d20 Legion Publishing Critical Hits 09 - Fear at Fiveways.pdf - Legion Publishing - R5700

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INTRODUCTION

Greetings traveler and welcome to Critical Hits - a series

of electronic publications from Legion Publishing. Each

Critical Hit is a complete encounter that can be dropped

into any fantasy campaign with very little preparation

needed by the DM. The encounters are little gems of ideas

built around a single situation, person, location, creature

or object that the players stumble across in their travels.

Each Critical Hit provides all the DM needs to use the

encounter. Whether used as a disposable diversion or the

springboard for adventure, Critical Hits give the over-

worked DM a break and the players some memorable

encounters that encourage creative role-playing.

V o l u m e 3 N o 1 - E n c o u n t e r L e v e l 8

F E A R A T F I V E W A Y S

Published by

In Fear at Fiveways, the players suddenly find them-

selves in a sticky predicament. Without realizing it, they

have fallen afoul of the law in a settlement that has had

to cope for years with the crippling scourge of rampant

crime. The townsfolk's answer to this problem is a dracon-

ian penal code, with the sentence for many (seemingly

minor) offences being death. The exact nature of the

crime is left to the DM but it can be as trivial as is neces-

sary to ensure that the PCs are guilty. Text inside a

border should be read aloud to the players (unless you

have modified the setting, in which case you're on your

own!).

www.legionpublishing.co.uk

First Published 2003

C R E D I T S &

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Written by

Simon Lucas

Editing

Robin Elliott & Matthew Harffy

Cover Illustration

Robin Elliott

Interior Illustration

Robin Elliott

Typesetting

Kirsty Crabb

Typesetting and graphic design by Wildstar Digital Arts

Contact - info@wildstardigitalarts.co.uk

Author courtesy of Snake Eyes Studio

Contact - info@snakeeyesstudio.co.uk

A TOWN IN TROUBLE

At the end of a grueling journey the heroes arrive at

the town of Raften. The town had been experiencing a

wave of petty lawlessness and violence not least from the

brigands and thieves that used the nearby woods to

waylay and rob travelers. The alderman's solution was to

train a strong militia and enforce near-martial law.

Almost any crime is punishable by death and the harsh

sentences handed down by the town's three magistrates

for breaking the law have seen the crime rate (and the

population) die off dramatically.

Legion Publishing, Critical Hits, the Legion Publishing logo, Legionnaire,

and all related characters and elements are trademarks of Legion

Publishing.

Wildstar Digital Arts and its logo are trademarks of Wildstar Digital Arts.

Snake Eyes Studio and its logo are trademarks of Snake Eyes Studio.

'd20 System' and the 'd20 System' logo are trademarks of Wizards of

the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used according to

the terms of the d20 System License version 4.0. A copy of this License

can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.

Designation of Product Identity

All material, other than material already considered Open Gaming

Content is considered Product Identity as described in Section 1(e) of

the Open Gaming License v1.0a. This includes but is not limited to

Critical Hits and all significant characters, names, creatures, spells,

events, plots, logos, trade dress, product names, product lines, places,

Reserved, except where otherwise noted. The use of another company's

trademark should not be construed as a challenge to that trademark.

Reproduction of non-Open Game Content from this work by any means

without the express written consent of Legion Publishing is prohibited.

This section of the encounter is critical as the PCs, in

the course of going about their business, inadvertently

break these draconian laws. The actual infraction is left

to the DM as it depends on the actions of the players.

Legion Publishing - Critical Hits

Volume 3 No 1 - EL 8

Perhaps they make it easy for you as DM by brawling in a

tavern, or maybe just carrying an unsheathed sword is

what triggers events. If the PCs are really behaving them-

selves, you must try and invent something plausible such

as spitting, swearing or in some way despoiling the town.

Whatever the crime, the locals immediately let the PCs

know that something is wrong.

