“The Iron Giant”
Difficulty: This adventure is for 4 to 6 level 6 players.
Run Time: 1 to 2 hours
Special Notes: Remember to pay attention to the abilities of the shield guardian and learn the Transmuter's spells.
Summary
The King's vizier has learned that a rival Wizard is trying to reactivate an ancient magical construct that is rumored to be buried in the mines in the nearby mountains. He asks the party to journey to the mountains and bring the construct back to him.
Setup: An audience with the King
The party is summoned to the palace for an audience with the King to be celebrated for their heroism at a banquet and the Vizier, Elander Alanadel(Diviner VGtM213) an Elven Wizard, approaches the party with a request. His rival, Narwain Sinaran(Transmuter VGtM218) another Elven Wizard is attempting to reactivate a dormant construct(Shield Guardian MM271) that is buried in the mines in the mountains. If the party will go to the mountains and bring its energy core to him, then he will reward them. He offers the party a ride in his magical horseless carriage to the site of the mine the next morning. It's a 2-day ride by horseback, but his carriage can get them there by nightfall.
Counter Attack: A perilous journey.
Enemies: Assassin(MM342), M. A. Adept(VGtM 216)
If they take the carriage, assassins sent by Narwain to kill Elander attack them thinking Elander is inside. Otherwise the assassins are after party member for another reason. They attempt to kill their target and escape. Once they see that Elander is not in the carriage, they will retreat after some fighting. If a party member is their target, then they will attack that party until they are at 0 and then will attack them until they are dead and retreat. Ensure that your players are okay with this type of combat and character death before doing this. Make sure your players have a backup character ready so that if a character dies that player can use a backup character for the rest of the session. Their new character meets them at the mines and was also hired by Elander.
Investigation: The Mines
1: The central chamber. There are old mine carts here.
2: A storage room. Mining tools of all sorts are here.
3: Partial Cave-in. Looks unsafe. When a creature is in this area, there is a 50% chance each round that the roof collapses, pinning the creature and dealing 6d10 bludgeoning damage. DC25 Strength check to escape.
4: Mining area. 4d6 gems worth 50gp each are here.
5: Old Mine shaft drops down into lower chamber.
X: The head of the construct sticks out from rubble.
Reveal: The Lower Chamber
Enemies: Narwain Sinaran(Transmuter VGtM218)
XP Reward: 900xp
Narwain is in the lower chamber by the body of the buried shield guardian. He is working on something inside the construct. Have the party roll stealth when they enter the room agains his passive perception of DC11. When he notices the party he will politely request that they leave him to his work. A successful persuasion or intimidation check DC30 will get him to hand over the energy core without a fight. If attacked he will polymorph himself into a giant elephant(MM322) to start the battle. Once his polymorphed form drops, go to the climax.
Climax: Shield Guardian
Enemies: Narwain Sinaran, Shield Guardian(MM279)
XP Reward: 3800xp
The energy core crackles as a bolt of energy shoots out of it into the amulet on Narwain's neck. If the core is out of the guardian, it is pulled back into the guardian magically as it activates. The guardian can't move because it is burried under a mountain of stone, but it can swing it's fists. Narwain stays close by so that any party member that is in melee with him is also able to be hit by the guardian. Narwain may choose to polymorph again, this time into a giant crocodile(MM324), but by storing the spell in the guardian, to avoid making concentration checks himself. In addition he has all the benefits from the guardian. If the party retreats he stays with the guardian, working on it. He's trying to get the teleportation circuit working so that he can move the entire construct out of the mine. Throughout, Narwain insists that the construct belongs to him and he will not let anyone have it. If the party takes a short rest, they can return to continue the battle, but Narwain's arcane recovery will restore one of his 4th and 1st level slots. If the party takes a long rest, then when they return Narwain and the Shield Guardian are gone, leaving an empty hole where the construct had been. If they kill Narwain, the guardian deactivates and they can extract the energy core without fighting the guardian.
Wrap-Up: Returning the Energy Core
As they leave, the party can see the name Sinaran etched on the mining supplies, carts, and other equipment. It seems that Narwain's family owned this mine. The party can return the Energy Core to Elander Alanadel back at the castle and claim their reward or try to repair the shield guardian for themselves. It takes 40 days of downtime and 50,000 gold to repair. Treasure: 10,000 gold and roll once on the Treasure Hoard: Challenge 5-10 table on DMG p.137
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