Cult of the Gol’Goroth 

Estimated Time: 3 - 5 Hours 

A Horror-Themed One-Shot Adventure by Nerzugal 
 
Overview: 
Within the muck and darkness of a cave deep within the forest lies an ancient creature. 
A manifestation of evil and psychosis that cause even devils and demons to turn a blind eye to 
its disturbing presence. This monstrosity is known as The Gol’Goroth. Rumors say it has just 
sockets where there should be eyes, yet it sees everything in this world and in others. It pierces 
the veil of the mind and inflicts madness on all who come near. Of course, these are surely just 
rumors. Surely just an excuse to justify the actions of a twisted cult that is ravaging local 
villages. Surely just a manifestation of their crazed minds as they carve their own bones into 
weapons and slice their own flesh to ribbons . . . all in the name of The Gol’Goroth. 
 
Desperation and Madness in the Air: 
As the party stumbles into the town of Goldenleaf Village, it is quite a sight to behold. 
The streets are empty, the shutters to the homes are closed, and the carcasses of dead 
livestock fills the air with a putrid aroma. Beyond the rather disturbing silence, the town seems 
quite pleasant and beautiful. Large golden apples grow from trees scattered all around the 
quaint little town known for its apple based wines.  
 
As the party continues through the town they notice eyes peeking through windows. 
The shadows cast across the street and under the trees seem to be deeper than they should. 
Flickers of movement appear in their peripheral vision, but if they turn to look there is never 
anything to see. If they attempt to knock on the doors of any of these homes, the people within 
will shout out in terror, “Leave us alone! Please! Don’t hurt my children!” and other such pleads 
for mercy. 
 
A few more minutes of drifting through the town and the party catches the first glimpse 
of actual movement. A man appears to be scraping against the side of one of the homes with 
violent intent. He wears robes of black and a white blade is protruding from one of his sleeves 
as it carves into the wood of the house. When the group grows near they can hear guttural, 
disturbing sounds coming from the man. He will not respond to any attempts to communicate, 
but when the party gets to close he will turn and look to them.  
 
It is about this time they notice the strange symbols he has been carving into the house. 
Ancient symbols that no one recognizes and the head of a frog with no eyes. As he stares, the 
party can see that the weapon he was using to carve into the house is actually the bone of his 
own arm. It appears his hand has been removed and the bone has been sharpened to a point. 
Higher up his arm is a bloody set of bandages. One of the man’s eyes is removed, revealing an 
empty socket that is oozing a thick, dark-blue substance. The other eye is intact but 
completely bloodshot. His face is sliced as if someone attacked him with a razor, but he 
doesn’t seem to notice the bloodstains or open wounds. His movements are jagged and 
violent, snapping between exaggerated motions in the blink of an eye. “Sacrifices for the 
Gol’Goroth!” 
 
He charges at the closest party member, thrusting his sharpened bone towards their 
chest. He gives out a loud, animalistic screech as he does so as well. Use the stats of a ​Cultist 
[DMG Pg. 345]. After the first round of combat, the party hears more footsteps coming in the 
distance and three more of these fanatics come running.  
Each of them are just as brutalized as the original they encountered. One of them has a 
chain around his neck which is attached to another of the cultist’s wrists. The chained man has 
both of his eyes removed, but sitting in one of them is a strange globule of dark-blue gel with 
something dark swimming within. His fingers have all been sharpened to the bone, giving him a 
terrifying set of claws as his weapons. The man leading the chained cultist wields a sword 
made from nothing but bone. Around his neck is a string of frog skeletons that have been 
haphazardly sewn together. He also wears a painted wooden mask that looks like a frog. The 
final cultist is using a bloodstained flail whose head is a skull. The skull has teeth embedded 
into the bone and when the man screeches it is clear who they once belonged to. 
During the battle they will cry out. “For the Gol’Goroth! Sacrifices! Flesh for his spawn!” 
And other such mantras. 
After the battle, the part finds that the frog mask is magically enchanted. A bit of time 
an examination will reveal it to be a Mask of Spirits: 
 
Mask of (Holiday) Spirits: 
Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement) 
 
This item appears to be carved from a piece of wood to look give the wearer the appearance of 
a frog. While attuned to this item, you find a bag containing 2d4 + 2 chocolates under your 
pillow every morning when you wake up. They restore 1 hit point when eaten. Additionally, 
fireflies are drawn to you at night and will light your camps and flash brightly when potentially 
dangerous something approaches. 
 
If the party examines the strange globule in the cultist’s eye socket. They can make a 
DC 12 Nature Check to recognize this as a frog egg. The dark object that was once swimming 
within the egg is now gone, however. 
A few moments afterwards, the back of the cultist’s head will begin to bulge. Even 
though he is dead, his body will begin to thrash wildly. His skull continues to bulge and after a 
few more seconds there is a sickening crack and a frog-like creature comes bursting out of the 
back of his head. It has a few small tendrils on its back and its eyes are empty sockets. It is a 
bit smaller than a typical bullfrog at this point, but just looking at it fills the party with a feeling 
of dread. Immediately afterward, the door of the nearby house flies open and a man comes 
charging out screaming, “Don’t kill it!” 
 
