sign in sign up
<<
Home , Halfling

Free Preview Edition of the full-length adventure VS. !

Veil Down CONQUERED!

Sample file

An adventure site for three to five characters of levels 2-4 Veil Down Conquered! An adventure site for three to five characters of levels 2-4

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Adventure Background 2 Adventure Summary 3 Adventure Hooks 4 Chapter 1: Veil Down 5 Chapter 2: Hardbuckler & the Trielta Hills 13 Chapter 3: Wilderness Encounters 17

Credits Written by Tim Bannock of neuronphaser.com Cartography Stock Art © Derek Ruiz / Elven Tower Cartography

In addition, this product uses artwork from a variety of stock art and community content sources. Please consider supporting these amazing artists and publishers who give so much to the industry!  100 Cover Illustrations by Arcana Games  Black and White Stock Art (David L. Johnson) by Arcana Games  Classic Stock Art Pack (Mariana Ruiz Villarreal) by Arcana Games  Art for your Adventures Set 3: Mega Pack by Patrick E. Pullen

Special Thanks The community of creators, especially Derek Ruiz at Elven Tower Cartography, Patrick Pullen, and all the folks at Dungeon Masters Guild Fan Club on Facebook.

Changelog V1 – 6/22/2017 Sample file V1.5 – 7/10/2017 +Hardbuckler map

DUNGEONS & , D&D, , , the ampersand, 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 ©Tim Bannock and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

Veil Down Conquered! 1 Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Introduction Veil Down Conquered! is an adventure site for three to five characters of levels 2-4.

This adventure is a single adventure location, and is a preview nomad goblinoids. Indeed, creatures like owlbears and of a chapter out of the forthcoming adventure Kobolds vs. bulettes are likely much more feared, for they can take out Ogres. It features a halfling town that has been overrun by livestock and farmland, which is the true heart of the region. ogres, themselves displaced by the activity of growing bands under the control of a dragon new to the region. This Raids from Najara have increased, of late, and this in turn site strictly involves the ogres -- under the leadership of the speaks to a sudden rise in incursions. As it turns out, half- Vurot -- and their attempts to carve a new home out creatures that aren’t immediately aligned with the growing of a village built for creatures quite a bit smaller than them! political powers in the serpent-led kingdom are being forced out, and this means that lowly creatures like kobolds and It can be set in nearly any grassland or hilly region of Faerun, traitorous yuan-ti are pushed further afield, and even some but several of the hooks refer to the gnomish town of dragons are ranging much farther than they used to from the Hardbuckler located on the Dusk Road, between the Trielta Forest of Wyrms and similar places. One of these dragons is Hills and the Reaching Woods. This makes an ideal location as Syranthaxius, and though he’s but a whelp, he’s taken over a there are several halfling settlements nearby. kobold tribe over the past few years, and their numbers have grown to bursting. As this is a rather compact adventure site, it can easily be played out in only a session or two, depending on how much The growth of the kobold tribe that Syranthaxius holds sway roleplaying the party might do with the , not all of over has begun to displace other , forcing them whom are entirely loyal to one another. Dungeon Masters closer to the towns and villages in the region. Over the past seeking to make this into a longer story, or incorporating it into couple of months, the kobolds have expanded their domain by their existing campaign, can easily use this as a dangerous low- assaulting the abodes of several ogre gangs, and slaughtered level sidequest. Check out the section on Adventure Hooks for goblinoids and their worg mounts. The survivors of these some ideas on how to do this. attacks fled southward, some banding together with thoughts of revenge, and others looking for somewhere more peaceful REFERENCES This adventure makes reference to races, and stat blocks for monsters and NPCs from sources beyond the Manual, such as Volo’s Guide to Monsters, published adventures, and Dungeon Masters Guild products. Stat blocks are in bold andSample do file not have a page reference if they are from the , but will have a source and page number reference otherwise:  COS = Curse of Strahd  EEPG = Evil Player’s Companion  HDQ = Hoard of the Dragon Queen  OOTA = Out of the Abyss  POTA = Princes of the Apocalypse  ROT = Rise of Tiamat  STK = Storm King's Thunder  VGM = Volo's Guide to Monsters

Adventure Background The Trielta Hills region of the Sword Coast -- and specifically the area surrounding the gnomish town of Hardbuckler -- has been relatively peaceful for a very, very long time. Relatively speaking, at any rate. The worst the gnomes and halflings of these bountiful pastors have faced include minor raids from yuan-ti, nagas, and lizardfolk from the self-proclaimed Kingdom of Najara to the north, and occasional attacks by

