BY D. A. WALSH Watch your back
Page 1: Eric Brown
�A Quick Look� is the first mission for my new third edition D&D campaign. It is meant for first level characters, some of whom should already be travelling with the caravan, and one or two who can be prisoners at the abandoned homestead. A group composed exclusively of elves and humans can be completely together at the start of this adventure. Dwarves and half-orcs are easier to work in after the group reaches the Tarn region of Corum. Halflings and gnomes should be added when easiest to fit them into the storyline. In no case should more than two adventures be finished before all the characters are assembled.
Adventure Background
In years past, the wild regions east of the elven kingdom of Adri have been frequently patrolled by the Aerdy army; however, the war with Sunndi has prevented the King�s men from maintaining control of the region. There have been reports of humanoid tribes moving into the mostly empty region from the few travellers who have passed through the area.
About three months ago, a small group of hobgoblins and goblins attacked and killed a family near the Kerr River. Taking over the homestead for their base of operations, they now kidnap or rob anyone who tries to travel east into the southern principalities of Corum. The onset of winter has drastically reduced traffic though, and the brigands are becoming bored and uninterested in guard duty.
Jonas Wheelwright has hired the PC�s as supplementary guards for his caravan. He feels that he may have need for extra protection because of the war between Aerdy and Sunndi preventing the proper patrolling of the under populated western regions of Aerdy.
Adventure Summary
On the morning of the fourth day of travel after leaving the Adri forest, the caravan master asks that the PC�s scout out the bridge a few miles up the road. When the character�s get there, they discover some goblins and hobgoblins guarding it. When one or more of the enemies escapes, the party can find the homestead about a half-mile from the trail. There are another dozen or so brigands at the house, and a pit in the yard where the hobgoblin leader keeps his new slaves.
The Request
This adventure begins about four day�s travel past the Adri forest, the westernmost town in the elven forest-kingdom of Valenca. Shortly after the caravan is moving well, the caravan master, Jonas Wheelwright, asks each of the characters that are already travelling with the caravan to head up to the bridge across the Kerr River, about five miles ahead of the wagon train. He is worried that the bridge may be damaged, or that some group of bandits or another will have set up some manner of tollbooth scheme.
Any character who is riding with the caravan as a paid guard doesn�t have much choice, but any that happen to be just tagging along can be reminded that Jonas is letting them ride in the safety of the large group for free, if they should prove reluctant to help.
The Bridge (EL 3)
When the character�s first get close enough to see the bridge, read the following:
You can see the bridge over the Kerr River in the distance. It seems that Jonas� concerns may have been valid. There are three smallish humanoid figures standing around on the near river bank, directly in front of the small bridge.
The small humanoids are goblins, and are part of a small band that has set up a toll & kidnapping operation at this bridge. Unless the party makes an effort to approach unnoticed, the goblins will hear them coming, and be prepared to confront the travellers. If the group attempts to approach unnoticed, they can make move silent checks opposed by the goblins listen checks. Should the goblins hear the group trying to approach quietly, they will get ready for a fight, drawing their weapons and scanning the area cautiously. If the characters get close enough, unheard, they will be able to hear the goblins talking. Any listener who can understand goblin will know that they are complaining about the other members of their band who haven�t bothered to show up for guard duty yet.
After the characters get close enough to get a good look at the bridge, read the following:
The bridge behind the three small humanoids is narrow, old, and looks to be decidedly unsafe. It doesn�t look like the bridge could support more than one wagon at a time. Jonas� caravan will need several hours to cross this bridge - such as it is.
The goblin leader, who speaks broken common, claims that the toll is 10 gold per person who wants to cross �their� bridge. Unless there is only one character speaking to them, they will flee rather than fighting, yelling for help in goblin. The sound of the three goblins yelling for help or the sounds of fighting will rouse the four hobgoblins that are napping under the end of the bridge. The hobgoblins were supposed to be hiding below the bridge, ready to attack if anyone caused the goblins trouble. They instead went to sleep. It takes them 2d4 rounds to get up and look to see what all the noise is about. When they do get involved in the fight, they will forget about the trumpet that they were given to alert the rest of the band of danger, or any caravans that would be worth pillaging. The hobgoblins are not much braver than the smaller goblins, and will rout if one falls.
