An Adventure for Every Monster - Ape and Carnivorous Ape

Ape (Gorilla)
Frequency Very rare
No appearing 1-4
AC 6 (but with armour, 4)
Move 12”
HD 4+1
% in lair % Nil
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-3/1-3/1-6
Special attacks Rending
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Low
Alignment Neutral
Size M (6’ tall, broad)
THAC0 15
XP value 130 + 5/hp

Ape, Carnivorous


Frequency Rare
No appearing 2-8
AC 6 (but with armour, 4)
Move 12”
HD 5
% in lair 10%
Treasure type C
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-4/1-4/1-8
Special attacks Rending
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Low (upper)
Alignment Neutral
Size L (7’ +, very broad)
THAC0 15
XP value 170 + 5/hp

This adventure takes place within a part of the dungeon that is subject to the movement of military forces. The leader of the force has acquired and trained a group of apes, both gorillas and the carnivorous type to act as shock troops in clearing out troublesome areas of the dungeon where he was not prepared to risk human lives.

(Thanks to Gozzy for the map - it's just a suggestion and you can use or ignore it as you wish)

The main military force came across an ogre and a band of orcs in this section of the dungeon and decided that it was time to test out their ape squad. Sure enough the apes made short work of the humanoids but it was at this point that the human plan went wrong. The carnivorous apes realised that their fighting prowess had equipped them to acquit themselves well in combat and decided to turn the tables on the humans, who had used particularly brutal methods of training to bend the apes to their will. In the confined spaces of the dungeon section, they attacked and wiped out the human follow-up troops (squad of 12) and a search party that came after them (group of 4). Therefore, areas of the dungeon complex will be filled with gnawed human bones, half-eaten limbs and such like. The smell will be particularly nauseous. The military is not prepared to send any more troops to their doom.

There are two possible routes of entry into this adventure – the party may encounter the military force and be hired to go into the dungeon section and take out the apes, or they may wander into this section unaware of what awaits them. That having been said, the military may well not wish the party to know what awaits them, regarding the existence of trained apes as a classified matter. A sadistic DM may well decide to have the military turn on them if they survive the encounter (although a veiled clue or two may well be offered – if the party fail to spot it, bad luck to them)

A cunning party may well try to negotiate with the carnivorous apes, playing to their egos and their dawning realisation of their own power. A careful consideration of the personalities of the carnivorous apes could make for a very interesting role-playing session.

Whilst the apes were not given weapons as such, they were equipped with basic armour, such as breastplates, helmets and the like, which will improve their AC by two (or one if the DM considers two overly generous). However, they have now obtained weapons from the fallen orcs and ogre (so typically large spears, clubs and axes for the ogre, swords, axes, spears and polearms for the orcs)

The apes will be organised into three squads, each with a carnivorous ape at its head. Such is the fear and disposition of the gorillas that if the carnivorous ape heading up their squad is killed, they will either bolt for it (40%) cower in the corner and hope to be left alone (45%) or continue to fight, having come to regard the carnivorous ape as part of their ‘family’ (15%). Whether the party chooses to take advantage of this or go for mass killage is up to them.

The carnivorous apes are cunning and have taken on board the tactics and methods used by their human trainers. They will therefore set their responses for military assault rather than a dungeoneering party attack.

Treasure

The allocation of type C assumes that the carnivorous apes are acting independently and in this case, that does not apply. However, during the occupancy of the orcs and ogre, the small room at the top of the map was used to store loot and this has been discovered by the carnivorous apes. They know that treasure is valued by humans and are also aware that this gives them power but have not yet worked out how to exploit it.

The hoard consists of

Orcs:

2-12 electrum pieces per orc (x 1d20)

Treasure type C – we have already discussed this treasure type in earlier posts.
Treasure type O (low-probability and low-value. The apes may well not have worked out the difference between the values of the various types of coins)
Treasure type Q x 10 (a gems-only treasure type. This will perhaps attract the apes more than coinage)
Treasure type S – a magic-only treasure type, in this case, potions. It should be considered whether the carnivorous apes have the intelligence to work out what the potions are; it would be very unlikely that they would have a way to identify them even if they did deduce their function.

Ogre:

M x 10 (20-80 gold pieces)
Treasure type Q
Treasure type B – a broad-range spread, with the probability weighted towards the lower value coinage.
Treasure type S


DG note – from this week, I’ll be including the THAC0 and XP value to increase the utility of these posts.

