DEVELOPMENTS
If the charactersask aboutCragmaw Castle,Reidoth gladly
providesdirections. He is a memberof the EmeraldEnclave,
a widespread groupof wilderness survivalists whopreserve
the naturalorder whilerooting out troublesome threats.
Theenclave works to restoreandpreserve the natural
orderby keeping the elemental forcesof the worldin check,
preventing civilizationandthe wildernessfromdestroying
oneanother, andhelping others survive the perilsof the
wilds.Thegoblins are a threatto the delicatebalance.
If the charactersask ReidothaboutWaveEcho Cave,he
willnot divulgeits location but willofferto guidethe party
there in exchange for a favor:he wantsthem to chase off
the dragonin area 7. If theysucceed, Reidoth willhonor
his partof the agreementbut willnot accompanythe party
insidethe mine.
If the charactersattackhimfor anyreason, Reidoth
transforms intoa graysquirrel and scurries out of the
cottage through a crackin the wall.He vanishesintothe
woods, thenwaits for the hostilecharacters to leave.His
watch postcontains nothing of value.
JOINING THE EMERALD ENCLAVE
If the partyhelps Reidoth by chasingoff Venomfang,
the druidprivatelyapproaches certain members of the
groupand urgesthem to jointhe EmeraldEnclave. He
speaks withthose whoexemplify the idealof protecting
the natural order. If a character agrees, Reidoth givesthe
individual the titleof Springwarden.
5. BLIGHTED FARMHOUSE
To its south,thisfarm abuts a fieldwiththickpatches of
gorse andbriars.
This ruinlooks as if it might once havebeen a farmhouse.
It is nowhalfswallowed by a densethicket, withtrees growing
up throughits ruinedfoundations. Thelanecontinues south a
short distance pastthe ruinbefore ending in an overgrown field.
Thethicket east of thisruinis crawlingwith eighttwig
blights. Anydisturbance in the ruinedfarmhouse (for
example, characters rooting around in the rubble)draws
the blights'ire.
Each round for 3 rounds, twotwigblightshead for the
south doorway leading intothe farmhousewhiletwo
morehead for the northdoorway. The blightsattack
untildestroyed.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide 200 XP equallyamong the characters if the party
destroys the twigblights.
6. RUINED STORE
This formergeneral store is not a completeruinyet,with
portions of its tile roofstillintact.
32
PART3: THE SPIDER'S WEB
At an intersection nearthemiddle of the Village,a narrow
lanewinds up the steep hillside to thenorth. Directly to the
south is a ruined building that might havebeen a store or
workshop. Webs stretch across thelane, fromthe building to
the trees on the north sid~of the road.
Twogiant spiders hideon the innerwalls in thisruined
building, so theyare not visiblefromoutside. Trailing
lines fromthe websin the laneallowthe spidersto sense
whenpreyis movingthrough the webs,at which point
theynimblyscuttle overthe wallandattack. Thealert
spiders surprise anycharacter whose passive Wisdom
(Perception) score is lessthan 17.
Webs.Thewebsfill twosquares north of the doorway
(andthe squaremarked "6").Theyare difficultterrain,
and a creature tryingto movethrough them mustsucceed
on a DC10 Strength (Athletics) check.On a failure, the
creature is restrained in the webs(seethe rulebookfor
the effectsof beingrestrained). A snared creature can
take an actioneachround to attempt to break freewith
a DC12 Strengthcheck, or it cantry to cut its wayfree
by usinga lightweapon thatdeals slashing damage. The
webshaveAC 10, 5 hit points,vulnerability to fire damage,
andimmunity to bludgeoning, poison, andpsychic damage
(see"Damage Resistance andVulnerability" in the
rulebook for howvulnerability works).
Goingaround the websis difficultbecause of the
thickets on the north sideof the road.Goingaround
the ruinedbuilding to the southleadsto the twig
blightsin area 5.
TREASURE
Thecorpse of an unfortunateadventurer is cocooned in
spider silkin the westernhalfof the building.Thebody
is shriveledup andsucked dry,but appearsto havebeen
a maleelf. Thebodywears studded leather armor and a
shortsword in the scabbardat its hip.A careful search also
yieldsa potion of healing in a beltpouch, alongwith 23
gp and35 sp.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide 400 XP equally amongthe charactersif the party
defeats the giantspiders.
7. DRAGON'S TOWER
Thistowerwasformerly the homeof a human wizard,
whowaskilledfighting the ashzombies thatoverran
Thundertree thirtyyears ago.
At the topof the hill stands a round tower with a cottage
attached. Bothare in good condition, although halfof the
tower's roofis gone. A door leads intothe cottage, and
several arrow-slit windows are visiblein the tower. Youcan't
help butnotice an eerie quiet in the areaand a strange, acrid
smell in the air.
Thecorpses of twohideous giant spiders are sprawlednear
the edgeof thepathway, apparently dragged there. Their
bloated bodies are puckered and blistered, andappear to
havebeen mauled by a largeanimal.