mirthcard vs. Buttercup
Oh This Is Bull$*!+
An introductory adventure for 4-6 characters of levels 1-4
The Set-Up:
The PCs are in the village of Teklos for the annual spring Festival of Good Cheer. As this is an introductory adventure, they may or may not know each other. Since they can spend some time buying wares, drinking, competing in contests of strength and skill, etc., they may have a chance to run into each other, but it isn't necessary. The DM can feel free to fill this idle time with side encounters or to set-up later adventures.
As the Festival draws to an end, however, everyone goes to attend the play, a tradition in these parts for over 20 years. The play recounts the story of The Herd - half-men, half-beasts who have plagued this region for as long as anyone can remember. The monsters, portrayed by actors wearing hides and a bull's skull on their shoulders (Picture #3), are shown terrorizing, kidnapping and slaughtering hundreds of innocents. Men, women and children have all fallen victim to The Herd, although a few times the beasts have been brought down as well. The story of the handful of heroes who have been lucky enough from time to time to fell one of the creatures are told with reverance and awe. However, they pale in comparison to the amount of death and destruction that The Herd has brought, which is given physical impact when a small boy pulls back a curtain on the side of the stage to reveal a huge wooden box filled with the skulls and bones of those who have fallen victim to the monsters (Picture #2).
A gasp goes through the audience when the remains of the dead are revealed and much crying is heard. The narrator has just stepped forward to deliver a moral on valuing those around you and being wary, when a older man (obviously drunk) runs up on stage, screaming "Stop this, you murderers! You will let her die! Bastards, all of you! You talk about heroes, but none of you is man enough to stand up to the beasts!" The man breaks into wracking sobs and drops to his knees on stage as he continues, "Who will save my daughter ... my beautiful Eidymia ... ?!?" A heckler calls out from the audience, "Ha! Maybe if she was beautiful!" Small chuckles ripple through the crowd. The man looks to the crowd, "I have money ... please ... If I can't appeal to greed, doesn't anyone have a heart?" The narrator comes forward and kicks at the man, saying, "Go home, Theomyn, before you embarrass yourself further." Theomyn stumbles to his feet and makes his way off the stage, muttering, "Bastards ... what good is all of my money, if I'm surrounded by bastards..." With that, he leaves and the crowd disperses.
The bait has been tossed, will the party take the hook?
What's really going on:
Theomyn is a wealthy merchant who will pay well for the return of his daughter Eidymia. She is the latest to be abducted by The Herd, a family of Minotaurs that makes its home in a group of caves and tunnels several miles from the village of Teklos. The reason that the villagers have no interest in rescuing Eidymia is that she was born with a severely disfigured face (Picture #4), and she is known to be quite the shrew. The locals feel that risking their lives over the welfare of an ugly b!+¢h is pretty much a lost cause, especially since her father is such a greedy capitalist.
As for the minotaurs, although they are (or were) the villains that the play purports them to be, what the townsfolk don't know is that their numbers are dwindling. In fact, there are only two of the family left - the ancient Mettallax and his young son Orexykos. Mettallax is an ancient and evil force to be reckoned with and the DM should feel free to scale him in power according to the total levels of the party. Giving him a few levels in barbarian would be good way of doing this if the party is all 4th level, for instance. Orexykos, on the other hand, is young and inexperienced, but still as tough as any normal minotaur.
Although Eidymia has been gone for several weeks, she is not dead. The PCs may think so, and they may try to convince Theomyn of it, but he will not believe them and will gladly pay the PCs beforehand, if they are willing to search for her, more if they rescue her. He isn't the calculating businessman everyone believes him to be. He knows that his daughter isn't ever going to be married, so he was simply trying to make sure her life would be as secure as possible after he was gone. Now that she is gone, his is willing to give all of that wealth up if he gets her back.
The true twist to this scenario, and the only reason that Eidymia is not dead, is that she and Orexykos have fallen in love.
You see, Orexykos, unlike his father, is actually a kind-hearted soul. He hates Mettallax for never loving him and the divide between them has grown in the last five years since Orexykos' mother died. They even live in completely separate parts of their cave complex. Mettallax knows that his son is soft and he bullied Orexykos into kidnapping a human in hopes that the young calf would either be killed or grow up. Although he would never admit it to himself, the old bull knows he is getting up there in years and had also hoped that the villagers would mount an assault on him and he could go out in a blaze of glory. Since neither of those things has happened, Mettallax doesn't know what to do. He is at the point now that he is ready to kill both Orexykos and Eidymia himself.
As for Eidymia, she is not the cold-hearted wench that the townsfolk believe her to be. That mean exterior was only there to hide her true beauty inside from being hurt by the stares and insults of her insensitive and ignorant neighbors. Once Orexykos kidnapped her, he found that he couldn't bring himself to kill her and in the few weeks that they spent together, Eidymia has come to realize that she has finally found someone he isn't repulsed by her. They are plotting their elopement and their escape from Mettallax. The only catch is that Eidymia loves her father Theomyn deeply, and doesn't wish to leave him all alone (her mother has died as well, providing another connection with Orexykos), but she can't see how he would approve of her love. What will the young couple do when their daddies just can't get along?
The Main Event:
When the party takes on Theomyn's cause, he will hire a guide (Picture #1) to take near the cave area where The Herd is believed to reside. Once there, they have to figure out the family politics involved in the situation. Orexykos is probably the first encounter they will have. He will try to defend Eidymia from the party, while she will be screaming and trying to explain and bring peace to the situation. Mettallax will wait to see how his son handles it before becoming involved. If the party takes on Orexykos, then Mettallax will stay out of the fight. If a peace is negotiated, the old bull will charge into battle, infuriated by his son's ineptitude and weak will (raging if he has Barbarian levels). The party could see this as an ambush and begin attacking both minotaurs. If they don't, Orexykos will join them in trying to defeat his father. If they do, then all heck will break loose as Eidymia jumps into the fray as well, trying to save her lover. Regardless, Mettallax will try his best to kill everyone.
The End?:
The adventure could come to several conclusions:
---Mettallax and Orexykos are dead. The party are praised as the heroes of all heroes who have eliminated The Herd. If Eidymia has been killed as well, then her father will become a very powerful and weathy enemy. If she has not been killed, then she will once she has inherited her father's wealth.
---Mettallax is dead, but Orexykos isn't. If Eidymia has been killed, then Orexykos will turn on them. If she hasn't, then the heroes have the complex problem of how to deal with a peaceful minotaur in a culture that reviles him. If they want the rest of the substantial reward, they will have to convince Theomyn to accept his daughter's new love - a near-impossible task.
---Mettallax is alive, but nearly everyone else is dead. The remaining members of the party barely make their escape alive. If they get away with Eidymia, Theomyn will pay them well, if they don't, he won't. Everything returns to the status quo, although the town may start up a mob to hunt down Mettallax if they know that he is the last remaining member of The Herd.
OOC: Happy Holidays, everybody!!!!!