Let's make a community module. Things we will decide are what types of encounters the player's will face, who the Big Bad Evil Guy/Girl is. What types of treasure the party may get. The setting, dungeon/area layouts, etc... Keep module/adventure in line with level appropriate/challenge appropriate obstacles for a group the size and level detailed below. Thanks in advance!
I will decide the party size and what levels the campaign will take the players to and from.
Party size is set to 4, the level the adventure starts off at is 3, and it ends roughly at level 6.
Alright, ready, set, GO!
*Edits* *Additions from thread posters*
Starting town: Lastdown
Parts of notable mention:
Five Oaks Inn - higher end establishment, with comfier, coushier rooms, and higher class clientel, this is the place for the frivalous adventurer who has money to spend.
Goblin's Head Inn - a seedy establishment, where anyone is welcome, quite literally. You can find the scourges of society here, rumors abound, cheap ale, cheap women and of course cheap rooms! Just watch your coin purse...
White Goose Tavern - the local watering hole for the farmers of Lastdown. They not only serve your favorite wines and ale here, but they server milk for the milk drinkers as well.
Knave's Head Arms - this is where merchants from all over like to go catch a drink, share trade information, hawk their wares, make bad deals, steal trade secrets, and try to spread awareness of their business.
Queen & Dragon Tavern - this is where the upper class citizens go to have a drink, as well as the town guard. Don't go here lest you blend in really well. Ruffians and rapscallions are looked down upon at this establishment, and it's quite easy to get in to trouble, especially with all the drunk guards around...
Common Enemy: Flumphs, which are controlled by the main villain.
The Big Bad Villain: An outcast Mindflayer named Dr. Tendrill, who hopes to take over the surfaceworld one town at a time!
The villain is Doctor Tendril, an illithid outcast from the Underdark.
The PCs are initially drawn into Doctor Tendril's plot by odd rumors of flumphs spotted in the region. They are feeding off the energy produced by the mind flayer's experiments with a psionic domination device.
I'm in.
We need a small town for a starting point. It's called Lastdown. There are two inns and three taverns. The Five Oaks Inn provides better-quality accomodation, whilst the Goblin's Head Inn is cheaper but with clientel to match. The White Goose Tavern is frequented by farmers, The Knave's Head Arms is frequented by merchants and the town guard frequent the Queen and Dragon Tavern.
I'm liking it so far, folks!
Possible adventure hooks:
A farmer called Enhard is in the White Goose Tavern drinking heavily. His friends say this is unusual for him. He is talking about strange creatures inhabiting his fields. From his slurred description, they sound like flumphs.
Staying at the Five Oaks Inn are two lady druids called Ethilda and Evelrida. They are on their way to a druid circle some distance to the north for the Summer Solstice celebrations, but are organising a short visit tomorrow to the Singing Waterfalls east of Lastdown which are quite famous.
one of the inns/taverns should be based on the song thr "piano man" from billy joel.
So there is a old man with memory problems drinking.
The barman is names John, who always dremth of becoming a bard/actor
Paul is trading in relastate, and might have side quest for the player to evict some monsters from a rundown house he recently bought.
Davt is in the navy/town guard or something simular
There is a flirty waitress practicing her manipulation skills.
and there is the pianoman/bard and the owner of the tavern.
The bar also offers some illigal narcotics, to get acces to them you have to order a drink called lonelines ( becouse it is beter then drinking alone)
In the caves behind the Singing Waterfalls is the lair of a Water Weird. It waits for unsuspecting creatures to be drawn in by the hypnotic singing of the waterfalls, then kills them. It used to be benign but something has caused it to become evil. It has pangs of conscience but when the green mist passes before its eyes it becomes homicidal. If Ethilda the Druidess encounters it, she will want to find a cure for its madness.
BoldItalic wrote:
The lair of Dr. Tendril will be filled with creatures that he has dominated into thinking they are guarding a peaceful, beautiful temple, when in fact, it is a run-down, and dilapidated old monestary built into a cliffside. Dr. Tendril takes particular pleasure in making good aligned creatures do evil things, and as such, the party may find themselves dealing with a few moral dilemas on killing these creatures versus trying to free them from the Illithid's control. A few such creatures could include: a Treant that has been turned into a sentry outside the lair; a Sphinx that will require the characters to successfully answer its riddles ( What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats? A river. I drive men mad For love of me, Easily beaten, Never free. Gold. Until I am measured I am not known, Yet how you miss me When I have flown. Time); a band of Gnomes that believe Dr. Tendril is a benefactor for their technological experiments, but in reality he is using them to create weapons for his minions ( some of which may still be found in the Gnome's possession, and could then be liberated by the party as magical or technological treasure).
edwin_su wrote:
The officer in charge of the Lastdown town guard is Captain Dorthel. Something has been stolen from his office and the guards are turning the town upside down looking for it. Strangers in town are likely to be interrogated repeatedly but the guards won't say what they are actually looking for.
The object in question is a clockwork repeating crossbow made by Tendril's gnomes and given to Dorthel by Tendril's underlings as a reward for "services rendered". Dorthel desperately wants it back because he doesn't want its existence to become public knowledge.
The actual thief is a halfling called Traffick Ten-Toes who hopes to extract a good price from Dorthel for its return. This is in revenge for the imprisonment of his brother Haggle on trumped-up charges last year when the guard's pay chest went missing and Dorthel was looking for a scapegoat.
Somebody has a potion - not poison - which is actually a trap. Whoever drinks more than a sip turns solid green - an ugly garish shade of green, not lawn grass green.
The color goes away if somebody can make an easy-difficulty Medicine check and a medium-difficulty Arcana check. (Do-overs have to wait until tomorrow.) This simulates concocting another potion. The victim must drink the antidote potion and then get a good night's sleep (long rest). Elves have to Trance twice for this to work.
While under the effect of the original potion, however, the victim can see and hear through Dr Tendrill's eyes and ears when taking a Rest or sleeping / Trancing. This seems like a dream but is clearly remembered when the victim wakes up.
Use this to give away clues to Dr. Tendrill's existence and location, not his plans.
Put it somewhere that curious PCs would be likely to find / steal it.
Dr Tendrill should have in his treasure hoard a magical item with a legend built up around it. Something like: the very Axe used to slay the Famous Evil Usurping Baron from three generations ago. This axe has something like the Oathbow power attached to it, which only works if the target is a Noble outside his rightful desmense.
BRJN wrote:
As an alternative hook, if the players miss the potion, the treasure map in the abandoned house seems to lead to an ancient temple of wisdom, where a sphynx resides that will truthfully answer any three questions. Except that the temple is Doctor Tendril's lair and the sphynx's mind has been tampered with.
If the party is still level 3, make it just one Spined Devil rather than two.
BRJN wrote:
Just throwing out ideas here :
If the final battle with the villain takes the party to level 6, we need two other milestones beforehand (or the corresponding XP awards). The second could be "reaching the villain's lair" (advance to level 5) so we need an intermediate one (7200 XP, advance to level 4). We have only two monster encounters so far and that's not enough.
Suggestion: the route to the villain's lair is via a location called "The Lost Swamp" that is inhabited by about 6000 XP worth of swampy things and you have to fight your way through it, if you want to get to the other side. There needs to be some reason for doing that - maybe the boss swampy thing knows the true path to the villain's lair, or he has a missing piece of the wizard's map. Design the swamp to occupy an adventuring day of about 6 encounters and that should work out about right.
From the swamp onwards to the villain's lair is another milestone so we need about 15000 XP's worth of encounters on the way. I have a notion that it could involve another town that is ruled by an evil warlord who is planning to invade the territory around Lastdown (Captain Dorthel is expecting this, and that's why he wants the Axe) and Chapter 2 (levels 6-10) could be about defending Lastdown, if the PCs have bonded to it. We would need bonding hooks for that early on, before they leave the town.
Suggestions for reasons for the PCs to bond to (people or places in) Lastdown?
Alright, to get from 3-4 the players could do the Flumph quest, the Druid quest, and the Waterweird Quest.
From 4-5 they could perhaps go to the keep of a sub-boss which they think is the real boss but instead at the climax of the sub-bosses keep they find out the real end boss has yet been discovered.
And from 5-6 going through the bosses lair and ultimately defeating the boss. Perhaps the boss has some baby beholder minions? What are they called? You know, the green ones. I don't have my Monster Manual in front of me and am not reaching for it... not at this moment anyway. Perhaps in 10 minutes or so.
The Singing Waterfalls Quest
Quest Hooks
- Visitors to Lastdown who stay in either of the inns will be asked by the innkeeper, by way of conversation, if they are "here for the Singing Waterfalls?". If prompted, the innkeeper will give directions to the falls (about five miles east of Lastdown) and relate the foklore about Mara Fingalsdottr and Thormund Redhand (see below).
- The two druidesses are intending to visit the falls next day and will invite any PCs they meet in the Five Oaks Inn to accompany them. They are aware of the folklore and think it is quaint but do not believe it. Ethilda is worried that Evelrida has not been herself lately and thinks that a picnic at the waterfalls is just what she needs to cheer her up. If no-one is staying at the Five Oaks and the two druidesses have not been encountered there, they will be encountered on arriving at the waterfalls anyway.
Setting
For suitable graphics, google "Skogafoss waterfall"
The impact of the water on the hard rocks at the bottom of these falls generates a sound that is eerily like a woman singing, though the tune is ever-changing and there are no distinct words. Local legend tells that it is the lament of Mara Fingalsdottr, who threw herself off the top of the falls when her lover Gandrón Overlapp failed to return from a sea voyage.
Behind the waterfall itself there is a rocky ledge under an outcrop that allows you to walk right across behind the waterfall without getting too wet. Part way along the ledge is the entrance to a cave. Local legend has it that a famous viking warrior, Thormund Redhand, left a magical treasure chest in the cave that appears only once a year but apparently no-one has ever succeeded in seeing it.
There are trees overhanging the cave entrance itself and a stream of water about a foot deep runs out of the cave and over the ledge to join the main cascade of water.
Entrance
One of the overhanging trees is an Awakened Tree that will attack anyone in metal armour who tries to enter the cave. Thormund Redhand enchanted it to deter other vikings from trying to steal his treasure. Lurking in the foot-deep stream just inside the entrance, clinging to the rocky boulders, is a Giant Constrictor Snake that has found its way down from the moorland high above the waterfalls and is waiting for something to eat. It prefers non-metallic meals. Because the snake is the same colour as the mossy rocks, is 99% underwater and partly masked by spray, it requires a DC20 perception check to spot it before it rears up and strikes.
Easily visible in a hollow in the rocks in the stream bed there is a gleam of metal – 3d6 copper coins that have been left there by visitors in earlier times as good-luck offerings.
