RPGers

Venerable members of this group:

passport, Tiefling, sabby, VAG, abiessu, sleeping wolf, atesh, Sofacoin, kalen, werejackal, dodo37, in10se, Myrkabah, Kit, RoguePoet, Uri E Bakay, Akchizar, Johnny, timgoh0, androjen, greth, Ysardo, Clockmaker, Aerobe, OldMiner, Kizor, Jet-Poop, Dr.Jimmy
This group of 28 members is led by passport

D&D Miniatures is a miniatures wargame put out by Wizards of the Coast that is set in their Dungeons and Dragons universe, although not in any one particular world. The game is sold in little box sets that each contain a variety of miniatures. Several different starter sets have also been made and those starter sets also contain the rules to the game itself. The hardcover Dungeons and Dragons book entitled "Miniatures Handbook" also contains the complete miniatures rules, although those rules are now out of date, as they have changed somewhat since the release of that book.

Wizards of the Coast has always been big on selling their products in ways that cause people to spend a whole lot of money on them, and the D&D Miniatures game is a prime example of this. The figures (which are plastic), come in sets of eight, and have been priced in the $9-$13 range. There have also been a few sets that contained 8 normal figures and one very large one, and those sets were priced at $20 per set.

They want to make you buy a lot of these things, so each box of miniatures contains four "Common" figures, three "Uncommon" figures and one "Rare" figure. Most of the sets of figures have contained 24 different "Rare" figures, so that means you are buying at least 24 boxes of these figures just to complete a single set of them, and there have already been 12 sets of them. That means thousands of dollars spent on what amounts to a few pounds of plastic.

These miniatures are also very popular for use with the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game. In fact most of the people that purchase them purchase them for exactly that reason. This is rather unfortunate because the contents of the various sets are absolutely horrible for playing Dungeons and Dragons. Using miniatures with Dungeons and Dragons essentially means that you need a dozen or two dozen figures representing men, dwarves, elves, halflings and such, and then about a million figures representing monsters. The D&D Miniatures boxes are very, very, very heavily stacked towards men, dwarves, elves, and humanoids but with very few actual monsters, and what monsters are in the sets are often oddball monsters that get almost no use in play. If you buy a lot of boxes of these figures you will end up with vast hoardes of useless men, dwarves, elves, a smaller selection of kobolds, goblins, and orcs (many of which will be in identical poses) and you won't even begin to have a decent selection of actual monster figures. Your collection might have seventy dwarves in it, but you would be lucky to have a single rust monster, and seventy dwarves are neither useful for Dungeons and Dragons or D&D Miniatures because neither set of rules properly scales to that many figures on the table.

If you simply play Dungeons and Dragons as a player, then a few boxes of these figures can keep you in character figures for a long time (and you can usually trade away the few monsters and bad guys in your boxes to your friends for more good guy figures). But if you are a game master wanting to use miniatures then you will find that you quickly end up with a very expensive miniatures collection that is so overwhelmingly full of humanoids, and you will still be missing most of the classic monsters and likely won't be able to properly field many encounters. If you are a gamemaster then I suggest actually going on eBay and spending a few bucks buying the common and uncommon figures from the recent sets (you can usually purchase all the common and uncommon figures from any given set in a single auction from many sellers, for almost no money), as those will give you all the bulk humanoids you need. As for monsters, you are better off buying metal monster miniatures from Reaper Miniatures, not only do they look better, it actually winds up being a lot cheaper that way.

Living Greyhawk is the RPGA's single most popular campaign, and boy is it ever popular. The RPGA does not release their play numbers, but judging from the number of events I see at conventions and number of messages on the boards from various campaigns, I can truthfully state that this campaign sees more play than all other RPGA campaigns combined.

The Living Greyhawk campaign is set in the World of Greyhawk, which was one of the original Dungeons and Dragons campaign worlds. Different areas of the world are assigned to different areas of the Greyhawk world and they all get their own adventures that can only be played in their area. These adventures are called regional adventures. There are also other adventures that can be played anywhere and those adventures are called core adventures.

Each region is administered by a Triad, consisting of three gamers who oversee the development, plotline and players in their region. This volunteer system seems to work far better than the campaigns that are directly controlled by Wizards of the Coast.

