Mirik-Grove Is Born

The Rabid Lands have been named such because of the sheer danger they pose, however they still do not offer enough to drive off optimistic settlers. This plot encompasses the beginning of a new adventure for a party of adventurers seeking a better life as they travel from The Citadel of the Rabid Lands into the Rabid Lands proper in order to establish a home for themselves. This story function as an adventure for a first level party in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. Also note that throughout this adventure whenever the word "character" is mentioned it refers to a player character. If something is bolded in the text it is either the title of a small section or refers to a statblock, item, trap, or other item within a Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition sourcebook, assume that statblocks and creatures are from the Monster Manual, traps and items from the Dungeon Master's Guide, and spells from the Player's Handbook unless otherwise specified.

Plot points/Scenes

The players find themselves in The Citadel of the Rabid Lands with little hope for finding a job or making any real money, they are offered a deal by some settlers to escort them through The Rabid Lands and in exchange they will have a permanent home granted to them by the settlers once construction begins. They accept this deal and from here is where exposition ends and their choices begin. They may do whatever they wish in The Citadel until early the next morning when they join the caravan on the journey.
They encounter a few locations and peoples/creatures of interest on the journey
The settlers find as grove of apple trees that produce apples with remarkable properties and decide they will settle here, next to a swamp.
The players end up getting their home they were promised the village begins to take form, however during this time they are pestered by creatures from the swamp. When Carcaraxass, The Swamp Queen the swamp queen shows up, this plot line ends, although Mirik Grove is likely to keep growing.

Themes

Discovery, the core theme of this plot line is discovery and introducing the players to the various aspects of The Rabid Lands. They should constantly be learning new things and making new realizations about the place they are in.

Structure

Exposition

It is Yurides, Frost-Melt 18th, 973 A.K. The leaves on the trees are still gone and on most days the wind has a chill to it but not as bitter as it was just a few weeks ago, most people are seen roaming the Citadel in light coats but the cold has let up enough that the usual hustle and bustle has returned to the Citadel of the Rabid Lands, the last fortified city before Silvaria gives way to the wild frontier of the Rabid Lands. You are in a line going up to a few tables, only one of them occupied, near the Gate to the East, the gate most settlers go through before entering The Rabid Lands. This line is for those who wish to sign up for the 48th expedition sponsored by Silvaria and is for the last people that wish to sign up before the expedition closes which has been open for about half a month now. Besides you there are 14 other people in the line and it wasn't until yesterday that you would be in a line for the likes of these. And yet you are here, hoping that going on this expedition ends better than running from the law would.

Earning a Place On the Expedition

You watch as an exhausted looking clerk asks those in front you questions that you can't quite make out due to the noise of the city around you, some people hand him sacks which he then opens up and inspects, pulling out beans and corn and other crop goods, other hand him swords or statuettes and other items of craftsmanship. A handful are turned away with and leave with saddened expressions however most are written down and a pouch of something handed to them and they leave with confidence. As you make it to the front of the line you see a wooden table with several small coin pouches, sheets of parchment, a ledger, quills and inkwells, and a large open box containing many lockets of hair with strips of parchment tied around them, each bearing a name. On a chair behind the table is a tired looking half-elf, without so much as glancing at you he asks "What's your name" in a friendly but clearly exhausted voice, still writing in the details of the person before you in his ledger." After they answer he asks "Any noteworthy skills that make you a good candidate for this expedition?".

After the player answers with anything relating to combat (which they really should, encourage them to do so if they don't) the attendant says:

"Ah, another fighting type." He looks up at you and with a look of realization says, "Oh! You must be those criminals that got some mercy from one of the court diviners, the last round at the proving grounds is going to start soon, go ahead and hop in that wagon over there, it will take you there."

The process repeats for each player and the wagon eventually fills up with the party, after this they wait a minute the wagon driver turns towards the half-elf and says "That the last of 'em?", the half-elf nods with an affirmative "mmmm-hm" and the wagon starts moving.

The Arena

The wagon driver takes you through the busy afternoon streets of the Citadel until they reach an arena of sorts. The arena is fairly small, no coliseum, and primarily consist of irons gates, wooden walls, and a large open dirt fighting ground surrounded by 10ft. wooden barriers surrounded by wooden stands. You are taken past the front entrance around the arena through an alleyway to a doorway that appears to lead into one of the few rooms of the place, although it lacks a roof. You are dropped off with a 'good luck!' from the wagon driver by the wooden door with an unlocked chain sitting on a box next to it. (pause here for them to go through the door) As you enter you see a room, 4 wooden walls, no roof and a dirt floor, and one door on either end. Within the room there are a few armor racks, mostly in disrepair. On them are 5 sets of worn hide armor, 5 crude great clubs, 10 rusty knifes, and a few stained component pouches. On the only bench in the room sits a comparatively well dressed human soldier. (In a younger mans voice) "Alright, you can take whatever you want from here to prepare for your fight, although you can't keep any of it afterward".

The knives and clubs have a -1 to hit characteristic, the hide armor only has an AC of 11+dex (max of 2), and the component pouch has a 5 percent chance to be missing the components the caster needs for their spell (If they try to cast a spell and cant find the components they waste their turn looking for components). Once all of them are ready,

The soldier opens the door leading out onto the arena grounds and says "Good luck out there, normally we would have safety precautions in place, but if you fail this you serve a death sentence anyways so I would suggest not relying on such things."

You enter the arena and are greeted by the small but enthusiastic applause of the 20 some people in the stands that came here to watch, mostly older people, young teenagers, and other peoples who did not need to be at work at the time. On top of a tall stage at the front of the arena stands a tall member of the arena directorate, a human man. He is wearing luxurious black and red striped silk clothes and boasts a fine black tri-corn hat with a spotted kiloka feather sticking out from it, beneath the stage is a cast iron cage with a lowered portcullis in front of it separating the contents of the cage from the arena floor, within paces a growling lioness, in 2 other cages a few feet away from the lioness' there are 8 jackals, 4 in each. All these animals, including the lioness, look emaciated and hungry. "Good afternoon everyone!" the well-dressed man shouts in a pleasantly cheerful voice, "Todays event is less of a show and more of a test, these fine folk on the arena grounds seek to join the 48th expedition into the Rabid Lands in order to avoid a death sentence, and they offer their combat ability as their skill of value, now comes the time to see if they speak the truth. It will do the expedition no good to have defenders that can't fight back against the threats of the plains, and so why don't we see how they handle what they will invariably encounter many times throughout their journey, savage beasts! And if they're torn apart, I suppose it is a more honorable way to go than on a chopping block.", as this is said chains you hear chains clinking as the portcullises of the jackals cages rise upwards and release the jackals into the arena as the man sits down into a wooden chair on the stage.

Fighting in the Arena

The jackals are aggressive towards the players and will attack them. They will not attack any downed players unless there are no other immediate threats to it in which case it tries to eat them. The jackals, being pack animals, will never attack a player alone if they can help it, trying to take advantage of their pack tactics. The audience also cheers and expresses other reactions throughout the fight and the director might also throw in his two cents here and there. After the jackals are defeated the players have one round to prepare as the portcullis is raised to unleash the lion upon them, who attempts to get a run up as often as possible to utilize her pounce ability and focuses on downing one player at a time rather than spreading out her attacks. Remember that these are animals, if at any point a jackal finds itself alone and it cannot rejoin its companions it will become frightened and flee and only use its dodge or dash each turn while it tries to find a way out (which it cannot as the arena walls are explicitly designed leaning inwards to prevent this), only continuing to fight if it is cornered. The same occurrence happens if the lion is reduced to 5 hit points or less
If the players succeed in the two battles read out the following to them:

You receive applause from the exhilarated but still small audience and the director rises from his chair and says "Well done, you clearly are able bodied enough to face beasts, and smart enough to avoid the headsman's axe too. Return to the room you just came from and you will receive the rest of your instructions".

Success in the Bout Once they enter the room they enter the dressing room once again:

You see the half-elf you signed up for the expedition by carrying a bag from which can be heard the clinking of coins, and the soldier who is now standing in front of you with his arms stretched out, palms open. "Go ahead and return that gear" he says. The half-elf says "alright I have been given pouches of gold for each of you based on how your performance was judged, this money is so that you can buy anything you might need for your journey, you may also keep some for the sake of trading once you get there but I don't really suggest it, barter is the currency of choice so far east". He pulls out several pouches of gold with one of your names written on a piece of parchment sloppily glued to each, he says, "Normally I'd have to worry about people ditching the expedition at this point but I have been informed of your, peculiar, situation".

Each character receives a pouch of gold with gold equal to however much they would receive from the "Starting Wealth by Class" table in the players handbook (p.143).

"Prepare however you need and meet up with the rest of the caravan in one week, they are leaving one hour after sunrise on the 23rd and will not wait for you. Once the caravan finds a good spot you are expected to settle down and build yourselves a village. Given your special skills you will all be guaranteed a house in said village for free. Bear in mind you will have to share this lodging however unless you fancy yourselves aristocrats and pay for individual accommodations."

Give the players time to buy what they need, get their things in order, and sleep before you continue to the next segment.

Completion: The Party has earned their spot in the expedition

XP: 400

A Quest for Twiddling Thumbs

After the players have taken care of necessary business and as they are walking through the city to wherever they are going one of them feels someone tap them on the arm. It is Darsinian, with a cowl over his head and beckoning the party into an alleyway. If they follow him he pulls down his cowl and says:

"I know you probably hate me and I deserve it, and I know this is a weird circumstance but I can't afford to be seen with all of you and you guys can't afford to be seen with me if you're going to take advantage of this opportunity. The Society won't give you any quests and refuses to even give you the rewards for the quests you did but I know you all probably really need money and I know its my fault you guys lost everything. I can put you guys under different names and get you the rewards if you go on one last quest, and its a big one so it should set you up pretty well. I'll even give you my pay cut I usually get. I don't have any substantial wealth I can spare but please let me do what little I can to make it up to you guys."

If the party agrees he tells them:

"Ok, theres recently with traders in and out of the city getting jumped and robbed recently, always dead when they are found or simply missing from the scene of their pillaged wagon. We don't know exactly where they are but the heaviest concentration of attacks is occurring a certain road on the south west side of the city and I can take you their most recent crime scene if we go right now. The reward for disposing of them is 200gp and in addition you get to keep anything you find in their camp, assuming they have one. So will you come with me?"

The Gate

If the players agree Darsinian takes some backways through the town until the party makes it to the south west gates. Darsinian stops them about 100 feet away from the gates around a corner and peers around it. "There guards by the gate" he says. "Neither of us can be seen with each other or else none of this will work. We will have to go through separately, probably around 15 minutes or so apart. However they may get suspicious of you and think you're trying to run off but if you tell them you can't run off or the diviner will find you or perhaps say something else clever they should let you through." Its up to the players who goes first and unless the players go through first and say something to tip the guards off Darsinian can make it through with no trouble, claiming he's required to check on a haunted windmill some adventurers were supposed burn down before he pays them. There are 3 guards and a captain named Reginald with a horn at gate (use the thug statblock). The captain blows the horn if there's trouble which causes 2d8 guards to arrive at the gate over 1d4 rounds. The captain will interrogate the players when they approach, modify the following speech section if the party members have any notable features he would bring up:

"I've heard some descriptions of a group of adventurers that got into deep trouble and are now required to serve on the expedition. Now might I ask, do you think you can just run off from this city and be free from your penance?"

As it stands the captain believes that the party is the group of adventurers he heard about although he's never seen any sketches of them or anything more than an oral description. He also knows the crime he committed and doesn't believe it should be a crime but knows why it has to be. He is indifferent towards them and through conversation may be led to allow the adventurers through. A successful DC 14 charisma (deception) check is required to get through if the party lies to him, a DC 12 charisma (persuasion check) if they attempt to persuade him, or a DC 17 charisma (intimidation) check if they threaten him. Give advantage or disadvantage to these rolls as appropriate. The party receives 88xp if they convince the captain to let them through.