It's here!

Just got my copy of Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes. Can't wait to start reading it. Lots of sharp weapons, lots of swearing, lots of blood. Oh yeah, colour me happy!

Oh, did I mention that this is my 200th post?

An Adventure for Every Monster - Ant, Giant

This adventure takes place in a section of city sewers or a quiet area of the dungeon where there is an underground river. A colony of giant ants has made its nest here and now they have got onto the wrong side of a pack of giant rats, led by a group of were-rats who are trying to flood them out by building a dam and diverting an underground river or sewer.

The ants will try to use their hive mind to contact the party to see if they can take on the rats and save the ants’ nest. The ants will offer any treasure that they have to the party as reward (the ants have no need for it but they know that humans value it). This contact may take the form of crude telepathic communication (images and suggestions) or – if you want something truly memorable - the ants can use their smaller brethren to move corpses around using manipulation of muscles, pumping of lungs and tweaking of vocal chords. It might make an interesting sight if the party mistake this for a zombie or some such. They may also try using scratchings on the walls of tunnels or arranging detritus into arrows or basic symbols. It’s up to the DM to judge the form of communication that the party would find intriguing but not disregard. The ants, if encountered and attacked will not respond with violence but retreat back towards the nest.

The closer to the queen the party gets, the stronger the telepathic communication will get, accompanied by pheromonal messages to amplify the meaning.

The approach to the queen also means that the tunnels leading to the ants’ nest get smaller and smaller until they are at most a foot high or so. In places, they are littered with bones still within armour, discarded weapons and gems and coinage.

The ants’ offer may also include tracking down and bringing back objects and treasure that is in areas generally inaccessible to humans, either through space or hazards which humans cannot endure or confront.

The ants have their nest directly over the location of a set of Pipes of the Sewers that the were-rats need to unleash chaos on the city and profit thereby. It is quite a dig (30 feet or so) down to the location of the pipes, which are in a catacomb in a small temple, blocked by collapsed tunnels and rubble for more than a century. The catacomb is protected by a clutch of skeletons, who will activate if anyone crosses the original threshold. A precisely targeted shaft will come straight down into the catacombs, a misaligned one will come through outside and the intruders will have to cross the threshold. The skeletons are armed with blades that are covered in a weak poison (save at +2).

As well as the skeletons and the Pipes of the Sewer, there is a secret door that leads to a flight of stairs down about forty feet to a tunnel that is also blocked by rubble, although in this case, permanently. On the walls of this tunnel are a number of very old paintings that show a series of clues to a dungeon complex elsewhere below the city (if setting this adventure in a section of dungeon, the clues are to another section that the party has not yet encountered)

If the party either chooses to ignore the attempts by the ants to communicate or actively attacks the ants’ nest, the work of the were-rats will be considerably easier. They will unearth the Pipes within two months and their rat attack will begin thereafter, with imaginable consequences. The party may become involved in efforts to resist them.

And yes, we will be having adventures for rats and were-rats in their own right later in the series.

Ants, Giant
Frequency Rare
No appearing 1-100
AC 3
Move 18”
HD 2
% in lair 10%
Treasure type Q x 3, S
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 1-6
Special attacks Warriors have poison sting
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Animal
Alignment Neutral
Size S (2’ long)

Treasure type Q gives an even chance of 1-4 gems and type S offers a 40% chance of 2-8 potions. If the DM wishes to change the treasure type to reflect that garnered by fallen adventurers, it might be an idea to change it to one roll of each treasure type J to N, multiplying the results by 10 or even 20 to give a reasonable haul.

Whilst the MM tells us that giant ant eggs have no market value, there may well be a demand for them as an ingredient in the potions of alchemists and apothecaries.

Giant Rat
Frequency Common
No appearing 5-50
AC 7
Move 12”/6”
HD 1-4 hit points
% in lair 10%
Treasure type C
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 1-3
Special attacks Disease
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Semi-
Alignment Neutral (evil)
Size S

Treasure type C, as we saw last week, is a low-probability broad coinage and gem spread type which could mean that effectively, depending on the rolls, the rats and their were-rat masters have no treasure. It might be an idea therefore to assign treasure by character rather than using the rat and were-rat treasure type. The rats would have had any loot taken from them by the were-rats anyway.

