Adventure Seeds
by John HareWerewolves of Rugalov
Recently the village of Rugalov has suffered from wolf attacks. However those attacked and survived have on the new moon changed into wolves as well. The raids are continuing but no one from the village wants to combat this menace least they become infected as well. Trade has virtually stopped coming through from Thyatis into Karameikos. Two bands of adventurers have already gone to combat the wolves. So far neither group has returned. Finally the village mayor has sent three riders to Specularum to recruit some heroes to deal with the menace.
Twin brothers and their Uncle have made the journey to Specularum. It is the 23rd of the month when they arrive. The party has several days then to reach Rugalov and try and stop the raiding. The church is organising a relief column of clerics to deal with those infected but before they arrive the wolf pack must be dealt with.
The wolf pack consists of 3 original werewolves who have middle levels in both human and were form. In addition there are 5 infected werewolves who aren't even normal monsters but have 2-4 levels in their original classes (previous adventurers) there are also 14 normal wolves that normally hunt the region but have been drawn together by the werewolves. Should the party fail to remove the menace then trade between Thyatis and Karameikos will suffer considerably until it is shipped by sea instead.
The Scrolls of the Ancients
Old Traladaran legends speak of the mighty mage Zirchev and his mighty set of spell scrolls. However his tower has been lost into antiquity. Every year rumours of some adventurer finding the tower and the mighty scrolls and magic that can be found there abound. Lately a mage has come to town and proclaimed that he has found the lost tower and to prove it he demonstrates a spell that resembles descriptions of some of Zirchev's old spells. When pressed however it is discovered that he purchased the scroll from a trader up by Threshold. Can the party find the trader and where he got the spell from first or will some one else get to him?
It isn't one of Zirchev's spells, but one of his apprentices. The trader was sold the spell and some other trinkets by an old man. The old man is the one who has found the tower, but it isn't him who risks the perils. He hires on starving youths and sends them in to loot. Only a couple of them have made it out alive.
Tower has a couple of guardians still active, and there should be several dead youths lying about the outer part of the tower. The inner sanctum remains unbreached so far because a bronze golem guards the room entrance. What lies within? Spells, magic items, or has some one ingeniously looted it previously?
The Imprisonment
A mage trying to ferret secrets from a rival has captured and imprisoned a family member to put pressure on the rival. The rival hires the party to rescue his family member as the wards about the place would kill her should he approach too closely. Is there really someone held prisoner or is it a trick for the rival to break the defences of the mage with a party of adventurers to get at the mage's secrets?
The Hammer's Edge
A ragged dwarf tries to hire the party to recover a priceless artifact belonging to his clan. It was stolen by a rival dwarven clan and is being held in their holdings. The dwarf merely wishes the return of the item, which is a platinum hammer inscribed with many runes. The dwarf would like to recover it himself, but unfortunately he is too easily recognised because of his facial appearance.
Is the dwarf really the subject of misfortune or is he getting the party to steal a treasured relic for himself? Maybe the dwarf is actually a humanoid or giant in disguise. Or is it the clan of dwarves the true culprit, stealing the hammer from its true owners?
Note: the hammer is fairly magical, +2/+4 vs weapon wielders, however the true magic is that if the hammer is used to prepare a metal item for enchanting the item has a +15% chance of taking the enchantment and if used by a dwarf costs only =BD the experience points normally required. However the cost in gold increases by 10%.
The dwarven clan that has possession of the hammer is fairly small being only about 40 members all told. Most are non-combatants (50% children & infirm thus 20 split as 14 kids, 4 ancients and 2 badly hurt) the remainder are at least 1st level dwarves and going up to 8th level for the clan leader. His wife is a 6th dwarf-cleric. The clan is too small to have its own keeper of the relics, however the next most important person is the smith (6th level) who is the leader's younger brother. He uses a platinum hammer in his work which is very good. If asked he acquired the hammer several decades ago while adventuring. The clan is laid out in a defensive manner. While there are no walls or towers per se the homes double as part wall & tower. There is a small stable where the clan's mules are kept. The clan runs a small copper mining operation (8 dwarves altogether which runs only during the day) if serious danger threatens the clan can withdraw to the copper mine which is located off to one side in the village.
The dwarf who has hired the party (1000gp?) is actually a moulder dwarf named Ghasek Cairndancer (but will introduce himself as Ghasek Steelthrew) who is about 9th level and needs the hammer to help enchant items he is trying to make. Ghasek can also cast magical spells, however each spell he tries to cast he must first make a save vs. magic, if successful the spell goes off, if not it fails. The platinum hammer was his creation but was stolen from his lair one day by a thief. The hammer was moved about for quite a while until about 30 years ago it was found by the dwarven smith.
Ghasek is hunchbacked which makes him even shorter looking than most dwarves. Also his left arm is several inches longer than his right. His eyes are both set deep into his skull which gives his face a sense of intense power (think Golwron) he seems to suffer from a cold or something as he coughs and spits out a great deal of phlegm. Speak old-fashioned English (thee & thou)
Dressed in a patchwork clothing of brightly hued colours
Ghasek isn't looking for a fight, but has planned for one. Under his clothes he wears a coat of mithril chain mail +2 of holographic invisibility 3/day. When activated it causes the wearer to turn invisible and create 2-5 mirror images of him, which run around and attack allowing the wearer to escape. Each image is AC 5 and disappears when hit.
He also has two red dragon teeth which when stuck in the ground (1 rd action each) causes them to grow into dragon-men warriors wearing scale mail, shields and spears (treat as 6th level fighters with max hp). When killed they fall to dust. They obey the one who planted them in the ground and they last for only 3 turns.
The Law
One of the spellcasters in the party is accused of
casting magic on a normal person in the city, which is a crime. The
accused is brought to court and charged as there are several
witnesses of the deed. Is it really a case of mistaken identity
when an item found on the scene belongs to the character and is
proven by divination? Who is framing the character or did the
character suffer some sort of mind control... or is the caster
becoming evil, senile or something else?