```metadata
title: 'ADVENTURE: March of the Tin Soldiers'
description: ''
tags: []
systems:
- 5e
renderer: V3
theme: 5ePHB
```
```css
undefined
```
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# March of the Tin Soldiers
Winters have been cold these past few years. Unusually cold. Always means there is something foul afoot heading into the Nativitas Season. Is it Jakob Rhimecaster? The Voice of WInter? Or something else entirely… no one knows for sure what is to come. But rumors of tiny soldiers camping in the woods nearby does not warm hearts.
}}
{{toc
# Table Of Contents
- ### [{{ March of the Tin Soldiers}}{{ 2}}](#p2)
- #### [{{ SETUP INFORMATION}}{{ 3}}](#p3)
- #### [{{ OPENING: Winter Night}}{{ 4}}](#p4)
- #### [{{ ACT 01: Ice Cold}}{{ 4}}](#p4)
- #### [{{ ACT 02: Frozen Woods}}{{ 4}}](#p4)
- #### [{{ ACT 03: Toy Soldiers}}{{ 4}}](#p4)
- #### [{{ ACT 04: Sleigh Ride}}{{ 5}}](#p5)
- #### [{{ CLOSING}}{{ 5}}](#p5)
- #### [{{ THE APPENDICES}}{{ 6}}](#p6)
- #### [{{ MAPS}}{{ 8}}](#p8)
}}
### ADVENTURE MECHANICS
- Target Party and Level: 4 level 5 players
- Expected Playtime Playtime: 3-4 Hours
- Tone: “Christmas” Holiday
### STYLE "SHORT SHOT"
A Short Shot is designed to give the DM a solid concept of what is going on inside of the adventure, not just ideas. The Story will be well flushed out, including both Area and NPC descriptions, but will be more conceptual regarding things like encounters, rewards, and hazards. The Short Shot gives everything most DMs require to lead a fantastic game.
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### PLAYING A.O.G. ADVENTURES
If you’ve never played an AOG adventure, I thought it wise to give you some notes on how I write them. Cuz I do some stuff non traditional like. I’ll put those notes down in the Appendices.
:
### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Wizards of the Coast and D&D for the amazing job they do providing RPG Content for us to use!
- Original Story Written by Amplus Ordo Games
- All Maps and Handouts were done by Amplus Ordo Games using Inkarnate
- PDF Formatting done using The Homebrewery
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## What is The AOG?
It started 40ish years ago. I still remember the day my cousin brought out this thin blue book with a white sketched dragon on its cover and a pile of strange dice. He told eight year old me that we were going to play a game where I could be anything I wanted (as long as it was an elf, dwarf, human, or halfling). I immediately developed that love of bringing people along on journey after journey, and through all the moments and four decades of playing, the trip has never lost its wonder.
:
Now, I think we are best described as a network of Table Top Role Playing Gamers (Mostly D&D). I had been sharing my work online for some time but decided in April 2021 to open a Patreon and Discord. Honestly, I knew I was behind the Patreon Train, but it made sense as a platform. I’m not interested in money, but I am interested in sharing with and helping others in the hobby. So I run the site 100% free of any paywalls. More like a Digital Magazine than a Patreon.
:
Over a year in and we’ve grown quite a bit. We host One Shots through the Discord. I do a lot of requests for our supporters and some commission work. I coach many of our subscribers regularly on DMing and fantasy cartography. My son helps write our “Year One” series which are adventures designed for entry level DMs and players, and we use our content to run an after school Jr High Group. We even support a podcast my youngest son and I lend our voices to. It has been a busy year.
::
### Follow Us
[JOIN OUR DISCORD](https://discord.gg/GDp7a3CFtA) Join the Network
[FOLLOW US ON REDDIT](https://www.reddit.com/r/amplusordogames/) Our Sub in Reddit
[LIKE US ON FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/Amplusordogames/) Yeah we know...
::
### Support Us / Search the Library
We’ve cataloged 40ish Adventures and Dozens of supplements in the last two years. Everything we do is free to use in your home games. If you’d like to support that effort, check out our Patreon.
