From: jvogel@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Jeff Vogel) No Rest for the Dead A second edition AD&D adventure for 5-7 units lv. 1-2 cannon fodder. Copyright 1989, Jeff Vogel, All rights confused about. Setting: A village fairly distant from the rest of civilized humanity: pop. 300. The village is fairly newly formed and colonized, and in the middle of fairly hostile and untamed country. Three-hundred years previous, there was a feudal town on the site, but it was destroyed by (whatever fits in your setting). Only the foundations of the original buildings remain, including a ^ fairly shredded castle. Said ruins are ~40 miles to east. There must be some form of city (hearafter named Duvno, the name in my campaign) about 120 miles distant, the closest large inhabitation. Name of village: Telima. (Change name as appropriate for your game.) Plot: The village is under attack by a group of evil clerics, because: (you pick) 1. They wish to loot the village. 2. Their deity demands occasional death sacrifices. 3. (likely) They wish to build a powerful fighting force. 4. (likely) They are under the employ of an organization hostile to the country in which Telima is. The clerics, with the help of a small group of low-level fighters are generating an army of undead, in order to wipe out the village before they can summon help from their country. Background: The clerics arrived about three months p-a (pre-adventure) and set up camp about 10 km southeast of the castle. They then went to the castle, located the old graveyard (with locate object), and began digging up bodies. Some skeletons and bodies embalmed when buried still remained whole. These were dug up and animated (using all 3 clerics and a combine spell). The new undead^ were put to work digging, and more bodies were recovered. Currently, the cemetary is almost exhausted. However, the search for corpses still continues, with come success. Most of the new undead were eventually put to work building a small fort at the cleric's camp. After about two months non-stop, round the clock work (skeletons and zombies make tireless work forces), the fortification was completed. Then, the band went into action, sending a series of attacks against the Telimans. A problem with attacks was the large distance (50 km) from the village. However, the group had brought 2 horse and carts, to transport the zombies fairly quickly. The trip (one-way) took 36 hours. One of the clerics always went along, to feed instructions to the undead. 3 weeks p-a: A midnight attack wiped out 3 of the more distant farmhouses. No^ survivors were left; all bodies were stolen. The village reeled in shock, but no message was sent to Duvno, as the nature of the threat was unknown. Families began to stay together in the more defendable farmhouses, only returning to their own homes to work. The town's two trackers, Michals and Skolason are send out on horseback to track the attackers. They lose the trail at a stream. 2 weeks p-a: Another midnight attack decimated a half-dozen families in another distant farmhouse. Some survivors escape, to inform Telima of the "hordes of evil undead". A rider is sent to Duvno for help. They lose trail again. 1 1/2 weeks p-a: The rider returns from Duvno. Help is refused. Gerson, a wandering ranger, enters Telima and offers to look for the source of the undead, and then leaves. He is actually a thief, employed by the clerics, and a spy. He will return later. 1 week p-a: Eight zombies attack town (to test defenses). Sigil, the Teliman mage in residence, fireballs them. Trackers sent out. Michals returns. Skolason doesn't. 1/2 week p-a: Zombies and skeletons attack another farm. Most flee, some men are killed, bodies are taken back to fort to be animated. O week p-a: Party arrives. Begin adventure. Note: When the adventure requests a check for a given attribute, that means the party member must roll that stat or under on a d20. Adventure division: This adventure is in ten parts, but is highly non-linear. beyond 1, the party may be involved in all or none (except that 9 & 10 exclude each other). Part 1: Welcome! Oh God, Welcome! Party arrives in Telima, finds out what's going on. Part Z: Follow me, gents. Spy falsely leads party out of town, organizes ambush. Part 3: The triumphant return. Party returns to Telima. Part 4: Graverobbers. Party visits ruined castle. Part 5: Home, Sweet Home. Party discovers undead fort. Part 6: The triumphant return. (Reprise) Party returns to Telima after undead army has left. Part 7: The Battle at the Crossroads. (subtitled: Well, we're doomed.) Battle with undead the first. Part 8: The Defense of Telima (subtitled: Did you say Custer?) Battle with undead the second. Part 9: Zombie Chow. Good guys lose. Part 10: Time to Rebuild. Good guys lose. Party introduction: The party must have some reason to enter Telima: (you pick) 1. They have been hired to carry a package of spell components to Sigil. 2. They are exploring. 3. They have been sent by Duvno to clear up whatever's going on. When the party arrives, begin part l. Telima: Telima has been around for about 40 years, and has become established with some success. The inhabitants are friendly, once their trust has been gained, but, until then, have developed an almost overwhelming paranoia. The party had best watch their step when first entering the town. Monetary treasure and incidental possesions can be determined by the GM. Roster: Johann Bottlebottom: mayor, lv 3 H M F (human male fighter) AC (3) 3, hp 22, AL LG chain mail, bastard sword, ring of protection +2 Johann is, to say the least, somewhat unimpressive. He is about 5'10", and 230 pounds. He is generally gruff (the strain of the crisis has somewhat gotten to him), and untalkative, and is rarely seen without a tankard of ale. He is, however, a competant fighter, and fights with all the rest when the undead come. Normally, however, he prefers to let Arron do the talking, feeding directions when nobody else is around. Arron: captain of guard, lv 5 H M F AC (2) 3, hp 40, AL LG, longsword specialized Relevant stats: Str. 17, Con. 16 longsword (+2 th, +3 dam), banded +1, large shield, longbow, 8 +2 