The Living Greyhawk campaign is currently on its seventh year of play and the world has developed quite a bit in that time. In fact it is developed so much that some players say that it really isn't all that recognizable as Greyhawk anymore, other than the place names. The reason is that simply too much history has happened in the seven years of the campaign, meaning that almost every area in the world has seen major changes from the original World of Greyhawk products that were published from 1980 up until the early 1990s.

The main reason a person might want to play in the Living Greyhawk campaign is that you can play in it almost anywhere, you can quit playing it whenever you want, and pick back up whenever you want, and not be left behind, as the campaign has always supported a wide range of character levels. As of this writing the main campaign supports characters up to 15th level and some special events support characters from 16th to 19th level.

The ability to enter and leave the game at will makes it especially popular with older players who often have families and responsibilities that don't allow them to simply play every Friday night with their buddies like they might have back in college.

In the Dungeons and Dragons Greyhawk campaign setting, Highfolk refers to both Highfolk Town and the area surrounding it (for political reasons, they cannot accurately be called one single 'country'). The region is in the West part of the Flanaess, West of Lake Whyestil and the Vesve Forest and East of the Yatil Mountains. The Velverdyva River runs through. Neighboring countries/regions are Perrenland to the West, Furyondy to the South-East, Veluna to the South, and the Empire of Iuz *spit* to the East. The best estimate of Population is roughly 80,000.

Highfolk is a very, very Chaotically-aligned region. The law is along the lines of, "Did you kill him? No? Okay, off you go." This is due primarily to the 80% Elven population, though the are was also isolated from the Great Kingdom and subsequent empires (which would have provided a Lawful influence).
The 'government' of Highfolk is an oxymoron. The most obvious power center is Highfolk Town. The city boasts a popularly elected Council. The council, however, has little more power within the walls than outside.
The Elves outside the city are much more organized, as their government has been roughly the same for thousands of years. The Elven-king and his Court reside at Flameflower, in the Vesve. All the elves belong to one of several clans which engange is Byzantine politicking against another, though all in good humor and all swear fealty to the king.
Other power groups include the Rangers of the Vesve (guerilla defenders of good, headquartered at Quaalsten in the Vesve), the Gnomish Consortium (a munchkin trade organization), various temples (most notably,Ehlonna's Hearth of the Unicorn's Heart, Norebo's Smiling Halls of Good Fortune {a casino}, and a temple in Highfolk Town to the Oeridian seasonal dieties), and even Furyondy. The list could easily go on- all it takes to gain power in Highfolk is followers. It could easily be argued that any of these groups, though not as powerful as the Council of Highfolk or the Elven-king, wield as much political influence. Also, though all are interested in maintaining their current power, none seem to want to impose on others'.
Most of the region is in virtual anarchy, though the people are almost universally friendly and it is rare when anyone exploits the amazing trust that virtually everyone lends their neighbors.

There are also Halflings that get no respect from the 'Tallies'. Rumor has it there's some sort of underground Halfling Superiority movement, and the members of the other races think that's pretty funny.

Despite the large human and demi-human population, Highfolk is by no means civilized. The Vesve forest can be a dangerous place for mortals who leave the few well-marked roads and venture into the wilderness. Druids, xenophobic elves, Fey, and wild animals (not to mention North-Eastern humanoid tribes) are sure to point travelers back to the paths very quickly, and usually screaming.

The greatest danger in the region, however, is the horde of Iuz *spit*. When the Greyhawk Wars ended and treaties were made, no map of the interior of the Vesve could be found. So Iuz *spit* claimed the whole of it. Luckily, the demon demigod has been distracted since then, and only with the recent reflaring of Flanaess-wide warfare has he put any resources toward an invasion. A pitifully small army of maybe a few thousand Orcs should have been destroyed by the elite Elven military, but their aloofness and selfishness, and a near-total lack of support from other power groups, has arguably put commoners' lives at risk: Almost no action is being taken against the invaders.

In CY 594, the situation is this: Simple farmers and woodsmen, Elven melodrama and politicking, Well-meaning but disorderly power groups, and a timer in the East that is counting down...


Sources: the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, www.highfolk.net, and my own extensive experience.

Highfolk is played by Wisconsin in the Living Greyhawk campaign.

Note to all readers. This is an original adventure module designed for the Dungeons and Dragons game. This module is compliant with all Open Gaming License and D20 SRD regulations. If this sort of thing doesn’t interest you then you might want to click here.

