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<blockquote data-quote="FitzTheRuke" data-source="post: 8774204" data-attributes="member: 59816"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">Rumble in the Jungle</span></strong></p><p></p><p><em>Salt-Water Crocodile</em></p><p><em>Stolen Airship</em></p><p><em>Impending Asteroid</em></p><p><em>Burning River</em></p><p><em>Alarming Totem</em></p><p><em>Reticent Overlord</em></p><p><em>Foolish Machinations</em></p><p><em>Stolen Heart</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Xocasa</strong> is a village in a jungle with a large winding river that flows southward into the sea. At the river’s delta are three small islands ruled by individual rulers, but with one First Lord above the others. The jungle is populated by the usual player character races. These hearty people are surrounded by constant peril and are used to living with powerful animal spirits that influence their daily lives.</p><p></p><p><strong>Oksana</strong> is a human prophet, spiritual advisor, and shaman. She is part of the Council of Elders that rule the village. She is wise and kind, but often finishes others’ sentences for them (because she is impatient, and she often knows what they will say.)</p><p></p><p><strong>Morpheus</strong> is the eldest of the Council. A stubborn and hard of hearing old halfling, but he listens to Oksana when she warns him of trouble.</p><p></p><p><strong>Salakrot</strong> is another halfling member of the Council but is secretly in league with the Cult of the wide-eyed Rabbit, a doomsday cult that will foolishly oppose the PCs’ attempts to save them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Pollyglut</strong> is a gnome elementalist who the PCs can hire as a guide to help them capture elementals. She is talkative and yet distracted.</p><p></p><p><strong>Overlord Groman</strong>, an elderly tortle, is First Lord of the Three Islands, the nation at the river’s delta. He is very slow to talk, and even slower to act.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Adventure:</strong></p><p></p><p>Oksana has hired the party to escort her through the jungle to a sacred swamp, where resides the Frog of Fortunes. The shaman rides a houdah on the back of a sauropod while the party must walk in the rain. Along the way they encounter a mudslide, a pack of hungry drakes, and a lost hunter from a nearby village.</p><p></p><p>The trip is two days, and at camp, they observe a meteor shower. Oksana reveals that she seeks the council of the Frog to confirm her suspicions that grave peril approaches from the heavens. Sure enough, when they arrive at the sacred swamp, the massive and immovable frog <em>totem</em> croaks an <em>alarming</em> warning: In seven days’ time, the village will be destroyed by a massive rock falling from the heavens.</p><p></p><p>Unless the players come up with a clever way to travel quickly, they will lose two days returning to the village, where the news will be met with a mixed reaction. Some will flee downriver to the south, some will elect to stay, and some will join the doomsday cult that will oppose anything that the party attempts going forward.</p><p></p><p>Oksana and the Council of Elders will come up with a plan and will appoint the PCs to execute it:</p><p></p><p>1) Capture an air elemental, and they will use its power to reach the <em>impending asteroid.</em></p><p></p><p>2) Capture an earth elemental, and they will use its power to destroy the rock. </p><p></p><p>(How this is accomplished is best left to the council and their superior knowledge of primal magic, but is further explained below).</p><p></p><p>An elementalist named Pollyglut can help the party to discover that many elementals live in and around Mt. Firespitter, the local volcano. The party can travel there to Blackened Craig, a barren terrain dotted by hazardous hot geysers, where they must find and capture an Air-Sprite with an enchanted net supplied by Pollyglut (and paid for by the council). The Air-Sprite is small, but powerful and elusive.</p><p></p><p>To capture an earth elemental, they must travel down the west side of the volcano to Slabslide, a rubble-strewn shrubland and find a Stone-Thrower (a large and dangerous earth elemental). They must fight and defeat the Stone-Thrower and split it open with a sledgehammer to take its “heart stone” (a hard white rock at the Stone-Thrower’s centre). The whole creature weighs far too much to transport. Unfortunately, the mission is made even more complicated by a herd of catoblepas that have come to graze in the area.</p><p></p><p>On their way back to the village, the PCs have their first encounter with the Doomsday Cult, who attack them in an ambush. The cult tries to free the elementals and spouts rhetoric regarding the “will of the gods” and “doom (that) will come to us all in our time”.