RBADVENTURES 1
Disappearances in Stilldorf
A story for use in a
Fantasy Roleplaying campaign
By: R.J.H.A. Broekman
Tsyrfonalin Sa Innai (Tsyrf)
Tilburg, 4 November 1993
Preface
COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
This story is copyrighted by R.J.H.A. Broekman, although you
are given permission to copy and spread it where ever you
want.
This story is quite different from the one I published before,
the Black Pyramid of the Ancient Cloakers (or 'Black
Pyramid').
The main difference is the matter of detail. This story, about
the small village of Stilldorf, should be seen as a sort of
frame, on which you can base your adventure. Although the
description is quite precise, there will still be many aspects
that remain obscure. To me this was not much of a problem,
because I have been tayloring this story during play. But I
can very well imagine that such a way of working is very
annoying to the DM.
That is why I advise the DM to thoroughly read this story,
and to make notes about the aspects of the story that he deems
important.
The biggest problem with textfiles is to create maps. I have
tried to draw a map of Stilldorf (see below), but I realise
that it isn't a piece of art. Since the village isn't too
big, every DM can make his own map. In doing so, please use
the following information:
Stilldorf is a village of about 200 X 200 meters. It consists
of 6 farms and 75 houses (including the house of Poludius, a
smithy, a little shop and an inn). Through the midst of the
village runs a forked road (it's one way from south to the
centre of the village, and there it widens into two roads
north, like a Y). You should also notice that there is a tiled
path running from the centre of the village (point of the
fork) towards a cave at 200 m. distance (Iewus' cave). Two
miles west from the village is a forest. One of the
inhabitants of this forest is the troll David. Further details
are totally unimportant, except the fact that Stilldorf can
best be run in a secluded part of a world.
Stilldorf
N
^ The village is 250x250 meters.
W<-+->E The distance between the woods (TTTT) and F2
| is 500 meters....
S
= H
= H HHHHC
TTT F1 HHH = H HHHHH
TTTTT H8H = H
TTTTT = H =
TTTTTT F HH 6 W = HE =
TTTTTT HH = HH W =
TTTTTT HB = HH ===
TTTTTT F2 HH 1 = HH ===
TTTTTT HH 4 = HH ===
TTTTTT = ======== F
TTTTTT == == 7HHHHH
TTTTTT == HHHHHH
TTTTTT == W
T TT W = ..... HHHHHH
T D TT F H H = 3H .... F3
T T H H = HH H ...
TTTT A H = HH H .....
TTT H H = HH H M5M
TT HH = MMM
T =
=
= 2
=
=
D David's cave
F Farm, numbers correspond with farms from which occupants
have disappeared (see table in text)
H Normal house
A-E House from which occupants have disappeared
W Well
M Hill, contains Iewus' cave
T Tree (woods)
1 Temple of Snemp (Osnay)
2 Alchemist's house (Poludius)
3 Little shop
4 Blacksmith
5 Iewus' cave
6 Tavern: Ghost of Ale
7 Home of Schienders, the village-elder
8 Sue-La's house
. Tiled path
= Road
[** Ok, so this drawing is no artwork, but hey, try to do it
yourself
then :) **]
As for levels, we played this story with 6 players, levels
ranging from 3 to 5. Since there is almost no combat
whatsoever in the story, I guess you can play it with any
number of players and levels you like.
You ain't much of a DM without the help of your players, and
this also goes for me. Testing of this story happened in
during April-May 1993 in Tilburg. The players that were victim
of my experimental DMing (some had been there before) have to
be thanked here, so here they are: Andre, Cathy, Egon, Jeroen,
Mark, Marcel ..... Thanks a lot!
Due to compatibility of computer systems, I have decided to
use only 8 characters for the name of my adventures (all you
PC-owners, go out and by an Amiga, today! :-)). Besides,
wouldn't it be nice if you could easily see which adventures
are written by me? (if only to delete these ;-)). So, arrogant
me, I decided to start giving them numbers. And so it is that
the adventure of Stilldorf has the official title of 'RBADV1'
(yep, there should me more to come).
