I thought I'd go ahead and post what I've written up for this adventure so far. Hopefully it will interest you all.
The PCs leave Whistlewater (a small village on a river, the edge of settled and protected lands) to return to the cypress swamps. They take the road south of the village, as they did before, intending to cut east about 1/2 way along the trail. The trail runs along the bank of a creek. This creek has been artificially deepened and smoothed in many places. It is used as a canal to haul logs up from the swamp. Note that because of this, the bank here is very clear and steep, preventing any snags for the guide ropes. On afternoon of their first day, they are met on the trail by an ox caravan, hauling logs. There are six oxen each with a driver and a load of logs being pulled up the canal.
They are accompanied by a small supply wagon with a driver, a guard and carrying a passenger: a woodsman with a badly mauled and infected arm. He has slashes down to the bone in the upper arm, and puncture wounds in his shoulder and face. He is dying. The injuries happened four days ago, the day before they left camp. The injured man is too sick to talk, but the others say that he was attacked by a giant wild cat on his way to the privy at night. The beast was driven off, but there was no one at camp who could heal his wounds. The drivers fear that the beast has returned since they left; they have been commissioned to find a huntsman to track it and deal with it permanently.
Goodberries will give the man back most of his HP, but cannot cure the infection. He needs a cure disease spell for that, or the constant care of a skilled healer for several weeks. His name is Marius.
Upon reaching the camp the next day, if the PCs choose to go there, they find the camp in an uproar; four days ago, the day after the first man was mauled, the camp’s slave boy was stolen away; everyone assumes it was the cat. The next day, huge paw-prints were found in the mud beside the bath-house. The men hunted the beast that night, and caught sight of it. They attacked with spears and arrows. No one saw how badly it was hit in the dark, but blood was found on the ground nearby. Since then, each night the creature has been heard howling and prowling. The men are beginning to say it is a “ghost cat” and are afraid to stir from their cabins at night.
The Logging Camp: on the edge of the Cypress swamps, at then end of the road from Whistlewater, a small logging operation is located. They cut 3-5 trees per week, trimming them of their heaviest limbs, cutting them into manageable sizes, and then dragging them north to the sawmill in Whistlewater once or twice a month. (Not e that the distance is about 50 miles, or 2 days travel by horse or foot. Oxen are used to pull the logs, and thus the journey takes closer to 5 days.)
The camp consists of an open air shed about 15’ by 40’ where the work is done, 3 cabins that can sleep up to 12 men each, a cabin where the 2 foremen and the manager have their offices and living quarters, a cookhouse and dining pavillion, and a bath-house and outhouse. There is also a large pen for the oxen, and a half-stable to shelter them. A shed houses grain, harnesses and yokes. A second shed nearby holds all the equipment, including saws, axes, ropes, chains, stakes, poles, hatchets, knives, etc...
NPCs:
Manager: Remus Batietes:
L4 Expert (Wood cutter)
an excellent manager, he runs the camp fairly but strictly. He is liked by most of the men, although Diocles hates him for breaking up his attempt to run a still in the swamp last summer.
Foremen: Sextus and Septus Troplito
L2 commoners
Twin brothers, these men are an excellent working pair. Septus can be cruel at times, but Sextus reigns him in when needed. The men respect but do not like either brother very much. Because twinship is often taken as a sign of “magic” the brothers are suspicious of strangers from Miran; they left ahead of a lynch mob five years ago.
Loggers: Marius, Virgil, Giton, Diocles, Marcus, Antony, Hercules, Flavius (and others)
L1 commoners
These common men are hard-working, hard-drinking (when they go to whistlewater), rough, crude, generally good-natured men.
Slaves: there are three remaining slaves in camp; they do the cooking, the water-hauling and other non-logging related jobs around camp. They are all male, ranging in age from 14 to 29. They are called Rufus (age 14 gawky and sullen; the missing boy was his friend), Claudus (he limps and is thus called “the lame”, age 21 quiet but friendly) and Cibor (the one who cooks, age 29, rude if he can get away with it, otherwise sniveling)
All the men in the camp are a bit worried, fearful of going out at night, getting steadily more nervous by the night as they continue to hear the cat howl and prowl.
What is going on:
The badly wounded cat is female, nursing a litter of three kits in a nearby cypress tree. She has found a hollow between two trees where the roots form a sort of basket about 3’ above the ground. Here she can curl up with the kittens, who are about 2 weeks old and have just opened their eyes. She had a fourth kit, which the first man she attacked had found and stolen from her lair. It has since died and been buried in the refuse pit. Any of the men will know of it if the PCs think to ask (DC 10 Gather Info check).
However, the mother was wounded 3 days ago and is wild with pain and fury. She continues to haunt the camp because she can smell the meat that the men eat, and also can smell traces of her missing kitten.She is infected and dying also. She will be dead in 3 days, the kits the day after. In her condition, killing her is possibly the best result, unless Pliny wants to cast animal friendship on her and then spend a week tending her (heal check DC 20 on first day, DC 15 each of next 3 days, then DC 10 for 3 more days to keep her alive). Her nursing condition is obvious to anyone, as her nipples are extended and full.
The three kits are wild, and will remain that way unless magic is used, or unless Pliny spends at least a month training and bonding with them.
Mother Cat (slightly modified leopard)
Size M (4’ long)
HD 3d8+6 (19) but wounded has only 5 left
Init +4
Speed 40’ climb 20’
AC 15 (+4 dex, +1 natural)
Attacks: Bite +6 melee, 2 claws +1 melee
Damage: bite 1d6+3, claws 1d3+1 each
Face/Reach: 5x5/5’
Special Attacks: Pounce
Special Qualities: Scent
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +2
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Balance +12, Climb +11, Hide +9, Listen +6, Move Silently +9, Spot +6
Feats: Weapon Finesse (bite, claw)
