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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast product
names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the
Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright [2020] by Dale Zawada and published under the Community Content Agreement for
Dungeon Masters Guild.
The Toymaker has gone missing and brave heroes are needed to find him. After
discovering the evil Count Von Grump has stolen the Toymaker’s enchanted Bag
of Gifting, they must retrieve the bag and fight off the grumpy villain before
distributing presents all around Faerun before sunrise.

This is a light-hearted adventure with a Christmas spin appropriate for all player
levels. Tweak the encounter difficulty if your party is not yet levels 8-12. The
narration in this adventure is written in rhyme ala Dr. Seuss. Have fun with it.
This adventure is kid friendly as well, just maybe tone down the violence and
tweak a narrative line or two (Toymaker says a swear).
Sentences in italics are narration or dialogue.
Sentences in red are skill checks.
Encounters are in purple.

The Toymaker, a famous Faerun icon, hasn’t been seen in weeks, and that’s a big
deal with the Festival of Gifts right around the corner. The Toymaker is currently
being held at his workshop by the villainous Count Von Grump. The Count’s goal
is to steal the legendary Bag of Gifting. Von Grump and his lackey Missile-Toe
believe they can reach into the bag and pull out gold and other valuable items,
however the Bag of Gifting only pulls out sentimentally valuable items.

Three spirits (past, present, and future) arrive to urge the party to rescue the
Toymaker. They torment the adventurers with memories and potential outcomes,
triggering them to head north and save the beloved figure. Prepare for early
roleplaying and backstory.
Throughout the spring and fall the party went questing. You fought monsters and
wizards and were in need of some resting.
Winter was coming, the Festival of Gifts nearly here, it was almost everyone’s
favorite time of the year.
While adults drank nog and sang songs with a twist, the kids wrote the Toymaker
to be on his list.
If they were good they’d get gifts, if they were naughty, only tears. And that’s how
it had been for hundreds of years.
The children behaved and spent their time wishing, then something strange
happened, the Toymaker went missing. You sit in a tavern, drinking some booze,
when strangers come in sharing the news.
The thought of going north doesn’t sound like much fun, plus you’re all pretty busy
with errands to run.
The tavern is empty, even the bartender’s gone. There’s a chill in the air, yeah,
something is wrong.
Appearing at your table is a tall shadowy spirit, he calmly puts out his hand,
urging you all not to fear it.
“The Toymaker is missing, I find your indifference wild, don’t you remember the
gift you received as a child?”
You’re flooded with memories, the gifts you received growing up, you think back of
good times while drinking ale from your cup.
[Roleplay: What was the toy the Toymaker gave you as a child that you still
think about to this day?]

After you share your story, the spirit fades away, but another appears in the back
on the tavern stage.
“Your world would be different without the Toymaker’s gift, you might not even be
around if you get my drift.”
[Roleplay: What does the “sad” or “lonely” version of your life look like?]

The spirit on the stage is gone, you all look around, when the third and final
apparition rises up from the ground.
It said no words, only a sad look of dread, as images of your future flashed, in
which all of you were dead.
[Roleplay: How do you die if you live a miserable or sad life ?]

With the three spirits gone, your task is now clear. You must save the Toymaker,
but first another beer. You prepare for the weather, put a halt on your mail, then
begin your trip north up to Icewind Dale.

The party comes across a group of playing children on their way to find the
Toymaker. The children throw snowballs at the party. Turn up the cute factor with
these kids!
There are five children. Milly and Poots appear first throwing snoballs, then
Tinsel-Tim runs up with bad news about a wolf attack, and finally Jangle and Nog-
Nog need rescuing at the frozen river (Dire Wolves\Frost Giant encounter).
After a stop in the Ten Towns, you all keep on going, but the weather is cold and
don’t look now but it’s snowing.
Half a day away from the Toymaker’s workshop, the excitement begins to grow,
but right now I need you all to make a dexterity saving throw.

A dexterity saving throw DC 13 to avoid being hit by snowballs from local

children Milly and Poots. Failures result in 1d4 bludgeoning damage.
The kids are out looking for the Toymaker but got distracted by merriment. Let the
children interact with the players for a bit before moving to the next section.

Through the snowflakes in the distance a young boy Tinsel-Tim appears. He shouts
and cries, his eyes full of tears.
“I was playing with Jangle and Nog-Nog near the frozen river, then a couple
wolves pounced to eat us for dinner! Please help them out before it’s too late.
Jangle is only ten years old and Nog-Nog barely eight! They’re just down the path
but beware the thin ice, it can hold our weight fine but you guys might pay a
price.”
Encounter: 2 Frost Giants & 4 Dire Wolves
The Dire Wolves are the pets of a grumpy Frost Giants who appears after the first
round of combat. While the wolves might run off (instead of being slaughtered in
this light-hearted adventure) the Frost Giants will fight to the bitter end.
The Frost Giants throws giant snowballs that use the “Rock” attack from the Frost
Giant’s stat block.
The frozen lake terrain is slippery and Dexterity Saving Throws DC 15 must be
made whenever a character begins movement on a lake square during combat.
Failures result in falling prone.
Afterwards the kids will thank the party and return back to town (Easthaven).
You rush to the river and hear a terrible noise, and there across the river you see
the two boys. Surrounded by wolves, the boys back to back, ready to defend
themselves from a vicious attack.
Frost Giant: While you fight off the wolves, you hear the kid cheer, but then
sprinting from the woods, two Frost Giants appear. The Giants roars with anger at
the sight of their hurt pet, then they pack a snowball you’ll never forget.

