[get the PCs there as you wish, I recommend someone they like or owed them some gold went missing in the area], detemine your own DCs, you know what your players can handle.
In a forest area off the beaten path, sized to fit your campaign, there is a problem pc’s will notice after a while in the woods. While seemingly normal, the woods are a touch empty of life. Call for Knowledge nature checks 15= unnatural situation 20=sky life still fly overhead 25= ground dwelling vermin seem unaffected.
Large creatures passed though here somwhat recently as far as track is concerned [giants, and monstrous humaniods]
Try to press the odd quiet of the woods. At an opportune time, if PCs have not yet checked the trees, call for spot checks [dc20][if that is not too high for your PCs].Those who succeed notice a strange object in a tree bough. If investigated, it is a few sticks lashed together. If they fail the spot checks, stress that it could have just been their imagination playing thier nerves.
Decrease the DC the deeper they go into the woods, as the sticks increase in number. Eventually only someone with a 3 wisdom won’t notice them. After several are collected Read magic or a spellcraft check reveals they may be a part of a spell but the actual shapes are too few so far to make any sense. An Int check DC10 gives a player the idea to sketch the stick symbols.
Soon they see a stone building ahead, with ramshackle wooden doors and windows boarded up, with a modest supply of firewood in several piles nearby some along the old fence surrounding it [20’ or so feet. from the house. A Humanoid is tied to the roof, it writhes as if in agony, its face is bloody. If the PCs approach the house, there seems to be a rope wich can release the being if loosened, but 1. there is a trap that if not detected, will coup de grace the tied up humanoid and spill the entrails on the person who was trying to release the victim. 2. The piles of wood and doors and window boards animate as man shaped, medium animated objects, once someone is adjacent to the house. If it suits you, allow the animated wood piles to toss pieces of itself as javelins, dealing itself a point of damage doing so. The HP and hardness in comparison to the low attack & damage of these critters let you toss several without a lot of fear of the players getting brutalized. They attack all creatures except those tied up, giants & hags. They will pursue until the foe leaves the forest.
ANIMATED OBJECT
Animated Object, Medium
Medium Construct
Hit Dice: 2d10+20 (31 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 40 ft. legs, 50 ft. multiple legs
Armor Class: 14 (+4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+2
Attack: Slam +2 melee (1d6+1)
Full Attack: Slam +2 melee (1d6+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: See text
Special Qualities: Construct traits, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; hardness 5 also see text
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +0, Will –5
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —
More later…..