Welcome back, wayfarers. I have a treat of an adventure for you today. If you have been around since the beginning, you probably remember that one of my first standalone adventures was an adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Looking back on that piece, it clearly did not age well. I used ChatGPT as a crutch, and it came out somewhat mediocre. So, I reworked the concept from the ground up and introduced a few more elements from the ballet The Nutcracker, giving it a much more interesting twist than simply having the players shrink to be small enough to fit in a mouse hole. I hope you enjoy it.
Background
It is a lesser-known fact among the mortal folk that the feyfolk revel in being godparents. While fairy godmothers like the Silver Moon sisters and Fionnuala the Fair are widely known and even celebrated in song and story, most fey will be willing to serve as godparents to newborns in exchange for a gift, a promise of future service to be performed by the parents or the godchild or simply the prestige of being godparent to a child of note. Like any promise, the feyfolk take god parenting seriously and endeavor to enrich their godchild’s life to the best of their ability.
In Sliberberg, it is popular for newborns of parents with means to receive blessing from or be the godchild of 1 of three people. The first Matron of the Coven Silver Moon, Tansy Fleetfoot, is well known for providing her godchildren with often sharply worded life advice that ultimately leads to their happy endings. Parents who aspire their children to take up the ways of magic seek out Gwilym Cwmwllyd as the godfather for their children; the jolly old battlemage and dean of the Coláiste Draoidheil is known to take his godchildren on as apprentices, at least until they are old enough to start proper magical education. Finally, the retired Chronomancer and clockmaker Master Thistledown is often sought as a godfather for his ability to see into the future. Master Thistledown never says what he sees in a newborn’s future, but he is believed to bend fate to achieve a better ending for his godchildren.
The adventure begins
Optional encounter for the A Toys Wish at Yuletide
If you plan to run a toy’s wish at Yuletide, you can run this optional scene to introduce the plot hook to the players.
Aoibheann zips through the market, stopping at every stall she can find. You follow close behind. As she scans the stalls in the marketplace halls, you hear a woman call out, “My liege,” The voice belongs to a beautiful eladrin woman in a rich dress and hair the color of fall leaves. Following behind her is a cute eladrin girl about nine years old, similarly dressed with brown hair. She holds a Nutcracker doll dressed like a fairytale prince in the crook of her arm. The woman rushes up to her queen, her daughter following close behind, and the pair drop polite curtsies.
Aoibheann smiles sweetly and says, “Good day, Countess Eithne, and you too, Sorcha.”
“May I speak with you in private,” asks Eithne in low tones that drip with worry. Aoibheann’s smile fades, and she ushers the countess away to talk, leaving the daughter with you.
Countess Eithne is the matron of the house Ó Tighearnaigh, one of the direct vassals of the royal family. As Aoibheann and Eithne go off to speak in the relative private of a nearby nook, the players are left alone with her daughter Sorcha. Sorcha will introduce the players to her Nutcracker doll, Nicholas. She comes off as a sweet, playful little girl who seems to imagine that her Nutcracker doll is alive and an actual prince if the player interacts with her. However, eventually, she innocently remarks that she has romantic feelings for Nicholas.
Listening in on the Conversation. If the players listen to Eithne and Aoibheann’s conversation with the DC 10 perception check, they learn that Eithne is worried about how Sorcha treats that Nutcracker doll Master Thistledown gave her. She treats it like an actual person and seems to have a crush on the doll.
Solstice Morning
The adventure starts in earnest on the morning of the solstice. Read the following
The world outside your window is blanketed in snow, its pristine surface shimmering under the early light of a winter morning. The air smells of pine, spice, and hearth fires. Distant bells chime softly, marking the solstice celebrations.
Let the players describe how they spend their solstice morning. Encourage them to go into detail and roleplay scenes from those descriptions. When the roleplay starts to die down, read the following.
