Developments
IfthecharactersaskaboutCragmawCastle,Reidothgladly
providesdirections.HeisamemberoftheEmeraldEnclave,
awidespreadgroupofwildernesssurvivalistswhopreserve
thenaturalorderwhilerootingouttroublesomethreats.
Theenclaveworkstorestoreandpreservethenatural
orderbykeepingtheelementalforcesoftheworldincheck,
preventingcivilizationandthewildernessfromdestroying
oneanother,andhelpingotherssurvivetheperilsofthe
wilds.Thegoblinsareathreattothedelicatebalance.
IfthecharactersaskReidothaboutWaveEchoCave,he
willnotdivulgeitslocationbutwilloffertoguidetheparty
thereinexchangeforafavor:hewantsthemtochaseoff
thedragoninarea7.Iftheysucceed,Reidothwillhonor
hispartoftheagreementbutwillnotaccompanytheparty
insidethemine.
Ifthecharactersattackhimforanyreason,Reidoth
transformsintoagraysquirrelandscurriesoutofthe
cottagethroughacrackinthewall.Hevanishesintothe
woods,thenwaitsforthehostilecharacterstoleave.His
watchpostcontainsnothingofvalue.JoiningtheEmeraldEnclave
IfthepartyhelpsReidothbychasingoffVenomfang,
thedruidprivatelyapproachescertainmembersofthe
groupandurgesthemtojointheEmeraldEnclave.He
speakswiththosewhoexemplifytheidealofprotecting
thenaturalorder.Ifacharacteragrees,Reidothgivesthe
individualthetitleofSpringwarden.
5. BlightedFarmhouse
Toitssouth,thisfarmabutsafieldwiththickpatchesof
gorseandbriars.Thisruinlooksasifitmightoncehavebeenafarmhouse.
Itisnowhalfswallowedbyadensethicket,withtreesgrowing
upthroughitsruinedfoundations.Thelanecontinuessoutha
shortdistancepasttheruinbeforeendinginanovergrownfield.Thethicketeastofthisruiniscrawlingwitheighttwig
blights.Anydisturbanceintheruinedfarmhouse(for
example,charactersrootingaroundintherubble)draws
theblights’ire.
Eachroundfor 3 rounds,twotwigblightsheadforthe
southdoorwayleadingintothefarmhousewhiletwo
moreheadforthenorthdoorway.Theblightsattack
untildestroyed.AwardingExperiencePoints
Divide 200 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty
destroysthetwigblights.6.RuinedStore
Thisformergeneralstoreisnotacompleteruinyet,with
portionsofitstileroofstillintact.Atanintersectionnearthemiddleofthevillage,anarrow
lanewindsupthesteephillsidetothenorth.Directlytothe
southisaruinedbuildingthatmighthavebeenastoreor
workshop.Websstretchacrossthelane,fromthebuildingto
thetreesonthenorthsideoftheroad.Twogiantspidershideontheinnerwallsinthisruined
building,sotheyarenotvisiblefromoutside.Trailing
linesfromthewebsinthelaneallowthespiderstosense
whenpreyismovingthroughthewebs,atwhichpoint
theynimblyscuttleoverthewallandattack.Thealert
spiderssurpriseanycharacterwhosepassiveWisdom
(Perception)scoreislessthan17.
Webs.Thewebsfilltwosquaresnorthofthedoorway
(andthesquaremarked“6”).Theyaredifficultterrain,
andacreaturetryingtomovethroughthemmustsucceed
onaDC 10 Strength(Athletics)check.Onafailure,the
creatureisrestrainedinthewebs(seetherulebookfor
theeffectsofbeingrestrained).Asnaredcreaturecan
takeanactioneachroundtoattempttobreakfreewith
aDC 12 Strengthcheck,oritcantrytocutitswayfree
byusingalightweaponthatdealsslashingdamage.The
webshaveAC10, 5 hitpoints,vulnerabilitytofiredamage,
andimmunitytobludgeoning,poison,andpsychicdamage
(see“DamageResistanceandVulnerability”inthe
rulebookforhowvulnerabilityworks).
Goingaroundthewebsisdifficultbecauseofthe
thicketsonthenorthsideoftheroad.Goingaround
theruinedbuildingtothesouthleadstothetwig
blightsinarea5.Treasure
Thecorpseofanunfortunateadventureriscocoonedin
spidersilkinthewesternhalfofthebuilding.Thebody
isshriveledupandsuckeddry,butappearstohavebeen
amaleelf.Thebodywearsstuddedleatherarmoranda
shortswordinthescabbardatitship.Acarefulsearchalso
yieldsapotionofhealinginabeltpouch,alongwith 23
gpand^35 sp.AwardingExperiencePoints
Divide 400 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty
defeatsthegiantspiders.7.Dragon’sTower
Thistowerwasformerlythehomeofahumanwizard,
whowaskilledfightingtheashzombiesthatoverran
Thundertreethirtyyearsago.Atthetopofthehillstandsaroundtowerwithacottage
attached.Bothareingoodcondition,althoughhalfofthe
tower’sroofisgone.Adoorleadsintothecottage,and
severalarrow-slitwindowsarevisibleinthetower.Youcan’t
helpbutnoticeaneeriequietintheareaandastrange,acrid
smellintheair.
Thecorpsesoftwohideousgiantspidersaresprawlednear
theedgeofthepathway,apparentlydraggedthere.Their
bloatedbodiesarepuckeredandblistered,andappearto
havebeenmauledbyalargeanimal.PART3:THESPIDER’SWEB