Post by Merctime on Mar 14, 2013 2:27:07 GMT -6
On Hiatus as I work through a few things in life that require my attention. I'll get back to it as soon as possible, as it is quite fun.
Posting a work in progress of an adventure for 1st level characters, tentatively entitled "The Thing that Should Not Be".
Last Edit: 10:55 AM PST
Of note, I'm just trying to set up a professional look, but NOT trying to make money off this! I'd like to just post it for free.
If anyone knows how to post a document file here, could you let me know? Or, is there a spoiler feature?
Letters in red are placeholders requiring change, or notes of changes needed.
“The Thing that Should Not Be”
An adventure in Hyperborea, designed for (such and such) characters of 1st level.
Author: Tim Mercado
INTRODUCTION:
The player characters find themselves in the small village of Qarrhun in the Lug Wastelands, north of the City-State of Khromarium, after the onset of a violent storm forced them to seek the nearest shelter they could. Barely able to dry themselves by the fire of the local tavern's common room and order a round of drinks, they are thrust into a violent drama that not only threatens their host village, but even their very sanity. Will the party survive the local dangers and the jealous bargaining of gods, and still be able to ultimately track down and defeat... “The Thing that Should Not Be?”
Adventure background:
Parella, a Witch of common blood, was outcast for foul sorcery by her local village years ago when she was but a girl. Being common in every sense of the word, and utterly forgettable, she grew into a spiteful child, and quickly sought ways to gain attention by whatever means. Learning bits of sorcery from sources she never spoke of, she began to work magics to charm boys and other villagers into liking her, and cursing those whom she disliked. Eventually she was caught practicing magicks, and was forcibly driven out in her early teens. From that point on, her life became a daily struggle for survival and only made her desire power and revenge even more. She spent her days seeking power from any dark sources she could in order to gain revenge on her former people.
After a few years, she was able to strike a deal with the god Xathoqqua, bargaining her very soul for the forbidden knowledge of how to create a living horror to serve her bidding. It was to be her engine of revenge, a terrible power she might use to wreak untold hell and pain on those who shunned her. Xathoqqua agreed to this bargain, and gave Parella the knowledge to create a foul abomination of life that she might command. Through countless divinations, Parella communicated with Xathoqqua to learn of the exact materials and ingredients she would require, and learned the requisite sorcerous formulae to construct and breathe un-natural life into a type of “frankenstein's monster”. Spending months gathering the 'bits and pieces', and further weeks in sorcerous incantations, she finally achieved what she desired... A being, crafted by her own power, that would serve her unto death.
Finally she finished grafting the parts of numerous beasts, men, and other creatures best left un-named into a travesty of anything that walks on two legs, and it was time to begin infusing her creation with sorcerous life. When at last the Thing that Should Not Be began to rise, and look around, Parella was filled with exultation at the thoughts of being so close to gaining the revenge she craved more than life itself for all of these years. She opened her mouth to issue the Thing that Should Not Be her orders, her heart pulsing in her throat in excitement and the feeling of final triumph, but could only muster a startled yell tinged with horror as the Thing that Should Not Be spread it's beak and lashed out at her neck, tearing her throat out in mid-scream. She died in terror and confusion at that very moment, with only the mocking laughter of Xathoqqua her last memory of this mortal world.
Parella's creature stalked the lands about the Lug Wastelands for weeks, a terrible ravenous hunger made unholy flesh, stalking and devouring anything alive it could find. Masterless, it was free to roam and satiate itself, and eventually found an old shrine with extensive caverns underneath from which to lair. Now, with a place to store living flesh for the feeding of it's never-ending unnatural hunger, it began striking out in the night with renewed vigour seeking the living for its new larder. Eventually, it's searching brought it to the village of Qarrhun.
Just when the PC's are getting dry from their flight from the inclement weather at the tavern, the Thing that Should Not Be stalks to the village's ramparts, and leaps its low palisade handily, having smelled a large concentration of living blood. Undetected, the Thing sniffs its way to the slave pens, where the scent of the living is most vibrant, and tears a section open. It rushes in, killing two slaves before they can scream and proceeds to gnaw and gnash at their fallen bodies in plain view of the terror-stricken slaves, who themselves utter shrieks and screams at the nightmare before them. The Thing that Should Not Be looks up, it's horrid beak dripping gore, and spies a suitably meaty slave. In a dash, he grabs him, and is out of the pens and over the wall before the villagers (and hopefully the player characters) can get on scene to investigate the source of the screams, and is off to the shrine to dine.
This adventure starts within 10-15 minutes (game-time) of the players arrival into the tavern. The blood-curdling screams ushered by the terrorized slaves will around that time flash out from outside the tavern, loud enough even to be heard above the din and crash of the storm, and cause the NPC's in attendance to grow silent. Even the local bard stops singing and playing his violin, and all heads cock an ear to listen... for the space of a second. Then, some of the more brave of the villagers rush out the double wooden doors to seek what troubles their home. Hopefully, the players will follow suit.
Lastly, there are a few more things for the Referee to consider before actually starting gameplay.