Inside the entrance, the tunnel forks. The stream comes out of the left fork, whilst the right fork is relatively dry. The left fork is about 10 feet wide and 10 feet high so it is easy to wade along it. The right fork, however, is low and narrow with only 3ft of headroom, so any characters larger than a halfling would have to crawl along it in single file. There is no natural light beyond the entrance.
For getting past the Awakend Tree and Giant Constrictor Snake: 900 XP.
Half-Ogres
The left fork leads to a large cave, roughly circular and about 40 feet across with the stream flowing through the middle. The cave is inhabited by three Half Ogres who are scared of the snake at the entrance (there were four ogres in the band until the snake ate one), haven't been able to leave the cave for weeks and are mighty hungry. They will try to kill any dwarves, elves or halflings in the party, for food. Otherwise, they will kill males just on principle and try to capture females to enslave.
A human woman, Berenia Nonchance (Commoner) is chained to a rock at the far end of the half-ogres' cave. She is traumatised and unconscious. If revived she will be too weak to walk or talk unless given healing and even then will remember nothing, not even her own name. If taken back to Lastdown, inquiries will eventually reveal that she is the daughter of a baker called Stollen Nonchance who will be glad of her return but blame the PCs for her condition and offer nothing by way of reward.
The half-ogres have found Thormund Redhand's treasure chest and smashed it open. It appears to have been full of sand but a DC15 investigation check will discover 1d12 Carnelians worth 50gp each and a small gold statuette of a viking warrior worth 450gp, hidden in the sand.
The stream-bed tunnel continues beyond the cave and leads to the cave of the Water Weird.
For getting past the half-ogres: 600 XP. For re-uniting Berenia with her father, a further 200 XP.
Chimney
From the entrance, the narrow crawl on the right dips steeply downwards. After going about 50 feet and descending about 20 feet it ends abruptly but there is a chimney about 3 feet across that seems to lead back up again. The chimney is slick with a strange blue slime that gleams in the light of torches or other light sources.
Because of the blue slime, climbing up or down the chimney is difficult and requires a successful DC 20 Strength(Athletics) check. The use of a Climbers Kit gives advantage on the check. If a rope is let down from the top, climbing up or down is automatically successful.
The blue slime is highly corrosive and characters climbing up or down the chimney in metal armour must make a DC15 Dexterity save or suffer a permanent -1AC penalty on that suit of armour. Repairing the armour is uneconomic - it would cost twice as much as just buying a new suit. If the character is carrying a metal shield, check for the shield separately and apply the same rules. Magic armour and shields of +1 or better are unaffected by the blue slime.
The chimney ascends for 30 feet and the crawl continues in the original direction but curving slightly to the left and slightly downwards. Eventually it leads to the Water Weird.
Water Weird
The passage beyond the half-ogres' cave, and the crawl beyond the blue-slime chimney, converge again at the entrance to the final chamber. This is roughly spherical, about 50 feet across, with a domed roof. Water is falling from the roof in a cascade of droplets like heavy rain, making visibility difficult (lightly obscured) throughout the chamber. The water collects in the bottom of the chamber forming a pool that is about 15 feet deep at the centre. The entry passage ends on a rocky ledge about 10 feet square about a foot below the water level and the water is overflowing into the passage, back through the half-ogres' cave and out of the entrance behind the waterfall.
The pool is the lair of a Water Weird that will attack if anyone moves off the ledge into the deeper water.
On the far side of the chamber there is another ledge about 5 feet square and just above the water level, on which there is a large block of stone. On top of the stone are three potion bottles, and four small mirrors framed in ebony. The mirrors are arranged so that the bottles are reflected in them, making it seem from a distance as if there are many more bottles than just three. If anyone tries to discern them clearly from the other side of the chamber, make a DC15 investigation check; if the check succeeds announce that there are three bottles but if it fails add one extra to the number reported for every point by which the check fails.
If the three potion bottles are recovered, they will be found to contain a red liquid that glimmers when agitated. Two contain genuine Potions of Greater Healing but the other contains a false potion. The first time on of these is drunk, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-2 it was the false potion; otherwise when the second is drunk roll 1d4 and, again, on a roll of 1-2 that was the false potion; otherwise the last one will be the false one. The effect of the false potion is that the imbiber gains only temporary hit points instead of recovering permanent ones, and a strange psychic bond is established with mind flayers. Whenever the imbiber rests, sleeps, or trances thereafter, a dream-like vision will be experienced wherein he or she sees and hears through the eyes and ears of the nearest mind-flayer, knows its whereabouts and knows that it is a mind-flayer but without being able to sense its thoughts or intentions. As soon as there are no longer any mind-flayers within 100 miles the dreams stop and never return.
The four small mirrors are worth 25gp each.
For overcoming the Water Weird: 700 XP
Name for this module?
I'm sort of staying on the periphery at the moment, but willing to do the layout work once it's all done.
Zalbarthemad wrote:
Got bored, threw these together...All images used were labeled for reuse without restriction. (before people lambaste me).
I like the first picture the best.
Not that the others are bad, but to add to the mystery.
I agree, the first image is the best for this module. Keep up the good work!
This post will be updated with the current link to the latest build.
Ok, preliminary layout: muchas props to Bi for making it easy to drop some stuff in
- LATEST PDF BUILD (updated: 06-12-12 12:08 est): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5jpg9WVvWBKM0loekpnMy03dFk/view?usp=sharing
- Latest: Changes: Updated NPC's, added Derelict House quest and Starting The Adventure
Yeah, BI has been going pretty beast at the module ideas.
And today I just ran a game of HotDQ.
Zalbarthemad wrote:
I've put a shout out on twitter #dnd5e inviting people to contribute.
Slit518 wrote:
Here is something that will hopefully add a nice element to the town! 
Daronna Dawnforge, Female Armourer & Blacksmith, an unexpected yet very excellent source of information due to her interactions with adventurers coming and going through Lastdown in addition to her interactions with many of the town folk.
Note/Warning: I have no idea if there are any restrictions for reuse or not on this image with regard to adding it to the module!
Provisional list of interesting/useful NPCs in Lastdown
Characters in bold have been detailed further down in this thread.
- Mayor Adalwind - a prosperous grain merchant and Mayor of Lastdown
- Valeria Adalwind - the mayor's wife
- Captain Dorthel - commander of the watch and the town militia
- Sergeant Davy of the town watch.
- Fistwind Benison - high priest at the temple of Chauntea
- Elrinna Ironshield - assistant High Priestess
- Benefice Torcher - junior assistant sub-priest
- The proprietress of The FIve Oaks Inn
- Ethilda and Evelrida - Druidesses stopping in Lastdown on their way north. Evelrida is controlled by an intellect devourer
- Borham Torcher - a visiting Arch High Priest of Chauntea, uncle of Benefice Torcher
- Unctious Silk - a wholesale merchant
- Mrs Silk - the merchant's wife, sister of Valeria Adalwind
- Wingist of Overpath - a young nobleman, admirer of Zahara Willowrose
- Septimus Jugg - innkeeper of The Goblin's Head
- Hardfoss Woodtorch - a half-elf embezzler, on the run
- Haddock The Fishmonger - an undercover assassin
- Immoralia Phew - a female prostitute controlled by an intellect devourer
- A male prostitute
- Redstitch - a disgraced priest, an alcoholic
- Roland Butter - bartender and chef at The White Goose
- A waitress at The White Goose,
- Farmer Enhard (with the flumphs in his farmyard)
- Bernilla Wanderdell - a drunken ranger who has prophetic visions (not necessarily genuine)
- A waitress at The Knave's Head
- Rethew Harness - a male hustler who runs a leather shop as a scam
- Rosie Potts - a female hustler who runs a pottery shop as a scam
- Jonh Ano - bartender at The Queen and Dragon and amateur arcanist
- Paul Bearer - an undertaker with a problem
- Daronna Dawnforge - female Blacksmith/Armourer
- Fiona Fairweather - general merchant
- Zahara Willowrose - specialist herbalist/alchemist supplier
- Travork Shelfgrund - a dwarven general merchant and ratcatcher
- Traffick Ten-Toes - a halfling spy
Change List
2015-06-08 09:11 UTC: Fishseller changed to Fishmonger
2015-06-08 10:05 UTC: Added Immoralia Phew
2015-06-08 20:37 UTC: Ethilda and Evelrida flagged as being detailed below
2015-06-08 21:40 UTC: Added Travork Shelfgrund
2015-06-08 22:54 UTC: Added Elrinna Ironshield, Borham Torcher, Benefice Torcher
2015-06-09 10:11 UTC: Highlighted Benefice Torcher, Borham Torcher
2015-06-09 11:30 UTC: Named Unctious Silk and Septimus Jugg
2015-06-09 12:00 UTC: Highlighted Unctious Silk
2015-06-09 13:06 UTC: Highlighted Septimus Jugg
2015-06-09 16:58 UTC: Detailed Redstitch
2015-06-09 17:51 UTC: Added Wingist of Overpath
2015-06-09 23:34 UTC: Highlighted Traffick Ten-Toes
2015-06-10 09:21 UTC: Added Bernilla Wanderdell, Roland Butter
2015-06-10 13:19 UTC: Added Paul Bearer
2015-06-10 17:46 UTC: Highlighted Paul Bearer
2015-06-11 11:59 UTC: HIghlighted Farmer Enhard. Specified gender of remaining NPCs.
2015-06-11 12:45 UTC: Highlighted Roland Butter
2015-06-08 09:12 UTC: Fishseller changed to Fishmonger
2015-06-08 09:57 UTC: Added Immoralia Phew
2015-06-08 21:34 UTC: Added Travork Shelfgrund
2015-06-09 07:03 UTC: Added Ethelda and Evelrida
2015-06-09 09:59 UTC: Added Benefice Torcher and Borham Torcher
2015-06-09 11:56 UTC: Added Unctious Silk
2015-06-09 13:03 UTC: Added Septimus Jugg
2015-06-09 16:52 UTC: Added Redstitch
2015-06-09 17:16 UTC: Fixed typo in Evelrida bio
2015-06-09 17:47 UTC: Added Wingist of Overpath
2015-06-09 18:35 UTC: Modified Redstitch
2015-06-09 23:07 UTC: Added Traffick Ten-Toes
2015-06-09 23:32 UTC: Expanded Traffick Ten-Toes
2015-06-10 09:05 UTC: Added Bernilla Wanderdell
2015-06-10 17:45 UTC: Added Paul Bearer
2105-06-11 11:56 UTC: Added Farmer Enhard
2015-06-11 12:42 UTC: Added Roland Butter.
Ethelda and Evelrida
[Ethelda as Druid-1]
[Evelrida as Druid-1 & Intellect Devourer]
These two 1st-level Druidesses are close friends. Ethelda is short, plump and motherly with fair hair tied up in ribbons, fussily dressed with beads and bangles. Evelrida is taller and bonier with shoulder-length dark hair and she dresses severely in russet and grey. They are as different as chalk and cheese.
