catsclaw227
First Post
Hey all --
The next round of Dungeon's "The Best Adventure I Never Wrote…" contest voting is up.
How did you vote??
Here are the adventure summaries for those that can't get to WOTC's website:
Bodyswap
An ambitious orcish shaman has uncovered a peculiar artifact; one whose crystal allows the exchange of minds from body to body, used by an ancient wizard to prolong his life by stealing bodies. The shaman has a more prosaic but equally greedy use for the staff and decides to set a trap in order to use it for maximum effect. A few choice raids have worked the local people up enough of a frenzy to be willing to hire the characters to protect them. Mid-level.
Full synopsis:
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Bodyswap
An ambitious orcish shaman has uncovered a peculiar artifact and divined its purpose. The crystal allows the exchange of minds from body to body, and was once used by an ancient evil wizard to prolong his life by stealing bodies. The shaman has a more prosaic but equally greedy use for the staff, and decides to set a trap in order to use it for maximum effect. A few choice raids have worked the local people up into a frenzy, enough of a frenzy to be willing to hire disreputable outsiders to protect them… that would be the adventurers.
Adventure in a Nutshell: When the adventurers confront the shaman and his warband and engage in battle, the band takes up a defensive stance, protecting themselves and each other as much as possible until the shaman activates the staff and strikes the earth. There is a thunderclap and everyone is knocked to the ground and blacks out. When the adventurers come around they find themselves in the bodies of the goblinoids that were the warband, while their own bodies are missing—taken over by the shaman who intends to use their good name and human appearance to wicked purposes.
The characters would retain their Skills, Feats, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma (perhaps the last one modified a little), but would have the physical Abilities of their new ‘hosts’ along with their equipment.
The only way to get their original bodies and equipment back is to track down those who have stolen them, and the staff, and to repeat the magic to swap themselves back into their own bodies. This is, needless to say, going to be difficult, as they will have to track their bodies across the wilderness and then infiltrate a town, village or inn in order to defeat their bodies, without killing them, and make the change.
Traveling through the wilderness they may run into a few encounters with 'other' goblinoids or nonhuman races, and rather than attacking or being attacked may have to try and fit in. Not to mention, they might run into wandering bands of adventurers or a human merchant caravan which could place them into a very sticky situation and let them see how the other half lives.
The adventure would come to a climax in confrontation with their old bodies, having to restrain themselves from killing either their old bodies or the watch who may come to the aid of the ones they think are really the heroes.
There’s no telling what mischief the shaman and his warband got up to while occupying the adventurers’ bodies. While there was only a day or two involved, they may find in the months to come that they are less welcome in the area and that the actions of their 'doubles' may come back to haunt them in the form of criminal charges, vengeful merchants… or even children they didn’t know they had!
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Dragon Turtle City
The adventure begins in a coastal village whose fish stocks have been mysteriously disappearing, and now boats as well, lost in a mysterious fog. Without their livelihood, the village is starving and impoverished. What they do have, they’re willing to offer to brave adventurers to discover and prevent whatever it is that is ruining them. Mid-level.
Full synopsis:
[sblock]
Dragon Turtle City
The adventure begins in a coastal town or village whose fish stocks have been mysteriously disappearing, now boats as well, lost in a mysterious fog. Without their livelihood and afraid to go to sea, the villagers are starving and impoverished. What they do have—kept in the village temple—they’re willing to offer to brave adventurers to discover and prevent whatever it is that’s ruining them.
Adventure in a Nutshell: One fisherman is willing to take the heroes out in his boat, braving the sea and the fog one last time for the sake of his village, but once out in the fog the boat is spotted, and then followed by sea dwelling creatures; the fog begins to rise until with a great ‘snap,’ massive jaws rise up out of the sea and swallow the boat whole.
The adventurers and their fishing guide awake, stripped of their equipment and dressed in fishy smelling rags, closed into bone cages along with other captured fishermen and sailors, deep within some sort of flesh-and-shell chamber and guarded by a mixture of sea-themed evil humanoids. Soon the opportunity for escape arises and, with the aid of the other escaped slaves, they must fight to reclaim their equipment and take control of the dragon turtle that forms the home of these creatures—the only thing that can take them home.
