I recently ran a heavily modified version of this module as part of my Planescape campaign.
***SPOILERS***
The Happy Farmer Tavern was an aspect of the World Serpent Inn on this particular world. The humans in the Downs were the last remaining humans in the Greate Olde Woode, all others having been killed off by clashes with the orcs or "culled" by the druids bent on returning the world to its "natural" state. Of course, the people of the Downs were not actually aware that the druids were responsible for the decline of civilization in the area.
The party consisted of a male human paladin and his human wife, a druid/bard; a female elven rogue; a male human arcane disciple; and a male half-celestial/human cleric/monk with wings and a lion's tail. The heroes arrived on the world and heard the speech by Delon the Mage, agreed to journey to the druids to seek a cure for the curse placed by the planehopping gypsy, and set off for the Forest Oracle.
The heroes dealt with the brigands easily but had no interest in trying to find their hideout -- they felt the threat of the curse was much more urgent and intended to deal with the outlaws when they returned with a cure. They continued on to Quiet Lake and met Chloe the nymph, learning of her folly and the plight of her lover. She had trafficked with the same gypsy who cursed the Downs, and now the waters of the lake caused everything to fall asleep. The cleric/monk used his turn undead ability to channel positive energy into the lake, lifting the curse and awakening Evan, Chloe's lover. Evan immediately became jealous of the male members of the party and asked everyone to move on.
The heroes stopped for a time at the Wildwood Inn, had some memorable encounters with the customers and staff, and spent the night. The arcane disciple was prone to show off his magical goodies and had demonstrated the powers of his
bag of holding several times during dinner in the common room. When he awoke the next morning, it was gone. The heroes had three possible suspects -- the halfling innkeeper's son, Tibbit, who had been fascinated by the oranges the arcane disciple kept pulling out of the bag for him; the foresters who the arcane disciple had fleeced out of a month's wages by cheating at cards (although he hadn't been caught); and some traveling salesmen who convinced the arcane disciple to purchase some silver bracelets.
After a brief confrontation with the innkeeper, the party narrowed it down to either the foresters or the salesmen. Both groups had already left the inn, traveling in opposite directions. With no clear lead, they opted to follow the salesmen since that was also the way to the Forest Oracle (and they got lucky, since the salesmen did steal the bag). The confrontation took place at the mouth of the tunnel through the Horns of the Dragon, and it was then they discovered the "salesmen" were wererats. The battle left the party with the arcane disciple's
bag of holding restored and in possession of a covered wagon full of trinkets. They decided to abandon it and turned the horses loose.
At this point, the half-celestial cleric/monk decided he was claustrophobic and refused to enter the mountain tunnel. He bid the party good bye and proceeded to try and fly OVER the mountain range (don't ask me why he did this). The elf rogue was heartbroken (she was in love with him), but the rest just shrugged their shoulders and continued on. After exploring the first side cavern and experiencing a near cave-in, the heroes stuck to the main tunnel and never did encounter the undead dwarven miners, osquips, or crazy old Thisvynn.
Rather than railroad the heroes into being captured, I replaced the encounter with the orc tribe under the mountain with the orc tribe from
The Night Below. After wearing the party down with spears, arrows, and spells, not to mention quick strike attacks by giant guard lizards, the orc tribe sent their tribal protector, Garundzer, out to challenge the paladin. Garundzer had
girallon's blessing cast on him (from
Savage Species) and was an impressive sight. He gave the paladin a run for his money, but in the end, the paladin won the battle and safe passage for the group.
At this point the orc chieftain invited the party to spend the night and attend a feast in their honor. Chief Ogurkek was quite enlightened for an orc, and it was through him that the party first learned the druids were not as benevolent as they tried to appear. The evening was rather uneventful, although Garundzer was clearly not happy at being bested, and the orc clerics were not happy with how chummy Chief Ogurkek was getting with the strangers...
The heroes left the next morning with a warning from Chief Ogurkek not to return this way...he would not act as honorably again. The heroes continued onwards and rescued the dryad from the pillaging orc patrol, having their first run-in with hexblades. Here they got another clue as to the master plan of the druids, as the dryad said she would "report" the orcs to the Forest Oracle, and their actions had clearly crossed the line for the last time.