They are travelling north to a meeting of the druids circle for the Summer solstice where the restoration of Blysemethia will be the hot topic of conversation. Ethelda is keen to see it happen and wants the druids to help because she is a hopeless romantic but Evelrida is not so sure and thinks the nymphs should determine their own destiny.
Ethelda has noticed that her companion has not been her usual self lately and has broken the journey at Lastdown, where they have taken rooms at the Five Oaks Inn. She is keen to visit the Singing Waterfalls and thinks a picnic there will cheer Evelrida up, especially if she can arrange some company (i.e. the PCs, if they are lodging at the Five Oaks).
Ethelda does not realise that Evelrida has been taken over by an intellect devourer. The devourer intends to go to the druid meeting and report back to Doctor Tendril on the outcome. It will feed on Ethelda if it gets the chance, discard Evelrida's body and go to the meeting as Ethelda, to undermine support for the restoration scheme. Doctor Tendril does not want Blysemethia to be restored, because then Gherldalie would not help him destroy the world.
The pair will latch onto the PC party if they can and try to follow them around unless they are clearly not wanted. Being 1st-level, they should not be expected to be very effective in combat and will stay on the sidelines. Ethelda is benign. She provides a hook into the Water Weird quest and, if she survives long enough, will enable a peaceful resolution of the Gherldalie quest if the players want it to go that way. The intellect devourer is a spy for Doctor Tendril and a threat to the Ethelda and PCs. If a PC is injured in combat with other creatures, it may make a devour intellect attack on the PC at the same time, if it thinks it can do so without its presence being obvious. If it can contrive to be alone with an unconscious PC, it may steal the PC's body, leaving Evelrida to die.
Captain Dorthel
[as Knight]
Captain Dorthel is in command of the Lastdown watch and of an embryonic town militia that he is trying to form into a fighting body with the approval of the mayor. At every opporunity, he will try to persuade or cajole martial PCs (especially Fighters and Paladins) and those with Soldier backgrounds to join the town militia and spend downtime training with them. He is conscious that Lastdown lies between the territories of two rival warlords and that either might try to take and ransack the town as a strategic move against the other.
He is of imposing appearance and bullish in manner, apt to be irritable if his plans are thwarted.
He is aware of the threat from Doctor Tendril and is playing a dangerous game of double-cross. He has allowed Tendril's agents in the town to believe that he is acting under Tendril's command and has been rewarded for a few token gestures with a clockwork repeating crossbow of gnomish invention. Secretly, though, he is plotting to recover his great-grandfather's magic axe that he knows that Tendril has acquired, and which would strengthen his own chances if either of the warlords does decide to attack the town. PCs whom he knows he can trust and have not been compromised by Tendril will be taken into his confidence and he will give whatever assistance he can to them if they have a sensible plan to defeat Tendril once and for all.
Dorthel's closest ally in the town is the mayor and for some time, he has been engaging in a secret liaison with the mayor's wife. The mayor suspects this but has decided to look the other way and allow it to continue.
Mayor Adalwind
[as Commoner]
Adalwind is a successful grain merchant and was elected mayor of the town a few years ago. He is of ample proportion with a soft, flabby face and a soft, flabby handshake but his eyes are shrewd with a businessman's cunning and he misses little. He is a firm believer in the status quo and relies upon Dorthel to preserve it. Adventurers are welcome in the town as long as they bring wealth to the local merchants; otherwise he regards them as a disruptive influence to be run out of town at the earliest opportunity.
Adalwind's house on the Market Square is large, by the standards of the town, and over-elaborately furnished. It is here that he conducts business and holds private meetings with the more important of his fellow merchants where the affairs of the town are decided. Nothing consequential gets done in the town without the full agreement of this inner circle and, since the merchants are rarely in full agreement about anything, the status quo generally obtains and this suits Adalwind completely.
Adalwind spends most evenings out of the house. In the early evening he is often to be found in the Knave's Head, where is talks business, then later he repairs to the Queen and Dragon to relax in more luxurious surroundings and perhaps play cards until the early hours of the morning. He is skilled at cards but not lucky and frequently loses small sums of money.
Jonh Ano
[as Commoner]
Jonh is the bartender at the Queen and Dragon Tavern in Cobble Street. He is privy to a great deal of inside knowledge about what goes on in the town but he is trusted by patrons of the tavern to be discrete and will not willingly disclose their confidences. If PCs ask him about town business, he will not admit to knowing anything specific but he will tell them exactly who they need to be talking to and where to find them.
He is a bald-headed man of average height, well-spoken with a deferential manner and of neat and clean appearance. When working, he wears a white apron that is freshly-starched every day.
He greets regular customers by name and welcomes newcomers in proportion to their apparent wealth. Anyone he considers too down-at-heel will be shown the door. If there is any argument, Sergeant Davy and several members of the town watch will instantly arrive, if, indeed, they weren't already there enjoying a quiet drink off-duty.
Jonh dabbles in the arcane and has a wizard's spellbook that was left behind one day last year by a wizard who offered it as deposit on an unpaid wine bill but never returned to reclaim it. He will not part with the book, since it is not really his to give away, but if a passing wizard could successfully teach him a cantrip, he would allow it to be studied for 8 hours. It contains the four 1st-level wizard spells from the Elemental Evil Players Companion: Absorb Elements, Catapult, Ice Knife and Earth Tremor. Teaching Jonh a cantrip is not easy, however, because although Jonh is interested, he has no special talent for it and it will cost the wizard 100 days of downtime at a cost of 1gp per day to achieve it.
Sergeant Davy
[as Veteran]
A grizzled ex-soldier with a grey moustache and a thousand-yard stare, Davy is second-in-command of the town watch, under Captain Dorthel. "Firm but Fair" might be his motto. It was at his instigation that a soup kitchen for beggars and starving urchins was set up in Slope Alley, behind the Temple. The priesthood approved of his charitable action and various worthy citizens openly pledged to contribute to the cost of running it because it's a clever way of getting the beggars off the streets. Visitors to the town who "come to Sergeant Davy's attention" but who aren't worth putting on trial for anything serious, are likely to be invited to make a donation "for the poor and needy" to demonstrate that they are upright and honest people for whom a few days in jail would be inappropriate. Purely voluntary, of course.
Davy is often to be found in the Queen and Dragon when off-duty. His favourite drink is a type of parsnip brandy known locally as "Wadka". He goes there to relax, not particularly to listen to the conversation, on the basis that the customers there are far above the kind of uncouth and rowdy behaviour that the watch is employed to control in the town.
Davy has suspicions about the activities of two shopkeepers - Rethew Harness and Rosie Potts. He's noticed that they always seem to have plenty of money to spend but that they never seem to actually sell anything. He will pay 50gp from the town treasury for information proving that they are doing something illegal.
Rethew Harness
[as Bandit]
Rethew was once apprenticed to a leatherworker who made harnesses and other tack for horses and mules. He fled when his master was imprisoned (falsely, according to Rethew) for trading in stolen horses. He reached Lastdown, chanced to meet Rosie Potts and they immediately became soul-mates and partners in crime.
He keeps a small leather shop near the market square, where he offers luxury goods of reasonable quality but at absurdly high prices. His only real customers are men whom his partner Rosie has seduced. If possible, she will inveigle her victims into buying her expensive gifts from his shop; afterwards, she gives the items back to Rethew and they go halves on the take.
Rethew has a certain rough charm but his looks are marred by deep scars across his face that he will not explain to anyone, even to Rosie. He has learnt the arts of seduction from her, however, and is quite capable of bedazzling rich, bored, women who might like a bit of horseplay between the sheets. Then he plays the badger game, with Rosie as his accomplice.
He is not interested in wilderness adventures but may be up for a little burglary or theft in the town, especially in company with Rosie, if he thinks the proceeds are likely to be worth the risk of being caught,
Rosie Potts
[as Bandit]
Rosie is a flirtatious woman who likes to dress with a certain flamboyance. She is a skilled potter with an artistic flair and she runs a small, rather pretentious gallery called "Rosy Pots", near the market square in Lastdown, where she exhibits some of her handiwork. Ostensibly the pots are for sale but at such ridiculously high prices that you would think no-one would ever buy any. It is all part of an elaborate scam.
Rosie works in a secret partnership with Rethew Harness and they frequent The Knave's Head, watching for strangers. When they spy a likely-looking victim, one or other of them will seduce him or her and then turn the tables and play the badger game. The suitably cowed victim is then made to feel obliged to to buy a pot from the gallery at an exorbitant price. It's all perfectly legal - no money is extorted or stolen, the victim has simply bought a valuable pot.
Rosie has no interest in adventuring in the wilderness but might be persuaded to engage in a little light burglary within the town if it involves deceiving someone, possibly a former victim.
Fistwind Benison
[as Cleric-10]
Fistwind has been the senior priest at the temple of Chauntea in Lastdown for about ten years, since his predecessor died suddenly and he, though only a very young man at the time and barely qualified, took the reins.
He is of average height and, although still in his twenties, is showing signs of going prematurely bald. He power-dresses but is careful to avoid ostentation. When he speaks it is with care and deliberation so as to create an air of deep thought and great wisdom. He never loses his temper but will demolish weak arguments mercilessly.
Fistwind has some flair for calligraphy and has made some fine copies of holy texts, that can be seen hanging on the walls around the temple.
He runs the temple efficiently and hopes that this will eventually lead to his being given a post at a more important temple. To that end, he maintains connections with his superiors and if any come to visit, he is careful to ensure that they get the best of hospitality but without seeming extravagant. He is on good terms with Mayor Adalwind and they have lunch together once a week at the mayor's house. The mayor's wife thinks it is time he got married and uses the occasions to introduce him to the unmarried daughters of local merchants whom she deems suitable, but so far he hasn't taken the bait.
Hardfoss Woodtorch
[as Commoner & Half-Elf]
Hardfoss is a rather shifty-looking half-elf who is lodging at the Goblin's Head Inn and is contriving to appear shabby to avoid attention but the observant may notice that his clothes are of much better quality than his present circumstances would suggest. He was a partner in a thriving business that imported exotic spices until he embezzled the funds and fled. In his room at the inn he has a locked chest containing nearly 2000 sp that he doesn't know how to dispose of without arousing suspicion and he would willingly exchange for small, easily-concealed gems or items of jewellery. He is terrified of being questioned by the authorities and if the town watch have occasion to search his rooms, he will have a lot of explaining to do.