Were-rat
Frequency Uncommon
No appearing 4-24
AC 6
Move 12”
HD 3+1
% in lair 30%
Treasure type C
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 1-8 (sword)
Special attacks Surprise on 1-4
Special defences Hit only by silver or +1 magic weapons
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Very
Alignment lawful evil
Size S-M

The were-rats are three in number, the original infector, a thief who was injured and his colleague, who he lured to the sewers, once a cleric but now fallen and working as a fighter since the defection to lycanthropy. They have their lair in a cluster of small rooms that once formed part of a catacomb but have long since been cleared out. They are connected to the sewer (or main dungeon corridor) by a crudely hacked tunnel, the sides of which may still show a protruding bone or two (and the slim possibility – 10% - of some trinket of jewellery, worth at best 2 d20gp.

The DM may wish to roll randomly for the phase of the moon or have it that extreme stress triggers a change into the rat form.

Original were-rat (stats for human form) – former magic user
S 9
I 16
W 10
D 13
C 9
Ch 9

Level 2 (2 x 1st level spells per day)
HP 6
AC
Weapons – 2 daggers, set of throwing darts, staff

Spellbook contains

9 x 1st level spells
1. Push
2. Magic Missile
3. Hold Portal
4. Jump
5. Spider Climb
6. Light
7. Identify
8. Write
9. Ventriloquism

This character will also have a collection of pestles and mortars, alembics, flasks, burners etc in his lair where he is concocting new forms of poison from the moulds, fungi and growths found in this area of the sewers. He has found nothing so far that will have an effect on the ants.


Thief (stats for human form)
S 17
I 7
W 11
D 15
C 16
Ch 8

Level 2
HP 12
AC 6 (Studded leather, shield – includes DEX bonus)
Weapons Short sword, dagger x 2, sling and bullets
The thief has a penchant for silver jewellery and there is a collection of this hidden in his quarters – the total value as silver scrap is 250gp but sold as individual items, could raise three times as much.


Former cleric (stats for human form)
S 14
I 12
W 16
D 8
C 10
Ch 9

Level 2
HP 10
AC 2 (plate mail plus shield)
Weapons – Footman’s mace, staff.
(note that it may be the case that the cleric, having fallen from the service of his deity, can use edged weapons. This is a decision for the DM to make – if this is the case, the cleric will also have a longsword +1)

The former cleric is torn between the delights of his new form and anger at the loss of access to deity and spells. This has become twisted in his mind and the walls of his quarters are now covered in charcoal renditions of a rat deity that he is coming to believe actually exists (it may be that there is such a deity in the DM’s campaign, in which case the cleric may attract its attention soon – for good or ill)

An Adventure for Every Monster - the Anhkheg

Anhkheg
Frequency Rare
No appearing 1-6
AC Overall 2, underside 4
Move 12” (6” burrowing speed)
HD 3-8
% in lair 15%
Treasure type C
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 3-18 (+1-4)
Special attacks Squirt acid (8-32 damage)
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Non
Alignment Neutral
Size L (10-20 feet long)

This adventure takes place in an area of the campaign world that has been newly-won from the wilderness and is now in the process of being civilised.

The local lord is a high-level fighter who has now established his stronghold but is currently occupied with humanoid incursions and has little strength to spare to investigate the recent reports of anhkheg attacks in an area that he has subcontracted to local farmer settlers (he had promised them safe land and low taxes and is worried that if they don’t get the first, they may stop paying the second).

Into this situation have arrived a 7th level druidess and her 2nd level ranger associate. The druidess is concerned about the imposition of order on nature in the area and, having familiarised herself with the goings-on has decided that the anhkhegs must be assisted in their disruption of the farmers’ efforts.

Meanwhile, other forces are also eyeing up the situation. A neighbouring lord would very much like to acquire the land cheaply for his own purposes through anonymous agents and is therefore using subtle persuasion and not-so-subtle efforts to encourage the druidess in her campaign to drive the farmers out. The manipulative lord has of course realised that once the farmers flee, the druidess will continue her efforts against anything he tries to do to the land and therefore has laid plans to have her disposed of once she has fulfilled her purpose. He has hired an assassin to shadow the druidess and the assassin has a philtre of love which he intends to use to woo her away from her mission and ranger associate so that she can be more easily killed.