Mayor Hal Neelow: 
 A older, round-bellied man stumbles out into the streets with a washbasin in hands and 
runs over to the frog creature. “We need it alive if you are going to defeat the beast!” he cries 
as he throws the washbasin over the frog, preventing its escape. “That is, assuming you are 
here to kill the Gol’Goroth.” 
 
The players discover that this is the mayor of Goldenleaf Village, Hal Neelow. His town 
has been under siege from these cultists for a few weeks now. His own people, whom he 
assures you would never harm a fly, began wandering off into the woods in a daze and coming 
back as these savage monsters that can no longer even be called human. At first when they 
returned they seemed off, but not completely mad - not slicing off their own hands . . . They 
tried to recruit others to come with them and a few followed. Later they returned more violently, 
their minds withering away. They demanded new townsfolk go with them or face the 
consequences. 
The people of Goldenleaf fought back the first time they came . . . Five men were dead 
and another four were dragged off into the forest. He points to the man with bone claws, 
“That’s one of them that was taken in the first attack. Jeremiah Merrel.” Now the people of the 
town are too terrified, but he has seen this happen before to one of them. The frog hopped off 
into the forest, going back to its mother he assumes. If the party follows the frog, it should lead 
them to the root of this evil . . . the creature the cultists call The Gol’Goroth. 
 
He will give a description of the monstrosity based on the rumors he has heard. A frog 
the size of a wagon with nothing but empty sockets where there should be eyes. Four massive 
tentacles extend out of its back, lashing out wildly. Spikes of bone run down the length of its 
spine. A beast of legends . . . of nightmare. 
 
He will also tell them that the town wizard, a man named Syrith left to try and put an 
end to the evil, but he never came back. He was quite strong so him not returning means the 
creature is powerful or perhaps the wizard is still out there . . .  
 
He offers the party 300 gold, a magical weapon that has been the shining honor of the 
town for centuries (Make this usable by one of your players), and the thanks of all of his people 
. . . at least those that remain.  
 
Into the Forest, Into the Darkness: 
The party will need to release the frog creature from the wash basin. When they do, 
they will notice is has already grown another inch in size. It immediately takes off for the edge 
of town and hops into the forest. If anyone attempts to pick up the frog, the tendrils on its back 
will strike and attempt to pierce their flesh. It will make an attack at a +4 bonus to hit. On a hit, 
the victim will take 1 damage and need to make a DC 12 Wisdom Saving Throw. On a fail, that 
player is paralyzed. 
● At the end of each subsequent turn, that player will need to make an additional DC 12 
Wisdom Saving Throw.  
 ○ On a second fail, that character begins to lift the frog up in front of their face. 
They take 1d6 psychic damage and remain paralyzed. 
○ On a third fail, that character opens their eyes and the frog lashes out with a 
spiked tongue, rips an eye from its socket, and consumes it in one swift motion. 
That player takes 2d6 piercing damage and an additional 2d8 psychic damage 
and are released from the frogs grasp. They also deal with all of the other 
consequences of being down an eye. 
● If any other player removes the frog from its victim or if the player succeeds on their 
saving throw, this effect end and the frog attempts to make its escape or to latch onto a 
new victim. 
 
[Oops, They Killed the Frog] 
That’s fine. Anyone with some tracking skills will be able to identify the path that the 
cultists take from the lair of the Gol’Goroth. In their insanity, these people are not known for 
their subtlety. 
 
The frog keeps a steady path and dodges obstacles despite its lack of eyes. The 
tentacles on its back dance around in the air as it leaps, occasionally striking out at insects and 
latching on before the creature consumes them. While the town was quite pleasant, the forest 
quickly turns gloomy. The shadows stretch longer than they should, the flowers smell foul 
rather than pleasant, and woodland creatures are nowhere to be seen. 
 
After fifteen minutes of this, the frog has nearly doubled in size. It continues on with a 
swift and confident determination. The party begins noticing disturbing things such as strips of 
human flesh nailed to trees using nails that are certainly made of bone. There are scattered fire 
pit remnants that contain scorched bones both animal and human in nature. Birds sit in the 
trees, eyeless and giving out sounds of anguish rather than a pleasant chirp - almost as if they 
are taunting the party. 
 