When the party crossed the Wild River, they noticed they were being shadowed by dire wolves, but since the creatures didn't attack, the heroes didn't antagonize them. (The dire wolves were druids in wild shaped form, taking note of the heroes' actions.) The group spent the night in the ruins of Castle Karn, keeping a vigilant watch because of the dire wolves. (I did away with the goblin tribe based in the ruins, because I felt such an encounter would be a letdown after the orcs.) The paladin heard noises in the ruins during his watch but didn't investigate and didn't waken anyone. That was the first mark against the party in the druids' eyes...
The heroes decided not to waste time searching the ruins the next morning (another mistake), as they were so close to the druid stronghold. They continued on, finally reaching the Forest Oracle. Here's a snippet from the game:
The path leads to a glade with an astonishing sight. What appeared from a distance to be the forest canopy is now visible as the upper branches of a single tree...a tree easily a half-mile in diameter! Nestled amongst the massive roots of the titanic tree is a white marble pavilion.
As you near the marble pavilion, you see a lone figure in white robes standing in the center. The figure is ageless and sexless, with pale green skin and chromatomorphic petals covering its head like hair. Two large, golden, pupilless eyes sit above two nasal slits, and a smile graces the lipless mouth. A golden scimitar rests on one hip. The scent of roses fills the air.
"Welcome, travelers, to the Golden Bough. I am Stays-Within-the-Marble-Pavilion, and I am at your service. Do you seek an audience with the Forest Oracle? If so, you must honor our customs and trust no harm will befall you beneath the shelter of these sacred boughs."
From this point on, things became clearer to the heroes. The druids were adu'jas (plant people from
Dragon magazine), and their servitors were t'kel (reptilian humanoids from the same issue). The adu'jas journeyed from world to world, systematically eradicating civilization and restoring nature and the natural world to dominance. They were almost done with this world. The titanic tree was actually THE Forest Oracle, a powerful awakened oak tree druid in the service of the adu'jas. While the heroes were treated with respect and not harmed, it was clear they did not mesh well with the druids' plans.
The adu'jas gave the heroes a cure for the curse in the form of a giant acorn to be planted in the Downs. They did this because the curse affected the plantlife in the Downs...they had no concern for the humans who were starving as a result. The adu'jas sent an honor guard of t'kel to accompany the heroes back to the Downs, to ensure "everything went as planned." At this time, the adu'jas also returned the half-celestial to the party, having recovered him near death on the mountain. (Obviously, I threw out the rest of the module from this point onwards.)
The heroes returned to the Downs with the giant acorn and a contingent of t'kel guards to much fanfare and celebrating. They planted the acorn near the Happy Farmer Tavern, partied with the countryfolk all evening, and then camped out by the acorn spot with a t'kel guard to ensure nothing happened to it. Overnight the acorn sprouted into a large oak tree and removed the curse from the surrounding countryside. The next morning, the heroes found the tree had grown to enormous proportions and was still growing...
It was then the arcane disciple decided to talk to the t'kel guard who had stayed with them through the night. From him, the party learned everything...the acorn was the offspring of the Forest Oracle, and was intended to be the shepherd for this side of the Wild River. The tree would continue growing until it equalled the size of the Forest Oracle, and it would demolish the Happy Farmer Tavern and cut off the planar nexus that was the World Serpent Inn on the inside. This was the intention of the adu'jas all along, as the heroes had demonstrated annoying people of differing opinions could and probably would pop through from time to time. The t'kel had accompanied the heroes back to the Downs to "process" the remaining humans, ensuring they didn't try to stem the tide of renaturalization.
At this point, the heroes were at a crossroads. They ultimately decided they couldn't fight the adu'jas and the t'kel, and they couldn't rescue the remaining humans in the area from their fate, so they left via the World Serpent Inn just before the building was destroyed by the growing oak tree. The t'kel guard accompanied them, as he was part of an underground resistance dedicated to freeing the reptilian humanoids from slavery to the adu'jas.
And so the group still travels the planes to this day, although concerns about an unscheduled modron march have pushed thoughts of the Downs and the adu'jas to the recesses of their memory.
But the adu'jas have finished with that world, and are ready to move on...