arrows, 12 normal arrows, ring of feather falling Arron is as serious as Johann, but, as he is generally left to give orders, tries to act happy. This usually comes across as badly forced, however, and may be more unsettling than plain seriousness. It is he who first greets the party, and acts actively unfriendly unless the party cooperates with the village, in which case, he becomes as cooperative and helpful as possible. Sigil: lv 7 H M M-U (non-specialized) AC 8, hp 18, AL NG Cloak of protection +2, potion of healing x 3 Spells: lv 1: magic missile x 2, shield, burning hands lv 2: web, invisibility, pyrotechnics lv 3: fireball, hold person lv 4: ice storm Sigil is eighty years old, and shows it. He is not senile, but nods of constantly, and speaks sparingly when he is awake. He begins to trust the party early on, however, and uses his spells to the best of his ability when the undead attack. He has lived in Telima for about 30 years, doing private research. Note: Sigil has fairly weak lungs. Should he be exposed to any form of noxious gas (incl. stinking cloud), he will be inactive for a full turn. Shively, Level 3 H M Cleric AC (4) 5, hp 20, AL NG Relevant stats: Wis. 17, Con 16 Spells: cure light wounds x 3, bless, hold person, aid, know alignment Johnson, level 2 H M Cleric AC (4) 5, hp 12, AL LG Wis. 16 Spells: cure light wounds x 2, bless, sanctuary Merik, Level 1 H M Cleric Dex. 17, Wis. 17 Spells: Cure light wounds x 3 All priests have chain mail, large shields, and mace. Shively and Johnson have slings. 12 level 1 Human Male Fighters Ac (4) 5, hp 9, AL LG Chain & shield, longsword, longbow w. 20 arrows 80 Male peasants, lv O AC 10, hp 4, AL LG Club/pitchfork/other impromptu weapon (Dam. 1-6/1-4) (these fight in uncoming battles) 100 Female peasants, 160 children (up to age 15) 15 light riding horses (some of which may be loaned to party) Map of town: Scale: horizontal space = 10'(3m), vertical space = 20'(6m) ^ ^ ^N | | | 1 | | <+> | | V 2 | | 4 <-----+-----------+--------------- (10) | | | | ______ | | / \ 20m square (Western side) 5 | 6 | |_ | | | I_| 7 | walled off | | \______/ area | | <----+-----------+-----------------------------------------> | | | 8 9 | | ---- : street | | V to Duvno Various roads lead off map to other farms. All buildings are of wood, with the exception of 1 & 2. 1. Mayor's house 2. Courthouse/city hall/town center Sort of an all purpose meeting place 3. Inn of the Last Frontier A small pub and 4 room inn. Has small stable. 4. Sigil's tower: 30' diameter, 40' high, 3 levels. The single door to this tower is covered by a simple permanent illusion (door is on north side), and locked. It has a glyph of warding (feh, lightning, 12 pts, save for 1/2). There are two illusion covered windows on the second floor (face east and west). There is a very well hidden travelling spell book with Sigil's memorized spells plus read magic, and a pair of standard spell books, with extra spells and traps as set by the GM. Sigil's additional treasure is also to be selected by the GM. There is a ladder up to the roof of the tower. It is here that Sigil stands, watching, when the party enters Telima. 5. Very small temple to a selected good deity. Shively is the sole priest. 6. A quasi-park. Some shrubs and flowers. 7. Guardhouse and fortification. Inside the guardhouse the guards rotate week-long shifts between living with their families. Currently, they all live here. A 60' square walled off area (uprighted logs, stone buttressed, lO' high) can only be entered through the guardhouse. It is here to provide a defensive position against someone attacking the town; when the undead come, the families and warriors will retreat to here and Sigil's tower. 8. Second very small temple to selected good deity. Johnson and Merik work here. 9. A warehouse (30' x 50') for storing seed and farm equipment. It is currently unusued. 10.Charred, round area. (Where Sigil's fireball hit.) About fifty mixed farms are sited within 15 miles of Telima, mostly in the direction of Duvno. Any other desired trappings for the town can be put where desired. Part 1: Welcome! Oh God, Welcome! If the party arrives during the day, Sigil will be watching from his tower, and Arron will notice them when they enter and greet them. Other townspeople will be present, looking nervous. Arron will approach, and ask the party their business. If he is answered satisfactorily (i.e. not suspiciously), he greets them warmly and escorts them to the inn, where he gets for them from the barkeep free room and board. Soon after, they receive an invitation from the mayor for dinner at his home. They have free reign of the town, but are always watched. If the party doesn't cooperate, the entire guard can (and will) come out and spare no effort to subdue or, if they must, kill them. Sigil uses his hold person from atop the tower if necessary. They are eventually taken to the guardhouse and questioned. If everyone fought the guards, the party is asked to leave. Firmly. They can do what they want thereafter, but are unwelcome in the town. Anyone who actually killed a resident is executed immediately. Anyone who wounded a resident or resisted arrest is imprisoned. Everyone else is released and taken to the inn, where they receive the invitation. At dinner, anyone stuck in jail is brought to the mayor's home under guard. If... They visit Sigil: If they have a package for him, a guard comes to their room to collect it. If they go to his tower, and manage to find the entrance, there is still no answer. The door is wizard locked. It is unlikely that the party will be able to force entrance; if they do they are arrested, and brought to the mayor's under guard. They wander about town: The citizens are nervous and quiet. They give no hint of what is going on. For role-playing, remember: this is a frontier town under siege. Trust is at a minimum. Dinner is at 7. The party is called for. The mayors house is a simple four room stone cottage. At dinner is him, his wife and 2 children, Arron, two guards, and Sigil (who nods off constantly). Dinner is ham and potatoes: very simple. During dinner, the party is told of the history of Telima, with