There is a local band of Kimmeri-Kelt bandits that the players may well run afoul of. They base themselves in a ruined section of what appears to be a factory of some sort, possibly of Atlantean design. While it might not be necessary, some referee's might still desire to map it out and flesh the Kimmeri-Kelt bandits out as a recurring force to be managed. As it stands in this adventure, they are only offered as a random encounter on the wandering monster tables.
A small group of cave-men inhabit the earliest rooms of the Thing that Should Not Be's underground lair. It suffers they're existence due to a generous surplus of less foul-smelling food and that they don't attempt to harm it. Just the opposite: In awe of it's power, they seem to worship it as some strange god. When the party finds the dungeon, they will be some of the first obstacles to overcome.
The Thing that Should Not Be is purposefully designed to be very hard for brand new, level one (or possibly level two) characters. However, there is a way to reduce it's power; Actually there is two. If the players can learn about them, and they should be able to through general investigation and certain encounters outside of the village, they can lure the Thing into a sorcerous trap and sap a great bit of it's overbearing power, thus defeating it more handily.
These two ways to reduce the Things power have a bit to do with the backstory of this adventure, and a bit to do with some of the backstory of Hyperborea in general (as this author understands it).
Before the “Green Death”, there was a god that enjoyed a commanding following of the worshipers of Hyperborea: Yoon' Deh. However, her following was drastically reduced after that terrible incident, and there is some mention that many people in the locality of the City-State of Khromarium blame the druids for it's happening, which may account for a decent portion of her lost worshipers.
Interestingly, it was this time, after the “Green Death”, that the worship of Xathoqqua seems to have come into prevalence, and this may in fact be a spot of contention for Yoon' Deh.
All that said, both methods of reducing the power of the Thing that Should Not Be consist of tricking it to enter into one of two locations that are sacred to one of the two aforementioned gods. But, before that does anything, the players must make a bargain with either of the gods, so that particular god will 'activate' it's shrine or menhir and thus wrack the Thing that Should Not Be and sap it's strength to more managable levels.
At one point or another, the party will be approached by the gods themselves in some sort of earthly guise or members of their followers sent to seek the party out for parlay. This will not be done because the gods need the player characters! In truth, the players will simply be another pawn in the incomprehensible games that these two entities play against each other. In the long run, if the players don't choose to attempt either bargain, and are able to defeat the Thing of their own power, it should go without saying that neither god will be the lesser for it: They will simply find other mortals that are more pliant to their scheming.
Yoon' Deh will seek the players out in one of two ways, but the referee is of course free to decide she will attempt both.
The first, is, she will send a Druid to seek out the players, and educate them on what is going on, and what they are up against. Depending on how they react to him and his information, he will offer Yoon' Deh's bargain to them. See the relevant section.
section not yet ready
The second is, there might be certain times that the party notices a particularly large, majestic looking Elk that seems to be watching them from a distance. Rangers or Druids might receive a chance to notice that there is something... too 'perfect' about this elk. It is actually Yoon' Deh in an earthly guise, and if played out right, she might approach them and speak to them... as the elk. This might provide some interesting role-play. Like her druid minion (who doesn't necessarily need to be introduced at all if this happens), she will inform the party first of what is happening, before offering up her bargain to them. See the relevant section.
section not yet ready
Xathoqqua may approach the party through a minion, like Yoon' Deh does, or, it's also possible that the party finds the location of one of his forgotten outdoor shrines that has a statue of him for worship. If they go to investigate, he will speak to them through the statue, probably startling the hell out of them. He will talk plainly to them, and let them know about what is happening regarding the Thing that Should Not Be. If they enquire further, he will let them know of his bargain. See the relevent section.
section not yet ready
If he uses a minion, this portion isn't written yet. Update when it's been decided.
It should be reinstated that these gods are not concerned about the existence of the Thing that Should Not Be. Regarding Yoon' Deh's part in offering assistance, she is doing it solely to gain the parties help, even for a brief moment, in gaining more current followers to her credit. If she gets to secretly help the characters destroy an un-natural creation of Xathoqqua's in the process, that is just icing on the cake.
Xathoqqua's part in this is more out of boredom, and enjoyment with toying with mortals. He will help destroy his own creation if it offers him some entertainment at the character's actually agreeing to his deleterious demands. Why should he care? All he would have to do is find another dullwit mortal to trick into learning how to make another Thing that Should Not Be, and in so doing, gain that dullwit mortal's soul in the process. No loss at all.
PLAYER'S BACKGROUND:
“Your journey along the old roads leading to Khromarium began easily enough. A few local deer and a mounted patrol of Khromarium Cataphracts on the way to patrol the borders of the Fields of Vol your only break in the monotony of travel.
And then, the clouds darkened, and the wind began to pick up.
Reading the weather, you wisely decided on a more speedy pace, but began to realize that your decision for haste might be too late. At first you quick-marched, then jogged as the thunder began to belch a light drizzle, you found yourselves outright running down the road as the rain became torrential and wind grew ever-fierce. The need for shelter became evident. The need for immediate shelter.
Finally, amid the ear-shattering din of thunder and violent winds that whipped your cloaks about you as if they were angry assailants, you noticed the gatehouse of a low-palisaded village ahead in the gloomy mist and haze and raced forward to shout for entry to the gate guards. After small minutes, you managed to persuade them you weren't a threat and the gates opened just enough to allow you in, and one tall man raced through the terrible weather to guide you to the village's tavern.
