The Sunken Temple of Pelor
The Sunken Temple of Pelor
A delegation from Waterdeep's House of Healing has gone silent, their last message hinting at a corrupted sanctuary beneath the Sword Coast dedicated to Pelor, god of light. The party must investigate the flooded ruins, uncover why the clerics vanished, and stop a cult of shadow-touched aberrations from spreading twilight corruption across the region.
Read Aloud
You stand in the grand atrium of the House of Healing in Waterdeep's North Ward, where afternoon light streams through clerestory windows. High Priestess Morwenna, her silver hair bound with holy thread, clutches a waterlogged journal against her chest. Her hands tremble as she describes the expedition that departed three weeks ago: a group of seven clerics and scholars sent to investigate the Temple of Pelor, an ancient sanctuary revealed by a recent coastal tremor. The journal's final entry, dated five days past, speaks of "light failing in the sanctuary" and "something ancient stirring beneath the altar." Now, silence. Morwenna turns to you, her eyes red-rimmed: "They are good people. Devoted souls. I need you to reach them before the next high tide—the temple becomes inaccessible for another lunar cycle."
Description
The party is hired by High Priestess Morwenna of the House of Healing to investigate the missing clerical expedition to the Temple of Pelor. The sanctuary was recently unearthed by an earthquake and lies beneath the cliffs west of Waterdeep, accessible only during low tide. Morwenna provides a copy of the final journal entry (partially legible) and directions. The party must gather information about local tidal patterns and sea travel, then prepare for a dangerous journey to the coast. Morwenna offers 500 gp as reward, plus any healing supplies the temple might contain.
DM Notes
Allow players to roleplay with Morwenna and gather details about the missing clerics, their equipment, and potential threats. If they ask about the delegation, provide names: Father Aldwyn (human priest), Sister Yeska (halfling cleric), Brother Torvin (dwarf of Pelor), and four acolytes. No one in Waterdeep has knowledge of the temple's nature beyond old texts suggesting it pre-dates the city. A successful DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) check reveals that cults of the Twilight Plane (shadow fey corruption) have been rumored in the region. A DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check from anyone with maritime knowledge indicates the temple can be reached within 6 hours by ship or 12 hours on foot if they follow the coast road. The next low tide is in 18 hours—create mild time pressure.
Read Aloud
Salt spray whips your face as you crest the final ridge above the Sword Coast. Below, the sea churns slate-grey beneath a dimming sky—the low tide has exposed a ragged shelf of barnacle-crusted rock. And there, carved into the cliff face perhaps fifty feet down, you see it: a temple entrance. Marble columns, still gleaming despite centuries of erosion, frame a dark archway. But something is wrong. Instead of white stone, the columns are veined with deep purple shadow, as if darkness has seeped into the marble itself. At the base of the temple, the tide pools glow with an eerie bioluminescent green. The air tastes of salt, copper, and something ancient—like the smell of a tomb opened after a thousand years. A path of rough-hewn steps descends toward the entrance, but halfway down, you notice charred handprints on the stone, and a shattered holy symbol of Pelor lies abandoned.
Description
The party reaches the Temple of Pelor's entrance via a treacherous coastal descent. Environmental details establish the threat: the temple is being corrupted by an otherworldly force. The shattered holy symbol, charred handprints, and bioluminescent pools hint at struggle and supernatural corruption. The party must descend the rope or climb (DC 12 Strength (Athletics) checks to avoid slipping on wet stone). If any player fails by 5 or more, they slip and take 3d6 fall damage but land safely on a lower ledge. A perceptive character (DC 14 Wisdom (Perception)) notices fresh drag marks in the sand leading into the temple—the clerics were pulled inside. Once the party reaches the entrance, they see it leads into a flooded vestibule with water perhaps 10 feet deep. The water is not natural seawater but has a faint purple tint.