A bit further onward, the party spots movement up ahead. Two cultists are hunched 
over what appears to be a dead deer on the forest floor. One has a needle and thread and the 
other holds has a vicious looking saw. As the party grows near, the cultists turn their direction 
and draw weapons. One using an executioner’s axe while the other holds what seems to be a 
club with rib bones shoved through the wood, forming sharp spikes.  
The deer stands up as well.  
This monstrosity is an insult to the gods themselves. An open wound in its side show 
where the ribs have been removed and are now sewn along its back forming a set of spikes. Its 
antlers are sharpened to jagged points and its eyes, while still in tact, appear to be bleeding. 
There are distinct wounds and stitches around the deer’s back legs, as if they had been 
hacked off and hastily reattached. It is also partially covered in a dark-blue slime-like 
substance. Use the stats of a ​Giant Elk​ for the deer (MM Pg. 325) and an ​Orc​ for the two 
cultists [DMG Pg. XXX].  
Roll for Initiative 
 During all of the commotion, the frog will continue about his business as normal, 
moving 15 feet per turn. The party can once again capture it if they have a container, but 
otherwise he will continue on his journey. If the party lets the frog get far enough away they will 
need to make some simple Survival checks to find him or the path to the cave.  
When combat has ended, the party will find a few gold coins on the body of the cultists 
as well as a diary. It is filled with drawings of the Gol’Goroth. These drawings are repeated over 
and over and over. As the book continues, the drawings grow more and more distorted and 
frantic. Blood is scattered across some of the pages towards the back.  
Once the party is done with the cultists, they continue following the frog. After another 
twenty minutes they see their target - a massive cave entrance. Stalagmites and stalactites line 
the mouth of cave, giving it the appearance of a snarling maw. The skeletons of hundreds - if 
not thousands - of frogs litter the ground out front. The frog they are following hops towards 
the entrance without slowing.  
 
Cavern of the Gol’Goroth: 
 

 
Into the Madness: 
As the party steps towards the entrance of the cave they are met with a surprisingly 
alluring smell. It seems to be coming from a dark-blue slime that coats various portions of the 
cave entrance. They recognize it from the deer and from the cultists in town. It certainly seems 
like it would be delicious, perhaps it is blueberry jam! One taste certainly couldn’t hurt, right? 
Have your players roll a DC 12 Wisdom Saving Throw. On a fail, they get the powerful urge to 
reach out and consume some of this slime. On a pass, the players realize this is just a trick of 
the tantalizing aroma and resist this primal urge to consume. 
As you may have guessed, ingesting this slime is not good for the body. The party 
members who failed can be fairly easily snapped out of this daze if someone startles them, be 
this a punch or a shout. However, if no one stops them, they scoops up a nice, delicious 
handful of the slime and gorge themselves with it. Ten minutes afterwards, these players will 
start to feel sick and gain the poisoned status. Five minutes after that, they will begin retching 
and choking until they finally vomit up another of the frog creatures (If in combat, this will take 
2 rounds in which the players can do nothing but double over and hold their stomach).They are 
free of the poisoned status but gain a level of exhaustion as the frog attempts to hop away into 
the cave. ​A player may avoid this by forcing themselves to vomit within 30 seconds of 
eating the slime. 
 
[Aroma Cycles] 
Deeper in this cavern, the Gol’Goroth waits. It goes through rapid cycles of 
consumption and rest. The cave alternates between waves of mania and hysteria, all based on 
the current state of the Gol’Goroth. At pseudo-regular intervals, the cave goes from smelling 
pleasant and inviting to foul and offensive. This means the Gol’Goroth is awake and feasting. 
While the air is sweet, the Gol’Goroth sleeps and digests its meal. 
The behaviors of enemies and the events that occur in the cave are all based on these 
cycles. Make sure to describe to your players the general feelings that their characters get 
when the two different aromas are present. Happiness, optimism, and a deep level of 
suggestibility sweet over when the sweet smell is present. When the foul smell is present, they 
feel upset, edgy, aggressive, and are prone to violence. Thoughts well up inside them ready to 
burst during either of these transitions that strain their minds.  
Feel free to run timers to shift the aroma in real time, or choose for the most interesting 
moments in game for the cycle to change. Whatever you feel will make for the most exciting 
adventure through the Lair of the Gol’Goroth 
 
The path starts out over twenty feet wide, but appears to narrow quickly upon 
entrance. Painted on the walls in this opening cavern are various depictions of the monstrosity 
- The Gol’Gororth - The bringer of madness - God. These depictions are primarily white paint, 
but the void where eyes should be uses blood as ts medium. The pathway ahead appears to 
be lit by faintly glowing torches mounted along the walls and whispers seem to echo down the 
path with no distinguishable origin. 
 
So Cuddly and Cute: 
  
 
As the party weaves down the path, they see more of this strange slime coating the 
walls. Fortunately, once they get past the first room their minds have adapted and the urge to 
consume no longer takes hold. After traveling down a narrow path for twenty feet, the way 
opens up into a large room with two large pillars of stone near the center.  
The party will immediately notice movement along the walls as dozens of albino 
squirrels scatter about, eating from various pools of the slime. They seem calm and docile, 
some running across the floor with large red eyes faintly glowing in the torchlight. In the center 
of the room is a makeshift stone sculpture of the Gol’Goroth. It is not well made, but it is clear 
the emotion that the artist was attempting to capture - madness. The most notable part of this 
statue is two massive jet gemstones in the eye sockets for the sculpture. If the party is brave 
enough to take these gems, the squirrels will all turn to look at that person, but they will not 
attack . . . at least not yet. 
The party can look about the room and inspect the squirrel creatures. A few will even 
approach the party with some hesitation and give them a quick smell or hop on a shoulder and 
begin digging through their hair. They seem sweet and innocent. If the players give them food 
of any sort they will start to close in and group up near the party, staring with wide, expecting 
eyes as they skitter about. 
 
