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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 ([email protected])

© 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.

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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.


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.


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


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.


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.


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


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


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.


Appendix C: Maps

The Cavern

The Well

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