This adventure is designed for game masters who run light hearted games, and is not intended for more serious campaigns. This adventure is best suited for second level characters.

 

 

GM Background: This adventure is set in the Dwarven cavern of Glimmer. It is recommended that one or more characters be a Dwarf.

The Dwarven cavern of Glimmer is a great Dwarven city that houses nearly 1000 dwarves. They are famous for the amount of Ale they consume and also for their annual Drink-a-Thon in which they consume all remaining ale stocks on the eve before the next year’s supply arrives from the city of Rockhome. The dwarves here are famous smiths and miners and don’t brew much ale of their own, instead choosing to buy vast quantities of ale from the neighboring city of Rockhome.

Most of the people in the Dwarven lands venerate the Dwarven pantheon, although a few dwarves worship various human gods of smithing and drinking, and some practice ancestor worship..

General Adventure Outline.

The general plot of this adventure is fairly simple. The characters are offered a job guarding the food caravan that is headed towards the Dwarven cavern of Glimmer, it is bringing the food supplies for the annual Drink-a-Thon, which many of the characters might have wanted to attend anyway.

The job pays 100 gold pieces each (in advance) and can begin in almost any city on the main continent, even in the barbarian lands, and the dwarves are shrewd bargainers and will buy from anyone if the price is right.

Text in BOLD is meant to be read aloud to the players.

 

 

Encounter 1. Caravan Duty

Caravan duty is always a boring job, but the pay is usually decent, and the posting you see up on the wall particularly piques your interest, since that particular caravan is arriving in the Dwarven city of Glimmer on the night before their world famous Drink-a-Thon. It would almost be like taking a vacation and getting paid for it at the same time.

The posting on the wall is extremely fresh and the characters are the first ones to have seen it. The job pays 100 gold pieces per character. The trading company and caravan master will have to be created by the GM to fit the region the characters are starting in. The caravan master should be a 4th level fighter of whatever race is primary in the region. The characters are expected to drive the carts, and there will be no other characters along besides the PC s and the caravan master. The caravan master fights along with the characters, and the character’s contracts stipulate that they still deliver the caravan even if he dies.

Encounter 2. Troll booth.

The caravan has come to a small bridge crossing a stream just a days travel past Northshire, a chain is stretched out across the bridge blocking your passage. The chain appears to be secured with a pair of crude padlocks.

Characters getting out of their carts to investigate the chain will be accosted by a Scrag wearing a pair of goggles. A scrag is an aquatic type of Troll, see the troll entry in the Monster Manual ™, remember that scrags do no not regenerate outside of water.

The scrag does not attack, instead he demands a toll of 10 gold pieces per cart in order to cross “his” bridge. Characters can make a knowledge: local check at this point, and they get each bit of info up to their roll.

DC 5 - Many trolls do indeed build their own bridges and charge tolls to cross them.

DC 10 - Troll bridge keepers are licensed and pay their taxes in many areas.

DC 15 - There are no licensed troll bridge keepers in the vicinity of Northshire.

DC 20 - This bridge was built 4 years ago by the government of Northshire, and collecting bridge tolls is prohibited by law on Northshire bridges.

This particular troll once had his very own bridge, some distance from here, but was driven out of business when a more powerful troll constructed another bridge a mere 100 yards from his, and started allowing passage for only a copper piece per group. Of course once he drove his competitor out of business he proceeded to tear down his competitor’s bridge and raised his rates considerably. High rolls on diplomacy, intimidate or the use of mind reading spells can get this information.

The troll only attacks if the characters attempt to pass without payment, either by breaking the chain, picking the lock, or attempting to ford the stream within site of his bridge.

The caravan master is only carrying 30 gold pieces, and was not authorized to pay any tolls, since this path should be toll free.

The troll is wearing Goggles of Minute Seeing and has a box containing 350 GP worth of assorted coins, which is located under the bridge.

Encounter 3. A thief in the night.

In this encounter a Goblin rogue attempts to sneak into the camp, locate the caravan’s (non-existent) strongbox, and make away with it. The goblin is not out to kill anyone, he is just looking for loot.