Haddock The Fishmonger
[as Assassin]
Haddock is not what he seems. On the surface, he is a traveller in dried fish. He has boxes of them stored in the stables of the Goblin's head and he offers them for sale in the market square every morning, although the observant might notice that he doesn't seem to try very hard to sell any. Under cover, he is a hired assassin and his target is Rethew Harness. He will not divulge who his client is, but it is presumably someone whom Rethew has tricked in the past and still bears a grudge against him. He has various kinds of poison concealed about his person, and some some special hollow spring darts hidden inside some of the dried fish in his boxes. A PC who knows Thieves' Cant may gain his confidence enough to come to some sort of arrangement.
Immoralia Phew
[as Commoner & Intellect Devourer]
No-one knows where Immoralia came from. She certainly isn't a native of Lastdown - she just turned up one day at the Goblin's Head, took a room, and started working the clientel. She is popular with her customers and those who boast about it say that she seems to understand them better than their own wives do, and keep coming back for more. She pays over the odds for her room in the inn (it is in the attic, first door on the left if you are asking) and she charges 20sp an hour for whatever you have in mind. The reason she is so apparently sympathetic is that her brain is occupied by an Intellect Devourer which is telepathic and can read not only what the customer wants but all of his innermost guilty secrets as well. Immoralia is careful to keep on the right side of the town watch, especially Sergeant Davy, and sometimes supplies him with carefully-filtered gossip that she has harvested from her customers' minds. She regularly reports back to Doctor Tendril on any new weakness in the town defences that he might one day exploit, and on any adventurers who pass through the Goblin's head and might prove troublesome.
Travork Shelfgrund
[as Commoner & Dwarf]
Travork is a cantankerous old dwarf who runs a run-down and grimy general stores in a run-down and grimy part of town. You can find anything in there if you search long enough, but not necessarily what you were looking for. He doesn't stock anything costing more than 5gp and he won't pay more than 20sp for anything you want to sell. His speciality is caged rats - 3cp each, plus 1sp deposit on the cage (refundable if you bring it back in one piece). He pays local urchins to catch the rats for him. The sign outside his shop is a picture of a rat hanging by its tail and the word for ratcatcher in dwarf runes. If fellow dwarves visit his shop, he will happily chatter away all day in Dwarvish and tell them a great deal about what is going on in Lastdown. Some of it is even true.
Benefice Torcher
[as Acolyte]
Benefice is a junior assistant sub-priest at the temple of Chauntea, answerable to Fistwind and Elrinna. He is responsible for organising the soup kitchen for the paupers of the town, in Slope Alley behind the temple, and he provides minor healing for unfortunates who can't afford to pay for it. He is tall, thin and puny-looking with a nervous twitch and might seem easy prey to muggers and purse-snatchers but he is well-respected by the poor and can walk unmolested through rat-infested slums where others would rightly fear to go.
He gets all the menial jobs to do around the temple but Fistwind can't be too harsh on him because Benefice's uncle, Borham Torcher, is Fistwind's superior and he has to assume that everything he says and does in Benefice's presence will be reported back to Borham. In fact, Benefice is trying to make something of himself without his uncle's intervention but Fistwind can't be quite sure of that. Benefice knows that Elrinna is scheming to replace Fistwind and, though he doesn't want to take sides, he treats everything that Elrinna tells him about Fistwind with a grain of salt. He is not stupid.
If the PCs aproach Benefice for help in investigating the poorer districts of town (for example, if they are on the trail of the stolen crossbow) he will help them but without betraying the possibly guilty. Although he does not condone crime, he believes that it is not his place to judge his fellow man.
Borham Torcher
[as Cleric-18 & Noble background]
Borham is the Arch High Priest of Chauntea, responsible for the religous well-being of several principalities and is extremely well-connected. He spends a lot of his time touring around and being entertained in the grander cities of his province, so he has put on a lot of weight. When he speaks at temples, people listen. For a while. Then their attention drifts off because he talks in a convoluted way that is actually very boring because he is careful to talk in diplomatic platitudes that mean whatever you want them to mean, so as not to offend anybody who is entitled not to be offended.
Borham has descended on Lastdown and deigned to be accommodated at the Five Oaks, mainly to check up on young Benefice, his nephew. He arranged for Benefice to be placed here so that he could learn how the priesthood works, without it mattering too much if he gets things a bit wrong. Lastdown is not a very important town in Borham's scheme of things. His parting advice to Benefice, last time he visited, was "Young man, you must earn your place in life, as I have done. You must start at the bottom and work up. Then, next week, ..."
Borham doesn't like Elrinna very much (her mother was only a baker's daughter, and one is not obliged to like such people) and is apt to ask her "How is your ladies knitting circle getting on?" in a faintly patronising way, which Elrinna can't afford to be offended by, which is why he does it.
Unctious Silk
[as Commoner]
Think of a portly, self-satisfied merchant in a richly brocaded robe and silk house-slippers, fingers dripping with emerald and ruby gold rings, with an oily voice and apt to laugh when then is nothing funny to laught at. That's Unctious. He has come to Lastdown to talk business with Mayor Adalwind, because his wife told him he needed to. He deals in luxury goods, mainly fabrics and spices, and although he might carry samples he doesn't actually deal with the general public - he is an importer, a wholesale merchant, who owns warehouses at various ports.
He has extensive knowledge of trade routes and the best places to stay and eat almost everywhere. As a hobby, he is compiling a book called "A Guide to the Innes and Hostellryes of thee Lande" and gets good service from innkeepers who hope to be mentioned favourably in it. If it is ever published, there will be a lot of disappointed innkeepers around.
Septimus Jugg
[as Commoner]
Septimus is the innkeeper of the Goblin's Head. Officially, it's called "The Goblin's Head Arms" but that sounds silly so it's always known as just "The Goblin's Head". He is a larger-than-life character, full of fun and joviality, blind in one eye from a childhood accident with a weasel and a fishing rod. He welcomes all comers without discrimination, and makes a joke of being able to "turn a blind eye" to the goings-on in his inn, of which there are many and various. He has three wives called Molly, Polly and Dolly who are all best friends and simply adore him and they all live together above the stables behind the inn with their 14 children. Or is it 15? He tries to remember all their names but loses count at Mimsi and Pimsi, the twins.
There is a painting of the Singing Waterfall hanging on the wall behind the bar and Septimus will happily tell visitors the folklore associated with it. "Well worth a visit, if you've the time," is his recommendation, "Go there once a month, I do, with the wives and children. They love it. Let me know if you're going, we'll do you a packed lunch."
Septimus is well aware that Valeria is trying to persuade the watch to close him down but isn't worried. "She comes in here and lets her hair down like everyone else once in a while. Except she tries to disguise herself but nobody's fooled."
Redstitch
[as Acolyte]
Redstitch may be encountered in the Goblin's Head. He presents a sorry sight. He is badly shaven with unkempt hair, and wears the threadbare and ragged remnants of clerical robes. He smells of cheap ale and his speech is slurred. In short, he is an alcoholic. Buy him a drink and he will pour out his tale of woe.
"Priest I was, wouldn't think it, would you? Years back. South of here. Long way south. Place called Swordfall. You wouldn't know it. Nice temple, it was. Swordfall. Sub-priest there, man called Ungeld Cope. Nasty bit of work. Always scheming. Took some silver. Good stuff, nothing tatty. Sold most of it to bribe someone. Don't know who. Kept one bit back. Planted it in my room. Said I'd stolen it. Set me up, the b******. Now look at me. No justice. No justice."
If the PCs take him on trust and offer to help, he will ask them to appeal on his behalf to the Arch High Priest, Borham Torcher, at the Five Oaks. If they do, the trail will end there because Borham has never heard of a town called Swordfall nor of a priest called Ungeld Cope, but it will give them a reason to visit the Five Oaks if they haven't already done so.
Wingist of Overpath
[as Noble]
Wingist is a handsome young nobleman, elegantly dressed, with an interest in herbalism and alchemy and who may be encountered residing at the Five Oaks Inn. For some time he has been courting Zahara Willowrose but she, although flattered by his attentions, is not really interested in being anything more than friends. It doesn't stop him trying, though. He has acquired a rare and wonderful gift that he hopes will sway her. It is nothing less than a phial of tincture of eldervine, harvested by the light of the full moon at midnight on the autumn equinox. It is an essential ingredient of the Elixir of Life that confers immortality if drunk unaided by the recently-dead. Or so the story goes. The tincture was sold to him by a man who called himself Cenfrith Lionworth, which is odd because the Lionworth family died out about a century ago.
If any of the PCs is of Noble background, Wingist will know his family and the PC will know of the Overpaths of Overpath.
Traffick Ten-Toes
[as Spy & Halfling]
Traffick is a lightfoot who wears somber clothes and lurks in dark alleys. You won't meet him unless he wants to see you for some reason. He trades in secrets. If you want information from him, you must be prepared to offer information in return that has some value to someone else whom he can trade it with. He has working links with all the inns and taverns in the town and if the PCs let it be known that they want to strike a deal, word will reach him and a rendezvous will be arranged somewhere. In a secret location, naturally.
He knows the whereabouts of Dorthel's clockwork crossbow. He knows that it is hidden in Travork's shop, although even Travork himself doesn't know it is there. Traffick knows, because he stole it and hid it there himself. He will return it to Dorthel in exchange for Dorthel's secret plans for the town's defences. He can trade that information with either or both of the rival warlords in exchange for their plans for attacking the town. Then he can trade those plans of attack with Doctor Tendril in exchange for Doctor Tendril's plans. And so on.
Traffick has a brother called Haggle, who has been locked up in the town jail for the past year or so. He would very much like to get Haggle released but this would require revealing the whereabouts of a stolen pay chest and no-one has supplied him with that information, despite him letting it be known that he would value it highly. If the PCs can tell him where to find the pay chest that Haggle is alleged to have stolen, he will tell them almost anything they want to know about the town in return. In fact, the pay chest was broken up by the thieves who stole it and the coins are hidden inside two large pottery statues of lions in Rosie Pott's shop. Only Rosie, her accomplice Rethew Harness and one other person know about this.
Bernilla Wanderdell
[as Ranger-3 & Folk Hero Background]
Bernilla was born and grew up on a farm near Lastdown and she knows the surrounding countryside well. She has an unusual birthmark on her right arm, shaped like a lion's paw. One day, whilst walking alone in the woods near her home, she met an angelic being who was sent by the goddess Chauntea herself and who revealed that the lion's paw mark is a sign of divine favour. The angel pronounced that Brenelda had a great destiny as a guardian of the lands and a peacemaker between the peoples who dwelt there. As a result of this, she has became quite well-known in the locality and is treated with some awe by the people who live in and around Lastdown.
Seeking to fulfil her destiny, she has become a ranger dedicated to preserving the lands and the flora and fauna from evildoers in general and invading goblins in particular. She firmly believes that small bands of goblins have been infiltrating the district, scouting out the lie of the land as a precursor to a large-scale invasion from the north. The minor objection that she has yet to find any actual evidence of their presence locally just goes to show how sneaky they are, doesn't it?
