An exiled fire giant has seized an ancient volcano, imprisoned the spirit of the North Wind, and twisted her power into a weapon — scorching the fields of Járnmark and choking its seas while his flames grow ever stronger.
Welcome to “Eldfjall’s Fury” 5E adventure! Within these pages, you’ll discover everything necessary to embark on this thrilling quest, complete with detailed descriptions of locations, encounters, NPCs and stat blocks, maps, and handouts.
This adventure also features a versatile and scalable system, allowing Game Masters to easily adjust the difficulty and complexity of encounters to suit their players’ preferences and skill levels. Whether you have a party of advanced players or beginners, you can tailor the challenges to ensure an exciting and engaging experience for everyone involved. The scalable system guides modifying creature statistics, making it simple to customize the adventure to fit your party’s level.
In “Eldfjall’s Fury,” a party of 3-5 characters (levels 7-9) answers the call of Jarl Sigrid Frostdottir in the beleaguered port city of Stålhavn, where an unnatural heat is rotting crops, drying rivers, and driving the people to despair. The culprit is Surtursson — an exiled fire giant jarl who seized Mount Eldfjall after the dwarves of Berghjem abandoned their ancestral halls three decades ago. He has imprisoned Vindari, the elemental spirit of the North Wind, twisting her power to fuel his obsidian fortress and summon his kin. To free her, the party must journey across a scorched realm, earn the trust of the last dwarven smith, plunder a forgotten stronghold, scale a burning mountain, and face Surtursson in a three-phase battle at the summit. The adventure unfolds across five chapters.
Chapter 1: Call of the Jarl
The party arrives in Stålhavn — a port city simmering with tension, shortages, and desperate rumors of fire giants. After gathering clues from taverns, market stalls, and the Shrine of the North Wind, they present themselves at Ravnhall, the Jarl’s longhouse. Captain Bjorn Shieldbreaker guards the gate and tests the party’s worthiness through persuasion, credentials, or a minor side quest if they fail to impress him. Inside, the seer Gunnhild Stormweaver delivers the full picture: Surtursson’s claim over Mount Eldfjall, Vindari’s imprisonment, and the critical role of the long-abandoned dwarven halls of Berghjem. She sends the party to find Grida Stonechanter, the last master smith of Berghjem, in Shadowpine Woods — equipping them first with frost-shielding crystals, a detailed map, and a horn of safe passage.
Chapter 2: The Last Smith
A 60-mile trek across scorched Járnmark tests the party’s endurance through an exhaustion mechanic tied to extreme heat — worsened by heavy armor and the lack of water, eased by the Runes of Frostshielding or shade. Morning and evening random encounter tables set the stage with fire-touched dire wolves, ash storms, giant patrols, restless spirits of fire victims, and an optional encounter with an exiled storm giant who may become an ally. Two key events mark the journey: a major ash storm demanding shelter or endurance checks, and a group of desperate travelers — a priest, commoners, and an injured scout — whose fate the party must decide. Shadowpine Woods offers a cool, dwarf-warded sanctuary at journey’s end, with its own encounter table of runic guardians, elemental riddles, memory echoes of the dvergr’s exodus, and dwarven caches. At her frost-forged workshop, Grida Stonechanter studies the party through a social skill challenge, gauging their sincerity with her color-shifting crystalline eye. Success unlocks vital intel on Berghjem’s secret passages and Surtursson’s arrogance — plus the Frostforged Hammer, a Runic Focus, and Berghjem’s Key.
Chapter 3: Halls of the Dvergr
The ancient dwarven stronghold of Berghjem, abandoned to fire and ruin, runs seven rooms deep — each with its own hazards, guardians, and rewards. The iron entrance door presents a concentric rune puzzle requiring three rings to align in the correct sequence; failure triggers a fire bolt trap. The Hall of Ancestors lines pressure-plate traps with twelve animated Stone Defenders that can be appeased by a spoken greeting or bypassed by Grida’s Key. The Forge of Memory still burns with residual magic, rewarding smiths who know how to use it while summoning Magma Mephits against those who fumble. The Archives of the Elementbound hold floating tomes and a guardian-patrolled research station revealing Vindari’s binding ritual, giant weaknesses, and secret mountain paths. The Elemental Conduit chamber requires activating four pillars in elemental sequence — Water, Earth, Air, Fire — to unlock boons and critical intelligence about freeing Vindari. The Treasure Vault guards its riches behind magical locks and animated weapons. At the deepest exit, a fire-corrupted Iron Golem blocks the one-way passage out to the mountain — a door that seals behind the party once opened.
Chapter 4: The Burning Mountain
The ascent of Mount Eldfjall unfolds across three brutal zones, each demanding a new skill challenge against the mountain’s worsening heat, steam vents, lava flows, and toxic fumes. On the Lower Slopes, a five-success challenge through lava fields faces Fire Elemental and Magma Mephit ambushes. In The Crags, a four-success climbing challenge pits the party against a Fire Giant patrol and Magmin trying to destroy their ropes and gear. On the Summit Approach, a six-success final push through giant patrols leads directly to a battle with Surtursson’s Vanguard — a Fire Giant Dreadnought, Fire Elementals, and a Hell Hound pack — before the obsidian fortress gates.
Chapter 5: Storm and Flame
Surtursson’s fortress can be entered by deception, force, or guile. Inside, four areas stand between the party and the final battle. The Entry Hall features lava channels crossing the floor and hidden pressure-plate traps beside towering pillars, guarded by Fire Giant Dreadnoughts. The Forge of Surtursson allows the party to disrupt a skill challenge against Fire Elementals and Magma Ropers — sabotaging the forge strips Surtursson of his fire aura and limits his legendary actions in the battle ahead. Vindari’s Prison demands breaking three runic chains while fighting off Fire Giants and a Lava Elemental, with the freed spirit granting fire resistance, wind spells, and battle advice as her reward. In the Throne Room, Surtursson himself fights across three escalating phases: Molten Fury at full health, Elemental Empowerment at half — dramatically stronger if Vindari remains imprisoned, dramatically weaker if she is free — and a final Desperation phase at a quarter health where he collapses the floor itself, threatening to drop the party into the lava below. Victory restores the North Wind, quiets the volcano, and earns the party titles, land, Vindari’s permanent blessing, and a hoard worth more than 23,000 gold pieces.
Release Date: 2024
Format: Digital (PDF)
Items Included
- Eldfjall’s Fury 5E (PDF)
- A B&W Printer-Friendly Version (PDF)
- Maps
- Illustrations (Generated with Midjourney)
- Monster Stat Blocks
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