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Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The Curse of Kelby 1
The Curse of Kelby
A Single Session Adventure for 1st Level Characters
The small farming village of Kelby has a terrible
secret. The adventurers will confront that secret head
on as they descend into the depths to rescue an
injured member of the village.
To run this adventure, you will need access to
material from the Monster Manual and
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. Access to Out of the
Abyss and the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide could
also be helpful but is not required.
by SAM SCOTT (bogsy@magicalscrolls.com)
© 2018 Sam Scott. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All artwork is from http://openclipart.org. For a quick online resource for spells and spellbooks, check out http://magicalscrolls.com.
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The Curse of Kelby 2
The Curse of Kelby A child has fallen into the village well! The
adventurers are pressed into service to rescue
her. But the child is not the only creature
awaiting their arrival in the cavern at the
bottom of the well...
This adventure is intended to present a difficult
challenge to a group of 3 to 5 first level
characters. It was originally conceived as a
prequel for first level characters who would
then proceed to Out of the Abyss, but the time
and place of the story can easily be altered.
In what follows, outlined text is intended to be
read to the characters, while text in grey boxes
is background and supplementary information
that may be useful for roleplaying and setting
the scene.
The Village The story takes place in Kelby, a tiny crop
farming community of about 50 people located
100 miles East South East of Waterdeep. Kelby
is off the main trade routes, but smaller roads
connect it to nearby settlements. Not many
people know about this tiny little hamlet.
Most villagers are gone on the annual trip to
bring the summer’s harvest to Waterdeep1 for
sale and trade. Only a few Kelbians remain
behind to watch over the fields and care for the
animals, along with two off duty members of
the Waterdeep Guard who were hired for
protection while the village is empty – though
there is little here beyond a few pigs, sheep,
and cows that would interest any thieves.
It’s late, and the adventurers are nursing their
mead at the Clearwater Tavern and thinking
about bed.
1 Waterdeep is a Forgotten Realms location described in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.
You’re thinking it’s a funny name, the
“Clearwater” Tavern, because there doesn’t
seem to be a source of drinking water anywhere
within 20 miles of the village of Kelby. Every
lake, stream, and river you passed on your way
into town had the same fetid stench of death
and faintly glowing blue mist hanging over it.
But water does seem to be a big deal here.
Every cottage sports a set of wooden troughs,
no doubt placed there to catch the runoff from
the canvas-covered, thatched roofs. And some
of the buildings seem to consist of little more
than a set of roofs emptying into large vats.
The tavern is decorated with paintings of rainy
landscapes, old tools and buckets, miniature
models of rain barrels and wells, and many
small and rather unique sculptures that appear
to be made of rope.
You cast your eyes one more time around the
tavern, taking note of its few inhabitants.
Elsbeth Tangut, the elderly proprietor of the
tavern, is cleaning tankards behind the bar. A
bored looking young woman in the uniform of
the Waterdeep Guard sits cleaning her nails
with a small knife. A farming couple in their 30’s
hold hands and gaze into each other’s eyes…
If the players are meeting for the first time,
have them throw in their own descriptions
here. If they are in the mood for role-playing,
use the sidebars and character descriptions
below – Elsbeth, Lexi, Ches, and Edwin are in
the bar with them. Edmondo is on duty nearby.
Kya, Solana, and Sami are in bed.
When the time seems right, kick off the action
with the boxed text The Accident, below.
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The Curse of Kelby 3
Food and Water in Kelby
Kelby is surrounded by dozens of acres of recently harvested corn and wheat fields. These fields are the collective property of the Kelbians who work them in common and share the harvest. The ruined waterways are a lingering effect of the spellplague.2
The nearest potable surface water is 25 miles away. The Kelbians survive by collecting rainwater and fetching clean water from the town well, hidden carefully in a copse of trees on the edge of town.
The Clearwater Tavern
The Clearwater Tavern is the local watering hole, hotel, town hall, and municipal storage facility.
