Exit Pursued by Owlbear (5E)
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Exit Pursued by Owlbear Five Adventures Inspired by the Bard Production and Layout by E. R. F. Jordan Written by Ashton Duncan, Noah Grand, Jessica Marcrum, Tessa Simpson, and R. Morgan Slade Edited by Adam Hancock and Lauren Campbell Art by E. R. F. Jordan Template by nathanaël Roux 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. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2018�2019 by the Exit Pursued by Owlbear authors and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. Sample file A Catalogue of the Stories Contained in this Volume Introduction..........................................3 Act III: If We Shadows Have Offended...................19 Appendix A: Statistics ...............................................20 Using This Book........................................................ 3 Appendix B: Magic Items............................................20 The Rose of the Fair State.................4 Much Ado About Cookies..................21 Adventure Overview....................................................4 Adventure Overview...................................................21 Adventure Background ............................................ 4 Adventure Background ..........................................21 Dramatis Personae .................................................... 5 Act I: Pirates of a Very Warlike Appointment .....6 Adventure Hooks....................................................22 Dramatis Personae ..................................................22 Act II: Poison in the King’s Ear................................. 7 Act I: A Sweet Summer Tale...................................... 23 Act III: A Promised March.......................................... 8 Act II: Fearsome Forest .............................................24 Finale ............................................................................... 9 Finale .............................................................................27 Resolving the Hooks................................................. 9 Further Adventures ................................................27 Further Adventures .................................................. 9 Appendix A: Statistics ............................................... 28 Appendix A: Statistics ...............................................10 Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble ...29 A Shrew’s Vengeance........................... 11 Adventure Overview..................................................29 Adventure Overview...................................................11 Adventure Background ..........................................29 Adventure Background ..........................................11 Dramatis Personae ..................................................30 Dramatis Personae ..................................................12 Act 1: A Desert Place ..................................................31 Act I: An Occasion of Revenge.................................12 Act 2: A Drunken Hope ...............................................33 Act II: The Taming School.........................................13 Act 3: A Damned Spot .................................................34 Act III: Pastime Passing Excellent......................... 14 Aftermath.....................................................................36 Finale ..............................................................................15 Resolving the Hooks...............................................36 Resolving the Hooks...............................................15 Further Adventures ................................................36 Further Adventures ................................................15 Appendix A: Statistics ...............................................36 Appendix A: Statistics ................................................16 Appendix B: Magic Items............................................ 37 Appendix C: Graymalkin (Warlock Patron)......... 37 If We Shadows Have Offended .........17 Adventure Overview...................................................17 Adventure Background ..........................................17 Dramatis Personae ..................................................17 Act I: Forests and Faeries..........................................18 Act II: Puck’s Farewell...............................................19 Sample file Introduction or, Five Old Stories Made New Again A funeral and a wedding, one after the other: scandal be human—have allowed them to live far beyond their overwhelms the furthest reaches of the halfling Ophelia’s original performances. Even in other mediums, the home. The late king’s brother, Claudius, succeeds him and Bard persists: his plays have become books, paintings, marries his wife in one fell swoop; the young prince, Hamlet, operas, films, and so on. If you can think of a medium, despairs the loss of his father and the treachery of his uncle, Shakespeare’s work has probably made a home there. distancing himself from Ophelia and spiraling in his oath of This collection is a continuation of the long tradition vengeance. If Ophelia doesn’t act quickly, her entire world is of converting Shakespeare’s works to new mediums, at risk of falling apart—but she has a plan, and a crew of adapting five of his most famous plays into adventures adventurers in the wings are ready to help. for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. These adventures will approach the Bard’s stories from angles you’ve Throughout the land, nobles whisper of the marriage of never seen them, allowing you to prevent the tragedy Petruchio and Katherine—known to some as Kate the Curst of Hamlet, help Katherine escape her “taming” and for her assertive manner and utter resistance to the bullying enact revenge, and play in the presence of Puck, among of an oppressive world. While some paint this marriage in other dramatic delights. colors of amusement and mirth, Katherine knows the truth But enough preparation: adventure awaits. In of it: the gaslighting, the abuse, and the refusal of food or Shakespeare’s own words, “if music be the food of love, clothing or sleep until she would submit to Petruchio’s will. play on”—and where food and music play, games are But this abuse will carry on no longer: Katherine has had never far behind. enough, and she knows just how to exact her revenge. Using This Book In the depths of the enchanted wood, the pixie Puck slumbers, Exit Pursued by Owlbear is a collection of five adventures his dreams full of games and mischief. Unbeknownst to him, reinterpreting the classic works of the playwright a party of travelers have fallen into his dreamscape to William Shakespeare. To run these adventures, you conduct the very game he has dreamed of playing for so long. need the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. Before you sit down In the outskirts of a sleeping city, the faerie dragon Avon with your players, familiarize yourself with the text of listens intently to the hushed speak of two conspiring villains, the adventure, learning the characters and making eyes widening as she realizes the extent of their cruelties: a notes about things you might change or emphasize. staged affair, a ruined wedding, and a duel under false The Monster Manual contains statistics for the majority pretenses. She quickly rushes from the scene of the confession, of creatures and characters that appear in this book. mind already spinning with punishments for these foul beings—but first, a little snack to soothe her sweet tooth! In the undersea leagues of Bryntun, King Duncan celebrates Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read the close of a long war. His soldiers are tired and his aloud or paraphrased for the players under a particular resources depleted, but his enemies are scattering to the set of circumstances, as described by the surrounding currents; finally, it is time to return home and enjoy the text. peace he has worked so hard for—that is, if the ocean doesn’t have a darker fate in store for him. ive stories, told throughout the When a monster's name appears in bold type, that's a ages. Five plays, written and rewritten for visual cue pointing you to the creature's stat block in every medium under the radiant sun. Five the Monster Manual. Descriptions and stat blocks for new adventures, each waiting for you to new monsters appear in an appendix at the end of their join the table and play out their action respective adventure. If a stat block is in an appendix, like actors upon the storied stage, an adventure's text tells you so. exploring their worlds from angles heretofore unseen. Spells and nonmagical objects or equipment From the midst of the European Renaissance to the mentioned in the book are described in the Player's daySample you’re reading this introduction, the works of Handbook. Magic items are describedfile in the Dungeon William Shakespeare have resonated in the hearts of Master's Guide, unless the adventure's text directs you to readers, writers, actors, and audiences all over the an item's description in an appendix. globe. Something about the works of the Bard of