KOBOLDS of UNUSUAL SIZE

The Fortress of Randall: A Heartwarming Tale about Finding Home Designed by Anthony Joyce

A Dungeon Master’s Guild Design Dash encounter for three to seven characters of 1st–4th level

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. ThisSample work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material isfile used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Anthony Joyce, and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. Overview Pillars of Adventure Use these pillars of adventure to resolve This encounter is designed for three to seven this encounter: characters of 1st–4th level. This encounter Combat. The characters may attempt to begins when a priest of Mielikki sends the squash the kobolds. Each attempt to squash the characters to check on the Steel-Logger family kobolds requires a successful melee attack. The and their sick son Randall. AC of the ant-sized kobolds, is 10 and they have 1 hit point each. A successful attack squashes Arriving at the Cottage 1d4 kobolds. There are 50 kobolds in total. Yesterday, a priest of Mielikki sent you on a Exploration. Inside the cottage are seven journey to visit the Steel-Logger family deep strange glowing bottles of tree sap. When the within a nearby forest. The Steel-Loggers are chaos erupts, the bottles glow a bright purple inventive forest gnomes who make steel con- hue. A creature that consumes the sap is traptions to cut down trees. You finally arrive reduced to the size of an ant for 1d4 hours. If at their quaint forest cottage as a female gnome the characters shrink themselves, they can enter in distress runs over to you and cries, “Thank Randall’s mouth and find a shoddy fortress Mielikki you’ve arrived, quickly inside!” built by the kobolds in Randall’s esophagus. The female gnome is Lizmun Steel-Logger The kobolds refer to this as the “Fortress of (female gnome commoner), the matriarch of Randall.” If the characters tickle Randall’s uvula, the Steel-Logger family. Her ten-year-old son, he coughs and swallows. This causes the For- Randall (male gnome commoner), is extremely tress of Randall to collapse. Randall eats all the ill, and they have no idea how to cure him. kobolds, yummy! Lizmun brings the characters into her small Social. The characters may attempt to con- cottage. Inside, Randall lies covered in tattered vince the kobolds to leave the Fortress of Randall blankets as he quietly sobs and cries. If the by parlaying with the Kobold Queen, Ezmira. characters succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom (Medi- Queen Ezmira is a noble and wise Queen whose cine) check they recognize Randall’s symptoms only concern is the wellbeing of her kobold as that of a fever. subjects. Parlaying with Ezmira requires a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, and The Fortress of Randall the characters must offer her a new fortress or home as a viable substitute. At your discretion, Randall begins to cough violently. Read or paraphrase the following: Failing to Act. If the characters fail to act, the Randall begins to convulse and violently kobolds infest Randall and take over his bodily cough as he wails, “The ants! The ants are functions. The kobolds have kobold scientists in my throat!” He grasps at his throat and that are able to infiltrate Randall’s brain and falls unconscious on the bed. Lizmun begins directly control him. They use him as a walking to scream in horror. fortress by controlling his fine motor skills. If a character succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom What the Kobolds Want. The kobolds have (Perception) check, they notice 50 small ant- one goal: find a home that keeps them safe. sized creatures crawling in his bed sheets, They infested Randall after he used a new steel making their way toward Randall’s mouth. A contraption to cut down their home in the for- successful DC 13 Intelligence (Nature) check est. They are scared and want to survive; they reveals that these are no ants, but rather do not mean to harm Randall or anyone else kobolds of unusual size! The kobolds, seeing unless and only attack in self-defense. the characters, begin to run towards Randall’s Treasure mouth, shouting “Alarm, alarm! Into the For- tressSample of Randall!” If the characters successfully file “cure” Randall, The characters have several options to help the priest of Mielikki awards them 100 gp. Randall be free of the kobolds.

Kobolds of Unusual Size: The Fortress of Randall | Game design by Anthony Joyce | Graphic design and layout by Gordon McAlpin Cover Art by Natasha Chetkova