Suddenly, you hear Queen Aoibheann’s voice in your head: “There is no time to explain; come to the castle immediately. A child of the nobility has gone missing.” You have never heard her like this before; she sounds like she is in a panic
Queen Aoibheann sent a message using the message cantrip. When the players arrive at Castle Sliberberg, a waiting maid leads them to Aoibheann’s sitting room. There, they find Aoibheann trying to comfort a crying Countess, Eithne. When Eithne realizes the players have entered the room, she rushes over to them, falls to her knees, and begs them to help. Sorcha vanished from her room last night, and worse, Aoibheann cannot find her using her powers and connection with the kingdom. She cried after saying this, prompting Aoibheann to come over and help the sobbing duchess get back to her chair and urging her to calm down and tell the players everything that happened.
Once she calms down enough, she tells the players that Sorcha has been acting strangely since her godfather, Master Thistledown, gave her the Nutcracker doll on the eve of Yuletide. She believes it is alive and treats it like an actual prince.
Investigating Sorcha room.
Countess Eithne will insist the players start their investigation in Sorcha’s room. She will lead the player from Castle SLiberberg to the Ó Tighearnaigh city residence. She personally leads the players to Sorcha’s room and reads the following when the players enter.
The room looks like the room of any other noble girl Sorcha’s age. The walls are covered with pink wallpaper with gold floral patterns that shimmer from the large arched widows in the midday light. There is a white canopy bed with gauzy drapes and neatly made sheets and blankets. Across the plush rug from the bed is an oaken toy chest overflowing with stuffed animals and dolls. Next to the chest is a small, messy white vanity table with a heart-shaped mirror. A child-sized writing desk with a single book on top sits on the opposite wall. Finally, a white wardrobe with a slightly ajar door sits beside the fireplace.
The players must search the room for clues to what happened to Sorcha.
Perception check. If the players make a perception check DC 12, they notice a slight smell of ozone in the air and the shimmering outline in the center of the room.
Investigation checks: If the players make an investigation check DC 8, they discover no sign of a struggle in the room. However, there is a mouse hole behind the wardrobe.
Bed. If the players investigate the bed, they discover it has been made and Sorcha’s pajamas neatly folded up.
Toybox. If the players investigate the toy box, they discover all Sorcha toys except the Prince Nutcracker doll are accounted for.
Wardrobe. If the players investigate the wardrobe, they find it filled with neatly arranged dresses and pairs of girl-sized shoes. However, one hanger is empty, and one pair of shoes is missing. If the players ask one of the maids or Countess Eithne, they will identify the missing garments as Sorcha formal attire for balls and other special events.
Vanity. If the players investigate the vanity, they discover several of the makeup jars open, specifically a tube of lipstick, blush, and eyeshadow. Searching the vanity’s drawers also reveals that several pieces of Sorcha jewelry are missing, including a rhinestone tiara, a necklace, and a pair of earrings.
Writing Desk. If the players investigate the writing desk, they discover Sorcha’s diary; the recent entries describe a fantastical land of living toys and sweets she visits every night. Her Nutcracker doll, Nicholas, comes alive, and they play together. A DC 12 insight check reveals that the details are too consistent to be a dream. The most recent entry stands out.
Tonight, Nicholas wants to take me to a Yuletide ball at the castle in the heart of the land of Dolls and Sweets. He says I’ll be his princess, and we will dance. I can’t wait to see it. I will wear my pretty ball gown and tiara; I may put on some makeup to make me look as pretty as Queen Aoibheann.
Detect Magic. If the players decide to investigate the smell of ozone, casting Detect Magic reveals the faint outline of a portal in the middle of the room. However, no matter how hard they try, the players cannot use the portal.
Given all these clues, it should be clear that Sorcha went wherever she went willingly. Furthermore, she took the time to make her bed, change into her best outfit, fold her pajamas, and apply makeup, which suggests that she knew she would come back and wanted to look her best when she went there. Coupled with the portal in the middle of the room and the entries in her diary, it suggests that Sorcha went to see Nicholas in whatever world was beyond the portal.
The eavesdropper
Once the players are done investigating the room, read the following.
At the corner of your vision, you spot something fluttering outside the frosted window. A tiny figure, no taller than a candlestick, peers through the glass. Her bright pink coat, scarf, hat, boots, and mittens make her look like a sugar-dusted berry in the snow. Her expression is sheepish as she waves tentatively and gently taps on the window, leaving a faint frost pattern.
