Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - Forgotten Realms
Adventure "Bandits" Outline
Written by Bert Van de Merckt
In this adventure, the (preferably good-aligned) PC's will be hired to solve a series of attacks on the farms on the outskirts of some small farming communities (originally set in Mistledale). It all appears pretty straightforward, when the PC's will follow the clues provided. But what is really going on?
In fact, a simple farmer is just fed up with his goody-goody life, and tries to do something about it: het starts stealing the other farmer's products, with the help of some malicious accomplices (all 0 or 1st levels).
Without his knowledge, this part of the dale is rather evil-infested. A band of brigands has established a base of operations in the nearby woods, the tower of a dead mage is the festering spot where a troupe of orcs & goblins find their home, and in the cave where Uzro stacks the stolen goods a band of Derro dwarves prepares to launch an attack on this part of the dale.
The idea behind this small adventure is that the players will have to find the *real* truth behind a scenery of false ones, and in the mean time solve all the other problems also. I believe it is a good start for a "cleanse the dale" campaign.
There is some combat involved: they will have to defeat the farmer ultimately (this isn't really tough), the brigands are a strong force (and have a priest of Shar amongst them), the merchant has two bodyguards (hired adventurers) protecting him, and the Derro dwarves are of course the most dangerous factor here.
But every encounter can also be solved with some roleplaying, and there's a lot of opportunity for that!
A farmer is fed up with the goody-goody life he's led up until now. He decides to hire some more questionable workers, and informs them of his plans to steal the other farmer's crops. These guys are all 0-1st level, with some minor combat experience with swords and bows. There is even one with a strange obsession for magicians (Gildheim).
The tower of the dead mage (unknown name) is standing also in the woods nearby these villages, and it is an infested area with goblins and orcs. Inside the tower is a large dungeon, where the mage once lived. A carrion crawler is living here from the corpses the orcs and goblins throw down ("an offer to the god down below"). Inside the dungeon is some stuff left over from the mage (insert random magic item here :).
When the PC's decide to wander the woods searching for the tower (or even if they have the directions from somewhere), they will meet an angry young sundew (stats according to party) who decides the party is trespassing his terrain.
When the total count of farm attacks is at 3, the players enter the local tavern. This isn't really an 'inn', it only stocks ale and some stew for example, and is only for passers-by. Nothing much to be said here.
The PC's are approached by a group of farmers who ask their help. They explain about the attacks, and tell them they're all afraid of new ones. Between each attack were 2-3 days, and they always occured at nights. Some farmers mention the brigands stationed in the nearby woods, and they all suspect them. But there are also rumours of the "tower of the mage", about which no one really has any information.
| Day 1 | Uzro talks to his hirees, and explains his plans. They all agree to work for him, for a fair share of the profit. |
| Day 2 | Uzro takes his band to explore his son's cave. They settle in there. Uzro of course returns to his farm, and complains that his new-hired workers already ran away (with their first pay-checks). |
| Day 3 | The first raid on the farm of Funder. The goods are brought to the cave. Klemin, Uzro's son, notices this, but since his father is involved, doesn't do anything. There is nobody wounded during the attack. |
| Day 5 | One of Uzro's goons, who knows some of the brigands nearby, tells Uzro about them. Uzro decides he can put the blame on them, and starts spreading the rumour. Other farmers already saw a large troup of horse-riding men go in and out of the forest at night. |
| Day 6 | The second attack on the farm of Wegoel. Here, Wegoel is wounded, and one of his workers is even wounded very bad during the raid. The outrage amongst the farmers is great. |
| Day 7 | A merchant with no goods and hardly any money appears in the tavern. He asks around to buy goods, but finds everything to expensive. Uzro sends Gildheim -as a mage- to the brigands (together with an escort and a load of food), to propose the deal. |
| Day 8 | Uzro sends Gilhmein -as a mage- to the merchant and negotiate a deal to sell some products. They arrange a meet nearby the cave, the next night. Lekto immediately departs to a nearby city (Ashabenford?) to hire some help (protection). |
| Day 9 | At night, the deal goes through between Lekto and Gildheim. The first patrol of Derro's roam the woods, and discover the place of the brigands and the tower of the mage. |
| Day 10 | Some farmers are surprised to see the merchant leave with a car full of product, but when questioned Lekto denies everything. That night, the third attack occurs, on the farm of Pilu. A few people get hurt, the violence of the attacks increases as the farmers react. Also a Derro patrol finds a way out of the woods, and spies on the dale. Some people see one of them running away from their farms. |
| Day 11 | The players arrive in the tavern, presumably searching for work. Uzro decides to keep it cool for this night, and the Derro keep on spying. The group brigands is still planning, and Tartug sends some of his guys to recon the dale (the path the caravan will follow). |
The farmer, named Uzro, starts by attacking other farms (Mistledale is a farming community - the farms are located throughout the dale) and stealing their crops. Uzro himself isn't present during the raid, but afterwards meets the attackers.
Uzro's son, Klemin, has found a cave somewhere in the dale, near but not in the woods. They stash the goods there, and continue their attacks. As to not point suspicion to himself, Uzro even lets the guys attack his own farm...
After the second attack, Uzro sends Gilhmein, the one with the mage-obsession, to sell their products to a questionable merchant passing through the dale. Gildheim dresses up as a mage. They meet in secret, and the merchant makes a very profitable deal.
To keep the brigands at bay (while trying to blame them for the attacks), Uzro also sends Gilhmein -in his infamous mage disguise- to the brigands, and negotiates a deal with them: they'll keep an eye out for nosy people around his tower, and he'll help them if they have problems. To convince them, he brougth a load of farmers products with him. The brigands accept, since they might need a mage (they don't know he's just dressing up) on their raid.
A group of brigands, under the charismatic leadership of Tartug, has found a dungeon in the woods nearby these farms. They settled there only recently, and under the guidance of Raghanal, their female priest of Shar, travel only by night. They know that a large trade caravan from Sembia will start travelling around the dalelands, and pass through Mistledale as their one-before-last stop.
The merchant Lekto travels the dalelands looking for a good profit, by doing as little as possible. He was in the right place at the right time, when Uzro decided to sell his stolen products. The farmer sends Gilhmein to sell the products. Gilhmein dresses up (and acts as) a powerful mage, who needs the money, not the goods.
Lekto hires two adventurers to protect him during these transactions (never ever trust a mage). These guys are the standard thugs.
Klemin has found this cave in one of his small forays around the dale. He's only 12 years old. He told his dad about the place, and now Uzro uses it to stash away the stolen goods. It also serves for a resting place for his accomplices.
The cave is a large complex of halls and hallways, and Uzro knows only about 'his' chamber, where the goods are stocked. But deep down, the cave is an entrance to the Underdark. Some Derro dwarves have found this entrance, and now plan a raid on the surface.
They have made up a crude camp some chambers further into the cave, and are making reconnaisance patrols in the nearby surroundings (to find out what kind of opposition there will be). Soon, they will strike.
I realise that discovering the Derro threat the players will probably try to contact some form of authority. These will ask the players if they want to check it out further, estimate the level of threat, etc... Of course, the rewards will be similar.