Now, having been ushered into the common room, crowded with dirty, but cheery local faces, catching your breath in great heaves, you revel in the bright warmth of the fireplace and find yourselves soaked to the bones. A local man of middling age, dressed in commoner's attire, stands from his place at the bar and walks you to a table nearest the fire. Pinching one of the barmaids as she hustles by, he welcomes you to the village of “Qarrhun” and goes back to his flagon. A gaily-coloured bard at tavern's corner again begins his song and violin playing, and the local villagers go about their conversations almost immediately. You get the feeling that this village sees it's fair share of travelers, and that you are nothing new.”
REFEREE'S INFORMATION:
The village of “Qarrhun”.
This village, about 20 miles southeast of Swampgate and nearly 50 miles north of Khromarium, is where the adventure begins. It's quite small, numbering some 132 people, and is pretty common of the many villages to be found dotting the roads between the towns this far out into the Lug Wastelands. It subsists on peat harvesting, hunting, sheep and pig herding, slave-trading, and “bog-fishing” (collecting the multitude of crawdad-like crustaceans that are so plentiful in this area; a practice commonly given to youth to introduce them to the need to work for their keep).
It is walled round-about with a low, six-foot palisade (sharpened logs driven into a raised mound of earth, in this case two feet high, and lashed together with heavy ropes and thick iron nails) and has one gatehouse that faces the north road, with the south road only baring a long gate.
In times of need, the pigs and sheep are brought inside the village proper and placed in their respective pens, and the scant few militiamen man the four-foot tall catwalks along the inside of the palisade at all times.
Most of the villagers and their families live in multiple family homes of low, unmortared stone about waist high and then wattle and daub for the rest of the way up and also the roof. Only a few of the buildings boast plank carpentry construction: chiefly the tavern, general store, a small warehouse that houses excess wool and ceramic amphorae of peat and the militia equipment, and the granary (which also houses the village elder's family on the top floor; his 'office' is a small two room apartment on the side of the granary).
There are two menhirs in town, the biggest one being offered to Xathoqqua and another, in a bit of an out of the way place, to Helios. The menhir of Xathoqqua appears to be well-maintained and there is offerings of flowers, bog-fish meat, and wool at the base of the small statue that centers it. The Helios menhir appears out of use; spongy groundcover has overgrown the circle of stones and the statue seems worn and is chipped at one end.
Outhouses can be found every dozen or so yards, and there are sometimes lines for these as no single family or business has a dedicated one. There is one street, the old road that this village was built on, and it runs straight through town.
Of the buildings, only a few are noteworthy. They are:
1. The “Gristled Bogfish” Tavern. This is where the adventure starts. It's single-story, with no rooms for rent, although the barkeep will sell floorspace in the common room if it's needed. Most of the fare is watered down wine, or a strong locally brewed grain-based ale, and there is much sheep and pork stew to be had with locally baked bread rolls. Bog-fish meat is used a lot and baked into biscuits as well as stewed alone or with other meats, as well as made into a strange drink (along with tomato juice and some celery sticks) that the locals seem to enjoy. The smell of meats and stale wine war with the sweat of hard working people and the smoke from the poorly ventilated central hearth fire, the smoke of which is constantly masking the roof in a haze of dark grey wisps. The few shuttered, un-paned windows don't seem to help much as the hearth fire is kept constantly lit except when there is nearly no one renting floorspace that night. Typically, a talented young man can be heard here playing his violin and cavorting about whilst he sings or recites prose of varying quality of his own devising (He is a first level bard). The Barkeep himself is 0th level, as are his wife, son, and two daughters, all of which work in the tavern. this should be well fleshed out before finishing.
2. The Granary/Elder's shack. The town's granary serves as a secondary warehouse as well as overall food storage. There are crates of bog-fish and river fish, game meats, baskets of salts, rolls of animal hides (both cured and uncured), cuts of pork and sheep meats, as well as some various sundries such as spun and unspun wool. There is nothing of real value here. More detail needed of course
The upstairs, is really a glorified loft, that houses the family of the village elder. It may not look like much, but they are the only family in the village with their own personal living quarters.
Flesh out
Also, on the bottom floor, built onto the granary itself, is the small 'office' of the village elder, wherein he conducts business with concerned parties when required. Flesh out
3. Qarrhun General Store. Not a fancy affair, although it is one of the only buildings constructed completely of wooden planks. The proprietor, such and such, runs this business from sun up to sun down, or up to twelve hours daily during periods of longer daylight. Inside can be found rickety shelving and cupboards that house all manner of low-quality common goods, such as pots, animal hide rugs, and lamp oils. Most items in the Player's Manual will be available for sale, except for armor and weapons. Of those, such and such stocks only what he happens to have. Referees should determine at random when a player asks for a particular item, if it is in stock currently, using the following guidelines:
Light Armors: 1-4 on 1d6
Medium Armors: 1-2 on 1d6
He does not stock any Heavy armors usually, but Referees may decide to allow him one suit that the players desire at his or her discretion.
