TABLE of CONTENTS Adventure Overview

TABLE OF CONTENTS Adventure Overview ...... 4 Summary ...... 4 Running the Game ...... 4 New takes on an old story ...... 4 Many ways to play...... 4 Adventure Hook ...... 4 The Road ...... 5 The Donkey ...... 5 The Dog ...... 6 The Cat ...... 7 The Rooster ...... 8 The Robber's House ...... 8 The Taking ...... 8 The Keeping ...... 10 Epilogue ...... 10 Appendix 1: New Monsters ...... 11 Appendix 2: Monster Index ...... 13 Appendix 3: Town Musicians of Bremen ...... 14

Sample file

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ADVENTURE OVERVIEW SUMMARY MANY WAYS TO PLAY The Road to Bremen is a replayable, “gauntlet”-style The original folk story is played for laughs, but the tone one-shot adventure for 4 characters in the first tier of of your adventure is largely dependent on the monsters play. It’s based on the German folk story “The Town you choose. There are six “tracks”, each focusing on a Musicians of Bremen” and straight-line travel stories type of monster. Choose a track from the table below or like Cormac McCarthy’s "The Road", David Carradine’s roll on each encounter’s table for a wandering monster. Circle of Iron, and Bruce Lee’s Game of Death. Fey. Filled with beautiful but dangerous creatures of trickery and mirth, this track tests your player's wit, wisdom, and willingness to make a deal. RUNNING THE GAME Shapechanger. Hard combat encounters await your players on this track full of brutish lycanthropes where nothing is as it seems. NEW TAKES ON AN OLD STORY Celestial. Players will need more than brute strength In the original folk story, four farm animals – a donkey, to pass the tests of these heavenly creatures. a dog, a cat, and a rooster - nearing the end of their Fiend. On this darkest track, creatures from the Nine usefulness decide to leave home and become musicians Hells attacker the characters mind, body, and soul. in the town of Bremen. As night falls, they spy a lit Monstrosity. Classic D&D creatures abound in this window from a house full of bandits. Cold, tired, and track full of magical, mythical monsters. hungry, they devise a plan to scare the bandits away by Bonus. One for funsies. singing. The bandits flee this four-headed monstrosity and its terrifying cry. Later the bandits sneak back in the night, but are once again scared off as they mistake the For a shorter session or more roleplay-focused animals for monstrous creatures in the dark. In the groups, run both the Taking and the Keeping of the morning, the animals make a home for themselves in Robber’s House. the deserted shack instead of going on to Bremen. In place of the "Road" encounters, choose characters In this adventure, characters travel the road to to fit each of the archetypes in the original folk tale - Bremen and face four obstacles mirroring the four donkey, dog, cat, and rooster. You could base this on characters in the original folk story. As night falls, run things like race, class, or personality. Introduce “The Taking” of the Robbers’ House ("The Keeping" is characters in the order of their archetype along the optional based on time and remaining hit points). road. Each reveals the marvelous rumor they’ve heard Players must then decide whether their characters are about Bremen. satisfied with this new home or whether they go on, into the sunset, to Bremen. The player with the most motivation should begin the quest as the donkey did in the folk tale. Use your judgment; look for thorough backstories or clear character goals.

The Road The Robber's House Donkey Dog Cat Rooster The Taking The Keeping death dog, faerie awakened tree, Fey satyr displacer beast dryad, sprites blink dogs dragon needle blights jackalwere, Yuan-ti Shapechanger werebear weretiger werevulure Yuan-ti malison direwolf purebloods cult fanatic, Celestial Pegasus fenris foo lions coautl priest, acolytes cultists shadow spined devil, Fiend nightmare hellhound gallows cat bearded devil demon imps Samplegoblin boss,file bugbear, Monstrosity Minotaur winter wolf griffon peryton goblins goblin bosses sabre-toothed bandit captain, Bonus centaur werewolf owlbear veteran, thugs tigers bandits Town Musicians of Bremen – v. 1.2 www.scintilla.studio Lucas Zellers 4