Then comes the first of the aroma transitions. The air turns foul, the room seems to 
darken, violent tendencies arise. The players feel their stomachs drop. A gut-wrenching feeling 
takes hold and the shadows deepen again. The light emitting from the torches seems to retreat 
closer to the flame.  
 
The squirrels go mad. Use the stats of a ​Swarm of Rats​ [MM Pg. 339]. ​Four​ of them in 
total. Or use ​two​ ​Swarm of Squirrels​ from ​StoneStrix’s Monster-A-Day​. If the players took the 
gemstones from the statue, those who are holding them will be focused by their assault. 
 
The squirrels bite, claw, and snarl as they attack the party. The once seemingly sweet 
creatures show no remorse and will not leave those who fall unconscious alone in favor of 
other threats. If the party attempts to run, the squirrels will follow until the party actually leaves 
the cave. Once they are past the threshold of the entrance, the squirrels will stop and snarl, but 
will not continue their advance.  
 
Once all the squirrels are defeated, the party can continue. On the far side of the room 
is an exit roughly five feet wide and eight feet high. Immediately after they enter this tunnel 
there is a solid iron door on the left and a path that disappears around the corner to the right. 
An attempt at the door reveals it is locked, but there is a round slot beneath the handle roughly 
an inch in diameter. Normal lockpicking methods are no good on this door and trying to knock 
it down seems impossible. 
 
The Keymaster: 

 
 
[Harsh DM? ] 
Two pesky Darkmantles [MM Pg. 46] hang from the ceiling of the path. They will fall and 
latch on to your poor players as they try to make their way to the Keymaster. 
 
The party is forced to take the path to the right which follows a tunnel for another thirty 
feet before opening up into a medium-sized area. It almost appears to be a living area as it 
contains a rotting bed with a nightstand nearby and a treasure chest at its base. A little further 
off is a pile of mostly decayed scrolls, at least twenty of them in total. On the nightstand is a 
candle and a small Green Dragon statue. There is also a broom propped in the corner and 
scraps of cloth scattered around the room. 
To the left of the entrance is a cultist sitting against the wall and gazing up at the 
ceiling as if it were filled with stars. He has a long, white beard and brittle hands. He does not 
appear to be sliced up like many of the other cultists, but there is madness behind his gaze. 
When the players make any sort of noise or catch his attention his head snaps down and his 
bloodshot eyes go wide.  
 
[Aromas] 
If the air is sweet, the Keymaster will greet the players with a sort of wide eyed 
excitement.​ “Guests!” he will gasp. “Here to see the master, no doubt?” he asks. “You have 
heard his call and seek to give yourself to him?” ​The man is clearly insane, but a very manic 
sort of insane. He has a deep love for the Gol’Goroth and often trails off about his 
magnificence. 
Otherwise if the air is foul, he is a bit more hostile. ​“New worshippers for his Lord? I 
smell the Primordial Ooze upon you. Good, good. The Lord will be pleased with his new pets.” 
Either way, his eyes are constantly open wide and occasionally licks of flame will burst 
from his fingertips, indicating that he was once a spellcaster. 
 
This man will introduce himself as The Keyholder - Syrith. At first he seems perfectly 
normal in comparison to the others they have encountered, but as he speaks he pulls a tome 
out of his robes that seems to be bound by flesh. He opens it and begins to read. Relay the 
next bit of information to the party in a fashion that corresponds to the aroma.  
There is a key to reach the inner sanctum. The Gol’Goroth has placed the Keymaster in 
charge of making sure only those worthy of his presence may pass. To do this he has created a 
puzzle of sorts to test the strength of mind of the party. The Gol’Goroth only wishes to have 
those who are strong of mind, those who will not crumble so easily in his glorious presence. 
This room contains all of the clues needed to get through the door behind him. Just say the 
password and it will open with ease. Down in the pit, amongst his children, is the key to the 
sanctum.​ He smiles wide and reveals sharply filed teeth. 
 
Numerical Ciphers: 
The players are in the room with the Keymaster. He smiled expectantly at the players 
and gestures to the door which has the following numbers glowing upon it: ‘5612469 2 23015’ 
This is just gibberish for now, but the room contains clues to help them find the answer. Make 
sure you give in depth details of the items in the room and allow the players to explore and 
drive the discovery. 
 
The small green dragon statue a top the nightstand has the numbers ‘412 7142’ 
scrawled on the bottom of it. As soon as the players pick it up, the Keymaster will note, “The 
inspiration for the cipher . . . where it all began. The clever Green Dragon.” 
 
A small treasure chest sits at the foot of the bed. If they open it up they will see  
‘6151 8956’ written in blood. It contains a few small treasures - Frog skeletons, human flesh, 
bone dice - the usual. When the players open it, the Keymaster will say, “Yes, my treasures. My 
collection. Please make sure they remain within my treasure chest” 
 
The final clue is upon a simple broom propped against the wall. The numbers ‘013’ are 
carved along the handle.  
 