mention of the ruined castle. After dinner, the mayor tells the party of what has been going on, and offers 100 gold if they can help the village survive. He relates all the events that have occured, and the fact that zombies and skeletons carried out the attacks and stole the bodies. Note: nobody realizes the full scope of what is going on. They still believe it is only a wandering group of rogue undead. That is why so little help has been send for, and no large scale searches have been made. After the discussion has gone on for some time, the meal is interrupted by a guard, who states that Skolason (the missing scout) has been seen riding towards his home on horseback. He ignored the guards who hailed him, probably in his rush to get home. His home is 3km out of town, and Johann, Arron, 3 guards, and (if they want) the party (light riding^ horses provided if they have none) ride out to his home. Skolason went to the ruined castle, and fell victim to a hold person. He was tortured to death, and then he, and his horse were animated (the latter, however, can only move, not attack) were sent to ride back home. When the party arrives, Skolason's wife and 3 children will be standing by the open gate to the farm, waiting. Eventually, he will arrive, but it will soon be apparent that the horse is not moving normally. The zombie horse, with rider, rides through the gate, up the walk, and straight through the closed door of the house, decimating both zombies and door. The party may inspect the body (other than wound marks, nothing special). The wife faints, the children scream, and they are all taken away. Guards stay to^ clean up the mess. Everyone returns to town. (Note: Remember - it is night, and dark. This scene can be extremely eerie if played right.) Tracking the horse will reveal that it rode from along the river to the northeast. The trail comes from water after about 3km, and will be lost after that (see map, below). Back at town, there is more discussion at the mayor's home. The party is invited. Let them all discuss what to do for a while. After about a half-hour, another visitor arrives: Gerson, the spy, known to Telima as the ranger who went to look for the zombies. He states that he found a cavern by the river about 22km to the northeast, from which the undead seem to be coming (a baldfaced lie, of course). He wants about 5 or 6 guards to accompany him to investigate further (actually, an ambush is set down the road). The mayor asks the party to go. If... They agree: They are given a map of the area (see map below), and the next morning Gerson leads them on their way. Go to part II. They refuse: They are offered a chance to scout about. If the agree, they are given a map, and wished luck. They may do as they will. If they just leave and don't return, I hope you have another adventure handy. Gerson leaves with 4 city guards. None return. Subtract 4 guards. Add 4 zombies to enemy roster. The party is loaned light riding horses. Timeline: This sequence of events starts the morning after the party arrives. Day 1: Gerson leaves in the morning, with whoever. Day 1 (night): Zombies attack Gerson's camp. Gerson returns to undead fort. Day 2: Telima begins building up fortifications (i.e. reinforcing wall by guard house, clearing area of possible cover). Undead army leaves fort, begins marching towards southern extent of farm area. Day 3 (morning): Scout returns with news of harm; families retreat to town. Day 4 (morning): After continuous marching, army reaches the abandoned southern farms and moving towards the village. Telimans see smoke and ride out to defend their homes. See part VII. Day 4 (afternoon): Undead reach village, see part VIII. Day 4 (night): End of adventure, see either part IX or X. Map of the Outside world: Scale: 1 space = 4km \...........------/.... ^ N .\........./........... | ..\......./$......... <+> ...\...../..... V ....\.../... ...^^^ Key: /,',\ : river ....--- ...#^^^^ . : forest ...*((. ...^^^@^^ ^ : hills ...\((( ....^^^^^^ ( : farmland ....\(X .....^^^^ * : Telima ..\(( $ : Ambush point (see pt. II) ...\( # : ruined castle ....| @ : undead fort ...../ X : crossroads (see pt. VII) Movement rates for party: On foot, 8 spaces a day. On horseback, 14 spaces a day. Part 2: Follow me, gents. Occurs if party leaves Telima with Gerson. Gerson rides with the party (Telima provides horses, if the party has none). Before leaving, the party is given a rough copy of the map above. Gerson insists on leaving in the morning. If the party refuses, soldiers go with him instead. Gerson leads the party (if they go) along the river to the northeast. There are no planned encounters. When dusk arrives, Gerson indicates to set up camp at the '$' mark, a grove amidst the forest. He offers to take second watch by himself. He objects if someone offers to take the watch with him, but agrees if pressed. (Up to this point, the party should have some suspicions of Gerson: His arrival was too timely, and by now they should have some hunches regarding the ruined castle, which is in a different direction from where they are being led. Playing his slightly suspiciously can't hurt.) In the middle of the night (during second watch), the camp is attacked by Randal and 4 zombies. Randal hides in the bushes by the grove and casts a curse spell on them. Then, the zombies charge in. Gerson attacks either whoever is on watch or, is he is the only one awake, a random sleeping party member. (Statistics for enemies are in fort roster.) If someone else is awake, the party can be alerted. If nobody is awake, they are in trouble. If any good or neutral priests make a wisdom check at a penalty of one, the curse disturbs them and they awake. If not, Gerson kills one party member. Then, the zombies approach. Anyone who rolls int. or less on % hears them and wakes up. If all fail, another random member is killed, and this check is repeated, and again, with a member dying each time until somebody wakes up. Note: Readers of this adventure have complained that this section seems a deathtrap. It actually is not; the party must first make the mistake of trusting this unknown person to guard them alone. Then, they