The inside of the dragon turtle forms the battleground, twisting tunnels of flesh and shell, ruined ships and a unique ecology that has risen within the beast’s interior: cramped tunnel fighting with vicious and nightmarish sea creatures who know their home forward and backwards and thus have the home field advantage.
The adventure reaches its climax in a confrontation with the renegade aboleth that has claimed the dragon turtle as its personal fiefdom. The death of the aboleth will release the turtle from its mental control and allow the gigantic beast to beach itself and die with dignity.
The turtle floats to shore, giving its last breath in beaching itself, steam rising from its shell. The slaves are free, returned to land—but the gigantic body is a treasure trove itself, beyond even the materials and loot that the inhabitants gathered for themselves over the course of their reign of terror. The dragon turtle’s body may become a prize for pirates, kingdoms, other villages, bandits and even necromancers…
[/sblock]
Hell Farm
Some weeks ago, a stranger came to the Cosdel farm, seeking a meal and a place to stay. He was hard up, or so he seemed, and willing to work to earn his keep, so Cosdel took him in. Now something dreadful indeed has happened to the Cosdel farm, and the locals need a few brave adventurers to find out what. Mid-level.
Full synopsis:
[sblock]
Hell Farm
Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh, crap!
Old Man Cosdel and his family are known far and wide, for theirs is the largest farming property in the region. No mere father-and-son operation, this, but a plantation with over a dozen employees, numerous buildings, and over a hundred acres on which to grow crops and graze livestock. Cosdel, while hardly wealthy, is better off than most folk of his social class, and his farm is the primary source of supplies for numerous villages along the road.
Cosdel’s always been a humble man, remembering whence he came, ever ready to help others in need. And now, that kindness has cost him.
Adventure in a Nutshell: Some weeks ago, a stranger came to the Cosdel farm, seeking a meal and a place to stay. He was hard up, or so he seemed, and willing to work to earn his keep, so Cosdel took him in.
That was the last anyone’s heard from the Cosdel farm. Curious villagefolk, come to investigate, find themselves turned aside by strange creatures lurking near the road and by rows of corn and wheat grown razor-sharp, capable of shredding a man to the bone if he tries to pass through. In the night, terrible cries, the baying of horrific hounds, rise toward the moon from the farm. And nobody in the nearby villages knows what they’ll do when their supplies start to run low. Even worse, though few of the villagers have noticed it yet, the effect is spreading—slowly, just a few feet each night, but inexorably.
Something dreadful indeed has happened to the Cosdel farm, and the locals need a few brave adventurers to find out what.
Summary of Contents
The Cosdel farm has, in fact, been overwhelmed with Abyssal energies from a relic the stranger carried, and been terribly transformed. In addition to the transformation of the crops as mentioned above, every one of the farm animals has become a monster of similar physical form (see below). Many of the Cosdel family have been sacrificed, but others were either transformed as well, or are currently hiding from the beasts that now stalk their property. The PCs will have to rescue the survivors, learn what has occurred here, and find a way to put a stop to it.
The adventure takes a fairly mundane and even potentially silly setting—a standard, albeit large, farmstead—and transforms it into a nest of horrors.
Combat Encounters
As mentioned above, most of the creatures here were once farm animals, and still very much resemble the beasts they used to be. Some of these include the following.
Not all the challenges here take the form of mutated creatures. Some of these include the following.
This would be a relatively low-treasure adventure (possibly made up for with powerful magic items on the stranger himself and a large reward gathered from the neighboring towns), due to the nature of the monsters as former farm animals.
[/sblock]
The next round of Dungeon's "The Best Adventure I Never Wrote…" contest voting is up.
How did you vote??