DM Notes
Establish atmosphere through sensory details. If players are cautious, allow them to approach slowly and observe. Reward perception checks: DC 12 notices the purple-tinted water is not natural, DC 14 reveals the drag marks, DC 16 detects a faint thrumming sound emanating from deeper in the temple (something large moving). If anyone has expertise in religion or history, allow them a check (DC 13) to recall that ancient temples of Pelor were built with air-filled chambers above water levels—the flooding and purple corruption are unnatural. This chamber is non-combat; emphasize dread and mystery.
Read Aloud
You wade into the flooded vestibule, your lanterns casting sickly green reflections off the water. The columns that once supported a vaulted ceiling now lean at angles, their capitals cracked and dark. Tapestries hang sodden from the walls, depicting scenes of Pelor's triumph over shadow and undeath—but the embroidered figures have been methodically torn away, leaving only empty threads. The water is warmer than it should be and carries a taste of ash when you breathe near it. As you move deeper, you notice the purple corruption intensifies. The stone itself seems to pulse with an internal light, like veins filled with twilight. At the far end of the vestibule, you can make out a grand archway. Beyond it, a chamber opens up. You hear water trickling from above—the chamber connects to a wider space—and beneath the water's surface, you glimpse something moving. Slow. Deliberate. Intelligent.
Description
The vestibule is a transitional space designed to establish atmosphere and hint at the corruption's scope. The destroyed tapestries suggest purposeful desecration. The party must navigate the 10-foot-deep water to reach the inner sanctum. Depending on their method (swimming, using magic, wading with ropes), allow skill checks: DC 12 Strength (Athletics) to navigate safely, or DC 10 if using a rope. The "something moving" is one of three gibbering mouthers (a juvenile form of Gibbering Mouther; use Ochre Jelly stats with necrotic resistance) that were placed here as guardians and have been corrupted by the twilight energy. They do not immediately attack but begin to surface as the party advances into the next chamber, setting up the first encounter.
DM Notes
Play up the sensory horror: warm water, ash-taste, corrupted stone. If players are methodical, allow them to examine the destroyed tapestries for a Religion check (DC 13) revealing they show Pelor's suppression of a cult dedicated to shadow and twilight—hinting that this corruption is not new but ancient, perhaps never truly defeated. If a player casts Light or creates bright illumination, the purple veins in the stone momentarily glow brighter in response, suggesting the corruption "feeds" on light. The movement in the water should feel threatening but not immediately dangerous—create tension. The vestibule is non-combat but should prepare players mentally for the encounter ahead.
Monsters
Tactics
The three corrupted mouthers attack as the party enters the inner sanctum chamber. They begin submerged and surface on initiative. They prefer to grapple and drag victims underwater but will use their Blinding Spittle on ranged combatants. If one is reduced to 25 HP or fewer, it attempts to flee deeper into the temple (toward the next chamber). They do not surrender and will pursue fleeing party members up to 60 feet before losing interest. Their gibbering is now in an alien tongue that causes a DC 10 Wisdom save or 1d4 psychic damage to anyone within 10 feet (the damage is not repeated each round, only on first hearing). They are resistant to necrotic damage and vulnerable to radiant damage (due to corruption).
Terrain
The inner sanctum is a large circular chamber, 40 feet in diameter. Water depth ranges from 6 feet at the edges to 15 feet in the center. Three crumbling stone pillars (partially submerged, providing cover) rise from the floor. The ceiling is 20 feet high, with a large crack allowing seawater to drip continuously. The corruption is visible here as bioluminescent purple veins running through the floor and pillars. A stone ledge on the far side (not yet visible) leads to the temple's upper levels. During combat, the water level is rising—on initiative count 20 (losing ties), water rises 1 foot each round. After 6 rounds, the chamber is fully flooded (20 feet deep), making further movement within difficult and forcing climbing checks to reach the ledge. This is not instantaneous drowning but should create tactical pressure.