Sometimes she is frustrated, feeling that she is achieving too little, and resorts to drinking. When in town, she frequents the White Goose Tavern and boasts that she can drink any three men under the table. When drunk (as she frequently is), she is apt to stare into the bottom of her flagon of ale and make doom-laden pronouncements which disconcert the other drinkers because they believe she is a soothsayer.
Some people suspect that there is something going on between her and Roland, the bartender at the White Goose.
Note 1: Bernilla is available as an NPC ally, if the PC party is short of a Ranger or anyone with a background rooted in the area around Lastdown.
Note 2: Bernilla is a convenient mouthpiece if the DM wants to inject rumours and specific knowledge into the game.
Paul Bearer
[as Commoner]
Paul is a tall, thin, quietly-spoken man who dresses sombrely in black. He will be encountered in the Queen and Dragon and will approach any likely-looking adventurers who sojourn there. He explains that he is an undertaker who has today visited the house of a recently-deceased learned gentleman with a view to removing the cadaver for burial but the house appears to be inhabited by fearsome monsters. He will pay the PCs 200gp each to clear them out. Afterwards, if they wish to acquire ownership of the house, he can arrange it for a nominal fee of 10gp but he should warn them that it will need some structural repairs to the roof. This leads to the Derelict House quest.
Farmer Enhard
[as Commoner but Str 19, Con 19]
This farmer is a huge man, as strong as an ox with a constitution to match, but easy-going and affable. You could imagine him stopping for a chat in the farmyard, casually carrying a bullock under each arm while delighting in the swallows wheeling in the air overhead and remarking on it being a good season. Normally. He has been in the White Goose all day trying to get drunk, which is not at all like him. With him being so large, it is going to take a great deal of drink to have much effect and he hasn't succeeded yet in getting anything more than a little drowsy. He is trying to get drunk to forget. If you ask him what he is trying to forget, he can tell you because he hasn't been able to forgot it yet. He has seen things in his farmyard, like great big pigs bladders flying through the air. He would like to see a herd of the pigs they came from, because they must be so huge that even one of them could feed the town on sausages for a week. And they were alive. They knew he was there. They put pictures in his mind. PIctures he didn't want put there. Horrible pictures. People with their heads open and walking about with their brains outside instead of inside. If asked, he will tell you the location of his farm and tell you to help yourself. Come back and tell him when they're gone. Feed the chickens, if you wouldn't mind, while you're there.
[He is describing flumphs, and they were trying to warn him about intellect devourers].
Roland Butter
[as Commoner]
Roland is the barkeeper and chef at the White Goose Tavern. He is of average height, in his thirties, and inclined to be overweight because he is rather fond of his own cooking. He knows many of his regular customers well and on market days it gets very busy as the local farmers all come in around lunchtime to exchange news about stock prices, grain prices, and the amount of rain we've been having lately. Today it is quiet and the bar is almost deserted except for Bernilla Wanderdell and Farmer Enhard, each drinking gloomily in different corners. Roland will nod towards the farmer and remark that he's not his usual self, and would the PCs do him a favour and try to find out what's wrong? Meanwhile, what can he get you to eat? Today's Special is pork medallions in a white wine sauce with crispy potatoes fried in duck fat. Or there's the vegetarian option?
Roland has a soft spot for Bernilla, who hasn't had an easy life, and they have been friends since childhood. He feeds her for free whenever she calls in.
[This comment space reserved for detailing the following female NPCs in Lastdown]
Note/Warning: I have no idea if there are any restrictions or not for reuse of these images with regard to adding them to the module! They are only here to provide a visual "boost" to the NPCs and their descriptions.
Alignment/Moral Status Indicators
Definitely one of good people for adventurers to know and/or be friends with.
Tends to be morally good in many ways, but also involved with the wrong individuals and their associated schemes.
Definitely not a person for adventurers to call their best friend, a proven schemer and/or backstabber.
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Daronna Dawnforge, Female Armourer & Blacksmith [ ]
[Stats as Commoner]
Daronna had a slightly unusual childhood in that she showed a great interest in her father’s work rather than following in her mother’s footsteps. This proved to be a source of contention with her family at first, but with time and persistence, she succeeded in winning her family over and showed a great aptitude for the work as she learned from her father.
She is well-known in the local area for her friendly manner, excellent work, and for the quality of the items (weapons, armour, etc.) that she produces. Her reputation is slowly but surely growing as people from the surrounding towns and area are starting to travel to Lastdown seeking her services and expertise.
Daronna is an unexpected yet very excellent source of information due to her interactions with adventurers coming and going through Lastdown in addition to her interactions with many of the town folk. If an adventurer is looking for information about possible adventures, quests, or other bits of information (monsters seen in the area, etc.), then there is a good chance that Daronna might know something of interest to the adventurer.
She is also well-known for her singing while working in her shop. The songs are reminiscent of Viking-style battle hymns and combined with the sounds of her hammer as she works, adds a unique and stirring touch to her singing.
Note 1: Daronna and Zahara Willowrose have known each other since early childhood and been best friends throughout the years. Something that is not well-known though is the evolution of Daronna’s and Zahara’s friendship into a full relationship.
Note 2: Daronna has a lot of respect for Fiona Fairweather and thinks highly of her. They are good friends and get together every so often to discuss events around town and relax.
Note 3: Daronna detests Valeria Adalwind and considers her to be nothing more than a pretentious, arrogant schemer that Lastdown would do well to be rid of.
Zahara Willowrose, Female Herbalist & Alchemist Supplier [ ]
[Stats as Commoner], , Her shop is called The Dusty Rose
Zahara is what you might call a free spirit. She is open-minded and rarely, if ever, seen to be even the slightest bit upset. She has what some might refer to as a dreamy nature about her, leading some people to think that she is someone to not be taken seriously or as being highly intelligent, but they are very wrong in that assessment.
She is a very keen observer of all that goes on around her and her reputation causes people to naturally let their guard down around her so that she knows far more of what goes on in Lastdown than anyone suspects.
She runs a well-stocked and prosperous business dealing with herbal and alchemical supplies, so if an adventurer is in need of material components for their spells, then her shop is the best place in town to go.
Note 1: Zahara and Daronna Dawnforge have known each other since early childhood and been best friends throughout the years. Something that is not well-known though is the evolution of Zahara’s and Daronna’s friendship into a full relationship.
Note 2: Zahara is friends with Fiona Fairweather, but does not know her as well as Daronna Dawnforge does. The two do get together from time to time though to keep abreast of the news around town and to conduct business.
Note 3: Zahara recently rejected Valeria Adalwind’s offer to be a part of her secretive town network and earned her rancour. Valeria has engaged in subtle attempts at causing problems to punish Zahara for her rejection, but Zahara’s friendship with Fiona Fairweather stops Valeria from going too far with her retribution.
Fiona Fairweather, Female General Merchant [ ]
[Stats as Commoner]
Fiona is her own woman and has a strong will to succeed that has served her well. Her business is one of the most prosperous in Lastdown and that status allows her a good bit of freedom in dealing with the powers that be in town. She sells all manner of common everyday supplies and goods in addition to adventuring supplies. If you need something, then Fiona is the woman to see in Lastdown.
She will likely have any type of supplies (outside of weaponry and armour) that an adventurer could or would need. If there is something special that an adventurer needs, then there is a good chance that someone from among her extensive collection of merchant contacts can procure the item (with payment up front of course). She does stock a minor bit of weaponry such as arrows, crossbow bolts, etc. that an individual cannot find at Daronna Dawnforge’s establishment.
Note 1: Fiona is good friends with Daronna Dawnforge and Zahara Willowrose, two women who also fall outside of Valeria Adalwind’s secretive town network.
Note 2: Publicly viewed relations between Fiona and Valeria Adalwind are cordial and polite enough, but in truth both women do not care for each other at all. Valeria resents Fiona’s refusal to be part of her secretive town network, but does not cause problems for Fiona because her business has been far too financially beneficial for Lastdown. Fiona in turn does not care for Valeria due to her scheming and manipulative ways.
Valeria Adalwind, Wife of Mayor Adalwind [ ]
[Stats as Commoner]
At first glance, Valeria seems every bit a gentle-born woman of good manners, grace, and station (an image she works hard to cultivate), but there is far more to her than appears. She has worked hard, planning and scheming along the way, to rise above her poor and humble beginnings.
Her marriage to her husband the mayor was one such step, and while she does care for him in her own way, she has not hesitated to look elsewhere for companionship (an open secret between her and her husband).
The mayor's wife is the hub of a feminine network that really controls what goes on in the town. The men folk just think they run it. (Read the descriptions of Captain Dorthel and Fistwind Benison, one is under her thumb via an affair and she is working on the other.)
Adventurers coming into contact with Valeria would do well to watch their backs...she is not someone they will want to cross, but she will be cordial to them if they happen to be of use in her plans.
Valeria wants the town watch to close the Goblin's Head Inn down, but they do not want to (because they get some of their intelligence from there). It is not because she thinks it is immoral (who is she to judge), but because she cannot control it herself.
Note 1: Publicly viewed relations between Valeria and Fiona Fairweather are cordial and polite enough, but in truth both women do not care for each other at all. Valeria resents Fiona’s refusal to be part of her secretive town network, but does not cause problems for Fiona because her business has been far too financially beneficial for Lastdown. Fiona in turn does not care for Valeria due to her scheming and manipulative ways.
Note 2: Valeria looks down on Daronna Dawnforge as nothing more than a lowly dirty commoner due to her choice of a non-traditional profession. She also has little use for Zahara Willowrose since she considers her to be little more than an “addle-minded” dreamer who is incapable of seeing the big picture (or of being useful to her now as part of her secretive town network).
Elrinna Ironshield, Assistant High Priestess [ ]
[Stats as Cleric - Level 7]
Elrinna is a sincere, devout follower of Chauntea and very efficient in her duties as assistant high priestess at the temple in Lastdown. While she feels that Fistwind Benison has done a good job in taking over when his predecessor died, she thinks it is time for new leadership and sees herself as the perfect candidate for the job.
Elrinna is an ardent supporter of Valeria Adalwind and is actively working to help Valeria bring Fistwind Benison under her control. The sooner he becomes occupied by, and focused on, a new wife and all that entails, the sooner she can make her move to take over as High Priestess.
Note 1: While she wishes to take over as high priestess at the temple, it is not with an evil or malicious intent. She sincerely feels that she is better qualified for the job.
Has the sub-boss been decided yet? Because if not, I want to make the sub-boss myself.