Weapons:
He probably (1-4 on 1d6) has the following in stock: Hand axes, Daggers, Horseman's maces, Short swords, Falcatas, Broadswords (or longswords, but usually not both), Javelins, Quarterstaves (he has these on a 1-5), Short spears, Tridents, Whips, Bolas, Darts, Slings, Light Crossbows, and Shortbows.
He might have (1-2 on 1d6) the following: Battle axes, War hammers, Footman's maces, Morning stars, Footman's flails, Great axes, Long spears, Longbows, and Short Composite bows.
If he has a particular weapon in stock that requires ammunition, he will have that ammunition available also.
He does not have barding ever, and as a general rule, he will not carry any non-weapon or armor type equipment that is valued over twenty gold pieces (unless the player characters sell it to him).
Needs more concise, and viable information/detail
4. The Slave-pens. This is nothing more than a 30' x 40' cage, built of sturdy wooden poles lashed together with heavy rope and a single riveted iron band about the lashing. Under normal circumstances, it's more than sturdy enough to keep leather-manacled slaves from leaving without permission to do so. During times of inclement weather, heavy animal hide tarps are tossed over the top and sides of this cage and tied down to wooden stakes.
When the player's arrive here for the first time, the ground will be waterlogged with copious amounts of blood all about the western end, which evidences a roughly eight foot section of caging torn out. The tarps are flapping wildly about in the winds, and the heavy rain is pelting the remaining slaves inside who are huddled to the east corner, trying to at least avoid the rain underneath what little cover they have left. Not sure I need the when they arrive here stuff. maybe this belongs in the Referee Notes at an applicable part of the adventure?
The poles that make up the cage bars are nearly 4 inches thick, and the eight foot section shows the ends of them shredded and jagged, as if torn apart with brute force. Bits of rope, and rent iron bands clutter the area along with the human gore.
Just inside the torn-open section, are the bodies of four slaves, horribly mangled and eviscerated... Two of the corpses have their eyes open, their faces still showing the abject terror of the last second of their lives, frozen in death. There are fourteen slaves left alive, trembling, and not just from the foul weather. If anyone tries to talk to them, it will take a few of the villagers to cuff them a bit to shake them out of their stupor and get them to speak.
For the Referee:
When the players near the source of the screams, they will quickly realize that one of this village's means of trade is slavery. Some of the village men, having hastily equipped themselves with a few hooded lanterns and what arms they may (pitchforks, scythes, etc), have gathered around the slave-pens. Probably a dozen or two people made their way down the waterlogged dirt road amidst the howling winds and torrential downpour, and some are shouting for the few militia. A vision of red slaughter is plain for all to see: The wooden fence-cage that housed the slaves, covered in tarps tied to wooden stakes prior to the storm, has been shattered at one end, and the ropes and stakes ripped free from the outside there... The tarp now bats and flips about violently in the incredible wind. Rain plummets in marble-sized drops, causing further confusion, and it is obvious that someone... or some-thing... has broken into the slave pens... and worked death as the plow works the field. Inside, the remaining slaves huddle at the other end of the cage, shaking and wild-eyed... before them, nearer the hole in the cage, broken bodies lay torn and human gore litter the now muddy ground.
After a bit of cuffing to knock them out of their stupor, the slaves will relate that some creature tore through the wood as if it were cloth, killed a couple of people and began to eat them while they die. Gorging itself for a few terrifying moments, it looked up and grabbed another man alive and quickly raced off with him. All make note that it was standing as a man would, but that it was surely no man.
The village is not a large one... the half dozen or so militia who have shown up claim they are too few to go searching the countryside for lost slaves, as that would leave the village defenseless to other incursions. The men gathered exchange worried glances, wondering aloud about what may befall next if this thing isn't found and what might happen if it strikes again... especially during the storm.
The players will be asked to assist the village, and will be offered a reward in so doing, to include coin, supplies, and even slaves if they are reluctant to help (potential 'hireling' npc types, maybe, if the player's outfit them). work out the reward better I think
I intend to create the 'creature' that assaulted the village from scratch, basically, and have it run off to a safe haven it has found. It has something of a backstory already in my mind, and I have two interesting twists that might help 1st level PC's defeat it. One of these twists requires a terrible price; the other twist does not... outright. But the second twist could bare potential problems of a more indirect fashion later in the game, if the GM so desires.
Plans for this include:
- one dungeon, that will have a few types of low-level creatures to fight, and the final battle being the Thing that Should Not Be. This fight might need to be fought in halves if the party uses the bargaining of the gods to thier favor (well, kind of thier favor), although this *may* not be required.
-the actual write-up of the Thing as I've already mentioned.
-NPC statistic blocks of the 'minion' types that seek the adventurer's out to further the plot a bit.
-a map of the dungeon, one of Qarrhun, and probably a small-ish local area map showing Qarrhun village, the dungeon/temple location, and both forgotten menhir's of the participating gods (for use with de-powering the Thing). Might include the location of the Kimmeri-Kelt bandits on that local map too.
-a short list of NPC's suitable for use as hirelings etc.
-short encounter tables for the outskirts of the village, deeper into the wetlands, the dungeon, and near either god's menhir.
I suppose I should stop here, and actually write some stuff that is more organized.
If this sounds at all interesting, please watch this post as I will eventually delete this text with the actual adventure.
Posting a work in progress of an adventure for 1st level characters, tentatively entitled "The Thing that Should Not Be".