Read Aloud
You drag yourselves onto the stone ledge, gasping and dripping, as the drowned vestibule falls away below. Before you stretches a grand atrium—the true heart of the Temple of Pelor. Soaring columns arch toward a vaulted ceiling where stained glass windows, now shattered, once depicted scenes of divine triumph. Moonlight streams through the broken glass in pale shafts. But the light that dominates this space is not the moon's. In the center of the atrium, a massive stone altar glows with an sickly purple-and-black radiance. The light pulses like a heartbeat, and with each pulse, the corruption spreads further across the marble floor in fractal patterns. Around the altar, you see them—the seven missing clerics. They are not dead but are bound in place by writhing vines of shadow, suspended three feet above the ground. Their eyes are closed, their mouths moving silently. And at the head of the altar stands a figure cloaked in twilight: a woman with skin of pale silver and eyes that are all pupil, black and endless. Shadow writhes around her like smoke. She does not attack but turns to face you, and speaks: "The age of light wanes. You came seeking salvation, adventurers. Instead, you have arrived to bear witness to the birth of eternal dusk."
Description
The party enters the sanctum and discovers the corrupted altar and the imprisoned clerics. A mysterious shadow caster—revealed to be a corrupted Twilight Dryad, a fey creature twisted by ancient shadow magic—stands as the final antagonist. She is the source of the corruption. The dryad does not immediately attack; instead, she offers the party a choice: join the twilight, help her complete the ritual (which will free the clerics but damn the region to eternal shadow), or fight. The clerics can be heard chanting in an alien tongue, their life force being slowly drained to power the corruption. The altar itself is a massive stone structure carved with script in Celestial (a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana) check translates it as a binding circle meant to contain shadow, now inverted and amplifying it).
DM Notes
This is a dramatic roleplay and moral moment before combat. The dryad's name is Kaelith, and she was once a guardian of a shadow temple dedicated to Shar before Pelor's order buried it. She offers the party information about the ritual (needs 10 minutes to complete) and hints that the clerics are already "partly turned" by exposure to twilight essence. If players attack immediately, skip to combat. If they negotiate or stall, allow them one round to gather information, devise a strategy, or attempt saves to break the shadow vines. A successful DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check can free one cleric; others require separate checks. If players waste time, remind them the water level is rising in the vestibule and will eventually flood this chamber too. After 3 rounds of conversation/action, Kaelith attacks with an ultimatum: "Choose now, or choose death."
Monsters
Tactics
Kaelith fights intelligently. She begins at the altar and uses Shadow Step to maintain distance from melee combatants. She prioritizes spellcasters with her Dusk Ray attack. If she drops below 28 HP, she will offer to parlay once more, hinting that the clerics will die if the ritual is interrupted (a bluff, but the party may not realize it). She uses Entangle to control the battlefield and Invisibility to reposition. If reduced to 0 HP, she does not drop; instead, the shadow corruption writhes around the altar, and the party must destroy the altar to truly defeat her. The altar has AC 17 and 30 HP. When the altar takes damage, the shadow vines binding the clerics begin to writhe more frantically (no mechanical effect but creates urgency). Once the altar is destroyed, Kaelith dissolves into shadow and is banished back to the Twilight Plane, but not before she speaks a final curse: "The age of shadow returns... you have merely delayed the inevitable."
Terrain
The atrium is 50 feet long and 40 feet wide, with a vaulted ceiling 25 feet high. Seven massive columns provide cover (5 feet diameter each) positioned in two rows. The corrupted altar is at the chamber's center, radiating an aura of difficult terrain (shadow vines on the ground) within a 10-foot radius—creatures must succeed on a DC 13 Strength save or have their speed halved. The stained glass windows are above, and while shattered, they still allow moonlight to enter (bright light, not dim). The clerics are suspended 3 feet above the ground, just above the difficult terrain. The entrance ledge is behind the party (the only exit). Environmental hazard: Every round on initiative count 20, water from the lower chamber splashes up through a crack, dealing 2d6 cold damage to any creature within 5 feet of the floor's edge (represent as a rising tide threat).
