September Short Adventure 13: The Beer Must Roll!

Preamble

A September of Short Adventuresis an OSR Challenge initiated by Matt over at the Asshat Paladinsblog. You can click on the Moustache Dragon over on the right-handside-bar (just above Features) to learn more about all of this stufffrom Matt directly. All of our 25 (possibly more...) entries areformatted along the lines of what Matt calls the Get Ready, GetSet, Go! format. In a nut-shell, this approach breaks eachadventure into a Title, Three escalating sections of adventuredetails (the Ready section is limited to an elevator pitch only 2sentences...), and a final catch-all section for any NPC notes/stats.The idea is to keep it short, simple, easy to read without any maps,drawings, diagrams or 8X10 glossies. Keep description to a minimum,avoid lengthy exposition, and no casts of thousands -- unless it's aninvading horde of three-eyed orcs or goblins riding purple wombats.

We're also going to aim to keep thingsgeneric, setting agnostic and thus portable or adaptable to anycampaign/setting using the particular rules-set we'll be using in anygiven September Short Adventure such as Mutant Future,Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry (White Box), etc.

FreeRules

Labyrinth Lord:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

Mutant Future:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html

Swords and Wizardry (White Box):http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/whitebox.htm

SeptemberShort Adventure Number 13

Title: The Beer Must Roll!

Rules: Labyrinth Lord

Ready

The Player Characters reach a ruttedand muddy road that they believe will lead to a walled-city only afew more miles away. But less than a mile down the road theyencounter a cluster of six ox-wagons mired in the mud.

Set

The wagons are carrying a load of beerto the walled-city which is suffering from a terrible outbreak ofplague due to contaminated wells. The water has gone bad and peopleare dying of illness and thirst. The wagon-master is grimlydetermined to get the beer into the city no matter what, but theweather has made the roads all but impassable and now his guards havespotted orc scouts off to the west. Several of the guards havealready deserted. If there are orcs up in the hills ahead, things could get very, very bloody.

Go!

The guards willresent the PCs at first, at least until the orcs attack, butWagon-Master Burt will welcome them heartily and quickly explain thesituation and request their assistance.

If the PCs run offand leave the wagons behind, the orcs will slaughter everyone, takethe beer and launch into a full-out siege of the walled-city. Thereis a 20% chance that Burt will survive, maimed and angry anddetermined to hunt down the cowardly curs who left him and his peopleto die like dogs.

If the PCs join thelittle caravan and help defend it, they will earn Burt's respect andfriendship for life, which they will eventually learn is no smallthing.

Should the firstparty of orc scouts be completely killed before they can return tocamp, the orcs will march in the wrong direction and the wagons willhave an extra 3d4 hours to get through the muck, the mud, and theblood to the walled-city.

Should any of theorc scouts get away, it will take 1d4 hours for the regular orcinfantry-types will come marching on the double to cut the wagons offfrom the walled-city, with more orc scouts running in to harry andharass the guards, hoping to draw them off and ambush them in thetrees or around a bend in the road, etc.

The Three-Eyed OrcRaiders will reach the wagons exactly one hour after the rest oftheir forces have already engaged.

The Wagons willmake progress as determined by the following table:

RandomRoad Conditions

1. Clear stretch; all wagons make 1d4 miles progress without getting stuck.
2. Partly dried mud; each wagon-driver must roll Save or skid off the road. Delay of 1d4 hours as everyone must work to get the wagons back on the road and to re-adjust their loads which may have shifted.
3. Axle breaks on one wagon. It will have to be abandoned.
4. Rough Patch; Wagon-drivers need to make Save or get stuck (50%) or break a wheel (50%).
5. One wagon loses a wheel. It can be repaired in 1d4 hours. (50% chance of 1d6 Orc Scouts harassing the wagons during this process.)
6. Deep mud; 1d4 wagons stuck up to their axles. It will take 1d6 hours to get them unstuck, with a base 25% chance of damaging the axles of each of them, slowing those damaged to half normal movement.
7. Fallen Tree; 50% chance this is an ambush set-up by 2d6 Orc Scouts. Requires 1 hour to clear.
8. Uphill slope; movement rate reduced by 25%.
9. Loose gravel; base 20% chance to lose control of any given wagon.
10. Rain starts up again. Movement reduced to half normal movement. Base 25% chance of 1d4 wagons getting stuck every hour of continued movement.
11. Road washed out ahead; requires 2d4 hours to make passable. Base 30% chance of Orc Scouts ambushing the wagons while they sit idle.
12. Random Wilderness Monster Encounter. (Creature was stirred-up by advancing orc troops...)

Just how far it isto the walled-city, and what forces might be available to rush out tothe assistance of the beer wagons is left to the GM's discretion andimagination.

One thing will befor certain however; by the completion of this adventure the PCs willlikely need a drink.

Notes / NPCs

Wagon-Master Burt(1) [Half-dwarf AL N, MV 60' (20'), AC 6, HD 4, #ATK 1 (hammer), DG1d6, SV F2, ML 7]

Wagon Guards(3d4) [AL N, MV 60' (20'), AC 5, HD 2, #ATK 1 (spear), DG 1d6, SV F2,ML 6]

Wagon Drivers(6) [AL N, MV 60' (20'), AC 6, HD 1-1, #ATK 1 (slings), DG 1d4, SV0-lvl human, ML 6]

Orc Scouts(3d6) [AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 7, HD 2, #ATK 1 (short bow), DG 1d6,SV F1, ML 8]

Orcs(1d6x10) [AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 6, HD 1, #ATK 1 (weapon), DG 1d6,SV F1, ML 8] (LL p.90)

Three-Eyed Orc Raiders(4d10) [AL C, MV 90' (30'), AC 4, HD 3, #ATK 1 (serrated scimitar), DG1d6+2 (bonus to damage only), SV F3, ML 8, special: Detect Magic as afree action, 1 in 4 have 1d4 random spells.]