[PATREON](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames) Amplus Ordo Games
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## SETUP INFORMATION
The story is set in the town of Deleran’s Crossing. The city is poor and rundown. Typically it is the perfect place to set a gothic horror game. However this time of year the unemployment doesn’t seem so desperate and the orphans don’t feel quite so lost. It is Nativitas, the season of hope and joy. The locals light a few candles in the windows and share a few of their coins with those less fortunate. They don’t have much but they do have their holiday spirit.
There isn't much need to know details about the town, but if you fancy a deeper dive into the sad affairs of the city by all means check out our guide. Its full of locations and NPCs just waiting to be used.
[A TOWN OF TRAGEDIES GUIDE](https://www.patreon.com/posts/62746174)
### STORY FLOW
Our adventure starts out in a tavern! (Or other local gathering spot.) Locals and travelers are celebrating the beginning of the twelve days of Nativitas. The town is expecting a traveling merchant and his caravan of wares to arrive and make the rounds selling goods and gifts to the villagers. Only they have not yet arrived and worry is beginning to grow.
It is a particularly and unusually cold evening in Deleran’s Crossing. Widows are shuttered and fires burn extra wood to chase the cold away. It does not help. A blast of frigid air blows open the doors revealing a nearly frozen Dwarf. Ice clings to his beard and frost on his clothes. “I’ve been robbed.” He shouts. “We’ve all been robbed. Out in the woods! Any army of small metal soldiers and a massive green Yeti!” He collapses to the floor unconscious.
The party will have to form up and search out this Yeti and her metallic army. They’ll have to travel ice covered roads through an ever worsening blizzard. Eventually coming to the camp of the Grank. A Yeti who was long ago rejected by others because she was born green and with no Holiday spirit. She is simply too unkind and unloving for the Nativitas Season! This rejection has festered in her heart for ages and she has once again come to seek her revenge. Can the Party stop her? Can they recover the Merchant’s goods and return them in time to save Nativitas?
### HOOKS
- **Main:** This is a very “Linear” one shot, as are most Holiday Specials. No extra hooks should be necessary other than starting the adventure. If you are incorporating this into a campaign you may have to do a little more work, but if you are already running a campaign you’re no stranger to that and know best how to hook your players.
### IMPORTANT LOCATIONS
**Deleran’s Crossing:** Deleran’s Crossing, the main story hub and city for the adventure.
**The Gray Wood:** The dark old growth forest that surrounds Deleran’s Crossing and fills the majority of the Barony. The forest is a mysterious place that only the foolhardy venture lightly. The wood contains the standard dangers an old thick forest is known for, as well as many ancient and long forgotten places where mortals should not tread and is home to more than a fair share of dark fey and other creatures that haunt the nightmares of mortals.
### HOLIDAY FOLKS
**Julenissen Stonecutter:** (Santa based loosely off the Norwegian Style - Yuel-en-nis-en) Stonecutter, typically uses the first name “Jeori”, and is a happy and playful Dwarven Tinker who specializes in gadgets and children’s toys. He loves corny jokes and small pranks. He is also an extraordinarily powerful Fey Lord whose strength grows as the Winter Solstice approaches. At the peak of his power he travels the world as “Father Nativitas” giving good fortune and gifts to those who have proven themselves to be kind and just people. Stonecutter’s yearly work has divine purpose. Mortals are constantly slipping further into depravity, and Father Nativitas’ visits help restore peace. joy, and goodwill to all Mortals. While most believe him to be a myth or a legend, there are plenty enough who believe in Julenissen and the power of Nativitas.
**Stonecutter’s Were-Reindeer:** These eight gnomes - Zippy, Zappy, Tink, Tonk, Tick, Tock, Click, and Carl are all Stonectuures loyal assistants, bodyguards, and favored mode of transportation. While most of the year they are simple tinkering gnomes as the Winter Solstice approaches they manifest a special kind of Nativitas Lycanthropy and can transform into Were-Reindeer.