Like with the Black Pyramid, this story may (as computerfile
or as hardcopy) be distributed on the condition that the
complete text of this file is maintained. This goes especially
for my name on the title-page. It is also important to note
that I don't want people to go around asking money for this
story. The only exception is when there are some costs like
copying, modem-costs etc.
Nope, I don't expect any money, but I would greatly appreciate
you sending me your opinion about this story. Write a note (or
mail) saying:
- Whether you played the story as a player or as DM.
- The number of characters in the group, what levels, etc.
- What you think of the story (is it an original one, is it
to easy/difficult, is it boring??)
- And if you have them, send additional remarks, ideas or
maybe your own story (I sure would like them).
Remember: even if you think this story totally sucks, you may
tell me! E-mail me:
Broekman@Molyvos.Net
"Really Interesting Campaigns Have Always Reassured Dm's, By
Revelation Of Exciting Knowledge, Means And Nonsense"
[*** Just a quick note: It shouldn't be to difficult to let
Poludius get away, so you can use him again as a recurring
enemy. If Poludius finds out the PC's are taken too big an
interest in the disappearances, than he will leave home to
'go search for some ingredients'. Poludius will stay out for
at least two weeks. After that time he will send someone to
check out the village. Should he still be suspected, he will
simply leave forever ***]
The mystery
Something odd is going on in the village of Stilldorf.
During the last six weeks there have been a lot of mysterious
disappearances and brutal killings. The strange occurences
started a couple of weeks after the, just as mysterious,
vanishing of Osnay, a priest who led a rather seclusive live.
Osnay is (was) a priest of Snemp, a Chaotic Neutral God of
Battle. Since most inhabitants of Stilldorf are of Neutral
Good alignment, it never has been very busy in the temple of
Osnay.
Nine weeks ago, Osnay started to change his ceremonies.
Instead of preaching the pure values of his god, he held
sermons about matters that were of interest to the villagers.
Osnay's god soon made it clear that he wasn't very fond of
this course of action (Osnay lost his spells), but Osnay
didn't change a thing. After a week, a week in which the
temple overflowed with listeners, the god took some stricter
measures: Osnay was cursed to be alone.
Osnay's Curse
Because of the "Curse of Solitude", Osnay is inaudible,
invisible and untouchable. Furthermore, Osnay can only move
when nobody is looking in his direction. Since Osnay has never
learned to read or write, it is very difficult for him to
relate his story to other people. The curse can only be lifted
by sacrificing a liter of Troll's blood to Snemp.
The villagers believe Osnay to be responsible for killing the
people that have vanished. Nothing is more besides the truth.
The man that really causes the troubles is the local
alchemist, Poludius. Poludius is always inventing new and
interesting potions (at least that's what he thinks). The only
problem is finding guinea-pigs on which to test these great
inventions. To make sure he got enough victims, Poludius had
to travel large distances. But when Poludius got news of the
disappearance of Osnay, he decided to use this opportunity to
get his victims from the immediate vicinity.
Because of his present condition, Osnay has been able to
witness some of Poludius' crimes (and those of his
accomplices'). Should the PC's succeed in ending Osnay's
curse, they will be a lot closer to the solution of the
disappearances. Even though Osnay's alignment is CN, the
outrages of Poludius are way too far even for him. This is
part of the reason that Osnay will try to convince the PC's
to end his curse (another reason being the fact that he would
rather be normal again).
At first Poludius abducted people who lived at out of the way
farms. Therefore it took some days for the villagers to notice
that something strange was happening. Only after the
disappearance of Mr. "Tschienders" did they realise the
seriousness of it all. But still people disappeared.
Farm Occupants Disappearance
1 Vlokhaven
husband & wife (50+ years) 42 days ago
2 Hayers
husband, wife, children
(age 30,30,10,4) 40 days ago
3 Tschienders
husband (60+) 33 days ago
His wife and the eldest son
(age 36) stayed behind.