Last Edit: 10:55 AM PST
Of note, I'm just trying to set up a professional look, but NOT trying to make money off this! I'd like to just post it for free.
If anyone knows how to post a document file here, could you let me know? Or, is there a spoiler feature?
Letters in red are placeholders requiring change, or notes of changes needed.
“The Thing that Should Not Be”
An adventure in Hyperborea, designed for (such and such) characters of 1st level.
Author: Tim Mercado
INTRODUCTION:
The player characters find themselves in the small village of Qarrhun in the Lug Wastelands, north of the City-State of Khromarium, after the onset of a violent storm forced them to seek the nearest shelter they could. Barely able to dry themselves by the fire of the local tavern's common room and order a round of drinks, they are thrust into a violent drama that not only threatens their host village, but even their very sanity. Will the party survive the local dangers and the jealous bargaining of gods, and still be able to ultimately track down and defeat... “The Thing that Should Not Be?”
Adventure background:
Parella, a Witch of common blood, was outcast for foul sorcery by her local village years ago when she was but a girl. Being common in every sense of the word, and utterly forgettable, she grew into a spiteful child, and quickly sought ways to gain attention by whatever means. Learning bits of sorcery from sources she never spoke of, she began to work magics to charm boys and other villagers into liking her, and cursing those whom she disliked. Eventually she was caught practicing magicks, and was forcibly driven out in her early teens. From that point on, her life became a daily struggle for survival and only made her desire power and revenge even more. She spent her days seeking power from any dark sources she could in order to gain revenge on her former people.
After a few years, she was able to strike a deal with the god Xathoqqua, bargaining her very soul for the forbidden knowledge of how to create a living horror to serve her bidding. It was to be her engine of revenge, a terrible power she might use to wreak untold hell and pain on those who shunned her. Xathoqqua agreed to this bargain, and gave Parella the knowledge to create a foul abomination of life that she might command. Through countless divinations, Parella communicated with Xathoqqua to learn of the exact materials and ingredients she would require, and learned the requisite sorcerous formulae to construct and breathe un-natural life into a type of “frankenstein's monster”. Spending months gathering the 'bits and pieces', and further weeks in sorcerous incantations, she finally achieved what she desired... A being, crafted by her own power, that would serve her unto death.
Finally she finished grafting the parts of numerous beasts, men, and other creatures best left un-named into a travesty of anything that walks on two legs, and it was time to begin infusing her creation with sorcerous life. When at last the Thing that Should Not Be began to rise, and look around, Parella was filled with exultation at the thoughts of being so close to gaining the revenge she craved more than life itself for all of these years. She opened her mouth to issue the Thing that Should Not Be her orders, her heart pulsing in her throat in excitement and the feeling of final triumph, but could only muster a startled yell tinged with horror as the Thing that Should Not Be spread it's beak and lashed out at her neck, tearing her throat out in mid-scream. She died in terror and confusion at that very moment, with only the mocking laughter of Xathoqqua her last memory of this mortal world.
Parella's creature stalked the lands about the Lug Wastelands for weeks, a terrible ravenous hunger made unholy flesh, stalking and devouring anything alive it could find. Masterless, it was free to roam and satiate itself, and eventually found an old shrine with extensive caverns underneath from which to lair. Now, with a place to store living flesh for the feeding of it's never-ending unnatural hunger, it began striking out in the night with renewed vigour seeking the living for its new larder. Eventually, it's searching brought it to the village of Qarrhun.
Just when the PC's are getting dry from their flight from the inclement weather at the tavern, the Thing that Should Not Be stalks to the village's ramparts, and leaps its low palisade handily, having smelled a large concentration of living blood. Undetected, the Thing sniffs its way to the slave pens, where the scent of the living is most vibrant, and tears a section open. It rushes in, killing two slaves before they can scream and proceeds to gnaw and gnash at their fallen bodies in plain view of the terror-stricken slaves, who themselves utter shrieks and screams at the nightmare before them. The Thing that Should Not Be looks up, it's horrid beak dripping gore, and spies a suitably meaty slave. In a dash, he grabs him, and is out of the pens and over the wall before the villagers (and hopefully the player characters) can get on scene to investigate the source of the screams, and is off to the shrine to dine.
This adventure starts within 10-15 minutes (game-time) of the players arrival into the tavern. The blood-curdling screams ushered by the terrorized slaves will around that time flash out from outside the tavern, loud enough even to be heard above the din and crash of the storm, and cause the NPC's in attendance to grow silent. Even the local bard stops singing and playing his violin, and all heads cock an ear to listen... for the space of a second. Then, some of the more brave of the villagers rush out the double wooden doors to seek what troubles their home. Hopefully, the players will follow suit.
Lastly, there are a few more things for the Referee to consider before actually starting gameplay.
There is a local band of Kimmeri-Kelt bandits that the players may well run afoul of. They base themselves in a ruined section of what appears to be a factory of some sort, possibly of Atlantean design. While it might not be necessary, some referee's might still desire to map it out and flesh the Kimmeri-Kelt bandits out as a recurring force to be managed. As it stands in this adventure, they are only offered as a random encounter on the wandering monster tables.
