Ruinsof Thundertree
Nearthe placewhere the Neverwinter Riveremerges
fromNeverwinter Woodstands the abandonedvillageof
Thundertree. Once,thiswasa prosperous community
on the outskirtsof the forest,wealthyfromthe work
of its woodcuttersandtrappers. Then thirtyyears ago,
the eruption of MountHotenow to the northdevastated
Thundertree. In the wakeof the naturaldisaster, a plague
of strange zombies swept overthe area, killingor driving
off thosewhosurvived the eruption.
Though most of the zombieshavelongsince crumbled
to dust,strange magicpermeating the areahasmutated
the localvegetation intonewanddangerous forms.
Fewpeople dareto venture intothe ruinedvillage
now,andthose whodo so seldomstaylong-with two
notable exceptions. Thedruid Reidoth (seearea4) visits
Thundertree fromtimeto time,keeping a waryeye on
its dangers. Cultists havealsoarrived recently (seearea
13) to treatwitha dragon thatclaims Thundertree as its
domain (seearea7).
As the partyapproaches the ruins,readthe following:Gradually, the trail becomes an old, overgrown lanewinding
between dilapidated buildings choked in vines and brush.
Ahead of you,in the middle of the settlement, rises a
steep hill, upon which stands a stone towerwitha partially
collapsed roofand an adjoiningcottage. A dirt roadhugsthe
base of the hill and wends its waybetween old stone houses,
many of whichare roofless ruinswithinteriors open to the
weather. Other buildings appear moreor lessintact. The
whole place is eerilysilent.
A wooden signis nailed to a post nearby. It reads:
"DANGER! Plantmonsters ANDzombies! Turn backnow!"Reidoth placed the signto discourage bands of treasure
seekers fromstirring up the monstersin the area.GENERAL FEATURES
Manyof Thundertree's buildings havecrumbled in the
years since the townwasabandoned, evenas nature
threatens to swallow what remains.
Buildings.A building in Thundertree is eitherruined or
intact,as shownon the map.
Ruined buildings are emptyshellswithstone walls
5 to 8 feethigh.Their roofsare gone,leavingpiles of
debris inside the walls.Thedebris is difficultterrain (see
"DifficultTerrain" in the rulebook).
Intact buildings are rundown,ramshackle stone
cottages thatare otherwisestillstanding. Theirwooden
doors are swollenandrequire a successful DC 10
Strength check to forceopen.Thewindows of anyintact
building are 2 feetwideandcovered by woodenshutters
containing 6-inch widearrow slits.Creatures on oneside
of an arrow slit gainthree-quarters coveragainst attacks
fromthe otherside(see"Cover" in the rulebook).Dusty
old furnishingssuchas simplewooden chairs andtables
remain in mostintact buildings.
Treesand Brush.Trees average 30 to 40 feettall and
providecover.Brush consists of largebushes thatcount as
difficultterrain.30
PART 3: THESPlDER'S WEB1. WESTERNMOST COTTAGE
Thiscottage hasseen better days.I
Cowering in the shadow o~ an old treeis a crumbled stone I
cottage with no roof.Weeds are rampant here.Twotwigblightshideamong the weedsthatflankthe
cottage's opendoorway.Makea Dexterity (Stealth)
check for the blights,andcompare the resultto the
passive Wisdom (Perception) scores of the charactersto
determine if the blightsare spotted.
Theblights do not attackon theirown(exceptin self-
defense) but quicklycometo the aid of the twigblights in
area 2 if combaterupts there.AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide50 XP equallyamong the charactersif the party
destroys the twigblights.2. BLIGHTED COTTAGES
Windandweather havedonetheirworkhere, andlittle
remains of these houses or theirformer contents.These ruined, side-by-side cottages lookas though theymight
havebeen the homes of prosperous shopkeepers or well-off
farmers in theirtime. All that remains are collapsedwalls
and pilesof debris.Several young trees havegrown up in the
midst of the ruins.Theovergrowth conceals a deadlythreat-six twig
blightslurking amongthe ordinaryfoliage.Spotting
them requires a successful Wisdom (Perception) check
challenged by the blights'Dexterity (Stealth) check.
These plant monsters are hungry andfightuntil
destroyed. Oneround aftertheyattack, the twigblights in
area 1jointhe fray.TREASURE
A merchant whooncelivedhere hada chestfull of coins
hiddenunder the flagstonefloorof his home.A thorough
search of the interiorof the easterncottage anda
successful DC10 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the
old chestamongthe rootsof the treegrowing up through
the house.Thechest contains 700 cp, 160sp, and90 gp.AWARDINGEXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide50 XP equallyamongthe charactersif the party
destroys these twigblights.3. THE BROWN HORSE
Thiswasformerly the BrownHorse, a tavernrenowned
for its excellentale.A weathered signboard by the doorof this largebuilding
shows the fadedimage of a workhorse holding a flagon of ale.
The building is sagging and dilapidated, but it is moreintact
than the ruinsacross the road.