**The Grank:** The Grank is a strange creature. While she has most of the charastics of a Yeti; Hulking, Furry, Piercingly Cold Vision… she was unfortunately born with Green Fur, and almost immediately became an outcast among her kind. Tossed aside by her fellow Yeti. This hardened her already frozen heart further. She wandered the icy northern realms for some time looking for a place of belonging. At one point she thought she had found it among some lumberjacks living along the Sea of Glass. Only later to find out, when they forgot about her at Nativitas, that they were simply using her for her strength and serious commitment to tasks. Very task oriented The Grank… Her heart shrank three sizes that day and she swore to destroy all mortals and end any and all Nativitas Celebrations. She has since grown into a capable Druid and an extremely dangerous foe.
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# March of the Tin Soldiers
###
}}
## PRE-GAME CUT-SCENE
{{monster,frame
##### Breaking forth from her icy prison the green furred Yeti roars in triumph. Much time has passed since her defeat at the hands of Stone-Cutter and the mortals he loves so dearly. She has had time to think. Time to plan. Time to let the creeping icy cold fire of revenge to spread through her soul. She begins to climb down the mountain. She has work to do. She has an army to assemble.
}}
:
## OPENING: Winter Night
They’re in the Hillside Inn and Tavern, a local bar, keeping warm and “celebrating” the Nativitas season. There is a bard of sorts playing badly on a small stage, and a good number of locals in here commiserating with one another. Do any introductions and pre-game character wook here. It is snowing, which is rare for the area, and everything outside is covered with a thin layer of slippery ice.
###### MAP: Deleran’s Crossing
###### MAP: Stolregard
:
### To Do List
- Tavern Stuff
- Meet the Characters
- Harass the Bard
:
## ACT 01: Ice Cold
The evening will be interrupted when Stone-Cutter tumbles through the door half frozen. He will mumble something about an army of soldiers in the woods to the east, and that they’ve taken his merchant caravan and assistants captive. Toys for the orphans, treats for all the children, and all the BEER! After this he will bass out and cannot be roused. Once he is warmed up Stone-Cutter will join them on their adventure. For all intents and purposes he is an artificer of similar level to the players, and acts mostly in a support role when it comes to skill checks and combat.
### To Do List
- Meet Stonecutter
- Gather Intel
- Head Out
\column
## ACT 02: Frozen Woods
They’re off to the woods now. The snow and the ice is intensifying. They’re going to face difficult terrain unless they do something to offset the terrain. The woods are difficult enough to navigate normally, now that they are covered in snow and ice they are down right hazardous. If you are planning a longer session, an encounter with a Winter Wolf and it’s pack would be great here.
###### MAP: Frozen Woods
:
### To Do List
- Skill Challenge: Navigate the Woods
- Find the Soldiers’ Camp
:
## ACT 03: Toy Soldiers
After they’ve traversed enough through the woods bring them unto the ridge of a box canyon overlooking the Soldiers’ Camp. It will be “small” but not in numbers. The enemies are toy soldiers, and behave much like a real army. There are three main types of enemies here; Foot Soldiers, Calvary, Musketmen, as well as a few Generals. There is also a cave in the back of the canyon, the Grank lives here. Stone-Cutter’s Sleigh is in the center, and his gnomes are in cages at the edge. The main thrust of this ACT is to get to the sleigh and get out of there!
### To Do List
- Scout the camp and plan their move.
- Sneak into or Attack the Camp
- Rescue the Gnomes and recover the Goods
- Skedattle
#### EVENT: The Tin Soldier’s Camp
Ideally there will be a to-do here between the Soldiers and the Players. Either the players have taken the stealth approach and are attempting to free the gnomes and steal back the wagons, or they are engaging in a full frontal assault. Stealth gets them out of the camp quicker but should make the chase in ACT 4 harder. The Assault basically has the opposite effects. Either way it will become quickly apparent that they need to skedattle. Why? Well at some point in the battle the Grank will appear and join the fray, also Stone-Cutter will free his Were-Reindeer and fire up his sleigh. All enemy attention will now turn toward stopping him as he tears off outta the canyon with an army of Tin Soldiers following him. He’s going to need some protection!
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##### ENCOUNTER: Tin Soldier Army
So this fight needs to be played out rather comically. Tin Soldiers can move 30’, have 14 AC and 1hp, they have a +5 to hit, and do 1hp in damage. The Musketmen have a 40’ ranged attack. The Cavalry have 45’ of movement and do double damage on a charge. Their hp would normally put them at a severe disadvantage… But… There are hundreds of them. Use the like Swarms and you should have a really fun encounter.