The main floor is a tavern and kitchen, serving mead and simple, locally harvested and hunted food (bread, cheese, vegetables, and occasionally meat). A mead costs 3 CP, a full meal costs 1 SP and you’ll eat whatever they’re serving.
The second floor has a collection of six very small bed chambers that cost 3 SP per night.
The basement is a storage cellar containing barrels of food and drink, lumber, firewood, rope, buckets, simple weapons and tools, and various other mundane gear. Everything here is common property of the Kelbians.
The People The people of Kelby are open and welcoming to
all races and classes. They are fiercely
independent, have a strong sense of
community, and value people helping people
above all else.
2 The spellplague is a Forgotten Realms event described in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. 3 A sun elf is a type of high elf described in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.
Below is a brief description of the important
NPCs in Kelby. See Appendix A for their stats.
Elsbeth Tangut
A human woman in her 60s, Elsbeth is strong
and fit with long white hair in a braid, blue eyes,
and tanned and weather-beaten skin. She
speaks with a deep and confident voice. She has
run The Clearwater Tavern for 30 years and
serves as a kind of unofficial town elder,
chairing the village meetings held in her tavern.
She never married and prefers the company of
women. She also tends to the village well. She’s
an excellent handyman and an expert knot tier,
though she has recently developed arthritis in
her hands which slows her down a little. She’s
the creator of the rope sculptures in the tavern.
“I’m not ready to ride off into the sunset just yet.”
Kyadril (“Kya”) Iliric
A sun elf3 woman, 200 years old tomorrow, Kya
(rhymes with “Maya”) is tall and graceful with
metallic silver eyes, golden blonde hair, and
bronze skin. Originally from Elfharrow4, she
lives on the edge of the village with her half-elf
daughter, Solana. The other Kelbians have good
relations with her and find her to be much
humbler than typical sun elves. But beyond
that, they know little about her. Kya has never
told her story to the other Kelbians, but she
carries with her the deep sadness of a parent
who knows that she is destined to outlive her
child by many centuries.
“I know I will lose her one day. Please Corellon, don’t let it be today.”
4 Elfharrow is a Forgotten Realms location discussed in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. The Curse of Kelby 4
Solana Iliric
A 6-year-old half-elf girl, Solana is small with
pale skin, unruly dark hair and her mother’s
silver eyes. She is intelligent, playful, and loving
with a strong independent streak. She adores
her mother above all else.
“Mama, I’m scared… I tore my tunic, but I fixed it all by myself.”
Lexi Whitbeam and Edmondo Lowtail
A human woman and man in their 20’s, Lexi and
Edmondo are members of the Waterdeep
Guard, currently on leave and hired to protect
the village. Lexi is smart and loyal and performs
her job with a high degree of integrity.
“It’s more important to do the right thing than to worry about personal gain.”
Edmondo, on the other hand, may have to be
convinced to do anything he considers above
his pay grade…
“I’ll need to see the money up front.”
Edwin, Ches, and Sami Wildspear
A human family, the Wildspears volunteered to
stay behind to tend the livestock, care for the
elders, and watch over the lands and houses of
Kelby. Edwin and Ches are in their 30’s. Sami is
10 years old.
“Family and village above all else.”
5 “Not today, not today, help me, please Corellon not today…”
The Accident
Suddenly, an elven woman in a nightgown
bursts through the tavern doors. She is beside
herself with panic and babbling in Elvish.5
Elsbeth rushes around the side of the bar and
grabs both her hands, a worried look on her
face.
“Kya, nobody here can understand you.”
The woman pauses, then starts again in
common. “It’s Solana. She fell down the well.
You must help me. I can’t lose her today.”
Suddenly the whole tavern seems to burst into
action around you.
“Eddy, Ches, fetch lanterns and rope,” barks
Elsbeth. “Lexi, find Edmondo. You,” she nods in
your direction, “come. You look like you know
how to handle yourselves, and we’re gonna
need all the help we can get.”