Read Aloud
As the last echo of Kaelith's curse fades, the shadow corruption begins to collapse inward. The purple-and-black light drains from the altar, the marble, and the stone itself. The vines of shadow binding the clerics crumble to ash and scatter on an impossible wind. The seven fall to the ground gasping, coughing, and stirring to consciousness. High Priestess Morwenna's delegation awakens. Father Aldwyn, weathered and grey-bearded, is the first to rise. He helps Sister Yeska to her feet—the halfling cleric blinks away tears. Brother Torvin, a dwarf whose holy symbol still hangs around his neck, is already on his knees, whispering prayers of thanksgiving. The acolytes are dazed but unharmed. One of them, a young human woman named Thera, approaches you first. She grips your shoulder and says, her voice hoarse, "You brought light back. I felt the shadow trying to pull us down into the dusk, but you... you kindled the fire that drove it back." The atrium is no longer purple. Pelor's symbol, carved above the altar, now glows with a faint, golden radiance once more. The waters below are beginning to recede. The temple is beginning to heal.
Description
Following Kaelith's defeat, the clerics awaken and the temple begins to recover from corruption. This is a scene of relief, gratitude, and brief respite. The clerics are grateful but traumatized. They remember fragments of being in the shadow—a place where time moved strangely and hunger was constant. They do not remember being turned or corrupted but fear it will return. The temple is no longer actively hostile; the corruption is receding. The party can recover during a short rest. The clerics can provide healing through spells if anyone needs it. Father Aldwyn offers the party genuine thanks and mentions they must return to Waterdeep to report success to Morwenna. He also hints at something ominous: the shadow was old, older than Pelor's temple. It felt like "the death of an age," something that has been waiting a very long time.
DM Notes
This is a breather scene. Allow roleplaying, healing, and conversation. The clerics are NPCs who can provide:1. Gratitude and validation for the party's heroism. 2. Information about the shadow's nature (ancient, patient, not fully defeated). 3. Details about the ritual—Kaelith was trying to create a permanent anchor for shadow magic on the Material Plane. 4. Warning: The clerics sensed other shadow-touched beings in distant places, suggesting this was not an isolated threat. A cleric with Religion knowledge (DC 12) can confirm that the temple's binding circle was designed to contain shadow and that its inversion required immense power and ancient knowledge—Kaelith did not do this alone. This seeds future adventures. The party can now rest and prepare for the journey back. The temple's treasury (inaccessible during the session but mentioned) contains 300 gp in ancient coins and 2 potions of healing left as offerings—the clerics insist the party take these as reward.
Read Aloud
The ship carrying you and the clerics pulls into the harbor at Waterdeep as the sun sets, painting the sky in shades of gold and amber. High Priestess Morwenna stands on the dock, flanked by members of the House of Healing. She has aged in worry over the past days—new lines trace her face. But as the clerics step onto the wharf, Morwenna's knees buckle with relief. She embraces each one, her composure finally breaking. She turns to you, and her eyes shine with unshed tears. "You have done more than save a delegation," she says quietly. "You have stopped a darkness that might have consumed this city. I felt it—a chill in the air that vanished the moment you lit the temple's heart again." She presses a purse of 500 gp into your hands, as promised, and adds, "But know this: the temple was a symptom, not the disease. Father Aldwyn spoke to me of shadows older than memory, of corruption that runs deeper than we knew. If you are willing, I have other works for those who would stand against such darkness. Return to the House of Healing when you are ready. We have much to discuss." The city lights twinkle around you—warm, welcoming, and still bright. For now, you are heroes. But the shadow, it seems, has not yet finished its work.