Tschienders disappeared one
night, while he checked the
barking dogs
House Occupants Disappearance
A Loezor
husband, wife, children 27 days ago
(age 40,30,10,17)
B Pydar, wife 23 days ago
C Kariln
husband, wife, child 17 days ago
(age 39, 35, 15)
D Kariln, man (51) 1 day after the
PC's arrival
E Glierin, Haenk (32) whenever the DM
sees fit
(Most of the people mentioned on this table have already
vanished. The occupant of house 'D' will disappear one day
after the arrival of the PC's. The disappearance of Haenk
Glierin could best be postponed until the DM feels the PC's
need some stimulant (e.g. when the game is slowing down).
The villagers of Stilldorf are very suspicious. Nobody walks
around at night, and during the day they only travel in groups
and armed with clubs, knives, pitch-forks and stuff.
Iewus
One of the occupants of the village is a vagabond (Iewus),
someone with the 'strange' habit to never enter a building.
The only place Iewus ever enters is a cave in which he has
settled. During day-time, Iewus can mostly (90% of the time)
be found in the centre of the village (at the well across the
store), with a cask of beer nearby. Iewus hasn't caused any
trouble during the couple of years that he lived here, but
now there are some people who suspect him of the vanishings.
There is a very simple explanation for Iewus' reluctance to
enter buildings: he won't fit through the door. Contrary to
what he looks like, Iewus is not human. Iewus is ... a Hill
Giant, under influence of a curse that causes him to appear
human. Earlier in his life Iewus was dumb enough to insult a
powerful wizard. The wizard cursed Iewus. Every day Iewus
consumes alcoholic beverages (and that's very often), he will
look like a human. A couple of weeks after the cursing, Iewus
was found by Poludius, who really liked the idea of a
disguised 'powerhouse'. Poludius supplies Iewus with money,
so Iewus will drink alcohol every day. This way
Poludius can make use of Iewus' powers whenever need arises.
Ofcourse it is quite possible that someone will discover the
true size of Iewus. The main clue would be to look at his
foot-prints. But, being the smart guy he is, Poludius thought
of this problem too. He ordered Iewus to keep on the hardened
paths. To be totally sure, Poludius arranged for a tiled path
from the well to the Iewus' cave.
Villagers speculate that Iewus might be Poludius' father.
Poludius doesn't confirm or deny this. In course of time it
should become striking that Iewus never enters a building and
always stays on the paths (not to mention the fact that he's
the only one that walks around alone). Should the game become
boring, you might consider to have Iewus ask one of the
players to buy a cask of beer in the shop (making up a reason
why he doesn't want to go in there himself). Whenever PC's
have a chat with Iewus, they might notice that his speech is
slightly slurred. Most likely they will blame this on the
booze. Only if a PC knows the Hill-Giant language, he will
have a chance of Int*5 (in %) to know that the Common of Iewus
has a Hill-Giant accent.
Osnay
At first the villagers of 'Stilldorf' were only concerned
about the disappearances of farmers from the surrounding area.
There were heated speculations regarding the cause of these
vanishings. People suspected the Vlokhavens of fleeing because
of the sums of money they owed to various villagers. A few
days later, when the Hayers (who were more well-to-do)
disappeared, people started to doubt. All doubt was put aside
when the necklace of Ms. Vlokhaven was found in front of the
temple. This iron necklace does not have any real value. It is
decorated with pictures of various animals (rabbits, birds)
and it was the wedding-present from Mr. Vlokhaven for his
wife. The necklace was made in one piece, so removing it from
the neck of Ms. Vlokhaven whithout removing her head was not
possible ... The neclace was placed at the temple by an
accomplice of Poludius. This way Poludius hopes to put more
blame on Osnay.
Osnay knows the villagers suspect him of the vanishings. In an
attempt to show people he is still around, Osnay frequently
leaves his temple, trying to draw peoples attention. Sadly,
though, the villagers do not completely understand Osnay's
intentions. For this reason Osnay spends most of his time
secluded in his temple. Although his possibilities are
limited, Osnay still tries to end his curse. To this end, he
has placed a collection-plate outside his temple. At the plate
he has placed a sign with a drawing (see further in the text).
Once in a while Osnay even places a collection-plate and sign
at an arbitrary place in the village. The other villagers,
however, see this as an insult (they think the pictures means
'green with envy').