must fail a long succesion of rolls. Only a combination of stupidity and bad luck will cause death. When battle is joined, Randal runs in for 2 rounds and then flees. Gerson tries to flee if he loses half his hp. Zombies fight to the death. After the battle, the party may try to track. Unfortunately, the enemies approached from the northeast while wading in the river. Going upriver, a ranger has a chance equal to his/her normal chance x.25 to find their trail. It leads to the ruined castle. If the trail isn't found, the party is on its own. If... they explore: If they go to the ruined castle or wherever, go to the appropriate later part. they return to Telima: It takes half a day to ride back. Go to part III. Part 3: The Triumphant Return Occurs if the party returns to Telima before either they know of the invasion or the undead attack the village. Very little happens in Telima, other than desultory preparation for some form of military action. Residents listen to the party sympathetically, but can only ask them to look around more. Nobody can be spared to help them.^ If the party asks, Johann ups the reward to 200 gp, but only if the party can prove that they have wiped out the undead. The priests heal the party up to the best of their ability (i.e. five cure light wounds spells per day). This is offered. Note: I recommend that, if you have a one week required "down-time" for characters driven unconscious, you allow the priests in this town to apply some sort of healing balm that removes it. Otherwise, you'll have some bored players for the rest of the adventure. Part IV: Graverobbers. Occurs if the party arrives at the ruined castle. The ruins are notably unimpressive. The only remaining feature is the broken down structure of a long-dead castle. No dungeons. No treasures. Kaput. Just it, and the old cemetary next to it, which has a large number of holes dug in it. Map: Scale: one space = 3m (horizontal and vertical) ................. {}{}{}{}--***** ............O.... | ..O...OOO........ | {}{}{}{} .....OOO.......O. | }{}{}{}{}{} ..OO..........O.. * {}{}{} --> to lots of rubble ....OOOO....O.... * {} .OO.OOOO..OO...O. * ---- ................. | --------***----* Key: . : cemetary O : 3m deep hole |,- : 2m high wall * : 5m high wall {}{} : rubble If the army of undead has not yet left the fort: The digging continues. Marie, 15 skeletons and 7 zombies and at the cemetary. A 1st level fighter waits nearby on horseback, next to a horse drawn cart with some (dead) skeletons in it. The party can hide and watch in some nearby trees (30m from graveyard). If... The party attacks: Good luck to them. The whole bunch retreats to a defensive position behind the wall, and fights to the best of its ability. They wait: After two hours, the load is finished and most of the group heads off. Left are Marie and 7 skeletons. The party can attack now, with much better odds. If the army has left for Telima already: The party finds an unoccupied ruin. If the party attacks and then returns later, they find that the excavation has ended. Subtract all bad guy casualties from their roster (see below). There is a small road leading from the ruins to the fort. It is not hidden or trapped. Part V: Home, Sweet Home. Occurs if the party arrives at the fort. The enemy fort is set in a depression between three hills. It is the base of operation for the priests, the fighters, and the skeletons and zombies they have created. The party can attack the fort if they want. It's not a good idea. The best thing they can do is spy, do guerilla attacks, and witness when the army leaves in order to warn Telima. Enemy roster: (money and other possesions to be decided by GM) Callend, lv 5 M H Cleric AC (4) 2, hp 30, AL Ne Relevant stats: Wis 17, Dex 15 Footman's mace, Banded & shield, Scroll (slow poison, animate dead) Spells: cure lt. wounds x 2, sanctuary, command x 2, hold person x 2, spiritual hammer, dust devil x 2, animate dead, insect swarm Marie, lv 3 M H Cleric AC (4) 3, hp 15, AL NE Str. 17, Wis. 16 Footman's mace +1 (+2 th/+2 d), Banded & shield Spells: cure light wounds x 2, sanctuary, command, hold person x 2, dust devil Randal, lv 1 M H Cleric AC (4) 3, hp 10, AL NE Wis. 15, Con. 17 Footman's flail, Banded & shield Spells: Combine, sanctuary x 2 (When enemy leaves fort to attack Telima, replace combine with another sanctuary) Four level 1 fighters, all male, 3 humans, one dwarf AC (4) 3, hp 10 each, AL CN, all Str. 17 Broadsword (specialized, +2 th./+3) dam, Shortbow w. 20 arrows, Banded & shield Each has one Stinkvial (Appears a sealed ceramic jug. When broken, a 10 round duration stinking cloud appears. XP 50 each., gp value 250 each) (Gerson has the same stats as the fighters, but wears leather armor. He is not involved in the final battle.) 20 zombies (AC 8, HD 2, hp 10 each, #AT 1, D 1-8, always attack last) 85 skeletons (AC 7, HD 1, hp 6 each, #AT 1, D 1-6, edged and pointed weapons do 1/2 damage) 4 lt. war horses (for fighters) 3 lt. riding horses (for clerics) two horse drawn carts (for zombies) Note: Since the original posting of this adventure, the numbers of zombies and skeletons have been increased from 16 and 62 respectively. Playtesting has shown that the old numbers were too weak to have any chance of destroying the town. Fort map: Scale: 1 space = 3m ^ N Key: ... road | /-\ fort wall (wood, 15' high) <+> ------ O 10' high walkway (sheltering zombies) .. V /Oooooo\ o 10' high walkway ..... |O 4o| I wooden gate (barred) ...........IO 11 o| |O 2\ \Oooo3ooo/ -------/ Hills circle the fort, 60 feet in each direction. The ground between the hills and the fort is thick brush, up to 10 feet from the walls, where the brush has been cut down. An adventurer could approach while hiding in the foilage, but read below. 1. (8mx5m, 1 story wood building, 2 rooms, 2 doors) This is the makeshift church to (insert appropriate evil god here). The front room is bare, but for a large table in the center. This is where animations take place (Randal casts binding, Callend casts animate dead, and all three work together). Callens lives in the second room. Each room has its own door. 2. (5m square, 1 story wood building, 1 room, 1 door) The roof of this building is part of the walkway. Inside lives Marie and Randal. 