I am interested, I like the premise for your adventure and could possibly see myself using it as part of my Hyborian Age campaign.

Sounds good to me...get on with it!

Draft text. Stats, NPC descriptions and maps yet to do. Anything unclear or typographical errors, etc. please let me know.

Krongar* and the Temple of the Flesh-Eaters
*insert one of the Heroes' names here

Adventure overview
This introductory adventure is ideal for introducing several staples of the Sword & Sorcery genre, though it can of course be used as a sidetrek-style adventure in any game. It begins with the Heroes accompanying a merchant's caravan, whether as guards or travellers, along a route bordering jungleland, whether Qo or Qush.

They encounter the aftermath of another merchant's caravan that has obviously been attacked and investigate, or find themselves under attack and are tasked to rescue some of their fellow travellers. Following the trail of the attackers into the jungle, they first encounter dangerous wildlife and then the settlement of the attackers, a degenerate cannibal village centred on a crude, skull-covered ziggurat in which a foul witch doctor sacrifices captives to feast on and to feed the village "god", a terrible thing held captive within the temple.

Whether they destroy the village or simply rescue the captives and flee, they will be amply rewarded by either the survivors of the other caravan or the merchant in charge of their own, and thus will tales of their exploits begin to spread.

On the road
The Heroes are all travelling with a merchant's caravan; let the players explain why their Heroes are present. Some might be working as caravan guards, bodyguards, wagoneers, scouts or healers for the merchant, others may be fellow merchants or travellers who have paid to accompany the caravan. There is strength in numbers in the dangerous wilds of Lemuria after all.

Missing persons
Days of travel beyond the last vestige of civilisation, as the sun dips towards the horizon, they come across a bizarre sight: the seemingly deserted caravan of another merchant. No humans are to be seen (neither living nor dead), the wagons are largely untouched, and the beasts of burden are still alive. There are obvious signs of a struggle though; blood aplenty, the odd cuts and smashes into the wood of the wagons from weapons, and here and there dotted around are the spears and swords of guards, along with a few primitive bone-tipped spears and arrows.

If the Heroes investigate the wagons, they discover that the trade goods - large amphorae of wine, items of pottery, and assorted small goods - are also untouched. They even discover the missing merchant's strong box replete with silver and gold coins. Clearly, whoever raided the caravan had no interest in goods or wealth, nor viewed the beasts as potential food.

Many barefoot tracks - clearly human - and the drag marks of people being pulled along, and spots of blood, lead directly into the jungle nearby. A trail that requires no skill to follow, even as darkness begins to fall. From the freshness of the blood and tracks, the attack certainly took place within the last day.

Curious Heroes will no doubt investigate, and the merchant in charge of the caravan, Juma Malaza, will even send a couple of caravan guards to accompany and aid them, should they be few in number.

Involving Incurious Heroes
Should the Heroes not naturally investigate such a mystery, Juma Malaza will arrange to take the deserted caravan in tow, though this will slow progress and they will not begin to move again until well after darkness has descended. At this point, alert Heroes may notice pale faces watching from the jungle nearby, just before the cannibals attack their caravan. In the darkness, the attack will be frenzied, confused and brief, a wagon catching fire in the skirmish, but ultimately the Heroes and other caravan guards driving the cannibals off after a round or two of combat. At this point Juma will exhort the Heroes to follow the raiders, for they have kidnapped his beloved daughter, Shani, and his chief wagoneer, Dialo! He will reward them handsomely for the safe return of his daughter and friend, and also notes that the fight must be taken to the savages, for what guarantee is there that they will not simply attack again?

Into the depths of the jungle
Following the trail of the savage attackers, the Heroes will come across an aggressive and territorial dracophon. Excited by the smell of fresh blood, it will rise to quickly attack them unless they can find a clever  - and quick! - way to calm or avoid it.

After they have dealt with the dracophon, they continue to follow the tracks for about ten more minutes into the jungle when they come upon a primitive, and chilling village, the settlement of the pallid cannibals.