------
Sign at collection-plate:
A drawing of (in subsequent order):
A green man, a cross, another green man, another cross,
another green man and beneath it all a collection-plate, with
drops falling from a green man in the cup. Next to that there
is a torch. Besides that there is a crude sketch of the
surrounding of Stilldorf (which shows where the troll lives).
O O O
X + X + X
O.
X . V
. |
|. | |
--
[**The drawing Osnay made should indicate to the PC's that
there is a troll living in the woods next to the village. From
this troll (the green man that doesn't die (that's what the
crosses mean)) some of the blood has to be collected in the
collection-plate and then lighted with a torch. It is up to
the DM to determine just how detailed the drawing is going to
be. I had a very simple sketch, which my players didn't
understand. After a couple of days, Osnay decided to clarify
the drawing by drawing the green men with arrows in there body
and to cross out the crosses (so as to mean 'not dying'). If
it doesn't get clear by then, just try something yourself
:-)**]
Meeting the kidnappers
Once in a while (see the former table, or determine the next
occurences yourself) accomplices of Poludius go searching for
victims to kidnap. In this case PC's might be able to discover
them. If PC's keep watch, and the kidnappers are out looking
for victims, there is the following chance that they will meet
each- other (on hardened paths):
25% per path that is being watched (cumulative, there are
three paths, so if all three are being watched, this
accumulates to 75%)
15% if the PC's are patrolling (cumulative with the paths,
so if they are patrolling _and_ watching the paths, this
accumulates to 90%).
Should both parties meet, throw 2d4-1. The result of this
determines the time they meet (after 24.00).
From 24.00-02.00 Kidnappers only, they will not say where
they are going ("out on a walk with Iewus,
to have some fun").
02.00-04.00 50% chance kidnappers only, 50% chance for
kidnappers with victim(s) (sedated).
[**while playtesting this, I let
the kidnappers pretend that they were
supporting a drunk friend**].
04.00-06.00 100% kidnappers with victim(s).
When the kidnappers are with a (or more) victim(s), they will
be very alert. As soon as someone really makes a hassle, they
will attack them verociously. ___The contents of the
kidnapping-team can be found at the part about "Poludius'
accomplices".
Troll in the woods
In a cave in the woods lives a troll. It may be that the PC's
suspect the troll for the crimes, but that is a wrong
supposition. To protect himself the troll 'David' lives in a
cave, amidst lots of poisonous snakes. In the beginning the
snakes tried to bite this green danger, but after a few weeks
they got tired of it (David just regenerated the poison from
his system, at least I allow trolls to do this if time allows
& the poison isn't too strong).
In case the PC's are able to talk to David [** you could allow
David to know some Common, like a four-year old**], they will
learn that he would be willing to donate some blood. But he
does want something in return. The DM should think of
something appropriate, but keep in mind that David is not your
typical bloodthirsty monster. Examples for payment:
- A coat of ermine (fur) (150 gp), not available in
Stilldorf.
- Golden crown (250 gp), not available in Stilldorf.
- Gauntlet with sharp knuckles (dmg+1d4). A blacksmith is
needed to make this, it will take six days for two
gauntlets, each gauntlet will cost 50 gp.
- Big mirror (250 gp), three people in Stilldorf have got
such a mirror.
- [**As will become evident later, David likes to paint.
Because of that I accepted paint, brushes and/or canvas,
just think how hard it is for a troll to go into a store
and buy it all. The store in Stilldorf does sell all of
this, although nobody knows why ;-)**]
Should the PC's turn out to be unable to find proper payment,
David will suggest something. In his spare time (and he has
lots of it) David likes to paint landscapes and (very)
abstract paintings. To do this he used canvas and brushes
(from an earlier 'passer-by'). David will ask the PC's to sell
five of his paintings (200 gp each) and to buy new stuff
(canvas and such). If the PC's don't even accept this offer,
David will send them away. They will have made him angry by
then, so he does not want to see them anymore (although he
will not start a fight).
Troll David:
HD: 6+6, AC: 4, HP: 37, Thaco: 13, #att: 3, dmg: 5-8,5-8,5-12,
SD: Regenerate.