Elsbeth will also appeal for help in Elvish to any
other elves or half-elves she sees in the tavern
(“Please, in the name of Corellon…”). If the PCs
seem reluctant, Elsbeth will curtly inform them
that while staying at the Clearwater, they are
expected to act like good Kelbians, and that
means pulling together to help others in their
time of need. If all else fails, Kya has some
savings hidden away that she can offer – as
much as 2 PP per adventurer.
When everyone is on board, Elsbeth leads the
expedition to the village well.
The Well The well is about 6 feet diameter with a roof,
200 feet of silk rope coiled 3 inches deep
around a winch, and a 4-gallon bucket. When
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extended and filled, the rope and bucket weigh
45 pounds, requiring 90 pounds of force to raise
due to the resistance of the winch. The stone
wall around the opening of the well is crumbling
in a few places but in general the well head is in
good repair under Elsbeth’s expert care. The
well is 200 ft deep and ends in a cavern with a
quiet slow flowing river, but no Kelbian knows
who built the well or what's down there.
Upon arrival, characters might notice a handful
of freshly picked flowers beside one of the low
points in the wall. Use DC 15 Passive Perception
or DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) for an active
check.
The Secret of the Well
There's something nasty in the well. About a
year ago it started violently attacking and
removing buckets, leaving just a frayed end of
rope. Sometimes noises come up from below –
high pitched keening howls. The locals call the
creature in the well the Rasulka after an old
legend about a howling beast said to lurk in
caves and lure folks to their death. Every full
moon (or whenever the hear the howling) the
Kelbians send down a live animal on a rope. This
seems to appease the creature enough for it to
leave the buckets alone. Two days ago, on the
full moon, they sent down a wild boar piglet
that Ches and Eddy trapped in the woods.
The thing in the well is a village secret and the
Kelbians unanimously decided not to seek help
and to just continue with the offerings. They
don’t want to attract attention to the village
and they don't trust anyone to solve the
problem in a way that would preserve the well.
Kelbians are pragmatic, and as far as they can
tell, they have come to an arrangement with
the Rasulka that seems to work.
Elsbeth, Kya, Ches, and Eddy don’t want to
reveal the village secret, but they will
eventually. Either Kya will blurt it out if things
drag on too long with no action or if the
adventurers engage Solana in too much loud
conversation. Otherwise, the Kelbians will
exchange nervous glances and then reveal the
secret either to convince the PCs that time is of
the essence, or to warn them of possible danger
after they’ve agreed to attempt a rescue.
Talking to Solana
The well shaft carries voices well. Solana is
silent at first, but will speak if spoken to and
answer questions. She snuck out of her room to
pick flowers for her mother’s 200th birthday,
which is tomorrow. She sat down to rest on the
wall of the well, slipped and fell in to the water,
then managed to scramble to safety. Now she’s
sitting on the bank of the underground river
(see The Cavern below). She’s banged up, cold,
and paralyzed with fear. She can see the
Faerzress, the half-eaten boar piglet, and the
Small Swarm of Quippers, and thinks she can
hear things moving around in the walls. She will
not attempt to grab the bucket or rope on her
own, no matter what the characters do. She’s
rooted to the spot until her rescuers arrive.
The Plan
Heading down the well
shaft on a rope will
probably be the best way
for most adventurers to get
to Solana. The winch at the top of
the well can take at least 1000 pounds of weight
(it’s made of stone with metal brackets
supporting a very thick log) and the rope can
take 700 pounds with no danger of breaking.
Elsbeth can provide this technical information.
Elsbeth also has a few other 200-foot lengths of
silk rope back at the tavern and knows how to
tie knots that will hold up to 1000 pounds easily
(though she will need help tightening them).
The best plan is to lower the rope first, maybe
attach a couple more ropes to the winch, and
have the entire party climb down the ropes.
Elsbeth will volunteer this plan if the characters
can’t come up with it themselves. All the
Kelbians will caution strongly against any plan
that involves someone descending alone.