</p><p></p><p>Upon their return (if the PCs return without the elementals, the council will have come up with another, less desirable solution involving sacrifice of human, animal, or object of great value to the village, whatever best suits the table). Oksana and the council will take two days to create an “Ascension Throne” (which works like a Spelljamming Helm) out of the Air-Sprite and an “Earthen Disruptor” (essentially a bomb) out of the <em>stolen heart</em> of the Stone-Thrower.</p><p></p><p>The Ascension Throne can be affixed to any large-enough vessel (one ton or more), and it will become an airship. Unfortunately, the Doomsday Cult discovered this plan and will burn all the village boats of an appropriate size. It may be fun to play out some early failed attempts as the PCs try to affix it to vessels that are too small and inevitably crash them spectacularly.</p><p></p><p>On Morpheus’ suggestion, the party must take canoes downriver to the delta and entreat the First Lord of the Three Islands to lend them his procession barge. The PCs must take the Ascension Throne and the Earthen Disruptor along with them, as there will be no time to return with the barge. Encounters along the way include cultists shooting at them from shore, rapids, unexpected side-streams (which they may take and get lost, costing valuable time), and an attack by vicious dire hippos. Though there should be no chance for them to break or lose either item, the party should be constantly concerned with protecting them.</p><p></p><p>Upon arriving in the Three Islands, they will discover that the procession barge is ceremonial and is built on the back of an enormous saltwater crocodile. The players may be surprised to learn that there are no other vessels large enough for the Ascension Throne. Most of the inhabitants of the islands are tortles, lizardfolk, and tritons, and have little use for water-going vessels. </p><p></p><p>Despite giving Overlord Groman their most excellent argument (the Three Islands are likely to be damaged or destroyed by the asteroid as much as the village is) the <em>reticent overlord</em> hums and haws and expects time to “think on it” before deciding. As time is running out, the PCs are forced to steal the barge, install the Ascension Throne (turning it into an airship) and fly that crocodile into space!</p><p></p><p><strong>Note:</strong> The power of the air elemental in the Ascension Throne creates a bubble of air and gravity around the flying barge, which will reach the asteroid in a matter of hours. Space, too, should be somewhat fantastical – this is no sci-fi – with strange sights such as whales, clouds, and hidden dangers. The asteroid has its own air and can be landed on and explored.</p><p></p><p>Depending on the timing of the earlier events (and the DM’s desire for tension), this should give the PCs between a full day and scant minutes to install the Earthen Disruptor and fly away. The Earthen Disruptor is best placed deep in the asteroid. Tunnels are carved into the asteroid, and they are occupied by a clan of xenophobic grimlocks.</p><p></p><p>If the players face a moral quandary here, entertain any of their plans to evacuate the grimlocks (after negotiating with them) or altering the Earthen Disruptor to act like a temporary second Ascension Throne to change the course of the asteroid so that it passes by the planet, rather than striking it.</p><p></p><p>Otherwise, after the party disembarks - flying to a safe distance - the Earthen Disruptor will destroy the asteroid, causing a harmless rain of shooting stars over their homeland. It will, however, create difficult maneuvering through a newly created debris-field, on the return to the planet’s surface. In addition, the movement of the airship may attract an angry Roc that will come and investigate as they return toward the jungle.</p><p></p><p>While it may seem that the threat has ended and that it is time for celebration, Salakrot and his doomsday cult will have convinced the elemental spirit living in Mt. Firespitter that the village deserves to be punished for crimes against elemental-kind. Now a <em>burning river</em> of fiery lava is flowing toward the village, destroying the jungle as it goes.</p><p></p><p>The players must fly the airship to the mountain and do battle with the elemental and its minions (if they defeat it, they can demand that it stop the burning river, which it will do, turning it into a ridge of black rock). Or they may choose to entreat with it to spare the village (perhaps returning one or both elementals, who can be freed from their respective magic items).</p><p></p><p>When that it complete, there is only to reveal Salakrot’s betrayal and arrest him and his remaining cultists for their <em>foolish machinations</em>.