Stick that in your Pipe!
Overview: this is an Introductory adventure for Novice Characters and takes place in northern Albion, but could easily be transplanted to just about anywhere, but best works as a Prelude Encounter for a party making their way to the Adventure "Darkness before the Dawn" found in the 2nd edition Dragon Warriors Core Rule book, or to be used as a filler in between the first few Adventures in "Sleeping Gods".
Introduction: It is mid to late autumn and the Characters are passing throw any one of a Dozen Villages barely large enough to have it's own name, the Village is not large enough to warrant an Inn, but dose have a Tavern and the characters have stopped for a rest and a drop of the local when a concerned young woman approaches them and asks them for Help.
Good (ladies and) Sir's, I am the Goody Ash and I am the wife of a local Forrester, my husband has bean out Trapping and Foraging for a few weeks now and has become overdue to return, normally this would not concern me as he is only a few days past due, But it is late in the season and we must soon leave to the Market in the next Village If we are to sell the Herbs he has collected to the Apothecary Buyer from Clyster or get a fair price for the Furs he has trapped so we can afford to pay our Rent and Taxes as well as prepare for the winter. I have a little Money and if that is not enough I have some things of value I can give you as well.
Goody Ash will at first offer them Fifteen Florins in Silver and Copper (she has an other Five Florins in cash) and can offer some simple Jewellery that will fetch a further Ten Florins when sold, but will refuse to hand over even a Copper Penny until her Husband is returned.
When they except the job she will tell them
The last few years the Forresters have bean avoiding the North Woods as they where almost played out, but the Woodcutters have said their has bean more Game nearer to the Village of late in that direction, so My Husband and a few others decided to see if it was time to return to those parts, they have bean doing some light Trapping and Foraging and also repairing their Huts, all the other men with families have returned and already gone to Market or started on the Harvest. Woodcutter Morris and his sons are friends of my Husband, I will point you in the direction of their Lumber Camp and they will be able to tell you how to find my Husbands Hut so you can begin to search for him from there.
The Lumber Camp: Goody Ash will accompany them to the edege of the Village and point out a thin line of smoke rising in the north west and tell them that is where they will find Woodcutter Morris and they should be able to cover the ground in under an hour on foot, she also tells them to announce them selves before entering the Camp as Morris the Elder may not take kindly to them if they do not.
Provided the Characters do not make Asses of them selves Woodcutter Morris and his two sons will be helpful and friendly (even if Morris the Elder is a touch Gough), all are large men for their ages, the boys are clean shaven but their Father has a short Black Beard. they will be able to give good derelictions to where Forrester Ash has his Hut, the Elder Morris sais he needs his Sons to work his Lumber Camp as he wants to finish the years work before the winter sets in, but will let them borrow one of his boys as a guide to Forrester Ash's Hut for the rest of the day for the price of Five Florins.
Forrester Ash's Hut: Following the directions given to them by the Morris men it takes them about an hour and a half to teach where Forrester Ash keeps his hut (only an hour if they hire one of the Morris Boys as a guide). When they first reach the clearing the sight is unattended and nothing seams untoward, their is a Hut, A Smoke House, some Skinning Racks and some Herb Drying Racks as well as a Wood Pile, but a closer inspection reveals some of the Skinning and Herb Drying Racks are broken or overturned, someone has kicked in the door of the Smoke House and overturned the water barrels, searching the Hut the Characters will find it has bean a struggle before it was ransacked (observant characters will also find some splattered blood if they can make a perception check) and looted also their are more skins about than their is partially cured meat in the Smoke house. Where the water Barrels have bean overturned their are at least two perhaps three or more sets of foot prints in the dried mud and the ground is still damp underneath. anyone with the Track skill can determine that this all was done a few days ago about when Forrester Ash was due to return to the Village and identify the game trail was used in the coming and going those who did this made multiple trips and where not careful about hiding their tracks so although a few days have passed the Track roll is made without Modifier to follow it back to the attackers camp.
The Villains Camp: It should be approaching dusk by the time the trail comes to it's end and the lead character(s) must make a Perception Check at +2 to notice a Trap laid on the path in front of him, any character within 2-3 meters behind the lead character(s) can make an unmodified Perception check to notice it an warn them in time if they fail to notice it. If no one notices the trap it will be sprung and the lead character(s) will face a Speed 12 Attack if they fail their Evasion Test they will be hit with 1-4 (D6,3) hits as a large branch with sharpened wooden spikes fastened to it swings out to hit them, also an alarm will be sounded and those in the camp in fount of them will be alerted to their presence.
If the Characters notice the Trap in time they may chose to sneak around and approach the camp undetected by making Stealth Rolls, although there is still sufficient light the camps occupants are not looking for the Characters so the only modifiers to the roll that apply are those to the characters Stealth from Armour and rate of movement their targets have Perception scores of 4.
The Camp is in a large clearing that looks like it has bean harvested of some kind of crop, inspection will revel it is Pipe Weed1, in the past week or so, to one end of the clearing are a small number of huts and some drying racks that the Pipe Weed Crop is now hung from and a number of Pipe Weed farmers equal to the number of characters are moving about near the huts and tied to a stake in the middle of the camp is a man (Forrester Ash) that has bean striped to the waist and badly beaten.