Now, we can’t forget about the Generals. They are rather large headed soldiers with 10hp and all the skills of the other soldiers. What makes them truly dangerous is they are capable of commanding their troops to build themselves, and any fallen Soldiers, into a Soldier Mech (Mega Zord), a medium sized creature similar to a Veteran from the Monster Manual. They should have a “Terminator” feel to them in this form! You see, if they are destroyed they fall apart into piles and immediately begin reforming themselves. They will be back at the end of their next turn. Oh, also, give them Mechano-Horses as well as there is about to be a chase scene.
{{note
#### EVENT: A Little Extra?
If you’re looking to add some more time to the adventure, I have included the Grank’s cavern. It’s big but not complex and you could easily add some more adventuring to the run by using it. Otherwise, should they decide to sneak in there, just describe the Grank’s cave as a one room icy cavern. Either way she isn’t home until she arrives with her Dire Wolf Rex during the battle.
}}
## ACT 04: Sleigh Ride
Nothing like a good old fashioned runaway present laden christmas sleigh chase scene to remind us all of the holidays. Really warms the cockles. The idea here is to have the players and Stone-Cutter make their getaway in the most chaotic way possible. The wagons will be racing down the slippery road, careening around bends, and with any luck narrowly avoiding crashing into the woods or tumbling off a cliff. To complicate matters further the Generals and the Grank will be giving chase! The Grank will ride her Dire Wolf and the Generals, in Meco form, will be mounted on Mechano-Horses. They are not about to let the players get away with the wagons of Holiday Loot!
\column
### To Do List
- Keep Stone-Cutter’s Wagon in one piece
- Survive
##### ENCOUNTER: The Chase
Using tactics and stat models from above chase the players a good long way down the road. There should be a lot going on to add to the mess of this fight. Stone-Cutter should be driving wildly to keep the Soldiers off the wagons, this causes some Skill Challenges to appear. Simple things like tipping or weighting the wagons properly as they take a sharp corner. They can also open presents in the Wagon as a free action and get some one use items. Things like; Tools to help the Skill Challenges, Stuff to make Booby-Traps with, Scrolls, Potions, Bombs, Siege Weapons… you know typical Holiday Gifts. This chase can go on as long as you and your team are having fun. If the Grank is dropped to Zero hp, she will “Boss up” and come back for more. The Generals cannot be defeated until the Grank is, but given some good damage, they can be “slowed” to give the team some breathing room. Repeat this formula until you’re at a satisfactory victory point and then drop the Grank off a cliff or something. Once she is down for good the tin soldiers will pull a “Phantom Menace” and all fall apart.
## CLOSING
The players and Stone-Cutter will ride into town victorious! Distributing Holiday cheer and beer for all the residents of the sad little town of Deleran’s Crossing. Congratulate them and give them a few gifts from Ol’ SC’s secret stash of really good presents.
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###
# THANKS FOR PLAYING
:
**I do want to take one last moment to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. [AMPLUS ORDO GAMES](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames)**
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# THE APPENDICES
## Notes, Lore, Stories, Handouts, Maps, & Statblocks
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D&D is a complicated dance of information and imagination. I've often found a lot of trouble seeing someone else's vision in what they have written. Having put out dozens of adventures now, we at the AOG have figured out that what we see isn't always what you see. And while that is absolutely wonderful when it spawns creativity... it is absolutely tragic when it breeds confusion.
You probably won't find sections like these in our "Year One" or "Quick Shot" Adventures, as those are designed to flow without a lot of extra information. But when it comes to our Bigger Releases we'll typically include quite a bit of extra information to bring some clarity to our thinking, to further expand on our vision, and hopefully add fuel to your own.
Some of the things below probably won't change from module to module. Things like the House Rules and How I structure the AOG's Adventures. Other parts like Maps and Statblocks will change every Adventure.
I think that's about all you need to know about this section.
And as always Thank You for playing with us!
