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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8254186" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/FePSymR.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />This is an introductory adventure scaled for a Hero of 1st to 2nd level. The book suggests running the free Hermit’s Sanctuary adventure first, given that one follows the formula outlined in Part Four more closely, and in such a case the Hero may have leveled up at its completion. Otherwise, a 1st level PC may level up in the middle of the adventure, which is also accounted for.The backdrop for this adventure is that Eotenalond was ruled over by an ogre warlord who slain the rightful human king. He died with three sons and didn’t appoint any of them to be his heir, for they all had positive and negative qualities in equal measure: his oldest was strong but neither brave nor cunning, the middle one brave but neither cunning nor strong, and the youngest was cunning but neither strong nor brave. The ogre king decided to have his now-gone dwarf servant build each of them a weapon, making them immune to immortal harm save for the weapons of each other as long as their respective weapons remain within their care, and that the last one standing shall be the heir. The ogres realized that their father sought to pit them against each other, and slain him; but even so that didn’t encourage any mutual trust, for each brother still feared the day when the others turned against them.So naturally the Ogre Lands became fractious plots of lands engaged in a cold war ruled over by their respective ogre brothers, and the people suffer under their cruel and greedy ways. Enter the Hero, who embarks on a voyage there after a suitable adventure hook and Voyage Challenges. Upon reaching landfall the crew spots a lonely lighthouse amid the storm-wrought shore. Within this safe haven is an impromptu temple to the God of the Book and three figures, a father and two brothers, who can be interacted with as in the Meadhall and Mystery rules to illuminate the PCs further on the ogres. The Hero can also inspect the painted shutters of the chapel to learn of the region’s recent history via illustrations as well as the ogre brothers’ weaknesses upon a high enough Investigation check. The Hero can also learn that the family’s sole daughter ran away and they do not wish to speak of her. After being offered shelter from the torrential weather, the Hero and Followers will wake up to a now-ruined chapel and no trace of the men left behind. Said men were in fact ghosts of the prior human king and his sons.Social stat blocks are provided for the trio, and give good outlines on how the Hero can gain advantage/disadvantage with skill checks, along with the results of information gained based on the degrees of success and failure. Even in cases of failed rolls the Hero can gain something, such as an added token to the Follower/Hero Pool and some information (albeit not the juiciest bits).The adventure is technically a sandbox in that the ogre brothers’ lands can be resolved out of order, but some are closer to the lighthouse and shore than others so they're detailed as such: the Fens of Braegde, the marshlands claimed by the youngest and most cunning ogre of the same name; the Grasslands of Magan, claimed by the strongest and oldest of the brothers; and finally the mountainous Slopes of Bald, claimed by the bravest of the brothers.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ONHu3lb.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Fens of Braegde are not ideal for farming, so most of its inhabitants make a living harvesting peat that makes for a useful fuel source and raising pigs to dig for tubers. The Hero has the chance to interact with several community figures here, as well as the opportunity to recruit two new Followers depending on their actions: Sverra is a respected peat gatherer who can tell the Hero about Braegde’s tricky ways and the defenses of his crannog, and will join the party if they discover the ogres’ weakness (and is in turn promised a position of power in the new order). The other potential follower is Helge the Fen Witch, who is actually the sole living heir of the last human king and the sister/daughter of which the lighthouse ghosts spoke of. The necklace she wears is the last piece of her family’s jewelry, which Braegde wants in order to legitimize his rule and thus something she refuses to give up. The Hero can learn that she became estranged from her family when they converted to the God of the Book, and she remained a proud adherent of the Old Ways.Braegde lives in a fort supported by stilts over a swampy moat. A bridge is the sole easy means of crossing, although it’s possible to swim up and climb to the roundhouse. To prevent such a scenario the ogre made use of a horse-sized Moat Snake as a carnivorous guardian, which is fed just enough to keep it hungry but not enough that it weakens from starvation. Beyond said monster, Braegde keeps a retinue of 13 guards of unscrupulous character (Bandits led by a Fallen warrior). Braegde is smart enough to know that appearances of honor are important, and will act the part of a magnamious guest if the Hero comes nonviolently to the fort. He hopes to use the bonds of hospitality to get them to feed his moat snake and retrieve Helge’s jewelry which he insists is rightfully his.The adventure offers various means of resolution and planning, but assumes a violent end to Braegde’s rule as the outcome. Sample plans include challenging the ogre to a riddle contest in betting their life or service against a loan of his sword (to be used to fight one of his brothers), or infiltrating the fortress to steal Braegde’s sword and turn it upon the ogre or use against the others.An interesting thing to note about the dwarf-forged ogre weapons. Although they take different forms and damage types, each of them is sized enough to deal 2d8 to 2d10 damage. However they have the Massive burden, meaning any Hero with Strength less than 15 cannot apply their STR bonus to the damage roll for they require all their might just to control the weapon. Additionally the ogres lose the Undefeatable quality when the weapon leaves their own hands, meaning that Followers and other sources of damage can harm them normally when such conditions are met.