The Stone of Skarth is a level 5 one-shot that draws PCs into the High Forest village of Skarth. It is well off the beaten path and frequented by few, but word has reached the PCs that it is plagued by a disease. The Black Ash fills the villagers’ lungs, and most have fallen to it. Legend has it that a magical stone can cure them – if it can be found. Within Skarth is a young warlock named Sigund who has been seeking the stone and appears lost. In reality, she stumbled upon a coven of hags who had recently pinpointed the stone’s location and are seeking to reveal it, causing the disease in the process. PCs must find Sigund, gain her trust, defeat the hags, and retrieve the stone.
Overall, I quite like the setting of Skarth. It’s atmospheric and chilly and really seems like a village in the wilderness. The NPCs, especially Sigund, are also quite arresting, and I like the idea of fighting hags and stopping a disease. However, the adventure seems incomplete at times. It’s initially unclear how either the hags or Sigund uncovered the location of the stone, as is why Sigund is hiding and not asking her sister Thea for help. The stone’s properties are not fully explained even though the adventure says that it has additional properties. There is also quite a bit of off-screen action such as Sigund finding the hags, stealing their eye, and then destroying it, which takes away some of the players’ agency, and there’s not too much to investigate in either the village or surrounding forest.
In general, it’s not a bad adventure, but it does seem incomplete and as though it could use a little more editing to truly make it as good as it could be. Still, if you’d like a straightforward adventure with strong female characters, I would give this one a try. It could be a nice side quest for your longer campaign and a good way to jump into the High Forest setting.
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