Dragged Through the Plains

Once the characters get through the gate they are immediately greeted by Darsinian who proceeds to lead them to where the most recent ambush occurred:

Darsinian leads you along a road for about 2 hours before he says "It should be just up ahead" You shield your eyes from the sun to see a single wagon with, disturbingly, no other notable features. No mule, no bags of goods, no driver, no signs of damage no blood, nothing. As you reach the wagon Darsinian sighs and say "These are the worst ones, and seemingly the most common. The wagons that are smashed up with a gutted driver in the seat are disturbing but at least make sense. But then there are these, no clues, nothing." He looks around and then says "Well, this is all I can do for you, come to me when you've dealt with those bandits, if you bring them in alive there may be a bigger reward but honestly you should probably just kill the low lives. And by the way don't come get me at the guild, meet me at my home either in the morning or after sundown, its the third house down on windfall street." He then turns away and leaves you to your hunt.

The wagon belonged to a halfling farmer who was simply trying to take his crop to market when he heard a cry for help in the grass. He went to investigate and was ambushed by so bandits lying in the grasss, two of them kenku who mimicked the noises of panicked people to lure him in. They then tied and gagged him as they looted his wagon, stole his mule and then dragged him and his crop back to their camp where they have been building up a wealth of stolen goods and prisoners whom they intend to sell into slavery.

[justified] A successful DC 14 wisdom (perception) check reveals that the grass next to the path on the west side of the trail is on is pressed down against the ground as though something heavy had been dragged through it if it is day. This is where the halflings bags of grain had been dragged as well as himself. If they beat the check by 2 or more they also notice some hoof and shoe prints in the grass that were not smeared away by the dragged bags. If the players fail to notice the drag marks or simply choose not to follow the trail they hear it some bandits nearby finally notice them and try to ambush them by having their kenku allies imitate a commotion. If it is night this check instead reveals a plume of smoke barely distinguishable from the dark sky to the west:[/justified]

Ambushers Relaxing

[justified] If the players follow the drag trail for 200ft., follow the smoke plume west, or simply wander in that direction, after travelling for 200ft. will be able to hear the conversation of some of the bandits who were taking a break behind a rock (with a lit lantern between them if its night). They can distinguish the words with a successful DC 13 wisdom (perception) check. If they can't distinguish the words adjust the following text accordingly:

As continue through the grass you hear some conversation from behind a rock 40ft. ahead. Through the wind blowing on the plains you hear bits and pieces but sometimes a few things escape your ears. "At least its warm out today, the boss better give us a good share I..." "Gold pieces!" "Yes I'm sure our payment will be in gold pieces Clink, although a slave might be good too" suddenly you hear the laughter of several more people than you hear talking that dies as quickly as it came.

Ambushers In Wait

If the players did not follow the path and are following the sounds the kenku made then the following occurs:

Your investigation is suddenly interrupted by a woman's scream from the grass. "Help! They're kidnapping me!" "Shut up dairy wench!" an angry man yells as you hear an audible slap.

Everything except the "Shut up dairy wench!" line, including the slap, was mimicry from two Kenku and require a DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) check to tell that they are imitations. If possible roll the Wisdom (Insight) check for the player with the highest insight bonus (if there are ties roll for each one individually) behind your screen without telling them what you are rolling for and only tell them that the sounds are imitations if the roll(s) succeed(s).

Ambushers In Battle

Regardless of how they find them there are 2 kenku and 2 bandits, and 1 thugs. 1 of the bandits is a human and 1 is a Rûhntír (keep his statblock the same but flavor his scimitar as his arm morphed into a boney blade). If the players are following the imitations of the kenku then they will all try to ambush the party. The 1 thug will try to sneak up behind a ranged or spellcasting character and grapple them while one of the bandits tries to flank and stab them. The other bandit will try to keep the rest of the parties attention while 2 kenku will support them with ranged attacks against any melee characters.

Dino Tamer

After fighting the kenku and bandits the players can easily spot a worn path that the bandits use to go between their camp and their stakeout spot. If the players follow the path a little over half a mile they will find the bandit camp however if they are on the path within 500ft. of the camp they encounter a small dirty brown string in the path that can be spotted with a DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot. If a creature trips the string they will cause a small bell to ring which can be heard up to 100ft. away, alerting 6 velociraptors 30ft. away and their plain elf bandit master 60ft. away who was in a trance lying in the grass. The bandit orders his raptors to attack one player at a time, taking advantage of their pack tactics, and aids them with ranged attacks but tries to keep his distance. If he dies both velociraptors become frightened of the party and flee.

The Camp

Camp Occupants

The bandits can easily notice the players from up to 150ft. away from their camp if the players are not sneaking, however if the players are trying to sneak the biggest obstacle they face to remain undetected is the dogs in the camp. The party's group Dexterity (Stealth) must beat their passive perception of 18 if the players can be heard or smelled or a passive perception of 13 if they cannot. If the players are detected by the bandits they hear shouting from the camp and then barking and a howl and if they are detected by the dogs they hear it vice versa. Once detected 2 mastiffs, 2 human bandits, 1 gnome bandit wielding a whip instead of a scimitar and riding an incredibly well built dog (use the wolf statblock), and 1 Rhuntir Thug charge out from the camp towards them, the gnome bandit commands his mount and both mastiffs. The human bandits simply attacks whoever they deems the weakest however the gnome will attack the largest character of the party and try to knock them down with his mounts bite attack and command his mastiffs to attack the now vulnerable target while whipping other targets in an attempt to keep them from helping their comrade. The thugs try to keep the two biggest characters on them and only them, allowing to others to do their work

Camp Contents

The bandit camp consists of 4 large tents which sleep 2 people each. The tents are in semi-circle around a large 5ft.5ft. campfire which is kept lit throughout the night but snuffed during the day. On the opposite side of the fire is where all of the camps spoils are kept. Stacks of boxes and piles of sacks of grain and other goods make up the bulk of the treasure however the two most valuable things in this part of the camp are the lockbox and the pit of captives. The lockbox is 3ft.x1ft. and weighs 200lbs. It is locked with a lock that can either be unlocked with an iron key that Tirk (see below) wears on a chain around his neck or picked with thieves tools with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. The pit of captives is 20ftx 10ft. and 10ft. deep. It is covered with a grate made of rough hewn timbers tied together with rope that weighs 100lbs with 300lbs of stones on top of it. Within the pit are 2 male human farmers, 1 human female merchant, and 2 elven traders (a man and his wife). The bandits intend to either ransom them off or sell them into slavery and feed them well for this purpose, however the food is less that appetizing with most of it being uncooked vegetables and stale bread.
Tirk and His Gang
Assuming the players did not draw out the dogs and bandits described above, the bandit camp contains 3 mastiffs, 3 human bandits, 1 gnome bandit wielding a whip instead of a scimitar and riding an incredibly well built dog (use the wolf statblock), and 1 Rhuntir Thug, and a hill dwarf bandit captain named Tirk that leads the bandits with his pet hawk (if the players are detected outside of the camp he will stay behind to ensure the captives do not make a break for it).
Tirk would rather fight to the death (and his hawk will fight with him until then) than go to prison or worse but if the players are willing he willing to negotiate with the players for his freedom unharmed in exchange for treausres and/or prisoners. The following text assumes it is day time, adjust accordingly. As the players approach him:

Before you sits an old dwarf, with his beard graying. He pets a hawk that rests on his leather gloved hand and without looking up at you says in a grizzled and wizened voice "I suppose I've done too much now to talk myself out of a death sentence, by your hands or the courts. I hungered too much for the wealth my clan once had." He stands up and pulls his mace out of its sling as he lifts his other hand which prompts his hawk to take flight. "And I suppose I'm stuck in my clans sense of honor as well." He looks toward the covered pit from which you can hear cries for help mingled with the occasional "send him to his god!". The dwarf laughs and softly says "An honorable slaver, seems like an oxymoron now doesn't it". He then squares his stance and prepares for battle.

Loot

None of the bandits trust each other enough to leave personal belongings in their tents and so the only loot in the camp is in the section dedicated as storage for camp plunder. Within the lockbox is 900 copper pieces, 500 silver pieces, 50 gold pieces, 3 pieces of moonstone worth 50gp each, and a Blanket of Recovery. The rest of the loot in the camp consists of a couple hundred pounds of potatoes, grain, radishes, and other vegetables along with a crate of silk, 2 crates of wool, and miscellaneous trade tools as well as shovels, pickaxes, etc. Most of this loot is likely worthless to the players however the 5 captives in the pit are plenty willing to sell these goods (that are theres in the first place) in town and give half of all of their profits to the party as thanks for their rescue. (Which in the end will equate to around 120gp). They are also willing to testify to the heroics of the players if Darsinian needs proof.

Reward

When the players meet up with Darsinian he is glad to see them. He already has their reward of 200gp hidden in a cabinet in his home but needs some kind of proof to give it to them. Testimony from the captives, a kenku head, leading him to the camp, or anything of the like is sufficient. Afterwards Darsinian wishes them the best of luck on their journey ahead and tells them that if they make it back to the Citadel his door is open to them.

Completion: Tirk has been killed or taken into captivity

XP: 600

The Journey Begins

This section begins the party's journey in the Rabid Lands. On the morning of the 23rd, 1 hour before sunrise the Court Diviner the players encountered will divine where the players are and go with a detachment of 8 guards led by a veteran to find the party and escort them to the caravan unless they are already there.

The Caravan

The caravan consists of exactly 200 people (you may want to keep track of and update this number as settlers dying is not only possible but likely) and their 50 wagons, many pulled by oxen, donkeys, mules, etc., but most of them pulled by Tusked Kiloka. 20 people in the caravan signed on as escorts like the characters and use the guard statblock, the rest of them are commoners. The official leader of the caravan is Adam Kireth, a human man who was chosen by the Council of the Rabid Lands to be the governor of the future settlement the caravan is to found. Fortunately the caravan requires very little leadership and he's happy to leave those that are more adept at navigation and travel to the guiding of the caravan for now, however once the future village is founded he is ready and prepared to begin leading everyone in getting the village up and running before the next planting season, as infrastructure management is his specialty.
As soon as the players get to the caravan read:

Before you stretches the caravan of which you are now a part, tusked kiloka, mules, and even the rare oxen carrying wagons containing tools, sleeping bags, what is hopefully enough food to last till the next harvest season wherever you all end up. Little children and dogs run around as their parents and masters attempt to wrangle them along with many livestock animals. Some of the men have armor and weapons but it seems you are the best equipped for this expedition. As you're taking everything you surprised by an older man wearing the colors of the masons guild covered in stone dust to match his silvery-gray hair. He grabs you by your shoulder and says "My names Marty and I know warriors when I see them, and I'll be damned if everyone else gets a guard in their cart and I don't, come with me theirs space in my wagon for you all, It's in the front so you don't have to worry about missing anything, and don't worry I'll keep you fed well throughout the trip for your trouble"

Marty's small wagon is at the very front of the caravan and he is rather optimistic about this venture but still worried about attacks given the stories he's heard throughout his years, he's willing to provide the party food and water so long as they stay in his wagon and protect the caravan. His wagon contains food, mostly dried, masons tools, bedrolls, and everything else he thinks he'll need for the journey and when he gets there. His cart is pulled by one Kiloka named Melly, it is female. Right behind Marty in the caravan is Adam Kireth and his wife's small wagon pulled by a mule, he makes sure to introduce himself to the players near the beginning of the journey or right as the players get there (your choice). He is quite cordial nice and down to earth, practicing the formalities of the upper classes but not with enough suave to convince anyone he is actual nobility, not that he cares . An hour after dawn Yuria Teronan arrives at the top of the East Gate:

Although you can barely make out the figure at the top of the East Gate you recognize her as the Yuria, the goddess of civiliazation and Queen of the Citadel by her booming, magically amplified voice "Go out and found another beacon of civilization on this wild continent, may you find good fortunes in your future and the gods preserve you!" she yells from the ramparts. You hear whips and reins crack as the beasts of burden begin their long journey into the unknown. You turn your heads and look forward and are reminded of the nature of your journey. There are no roads ahead of you, you have no map, and your destination is unknown. Your journey is one founded on hope, and whether that hope is foolish or virtuous is yet to be seen.

