As part two of my ongoing mission to introduce new players to D&D, I'm posting here a complete adventure of my own device, intended to introduce new (or lapsed) players to Dungeons & Dragons. I tried to give it a very 'old school' feel, with plenty of traps, puzzles, and strange things you would only find in... well, in the lair of a mad mage. I also tried to inject some humour in there to help more reluctant players stay engaged with the group. I made the adventure for level 5 characters because I wanted to give the players a sense of power. Although I am a big fan of starting off at a low power level, it can be quite discouraging for a new player to come into this incredible world of fantasy and magic, only to realize that he or she can be easily killed by a kobold with a sling. Starting at a higher level gives players - especially spellcasters - more exciting powers to play with (hopefully without overwhelming them), and can thereby get them more invested in the game and their characters. For the same reason, many of the combat encounters will be quite easy by the standards of regular D&D players, but I want to take into account the lack of experience of the new players, and I do not want combats to drag on.
Well, enough stalling. Without further ado, here is the adventure: Trials of the Mad Mage!
The following text (even though it isn't yellow) is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. (c) 2013 Jonah Bomgaars.
Trials of the Mad Mage
A Beginners' Adventure for Level 5 Characters
An Introductory Module by Jonah Bomgaars, d20despot.blogspot.com
Made freely available under the Open Game License
Characters:
This module comes with pre-prepared characters for your convenience. Their ability scores and Hit Dice were determined through dice rolls, not point-buy, so while comparable in ability they are not all equal. Feel free to alter the characters to suit the needs or wishes of your players, for no one wants to have a character forced upon them. You can even throw them out and roll up completely original characters - I don't care. But I highly suggest that whatever group you form, it includes a fighter, a rogue, a cleric, and a magic-user.
If you are looking for character sheets to write these down on, you can find the official Pathfinder character sheets here, but I would be remiss not to put in a plug for my improved Pathfinder character sheets.
Fighter/Ranger
Human Fighter 4/Ranger 1
Str 18 Int 12
Dex 16 Wis 13
Con 18 Cha 15
HP: 62 AC: 20 (touch: 13; flat-footed: 17) Initiative: +3
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +4 (+5 vs fear)
CMB: +8, CMD: 21, Base Attack Bonus: 5
+1 Flaming Longsword +10 (1d8+6 and additional 1d6 fire / 19-20)
Masterwork Composite Longbow +9 (1d8+1 / x3) 110 ft.
Masterwork Dagger +9 (1d4+4 / 19-20)
Favored Enemy (dragons): +2 to hit and damage
Skills: Climb +4, Handle Animal +7, Heal +6, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception +6, Ride +3, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +4, Survival +5, Swim +3.
Feats: cleave, dodge, great cleave, iron will, power attack, weapon focus (longsword), weapon specialization (longsword)
Equipment: 20 arrows, masterwork banded mail, 50 ft. rope, grappling hook, 10 ft. pole, potion of cure moderate wounds (2), 25 gp
Rogue
Human Rogue 5
Str 14 Int 12
Dex 18 Wis 16
Con 12 Cha 18
HP: 36 AC: 18 (touch: 14; flat-footed: 13) Initiative: +6
Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +4
CMB: +7 (+8 on disarm and steal attempts), CMD: 19, Base Attack Bonus: 3
+1 Composite Shortbow +8 (1d6+3 / x3) 70 ft
Morningstar +5 (1d8+2)
Masterwork Dagger +6 (1d4+2 / 19-20)
Sneak attack 3d6
Skills: Acrobatics +17, Appraise +7, Bluff +12, Diplomacy +9, Disable Device +12, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Linguistics +7, Perception +9, Sense Motive +8, Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +12, Swim +7.
Feats: agile maneuvers, dodge, great fortitude, point-blank shot
Abilities: trapfinding, evasion, fast stealth, trap spotter, trap sense, uncanny dodge
Equipment: 20 arrows, masterwork studded leather, boots of elvenkind, 50 ft. rope, grappling hook, masterwork thieves' tools, crowbar, potion of cure light wounds (2), potion of invisibility, 50 gp.