Description
The party returns triumphantly to Waterdeep. Morwenna formally thanks them and pays the promised 500 gp reward. She hints at future adventures and larger threats. The clerics disperse to recover and report their experience to the church leadership. The party is recognized as heroes in the House of Healing and likely gains some fame in religious circles. This scene provides closure and a sense of accomplishment while opening doors for future sessions. The party can spend time in Waterdeep resting, shopping, or gaining renown. Father Aldwyn, before departing, privately tells the party: "The shadow whispered to us of something vast awakening in deep places. Kaelith was a servant, not a master. Be vigilant. The age of light and shadow is not yet over."
DM Notes
This is the session's closing scene. Provide emotional payoff and resolution. Allow players to roleplay with Morwenna and the clerics if they wish. Offer mild consequences for earlier choices—if players freed the clerics quickly, Morwenna is more grateful; if they struggled or lost time, she is more concerned about future threats. If any player made particularly heroic choices or sacrifices, allow them a moment to be recognized. Distribute the XP for completing the session (roughly 2,400 XP for the party, 600 each for a 4-person party at medium difficulty). This brings the party to about 60% toward level 6. The cliffhanger about deeper shadow threats sets up future adventures without undermining this session's victory.
500 gp paid by High Priestess Morwenna as promised
Ancient coins and ceremonial items recovered from the temple treasury: 300 gp in unmarked gold coins bearing the seal of an unknown ancient kingdom (valuable to collectors and scholars)
Standard healing potions left as offerings in the temple, now claimed by the party. Restores 2d4+2 HP when consumed
A silver holy symbol recovered from the corrupted vestibule. Not magical but of significant value (25 gp) and religious importance. A cleric of Pelor can attune to it for a +1 bonus to spell save DC (flavor bonus, not mechanical)
A water-damaged journal entry from Kaelith describing the shadow's origins. Deciphering it requires a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check and grants insight into the larger threat: 'The seals weaken with each age. The old ones stir. When the Twilight King awakens, all light shall bow to endless dusk.' This is pure flavor but hints at future content
Story Hooks
The ancient coins and journal fragment are valuable to scholars and collectors—the party could sell them or research further. Morwenna hints at other temples or shrines that may be similarly corrupted, suggesting a multi-session arc. The mention of a 'Twilight King' and 'old ones' suggests a larger cosmological threat. Father Aldwyn's warning about deep places and shadow servants opens the door for adventures in underdark locations or coastal ruins. The party's newfound fame as shadow-fighters could lead to other organizations (temples, noble houses, adventuring guilds) seeking their aid.
Conclusion
Wrap Up
The party successfully rescues the delegation, defeats Kaelith and her shadow corruption, and restores the Temple of Pelor to its rightful purpose. They return as heroes to Waterdeep, earning the gratitude of the House of Healing and the city's religious establishment. The immediate threat is neutralized; the temple is healing. The session ends with the party standing in Waterdeep Harbor, sunset at their backs, knowing they have kindled light in a place of deepening darkness.
Cliffhanger
But as Morwenna turns to re-enter the House of Healing, a shadowed figure watches from the rooftops—a cloaked watcher whose eyes briefly glow with purple-black corruption before fading into darkness. The shadow has not forgotten. And somewhere deep beneath the world, something vast and ancient stirs, as if awakened by Kaelith's cry. The party may have won this battle, but the age of darkness is only beginning.
Next Session Hooks
- A messenger arrives with news of similar corruption spreading in remote temples dedicated to Pelor across the Sword Coast, hinting at a coordinated effort by shadow servants. The party is asked to investigate the next temple.
- Father Aldwyn privately reveals he had a vision during his recovery: a city of twilight beneath the sea, where shadow fey and darker things are amassing. He asks the party to help prepare defenses or venture into the underdark to learn more.
- A noble or wealthy collector contacts the party, eager to purchase the ancient coins. However, the meeting is interrupted by a mysterious shadow-touched creature seeking to reclaim them—the coins are linked to something important in the larger conflict.
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