3. (10mx3m 1 story wood building, 1 room, 1 door) This is the barracks for the 4 fighters. The roof of this building forms part of the walkway. At any point, assume that 10 zombies, 40 skeletons, 3 fighters, Randal, and Callend will be here. Eight of the skeletons are hiding in the thick brush around the fort; each is 13m away, and has a bell around his neck. If anyone approaches within 3m, it will spring up and attack; the ringing bell has a 20% cumulative chance each round of alerting someone in the fort (remember how few beings inside are actually alive). The rest of the skeletons are on the walkway around the walls (mostly for effect; they can't keep watch). The zombies are under the walkway by the west wall. If the party either sets fire to the place or attacks, the undead pour out of the fort in the following order, starting the moment the party is detected: rounds 1-2: none round 3: gate opens, all perimiter skeletons rise and attack round 4: 6 zombies leave round 5: 4 zombies, 6 skeletons round 6: 10 skeletons round 7: gate closes If the party is merely attacking, the rest of the undead stay inside. The fighters and priests mount the ramparts and take potshots at anyone around. If the fort has been set fire to, instead of the gate closing in round 7, the rest of the enemies leave, with horses and horse-drawn carts. They undead^ column picks up Marie and the missing skeletons and zombies on the way, and, in 24 hours, part VII starts, ready or not. If the party simply surveils, when the time comes for the army to set out (see timeline), all the priests, fighters, skeletons, etc. pack up and leave, simply abandoning the fort. The party may enter it; they will find nothing of note. At this point, it is more important to return to Telima and help to defend it. On horseback, it will take them 18 hours (at panic rate) to return to Telima. It takes 24 hours for the undead. One would hope that the party leaves quickly; a hint or two wouldn't hurt. If the party doesn't return to Telima in time, a scout from the town will notice the approach of the undead and warn the village 2 hours before part VII starts. The invasion will occur, however, whether the party is there or not. If the party is sighted by the fort and flees, Callend casts a dust devil to chase them off. The fort is on full alert until the army leaves. It is likely that after the army leaves the party will try some form of guerilla attack. Fine. The army travels in a train 30m long, with the priests at the head, the fighters spread throughout, and the zombies in two carts in the middle of the train. Well planned attacks may cause some attrition damage. However, the party should not be able to wipe out the whole group. Part VI: The Triumphant Return (Reprise) Occurrs if the party returns to Telima, and the town is aware of the undead invasion. Eventually, the Telimans will know of the undead, by either a) the party informing them, or b) seeing it themselves. The moment they find out, they spring into action. The whole town adopts defensive posture: 1. All women and children go inside the fortification (the circular wall next to the barracks) 2. Sigil turns invisible and stands on top of his tower. Two lst level fighters and the lv. 2 priest join him. 3. Johann, Arron, and the remaining priests and fighters enter the barricade. This is the formation that will be adopted when the undead attack the town in Part VIII. During the hustle, Johann ups the parties reward to 250 gp if they help defend the town, but didn't warn the town of the attack. If they gave the warning before the undead arrive, they are offered 300 gp. The party is asked to help maintain the barricade (the tower entrance is hidden and magically locked; the barricade needs help much more). After everyone is in position, there is nervous silence. However, when the undead reach the southern extent of the community (see timeline), everyone receives a ghastly suprise. Billows of smoke start rising, indicating that the enemy is burning the farms as they head north (this is no trick; the farms are being burned). After a brief discussion, it is decided that the farms must be saved (not only for the homes and possesions, but for the seed for the coming crops). The citizens of the town abandon their defensive posture, and march out to fight the invaders. These people leave: Johann, Arron, Sigil, the 3rd and 2nd level clerics all 1st level fighters all but 10 of the adult males The party is also asked to come along, for support. If... The party refuses: The reward offer is upped 25 gold. If they refues again, they are asked to stay in Telima. Eight hours later, the beaten down Teliman forces return. Subtract half (round down) of the fighters and adult males. Also subtract the 2nd level cleric. After an hour, the undead arrive. One quarter (round up) of the skeletons and zombies are missing, as is one first level fighter. Go to part VIII. The party goes: The party members are loaned the light riding horses again. The army listed above agrees to take a stand at the crossroads, a cluster of four farms around an intersection of two roads, which has been seen to be in the path of the undead. The trip there takes two hours, and the army arrives 1/2 hours before the undead do. Go to part VII Notes on combat: The following two parts involve rather large scale combats (200+ participants). This section provides suggestions for making the mess not only bearable, but halfway fun. 1. Let the players, for the most part, control the Telimans. You control whatthe major NPC's do, and when the army flees. Let the players do the rest. 2. Remember the overall goal of the bad guys. They want to kill off the residents of the town. Destroying Telima is a near second objective. However, Callend realizes that the more bodies he creates, the more zombies he gets, and the stronger he gets. This is why he bothers to fight the Telimans at the crossroads, instead of simply bypassing. 