Monsters: 4 Dire Wolves (MM page 321), 2 Frost Giants (MM page 155)
Loot: Dire Wolf Fangs (25gp), Fur Pelt (5gp each), 1gp from each of the kids, 2
bottles of Frost Giant Wine (Advantage on Strength based rolls + resistance to cold
damage for 24 hours)

The party is rudely welcomed to the Toymaker’s workshop by Missile-Toe, a nasty

little gnome lackey of Count Von Grump! Missile-Toe watches the perimeter while
the Count terrorizes the Toymaker and steals his magic Bag of Gifting inside.
Missile-Toe will try to stop the party from entering by summoning killer snowmen.
Since the party just had a fight you might want to let them roleplay their way
through this one, unless they like to fight, which they probably do. ‘Tis the season.
You leave the children behind, there’s just no time to stop, and soon you’re there,
at the Toymaker’s workshop.
It is a massive estate, and standing at the threshold is a gnome, looking for any
trespassers approaching the Toymaker’s home. He wears the ugliest sweater, with
red and green socks, he has bags under his eyes and blue curly locks.
“The Toymaker isn’t taking any visitors right now. Please leave!”
History Roll: The Toymaker’s Assistants
DC 18: The Toymaker’s helpers are elves, not gnomes. Suspicious.
DC 13: You’ve heard of The Toymaker having very loyal helpers.
“Count Von Grump is inside now, securing the Bag of Gifting. With the bag in our
hands we’ll be rich and do so much grifting!”
History Roll DC 13 to know the Bag of Gifting is the Toymaker’s legendary bag
which deals out only the most sentimental of gifts.

Encounter: Missile-Toe & 4 Killer Snowmen

Missile-Toe shoots Magic Missile from his stinky socks. Have fun with this.
You can roleplay Missile-Toe as an evil gnome who hates the Festival of Gifts as
much as his master or as a remorseful gnome afraid of the miserable Count Von
Grump.
Snowmen are vulnerable to fire and will use their carrot noses as daggers while
spitting the coals making up their smiles as projectile weapons.

Monsters: Missile-Toe (Stat block below), 4 Killer Snowmen (Stat block below)
Loot: 4 Carrot Noses (Dagger stats +1 cold damage), 2 Socks of Magic Missile
(Wand of Magic Missile stats)
Inside the workshop are dead elves and the supposed dead body of the Toymaker
who comes to and reveals Von Grump has stolen his Bag of Gifting, but the
Toymaker has a spare sleigh if the adventurers act fast.
Optional Lore: The Toymaker and his wife appear dead but cannot be killed as
they are gods (Gond, god of craft & Auril, goddess of winter) in disguise living on
Faerun. They are here to share joy and their mortal bodies are weakened and need
the party to retrieve the Bag of Gifting before it’s too late.

The workshop is dirty, caked and caked in mud, but upon second glance you can
see that it is blood.
There are bodies strewn everywhere, and none in good health, there is even the
head of an elf on the shelf.
Dead in the center with no sign of life, was the kind bearded Toymaker, and his
deceased lovely wife.

As you reach into his pocket, your hand is suddenly stuck, as the Toymaker’s eyes
open, and he says “oh what the fuck?”
The Toymaker lives and his wife sits up too, and he tells you what happened, every
word of it true.

“I was preparing my sleigh, for my big flight, when there was a knock at the door
which gave my elves quite a fright.”
“Count Von Grump barged in angry, furiously persisting, he wanted only one
thing: my precious Bag of Gifting.”
“His Humbugs attacked, sapped joy from our souls, while he cut up my elves, filled
them all full of holes.”
“Please stop Von Grump before it’s too late, the bag in his hands will result in
much hate.”
“It seems I’m too weak to deliver my toys, so you must come through for these girls
and these boys.”
“When you get the bag back please fly over Faerun, drop gifts to the children then
come back and I’ll pay you.”
“The Count took my sleigh, but I do have another, and try not to kill him because
he is still my brother.”
“The sleigh’s in the rear and needs some repairs, it’ll feed off your magic to take
to the air.”