If the players let her in, Countess Eithne gasps. “Sugarplum! What on earth are you doing here?” she exclaims, surprised.
Sugarplum will sheepishly admit that her father sent her to fetch the players; he knows where Sorcha is but should explain to the players in person.
Master Thistledown’s Shop of Wonders
The players should know the way to Master Thistledown’s shop from the Liberation of Sliberberg; otherwise, Sugarplum leads the way. The shop is located on Slibermond Way at the northern edge of Slibermond. Read the following.
Sugarplum leads you to a brick building with an ornate clock tower and multiple whirring mechanical figures. The shop’s large windows display intricate clocks and watches, but a sign on the door reads, “Closed for Yuletide.” Sugarplum pushes the door open and urgently ushers you inside.
Inside, the shop is a wonderland of timepieces: ticking, chiming, and whirring mechanisms fill every corner. She hurries you up two flights of stairs to a cozy apartment. A gnome in a robe adorned with pocket watches and a well-worn tool belt sits at a wooden kitchen table. He pours tea into a waiting cup and looks up at you with concern and amusement.
“Where have you been?” he asks, glancing at a small clock on his belt. “I expected you a minute ago.” Then, with a sigh, his expression softens, and he gestures to the chairs around the table. “Sit, have some tea, and let’s get through all your questions before you ask them.”
Once the players have sat down with their tea, he explains what is happening. He first explains that he has many godchildren, including Sorcha and Prince Nicholas of Eslavayn. A year ago, Nicholas was cursed by the powerful archfey Ailénach An Draíocht on behalf of one of Eslavayn’s rival kingdoms. The curse turns Nicholas into a Nutcracker doll, forever trapped as an inanimate, unaging toy, and the curse can be broken by love’s first kiss.
Master Thistledown then explains that he spirited the prince away to the fey domain called the Land of Dolls and Sweets, a land of living toys formed by the dreams of children, where, despite his new form, he could live relatively normal lives. Then, using his power over time, he searched for a maiden of the right age to break the curse. In a vision of a potential timeline, he saw Sorcha and Nicholas kissing at the Yule feast at Castle Sliberberg, which would happen later today.
So he crafted a plan; he gave Nicholas a ring to give him the power of telepathy so he could talk to Sorcha while in toy form. Then he gave Sorcha Nicholas’s inanimate self to Sorcha as an early yule gift, along with a charm bracelet that would allow her to create a portal to the land of Dolls and Sweets. That night, Nicholas would explain how to use the bracelet and invite her into the land of DOlls and Sweets, where Nicholas would whoo Sorcha.
The plan was working perfectly. Sugarplum checks on Nicholas every day, and the two get along wonderfully; Nicholas is head over heels, and Sorcha apparently returns the favor. Last night was going to be the big night; Nicholas was certain that they would kiss at the Yule ball at the Castle of Dreams at the center of the Land of Dolly and Sweets. However, something has gone wrong; they should have been back hours ago.
If the players want to save Sorcha, they must enter the Land of Dolls and Sweets; there is one problem: only children and toys can enter the Land of Dolls and Sweets. Once he learned something was going wrong, he was able to craft a device that will regress the players back to when they were 8 years old, hopefully without any major alterations to their minds. He hands the players a pocket watch with images of a girl growing up from infancy to old age instead of numbers. He tells the players to watch, and they simply wind it backward so that the hour hand is in the section with the little girl. He also warns the players that the watch can be only used once a day and that they should only use it in Sorcha’s room.
Into the land of Dolls and Sweets
When they return to the Ó Tighearnaigh palace, they find Countess Eithne waiting worriedly for any news of her sweet little girl. When she spots the players, she begs them to tell her what Master Thistledown told them. If the players tell her what is going on, she does not quite believe it, but if Master Thistledown told them, it must be true. She insists on accompanying the players into the room to see the portal with her own eyes, knowing that she cannot accompany the players any further than the room. When the players activate the watch, read the following.
As you wind back the watch, the world stretches and shifts. Your body shrinks, your clothes reshape into childlike ensembles, and the towering figure of Countess Eithne looms above you. A swirling pink portal fades into focus in the middle of the room. In the back of your mind, you feel something change, as if your adult selves are being slowly stripped away and old memories and desires of childhood rush in to fill their place. When the transformations finish, you see Countess Eithne standing there with a stunned look on her face, slowly draining away. “My, you were such adorable children,” she says: “It’s almost a shame to send you off like this.”