There are Pipe Weed farmers (Combat scores as Normal Humans with a Reflexes of 11) equal to the number of Characters all carry a Dagger or Knife (D3,2) and some other weapon equivalent to a Short Sword, Mace or a Hatchet (D6,4) or Short Spear (D6,3 one handed), if given two or more rounds warning (like if the characters spring the Trap or choose to charge across the open clearing from the far end) they will put on AF2 armour.
Once the Pipe Weed Farmers are defeated they will be able to free Forrester Ash, when they tell him what has gone on he will say
Almost a week ago I stumbled upon this Pipe Weed farm unfortunately I was not as quite as I thought and the growers tracked me back to my camp, as I was getting ready to head back to the Village to report what I'd found to the Bailiff they beat me and brought myself, my ready furs and Cured Meats back hear, the product of my work and half their crop has already bean collected by their partners, but their is enough Pipe Weed left hear to fetch perhaps a few hundred Florins even after we pay the Kings Tax on it and I know an Apothecary Buyer who will give us a reasonable price on it all, I will split the profits with you if you let my wife keep her savings and trinkets as well as get the remainder of the crop to market.
Conclusion: If they take Forrester Ash on his offer each Character will earn themselves Fifty Florins and the friendship of Forrester Ash, his Family and Friends that includes the local Bailiff and they will make the acquaintance of an Apothecary Buyer who's services and contacts may come in useful at some later date. If they take all the Pipe Weed for them selves it is worth many hundred Florins but will attract the attention of all the Lords Bailiffs they meet and they will have a hard time getting a good price fore it except on the Black Market, as well as the Experience from vanquishing the Illegal Pipe Weed Farmers each character earns 3 Experience Points or 4 if they take Forrester Ash up on his offer.
1. "Pipe Weed" is a Herb that has a number of uses, some of them medicinal, but is most commonly smoked to achieve a mild Narcotic effect, it is legal to collect Wild Pipe Weed or grow a small quantity for personal use, but if grown commercially their is a substantial Tax levied by the Crown leading to some people growing it for Illegal Sale out in the woods, Most Lords and their Bailiffs turn a blind eye to a small amount of Contraband Trade in Pipe Weed out in the country side and in the Towns their is enough Bribe Money generated to allow a small amount black market of trade, but any large quantity Black Market Trade is dealt with harshly. most Apothecaries carry Pipe Weed and provided the Tax is paid their is nothing Illegal about it.
Overview: this is an Introductory adventure for Novice Characters and takes place in northern Albion, but could easily be transplanted to just about anywhere, but best works as a Prelude Encounter for a party making their way to the Adventure "Darkness before the Dawn" found in the 2nd edition Dragon Warriors Core Rule book, or to be used as a filler in between the first few Adventures in "Sleeping Gods".
Introduction: It is mid to late autumn and the Characters are passing throw any one of a Dozen Villages barely large enough to have it's own name, the Village is not large enough to warrant an Inn, but dose have a Tavern and the characters have stopped for a rest and a drop of the local when a concerned young woman approaches them and asks them for Help.
Good (ladies and) Sir's, I am the Goody Ash and I am the wife of a local Forrester, my husband has bean out Trapping and Foraging for a few weeks now and has become overdue to return, normally this would not concern me as he is only a few days past due, But it is late in the season and we must soon leave to the Market in the next Village If we are to sell the Herbs he has collected to the Apothecary Buyer from Clyster or get a fair price for the Furs he has trapped so we can afford to pay our Rent and Taxes as well as prepare for the winter. I have a little Money and if that is not enough I have some things of value I can give you as well.
Goody Ash will at first offer them Fifteen Florins in Silver and Copper (she has an other Five Florins in cash) and can offer some simple Jewellery that will fetch a further Ten Florins when sold, but will refuse to hand over even a Copper Penny until her Husband is returned.
When they except the job she will tell them
The last few years the Forresters have bean avoiding the North Woods as they where almost played out, but the Woodcutters have said their has bean more Game nearer to the Village of late in that direction, so My Husband and a few others decided to see if it was time to return to those parts, they have bean doing some light Trapping and Foraging and also repairing their Huts, all the other men with families have returned and already gone to Market or started on the Harvest. Woodcutter Morris and his sons are friends of my Husband, I will point you in the direction of their Lumber Camp and they will be able to tell you how to find my Husbands Hut so you can begin to search for him from there.
The Lumber Camp: Goody Ash will accompany them to the edege of the Village and point out a thin line of smoke rising in the north west and tell them that is where they will find Woodcutter Morris and they should be able to cover the ground in under an hour on foot, she also tells them to announce them selves before entering the Camp as Morris the Elder may not take kindly to them if they do not.
Provided the Characters do not make Asses of them selves Woodcutter Morris and his two sons will be helpful and friendly (even if Morris the Elder is a touch Gough), all are large men for their ages, the boys are clean shaven but their Father has a short Black Beard. they will be able to give good derelictions to where Forrester Ash has his Hut, the Elder Morris sais he needs his Sons to work his Lumber Camp as he wants to finish the years work before the winter sets in, but will let them borrow one of his boys as a guide to Forrester Ash's Hut for the rest of the day for the price of Five Florins.