Slit518 wrote:
Zalbarthemad wrote:
Sub-Boss, Gherldalie: pronounced Guh-air-ul-dah-lee
Gherldalie does not work for Dr. Tendrill, nor is she mind controlled by Dr. Tendrill. But, she shares a common goal with Dr. Tendrill, to conquer portions of the surface world. Where her goals differ, she wants to make the races of Man, Elf and Dwarf suffer for what they have done to her homeland of Blysemethia: pronounced Blies-me-thigh-ugh, a wilderness paradise, where Nymphs, Dryads, and Pixies could roam free with the forest creatures.
Gherldalie herself is a Nymph, whose homeland was destroyed for industry and mining for the Dwarves, so they could supply the ores to the Elves, so they can forge the weapons and armor for the Humans, so that they may force the hoards of Goblins, Orcs and the like back underground. But the Goblins and Orcs never posed a threat to the homeland of Blysemethia, and often feared the Dryads, Nymphs and Sprites for their magic.
Unlike the regular inhabitants of the forestland of Blysemethia, Gherldalie is it's sworn protector, but there is only so much she could do on her own, especially after the slaughter of her subjects and those driven from her homeland. But now that the mines are dry, and the activity as scarce, she has come back to take it's claim.
Gherldalie is a Challenge Rating 5 monster, meant to take the party from level 4 to 5.
She is accompanied by 2 Dryads, 4 Pixies, and 4 Sprites.
Gherldalie
Medium fey, Neutral
Armor Class: 15 (plant wrapping armor equivalent to Studded Leather, and Dexterity)
Hit Points: 120 (10d10 + 20)
Speed: 30
Initiative: +3
Str: 14 (+2) Dex: 16 (+3) Con: 14 (+2) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 18 (+4) Cha: 20 (+5)
Skills: Stealth +6 Nature +5 Animal Handling +7 Insight +7 Perception +7 Survival +7 Deception +8 Intimidation +8 Persuasion +8
Saves: Dex +6 Wis +7 Cha +8
Languages: Common, Elvish, Sylvan
Challenge: 5 (1800 XP)
Innate Spellcasting: The Nymph's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16). The Nymph can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: Druidcraft, Detect Magic
3/day each: Entangle, Goodberry
1/day each: Barkskin, Pass Without Trace, Shillelagh
Spellcasting: The Nymph is a 8th-level spellcaster. It's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). The Nymph has the following spells:
Cantrips (at will): Fire Bolt, Poison Spray, Ray of Frost, Thorn Whip
1st level (4 slots): Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Sleep, Witch Bolt
2nd level (3 slots): Flame Blade, Hold Person, Web
3rd level (3 slots): Call Lightnight, Conjure Animals, Wind Wall
4th level (2 slots): Call Woodland Beings, Stoneskin
Magic Resistance: The Nymph has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Speak with Beasts and Plants: The Nymph can communicate with beasts and plants as if they shared a language.
Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
War Magic: The Nymph can cast a cantrip as their action, and make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
Darkvision: Your darkvision has a radius of 60 feet.
Actions
Multiattack: The Nymph can make three attacks: one with each one of it's weapons, and a Bonus Action for a third attack with either of it's two weapons.
Scimitar +1: Melee Weapon Attack - +6 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target.
Hit: 7 (1d6 +4) slashing damage.
Barbed Whip +1: Melee Weapon Attack - +6 to hit, reach 10 feet, one target.
Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage.
Legendary Actions
The Nymph can take 1 legendary action, choosing from teh options below. The legendary action can only be used at the end of another creature's turn. The Nymph gains it's legendary action at the start of it's turn.
Cantrip: The Nymphy casts a cantrip.
Extra Attack: The Nymph can attack again with either weapon.
Tree Stride: The Nymph can step magically into one living tree within her reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or bigger.
Experience for the encounter
Gherldalie - 1800
2x Dryads - 400
4x Pixies - 200
4x Sprites - 200
Total - 2600
Treasure
Gherldalie drops a Scimitar +1, her plant armor and her barbed whip whither and die when she does, rendering them useless to anybody else. She also has 3 pinches of Fairy Dust, 1d4 + 1 Potions of Greater Cure Wounds 4d4+4, 1d4 + 1 scrolls of Druid spells, level 1 for half and level 2 for the other half.
I put up the sub-boss encounter. If anyone wants to test run it with 4 level 4 characters, let me know how it works. Also, opinions on her and the encounter are also welcomed.
Slit518 wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Would any of you mind if I did the stat block for Dr. Tendrill as well? I like writing out stat blocks for creatures.
Slit518 wrote:
If the seedy establishment offers access to "women of the night" ... and maybe "men of the night" too ...
How about "Creatures of the Night", inspired by the Vampire ability, which is actually a Clue and atmosphere material? (It could become a red herring if a PC decides there must be vampires in the area.)
When Dr. Tendrill has to come near the surface - I imagine he meets his surface-dwelling minions in a cave - his fundamentally not-of-this-world nature spooks the wild animals living nearby, so they howl / chitter / act nervous and on-edge. The druids have heard about this as a rumor and were planning to investigate further after the festval is over. The intellect devourer is a confirmation that there IS something here to be investigated.
Dr. Tendrill has always felt he does not belong of this world. The other Ithilid's have mocked and ridiculed Dr. Tendrill's outlook on life. He was an outcast, who was shunned from his society for his hobbies. Knowing that nobody on the surface shall accept him, he has decided to amass an army to conquer the surface land, so that he may become ruler and have a place to call his own. King Tendrill they shall call him! No longer will he be a lowly doctor, no. He will be king!
This caused Dr. Tendrill to make alliances unusual to his people, as well as controlling many minds to get the waves of change in motion. He works with such odd creatures as Flumphs, the Beholder kin known as Spectators, and even Myconids, just to name a few.
Flumphs will make great surface scouts, as well as cause chaos and confuse those up there. Myconids can server as soldiers, marching in to conquer weakened villages, as well as basic guards leading up to his lair. While the Spectators will work as his personal guard, watching over Dr. Tendrill to make sure no harm comes his way, and that his plans may come to fruition, once and for all!
Dr. Tendrill
Medium aberration, Lawful Evil
Armor Class: 18 (Umberhulk Half-Plate, and Dexterity)
Hit Points: 112 (14d8 + 28)
Speed: 30 feet
Initiative: +2
Str: 14 (+2) Dex: 14 (+2) Con: 14 (+2) Int: 20 (+5) Wis: 18 (+4) Cha: 18 (+4)
Skills: Athletics +5 Stealth +5 Arcana +8 History +8 Investigation +8 Insight +7 Perception +7 Deception +7 Intimidation +7 Persusaion +7
Saves: Int +8 Wis +7 Cha +7
Languages: Common, Deep Speech, Dwarven, Elvish, Gnomish, Undercommon, Telepathy 120 feet
Challenge: 8 (3900 XP)
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics): The Minflayer's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 16). The Mindflayer can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: Detect Thoughts, Levitate, Mage Hand
Spellcasting: The Mindflayer is a 10th-level spellcaster. It's spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). The Mindflayer has the following spells:
Cantrips (at will): Blade Ward, Dancing Lights, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, True Strike
1st level (4 slots): Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep
2nd level (3 slots): Blindness/Deafness, Enlarge/Reduce, Invisibility
3rd level (3 slots): Dispel Magic, Fear, Slow
4th level (3 slots): Evard's Black Tentacles, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Phantasmal Killer
5th level (2 slot): Bigby's Hand, Telekinesis
Magic Resistance: The Mindflayer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Greater War Magic: When the Mindflayer casts a spell as their action, they may make one melee attack as a Bonus Action.
Greater Darkvision: Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
Insightful Warrior: The Mindflayer can use it's Intelligence modifier for attack and damage rolls it makes with it's sword.
Magical Aficionado: The Mindflayer can have up to two Concentration spells active at one time.
Actions
Multiattack: The Mindflayer can make two attacks: one with each one of it's weapons, or twice with it's sword.
Hellblazen: Melee Weapon Attack - +8 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target.
Hit: 10 (1d8 +6) slashing damage. Hellblazen has a secondary effect when it connects, roll 1d6 to determine the effect.
- The target takes 1d4 extra fire damage, the target then must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or any light combustable materials, such as paper will burn up.
- The target takes 1d4 extra cold damage, the target then must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or have their speed reduced to half until the end of their next turn.
- The target takes 1d4 extra electric damage, the target then must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be paralyze until the end of the Mindflayer's next turn.
- The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute, each round suffering 1d4 poison damage. The target may attempt the save again on each one of their turns.
- The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or any health lost by the weapon's attack replenishes the wielder's health, but not above maximum.
- No additional effect.
Tentacles: Melee Weapon Attack - +8 to hit, reach 5 feet, one creature.
Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) psychic damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 16) and must succeed on a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw or be stunned until this grapple ends.
Extract Brain: Melee Weapon Attack - +8 to hit, reach 5 feet, one incapacitated humanoid grappled by the Mindflayer.
Hit: The target takes 55 (10d10) piercing damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the mind flayer kills the target by extracting and devouring it's brain.
Mind Blast: (Recharge 5-6): The Mindflayer magically emits psychic enery in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw or take 23 (4d8 + 5) psychic damage and be stunned for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of it's turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Legendary Actions
The Mindflayer can take 1 legendary action, choosing from the options below. The legendary action can only be used at the end of another creature's turn. The Mindflayer gains it's legendary action at the start of it's turn.
Cantrip: The Mindflayer casts a cantrip.
Extra Attack: The Mindflayer can attack again with it's sword.
Experience for the encounter
Dr. Tendrill - 3900
8x Spectator - 5600
Total - 9500
Treasure
Dr. Tendrill drops Umberhulk Half-Plate, which has the same armor class as Half-Plate armor, but weighs just as much as light armor. He also drops Hellblazen, his magical longsword, which does 1d8 + 1 slashing damage, plus anything off of the chart. He also has a treasure hoard of 10,000 gold pieces as well as gold crafted cups, bowls, plates, utensils, crowns, etc... all totaling another 10,000 gold.
P.S.
I will probably set up a lair, and lair actions for Dr. Tendrill as well, for when you fight him in his lair.
I posted up the stats for the end boss, let me know what you think of Dr. Tendrill.
BRJN wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
Zalbarthemad wrote:
Ok, the stats/descriptions for Daronna Dawnforge (added some more notes), Zahara Willowrose, Fiona Fairweather, and Valeria Adalwind have all been updated and are ready for the module document. 
(http://community.wizards.com/forum/product-and-general-dd-discussions/threads/4221056#comment-52170536)
More female NPCs to come soon! First up, the assistant high priestess at the temple who is an ardent supporter and follower of Valeria Adalwind (and working to help Valeria influence/control Fistwind Benison)!
Elrinna Ironshield, Assistant High Priestess (Cleric - Level 7) has also now been added to the female NPCs section.