Veil Down Conquered! 2 Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. or defensible to settle. One such ogre gang is led by the half- The leader of the ogre gang that is settling in Veil Down. ogre Vurot, and his cousins have banded together with a worg  Zagog (CE male ogre; curious, dim-witted, lazy) running a vicious wolf pack. They’ve attacked the village of Veil Ogre that raided (and is attempting to settle in) the hin Down, a peaceful farming hamlet of halflings, and quickly village of Veil Down. conquered it. Encounters & Rewards Vurot and his gang are trying to make the most of the hin The following is a list of monsters, NPCs, and treasure featured village, but the size disparity is causing some troubles. in this adventure organized by location. This should provide Meanwhile, the kobold zealots and their dragon “lord,” DMs a quick reference for gauging the number and relative Syranthaxius, have taken over an abandoned silver mine and difficulty of all the encounters in this adventure, as well as a are breeding like rabbits, which could lead to much more list to work from if they are looking to change out magic items trouble down the road... and other rewards for more campaign-appropriate fare. Keep in mind these two things: Adventure Summary 1. Not every encounter has to be handled via combat. Social Using the Adventure Hooks (see below), characters in the area interaction rules can and should be used, and a few of the of Hardbuckler catch wind of a hin (halfling) village called Veil creatures -- such as Tayara Merryland and Gleena Down falling to a band of ogres, worgs, and wolves. Heading Aelfwyne -- are predisposed to allying with the party, there, the party finds the ogre gang is attempting to settle in providing them with special equipment, or otherwise not and make the hamlet their own, to varying degrees of getting into a fight with them. success… 2. Spread throughout Veil Down is the equivalent of about one treasure hoard that has been generated using the NPC Index table Treasure Hoard: Challenge 0-4 from Guide. Several of the items are the property of The following index is provided as an alphabetical listing and surviving halfling villagers (they may want their stuff back, short description of all the named NPCs and creatures in the or use it as a reward). adventure, and their location.

 Beraka (NE male worg; speaks and Worg; arrogant, Veil Down intense, shrewd)  Patrol: Beraka (worg), 1d6+4 wolves Evil worg that is grudgingly allied with the ogres.  V1. The Home of Giles Briarwedge: 1d4 wolves. Treasure:  Drurg (CE male ogre; gloomy, resourceful, unpredictable) small bracelet inset with bloodstones worth 25gp, Ogre that raided (and is attempting to settle in) the hin bloodstone-framed small mirror worth 25gp, rope of village of Veil Down. Sample fileclimbing, 90 silver pieces, 50 gold pieces, an azurite (10  Gleena Aelfwyne* (NG female sprite; repressed, gp), a malachite (10 gp). sensitive, youthful)  V2. The Home of Talbot Merryland: Drurg (ogre), Tayara Fey healer that lives beneath the pond in Veil Down. Merryland (apprentice wizard, VGM 209). Treasure: 1d4 *Gleena Aelfwyne adds the priest’s Spellcasting trait and healing potions, a potion of heroism, a potion of increases Hit Point maximum to 4 which increases invulnerability, 1d4 spells of levels 1 or 2 (worth 50 gp), Challenge to 1/2, 100 XP. several books (worth 20 gp).  Jookar (CE female ogre; complaintive, maternal,  V3. The Home of Tayara Merryland: Jookar (ogre). optimistic) Treasure: 800 cp, 40 sp, 1 lyre (30 gp), 7 blue jasper worth Ogre that raided (and is attempting to settle in) the hin 50 gp each. village of Veil Down.  V4. The Home of Wexer Starthimble: Zagog (ogre).  Tayara Merryland (NG female halfling apprentice wizard, Treasure: set of carved bone dice worth 25gp, and a silver VGM 209; insecure, orderly, unambitious) pitcher worth 25gp, four bottles of wine that are of an A halfling trapped during the ogre assault on Veil Down. especially high quality and excellent vintage: each is worth  Tuggak (CE male ogre; bloodthirsty, disciplined, sarcastic) 20 gold pieces (for a total of 80 gp in value). Ogre that raided (and is attempting to settle in) the hin  V5. The Home of Yaris Twinkledown: Tuggak (ogre) village of Veil Down.  V6. The Home of Wilf Althryn, Druid: none  Vek (dire wolf)  V7. Pondside Tavern: Vurot (half-ogre), Vek (dire wolf). Vurot’s pet dire wolf. Treasure: eight wheels of cheese of a particularly good age  Vurot (CE male half-ogre; neurotic, resourceful, vengeful) and style, each worth 1 gold piece, horseshoes of speed.

