Free Preview Edition of the full-length adventure KOBOLDS VS. OGRES! 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 & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon 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 kobold 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 humanoid incursions. As it turns out, half-ogre 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 monsters, not all of over has begun to displace other humanoids, 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 Monster 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 Monster Manual, but will have a source and page number reference otherwise: COS = Curse of Strahd EEPG = Elemental 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 the Dungeon Masters 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 Giant 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.