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#+title: D&D Campaign: The Lonely Mountain

* Notes
Perfect—this makes for a *tight, mythic one-shot* with a clear arc! Let’s reframe
it as a **single-session adventure (4–6 hours)** that hits all the beats: mystery
→ exploration → revelation → choice.

The adventure takes place on Mount Katahdor, at the edge of the Spine of the
World, a place where myths walk and storms linger unnaturally.

** Setup

*** *Hook
  The **logging company owner** hires the adventurers to track down a missing
  logging crew who went into the lower slopes of **Mount Katahdor** and haven’t
  returned. “They were hardy men and women, but this is too long. Bring them
  back—whatever it takes.”

*** Truth:
  Pamola, guardian of the mountain, has captured the loggers alive—not to kill,
  but to keep them from further defiling sacred land. One logger, stubborn and
  arrogant, attempted to summit Katahdor; Pamola blocked his descent, holding
  him at the peak until balance is restored.

** Adventure Flow

*** Act I – Into the Woods

**** Exploration & Clues:

* Abandoned camps, cut trees oddly *restored overnight* (nature spirits undoing
    damage).
  * Animal tracks lead in circles—mountain magic obscures the trail.
  * Encounter: **Wolf pack infused with storm energy** (lightning crackles in
    their fur). Not trying to kill—driving intruders back.
  * A surviving logger (injured) explains: “Something with wings… thunder and
    snow… it took them.”

*** Act II – The Mountain’s Wrath

**** Climb:

Weather worsens as they ascend—icy rain, avalanches, booming thunder. Skill
challenge: Athletics, Survival, Nature, Arcana. Failures deal exhaustion or HP
loss.

**** Discovery:

In a sheltered cavern, the missing crew is found alive, well-fed but confused.
They describe being “watched by a massive shadow with wings” that fed them
berries and fresh snowmelt.

- The crew is *afraid to leave*. “It’ll kill us if we try.”
- They reveal that **one logger insisted on climbing higher**—he hasn’t
  returned.

**** Optional Encounter:

Elemental spirits (air, storm, or ice) manifest if the party acts aggressively
or tries to cut more wood.

*** Act III – The Summit

At the peak, a blizzard howls. The missing logger is trapped in a stone circle,
unable to descend.

**** Pamola appears:

Towering, with an eagle’s head, man’s body, great wings, and talons of ice. His
presence shakes the air with thunder.

**** Pamola’s Demand:

- The mountain must be respected: **no logging beyond sacred markers** (stone
  cairns).
- Mortals must acknowledge Katahdor as *his domain*.
- He tests the party—not only their strength, but their *wisdom*.

** Choices:

1. **Diplomacy**: Convince the logger to humble himself, promise to restrain the
     logging company, and seal the pact. Pamola releases the storm.
  2. **Defiance**: If the party attacks, Pamola defends himself—use **Ancient
     Bronze Dragon reskinned with cold/lightning** (but emphasize *this is not a
     fight to the death*; he vanishes if bloodied).
  3. **Sacrifice**: If someone offers themselves as guardian/liaison between
     humans and the mountain, Pamola accepts. The logger is freed, but the
     volunteer stays behind as his chosen emissary.

** Ending Options

*** **Peaceful Resolution**:

The logging company must change practices (smaller harvests, avoidance of sacred
areas). The town is wary, but respectful.

*** * **Conflict Resolution**:

If violence happens, the adventurers survive—but the mountain will forever be
dangerous to settlers. Pamola becomes a recurring force in future stories.

*** **Tragic Resolution**:

If the logger refuses humility and the party cannot sway him, Pamola strikes him
down with lightning—a warning.

** One-Shot Pacing
*** **Hour 1**: Arrival, hook, first exploration.
Instead of preamble, start in medias res:

The company owner bursts into the tavern/common hall yelling:

“The mountain took my people! Wolves are prowling the valley! I’ll pay anything
if you bring them back!”

PCs either know each other already or instinctively team up—there’s no time to
question it.

Boom—adventure starts immediately.

**** Opening
The tavern door slams open. A broad-shouldered man, face weathered from years in
the woods, stomps in. Snow clings to his coat, and his eyes are wild with worry.
He scans the room, then slams a fist on the bar.

“Listen up! I’ve lost my crew. Six of my best loggers went up the lower slopes
of Katahdor three nights past—cutting timber like we’ve done a hundred times
before. They never came back.”

He pauses, voice cracking slightly before he steadies himself.

“They’re hardy folk—tougher than most in this town—but this long without word?
No. Something’s wrong. Wolves, storm, spirits, I don’t care what it is. I need
them found.”

He looks directly at the adventurers.

“I’ll pay good coin for every soul you bring back alive. Bring me answers, bring
me my people… and you’ll have my gratitude—and my gold. Who here’s willing to
climb the mountain?”
*** **Hour 2**: Wilderness trek, wolf encounter, clues.
Night falls ... as they follow the logging road

North route -
*** **Hour 3**: Rescue missing crew, learn truth.
*** **Hour 4–5**: Summit, confrontation with Pamola.
*** **Hour 6**: Resolution & aftermath.