The Militia

Torg, Master of the Guard

Male Human Ftr5; Medium Humanoid ; HD 5d10+10

(Fighter); hp 30; Init +5; Spd 20; AC 21; Atk +8 base

melee, +6 base ranged; +10 (1d10+5, Sword,

bastard, Masterwork); +7 (1d8+3, Mighty composite

longbow +3, Masterwork); AL LN; SV Fort +7, Ref +3,

Will +3; STR 16, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 8.

Possessions:

Weapons: Mighty composite longbow +3, Masterwork;

Sword, bastard, Masterwork.

Armor: Full plate.

Shields: Shield, large, steel.

Goods: Arrows (20).

Magic: Potion: Endurance (3); Potion: Cure Moderate

Wounds (3); Wondrous: Cloak of resistance (+1).

Skills:

Climb+3, Jump+3.

Feats:

Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Sword, bastard, Improved

Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus: Sword, bastard,

Weapon Specialization: Sword, bastard.

THE TRANSGRESSION

Silence descends suddenly, as all eyes turn to stare.

The faces around you appear suddenly hostile and

unwelcoming. A murmur starts from somewhere and a

ripple of unrest passes through the crowd who start to

close in around you. This is starting to look menacing.

The party is hemmed in on all sides by appalled towns-

folk, staring at the criminals and eagerly awaiting the

resulting guilty verdict. Any attempt to communicate with

the mob receives only sullen stares in reply and an

attempt to break through the tightening pack is met by

physical resistance. Nobody escapes the law in Raften.

THE FINAL STRAW

Militia Swordsmen (8)

Male Human War1; Medium Humanoid ; HD 1d8+1

(Warrior); hp 8; Init +1; Spd 30; AC 13; Atk +4 base

melee, +2 base ranged; +4 (1d6+3, Sword, short); AL

N; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will -3; STR 16, DEX 13, CON

12, INT 11, WIS 4, CHA 12.

Possessions:

Weapons: Sword, short.

Armor: Leather.

Skills:

Gather Information+3, Intimidate+5, Search+2.

Feats:

Armor Proficiency: light, Simple Weapon Proficiency.

Still unsure about what exactly you have done wrong,

you see the gathering crowd is growing angrier. Violence

hovers on the edge of the gathering, waiting to erupt.

Before any blood is spilt, however, there comes a cry from

the back of the mob, "Make way! Stand aside, there.

What's all this shouting? We'll have no trouble here!" The

town militia arrives on the scene, barging the belligerent

townsfolk aside as they push their way through the crowd

towards you.

This unit of the well-maintained local militia is led by

Torg, an experienced mercenary who has formed the com-

moners of Raften into an exhaustively drilled police force.

It comprises a squad of eight militiamen equipped with

short swords and shields who surround the PCs brandishing

their weapons menacingly, and a trio of heavy crossbow-

men who fan out leaving sufficient distance between

themselves and the troublemakers and between each

other to make it impossible to attack them all at the same

time. This efficient display of training should make the

players think twice about wading into a full battle with

the militia, trusting instead to their negotiating skills to

smooth these troubled waters. They are in for a rude

awakening as a magistrate is summoned immediately to

the scene and arrives within a minute.

Militia Crossbowmen (3)

Male Human War1; Medium Humanoid ; HD 1d8+2

(Warrior); hp 9; Init +3; Spd 30; AC 15; Atk +1 base

melee, +4 base ranged; +0 (1d10, Crossbow, heavy);

AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1; STR 11, DEX 16,

CON 15, INT 12, WIS 12, CHA 11.

Possessions:

Weapons: Crossbow, heavy.

Armor: Leather.

Skills:

Gather Information+4, Intimidate+4, Listen+4,

Feats:

Armor Proficiency: light, Simple Weapon Proficiency.

Legion Publishing - Critical Hits

Volume 3 No 1 - EL 8

ROUGH JUSTICE

Something is wrong, however; they are not dragging

your friend toward the center of the town, but toward

the main gate. As you watch, helpless, the leader of

the militia unit pulls a black cloth from his belt and

shakes it out to reveal it as a tall cloth hood, which he

dons as he takes his position at the head of the grim

procession to the place of execution.