3. Be as nasty as you can. This is an even fight. Come up with every evil tactic you can think of; change the spells around to suit your vile tastes. The adventure makes some suggestions, but for the most part, have fun. 4. Finally, for sanity, I present... The handy, dandy quick wargaming system. This system provides a quick, dirty, easy way to fight out the battles. First, get a table, rulers, and small, distinguishable, insignificant objects to represent skeletons, villagers, etc. Place them on the board in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The order of play is: (Note: all actions are simultaneous) 1. Movement Choose an appropriate scale for your board. I use 1 inch of movement rate = 1/2" movement on board. 2. Missile weapons and Spells. 3. Hand to hand combat. For spells, handle the results individually. For combat (this is the clever part), when in a hand to hand fight, each combatant generates a certain number of 'kill units' (ku). Each also has a 'death cost' (dc), which is the number of ku required to kill (or knock unconcious, or rout, or whatever) that unit. For every melee (from 2 to 200 creatures), add up the number of kill units generated on each side. Distribute those units evenly among the various varieties of fighting forces among the other side (20 units are generated by some Telimans against some skeletons and zombies, so apply 10 to the skeletons and 10 to the zombies). Then, 'spend' those ku on killing units, at a price equal to the death cost, discarding excess points. To find the amount ku generated and the dc for each person type, see the chart below. Example: Ten male villagers fight 4 zombies. The villagers generate 5 ku. The zombies generate 4. The zombie dc is 2, so the villagers 5 ku will knock out 2 zombies, with one point left over, which goes away. The zombies 4 ku Example: Ten male villagers fight 4 zombies. The villagers generate 5 ku. The zombies generate 4. The zombie dc is 2, so the villagers 5 ku will knock out 2 zombies, with one point left over, which goes away. The zombies 4 ku vs. the villager dc 1.5 leaves 2 villagers dead with 1 ku wasted. ku/dc chart ku dc Notes: lv 1 fighter (either side) 1.5 (.2) 3 (.2) is for archery, per arrow (2/rnd) villager .5 1.5 zombie 1 2 skeleton .5 2 cleric (either side) 1 3 Can turn undead (see below) 2+ level fighter (Telima) 2 4 woman .1 .5 dust devil .5 2 insect swarm 2 - Killed by fire Individual NPC's: It is recommended that you keep track of combats with special NPC's (Johann, Callend, especially Sigil, etc.) normally. It is even strongerly advised that you run fights with the party normally. When a party member fires a missile weapon into a melee or crowd, have the player roll to hit AC 5. For each shot that hits, apply 1 ku. Turning undead: For simplicity, assume that a given priest can attempt to turn undead once every 3 rounds. If the priest rolls 12 or higher on a d20, ldl2 skeletons or ld6 zombies are removed from combat for 6 rounds. Fleeing from a combat: When a unit is actually in a melee and then attempts to disengage during the movement phase, it immediately has 1/4 (round up) of the ku of the enemy they are disengaging from applied to it. It can then move^ its full movement, and the enemy can move half movement (this may put the two^ back in melee). Special rules: What about sieges? Fortification? Make up the rules as you go along. You're the GM. You can do that. That's what makes the system^ so simple. Now back to the regularly scheduled bloodbath. Part VII: The Battle at the Crossroads Occurs if the party is present at the battle at the crossroads. As mentioned before, the Telimans arrive at the crossroads about a half an hour before Callend and his undead do. When they arrive, the entire army sets to work. They get hay bales from the nearby farms and create a barrier with them across the road. They built bonfires at the corners (for possible pyrotechnics spells), and pour lamp oil along the length of the hay bales (to set alight when the zombies try to cross the barrier). The party may make what preparations they wish. They do not need to be with the townspeople; they can hide in the farmhouses or fields if the wish (have a basic map for a farmhouse ready). The barrier is completed about the time the undead arrive. Map: Scale: one space = 6m horizontal, 12 vertical ^ <+> | V N (note reversed directions) | bbbbbb/U ,,,,,,, \ b# / a,,,,,, Key: ,,,,,,,# | b / ,a,,,,, ,,,,,,, \ b / ,,a,,,, /,',Y,V: road ,,,,,,, # \b / # a ,: crops ,,,,,,,,,, \ / a .: haybale fortification ,,,,,,,,,, V a o: haybales by bonfire | ,,,a,,,, #: farmhouse ,,,,,,,, # o.....o #,,a,,,,, U: undead start here ,,,,,,,, .tt|tt. ,a,,,,,, a,b: undead attack paths ,,,,,,,, / t: Telimans start here Bad guy tactics: The undead appear on the SW road (upper right hand corner). The humans and 5 zombies stay at the U (out of Sigil's fireball range), and the undead split into two halves: one (a) moves to flank, and the other (b) wheels around for a frontal assault. Once they reach the end of the indicated paths, they charge and kill all humans they don't recognize. Note, however, that their moves are programmed. They will march this exact path and then go berzerk, unless interrupted by either the fighters or the clerics and given new directions. Whenever an group of undead approaches (in this, or the next part), the members spread out (10' between them minimum) in order to minimize the effect of area of effect spells cast by hostiles. The ranks close when melee is joined. The skeletons will reach the fray well before the zombies. This is inevitable, and will be one of the factors that will enable the town to survive if it is taken advantage of (ie Hit the skeletons hard before the zombies arrive). The enemy clerics hold back for now; they suspect some sort of trap, and want to save their power for defense of the town. However, it it appears that the undead are in real trouble, one of them may throw in a dust devil to cause confusion. If things get worse, see the Part VII for their full nasty tactical arsenal (sanctuaried fighters with stinking clouds will be the next plan of attack). The Telimans start to panic early in the battle. After all, most of them are just farmers, and the flank catches them by suprise. However, Johann manages a