Encourage the players to describe how their bodies and equipment have changed after the transformation. All their weapons and armor have transformed into toy versions, and their clothing has transformed into cute ensembles that look like they have been chosen by their parents for a yuletide party. Also, despite Master Thistledown’s best efforts, the regression has affected their minds. It has not removed their adventuring abilities or spells from their minds but reverted them to their childhood personas. Have them describe their new personalities, including their desires, phobias, and favorite things. Use leading questions, if necessary, to help the players establish their new childish persona.
Once the players explore how their characters have changed, Countess Eithne insists she keeps the watch for safekeeping; after all, if they lose it, they will be stuck as kids forever.
The Land of Dolls and Sweets
After stepping through the portal, the players find themselves in the land of dolls and sweets that are not so whimsical anymore. Read the following
As you leave the portal, you find yourself in a wintery forest of lollipops, candy canes, and other sweets. The sky is baby blue and filled with cotton candy-colored clouds. The breeze smells of freshly baked cookies and cinnamon. The ground is covered with icing, and the underfoot is slightly spongy as if you are walking on a giant cake. In the distance is a towering fairytale castle. The landscape is unnaturally still. You can see rodent bite marks on every candy cane tree and cookie bush. Many three-toed tracks are in the icing snow, leading from the portal in all directions.
The lady in distress
Suddenly, you hear a scream in the distance. The scream comes from a grove of trees and bushes formed from baked goods. As you run toward the scream’s source, it becomes louder, and you can hear evil-sounding laughter coming from the same direction. Suddenly, you find yourself in a clearing around a pine tree made of cake adorned with candy ornaments. At the tree’s base, a group of rats in armor and wielding weapons are nibbling at the trunk, up in the branches stuffed rabbit dressed in a ball gown. She screams, “my lords and ladies, please help me.”
The rats are four rat warriors.
Cottenella’s tale. When the players defeat the rats, the rabbit climbs back down. She addresses the players as young lords and ladies and thanks them for saving her stuffing. She introduces herself as Lady COttenella, one of Queen Heart’s ladies in waiting, and begs the players to save the others trapped at the Castle of Dreams. The rats attacked a day ago during the Yuletide ball, and the toy soldiers were quickly overwhelmed. Everybody else retreated back into the high tower of the castle while her liege ordered her to find help since she was the swiftest one in the castle. However, it is no surprise what happened next.
Cottenella can serve as a guide to the land of Dolls and Sweets. She can guide the players to the castle and explain various aspects of the world.
- Time flows much faster in this realm than in the outside world, roughly a 3 to 1 ratio.
- The world is created by children’s dreams, and thus, the realm’s residents treat all visitors like foreign nobility, even Queen Heart.
- The last she saw Sorcha and Nicholas, they were heading to the castle’s highest tower.
- The army of rats calls themselves The Hole In the Wall Gang and are led by Käseatem, a shifty assassin rat.
- The army of rats has fanned out across the countryside, eating everything it can get their hands on.
The Castle of Dreams
Cottenella will lead the players through the forest of sweets, doing her best to avoid the feasting rats when possible. Once the players reach the edge of the forest, read the following.
The castle looms before you, a confectionary marvel that seems plucked straight from the dreams of a sugar-loving child. Its walls glisten with polished slabs of gingerbread, reinforced by candy cane pillars twisted in perfect spirals of red and white. Delicate spun-sugar turrets rise into the sky, glinting like crystalline towers of ice, and the drawbridge, crafted from buttery shortbread, rests over a shimmering moat of molten chocolate. The air around you is heavy with the tantalizing scent of caramel, vanilla, and a hundred other sweet aromas.
However, at the base of the castle, you spot more of the rat soldiers ripping off bits of decoration and greedily chewing them up.
Cottenella will urge the players to continue without her; she cannot fight and will only slow them down if they have to protect her.
