The party meets
While travelling along a path in the jungle, the first group of
adventurers makes a camp away from the path, but nearby. Just after
sundown, they begin to hear the sounds of something going on. This is
the secxond party a mile or more behind the party on the same trail.
They have waited to long to camp and in the faiding light have been
attacked by a pack of Wolf Snake. This is a "pride" of 7 snakes that
work as a team to corner and posion large prey. ortunatly for the
second group, the location of the snakes that lie hidden to attack when
within range is near the first group. The acitiviy shoulld alert group
1 to investigate and intervene in the battle with the pack snakes.
Pack Snakes
These are similar to cobras except for there
After the snakes have been killedk, the two parties should beginhi to
interact.
The adventure of the One Legged Man
Synopsis
A one legged man obviously an ex-adventrer approaches the party and
offers them a fortune to kill the creature that took off his leg. It is
a dire bear that has it's lair in a jungle spot that the man can
describe.
The lair of this bear is the entrance to a sizable cave filled with
more
than monsters; it has an opening to all times!
Setup
The objective is to get the party to kill the bear that took his leg
and bring him back the hide. They will know it from a large scar on
it's shoulder.
If this was going to be a normal campaign, that's how it would start.
Instead, let try it this way:
The party has found a nice spot within the rain forest that is near the
path they are travelling on. There is an area near a pool that was
larger but shrunk creating a sandy area that is free of debris and
making it easy to make a fire from the drift wood. A trickle of water
dribbles from a nearby 5' high waterfall. When the party has had
dinner, a voice from the road will ask for shelter saying "Do you have
room by your fire for a one legged man and his dog?"
The first thing about him people will notice is his false leg. The leg
is missing in mid-thigh with a stump about 18" long. A leather cup
encloses almost the whole stump. He has a cane in his left hand and his
left leg
harnes is worn over his clothes with the cut off trousers tucked into
the cup shaped top of the fake leg. The carved leg is made of a single
giant elephant tusk as it the cane. The leg is carven in the shape of a
bear (looking somewhat elongated) that holds it's paws up to support
the cup around the stump. The cane is carved in the shape of a
elongated human leg bone like the one that is missing but also
elongated.
The quality of the carving and it's detail will tell a person makinig a
DC 12 roll against Int. that the owner is rich, has been without the
leg for some time and has a fine sense of irony.The man with one leg is
hale and hearty. although he can not more
faster than '10. Still, his lean form, whipcord mussles under the
warriors leather harness speak to the level of his physical development
in spite of the disability. His skin is leathery and his hair is
streaked from sun exposure.
His riding dog is a St. Bernard long hair.
Once he is relaxing, he has had a chance to size the group up and likes
what he sees. He asks them if he can tell them a story.
"I've just coming back from my annual pilgramage to the spot where I
lost my leg. Every year it return to the cave where the bear lives that
ate it. I have always hoped that some day I would be able to kill it,
but it is too wary for me. I think he knows my scent and stays away
when I'm around. This is the fifth year and the last. I want that bear
dead and if I can't do it, I'll pay someone else just to get it done.
The revenge must be satisfied. I am going home to (whatever city). If
you bring me the hide of the bear, I will pay each of you 100gp. Here
is how you get to the place."
A more traditional approach:
The players are relaxing in one of the many taverns in the city (which
ever one the players choose) when a strange figure of a man walks in.
With a quick look around the tavern that
seems to weigh the patrons in an instant, he hobbles up to the bar and
conducts a whispered conversation with the barkeep. Only those making a
will save at DC 15 will notice he pays 10 times the normal cost of the
drink (a glass of Gut Braser - fortified port)
Nursing his drink, he pretends to be interested in a dark corner of the
tavern wher 2 teenage lovers are hotting it ujp. A player making
a DC 12 roll against wisdom can see it his watching the party too.
Still, whatever he's doing, it's not something he is going to give
away. He is waiting for something to happen that will reveal the partys
nature what ever that is. The DM should create an event that will
be irrestable to the group. Someone in the party will have an
idiosyncrasy allowing the DM to stage a encounter that will send
someone into the party into if not a frenzy, then at least an
uncharacterstic confrontation. A bar fight, an insulted server, a bad
glass of bitters, an insult from another paytron; each could be an
excuse for a revealoing act. It could even be an act of mercy to an
abused servent. It depends on the imagination of the DM and the makeup
of the party.
Once the one legged man sees something to interest him, he will
approach the party and offer to buy then a round is they will listen to
his story.