He will make his way from the rear of the caravan to the front, checking each wagon for a locked box. Use the 5th level goblin rogue listed on page 123 of the Dungeon Master‘s Guide ™. The character on each wagon will get a listen check vs. his move silently, and if they are awake they also get a spot check vs. his hide as well. There is no strongbox for him to loot, but he will also lift any valuable items the characters might have laying around as well.

Quick rules reference. Sleeping characters get a -10 on listen checks. If the goblin fails two sleight of hand checks against the same character then he will wake them up.

If faced with one or two foes then the goblin will try to fight them, he will try to flee from larger groups, although his slow movement rate may make that impossible.

Encounter 4. Dwarven Beerfest!!!

The caravan pulls into the giant cavern of Glimmer on the morning of the Drink-a-Thon. You are quickly ushered in and the dwarves begin grumbling and quickly unload the wagons. You here plenty of muttered comments about no-good caravans arriving late, but spirits seem fairly high amongst the dwarves.

The night of the Drink-a-Thon is completely freeform, but things like drinking contests, wrestling matches, dancing, singing, gambling, and the like should be encourage and played out. Have fun with this, use whatever rules you like. The actual evening stretches all night and the last mug of ale does not end up being consumed until 10 AM the next morning.

Encounter 5. The morning after

The morning after the Drink-a-Thon begins, well it isn’t actually morning, if anything it is early evening by the time the first of you begin to awaken. The great hall is littered with empty kegs and discarded drinking horns. Many of your fellow party goers are just now starting to rouse themselves. You hear a cry from down the hall, “Oy, the new Ale caravan still isn’t here yet, it should have been here well before noon.”

That little cry wakes up quite a few dwarves and the day grudgingly begins.

The mood of the dwarves in relation to the missing ale caravan quickly goes from concern to near panic. Rockhome is only a day and a half away, and it is nearly impossible to be that late on such a short journey.

Finally Dorn Wetbeard (the clan leader) calls everyone into the great hall for a most serious meeting.

You are crammed into the great hall with 1000 hung-over dwarves, it certainly isn’t the best place to be as far as smells go. The Clan leader Dorn Wetbeard climbs atop a table and begins to speak.

The issue of this missing ale goes beyond just our ability to drink. It strikes at the very heart of the issue of safety within the Dwarven homeland. Dorn is at this point completely drowned out by yelling and mumbling. "SILENCE", and the crowd goes silent. "I will need volunteers", 1000 dwarves rise to their feet as if a single man "to stay here and guard Glimmer while the rest of us go out and look for our ale." 1000 dwarves sit back down as if a single man.

Aye, I should have expected as much, you visitors there, you can certainly stay back and guard our home while we make the short trek to Rockhome to see what happened to our ale. It is a minor matter and I am certain ye are up to the task.

Without waiting for a response or a reply he continues. We leave at dawn, wear yr good clothes for this one.

A cheer goes up from the Dwarven crowd, while the characters are absolutely inundated with dwarves thanking them for the favor of watching the place while they go out to secure their ale. Most of the night is spent while dwarves frantically sharpen axes, polish armor, and make repairs to boots. They all march out at dawn, leaving the characters standing in the opening to a very empty Glimmer. As they march off, Dorn Wetbeard calls back, don’t worry lads, we will be back in 3 days, a month at the most.

To be continued….

 

 

 

Wrapping up the adventure.

This should be enough for one gaming session. This story is directly continued in Dwarven Beerfest Part 2.

Note to all readers. This is an original adventure module designed for the Dungeons and Dragons game. This module is compliant with all Open Gaming License and D20 SRD regulations. If this sort of thing doesn’t interest you then you might want to click here.

This adventure is designed for game masters who run light hearted games, and is not intended for more serious campaigns. This adventure is best suited for first level characters, although characters as high as 4th level can play it with no problems, although having higher level characters will completely change the feel of the last half of the adventure.

 

Here on Fibber Island

GM Background: This adventure is set on Fibber Island where the characters have recently arrived with the goal of taking a much needed holiday, seeing the sights, eating at Alvin's World Famous Hot Dog and Pie Haven, and perhaps going hunting in the famous wildlife preserve, if of course they are able to get hunting passes, which may prove to be difficult in the busy season.

Fibber Island is largely a resort island, with a smattering of hotels, eating establishments, a boat harbor, several beaches, and other tourist type attractions. Think of it as similar to Hawaii. The island is officially owned and managed by the dwarves (who consider it part of their kingdom), but most of the population is human.

