The Witch in the Tower: A Tangled-Inspired D&D Adventure

The Witch in the Tower: A Tangled-Inspired D&D Adventure

June 22, 2025

A vanished heir. A radiant tower lost in time. And a witch who lives forever in the light.

Some towers keep their prisoners locked inside. Others keep reality locked out.

Inspired by Tangled, this D&D adventure transforms the story into a dreamlike, high-stakes rescue mission set inside a tower that shifts across time and planes. It’s a mix of time-loop trickery, divine nature magic, and unraveling identity. The goal isn’t just to free a captive—it’s to survive a structure that wants to be forgotten. Last week we tangled with the Little Mermaid. Check it out here.

🌞 The Premise

The kingdom of Solmire was once bathed in golden light, blessed by a divine sun spirit said to protect the royal family. But seventeen years ago, Princess Aryelle vanished without a trace—taken in the night. Her kidnapping shattered alliances and sparked the decline of a realm.

Now, strange omens return: a tower appears in different places each dawn, visible only in reflections or dreams. Locals report seeing a girl in a window, her hair glowing like sunlight, singing songs no one remembers.

Worse still: the Queen is dying, and whispers claim that the true heir still lives—trapped in the light of the Witch in the Tower.

🧭 Adventure Style

Tier: Level 5–10
Genre: Rescue mission, time-loop mystery, pocket dimension horror
Themes: Identity, sacrifice, memory, false freedom
Inspiration Tags: Tangled, fey/druidic magic, time warps, cursed immortality, divine sun energy

🧙‍♀️ The Witch: Mother Myrrha

Once a powerful druid of the Circle of Everlight, Myrrha discovered a fragment of the ancient sun god’s divinity—an immortal spark. She used it to create an eternal haven, a tower bathed in golden light where she would never grow old… and never be alone again.

She found Aryelle as a babe and raised her with love twisted by possession. Her magic has preserved them both—but also sundered them from time. The girl grows slowly, the crone not at all.

Myrrha’s Powers:

Uses sunlight-based druidic magic: Sunbeam, Plant Growth, Wall of Thorns
Her tower shifts between planes and hours—trapping adventurers in loops or age jumps
She communicates with birds, light motes, and the tower itself
She believes the outside world is poisonous and will kill Aryelle if allowed near her

🌀 The Tower: Domain of the Everlight

The tower is not a simple structure—it’s a pocket dimension, sustained by the Sun Fragment and tied to Myrrha’s will.

Key Mechanics:

Time Warps: Long rests may advance time outside by years. Some floors are stuck in the past—or future.
Reflected Realities: Mirrors show other versions of rooms (and the girl) from different timelines.
Living Architecture: Vines, roots, and sunbeams reshape the tower’s layout as moods shift.
Looping Trials: Failures at key puzzles reset the party’s progress—but not their memories.

🎲 Act Structure

Act I: The Tower Appears

The players are hired by a desperate royal agent to investigate sightings of the “Tower of Thorns and Gold”. To find it, they must piece together clues from:

A half-mad bard who escaped a dream where he never aged
An abandoned shrine where sun magic warps shadows
A silver mirror that shows only the tower at night

When they finally enter the tower, it vanishes from the world, and the players realize they are inside something alive.

Act II: Unraveling Time

The party explores multiple versions of the same room:

In one, Aryelle is a child, singing alone.
In another, she’s older, arguing with a voice the party can’t hear.
In a third, she doesn’t know who she is—and asks the players who they are.

They face:

Animated brush that attacks with radiant vines
Solar spirits that feed on light and memory
Puzzles that require sacrificing hours, or even years of their lives to proceed

They learn Myrrha is not cruel, but broken. Her bond with Aryelle is magical and emotional—dangerously so.

Act III: Break the Loop

The only way to escape is to break the tower’s sun-heart. But doing so may:

Destroy the tower and force Aryelle to rapidly age, catching up with her missing years
Free her, but bind the players in her place as new anchors to the Everlight
Allow Aryelle to keep the fragment and become a sun-touched demi-god, altering her fate—and potentially the kingdom’s

A final confrontation with Myrrha (or even Aryelle, if corrupted by the tower) takes place on the tower’s rooftop garden—frozen at eternal sunset.

✨ Magic Items

Sun-Touched Locket – Stores a single memory that can be recalled once per day to regain inspiration or undo a failed save
Roots of the Timeless Tree – Boots that let the wearer ignore terrain as Freedom of Movement, but gain 1d4 “timeloss” per use
Fragment of Everlight (Artifact) – Grants sun-based powers but traps the bearer in a time-locked fate
Mirror of What Was – Once per day, shows a PC’s past self and allows one question or warning

🎭 Roleplay Themes

Who do you become, when time no longer shapes you?
Is keeping someone safe the same as keeping them prisoner?
What is worth more—freedom or eternity?

🕯️ Final Thoughts: The Light That Binds

The Witch in the Tower is a tale of twisted love, suspended time, and magical choices with lasting consequences. It’s not about slaying a villain—it’s about understanding one, and deciding the fate of someone caught between immortality and identity.

Will your players break the tower’s enchantment? Will they return the true heir to her kingdom? Or will they remain in the light, forever?

Because in the Everlight… nothing changes—except you.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!