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DAINJER, SPUKY CAVE (TERN BACK NOW!) - classicdrogn - 01-26-2012
Being a D&D3e mini-adventure/encounter I ran out of interest in finishing with the middle still rather rough, this is passed on in the hope that someone, somewhere, will be amused enough by it to run as a beer & pretzels gag or to fill the second hour on New Character Night as mentioned below. It was going to be the first encounter in a D&D Gamefic I had meant to write, but like I said I ran out of interest.
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Read aloud if you like:
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Prologue to Danger
The group of young heroes had gathered - Jomo, the Construct soldier, big, fearless, and tough; Cholo, the young Human Wizard who called him her brother; Raleigh, Human follower of the Silver Flame and student of a famed healer; and Robbyn and Bobbyn, twin Halflings who could get into the most amazing trouble but usually found their way back out. But now, everyone was getting impatient.
"Where the heck is that Paladin?" Raleigh complained. "Isn't timeliness one of the virtues they're supposed to uphold? Look guys, if she doesn't get here soon, let's just start heading for Spuky Cave without her. She knows where we're going anyway, she can catch up."
"But what about the dragon?" asked Robbyn. Bobbyn nodded her head, agreeing with her brother as she almost always did. "And his lizard-men. I dunno if I wanna fight a dragon and a bunch of lizard-men without a knight," she added.
"Enough waiting. Let's just go," Jomo put in. Cholo shrugged and stood up, her silent agreement tipping the decision, so they trooped out of the town square, headed toward the gates... to adventure!
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This is less an adventure, and more an encounter, something you can run in the second hour on New Characters Night perhaps. Though a 1st-level party can handle these events the level of the PCs really doesn't matter as combat isn't the point, (and if they are a bunch of lowbies they'll get spanked if they try to run it as straight combat when the 'monsters' show up) it's a quick, light-hearted NPC encounter to let the wierdoes who put points in things like Diplomacy and Knowledge(nature) dust them off. And if they really shine, maybe gain an ally or two for the future.
Although written with Eberron loosely in mind, the only really setting specific thing is The Order of the Silver Flame, mention of a Warforged, and a child pretending to be a Warforged, so if you're not playing an Eberron campaign just use a different name for an order of paladins, a Dwarven name instead of Heavycatapult, and change Jomo's costumed identity to be a Smart Golem. If you don't allow exceptional members of monster races to have good alignments, either change Meepa into a Gnome, with a suitably Gnomish name, or have him be a member of some other race Polymorphed or Reincarnated as a Kobold.
Read aloud:
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You're walking down the road, just cresting a hill - don't bother figuring out a formation, nothing's happening yet - and across a short gap is a town centered around a small keep on a somewhat taller hill. You're just leaving the edge of the woods when you notice something very strange off to one side. No Spot check is needed, as it's very obvious - a wooden signpost driven into the ground in the grassy verge, perhaps three feet tall, on which is clearly printed "DAINJER," in rather shaky letters. Behind it is a side trail, wide enough for a cart but only trampled bare on a foot-path in the middle, which runs back into the tree line on the side of the hill. A few paces further down this side trail is another sign which reads "SPUKY CAVE", and just visible before it turns a corner around a boulder is "TERN BACK NOW!" Oh, and everyone should give me a Listen check.
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Listen DC You hear...
10 Wind in the leaves.
12 Voices
15 of women or small children
18 who are shrieking.
20 They're down this side path
25 and don't seem to be moving.
30 There's something growling down there also.
Add 10 to retry this check as they reach each sign until all the information has been given out.
It's highly unlikely the party will not investigate, but if not just let them continue on to the town. If they do, they'll meet a young half-elven girl with her golden blonde hair tied back in a bow running up the road about half way, carrying a stuffed toy hippogriff and a wooden sword. The emblem of the Silver Flame is sewn onto the front of her heavily quilted blue tunic and the rest of her clothes are sturdy linen in a creamy off-white. If they investigate the signs like good little heroes, she'll still arrive at the next area about the same time they do.
