Printable DM sheet — The Sleeping Dragon’s Hoard

Read this to your players to start

A shepherd’s favorite ram wandered into a cave on Frostpeak Mountain — a cave the whole valley whispers is home to a young dragon’s glittering hoard. The shepherd begs the heroes to bring the ram back safely, dragon or no dragon.

Scenes (all session lengths — scene’s tag shows the shortest length it appears in)

1. Scene 1: The Shepherd’s Plea from Quick Quest on

   A worried shepherd meets you at the base of Frostpeak Mountain. "My best ram wandered up into that cave — the one everyone says has a dragon in it. Please, just bring her back. I don’t care about any treasure."

   Make clear this is a rescue mission, not a treasure hunt — that framing matters for the twist later. Head up the mountain toward the cave.

2. Scene 2: The Bat Ledges from Short Session on

   The cave mouth opens into a wide chamber, its ceiling lost in shadow. Something stirs up there — a cluster of Giant Bats, disturbed by your torchlight.

   One or two Giant Bats swoop down (scale to party size). A loud noise (banging shields, shouting) scares them off without a fight if the party would rather avoid it — mention that option if they seem stuck.

3. Scene 3: The Chasm from One-Sitting Session on

   The passage narrows to a ledge along a deep, dark chasm. You’ll need to cross it carefully to reach the deeper cave.

   A Brave check (Difficulty Number 13) crosses confidently; a Clever check (Difficulty Number 13) finds a safer, longer route. Failing either just means a scare and 1 Heart Point lost catching yourself — never a fall, this is a kids’ adventure.

4. Scene 4: Not Alone from Full Session on

   The hoard chamber glows with firelight. Emberwing the young dragon is curled protectively around a small pile of gold — and, nestled against her side, fast asleep, is the shepherd’s ram. She isn’t hoarding it. She’s keeping it company.

   The reveal: Emberwing is young and lonely, not a monster to defeat. This should visibly soften even a combat-focused table’s plan — let them react before jumping to the climax.

5. Scene 5: Bonus: The Hidden Spring from Epic Session on

   If the party befriends Emberwing, she asks for one favor in return: help her find a warm spring she remembers from a cub-hood memory, somewhere deeper in the mountain, said to ease a dragon’s aching wing.

   A short, low-stakes exploration side-quest (a couple of Clever checks to navigate old tunnels) rather than a fight — a good fit for groups who want more but not more combat. Finding the spring makes Emberwing a lasting ally.

6. Scene 6: Emberwing Wakes from Quick Quest on

   Emberwing raises her head, smoke curling from her nostrils, and fixes you with a golden eye. "Who dares..." she begins — then stops, seeing how carefully you’re looking at the sleeping ram rather than her gold.

   Three valid endings: (1) Talk her down (Kind, Difficulty Number 14) — she wakes the ram gently and lets the party leave in peace, maybe with a small gift of gold. (2) Fight her — she’s tough but not out to kill, and will flee the cave (not die) if brought below 5 Heart Points, letting the party take the ram safely. (3) Any clever compromise the table invents (offering to visit again, trading a story) should work great — a lonely dragon responds to company more than combat.

Monster stat blocks

Rewards

• The shepherd’s ram, safe and sound.
• A small handful of dragon-hoard coins (Emberwing’s gift, if befriended).
• A possible ally for future stories: Emberwing, if the party was kind to her.

Tips for running this one

• Play Emberwing more shy than scary once she wakes — she postures at first, but she’s genuinely lonely underneath. That contrast is the whole point of this adventure.
• The chasm and bats exist to build tension before the reveal — keep both quick, they’re not meant to be the main event.
• If your table fights Emberwing, let her flee rather than be defeated outright — dragons in this world are rare and worth keeping alive for later stories.