Additionally, the scrolls have massive lines of numbers that are clearly meant to 
represent words. It is clear that he has spent a great deal of effort coming up with his code. 
 
These clues together will allow the players to build the reference table below: 
 B  R  N  M  G  S  T  D  C  H 

0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 
 
Rules of the Code: 
The code is simple. It is a one-to-one mapping of letters to numbers of the objects on which 
they are inscribed. However, only the consonants actually map to a number and the vowels are 
just there for filler. See the words and their corresponding letters below for the example 
 
Clues to build the Code: 
Broom 
Brm 
013 
 
Green Dragon 
Grn Drgn 
412 7142 
 
Treasure Chest 
Trsr Chst 
6151 8956 
 
Answer: 
5612469 2 23015 
Strngth n nmbrs 
‘Strength In Numbers’ 
 
As soon as the players speak the passcode, the door will swing open and allow the group to 
pass. The Keymaster will clearly be pleased when the players solve his puzzle. There is a 
glimmer of true happiness behind the madness as the new pathway is revealed. 
 
[Harsh DM?] 
If you wish to up the difficulty of this particular puzzle, remove the spacing from the 
numbers on the objects. That will make it much harder to realize it is a 1-to-1 mapping. 
 
[Murder Hobos?] 
If the players would rather not deal with all of this puzzle nonsense, they can just try and 
murder the Keymaster. If they attack, give him the stats of a Mage [DMG Pg. 347]. As soon as 
he is killed, the runes stop glowing and the door audibly unlocks. 
 
 
Beyond the Door: 
 On the other side of the door is a stairwell descending another twenty feet. Once the 
party reaches the bottom, they find themselves on a platform but the room opens up another 
thirty feet ahead of them. If the continue to the edge of the platform they see a twenty foot 
drop into darkness. From within the pit they can hear the croaking of hundreds of frogs and the 
sounds of them hopping and crawling across the stone. 
This is not normal darkness, however, it is magical darkness. Any torchlight or ordinary 
spell that attempts to pierce it is immediately extinguished. Only a Daylight spell or stronger 
can pierce the permanent darkness that is in place here. 
So what is in the pit? Well, frogs. Lots of frogs. And a glass eye, roughly the size of the 
round slot in the door. One of the players will need to go in and find it amongst the small horde 
of amphibians. ​The party will need to wait until the air is sweet though, for if someone 
descends while the air is foul, the frogs will latch on and take the sight from that player 
permanently​. When the air is sweet the frogs will roam and squirm, but they will not attack. 
They will still climb on the player, but they will not actively attack.  
The player in the pit will need to search amongst the frogs for the glass eye. To do so 
they will need to make a successful investigation roll of DC 17, but each time they fail a roll it 
wastes a minute and the aromas grow ever closer to shifting once again.  
Once the players have retrieved the key, they can move past the Keymaster and back 
to the locked door once again. Placing the eye in the slot results in a click and the door 
opening ever so slightly. Immediately afterwards, the eye blinks at the players and disappears, 
back to the possession of the Keymaster until his next guests have arrived. 
 
The Inner Sanctum: 

 
On the other side of the door is a stairwell that descends twenty-five feet before 
opening into an area much larger than the others they have visited. A small lake of dark water 
fills the center of the room with a much smaller pool off to the left. There are two other routes 
out of this room, one almost directly ahead across the water, and the other off to the right. The 
one directly ahead is covered by a heavy iron door while the other seems to dip off into 
darkness. 
Sitting in the central pool of water are two separate pairs of eye sockets on dark green 
skin. Use the stats of ​Giant Toads​ [MM Pg. 329] for these creatures. They appear to be much 
larger versions of the one they followed to the cave. When the party reaches the bottom of the 
stairs, one of the frogs will give a loud croak that calls the attention of a group of four nearby 
cultists.  
A group of three cultists have a small fire going and have set up what appears to be 
some sort of disturbing laboratory. There are a number of frogs hopping around in what 
appears to be an aquarium, vials filled with the dark-blue substance, human flesh and human 
bones soaking in the slime, and a dozen books stacked up and scattered. There is also a 
weapon rack filled with weapons crafted from human bone reinforced with iron. 
Depending on the aroma in the aroma in the air, the cultists will have drastically differing 
attitudes towards the players. If the aroma is foul, jump to the ​Combat ​section. If the aroma is 
sweet jump to ​Conversation. 
 
Conversation: 
If the aroma is sweet, both the frogs and the cultists are far less aggressive. One of the 
cultists will shout out to the party, asking who they are and what their business is here. Their 
minds are so ravaged by the constant mood swings of the lair and from the corruption of the 
Gol’Goroth’s presence that they are essentially under hypnosis. They will believe just about any 
lie the party tells and will go along with most plans as long as none of them involve harming the 
Gol’Goroth. If the party mentions anything about hurting/killing the Gol’Goroth, they will 
immediately turn aggressive and you can jump to ​Combat. 
While highly suggestible, the cultists will even go so far as to harm themselves or each 
other if they believe it is the Gol’Goroth’s wishes, but they will not dare harm his spawn (the 
frogs). They will also refuse to destroy their lab, as it is work they promised to the Gol’Goroth 
and they will not disobey a direct request unless it is from The Great One himself.  
The players can ask the cultists to simply leave, to kill themselves, to take them to the 
Gol’Goroth, or any other number of requests, but as soon as the aroma turns foul again they 
will go savage and attack. They each have a bone dagger hidden on them somewhere and will 
draw and use them if the weapon rack is too far away. 
During all of this, the frogs continue to stare out at the party silently. They give an 
occasional croak, but until the aroma changes or they are attacked, they remain docile. 
If a player tries to enter the water, see ​The Water​, below.  
 