Through the growing crowd comes another armed

group, this time an escort. At the center of the huddle

of soldiers is a short white-haired old man. By his garb

you guess he is someone of importance in the town. The

soldiers reach the front of the mob and fan out to

flank the aging official; their leader barking, "Be

silent and hear the magistrate! Court is in session!" in

a loud, clear voice.

At some point in this part of the encounter, the players

may decide to attack to defend their unfortunate

comrade. The odds are still against the players and they

should feel the pressure to submit. If a battle ensues, the

town guard and an elite unit of five of the alderman's

escort are within 3 rounds of the scene of the disturbance

(use Torg's stats for these dangerous mercenaries). The

townsfolk are too afraid of violent characters to enter the

fray, but the PCs will find no hiding place in the town, and

sooner or later they fall into the hands of the authorities.

This may result in many of the party being condemned.

The magistrate is one of five operating in the streets

of Raften. They have authority over all legal matters and

the ability to dispense instant 'justice'. Consequently,

they are widely disliked (if respected) and are always

accompanied by an armed guard. The magistrate allows a

brief explanation of the charges, counts the number of

witnesses for and against and makes his decision. Before

passing sentence, he makes a short speech to the crowd.

As you are led to the town square, the commoners

gather all around you watching. The militia claps you

in irons, chains linking your manacled hands to your

feet so that you can barely shuffle along. As the escort

sets off again for the town gates, the gathered peas-

ants begin to hurl rotten fruit and vegetables at you

gleefully. The crowd's cheering smiling faces and the

endless bombardment of rancid food makes it apparent

that this is the greatest form of entertainment in

Raften and that your humiliation is their delight.

"We have long tolerated this disgraceful behavior in

our fair community," the old man says, to murmured

assent. "But we, the law-abiding citizenry, have

reached our breaking point! As was agreed at our last

town meeting, the next wrong-doer" he points his

finger accusingly at you, "must face the full conse-

quences of his actions. An example must be made as a

warning to the others that this is a place of law and

justice!" Cheers of support from the crowd strengthen

the elderly magistrate's resolve, "The sentence is

DEATH!"

All through the town to the gates themselves, the

characters are subjected to a torrent of abuse and are

pelted with filth. Eventually, the execution party leaves

the town behind and makes its way out into the flat

farmlands beyond, providing a brief respite for the poor

abused adventurers.

The crowd bursts into spontaneous cheering and begin

to chant "Death! Death! Death!" as the militia, strength-

ened by the magistrate's bodyguard, moves in to make

the arrest.

NO ESCAPE?

THE CROSSROADS

Seeing that you are the felon's comrades and that you

can clearly handle yourselves in a fight, the militia-

men eye you warily as they drag away their prisoner.

A mile out of town, at the heart of a small circular

wood is a meeting of five roads, known locally as

Fiveways and once a haven for highwaymen and

bandits. The roads meet at the foot of a low, steep-

sided mound where a gnarled and leafless tree stands.

A number of rusted iron cages hang from the tree's

many bare branches, each containing the skeletal

remains of several wrong-doers. The tree creaks eerily

in the gentle breeze and the branches groan under the

weight of their grisly burden.

In all likelihood, the party immediately start plan-

ning a daring escape from the town jail as their comrade

is hauled away. This is the usual procedure when a PC is

captured, after all. In this case however, it is not possi-

ble; the PCs sentence is to be carried out immediately!

This quickly becomes apparent to the party.