(http://community.wizards.com/forum/product-and-general-dd-discussions/threads/4221056#comment-52170536)
Akeisha wrote:
Also, if anyone can find us royalty free pictures for the Warrior Nymph Gherldalie, protector of the forests, and Dr. Tendrill, the Ithilid, ready to claim stakes on the surface world.
Thanks in advance!
Slit518 wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
Zalbarthemad wrote:
Ethelda and Evelrida merged into my general NPC post, ready for incorporating in the PDF. They will undoubtedly get revised as the plot develops and hooks for the later encounters are clarified. Meanwhile, more NPCs to come. This town is getting interesting. 
Slit518 wrote:
Akeisha wrote:
Okay guys, I need some input.
We (Akeisha and I) are having great fun creating a whole bunch of NPCs in Lastdown who are busy interacting with each other. Players who like sandboxing in towns, talking to NPCs and uncovering little stories, will hopefully find something to amuse them. It's amusing us, anyway
Problem is, apart from the Water Weird cave, there's no actual adventure for us to hook into. Where do you want the NPCs to tell the PCs to go and what do you want the PCs to do when they get there? For example, we can give you a drunken farmer who has seen flumphs but ... then what? What do you want the players to do about the flumphs?
Just a thought - if we don't want to include stat blocks in the PDF, we could post them here and put a link in the PDF.
Quest - The Derelict House
This is a level-3 quest worth a maximum of 2400 XP.
Quest Hooks
Paul Bearer, the undertaker encountered in the Queen and Dragon, has the job of clearing the house of a recently-deceased gentleman but it appears to be inhabited by monsters. He will pay the PCs 200gp each to clear them out. Afterwards, if they wish to acquire ownership of the house, he can arrange it for a nominal fee of 10gp.
Ground Floor
Through the front door, which isn't locked, leads to an entrance hall about 40 feet square. It is sparsely furnished with a large ornate carpet that looks quite valuable and a pair of guilded couches. An elaborate staircase leads up from the back of the hall, to a gallery that runs around three sides. To left and right, under the gallery, are double doors that are closed. Pacing up and down in a cage in the middle of the room is a tiger. It is hungry and frightened and would attack anyone or anything in an effort to escape if the cage was opened but if fed and pacified and then released it would attach itself to the party as a pet. At the back of the room, in a niche under the staircase, is a plain wooden chest with a pentagram on the lid. Inside the chest is a vial of red liquid that sparkles when shaken but it is just strawberry juice and not a magic potion. Also in the chest is a rat trap with markings in dwarf runes that say "Travork's Emporium".
The double doors on the left and right lead through deep doorways to a passage that around three sides of the room under the gallery. Where the passage runs underneath the stairway has been blocked by a large wooden cabinet. The cabinet is empty and easily moved but moving it triggers a trap (DC15 Perception to detect). Electricity arcs along the passage from one corner to the other and anyone standing in that section of the passage must make a DC14 Dexterity save or take 2d10 damage.
The doors to the left of the hall lead across the passage to another set of double doors that open into a dining room. There is a large oak table in the middle and a small side-table at the back, on which there is a clay pipe, a jar of tobacco and a small crystal prism. In the two back corners of the room are stone statues of nymphs. One of them is a Gargoyle and will attack anyone approaching the side table. On the main table there are plates of spoiled food on which 9 Rats are feasting. If disturbed, they will leave the food and attack intruders.
Tiger: 200 XP; Gargoyle 450 XP; Rats 10 XP each.
The carpet in the hall is worth 100gp and the guilded couches 140gp each. The crystal prism in the dining room is worth 10gp.
Upper Floor
The stairway up from the ground floor leads to a gallery from which three rooms lead off through open doorways.
In the first room to be entered, the roof has collapsed and a man in wizard's robes lies where he fell when a heavy beam descended and smashed his skull. He has been dead for a week. If restored to life by a high-level cleric, he will remember nothing except that his name was Umbersand. Guarding the room is an Imp - the wizard's former familiar - who has shapechanged into a raven and joined a flock of 11 real ravens who have flown in through the hole in the roof. It will attack anyone who tries to disturb its former master and, if it does, the common ravens will join in. If the imp is killed, any remaining common ravens will fly away.
Imp: 200 XP; Common Ravens: 10 XP each
In the next room to be entered, the floor is stained with dried blood and a hideous creature lies dead. It was an intellect devourer that had taken over Umbersand but failed to escape from his skull before it was smashed, was fatally injured and crawled here to die. There is nothing else of interest in the room.
The last room appears to be a library and the walls appear to be lined with books of all kinds but this is a permanent illusion. In one corner there is what appears to be a treasure chest but it is a mimic. The illusion conceals a spiral stairway that leads down to the cellar.
Mimic: 450 XP
The Cellar
The cellar can only be reached down the back stairs from the upper floor. The walls are plain stone blocks and unremarkable and there is no natural light. There is an antechamber about 20 feet square at the bottom of the stairway, with an unlocked wooden door leading to an inner room behind it about 30 feet by 40 feet in size. The antechamber is filled with discarded and broken shelves, chairs and other pieces of furniture, but nothing of value. Searching it will take 1 minute and negate any chance to surprise anything in the next room.
In the inner room there is a magic portal inscribed in a pentagram on the floor, and two Spined Devils that were summoned through the portal but trapped here when the portal closed. The magic word to open the portal was known only to Umbersand and hence to the intellect devourer who inhabited him. If re-opened, the portal leads directly to a ruined temple near Doctor Tendril's lair. It can be opened from the other end without knowing the magic word, to return quickly to Lastdown.
On a DC15 Wisdom (Perception) check, a PC who has previously encountered Immoralia Phew will recognise the lingering scent of her unique perfume. She arrived in Lastdown through this portal.
The devils are immediately hostile. Each of them carries a silver fork (as trident) worth 50gp. The forks ring loudly like tuning forks whenever they score a hit or are struck against a hard object. The devils have no damage resistance to silver weapons, so if a fork is taken it can usefully be used against them. The tines of each fork are uniquely shaped, like the wards of a key. Somewhere, there is a lock that they fit.
Spined Devil: 450 XP each
BoldItalic wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
iserith wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
iserith wrote:
Every NPC you guys are taking the time to stat out (???) should point to the adventure location, the villain, and its goals. Otherwise, the design is unfocused and will tend to cause the players to "switch off." It'd be okay if they also point to some side quest or the like that is unrelated, but just be aware that this is extra work and likely pulls the players away from the central conflict.
NPCs need to serve the purposes of the adventure for this kind of design or they are superfluous or even confusing.
I like what you guys are doing and I love world building. But I do want to underscore the point that what you create is a game element, and IMO, must serve a purpose in the game as well as in the game world.
Even if that purpose is merely to characterize or add color. Other purposes might be related to plot hooks, mythology of the world, resources, leads, etc.
Again, I like the stuff you guys are putting out. It's cool. I think the community - built thing may suffer from a lack of unifying vision, though, so Purpose of a game element may need additional clarity. Food for thought.
Yup. I'd love to give all 30 or so NPCs purpose in the grand scheme of things. If they each contribute some details about the main plot that's great. I'll wait to do that until the main plot has been written.
Doctor Tendril is working on a psionic domination device in his lair within a ruined monastery on a cliff in the middle of a swamp. The nearest town is Lastdown which makes an obvious target for his experiments. At some point, unless the PCs intervene, the device will be ready and will psychically dominate all the residents of Lastdown who will become Tendril's thralls. Some will become food for the villain; others will serve as its agents to set up the fall of future towns and cities.
Clues discovered by the PCs as they go about their business in Lastdown point to this nefarious plot and the lair of the villain.
iserith wrote:
iserith wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Well, the five female NPC town folk that I have detailed so far can each add a nice bit to things in their own way...
1.) Daronna as a source of information and rumours, plus any normal weapons and armour adventurers will need. A good solid rumour/information chart could be worked up for her after the adventure has been well-outlined, etc.
2.) Zahara as an in-town source for spell components that adventurers may need. She may not be important in the overall scheme of things, but her shop can still be useful for uncommon/unusal spell components if adventurers are in need. Also, because of her relationship with Daronna, there is a chance she may also be a rather nice source for potential rumours and/or information.
3.) Fiona as a source of non-weapon supplies for adventurers and as the unofficial leader against Valeria's devious town network. She would definitely make a good ally for characters who stand opposed to Valeria or have gotten on Valeria's bad side while doing whatever in town. If a person were so disposed, we could also have some of her shipments fail to arrive due to raids by Tendril's goons or other "groups (bandits)" working the area, thus providing a story hook to travel outside of town.
4.) Valeria as someone who is a bit power-hungry and someone for adventurers to not cross or want to deal with while in town. Would this extend beyond town? We have room to play with this potential development if desired! Perhaps she is also responsible for some of the problems experienced by Fiona as retribution and could provide a possible link to bandit activity to fund her activities/goals.
5.) Elrinna could be considered Valeria's right-hand woman and Valeria's access into Lastdown's religious order (as yet another way to consolidate her power/position). Not the most important of the five obviously, but perhaps she will feed information she learns back to Valeria...
Any other female NPCs and the one male gigolo one for The Goblin's Head that I will be working on will just be minor "flavouring" for the town...
We might make up rumour tables for the NPCs in the town, with just inter-NPC stuff to start with and placeholders for everything outside the town. To be filled in later.
Passing thought - we ought to make it clear in the preamble that this module requires at least the PHB and MM - can't be played with the Basic PDFs alone.
BoldItalic wrote:
Ok, we now have a map for Lastdown! BoldItalic and I bounced around some random maps I generated at the following website and this is the "chosen one"...
Inkwell's Ideas (Random City Map Generator) --> We can give credit in the module.
http://www.inkwellideas.com/roleplaying_tools/random_city/
We can mark the locations for specific establishments on the map later, but at least we have our initial map!
Okay, I've finished detailing my NPCs and post #31 is complete. There's a master list in post #30. Akeisha is doing the last five from that list and there seems to be a lot brewing there that Doctor Tendril is maybe stirring up. Can't wait to see what she posts
Farmer Enhard will report that he has seen creatures [flumphs] on his farm and that they have tried to put warning images of horrible things [intellect devourers] into his mind but what happens if the PCs go to his farm and communicate with the flumphs is not defined. It's up to you guys to write that.
I'm thinking of writing some backstory ideas for players to pick from, to bond their characters to the town. The starting event (post #37) will give players an opportunity to role-play them. I want the players to care about the town and the people in it, so that they are motivated to fight against the evil forces that threaten it.
Holy crap! That is a huge, town map. It's like a small city!
Slit518 wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
Lastdown
The town developed as a trading hub and it is run by merchants. Barges sail up and down the River Tumble but this is as far as they can get going upstream because of the waterfalls east of the town. Cargoes are unloaded at the docks and transferred to wagons that go north and south by road.
