Requires
the use of the Dungeons & Dragons(R) Player's Handbook, Third
Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast(R). Dungeons &
Dragons(R) and Wizards of the Coast(R) are Registered Trademarks
of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with Permission.
Requirements:
Requires
the use of the Dungeons & Dragons(R) Player's Handbook, Third
Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast(R). Dungeons &
Dragons(R) and Wizards of the Coast(R) are Registered Trademarks
of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with Permission.
This adventure is a short introductory adventure
to the 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons game from Wizards of the
Coast, although it can be adapted to any fantasy role-playing
system. This can be set in any geographic location, although it
is assumed to be in a small town or village. While no maps are
provided, the only maps a DM may need to prepare are for one bar,
and a small farm.
Opening: The Scalpel, a small tavern. The
tavern's owner, Aaron, was once a physician's apprentice, and
many people in this small town without a proper physician, come
to him for ailments. Local lore has it that his spirits are great
for curing headaches, fevers and colds.
Aaron, Human Bard 3; CR 3; HD 3d6+3; hp 17; Init +0;
AC 10; Atk +2 melee (1d6, 18-20/x2, rapier); AL NG; SV Fort +3,
Ref +2, Will +7; Str 10, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 14, Chr 17
Feats: Brew Potion, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Heal)
Spells (3 0-level, 2 1st level per day): 0-Dancing Lights,
Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation;
1st-Cure Light Wounds, Identify, Unseen Servant
The characters are assembled in the tavern. One or
more may have jobs here, especially if there are female PCs:
Aaron usually has 2 or more female helpers hired, along with 1
large male for security. He does serve food, and would love to
have a halfling working in the kitchen, if one is in the party.
It is rather late, and the tavern is about to
close its doors for the night. The night's been a good one for
the tavern, as a group of travellers going to the region's
capital have stopped for the evening, and drank quite a bit. They
have all the rooms in the inn rented out, and have retired to bed.
Have the PCs have a few random conversations with
the travelers before this. Make sure they meet Heron, a grizzled
old man who once fought in a great war against the goblin hordes
when they threatened a nearby province (according to your game
world). He was actually captured by the goblins, and lived as a
slave among them for 3 years before he was rescued by some
adventurers. He speaks and understands goblin at a moderate
level, and loves to share his stories about them. According to
him, although he bears them no love, they are a capricious and
amusing race that have a certain savage likeableness. The DM may
want to make up an anecdote or two for Heron about goblin life.
Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Shortspear),
Weapon Focus (Short sword), Improved Initiative
After Heron and the other travelers have retired
to bed, the PCs and Aaron should be the only ones left in the bar.
After a few uncomfortable moments, the PCs should either be ready
to leave, or retire to the common room of the inn. About that
time, the door should fly open, and a woman runs in.
The woman is a beautiful brunette, with light
brown skin, and very full dark green eyes. She has several nasty
bruises around her face, with one black eye and some dried blood
caked under her nose. She is wearing a long dress with full
sleeves, which seems to be made of home-spun cloth dyed brown and
green. There is a noticeable rip on one sleeve, and several dirt
and other dark stains on the dress.
Kyla, Human commoner 1; CR 1; HD 1d4-1; hp 3; Init
+1 (Dex); AC 11 (Dex); Atk +0 melee (1d3, x2, unarmed); AL LG; SV
Fort -1, Ref +1, Will -1; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 9, Int 13, Wis 9,
Chr 16
The woman barges in, and runs to the bar. "Aaron--you've
got to give me some poultice and bandages. Richard's been hurt,
bad. He's passed out now."
Aaron looks concerned, but gathers up some things
from behind the bar for her, including a small bottle of clear
liquid. If the PCs don't ask the woman what happened, Aaron will.
"Goblins attacked our farm! Richard tried to
fight them off, but then more came and swarmed him. They beat him
with their little fists over and over until he passed out!"
If questioned as to what the goblins wanted, or if
they stole anything, Kyla seems confused. She swears she has no
idea what the goblins wanted, but they did not steal anything. A
very observant character (test vs. DC 20) may notice that she is
not telling everything, but Kyla will not say much else, taking
offense if the characters question her further.
If the characters ask her how she got hurt, she
will pause, just briefly (best done in voice by the DM), and then
say, "The goblins hit me."