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Lexi will want to go with the PCs. Edmondo
would rather not but can be convinced. Edwin
might reluctantly volunteer to go but Ches and
Kya will talk him out of it – “Think of Sami! ”
Elsbeth can’t hold on to the rope due to her
arthritis.
Kya has a stash of potions of healing at her
house. If the party is light on healing, have her
run back to her house and fetch a few – one for
each PC that doesn’t have any ability to heal
themselves plus one for Solana.
The Descent The well shaft is damp, dusty, dark, and full of
cobwebs. It stays about 5 to 6 feet wide all the
way down. The walls are brick, giving way to
unusually sheer stone after about 20 feet.
Scaling the stone will be very difficult, requiring
a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check every 50 feet.
Using the winch to lower people will require
strong characters at the top to hold the winch.
Winding them back up again will be much
harder, requiring characters with a combined
strength that would enable them to lift twice
the weight on the line. Climbing down ropes as
a group is the best approach.
Important Rope Mechanics
Movement: No ability check is needed to climb
up or down a rope with two hands at half
speed. One-handed climbing requires a DC 20
Strength (Athletics) check to move upwards at a
rate of 5 feet, and a DC 15 Strength (Athletics)
check to move downwards at a rate of 5 feet.
Light: The shaft is pitch black after the first few
feet. Elsbeth has a bullseye lantern in the
Tavern that she can angle to get them about 50
feet of bright light and 50 feet of dim light, but
after that they’re on their own.
6 See Out of the Abyss for an explanation of these demonic influences.
Encounters: While on the rope, a character has
disadvantage on attacks, Strength saving
throws, Dexterity saving throws, and physical
ability checks. Characters can have one hand
free in a fight but can keep a shield strapped to
their other arm and get some use out of it.
Monsters have advantage on all attacks.
Damage: Characters who take damage while on
the rope require a Strength (Athletics) check to
avoid falling, with a DC equal to the amount of
damage taken.
Falling: Characters falling from 50 feet or more
can make a DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check
to straighten up or take 1d4 bludgeoning
damage from bumping into the walls of the
shaft. There is a ring of magical glyphs near the
bottom of the shaft, placed there by the ancient
arcanists who created the well, which will be
triggered by any humanoid in free fall to slow its
descent enough to avoid damage from hitting
the water. Falling characters will land in the
water with a Small Swarm of Quippers (see part
A of The Cavern below).
Checkpoint A: 50 Feet Down The party experiences a slight feeling of unease
in the cavern, the echo of demonic influences
from the Underdark.6 They will experience a
moment where everything seems surreal
followed by a strong tug of panic. They must
make a DC 10 wisdom saving throw or become
frightened of what’s below for 1 minute.
Checkpoint B: 75 Feet Down
A large but ordinary spider has
followed the rescuers down the rope
and will try to bite the top character. That
character can make a Wisdom (Perception)
check contested by the Spider’s Dexterity
(Stealth) or be surprised by the attack.
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Checkpoint C: 100 Feet Down
If Elsbeth was providing light from a bullseye
lantern, the characters are now in total
darkness. They hear Solana scream as hundreds
of bats fly from the back of the cavern up the
well shaft. The bats will not attack but hiding
amongst them in bat form is a quasit who can’t
resist the chance to do some mischief.
The flock takes 2 rounds to reach the
adventurers and will swarm
around them for a full 3 rounds
before flying past. Once the flock is upon the
characters, the quasit will attack.
Suggested Quasit Strategy
Round 1: The quasit uses its scare action on the first character it passes.
Round 2: The quasit bites a random character.
Round 3: The quasit turns invisible. A DC 25 perception check is required to notice that one bat has disappeared.
Round 4: The quasit transforms back to its natural form and lands on a rope above and out of reach of the characters, cackling and insulting them from its perch.