The Garden
You step onto a broad, sweeping garden made of sweets in front of the castle. The garden looks like it was once beautiful, but now the planters have been torn up, there are massive holes in the hedges, and the furniture, rose arbors, and gazebos have been chewed upon. Admists the carnage; several rats are stuffing their faces with sweets.
A rat warrior, three rat needlers, and three rat skulks are stuffing their faces with bits of the patio furniture and chocolate cake earth from the planters.
Cake hedges. The hedges in the garden are made of chocolate sponge cake with green icing. A player can dig their way through the cake using an action. Movement through the Hole requires an additional 5 feet of movement. The rats can chew through the cake using a bonus action and lose no speed crawling through the gaps.
The Entrance Hall
The towering entrance hall is a disaster area. The shimmering sugar glass pillars and ceiling have been destroyed, leaving shards of the translucent confection everywhere that crunch underfoot. The scent of burnt caramel and scorched cake lingers, mingling with the musty odor of rat fur. Tracks of claw marks lead up all the walls, leaving scratches in the white frosting, which can be seen on the walls, through which brown gingerbread can be seen. There is a massive pile of rubble with boots sticking out of it. There is a door to your left and a hall leading off to your right for a short way before ending in a massive pile of rubble.
The boots belong to the court wizard, the stuffed mage doll Greybeard. When the rats attacked, he collapsed the castle’s grand staircase to prevent them from getting to the tower, but it did not work as the rats could simply climb the walls. Despite how it might appear, Greybeard is still alive under the rubble but has used up all his spells and is at one hp. The players can hear him moaning softly if they get close to the rubble. The players must make a DC 15 strength check to dig him out of the rubble. He can tell the players a little about what happened and give directions to the high tower and the throne room. Greybeard will also tell the players that when they reach the door to the high tower, they should shout the words Peach Cobbler and Cream at the guards. It was a code phrase for him to use when he returned to have the guards open the gates. He also has a spell scroll of mage armor and a spell scroll of cure light wounds he would be willing to lend the players.
Getting to the throne room. The problem is that the way to the high tower and the throne room is on the second floor. The players must determine how to get up to the second floor 30 feet above using what’s in the room and their abilities and gear. This is an open-ended challenge; allow them to try any solution that will work.
Collapsed Hallway. The hallway is blocked by a massive pile of rubble made from gingerbread, cookies, and cake. It will take a DC 13 strength check to clear a path through the rubble. The rooms along the hallway have very little of note; there are servant quarters with furniture that has been devoured, a ravaged kitchen, and a pantry filled with crumbs of gingerbread and cookies and empty storage rooms. There is also the servant’s staircase, which leads up to the second floor.
Cloakroom. The door to the left leads to a messy cloakroom filled with coats, robes, and outerwear, all of which are described as covering the floor. The rats made a cursory exploration of the room, looking for shiny things to take and food to eat. There is nothing overtly valuable left in the room; however, the players can use the clothing to create a rope to get up to the second floor.
Second floor. The second floor fared just as well as the first under the hungry horde of rats. The rooms along the second-floor corridor include a parlor with gummy candy furniture with massive holes and teeth marks in it, a grand dining room where the chocolate-covered gram cracker dining set has been reduced to crumbs, and various guest rooms where the furniture has been devoured, and the decor ripped off the walls. A large door at one end leads to the ballroom. As they explore, they can hear faint squeaks and chittering off in the distance.
The Ballroom
You enter a grand, sweeping ballroom with blue-frosted walls and a floor of wafer cookies. A sugar glass chandelier hangs in the middle of the vaulted room. Suddenly, you hear the faint sound of squeaking and nibbling coming through the floor and the walls. Suddenly, a group of rats came rushing into the room.
The rats rushing into the room are three rat skulks (cr 1).
The hungry horde. At the end of the first round, a rat skulk chews their way through the floor and joins the fight. At the end of every round, either one new rat skulk chews their way through the floor and joins the fight, leaving two by two foot hole in the floor. It is a 30-foot drop to the floor below, and a horde of rats are eager to attack. The rats keep emerging until all but a small section by the far door is devoured.
Wafer floor. The floor in this room is relatively weak. Players can collapse a four by 4 section of the floor using a DC 10 strength check to punch through it.
