First/second level Adventure Hooks

[alhoon]

Dear collegues.

Many people on these boards are about to start some campaigns etc. While they already have things under control, I have an idea.

Let anyone who's interested post here an extended adventure hook, for use with very low (i.e Starting) Ravenloft characters. What I mean is something bigger than the 1 paragraph Adventure hook. Something like an adventure synopsis. That way the DM's interested will have a solid idea how to run it from start to end.

I would post one here but I don't have the time to post it yet. I'll edit my post later and add one.

[HuManBing]

This is the current adventure I'm running. It's cozy - just me as DM, and one single player, who controls four characters. This is a "dry run" of a campaign arc I have planned for my regular gaming group.

1. Storyline the first: PCs wake up in Darkon with no memory of how they got there. In the lodging room next door, a brawl rages and they are drawn in, with several gnomish traders fending off a group of bandits. The PCs chase them off, help the gnomes recover, and are expected to help the gnomes ride from Il Aluk to Martira Bay. Along the way they see unfamiliar heraldry of the barons and King Azalin.

2. In Martira Bay they meet with various seemingly-unconnected people (a wizard here, a dandish fop there, a bawdy tavern mandolinist there) who are part of a private company. They learn they were part of the company as low-ranking merchant guards, but then they lost their memories. They learn about Darkon's effect on the memory. At this point they also discover horrific scars on their bodies. In one case, the party's mage does not even find her scars until much later because they were applied to her scalp and her hair covered them.

3. While resting in Martira Bay, the company will not send the PCs on any missions soon until they can gauge exactly how bad the memory loss is. However, low ranking company members will have a few "favors" to ask of them. So far, this has included shaking down innkeepers who stiffed them out of a fee, and safeguarding the transfer of questionably-legal cargo at the bayfront.

4. Soon, I plan to have the company give the PCs a very menial task, just to start them off gently. In the Nobles' district and the Patricians' Park, pets have been going missing. Lords and ladies are singularly annoyed by the nuisance, and a member of the constabulary has asked the company for help. The company delegates the PCs to investigate. This will be a fact finding, trap-laying type of urban adventure.

Although the adventure will be very simple, it will have far reaching implications. The perpetrator is a man who has gone partway through the Kargatane rituals of thrallhood to a Kargat, before turning away. Now, unable to stop drinking blood, he nonetheless refuses to kill humans. His modus operandi is to prey on curs in the poorer districts, but he also has entered professional kennels before, and killed animals there, leading to notice by the nobles who patronize the kennels.

The PCs will be faced with the dilemma of whether to hand him over to the police, or to help him themselves. Either way, this seemingly innocuous adventure will attract the attention of the Kargatane, with profound effects on the company's future fortunes later.

[Malus Black]

Curse of the Barrow-King
Domain: Mordent, easily relocated.

Synopsis
The PCs arrive in a small village which swiftly finds itself under attack from an evil undead warrior and his cursed soldiers. They will have to delve into the village's past to find the creature's vulnerability and lift the Curse of the Barrow-King.

Background
The land where the village of Ashbury lies harbors a terrible secret. Many centuries ago, a terrible battle was fought in the moors to the north. The warlord, whose name history has forgotten, was the youngest of three brothers, and sought to win his father's acceptance by conquering the neighboring lands. But no matter how bravely he fought, he never gained it. In the end, driven half-mad with anger and bloodlust, he attacked the land of the Ash family with terrible fury, slaughtering all in his path. The patriarch of the Ashes faced the warlord and defeated him in a great battle. The warlord was slain with an ashen spear through the heart, but even as he died he spat a curse at his enemies. "As these lands have slain me, so too shall they harbor me until I rise again. Ravens shall herald my coming, and all shall fall under my rule." As the warlord drew his last breath, the warrior who had slain him made a solemn vow. As long as the Ash family watched over these moors, the warlord would not be able to return. He founded Ashbury and lived out his life there. As did his son, and his son after him. And so has it been for centuries, though the Ashes no longer think there is any truth in the story. But still they live here, and still the Barrow-King rests. Until now.

Part I - A Death and an Awakening
When the PCs arrive in Ashbury, the entire village is gathered in the cemetery. William Ash, the village's mayor, recently passed away. Some say out of grief, as his young son drowned a few weeks earlier. Although the villagers do not yet know it, they are in grave danger. William was the last of the Ashes, and now the Barrow-King stirs in his grave-mound. During their stay in Ashbury, the PCs are attacked by a flock of ravens, as are several of the villagers.

At one point, the village madman stumbles over to the PCs. "He is coming!" he screams. "The King is coming, and all shall bow to his rule!" If inquired about these ramblings, the madman has no recollection of the incident. While they're staying in Ashbury, the PCs should befriend the innkeeper's son (easily replaced by another NPC).