Either way, if asked more about the goblins, she
will say that her and her husband, Richard, have seen the goblins
around their farm for the last couple of weeks. Problems got bad
last week as the goblins stole and damaged crops, and even killed
one of their cows. She will eventually ask the adventurers if
they will come watch for the goblins. She doesn't have any money
to offer them, but she says that she makes fine blackberry jam,
and they can have all they want if they get rid of the goblins.
If the characters seem reluctant, Aaron speaks up,
gravely saying, "I'll give you all 50 gold straight from my
profits if you find out what's going on out there." (GM's
note: He purposefully doesn't say, "If you kill the goblins."
Aaron suspects something else may be up. Also--if the characters
work for him, he might phrase his offer as, "I'll give you
all a bonus of 10 gold each if you find out what's going on out
there.")
The farm
Kyla and Richard's farm is about 4 miles outside
of town. They own about 30 acres, which is largely planted with
corn, with about 5 acres of pasture for a few cattle, and 5 acres
devoted to different fruits and vegetables, like pumpkins,
squash, and tomatoes. There is a small barn about 100 yards from
the one-story wooden house.
If the characters go back to the farm with Kyla
that night, they will see no goblins. However, Richard, who looks
like he was beaten senseless (he was), stumbles out of the house
as they come up. He is rather rude, not introducing himself, but
instead grabbing Kyla by the arm and whispering to her. A PC with
acute hearing may catch snippets of the whispers (test vs. DC 23):
"Who are these people? Why did you bring them out here? I
can take care of these little goblin buggers."
If the characters stay and wait out the night,
Kyla will offer them the top floor of the barn to sleep in during
the day. During the middle of the day, one PC will wake up to a
scream from the house, which is 100 yards away. By the time they
make it there, everything seems to be fine. Kyla explains that
she slipped in some water (there is water on the floor) and hit
her head on the fire-hardened clay countertop. She has a red mark
on her forehead. She says she is fine, and asks them to go back
to sleep, patting the character on the arm and thanking him for
being concerned.
(GM Note: if the players have started to figure
things out by now, and ask about Richard, she says that he is out
in the field. If they look for him, he is not to be seen. He is
actually hiding in the adjacent washroom from the kitchen, behind
the door, listening. If for some reason characters try to go to
that door, Kyla will not let them under any circumstances.)
The next night
Whether the characters stayed the previous night
or not, the next night will be fraught with adventure. (If the
characters for some unknown reason take their sweet time coming
to the farm, not arriving for a few days, you can run this part
then, or you could have the house burnt down, and Kyla gone, with
Richard's skeleton found inside. That's beyond the scope of this
adventure, but could be fun, especially to teach your players not
to dawdle in town.)
About 3 hours after sunset on the next night, the
characters should run into a solitary goblin. This is best done
on the farm's edge, near the trees, but if your characters are
staying near the house, or hidden in the fields, they could see
movement a corn field, and go to investigate. Note that corn
fields usually prevent seeing very far, as the corn is tall, and
grown densely. If they encounter the goblin there, it should be a
surprise--they won't see him until about 10 feet away.
What happens depends on what the characters do.
The goblin, called Grit, will speak to them in Goblin first.
"Please don't hurt Grit. Grit is a good goblin; he doesn't
hurt Kyla." Even if the characters do not understand Goblin,
they'll understand the name Kyla. If a character does understand
Goblin, and replies, Grit will be extremely excited. "You
are good people, like the goblins! Please don't let Kyla get hurt
any more from the bad man. Grit wants to protect Kyla, but he
makes her afraid. Kyla's not scared of good humans--please help
her."
If the characters do not understand Goblin, and
have not attacked, Grit will try to speak in halting Common.
"Grit good goblin. No hurt Grit. Grit no hurt human. Grit
hurt bad man. Grit no hurt cow and Grit no hurt Kyla."
Either way, if the characters talk to Grit and
understand him, and do not act threatening, he will finish with
telling them to watch the "bad man." He will then pull
out a large dried leaf from his small sack and give it to a
character (the one who spoke Goblin or was nicest to him. The
leaf is folded, and has a grass ribbon tied around it. In Common:
"Give Kyla. Pretty. Stop bad man hurt." In Goblin:
"Give my words to Kyla. She is pretty. Please stop the bad
man from hurting her." At this point, he will run off into
the corn, or into the trees.