General Adventure Outline.

The general plot of this adventure is fairly simple, they come to the island in search of a vacation, check out a few of the sights, and eventually make their way into the safari zone with one of two different guides. There is also the possibility that the characters simply don't WANT to go into the Safari zone, in which case you should introduce the optional table wrestling tournament encounter instead. That option makes for a shorter adventure, but at least it makes for some sort of adventure. You should read the entire adventure beforehand and familiarize yourself with the locations in the module, feel free to make up more locations as needed, and to reward things such as gathering information with appropriate information. No map is needed for this adventure, details as to what the island is shaped like, and how large it is are left up to the game master.

Text in BOLD is meant to be read aloud to the players.

Encounter 1. Landfall.

Ah, you are finally here, the world famous Fibber Island, you can't wait to relax on the beach with a fruity drink, perhaps eat at Alvin's World Famous Hot Dog and Pie Haven, and maybe, just maybe venture into the Safari Zone to hunt the really big game. As you make your way down the gangplank onto the beach you are greeted by native women (wearing nothing but grey body paint) waving at you, while several donkey carts await, each carrying a driver and bearing the sign of a different hotel. The drivers call out at you, listing their various amenities and asking you to climb aboard.

The native women themselves are not actual native women, they are simply locals who work for the various hotels, if the players interact with them they attempt to steer the players in the onto the cart of the hotel they work for. The various hotels are all pretty much the same and the GM can feel free to make up their names. Amenities they might have include hot springs piped in, bicycle track, full fruit bar, authentic native "massage", hairstylists, souvenir towels, and cat racing. The GM is responsible for handling any action that might go on at the hotel.

From the hotel and initial encounter you can attempt to steer the characters to the various listed encounters, although none of them are particularly important. They will probably seek out the safari zone on their own. Below is a quick table of information you can work into the conversation with various NPCs.

1. Most people sell dead animals from the Safari Zone to Jason Landrew at the Safari Hut.

2. Katie over at the Hot Dog and Pie Haven is really something to look at.

3. Spock's exports is the best (and only) place on the island to sell live animals of all varieties.

4. Alvin's has wrestling matches from time to time.

5. The Dwarves at the gate into the Safari Zone collect taxes on everything brought out, and cannot be easily bribed.

6. The Leaky Mug Inn is the best place to procure a guide into the Safari Zone.

7. It is said that Merrick Stonecutter (a local dwarf), captured a live T-Rex last month in the Safari Zone and it was shipped out to an unnamed purchaser, rumored to be an Orcish king.

8. The Safari guide Rancid Overthrow has gone out with full hunting parties on more than one occasion only to come back completely alone.

9. Most hunters used ranged weapons, those that attempt to capture animals alive usually soften them up with arrows and then run in and beat them with saps.

Encounter 2. Alvin's Hot Dog and Pie Haven.

Ah, some of you might have been waiting for this place, hot dogs and pies served in a large swimming pool where you swim up to your table and a beautiful waitress serves you hot dogs, pies, and fruity drinks. A man of about 30 years old with tan skin, dreadlocks and a large stain on his shirt waives you over and tells you to sit down, from what you have heard you would say that is Alvin.

Alvin’s Hot Dog and Pie Haven is one of the most popular restaurants on the island, it is located in the Southern Bay area. The entire seating area is located in a swimming pool. You swim up to your tables, where the waiters serve hot dogs, pie, and fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them. They open each evening at around 6 PM, and are usually open late into the night.

Most of the restaurant itself is absolutely ancient, the main pool area and tables were already present when the island was first developed 50 years ago. The restaurant building proper is a much more recent structure, built in standard Hawaiian style.

Alvin is a human in his mid 30s, his life dream was to own a hot dog and pie restaurant on Fibber island. Of course Alvin was never much of a worker, and wasn't particularly intelligent or motivated, but then he hit it big at the roulette table, and used his proceeds to open his restaurant.

Alvin has no character class. He is 35 and of mixed African and European heritage. Alvin is mostly a slob, but is very personable. He spends much of his time eating pie and hot dogs with his customers. Hot dogs and pie are his passion though, and he gets up at the crack of noon every day in order to start baking pies.