ADVENTURE HOOK Player characters form a traveling band on the road to THE ROAD Bremen. Players should be able to tell you what their Roll once on each table below or choose one encounter characters would like to leave behind based on their from each list. Characters can take two short rests in this background or backstory. In the original folk story, this adventure; you can adjust the difficulty of the adventure was the threat of death or outliving one’s usefulness. by adding or taking away short rests. Players are traveling toward Bremen because of a marvelous rumor they've heard about the city. You can pick a rumor from the table below, roll a d8 to choose one at random, or use the suggestions as inspiration for THE DONKEY rumors of your own. If players invent their own d6 Type Encounter marvelous rumors, award DM's Inspiration to the player who invents the best one (PHB 125). 1 fey satyr 2 shapechanger werebear d8 Marvelous Rumor 3 celestial pegasus 1 There’s a lost city of gold buried beneath Bremen, and only the clever can find the passage 4 fiend nightmare to it. 5 monstrosity minotaur 2 The walls between worlds are thin in Bremen and 6 bonus centaur knowledge from outer planes of existence is freely available. A satyr waits along the road, playing its pipes. It is 3 Bremen is where stars are born. Whether fascinated by the stories of Bremen, and will ask to through performance, production, or conquest, I travel with the characters. If they disagree, it will will have some of that glory for my own. become angry and use its pipes to charm or frighten the characters. If they agree, it will travel for a while before 4 The world’s best sandwich is made in Bremen, becoming bored and playing its pipes. and I must learn the recipe. 5 A great hero my faith walked this long road A werebear in human form is scratching his back on a before me; my god will bless this pilgrimage tree beside the road. While at first he seems easygoing when I arrive. and philosophical, maybe even offering to share a honeycomb or a prickly pear, he will refuse to allow the 6 Someone I love went before me to Bremen and I party to pass him on the road. Every person who travels must meet them there. this road has the potential to carry its mind- or body- 7 The water in Bremen is so clean and pure that all altering curses with them into Bremen. He's here to stop those who drink it find their memories the contagion from spreading. unclouded, and can recall perfectly any moment from their entire life. A pegasus lies barely hidden beside the 8 You can pluck a stone from the fountain in the road. One of its town square, and if you put it up to your ear you wings is broken; it can hear it singing perfectly any song it’s heard has lost one third of in the last 1,000 years. its hit points, rounded down, and THE CALL TO ADVENTURE does not have a fly speed until the wing Use this short narration to begin the adventure: is healed. It takes a DC 13 animal Bremen: the city of dreams. Out here where the sky is wide and handling check to buildings far apart, the big city to the east has become a legend. approach the You’ve heard a new fable of Bremen’s marvels each time its creature. Any name is mentioned. It seems impossible for all of these rumors to character who makes the check can be true, but if even half of them are, it’s the most magical city on attempt to fix the this plane of existence. And it’s got to be better than here. wing by expending Sample file one use of a healer’s kit, succeeding on a Satyr DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check if Town Musicians of Bremen – v. 1.2 www.scintilla.studio Lucas Zellers 5 they are proficient in the skill, or restoring 13 hit points or more to the creature. If all characters fail the animal THE DOG handling check, or if any character rolls a natural 1, the pegasus will become frightened and enraged, attacking d6 Type Encounter the characters until it is reduced to 13 hit points or 1 fey death dog and 3 blink dogs fewer, then fleeing on foot. This encounter tests the characters' compassion. 2 shapechanger jackalwere and dire wolf 3 celestial fenris The sky darkens to night long before it should, and the landscape distorts into a red-and-purple dreamscape. A 4 fiend hellhound nightmare blocks the path to Bremen. Characters who 5 monstrosity winter wolf see the nightmare for the first time recall vividly the most terrifying experience they’ve ever had, distorted to 6 bonus werewolf be surreal and dream-like. All characters make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On A death dog leads a pack of 3 blink dogs in hunting the a failure, they are charmed by the nightmare and must party. Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check using the death attempt to become its rider (see rules for mounted dog’s statistics, and compare the result to the combat on PHB 198). The DM rolls initiative for the characters' passiv e Wisdom (Perception) scores. Any nightmare, and the rider and the nightmare act together. character whose score is lower than the check result is Roll on the madness table to determine their actions: surprised and loses his or her turn during the first round of combat (see "Surprise" on PHB 189). d6 Madness When the death dog is killed, any remaining blink Take the nightmare’s full movement and dogs will attempt to flee. 1-2 Dash action to ride away from Bremen. If your players are following the “fey” track, they can roll a DC 13 Wisdom (Animal Handling) or Wisdom The rider is overwhelmed by the promise of (Insight) check to determine the blink dogs were 3-4 infernal power and spends its turn hunting a displacer beast before the death dog turned gloating. them to hunting adventurers. Characters have advantage The rider sees one of the other player on this roll if they succeed on a DC 11 Intelligence characters as their most hated enemy, and (History) check to recall the fabled enmity between blink 5-6 will attempt to trample them under the dogs and displacer beasts. nightmare’s hooves. Appearing as a wretched old man, a jackalwere travels