A small group of cave-men inhabit the earliest rooms of the Thing that Should Not Be's underground lair. It suffers they're existence due to a generous surplus of less foul-smelling food and that they don't attempt to harm it. Just the opposite: In awe of it's power, they seem to worship it as some strange god. When the party finds the dungeon, they will be some of the first obstacles to overcome.
The Thing that Should Not Be is purposefully designed to be very hard for brand new, level one (or possibly level two) characters. However, there is a way to reduce it's power; Actually there is two. If the players can learn about them, and they should be able to through general investigation and certain encounters outside of the village, they can lure the Thing into a sorcerous trap and sap a great bit of it's overbearing power, thus defeating it more handily.
These two ways to reduce the Things power have a bit to do with the backstory of this adventure, and a bit to do with some of the backstory of Hyperborea in general (as this author understands it).
Before the “Green Death”, there was a god that enjoyed a commanding following of the worshipers of Hyperborea: Yoon' Deh. However, her following was drastically reduced after that terrible incident, and there is some mention that many people in the locality of the City-State of Khromarium blame the druids for it's happening, which may account for a decent portion of her lost worshipers.
Interestingly, it was this time, after the “Green Death”, that the worship of Xathoqqua seems to have come into prevalence, and this may in fact be a spot of contention for Yoon' Deh.
All that said, both methods of reducing the power of the Thing that Should Not Be consist of tricking it to enter into one of two locations that are sacred to one of the two aforementioned gods. But, before that does anything, the players must make a bargain with either of the gods, so that particular god will 'activate' it's shrine or menhir and thus wrack the Thing that Should Not Be and sap it's strength to more managable levels.
At one point or another, the party will be approached by the gods themselves in some sort of earthly guise or members of their followers sent to seek the party out for parlay. This will not be done because the gods need the player characters! In truth, the players will simply be another pawn in the incomprehensible games that these two entities play against each other. In the long run, if the players don't choose to attempt either bargain, and are able to defeat the Thing of their own power, it should go without saying that neither god will be the lesser for it: They will simply find other mortals that are more pliant to their scheming.
Yoon' Deh will seek the players out in one of two ways, but the referee is of course free to decide she will attempt both.
The first, is, she will send a Druid to seek out the players, and educate them on what is going on, and what they are up against. Depending on how they react to him and his information, he will offer Yoon' Deh's bargain to them. See the relevant section.
section not yet ready
The second is, there might be certain times that the party notices a particularly large, majestic looking Elk that seems to be watching them from a distance. Rangers or Druids might receive a chance to notice that there is something... too 'perfect' about this elk. It is actually Yoon' Deh in an earthly guise, and if played out right, she might approach them and speak to them... as the elk. This might provide some interesting role-play. Like her druid minion (who doesn't necessarily need to be introduced at all if this happens), she will inform the party first of what is happening, before offering up her bargain to them. See the relevant section.
section not yet ready
Xathoqqua may approach the party through a minion, like Yoon' Deh does, or, it's also possible that the party finds the location of one of his forgotten outdoor shrines that has a statue of him for worship. If they go to investigate, he will speak to them through the statue, probably startling the hell out of them. He will talk plainly to them, and let them know about what is happening regarding the Thing that Should Not Be. If they enquire further, he will let them know of his bargain. See the relevent section.
section not yet ready
If he uses a minion, this portion isn't written yet. Update when it's been decided.
It should be reinstated that these gods are not concerned about the existence of the Thing that Should Not Be. Regarding Yoon' Deh's part in offering assistance, she is doing it solely to gain the parties help, even for a brief moment, in gaining more current followers to her credit. If she gets to secretly help the characters destroy an un-natural creation of Xathoqqua's in the process, that is just icing on the cake.
Xathoqqua's part in this is more out of boredom, and enjoyment with toying with mortals. He will help destroy his own creation if it offers him some entertainment at the character's actually agreeing to his deleterious demands. Why should he care? All he would have to do is find another dullwit mortal to trick into learning how to make another Thing that Should Not Be, and in so doing, gain that dullwit mortal's soul in the process. No loss at all.
PLAYER'S BACKGROUND:
“Your journey along the old roads leading to Khromarium began easily enough. A few local deer and a mounted patrol of Khromarium Cataphracts on the way to patrol the borders of the Fields of Vol your only break in the monotony of travel.
And then, the clouds darkened, and the wind began to pick up.
Reading the weather, you wisely decided on a more speedy pace, but began to realize that your decision for haste might be too late. At first you quick-marched, then jogged as the thunder began to belch a light drizzle, you found yourselves outright running down the road as the rain became torrential and wind grew ever-fierce. The need for shelter became evident. The need for immediate shelter.
Finally, amid the ear-shattering din of thunder and violent winds that whipped your cloaks about you as if they were angry assailants, you noticed the gatehouse of a low-palisaded village ahead in the gloomy mist and haze and raced forward to shout for entry to the gate guards. After small minutes, you managed to persuade them you weren't a threat and the gates opened just enough to allow you in, and one tall man raced through the terrible weather to guide you to the village's tavern.
