Southland Adventure: Stone Grave-Index

STONE GRAVE

A Fantasy Core and D&D 5^th Edition Southland Adventure

© Jerry Harris 2015

Published here as Open Game Content. 

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

I am not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast™.

I make no claim to or challenge to any trademarks held by Wizards of the Coast™.  This adventure uses material from the Basic Rules freely available online at Wizards of the Coast, as well as material of my own adapted to said rules.

(This disclaimer was on a 5e adventure published by Necromancer Games, so I’ll go ahead and use it too.  Also note that this adventure is not for sale and there is no advertising on the site on which it is offered.)

 Southland Index

[Ha, ha, Psych!  You thought it was over in the Southland, didn't you?  Actually in the time that I didn't have access to the blog I worked on this and even added some 5e to it.  Enjoy.]

Setting

Mines Level

Work Level

Residence Level

Noble Level

Afterward/Design Notes

Adventure Synopsis

The Characters are adventurers in the monster-rich Southland setting.  While exploring the Humanoid dominated labyrinth of Mount Connor, they are the lucky finders of an unplundered tomb.  All they have to do is fight their way past a multitude of Humanoids also after the treasure, a hoard of ravenous Undead, and find the hidden treasure.  

Ref Overview Briefing

This would be a mid-level adventure (average 5^th level) for about six adventurers.  The group should include magic users and warriors with magic weapons.  The Characters are more powerful than the monsters inside for the most part, but the monsters are a lot more numerous.  Being incautious and wading into fights with large numbers of Humanoids is potentially party killing.  Don’t crush the Players without at least a good warning shot first.  Let them run if they figure out they’re overmatched.

Static XP awards are going to be very stingy here.  Likewise, there’s no random treasure, food, or healing to be found.  Hopefully, the Players figure this out and don’t waste their resources on random or pointless encounters.  That said, go ahead and give out 1 XP awards for clever, stout, and brave actions as you see fit.    

Philosophically, Stone Grave is almost Tomb of Horrors in reverse.  There’s very little thinking or puzzle-solving here.  It’s a straight up Hack and Slash through a hoard of enemies.  There’s virtually no help, no supplies, no magic weapons, and all the treasure is in the last level, much of it being hard to move.  Oh, and the exits are ambiguous at best.  Getting out with some treasure may be even more interesting than finding it.  Whatever the characters bring in is what they’ll have to work with, so let them in with whatever they can carry, preferably enough to outfit a small army going to war.  Stone Grave should also give the Characters some clues to help find the lost city of Circumsphere in an ongoing campaign.  

Southland: Notes

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

Southland Notes

Let me start with an apology.  I have very little excuse for not researching the continent of Australia better.  It would have taken much longer to prepare, and I just didn’t have the patience.  I considered this project iffy at best and didn’t want to torture myself with it any more than I had to. 

You see, variations of this setting, called The Wastes, have bouncing around my head for about 20 years.  (You can see it here in the Sample Adventure.)  It has been a continual source of frustration.  When I finally stumbled on the thought of placing it in the real world, Australia, I jumped all over it.  Anything to get this thing over with.  One “Search and Replace” later, it’s the Outback.  Ultimately, I hand-waved reality in favor of some questionable placements and descriptions of natural features.  (Not to mention an overly creative use of Vegemite).  It’s an adventure setting, not a geography lesson.

The idea of putting this vague setting in Australia happened when I had this other idea of putting a giant dungeon inside of Ayers Rock.  I wrote out an outline for several levels.  Then I thought, “Why not just put the whole “Wastes” setting in Australia?”  After I did, I ended up putting the giant dungeon into Mount Connor instead, with Ayers Rock instead being the mystical center of the continent. 

So where is this dungeon then?  Why didn’t I post it?  I ended up deciding to take my giant dungeon notes and instead use them in an entirely different setting, which I’m hoping to work on next, albeit scaled down somewhat.  Southland itself got too big, with every idea for it turning into a “rabbit hole” of additional work (two words: Naval Combat).  This would have never gotten finished if I’d put a mega-dungeon with it.  I think any big dungeon will work just as well anyway.  This whole setting is really just a place to stick your own stuff into.  