Do you want me to **write Pamola’s stat block and the skill challenge mechanics**
(like DCs and consequences), or keep him more narrative/mythic where
success/failure is roleplay-based?

** Pamola's trials
*** Pamola Appears

Wings blot the stars. Thunder cracks as a vast figure with an eagle’s head,
man’s body, and talons of ice descends. The storm speaks through him.

“Mortals. You climb where you should not. The mountain groans under your axes,
your hunger. One of yours sought the summit unbidden. I have stayed my talons,
but I ask: why should I let him live?”

*** Trial of Respect

If players offer words, prayers, or a gift:

“What will you leave for the mountain that has given so much? Speak truth, or
the storm shall strip away your falsehoods.”

**** Success:

“I feel the weight of your sincerity. Few among mortals bow to more than their
greed. You honor me.”

**** Failure:

“You offer trinkets, not reverence. Empty hands show an empty heart.” (the storm
worsens, snow and lightning crackling)

*** Trial of Humility

Pamola gestures to the logger.

“This one spat upon stone cairns and climbed higher still. His pride binds him
here. Shall he kneel, or shall he fall?”

If players convince the logger to bow/apologize:

“So he remembers his smallness at last. A man who kneels may yet rise with
wisdom.”

If he resists:

“Arrogance unbent breaks like dry pine.” (Pamola raises his talons, thunder
rumbles threateningly)

*** Trial of Balance

Pamola’s voice rolls like distant thunder.

“Mortals always take. Wood, stone, flesh of the deer. What will you give in
return? What oath binds your kind from further wound upon this mountain?”

If players propose a meaningful pact (reduced logging, guardianship, sacrifice):

“Then let your words bind you, as stone binds root. Break this oath, and my
wings will darken your skies again.”

If they falter or refuse:

“So be it. The storm is warning enough. Remember this day, for I will.”

*** Resolution

**** Full Success (all trials):

“You have shown respect, humility, and balance. Few mortals would. I release
him, and I grant you my blessing. Walk Katahdor as friends, not thieves.”

**** Partial Success (1–2 trials):

“You are not without wisdom, but the mountain watches. Betray this pact, and my
wings shall return.”

**** Total Failure:

“The storm takes what pride would not yield.” (lightning strikes the logger;
Pamola turns away, wings vanishing into the storm)

** Rumors about Katahdor (what everyone “knows”)

“The mountain hates men’s axes. Fells a tree one day, and by dawn the stump’s
gone, the tree standing again as if never touched.”

“Strange lights flicker on its slopes—some say lanterns of lost souls, others
say the eyes of the storm god watching.”

“The wolves that roam the lower paths don’t hunt for food—they drive you back,
as if guarding something higher up.”

“There’s a spirit with wings like thunderclouds, head of an eagle, body of a
man, talons sharp as ice. Some call him protector, others say punisher. Either
way—best not anger him.”

“The mountain takes the proud. Hunters, loggers, even climbers who boast too
loud. Go up with respect—or don’t come back.”

** Pmola Sidebar
*** NPC mode
Throughout the adventure, villagers and loggers won’t name him—only speaking in
circumlocution:

“The Winged Shadow.”

“The Thunder-Eagle.”

“The One Who Blocks the Path.”

“The Mountain’s Wrath.”

If players press for a name, NPCs might say: “Some of the old tribes whispered a
name, but I dare not speak it… not here, not in his shadow.”

Pamola himself may finally declare his name at the summit, in booming
first-person mythic style:

“Mortals call me many things. I am storm and claw, talon and frost. But know
this: I am P-MO-la, and this peak is mine.”

*** Voice & Tone

Speak slowly and resonantly, as if every word rolls like thunder.

Pause between phrases, like the storm itself is thinking before it answers.

Use a low, steady voice punctuated with sudden, sharp bursts—like thunderclaps.

Rarely use contractions: “You do not understand” instead of “You don’t
understand.”

*** Manner & Presence

Always larger than life: when P-mo-la arrives, describe him filling the sky, his
wings blotting out stars or sun.

Do not let him move casually—each gesture is monumental: wings folding like
avalanches, talons flexing like glaciers cracking.

Use the weather as his body language:

Calm when intrigued.

Winds whipping when angered.

Snowfall easing when pleased.

*** Attitude Toward Mortals

Sees mortals as children at best, trespassers at worst.

Not cruel, not kind—alien. His morality is about balance, respect, and humility.

He does not debate like a man; he judges like a mountain.

Roleplay Cues

Mystery: Rarely explains himself directly. Answers with images, riddles, or
questions.

“Would you drink the river dry and wonder why the valley cracks?”

Otherworldliness: Remind players subtly he is not of Toril.

“Your gods do not bind me. I am storm, I am claw, I am frost. I was not born
here, yet the mountain knows my name.”

Judgment: Always frame his interaction as a trial—are they respectful, humble,
balanced?

*** Table Trick

To emphasize his mythic presence:

When P-mo-la speaks, lower background voices at the table, slow your own
breathing, maybe even stand or spread your arms.

Consider rolling thunder sound effects or striking the table softly when he
“booms.”