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps the party may wish to return the <em>stolen airship</em>. If they have freed the Air-Sprite, the crocodile is capable of walking on land, and can navigate the river back to the Three Islands. If the asteroid was destroyed, then Overlord Groman watched the shooting star display, and believes and forgives the party for stealing his barge.</p><p></p><p>The council of elders will reward the party for their efforts with local prestige, gold, and blessings.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FitzTheRuke, post: 8774204, member: 59816"] [B][SIZE=6]Rumble in the Jungle[/SIZE][/B] [I]Salt-Water Crocodile Stolen Airship Impending Asteroid Burning River Alarming Totem Reticent Overlord Foolish Machinations Stolen Heart[/I] [B]Xocasa[/B] is a village in a jungle with a large winding river that flows southward into the sea. At the river’s delta are three small islands ruled by individual rulers, but with one First Lord above the others. The jungle is populated by the usual player character races. These hearty people are surrounded by constant peril and are used to living with powerful animal spirits that influence their daily lives. [B]Oksana[/B] is a human prophet, spiritual advisor, and shaman. She is part of the Council of Elders that rule the village. She is wise and kind, but often finishes others’ sentences for them (because she is impatient, and she often knows what they will say.) [B]Morpheus[/B] is the eldest of the Council. A stubborn and hard of hearing old halfling, but he listens to Oksana when she warns him of trouble. [B]Salakrot[/B] is another halfling member of the Council but is secretly in league with the Cult of the wide-eyed Rabbit, a doomsday cult that will foolishly oppose the PCs’ attempts to save them. [B]Pollyglut[/B] is a gnome elementalist who the PCs can hire as a guide to help them capture elementals. She is talkative and yet distracted. [B]Overlord Groman[/B], an elderly tortle, is First Lord of the Three Islands, the nation at the river’s delta. He is very slow to talk, and even slower to act. [B]The Adventure:[/B] Oksana has hired the party to escort her through the jungle to a sacred swamp, where resides the Frog of Fortunes. The shaman rides a houdah on the back of a sauropod while the party must walk in the rain. Along the way they encounter a mudslide, a pack of hungry drakes, and a lost hunter from a nearby village. The trip is two days, and at camp, they observe a meteor shower. Oksana reveals that she seeks the council of the Frog to confirm her suspicions that grave peril approaches from the heavens. Sure enough, when they arrive at the sacred swamp, the massive and immovable frog [I]totem[/I] croaks an [I]alarming[/I] warning: In seven days’ time, the village will be destroyed by a massive rock falling from the heavens. Unless the players come up with a clever way to travel quickly, they will lose two days returning to the village, where the news will be met with a mixed reaction. Some will flee downriver to the south, some will elect to stay, and some will join the doomsday cult that will oppose anything that the party attempts going forward. Oksana and the Council of Elders will come up with a plan and will appoint the PCs to execute it: 1) Capture an air elemental, and they will use its power to reach the [I]impending asteroid.[/I] 2) Capture an earth elemental, and they will use its power to destroy the rock. (How this is accomplished is best left to the council and their superior knowledge of primal magic, but is further explained below). An elementalist named Pollyglut can help the party to discover that many elementals live in and around Mt. Firespitter, the local volcano. The party can travel there to Blackened Craig, a barren terrain dotted by hazardous hot geysers, where they must find and capture an Air-Sprite with an enchanted net supplied by Pollyglut (and paid for by the council). The Air-Sprite is small, but powerful and elusive. To capture an earth elemental, they must travel down the west side of the volcano to Slabslide, a rubble-strewn shrubland and find a Stone-Thrower (a large and dangerous earth elemental). They must fight and defeat the Stone-Thrower and split it open with a sledgehammer to take its “heart stone” (a hard white rock at the Stone-Thrower’s centre). The whole creature weighs far too much to transport. Unfortunately, the mission is made even more complicated by a herd of catoblepas that have come to graze in the area. On their way back to the village, the PCs have their first encounter with the Doomsday Cult, who attack them in an ambush. The cult tries to free the elementals and spouts rhetoric regarding the “will of the gods” and “doom (that) will come to us all in our time”. Upon their return (if the PCs return without the elementals, the council will have come up with another, less desirable solution involving sacrifice of human, animal, or object of great value to the village, whatever best suits