Tales of Enchantment Is Designed for Three to Six Characters, Levels 5 to 8
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Whispering Widow yMoods (DM's map) AwA^-:A«*a|^^i-Aw|yy^A>-C Sample file Sample HHyjyTTt/A MAAAAAAAAAAJA *>'k~AAAA~! mggmmmIgggggg KAB Trail i KASASAMAM 3 Grassland Forest >S9 1mmnmA13A?^ KAiiAAiKAi^ Introduction Tales of Enchantment is designed for three to six characters, levels 5 to 8. Almost any mix of classes can succeed, but players will find it very OFFICIAL GAME helpful to have at least one character who can ADVENTURE detect invisibility. They may also find the need for a cleric who can remove a curse. For guid- TaLes of ance in dealing with a party without some of these basic tools, see the Troubleshooting section Enchantment at the end of Chapter One. This adventure is organized into chapters Introduction 1 based on when, if ever, the PCs are likely to Plot Synopsis 2 encounter each creature. Chapter One contains Chapter One: Outer Forest 4 common creatures found near the edge of the Troubleshooting 9 forest and the illusions of them created by pix- Chapter Two: Diversions 10 ies. Players should begin unraveling the mys- Chapter Three: Inner Perils 19 tery during these encounters. Chapter Two Chapter Four: Pixie Trouble 26 contains creatures found deeper in the woods Resolution 30 but they are generally irrelevant to the main plot. The PCs can pick up information here that can set them back on track, or make erroneous Credits assumptions based on these diversions and go Design: Jim Musser further astray. Chapter Three chronicles the per- Editing: Anne Gray McCready ils of the inner forest. If the party is alert and Cover Illustration: Glen Orbik misses no key clues, it should never encounter Interior Illustrations: Ken and Charles SampleFrank thes filee creatures. Chapter Four describes the pixie Cartography: John Knecht colony and the main characters in this adven- Typography: Tim Coumbe ture. Tales of Enchantment has no mechanism built- ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and AD&D are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. in to keep the players on track. That is part of The TSR logo, DUNGEON MASTER, and DM are trademarks owned the problem for them to solve. They can go as by TSR, Inc. ©1993 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. far afield as their bad judgment takes them, but the farther afield they go, the more trouble they Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribu- tion rights in the book trade for English language products. Distrib- will find. The only way the party should face uted to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. much combat is if the players blunder about. Distributed to the book and hobby trade by regional distributors. Therefore, reduce standard combat experience This product is protected under the copyright laws of the United States awards by 50% so as not to reward the players of America. Any reproduction or other unlawful use of the material or for making bad choices. The end of the adven- artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. ture calls for more advanced role-playing and some really clever problem-solving. The Resolu- TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd. POB 756 120 Church End tion section of Chapter Four includes special Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton awards for the end of the adventure. WI53147 Cambridge CB1 3LB USA United Kingdom ISBN 0-56076-646-8 9428XXX1501 Plot Synopsis The mysteries and legends surrounding years, suddenly grew more numerous and Whispering Widow Woods have always been stranger. enough to scare off the timid. The dense canopy A shepherd named Patos complains that his shrouds the forest floor in darkness even at mid- flock increases by two or three when he's not day, and the tangled underbrush inhibits travel looking and then returns to its normal size when and can disorient even seasoned woodsmen. he turns away again. He cannot tell the addi- Most folk who live nearby, however, feel safe tional sheep from the regular ones, and he is enough if they keep near the trails through the afraid to take his eyes off his flock for fear of outer reaches of the woods. They believe the sto- what will happen. ries about a dragon and other horrors, but they A farmer named Jerube maintains that it has have no intention of going into the deepest and been raining on his fields for 22 days straight. darkest parts of the forest. The locals use special No one believed him at first because the area care to steer clear of an unusual rock formation has seen little rain in the last three weeks, but that gives the woods its name. Visible from anyone traveling