Info for Potential Questions: 
● How do we get into the room across the water? 
○ The key is kept with the Gol’Goroth’s most loyal servant - Speaker Kythel 
- who remains with the Gol’Goroth at all times unless he needs to relay 
messages to the others 
 ● Where is the Gol’Goroth  
○ Down the stairs behind them, down in the darkness. To look upon the 
Gol’Goroth is too much for most to handle so they must keep him down 
in the dark. Speaker Kythel tends to his immediate needs. They say the 
Keymaster once gazed upon the Gol’Goroth as well, that his arcane 
magics prevented him from going mad.  
● What is the Gol’Goroth / Why do you follow the Gol’Goroth 
○ Gol’Goroth is God. He is the way to true happiness. He has no eyes, but 
can see into all realms. He sees the path to enlightenment. We bow 
before his power and his wisdom.  
● What is this blue slime? 
○ That is the Primordial Ooze of the Gol’Goroth. With it, the world shall be 
reborn. To consume it is to be one with the Gol’Goroth. Once they have 
enough, the forests, the lakes, the world will all fall under the influence of 
the Gol’Goroth. Speaker Kythel brings them the ooze and they have been 
tasked with finding ways to better utilize it in their quest. Many tests 
require live human subjects, however.   
● Can the Gol’Goroth be killed / How do we kill it? 
○ See ​Combat 
 
Combat: 
Once the frogs give out their croaks, the cultists will immediately grab weapons from 
the weapon rack. The cultists will shout and demand sacrifice for the Gol’Goroth. More test 
subjects! The frogs will jump aggressively towards the players, their tentacles whipping around 
violently.  
 
[Too Easy?] 
If your players seem to be breezing through this dungeon thus far, consider using 
Thugs (CR ½) ​[MM Pg. 350] rather than the stats of a typical Cultist (CR ⅛) 
 
Roll for Initiative. 
 
During combat, the cultists will yell out threats and promises to the party. “You shall be 
reborn in the Gol’Goroth’s cleansing pools! Give in to your urges, praise Gol’Goroth. Your eyes 
shall give birth to his children!”  
One of the cultists stay in the back and simply throws large glass vials filled with the 
dark-blue slime at the party members. He makes this attack at a +4 bonus to hit. On a 
successful attack, the glass shatters and coats the target with the Gol’Goroth’s slime. The 
target makes a DC 12 Constitution Saving Throw. On a fail, that character becomes paralyzed 
and at the beginning of their next turn they make a DC 12 Wisdom Saving Throw. On a second 
fail, they begin walking towards one of the Giant Toads, offering themselves up as sacrifice 
without resistance. The toads have advantage on all attacks against that player. 
 The Giant Toads also have an additional ability called ​Gaze of the Gol’Goroth (1/day)​. 
As an action, the frog locks onto a target with their empty eyes, staring through the void and 
tearing at their mind. The target makes a DC 13 Wisdom Saving Throw. On a fail, that player 
comes under the effects of the Confusion spell [PHB Pg. 224]. 
If the cultists manage to knock out a player, they will not kill them. They make sure to 
keep them alive if possible in fact. So if somehow the entire party is knocked out, they will 
begin to wake up to the sounds of one of their own being experimented upon - having the 
Primordial Ooze injected into their system or perhaps with the replacement of their eyes for the 
Gol’Goroth’s eggs. The cultists are not adept at tying knots and they can be broken out of fairly 
easily if the players make an attempt to escape. 
If a player tries to enter the water at any point, see ​The Water​, below.  
 
The Water: 
If a player enter the dark pools of water in the room they will need to make a DC 12 
Wisdom Saving Throw or be afflicted by the same negative effects that the player’s 
encountered at the beginning of the cavern upon eating the slime. ​[After ten minutes, the player 
will start to feel sick and gain the poisoned status. Five minutes after that, they will begin 
retching and choking until they finally vomit up another of the frog creatures (If in combat, this 
will take 3 rounds in which the players can do nothing but double over and hold their 
stomach).They are free of the poisoned status but gain a level of exhaustion as the frog 
attempts to hop away into the cave.] 
 
[Harsh DM?] 
Spike traps are fun, put one or two of those somewhere in the room and have them be 
laced with slime. When a player falls they will need to make a DC 12 Constitution Saving Throw 
or be immediately affected by the slime and will be vomiting up frogs in no time. Also, 10 (3d6) 
piercing damage from those nasty spikes. 
 