A little while after the caravan has left the Citadel Marty (full name Martin Timberfellow) asks the party what made them decide to join this expedition. Use this opportunity to allow your players to get to know each other's character if they have not already, if you wish have Marty ask more questions that further allow the players to fully introduce their characters or perhaps encourage roleplay.

Nature of the Journey

Length

The distance from The Citadel to where the caravan will eventually settle is around 560 miles. The caravan travels slower than an adventuring party would and as such instead of the travel paces in the Player's Hand Book use the table below

Caravan Travel Rate

Whether its a caravan of 5 wagons or 500 they can travel at a good rate but certainly not as fast as an adventuring party would. As such, instead of using the travel pace table in the Players Handbook 5th edition, use this table instead. It displays how much distance is covered when travelling at a given pace and the effects of said pace to the caravan as a whole.

Pace	Minute	Hour	Day	Effect
Fast	300 feet	3 miles	20 miles	Can not forage, +2 to travel complications roll
Normal	200 feet	2 miles	15 miles	-
Slow	100 feet	1 mile	10 miles	-2 to travel complications roll

is and in a straight line would take around 37 days. Given that the caravan is scouting for a good place to settle and will almost certainly not be going in a straight line the first journey out east will take around 45 days, although it could last longer due to travel complications, weather, and other factors (see travel complications below). For the sake of keeping track of how long the journey is going to take start with 45 days as the minimum amount of time required and increase this time as complications arise. If Adam Kireth is asked what exactly they are looking for he will respond with "a place that we can reliably settle and prosper in, it needs plenty of natural resources, water, fertile soil, and something else special about it, a resource hard to find elsewhere and that will allow us to earn a good profit from trade. We didn't choose this path just to survive, we want to thrive and to reliably call home." Other people may have other things they prioritize like a good climate, a nice looking area, free from danger, and many other preferences, but to just about everyone these wants are secondary to those just listed. When you describe a place besides their final destination, avoid giving it the qualities described above so that the journey is not cut short when the players want to settle where you have described unless you want the settlement they make to be closer than the default. The default distance of 560 miles carries the purpose of making this settlement isolated from the major cities like The Citadel so that the players are the primary influence on the town, if you wish for the town to have greater influence coming from other settlements or your players want to feel free to describe fertile and advantageous territories and allow the caravan to settle there, closer to the Citadel.

Day-to-Day

Each day begins with the loud blow of a horn at 04:00, everyone wakes up, animals are rounded up after grazing for the night, breakfast is prepared and eaten, and everything is packed up for the road before another horn blows at around 07:00 and the caravan travels for 4 hours, during which the wagons are pulled by Kiloka, mules, oxen, etc. During this time the few people in the caravan with horses scout a few miles ahead to look out for obstacles and other dangers. Some days it may be the players responsibilities to do this although they will only be trusted with other peoples horses if their respect among the caravan is 5 or higher (see respect below). At around 11:00, or before or past that time is a good place to stop for a break is found shortly before or after that time, the caravan unpacks briefly to eat and let their animals eat and rest. After about an hour the caravan begins to pack back up until they get back to moving at around 13:00, they then travel for 4 hours more until they find a good place to stop and set up camp for the night, socializing, occasionally playing games, and doing whatever else it is that needs to be done before eating and going to sleep, ensuring that the night-guard is organized and everyone knows there shift. There are usually two shifts per night, shifts switching at 24:00. The next morning at 04:00 a horn is blown and the process repeats itself.
Although there is no need to describe each day in detail, try to give your players a run down of what happens for the first day of travel and then simply tell them that the same thing happens each day. If they wish allow them to go into more detail about what there character does on certain days or over the course of the journey in general. Besides this the players may attempt to forage for food and water using the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide (page 111) once per day. The DC for foraging in The Rabid Lands is 10.

Reputation

The party starts off with a reputation of -2, as rumors of their crime has influenced a small number of people in the caravan. Reputation is a measurement of how the party is viewed within the caravan, this reputation will also carry over into the village once it is settled by the caravan and if it is bad or good enough it can affect settlements outside of the one to be settled. Reputation works similarly to renown in The Dungeon Masters Guide (page 22) except that unlike renown reputation can become negative. The party gains or loses renown based off of their actions. Helping the caravan in major ways will bring reputation up by one point and saving peoples lives or livelihood will bring it up by two points, while being disrespectful to the caravan as a whole, hampering their goals, or just being plainly incompetent they will lose a point of reputation. Stealing from the caravan, incompetence ending in a caravan members death, or harming a caravan member in some way or similar events will reduce their renown by 2 and killing a caravan member intentionally will reduce it by 3. All of these negative effects can be mitigated or negated or better if there is just cause, for example knocking out a caravan member because he was drunk and brawling with others will actually bring reputation up by one and killing a person for the same reason will only bring reputation down by 2 instead of 3. The party also has higher and lower expectations placed on them as they increase or decrease in reputation. If the party's reputation is 10 or above respect they receive is reduced by one for each time it would be increased (i.e. increase of 1 result in 0 and increase of 2 result in one). Additionally their reputation goes down by an additional one respect each time they lose respect (i.e. -2 instead of -1). Likewise if the party's reputation is -10 or below the affects are the same except that reputation lost is also reduced by one each instance it happens (i.e. -1 instead of -2). The party's reputation is shared among them (bad company will beget bad reputation whether the individual is good or not) and reputation can only get as low or as high as -20 or 20 respectively. The table below shows how the caravan views parties of varying reputations.

Reputation

Reputation is important to maintain in any settlement, especially when its the only settlement for hundreds of miles. Reputation works similarly to Renown in The Dungeon Masters Guide except that unlike Renown reputation can become negative. This table shows the effects of certain degrees of renown and how they affect peoples opinion of the character of the party as a whole. Bear in mind that reputation is not universal and thus someone could have a Lauded reputation in one city and a Villainous one in another

Renown	Opinion	Affects
20	Lauded	Celebrations are held when they return to town with people lining up on street corners to see them. Only expensive goods and services like magic items and scrying don't come free to them and they are considered the greatest heroes the town has ever seen.
15	Beloved	Considered pillars of the community if they live there or if they only visit are often met with people hailing and greeting them in the streets if when they visit. Sometimes goods and services are offered to them for free and even just having them over for a dinner or a party is considered an honor.
10	Distinguished	At this reputation or higher all reputation increases are reduced by one, i.e. if reputation would increase by 2 it increases by one instead, if it would increase by 1, 0 instead. In addition they are quite popular and often invited to house dinners, celebrations, and sometimes given a discount for goods and services
5	Respected	Can easily receive small favors from those that they ask. For the sake of persuasion checks unless being influenced by some other factor NPC's in this settlement start with an attitude of friendly (see pages 244-245 of Dungeons Masters Guide)
0	Neutral	People likely do not even know about this person, and if they do they have a pretty neutral opinion about them. For the sake of persuasion checks unless being influenced by some other factor NPC's in this settlement start with an attitude of indifferent (see pages 244-245 of Dungeons Masters Guide)
-5	Disliked	Most people have a negative view of the party, getting into someone's private residence is quite difficult unless gold or a very good reason is involved and some goods and services will likely cost more than normal. For the sake of persuasion checks unless being influenced by some other factor NPC's in this settlement start with an attitude of Hostile (see pages 244-245 of Dungeons Masters Guide)
-10	Hated	At this reputation or below all reputation increases and decreases are reduced by one. A gain of 2 will only result in 1 and a loss of 3 will only result in 2 lost, etc. In addition they are publicly ostracized and without a very good reason or a significant amount of coin they will not receive services or good from anyone nor be received in their homes.
-15	Abominated	Not allowed where they hold it and will be forcefully escorted out of the town if they enter it.
-20	Villainous	Has a high bounty on their head and all those able that know of their reputation will likely attempt to kill them on sight.

Travel Complications

Traveling such a long distance rarely comes without complications, especially in The Rabid Lands. Below is a table for determining what travel complications, if any, the caravan encounters throughout its journey. Note that travel complications are different from random encounters (discussed later in this section) as travel complications do not involve encountering other creatures but rather problems that arise from the terrain, weather, or within the caravan itself. It is up to you as DM to decide how often you roll on this table, an average frequency would be every 5 days (for 9 complication rolls in total) however you may decide that it better to roll every day or perhaps not at all, depending on the playstyle of your group. The purpose of this table, and the random encounters table below, is to make the journey from The Citadel to their future settlement a more significant journey for the party, rather than a simple time skip, however it is up to as DM to determine how significant this journey should be, if it should be at all.
When you decide to check for any travel complications, roll 1d20 to determine what complications, if any, they encounter. As mentioned above if they are traveling at a fast pace roll 1d20+2 and if they are travelling at a slow pace roll 1d20-2 . If you roll a complication you already determined before you may either modify the complication so that it is new, repeat it (although it is not recommended), or skip it altogether:

Caravan Travel Complications

[["1-10","No complications"],["11","Strong winds blow on the plains today (this affect only matters if they have a random encounter on the same day)"],["12","Everything looks the same around the caravan, at least one character must make a successful DC 12 wisdom (navigation) check or else lose one day of travel time as they go in a circle"],["13","Fog obscures the landscape around the caravan, not only is it difficult to keep going in a straight path but its difficult to keep the caravan together. If the party does anything to keep the caravan together (riding around on horses to make sure everyone stays together, blowing horns, tying wagons together, lamps, etc.) the caravan does not separate. If the caravan does get separated. If they do get separated it takes two days to get everyone together again before they can continue on the journey. In addition at least one character must succeed on a DC 14 wisdom (navigation) check or else the caravan gets lost in the fog and loses a day trying to get back to where they were headed."],["14","A person or an animal (your choice) breaks a leg. If its a large animal such as a cow or a kiloka unless it receives magical healing to mend its leg it will likely be put down as it can't walk. If the animal was in a pair pulling a wagon the wagon is just slower but not enough to slow down the caravan and if it was the only one pulling a wagon someone else has to loan the owner(s) of the wagon a beast unless the owners already have a spare beast. If the victim is a person it more or less just sucks. If the players can mend the injury in any of these situations they will receive one respect"],["15","Pouring rain causes wagons to get stuck in ruts of mud, the players may attempt to help those in the caravan who are struggling free their wagons from said ruts and continue moving. To successfully do this they must succeed on a DC 14 group strength (athletics) check. If they succeed they manage to keep the caravan moving, if they fail the caravan must wait until the rain stops and then dig the wagon wheels out of the mud to free them, the caravan loses one day of travel time. If the players succeed in stopping the caravan from stopping they gain 1 reputation"],["16","One wagon's <a data-article-privacy="public" data-article-id="63b830a8-af89-4515-8a01-8c1ea0041820" data-template-type="species"  class="article-explorer-link" data-toggle="tooltip" title="" href="/w/karnum-zuros/a/tusked-kiloka-species">Tusked Kilokas</a> are acting up and fighting with each other. They can be calmed down with a successful DC 14 wisdom (animal handling) check. If the players can't soothe the Kilokas and fail to restrain them in any other way they break off the wagon tongue and run off, the caravan loses a day of travel time rounding them up and repairing the wagon tongue, unless the players successfully round up the Kiloka themselves (use the same DC if they try to calm them down) and repair the tongue provided they are proficient in the appropriate tools, requiring a DC 15 skill check. If the players succeed to calm the animals or round them up and repair the wagon tongue they gain 1 reputation and lose no time, if they fail to calm the animals or to both repair the wagon tongue and round up the beasts they lose one day of travel time."],["17","A drunk man in the caravan has begun to insult, tease, and downright disturb people. This reaches a peak as he and another man begin fighting each other with their fists. They can be dissuaded from fighting with a successful DC 14 charisma (persuasion) check (disadvantage for persuading the drunk man) or they may try to restrain one or both of them. They both use the commoner statblock and neither use a club, instead they just attack eachother with their bare hands. If they manage to resolve the brawl without anyone going unconscious they gain 1 reputation, if they kill either of them they lose 2 reputation."],["18","A 7 year old boy has gotten desperately ill. The mother runs to the front of the caravan to ask the players for help, she has already asked everyone else over the past few days and no one has been able to help her. If the players agree to come with her back to her wagon they see a human child lying on his back in the bed of the wagon next to packs of weavers tools and food. He is pale with illness, struggles to breath, and his eyes are constantly tearing up. The mother informs the players that he started coughing 2 weeks ago but lately he doesn't even seem to have the strength to do that. The child doesn't talk unless asked to because it strains him too much. A character that succeeds on a DC 14 medicine check recognizes the child's condition as symptoms of a disease known as <strong class="article-unlinked">Leaky Lung</strong> and succeeding this check by 5 or more reveals that the child only has around 3 days left to live, if they asked the child questions about how he feels they have advantage on this check. This disease can obviously be cured magically however if a character makes a successful a DC 16 intelligence (nature) check they know that one cure for it is boiling <strong class="article-unlinked">Goblin's Toe</strong> in a pot of water and having the afflicted breath in the steam, repeating this process every day for a few days (4 in this case). These mushrooms can be found whenever the players attempt to forage so long as the forage roll equaled or exceeded 16. If the players cannot provide the mother with Goblin's Toe, cure, or begin curing the child's ailment by 13:00 3 days after they meet the mother the boy dies. If they successfully cure the child they gain 2 reputation."],["19","A settler named Karik drank some water accidentally drank some water contaminated with <a data-article-privacy="public" data-article-id="1aa83f51-2bfd-40bc-b33b-3e6848545e3b" data-template-type="material"  class="article-explorer-link" data-toggle="tooltip" title="" href="/w/karnum-zuros/a/hell-s-decadence-material-1">Hell's Decadence</a>, throughout the day people notice one of the guardsmen that came with them on the trip to be eating obsessive amounts of food. The players are called over by another man named Talton asking them to try and get him to stop eating so much, complaining that he's barely even talking to people anymore. When the players get to the man anyone who makes a successful DC 17 Intelligence (arcana) check can tell he has come in contact with Hell's Decadence. Unless stopped the Talton walks up to the man and grabs his arm and says "stop pigging out or there won't be enough for all of us by the end of this!", Karik immediately pulls tries to bite Talton. Karik uses the thug statblock in the Monster Manual (page 350). He cannot be reasoned with and will begin to cannibalize people around him if left alone. If he is killed or otherwise stopped the party gains 2 reputation"],["20","The earth trembles and quakes, one of the notoriously frequent earthquakes of <a data-article-privacy="public" data-article-id="40315933-86e7-4550-bcc9-4ebf2b07e416" data-template-type="location"  class="article-explorer-link" data-toggle="tooltip" title="" href="/w/karnum-zuros/a/the-rabid-lands-article">The Rabid Lands</a> is occurring. When this each character must make a DC 12 dexterity or strength saving throw (their choice) or take 1d8 bludgeoning damage and become restrained under debris such as a wagon or an animal. A restrained creature or another helping creature must succeed a DC 17 Strength (athletics) check to free themselves. The caravan is delayed by 1 day after this event as they try to gather up what they lost out of their carts and round up their animals. There is no way to prevent this loss of time however if the players wish they may attempt to help people in the caravan (you as the DM have the freedom to come up with whatever problem you like), successfully helping people throughout the day increases their reputation by one."]]

Roll the Dice

1-10	No complications
11	Strong winds blow on the plains today (this affect only matters if they have a random encounter on the same day)
12	Everything looks the same around the caravan, at least one character must make a successful DC 12 wisdom (navigation) check or else lose one day of travel time as they go in a circle
13	Fog obscures the landscape around the caravan, not only is it difficult to keep going in a straight path but its difficult to keep the caravan together. If the party does anything to keep the caravan together (riding around on horses to make sure everyone stays together, blowing horns, tying wagons together, lamps, etc.) the caravan does not separate. If the caravan does get separated. If they do get separated it takes two days to get everyone together again before they can continue on the journey. In addition at least one character must succeed on a DC 14 wisdom (navigation) check or else the caravan gets lost in the fog and loses a day trying to get back to where they were headed.
14	A person or an animal (your choice) breaks a leg. If its a large animal such as a cow or a kiloka unless it receives magical healing to mend its leg it will likely be put down as it can't walk. If the animal was in a pair pulling a wagon the wagon is just slower but not enough to slow down the caravan and if it was the only one pulling a wagon someone else has to loan the owner(s) of the wagon a beast unless the owners already have a spare beast. If the victim is a person it more or less just sucks. If the players can mend the injury in any of these situations they will receive one respect
15	Pouring rain causes wagons to get stuck in ruts of mud, the players may attempt to help those in the caravan who are struggling free their wagons from said ruts and continue moving. To successfully do this they must succeed on a DC 14 group strength (athletics) check. If they succeed they manage to keep the caravan moving, if they fail the caravan must wait until the rain stops and then dig the wagon wheels out of the mud to free them, the caravan loses one day of travel time. If the players succeed in stopping the caravan from stopping they gain 1 reputation
16	One wagon's Tusked Kilokas are acting up and fighting with each other. They can be calmed down with a successful DC 14 wisdom (animal handling) check. If the players can't soothe the Kilokas and fail to restrain them in any other way they break off the wagon tongue and run off, the caravan loses a day of travel time rounding them up and repairing the wagon tongue, unless the players successfully round up the Kiloka themselves (use the same DC if they try to calm them down) and repair the tongue provided they are proficient in the appropriate tools, requiring a DC 15 skill check. If the players succeed to calm the animals or round them up and repair the wagon tongue they gain 1 reputation and lose no time, if they fail to calm the animals or to both repair the wagon tongue and round up the beasts they lose one day of travel time.
17	A drunk man in the caravan has begun to insult, tease, and downright disturb people. This reaches a peak as he and another man begin fighting each other with their fists. They can be dissuaded from fighting with a successful DC 14 charisma (persuasion) check (disadvantage for persuading the drunk man) or they may try to restrain one or both of them. They both use the commoner statblock and neither use a club, instead they just attack eachother with their bare hands. If they manage to resolve the brawl without anyone going unconscious they gain 1 reputation, if they kill either of them they lose 2 reputation.
18	A 7 year old boy has gotten desperately ill. The mother runs to the front of the caravan to ask the players for help, she has already asked everyone else over the past few days and no one has been able to help her. If the players agree to come with her back to her wagon they see a human child lying on his back in the bed of the wagon next to packs of weavers tools and food. He is pale with illness, struggles to breath, and his eyes are constantly tearing up. The mother informs the players that he started coughing 2 weeks ago but lately he doesn't even seem to have the strength to do that. The child doesn't talk unless asked to because it strains him too much. A character that succeeds on a DC 14 medicine check recognizes the child's condition as symptoms of a disease known as Leaky Lung and succeeding this check by 5 or more reveals that the child only has around 3 days left to live, if they asked the child questions about how he feels they have advantage on this check. This disease can obviously be cured magically however if a character makes a successful a DC 16 intelligence (nature) check they know that one cure for it is boiling Goblin's Toe in a pot of water and having the afflicted breath in the steam, repeating this process every day for a few days (4 in this case). These mushrooms can be found whenever the players attempt to forage so long as the forage roll equaled or exceeded 16. If the players cannot provide the mother with Goblin's Toe, cure, or begin curing the child's ailment by 13:00 3 days after they meet the mother the boy dies. If they successfully cure the child they gain 2 reputation.
19	A settler named Karik drank some water accidentally drank some water contaminated with Hell's Decadence, throughout the day people notice one of the guardsmen that came with them on the trip to be eating obsessive amounts of food. The players are called over by another man named Talton asking them to try and get him to stop eating so much, complaining that he's barely even talking to people anymore. When the players get to the man anyone who makes a successful DC 17 Intelligence (arcana) check can tell he has come in contact with Hell's Decadence. Unless stopped the Talton walks up to the man and grabs his arm and says "stop pigging out or there won't be enough for all of us by the end of this!", Karik immediately pulls tries to bite Talton. Karik uses the thug statblock in the Monster Manual (page 350). He cannot be reasoned with and will begin to cannibalize people around him if left alone. If he is killed or otherwise stopped the party gains 2 reputation
20	The earth trembles and quakes, one of the notoriously frequent earthquakes of The Rabid Lands is occurring. When this each character must make a DC 12 dexterity or strength saving throw (their choice) or take 1d8 bludgeoning damage and become restrained under debris such as a wagon or an animal. A restrained creature or another helping creature must succeed a DC 17 Strength (athletics) check to free themselves. The caravan is delayed by 1 day after this event as they try to gather up what they lost out of their carts and round up their animals. There is no way to prevent this loss of time however if the players wish they may attempt to help people in the caravan (you as the DM have the freedom to come up with whatever problem you like), successfully helping people throughout the day increases their reputation by one.

Random Encounters

Along their journey to find a suitable location to call home, it is likely that the caravan will encounter not only complications from the environment and from within their own caravan as described above, but also locations and creatures that bring similar problems. As DM you should treat these random encounters similarly to travel complications, only using them if you wish to make the journey more significant and a bigger part of this campaigns story. You may decide to use all or none of the encounters below but an average amount of random encounters would be one every 10 days, this should amount to around 4 encounters over the course of the journey. You may either roll 1d6 on the table to select an encounter randomly or pick an encounter yourself to run. Either way avoid repeats of encounters, rerolling if necessary. It is your choice at what time of day these encounters take place however unless otherwise specfied most of them are designed for when the caravan is travelling however could be modified for when the caravan is resting.

d6	Encounter
1	Dwarven Tomb
2	Goblin Pickpockets
3	Hobgoblin Ambush
4	Ankheg Underground Assault
5	Hadrosaurus Herd
6	Ettercap Forest

Ettercap Forest : The caravan comes across a forest with a wide road jutting out from a spot on its border. A successful DC 12 wisdom (perception) reveals that there are no tracks on the path except for those left by animals and yet it is completely free of weeds and debris. The players may choose to go around the forest and avoid this encounter first but first they have to convince the rest of the caravan who believe this is a sign of a town they could stop at to resupply and gather news that is settled within the woods or perhaps on the other side. It takes a successful DC 15 charisma (persuasion) check to persuade them, presenting the evidence of there being no tracks on the road and any suspicions the party as also grants advantage on this check, and if the players decide to scout ahead and come back telling the caravan what is ahead no check is required to persuade them unless the players reputation is -5 or lower. The path into the forest is half a mile long and from as shallow as 50ft. the trees become thick enough that if it is bright light outside it is dim light instead, and if it is dim light outside is dark. 400ft. into the forest a successful DC 15 wisdom (perception) check allows a character to realize that there has not been a single animal within sight of this path since they came in. Once the players are 800ft. in a successful DC 14 wisdom (perception) check reveals that around 20ft. off the path in many places there are thick spider webs, abnormally large (remember that dim light imposes disadvantage on perception checks). A character can discern that these webs belong to giant spiders with a successful DC 12 Intelligence (investigation) or (nature) check.1000ft. in traps laid by the local ettercap begin to appear. Every 50 feet after this point there is one trap set, the DC to spot all traps on the path is 14, whether this is to spot a spider silk tripwire or notice the thin webbing underneath the dirt that gives the spot away as a pit trap. None of these traps can be disabled but all of them can easily be activated without causing any harm, such as throwing a rock on a net of web, or cutting a tripwire and dodging backwards as what appears to be a cocooned humanoid swings by. If one of these traps is detected or activated you may either pick one from the table below or roll 1d3 to determine randomly what trap it was.

d3	Trap
1	Falling Web: This trap is functionally the same as the Falling Net trap except instead of a falling net the tripping tripwire causes the cocooned husk of a humanoid (orc) body to swing out from the side of the road and slam into the character with rocks and webs exploding out of it, trapping them in webbing. Because of this the strength check DC required to free a creature from the webbing is DC 13 rather than DC 10.
2	Eaten Alive: This trap consists of a thick and strong spider web hidden with thin spots of dirt and leaves laid over a 5ft. pit with a swarm of spiders in it. If the check to spot this trap is exceeded by 5 or more the character also hears the crawling and chittering of many spiders under the web. When a creature steps on the web it falls into the pit (without taking any falling damage as their fall is broken by the web). They are restrained in the web until they or another creature uses an action to attempt to make a successful DC 11 strength check to free the trapped creature from the web. Once the trap is triggered the swarm of spiders will attack whatever fell into the trap, if a creature is freed from the trap and leaves the pit they will not pursue them.
3	Poison Spike: This trap consists of a tree branch with a sharpened ulna bone from a goblin attached to it via spider silk. On the sharpened tip of the bone is potent spider poison fermented by a method known only by ettercaps. A silk tripwire attached to the branch, if triggered, will cause the branch to swing around and make an attack roll with +8 to hit against the creature that triggered it provided they're not tiny (for tiny creatures it will simply swing over their head harmlessly). If this attack hits the creature takes 1d8 piercing damage and must make a successful DC13 constitution saving throw or take 4d6 poison damage. If this attack reduces the creature to 0 hit points or less they become stable but poisoned for 2 hours even after regaining hit points and are paralyzed while poisoned in this way.

