September Short Adventure 26: Let's Make a Deal

Preamble

A September of Short Adventures is an OSR Challenge initiated by Matt over atthe Asshat Paladins blog. You can click on the Moustache Dragon overon the right-hand side-bar (just above Features) to learn more aboutall of this stuff from Matt directly. All of our 25 (possiblymore...) entries are formatted along the lines of what Matt calls theGet Ready, Get Set, Go! format. In a nut-shell, thisapproach breaks each adventure into a Title, Three escalatingsections of adventure details (the Ready section is limited to anelevator pitch only 2 sentences...), and a final catch-all sectionfor any NPC notes/stats. The idea is to keep it short, simple, easyto read without any maps, drawings, diagrams or 8X10 glossies. Keepdescription to a minimum, avoid lengthy exposition, and no casts ofthousands -- unless it's an invading horde of three-eyed orcs orgoblins riding purple wombats.

We're also goingto aim to keep things generic, setting agnostic and thus portable oradaptable to any campaign/setting using the particular rules-setwe'll be using in any given September Short Adventure such as MutantFuture, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry (WhiteBox), etc.

FreeRules

LabyrinthLord: http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

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

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

SeptemberShort Adventure Number 26

Title: Let'sMake a Deal

Rules: Swordsand Wizardry (White Box)

Ready

The players havebeen attacked in the middle of a dark and dismal forest by a largepack of worgs. Despite their best efforts, the worgs have practicallyoverrun their position and they have become separated as they make ahasty tactical retreat...

Set

One of the Player Characters is chased across a bare stretch of frozen rock when asection gives way and they fall into an ancient, forgotten chamberdown below. The worgs will prowl around the hole, occasionally pokingtheir grizzled muzzles in to snap, bark and drool offensively at thetrapped Player Character below.

They areunharmed. No injuries sustained in the fall.

The chamber isdry, but small, perhaps 12' in diameter, with the ceiling maybe16-18' overhead. The worgs will eventually settle-down and just waitfor the PC to try to leave via the hole. If they look around, even inthe darkness just outside the shaft of dying light coming in from thehole above, they will discover that there is an opening leading offto another chamber beyond. This is obviously some sort of ancientburial mound or lost barrow.

It's a real Conanmoment.

Do they have theintestinal fortitude to go into the other chamber?

Go!

Insidethe second chamber is an empty throne, a lot of dust, and a magicalweapon appropriate to the Player Character's class/race.

Theweapon is ancient and has been locked-away down here in the darknessfor centuries. It craves the light and it desires to be put to gooduse.

Itclaims to hate worgs...

Butcan it be trusted? Is it smarter than the PC? Will it try to takethem over right away, or wait and look for a better host or a moreopportune moment to possess them?

Surethe Player Character and the magical weapon can come to some sort ofdeal, a working arrangement of sorts—it desperately wants to getout of the barrow and go killing things, so the weapon is more thanwilling to make a deal. Now.

Butsometimes the enemies of your enemy are better left lying in thedarkness and dirt.

Thisweapon is a cultic artifact of a group of vampiric woodsfolk whotrace their lineages via oral traditions back to the now vanishedempire from which this tomb dates. They will recognize the magicalweapon. It will attract them, call to them, and it only begrudginglyserves the PC...unless somehow they were to prove themselves to be asuperior or more appropriate host than the diabolical descendents ofits original masters...

Butthis aspect of the magical weapon won't be immediately obvious, nornecessarily revealed right away...

Somethings take a little time to set up.

Andgood things come to those who wait...even in the darkness and thedirt...

Notes/ NPCs

CorruptedWorgs (2d4)[HD 4; HP 20,20,18,18,16,15,14,12; AC 6[13]; ATK 1 Bite; Move 18;Save 15; CL/XP: 4/120] Note: These creatures are supernatural andhave some measure of human in their ancestry due to unspeakable ritesperformed by demented cultists long, long ago...there will also beanother 2d4 of the things out in the woods, watching...

Asfor stats for the Magical Weapon...that is something best left to theingenuity of each DM for themselves. Suffice to say that it isessentially a +2 weapon with some useful abilities/handy powers, anda fairly high INT and Psyche/Ego...and if you want a few examples, try out our post: Eight Magical Weapons.