The farmers have also organised a low-level militia but it is woefully under-equipped to deal with even a 3HD anhkheg, let alone the full-grown version and at least three of its members have disappeared near the forest edge (the doings of the druidess).

Because of the very low intelligence of anhkhegs, the druidess has found it very difficult to communicate her motives to them and so has to content herself with fighting on their behalf and keeping out of their way if they get nasty.

The anhkheg lair is an old sink hole - near some limestone cliffs - that is now heavily overgrown at the top and very difficult to spot (unless you happen to be a ranger). They are unlikely to be in the lair but if they are, the youngest and smallest are the ones most likely to be present.

Treasure type C will be scattered throughout the sinkhole complex – no neat little bags or chests to carry it home in.

1000s of copper 1-12 20%
1000s of silver 1-6 30%
1000s of electrum 1-4 10%
1000s of gold nil
100s of platinum nil
Gems 1-6 25%
Jewellery 1-3 20%
Maps/Magic Any 2 10%

Treasure type C is a low-probability combination so the DM may wish to increase the chances of coin being present but keep it scattered so that the party can accrue wealth but will have to spend a long time in the lair (with the chances that more anhkhegs will arrive whilst the search is ongoing).



The anhkhegs’ hit dice are as follows

1) 3
2) 3
3) 4
4) 6
5) 7
6) 8

If the party locate the lair and find the smaller specimens present and attack, there is a chance that the cries of the young will summon either Anhkheg 5 or 6 – (15% each round) – if they do arrive, the threat to the young will enrage them and they will attack at +2 on the to hit dice.

The party may find that there is a good price to be had for the glands that produce the digestive acid. Dwarves and gnomes find it excellent for etching designs onto particularly tough metals.

The druidess has
S 11
I 12
W 17
D 7
C 9
Ch 16

Level 7

Spells daily (includes Wisdom bonus)
1st 6
2nd 6
3rd 4
4th 1

AC 4 (leather armour +1, shield +2)

Weapons
2 daggers, +1 (these travel as a pair and are known as Seeker and Biter. The former, when held in the hand gives the wielder the power of a clairvoyance spell but only if he or she is standing on bare earth or rock – paving stones or flagstones will stop the effect. Biter, if thrown and a score of two higher than needed to hit is achieved will stick in the body of the target and if pulled out, a second damage roll must be made as hundreds of tiny spikes protrude from the blade)
Hammer, standard weapon
Scimitar +2, known as Greenfang due to the green tint of the metal. As the DM wishes, it may have some druidic or nature-related power.
Sling and bullets

Other equipment – a shoulder bag with several bottles of decoctions from plants and flowers, some of which have medicinal properties (count as Potions of Healing) and others cause sleep (as per the spell of the same name for whoever imbibes it), hallucinations, coma, etc. (DM to adjudicate these)

HP 38


The ranger has

S 14
I 15
W14
D 10
C 16
Ch 8

Level 2

Armour
Banded mail plus shield (AC3)

Weapons
Long sword, +1
2 daggers
Composite longbow

HP (includes CON adjustment) 26

The ranger looks up to the druidess and is keen to work with her to further his own career as well as serve the cause of nature. However, he is zealous in this latter cause and will take it badly if he feels the druidess is going soft on her mission.

DG note - further to comments last week, please feel free to change bits of this adventure idea if it makes it easier to incorporate within your campaign setting. If your party needs an added incentive to get engaged with the adventure, slot one in.

An Adventure for Every Monster

Okay, so here's the start of a new series for 2011. What I'm doing is taking the Monster Manual and working my way through it, trying to come up with a mini-adventure, hook, dungeon section or plot idea for every monster therein. I'm not going to tackle dinosaurs because they are an acquired taste and not everyone's got a lofty Amazonian plateau just sitting there waiting for adventures.

Certain treatments of monsters may deviate that tiny bit from the 'official' version but that's done to make the adventure that little bit more interesting. If it bugs you, change it.

Some adventure ideas may work for you; others you may find lame and uninspired. I intend to have one post in this series each week (gotta give myself a chance here) so this could run and run, given the size of the MM.

And without further ado, here is Adventure Idea One:

Aerial Servant

Frequency Very rare
No appearing 1
AC 3
Move 24”
HD 16
% in lair 0
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 8-32
Special attacks Surprises on 1-4
Special defences Can be hit only by magical weapons
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Semi
Alignment Neutral
Size 8’ tall

This mini adventure takes place in a section of the dungeon that the party have just encountered. It is traversed by wandering monsters but not on a daily basis.

