The Petrifying Priestess - Dungeon Magazine 66

If you need a small dungeon under Ptolus that can springboard into other adventures or just be a one-off adventure, The Petrifying Priestess makes for an interesting option. Here's some ideas for fitting it into Ptolus.

An elven holy artifact has been stolen from Iridithil's Home, specifically their shrine The Sky's Lord, right under the protective watch of Doraedian Mythlord. He's embarrassed and pissed off. The stolen artifact is the mace belonging to a long dead elven high priest of Celestan. The theft is revenge for the death of a medusa's mother by a band of elves twenty-two years ago. 

Serpena the medusa has contacts on the surface that bring her news of anything to do with the more prominent elves in the city. That's how she learned about the presence of the mace. She likely used her contacts to cut a deal that gained her the tools she needed to get in, steal the artifact, and get out unseen.

Maybe she hired members of the Longfingers guild to perform the actual break-in so she could move in and take her prize, leaving behind only a petrified cat as a calling card. You can work on the details of this so that it fits your campaign.

Then there's the question of why the party gets hired. In my case, the party currently has a high number of elves so it is possible that helps with the hiring decision. Doraedian Mythlord would likely want to go himself, but he would be advised against it in the event it was a trap being set for him.

Serpena is not just a medusa, she is also a priestess. In the original module she's a cleric of Gruumsh. You could keep that or try to change up the deity the medusa worships to Ghul? There has to be some of Ghul's essence still hanging around to power lower level cleric spells. The orcs she is accompanied by could be both Toruk-Rul and Sorn-Ulth.

The scenario itself is pretty straightforward. Go to where the thieves are and get the item back.

Lost Baronies of Lendore Isle - Session #1

The characters found themselves standing on the docks of Restenford with only a small amount of their personal property and a writ from the Ten Islands Trading Syndicate worth 100 gold if presented to the right persons. The rest of their equipment was on board the Harlot's Due, missing at sea since the storm separated the 4 ship convoy.

After some discussion and asking for information from some of the local fishermen, they decided to visit the abbey of Phaulkon, god of the seas and good weather, where Pedro a priest and devotee of the deity would try to exchange the writ for gold.

Meanwhile Fred Stone, Tok, and Seamus made their way to a dockside bar named Falco's Tavern to gather information about local places to buy new equipment and to find lodging for the night.

Out on the dock, two hapless laborers were being harrangued by a smiling dwarf as they struggled with unloading goods from a boat. Pausing, he introduced himself as Gap and suggested they go inside and talk to his brother Falco who would be behind the bar. He also quietly told Fred that Falco would serve him a special free drink, being a fellow dwarf.

Meira, Rowena, Elanna, and Samson decided their time would best be spent exploring the town.

At the abbey Pedro met with Almon the Curate who explained that Qualton the Abbot was away on church business.

After the writ was exchanged they passed some time discussing Pedro's mission and local matters affecting the church. Almon explained that the Baron did not look favorably on the church after a prolonged series of events during which he felt the priesthood failed to aid the town in a sufficient manner. He also warned Pedro to beware bandits that have been troubling travelers to and from Restenford.

At Falco's, Seamus watched with amusement and Tok engaged in some wagering with some of the patrons as Fred tried to chug beer from a large stone flagon the size of his head, and ended up drenched in a potent beer reserved for dwarven customers. Falco, sufficiently amused, quietly offered Fred "room and board for a mere 4 silver", while his "usual price to non-dwarves is 11 silver and still the cheapest in town", although he has few rooms available. Fred also inquired with Falco if he knew anything about an ancient dwarven stronghold named Crackhelm*. This seemed to amuse Falco, but gained no useful information.

Meeting back up, the party went on a shopping spree to get some gear. Left with very little money, they decided it might not be a bad idea to try to find the bandits, defeat them, and gain some loot with which to support themselves.

Off they went looking for the bridge the Curate had indicated as the main ambush site where the bandits seemed to operate. This proved to be their lucky day and their plan to walk into the ambush and win went better than expected with all 7 Orc bandits dead and not a single injury among the party.

A well placed sleep spell, combined with good rolls for the party and bad rolls for the bandits made this a very quick and lopsided fight.

The party came away with no coins, however there were 4 gems, a scroll with two second level arcane spells, and plenty of equipment to either keep or sell.

The session ended with the party tossing the looted Orcs into the river, bundling up the weapons, armor, and other items, and heading back toward town.

* Crackhelm is something I am developing for possible publication.