend Exclusives

Animated and static "Giant Toad" token.

★★★  Edit: 9/06/22  ★★★  
New Content!!!

★ WebM files are available at the Animated Maps Folder.
★ The Waterfall map FW04 (1080) was added. It was in a wrong folder in google drive, sorry about that.
★ Atmospheric ominous music composed by me! 

Use this track when your adventurers enter the "Cave of the Giant Toad".   Track available for everyone for a limited time, and available for Celestial and Epic Legend tiers forever. Download until September 30 HERE

Celestial 

Epic Legend 

Epic Master 

Epic Hero