If the characters attack Grit at any point, the
following will happen:
a) Immediately, two greenish balls of fire (magic
missiles) streak out over Grit's head in an arc from behind,
striking two of the characters.
b) The characters will see about 10 sets of eyes
from the trees or corn. If from the trees, many of them will be
perched up in trees--if in the corn, they will be all around the
characters.
c) If the characters still attack, the fight
begins. (Note--this adventure is for 1st or 2nd level characters,
and they will lose this fight.)
Grit, goblin Bard 2/Monk 3; CR 5; HD 2d6+3d8+5; hp
30; Init +4 (Dex); AC 17; Atk +9 (1d4-1, x2, unarmed); AL CG; SV
Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +9; Str 8, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10,
Chr 15
Feats: Deflect Arrows, Weapon Focus (Unarmed), Weapon
Finesse (Unarmed)
Spells: (3 0-level spells, 1 1st-level spell per day) 0-Dancing
Lights, Daze, Flare, Resistance, Ghost Sound; 1st-Cure Light
Wounds, Feather Fall
Goblin witch doctor, Sorcerer 3/Monk 2; CR 5; HD 3d4+2d8;
hp 22; Init +6 (Dex, Improved Initiative); AC 16; Atk +5 (1d4-2,
x2, unarmed); AL CG; SV Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +10; Str 6, Dex 15,
Con 10, Int 15, Wis 11, Chr 17
Feats: Deflect Arrow, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
(Unarmed)
Other goblins, 8-10 appearing, Monk 3; CR 3; HD 3d8;
hp 18; Init +3 (Dex); AC 16; Atk +7 (1d4, x2, unarmed); AL CG; SV
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6; Str 9, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 9,
Chr 10
Feats: Deflect Arrows, Weapon Focus (Unarmed), Weapon
Finesse (Unarmed)
The goblins will not kill them, but will beat them
to unconsciousness, strip them of all weapons, and leave the
folded leaf on top of one of their bodies. The first one to
attack a goblin will also have written on his forehead, in a
childish scrawl, "BAD MAN", in a black, indelible ink
the goblins make from mushrooms and spider urine.
Whatever happens, the players will be left with
this folded leaf. If unfolded, they will find a very smooth,
polished rock inside, oval in shape, and shot through with
orange, green, and yellow of different hues. A goblin rune is
carved into the rock--translated, it has a wide definition,
meaning anything from "friend" to "body-shield,"
a term for when one goblin actually leaps over another's body to
protect them from death. (GM's note: there is no goblin word for
love. It is rather foreign to feral goblin society. While they
are not necessarily cruel, evil monsters, they are polygamous in
the extreme, and form friendships with one another, but not
lifetime mating relationships.)
The leaf has some Goblin runes written on it in
spider/mushroom ink:
"Kyla, spider-silk hair
Black-stone polish eyes
Twin pumpkin breasts
Grit will eat the bad man's blows
Long before you suffer them again."
The characters may not be able to translate this,
but Heron, who is staying at the inn, can give them a rough
translation. At this point, they should have things figured out--Richard
beats his wife, Kyla. Grit, the goblin Lothario, has been
watching Kyla and has fallen in love with her, although he is not
quite sure what he is feeling. When he last saw Richard hit her,
he and his goblin tribe burst in the house, beating Richard
senseless. Grit's goblin tribe is unique in that they use a crude
form of martial arts, and do not kill without extreme reason--they
have not killed a living thing in over 5 years, since Grit took
over. Grit is a pacifist, and only draws goblins to his tribe of
like mind, which have usually been shunned from their own
original tribes. Still--the other tribes do not attack them
normally, as Grit's tribe can defend themselves very well with
their ways of the fist and foot.
If the characters have not figured this out, have
them keep watching at night. Soon, they will hear Richard
shouting loudly in the house one night. If they investigate, Kyla
will meet them at the door to the house. It is apparent she has
been crying, and is holding it in now. When questioned, she says,
"Richard doesn't like all these strangers around. He says he
can take care of it himself, and he wants you to leave."
Anything else they question her about, she replies, "I think
you should leave. He wants you to leave." If they somehow
get a look under her dress (which they shouldn't), she has
multiple bruises and lacerations on her back, and has a freshly-broken
rib.
If they do not confront Richard and do something
with him at that time, the goblins will. As above, they will
"rescue" Kyla, casting sleep on her and going to their
tree-home in the forest, and burn down the house with Richard in
it.