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/GHYIh4e.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Grasslands of Magan are flatlands whose inhabitants raise and breed herds of horses. Magan has two pressing concerns to his rule beyond his rival brothers: one is the presence of the famed wild horse (and recruitable Noble Animal) Thunderclip who he wishes to claim as a mount of his own. The other is the warrior Ejnar, something of a recent folk hero known only as the Outrider who has been striking out against Magan’s forces and has yet to be caught. Thunderclip only shows up to gallop among the plains on the stormiest of nights, and Magan is plotting to organize a small cavalry of warriors to find and capture the steed which the PCs can take advantage of. The PCs can take hospitality from a local farming family (complete with their own Social Stat Block) to learn the lay of the land and hooks regarding Magan’s plots.Battle with Magan will most likely take place during the Storm Hunt for Thunderclip or at his hall. Unlike Braegde, he has little concern for hospitality and wants nothing to do with the Hero unless he believes they can be used to capture Thunderclip and/or kill the Outrider. Beyond the man himself are an unspecified number of mounted Raiders and his second-in-command is the woman Hjördis, who is as cruel as Magan himself. Like Braegde’s encounter the adventure outlines various tactics and opportunities for the PC to turn things in their favor, from intimidating Hjördis enough that she won’t aid her master in combat, recruiting Thunderclip and/or Ejnar to ambush Magan during the Storm Hunt,* challenging Magan to single combat** or tests of competitive strength in order to earn hospitality or suitable stakes that don’t involve giving up his ogreclub weapon.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1URjMShkZM" target="_blank">*damn, I’m getting Twilight Princess flashbacks now.</a>**which neither Magan nor his minions will honor, unless the Hero intimidates them sufficiently during the social encounter or Ejnar and other Followers occupy them to ensure that the duel remains honorable.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/wh1Pwn0.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Slopes of Bald detail the last ogre brother who presides over an enclosed mountain fortress. This segment of the adventure is the most straightforward: Bald isn’t one for intrigue, and his local trouble involves a young frost dragon by the name of Grimrik who is a partial convert to the God of the Book after a faithful human by the name of Ingrunn started to read him fascinating tales from the Bible. The PCs can meet Ingrunn in a hut which he retreated to to escape from ‘worldly temptations,’ and his word can help bring Advantage in negotiations with Grimrik in forming an alliance against Bald.Yes, Grimrik can be recruited as a follower. He’s actually quite young for a frost dragon (Medium size) but as a follower he has a nice array of Gifts to boost his melee combat capabilities. The narrative reason as to why he doesn’t use his breath weapon is to avoid friendly fire.Bald’s minions are the Cold Iron Guard, so named for their well-armed, well-armored wargear. They have their own stat blocks rather than using generic human enemies from the following Monsters chapter, as CR ½ humans armed with Great Spears and armor that grants them 17 AC. Bald will show the minimum respect to his guests for ‘hospitality,’ but the cold, dark longhouse and his obsessive running of fingers along his greataxe indicates that he knows why the Hero is here and that their meeting will eventually end in violence. This is only if he’s aware that the party has one or more of his brothers’ weapons. Otherwise a successful Deception/Persuasion check can convince Bald to let the party accompany him on a ‘dragon hunt,’ where he plans to betray and kill the Hero and his Followers...which can also be a means for Ingrunn and/or Grimrik to ambush Bald’s guards or spring to the rescue depending on what is dramatically appropriate.Once all three ogres have been dealt with, the Hero is rewarded by the various communities, but the fun doesn’t end there. Depending on the alliances the Hero made and the promises they gave, the lands may unite into one (most likely under Helge) or become separate kingdoms with varying degrees of cooperativeness. Resolutions for the various lands and potential leadership candidates are given, including Grimrik, who will laugh and automatically turn it down to the relief of everyone as he has little desire to ‘meddle in human squabbles.’ Beyond this we have a list of experience awards for the adventures’ encounters, 3 full-page battlemaps for the respective ogres’ halls, and 7 index cards of all the potentially recruitable Followers for this adventure.Thoughts So Far: This adventure has quite a lot going for it; enough narrative freedom for the Hero to resolve things in various ways, and various investigation/social encounters which can “fail forward” even on less than ideal rolls. The overall plot is straightforward, but the various twists and turns, from the magical horse to a Christian dragon ally, are pleasantly unexpected to the point that I can see this being a rather memorable adventure.One interesting thing to highlight is how the game rules manage to blunt the omnipresent lethality of low-level adventures. The Ogres are some pretty heavy hitters in melee combat, although the higher starting Hit Points, likely high AC, and use of Followers should give even a 1st-level PC enough of a fighting chance. I certainly cannot see this as a suitable 1st or 2nd level adventure for a standard 5e game. Beyond this, there are some concerns to raise: the first is that the simple “kick in the door” style play cannot work given the Undefeatable nature of Monsters in Beowulf, which should be emphasized to new players even if the setting and inspired stories are at their heart ones of glorious battles. The other is that the adventure is non-standard in having 3 capital-M Monsters rather than 1, which if done as a player’s first exposure to Beowulf may make them think most monsters in the game are like this.Join us next time as we finish up this book in Part 7: Monsters and the Appendix!</blockquote>

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