Cleric
Human Cleric 5 (sun, glory)
Str 14 Int 14
Dex 16 Wis 16
Con 14 Cha 15
HP: 45 AC: 22 (touch: 14; flat-footed: 18) Initiative: +7
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +7
CMB: +5, CMD: 18, Base Attack Bonus: 3
+1 Scimitar +6 (1d6+3 / 18-20)
Masterwork Morningstar +6 (1d8+2)
Dagger +5 (1d4+2 / 19-20)
Channel Positive Energy 7x/day, 3d6 (+5 vs undead)
Touch of Glory
Skills: Acrobatics +1, Appraise +7, Diplomacy +7, Escape Artist +1, Heal +8, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (nobility) +7, Knowledge (planes) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +7, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +1
Feats: dodge, extra channel, improved initiative, selective channeling
Equipment: +1 scale mail, +1 light steel shield, silver holy symbol, sunrods (5), healer's kit (10 uses), 15 gp.
Spells prepared:
lvl 0: create water, detect magic, light, stabilize
lvl 1: shield of faith, endure elements, magic weapon, bless x2
lvl 2: bless weapon, heat metal, hold person, bull's strength
lvl 3: searing light, protection from energy, water breathing
Sorcerer
Human Sorcerer 5
Str 14 Int 10
Dex 16 Wis 14
Con 15 Cha 20
HP: 33 AC: 15 (touch: 14; flat-footed: 11) Initiative: +7
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +6
CMB: +4, CMD: 17, Base Attack Bonus: 2
+1 Sling +6 (1d4+2) 50 ft
Masterwork Dagger +5 (1d4+2 / 19-20)
magic ray or touch spell +6
Fire ray 8x/day, 1d6+2 fire
Skills: Acrobatics +3, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +4
Feats: dodge, great fortitude, improved initiative, weapon focus (ray)
Equipment: ring of protection +1, potion of cure light wounds (2), flask of alchemist's fire, 15 gp.
Spells/day: lvl 1: 8, lvl 2: 5
Spells known
lvl 0: acid splash, detect magic, light, disrupt undead, ghost sound, mage hand
lvl 1: burning hands, mage armor, magic missile, shocking grasp, sleep
lvl 2: scorching ray, acid arrow, invisibility
I wrote all the spells the players had on note cards so that they knew what they were and what they could do. I think it helped to have them out in front of them - they became more tangible than when they were simply written on the spell page of the character sheet.
Opening Scene:
[GM's Note: text in italics is to be read to the party. But feel free to improvise...] You are all seated at a table in the Two Muddy Pigs, a small inn & tavern just outside the village of Running Mill. As you passed through earlier, the villagers shied away from you, and now in the bar, the patrons eye you with fear and distrust. It's not that surprising; after all, you have come to Running Mill to investigate rumours of mysterious disappearances. The townsfolk are entitled to a little mistrust of strangers, under the circumstances. The tavern is lit by a fire and several small, unshuttered windows. The barkeep, a gruff, worldweary woman, eyes you uncertainly from across the room. Two other patrons - a young stableboy and a bald farmer - enjoy their wine in silence.
The bar's occupants:
-The Barkeep: Bathilda. Lvl 2 Human Commoner. Str 14 Dex 10 Con 12 Int 8 Wis 12 Cha 7. HP: 7. AC: 10. Club +3 (1d6+2). Sense Motive +2, Perception +2.
Dialogue: "If you be wanting more wine, get on with it! No use just staring about. The last of you lousy adventurer types to come through here ran off with the last o' me daughters, so you're not like to find anyone prettier'n me!" She scowls and spits.
Goods: She will sell you a cup of house wine for 2 cp, a mug of ale for 4 cp, a bottle of wine for 2 sp, and a bottle of fine wine for 10 gp.
-The Farmer: Goulton. Lvl 2 Human Commoner. Str 15 Dex 11 Con 8 Int 6 Wis 7 Cha 11. HP: 3. AC: 10. unarmed strike +3 (1d3+2 nonlethal). Knowledge (local) +1.
Dialogue: "If yer lookin' fer a warm welcome, you'd best come a week ago, afore those things in the woods stole me wife."
-The Stableboy: Harl. Lvl 1 Human Commoner. Str 12 Dex 13 Con 10 Int 7 Wis 12 Cha 13. HP: 2. AC: 10. unarmed strike +1 (1d3+1 nonlethal). Perception +2, Sense Motive +2.