If any of these traps are triggered or any webbing in the forest is touched by a creature 1d3 giant wolf spiders arrive where the trap was triggered or web was touched in 1d6 rounds. 1d6 After the giant wolf spiders arrive 1d3 giant spiders arrive, and 1d6 rounds after the giant spiders arrive 1 ettercap, the apex of the forest and shepherd of the spiders, arrives. All of these creatures will pursue the party if they can find them and as long as the party is not outside the forest. If the players escape any of these creatures but touch yet more webbing or trigger another trap all the creatures they escaped will arrive where they tripped the trap or web in the same way they arrived the first time. At the very end of the road, dead center of the forest, 2640ft. in, is the ettercap's lair. If the players are defeated by any of the giant (wolf) spiders or the ettercap instead of being killed they will be taken to this lair and hung upside down in cocoons. While in these cocoons they are restrained and blinded. The cocoons have an AC of 10 and 15 hit points. A creature can free themselves or another creature in a cocoon by using their action and making a successful DC 15 strength check. The lair is a sphere 15ft. in diameter of web and wood with only one exit, a hole in the roof. The walls of the lair are obviously flammable and each 5ft. section has an AC of 12, a damage threshold of 5, and 25 hit points. Within the lair is scattered loot from previous victims equivalent to a CR 2 monsters treasure hoard along with the cocoons and bones of the long dead victims. In addition there is one 4ft. in diameter ettercap egg in the lair with 3 swarms of ettercap younglings (use the swarm of spiders statblock).[/aloud]

If captured the characters wake up having received the benefits of a short rest inside cocoons hanging from the ceiling. From the moment they wake up the ettercap youngling swarms will hatch from the egg in 6 rounds and will begin to attack the players in order to eat them. If the players escape spiders from the forest and the ettercap will only pursue them if they trip one of the traps on the road or touch a web outside of the ettercap's lair. If the players scouted ahead and told of what they saw they gain 1 respect, if they saved the caravan while they were in the forest they gain 2 respect.

Completion: The Party is not dead
XP: 1000

Ankheg Underground Assualt: An ankheg bursts from the ground right at the side of the Melly, the Kiloka

pulling Marty's wagon (if the players are in a different wagon the ankheg attacks an animal pulling that wagon). Until attacked the ankheg will bite and attack the creature until it dies after which it will take its prize underground and flee. If attacked it will attack its attackers, if it manages to kill one of them it will take them underground and settle for a lesser meal. Once the ankheg is bloodied it will go underground, only attacking from underneath its attackers with its jaws or using its acid breath after emerging and then burrowing again. If it has not fled entirely it's location underground can be discerned via a successful DC 13 wisdom (perception) check. While underground it has total cover against all attacks except for attacks that deal thunder damage (note that in cases of attacks such as thunderous smite the non-thunder damage of the attack is not dealt to the ankheg). If it takes thunder damage it loses its tremor sense. While it lacks its tremor sense it can attempt a DC 16 constitution saving throw, regaining its sense on a success. While it lacks tremor sense it will remain above ground to attack. If reduced to 10 hp or less it will attempt to flee, underground if it has tremor sense and above if not. If the players manage to save the beast the ankheg attacked they receive 2 respect, if they drove off the ankheg but failed to save the beast it attacked they only gain 1 respect and the beast must be replaced unless it was one of two pulling the wagon.

Completion: The ankheg has been slain or driven away

XP: 450

Goblin Pickpockets: One of the many small goblin tribes in The Rabid Lands has noticed the caravan and has decided to try and steal from them. Under the cover of night when most of the caravan is sleeping (the exact time is up to you but it is recommended that at least one of the players is on guard duty at the time) 7 goblins sneak into the camp. 4 of them are gatherer's and have no armor, no shield (natural AC of 12) and instead of a scimitar and shortbow they have a knife and a sling (both deal an average of 4 damage) but otherwise use the goblin statblock. There are 2 goblin hunters who use the goblin statblock without any changes, and one goblin boss, a tall and chubby female goblin named Hullbug. She keeps a frog in jar with her at all times that she claims tells her magical secrets. She uses the goblin boss statblock except in addition she is 1st level spellcaster (save DC 10, +2 to hit) with 2 first level spell slots. She knows the cantrips mage hand and minor illusion as well as the 1st level spells expeditious retreat and color spray The other They go around stealing whatever they can and then take whatever they found to a cart 120ft. away from the edge of the camp pulled by an axe-beak. They do this 4 times before the cart can't carry anymore. Given that players likely have the best gear in the camp at least one goblin tries to steal from at least one player each time they make their rounds. For each time the goblins go out to steal things before returning to the cart make one dexterity (stealth) check per player on guard duty for them versus the passive perception score of the player. If they attempt to steal from one of the players make a dexterity (slight of hand) check versus that players passive perception score (this score has -5 if the player is sleeping), with disadvantage if they thing they try to steal is on their person. The goblins cannot steal medium or larger items such as entire backpacks, suits of armor, etc. If the goblins fail any of these checks they are obviously caught. If caught the two hunter goblins and the goblin boss drop what they are carrying and attempt to distract the people that noticed, the boss with color spray and other spells along with attacking, and the warriors just by attacking while the other 4 goblins will run back to the cart with what they have. If the players awaken the camp or just tell the guards on duty with them they will help (there are 10 guards each night shift minus however many players are on guard). Once the other goblins are 30ft. or more closer to the cart than the hunter goblins and the goblin boss will join them in retreat. There is no space in the cart to carry them and so the goblin boss drives the cart while the other goblins run by his side. If the goblins have not yet been caught initiate a chase. If the players manage to stop the goblins they receive 1 respect.

Completion: The goblin's thieving has been thwarted

XP: 500

Hadrosaurus Herd:

A herd of 48 Hadrosaurs (Volos Guide to Monsters) begins to slowly walk in front of the caravan, it takes around 10 minutes for the entire herd to cross. They are nonhostile and and will not attack the players unless attacked. If attacked 5 hadrosaurs will fight while the rest of the herd runs away, and once the rest of the herd is 80ft. or more away from their attackers the attacking hadrosaurs will begin to retreat to rejoin the herd. The caravan has as a whole has the means to salt and preserve 3 hadrosaurs and can eat 2 immediately. If the players kill any hadrosaurs they can either trade them with the caravan or freely give them for a plus 1 to reputation (this reputation change does not increase based on how many hadrosaurs they give, just as long as they give at least one). Each hadrosaur is worth around 10gp in gold or in goods.

Dwarven Tomb:

One day around 11:00 when the caravan is stopping to rest Marty walks up to the players and says

"I was just stretching my legs when I noticed a cave downstream, I went inside and notice that the walls of the cave could not be natural, trust me I know mason work when I see it, and I suspect there may be something of interest in there for you fellows."

Less than a quartermile downstream from where the caravan is resting the players can easily spot a small 3ft.x4ft. cave mouth on the side of a hill, requiring medium creatures to crouch down to fit through. Once inside the cave it becomes pitch black and widens up to be 5ft.x5ft. A successful DC 14 wisdom (investigation) check reveals that the cave they are in is actually a hall with weathered stonework on the walls, stone brick with murals engraved in them, far too worn to be able to make anything out. 15ft. further into the hall it opens up further into a room with a 8ft. high ceiling, it is 20ft. wide and 30ft. long. Read this when the players enter this room if they have a light source or darkvision

You enter a much more open room than where you just were, this part of the cave is better preserved than the entrance, and the stonework can be clearly seen, with a mural on the left, right, and back wall each depicting some kind of long forgotten crest over stone brick depicting a hammer over a jagged semicircle. There are 6 carved sarcophagi in the room, 3 on each side, with depictions of dwarves on the lid of each.

Within each sarcophagi is a dwarven skeleton still in armor and holding a warhammer with both hands against their breast, neither the armor nor the hammer shows any sign of wear or rust, only dust and cobwebs. 5 skeletons are of male dwarves and 1 of a female dwarf. Each one was buried with a bit of jewelry or other precious item worth 25gp (roll on the 25gp art objects table in the Dungeon Masters Guide, page 134). If any of the remains of these dwarves and their possessions are touched or otherwise disturbed (moving the lid does not count) the offended dwarf's warhammer and armor will animate. The armor uses the animated armor statblock and the warhammer uses the flying sword statblock except that it's "longsword" attack does bludgeoning damage instead of slashing damage. This gives the illusion that the skeleton itself is fighting but a successful DC 14 wisdom (arcana) check reveals that the skeleton is inert and the armor is what is fighting. These objects keep fighting until destroyed, the intruders are killed, or the intruders leave. In the ladder two possibilities the objects will return to their sarcophagus and pull the lid back over themselves. Lastly recall that the caravan is not willing to stay camped for longer than 1 hour past the time they would usually leave plus 1 hour for every 5 respect the party has. (negative 5 respect or less will result in the caravan moving on immediately after their rest is up.)

Completion: The party acquired treasure form the dwarf sarcophogi
XP: 250 per coffin looted

Hobgoblin Ambush:

You hear the blow of a horn, but you know that it is nowhere near the time to stop and rest. You turn your head and see reddish orange skinned humanoid in chainmail and wielding a shield and longsword with a longbow on its back. It has pointed ears and with long black unkempt hair. He rides atop a hulking beast, wolf-like but clearly not such a natural creature. Despite its bulk it is already nearly adjacent to your cart. As you begin to unsheathe your arms you hear the yells of others farther down the caravan and more horns blowing

Among the caravan are 5 hobgoblins each riding a worg. Their goal is to kill as many people and animals as possible so the caravan is forced to leave wagons behind so that they can loot them later. Each hobgoblin will jump off of its worg onto a wagon and try to kill everyone on the wagon while its worg tries to kill whatever animal is pulling it. To randomly determine who and what is in a wagon roll a d6 to determine how many people are in a wagon and then roll a d6 and add how many people are in the wagon to the result, on a 2-4 there is one mule, on a 5-6 there is an ox, on a 7-10 there is a tusked kiloka, on a 11 there are two oxen, on a 12 there are two kiloka. While one hobgoblin attacks the players the other 4 attack the wagons at the very back of the caravan. During their first round of attacks there are 1d6 guards to fight with them (if there are that many guards left to attack them), every 2 rounds 1d6 more guards from caravan arrive at the back to fight the hobgoblins until all the guards of the caravan have arrived. Regardless of their reputation the players may borrow drafthorses from the nearest people who have them at this time (the nearest horses are all within 30ft. of the players). The total length (in feet) of the caravan is the number of wagons it contains (50 by default) multiplied by 15. When 3 hobgoblins have been slain the other two retreat yelling something in goblin. If the players helped to repel the hobgoblins they gain 2 respect.

