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The Sun Goes Down with a Ruby Smile

WRITING, LAYOUT, AND CARTOGRAPHY BY REMLEY FARR ♦ ART BY SHAWN DALEY

A small port seems the perfect place to dock when a freak storm forces the small trade cog, Sea’s Rock, to find solid

ground. But the newly discovered port town raises questions: where are all the residents, and are any of them still alive?

“The Sun Goes Down with a Ruby Smile” is a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition module designed for 3-5 players at level 1. This module favors investigative and inquisitive playstyles over kicking in the door with swords drawn. The players will explore an abandoned seaside lumber camp full of murdered bodies—only a feral half-orc child remains. Soon a darker

secret unfolds, and as treasure stacks up, so does the body count.

Available for download at the DM’s Guild www.dmsguild.com For questions, concerns, or tales about your adventure, please email [email protected]

Visit remleyfarr.com for more info!

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and 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.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon

Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2018 by Remley Farr and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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Adventure Synopsis “The Sun Goes Down with a Ruby Smile” is a one-shot module featuring an island lumber colony that met its end after one of its workers killed the residents, leaving only a young half-orc child as a survivor. Riches await anyone who explores the town, but the killer is still at large in the area.

Featuring an investigative playstyle, this module is perfect for players who want a mystery to solve. Slowly uncovering the secrets of the island will keep your party guessing at every step. This is a perfect module for a beginning group who needs a good dose of the “roleplaying” aspect of tabletop RPG’s.

How to Read This Module When reading “The Sun Goes Down with a Ruby Smile”, there will be certain selections of texts in shaded boxes.

Text in a shaded box is meant to be read to the players. When you come across text in a box like this, read it out loud, paraphrasing as needed. Think of it like a cut scene in a video game that helps illustrate a moment.

Any wording in bold indicates key points, monsters, or NPC’s that the party may encounter. Any wording that appears in italics refers to a spell. Also, several descriptions for spells and other abilities will not be listed. Instead, the module will refer you to a page in one of your Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition books, which will be cited with the following abbreviations:

Player’s Handbook ................ PHB

Monster Manual ................... MM

Dungeon Master’s Guide .... DMG For example, the party might come across a giant rat (MM, 327). You can

find the stats for the giant rat in the Monster Manual on page 327. Also, your party might be under the effect of a suggestion spell (PHB, 279).

For items, spells, NPC’s, and monsters that are not in any of the previously mentioned books, there are appendices in this module that will be cited. Consult them for further information when they appear.

Adventure Backstory The lumber colony featured in the module is actually a covert, off the grid mining colony set up by a now bankrupt trading company: the Stoutman Caravan. In a grim series of infighting, nearly everyone in the mining colony met their demise at the edge of a mining pick.

Agran Dodd Before the killings, representatives from the Stoutman Caravan wanted to set up a mining colony after buying a lead on a patch of land rich with raw ruby ore. After contacting Agran Dodd, a dwarf mining veteran in his late 300’s, the Stoutman Caravan signed him up with a contract to establish what would, on paper, be called the Pinewood Lumber Export, or the PLE.

Dodd’s job was simple: set up a small, convincing lumber operation while simultaneously running an under-the-table ruby mine. Keeping the Stoutman Caravan’s access to rubies a secret was vital to the operation: if any other companies found out, they’d try to financially strongarm the small, budding business out of their property.

With that, Dodd set to work hiring the “right people.” Wanting to keep the port to the PLE as inconspicuous as possible, he set up only a small marina and customs with a small cabin set aside for himself. As old as he was, retiring to a quiet life full of financial cushion

sounded perfect, and the well-rounded dwarf immediately began scouring for his “right people.”

Hedgar Dodd First and foremost, Agran hired his grandson, Hedgar Dodd, a rambunctious dwarf lad worthy of receiving Dodd’s inheritance. To satiate Hedgar’s explorative nature, Dodd build a three-story watchtower next to the customs office. Hedgar proceeded to decorate the watchtower as any dwarf child would—tiny stone statues, flecks of sparkly rocks, runic poems, and so forth. Hedgar’s job was to look out for ships and tend to Dodd’s needs in his growing age.

The Lent Brothers

With the first contract signed, Dodd set his beady eyes on acquiring lumber workers. Three human brothers, the Lents, fit the bill perfectly. They needed a destination in life, and they could keep mum, especially for the money that Dodd offered them. Also, they needn’t know about the mining operation, and they would be too foolish to suspect it, anyways.

If any Lent brother was the “prettiest” one, it would be Vinnie Lent. Dashing in his own way, he spoke with scowls and the occasional whistle through missing front teeth. As the oldest, Vinnie called the shots.

The middle brother, Paddy Lent, was a tall, skulking fellow, eyes always wandering towards the women. He was usually in his cups, even when working. Rumors pervaded that Paddy Lent needed hard drink like dragons needed gold.

Perhaps the only Lent brother with any redeeming quality was the youngest, Monroe Lent. Monroe never wanted to join the PLE, but went anyways when his brothers forced him


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into the arrangement. A workaholic by nature, he always had his eyes set on the seas, ready for the day when he could amass his savings and set sail.

The Rumrick Family

With the mill workers taken care of, Dodd needed people to tend to the grounds: cooks, servants, farmers—anyone to keep the Lent brothers satisfied. That’s when he came across documents for the Rumricks, a destitute human family led by Kincade Rumrick, the father.