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Liana Welltall, age seven and ten months so really almost eight.
"I'm a Paladin of the Knights-Militant of the Order of the Silver Flame! (gasp) This is my hippogriff mount, Randolf. Well, I'm gonna be a paladin, anyway."
LG Small Half-Elf (child)
Init -2, Senses: Low-light Vision, Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages: Common, Elven
AC: 13 (+1 size, +1 Quilted Shirt, +2 Cute, -1 Dex) touch 12, Flat-footed 13
HD: 1/2d10-2 (3hp)
Fort -2, Ref -1, Will -1
Speed: 20ft (4 squares)
Melee: Wooden Toy Sword +1 (1d4 subdual/x2)
Base Attack +0, Grapple -4
Abilites: STR 10(-4) DEX 9(-4) CON 6(-4) INT 10 WIS 7(-4) CHA 13
Note: Liana's WIS and physical stats have been reduced due to her youth
Special Attacks:
Bonk Minor Evil: 1/day, add +1 to hit and 1 point of subdual damage to an
attack against a creature acting selfish or cruel
Special Qualites:
+2 Cute bonus to AC
Kiss Booboo: Able to make 2 points of subdual damage stop hurting per day
Elven blood: Considered an Elf for race-based effects
Skills:
Knowledge(religion) +2, Knowledge(nobility & royalty) +2, Sense Motive +1,
Listen +0, Search +0, Spot +0, Diplomacy +4, Gather Information +4
Items:
Small Quilted Shirt (7sp, AC+1, Max Dex +10, spell fail 10%,
Armor Check penalty -0, 2 lb.)
Small Toy Longsword (5cp, 1d4 subdual, crit x2, 2 lb., bludgeoning)
Small Commoner's Outfit (1sp)
Treasure:
Tiny Stuffed Hippogriff (4cp) "Be careful, he'll bite if you're not nice."
Pretty Hair Ribbon (1cp) "My Mommy gave it to me a'fore she went Questing."
Lunch Money (1sp) "(tears) You.. you aren't really gonna take my lunch
money, are you? (sniffle) M-my Mommy will come back and smite you good!"
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Needless to say, beating up Liana for her lunch money or being mean to her in any way should give PCs alignments a solid nudge towards Evil... and possibly
get a very upset, high-level Paladin of the Silver Flame, aka Mommy, on their cases a month or two down the road. Guard Captain Daddy isn't likely to be too happy either.
Talking to Liana: Diplomacy checks, or just adapt the answers if the players actually role-play the conversation.
Asking about the town:
DC She says...
10 "It's called Homlee Rest."
12 "But it's not 'homely' like 'a place that's home,' it's for Dame
Liana Homlee who builded the Keep here when she retired."
14 "Let's see, there's the Keep, and lotsa houses, and Mr. Goodleaf's
inn, and Mr. Berg's store, and Mr. Heavycatapult's smithy. He
says he likes making swords better than using them. He's a wierd
kinda warforged."
Asking about Dame Homlee:
DC She says...
10 "She was my Grammy's Grammy! I'm named for her, too."
14 "She was a Paladin of the Silver Flame just like Grampa and Mommy."
16 "She was really pretty. There's a picture of her in the Keep."
Asking about her parents:
DC She says...
10 "Mommy is a Knight-Militant of the Silver Flame, so now that I'm
bigger she gets to go on a Quest every year again."
12 "Her name is Mommy of course! Or sometimes Love or Honey, when
Daddy is talking."
15 "Well... I guess other people call her Kerri. Daddy has lots of
names for her, but that's the only one other people use too."
18 "Daddy's name is hard... It's kinda like 'Arthur.' Aarr... Aerthuire?
He's in charge of the gates, which is real important!"