Round 5: The quasit attacks the rope (which has AC 11 and 10 Hit Points), becoming visible in the process.
On subsequent rounds it will either turn back into a bat and attack random characters, or stay in its natural form, hang on to the rope and fight the top character (subject to the limitations of fighting on a rope as outline above).
Fighting a Flock of Bats
When surrounded by a flock of bats, it is impossible to track a single bat, even if it just bit you. When a character targets a bat in the part of the flock that contains the quasit, roll a d20. On a 20, they’re targeting the quasit, otherwise it’s just a normal bat.
Checkpoint D: 150 Feet Down
The characters hear the keening howl of a
choker calling for another to come for today’s
offerings (i.e. the boar and Solana). It's a choker
mating ritual to call another to share a meal.
Checkpoint E: The End of the Rope
The rescuers will enter the cavern after 185
feet, but it’s still 15 feet to the water. The first
character to reach water level will be attacked
by a choker hiding in a crevice (See part D of
The Cavern below). Characters require a DC 15
perception check to notice the
choker, otherwise they will be
surprised.
To jump from the end of the rope onto the
shore requires a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check. To jump to the ledge where the choker is
hiding requires a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check. Failing either check lands a character in
the water (see Part A of The Cavern below).
The Cavern The cavern is a natural formation with a
ceiling about 20 feet high at its highest
point. The ceiling is about 10 feet high
above Solana. The river runs through
the Southeastern end of the cavern and
the cavern walls descend all the way to the
water. Spider webs are thick on the ceilings and
in the corners, and mushrooms and fungi grow
all around the edges of the cavern.
Refer to the map in Appendix C for the following
points of interest.
A. The River
The river is very deep under the well shaft. The
surface is roiling due to the movement of a
Small Swarm of Quippers, drawn by the scent
of blood from Solana’s scrapes and cuts. The
Quippers will attack anything that enters the
water. If a character falls from more than 50
feet, the fish will be surprised and will not act
for the first round. A character trying to swim to
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shore while under attack
must succeed on a DC 10
Strength (Athletics) check to
make any headway.
B. Faerzress
There’s a patch of Faerzress on the floor
spreading out from a small crack that leads to a
network of tiny tunnels. These tunnels
eventually lead to the Sharnlands area of the
Underdark.7 The quasit came through this crack
in centipede form.
C. Solana
Solana is sitting on the riverbank. She's covered
in cuts and bruises but has no debilitating
injuries. She's shivering in her nightdress and
too scared to move until the rescuers arrive.
When they do, she will follow instructions if she
passes a DC 10 wisdom saving through to
overcome her fear. She gets advantage on this
check if she knows the rescuer. The saving
throw can be repeated for each request or
persuasion attempt until she passes. Once she
passes, she can move freely.
D. Hiding Choker
Southwest of the well shaft is a small ledge
holding the partially eaten corpse of a wild boar
piglet. There's a choker here, hiding at the back
of a 5’ deep, 6-inch-wide crack in the rock
beside the ledge. It will lash out at anything
within 10 feet. The choker has ¾ cover and will
not leave its hiding place. Characters standing
on the ledge to attack have disadvantage due to
the restricted space.
E. Second Choker
The other choker will emerge from a crack in
the ceiling two rounds after the first choker
attacks and will stalk Solana across the ceiling at
7 See Out of the Abyss or other Forgotten Realms source material for a description of Faerzress and the Sharnlands.
a speed of 30 feet. When it is above her, it will
attack, grapple her to the ceiling and retreat to
the back of the cavern (she gets death saves).
Any character who can see that far, and who
beats the choker’s Dexterity (Stealth) check
with a Wisdom (Perception) check will notice
the choker as it emerges from the ceiling.
This choker is hungry and will try to take Solana
even in the face of overwhelming odds. But it
will abandon her and retreat into a crack in the
wall if it drops to half hit points. It will not leave
the cavern if there is still food to be had and will
defend itself through the crack in the wall.