The cleric who summoned the aerial servant will be at least 11th level – he is investigating this part of the dungeon with a view to setting up a temple to his deity and has found an area that is to his liking except that it is particularly grubby, dilapidated and squalid.

He conjured the aerial servant and ordered it to “get this place cleaned up”. Unfortunately, whilst the aerial servant was busy taking care of the cleaning, the cleric pressed on further into the dungeon and fell into a trap that injured him and confined him but otherwise did not harm him.

Since his confinement, the aerial servant has finished cleaning the section of dungeon but with no new command from the cleric, has concluded that the cleaning up needs to continue. As such, the section of dungeon is particularly well-kept, with no bodies, no detritus and no treasure. If monsters come into this section of the dungeon and cause any damage, it is very quickly cleared up. If a party enters the area, they will find that if they kill any monsters and ‘leave them for later’, bodies, treasure and magic items will not be there when they return. Marks made for the purposes of mapping and tracking will have disappeared.

There is a chance that the party will catch the aerial servant at its cleaning duties by pure chance (10%) but generally the only chance of finding out what is going on is to lay a trap for it. That having been said, such is the power of a frustrated aerial servant that the party will have a hard time of fighting it.

If it is prevented from carrying out its duties, it will become insane and head off to find the cleric, intending to attack him. It will take it only a few rounds to break open the holding cell in which the cleric is trapped. If the party follow the aerial servant and manage to save the cleric from its mad attack, the cleric will be very grateful, both for having been saved and for being freed from his confinement.

The party may have a chance of finding the place to which the aerial servant is taking the rubbish it cleans up. The best way to do this by following it (without preventing it from its duties). If they do find it, it will be in a natural cave shaft that is accessible via a very narrow fissure (the aerial servant of course has no problems with this, being an air elemental) and there is a 20% chance of the leading party member getting stuck (unless they are of hobbit size). If this happens, the party will need to come up with a particularly cunning plan for extricating their comrade.

At the base of the shaft, the refuse and items form a layer about eight to ten feet deep. There is rubble, general detritus, dungeon growth, bodies, armour and of course the chance of magic and treasure, none of which is of particular interest to the aerial servant. The bodies are of course of interest to a colony of rot grubs. There is also a cluster of yellow mould on one wall of the shaft (depending on which wall the party uses on its way down, they may well miss this – or not).

The treasure itself is of types J,K,L,M and N (1d12 occurrences of each), 1 occurrence of type S and one of type T. The DM can adjust upwards or add other treasure types but they should be the sort of treasure that could realistically be expected to have been collected from fallen bodies.
No matter when the party encounter the aerial servant and its doings, it will still have 1d10 days of its service to the cleric left.

DG note – I have taken some liberties with the aerial servant as written and the spell for summoning it but purely for the purposes of making an interesting encounter for the party.

Old School Christmas

As the day is nearly upon us, and as I'm unlikely to be posting on the 25th, here is a little treat for you all: back in 1971, an animated Christmas Carol was made that still stands proud amongst the multitude of imitators since. I like this one because of the thoroughly retro feel to its animation, bringing to mind the original Victorian illustrations and with more than a hint of Gustave Dore's cityscapes.

I'd like to raise a glass of port to you all this Christmas; 2010 may not have been the best of years for the world but I'm glad to have all of you as followers and hope that I can offer you many months and indeed years of reading. My best wishes to you all and to all your friends and families.

And now, the movie:

Hooks and the City - part 4

Street entertainers (1d12)

1. Fortune teller
2. Juggler
3. Dancing animal and handler
4. Illusionist doing weird colours in the air
5. Tumblers
6. Fire eater
7. Singer, sole
8. Singers, choir of, female, very harmonious
9. Singers, choir of, male, deep baritone
10. Conjurer, doing tricks with cards, balls, pigeons etc
11. Knife thrower and assistant
12. Mystery play



