intothefissure.Thechestcontains^160 sp,^120 gp,five
malachitegems(15gpeach),twopotionsofhealing,anda
scrollofaugury.
Thechestalsoholdsa+1longswordinasilver-chased
scabbard.Theswordisinscribedwiththename“Talon,
anditshiltisworkedintheshapeofabirdofpreywith
outspreadwings.Itoncebelongedtoagreatknightnamed
AldithTresendar,knownastheBlackHawk.Acharacter
whosucceedsonaDC^15 Intelligence(History)check
recognizestheswordandrecallsthislore.
SirAldithdiedfightingofftheoresthatattackedthrough
thehiddencavernsbelowhismanor.Talonwaslosthere
untilthenothicfoundit.
AwardingExperiencePoints
Divide^450 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty
defeatsthenothicornegotiatesatrucewithit.9. GuardBarracks
AcharacterwholistensatthisdoorwithasuccessfulDC
10 Wisdom(Perception)checkhearsseveralgruffvoices
issuingdemeaningcommandsintheGoblintongue.
Examplesinclude“Lickthefloor! and Rolllikeadog!
Thebugbearsherearebullyingtheirgoblinslave.Thisbarrackscontainsfourroughlybuiltwoodenbunks,
withheaped-upblanketsanddirtydishesscatteredabout.A
strongsmellofunwashedbodiesandrottenmeatfillstheair.
Threetall,furryhumanoidsareloungingamongthemess,
barkingordersatasadlittlegoblinthatdemeansitselffor
theiramusement.Yoursuddenappearancecausesthegoblin|tofaint.Threebugbearsandonegoblinarepresent.The
goblin,Droop,fallsunconsciousatthesightoftheparty,
butanothercreaturecanuseanactiontowakehim.
Otherwise,DroopremainsunconsciousforId^10 minutes.
ThebugbearsworkfortheBlackSpiderandweresent
heretohelplarnokeeptheRedbrandsandthecitizensof
Phandalininline.TheleaderisnamedMosk.Hewearsa
jeweledeyepatcheventhoughhehasbothhiseyes.Mosk
wearstheeyepatchbecausehethinksit’sfancy.
Thebugbearsavoidthehumanmembersofthe
Redbrands.Ifthecharactersarewearingscarletcloaks
takenfromelsewhere,thebugbearsassumethatthey
servelarno.Clevercharactersmightevenpersuade
thebugbearstohelpdealwith“traitors”or“impostors”
elsewhereinthedungeon.Ifyoudontthinktheplayers
aredoingagreatjobroleplayingthedeception,youcan
havethecharacterwhoisdoingmostofthetalkingmake
aDC 15 Charisma(Deception)checktoconvincethe
bugbearstodowhatthepartywants.RoleplayingDroop
Thegoblin,Droop,isnotathreattotheparty.Hehas
beencowedbythebugbearsandfollowstheirordersuntil
someonestrongercomesalong.
Ifheregainsconsciousnessduringcombat,Droop
hidesandavoidsthefight.Heissuchacowardthatifheisorderedtofight,hedoessowithdisadvantage(as
explainedintherulebook).
DroopknowsthegenerallayoutoftheRedbrand
hideout,aswellasthelocationofitssecretdoorsand
traps.Hedoesn’tthinktoofferuptheinformation,butif
prompted,herevealsasmuchashecanrememberinan
attempttobeusefultotheparty.Someofthedetailsmight
beconfusingormixedup.Heisagoblin,afterall.
Ifthebugbearsaredispatched,Drooptriestoingratiate
himselfwiththeparty.Hedoesn’tremembertheroute
toCragmawCastle,butheknowsit’supnorth,inthe
forest.HealsoknowsthatCragmawgoblinspatrolaround
Phandalin,andhesuggeststhecharactersmightbeable
tocaptureapatroltolearnmoreaboutthecastle.
CharactersmightbeinclinedtokeepDrooparoundfora
while.Seethe“NPCPartyMembers”sidebar(page11)for
adviceonhowtorunDroopasamemberoftheparty.Developments
ThebugbearsaretheonlyonesintheRedbrandhideout
whoknowthelocationofWaveEchoCave.Theywon’t
willinglydivulgethisinformation,sincetheyfearthe
BlackSpidermorethantheyfearthecharacters.
ThebugbearsalsoknowthelocationofCragmaw
Castle,butagain,theydon’tsharethisinformationreadily.
Acharacterwhointerrogatesacapturedbugbearcanpry
theinformationloosewithasuccessfulDC^15 Charisma
(Intimidation)check.Treasure
Moskcarriesabeltpouchcontaining^33 spandwears
aneyepatchmadeofblackleathersetwithsemiprecious
stones(50gp).Healsohasanironkeythatlocksand
unlocksallthedoorsintheRedbrandhideout.AwardingExperiencePoints
Divide 600 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty
defeatsthebugbears.10. CommonRoom
Thisareaservesastheheadquartersandmeetingroom
fortheRedbrands.Whenthereisnoofficialbusiness
todiscuss,itdoublesasacommonroomwherethe
strongholdguardscanrelaxwhileoffduty.
AcharacterwholistensatthedoorwithasuccessfulDC
10 Wisdom(Perception)checkhearsthevillainswithin
engagedinagameofknucklebones.Thismakesfora
mysteriousrattlingsound,followedbyshoutsandgroans
andasuddengabbleofvoicesaswagersarepaid.Ifthe
charactersburstintotheroom,theyautomaticallysurprise
itsoccupants.Severalworntablesandchairsarescatteredaroundthislarge
room.Woodenbenchesaredrawnupagainstwallsdecorated
withdraperiesofbrownandred,andseveralalekegsare
proppedupandtapped.
Fourtough-lookinghumanwarriorswearingscarletcloaks
aregatheredaroundoneofthetables.Astackofcoinsand
trinketsisheapeduponthetabletopbetweenthem.PART2:PHANDALIN