1- While
camping for the night, the PCs encounter a Kobold in women’s clothing who, in
so many words, promises them a good time if they follow it to an unseen
location. Naturally there is an
ill-intentioned band of Kobold warriors lying in wait at said location.
2- Upon the
road, possibly in the mountains, the Pcs encounter an Ogre standing on one foot
with one of its hands suspiciously placed behind its back, (naturally clutching
some form of weapon). The beast begs the
PCs to stay their course for a moment and provide healing assistance to his
bruised foot. It goes without question
that, should they help in any way, the Ogre will immediately attack them.
3- In a
foggy ravine, or any other place where fog is dense enough to obscure vision,
the PCs come across the ghastly shape of a great dragon, which demands that
they place their valuables on the ground before it unleashes fiery death upon
them. Upon closer inspection, the dragon
is nothing more than parchment tacked into a wooden frame, all assembled to
create the silhouette of a dragon, and the voice they heard belongs to a goblin
or some other small, intelligent creature.
4- Near the
entrance to a wooded realm, the PCs happen upon an old woman who comes bearing
a tray of baked sweet rolls and offers her home to them so that they can rest
and prepare themselves before entering dangerous territory. Should they choose to venture with the aged
hag, she will promise them many fine things, but most especially candy. When her home is reached the PCs will
discover that it is nothing more than a barren foundation with a smoldering
cauldron set between broken posts. She
will then draw a knife and ask them to please cut their hands and place their
blood into the cauldron, explaining that they will have no sweets until they
have accomplished this task. Should the
PCs leave the hag will merely scald them, but should they choose to fight her,
she will naturally face off against them in her true form as a night hag. If, for whatever reason, they decide to offer
their blood to the hag, she and her “home” will vanish in a puff of smoke and
ash.
5- On the
outskirts of the wilderness, the PCs find signs along a scarcely trodden path,
all pointing to a misshapen house, in front of which stands a Kenku holding a
jar. The creature asks for one gold
piece to grant admission into the house’s interior, inside which awaits a band
of armed and armored orcs and such.
6- Just
beyond the walls of a town, a persistent, if not annoying, young man begs to
join the PCs and promises to work very hard performing whatever duties they ask
of him. Should he be taken on as a
hireling, he will travel with them until they reach a dungeon or ruin and will
boldly offer to wait behind and defend their provisions with his life, drawing
a stick from his belt and fencing the air in demonstration of his prowess. Should he be left to do so, the PCs will
return from the dungeon and discover all of their gear missing, along with the
young man, but investigation will yield a note in which the man mocks them for
falling prey to one of the oldest tricks in the book.
7- A flash
of light will surprise the PCs on their way to their next destination and they
will encounter a humanoid dressed in strange, metallic trappings. The humanoid will explain that it has come
from the future and is in dire need of heroes to assist him in his efforts to
save the land from (insert foe). In
order to help, the PCs will be asked to turn over all of their magical
trinkets. Doing so will cause the
humanoid to teleport away with their goods with nothing but a sound heckling as
payment. Should they resist, the
humanoid will let out a shrill whistle and more metal-clad humanoids will
appear and do battle with them. When the
dust clears, the PCs will discover that the humanoids were nothing more than
human bandits wearing pots and pans that have been painted to look silver.
8- While
scouring a dungeon, or perhaps while wandering the wilds, the PCs spot a
curious medallion on the ground, but if they reach for it, the trinket will
suddenly leap away, as though being tugged, (by a string, naturally). If the PCs pursue it, they will make the
unhappy discovery that it is leading them towards a gnoll ambush point.
9- In the
middle of the night, while staying at an Inn, the PCs will awaken to someone
knocking on their door. When opened they
will see someone short running away.
This will happen all night, or until they decide to pursue the
nuisance. If they all decide to go, they
will return to find their room ransacked by goblins, or some other obnoxious
creatures. If any stay behind, they will
be attacked by the thieving fiends as they enter through the windows.