The price is one gold piece, and everyone pays before anything is served. Alvin himself prepares the food, and his waitress Katie does most of the serving. You don't actually select anything from the menu, Katie (or Alvin) will just carry trays of hot dogs and pies to each table. Beverages consist of fruity drinks with umbrella's. They are all basically the same drink (rum and water), but they look quite different and have different kinds of fruit in them.

Katie is an attentive server, she keeps the pie trays full, the hot dog plates full, and makes sure everyone has a drink in their hand at all times. She deftly dodges unwanted attention from the assorted drunk patrons, and his pretty much what keeps the place running. She is unrelated to Alvin, having run away from home at a very young age, she is currently 17 and has been Alvin's only waitress for 3 years. Alvin thinks of her as a daughter, but that doesn't stop him from making lots of suggestive comments to her.

Alvin talks about jousting ALL THE TIME and is overall friendly.

Encounter 3.

The Safari hut appears to be a complex of small buildings all centered around a larger one. The smell of tanning hides and butchered animals is quite strong.

The Safari Hut is run by a well muscled old human named Jason Landrew. It is a 100' long hut with a grass roof and is open on both ends. The place has a very strong smell. There are over a dozen smaller round huts in the complex

The hut is located a mere 50 yards from the gate to the hunting grounds. The hut is the official sale place for all meat and game, and is also the only taxidermist on the island.

Landrew's charter specifies his establishment as the ONLY place authorized to purchase dead game animals brought out of the hunting areas. Preparing your own animals is perfectly legal, and selling the meat you prepared yourself is also perfectly legal, but no one but Landrew can purchase the unprepared animals.

There is a fixed price paid for each type of animal, Landrew purchases all types of game animals other than humanoids. Taxidermy services are also available at a cost of 5 GP per hit dice.

Here is a quick price list of animals the characters may possibly bring back on this adventure and the price in gold that Landrew is willing to pay for them.

ANIMAL PRICE

Large Viper 200

Dire Bat 200

Monitor Lizard 200

Crocodile 200

Lion 300

Deinonychus 300

Tiger 400

Rhino 400

Tiger 400

Dire Lion 500

Elephant 700

Dire Bear 700

Encounter 4. Spock's Exports

A short way from the Safari hut lies Spock's exports. A similar large hut with grass roof is ringed by dozens of cages of various sizes.

Spock is around 50 years old, and is a shrewd bargainer. What he buys is live animals, his prices are not fixed, but must be negotiated every time, and according to him the animals are always undersized, low quality, obviously sterile, and otherwise defective.

The hut itself is FULL of food for the various animals.

Spock's cargo ship leaves once per month for the mainland. He will NOT keep more than a full shipload of animals on hand at one time. He will refuse all animals once he has a shipload, unless he is offered a highly valuable predator, female elephant, or dinosaur. All of Spock's current inventory is already under contract, but he may have animals for sale in later adventures.

Spock is a 9th level Ranger and his relevant skill totals for any encounters include bluff +5, diplomacy +6, intimidate +12, and appraise +10.

Here is a quick list animals that might be brought to Spock, along with maximum purchase prices, which must of course be negotiated using bluff, diplomacy, intimidate or appraise. The DM should use opposed rolls and use their best judgment as to the prices. Animals that have large amounts of lethal damage done to them are not as valuable as animals captured using nonlethal damage.

Animal Price

Large Viper 800

Dire Bat 800

Monitor Lizard 800

Crocodile 800

Lion 1200

Deinonychus 1200

Tiger 1600

Rhino 1600

Tiger 1600

Dire Lion 2000

Elephant 2800

Dire Bear 2800

 

Encounter 6: The Leaky Mug

The Leaky Mug Inn and Tavern is located about a mile from the northern gate, it is the well known hangout of all the assorted Safari guides. The bartender and proprietor's name is Gorf, a middle aged dwarf, and to hear him talk in his past he drank every mug, romanced every woman, and defeated every monster.

In reality Gorf is completely talk, and has only even been into the Safari zone a few times, and has never been an adventurer. He is also all talk when it comes to women as well. He is (however) quite the brawler, and is 3rd level and specialized in unarmed combat. He is however quick to forgive, once a fight is completed he will bear no ill will. Gorf has only just recently become a licensed safari guide and has yet to lead an actual expedition into the safari zone.