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## PLAYING AN AOG ADVENTURE
#### Homebrewed World
First off, almost all my adventures are set in my Homebrew World of Taalist, particularly the Continent of Krenshad. Which the majority of has a very Gothic Art and Renaissance Period cultural feel to it. With some Greek and Middle Eastern Cultre from various time periods thrown in there for flavor. That said… Almost all of my Adventures can be easily ported into your location of choice. If you would like to play in Taalist my Campaign Guide (All 150+ Pages of it) can be accessed on our Discord.
#### The Lay Out
I divide my adventures into “Acts”. An Act doesn’t necessarily reflect an amount of time, but more of an important series of events or locations. Some Acts may take 5 minutes, some 5 hours. Why? I dunno, ask the players who over complicate simple matters and simplify the overly complex.
#### Skill Check DCs
I don’t spend a lot of time defining DCs as I play with a bit wider scale of success and failures. What does that mean? For reference the DC scale in 5E looks like this.... Very Easy DC 5, Easy DC 10, Medium DC 15, Hard DC 20, Very Hard DC 25, Nearly Impossible DC 30. When I list a DC, I will tell you it is Hard. But Hard for one party may be easy for another so I leave the actual number value up to you. I also play with a “Success but with Consequences” mentality. That means if they get close they still accomplish their goal, but there is a “but” to that success. An Example? Hard Stealth DC is 20, they roll an 18, I tell them “You sneak past the guard you see, but the guard you didn’t see heard something and is headed your way.” I think it adds more to the story that way.
#### Search Checks
I often reference Search Checks. What is a Search Check? When the players want to “search” something or for something I let them use either Investigation or Perception. I know that isn’t RAW but it just makes things so much easier. I got real tired of explaining to players who have been playing with me for years the difference between the two… just let them look for stuff!
#### Treasure Sizes
Every game is different. So I do not *usually* list out treasures. Instead I use the follwing terms to assign value not size to the treasure Petty, Small, Medium, Large, Huge. Often I will use a combination of them. You can decide how best to fulfill that for your party.
#### Identify Rules
I use a different style of Identify. Items in my world have a Knowledge DC on them (Arcana, Religion, History, and Nature). I allow the player to use an appropriate Check on an item to identify it. The Identify Spell adds a +10 to this. It can be upcast for additional +5 bonuses. Depending on the score of the Check I give them different information. Some information is extremely hard to obtain, for example Curses are well hidden behind DCs that are at least DC 30, often much higher.
#### Opening Cutscene
I like to start my games with an Opening Cutscene which is read before anything else happens. These are usually really vague bits of information that give a glimpse into something that will maybe happen later, happened before the adventure, or is story adjacent to it. I have found these to be great tools to set the mood and create a little mystery.
#### Setting, Background Info, and Hooks
These portions can be used as you see fit. Each one is a little different, so it is hard for me to say how best to use them. Some will play better if you can get them into the hands of the players before the game. Others may have better influence when read just after the Cutscene. Some are really only relevant to moments in the story. But as in all things you do what is best for your game! That is always the way to go.
#### Skill Challenges
I use the idea of Skill Challenges a lot. What is that? It is an event in the game that isn’t quite an encounter and it isn’t a simple skill check. It is a problem they solve with their whole skill set. Typically they must get three successes before three failures in order to succeed in a skill check. The thing about a Skill challenge is they’re are vague on purpose to allow players to be creative in solving a problem. An example may help here.
> - DM says “Your Boat is taking on water. What would you like to do?”
> - Player 1 responds with “I use my carpentry tools to fix the hole” and they make a Tool Check. But they roll a 2 so they fail. Too much water.
> - Player 2 says “ wants to row harder with the crew to get us toward shore faster” They make an Athletics Check and roll an 18. So that is a success.
> - Player 3 “I use Destroy Water to get water out” OK, well it only destroys 10 gallons so it isn’t super helpful, but the momentary reprieve allows a little drywork to happen and allow player 1 to reroll.
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# The Stolregard Barony
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# Deleran's Crossing
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# The Gray Wood, Snow Covered
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# Soldier Canyon
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# The Grank's Cave
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# Snowy Road, The Hairpin Turn
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# Snowy Road, Straight Aways
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# Alternate Road Maps
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# THANKS FOR PLAYING
:
**I do want to take one last moment (Again) to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. [AMPLUS ORDO GAMES](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames)**
}}
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