If multiple characters fail the saving throw, they each slowly down the road toward Bremen leaning on its dire do everything they can to move within range of the other wolf companion. As the characters overtake it, it gives its affected character(s) and make a single melee attack name as Santiago and will beg to travel with them, against each other. offering the protection of its companion. As soon as it Characters can repeat the saving throw at the end of gets a chance to surprise the party, it will try to take each of their turns, ending the effect on itself on a everything valuable they have and flee. Roll a Charisma success. Once a character succeeds on the saving throw, (Deception) check for the jackalwere; if it scores higher it is immune to this effect for 24 hours. than the party’s highest passive Wisdom (Insight) When all characters have succeeded on the saving scores, it reads as genuine. If the jackalwere is in mortal throw, the nightmare flees the encounter. danger it will flee the encounter as best it can, leaving the dire wolf to fight in its stead. A minotaur stands guard with the blade of its greataxe The dire wolf is an excellent scapegoat if players resting on the road in front of it and its wrists crossed suspect a lycanthrope in the encounter. over the end of the axe handle. It was recently evicted by a new archmage who inherited its labyrinth, and has Lightning strikes the road in front of the characters, and therefore claimed the worst labyrinth ever: the long, a fenris appears to block their path. (See the stat block in straight road to Bremen. It vents its frustration by Appendix 1.) Any creature that does not match the refusing to let any travelers pass it on the road. fenris’ alignment (lawful good) must make a DC 15 Charisma (Performance) check to convince the fenris of A proud, indignant centaur scout is shocked and its prowess in battle. If the fenris is not convinced, it will outraged to find a road built in the path of its ancestral seek to prove their worth through combat. This migration. It holds the characters responsible, refusing encounter tests the characters’ bravery. to see reason unless they can show it a new path around, above,Sample or beneath the road by succeeding on a DC 13 A scorching wind blows from thefile south with the scent of Wisdom (survival) check. If they cannot, the centaur will brimstone on it. A hellhound is hunting the characters. attack them to exact its violent revenge. Determine the surprise round as in the death dog encounter. If any character has a connection to demons or devils, like tieflings or warlocks with a fiendish Town Musicians of Bremen – v. 1.2 www.scintilla.studio Lucas Zellers 6 patron, they may instead make a DC 16 Wisdom (Animal The party comes to a bridge across a swift river. The two Handling) check to give the hellhound another target to nearest pylons of the bridge are topped with foo lions, hunt. who appear indistinguishable from statues. (See the stat block in Appendix 1.) The party must cross the bridge at A cold wind blows from the north as snow begins to fall least two abreast, or the foo lions will wake and herd out of season. A winter wolf is hunting the characters; it them back to the start of the bridge with their harrowing is lost and ravenous, far from its usual hunting grounds roar. They will use their multiattack on any character in the land of the frost giants at the ceiling of the world. who disobeys this order more than once. This encounter It magically generates a blizzard in a 50-foot-radius tests the characters’ loyalty. sphere around it. The area within this sphere is lightly obscured and is considered difficult terrain (see PHB A gallows cat attempts to sneak up on the players; roll for 183). Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check for the wolf a surprise round as in the displacer beast encounter against the characters' passive Wisdom (Perception) using the stat block in Appendix 1. The first time a scores, which are reduced by 5 due to the terrain (see character sees the gallows cat, they must succeed on a "Passive Checks" on PHB 175). Any character whose DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated for 1 score is lower than the check result is surprised and round as they mentally relive the moment of their loses his or her turn during the first round of combat greatest shame. (see "Surprise" on PHB 189). A mated pair of griffons hunts the players. Roll their Appearing as a beautiful, engaging young human Dexterity (Stealth) check together, but roll their man wearing simple clothes and carrying a lute, a initiative separately. They will each stay hidden as long werewolf walks casually down the road to Bremen. As the as possible before pouncing into battle. The two are party overtakes him, he offers to travel with them. He is large predators hunting to survive, no more. easily offended and will misconstrue anything said to him as an insult, until his temper overwhelms him and A mated pair of sabre-toothed tigers hunts the players. he shifts to his werewolf form to attack the party. Roll their Dexterity (Stealth) check together, but roll Lycanthropy for this man is both a physical and mental their initiative separately. They will each stay hidden as illness, and he has not adjusted to it well. long as possible before pouncing into battle. The two are large predators hunting to survive. THE CAT d6 Type Encounter 1 fey displacer beast Displacer beast 2 shapechanger weretiger 3 celestial foo lions 4 fiend gallows cat 5 monstrosity griffons 6 bonus sabre-toothed tigers

A displacer beast stalks the characters along the road. It has fallen from the fey wild into the prime material plane, and is hunting for sport as much as necessity. The displacer beast makes a Dexterity (Stealth) check against the characters' passive Wisdom (Perception) scores; any character whose score is lower than the check result is surprised. Any character expecting the beast’s attack can contest its stealth check with a Wisdom (Perception) check; if their result is higher, they are not surprised.