There are normally half a dozen safari guides who hang out at the tavern, along with a dozen spear bearers. They have an agreement amongst them that they take turns with customers who don't ask for or request a specific guide. The standard price for a guide is 10 GP per day for a group of 4, plus 2 GP for each additional person led, plus 2 GP per spear bearer. The guides are generally always the same half dozen guys, but the spear bearers change all the time, it is one of those jobs that various island men tend to do for short periods of time when they need money. At the moment the only two Safari guides available are Gorf himself and Rancid Overthrow.

Guides lead hunting, mapping, and exploration expeditions and are expected to fight and help in hunting. Spearmen carry spears (sometimes other weapons), they are NOT considered to be combatants, but they will fight in defense. Their real job is to carry out treasure and animals from the safari zone. Most are human, but other races are also represented (but no elves, there are no native elves on the entire island).

Rancid Overthrow.

Depending on who you talk to you might hear that Rancid is the best and mightiest of the guides, or that he is completely insane. Both are true to some extent. Rancid is an old dwarf, his right hand is a hook, his left leg is a peg and he is missing one ear. Most of the time he rides on the back of an Ogre (named Ogre), who is apparently mute. Ogre wears a special harness to carry Rancid around. Rancid's movement rate is only 2 without his Ogre because of the peg leg. Rumors are true on all counts, Rancid is the mightiest guide, but also goes after the biggest beasts, the most dangerous dungeons, and generally after things that are far more than his clients might want. He is also quite insane, at least in his total fearlessness.

Stats.

GORF: Dwarf Ex-Monk 1 / Fighter 2

CG Medium Humanoid

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Listen -1, Spot -1

Languages Common, Dwarven

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10

hp 35

Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +1

Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)

Melee unarmed +6 1d6+3

Melee flurry +4/+4 1d6+3

Base Atk +2; Grp +9

Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Weapon focus unarmed strike, improved initiative, acrobatic, and toughness,

Abilities Str 16, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 12

Skills Jump +11, Tumble +10, Balance +6

Possessions: Whip (not proficient), backpack, 30 gold pieces and light crossbow with 1 quarrel, which he will auto miss with.

Rancid Overthrow: Dwarf Ranger 8

CN Medium Humanoid

Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Listen +14, Spot +14

Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Orcish

AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15

hp 35

Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +5

Speed 10 ft. (2 squares)

Composite longbow +12/+7 1d8+5

Composite longbow rapid shot +10/+10/+5 1d8+5

Base Atk +8; Grp +12

Feats: Track, point blank shot, precise shot, rapid shot, manyshot, leadership.

Abilities Str 18, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 6

Skills: Handle animal +9, knowledge geography +13, knowledge nature +15, Listen +14, spot +14, ride + 15, search +13, Survival +18

Spells: Charm Animal, Hide From Animals, and Snare.

Possessions: Belt of Giant STR +4, Gloves of Dexterity +2, Composite Longbow +1, Chain shirt +1, potion of cure light wounds.

 

Spear Bearers - Warriors level 1

N Medium Humanoids

Init +0; Listen +0, Spot +0

Languages Common

AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10

hp 10

Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)

Longspear +1 1d8

Base Atk +1; Grp +1

Feats: Varied, usually noncombat

Abilities: consider all to be 10.

Skills: All skills considered to be +0

Possessions: Longspear, backpack, litter and rope.

Male Ogre

NE Large Giant

Init 0; Senses low-light and darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +1, Spot +3

Languages Common, Giant

AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 17

hp 40 (4HD)

Fort +8 Ref +1 Will +2

Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)

Melee +1 club +11 (1d8+9)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Base Atk +3; Grp +15

Abilities Str 27, Dex 11, Con 18, Int 9, Wis 13, Cha 7

SQ low-light and darkvision 60 ft.

Feats Combat Reflexes, Endurance

Skills Climb +13 (+5 ranks, +8 str), Spot +3 (+2 ranks, +1 wis).

Possessions +1 leather, +1 club, 12 gp, 16 sp, 13 cp.

 

Encounter 8: The Northern Gate.

The northern gate is the only entrance in the 100 foot high wall into the hunting and adventuring areas of Fibber Island. The gate is staffed by 4 dwarven guards. The guards take entry fees into the adventuring areas, and take taxes for people exiting.