Completion: The hobgoblins have stopped attacking the caravan
XP: 800

Locations

Rûhntír Tribe

As the caravan is moving along you notice a column of smoke rising from the direction you are headed in, in front of the seeting sun. A minute later two of the scouting men return on their horse to the caravan hollering "Flehschanger camp up ahead!" Talk quickly pervades the former silence of the caravan and Marty turns to you and says "It seems like most of these people have never met a Rûhntír. Don't worry, most of them are good people, just a tad offputting

An hour later the caravan reaches the Rûhntír tribe. It consists of 24 Rûhntír living in 6 yurts surrounding a currently burning bonfire where they are roasting a butchered hadrosaur. All of the Rûhntír are prepared to meet the caravan and Adam Kireth goes to the front on a horse to greet them. They take a thigh from the hadrosaur and offer it to him as a sign of goodwill. All of them know how to speak Rûhntír and cannot speak common. The priest who acts as head of the village, however, knows elvish (change this to a non-common language a pc knows if none of them know elvish). Most of them are naked (not that it matters since they lack privates) with the occasional twine and bead bracelet and tattoos. The priest wears a rough hewn tiara of stone with a chunk of lapiz lazuli embedded in the center. The outside of his upper arms have three rings each protruding from them like discs and his face is old and happy. He wishes to speak with Kireth however Kireth does not understand elvish. Kireth asks the party, them being the closest to him, if any of them know elvish and can serve as a translator. The priest name is Ta'ík and tells the translator of his plight. He hates to ask anything of visitors however in the current situation outsiders would be far preferred to anyone wihtin the village. In elvish (or whatever language) he says:

"I know you have no obligation to help us, however I can not help but humbly ask for your aid in a deeply troubling time for my tribe. Last night, around this time, one of the yurts was attacked by gnolls. We were taken unaware but, before everyone else was up, the gnolls were dead. Initially we thought this was good thing however others in the yurt were terrified, clutching each other. One of the Rûhntír in the yurt had gone beyond what we call Rûht and had formed extra appendages to fight off the gnolls. He managed to fend them off but he had abandoned the form, his mind was breaking, and with the last of his sober thought he ran off so that he would not harm his tribe. He is a Rûhntóg now. Our goddess demands we destroy such abominations, and we were going to do that, until we encountered you. No one wants to kill one whom they at one time looked at as a brother. But you are outsiders and do not carry such burdens. We have little to offer you however if you were to hunt down and slay this abomination we would be greatly thankful, and Rûhl shall smile upon you."

If the priest is asked the former Rûhntír's name he will refuse to tell them for "They abandoned the form, they have a name no longer, they are simply an an abomination".

The priest leads them to where the Rûhntóg first ran off. There are blood spatters on the ground and few scraps of fur and armor around where there was once a tent that is currently being mended. The Rûhntóg left the camp last night and so the tracks are still fairly fresh but still difficult to follow, requiring a DC 16 Wisdom (survival) check to be able to track. After a few minutes of following the tracks anyone tracking them will notice that the footsteps change from an awkward gait of two feet to a stride of what appears to be six individual limbs. It takes about 4 hours of travel at a normal pace to locate the Rûhntóg. The Rûhntóg is medium (make sure to make the appropriate stat adjustments as directed in its statblock, but if the players seem to be doing really well lately make it large) and currently has the Vicious Maw and Great Wings adaptations. It is devouring a deer atop a 30ft. cliff on the other side of a 20ft. wide river that is 7ft. deep at its lowest. If the Rûhntóg notices its hunters it screams an awful scream and will attempt to go and grab someone and fly off with them to drown them or drop them or simply to tear them apart.

The priest can sense whether the Rûhntóg has been been slain or not. If the party succeeds he thanks them greatly. He and the village aren't happy to lose a tribemate but are thankful to the travelers for helping them. They have little to nothing to offer in payment however the Priest invites them to a ceremony through which they will grant the favor of Rûhl. The players gain the blessing of Rûhl:

Once per day you may swap your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution ability scores with each other as a bonus action. For example (but not limited to this example) if you have a 17 in strength, a 15 in dexterity, and a 11 in constitution, you may swap them around so that you have a 15 in strength, an eleven in dexterity, and a 17 in strength. This affect lasts for 10 minutes after which your ability scores revert to their original values. If this change would cause a change in hitpoints (i.e. a CON bonus increasing or decreasing) any hitpoints gained are gained as temporary hitpoints which last for as long as this effect does and any hitpoints lost remain lost until this effect ends after which they are regained as long as your current hitpoints are above 0.

Completion: The Rûhntóg is slain

XP: 450

Devastated Hamlet

As evening draws close the caravan notices a plume of smoke rising into the sky. They decide to head towards it to see if there are other people out here. Once they get there they find single one floor house on the edge of a cliff with a pillar of smoke rising from a hole in the thatch roof. There is also a waterfall a ways past the house. Within is a young woman warming herself by a fire. Her name is Hannah Millings and when the house is entered she jumps and panics, grabbing a knife from a nearby table and turns around to point it at the intruders.

"As you enter the building you see a young woman in front of you jump up, grabbing a kitchen knife and pointing it towards you, but before you even have your hands on your weapons she collapses to the ground and clutches her purple bruised leg, groaning in pain."

Hannah is hesitant to talk, with anything she does say dispersed between tears from pain and grief. She will say nothing if unquestioned, if the players question her However, she will give them the following information:

The hamlet, of which her home is all that's left, was called Sunrise Ridge. A small portion of the 47th expedition built it next to a wide bulge in the river that continued off into a waterfall where fresh water was plentiful and fish were abundant, although the rest of the expedition continued on, believing there to be better places to settle.
A little less than three days ago, although her sense of time is somewhat distorted, a tremor came and shook the whole hamlet, causing a landslide as most of the buildings slid down the cliffside. At the time of the earthquake she was walking home with her husband John and her 7 year old daughter Elia. The stone church tower was collapsing and was poised to fall on them when John pushed her and Elia forward, trying to get them out of the way. When it fell it only hit her leg but it collapsed on Mike and dragged him down with the rest of the land slide, and Elia, panicking, grabbed a hold of Johns arm and went down the cliffside with him.
She would like to join the caravan if she is permitted.

Cliffside Disaster: The cliffside beside Hannah’s home is still unstable, and the moment any creature steps within 10ft. of the cliffside this becomes immediately obvious, with slabs of dirt and large rocks falling down the cliffside as the small vibrations from their steps cause the earth to shudder a little bit. Any creature that weighs 100lbs or less (including anything they are carrying) can approach the cliffside without risking a collapse and sliding down the cliff, if anything or anyone heavier steps within 5ft. of the cliffside roll 2d100 and add 100 to the result. If the total equals or exceeds the total weight of the creature that is stepping towards the cliffside they are safe and the cliff does not collapse. However, if it is less than that creature's total weight, a collapse occurs.The cliff is 60ft. tall and mostly dirt. At the bottom lies a massive pile dirt with lumber, stones, thatch, and other remains of the hamlet poking through; no bodies can be seen from the top. If a creature slides down the cliff, they may either make dexterity or strength saving throw (their choice). On a successful DC 14 Dexterity check they do not slide down the cliff at all and manage to hang onto the edge of the cliff, or on a successful DC 17 check, jump back onto the clifftop. If the creature makes a strength saving throw, they still fall down the cliff and still take fall damage, however the fall damage is reduced by a number of dice equal to the result of the saving throw divided by 3.There is a sturdy boulder nearby and some sturdy trees about 100 yards from Hannah's home on the clifftop. If a player uses these tie points and rope to rappel down the cliffside it is safer than just sliding but given the instability of the cliffside it is still difficult. The first time they attempt to scale up or down the cliffside they must succeed a DC 10 dexterity or strength check (their choice) or, as they are climbing, the ground they are standing on to rappel gives way and they fail to regain their footing and their grip fails them. If this happens they slide down the cliff using the same rules stated above this time assuming they have made it halfway down the cliffside already unless they stated otherwise. Additionally if they choose to make a dexterity saving throw a successful saving throw allows them to catch the rope a few feet below where they lost their grip.The debris of the former hamlet consists of an area of difficult terrain roughly 200ft.x400ft; The debris mound is about 4ft. tall. If the players choose to search through the debris by conventional means, each hour they search have each player make a perception check and add 1 to the result for each hour they have been searching and consult the table below. Most results on the table can only be achieved a certain number of times. If a player rolls a result that is no longer achievable, downgrade the result to the next lowest bracket until they get a result that is still achievable.

Hamlet debris Search Table

Check Result	Discoveries
0-2	Nothing but more rubble and dirt
3-10	A dead body, human or animal (DM's choice). It is not John. This result can be achieved a maximum of 10 times
11-12	A crate or barrel of foodstuffs that is still intact and unspoiled. This result can be achieved a maximum of 8 times.
13-14	A random tool from the PHB (DM chooses). This result can be achieved a maximum of 3 times.
15-16	This result can be achieved a maximum of 3 times. If it is the first time this has been achieved: An unspoiled bolt of silk, 3 sq. Yards. Second time: 2lbs hunk of silver. Third time: 8lbs of iron.
17	A dead priest. He is also wearing a golden holy symbol for Hyrandir, worth 50gp. This result can only be achieved once.
18 or higher	The Cave entrance, continue to The Hidden Cave. This result can only be achieved once.

The Hidden Cave

As you lift a wall segment, underneath you find a 3ft. hole that drops 15ft. down into a cave. Water from the waterfall trickles into the cave mouth, down into a pool where it mixes with a strange substance

The Arteries of Glutnash:

Entrance:

The entrance to the cave drops down into a 15ft.x15ft.x15ft. cavern with a few concering details

The stream meets in a shallow pool in the center of the room, mixing with a blackish-green sludge (Hell's Decadence, revealed to be so by DC 14 Intelligence (nature) check) flowing from the eastmost tunnel, before flowing down three other paths through the tunnels
There is a dead man in the center of the room with a knife sticking out of his neck. His hair is brown and he is quite tall (6'4")
There is a small pool of a deep red, dark substance (DC 10 Intelligence (medicine) check reveals it to be blood, 15 or higher also reveals that its a few days old. (This is from John, he got a very deep cut on his arm during the fall). A DC 12 perception check will reveal droplets of dried blood leading to the second tunel from the east. The trail becomes impossible to follow just a few feet down the tunnel as it seems the blood was washed up with the sludge flowing down this way

2. Tunnels:

The tunnels, generally, 5ft. wide and 6ft. tall with the river of Hell's Decadence flowing through it. The tunnels are simultaneously confusingly similar while also differing in some key ways. The following key markers note these changes

2.1: The cave becomes more than stone past these points the cave. The walls seem slimy with a dark reddish-green slime (DC 15 Con save or 1d10 poison damage and afflicted with an unknown illness on ingestion). 2.2: The walls of the cave past this point appear to be flesh (The flesh inflicts the same madness as Hell's Decadence if consumed. The once rocky ground that was walked on now makes a sickening squishing sound as ooze pours out of it with each step. The walls recoil slightly as they are touched. 2.3:Past this point the air in the cave is toxic, and smell of the sludge is getting repugnant. For every turn that a creature is breathing in this portion of the cave they must make a DC 12 Con save or take 1d4 wisdom damage as they find it hard to think straight and lose track of themselves. This wisdom reduction lasts until the creature takes a long rest. The DC increases by 1 for each save a creature makes after the first. A creature that reaches 0 wisdom goes insane and succumbs to the same corruption that drinking hell's decadence would inflict. 2.4: This marks a spot where a cave-in will occur. The flesh in thse parts of the cave, upon being touched, will recoil peel back at a different spot and cause a cave-in of rocks. A creature within 5ft. of the cavein site may attmept to move to the other side of it as it happens, succeeding on a DC 15 Dex check. A failure results in the creature taking 2d10+5 bludgeoning damage and become restrained and unable to breath. Nothing short of a DC 23 STR (athletics) check will allow the creature to free itself, however, regardless of the situation, a creature can clear the cave-in enough to free a creature and or pass through to the other side with 20 minutes of digging. If any tools are being used, such as a shovel, subtract 5 minutes from the time for each (Down to a minimum of 1 minute). Then, if multiple creatures are helping, divide this time by the number of creatures (rounded down). 2.5: Gray ooze present, trying to blend in 2.6: Ochre Jelly Present, feasting on the flesh of the walls 2.7: Green slime on the ceiling, feeding on the flesh of the ceiling (pg 105 dmg) 3. The source: This section of the tunnel ends at a wall with Hell's Decadence flowing out of it. The wall is fleshy and a DC 14 Perception check reveals that it is slowly moving. Attacking this wall will cause the whole cave to shake with a as the hole opens wider and a deluge of the sludge comes out of the wall. Creatures must succeed on a DC 13 Strength save or fall prone. Any prone creature must make a DC 12 Con save as the sludge washes over them. On a failure a creature takes 1d6 wisdom damage, which they recover from on a long rest, as the sludge fills their eyes, ears, and nostrils. A creature reduced to 0 wisdom score by this is afflicted with the madness associated with hells decadence. On the bright side, the deluge leaves behind a head sized black gemstone(?) that glistens in any light. This stone is formed in the arteries of glutnash and is tainted with evil and malice, but so long as it remains a solid crystal it shouldnt be a problem. 4. John Tormented:

At this portion of the cave, John (commoner) is lying on the ground, muttering to a Myling, his daughter Elia. Creatures with Passive Perception 15 or higher can hear them out to 40ft. talking, however the flesh on the walls muffles sound significantly. When the players find them describe it as such

You turn the corner to see a black haired man lying on the ground, cluthching his arm, eyes closed. Standing over him is a child in an orange dress who appears to be glowing, dimly lighting up the dark cave. Her skin is frighteningly pale and her cold, black eyes stare down at the man. "Where is my body daddy?" she asks, her voice echoing a haunting reverb through the cave. "You know where it is! I can't get it!" the man screams in reply

Neither of them will engage with the party unless the party engages with them. Here are the key information points:

In a more open cave nearby which has a short tunnel leading to the outside where John and Elia saw daylight.
There is also gibbering mouther in this cave which killed Elia as she was trying to run to the other side to escape
The Gibbering Mouther Consumed Elia, but she came back as a Myling and wants her father to recover her body.
John is terrified and fears he is going mad. He wants to bury his daughter but can't face the Gibbering Mouther
John did and is willing to admit he killed Paul, the man at the entrance of the cave, because he ate some of the sludge out of hunger and went mad, trying to kill Elia. He is still very broke up about it.
John is very hungry and very thirsty
Both John and Elia are willing to accept help from the party. If the party refuses to help Elia she will attack them

5. The Mouthers Lair: In this room is a Gibbering Mouther. On the other side from where the players will have come in is sunlight flowing through a tunnel leading out to the surface, a few hundred feet away from the rubble of the town. The chamber is 20ft. high has some large rocks that players can climb on as well as some stalagtites and stalagmites. The stalagtites and stalagmites have an AC of 17 and 10 hitpoints. If a stalagmite falls it deals 3d10+5 piercing damage to any creature below it unless it succeeds on a DC 16 Dex save. If the Mouther is defeated and Elia's spirit is still 'alive', she will go to the mound of flesh and draw some of it to her, reforming her body. She is still undead and everything else but now wants to go and be buried right outside her house.

Party recieves 800xp if they manage to get John out alive

A Home Found

After the caravan has traveled the required number of days during the midday rest scouts find a place that seems perfect for settlment:

In the midday sun you spot two boys and who is presumably their father running over a hill yelling "Everyone! Hey everyone! We've found it, we found the place we will settle!" They run to Adam Kireth who was in turn already running to them, too excited to even put his shoes on after resting his feet. They meet him and the father tells his boys to quiet down and says "Its perfect, its a flat, mostly dry plain right next to what seems to be a lake. Up north from it is a large swamp where we can get wood. And most of all, there are apple trees Mr. Kireth, and they're growing the biggest and healthiest apples I've ever seen! The soil must be as fertile as if Chauntea herself worked it!" Kireth's eyes light up and he says "If what you're saying is true, then... Everyone! gather your things, we've found our new home!" Almost everyone who could hear quickly gather their things as those who are not run to those who could not hear to inform them of the news.

After about half and hour of travelling the caravan gains sight of the location. They cheer and celebrate and the characters gain a level. As soon as they get there everyone begins unpacking everything they have and setting up a sort of camp, continue to conflict.

Conflict

In this section the players will encounter the core of the conflict throughout this chapter of the campaign, Carcaraxass, the Swamp Queen.

As everyone is unpacking you are able to realize just how beautiful the location you are in is, A lake of which you can only see one shore, the one you are on, glimmers with the light of the sun and the fresh green grass of the filed around you waves in the wind, with trees dotting the landscape bearing green fruit. A burly man with an axe over his shoulder walks up to you and straightens his posture as he begins to speak, "Me and a dozen other men are going to go into the swamp up north to gather some wood to begin building and given that we don't know what's in there we figured it would be good insurance to have you fellows along" You look past him and can see the very edge of a thick swamp, a bit unwelcoming but certainly filled with good wood, if not a little wet.

If the players refuse the men will simply request that a handful of the other guards of the caravan come with, to which they agree and if so you may have the men come back, 5 of the 12 of them missing, telling of an ambush by frog-folk, in which case ignore the first paragraph of the next section, Conflict. As the players enter the swamp there are many notable qualities to be noted, edit the description accordingly if they are not with the group of men:

You enter the swamp, only now noticing the fog lying over what seems to be the entirety of the swamp despite it being mid-day. It is thick but not thick enough to keep you from noticing the thick entangling vines and mangrove roots lying in the thick mud, causing you to stumble as you struggle through the muck. Around you you hear the loud croaking of many frogs forming a sort of buzzing atmosphere of croaks and making it seem as though all the frogs and toads of the world were gathered here. One of the men calls out "Alright this is far enough, there's plenty of trees here and I don't want us getting lost in this fog", within moments you hear the chopping of axe against tree.

Although she does not play a significant role just yet, it should be remembered that this swamp is in fact Carcaraxass, The Swamp Queen, an adult black dragon. Due to this the typical regional effects of a black dragon (found on page 89 of the Monster Manual) as well as the Ennui regional effect found on page 82 of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. The vast majority of the swamp is affected by these regional effects and the Ennui affect even spreads to where the settlers are setting up camp. Keep these effects in mind as you run this section.
The group consists of 9 humans, 2 dwarves, and a half-orc, all male and using the commoner statblock. After about half an hour of work a group of bullywugs consisting of 3 bullywugs riding on giant frogs, each with a net in addition to their other weapons and 5ft. of rope each. One of the bullywugs, their party leader named Murk, is also wielding a flail covered with muck and with rotting plants stuck in the chain instead of a spear and wears rusty chainmail rather than hide armor, treasures acquired from scavenging in the swamp. He is proficient in both and his AC and Spear attack change accordingly. The bullywug party's goal is to take up to three people alive back to their camp either by swallowing them with their giant frogs, capturing them with their nets, and/or tying them up with their rope and dragging them back to their villageand either flee if the battle is going poorly or kill the rest of the woodcutting group if it is going well. If given the chance they will steal anything that seems to be of value from the group. The enemies all try to come at the group from different angles. Make individual stealth checks for each bullywug (counting their stealth check as applying to both themselves and their mount) against the passive perception scores of the group as they try to ambush them. As soon as their leader attacks or when one of them is discovered all of them spring the trap, focusing on the players first and on the woodcutters last. The woodcutters do not attack unless an enemy gets within 5ft. of them and otherwise try to avoid fighting.
The Bullywug hunting party knew of the players via their communication with the frogs in the area and left tracks leading back towards their village, Gollup. A player can spot these tracks with a successful DC 10 wisdom (survival) check (with disadvantage due to the fog). The Bullywug village is about 2 miles away from where the group was attacked and takes 1 hour to travel to due to the thick muck and weeds of the marsh. If the players choose to leave the woodcutting party they return back to camp.
Regardless of whether or not they are heading to the Bullywug village or not the if the players attempt to go deeper into the swamp they will encounter a giant constrictor snake sleeping on the swamp floor, appearing to be a fallen tree at first glance in the fog. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the "fallen tree" is in fact a giant snake (bear in mind there is likely still fog giving passive perception scores -5 and checks disadvantage). The snake has blindsight out to 10ft. and as such although it is sleeping will wake up and notice any creature that comes within that range, if the characters fail to see it for what it is and keep moving as normal it is assumed that the first character in marching order will enter this range immediately after it makes the perception check. The giant constrictor snake is hostile and if awoken for any reason will attack the party, retreating if bloodied and but otherwise intending to eat the characters.

Gollup

Gollup is a small bullywug village within Carcaraxass, The Swamp Queen, it is home to small population of bullywugs and a relatively large number of giant frogs. It is lead by a smug and mean-spirited bullywug named Golluck (the village obviously being named after himself after he bullied some bullywugs into serving under him). There are almost never any bullywugs on guard however at all times there are 3 giant frogs wandering the village that alert the village with loud croaks if creatures they don't recognize come near (excluding insignificant things like flies and small snakes of course), trained to guard the village by Gall (see area A2). Additionally there are hidden pit traps on the outer edges of the village, one on east side and one on the west, and 1 falling net trap in the northeast corner of the village. If the players are detected both frogs begin to let out a deep and resonating croak that alerts the rest of the village. It takes one round for everyone in the village to get ready to fight, afterwards the bullywugs in areas A1 come out of their huts to attack the players, taking them captive if it is an option. If the players kill six or more bullywugs and/or giant frogs any remaining bullywugs that are bloodied will attempt to flee, into area A3 if the path is clear or into the swamp if it is not. lightsources: The village is deep within the swamp, and as such is only dimly lit during the day and completely dark during the night, with no torches or otherwise around to illuminate the area with the bullywugs relying on the darkvision of their giant frogs to spot intruders. Areas A1 and A2 are both illuminated with dim light by either the glowing coals or the smoldering fire pit used in A1 and A2 respectively for cooking.

If a character was kidnapped and brought here they will be brought before Golluck, who tries to intimidate them while showing off his wealth and power. The captive will not die unless they deeply insult Golluck because Golluck simply desires and audience to be impressed by him. If enough deference and awe is shown to Golluck and an appropriate offering is given (or promise) Golluck will set the captive free, giving an attempt at a profound sounding speech relating his "great generosity and mercy".

A1: Huts

Each of these huts is home to 3 bullywugs, however if the players killed the bullywugs that attacked the woodcutting party there are only 2 bullywugs in each hut. Each hut cotains 3 straw beds, a large box full of various plants, fungi, and meats, varying in edibility and stages of rot, next to a large iron pot filled with barely potable water strung on a wooden rack over a bed of coals, and depending on the time of day there may even be a questionably edible stew within. In addition each hut has 3 spears and shields within them, 1 for each bullywug within (if the players killed the bullywugs that attacked the woodcutting party there will only be 2 spears and shields). Besides this each hut has 1d3 small, makeshift boxes or primitively woven bags with a number of coins in each of them appropriate to Individual Treasure: Challenge 0-4 (see Dungeon Masters Guide page 136).

A2: Frog Farm

This fenced in enclosure is where a bullywug named Gall raises the giant frogs that the village domesticates and uses as guards, mounts, and hunting animals. The gaps in the fence are wide enough for a normal frog or a baby giant frog. Despite this there is an abnormally large amount of frogs in the pond at all times, attracted to the special blend of When the players arrive here there are only normal frogs and juvenile giant frogs, still quite large in their own right (non-combatants) relaxing in the pool along with 2 giant frogs and a giant toad, which only attack if first provoked (or if the characters attack Gall). The hut within this enclosure is where Gall, the villages expert frog tamer lives. Within the hut is a wood and thatch bed, a small smoldering fire enclosed in a carved stone circle with a flat stone over it, a large roughly crafted bin holding miscellaneous meat and plants of varying edibility from which both Gall and his frogs and toad get their food. When the players get here, even if they alerted the village, Gall is sitting on his bed staring into the embers of the firepit, he attempts to speak to the characters in bullywug when they enter, the description below assumes the players do not understand bullywug, however if they do adjust it accordingly and add "he says 'what might you people be doing here, this is a strange place for dry-folk to be'".