Snakes, poisonous (10):
HD: 1, AC: 9, HP: 1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,7,7 Thaco: 20, dmg: 1d4, SA:
poison, ST vs. poison or lose 1d6 hp each turn (for 6 turns).
Rumors:
Every time a PC is having a normal conversation with the
villagers, they can hear one of the following (1d8):
1 (True) Poludius is very rich, for he has guards watching
his house. (most richness comes from his magic, but
the guards are there for another reason, see the
description of the house).
2 (False) Mister Vlokhaven has killed his wife. Out of a
feeling of guild, he left her necklace at the
temple.
3 (True) Osnay was in trouble with his god, because he
preached what what people wanted to hear, not what
his god wanted to be heard.
4 (False) A terrible monster lives in the woods and comes out
once in a while to get a snack. *
5 (True/ Osnay is hiding in his temple. He is the one who
False killes innocent villagers to sacrifice them to his
god. (Osnay does live in the temple, but he does not
sacrifice humans).
6 (True) A spirit is loose in Stilldord, that, when nobody
is looking, moves around objects to annoy people.
(This is no ghost, but Osnay, who can only move when
nobody is looking).
7 (False) Osnay is insulting us (the villagers) in a lot of
ways. Not only does he kill people, he also wants us
to pay for it (the villagers think the
collection-plate is for them to put money in).
8 (False) Poludius has invented a terrific diet. You see, he
is buying lots of food, but he does not get fat.
(The food is for a lot of guards that the villagers
know nothing about).
Every time people disappear, Iewus is involved. Outside the
village (e.g. the farms) Iewus leaves big footprints. However,
the prints will lead through the forest back to the road. The
moment the PC's arrive in the village for the first time, all
traces (prints) will have been erased. One day after the
arrival, another person will disappear. This time the traces
can be tracked until they reach the road. It is true that a
monster (troll) is living in the woods, but he has got nothing
to do with the vanishings (see below).
Poludius and his accomplices
Poludius: Alchemist
(Based on an article from the magazine of February 1988). The
DM might define his own specifications.
Bronturius, guard:
Human, male F5, AL: LE, AC: 1, HP: 41, Thaco: 16 (15 with
longsword), #att.: 1 or 3/2 with longsword, dmg/att.: 1d8 (+2
with longsword, specialization). Bronturius is specialized in
his longsword. He might be using the One Handed Style. The
other weapon Bronturius is proficient in is a halberd.
Ability-scores: S: 18(10), I: 11, W: 8, D: 17, C: 15, CH: 7.
Ghiel and Kjoer, guards:
Human, male F3, AL: NE, AC: 5, HP: 16,20, Thaco: 18, #att.: 2,
dmg/att.: 1d8/1d8 (two weapon style, Yo munchkin >:-)).
Iewus, Hill Giant:
(looks human) HD: 12+2, AC: 3, HP: 69, Thaco: 9, #att.: 1,
dmg: 2d8 or weapon (Gigantic Longsword, dmg 2d8+7). The
longsword can be found in Iewus' cave.
Kidnappers
Iewus (see above)
Pedro:
Halfling, male F2/T3, AL: CN, AC:4 (leather + dex. 18 -> AC 0
if the potion of invisibility is consumed) HP: 13, Thaco: 19,
#att.: 1, SA: backstab, dmg: 1d6 (short sword + paralysation
poison on first hit: ST vs. poison or paralyzed for 1d6
hours). When Pedro is out looking for victims he will use his
potion of invisibility (4 applications left). To complete his
equipment, Pedro owns another paralysation poison (4
applications left), a thieves picks&tools and 50 gp (halve a
reward for a victim).
Sue-La, waitress
Human, female T6, Al: CN, AC: 7 (dex. 17), HP: 22, Thaco: 19,
#att.: 2, dmg/att.: 1d4+1 (2 daggers in wrist sheaths) SA:
backstab.
Sue-La uses the two weapon style.
Equipment: Thieves picks&tools, garrot (disguised as a ribbon
in her hair) and 73 gp.
Sue-La normally helps out in the inn, that's why nobody knows
the role she plays in all this. When she isn't working, Sue-La
prefers the company of Pedro (although the villagers do not
know of his existence).
