Keys from the Golden Vault: Prisoner 13 Adventure Now Free
Wizards of the Coast releases first adventure from new anthology for free to D&D Beyond subscribers
While Dungeons & Dragons has been under the microscope lately given the recent OGL controversy, publisher Wizards of the Coast has gone ahead with their biggest release for 2023, the heist-themed adventure anthology Keys from the Golden Vault.
As with similar products in the past, they’ve also gone ahead and released a free sample adventure from the book on D&D Beyond to help drum up interest. Entitled “Prisoner 13”, the adventure is for 4th level characters and – as the name suggests – is a heist that takes place in a prison.
The adventure itself is set in the Forgotten Realms in a remote prison known as Revel’s End, which is located near Icewind Dale (notably, Wizards of the Coast has also indicated that this setting will be used in the upcoming D&D film Honor Among Thieves).
The characters are hired to infiltrate the fortress to glean information from a mysterious dwarven prisoner who may hold the key to a vast treasure horde. The players can either choose to break this individual out or try and get the information from any means possible, while avoiding guard patrols and the many dangers located inside Revel’s End.
Notably, the adventure can be played as a D&D 5e one shot, dropped into an existing campaign, or fit into the larger collection of anthologies found in Keys from the Golden Vault, with the players hired by the mysterious “Golden Vault” organization to carry out numerous jobs.
The description of the adventure on D&D Beyond reads as follows:
On the world of Toril, in the frozen reaches north of the Sword Coast, lies an impenetrable fortress built to house the region’s most dangerous criminals. One of this prison’s earliest inmates, a dwarf known as Prisoner 13, spends her days in seeming quiet and solitude while secretly pulling the strings of a spy network that spans much of the continent. She holds the key to a treasure she stole from a dwarf clan. In this heist, the characters must infiltrate the prison, retrieve the key from Prisoner 13 (found in a tattoo on her hand), and return the key to Varrin Axebreaker, the dwarf who hired them.
Unlike a typical D&D adventure, the players are given a map in advance (which is magically imprinted in their minds) which they can then use to plan the job and infiltrate Revel’s End.
The adventure also includes some of the new rules that are included Keys from the Golden Vault, including the “Suspicion” mechanic that determines how alert NPCs and monsters are to the character’s presence.
Final Thoughts
While the timing for the release of Keys from the Golden Vault may not be great given the negative press hitting Wizards of the Coast right now, the book does look like a lot of fun. If you want to get taste you can download the free adventure now from D&D beyond, or if you want the whole package in print, you can order the book now directly from Amazon.
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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years and currently plays in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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