Now, having been ushered into the common room, crowded with dirty, but cheery local faces, catching your breath in great heaves, you revel in the bright warmth of the fireplace and find yourselves soaked to the bones. A local man of middling age, dressed in commoner's attire, stands from his place at the bar and walks you to a table nearest the fire. Pinching one of the barmaids as she hustles by, he welcomes you to the village of “Qarrhun” and goes back to his flagon. A gaily-coloured bard at tavern's corner again begins his song and violin playing, and the local villagers go about their conversations almost immediately. You get the feeling that this village sees it's fair share of travelers, and that you are nothing new.”
REFEREE'S INFORMATION:
The village of “Qarrhun”.
This village, about 20 miles southeast of Swampgate and nearly 50 miles north of Khromarium, is where the adventure begins. It's quite small, numbering some 132 people, and is pretty common of the many villages to be found dotting the roads between the towns this far out into the Lug Wastelands. It subsists on peat harvesting, hunting, sheep and pig herding, slave-trading, and “bog-fishing” (collecting the multitude of crawdad-like crustaceans that are so plentiful in this area; a practice commonly given to youth to introduce them to the need to work for their keep).
It is walled round-about with a low, six-foot palisade (sharpened logs driven into a raised mound of earth, in this case two feet high, and lashed together with heavy ropes and thick iron nails) and has one gatehouse that faces the north road, with the south road only baring a long gate.
In times of need, the pigs and sheep are brought inside the village proper and placed in their respective pens, and the scant few militiamen man the four-foot tall catwalks along the inside of the palisade at all times.
Most of the villagers and their families live in multiple family homes of low, unmortared stone about waist high and then wattle and daub for the rest of the way up and also the roof. Only a few of the buildings boast plank carpentry construction: chiefly the tavern, general store, a small warehouse that houses excess wool and ceramic amphorae of peat and the militia equipment, and the granary (which also houses the village elder's family on the top floor; his 'office' is a small two room apartment on the side of the granary).
There are two menhirs in town, the biggest one being offered to Xathoqqua and another, in a bit of an out of the way place, to Helios. The menhir of Xathoqqua appears to be well-maintained and there is offerings of flowers, bog-fish meat, and wool at the base of the small statue that centers it. The Helios menhir appears out of use; spongy groundcover has overgrown the circle of stones and the statue seems worn and is chipped at one end.
Outhouses can be found every dozen or so yards, and there are sometimes lines for these as no single family or business has a dedicated one. There is one street, the old road that this village was built on, and it runs straight through town.
Of the buildings, only a few are noteworthy. They are:
1. The “Gristled Bogfish” Tavern. This is where the adventure starts. It's single-story, with no rooms for rent, although the barkeep will sell floorspace in the common room if it's needed. Most of the fare is watered down wine, or a strong locally brewed grain-based ale, and there is much sheep and pork stew to be had with locally baked bread rolls. Bog-fish meat is used a lot and baked into biscuits as well as stewed alone or with other meats, as well as made into a strange drink (along with tomato juice and some celery sticks) that the locals seem to enjoy. The smell of meats and stale wine war with the sweat of hard working people and the smoke from the poorly ventilated central hearth fire, the smoke of which is constantly masking the roof in a haze of dark grey wisps. The few shuttered, un-paned windows don't seem to help much as the hearth fire is kept constantly lit except when there is nearly no one renting floorspace that night. Typically, a talented young man can be heard here playing his violin and cavorting about whilst he sings or recites prose of varying quality of his own devising (He is a first level bard). The Barkeep himself is 0th level, as are his wife, son, and two daughters, all of which work in the tavern. this should be well fleshed out before finishing.
2. The Granary/Elder's shack. The town's granary serves as a secondary warehouse as well as overall food storage. There are crates of bog-fish and river fish, game meats, baskets of salts, rolls of animal hides (both cured and uncured), cuts of pork and sheep meats, as well as some various sundries such as spun and unspun wool. There is nothing of real value here. More detail needed of course
The upstairs, is really a glorified loft, that houses the family of the village elder. It may not look like much, but they are the only family in the village with their own personal living quarters.
Flesh out
Also, on the bottom floor, built onto the granary itself, is the small 'office' of the village elder, wherein he conducts business with concerned parties when required. Flesh out
3. Qarrhun General Store. Not a fancy affair, although it is one of the only buildings constructed completely of wooden planks. The proprietor, such and such, runs this business from sun up to sun down, or up to twelve hours daily during periods of longer daylight. Inside can be found rickety shelving and cupboards that house all manner of low-quality common goods, such as pots, animal hide rugs, and lamp oils. Most items in the Player's Manual will be available for sale, except for armor and weapons. Of those, such and such stocks only what he happens to have. Referees should determine at random when a player asks for a particular item, if it is in stock currently, using the following guidelines:
Light Armors: 1-4 on 1d6
Medium Armors: 1-2 on 1d6
He does not stock any Heavy armors usually, but Referees may decide to allow him one suit that the players desire at his or her discretion.
Weapons:
He probably (1-4 on 1d6) has the following in stock: Hand axes, Daggers, Horseman's maces, Short swords, Falcatas, Broadswords (or longswords, but usually not both), Javelins, Quarterstaves (he has these on a 1-5), Short spears, Tridents, Whips, Bolas, Darts, Slings, Light Crossbows, and Shortbows.