Veil Down Conquered! 3 Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.  V8. The Pond: Gleena Aelfwyne (sprite w/ priest's adventurers and to give greater context to the locations found Spellcasting trait; Challenge 1/2, 100 XP). Treasure: oil of within these pages. Note that these details and tables are a slipperiness, potion of growth, potion of water breathing. preview version of what’s to come in the adventure Kobolds vs. Ogres; there will be considerably more information in that Scaling the Adventure adventure. To decrease the difficulty of this adventure, simply use the minimum number of creatures whenever an encounter Help My Sister! A family of halflings approach the characters, location calls for a random roll. Additionally, consider believing them to be do-gooding heroes. This is Talbot, his wife mentioning ambient noise (waterfalls, strange contortions of Linara, and their teenage daughters. They explain that they sound due to the shape of underground walls, etc.) as a means were forced to flee the hin village of Veil Down, in the hills to to ensure that fewer monsters are alerted to the sounds of the north, when ogres and wolves attacked. Talbot’s sister, combat or alarms raised by nearby encounters. This way, the Tayara, was injured and disappeared in the fray. He believes players don’t get pummelled by multiple waves of attackers. she is still alive and asks for her to be saved; if she has perished, Characters starting at level 2 could probably survive this they wish to have her body returned them for proper burial. adventure if they are cautious and willing to make with some of the monsters and NPCs they encounter. Faction Contacts. Consider framing the adventure such that one of the halflings that perished in Veil Down was a contact To increase the difficulty of this adventure, use the maximum to one of the characters via their faction, or was of interest for number of creatures whenever an encounter location calls for recruitment by a player character for their faction leaders as a a random roll, or simply assume nearby encounter locations chance to gain some faction renown. The party arrives to find are automatically alerted by the sounds of combat and arrive the town in shambles and the ogres and wolves in control. An as a second wave of attackers within 1d4 rounds. Especially in easy opportunity for this hook would be if the party has the case of easy encounters, look for ways monsters can flee members of the Emerald Enclave, as the gnomish druid that and reinforce other areas of a dungeon or ambush parties once lived in Veil Down, Wilf Althryn, was aligned with the Enclave. they engage other, heavier forces. You could probably challenge characters all the way up to level 5 if you maximize MacGuffin or Plot Point. If you have a suitable MacGuffin -- a the number of monsters in most locations and have them gang magic item, a tome of useful lore, or perhaps a map the party up whenever possible. seeks -- you can simply say it was among the possessions of one of the residents of Veil Down. Similarly, you could have an NPC -- preferably one that’s already appeared in your Adventure Hooks campaign and was allied with the party -- go missing in the Several of the adventure hooks presented here assumeSample the Trieltafile Hills region, and place them either in a prison manned characters hail from or are traveling in the Trielta Hills region, by kobolds or perhaps having escaped into Gleena’s near the gnomish town of Hardbuckler (Sword Coast underwater shrine in Veil Down during the attack. The party is Adventurer’s Guide page 91). Additional setting details for following the trail of either the MacGuffin or the NPC and this Hardbuckler, tables for populating and creating scenarios leads them first to Veil Down and then to kobold-controlled within the various rural villages of the Trielta Hills region, and dens, or vice versa. wilderness encounter tables for the area are provided in the Appendix at the back of this adventure, allowing Dungeon Masters to establish the area as a regular headquarters for the

Veil Down Conquered! 4 Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Sample file

Chapter 1: Veil Down Veil Down is a hin (halfling) village that traded in apples, pumpkins, wheat, and sometimes berries with its closest neighboring town, Hardbuckler. The folk here were nominally led by a druid related to some of the gnomes of Hardbuckler, Wilf Althryn, but realistically he only advised on matters regarding magic and monsters, so the folk pretty much handled everything among their own families (all seven of them) as equitably as possible.