This setting is part of a larger imagined setting.  I’ve got more details, but they’re really not necessary for game play and mostly only deal the Commonwealth’s history.  The Southland is tentatively connected to the Oriental setting and the Dark Continent settings.  (I’m still not sure how or if Fantasy Ireland should be formally joined in with the rest.)  I view the Commonwealth home continent as a largely civilized and explored place that wouldn’t be much fun for adventurers, except for the barbarian-filled northern areas and the border with the Hegemony.  There’d be plenty of political intrigue for title-level characters back home though.       

If pressed, I’d view this world as basically earth, but smaller in circumference.  There’s no North and South American continents.  There would also be large terrain obstacles between the major nations, preventing easy invasion and trade.  I have no world map nor list of nations.  It’s all just vague thoughts in my head for now.

The town of Cross, Hells Gate (originally Doom Keep), Cairns (originally the Dark Kingdom), and the Insect Kingdoms were throwbacks to the original setting, which why they fit somewhat uncomfortably into this setting.  I just couldn’t let them go after all this time.  A little out-of-setting weirdness is okay though.  One admitted stumbling block I had working on this setting was my lack of discipline in cutting loose sub-par ideas.  I wasn’t sure if I was putting in enough interesting spots in the setting to make it worthwhile, so I made the fateful decision to make everything work, no matter how questionable (except for the Tasmanian Devil).

The Cross map and Governor’s Estate layout were really old and hard to clean up.  I clearly have no future in civic planning or any grasp of Medieval economics.  Sorry, just roll with it or come up with something on your own.

You can thank a friend going into the Marines for the Commonwealth Marine stats and the other military stats.  I’m not sure how useful these will be for adventuring, unless your group wants to play as a bunch of Marines, but there they are.  I admit to having fun making them up.

The Frontier Service was obviously modeled on the French Foreign Legion.  The setting environment, as well as my reading of Beau Geste, viewing the movie March or Die, and Snoopy’s imagined adventures as a Legionnaire, just seemed to cry out for an analogue in the adventure.  When reprobates and idealists, lead by psychotic sadists, fight berserk, man-eating Humanoids, everybody wins.  There was something like this in Australian history, though I modeled the Frontier Service after a Mexican version, where convicts served at the Presidio in present day El Paso.   

Yes, Grumpy and Alice on Monster Island are Land of the Lost references.  Maybe there are Serpent Men (Sleestak) hibernating somewhere on the island.  A few from the Dark Continent could have come over.  (I am planning on finally stat’ing that out in the future.  Here’s what one Serpent Man wizard looks like in the meanwhile.)  

The Kalbarri Portal is obviously based on Stargate or Star Trek’s Guardian of Forever.  Whatever analogy works best for you.  In all honesty, this is the actual natural arch in Kalbarri, called Nature’s Window.

I do not know where the image I’m using actually exists.  I downloaded it a couple of years ago with the name Aussie Portal, but stupidly didn’t make any note of its location.  I assume its somewhere in Australia, but I don’t know where and couldn’t find it.  Oh well, close enough.

These two natural features (the 12 Apostles and Remarkable Rock) should have been included somewhere, but I couldn't figure out what to do with them.

Likewise this feature, the Tasmanian Arch.  I couldn't think of way to make this work as a portal transferring dinosaurs onto the island.  Maybe something else?

I have written some stories about this setting in its previous incarnation, including details about Circumsphere itself.  No, I don’t want to share them.  They’re too incomplete, and I don’t feel like re-working them.  I think it works better as a mystery to be solved with your own imagination.  If its discovery is used as a capstone for a campaign, as intended, it’ll have more meaning that way.  

Southland: Southland Secrets 2

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

Southland Secrets 2

● Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Emperor Leon is becoming increasingly irritated that the Southland is not being fully exploited of its resources because of Humanoid interference.  The military, the Circle of Elders (Paladins), and the Wizard Council have been charged with finding a “Final Solution” to the issue.  The Alice Springs outpost was established as a secret testing ground for it.  Raids into the lost colonial town of Cairns also seem to be a part of it.  They’re interested in the Necromancer’s research. 

