The more of these Dungeon Magazine adventures I read, the more I realize that unregulated wizards are a public menace. It's no wonder the trope for them is the lone wizard tower out in the wilderness. It makes sense when you consider some of the problems caused by their experimentation. This scenario is no exception.
Originally written for Waterdeep, it works just as well in Ptolus.
A wizard hired some adventurers to acquire some dinosaur (or other monster) eggs to be used for alchemical experimentation. Things went awry and they hatched while unattended, escaping into the sewers of course.
This would really be best suited to happen on Dweomer Street since it is known in the Ptolus setting that lots of magical and alchemical run-off ends up in the sewers there. Of course that would account for how unnaturally fast these critters grow in the course of the adventure.
The wizard whose problem this is offers rewards for recovery (more if they're alive).
It is important to keep track of time passing while these critters are running about causing problems in the sewer system. Aside from the other things already down there these would be considered invasive predators, and the bigger they get the more problems they cause.
At some point in the adventure the dinosaurs attack some workers, killing and injuring a number of them. That's when the System Monitors (the Ptolus group that clears clogs and repairs damage to the sewers) tack on an additional reward for their removal dead or alive.
A party pursuing the rewards may consider trying to get copies of the sewer layout, but these are not available to anyone that isn't involved with city management or a System Monitor. It might be possible to buy a suspect copy from someone, but it is almost a given that it is completely inaccurate.
The System Monitors will offer to provide a guide for the party for a price per day, a share of treasure, and the reward offered by the guild will not be available since a Monitor was present. Guides will stay in the largest passages and if abandoned by the party the guide will exit the sewer immediately and no further guides will be made available.
While there are 12 critters to start with, over time that number will be reduced by encounters with other sewer inhabitants, other bounty hunters catching or killing some of them, and System Monitors also downing one.
Some set-piece encounters are included in the module to help break up the monotony of hunting the same looking sewer section over and over, in addition to random encounters.
One in particular set-piece stood out to me, it involves saving the lives of some amateur delvers that found a dinosaur and now regret it. The role-playing potential here makes things interesting.
Another event involves being approached by a man claiming to know where one of the beasts is located right then. Turns out he's a wererat looking to lure the PCs into a trap so he and his ratling associates can have some fresh meat for dinner.
The action in this module can be split up to run concurrent with other activities in the campaign.
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