The Throne room
The throne room would look magnificent if it were not partially devoured. The gingerbread columns holding up the vaulted roof have been chewed to nearly to crumbs. The decor has been scraped away and has nibble marks on it. On the throne, eating a bit of painting, is a large rat dressed like one of the skulks but wearing a crown. When he finishes, he sees you and says, “Strange to see menfolk kids here, scram, or else you might get hurt. This is my castle; at least once, that cute little mouse queen makes me her king.”
Käseatem (modified assassin), leader of this particular cell of the Hole in the Wall Gang, will play how much of a big bad king of thieves he is to scare the players off. If the players do not flee, he will utter a series of squeaks, and the two rat sulks will grab their knives while he disappears into the shadows.
Broken pillars. The pillars keeping up various sections of the roof have been weakened due to excessive gnawing. Each pillar can be destroyed either through a DC 12 strength check or an attack. Each pillar has eight hp and an AC of 8. When broken, a 10 by 10 section of the floor drops on a random section around the pillar, causing 1d10 damage unless a character in the area can make a DC 10 dex check.
The High Tower
The large brass and tin door before you are at the far end of a covered bridge made from white frosted cake, candy canes, and wafer cookies. From the other side of the wall, you can hear panicked discussions and whimpering from the other side of the door. A cry comes out from above. Halt, who goes there and be they friend or foe?
The players use the code word that Graybeard gave them. The guards will ask where they learned that. If they tell the guards that Graybeard lives, and he tells them the code phrase, they will talk among themselves for a moment and decide that the players are friends. Otherwise, the players will have to pass either a DC 12 persuasion check or a DC 13 deception check to convince the guard otherwise. If the players ask after Sorcha and Nicholas, the two youths force their way to the tower parapet. Even as kids, Sorcha and Nicholas will recognize the players and further vouch for them.
The horde. Once the players convinced the guards that they were friends or told them that Käseatem was dead, read the following.
There is a terrible screeching sound from below. The faces of the tin soldier guards turn to horror, and they point below. A horde of chanting and screeching rats, dozens of them, are climbing up the pillars holding up the bridge.
The players find themselves surrounded by six rat sulks and four needles.
Army of Rats. Every round, 1d4 needlers, and 1d6 sulks join the fight. This continues for seven rounds.
The royal guard sorties. The royal guards are in the tower sortie at the start of the third round. A knight and five guards enter the battlefield from the gate.
Destructible terrain. The bridge is destructible. Players can collapse a three-by-three section of the floor using a DC 10 strength check to punch through it, creating four-by-four holes. The pillars holding up the roof can also be destroyed with a DC 10 strength check, dropping a five by five section of roof onto any creatures adjunct to the pillar, causing 1d6 damage unless a character in the area can make a DC 10 dex check.
Queen Heart’s Reward
When the last rat falls, there is a cry of triumph from the guardsmen. They take turns patting the players on the back, shaking their hands, and showering them with congratulations. Suddenly, there is a cry of fall, and the guardsmen snap to attention on either side of the bridge. Out of the tower, Sorcha is in clothing that makes a princess seem plainly dressed; Nicholas, who is now an eladrin boy in rich clothing and a stuffed mouse doll with a pink heart-shaped spot around one of her eyes, is dressed as a fairytale queen with frilly dress and crown. Sorcha hugs the players and thanks them for coming to save her. She then formally introduces Nicholas and Queen Heart to them. Nicholas is a little awkward around the players, but Queen Heart stays regal and refined. As a reward for dealing with the rat threat, she gives the players a bag of toy soldiers with which they can summon her guardsmen to help them in their endeavors and promises that they are always welcome in her kingdom.
As players lead Sorcha and Nicholas back through the forest to the portal, Nicholas expresses reservations about being a real boy again. Will Sorcha’s parents accept him as their daughter’s lover, and will his parents welcome him back to his own kingdom? He is utterly unaware of Murtagh’s conquest of his kingdom several months ago and the death of his parents and siblings. It is up to the players to inform him of the truth, but if they do tell him the truth, he is completely devastated and spends the rest of the trip crying into Sorcha’s neck.