The village of bones
The Heroes enter a clearing in the middle of which is a small tribal village surrounded by a wooden palisade. Human skulls adorn many points, and flayed human skins flutter like obscene banners from several poles. At night, the glow of firelight can be easily seen from within, and a single column of smoke rises from the centre of the village. Screams can be clearly heard. During the day, the village is eerily quiet as the tribesmen sleep to avoid the fearful gaze of the sun.

If Heroes climb nearby trees or otherwise manage to gain a vantage point to see within the fenced-off village, they will see simple huts made of sticks and mud interwoven with gnawed human bones. There is one hut for every two cannibal warriors, as determined below. These all cluster around a crude, ziggurat-like temple, its three steps being eight feet high each and stacked top to bottom with human skulls.

Only a few cannibals patrol the inside of the palisade, day or night. At night, smoke issues from a large hole in the top of the ziggurat, as do the cries of fear and pain.

There are four-to-six cannibal warriors per Hero in the village, depending on how experienced the Heroes are - and just as many noncombatant young. Conspicuously absent are any elders, and Heroes will no doubt note that many of the skulls around the temple and village have the same filed teeth as the cannibals themselves.

The temple of the flesh-eaters
Inside the temple, the tribal witch doctor, Ghost Eater, and a trio of warriors remove one or two caravan captives every night from a cage held within, ritually sacrificing them before throwing a portion of each into a dark, shadowed pit covered by a heavy wooden grille. Inside the pit, the tribal god growls and crunches contentedly on the meats it is given. The rest of each sacrifice is divided among the remaining warriors and young crouched in supplication in the temple's main vault.

Among any captives are the merchant in charge of the deserted caravan, Crixas the Fair, several caravan guards and travellers, and - if the caravan the Heroes were travelling with was attacked - Shani and Dialo.

The rescue
How the Heroes stop the sacrifices, rescue the captives, and possibly put a stop to the depredations of the cannibals many occur in many ways. They may sneak in during daybreak, set the village alight or otherwise create devastation and distraction. Regardless, they will likely face Ghost Eater within the temple, for he never leaves it. Ghost Eater will be accompanied by a trio of warriors, and will not hesitate to use a Villain Point to sacrifice one to save his own life.

A god unchained
As he is slain, Ghost Eater will use his last Villain Point and final breath to release the village god from its pit, laughing up blood as it surges out attacking all around it, villager, captive and Hero alike. Even if the Heroes had not somehow caused chaos, the release of the village god certainly does. It will kill and devour any humans it encounters, and if not slain first or otherwise rebound, will undulate out into the village, immediately causing a frenzied panic among the cannibals.

To the destination
Whether the Heroes slay the cannibals and their god, or simply snuck in and freed the captives before escaping, they will have succeeded. If unslain, the tribal god will slay and devour all of cannibals before disappearing into the darkened depths of the jungle.

The Heroes' caravan will make the rest of the journey to its destination unmolested, along with the goods from the deserted caravan. Should they have rescued Crixas the Fair, they will be well rewarded with a heavy purse of coin and a large amphora of expensive wine each also. If they rescued Shani and Dialo also, they will be given a small pouch of precious jewels by Juma. In any case, stories of their exploits will begin to spread, their legends beginning.

 

Last edited by Jargogle (7/12/2015 11:03 pm)

Excellent!
Any players who appreciate real Sword & Sorcery should love this as an introducton to BoL. If it doesn't get them pounding the table with their flagons of ale and praising Crom - and demanding another game asap - then I'll eat my kroark!

Great job on this - a great introductory adventure that can also be used as a way to justify the characters joining together as a party at the beginning of a campaign. The adventure has a lot of atmosphere (made me think of The 13th Warrior a lot). If I may make one suggestion with regards to The Tribal God...

Multiple Attack: The Tribal God can make two attack rolls, almost always against the same target. It has to hit with two tentacles on the same target to hold onto its prey long enough to bite it. A hit with the bite is automatic if the victim doesn’t escape the Tribal God’s grasp with a Tough strength Task Roll. The bite happens in the round following its grab.

I basically took this from examples in BoL Mythic and just feel it makes the god a little more menacing.

Looking forward to seeing the maps as well.

Last edited by The GIT! (7/13/2015 7:14 am)