rally. It is quickly decided that the defensive position is untenable, and the army must return to the village after all. However, the skeletons move too quickly (12" move rate) to be easily outrun. Therefore, it is decided that Sigil will try to ensnare the undead to give the villagers time to escape. The approach of the skeletons takes 5 rounds (the zombies take 4 rounds longer); the Telima fighters fire arrows during this time. The party can do the same, if they wish. Fight the battle out. Both sides conserve magic as much as possible. The villagers fire missile weapons upon approach. When the undead reach the barricade, the oil is lit: apply 10 ku to the undead. Fight 3 rounds of combat. The fourth round, Sigil casts his ice storm (sleet form) on the middle of the barricade, giving the Telimans there time to escape. The next round, he casts pyrotechnics (smoke form) on the western (flank side) bonfire, confusing the undead there. At this point, all Telimans flee (they are not too disoriented by Sigil's spells; they have all received some militia training, and are somewhat used to them. Hopefully, the party will flee with them. For this combat, let the party control all villagers but the priests and Sigil. Allow every non-suicidal, defensive (no offensive) maneuver. The party can try what it wants. If they ride to attack the priests and horseman, have them be intercepted by their bodyguard; have the climactic battle between the party and the priests (if iit is to come) happen in part VIII. The enemy gives chase for the first few kilometers, attempting to ensnare slow or wounded villagers. The party can escape fairly easily (if they don't flee with the main body). Aftermath: Telimans: The Telimans lose 1/10 of the remaining villagers (round down). Then, they recover 1/4 of all losses (round down) due to healing, recovery, etc. Undead: Callend uses his animate dead spell on the casualties of the battle. Add 5 zombies to the roster. The undead continue to march to Telima (slower, this time), burning as they go. They reach there two hours after the villagers do. The party has 8 hours to get there; it will take them 7 (3 on horseback). When the undead arrive there, go to part VIII. Part VIII: The Defense of Telima. Occurs when the undead attack Telima. This is the final, climactic battle of the adventure. Surviving villagers assume the defensive posture detailed in part VI. Party members, if wounded, are alloted two cure light wounds. The undead will attack from the east, in a single wave of mixed skeletons and zombies. The humans (for now) will lag behind. Map: scale: one space = 3m horizontal, 6m vertical <-- rest of town II ()1 x III x II x III /--\ x X--- --> ( 2 ) x III \--/ x II 1: Sigil's tower. 2: Barricade, 3m high, door through 6m square building on west side. x: Undead lines. X: Evil clerics and fighters on horseback. I: forest --- : road The battle will continue until either all the combatant villagers or all the undead have been destroyed. If the former occurs, go to part IX. If the latter occurs, go to part X. Terrain notes: The ground between Telima and the forest is clear and free of obstructions. Movement rate in the forest is half rate (if, for some reason, anyone enters it). The barricade has 3m high walls, made of unended logs spiked together. An undead can climb over it in 3 rounds. Every 10 feet around the inside is a 1m50 square, 1m50 high platform. The 1st level fighters will stand on these and either fire arrows or attack climbing undead. The enemy will not be able to enter the tower; it is attacked in a different way (see below). Teliman tactics: Sigil: He throws the fireball first (it should take out 2d6 + 5 monsters). Then, he uses his spells as helpful (giving his spell list to the players is recommended) Priests: Turn undead lots, followed by spell casting, followed by melee if necessary. Give their stats and spells to party. The priest in the tower can fire his sling (ku = .2). 1st level fighters in tower: Fire arrows at undead in melee; assume they have an extremely large supply. O-level fighters (i.e. farmers) and other 1st level fighters: Stay inside the barricade. Kill anything bad that enters. Party: Whatever they want. Women and children: Simper inside the barricade. Note: Some readers complained that the women and children didn't fight. This reflects the sexism inherent in the society in my campaign setting; you may do differently if you wish. BTW, when I first ran the adventure, the interplay between the female party member and the townswomen was quite interesting. Note that these are suggested guidelines. The party may have completely different ideas. If they do, let them go with them. It's their funerals. However, if they wish to engage in some sort of combat outside, let them. ake this stuff as exciting and involving as possible. Bad guy's strategies: All zombies and skeletons immediately march to attack. It takes the skeletons 3 rounds to reach the barricade; when they do, the humans begin to act. Clerics and fighters: No more pulling punches. The priests begin to use every spell they have. In the beginning, they stay out of fireball range. Callend casts insect swarm. If it gets crawling insects, forget about them; they will never^ reach the town. If he gets flying insects, he sends them up into the tower (it will take the people up there ld4+1 rounds to kill it). The other clerics cast two sanctuary spells on fighters. Then, the fighters ride up to the battle. One lobs his stink vial into the barricade, and (if the insect swarm didn't work, if it did he lobs his into the barricade also) the other lobs his onto the top of Sigil's tower (because of the spell,^ until the vials are thrown, anyone who wishes to attack a fighter must succesfully save vs. magic). Note that the gas will cause Sigil to choke. After getting bombed, the people in the tower will climb down to the second level and attack from the window; moving there takes 3 rounds. As soon as possible, one of the priests sets to summoning dust devils. These will be sent into the barricade to fight and to distract spell casters.