A weretiger has dragged a stump to the center of the road to Bremen and is sharpening her silvered scimitar, waiting for the party to arrive. She will explain very calmlySample that Bremen is her territory, and has learned file from bad experiences with unreliable adventurers in the past not to admit adventurers into it. She will not willingly allow the adventurers to progress any further.

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in killing an adventurer, it will land and risk opportunity THE ROOSTER attacks (PHB 195) to rip out the dead adventurer’s heart.

d6 Type Encounter A chicken crosses the road at break-neck speed. Players may wonder why until an owlbear charges, hoot- 1 fey faerie dragon growling, from the dense undergrowth in pursuit of the 2 shapechanger werevulture chicken. The owlbear will gladly hunt larger, meatier game instead. 3 celestial coautl 4 fiend shadow demon 5 monstrosity peryton THE ROBBER'S 6 bonus owlbear

A violet faerie dragon attempts to confound the player’s progress along the road. If the characters can amuse, HOUSE appease, or defeat it, it can give them cryptic but useful information about what waits in the robber’s house. As night falls, the characters see a lighted window 120 feet from the road. It is part of a home that offers safe refuge for the night, if the characters can evict or coexist At the end of a rest, a werevulture begins following the with its current residents. party in its vulture form, picking up scraps. (See the stat block in Appendix 1.) The party must make a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by the werevulture’s Charisma (Deception) check to determine its true nature. It has THE TAKING carved out a life for itself feasting on the remains of Although the house offers warmth and safety from the travelers on the dangerous road to Bremen, but it hasn’t dangerous road to Bremen, it is not empty. had a good week. If found out, it will bargain for food and trinkets to be on its way; in this case characters can d6 Type Encounter make a DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) check. On a failure, the werevulture takes what it wants by force. 1 fey dryad, sprits 2 shapechanger yuan-ti purebloods Appearing in the form of a white-robed, wisened old man leaning on a gnarled staff, a coautl guards the last 3 celestial priest, acolytes bridge to Bremen. It will question the players about how 4 fiend spined devil, imps their encounters on the road changed them. For example, they might have learned compassion from the 5 monstrosity goblin boss, goblins pegasus or confessed a sin after the gallows cat. If at 6 bonus The Mooks (bandit captain, least 3 out 4 players can articulate how their character bandits) has changed since the beginning of the game, it will allow them to pass into Bremen. Otherwise, it will revert FEY to its true form and attack the travelers, judging them unworthy to enter the city. The house is a log cabin of the kind built by The coautl gives fair warning that it will suffer only frontiersmen, trappers, or loggers. A dryad has three lies to be spoken in its presence; on the third, it reclaimed the house for the forest, causing its timbers to will revert to its true form and attack the travelers, put down roots and sprout new growth. With her in the judging them unworthy to enter Bremen. house are 4 sprites, refugees from the capricious courts of greater fey. They will remain invisible, but not The party must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) necessarily silent, until the dryad is threatened (in check to notice one of their shadows is subtlely moving which case they will defend her with their lives) or they of its own accord. A shadow demon has overtaken the are coaxed out of hiding. The dryad will not give up the party and possessed the shadow, biding its time to strike house unless it is taken from her by force or unless until night falls. something is given in exchange; for example, she will accept a promised act of service by the whole party The players see the unnatural, human-shaped shadow consistent with her goals, or she will charm one of the of a peryton rushing toward them, moments before the adventurers and remove them to the feywild for good. peryton itself dives out of the sky to attack. It will use its full movementSample to end its turn 30 feet in the air if file possible, using its flyby ability to do so without SHAPECHANGER provoking opportunity attacks. If the peryton succeeds The house is a small clapboard shack with a well-tended garden along the gravel path leading to its door. Inside Town Musicians of Bremen – v. 1.2 www.scintilla.studio Lucas Zellers 8