Southland: Sample Adventure 3

THE SOUTHLAND

A Fantasy Core Setting

© Jerry Harris 2014

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)

Southland Index

Sample Town and Adventure Index

The Ruins (2 XP)

Before the characters reach the ruins, they’ll hear the guttural chanting and wailing.  The ruins are surrounded by low hills.  The group can easily peek in without being observed (assuming they’re not just charging over the hill).  The area radiates strong magic.  Spell-users will literally feel it just being near it. 

It’s a walled plot of land with a bunch of scattered ruins.  As Hime said (if they spoke to “her”), there is a mixed group of 20 Humanoids at the site (no leader types).  4 Goblins, 2 Hobgoblins, 6 Kobolds, 6 Orcs, and 2 Gnolls ****links**** are loudly worshipping the ruins.  They’ll be oblivious to the characters as long as they stay out of sight and don’t make a lot of noise.  With a little extra observation, the characters will also see that the different races are clearly not getting along. 

The Humanoids are all praying to the north end of the site, though there doesn’t seem to be anything special there.  Contrary to Hime’s reconnaissance, there’s nothing amongst the ruins that looks like a tomb.  No standing structure, nor obvious entry into the underground. 

Okay, here’s where the players need to learn how to think.  It’s unlikely the group can take these guys in a straight up fight.  Let the players come up with a hair-brained scheme in order to get down among the ruins.  They could wait until dark, but the wandering humanoids, who are theoretically patrolling the area (and doing a lousy job of it, obviously), will return.  The Humanoids will sleep, but 4 Gnolls and 4 Hobgoblins will alternate watches (the others can’t be trusted). 

The Humanoids are in a highly superstitious state from praying all day for the last three days.  They’re also fasting, until the wandering groups bring some food in the evening.  They’re not expecting any disruptions and their inter-species patience is wearing thin as there are no leader types amongst them.  The pervasive ruins and walls would allow easy (DC 12) sneaking.  Frankly, any rouse should get half the Humanoids to scatter and the rest to flee at half losses.  They’ll be back in 2 turns, though, and with all of the remaining wandering groups.

Award the 2 XP for getting the group down to the ruins so that they can investigate the site.

Once characters get over the surrounding walls into the site, the view changes.  Suddenly, this large ruined temple façade can be seen at the north end of the site and the walls have become a formal courtyard.  What has happened here is that the landscape has been distorted by magic.  Being in the courtyard, allows one to see the site, still in ruins, but before it completely fell apart.  It’s real.  Well, technically “real-ish.”  It’s a matter of perspective.     

Other than the squalid camp of the Humanoids, there’s only stone ruins at the site.  There’s still no tomb.  If the façade is physically examined, one thing is terribly off.  The ground level arches, if stepped in front of, show a passage behind them.  Walking around the façade, it’s just a wall.  A strange issue of a lack of depth.  (Note: The Humanoids cannot see or interact with this.  They could only sense it.)

[The images are of Halicarnassus, by the way.]