If the characters confront Richard at any time,
there are two outcomes, depending on whether you want this to
lead into a further plot:
a) Richard is a farmer, strong, but not invincible
for the party.
Richard, Human Commoner 1/Fighter 3; CR 4; HD 1d4+3d10+4;
hp 27; Init 0; AC 10; Atk +5 (1d6+1, x2, sickle); AL NE; SV Fort
+4, Ref +1, Will +2; Str 13, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 15, Wis 12, Chr
7
Feats: Cleave, Expertise, Weapon Focus (Sickle), Improved
Disarm, Power Attack
It is likely that any confrontation with Richard
will escalate into combat. He will not be taken alive into town,
where he knows that if convicted, the locals will beat him as
revenge. (As in many small communities, vigilantism is very
strong, extending even to the few constables, who will often let
local men into a cell in order to "teach the boy a lesson.")
If he somehow seems to be overwhelming the party, Grit and his
goblins will burst in, scaring Kyla, who runs and locks herself
in her bedroom.
If the party kills Richard without Grit's help,
Kyla will not be happy, either. It will take her a long time to
not blame herself, and she will be quite rude to the party, going
so far as to hit them, yell at them, spit on them, and threaten
them with butcher knives. Still--they should not let her be alone
on the farm. Grit has a rather immature sense of love, and may
try to capture her; also, she will be rather unstable, and may
hurt or kill herself. The party should take her into town and put
her in the inn--failure to do so will result in tragedy.
Further adventures may be establishing relations
with Grit's tribe, or, if Grit captured Kyla, finding him, and
teaching him what love really is--showing him that love means
giving Kyla her freedom. In time, she may even like being with
the goblins, although it's doubtful she'll return Grit's love.
They would make good protectors for her, and she would make a
fine druid in time.
b) Richard is a farmer, with a dark secret--the
secret of necromancy.
Richard, Human Commoner 1/Fighter 3/Necromancer 3;
CR 7; HD 4d4+3d10+7; hp 41; Init 0; AC 10; Atk +6 (1d6+1, x2,
sickle); AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +5; Str 15, Dex 10, Con
13, Int 16, Wis 12, Chr 7
Feats: Cleave, Expertise, Weapon Focus (Sickle), Improved
Disarm, Power Attack, Scribe Scroll, Combat Casting
Spells: (5 0-level, 4 1st level, and 3 2nd-level per day)
1st-Cause Fear, Change Self, Chill Touch, Jump, Mage Armor, Magic
Missile, Ray of Enfeeblement, Summon Monster I; 2nd-Ghoul Touch,
Invisibility
Kyla has recently found out about Richard's dark
magics he conducts at night (which is why a cow was killed, if
you remember that small detail from the beginning), and he became
furious, thinking she would tell someone. If you use this option,
he may actually become proactive towards the characters. He will
cast Mage Armor before the characters get to the house, and will
summon a monster if he has time.
They will probably not be able to defeat him, and
the goblins will come to the rescue. At this point, he should
escape into the fields and then into the forest, becoming an
enemy for life of the characters. A dramatic chase scene would be
appropriate, but they will not catch him. He will likely hurt at
least one party member bad, which is where the goblins come in.
Grit will heal anyone that is hurt.
Either way, if Richard is defeated, or is chased
away, and Kyla is safe, Grit will confront the characters one
more time, either in the house (if he is there) or finding them a
day later (he is familiar with the town, and although he does not
like to go there, he will disguise himself with a cloak and
pretend to be a halfling or gnome in order to infiltrate.)
He thanks them, although what he exactly says
depends on whether or not they speak Goblin, and whether or not
Kyla is with them. If not, he says that he wishes she would be,
but he will still watch over her and protect her. If she is, the
scene will probably be tense, but Grit still thinks that the
characters are good people, and he owes them. He will give them
an amber gem, and a dagger of obvious goblin construction. He
says, "You are good men, and this knife shows you are goblin
friends." It is a Goblinfriend dagger and gives
anyone keeping it on their person low-light vision. In addition,
if shown to a goblin or group of goblins, the wielder will have a
+2 on all Charisma-based checks. However, if the bearer is ever
to attack a goblin with it, he will suffer all damage he would
have inflicted, and be temporarily weakened, losing 2 levels for the rest of the day.