All the fleeing bandits will head for the abandoned homestead where they have made their base, about a half-mile from the bridge.
Goblins (3): CR �; Small Humanoid (4 � ft. tall); HD 1d8; hp 7, 7, 1; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30 ft; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +1 Size, +3 studded leather); Atk +0 melee (1d8-1, morningstar); AL NE; SV Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +0; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +3, Move Silently +5, Spot +3.
Feats: Alertness
Possessions: Morningstar, small wooden shield, 1d4 gp, and 2d8 sp.
Hobgoblins (2): CR �; Medium Humanoid (5 � ft. tall); HD 1d8+1; hp 9, 6; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +3 studded leather, +1 small shield); Atk +0 melee (1d8, longsword) or +1 ranged (1d6, javelin); AL LE; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
Skills: Hide +1, Listen +4, Spot +4. Hobgoblins receive a +4 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.
Feats: Alertness.
Possessions: longsword, small wooden shield, 3 javelins, 2d6 gp, and 4d0 sp.
Development
Once the brigands are chased from the bridge, one or more of the PC�s may decide to head back to the caravan to report to Jonas. Regardless of the characters� choice, it is necessary to keep close track of the time, so that it is easy to tell when the caravan reaches the bridge. The caravan is moving a mere 10�, since the wagons have to follow the sledges that are being used to push a path through the snow. Once the caravan reaches the bridge, Jonas needs 2d4+2 hours to get the entire caravan across and reorganised. If Jonas does not hear back from the characters, he will start crossing immediately, and not wait for the PC�s once his caravan gets across, as he will believe some sinister force has hauled them off.
If one or more characters report back to him, he will be willing to wait an extra 2 hours after finishing the crossing before moving on. If he is told about the homestead, he will wait until morning before moving on, giving the party plenty of time to avenge the dead family.
If the characters decide not to bother chasing down the goblins, and instead return to the caravan, then the survivors of the initial encounter, as well as 8 goblins and 4 hobgoblins from the homestead, will be waiting here when the caravan arrives. The goblins will be milling about in front of the bridge, and the hobgoblins will be hidden underneath again, but fully alert this time. When the goblins see the approaching caravan, they tell the hobgoblins to blow the trumpet, calling the rest of the tribe. It takes 2d4+20 rounds for the tribe to start showing up, spaced over 3d4 rounds. All of the enemies at the homestead, with the exception of Thook and his two bodyguards will join in the attack on the caravan. The hobgoblins, with their superior constitution, will arrive before the goblins do. The caravan has 6 regular guards (War1, shortbow) in addition to the PC�s. In this case, Jonas will be very displeased with the party for not preventing the attack on his wagons.
If the characters did not chase the fleeing goblins, or killed them all before they could get back to the homestead, they can still follow their path back to the homestead. Because the snow is almost a half foot deep on the plains, and over a foot high in the light woods between the bridge and the homestead, the party can find the homestead without needing to roll tracking or spot checks.
The Homestead (up to EL 6)
Eight years ago, a young farmer from Aerdy decided that he didn�t want to spend his life breaking his back trying to grow a meagre crop on the tiny patch of poor land his family had been working for generations. Instead he headed off into the unsettled eastern region with his young wife to break new land. Over the years, he cleared more land as he could possibly plant in a single year. The family used to see an army patrol once or twice a season, and invite them in for a decent meal. The farmer was worried that he hadn�t seen any patrols all year, but kept his concern to himself; not wanting to upset his wife and children. When the humanoid brigands attacked his land during the harvest, he still had no knowledge of the war that was keeping the army from protecting his family.
In the few months that the goblins and hobgoblins have been living in the small house, it has deteriorated considerably. Since none of the brigands has any interest in maintaining the house, it has become a filthy, vermin-riddled hovel. There are piles of half-rotten refuse in every corner and outside every window. The roof is sagging, and has begun to leak in the kitchen area. The corral in the front of the house has mostly fallen in, and the crops that were left in the field have been trampled into the ground. None of the brigands have bothered to clear any proper paths in the snow that lies about half a foot deep in the fields and woods, instead staying on the paths that have been trampled already.