the table). Oksana and the council will take two days to create an “Ascension Throne” (which works like a Spelljamming Helm) out of the Air-Sprite and an “Earthen Disruptor” (essentially a bomb) out of the [I]stolen heart[/I] of the Stone-Thrower. The Ascension Throne can be affixed to any large-enough vessel (one ton or more), and it will become an airship. Unfortunately, the Doomsday Cult discovered this plan and will burn all the village boats of an appropriate size. It may be fun to play out some early failed attempts as the PCs try to affix it to vessels that are too small and inevitably crash them spectacularly. On Morpheus’ suggestion, the party must take canoes downriver to the delta and entreat the First Lord of the Three Islands to lend them his procession barge. The PCs must take the Ascension Throne and the Earthen Disruptor along with them, as there will be no time to return with the barge. Encounters along the way include cultists shooting at them from shore, rapids, unexpected side-streams (which they may take and get lost, costing valuable time), and an attack by vicious dire hippos. Though there should be no chance for them to break or lose either item, the party should be constantly concerned with protecting them. Upon arriving in the Three Islands, they will discover that the procession barge is ceremonial and is built on the back of an enormous saltwater crocodile. The players may be surprised to learn that there are no other vessels large enough for the Ascension Throne. Most of the inhabitants of the islands are tortles, lizardfolk, and tritons, and have little use for water-going vessels. Despite giving Overlord Groman their most excellent argument (the Three Islands are likely to be damaged or destroyed by the asteroid as much as the village is) the [I]reticent overlord[/I] hums and haws and expects time to “think on it” before deciding. As time is running out, the PCs are forced to steal the barge, install the Ascension Throne (turning it into an airship) and fly that crocodile into space! [B]Note:[/B] The power of the air elemental in the Ascension Throne creates a bubble of air and gravity around the flying barge, which will reach the asteroid in a matter of hours. Space, too, should be somewhat fantastical – this is no sci-fi – with strange sights such as whales, clouds, and hidden dangers. The asteroid has its own air and can be landed on and explored. Depending on the timing of the earlier events (and the DM’s desire for tension), this should give the PCs between a full day and scant minutes to install the Earthen Disruptor and fly away. The Earthen Disruptor is best placed deep in the asteroid. Tunnels are carved into the asteroid, and they are occupied by a clan of xenophobic grimlocks. If the players face a moral quandary here, entertain any of their plans to evacuate the grimlocks (after negotiating with them) or altering the Earthen Disruptor to act like a temporary second Ascension Throne to change the course of the asteroid so that it passes by the planet, rather than striking it. Otherwise, after the party disembarks - flying to a safe distance - the Earthen Disruptor will destroy the asteroid, causing a harmless rain of shooting stars over their homeland. It will, however, create difficult maneuvering through a newly created debris-field, on the return to the planet’s surface. In addition, the movement of the airship may attract an angry Roc that will come and investigate as they return toward the jungle. While it may seem that the threat has ended and that it is time for celebration, Salakrot and his doomsday cult will have convinced the elemental spirit living in Mt. Firespitter that the village deserves to be punished for crimes against elemental-kind. Now a [I]burning river[/I] of fiery lava is flowing toward the village, destroying the jungle as it goes. The players must fly the airship to the mountain and do battle with the elemental and its minions (if they defeat it, they can demand that it stop the burning river, which it will do, turning it into a ridge of black rock). Or they may choose to entreat with it to spare the village (perhaps returning one or both elementals, who can be freed from their respective magic items). When that it complete, there is only to reveal Salakrot’s betrayal and arrest him and his remaining cultists for their [I]foolish machinations[/I]. Perhaps the party may wish to return the [I]stolen airship[/I]. If they have freed the Air-Sprite, the crocodile is capable of walking on land, and can navigate the river back to the Three Islands. If the asteroid was destroyed, then Overlord Groman watched the shooting star display, and believes and forgives the party for stealing his barge. The council of elders will reward the party for their efforts with local prestige, gold, and blessings. [/QUOTE]
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