Frecode:
Human, male F2, AL: LE, AC: 2 (armor, dex. 16, one-weapon
style), HP: 13, Thaco: 17, #att.: 3/2, dmg/att.: 1d8+2
(specialization with longsword).
Equipment: 50 gp. + 17 sp.
Frecode sometimes can be seen guarding Poludius. Observing
PC's might see that Frecode resembles Bronturius. This is due
to the fact that Frecode is Bronturius' son.
Only Bronturius, Frecode, Ghiel en Kjoer are known in the
village as guards of Poludius.
Poludius employs two other guards, but they haven't got a name
yet (you decide one yourself) (see "Poludius' house").
Poludius' house
Floor 1
---------- - = wall, 3 meters (10 feet)
-6- \ 5 - \ = door
--- ------ 1 = number of room, see
below
- 3 \ - a,b,c = special, see below
----- - +,|,O = special, see below
\ 1 \ 2 -
---\- -
- 4 - -
----------
Cellar (floor -1)
-------
-7 -
--- 8 -
- - -------------
-a a- - - -
-\--- - \12 -
+ 9- - -----
-\-------|-- - b -
- 10 O \ 11 \14c-
---|-------- -----
- -13 -
- \ -
-------------
Legend:
O 'Stairs'. The floor on this spot is an illusion. There are
two buttons in hallway 10 (denoted with a '|'). When a
button is pushed, a piece of rock ascends (or descends), so
as to fill the pit. The pit itself is 6 meters (20 feet)
deep.
a Guards, F2, HP: 7, 13, AC: 5, Thaco: 19, dmg: 1d8.
Anyone entering corridor 8 without Poludius, will be
attacked.
b Chest with jewelry. The jewelry used to belong to vanished
villagers (rubbish, combined value of 23 gp).
c Bath, filled with acid (2d4 hp/rnd.).
1 Hall.
2 Dining room.
3 Bedroom of Poludius
Besides a bed, there is also a closet filled with clothes
and a chest. The chest is locked and contains a
'Fire-Trap'. The contents are of no interest whatsoever
(e.g. ordinary clothing).
4 Bedroom of guards
There is nothing of interest here either, except some fresh
clothes. A maximum of 89 gp and 117 sp can be found lying
around.
5 Kitchen.
6 Stairs down to cellar (7).
7 Stairs up to bedroom (6).
8 Hall in cellar.
9 Silenced room.
This room contains a permanent 'Silence' spell. The door to
'10' does not have a latch nor a key-hole (there is a latch
though, but it is invisible!). A striking button can be
found in the West-wall. Should this button be pushed, a
hole in the ceiling will open up. From the hole comes a
flask with 'Oil of fiery burning' [**if your PC's are of
lower level, allow a weakened form of 3d6 hp. from the
fire**]. Because the room is silenced, it is impossible to
hear (in room 8) anything that is going on in room 10 or
beyond (and vice versa). Since the area surrounding the
cellar is all sand, all sound are silenced, so that nothing
can be heard above the ground.
10 Hallway.
11 Examination room
Cuffs, big table (you know, the torturing kind), flasks, 3
stirges in a cage (used to get blood from victims), some
rats in cages, etc. If Poludius hasn't fled town already,
there will be a body on the table. The body belongs to the
second-last villager that vanished. The villager that
disappeared last is detained in cell 12.
12 Cell, contains the lastly vanished villager.
13 Storage room.
This room contains a diverse amount of equipment: food,
wine, ingredients for potions, etc. Three flaskswith
non-magical contents: blood (manticore), blood (troll, 1/10
liter), brandy.
Some magical potions can be found also (unless Poludius has
fled, in which case he took them):
- invisibility (3 applic.)
- extra-healing
- extra-healing
- philter of love.
Besides this there are:
- mace +1
- leather armor
- plate mail (heavily damaged, -1 until it can be repaired)
- 3 long swords, 2 halberds, 5 spears.
14 Disposal room.
This room has a large bath with acid (c). This bath was
used to make sure the remains of the villagers vanished
completely, without leaving a trace.
(
geocities.com/area51/quadrant/2002) (
geocities.com/area51/quadrant) (
geocities.com/area51)