20 "Daddy's in charge of all the soldiers in town too! I'm not s'posed
ta talk about them with outsiders, though. It's a Military Secret."
Asking about the sign:
DC She says...
10 "It's the path to a cave where we play Knights and Monsters."
13 "Cholo said she saw spooky lights in there last week."
16 "Jomo told me a ravenous dragon chased him away yesterday.
What's ravenous? Does it mean the dragon was like a black bird?"
18 "An' he said there was a lizard-man who yelled and cast a spell
at him too."
20 "Today we're gonna explore the back of the cave and fight the mean
dragon. Oh no, I'm late!"
Unless the PCs talk quickly, Liana will continue running for the side path at this point, so hopefully they either asked about the town and Liana's family before or don't care. Also, hopefully the PCs will take the second-chance hook and follow the little girl who announces she's about to go explore a dragon's cave, rather than assuming it's nothing but childish imagination. If there's been rumors of a dragon or some kind of magic-using reptilian in the area to whet their interest, so much the better.
As for why a little girl in a ponytail has a full NPC stat block, read on.
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arrive at the scene
Glaciax is swoooping around, chasing the kids.
Spot checks to notice his tail stinger (DC20) and pink eyes (DC25)
Knowledge(nature) or (dungeoneering) to know that pseudodragons have that body type and tail stingers, and are well known as kindhearted, but are supposed to be red.
Jomo swings his stick and Glace catches the end in his jaws, they start wrestling
What are you doing?
Listen or seperate Spot check from above (whichever is better per character) to notice Liana running up behind them, she's not trying to be quiet but there's the obvious distraction in front of them, so DC15
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Jomo, human, big boy of 10 playing with little kids 'cuz Cholo is his sister
"But I'm not actually a boy, I'm a Warforged soldier! See my metal hands?"
6hp, AC 10, Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +0
STR 12 DEX 11, CON 13, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 8
wearing gauntlets and a full helm, Melee unarmed strike +1 (1d3+1/x2, bludgeoning) or Stick (club) +0 (1d6+1/x2) or Ranged Stick +0 (1d6+1/x2, 10ft, bludgeoning), Grapple -5
He is currently wrestling with and losing to the "tiny white dragon" who has bit onto the other end of his stick, dug its clawed feet into the packed gravel floor for leverage, and is flapping its wings to pull extra hard. It is also the source of the growling heard earlier, which is remarkably loud and deep for such a small creature.
Second round of Spot and Knowledge checks now that Glace is mostly holding still, DC 15 and 20, and a Sense Motive or Handle Animal check to realize he's playing. If (when) the PCs start fighting him, one more chance on Knowledge at the same DC when he uses his Sleep Gas breath weapon and/or stinger.
Other children, all around half the base Starting Age for their race:
Cholo, Small F human, age 7, Cha 13, "wizard" complete with robe and pointy hat, shrieking as her brother battles the 'fierce dragon.' She has the Night Haunt magical talent feat which gives her Dancing Lights, Prestidigitation, and Unseen Servant once each per day as a 1st level Sorceror.
Raleigh, Small M human, age 8, clutching a wooden mallet and a light shield with the Silver Flame insignia painted on it, standing very still and staring with very wide eyes.
Robbyn & Bobbyn, Tiny M & F halfling twins, age 11, peeking out from either side of a large rock.
Glaciax
Albino M Pseudodragon Familiar
"Grrrf! Grrf? Grr-rrrf."
Glaciax has been sent out to scare the children away, because they're making too much distracting noise and shouldn't be out playing in the woods in the first place. He made a somewhat half-hearted attempt at first, swooping and chasing them around the large chamber as the PCs saw, but as soon as it turned into a wrestling match his mind is entirely on the game.
"LET'S GET 'IM, RANDOLF!" If she was leading the way or got past the party, Liana charges in and whacks Glaciax with her sword, making him yelp and jump away. She chases him furiously around the cavern, shouting about how justice and good will always triumph over meanies.