Single day entry fees during the off season are 1 gold piece. 10 gold pieces buys a 1 month pass, 25 gold pieces buys an annual pass, and 250 gold pieces buys a lifetime pass. Passes can only be purchased during the off season, during the summer vacation months passes are only available from the licensed tour guides who always buy up all the passes well in advance and use them as part of their tour packages. Annual and lifetime passes can only be purchased on the first day of the year, where there are only a certain number of them available. It is currently mid-summer and all available hunting passes are currently in the hands of assorted Safari guides.

Characters exiting the Safari Zone must pay taxes on all valuables that they carry.

Coins are taxed at a rate of 10 percent. Gems are taxed at a rate of 1 copper piece per gem, and other valuables are taxed at a rate of 1 copper piece per item. Animals smaller than dwarves (dead or alive) are taxed at 1 CP each, animals up to horse size are taxed at 1 SP each, and animals larger than horse size are taxed at 1 GP each.

Characters may check any valuables they wish with the guards, who are highly honest and will not steal them. Most characters check their coins and gems because all coins and gems coming OUT of the Safari zone are taxed. Other valuables may be checked, or simply inventoried.

The wall itself is regularly patrolled by Dwarven guards, who check for treasure tossed over the walls to avoid taxes.

 

Encounter 9: The Safari.

The Jungle is lush with a high canopy, movement is pretty easy, although visibility seems to be limited to about 50 feet in most situations. Your guide seems rather competent and leads you on your way.

This section of the module is rather free form and uses an encounter table, the exact table depends on the guide the character selected. Feel free to invent the terrain as needed for each encounter. After the party encounters a total of 10 CR worth of animals it will begin getting dark and the guide will lead them back to the gate, as the jungle is too dangerous to be in at night. All creatures can be found in the Monster Manual ™ or the D20 SRD.

This part of the module is not about how awesome the NPC guide is, this part of the module is about the characters getting stranded with an incompetent guide, or getting in way over their heads with a guide who doesn’t really care if he lives or dies.

One note, Rancid Overthrow is a very competent guide, while Gorf knows absolutely nothing about the jungle at all, and has no skills relating to guiding whatsoever.

Table 1. Use this table if the party is being guided by Rancid Overthrow. Rancid will automatically spot all of these animals before they spot the party, negating possible surprise. He will urge the party into any and all encounters. He himself will stay back from melee combat and simply fire his bow. Characters led by Rancid gain surprise on all animals unless they are particularly noisy. The CR 5 animals on this table will flee if knocked down to less than 10 hit points, while the CR 7 animals will flee if knocked down to less than 20 hit points. Fleeing animals that are pursued will fight to the death.

1. Lion CR 3

2. Rhino CR 4

3. Human remains from a previous hunting party, a masterwork composite longbow str bonus +3 can be salvaged.

4. Tiger CR 4

5. Dire Lion CR 5

6. 2 Deinonychus CR 5

7. Elephant CR 7

8. Dire Bear CR 7

Table 2. Use this table if the characters are being led by Gorf, or if they find themselves without a guide at all. Roll iniative normally with no surprise for these encounters. Gorf will always recommend fleeing from all encounters, and will run himself with his first action for any encounter higher than CR 2. The first time Gorf flees he can be caught and convinced to continue on, the second time he runs, he will go all the way back to the gates.

1. Large Viper CR 2

2. Dire Bat CR 2

3. Monitor Lizard CR 2

4. Crocodile CR 2

5. Very large tracks of some multi-ton beast (predator dinosaur), Gorf will misidentify these as elephant tracks, a successful track check will prove him wrong.

6. Lion CR 3 (Gorf flees)

7. Deinonychus CR 3 (Gorf flees).

8. Tiger CR 4 (Gorf flees)

 

Optional Encounter:

Characters unwilling to go into the Safari Zone can hear about a wrestling contest held at Alvin's Hot Dog and Pie Haven, with a big prize of 50 GP for the winner. There will be at least as many NPC wrestlers as PCs entering. NPC wrestlers with have grapple checks of 0-7 (1d8-1), and contests will be simple wrestling until one character is knocked out. Winning characters advance to the next round WITHOUT any healing. Last character standing wins.

Please note that the wrestling contest is only for characters who do not enter the Safari Zone.