F. Humanoid Remains
In this area, the characters will notice the
fungus-covered remains of two humanoids.
There’s not much left but skeletons. One is
wearing rotted leather armor with a rusty shield
and short sword and a Periapt of Health which
is noticeable from a distance. The other
skeleton is wearing the rotted remains of
traveler’s clothes, a rotted spell component
pouch, and a rotted backpack with the remains
of adventuring gear, some empty potion vials,
an old spellbook that can’t be read any more, a
Potion of Clairvoyance, and 4 blue gems worth
50gp each.
There is no way to tell in advance, but the
skeletons are sitting in a patch of 3 Violet Fungi
which will rear up, make tentacle attacks and
then give chase to anyone who enters their
reach.
Getting Back Out Placing Solana in the bucket and winching her
up is best bet for getting out (she weighs 40
pounds). Climbing back up a rope is the best bet
for other characters. If a character tries to
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piggyback Solana, the child will need a DC 10
Strength (Athletics) check to make it all the way
out without falling again. If a character can find
a way to strap her securely to them, they can
climb out as normal.
Epilogue Kya sobs uncontrollably when Solana is back in
her arms. When the tears are done, she will
smile but still maintain a dark sense of
postponing the inevitable.
“I still need at least a century to prepare for losing her. Maybe I’ll never be ready.”
When she is finished cuddling Solana, she’ll
hand her to Ches and Edwin, then approach
each rescuer with a long hug and a kiss on both
cheeks, pressing a platinum piece into each of
their hands, mumbling that she wishes she
could offer more. She will refuse attempts to
return any unused healing potions.
Elsbeth will want a full report on what the PCs
found. She can identify the quasit if they
haven’t already, but she’s never seen chokers
before. If all the threats are not dealt with, she
will try and convince them to go back down and
finish the job.
If all threats are neutralized, Elsbeth will offer
the PCs the job of sealing up all the visible
cracks in the cavern using clay taken from a
nearby spellplagued bog. It will take a day or
two and pays 10 GP per person.
Assuming Solana is rescued, the PCs will be
invited to stay a few more days to await the
return of the rest of the Kelbians so that they
can properly be celebrated. The other Kelbians
will return with some fine wine and other
delicacies from Waterdeep for a delicious feast
and celebration.
No matter the outcome, Elsbeth tells the
adventurers that they will always have friends
in Kelby and will never have to pay for room
and board at the Clearwater Tavern again. She
hopes that they will return some day to share a
nice clear glass of water – or perhaps something
stronger!
Appendix A: NPC Stats Elsbeth Tangut
Use Commoner stats but with a +2 on skill
checks related to handyman work and a +6 on
skill checks related to knots and rope.
Kyadril (“Kya”) Iliric
Use Commoner stats but with Darkvision 60’,
Perception +2, Fey Ancestry, the Mending
cantrip, and a +2 attack bonus with shortsword,
longsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Solana Iliric
STR 4 (-3) DEX 6 (-2) CON 8 (-1)
INT 10 (+0) WIS 4 (-3) CHA 15 (+2)
AC 8, Max HP 4, Current HP 2, Darkvision 60’,
Fey Ancestry, and can cast Mending cantrip
with a 50% chance of failure.
Lexine Whitbeam and Edmondo Lowtail
Use Guard stats but with a shortsword and a
shortbow (+3 to hit and 1d6+1 piercing damage
with both weapons).
Edwin and Ches Wildspear
Use Commoner stats.
Sami Wildspear
STR 6 (-2) DEX 8 (-1) CON 10 (+0)
INT 10 (+0) WIS 6 (-2) CHA 10 (+0)
Appendix B: Monsters • A Small Swarm of Quippers is a Swarm of
Quippers with half the hit points. It does half
damage and has CR ½ (100 XP).
• The flock of bats is not a swarm of bats.
• Stats for a choker appear in Mordenkainen’s
Tome of Foes.
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Appendix C: Maps
The Cavern
The Well
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