● Yes, these guys set up the encounter in “The Thing” Sample Adventure.  They uncovered the magical ruins, set up the sign, and then buried the Mummy Zombies in the area.  It was meant to be a trap for the Humanoids.  Final Solution was remote monitoring the site.  When the characters stumbled on it, they decided to activate the trap to remove the witnesses.  They still might want to go looking for the characters.

● The Necromancer was with the “Final Solution” group at Alice Springs.  He got a little too deep in his understanding of surviving Ancient texts and magic.  He basically went insane and joined the other side.  The Humanoids think he is an Ancient because of his magic and follow him.  (He’s been promising them Vegemite as well, but he hasn’t figured out that he needs eucalyptus for it yet.)  Southern Cross Rangers are furiously searching for the Necromancer to silence him.  He knows WAY too much.   

[And you probably thought I was going to name the “Wiz” in Cross as the Necromancer in disguise.  No.  That’s so clichéd, not doing that is the twist.  But, the Wiz does know him and would like to interrogate him for knowledge, preferably before the Rangers find him.] 

● While the Humanoid Elders and the demons of Hells Gate have a common enemy (invading humans), there is no love lost between them.  The big egos and chaotic nature of the creatures involved will not let them work together at all.  The Elders are content to leave the demons alone, as long as they’re trapped.  If the demons could get loose from the keep, and were still able to stay in the Southland permanently, they’d go right after them. 

Neither side blatantly acts against the other, but there are little proxy battles going on all the time, testing each other’s defenses.  The Oriental demons (Ogre Mages and Oni’s) are the demons’ outside agents (and their own purposes in this are unknown).  Their actions have helped keep the Alice Springs outpost from being overrun by the Humanoids.  

● The Hegemony’s  plan in the Southland, the DarkContinent, and Norther March (the barbarian frontier of the Commonwealth homeland, which I’m not planning on ever detailing) is to force the Commonwealth to draw off more and more of its military resources abroad so that it can launch another invasion into their homeland.  The Oriental empire is actually aware of this.  As soon as the Hegemony starts their invasion, the Empire plans on invading the Hegemony from the west and carving them up.

● Yeah, the Gillmen are actual “space aliens.”  I probably dropped that hint in few times.  They might be an advance party (summoned by the Ancients?) or perhaps a trapped, lost colony attempt (stopped by the Ancients?).  Their underwater bubble city is a spacecraft.  Antalamya, the shell dragon, actively fighting this alien invasion.

● The dinosaurs in Tasmania were not an Ancient “Jurassic Park” genetics experiment.  There’s another portal (like Kalibarri) on the island that was used to bring them in from the past.  That portal is still actively doing so, either by its self or by some unknown force.  (Is there actually a Tasmanian Devil?  Is there a reason, other than the Bass Strait water barrier, that this island was untouched by the Catastrophe?)  There’s a network of these portals on the continent.  So far, only the Necromancer has figured out where they are (some are well hidden) and how to use them.  The Crossbones have not found the Tasmanian portal, but they are actively exploring the island for more Ancient artifacts.

● The Wizard-Kings weren’t buried at the Ayres Rock tomb.  Many were transmuted into the land itself at (wait for it) the Olgas monument next door.  The spirits in the rocks are the Wizard-Kings.  Ancient records enigmatically refer to this process as “They were returned to the earth.”  However, no one living knows this.  The spirits are so old, they don’t even remember, though they could, if reminded.

● However, that wasn’t the fate of all the Wizard-Kings.  Some wanted a physical form to match their magical power.  Thus the creation of the Dragons.  These are totally artificial magical artifacts with powerful human souls jarred into them.  This form is nearly immortal, requiring only consumed human blood to remain animated.  

These creatures’ magical nature allowed them to survive the Catastrophe, but not unscathed.  Many lost their minds or were physically damaged.  All of them lost their ability to cast spells.  As they attempted to feed on the Humanoids, the Dragons found themselves overmatched by sheer numbers.  So, most are dead, a few gone dormant from lack of blood, and a very few (Argula, Abraxus, and Antalamya) have found a protected niche. 

That Dragon “Stockpile” in the military bunker in the Nullarbor Plain are Dragon bodies that never had human souls placed into them and were never activated.  This does require an elaborate magical ceremony, none of the details of which have been found.  I wonder if the Necromancer is looking for them?  