There is a trapdoor in one corner of the corral that opens up to reveal the stairs leading into the root cellar. If a PC is joining in at this point, he should be down here, bound (and gagged if a spellcaster). Otherwise, there should be a dead body, in a similar state.
When the party shows up, the leader will send his troops outside to fight them, a few at a time. See below for the specifics of how fast the brigands join the fight. In all cases, hobgoblins will go into the corral area to throw javelins at the PCs, while goblins will come running around the side of the house to engage in melee. When the hobgoblin leader is the only one still inside, he will watch the fight from the window. If his troops can not take care of the party alone, he will try to sneak off into the woods while the PC�s are too busy to notice him.
If the PC�s chase a goblin or hobgoblin into the yard, the humanoid�s screams will draw 2d4 brigands out of the house each round.
If the PC�s show up after a survivor has returned to the homestead, then 1d3+1 goblins and 1d2 hobgoblins will be hiding, waiting for the party to come looking for them. The goblins will be hiding in the snowbanks along the path, and the hobgoblins will be in the small copse of trees at the end of the west windbreak. After the battle has progressed for 1d4 rounds, the other humanoids will start to come outside, at a rate of 1d4+1 per round.
If the PC�s show up without warning, only 1d4-2 goblins and 1d3-2 hobgoblins will be outside, each doing random chores (feeding the prisoner, heading off to find some meat, or throwing out some waste that the leader said had to be cleaned up) or �using the facilities.� Cautious PC�s may be able to surprise the brigands in this case. If the few brigands who are outside manage to alert the rest of the band, they will come outside, at a rate of 2d4 per round.
If the PC�s come to the homestead after fighting off an attack on the caravan, there will be only 2 hobgoblins and the leader still here. They will be dragging their sickly slave with them as they flee the area, having realised that the war party should have reported success by now if they weren�t already dead.
In all cases, the brigands are still not feeling very brave. Every time one of their number goes down, every humanoid should make a Will check (DC 13+number of dead brigands) or run from the battle.
Once the characters get close to the edge of the woods, read the following:
The trail through the deep snow exits the woods, leading into a small, squarish clearing in the distance. Within the clearing, just over a rise, you can see an old, single-story house. The house has seen better days, and the roof looks like it is ready to collapse under the weight of the snow.
Goblins (8): CR �; Small Humanoid (4 � ft. tall); HD 1d8; hp 7, 7, 6, 6, 3, 3, 2, 1; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30 ft; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +1 Size, +3 studded leather); Atk +0 melee (1d8-1, morningstar); AL NE; SV Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +0; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +3, Move Silently +5, Spot +3.
Feats: Alertness
Possessions: morningstar, small wooden shield, 1d6 gp, and 2d10 sp
Hobgoblins (3): CR �; Medium Humanoid (5 � ft. tall); HD 1d8+1; hp 9, 6, 5; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +3 studded leather, +1 small shield); Atk +0 melee (1d8, longsword) or +1 ranged (1d6, javelin); AL LE; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
Skills: Hide +1, Listen +4, Spot +4. Hobgoblins receive a +4 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.
Feats: Alertness.
Possessions: longsword, small wooden shield, 3 javelins, 3d4 gp, 4d12 sp
Thook, male hobgoblin, War1: CR 2; Medium Humanoid (5 � ft. tall); HD 1d8+2 + 1d8+2; hp 15; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (+1 Dex, +3 studded leather, +2 large shield); Atk +3 melee (1d8+1, masterwork longsword); AL LE; SV Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +2; Str 13, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 10.
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +6, Spot +6. Hobgoblins receive a +4 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.
Feats: Alertness, Run.
Possessions: 244 gp, 182 sp, masterwork longsword, and a large steel shield
The house itself contains a great deal of refuse and rotten food. Thook took the master bedroom for his personal chamber, and he stored his band's booty in the farmer�s dresser drawers. The possessions of the new PC (if one is joining) are stored under the bed, where Thook put them for safekeeping. Scattered through the drawers are 265 gp, 356 sp, and 772 cp. Any PC who wants to take the drawers out and look around in the frame of the dresser itself can make a Search check (DC 13) to find an additional 20 gp, 33
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