Street traders – 1d20

1. Clothing – second hand. May have some degree of infestation
2. Clothing new – might have been stolen.
3. Boots and shoes
4. Jewellery – cheap
5. Jewellery – mid-range
6. Artwork – good quality engravings and prints
7. wines and spirits
8. perfumes and cosmetics
9. books – various subjects
10. Charms and religious items – a slim chance that there is a +1 amulet of protection in there somewhere
11. Fruit and vegetables
12. Bread and cakes
13. Folk medicines – as with the fortune teller, the buyer takes a chance.
14. Livestock – chickens, caged birds, mice, rats, cats, dogs. Cattle and sheep would be found at market
15. Meat, cooked – sausages, ham, etc.
16. Herbs and spices – if in a rich area of the city, they will be the genuine article, if in a poor area, they will be an admixture of some genuine and mostly dried and chopped leaves
17. Fortune teller – may be bogus or genuine.
18. Pies
19. Drink – alcoholic
20. Drink - non-alcoholic


If food, then check the following quality table (-1 from die roll if in respectable neighbourhood, -2 if in very well-to-do neighbourhood)

1. Excellent quality
2. Very tasty – might like another one of those
3. Good, you’ve had better
4. Fair – worth the price you paid
5. Passable – you feel as if you’ve been cheated
6. Chewy – that won’t stay down long
7. They must have scraped the mould off that one
8. Has probably passed through more than one digestive system

Tradesman

The party will encounter one of the following trades

1. Apothecaries
2. Armourers & Brasiers (armour-makers and workers in brass)
3. Bakers
4. Barbers (also surgeons and dentists)
5. Basketmakers
6. Blacksmiths
7. Bowyers (longbow makers)
8. Brewers
9. Broderers (embroiderers)
10. Butchers
11. Carpenters
12. Chandlers (candle makers)
13. Clothworkers
14. Cordwainers (workers in fine leather)
15. Curriers (dressers of tanned leather)
16. Cutlers
17. Dyers
18. Farriers (shoers of horses)
19. Fishmongers
20. Fletchers (arrow makers)
21. Girdlers (girdles and belts as clothing)
22. Goldsmiths
23. Loriners (stirrups and other harness for horses)
24. Masons
25. Mercers (general merchants)
26. Needlemakers
27. Pattenmakers (makers of wooden clog-style footwear)
28. Plaisterers (plasterers)
29. Plumbers
30. Poulters
31. Saddlers
32. Salters
33. Scriveners (writers of court letters and legal documents)
34. Skinners
35. Tallow chandlers (Candle makers)
36. Upholders (upholsterers)
37. Vintners
38. Wax Chandlers ( candle makers)
39. Weavers
40. Wheelwrights
41. Woolmen (winders and packers of wool)

The tradesman will be either Master (25%) , Apprentice (55%) or both (20%). They may be

on their way to a business meeting, either with buyers or suppliers,
at their business premises,
going to their premises
coming from their premises

It may also be that if an apprentice or apprentices are encountered, they may be fighting with apprentices of another trade. There is often great rivalry between the trades and these fights sometimes end in death. The city authorities, keen to keep trade where it belongs – i.e. in the city – will not wish to be too zealous in prosecuting those who are responsible for such deaths.

Wererat – beneath the city, in the sewers and catacombs that honeycomb the earth, there is a war going on between the wererats and a band of weretigers or werecats who are hunting them. This battle has consequences above ground too, as the weretigers have been hired to sort the rats out by a group of city dignitaries and the rats have the backing of the thieves’ guild who use their services for travelling through the sewers and spying etc.

Weretiger – a female weretiger has been captured in tiger form and the collar she’s been fitted with is trapping her in this form. She cannot change back. Her mate is in the city to try and find and free her but she is in the process of being sold to a rich noble’s menagerie and if he doesn’t find her soon, her mind will be completely animal by the time she transforms again.

Werewolf – he has entered the city to try and find a sanctuary where he can get cured of his curse but temples are turning him away and he is feeling very tempted by some of the more evil attractions that the city has to offer.

Werewolf 2 – lycanthropes are a powerful clique within the city (valued for their virility and strength), and it is a great honour to be selected to join them. Their needs are catered for and they have their own quarters and privileges, bestowed by the authorities in return for service in defence of the city. The party may see someone being dragged away by two furry looking types and weigh in to rescue them, unaware that the victim is a volunteer and the werewolves are town dignitaries.

Wight – the wight is in fact a former dungeon-delver who was cheated, robbed and left for dead by his comrades and when he recovered, he was trapped inside a tomb complex under the city. He eventually starved to death and now the former party comrades are now being stalked by a creature of the night and are being picked off one by one.