Part II - The Army Rises
This part begins at night, in the village inn. If the PCs are staying in Ashbury for a longer time, the DM should wait to start this part and build up the feeling of imminent doom (dark clouds, strange sounds and more raven attacks). If the PCs intend to move on the very next day, the DM doesn't have much choice.

The PCs are in the common room when the door bursts open and a young boy, bloodied and covered in mud, storms in, chased by giant ravens. After the PCs have fought the ravens off, the boy gasps that "they took them. Out in the moors. They took them..." and faints. The boy is a friend of the innkeeper's son, and the innkeeper now realises his son isn't around. He urges for the PCs to head into the moors and find him.

The moors are soggy and muddy after the recent rains, which makes tracking the boys harder (Survival DC 18 due to the bright moonlight). After an hour of evading bogs and mires, the PCs find the place of a struggle. Blood is splattered on the grey stones, and pieces of clothing are torn off and hanging from brambles. The trail from here is easy to follow (DC 15), as the assailants dragged the boys after them. Shortly afterwards, while climbing a small, craggy hill, the PCs are assaulted by two of the Barrow-King's soldiers, who charge down the hill.

The soldiers are human warrior skeletons with bronze breastplates, longspears and short swords. They have an Intelligence of 6, and are capable of simple tactics (such as readying spears against the charge or flanking). After the PCs defeat them, they see before them a large open plain. Crawling their way out of the soggy ground, dozens of warriors shamble towards a large barrow-mound tipped with broken stones. In the moonlight, it looks like a jagged, broken crown.

Part III - Ancient History
Hopefully, the PCs are clever enough to realise that attacking dozens of armed skeletons is a bad idea, and retreat to the village (the mound is surrounded by guards, and the area is an open expanse, so sneaking is not an option). Here, the villagers ready themselves for battle (some flee, of course, but to most of the villagers everything they have is in Ashbury), making barricades in the streets and barring doors and windows. Throughout the day, ravens continue to harass the PCs, and sometimes, in the distance, they can see a skeletal figure outlined against the sky. A massive raven lands on a rooftop and caws "tonight he is coming. Tonight is the hour. Tonight, the Barrow-King rises."

A successful Knowledge (History) or (Local) check against DC 10 reveals much of the story in the Background section, but it takes DC 14 to remember the curse, DC 18 to remember the vow, and DC 22 to remember that the spear that killed the warlord was made from ash. Using the village records in the local church gives a +2 circumstance modifier to the check.

If the PCs try to move towards the mound during the day, they find that skeleton guards are watching from the shadows, and that a large slab of stone weighing roughly 3000 pounds is placed over the entrance. It is carved with spirals and stylized pictures of warriors.

As night falls, the sky is filled with ravens. Walking across the moors in groups of 4 (aligned so that all four skeletons can attack a single target), the King's army marches forwards, the undead warriors' eyes glowing faintly green in the darkness. The village priest and the innkeeper urge the PCs to take the battle to the Barrow-King and end this. If the PCs simply stay and fight, they will eventually be overwhelmed. The Barrow-King has an entire battlefield's supply of troops.

The King's tomb - and castle - is free of guards, though uncounted numbers of ravens circle its summit. The PCs must be careful when they ascend lest they draw the attention and are attacked by 1d4 raven swarms (as bats, but without blindsense and wounding). The massive stone slab is now removed (the undead made their way out through the opening), and a gaping, dark abyss is revealed.

The interior of the mound is a labyrinth of earthen, dank, claustrophobic tunnels, patrolled by a number of soldiers and anything else the DM might wish to add (spiders and other vermin are suitable, as are skeletal versions of war dogs, horses or other creatures that might have been buried with the Barrow-King). In the end, they make their way to the heart of darkness.

Part IV - The King's Court
The heart of the mound is fashioned after an ancient longhouse, with a dark pit where the fire would usually burn. The Barrow-King is putting on his armor with the aid of two soldiers when the PCs enter. The innkeeper's son and his friend are chained to a wall, unconscious but alive (not that the PCs will know before they check). The King wastes little time on words, and attacks after a quick "kneel before the King ascended! Kneel before the ruler of the charnel earth!"

The Barrow-King is a skeleton with two levels of fighter (added on to the standard War 1 skeleton). Like his underlings, he is intelligent (12 Int) and capable of clever tactics. He uses flanking to his opportunity and attempts to bull rush enemies into the pit (20 feet deep, Fort save DC 12 per round, +1 DC per consecutive round in the pit, or take 1d2 Strength damage). In addition to the standard DR 5/Bludgeoning, the Barrow-King also has DR 10/Ash. There should be little difficulty finding ash weapons, as several of the trees grow around Ashbury. The King's bronze greatsword can cast Vampiric Touch 1/day, but is otherwise normal. For higher-level parties, add more levels of fighter and give enhancement bonuses to his sword.

When the Barrow-King is killed, his armies crumble and fall, as it was his willpower and curse that animated them. The ravens disperse, and the PCs are hailed as the heroes of Ashbury.