Kincade was put in charge of the brothers—best to not let the Lents’ fraternal rivalry get out of hand—and his wife, Mrs. Rumrick, as well as his young daughters, Mona and Sunny, managed the various households.

Rogath and Maovor

With the facade in place, Dodd needed to find the mortar for his operation: the miners. Seeing his true genius at work, Dodd did the unthinkable. He hired two half-orcs, Rogath and Maovor, to be “guards” in the eyes of the workers. They were hardy, strong, capable of seeing in the dark, drawn by greed, and just deplorable enough so that nobody would snoop around their business. Maovor especially fit the requirements, being fat, bulbous, and crude. Rogath helped balance Maovor out, being better-spoken and even slightly handsome, possibly being more human than orc.

Reagent the Brightloam Unknown to Dodd, the Stoutman Caravan hired on a fifth party to station at the PLE: an elf priest named Reagent the Brightloam. As a priest, Reagent exchanged his work as a mediator and medicine worker in exchange for small pay and a house to stay in—he was also, to Dodd’s disdain, given privy information regarding the ruby

operation. Dodd’s plans seemed simple

enough: just don’t let the humans know that their lumber mill is a front, and if they find out, bribe them a bit. Business would be fine...

Until the day Maovor the half-orc set his pickaxe on fleshier quarry.

The Survivor The kindling for Maovor’s massacre began with Kincade Rumrick’s daughter, Sunny. Being a creative artist and wordsmith, Sunny drew the attention of Rogath, and after eloping with him in secret, became pregnant with his child.

To save herself from the hate her traditional family would wrack on her for loving a half-orc, she took a less harsh bereavement by saying the baby’s father was a random crewman who docked while picking up lumber.

Seeking Reagent for help, Sunny gave birth to a baby boy: Ruby. And with Reagent’s salves and ointments, she was able to hide Ruby’s half-orc traits until Maovor noticed the toddler’s orcish mannerisms. Enraged that Rogath took one of the human women, Maovar told Kincade Rumrick the truth about the child. Kincade, in a heated rage, slew Rogath and Sunny. After discovering Rogath’s death, Maovor lost his self-control, took up his pickaxe, and


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released years of pent up aggression in a revenge killing against the rest of the island’s inhabitants.

Everyone except Ruby and Maovor perished.

Regarding Ruby The half-orc/human lovechild, Ruby (Appendix), still roams the area. He hasn’t seen anyone other than Maovor since the massacre, and he doesn’t quite know what to do when he comes across other people (such as the PC’s).

Ruby’s psyche is stressed by two factors: the unconditional love from his mom, Sunny, as well as the unbridled fear from the night that Maovor attacked everyone. He sees humanoid men as threats, especially orcs and other half-orcs, and he will intimidate or lob spears at them from a distance if provoked, but women are different.

If there’s a female humanoid within the party, Ruby will try and “rescue” her from the party when their guard is down, such as hiding in a room or sneaking up on them when they’re sleeping. If there is more than one female, he will try and rescue the one that looks the most similar to Sunny (DM’s discretion, Charisma might be the deciding factor).

Ruby never quite learned how to talk or recognize speech, but he can read simple orc messages thanks to his mother’s and father’s letters and pictures left behind. Ruby will communicate by scribbling orc words in the dirt, most of them nothing more complex than noun and adjective compounds. He will assign his own names to the PC’s, such as calling a fat dwarf “Pig,” a lithe elf “Tree,” or a musical bard “Bird.” He will always refer to the female he clings to as “Sun.”

If Ruby is with the party in certain areas, he’ll react in peculiar ways, showing fear in presence of a murder or admiration when close to one of Sunny’s paintings. Interpreting his emotions may prove useful for the PC’s.

There’s always the chance that the party might kill Ruby, especially if they see him as a wild threat. A failed perception check or a twitchy ranger with a crossbow might shoot him out of instinct. Ruby isn’t extremely crucial to the adventure, but the party will most likely enjoy the journey if he partners up with them and follows them around.

Adventure Hooks Getting the party to the island shouldn’t be too difficult, especially if this is their first adventure. Captain Tommik, the dwarf owner of the Sea’s Rock, is looking for a crew to ship some iron ore across the ocean. You can create a segment where the party meets each other or Captain Tommik, negotiating on how much gold he’ll pay them for their service. Once they’ve been sailing, feel free to read or paraphrase the following to your party so that they can get right into the action:

Three weeks after signing onto Captain Tommik’s leaky trade cog, the Sea’s Rock, a raging storm refuses to let up. You scramble across the deck, fastening ropes and tacking sails as the halfling navigator, Bosin, spots a port through the rainy onslaught.

After battling the rain, Captain Tommik swings the Sea’s Rock towards the port. The gangplank slams onto the empty marina, and you don your cloaks and hustle across the leaky, wooden boards, aiming for a log customs building nestled where the marina meets the shore. A crackle of lightning deafens your ears, drowning out the howling wind for a moment

Just as you shove the wooden door to the customs building open, you are greeted by a dark, cold, but dry room. Hanging your dripping cloaks on the wall hooks, you collapse onto the floor, exhausted after hours of running around on deck.

“Ah, that’s what I call a wee inconvenience!” Captain Tommik says,

wringing his beard. “This ‘ere’s good place as any. Bosin an’ I’ll grab food and belongings from the Rock, an’ we can hole up in ‘ere fer the night. Keep yer eyes out fer townsfolk. Don’t wanna ferget yer manners.” And with that, he vanishes into the raging winds.

The storm rumbles outside, the rain showing no sign of letting up. Small bootprints of mud and water dot the floor from where you’ve tracked them, but for now, at least you’re able to breathe easy. All you need is a day’s worth of rest in here and you’ll be back in tip-top shape. That is, if this freezing cold rain doesn’t let up.

What do you do?

Setting Camp The players have been battling a relentless storm for almost the entire day, and they’re at the first level of exhaustion. Chances are that the players will decide to poke around the dingy customs office or wait for Tommik to return with Bosin and some gear, which will take roughly thirty minutes.

Captain Tommik himself isn’t an awe-inspiring character, though he has a gruff command about him that only an age-seasoned dwarf could muster. He scrapes his existence by transporting goods with his navigator. The players are hired as deckhands for his next trip.

Unknown to the players, Tommik has an addiction to sama, a plant that, when a leaf is chewed and swallowed, calms people’s nerves. Dwarves naturally are afraid of water, and ingesting sama helps take the edge off. Seeing as how sama plants are contraband in many societies, Tommik keeps the sama addiction a secret, even from Bosin. Eating a sama leaf gives advantage on fear saving throws for eight hours, and Tommik ingests a leaf every eight hours using a Dexterity (Slight of Hand) check vs. any nearby PC’s passive Perception score. If caught and called out on it, he’ll plead that he needs the sama to stay calm on the


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water, and any dwarf in the party might sympathize with his claim.

Captain Tommik will stay near the Sea’s Rock while the party ventures out so that he can keep an eye on the ship while the adventurers do “what yer paid to do!”

The navigator, Bosin, is an equally unremarkable halfling and merely a lackey for Tommik. He’s spry, capable of shimmying up the sails and swinging on ropes. He tags along with Tommik and doesn’t talk much, though a quip or two is sure to pop out of his mouth when he’s feeling particularly full of himself. He fights with a dagger or crossbow when prompted, though he should rarely see a reason to do so.

When Tommik returns from the boat with Bosin, they’re carrying plenty of gear to hole up in the customs office for the night: four lanterns with oil, bedrolls for themselves and each party member, and enough rations to stave off hunger for the night.

Unlike the PC’s, Tommik and Bosin are at the second level of exhaustion, and they will want to go to sleep immediately. Tommik will use this time to sneak a sama leaf, and Bosin will collapse into a snoring heap immediately after unloading the gear.

The Port (P) This is the area that handled the shipping of lumber (and rubies!) out of the camp. When the party first arrives in the rain, they’ll barely be able to see ten feet in front of them. The next day, the skies are clear and the party can get a good view of the area.

P1. Customs Office: Lobby After the party enters the customs office, they will realize one major detail after Tommik leaves to gather supplies: it is freezing cold inside the office. Feel free to tell the party what the office looks like once Tommik leaves.

The dank and dark room bristles with a chill that could make a lich shiver. On one side of the room lies a scribe’s desk cluttered with mildewed parchment, old quills, inkwells, ledger books, and a dirty brass nameplate reading “AGRAN DODD.” On the other side is a cast iron, potbelly stove with a rusty smokestack trailing across the ceiling. A rigid safe is nestled in the corner, and there are two doors on either side of the stove, one with a puddle of water pooling out from beneath it. There won’t be any rest tonight if the room doesn’t warm up.

The lobby is Dodd’s workplace. He spent most of his time at the desk, pouring over ledger work and invoices.

Digging through the scattered stationery reveals that most of them are molded and unreadable, but the papers have “STOUTMAN CARAVAN, PINEWOOD LUMBER EXPORTS” in the heading. If Tommik is informed about the papers, he’ll tell the party that the Stoutman Caravan went bankrupt almost five years ago.

The safe in the corner is locked, and Tommik will tell the party, “Yer more likely to break a hundred axe heads before you break a safe like that.” The only way to open the safe (aside from magic or other extreme means) is to find Dodd’s key at his house (Area P8). Inside the safe is a small, cut ruby worth 200gp and the original five contracts for Hedgar, the Lents, the Rumricks, the half-orcs, and Reagent. As a DM, have fun with explaining what the contracts involve, as the players will have lots of detail to piece together.

Without finding a suitable source of warmth (the boat is too cold, and the lanterns don’t give off heat), the party won’t shake their exhaustion status effect. There are several ways the party might try and stay warm: using a winter blanket or other cold weather gear, chopping up the desk and lighting it in the fireplace, or obtaining firewood from a stack in Dodd’s house. They can burn the papers, but the papers burn

fast. Someone will have to stay up all night feeding handfuls of paper into the fire. Let the party be creative, but remember that wet wood is hard to light.

P2. Customs Office: Dry Room

Entering the room, you see two beds with moldy straw mattresses. This is an overnight room for crew on docked ships. It looks like nobody has been in here for a while.

Any party member investigating the room discovers it’s just a normal room used for overnight housing. It’s still freezing cold in there, and anyone lying on the mattresses causes them to tear and crumble, causing the player to land on the floor in a nasty, dirty splat.

P3. Customs Office: Wet Room

Upon opening the door, strong mist blasts you in the face as you see a ragged hole in the roof. Rain spills down through the hole and runs between the floorboards. There are two beds on either side of the room. Lightning flashes once, revealing a dead body, all bone and tattered clothes, lying in the middle of the floor.

This is the corpse of Agran Dodd, who died after falling from the watchtower next to the customs office and crashing through the roof of this room. Disturbing the body causes a giant rat (MM, 327) to dash out from beneath the bed and attack.

There isn’t anything on Dodd except for a rusty battleaxe with “DODD” scribbled on it in dwarf runes.

P4. Watchtower: Bottom

A three-story, creaky tower juts out of the ground, shadowing the customs office. An indoor staircase wraps from the ground all the way up to the upper balcony in a side winding fashion.


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This is Hedgar’s watchtower. The PC’s notice a creaking sound when they walk up it. Examining the handrails and posts show several crudely carved pictures of dwarf heroes and legends, as well as the words “HEDGAR” and “GRANDFATHER AGRAN” carved all over it in dwarf runes. These are from Hedgar chiseling away in childish wanton fancy.

P5. Watchtower: Bottom

There’s a section of the observation deck where the railing is broken. A short, stout skeleton with a large hole

plunged through its skull lies on the creaky, wooden floor. A bulging blanket, a strawless mattress, and a busted telescope litter the dirty, damp floor.

The skeleton is Hedgar Dodd. A Wisdom (Heal) check DC 15 notices that the hole in its head was caused by a heavy, piercing weapon.

Checking under the bulging blanket reveals a severed arm, identified as belonging to a half-orc on a successful Wisdom (Heal) check DC 15.

This is where Maovor committed his final murders, impaling Hedgar in the

head with his pickaxe. Agran Dodd grabbed his greataxe and stormed up the watchtower, then he dueled with Maovar. In a stroke of luck and skill, the dwarf veteran severed Maovor’s arm, but the vicious half-orc gritted through the searing pain and slammed Agran into the railing, breaking it and toppling the dwarf over the edge where he smashed through customs office roof.

Anyone standing near the southeast section of the railing causes part of the balcony to collapse. Making a successful Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check DC 12 causes the PC to dodge back to the safe side of the


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watchtower or cling to the edge. A failure causes the PC to fall and land on part of the roof, taking 1d6 falling damage. A failure by 5 or more causes the PC to fall through the hole in the roof and take 2d6 falling damage.

From the balcony, party members can see what looks like two expanses towards the west. One expanse has houses, and a larger expanse has a herd of animals in it. A successful Wisdom (Perception) check DC 20 notices the animals as oxen. There are also two paths leading from the port to these expanses.

P6. Dodd’s House: Living Room

The cabin is empty of life except for a few roaches skittering between the floorboards. A mildewed painting of an older dwarf and a younger dwarf bedecks the eastern wall. The fireplace against the north wall sports a well-stocked woodpile next to it, and above the mantle is an empty weapon’s display hook. There are two doors, one on each side of the mantle. A table and four short, wooden chairs sit to one side.

The painting is of Dodd and Hedgar, and it was painted by Sunny, whose signature can be found in the bottom corner if the players look hard enough. Ruby will recognize his mother’s name instantly and react to it.

Searching the room reveals a tin of tobacco and an ivory pipe worth 20 gp. Any food or drink that would be stored in the cupboards has long since been eaten by roaches.

P7. Dodd’s House: Library

Bookshelves with worm- and rat-eaten books bedeck each of the walls. A reading chair sits against a desk. On one wall is a large map in a glass display case.

Examining the bookshelf reveals nothing

but books that have been chewed away, the binding coming unglued and falling apart.

Examining the map shows a detailed scribbling of the logging camp as well as the names of the people who worked there, including their positions. Extracting the map from its display case is easy if the party wishes to take it with them.

Examining the map gives the players the following details:

A flourish of calligraphy reads “Pinewood Lumber Export,” and a forested area is drawn out. Near the coast is the customs office, a watchtower, and a cabin, as well as the marina. Two trails lead off, one to a small clearing with two houses and a shack, the other to an enormous clearing with a fenced area and a great tent, suggesting a logging clearing. These places are connected by a trail as well. There are four lists, each with a set of names beneath them.

You can then tell them about four lists in detail. The players can write these

names down themselves, or you can write the names down beforehand and give them to the players. The categories and names are as follows, in this order:

LOGGING

Kincade Rumrick

Vinnie Lent

Paddy Lent

Monroe Lent STEWARDS

Mrs. Rumrick

Sunny Rumrick

Mona Rumrick

Reagent Brightloam

Ruby Rumrick SECURITY

Maovor

Rogath ADMIN

Agran Dodd

Hedgar Dodd. An Intelligence (investigation) check DC 15 reveals that Ruby Rumrick is written with different handwriting, suggesting it was added in later. Also, Sunny Rumrick’s signature is on the map since


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she painted it. Ruby will see this and recognize it as well.

P8. Dodd’s House: Bedroom

A clothes rack of tunics, breeches, and bandanas give the idea that this room belonged to a male dwarf. The bed is low to the ground, and the room is mostly intact. There is a wooden dresser opposite the bed and a nightstand near the bed.

Pilfering through the clothes rack and dresser will yield 2 sets of work clothes, 2 sets of artisan’s clothes, and a big, wooly cape. Inside the nightstand is 27gp and 4sp, as well as an intact, hardbound book: Morbin’s Almanac of Precious Stones, which includes prints and descriptions of several gems, mostly rubies. Tommik will price the book at 40gp and offer to buy it.

Inside the almanac is the key to the safe in area P1. Also, anyone using the almanac to appraise a ruby or ruby ore will know its full value.

P9. Dodd’s Well

This stone well is hidden behind a bunch of overgrown bushes. It’s been covered by a metal-wrought grate.

Players actively searching the area near Dodd’s house stumble across this well. Dropping rocks or anything small through the cracks shows that there’s still water in it.

If the party is able to remove the grate and climb down, they’ll come across a small, 10 x 10 underground water area with 8d6 cp scattered around the bottom. Hedgar threw copper pieces down there for good luck.

Residencies (R) The Lents, Rumricks, and Reagent lived here before they died. There are two cabins in a clearing, a small patch of

overgrown grass where Reagent’s shack burned down, and an old well. Two paths lead off—the northern one leads to the clearing, and the eastern one leads to the port.

R1. Rumrick’s House: Living Room

The front door to this house is wide open, and there’s a wooden dining table with five chairs around it. One chair has a pillow in the seat. A fireplace thick with ash and with a hanging kettle sits against the western wall. There are several torn paintings on every wall. There are two doors leading to other rooms, both bashed in.

The chair with the pillow was for Ruby. The torn paintings are all of animals, trees, and flowers. They were destroyed in Kincade Rumrick’s rage after finding out Sunny’s bastard lovechild was from Rogath and not one of the port sailors.

Approaching the fireplace shows that there is a message carved into the wooden mantle, “LET NOT THE DISEASED HOG SIRE,” and a dagger is shoved into the wood at the last letter, as if punctuating the point. Kincade carved this scripture from one of his holy books after destroying the paintings. The kettle in the fireplace is empty, and searching the room finds nothing but silverware, plates, and other household basics worth 5gp at most. Digging through the ash finds the burned remnants of Sunny’s love letters to Rogath, which are written in orcish. Kincade threw them into the fire after finding them.

Ruby will definitely react to the paintings after seeing his mother’s signature on them.

R2. Rumrick’s House: Sunny and Mona’s Bedroom

The door to this room is kicked in, and the place is entirely disheveled: broken

paintings, scattered dresses, splintered bedposts, even a broken window. Last night’s rain has soaked half of the room.

Sunny and Mona shared the same room, and the room is in shambles from a combination of Kincade snooping for evidence and Maovor’s rampage.

Searching the room finds busted paint bottles, dried paint, dirty work clothes, and a broken wooden chest that’s the perfect size for storing letters.

R3. Rumrick’s House: Master Bedroom

A large bed sits in the center with a dead woman dressed in nightclothes on one side of it. The window behind the bed is shattered. A writing desk and wardrobe sit around the room.

The parents’ bedroom is largely untouched, except for the soaked mattress. The corpse is Mrs. Rumrick, who died when Maovor broke the window behind her and strangled her in her sleep.

On the desk is a forgotten inkwell and quill, as well as two crossbow bolts. A damp, moldy book, Divine Bosnir, lies open, slivers of paper marking several passages. The ink is too runny to read, but an Intelligence (Religion) check DC 10 reveals the following:

The book in your hand chronicles the teachings of the Church of Bosnir, a lawful neutral deity with a small following among the rural people. Bosnir’s followers are very utilitarian, valuing hard work and perseverance above all else. When followed justly, his laws can create paragons of determined people. When followed unjustly, his laws can create superiority complexes that border the line between zealot and psychopath. Bosnir’s followers ritually carve or write scriptures from Divine Bosnir on their tools, carts, and boats—


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sometimes even tattooing them onto their bodies.

Kincade had been scribing scripture from Divine Bosnir onto his crossbow bolts, preparing to kill Sunny and Rogath. The two bolts on the desk don’t have any scripture on them.

Searching the wardrobe produces three sets of work clothes for a man and woman each. Under the bed is a trunk with 240sp in it, as well as 11gp.

R4. Lent House: Living Room

This room is full of hunting trophies, antlers, and skins. Several steins and

drinking paraphernalia are scattered about. On the wall is a painting of a coat of arms: two axes crossed behind a stout oak trunk. Two lifeless bodies lie in the left corner. There are three doors along the back wall, the right one is smashed down. The middle and left ones are intact.

The coat of arms has Sunny’s signature on it. A search of this room finds several rotted away hunting trophies and silverware that’s grown tarnished. The two bodies are Monroe and Paddy Lent, who were gouged by Maovor’s pickaxe after they ran out of their rooms, hearing Vinnie’s cry for help.

Searching the bodies finds a short sword on each one, as well as dingy nightclothes. It looks like they were killed after just waking up.

R5. Lent House: Vinnie’s Room

The room is damp from rain, as seen by the broken window on the side. A dead body under blood-matted sheets lies on the bed, and the furniture has succumbed to rot years ago.

The body is Vinnie Lent’s. After Maovor entered the Lent house, he busted down Vinnie’s bedroom door and killed him in his bed. Examining the body shows


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multiple gouges. Also, pulling the sheets off of him excites a swarm of wasps (MM, 338) that have built a next in his ribs. Players that makes a successful Wisdom (Perception) check DC 15 can hear small buzzing sounds from under the sheets.

R6. Lent House: Paddy’s Room

The room is filthy, but by the looks of it, this place was a wreck before the murders. There’s a bed lying in the center, and a tripod-mounted spyglass sitting against the window. A spittoon sits in the corner near a dresser.

This is Paddy Lent’s bedroom. He was a slob and a pervert, and anyone who examines the busted spyglass can see that the spyglass is aimed at the window to the girls’ bedroom at the Rumrick’s house. The spyglass itself is tarnished and old, the lenses foggy, but can be sold as scrap for 50 gp.

Looking under the bed finds women’s undergarments, stolen by Paddy. The whole room smells of mildew and rot. Ruby doesn’t like this room, and will write EVIL EYES repeatedly in orcish on the walls with a charcoal piece.

R7. Lent House: Monroe’s Room

This is a man’s bedroom containing a bed, dresser, and several scattered maps and charts. It’s tidier in appearance than the other two bedrooms. There’s a violin lying on the bed.

Examining the maps shows that they’re from several shipping companies, possibly special ordered. Comparing the maps to some of the charts shows that this individual had plans to travel.

Sorting around the furniture yields a few books not worth any more than 5 gp, but digging under the pillow finds an opened envelope containing a letter of acceptance from Tristan Musician

Academy, as well as a list of costs and supplies needed. Along with the envelope is a hidden stash of 68 gp. The violin is in good condition, needing only minor tuning, and there is a bow with it as well.

Monroe Lent was planning on leaving the lumber mill and sneaking away to school, but Maovor ended his life before he could do so.

R8. Reagent’s House

An array of blackened posts and ash give away that there used to be a house here until it burned down.

Reagent’s house burned down when he attacked the rampaging Maovor with a burning hands spell, torching half of Maovor’s body before Maovor cut him down with the pickaxe.

Digging around the overgrowth and remaining ash disturbs a smoke mephit (MM, 217) that attacks the party. Ruby knows that the smoke mephit is there and will avoid the area, scribbling random combinations of “EVIL, SMOKE, DEATH” in the ground. A successful Intelligence (Arcana) check DC 10 reveals that some smoke mephits haunt places where people burned to death, feeding on the anguished memories of the burned victims’ demise.

Slaying the smoke mephit makes a “memory” appear in its remains, emanating like a floating picture:

The smoke incarnation dissipates into a billowing residue, the ashes of its body reforming into three ghostly shades. One of the shades is hunched over and tall, elfish in appearance. The second shade, shaped like a human female, runs to it, arms flailing in a panic.

They run around, making as if to hide in the ash, when the third shade rumbles in. The third shade is tall and broad, monstrous in form, and pantomimes breaking through a door. The elfish shade raises its arms to cast

a spell, and ash spews forth from its hands, covering the third shade.

As if shaking off a headache, the monstrous shade plows through the silent spell cast by the first shade and raises its hand. A pickaxe-shaped tool forms out of the ash in the monster shade’s fist and crashes into the elf shade, bursting it into smoldering flecks.

The second, female shade makes to run, but the monster shade raises the pickaxe and charges her. As it approaches the shivering female shade, the ashes formed by the dead mephit coalesce inward as though pulled by an unseen force, then explode outward.

A smoky haze fills the area where this house used to stand, slowly drifting to the ground. The reenactment is complete, and the wretched elemental mephit won’t haunt these grounds anymore.

There is no other loot in the area. The players have just witnessed Mona running to Reagent for help and Maovor bursting through the door, slaying both of them.

R9. Residents’ Well

This well is made of stone, and a bucket attached to a chain rests on the ground near it.

This is the well that Sunny Rumrick would use to drop letters down to Rogath. Anyone venturing down into the well ends up in Area M5.

Clearing (C) The large array of rotted stumps near the tree line gives away that this was a logging camp. There’s an old livestock pen with oxen meandering around it, as well as old carts, some with rotten tree trunks in them. A dilapidated tent sits to one side. There are two paths leading away.


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This is the logging area where the Lents and Kincade Rumrick would cut down trees and tote them to the port using the oxen and the carts. The dilapidated tent is where Maovor and Rogath lived. The two paths lead to the Port and the Residencies.

C1. Livestock Pen

A rundown livestock pen encircles almost half of the clearing. Most of the fencing has fallen over, but the oxen seem to be staying in the area. Even though the fence isn’t holding the oxen at bay, they still consider the pen a home.

There are roughly 20 oxen grazing in the area. About half of them are young, the others adults. The oxen are familiar with people since they were raised as beasts of burden, but disturbing them will cause the bull oxen to attack. Use the giant goat stats (MM, 326) to represent the bull.

C2. Half-Orc Tents

This old, worn out tent is orcish in appearance. It looks as if it collapsed many years ago.

Rogath and Maovor lived here. Looking through the tent fabric reveals a ladder leading down into a hole. Going down this ladder leads to area M1.

The half-orcs built their tent over the entrance to the mine so that they could dig for rubies without anyone catching onto what they were doing.

Mine (M) There are two ways of entering the mine. The primary entrance is through the half-orc tents (area C2), and the second entrance through the residents’


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well (area R9). The mine is long and twisted, having been carved out for several years by Rogath and Maovor. There are no sconces for torches since the half-orcs could see in the dark

At the very end of the mine is Maovor, who can’t escape the area he’s trapped in. He might roar occasionally, especially if the party makes a lot of noise or gets closer to him. Feel free to have perception checks made to hear a bellow from down in the cave. The closer the party gets to him, the worse the place smells. Ruby will help lead them if they feel lost.

M1. Primary Entrance

A ladder leads 20 feet down from the half-orc tents. This entrance to the cave has two pickaxes nestled near the front. There are jagged walls and rough floors from years of mining. A tunnel leads forward into the darkness.

If the half-orc tents have been moved from the entrance above, dim sunlight can spill into through this room from above.

M2. First Dig Site

The tunnel opens into a circular room with a pit dug out in the center. At the bottom of the pit is a patch of water from where the diggers dug too deep.

There are footprints from where the half-orcs walked back and forth. Examining the water reveals that the rocks at the bottom are full of cracks that the water is seeping up from.

M3. First Bend

Around the first bend is a dead body pinned to the wall by a pickaxe. The tunnel continues on into another dig site.

After killing Rogath and Sunny, Kincade Rumrick was slain by Maovor—he was

the first victim in Maovor’s revenge. Maovor slammed a pick into him, pinning him to the cave wall.

Examining the body shows that there’s a note stuck to his shirt with a crossbow bolt. The note is bloody with fingerprints, and there’s dried blood on Kincade’s hands. The charcoal-written note reads “MY LITTLE SUNSHINE CRIED OVER THE MONSTER AND I SHOT HER TOO. I’M SORRY. MAOVOR DESERVES HIS VENGEANCE.” The handwriting is more ragged towards the end. Kincade wrote the note and pinned it to himself before dying.

His crossbow is lying next to him, and the bolt pinned to his shirt has a piece of Bosnir scripture written on it, “GOOD MEN ROT; DEAD MEN ROT.” The crossbow itself has writing on it, “FOOD FOR THE HUNTER; LIFE FOR THE FAMILY.” Ruby reacts to the bolts with unease because he associates them with his parents’ death.

M4. Second Dig Site

This site is very similar to the previous dig site, obviously a spot where the miners found some ore deposits and decided to clear out the area. There’s a patch of running water in the center of the dig area.

Not much in this room is different than the previous dig site, though the water is part of an underground estuary that travels under the dig site and exits into area M5.

Ruby will show the party that it’s possible to swim through the water in the center of the room. He’ll demonstrate it by hopping in and out, ushering the PC’s to follow him.

If the party starts to leave the second site and continue into area M6, Ruby shows concern. He knows that Maovor lives back there and doesn’t want to disturb him, but Ruby also is keen on the idea that the adventurers might be able to kill the bestial half-orc, so he’ll follow them down there as long

as they lead the way.

M5. Rogath’s Grotto

A giant, underground grotto encircles the room. A large pool of water sits in the center, and a chain with a bucket dangles from a hole in the ceiling. Up against one wall are two corpses embracing each other, a crossbow bolt sticking out of each one. A stack of folded parchment papers sits next to them. A makeshift bed made of grass and scrap fabric is there as well. Bits of ruby ores are wedged in the wall behind the corpses, as well as a handful of ore scattered over their bodies for decoration.

Sunny and Rogath would meet in this grotto when they were eloping in secret. They would also communicate with each other with letters by lowering them and raising them to the well above using the chain and bucket.

Rogath died in Sunny’s arms after Kincade chased him through the underground estuary and into the grotto. Kincade then shot his daughter with his crossbow. The Bosnir scripture written on Rogath’s bolt is “AND THUS BOSNIR SMITE HIS BILE AND BILGE, CASTING THEM FROM THEIR THRONES WITH HIS SOUT BOLTS,” and the scripture on Sunny’s bolt is “SHE GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE, THE BLOOD OF INNOCENCE QUAFFED UPON HER LIPS.”

The stack of parchment papers are Sunny’s writings, most of them love notes to Rogath. All of these include pictures as well, the words describing the pictures written in orcish with Sunny’s delicate handwriting.

The makeshift sleeping area is Ruby’s: this is where he lives. He scavenged what little bits of shiny ore he could find and placed it on his parents like gravestone flowers (worth 50 gp). Ruby will act or write out whatever he can to let the party know that these are his parents and that this


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is his safe haven. Any party member trying to remove the ruby ores from the wall or bodies will be met with snarling and aggressive behavior from Ruby, who equates the act with defamation.

The water is very crisp and quenching, and the area will make a good resting place if the party chooses to camp for a little bit.

M6. Second Bend

The tunnel from the second dig site continues around a curve.

There’s not much to see here other than the carved out areas of places where the miners sought out more ore.

M7. Third Dig Site

The tunnel leads to a huge drop off, at least 20 feet down. The room is enormous with a large pool of rushing water in the center. Piles of fish bones litter the floor near the water, and the stench of rot fills the air.

Maovor has been trapped down in the area past the third dig site for years. Having only one arm, he can’t climb the drop off point, and investigating the steep drop off area shows several pickaxe holes from where he tried to pull himself up. If the party hasn’t been sneaking silently, Maovor knows of their intrusion and is hiding, waiting for them to climb past the drop off point before

attacking. The bone-scattered area around the

water is sloped and slick with rotten fish and dung. Anyone other than Maovor who steps near it must make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) save DC 10 or slip into the rushing water and be swept down to area M4.

M8. Maovor’s Lair

The stench of rot and feces rakes the air in this final, hollowed out area. It looks as if a rabid monster lived here.

Maovor will attack the first PC to enter this room, charging at them to shove them towards the water in area M7.

This area is where Maovor sleeps.


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There are bits of ruby ore scattered around it (50 gp) and one large chunk that is lodged where his missing eye would be.

Maovor’s Fight Maovor (Appendix) is a one-armed, half-burned, one-eyed half-orc whose past five years have been spent trapped beneath the ground, surviving off of fish. His stomach and jowls bulge and sag, and a chunk of ruby ore in his burned out eye socket glistens. His mind has deteriorated into madness, and he’s now more monster than sentient being.

After charging the first player to enter his lair, Maovor will try and bash a hero with his rock, stunning the hero so that he can steal one of their one-handed melee weapons. If any of the party members is carrying a mining pick or war pick, he will choose one of them.

Maovor will prefer to fight around the water, bellowing and puking until he can obtain a melee weapon from the party.

Even though Maovor isn’t afraid of the water, if he falls in, he’s too fat to fit through the narrow waterways beneath the cave and will get stuck in the tight space, drowning. Any party member who has been down into the water can make a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check to realize that Maovor’s girth is substantially large compared to the waterway.

Feel free to be as nasty with Maovor as possible. After all, he’s been stuck in this area for over five years covered in nothing but rotten food and filth. He hasn’t taken any baths because of the rushing water. Maovor doesn’t “make an attack,” he “swings a greasy fist, shouting in malignant fury as slaver drips down his meaty jowls.”

Unless heavily influenced by the party, Ruby won’t fight Maovor. He’s brave enough sitting at the top of the drop off point.

Maovor will never beg for mercy, choosing to fight until his death. His

existence is miserable, and only by bringing misery onto others will his cankered soul find some kind of rest.

Aftermath Chances are that the party has obtained a solid haul of loot and gear, as well as determined the mystery behind the Pinewood Lumber Export’s massacre and the Stoutman Caravan’s fall to ruin. Let the party divvy up their loot as they see fit amongst themselves.

With the mystery solved and the area cleared out, the party can choose to do what they want in regards to Captain Tommik. Chances are that Tommik won’t know what happened, and they can be honest with him by telling him about the events, or lie and say that there’s nothing of interest on the island.

By letting Tommik know what happened, he will know that there’s a ruby mine on the island. For adventures after this one, they could broker this information with Tommik’s company and make some money off of it, or they could keep the information privy to themselves and sell it to the highest bidder, ignoring Captain Tommik’s input. Either way, the captain and Bosin will be ready to sail out since the storm has cleared and the boat is fixed.

If Ruby has made it all the way to the end with the PC’s, they might try to get Ruby to travel with them. Ruby will be hesitant since he’s wild and used to his home on the port. Though there are other ways that Ruby might decide to go with the party: he can become an NPC companion, clinging to the female who he deems his new mother, or another person can roll up a character sheet for him and use him as a PC (build him like a half-orc barbarian, chaotic neutral, with an outlander background.)

Though unlikely, it’s possible that the party can subdue Maovor instead of killing him. After all, Maovor knows common, and even though his mind is mostly gone, he can still communicate

to a degree. The party can use the evidence they’ve found to take Maovor to a nearby city and have him arrested and tried for his crimes, possibly obtaining a reward if they can find the former owners of the Stoutman Caravan or people who were acquainted with the slain victims.

There’s also the chance that the party decides to tell nobody about the port, using it as their own personal base. There are plenty of houses that only need minor repairs, as well as a watchtower and some oxen that can be tamed for food and labor. Captain Tommik could even offer to be their personal courier, ferrying food and supplies to them from other locales for a small share of their loot.

If the party chooses to work the mines, one individual mining at least 8 hours a day can find 3d6+6 gp worth of ruby ore in areas M7 and M8, though there’s a chance they’ll mine the areas clean and have to dig tunnels for more. The opportunities are endless, and Ruby can help them out as well. He might even like the added company, especially if it means having another mother figure in his life or some friends to play with.


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Appendix Here is where you can find entries for monsters that are not found in the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Monster Manual.

Maovor Medium humanoid (half-orc) — CE AC - 9 HP - 35 (4d6+16) Speed 30ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 8 (-1) 18 (+4) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)

Skills Athletics +6 (-2 on swimming checks), survival +5 Senses passive Perception 11, darkvision 60ft Languages Common, orc Challenge 1 (200 xp) Born to Filth. Maovor automatically passes Dexterity

(Acrobatic) checks when moving across terrain covered in his bile or rotten fish heads.

Murderer’s Choice. When rolling damage from an attack made with a mining pick or war pick, Maovor deals an additional 1d6 piercing damage.

Relentless Endurance. When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, Maovor drops to 1 hit point instead. He can’t use this feature again until he finishes a long rest.

Savage Attacks. When Maovor scores a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, he can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

ACTIONS Rock Melee Weapon Attack +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit

5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution save or else be stunned for 1 round.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS Maovor can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Maovor regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn. Bellow. Maovor screams at a creature. The creature must

succeed on a DC 13 Charisma save or be frightened for one round.

Bile Puddle. Maovor regurgitates all over an adjacent 5-foot square. Creatures who are in it or who enter it must make a DC 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or fall prone.

GEAR 1 large chunk of ruby ore in his eye socket (worth 250 gp)

Ruby

Small humanoid (half-orc) — CN AC - 12 HP - 4 (1d6) Speed 30ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 8 (-1) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)

Skills Intimidate +5 Senses passive Perception 11, darkvision 60 ft. Languages Orc (written only) Challenge 0 (0 xp) ACTIONS Crude Spear Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack +5 to hit, reach

5ft. range 20/40 ft., one target. Hit 2 (1d4-1) piercing damage

GEAR Fur clothes, 3 crude spears, letters from parents.

the sun goes down - img.fireden.net · adventure synopsis “the sun goes down with a ruby smile”...

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