Dialogue: "I know you're here to help. I just wish I could, too. When I was a boy, my friends and me used to play around the ruins on that swamp island an' it always gave me a weird feeling. I'm sure that's the source of all this trouble. Oh! I've been carrying this around all day. Some carvings from the ruins. Maybe it'll help you!" He hands you a broken chunk of stone with some words carved into it. [Show fig. 1 now]
 |
| Fig. 1 |
If the party has talked to Harl, they can find the swamp island with no problem. If not, they may wander around in the woods for a bit. Don't drag this part out; you want it to be fun for the new players. If they are having trouble picking up on leads, keep mentioning that they hear running water and can faintly detect the smell of rotting vegetation to the east.
With Harl's directions, you find the swamp easily.
 |
| The Lair of the Mad Mage |
[GM's Note: Now would be an excellent time to explain initiative to the players, followed by how combat works.]
There is one lizardman necromancer, three lizardman brutes, and five zombies. They attack on sight and will neither grant nor accept quarter. The necromancer will hang back as his zombies and brutes do the fighting for him. He uses spectral hand to deliver touch attacks at a range. If the party gets close to him, he will cast obscuring mist and back up - but will never retreat.
lizardman brute
HP 19, AC 18 (touch 11, flat-footed 17), Init +1
Morningstar +4 (1d8+2) and bite +4 (1d4+2)
Str 15 Dex 12 Con 15 Int 9 Wis 10 Cha 10
Fort +5 Ref +2 Will +1 CMB +4 CMD 15
Loot: 50 gp, heavy wooden shield
lizardman necromancer
HP 29, AC 16 (touch 11, flat-footed 13), Init +5
Claw +4 (1d4+1) and bite +4 (1d4+1),
ray or touch attack +4
Str 13 Dex 12 Con 13 Int 16 Wis 10 Cha 10
Fort +5 Ref +2 Will +4 CMB +4 CMD 14
0: acid splash, bleed, mage hand, ghost sound
1: chill touch, magic missile, ray of sickening, shield, obscuring mist
2: spectral hand, ghoul touch, flaming sphere, acid arrow
Loot: 150 gp, potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of resist acid
[B] The mud cliff here has been clawed away by reptilian claws, revealing a bearded stone face with open mouth dripping with fresh blood, the source of which, you surmise, is one of several villager corpses abandoned by the lizardfolk at the base of the cliff. An inscription around the stone face reads: "Should you wish to enter, I demand a sacrifice of that sweet red liquid man produces." [Show fig. 2 now]
 |
| Fig. 2 |
The stone face will not do anything unless at least one glass worth of wine is poured into its mouth, at which point: You hear the sounds of a man drinking, and with a burp, the stone mouth opens up as wide as a doorway, revealing a passage beyond.
[C] Inlaid into the stone floor of this passage are golden words. As you read them, you can almost hear them being spoken in your head: "You who dare enter the lair of Arcario the Mad, beware! You face tests of the mind which will rattle your senses and claw at your sanity! ...Oh, and if this is Torgeg, I left your package in the room to the right."
[GM's Note: all secret doors in this dungeon are DC 25 to spot]
[D] A brown paper package sits on a table in the center of the room. Two chests sit to either side of the table, and two armoires stand against the far wall.
The package contains a cloak that, when worn, appears to be a suit of full plate, but grants none of the bonuses or penalties. The illusion is visual only, and requires a DC 16 Will save to disbelieve.
If anyone touches anything but the package: A voice booms out: "I always knew you were a thief, Torgeg!" The chests and armoires and the treasure within dissolve into snakes.
There is now a hostile snake swarm in the room.
[E] A single goblin sits on a crate in the center of this otherwise empty room. As soon as you open the door, he jumps up, startled, and bolts right through the wall behind him, phasing through it as if it wasn't even there.
As soon as anyone passes through the illusory wall: As soon as you pass through the illusory wall, you see the goblin run off around the next corner.
As soon as anyone rounds the corner: You round the corner just in time to see the goblin leap over a deep pit, land on the other side, and run through the opposite wall.
If the pit is approached: The pit appears to be 30 ft deep and lined with spikes.