Our Lord, The Gol’Goroth: 

 
Once all of the cultists and frogs have been taken down, the party is left with their two 
exits. If they try the iron door they find it is locked, and none of the cultists appear to have a 
key on them. [A DC 15 lockpicking check can open this one up, however]. That leaves the path 
leading down into the darkness - The Lair of the Gol’Goroth. Torches can be used to light the 
way, but they seem to only ever extend 10 ft. as some sort of magic suppresses the light. From 
down below some strange chants can be heard as well as a sickening, gurgling sound. 
 Depending on the current aroma in the area, a different event will occur.  
 
Should the players descend while the air is foul, the moment they make it to the corner 
in the stairwell the player up front will need to make a Saving throw as the Gol’Goroth 
unleashes its Gaze of Madness and the party will need to roll for initiative. If the air is sweet, a 
voice will call out. “No visitors! The master is resting!” It is a harsh whisper, but a whisper 
nonetheless. “Remain above with the others. I will come get you when there are more 
instructions.” The Gol’Goroth is resting and if attacked, the players can get a surprise attack, 
but if they try to force their way past Speaker Kythel he will call out for the Gol’Goroth and 
wake it from its slumber. Additionally, the Gol’Goroth will be cast in darkness since light is 
dampened by the Gol’Goroth’s aura. The air immediately goes foul when the Gol’Goroth 
awakes. 
 
[Sneaky, Sneaky] 
Due to the nature of the light in this area, it is possible for someone or even the entire 
party to sneak down into the Gol’Goroth’s lair undetected, ​but only if the air is sweet and the 
Gol’Goroth is sleeping​. They will need to make stealth checks against Kythel and the 
Gol’Goroth’s passive perception. While asleep, the Gol’Goroth’s passive perception is lowered 
to 6.  
 
[Silver Tongue] 
The players can also attempt to talk their way into the Gol’Goroth’s good graces, 
claiming to be new followers who wished to gaze upon him (or some other similar, but 
believable lie). A DC 15 Deception/Persuasion check will be required to deceive the 
Gol’Goroth. He will allow the players to enter his chamber, then perform his Gaze of Madness 
on each of them to test their strength of mind. Afterwards, the Gol’Goroth will go back to 
feasting or return to sleep at which point the party can get off a sneak attack round. 
 
The lair is not particularly large, perhaps thirty feet across at its widest. The Gol’Goroth 
is tucked against the far corner, easily eight feet in width and five feet high. Corpses of animals 
and human lay scattered across the floor of the room, making patches of it into difficult terrain. 
To the side, where Kythel waits, is an altar with many small carvings of the Gol’Goroth placed 
atop. Next to this are many buckets and vials filled with the Primordial Ooze 
 
As a bonus action, on the first round of combat, the Gol’Goroth gives out a loud, deep 
croak. This echoes throughout the entire cavern, shaking the walls and ground. It is answered 
by an army of higher pitched croaks from back up the tunnel. Afterwards, Kythel will shout, 
“His children come! You shall suffer for your insolence!” As the fight goes on, the croaks grow 
louder and louder as the pit of frogs is emptied and make their way for their master. If the 
Gol’Goroth is not dead within ten rounds, the frogs arrive and swarm the players, causing them 
to go mad almost instantly. 
 
Gol’Goroth 
Large monstrosity, chaotic evil 
---------------------------------------- 
Armor Class ​13 (natural armor) 
Hit Points​ 76 (8d10 + 32) 
Speed​ 30 ft., swim 50 ft. 
---------------------------------------- 
STR  DEX  CON  INT  WIS  CHA 

16 (+3)  10 (+0)  18 (+4)  12 (+1)  10 (+0)  6 (-2) 

---------------------------------------- 
Condition Immunities​ charmed, frightened, blinded, prone 
Senses​ Blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 11 
Languages​ Deep Speech, telepathy 120 ft. 
Challenge​ 4 (1050 XP) 
---------------------------------------- 
Amphibious. ​The Gol’Goroth can breathe air and water 
 
Ethereal Sight.​ The Gol’Goroth can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the 
Material Plane, and vice versa 
 
Light Suppression Aura. ​All light within 100 ft. of the Gol’Goroth is weakened. It only shines 
with one-third its normal intensity. 
 
Actions 
---------------------------------------- 
Multiattack. ​The Gol’Goroth makes four Tentacle attacks. 
 
Tentacle. ​Melee Weapon Attack: + ​ 5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. ​Hit:​ 7 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning 
damage. 
 
Gaze of Madness. ​The Gol’Goroth fixes his empty gaze on a single creature. That creature 
must succeed on a DC 13 Intelligence Saving Throw or take 11 (2d10) psychic damage. Also 
on a failure, roll 3d6: If the total equals or exceeds the target’s Intelligence score, that target is 
afflicted by a random Short-Term Madness effect [DMG Pg. 259]. If the target has consumed 
the Gol’Goroth’s Primordial Ooze, they have disadvantage on the Saving Throw. 
 