Southland: Southland Secrets 1

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

Southland Secrets 1

[If you’re some sneaky player in this setting, stop reading this!  I put this near the end of the posts to increase the drama.]

Let me give you a few things to think about.

● The Humanoids were once human, the subjects of the Sphere Empire.  They were magically altered by the Wizard-Kings into the various savage races.  Kobolds are truly the most tragic byproduct of the Ancient Civil War.  Wars create an abundance of orphans.  In an evermore desperate need for troops, the Wizard-Kings would convert even lost children into inhuman soldiers.  All this knowledge is known to the Commonwealth leadership and a few scholars, but has been otherwise suppressed. 

The Humanoids were created by first draining the human subjects of their souls, then they were altered into their various forms.  This is why they survived the Catastrophe; they had no souls to drain.  It is their soulnessness that makes them savage monsters, not their physical characteristics.  (One reason why the Humanoids instinctively hate humans; they know that they are incomplete mockeries of humans and can’t stand to be reminded of it.)  Oh, all that soul-energy was then used by the Wizard-Kings to power their magic, which is why it was so powerful. 

 

Mount Conner was the “factory” for Humanoid production, Vegemite, and alchemical weapons.  The various Humanoid tribes there are fighting over their original “home.”  The Gelatinous Cubes, oozes, and such in the Deep Dark are magically mutated Vegemite, mutated by the Catastrophe and the various alchemical concoctions in the Deep Dark.  

● Humanoid leadership is much smarter and more coordinated than they appear.  There’s a Humanoid High Command of Elders that isn’t even a rumor amongst the humans.  This diverse council of creatures has not just human-level intelligence, but genius-level intelligence. 

The Elders are allowing the human settlements.  They want the population just big enough so that it can turned into a large, renewable slave labor/food resource.  Not to mention, the Elders think, with enough human sacrifices, they can replicate the “fallout” effect over the continent and ensure the Humanoid’s continued existence. 

They are very confident they can easily overrun the colonial defenses.  It was the Elders who orchestrated the massacre at the Cairns colony, and they actively took part in it.  They have ordered various Humanoid tribes to occupy and hold certain valuable land deposits to keep the humans from expanding too far into the interior. 

Where are they?  Remember all those Humanoid pilgrimages to Ayers Rock?  The Humanoids routinely travel to them for guidance, orders, and enlightenment.  The Elders’ lair is tucked deep into the Astral Plane.  Their portal is a hidden cave that only Humanoid Kings know about and how to open.   The Elders are descendants of Humanoids who moved into the Rock after the Catastrophe.  After finding a way inside, they received enlightenment from the Dreamtime entities and a place to live.  Worthy Humanoids have been brought in ever since to join them. 

Humanoid Elder

+4 to all stats

HD 10 (d8), Hp 60, AC 18 (Chain Mail), Enhanced Init +4

Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +11

Melee: Great Axe +14 to hit 1d12+4

Ranged: Spear +14 to hit 1d8 + Stun 1 rd

Spell Check +7, Save Against DC 15, up to 2 failed Spellchecks/encounter

(Equivalent to 5^th level spell user)

1ST-LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS (DC 13 to cast)

Comprehend Languages: You understand all spoken and written languages. 5 turns.

Expeditious Retreat: Your speed increases by 30 ft. 5 turns.

Magic Missile: 11 impact damage + Knocked down. (Ref Sv all damage) Short range.

2ND-LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS (DC 14 to cast)

Acid Arrow: 11 acid damage + -1 to non-Dex bonus AC. (Ref Sv all damage) Short range.

Invisibility: Subject is invisible for 5 rds or until they attack. 0 Bonuses to hit by melee or ranged, +4 Saving Throws vs spells. Disrupted by any hit. 

3RD-LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS (DC 15 to cast)

Dispel Magic: Cancels magical spells and effects. Roll a normal spellcheck to cast, then also compare that to DC 11 + ½ the original caster’s level.  Both must be successful to dispel the magic.  If the just the spellcheck is successful, it doesn't count as a spell failure (Caster Check)

Displacement: Successful attacks miss subject 50%. Encounter.

Fireball: 13 fire damage + 1d6 continuing damage until extinguished, 20-ft. radius. (Ref Sv ½ damage) Medium range. Note that this spell does have the capacity to set off flammable objects in the area, especially on successful saves, and go out of control quickly.