Are the PCs doing anything? They should be, but if they take too long to decide, keep moving.
Jomo, seeing the little dragon get some clearance, throws his stick at it, instantly drawing Glaciax's attention - it's his absolute favorite game! The pseudodragon swoops and grabs the stick out of the air in his forepaws, performing a loop-de-loop before flying back over to Jomo and sitting on his haunches, stretching up to offer it with an inquisitive "Grrrf?"
If the party decides to fight Glaciax (probably, they are adventurers after all) he'll take them much more seriously, but he is only a Pseudodragon so even a 1st-level group should be able to beat him. Before he can fall, however, Meepa will appear and cast Web or Hold Person, yelling at the kids in his gruff but high pitched voice to stop making so much noise in his cave and interspersing the rant with impressively vile curses in Draconic.
Meepa
CG Old Iredar Kobold Wizard 7/Expert 3 (age 98)
"You noisy kids, get out of my cave! Can't you keep your kolgox racket in town? Sic'em, Glaciax! No, no, use your beath! Don't chase the stick..."
spells for binding and defense
at some point after things settle down, Liana uses her Kiss Booboo power on the spot where she hit Glace.
Meepa can become the patron of a low-level party, first in the deeper levels of Spuky Cave (which he only just connected it to via tunnel digging magic) then sending them to a couple of delves he knows the entrances to in order to retrieve certain rare tomes he believes to have been abandoned in them when they fell to marauders, in exchange for allowing the PCs to keep any treasure they might find along the way and to make copies of the information themselves if they're interested. Some are spellbooks and scrolls, others various obscure Knowledge or Craft information. ("Remember, any scroll you find which is not of an all-pervasive, common spell MUST be returned to me, not cast and destroyed. The magics you seek are irreplaceable!)
If the players totally ignored the situation: Let them. About half an hour later the kids will come running into the town, pursued by Glaciax until they're inside the gates, having had a good scare and possibly a few bumps but otherwise unharmed. Talking to the townspeople about it will reveal that a Kobold sage long exiled from his tribe for practicing Wizardry instead of Sorcery lives in the depths of the cave, which is why the children are allowed to play there - he's not a social person, but his heart is in the right place (verified by Dame Paladin Mommy when he first arrived a decade ago with Detect Evil and Discern Lies) and they know he won't hurt the children even if he does chase them off when they make too much noise for his concentration to stand.
The town of Homlee Rest is mostly left up to you to develop if you like, otherwise it can be a quick stop for a night's rest, to load up on travel supplies, or a last-minute splurge on armor or weapons from Heavycatapult the Warforged blacksmith's shop. Contrary to what one might expect, he is in fact a Warforged Scout (Small creature, found in MM3) who got his name from climbing into the basket of a heavy catapult and having the bombardiers launch him into a formation of enemy troops that were about to hit the flank of his unit. One of his arms and both legs are of visibly newer construction than the rest of his heavily scratched and pitted body. Feel free to use him elsewhere if the players ignore the town. As for "the Keep" it's a solidly constructed two-storey stone manor house surrounded by an outer wall with corner towers, and while big enough to house everyone in town in an emergency, the wall is only ten feet tall and there's no serious fortifications. They'd be packed in tight and there aren't the supplies needed to stay that way for more than a few days, either. The local Temple of the Silver Flame is also inside the wall, but is a seperate building facing the manor across a courtyard. Liana lives there as part of the local noble family; Jomo, Cholo, and the twins are the children of some of the staff. Raleigh's family lives in town, but he studies under the senior priest at the Temple several days a week.
- CD, doesn't get a +2 Cute bonus to his AC...
ETA: I think I may have posted this before, actually, but I'm not sure...
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
- Bob Schroeck - 01-26-2012
Oh, that is very cute. If my Narth campaign were currently active I'd be adapting that for the next session...
(And no, I don't remember you posting that before.)
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.