Here are the adventure summaries for those that can't get to WOTC's website:
Bodyswap
An ambitious orcish shaman has uncovered a peculiar artifact; one whose crystal allows the exchange of minds from body to body, used by an ancient wizard to prolong his life by stealing bodies. The shaman has a more prosaic but equally greedy use for the staff and decides to set a trap in order to use it for maximum effect. A few choice raids have worked the local people up enough of a frenzy to be willing to hire the characters to protect them. Mid-level.
Full synopsis:
[sblock]
Bodyswap
An ambitious orcish shaman has uncovered a peculiar artifact and divined its purpose. The crystal allows the exchange of minds from body to body, and was once used by an ancient evil wizard to prolong his life by stealing bodies. The shaman has a more prosaic but equally greedy use for the staff, and decides to set a trap in order to use it for maximum effect. A few choice raids have worked the local people up into a frenzy, enough of a frenzy to be willing to hire disreputable outsiders to protect them… that would be the adventurers.
Adventure in a Nutshell: When the adventurers confront the shaman and his warband and engage in battle, the band takes up a defensive stance, protecting themselves and each other as much as possible until the shaman activates the staff and strikes the earth. There is a thunderclap and everyone is knocked to the ground and blacks out. When the adventurers come around they find themselves in the bodies of the goblinoids that were the warband, while their own bodies are missing—taken over by the shaman who intends to use their good name and human appearance to wicked purposes.
The characters would retain their Skills, Feats, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma (perhaps the last one modified a little), but would have the physical Abilities of their new ‘hosts’ along with their equipment.
The only way to get their original bodies and equipment back is to track down those who have stolen them, and the staff, and to repeat the magic to swap themselves back into their own bodies. This is, needless to say, going to be difficult, as they will have to track their bodies across the wilderness and then infiltrate a town, village or inn in order to defeat their bodies, without killing them, and make the change.
Traveling through the wilderness they may run into a few encounters with 'other' goblinoids or nonhuman races, and rather than attacking or being attacked may have to try and fit in. Not to mention, they might run into wandering bands of adventurers or a human merchant caravan which could place them into a very sticky situation and let them see how the other half lives.
The adventure would come to a climax in confrontation with their old bodies, having to restrain themselves from killing either their old bodies or the watch who may come to the aid of the ones they think are really the heroes.
There’s no telling what mischief the shaman and his warband got up to while occupying the adventurers’ bodies. While there was only a day or two involved, they may find in the months to come that they are less welcome in the area and that the actions of their 'doubles' may come back to haunt them in the form of criminal charges, vengeful merchants… or even children they didn’t know they had!
[/sblock]
Dragon Turtle City
The adventure begins in a coastal village whose fish stocks have been mysteriously disappearing, and now boats as well, lost in a mysterious fog. Without their livelihood, the village is starving and impoverished. What they do have, they’re willing to offer to brave adventurers to discover and prevent whatever it is that is ruining them. Mid-level.
Full synopsis:
[sblock]
Dragon Turtle City
The adventure begins in a coastal town or village whose fish stocks have been mysteriously disappearing, now boats as well, lost in a mysterious fog. Without their livelihood and afraid to go to sea, the villagers are starving and impoverished. What they do have—kept in the village temple—they’re willing to offer to brave adventurers to discover and prevent whatever it is that’s ruining them.
Adventure in a Nutshell: One fisherman is willing to take the heroes out in his boat, braving the sea and the fog one last time for the sake of his village, but once out in the fog the boat is spotted, and then followed by sea dwelling creatures; the fog begins to rise until with a great ‘snap,’ massive jaws rise up out of the sea and swallow the boat whole.
The adventurers and their fishing guide awake, stripped of their equipment and dressed in fishy smelling rags, closed into bone cages along with other captured fishermen and sailors, deep within some sort of flesh-and-shell chamber and guarded by a mixture of sea-themed evil humanoids. Soon the opportunity for escape arises and, with the aid of the other escaped slaves, they must fight to reclaim their equipment and take control of the dragon turtle that forms the home of these creatures—the only thing that can take them home.
