The main antagonists of this story are three hags who collectively form the Hourglass Coven, which is described in appendix B. These hags are the adoptive sisters of Iggwilv, a powerful figure from D&D’s past and a key player in the adventure’s unfolding drama. Using an artifact called Iggwilv’s Cauldron, the hags have trapped an archfey named Zybilna in temporal stasis and carved up her fey domain among them. This domain is called Prismeer. To enter it, the characters must first visit the Witchlight Carnival, which travels across the Material Plane and appears on the characters’ world once every eight years. The carnival owners are a pair of shadar-kai (elves native to the Shadowfell) named Mister Witch and Mister Light, who can help or hinder the characters’ efforts to reach Prismeer.
One of the many novelties of this adventure is that the characters can accomplish their goals without resorting to violence—but only if they’re clever. They can fight their way through the adventure as well, but the odds won’t always be in their favor.
The characters are drawn into the adventure by one of two adventure hooks. You choose which hook to use. Both hooks are described in “Beginning the Adventure,” later in this introduction.
Chapter 1 describes the Witchlight Carnival. Hidden somewhere in the carnival is a fey crossing to the domain of Prismeer, but the trick to opening this portal is known only to the carnival’s shadar-kai owners, Mister Witch and Mister Light.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 describe the carved-up domain of Prismeer, which the hags of the Hourglass Coven have usurped and split into thirds. The characters can move between these splinter-realms only if they have the right fey guides to help them.
Chapter 5 describes the Palace of Heart’s Desire, where the archfey Zybilna and her court are frozen in time by the magic of Iggwilv’s Cauldron. The palace is where the characters need to go if they hope to thwart the Hourglass Coven by freeing Zybilna or destroying the cauldron.
The book concludes with several appendices wherein you’ll find rules for new magic items, stat blocks for new creatures, and other goodies. At the end of the book is a Story Tracker you can use to keep track of story developments as they occur. Advice on how to use the Story Tracker appears later in this introduction.
The adventure assumes that the characters start at 1st level. If your players are more interested in exploration and social interaction than combat, or if you want to make the characters’ Feywild excursion less dangerous, have them start at 3rd level instead. Advancement is handled the same way regardless.
In this adventure, the characters receive experience points for achieving milestones rather than defeating monsters:
Entering a Hag’s Realm. Whenever the characters enter a hag’s realm (Hither, Thither, or Yon) for the first time, everyone in the party receives enough XP to advance 1 level. For example, when the characters leave the Witchlight Carnival and arrive in Hither for the first time, they gain a level.
Encountering a Hag. After the characters encounter a hag of the Hourglass Coven for the first time, everyone in the party who survives the encounter receives enough XP to advance 1 level.
Freeing Zybilna. If the characters free Zybilna from temporal stasis or destroy Iggwilv’s Cauldron, everyone in the party receives enough XP to advance 1 level.
If you follow this method of character advancement, characters who start the adventure at 1st level might reach 8th level by the adventure’s conclusion.