[The goblin and the pit are illusory. The illusory pit covers safe and solid hallway. However, the 5 ft square of hallway beyond is also illusory, covering a very real 20 ft. deep pit. The real pit does not have spikes, but contains a goblin skeleton clutching a ruby worth 750 gp. The final wall that the illusory goblin appears to run through is a real, solid wall that conceals a secret door. If all goes according to plan, the party will conclude that the goblin is real, and therefore that the pit trap he jumps over and the floor he lands on are real as well, resulting in hilarity. If it must come up, all the illusions in this chamber require a DC 18 Will save to disbelieve if interacted with, except for the initial illusory wall which requires only a DC 15 save. Also, the crate the goblin was originally sitting on is stuffed with straw and contains four gilded alabaster canopic jars worth 250 gp each.]
[F] This door is trapped. It is a dart trap, DC 20 detect and disarm, though disarming will reveal that it is out of darts.
When you open the door, there is a click and a whirr and a gust of air from a nearby hole you hadn't noticed before. It appears to have been a dart trap, though it fortunately misfired.
[G] A 10-foot wide, bottomless chasm separates you from the door on the other side. The chasm extends out 15 feet to either side.
Both doors open out, away from the chasm room. The chasm is illusory (DC18) - there is really only a 30 ft. drop. Additionally, a 4ft wide invisible bridge spans the room door to door, 5 ft. below door level. Anyone falling onto the bridge without knowing of its existence must make a DC 5 Reflex save or roll off it and fall the remaining 25 ft.
[H] This door is trapped: scything blades +8 (1d8 / 19-20), triggered by door opening, automatic reset when door is closed: . DC 20 to detect and disarm.
[I] This 30x30 room is divided into quarters, and the floor in each quarter is a different colour: red, white, light blue, and bright green. A bit [1 round, or six seconds] after you open the door, the floor colours fade and then reappear in a different quarter [rotating clockwise]. There is a stone head in each corner: a dragon, a giant, a wolf, and a gorgon. After another few seconds [1 round], each of the stone heads breathes out a cloud that fills its quarter of the room. The dragon breathes a cloud of fire, the giant a crackling sheet of lightning, the wolf a harsh spray of frost, and the gorgon an acrid cloud of acid. The clouds coalesce into almost manlike forms of their respective element [medium fire elemental, medium lightning elemental, medium ice elemental, and medium acid elemental]. There is a steel door on the opposite wall, in the quarter of the giant. [There is also a secret door in the wall in the quarter of the dragon]
How the room works:
All actions by the room take place at the beginning of each round
round 1: the floor colours rotate clockwise
round 2: the heads breathe out their breath weapons.
round 3: nothing
round 4: repeat from round 1
The breath weapons only create elementals the first time the party opens the door. All other times, it is simply a breath weapon that deals 2d4 damage of the appropriate energy type, with a DC 20 reflex save for half damage.
After the first rotation the party sees (so, when the stone heads first breathe the elementals into existence), the red square is under the dragon, the light blue under the giant, the white under the wolf, and the bright green under the gorgon. It would definitely be helpful to map this battle out for the benefit of the players and yourself. It might be helpful to use coloured markers or dice to remember which quarter is which colour at any given time.
The elementals are immune to all the breath weapons of the stone heads, though they may still be damaged by those elements if they originate from the attacks of the player.
When you stand in the red zone, you feel warm and you are immune to fire. In the white, you feel cold and your breath is visible, and you are immune to frost. In the light blue, your hairs stand on end, you have a coppery taste in your mouth, and you are immune to electricity. In the bright green, you pick up a bad smell, your skin is mildly irritated, and you are immune to acid.
The stone heads have an AC of 7, a hardness of 20, and 25 hp. They can be successfully disarmed with a DC 35 disable device check, or with a DC 22 caster level check with the spell dispel magic.
The steel door in the quarter of the giant is locked (DC 35), and can be opened with the silver key from room J.
[J] This door opens up to reveal a lush, steaming jungle. A few seconds [1 round] later, the jungle disappears, replaced by a sand-swept desert.
Every round, the room cycles on to the next environment on the following list:
- steaming jungle
- sand-swept desert
- pillared ruins in a blizzard, a glimmering golden key just visible through the snow on a short plinth 50 ft. from the door.
- a burning plane of fire (1d6 fire damage each round you remain in it)
- a coral reef underwater, swarming with tiny, colourful fish. A small treasure chest pokes out of the sand 30 ft. from the door. It is locked (DC 35) and can be opened with the gold key. The chest contains a silver key which can open the steel door in room I. The water is 75 ft. deep and pleasantly warm. While the door is open into the water, the water does not cross the plane of the door, but forms a shimmering curtain.