The area inside the town walls south of the river is called "The Slump". It is the poor quarter of town and well-meaning attempts to clean it up and make it a less awful place to live have invariably failed. The green area near the middle of it is a cemetery. Travork's Emporium is the red building just to the right of the cemetery. The circular building above and to the right of that is a watch tower. Traffick Ten-Toes hangs about in The Slump somewhere but if he has a house, it is not marked on any map.
The two bridges across the River Tumble are called "Slump Bridge" and "The Long Bridge". There is another watch tower by the north end of Slump Bridge and that is where Captain Dorthel has his office. It overlooks the town park (known as Flinders Green) which is the green area on the map. It hasn't been built on because it was originally a marsh and the ground is too soft. The red building just to the north of Flinders Green is the Mayor's House. The east-west street that it stands on is Market Street. The buildings in the block surrounding the Mayor's house are actually market stalls and that block is called the Market Square.
(To be continued)
Possible PC Bonds to Lastdown
Human
-
You are the brother/sister/cousin of Sergeant Davy – second in command of the town watch. You haven't seen him for a long time, but you have come to sort out the disposition of your late aunt's estate, of which you stand to inherit half each. Amongst other things, she owned a street of houses in Uppercourt Winterham.
-
You have heard that your sister Dolly is living in some sort of ménage with an innkeeper called Jugg and your poor white-haired old mother wants you to rescue her and bring her home. Dolly always was a bit of a free spirit.
Dwarf
Your have come looking for your old friend and drinking buddy Travork Shelfgrund to tell him that his grandmother has died and left him her collection of axe handles.
Elf / Half-Elf
You have come to Lastdown looking for your half-brother Hardfoss Woodtorch, to tell him that he has been forgiven and it is safe for him to come home if he brings the money back, plus 10%.
Halfling
You are a keen collector of recipes in your spare time, especially pork dishes, and you have heard that a celebrated chef called Roland Butter is working in Lastdown. You would like to meet him.
Acolyte
The Arch High Priest Borham Torcher forgot to pack his scroll case when he set off for Lastdown, and you have been sent post-haste to chase after him and deliver it to him.
Charlatan
You sometimes call yourself Cenfrith Lionworth and peddle worthless stuff as valuable herbal ingredients to gullible fools. Business is good but you have to keep moving, and your next target is a girl called Zahara here in Lastdown. You wouldn't want to bump into any previous victims.
Criminal
You need a favour from Traffick Ten-Toes. You are willing to trade the name of the drow who assassinated King Athelstan (which you learnt by spying on the kings' chancellor who actually hired the drow) for anything he can give you that will incriminate a woman who calls herself Rosie Potts.
Entertainer
Lastdown seems like a good place to perform and there doesn't seem to be too much competition. You have it in mind to work the Five Oaks and the Goblin's Head and maybe move on to the White Goose and the Knave's Head. You have heard that the Queen and Dragon is a bit upmarket so you might give that a miss.
Folk Hero
Your home village, in the hill-country east of Lastdown, was recently attacked by goblins. You have led the defence and beaten them off for now, but you need a ranger who understands goblins a lot better than you do, to help you track them back to their lair so that you can eliminate them once and for all. You hope that the famous Bernilla Wanderdell, who you think is in Lastdown somewhere, will help you.
Guild Artisan
You are intending the set up shop in Lastdown and you have high hopes of making a good living there. You will probably need permits of some sort from the town authorities, whoever they are. The mayor, probably, if there is one.
Guild Artisan (Merchant)
You have heard on the grapevine that a merchant called Unctious Silk is in Lastdown meeting up with a grain merchant called Adalwin. You don't know what sort of deal they are discussing, but whatever it is, you want a slice of it.
Noble
Your good friend Wingist of Overpath, one of the Overpaths of Overpath, is engaged to your cousin Arabella Swordsmite-Swordsmite but he seems to have run off to this god-forsaken little town and got himself involved with some chit of a girl. You have come here to put a stop to it and drag him back by the ears, if necessary.
Outlander / Hermit
Something is very wrong in your part of the world. Plants are growing oddly, animals are behaving oddly and the weather has gone crazy. You need a ranger or a druid or something. There's a woman called Bernilla who might be able to help, if she sobered up. Or one of the druids who was seen south of the town yesterday and heading this way. You don't like towns, they aren't natural, but needs must.
Sage
The long-expected confluence of five planets in quincunx opposition predicted by Bulander of Threbes is about to happen, and your calculation of the precise location were the node will be exactly overhead has brought you to this odd little town in the middle of nowhere. It has no libraries, no academic reputation, in fact no reason at all to even exist. Curious indeed.
Sailor
Your barge has docked in Lastdown for the cargo to be unloaded and then it is going in for lengthy repairs. It will be at least a week before you can get a place on another vessel. Meanwhile, you will see what the town has to offer. You have heard that the Goblin's Head is the place to go for a little light relaxation.
Soldier
You have heard that Lastdown is looking for recruits for its militia. Being placed between the territories of two warlords, there is a fair chance of some worthwhile action. The Captain of the Watch is probably the one you want to see.
Urchin
You arrived at the docks as a stowaway on a sailing barge, having fled from a terrible, harsh, brutal master in another town. You managed to slip away un-noticed and have a few coins that you stole from the crew of the barge. You are unsure what to do next but there seem to be a lot of watchmen patrolling the town, so it might be a good time to find some sort of cheap inn where you wouldn't look out of place.
Real life has thrown me a bit of a wobbly here, so that is the reason for the slight delay in my finishing the last of the NPCs, BUT I will have them done by the time the weekend is finished! Valeria Adalwind is already in the process of becoming more interesting/fun! Mwahahahaha! 
BoldItalic wrote:
Why would that necessarily be an immutable fact? Besides even if so see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Specifically with regards to mice and dolphins. Just because something is intelligent doesn't mean it wouldn't benefit from a symbiotic relationship with another race and even benefit from allowing that race to underestimate their intelligence.
LordCorwin wrote:
Your response is both perplexing and disheartening. Also nothing to do with the point I was making. But okay.
Zalbarthemad wrote:
The reason I wasn't commenting is because I didn't want to be that guy. Everyone's really enthusiastic and putting in a lot of effort, I don't want to put a damper on that. I'm just the guy doing a bunch of cut and paste, so I'm not really involved in the creative or logistical side of it.
Plotwise it's been seat-of-the-pants stitching together. There doesn't seem to be any real focus or direction. Lots of things are going contrary to canon and lore. Again, that's fine, it's just not something I would personally do. I'm a bit of a stick in the mud for that stuff, but that's just me. I have an annoying habit of always asking why. I get the Illithid. I do not get the flumphs. Sure they're a cool creature, but they're creatures of the Underdark. Dozens if not hundreds of kilometers below the surface. They feed off psionic energy and Flumphs on the surface would die before too long.
Why would Flumphs be here. There seems to be absolutely no purpose for them.
Zalbarthemad wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Zalbarthemad wrote:
BRJN wrote:
I won't take out the farmer just yet, until the flumphs thing is decided, but if he's not wanted, it will only take one key press and he's gone. There are no knock-on effects.
Passing thought - suppose Tendril is testing his psychic domination machine on a herd of cattle, before moving on to humans? On the basis that, if it doesn't work as well as it should, cattle can't talk about it whereas half-dominated humans might realise something was up and warn other people. He's using Farmer Enhard's cattle because the farm is conveniently situated above an exit from the underdark, and that's why the flumphs are there. They just popped out above ground for a few hours to feed on the energy of the affected cattle, happened to meet the farmer, and have now gone back underground again. If the PCs investigate the farm, they do not find any flumphs but the do find telepathic cows (equivalent to a Speak with Animals spell effect, maybe). The machine seems to have worked, up to a point. There's a fogou on his land that is reputed to be spooky or eldritch and that's because it's an entrance to the underdark. Mysterious wheel tracks lead from the middle of a field to the fogou. That's where the machine was trundled out and back again, on a cart. Any good?
(edit - more)
Beneath the fogou is a mini-dungeon with underdarky encounters worth about 2400 XP. Overcome those, and you reach a huge stone door which is locked with two silver keyholes. You need the two silver tridents from the cellar of the derelict house to unlock the door. (Corny video-gamey stuff - you need two keys to advance to the next level).
How does that appeal?
Akeisha wrote:
Zalbarthemad wrote:
Here is another possibility to draw attention to the "good" doctor...one of his mind controlled/dominated lackeys is not quite as under control as thought (we can devise some nice excuse for the psychic resistance) and is now doing odd things in town (if a townie) or near town (if one of the "country" folk)...
What do you all think? Is this a workable possibility that could "draw" the attention of adventurers in this particular scenario?
Akeisha wrote:
dave2008 wrote:
dave2008 wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
One of the roads that just ends at the riverbank is for the Ol' Swimmin' Hole. I recommend the road by the south end of the left-hand bridge, and the "hole" be the part of the river sheltered by the southernmost bridge pillar. The water is shallow, about 3-4 feet Fully-loaded riverboats get stuck on the bottom here. A slow current flows through, so the water does not muck up or turn stagnant.
This area is also a free "bath area" for those who do not mind taking a bath in public and do not want to go into a bath house due to the reputation of such a place, or are just too cash-starved to afford the coins for a tubful of hot water. A cop sometimes hangs around to maintain propriety. (Usually means telling bathers to quit standing up in the shallows.)
Sometimes an especially obnoxious drunk finds himself being carried over here for an impromptu bath and/or sobering-up in the cool river water. Throw him off the bridge, and he can wade back to shore all right by himself.
If the PCs are for some reason walking around town late at night, they might hear a rowdy crowd, a loud splash, followed by an inarticulate call of distress and much laughter.
I skimmed over and didn't see something relating directly to this: Evelrida has the intellect devourer, so as a matter of hook, she could/should be killed during/at the water weird encounter so that the players can see she has been taken over, thus giving them impetus to investigate the larger picture, and the other druidess to hire/help them.
If that's already been covered, simply realize that this post is a figment of your imagination, reminding you of your plot hook.
BRJN wrote:
BRJN wrote:
Whir wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Akeisha wrote:
dave2008 wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
dave2008 wrote:
BoldItalic wrote:
Akeisha wrote:
Sorry for being late on getting more NPC work done! 
Things have been a bit busy here... 
But I will get it done though!
iserith wrote:
As this project has been inactive for some time now I've moved on to other endeavors and will no longer participate in it.
Anyone wishing a copy of the work to date please download and save before the end of the month as I do my monthly file cleanup at the beginning of September.
download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5jpg9WVvWBKM0loekpnMy03dFk/view?usp=sharing
Zalbarthemad wrote:
Akeisha wrote:
Slit518 wrote:
I went to look at the download - thank you for the Credits mention - and noticed whole paragraphs were written in Latin. Was this on purpose?
BRJN wrote: