Adventure - Scourge of the Howling Horde

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SCOURGE OF THE HOWLING HORDE'~ A 1ST- LEVEL ADVENTURE .~ .

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" A R T D IR E CT OR S

D E S I G ll1

K ARIN J AQ!!ES, MARl K OLKOWSKY, R OBERT R APER

GWE NDOLYN F .M. K ESTREL

D E y: E L OP M E N T A N D EDI TI NG B ILL SLAVICSEK

COVE R ILL U STR A T O R SIMONE BI ANCHI

I N TE RIOR I LL U ST R ATIO N S D E SI G N MA N A G E R

CARL F RANK

CHRISTOPHER P ERKINS

CARTOGR APHER M IKE SCHL EY

DE VE L OPM E NT MA NAG ER JESSE DECKER

PRO D UCTIO N MA NAGE RS , JOSH FISCH ER, RANDAL L CR EWS

'E D IT I N G MANAG E R

G R A P H IC DES IG NE R

, K IM M OHAN

K EVEN SM ITH

S &N IO R ART D IR ECTOR D &D

G R A P H I C P R O D U C TIO N S PE C I A L I S T '

STACY l';ONGSTREET

ANGELIKA LOKO TZ

R PG 'R& D

I M A G E T Jo: B......,. ARROW' 5 ED GE Th e information on th ese p ages provides you w ith an overview of the ham let of Barrow's Edge. It has a popu lation of approxim ately 100 adul ts,whic h h as grow n stead ily up u nti l the onse t of the goblin raids. A variety of race s in h abit th e town. Slightly mor e th an half of the popula tio n is hum an, an d the rest is made up of the othe r core races: dwarves, elves, gn ome s, h alf-elves, half-orcs, and hal flin gs. You don 't need th e statistics [or the vast m ajority of nonplaycr ch aracters in your game . Don't wo rry abo ut the statistics for the town black smith or the cob bler. Th e pop ulation cons ists of 151- and 2nd-level commone rs and expe rts . As a genera l r ule, if a pe rson dem on strates expertise or de votion to a call ing, give them up to a +5 modifier on any relevant sk ill ch eck. For all other ch ec k s, assu me J +0 modifi er. For in stance, the stableha nd k nows horses and other an im als. I f it comes up, he m ight have a +4 modifier to Handle Animal checks. The re's n o reason why h e should be goo d at Dip lom acy, so just assign a +0 mo d ifier. Use thi s ham let as a ba se of operations for th e player charac ters for th e rest of th e advent ure, and perhaps beyon d . Th is sec t ion de scr ibe s its majo r feat u res. Feel free to add d etails or persona lize it to su it your campaig n. If you use it for charac ters above 1st level, you may wan t to emph asize its grow th an d in crease its size to m atch the player ch arac ters ' advancemen t. H igher- level pe s n eed larger sett leme n ts to bu y and sell equipme nt and treasu re. As a ham let, Barrow's Edge only offers item s for sale of u p to 10 0 gp in value. In add it ion , whe n the ch arac ters sell treasur e, th e town can on ly afford to pu rch ase 500 gp wort h of th ings from th em at one tim e and h as on ly abo u t 50 0 gp value of item s to sell. Because the set tlement sees a lot of travelers and trade, allow th is to recha rge on a week ly bas is.

STEN GOODSELLER'S EMPORIUM A sign above the door reads "Stew Good'seJler's Ernporturu,' Little of tile original cabin ca ll still be seen, as numerous aadiliot15 j ut off llll siaeslllul up one level. W hat had bee/l a front porch /lO U! se rves as 11 glassed· in display (lrea. Equipment of all descriptions fill s the ma rl Y shelves and cases visible through tile display IlJ indows, includi ng kmterus, torches, bolts of cotta/I, bags of seed, and more. Sten m ana ge s the sho p wit h th e hel p of her partner, Currer. Th e two d isplay deep fr ien dship an d affec tion for one another. Sten tr usts Gar ret to ru n th e shop whe n she travels for ne w stoc k. Garre t doesn't have the same love of th e busine ss th at Sten d isp lays, but he cares for Sten an d wa nts th e sho p to succ eed. Un like Sterr, who is talkative and outgo ing, Ga rret is qu iet an d shy. Th e sho p sells gene ra l equipment and sup plies, sp ecial item s, armor, an d wea pons with values of to o gp or less.

TEMPLE This large building's lmpainted exterior dearly S1lOWS it to be recen t construction. Olltside, 111(' ca rved lVooden symbols of many godsawait their first coat of paint and identify it asa place of worship. The townsfolk worship a wide varie ty of gods. This temple provides a place for th em to worsh ip. A wors h iper of Pelor mig ht p ray here alon gside a devot ee of Wee Ias. The few residents draw n to ev il de ities offer th eir p rayers in private. I f the cha rac ters enter th e temple , read the follow ing.

IllSide, our large room feat ures shrines honoring different gods spaced evenly along tltewal/s. Rowsofbenches fill tlte open space, and brightly colored ca rpets edoru thefloor. List ra, a t sr-level cle ric , m aintain s th e temple. s he wor ships th e sam e d eity as on e of the charac ter s, preferably a cleric or palad in. If none ofyour pe s h ave religious incl in ations, h ave th e cleric lik ewise be u nco m mitte d to a deity. She sh ou ld be nonev il, and able to sp ont aneously cast cure spe lls. She lives on the seco nd floor, abo ve the worsh ip hall.

Deity Worsh iped: Domains Ch osen:

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What list ra Will do for th e Playe r Characters Lisrra loves the sett lemen t of Barro w's Edge and will ingly h elps anyone seek ing to serve or protect th e ham let. If the ch aracter s com m it to h elp ing th e town, the cle ric cas ts spells for free . If a spe ll h as a cos tly ma ter ial co mponent , such as the 25 gp required for bless water, she ex pec ts the pes to cove r those costs . If the ch aracte rs don't agree to aid th e town or if they keep th eir efforts sec re t, Listra cha rges th em stan da rd rates fo r castin g spe lls. As a Ist-Ievel cleric, she cas ts a-level sp ells for 5 gp and 1st-level spells for 10 gpo If aske d, she po li tely refuses reque sts to go adve n tu ring. Listra is de voted to ma inta in ing the temple an d serv ing as spi ritua l leader in Barro w's Edge. Listra typically prays for these spells. If a spec ial need arises, or if th e pes reques t it, Listra prays for different spe lls for th e n ext day. I Cleric Spe lls Prepa red (CL ' lst): 1st- 0 bless water, 0 comprehend languages, dom ain spe ll: _ = :-:,.--,= _:-:-_-,-0- 0 create water, 0 detect magic, 0 read magic

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Since Listra can spon taneously cast cure spe lls , she ca n tu rn any of h er o-level spe lls in to cure minor woundsand either of h er nond om ain t st-level spe lls into cure light wounds.

BARROW'S EDGE INN A large building sprawlsat the ce nterof the srttlement. Light

spills fro m its windows. A broad sign above the door reads: "Barrow's Edge Inn- Welcome to AIL" Wh en th e player ch aracters enter the in n , read:

The interiaro! the inn feels as Ivarm and hospitable as it

seemed from outside. The LVl1YH smells of stew and fresh baked bread waftfro m the kitchell. A portly woman bustles about, pouring drinks and se rvingfood. "Travelers? Welcome. We'vefo od and drink and roo ms. All warm and dea n." she ttlrm to a pair of fa rmhands lounging by the hearth. "Dorf, Dissy movc- give !/u st? newcomersspace to settle in by thefire." Tlie h VD farmers nod amiablyand shift to another lable. "Now, what can I get for you?"

Mallie March ess owns th e inn. She act s as th e manager, bart en der, and host, and generally does whatever need s to be done to keep the place running. Ever yon e in th e haml et kn ows and respects her. Although Barrow's Edge doesn't have a for mal government, Ma llie's word is close to law. Eminently capable and extremely organized , Mallie possesses many leadersh ip qualities.

W ith th e onset of th e recent gobli n raid s, she starte d to gather th e resources ne eded to build a woo den wall around Barr ow's Edge. Th e town has been maki ng slow, ste ady progress o n th is project. If the work stays on schedule, th e wall wi ll be finishe d in about a year. Malli e knows th at a wall provides bett er security for the future , but something needs to be don e about the goblin threat now. So, in addition to spe arheading the wall project , she pu shed for the settl ement to send out a call for hel p. . Mallie has a persona l stake in elim inating th e goblin th reat. About two months ago, her hu sband led a g roup of townsfolk to tr y [Q make peace with the goblins. Malli e's husband and several of h is companions never retu rn ed. s he wa nts to see the goblin threat elimina ted, while still workin g toward en surin g the continued safet y of th e haml et.

What Mall ie Will do for the Player Characters Malli e welcom es all pat ron s to her establishment, an d the player characters are no exception. If they don't agree to help the hamlet , or if the y keep th eir involvem ent a secret, th en Mallie charges them her norm al rates for lodging, food, and dri nk. As an inn of Good qu ality, Mall ie charges 2 g p per person per day for lod ging, 5 sp per day for meals, and 4 cp per mu g of ale. It is reasona ble for th e player charac ters to use th e inn as a base of operat ions whi le th ey adve nture in and around th e hamler. Mallie has no problem with this, and isn't afraid to ask them how th e adventur ing is going and offeri ng th em advice and opinions as she thin ks of th em .

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5 cue n.lltriJ. Acharactl'r ca n henefit from the ma"icfo untain once per'Jay.,$ubsequc nt eips on t he ~ame day 'l;ave n o er"fe,;,-L

ALTAR: K l'OWLEDGU CHECKS Pla yer dl(~t:ad er5 can tr y to glean i nfl-,rmaboll abou t t1l1:: altac

usi n~ Kn (lwl ['J ~e checks. jZnowIedge (.1.rchiteclurc aml enginccrin¢) DC l (J'~ The ~

~ ra_n i tc alt ar ap pear" to be hundred s ()f years oldlwd is of dwarvcn design. Th" pla5h~r is a nUh.'h more re-cent

nJd jt i(Jn. Know ll,.'dgc (religion) DC 10: TIll;: pictures carved ill the plas ter J,'p id rune!" holy to Maglubi yet , till' ~ oblin d eity. Knowledge (,·cligion) DC 15: Goblins h onor l\'1aglubiyetbyi ncrea sing til t' size and strl'n~tll ,A tli ei r tribes. The rl,Jigiol1 va lue;: c!,.'ll)$, evil , anJ hl.:k~iy.

ALCOVES The .ll co vei;once bou;; cd sta t ues of Jwarws. A II tbat remains t.-, f th ~ sta tues are unreco gni zahl e hit;; oCsmasbeJ rubhle.

NORT HW EST ALCOVE (HAGIC FOUNTA IN) A stat ue o f Br u nJorr. i.'l ll'~~ n d

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