Within this dismal hut sits a old and thin bullywug missing his right arm up to his elbow. He stares into a smoldering fire pit as you enter. He makes an attempt to communicate with you, however every word that comes out of his wide mouth sounds more like a toad trying to speak elvish than like an actual language, he looks towards you and when he notices your confusion he shakes his head and turns his eyes back towards the fire.

Gall is a 1st level druid (Save DC10, Spell Attack Bonus +2) who knows the cantrips infestation and transmutation and the 1st level spell animal friendship; he has 2 first level spell slots. He lost his arm to the giant toad outside, now called toothy, when he was first taming it. He has no weapons nor a shield as other bullywug do and does not wish to fight the characters and will only do so if his life is threatened and he cannot run away, and even so he tries to use infestation to create an opening for him to escape from them, however, if the players harm toothy or any of his giant frogs, he will attempt to kill them, leveraging his frogs and toothy against them if they are still alive and raising the alarm if it has not been already. Outside of these scenarios he feels completely neutral towards the characters and ignores them unless they can successfully communicate with them. Although he still holds the evil beliefs of the bullywugs he has grown tired in his old age and doesn't believe that actually acting on these evil beliefs is worth it. He hates Golluck and if the characters communicate their intent to kill him he will send toothy with them to kill Golluck, he also informs the players that Golluck is in possession of a magical mace and has an emergency hole in his hall that drops into a bog underneath his hall.

A3: Gollucks Hall:

This large wooden structure is the home of the king of Gollup, Golluck. It is furnished with a large wooden table in the center of the hall with 10 wooden stools, one for each of his subjects, around it covered in bits and pieces of rotten food from the feasts that Golluck holds here, although they are less frequent since the lizardfolk of the swamp, hostile to them, have been greatly increasing in numbers over the past few years. There is a large stone throne covered in muck opposite of the door where Golluck enjoys lounging about on most days waiting for his subjects to bring him food or news of lizard folk preparing for a raid on some other bullywug village. There is also a hole cut into the floor to the left of the throne that drops into a large bog beneath the hall which leads out 50ft. from the village until it reaches a true marsh within the swamp through which any bullywug could easily outswim most characters, an emergency escape for Gollup should he become cornered. Treasure. To the right of Golluck's throne is his large pile of "treasure". Although it is mostly garbage coated in filth anyone who spends 10 minutes searching through the heap (1 minute if they succeed a DC16 Perception Check) 1 piece of quartz (50gp) and 2 pieces of hematite (10gp each). In addition if Golluck is in here he wields a Porcupine Maul as a mace, a magical items which the players can take and use for themselves.
Within this hall is Golluck and any bullywugs that may have fled here when the players attacked the village. Golluck believes strongly in survival of the fittest and thus does not leave this hall even when he is well aware of intruders in the village, those under him who cannot survive do not deserve to. When the characters enter the hall he and any bullywug within it attack them on sight. If Golluck is reduced to 50 hit points or less he retreats through the escape hole next to his throne.

Golluck CR: 5

Large humanoid (bullywug), neutral evil

Armor Class: 15 (tattered ringmail and shield)

Hit Points: 174 (31d10+3) 2d8+4

Speed: 20 ft , swim: 40 ft

STR

16 +3

DEX

10 +0

CON

17 +3

INT

7 -2

WIS

10 +0

CHA

7 -2

Saving Throws: Con +6

Skills: athletics +6, Intimidation +1

Senses: passive perception 10

Languages: Bullywug

Challenge Rating: 5

Amphibious. Golluck can breathe air and water. Speak with Frogs and Toads. Golluck can communicate simple concepts to frogs and toads when it speaks in Bullywug. Swamp Camouflage. Golluck has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in swampy terrain. Standing Leap. Golluck's Long jump is up to 20 feet and his high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.

Actions

Multiattack. Golluck makes two melee attacks: one with his bite and one with his mace or he may use his swallow once and attack with his mace once. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4+3) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (DC 15). While Golluck is grappling a creature in this way he cannot use his bite attack. Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) piercing damage. After 5 successful hits with this attack it no longer deals the additional piercing damage until the next dawn. Swallow. Golluck makes one bite attack against a Medium or smaller target he is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside of Golluck, and it takes 10 (3d6) acid damage at the start of each of Golluck's turns. Goluck can have only one target swallowed at a time.

If Golluck takes 10 or more damage from a creature inside him in a single turn he must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the swallowed creature, which falls prone within 5 feet of him. If Golluck dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by him and can escape from his corpse using 5 feet of movement, exiting prone.

Golluck is King over all the bullywugs of Carcaraxass' Swamp and is the reason they have lasted so long. Although many bullywug villages have been ravaged by the lizardfolk and kobold minions of Carcaraxass, The Swamp Queen, growing in numbers and boldness since she has made the swamp her domain, Golluck has managed to keep them away from his village and those nearby, although these villages are still not that large since bullywugs that go too far from Gollucks protection on hunting trips or otherwise have been known to be caught and murdered by lizardfolk hunters and ensnared in kobold traps. Golluck is a hulking titan of a Bullywug, standing at 8 feet tall and weighing over 300lbs Golluck is capable of killing nearly anything that runs into his path, and is known as a glutton and a tyrant, being so large that when encountering an enemy he often simply eats them. He wears tattered ring mail and wields a battered shield and a magical maul known as a Porcupine Mace caked in muck which he wields as a mace.

Return to Camp

When the players leave Gollup they encounter a large mire which they had not crossed on the way in, although a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals that this is, indeed, still the proper way back to camp. The mire goes on for hundreds of feet to the players right and left and is 5ft. deep however to get back to camp they must cross the width of the mire which is 60ft. across. A successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) reveals that beneath the murky film of rotting plants and muddy water the mire is infested with quippers lurking beneath the surface. There are 2 Swarms of Quippers in the mire and any creature that enters the mire that is missing any hp is immediately attacked by these quipper swarms as they are driven into a frenzy by the scent of blood.

When the players get back from the swamp members of the caravan eagerly await news of their journey into the bog, especially Kireth. Although many people are disturbed to hear about such monsters so close the knowledge that they have heroes that can slay such threats fills them with more confidence than it does fear. After this occurrence for 15 days there is not much interesting of note that occurs in the new settlement, which the caravan has now decided to call Mirik Grove since the people seem committed to cultivating the apple trees. Although at first they were only indicators of fertility it has become clear that they have a strange magical property about them. When eaten they give the consumer a feeling of confidence and hope. Each apple restores 1 hit point when eaten and gives the eater +1 on saving throws against being frightened for 1 hour afterwards. If you'd like you can give your players some downtime to do something besides adventuring (either directly or by using the downtime rules in the Dungeon Masters Guide and Xanathar's Guide to Everything). After 15 days have passed, Mirik-Grove is developing itself quite nicely. Although most people still live in tents the players have a small lodge to live it, just big enough to fit two large beds and other furnishings such as a table and chairs and a cooking pot underneath a hole in the thatch roof functioning as a chimney. Kireth, or Governer Kireth as people now tend to call him, and his family also have a small home of the same style for themselves outside of which village meetings are held each night, discussing what needs to be built and who has to do what work the next day and so on. There are a handful of other homes but even with the scarcity of real foundations people are still feeling hopeful and happy. Then, after the 15th day has passed, the very next morning at 7amCarcaraxass, The Swamp Queen, pays the growing settlement a visit. The players and most of the villagers are outside doing morning chores when the following occurs:

As you are going about your morning errands you hear a man yell "What in all of Karnum is that!". You turn and look to see one of the informal guards of the Grove pointing off towards the swamp, your eyes follow his finger and reach a large black shape approaching from the air. Within only a moment the shape crashes down a hundred or so feet away from you directly in front of the gaurd, tearing up turf as it lands. A scaled black form the size of your own home, four muscular legs each ending in large sick-gray claws, one clutching a large skull of something clearly far from human or animal, carrying aloft a beastial form with a set of leathery wings protruding from its back with a handful of holes and many slashes in them. On one end of its bulk protrudes a thick tail ending it, although lacking a stinger, reminds you of a scorpions tail. On the other end a skull like head boasting two horns protruding directly forward out of the sides of its skull like a bull, black at the ends. Its face is sunken with its dull scales taught upon its cheek and nose bones, making you doubt that it is really alive for a moment. Its mouth drips with a green liquid and its teeth are a sickly white, all held in a jaw propped up upon a strong neck bearing a large scar across its width right below the head. It lowers its head so that it is eye level with the man that had just heralded its arrival and says in a tone as vitriolic as a whisper and with the volume of a roar "Do not tremble little newt, I am merely here to introduce myself." As lurid as the creature is you can detect a hint of femininity in her voice. She raises her head and bellows to the village "Where is your leader that I might properly introduce myself." Although cautious and obviously uneasy Governor Kireth is already in front of her, having motioned to the guard to move away, and only as the creature looks down does she notice the villages leader. "Hello there" Kireth says with an obvious anxiety in his voice "What is the name of the creature I speak to?" "Creature? Oh please don't insult me. I am Carcaraxass, the queen of the swamp you have just settled near. And what is yours, graceful human?" "Governor Kireth" Kireth manages to squeeze out with an ounce of faux confidence. "Well although I thought you and all your people merely passing through it is now clear you intend to stay, and there are a few things I would like to get out of the way, including introductions. Now, who was it that killed those filthy frog-folk in my swamp?"

If the players approach her continue as normal, otherwise she insists they don't be shy, and eventually the village folk just flat out point the characters out.

She lowers her head and you are appalled by the foul, acidic, breath exhaled upon you as a you watch a drop of acid drip from her mouth, killing the blades of grass below it. "I should thank you" she says, in a bitterly malicious tone, "Those pests were the biggest annoyance to my subjects and I for the longest time but with their king gone, exterminating them these past few weeks has been rather easy, and so in the same way I give you this" She drops the skull, easily 5 feet high against you, and with one large eye socket. "Obviously I already cleaned it off for you" she says cleaning her teeth with her forked tongue "But I killed this cyclops this morning as I saw it approaching the border of your little hamlet, and felt it may comfort you to know that we have a mutual relationship. You scratch my back and I scratch yours. Although..." she lifts her head to address the rest of the village "There is little else your heroes here can do for me and my subjects but I will continue to protect you all from more disastrous threats such as this. Although I suppose it should only be fair that I benefit, just be even, after all you are in my domain. If sometime soon some scaled folk come by asking for a trinket or two in my name, maybe even some food, do be cordial neighbors and humor them, otherwise I may have no choice but to spend the time I would use to protect your little hamlet to search for those treasures and some food myself. And I assure you I am not the only creature in these lands that can wipe you all out without a second thought" Her demeanor suddenly changes, from malicious implicative to threatening. "And I will tolerate no slaughter of my subjects in the swamp, you may go near the edges for wood but do not come any further, good day to you all, honorary subjects" With a sudden gust of wind from her wings she flies off back towards the swamp. Kireth, along with many others, sport open jaws and children clutch their mothers skirts tightly. You do not own this land, at least not to the extent you once thought.

Continue to

Plot type

Adventure

Parent Plot

Great Wings Unfold

Related Organizations

48th Expedition

Related Locations

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Mirik-Grove Is Born

Plot points/Scenes

Themes

Structure

Exposition

Earning a Place On the Expedition

The Arena

Fighting in the Arena

A Quest for Twiddling Thumbs

The Gate

Dragged Through the Plains

Ambushers Relaxing

Ambushers In Wait

Ambushers In Battle

Dino Tamer

The Camp

Camp Occupants

Camp Contents

Loot

Reward

The Journey Begins

The Caravan

Nature of the Journey

Length

Caravan Travel Rate

Day-to-Day

Reputation

Reputation

Travel Complications

Caravan Travel Complications

Random Encounters

Locations

Rûhntír Tribe

Devastated Hamlet

Hamlet debris Search Table

A Home Found

Conflict

Gollup

A1: Huts

A2: Frog Farm

A3: Gollucks Hall:

Golluck CR: 5

STR

16 +3

DEX

10 +0

CON

17 +3

INT

7 -2

WIS

10 +0

CHA

7 -2

Actions

Return to Camp

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