Fly: Subject flies at speed of 60 ft./rd, 5 turns. Disrupted by any hit

Hold Person: Paralyzes one humanoid for 5 rds. (Will Sv)

Lightning Bolt: 13 electrical damage + Stun 1 rd + Knocked Down. (Ref Sv ½ damage) Medium range.

Suggestion: Compels non-hostile subject to follow stated course of action. 5 turns. (Will Sv)

Summon Monster III: Calls 3HD extraplanar creature to fight for you.  Encounter. Forbidden spell. Ceremony Spell.   

HD 3, Hp 24, AC 13 (Natural)

Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +1

Melee: Claw +3 to hit 1d6+3

[You thought this “Secrets” thing was just going to be a bunch of fluff, didn’t you?]

Southland: Sample Adventure 4

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 Tomb (0 XP)

Stepping inside any of the arches, the characters will find themselves inside a large rectangular funeral vault.  It is lit by several torches, which are all mundane.  There’s a wooden box with a small slot in the top of it just inside the entrance.  The top is secured by a small lock, which could be easily pried open.  Inside the box is 20 Ancient Credits (platinum pieces). 

Along the left and right sides of the chamber are shelves containing various artifacts.  These are 30 various objects and pieces of artwork that survived the deluge from before the time of the Ancients.  None of them radiate magic.  A collector in a large city might have an interest in them and pay 10 gp each, but otherwise they have obvious useful purpose.  Unfortunately, 10 of the objects are fairly bulky.  Unless the group brought a cart, they won’t be able to take them.

At the far end of the chamber is an obvious stone sarcophagus.  Over it is a sign in Ancient that proclaims, “The Thing!”  Stepping up to it, the lid suddenly flings back (clearly not stone).  A mummified corpse sits up in the sarcophagus, waves his arms, and begins to speak in Ancient, “I come from the time before the benevolent Wizard-Kings.  Come, listen to my tales of my long ago time.”   The corpse then begins to drone on about the various artifacts in the room, as a spotlight illuminates the objects as he talks about them.  (Feel free to embellish on this as you wish.  Low, bawdy humor might be appropriate, as the characters are about to get F’ed.)  With examination, the sarcophagus and mummy are revealed to be cheesy props.

Back in the Ruins

(2 XP for fighting, 1 XP for escaping without fighting)

There’s nothing else of value in the chamber, and no other way out.  Leaving the chamber, the façade and courtyard suddenly disappear and the site is returned to ruins.  There have been interesting developments in the ruins since the characters have been gone.

The Humanoids have returned and with reinforcements.  That’s not the bad news, because they’re actually dead.  No, the bad news is what’s killed and frightened them.  It’s a bunch of six Mummy Zombies.  (Did you really think there wasn’t going to be a mummy fight in this?)  One has just finished choking the life out of a Gnoll, the last defender remaining as the rest of them have fled, when it sees the characters and begins to move towards them.

The characters can outrun the zombies, but only if they do so immediately.  If they stay, it’s going to be a fight.  If the characters leave the ruins during the fight, the zombies will follow, but (importantly) the zombies will lose their energy drain ability. 

Immediately after (presumably) killing all the Mummy Zombies, the dead Humanoids in the area suddenly rise and attack.  There are 10 Humanoid Zombies that have the same stats as the mummies.           

Mummified Zombies

HD 2+3, Hp 11, AC 11 (natural), Always strike last in rd.    

Fort +0, Ref –1, Will +3

Melee: Slam +2 to hit 1d6+1 + Energy Drain DC 12 Will Sv or lose 1 negative hp

Vulnerable: Fire causes x 2 damage

The Way Back (0 XP)

Hime, fully clothed as a geisha this time, is waiting by the Billboard.  Regardless of the characters’ dealings with her, Hime wants info about the ruins.  (I guess I should mention, Hime didn’t want to possibly get caught in the trap there.)  If the characters did not have a deal, she jingles a small pouch with 10 gp in it.  Hime will not fight, nor force the divulgence. 