The door only leads into each environment for 1 round of every 5 rounds, but the environments persist even when the door is not connected to them. So if you enter one of the environments, you will see the door disappear and only reappear 5 rounds later.
The environments are not illusions, and seem real for all intents and purposes, but you cannot go more than 150 ft in any direction from the door.
[K] The ground in this room is like a cloud. In the center stands an ethereally beautiful woman with pale blue skin. At her feet are:
- A chest bound in gold [worth 500 gp, containing 50,000 cp]
- A chest bound in silver [worth 250 gp, containing 10,000 sp]
- A chest bound in copper [worth 100 gp, containing 5,000 gp]
- A large sack [contains semi-precious stones worth 7,000 gp]
- A small sack [contains precious stones worth 10,000 gp]
- A small coin purse [actually a bag of holding type II, contains precious gems worth 20,000 gp]
The woman says, "Welcome, adventurers, to the treasure-hold of my master Arcario. To have made it this far shows cunning, a trait my master values highly. As a reward, you may take one thing from this room. However, I must warn you: my master disdains greed and the greedy; you will be allowed to leave with only that which you touch first."
Whatever is not touched, including the woman, instantly vanishes never to return.
If one or more players attempt to simultaneously touch multiple objects, have them roll initiative for each object to determine which one is touched a fraction of a second before the other.
If a player ignores the treasure and grabs the woman, she will hug you and thank you profusely for freeing her, giving you each a star-sapphire worth 5,000 gp. She will then vanish into thin air.
[L] This huge, opulent room is dominated by two piles of coins and gems and a 15 ft. stone circle surrounded by a moat of lava. [The lava is illusory, DC 18 to disbelieve] At the center of the circle stands a robed, wizened old gnome 3 ft. tall with a face very much like the stone face at the dungeon entrance. Rather, 6 of him stand there, shimmering and constantly floating in and out of each other [he has cast mirror image on himself]. He turns to you and says, "So, interlopers, you've made it here in time to see history made. As a simple gnome illusionist, no one took me seriously. But I've spent the last twenty years perfecting this elixir which will transform me into a terrible dragon!" With that, he quaffs the black potion and the whole stone circle is engulfed in black smoke. The room shakes with a tremendous roar. The smoke clears to reveal... a skinny black dragon about 3 ft. high at the shoulder [very young black dragon]. He looks around, looks at himself, and sighs. "Shit."
After a moment, he seems to remember you. "YOU! Your presence must have disturbed my ingenious magic! Die, interlopers!"
Suddenly, the two piles of treasure explode as metallic constructs burst out of them: an iron cobra from one and a giant six-legged stone replica of Arcario's head from the other.
The remaining treasure piles are: 12,429 gp, 50,120 sp, 63,791 cp, and gems worth 5,500 gp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So there it is. I know it isn't as comprehensive as published adventures are, but I had to adapt it from my personal notes and drawings and I am not used to writing my adventures out so that others can use them. If there is anything glaring missing that makes this difficult to run, please note it in the comments and I'll try to correct it.
As I said, I tried to include a lot of old-school dungeon staples like traps, puzzles, clever ruses, tough decisions, and mean tricks played on the player by the dungeon designer. I also tried to make the combat encounters easier than they should be for a level 5 party. But feel free to modify this dungeon to suit your own needs. It should also be fairly easy to convert into a different edition of D&D if you like.
This is shorter than a typical dungeon, and should take maybe 5 hours to complete. There are many teachable moments for new players. The first combat is a great time to introduce your players to the combat rules, obviously, but the presence of undead means you can explain how positive energy heals the living but harms the dead, and the number of enemies means you will likely be able to explain to the rogue how sneak attacks work. The starting tavern is a good way to work out non-combat mechanics like diplomacy. The goblin encounter in room E introduces the concept of illusion and deception in dungeon design. The trap at door F introduces traps without actually harming the player. The combat in room I shows how environment can affect combat.
Well, I hope you get a chance to try out this dungeon, and if you do, I hope you and your group have fun. I know mine did, and I will go over the experience of running this dungeon for a group of new players next week.
-your illusory d20 despot
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