Legion Publishing - Critical Hits

Volume 3 No 1 - EL 8

The gibbets are suspended from thick ropes that run

through iron hoops hammered into the tree's branches

and trunk. The ropes lead down the trunk, where they

are lashed around a series of iron spikes driven into the

circumference of the tree trunk, forming a fearsome

collar about the wizened oak. As they clank miserably

towards the crossroads, the guards escorting the prisoners

keep a careful watch for ambush. There are no trees,

banks or long grass between Raften and the grim hill on

which the condemned are to be executed, so any PCs

intending to rescue the wrong-doer had better plan to

ambush the execution party in the copse surrounding

Fiveways. As the procession arrives at the site, the PCs

are greeted by the executioner.

The Keeper

Male Human Com3; Medium Humanoid ; HD 3d4-3

(Commoner); hp 13; Init +3; Spd 30; AC 9; Atk -1 base

melee, +0 base ranged; -1 (1d6-2, Club); AL CN; SV Fort

+0, Ref +0, Will +2; STR 6, DEX 8, CON 9, INT 7,

WIS 13, CHA 5.

Possessions:

Weapons: Club.

Skills:

Climb+4.

Feats:

Improved Initiative, Simple Weapon Proficiency,

Toughness.

CAGED WITH THE DEAD

THE KEEPER OF FIVEWAYS

The execution procession stand at a discreet distance

as the crazed keeper comes to claim the condemned.

A keeper of the dead lives under the hill in a dank cave

populated with the remains he has removed from the

gibbets. The wretch survives on the flesh of the dead and

is completely unhinged. He is a disturbing character and

one that should provoke pity and revulsion.

He unwinds a rope from one of many long spikes stick-

ing out of the tree trunk, his small fragile looking

frame belying his extreme strength as he lowers one of

the many iron gibbets to the floor. From a hoop of

keys hanging from his belt he selects a rusty key and

unlocks the cage, hopping excitedly from one foot to

the other.

A young boy comes running out from a dark cave under

the hill and capers wildly in front of the prisoner as

the morbid parade approaches. He is clearly excited by

the prospect of having a new visitor to his tree. The

soldiers of the militia are incredibly fearful of the

boy, wanting nothing to do with him and threatening

him with their weapons if he comes too close to them.

He is a ghoulish looking lad and completely insane,

having witnessed too much at too young an age in this

accursed spot.

One of the corpses, upon closer examination, is entire-

ly made out of iron: the metal is visible where the flesh

has rotted away to reveal the skeleton. The deceased was

a brigand who terrorized the locals and proved hard to

capture. He seemed able to shrug off all attacks and was

finally captured using magic. The secret of his strength,

now revealed under his rotting flesh was the iron skele-

ton magically created by the bracers he wears on the

putrefying remains of his arms. If removed, the corpse's

skeleton turns to dust instantly and a shower of rotting

flesh rains down on anyone unfortunate enough to be

standing beneath. If the characters claim the bracers at

the end of the encounter, the stats for the item are

included below.

During the inevitable rescue attempt, the boy scam-

pers up the tree like a monkey, very dexterously picking

his way through the branches. From the top he looks down

on the party and screams at them in the voices of the

dead. The many spirits that haunt this ghastly place soar

up and penetrate the boy's body, causing him to jerk

uncontrollably as the spirits take possession of him. The

first ghost, one of those who died in this tree's grisly

adornments, screams his rage at the living from the

beyond, before departing to be replaced by another

angry lost soul. The poor degenerate creature clings to

the upper branches of the tree, shrieking in a hundred

baleful voices at the PCs and their would-be rescuers. This

is very unnerving and anyone hearing this display of

ghostly fury must make a Will saving throw (DC15) or be

shaken! A shaken character suffers a -2 morale penalty

on attack rolls, checks, and saving throws.

The child at the hill uses the gibbet containing this

corpse as a bell, rattling it to cause the exposed metal

bones to clang against the cage of the gibbet, summoning

the guards from Raften if he can ring it for long enough.

After three rounds of ringing, the execution party turns

back (if still alive) and arrive within 3 minutes. If the

escort has already been killed, a new detachment from

Raften arrives within 10 minutes

d20 Legion Publishing Critical Hits 09 - Fear at Fiveways.pdf

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