10- The PCs
stumble upon a strange yet utterly adorable creature that plays at their feet
and tries to lick their faces. A
successful Arcanum check will reveal the creature to be a polymorphed being of
some kind. Should the PCs decide to
remove the alteration from the little animal it will return to its true form:
that of a slobbering Chuul. And it
wasn’t trying to lick and play with them; it was trying to attack them.
11- Out in a
desert city or some other place where street markets are common, a persistent
merchant will unyieldingly try to foist off his goods on the PCs. All of his wares appear to be nothing more
than cheap junk, but one item, which he is offering at a rather low price,
appears uncommon and valuable. If the
item is purchased and they identify it, they will discover that it is a
sentient object possessed by the spirit of another merchant who ceaselessly
pesters them about buying things.
12- Out and
about, the PCs encounter a wildly eccentric female who promises to bestow a
wish upon them if they fulfill a seemingly endless assortment of meaningless
tasks (throw three acorns into a pond, gather ten twigs and arrange them on a
hill in the pattern of a star, sing an absurd song to a flower, wink at a
rabbit, and at least twenty other such trifles). If the PCs have somehow endured the list of
actions, the eccentric female will reveal herself as a powerful Djinn and will
grant the party one single wish.
13- A
cleric, appearing to be quite powerful, approaches the PCs and begs their
assistance in purging a mythical castle of all-consuming evil with the promise
that he will bestow a mighty gift upon them from his deity. Inside the castle, which strangely enough is
not very far off, the PCs have the opportunity to dispatch strange, rare and
wonderful creatures, all of whom fall easily.
Upon the completion of the quest, the Cleric casts a spell upon the
party that causes them to lift into the air and exude dazzling light. Upon the completion of the whole experience,
the PCs find the Cleric and castle nowhere in sight and all of their money
stolen. They also find the calling card
of a Gnomish Illusionist/thief.
14- The PCs
discover a trail of silver coins, which lead to a green field. In the midst of this field they discover a
large wooden box, under which rests a pile of gold coins. The box is tilted on its side and suspended
by a tree branch, attached to which is a length of twine. If searched out, the end of the trailing
twine is being grasped by the ready hands of a sniggering pair of Ogres.
15- In a
forest clearing, the PCs view a small table supporting a freshly baked pie, or
something else delicious. Should any of
the PCs bear any amount of perceptiveness they will see that a large net has
been placed under the table and is covered by leaves and twigs, with ropes
hidden up in the trees. This particular
trap was set by a band of Hobgoblins.
16- In the basement
of an Inn, whose owner and patrons act peculiarly and wear sacks over their
heads, the PCs are directed to discover a large, unopened box. They are told that a surprise is waiting for
them inside. Should they open it, the
PCs will fall prey to some ten goblins who come springing out of the box. However, should they inspect the patrons and
owner at the main level, they will discover yet more goblins riding upon each
other’s shoulders with heavy coats and sacks covering their heads.
17- In a
dungeon the PCs find a grimy hole in the wall with writing instructing them to
place a hand into the hole for a prize.
Doing so will trigger a trap that holds the person there and opens
hidden doors out of which come gnolls.
18- At the
heart of a prosperous city, the PCs come across a seemingly wealthy merchant
who wishes to hire them to deliver a cart filled with trade goods to a manor
out in the country. He emphatically
promises them that the goods are not stolen and that there is no reason why the
guards would want to check them at the gates.
Naturally the goods are stolen and the PCs will be arrested. If taken to prison they will learn from
another prisoner that the wealthy man they came across was the actual thief who
had made the unhappy discovery that he cannot sell the items and is trying to
offload the stolen goods and pass the blame on to someone else.
19- Sitting
against a tree, possibly near some woods, is a wrapped gift that has been
magically enchanted to explode into a large net. If captured the PCs should expect a band of
thieves or monsters to quickly appear and demand a tribute equal to all of the
valuables they are carrying on their person.
20- A
rambling old codger approaches the PCs, in any possible location, and threatens
them, saying he is a powerful demon in disguise and unless they wish to avoid
being smitten to the earth by his wondrous powers, they must offer a sacrifice
equal to 100 gold pieces. He is not a
demon, but is a regular old man who will die of a heart attack moments after
gold is given to him.
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