Forrester Ash's Hut: Following the directions given to them by the Morris men it takes them about an hour and a half to teach where Forrester Ash keeps his hut (only an hour if they hire one of the Morris Boys as a guide). When they first reach the clearing the sight is unattended and nothing seams untoward, their is a Hut, A Smoke House, some Skinning Racks and some Herb Drying Racks as well as a Wood Pile, but a closer inspection reveals some of the Skinning and Herb Drying Racks are broken or overturned, someone has kicked in the door of the Smoke House and overturned the water barrels, searching the Hut the Characters will find it has bean a struggle before it was ransacked (observant characters will also find some splattered blood if they can make a perception check) and looted also their are more skins about than their is partially cured meat in the Smoke house. Where the water Barrels have bean overturned their are at least two perhaps three or more sets of foot prints in the dried mud and the ground is still damp underneath. anyone with the Track skill can determine that this all was done a few days ago about when Forrester Ash was due to return to the Village and identify the game trail was used in the coming and going those who did this made multiple trips and where not careful about hiding their tracks so although a few days have passed the Track roll is made without Modifier to follow it back to the attackers camp.
The Villains Camp: It should be approaching dusk by the time the trail comes to it's end and the lead character(s) must make a Perception Check at +2 to notice a Trap laid on the path in front of him, any character within 2-3 meters behind the lead character(s) can make an unmodified Perception check to notice it an warn them in time if they fail to notice it. If no one notices the trap it will be sprung and the lead character(s) will face a Speed 12 Attack if they fail their Evasion Test they will be hit with 1-4 (D6,3) hits as a large branch with sharpened wooden spikes fastened to it swings out to hit them, also an alarm will be sounded and those in the camp in fount of them will be alerted to their presence.
If the Characters notice the Trap in time they may chose to sneak around and approach the camp undetected by making Stealth Rolls, although there is still sufficient light the camps occupants are not looking for the Characters so the only modifiers to the roll that apply are those to the characters Stealth from Armour and rate of movement their targets have Perception scores of 4.
The Camp is in a large clearing that looks like it has bean harvested of some kind of crop, inspection will revel it is Pipe Weed1, in the past week or so, to one end of the clearing are a small number of huts and some drying racks that the Pipe Weed Crop is now hung from and a number of Pipe Weed farmers equal to the number of characters are moving about near the huts and tied to a stake in the middle of the camp is a man (Forrester Ash) that has bean striped to the waist and badly beaten.
There are Pipe Weed farmers (Combat scores as Normal Humans with a Reflexes of 11) equal to the number of Characters all carry a Dagger or Knife (D3,2) and some other weapon equivalent to a Short Sword, Mace or a Hatchet (D6,4) or Short Spear (D6,3 one handed), if given two or more rounds warning (like if the characters spring the Trap or choose to charge across the open clearing from the far end) they will put on AF2 armour.
Once the Pipe Weed Farmers are defeated they will be able to free Forrester Ash, when they tell him what has gone on he will say
Almost a week ago I stumbled upon this Pipe Weed farm unfortunately I was not as quite as I thought and the growers tracked me back to my camp, as I was getting ready to head back to the Village to report what I'd found to the Bailiff they beat me and brought myself, my ready furs and Cured Meats back hear, the product of my work and half their crop has already bean collected by their partners, but their is enough Pipe Weed left hear to fetch perhaps a few hundred Florins even after we pay the Kings Tax on it and I know an Apothecary Buyer who will give us a reasonable price on it all, I will split the profits with you if you let my wife keep her savings and trinkets as well as get the remainder of the crop to market.
Conclusion: If they take Forrester Ash on his offer each Character will earn themselves Fifty Florins and the friendship of Forrester Ash, his Family and Friends that includes the local Bailiff and they will make the acquaintance of an Apothecary Buyer who's services and contacts may come in useful at some later date. If they take all the Pipe Weed for them selves it is worth many hundred Florins but will attract the attention of all the Lords Bailiffs they meet and they will have a hard time getting a good price fore it except on the Black Market, as well as the Experience from vanquishing the Illegal Pipe Weed Farmers each character earns 3 Experience Points or 4 if they take Forrester Ash up on his offer.
1. "Pipe Weed" is a Herb that has a number of uses, some of them medicinal, but is most commonly smoked to achieve a mild Narcotic effect, it is legal to collect Wild Pipe Weed or grow a small quantity for personal use, but if grown commercially their is a substantial Tax levied by the Crown leading to some people growing it for Illegal Sale out in the woods, Most Lords and their Bailiffs turn a blind eye to a small amount of Contraband Trade in Pipe Weed out in the country side and in the Towns their is enough Bribe Money generated to allow a small amount black market of trade, but any large quantity Black Market Trade is dealt with harshly. most Apothecaries carry Pipe Weed and provided the Tax is paid their is nothing Illegal about it.
