dmdave

[Copper+] Adventure - BroadSword Guide to Wandering Mystics - Baba Zimnik (Level 3)

Added 2025-01-06 15:13:57 +0000 UTC

Arctic • Horror • Hags • Travel • Short

After watching Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, I knew I wanted to make some moody, cold, dark adventure modules that took inspiration from the Romani-run inn in the film's first act. This is the result.

This Fifth Edition adventure is designed to suit a party of three to five 3rd-level characters, but can be adjusted to suit parties as high as 10th level. Adjustment tables are included in the text to help you scale accordingly based on the characters’ Average Party Level (APL).

This adventure is set in a particularly cold environment. The characters will definitely want some warm weather clothing, lest they suffer from exhaustion penalties. A lot of this adventure involves roleplaying, as well—players who try to fight everything they meet will find themselves in a sticky position.

The adventure is set in The Echo and follows the Wandering Mystic campaign throughline presented in this book. However, you can just as easily place the adventure in any mountainous or wintry environment you like.

Adventure Background

The village of Krivnost lies deep in a forgotten shard of The Echo, surrounded by dense forests and battered by an unrelenting winter. Though life here has always been harsh, the villagers have managed to survive through resilience and the turning of the seasons. That was until the winter refused to end.

Months ago, the snow began to fall heavier, and the air grew colder. The blizzards became relentless, trapping the villagers and isolating them from the outside world. Crops withered under frost, livestock froze in their pens, and the once-bustling community dwindled to only a few desperate souls.

The villagers speak of Baba Zimnik, a figure from local folklore, said to live deep in the woods. She was once believed to protect the shard’s balance, ensuring the seasons turned and life endured. In return, the villagers would leave offerings at an ancient stone altar: food, trinkets, or items of personal value. But over time, belief in Baba Zimnik faded, and the offerings ceased.

Some whisper that the blizzards began as punishment. Baba Zimnik, angered by neglect and forgotten promises, cursed the shard with eternal winter. Others claim she has been consumed by her own grief and despair, turning her gifts of protection into a cruel and endless frost.

Recently, the blacksmith, one of the village’s few remaining able-bodied men, ventured into the woods to find Baba Zimnik and beg for her forgiveness. He never returned. Days later, his frozen corpse appeared kneeling in the village square, his outstretched hands covered in frost. Since then, the villagers have heard faint laughter carried on the wind and seen shadows moving at the edge of the forest.

Now, the villagers huddle in the inn, desperate and afraid. The shard’s ruby-handled door, their only connection to the wider Echo, has frozen shut, trapping them in their icy prison. Supplies are nearly gone, and with no way out, their survival depends on finding the source of the curse—or perishing in the cold.