The inside of the dragon turtle forms the battleground, twisting tunnels of flesh and shell, ruined ships and a unique ecology that has risen within the beast’s interior: cramped tunnel fighting with vicious and nightmarish sea creatures who know their home forward and backwards and thus have the home field advantage.
The adventure reaches its climax in a confrontation with the renegade aboleth that has claimed the dragon turtle as its personal fiefdom. The death of the aboleth will release the turtle from its mental control and allow the gigantic beast to beach itself and die with dignity.
The turtle floats to shore, giving its last breath in beaching itself, steam rising from its shell. The slaves are free, returned to land—but the gigantic body is a treasure trove itself, beyond even the materials and loot that the inhabitants gathered for themselves over the course of their reign of terror. The dragon turtle’s body may become a prize for pirates, kingdoms, other villages, bandits and even necromancers…
[/sblock]
Hell Farm
Some weeks ago, a stranger came to the Cosdel farm, seeking a meal and a place to stay. He was hard up, or so he seemed, and willing to work to earn his keep, so Cosdel took him in. Now something dreadful indeed has happened to the Cosdel farm, and the locals need a few brave adventurers to find out what. Mid-level.
Full synopsis:
[sblock]
Hell Farm
Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh, crap!
Old Man Cosdel and his family are known far and wide, for theirs is the largest farming property in the region. No mere father-and-son operation, this, but a plantation with over a dozen employees, numerous buildings, and over a hundred acres on which to grow crops and graze livestock. Cosdel, while hardly wealthy, is better off than most folk of his social class, and his farm is the primary source of supplies for numerous villages along the road.
Cosdel’s always been a humble man, remembering whence he came, ever ready to help others in need. And now, that kindness has cost him.
Adventure in a Nutshell: Some weeks ago, a stranger came to the Cosdel farm, seeking a meal and a place to stay. He was hard up, or so he seemed, and willing to work to earn his keep, so Cosdel took him in.
That was the last anyone’s heard from the Cosdel farm. Curious villagefolk, come to investigate, find themselves turned aside by strange creatures lurking near the road and by rows of corn and wheat grown razor-sharp, capable of shredding a man to the bone if he tries to pass through. In the night, terrible cries, the baying of horrific hounds, rise toward the moon from the farm. And nobody in the nearby villages knows what they’ll do when their supplies start to run low. Even worse, though few of the villagers have noticed it yet, the effect is spreading—slowly, just a few feet each night, but inexorably.
Something dreadful indeed has happened to the Cosdel farm, and the locals need a few brave adventurers to find out what.
Summary of Contents
The Cosdel farm has, in fact, been overwhelmed with Abyssal energies from a relic the stranger carried, and been terribly transformed. In addition to the transformation of the crops as mentioned above, every one of the farm animals has become a monster of similar physical form (see below). Many of the Cosdel family have been sacrificed, but others were either transformed as well, or are currently hiding from the beasts that now stalk their property. The PCs will have to rescue the survivors, learn what has occurred here, and find a way to put a stop to it.
The adventure takes a fairly mundane and even potentially silly setting—a standard, albeit large, farmstead—and transforms it into a nest of horrors.
Combat Encounters
As mentioned above, most of the creatures here were once farm animals, and still very much resemble the beasts they used to be. Some of these include the following.
- Cockatrices (formerly chickens).
- Catoblepas and gorgons (formerly cows and bulls).
- Hell hounds (formerly dogs).
- Nightmares (formerly plow horses).
Not all the challenges here take the form of mutated creatures. Some of these include the following.
- The PCs making their way through barriers such as the “razor crops” mentioned earlier.
- Locating the survivors, learning what they know, and getting them to safety.
- Locating the stranger and using the relic he carries to undo the effects. (In fact, the stranger is currently one of the statues, having fallen victim to the cockatrices he created.)
- Navigating some of the structures that have been warped/weakened by the effects of the relic. (These would be written up as encounter traps.)
This would be a relatively low-treasure adventure (possibly made up for with powerful magic items on the stranger himself and a large reward gathered from the neighboring towns), due to the nature of the monsters as former farm animals.
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