If the characters aren’t fully and completely truthful in their tale, Hime uses telepathy on each character.  It is a DC 12 Will Sv to resist.  She’ll give them gold if she gets the info, one way or the other.  Lastly, she’ll ask what the characters think was going on there.  After they speak, Hime will offer that she thinks it was a trap set up to kill Humanoids, “But by whom?”  With that she turns to gas and flies off. 

The group is unmolested on their way back to Cross.

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.]

Southland: Sample Adventure 2

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

Travel to the Site (0 XP)

It’s about an hour and a half mounted or two and half hours on foot to reach the site.  It lies directly southeast of Cross in an uninhabited area with no roads.  There’s a visual natural landmark about half way as a waypoint. 

Oh, how I hate random encounters, especially in Southland where nearly everything is instantly inimical to human life.  Nonetheless, roll 1d4 once for every hour of travel or part thereof, a 1 means an encounter.  Roll 1d6, 1-3 dangerous animals, 4-5 Humanoids, 6 Humans. 

For the dangerous animals, roll 1d4.  This could be 1-Killer Sheep (10), 2-Dire Kangaroos (10), or 3-Dire Rabbits (20).    On a 4 roll, roll again for Humanoids.  A group of them are hunting the herd and their attack will drive the animals towards the characters.   

Generally, the animals will observe the group, but not attack unless provoked.  However, while the characters were in town, they noticed that there’s a posted bounty on such creatures (by taking their right ears).  5 cp Dire Rabbit, 1 sp Dire Kangaroo, 2 sp Killer Sheep (that’s double the usual Southland bounty since this is a sheepherder community).  The animals will scatter with determined resistance. 

For the Humanoid encounters, roll 1d4: 1-Orc Scouts (6), 2-Goblin Mob (10), 3-4 Hobgoblin Scouts (4), 4-Gnoll Hunting Party (4).  There is a posted bounty of 1 gp Humanoid right ears.

Roll another 1d4: 1-Humanoids see Characters first (Hobgoblins and Gnolls will attempt an ambush, Orcs and Goblins attack immediately), 2-Characters see the Humanoids first, 3-Both sides see each other at the same time, 4-Neither side sees the other, but any disturbance will alert the other.  Orcs will attack to the last.  Goblins flee at half casualties.  Hobgoblins and Gnolls will retreat if overmatched to get reinforcements (2 turns, return with the other wandering Humanoid groups).

Human encounters will be a complication to this stealth mission, either being military (Frontier Service squad of 11 or two Rangers ) or rival scavengers (like Snax and Worm if they aren’t with the group).  *****links**** Roll as above as to who sees whom first.  This would more than likely be negotiation encounter.  Troops will want to know the group’s business.  Scavengers may want to join forces.  Play off of whatever the players’ reaction is.     

Oasis (0 XP)

Eventually the group makes it to the waypoint.  Perhaps it’s an oasis amongst the dunes, a small grove of trees on the prairie, or a hill in the jungle (obviously depending on where you’ve placed the adventure).  Regardless, there is a small pool of water there and bathing in said pool is a beautiful, naked woman.  She beacons to them. 

Even the most novice adventurer (or player) will discern this situation is likely not what it appears to be.  She will do nothing else if ignored, and continue her bath.  If attacked, she teleports and flees.  If encountered, the viewer will notice she is Oriental, and introduce herself as Hime (he-may) in Common.  Hime is an Oni.  She radiates magic, but is physically shape-changed into human form (not an illusion).   

Hime seems to know where the characters are going, via some cryptic allusions.  She has information about the site, but wants information in return.  She can describe the ruins and that there are many and various Humanoids there.  She wants to know what’s in the tomb.  That’s all for now.  (No, she doesn’t want to have sex with the characters.  Business before pleasure.)      

Billboard (0 XP)

About halfway to the ruins from the oasis, sits this sign.  Weirdness just shows up in the Southland interior.  Get used to it.  The sign is actually written in Ancient (a chance to use that Language skill, DC 12), and it radiates magic.  It is from the time of the Ancients, and its magic has somehow allowed it to survive all this time.  However, its upright placing here looks recent, as the post holes have been freshly dug.  There is a rough, well-traveled path around the sign, leading to the ruins.  The tracks are of various types of Humanoids.  (Some players may accurately see this encounter as foreshadowing.)