Back home
When they emerge through the portal, it closes with a pop behind them. Sorcha thanks the players again for helping them and rushes out of the room to introduce Nicholas to her parents. When the players catch up to her, they find Countess Eithne hugging Sorcha, crying joyfully, and thanking the gods and player characters that she is back home safe and sound. Then, her attention turns towards Nicholas, who is standing a short distance away and looking quite uncomfortable with Sorcha’s sudden introduction. The only thing he can say is that he is sorry for putting Sorcha in danger; there was no way to anticipate the rat invasion of the Land of Dolls and Sweets, and if he had some warning, he would have insisted that they not go to the ball. To his and the player’s surprise, Countess Eithne hugs him and says, “I know you are not to blame for this; it was the Hole in the Wall Gang’s fault; I am just thankful my little princess is back safe and sound and with a new friend no less. I will see that Fredrick and Aoibheann see you safely returned to your family’s land, and the title will be returned to you, Sorcha’s Little Prince.” At that, Nicholas starts crying and returns Eithne’s hug.
After Nicholas finishes crying, Eithne asks the assembled children if they want cookies and milk. Encourage the players to accept, and while they enjoy some festive cookies, recount the story of their adventure in the Land of Dolls and Sweets. Sorcha and Nicholas sit together during the story, with Sorcha holding Nicholas’s hand and Eithne. Countess Eithne, Sorcha, and Nicholas clap when the players finish and comment about how the players are excellent storytellers. At that time, the clock strikes 2 in the afternoon, and Eithne remarks that they should start preparing for the feast at the castle; there should be just enough time to get Sorcha’s dress laundered and acquire some appropriate attire for Nicholas. She also gives the players the age changer back. She sighs and says it is really a shame that they can only use the age changer once a day; she would love to be a child again for just one day. After all, Yultetide is much more fun when you are a kid.
Conclusion
When they leave the place, they find that one of the royal carriages is waiting for them in the driveway. Aoibheann steps out and immediately rushes to the players with eagerness in her eyes and a smile on her face. She starts squealing with delight at how cute the players are. Aoibheann learned of what happened from Countess Eithne and decided to serve as the players’ chaperon for the rest of the day and will not take no for an answer. She ushers them back into the carriage like a bunch of kids. She treats them like her favorite nieces and nephews on the ride back, seemingly forgetting that they were once adults. Once they return to the castle, she and a group of the castle maids forcibly change them into appropriate and very cute outfits for the feast, and when the changing is done, she gushes over how cute they look like and how much of a shame it will be for them to return to being adults again. At every stage in the journey from the city residence to Aoibheann’s final inspection of their new outfits, encourage the players to role-play with Aoibheann and or describe how Aoibheann treating the players like favorite nephews and nieces makes them feel. Do they bask in the attention and the prospects of being princes and princesses for one day, or are they uncomfortable with being treated like children by such a close friend? If the players do try to get too assertive about not being treated as kids, she hugs them or gives them a head pat and says that is no way to think on Yuletide day. Everybody wants to be a kid again on Yuletide Day.
The next time the players see Sorcha and Nicholas, they are at the Yule Feast at the castle. The great hall is bedecked in holly and mistletoe, the tables are covered with delicious food of all descriptions, and candles fill the hall with a warm glow as the guests revel. Sorcha and Nicholas happily play with the children of the various other court members. Nicholas has sworn fealty to Fredrick and Aoibheann, and the two monarchs have granted him rulership over those lands where Eslavayn once was. Also, there is a rumor among the adult nobles that Sorcha and Nicholas have been officially betrothed.
Sorcha runs up to the players, wearing a cleaned-up version of her ball gown, and asks them if they want to play tag with her and the other kids. Let the players describe how they spend the feast. Do they enjoy the fun with Sorcha, Nicholas, and the other noble children, making all they can of their one night of returned childhood? Or do they try to act like adults, or more likely, how kids think adults act? Either way, encourage the players to enjoy this one night of restored childhood.
Appendix A New Magic items
Bag of Toy Soldiers
Wondrous item, uncommon
This small, brightly colored velvet bag is stitched with whimsical patterns of soldiers in formation. It feels light and rattles faintly like something small and hard was inside.