He might have (1-2 on 1d6) the following: Battle axes, War hammers, Footman's maces, Morning stars, Footman's flails, Great axes, Long spears, Longbows, and Short Composite bows.
If he has a particular weapon in stock that requires ammunition, he will have that ammunition available also.
He does not have barding ever, and as a general rule, he will not carry any non-weapon or armor type equipment that is valued over twenty gold pieces (unless the player characters sell it to him).
Needs more concise, and viable information/detail
4. The Slave-pens. This is nothing more than a 30' x 40' cage, built of sturdy wooden poles lashed together with heavy rope and a single riveted iron band about the lashing. Under normal circumstances, it's more than sturdy enough to keep leather-manacled slaves from leaving without permission to do so. During times of inclement weather, heavy animal hide tarps are tossed over the top and sides of this cage and tied down to wooden stakes.
When the player's arrive here for the first time, the ground will be waterlogged with copious amounts of blood all about the western end, which evidences a roughly eight foot section of caging torn out. The tarps are flapping wildly about in the winds, and the heavy rain is pelting the remaining slaves inside who are huddled to the east corner, trying to at least avoid the rain underneath what little cover they have left. Not sure I need the when they arrive here stuff. maybe this belongs in the Referee Notes at an applicable part of the adventure?
The poles that make up the cage bars are nearly 4 inches thick, and the eight foot section shows the ends of them shredded and jagged, as if torn apart with brute force. Bits of rope, and rent iron bands clutter the area along with the human gore.
Just inside the torn-open section, are the bodies of four slaves, horribly mangled and eviscerated... Two of the corpses have their eyes open, their faces still showing the abject terror of the last second of their lives, frozen in death. There are fourteen slaves left alive, trembling, and not just from the foul weather. If anyone tries to talk to them, it will take a few of the villagers to cuff them a bit to shake them out of their stupor and get them to speak.
For the Referee:
When the players near the source of the screams, they will quickly realize that one of this village's means of trade is slavery. Some of the village men, having hastily equipped themselves with a few hooded lanterns and what arms they may (pitchforks, scythes, etc), have gathered around the slave-pens. Probably a dozen or two people made their way down the waterlogged dirt road amidst the howling winds and torrential downpour, and some are shouting for the few militia. A vision of red slaughter is plain for all to see: The wooden fence-cage that housed the slaves, covered in tarps tied to wooden stakes prior to the storm, has been shattered at one end, and the ropes and stakes ripped free from the outside there... The tarp now bats and flips about violently in the incredible wind. Rain plummets in marble-sized drops, causing further confusion, and it is obvious that someone... or some-thing... has broken into the slave pens... and worked death as the plow works the field. Inside, the remaining slaves huddle at the other end of the cage, shaking and wild-eyed... before them, nearer the hole in the cage, broken bodies lay torn and human gore litter the now muddy ground.
After a bit of cuffing to knock them out of their stupor, the slaves will relate that some creature tore through the wood as if it were cloth, killed a couple of people and began to eat them while they die. Gorging itself for a few terrifying moments, it looked up and grabbed another man alive and quickly raced off with him. All make note that it was standing as a man would, but that it was surely no man.
The village is not a large one... the half dozen or so militia who have shown up claim they are too few to go searching the countryside for lost slaves, as that would leave the village defenseless to other incursions. The men gathered exchange worried glances, wondering aloud about what may befall next if this thing isn't found and what might happen if it strikes again... especially during the storm.
The players will be asked to assist the village, and will be offered a reward in so doing, to include coin, supplies, and even slaves if they are reluctant to help (potential 'hireling' npc types, maybe, if the player's outfit them). work out the reward better I think
I intend to create the 'creature' that assaulted the village from scratch, basically, and have it run off to a safe haven it has found. It has something of a backstory already in my mind, and I have two interesting twists that might help 1st level PC's defeat it. One of these twists requires a terrible price; the other twist does not... outright. But the second twist could bare potential problems of a more indirect fashion later in the game, if the GM so desires.
Plans for this include:
- one dungeon, that will have a few types of low-level creatures to fight, and the final battle being the Thing that Should Not Be. This fight might need to be fought in halves if the party uses the bargaining of the gods to thier favor (well, kind of thier favor), although this *may* not be required.
-the actual write-up of the Thing as I've already mentioned.
-NPC statistic blocks of the 'minion' types that seek the adventurer's out to further the plot a bit.
-a map of the dungeon, one of Qarrhun, and probably a small-ish local area map showing Qarrhun village, the dungeon/temple location, and both forgotten menhir's of the participating gods (for use with de-powering the Thing). Might include the location of the Kimmeri-Kelt bandits on that local map too.
-a short list of NPC's suitable for use as hirelings etc.
-short encounter tables for the outskirts of the village, deeper into the wetlands, the dungeon, and near either god's menhir.
I suppose I should stop here, and actually write some stuff that is more organized.
If this sounds at all interesting, please watch this post as I will eventually delete this text with the actual adventure.
I really need to cut out a lot of writing and streamline what I have. Haven't gamed in years though, and this is a fun exercise. I still need to sketch maps of a place or two, and create the Thing that Should Not Be, among other things. 
Roman taberna certainly served alcohol. Or did you mean they lacked a bar in the sense of a physical structure by that name?)