The party repairs the sleigh before powering up, feeding off of the party’s magic
and positivity. If the party is being grouchy, it doesn’t fly as well. Count Von
Grump is flying over Faerun dropping of psychologically damaging gifts, items
that bring up bad memories and insecurities.
Behind the workshop, you find the old sleigh. It’s busted and rusted, and sabotaged
from foul play.
It’s too damaged to fly, but you work as a team, please give me a survival DC 17.
[Survival Roll DC 17 to successfully fix the sleigh. A failure will result in higher
DCs during their flight.]
The sleigh is repaired, the big moment now here, when magically appearing are a
dozen spectral reindeer. They feed off your joy, your cheer, and your magic. You
must think good thoughts or this trip will be tragic.
[Arcana Roll DC 18 to take flight.]

The party fights Count Von Grump in a sleigh hundreds of feet over the ten towns
of Icewind Dale.
You take to the sky, the sleigh bolts up with a jump, and you soar through the
clouds searching for the evil Count Von Grump.
It doesn’t take long, when over the ten towns, you see another sleigh with coal
being thrown down. The Bag of Gifting’s enchanted, now lost is its purity, Von
Grump pulls out gifts of bad memories and insecurity.
As you close in, and the sleigh almost near, the count peers over with an evil
malicious sneer. Count Von Grump grabs the reins, and gives them a tug, leading
his sleigh are several humbugs.
“You cannot stop me so don’t even try. The Festival of Gifts is ruined, and if you
come closer you’ll die!”
Your sleigh flies next to his, but without any gifts to give, it’s time to stop the
Grump, please roll for initiative.

Encounter: Count Von Grump & 5 Humbugs

Count Von Grump will throw coal and cast ice spells while his humbugs attack and
sap joy from the party during this aerial encounter.
If a player tries to pull a gift for themselves they will always pull out coal or
something unsavory since the bag won’t reward selfish acts. You can only pull
something of value out if it is for another person.
Post-Encounter: With Von Grump out of action, the humbugs and the rest, it’s
time to come through with the Toymaker’s request. It’s a magical season for good
girls and the boys, now you must fly and deliver the toys.
Monsters: Count Von Grump (Stat Block below), 5 Humbugs (Stat Block below)
Loot: The Bag of Gifting, The Count’s Ring (People naturally dislike the wearer
of this ring), Von Grump’s Cane (+1 Staff), 100gp, and Humbug Poison (When
ingested, a creature must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or suffer
disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 minute.
With the Bag of Gifting in their possession, the party will drop off gifts from the
sleigh. There is a series of skill checks for distributing gifts, then the party will be
shot out of the sky, resulting in the final encounter of the adventure.
Try to have a skill check for each player.

Now with the bag, you begin dropping presents, landing in chimneys, little gifts
from the heavens. Athletics Roll DC 13 to accurately drop presents.
As you reach in the bag and pull out a toy horn, the sleigh flies through the night
right into a snowstorm. Nature\Survival Roll DC 13 to navigate through the
snowstorm.
With the snowstorm now past, sunrise almost here, there’s panic up front with
some upset reindeer. Animal Handling Roll DC 13 to ease the reindeer.
The spectral reindeer calm down, they fly straight and true, famously hard to win
over, but they do like you.
You deliver the presents, all through the night, then you find the bag empty, and
cinch it up tight.
The reindeer run on the clouds with a clip and a clop, then begin the trek back to
the Toymaker’s workshop.

The Toymaker will give the party a gift from his bag when they return to his
workshop. There is a table below for gifts but I suggest using the gifts the players
mentioned during the opening section of the adventure to tie it all together.
Upon your return, the Toymaker greets you, ready to pay up for the adventure you
agreed to. He takes the Bag of Gifting, and reaches deep inside, and for each one
of you he pulls out a gift and finds…
Bag of Gifting Table (1d8)
1. A ring made of yarn your mother made for you that you immediately lost.
2. A doll made from wolf fur of your first pet.
3. A small training sword made of wood that your uncle made you but was lost in a
fire.
4. A string necklace your mother made that you thought long gone.
5. A warm pair of socks, the same type your father went on and on about as a kid.
6. A music box that plays the same melody your mother hummed as she rocked
you to sleep.
7. The journal you wanted as a child but never got.
8. A scented candle that smells just like your childhood home.

The Festival of Gifts has been saved, thanks to your heroic actions. The Toymaker
gives you 100 more gold as part of your transaction.
He shares his homemade eggnog and you have some festival fun, overjoyed that
when danger strikes we know you heroes will come.
That’s the end of this adventure, we did it all in one sitting, I hope you enjoyed
playing The Toymaker and the Bag of Gifting.

You only need 3 battle maps to run this adventure, and a couple google searches
should give you strong motivation for how you want to lay things out!

1. The Frozen River: A river that flows east to west, separating the party from their task.
2. The Toymaker’s Workshop: A snowy manor exterior with Missile-Toe at the threshold.
3. The Sleigh Fight: Any cloud background will do the trick for this one!

My other adventures on DMsGuild.com are built for this to be a loose tie-in, so

please enjoy the other one-shots which are also Pay What You Want. Happy
gaming!
 Thank you for playing.
If you enjoyed this adventure, please leave a review and check out more at DMsGuild.com!

@DaleZawada