A scant few days ago, ogres came crashing into the village and Veil Down (Halfling Village) killed Wilf Althryn, routing (nearly) all of the hin and sending Population: Seven hin families lived here, and a single gnome them packing as refugees to Hardbuckler. The ogres are trying druid. to make the most of their conquered territory, having been themselves displaced by a kobold tribe. Government: Veil Down’s folk generally worked things out

between themselves and travelers without any real Before the ogre attack, Veil Down would best be described by leader, though they would turn to the druid, Wilf Althryn, the following settlement stat block. whenever they needed to make a decision about

something more esoteric.

Veil Down Conquered! 5 Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Walls, Doors, and Ceilings. The hin crafted their dwellings into Defense: Veil Down finds itself in the predicament it is now the bedrock of an escarpment, and their construction is stout because it was rather poorly defended. The families were and sure, even under the destructive “remodeling” of the armed and had basic combat experience, but beyond the ogres. Doors are stout oak banded with iron, and feature stout natural geography of the village and some stout oaken wooden planks that can be used to bar them. Secret doors are doors, there was no organized defense or wall. hard to spot (DC 15) and feature complex, gnomish-made locking mechanisms (DC 18 to pick, DC 20 to burst open). All of Commerce: The village relied on trade with Hardbuckler; it the dwellings are roomy and high-ceilinged -- luckily for the produced a great deal of grains, fruits and vegetables from ogres! -- at 10 feet high. The tavern’s common room is 15 feet its fields, mostly pumpkins, apples, and wheat. They also high. raised sheep and hardy goats for milk, food, and clothing. The Pondside Tavern features stables (1 silver piece per Patrol! Beraka -- the worg ally of the ogres -- patrols the village animal per night) and sold local foods, ale, and wine and its immediate surroundings somewhat randomly (standard prices). Folks looking for a place to sleep were throughout the night and day, sleeping restlessly as it recalls either directed to camp outside of town, or -- if especially its shameful defeat at the hands of kobolds. They may be out friendly and well-mannered -- could rely on the villagers hunting at times, and thus the DM is encouraged to use them for a guest room (4 silver pieces per person per night gets only if the party is having an especially easy time of things, or a cot and a simple meal of cheeses, bread, and fruit). to turn the tables of the encounters if the party is constantly on the offensive. Organizations: None of note, although the druid Wilf Althryn  Beraka (NE male worg; speaks Giant and Worg; had some loose ties to the Emerald Enclave. arrogant, intense, shrewd)  1d6+4 wolves Veil Down, Conquered The four ogres are led by a half-ogre named Vurot, and are V1. The Home of Giles Briarwedge aided by a worg named Beraka, creating a fairly powerful, Giles Briarwedge (NG male halfling veteran), his wife Ahlissa highly mobile group of raiders. They’d lived in some caves by (NG female halfling commoner), their 2 sons Wilgram and an abandoned mine for years, stealing sheep from local hin Sammat (CG male halfling commoners), and their daughter villages and otherwise skirting around the borders of Lofram (NG female halfling commoner) lived here. Giles was Hardbuckler’s patrol routes so they didn’t draw too much killed in battle against the ogres, and the rest of the family has attention to themselves. But when a large kobold tribe began since fled to Hardbuckler. expanding their territory, the ogres soon found themselves outmatched and chose a life of nomadic raiding. Sample A.file Common Room The front door has been ripped off its hinges and busted up for Until they came to Veil Down. This idyllic little hin village was use in creating cookfires and so on. Beraka and the wolves now no match for the outright power of the ogres nor the strategy- use the common room as a den; lots of leaves and straw have minded half-ogre who’d since taken over as their leader. either blown in or been moved here to make it more Backed by their savage wolf-friends -- also displaced by comfortable for them. A few wolves might be found here any kobolds -- the druid leading the village was killed in short order time of day, sleeping. and the rest of the villagers fled. The ogres are now trying to settle into the somewhat claustrophobic homes and buildings Encounter! of the village, and are attempting to make it feel like some sort  1d4 wolves of home. Tactics. Any wolves found here are sleeping, unless combat General Features has occurred or an alarm has been raised, in which case they Light. The raiders have no need for torches and lanterns, so rush out to join any free. If ambushed here or caught asleep, none of the buildings are lit up, night or day. This causes most they awaken and attempt to flee and join up with Beraka and of the homes to fall into dim light during the day as only small the larger pack. Barring that, they leave the area for greener windows in some rooms let in any sunlight. pastures.

Veil Down Conquered! 6 Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.