Summon Guard. As an action, you can open the bag and pull forth a toy soldier. Upon touching the ground, the toy soldier transforms into a guardsman (use the Guard stat block, Monster Manual, p. 347). The guard appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you, acts on your initiative immediately after your turn, and obeys your verbal commands. The guardsman remains for 1 minute or until it drops to 0 hit points, at which point it disappears in a small puff of colorful confetti.
Once a guardsman has been summoned, you cannot summon another until the previous guard has disappeared.
Limited Use. The bag has 3 charges and regains all expended charges at dawn.
Master Thistledown’s Age Changer
Wondrous item, rare
This peculiar, fey-crafted pocket watch features a delicate gold casing engraved with thorny vines. The clock face contains twelve ornate, hand-painted images of various stages of life—each corresponding to a different age, from infancy to elder years. The hour hand is movable, and faint silver light shines through the watch’s crystal.
Age Manipulation. While holding the watch, you can use an action to touch a creature (including yourself) and turn the hour hand to any of the twelve ages depicted on the clock face. The creature instantly changes in physical age to match the selected stage. This effect is purely cosmetic and has no mechanical impact on the creature’s game statistics, abilities, or memories.
The Age Changer has 2 charges and regains all expended charges at dawn.
Limitations. The age change persists indefinitely unless the creature is touched by the Age Changer again or the greater restoration spell is cast on them.
Appendix B
Käseatem
Medium humanoid (ratfolk), neutral evil
Armor Class 15 (studded leather)
Hit Points 120 (16d8 + 48)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 12 (+1) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) |
Saving Throws Dex +8, Int +6
Skills Acrobatics +8, Perception +5, Stealth +8, Deception +6
Damage Resistances Poison
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Undercommon
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Cunning Action. Käseatem can take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.
Evasion. If Käseatem is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw and only half damage if it fails.
Pack Tactics. Käseatem has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of Käseatem’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Legendary Cheese Breath (Recharge 5–6). Käseatem exhales a cloud of putrid, enchanted cheese gas in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 27 (6d8) poison damage and is poisoned for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and is not poisoned. A poisoned creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect on a success.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). Käseatem deals an extra 21 (6d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Käseatem that isn’t incapacitated and Käseatem doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Actions
Multiattack. Käseatem makes two melee attacks with its short sword or two ranged attacks with its hand crossbow.
Short Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage, plus 14 (4d6) poison damage.
Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage, plus 14 (4d6) poison damage.
Rat Warrior
Medium humanoid (ratfolk), neutral evil
Armor Class 15 (chain shirt)
Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 15 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) | 11 (+0) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws Str +4, Con +4
Skills Athletics +4, Perception +2
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Undercommon
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Pack Tactics. The Rat Warrior has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the Rat Warrior’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Keen Smell. The Rat Warrior has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Rat chew. The Rat Warrior can use a bonus action to dig through terrain in the Land of Dolls and Sweets.
Actions
Multiattack. The Rat Warrior makes two melee attacks with its scimitar or two ranged attacks with its throwing knives.
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage.
Throwing Knives. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Rat Sneak
Medium humanoid (ratfolk), neutral evil
Armor Class 14 (leather armor)
Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 10 (+0) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 11 (+0) | 11 (+0) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Int +3
Skills Stealth +5, Deception +2, Sleight of Hand +5
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Undercommon
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The Rat Sneak deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the Rat Sneak that isn’t incapacitated and the Rat Sneak doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Keen Smell. The Rat Sneak has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Rat chew. The Rat Warrior can use a bonus action to dig through terrain in the Land of Dolls and Sweets.
Actions
Multiattack. The Rat Sneak makes two melee attacks with its short sword.
Short Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage.
Rat Needle
Medium humanoid (ratfolk), neutral evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (7d8 + 14)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 11 (+0) | 12 (+1) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +4
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Undercommon
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Needle Barrage (Recharge 5–6). The Rat Needle unleashes a volley of sharpened javelins in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Keen Smell. The Rat Needle has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Rat chew. The Rat Warrior can use a bonus action to dig through terrain in the Land of Dolls and Sweets.
Actions
Multiattack. The Rat Needle makes two ranged attacks with its javelins.
Javelin. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage.
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