^ Also, when Sigil recovers, another fighter with a stink vial is sent; the window is an AC 5 target. The final fighter will be sent with the last vial when (if) the battle at the barricade doesn't go well. All fighters making stink vial runs immediately retreat. Eventually, if necessary, the priests and fighters will ride closer to the fight. When they do move closer, they will use as many sanctuaries and^ cure cpells as they have, and try to stay just close enough to use their spells. One possibility is for one of the priests to use a sanctuary on him(her)self and ride close in order to direct the undead more efficiently. All of the humans flee when %90 of the undead are gone, and individual NPC's flee when they are reduced to less than 1/4 of their hp. Skeletons and zombies: The undead are programmed to approach the barricade and then attack anyone outside it. When nobody is outside and not engaged with undead, they will attempt to climb over the barricade. This takes 3 rounds. Hitting them will not cause them to fall off the wall, but they cannot fight back while on^ it. If they are engaged while climbing, they will get off the wall the next round and attack. Of the people inside the barricade, only the fighters standing on the platforms may attack the undead climbing the walls; ku generated for these attacks is doubled. Once inside the barricade, the undead will attack any and all living beings. Obviously, this is a rather simple attack, and one that might be taken advantage of, for example, by: a) having one person stay outside and simply dodge around, distracting the undead b) waiting until all the undead have climbed the wall, and then having everyone leave the barricade; the instructions don't cover this. The skeletons and zombies will just wander around inside. Should something like these happen, a sanctuaried priest or fighter will ride up to give new directions (assume control radius of 20m). Improvise for any unusual circumstances that come up. Eventually, hopefully, most people on one side will be dead. When this occurs, figure out who won and go to the appropriate part. Part IX: Zombie Chow Occurs if a) the party is not present at Telima during part VIII, or b) all Teliman defenders are slain or neutralized. This is, obviously, the bad news section. If the party was not at Telima during the battle in the first place, there isn't really much hope. All the priests and 2 of the fighters survive, as well as 15 skeletons and 22 zombies (Callend casts animate dead on villagers). The nasties set Telima on fire and march off into the sunset. Only a few women and children running through the wilderness survive. If the party is at the battle, they may still be able to defeat the undead themselves. If they die or flee, and 20 HD or less of enemy remain, the women polish the rest off. If not, refer to previous paragraph. If the party does defeat the undead, the surviving Telimans manage to save some of their casualties. Johann dies. Arron live. Sigil lives. erik and Johnson die. Go to part 10, but with a renewed sense of mortality. Callend and crew may either return in a later adventure (Party revenge!) or simply disappear. The end. Part X: Time to rebuild Occurs if the characters were present in part VIII and the Telimans won. First, there is a very brief and spirited first aid session. Half of the casualties live. If Johann, Arron, or the priests went down in the battle, each has a %50 chance of being alive. Sigil lives. A rider is sent to inform Duvno of the victory. That evening, there is a victory celebration, to which the party is invited. Kudos are given, as is whatever cash reward the party was promisied. If the party wasn't especially cowardly (your call), Sigil gives one first level spell to each MU in the party (each gets one they can use and don't have). Finally, if the party was extremely brave (also your call), Sigil produces a dagger +1 as a final reward (he doesn't need it anymore). Finally, they are given the eternal thanks of Telima (Awwww.). The end. You take it from here. Appendix 1: Use for higher level characters. Unfortunately, this adventure doesn't translate too well to high levels. Part of the point of this scenario is that the town and undead are fairly equal: the player's job is to turn the tide. Replacing Callend with (for example) a lich would unbalance things too much, putting the party is the pure savior role. However, adding a few more undead or 2 or three more fighters could cause the party to have to become a bit more involved during the climax, making the adventure good for 2nd and 3rd level characters. Also, the fort itself could be a rather nifty 4th to 5th level encounter, if you somehow required the party to actually attack it. Appendix 2: Notes on play. This adventure seems fairly simple: party arrives. Leaves. Sees things. Flees. Big fight. End. However, it can be a bit more. Encourage attempts by the party to harass the undead before they attack Telima: A guerilla warfare campaign could be just the thing to get players on their toes. Throw in a couple of close run-ins with hostile forces. Play up the hopelessness of and the threat to the town. The center section can be quite exciting. Let the party control the Telimans, whatever you do. It's an entertaining and involving challenge, if you present a threatening enemy. Hit the town as hard as you can manage. At at least one point, the players should seriously think that they are going to lose. Above all, be loose. Throw in a few extra encounters to keep things fast moving, if you want. Play up the role-playing in the town, and alter the personalities of the Telimans. This whole mess is a gigantic guideline, nothing more. Note: Some GM's disliked the party having the option of cutting out in the middle of the adventure. One suggestion was to make Telima the parties home town. My own suggestion is to have the party conscripted in some form or another. I'm sure something can be worked out. When I finally ran this, it worked rather well. Outcome: town toasted the bad guys, but the priests and most of the fighters escaped. Try having the priests and fighters move to attack right after Sigil throws the fireball, instead of hanging out in the back the whole time.