Rock Slide (Recharge 5-6). ​The Gol’Goroth leaps into the air and smashes down on the cave 
floor. Massive chunks of stone fall from the ceiling in a 40 ft. radius of the Gol’Goroth. All other 
creatures in that area must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity Saving Throw. On a failure, a target 
takes 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage. On a success, the target takes half the bludgeoning 
damage.  
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
In addition to fighting the Gol’Goroth, the party must also face-off with Speaker Kythel. 
Use the stats of a ​Cult Fanatic​ [MM Pg. 345] for him. Should the Gol’Goroth die before he 
does, he will begin shrieking in agony, grabbing his head as he collapses. He is afflicted by an 
indefinite madness effect [DMG Pg. 260]. Any other living follow suffers a similar fate except 
the Keymaster, who merely suffers from a Long-Term Madness effect. All of his frog children 
will explode violently, raining dark-blue slime all over the walls and ground.  
 
Tactics:  
The Gol’Goroth is not foolish. He will use his Gaze of Madness on the bulkiest looking 
target on the first round of combat along with calling for his horde of frogs. If the players try to 
retreat up the stairs or hide out of his line of sight, he will use his Rock Slide to drop the ceiling 
on their cowardly heads and draw them back to the open. Any attempts to weave in and out 
and fire shots at the Gol’Goroth will be met with a swarm of tentacles or a Gaze of Madness as 
well as the players needing to overcome his Light Suppression Aura. If the players try to toss 
any lights into the room unattended, the Gol’Goroth will immediately extinguish them.  
Kythel does little in the way of attacking. Unless someone is in direct conflict with him, 
he will use ​Prestidigitation​ to extinguish the party’s torches and cast them into blackness with 
the Gol’Goroth.  
 
When the party loots Kythel’s body they will find a key and a strange magical whip that 
appears to be made from one of the Gol’Goroth’s tentacles.  
 
Gol’Goroth Tentacle Whip: 
Weapon (whip), uncommon (requires attunement) 
 
Whenever you land a critical strike while holding this weapon you deal an additional 1d10 
psychic damage. Additionally, you roll 3d6: If the total equals or exceeds the target’s 
Intelligence score, that target is afflicted by a random Short-Term Madness effect [DMG Pg. 
259]. Additionally, while holding this whip, the players irides turn solid black. 
 
The Treasure Vault: 

 
With the key in hand, the party may open the last remaining door. There is a small room 
with a table in the center stacked with samples of the Primordial Ooze. Amongst this are other 
gruesome science experiment results such as the corpses of other creatures that they 
attempted to splice, a few dead albino squirrels, and categorized skeletal remains. Luckily, a 
tunnel extends to another room a bit further back. 
In the second room there are four Potions of Healing, 100 gold pieces, 400 silver 
pieces, 1200 copper pieces, and a magical wand amongst a stack of ordinary armor and 
weapons.  
 
Wand of Tricks and Treats: 
Wand, uncommon 
 
This wand has 5 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 charge and speak 
the word “Trick” or the word “Treat” while pointing it at a target within 90 ft. If the words “Trick” 
was spoken, roll a d6 and consult the ​Trick​ table. If the word “Treat” was spoken, roll a d6 and 
consult the ​Treat​ table below. This wand regains 1d4 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn and 
always fully recharges after a full moon. 
 
Trick 
1  A ferret shows up on the next night night and steals 1d4 gold from the target and brings 
it to you. The ferret then disappears. 

2  The target is cursed for the next 24 hours. While under this curse, the target is charged 
twice as much for alcoholic beverages. 

3  The target is cursed for the next 24 hours. While under this curse, the target somehow 
manages to burn any food they try to cook. 

4  The target is cursed for the next 24 hours. While under this curse, small wildlife creatures 
are afraid of the target. 

5  The target is cursed for the next 24 hours. While under this curse, all coins look like 
copper to the target. 

6  The target is cursed for the next 24 hours. While under this curse, the target is struck by 
the overwhelming need to itch in locations that are unreachable by them. 
 
Treat 
1  The target is blessed for the next 24 hours. While under this blessing, a small sprite 
follows the target and will occasionally point out hidden objects. 

2  Five pieces of chocolate appear in their bags. When eaten they restore 1 hit point. 

3  The target is blessed for the next 24 hours. While under this blessing, the target has 
battle music that accompanies them in any conflict. 

4  The target is blessed for the next 24 hours. While under this blessing, they smells great to 
members of the opposite sex.. 
 5  The target is blessed for the next 24 hours. While under this blessing, whenever the 
target deals a killing blow against an enemy, 10 silver pieces explode from the body. 

6  The target is blessed for the next 24 hours. While under this blessing, rain cannot fall on 
the target, it simply glances down alongside an invisible shield and they stay nice and 
dry. 
 
Back to Town: 
The party can swing by and grab Syrith before heading back to town. He will be under 
the effects of a long-term madness, but will eventually recover. My Hal will be eternally grateful 
of the party’s help and offer them the reward they earned (300 gold and a magical item of your 
choosing).  
 
The last thing the party should see before closing out the campaign is Syrith walking 
back to his home, and as he closes the door behind him his sleeve falls back ever so slightly 
and they see a single frog latched onto his arm and black eyes stare out at them.