Will O the Wisp – in the slum area of the city, the waste produced by the population is dumped in a huge tip. Scavengers and tip dwellers pick over the refuse in order to find something valuable that might have been overlooked. In areas, the ground has become boggy and treacherous and some denizens of the waste tip have come to an agreement with a will o the wisp that it lures wanderers to their death and feeds on the life force and the tip dwellers then plunder the body.

Wraith – this undead spirit is bound to a particular object by a curse (painting, sculputre, etc) and whoever owns it falls victim to it. The wraith needs a specific number of souls to free itself and is only 1d12 short of that number. The object has a particular occult cachet and is highly sought after by those who have a penchant for such things.

Vampire – a group of vampires lurk in a crypt beneath an ancient building, to which they have been driven by the actions of clerics and paladins over the years. Now, the city wants to knock down the building and redevelop. The vampires want to either stop this or, if such is not possible, relocate somewhere that they are not likely to be disturbed again. The party can take either side of this particular battle. As an added complication, it may be that one of the vampires is sufficiently old that they have knowledge of a system of traps in a dungeon below the city and someone wants to use that knowledge. But how do you torture a vampire?

Lich – some of the would-be lich’s followers are trying to find ingredients for the spell that will cause him to become a lich and are busy preparing the lair where he can live on in peace. Robberies at various apothecaries and magic shops are starting to attract attention but those sent to investigate have vanished without trace (they’ve probably been turned into mummified guardians to serve the lich)

Odd things that happen in taverns (1d12)

1. A wandering minstrel doing a gig in the tavern starts to sing a song and slowly, everyone at every table joins in – except the party, who don’t know it.
2. A man at a nearby table has what appears to be a tiny glowing creature with wings in a golden cage. He can make it do tricks, to the great amusement of all who watch – except one member of the party who can hear a voice inside his head begging him to help the creature.
3. One table in the tavern is always empty and newcomers are told not to sit there. It is the table where a much-liked party of adventurers sat regularly before they vanished one day, never to be seen again. Then one day, the party in question does come back – but as horribly decayed walking corpses, still bearing the marks of whatever killed them. And all the regulars except the party are delighted to welcome them back, seeing them as they were when they left. Why?
4. Above the fireplace of the tavern is a large mirror. Whichever of the party passes it first will notice that it reflects everyone else in the tavern – except them.
5. A young child wanders into the tavern with a box of trinkets, moving from table to table, asking if anyone wants to buy. As she arrives at one table, one of the occupants undergoes some sort of apoplectic fit, staring at the child in horror, screaming for her to keep away and then falling to the floor, frothing at the mouth and soiling himself. He then begins to rant in an unknown language before being dragged out by his friends. The child is visibly upset but then comes over to the party’s table.
6. A card reader is doing the rounds and asks the members of the party if they’d like a reading. Her cards begin to make rather accurate revelations about the party’s activities.
7. During the evening, when the tavern is packed, a group of strolling singers come in and begin a set that includes some old folk songs, a love ballad and a rousing, if bawdy piece. One of the young women will wander round the bar singing and sitting on the laps of one member of each table. At the end of the set, the singers pack up to leave, at which point the young woman will make a beckoning sign and all those who she selected for her attentions will rise and, zombie-like, follow her out of the tavern
8. As the party walk into the tavern, the landlord’s cat, which is sitting in the bar, arches its back and hisses at them with a mixture of fear and hatred.
9. Each time the party ask for drinks and food, the waitress or landlord brings one more helping or tankard than there are members in the party. When asked, she or he gets confused and can’t understand why they did that.
10. While the party are drinking, two members of the city guard come into the tavern and proceed to nail up a wanted poster that is for a member of the party.
11. One evening, while on their way to their regular tavern, the party is bothered by a mad old gypsy woman who begs them to take a cheap and tawdry amulet. She tells them that it will protect them from what is coming. Whether they take it or not, when they get to the tavern, they will find that the innkeeper greets them by different names, serves them different drinks, seats them at a different table. To each other, they still look the same but a glance into any mirror shows that they now have different faces, possibly different races and different genders. If they took the amulet, did it do this or has it protected them from being completely transformed? And if they didn’t take it, would it have prevented this from happening?
12. While playing an innocent game of cards or dice, one of the party gets a lucky streak going that will soon result in accusations of cheating.