to his fields can see the steady some farms near the forest is a towering lime- downpour and the great pools of standing stone outcropping that some say looks like a water. His crops have rotted. face. Above and on both sides of the pale lime- Patos, Jerube, and others have noted voices stone is a thin vein of dark stone much like a coming from Whispering Widow Woods. In shroud. Trees cover the eerie hill's gentle eastern every instance, they recognized the voice as that slope. When the wind is right and especially at of a friend or family member. Those who fol- night, neighboring farmers can hear what sounds lowed the voice into the forest found nothing, like a widow's muted wails of grief. and several times the person hearing the voice The folklore, eerie rock formations, and thick knew the friend or family member to be else- underbrush are plenty to keep localsSample on the where file, not in the forest. trails near the edge of the forest where they can Jareb Klause, a wealthy landowner, has find sufficient firewood, mushrooms, and herbs decided to hire the PCs to investigate these and where the forest creatures never bother strange happenings. Jareb is particularly wor- them—until recently. ried about his adolescent son, Barens. Barens It started as a frightening curiosity. Terror- has been showing youthful rebellion against his ized residents described attacks by normally father by taking long trips away from the manor, docile creatures, such as black bears. Then it sometimes disappearing for days. Some of these grew more bizarre. Respected citizens told wild times, Barens has been seen entering Whisper- tales of unprovoked attacks by treants, sprites, ing Widow Woods, and his father is worried and brownies. The last two curious souls to because Barens has been missing for two weeks. venture into Whispering Widow Woods have The PCs' mission is to learn the cause of the not returned. attacks, to find Barens, and to make the woods Other travelers have disappeared for days, safe again. eventually arriving at their destinations with no In fact, Barens is a central piece to this puzzle. memory of what had delayed them. In fact, one On one of his brooding hikes, Barens unknow- stranger wandered out of the woods with no ingly passed near a colony of pixies. These pix- memory whatsoever; local authorities are still ies had long succeeded in avoiding contact with trying to learn his identity. humans and demihumans. However, Gwellen, a In addition, reports of strange occurrences particularly curious and bold princess of the near the forest, a list of oddities dating back for pixies, actually introduced herself to Barens 1 Plot Synopsis when he next passed that way. The two became the illusions. The PCs will also hear a voice call- close friends, developing quite a bond before ing for Gwellen, a name that means nothing to the pixie king found out. them at first, deepening the mystery and pro- The king, Ebron, reacted by creating illusions viding a clue at the same time. These incidents to frighten "large folk" from the forest. Gwellen are caused by pixies trying to lead the PCs told Barens about the illusions, protecting him astray in the belief that the party is trying to but getting herself in trouble by leaving the help Barens find Gwellen. The fact is, the PCs pixie colony against Ebron's orders. She found it are much less informed than the pixies assume. ever more difficult to get away to meet with Deeper into the woods, the PCs might Barens, and his trips into the forest became encounter several kinds of diversions, includ- longer and longer. He even built himself a cabin ing forest creatures unrelated to the main plot, to use as a base for his long walks in search of false trails created by the pixies, and even false Gwellen. images of Barens, who will gladly agree to When Ebron learned that he had not suc- leave the forest with the PCs. The PCs will ceeded in halting Gwellen's contacts with probably recognize this as a ruse only when Barens, he grew angry and began a campaign of they take "Barens" back to his father. The PCs harassment against humans living near the for- might also encounter the real Barens or the syl- est and especially against Barens. Suddenly van elves, either of whom will aid them in solv- Barens found himself subjected to all manner of ing the mystery. trickery, such as being polymorphed, put to sleep, If the PCs stumble onto Barens' cabin, he will and led into confusion. Once, when lost, Barens tell them exactly what is going on. As the PCs happened upon a tribe of sylvan elves. After are trying to unravel the mystery, Gwellen is Barens explained his plight, the elves took pity trying to convince her brother that her friend- on him.