a rodent problem

8/16/2019 A Rodent Problem

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Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. A Rodent Problem by Jasen Bacon 1

A Rodent Problem

A new take on the classic first adventure

Introduction: Ah, yes. The town has a problem with rats that are largerthan usual coming out of the sewers, attacking people, and causing damageto shops. Any brave soul who is willing to go into the sewers to take therats out will be grouped together with other honest adventurers and given

a key to the iron grates that bar entry to the city sewers.

Killing rats as a first adventure is so cliché, it could be fun!

This adventure is designed to be run with ust the basic rules that canbe downloaded from the official " website. #f course, any additionalbooks that you own will only increase your enoyment of this adventure.

A 1 to 2-hour adventure for 1st level characters

by $asen %acon

&'()#'* " +A(#'*, ", i-ards of the oast, /orgotten +ealms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, " Adventurers 0eague, all other i-ards of the oast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of i-ards of the oast in the &*Aand other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of i-ards of the oast. This material is protected under thecopyright laws of the &nited *tates of America. Any reproduction or unauthori-ed use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibitedwithout the e1press written permission of i-ards of the oast.

23456 i-ards of the oast 00, 7# %o1 848, +enton, A 94;8asbro *A, +ue )mile.+epresented by >asbro )urope, @ The *uare, *tockley 7ark, &1bridge, =iddlese1, &%55 5)T, &K.


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the lean, filthy, ravenous ar!y "hich hads"e#t all before it and devoured fo"l,cats, dogs, hogs, shee#, and even t"o ha#-less hu!an beings before its fury "ass#ent$

H$P$ %ovecraft, &'he (ats in the)alls

Answering the allB*omething must be done. The rats are comingin numbers larger than any seen before. Ces,there has been unusual rains this year, butthat should not cause the vermin to spawnlike this.D #rdeleus, aptain of the atch

After the bodies of a few young childrenwere found with rats feasting upon them, thetown of #akwood has decided that it is timeto escalate the situation. A meeting was

held, funds were allotted, and signs wereposted calling for anybody foolish or hardyenough to enter the sewers.

The characters decide to answer that callfor a little e1tra money. *ince this is anintroductory adventure, it does not matterif the characters have met, or if they meetfor the first time in the >alls of theatch.

The characters have all read the signspromising a reward of a silver piece foreach rat head brought out of the sewers and

decided that a little e1tra money neverhurts. *o they each find their way to the>alls of the atch, an imposing stone struc<ture near the north wall of #akwood, and areled into a meeting room near the entrance towait.

0et the characters role play their initialencounters if they have not previously met,or else try to make them feel like theircharacters are waiting. aptain #rdeleus istaking his time getting here.

After a while of waiting, a middle aged hue is wearing the tabard of the watch,but instead of the usual leather armor un<derneath a definite clinking of chain mailcan be heard. >e stands in front of the ad<venturers and says:

BEFm glad that you have come. EFm sorry tokeep you waiting, E was hoping more wouldarrive. Cou see, e have already sent people

into the sewers yesterday, but they have notcome back out. e have kept a post at thesewer entrance nearest to where the boyswere found dead, but the sounds coming fromwithin is breaking even the most hardy of myguardFs resolve.D

B=y guard believe that magic is at workhere. The rats have never been a problemlike this before. An occasional fireballinto the sewer drains is usually enough tokeep them from coming out for a while, butthat has not worked this time.D

BEf you find the source of the problem Ewill reward you greater than what E had ad<vertised. Ef the problem is natural, E willreward you as promised. #ne silver perhead.D

>e turns to leave, but upon reaching thedoor he looks back over his shoulder andadds:

B(uard Alissi will lead you to the entranceand leave you with a key.D >e then leavesand walks back through the halls. =omentslater, a half


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turned. The guards at the gate are more forthe patrol than to keep anybody out. The su<perstitious people of #akwood are doing agood ob of keeping themselves out.

Ento the >oleAs the party approaches the gate, the twomembers of the atch appear very solemn, andthey obviously pray for the safety of the

group, and for a deliverance of the atchwho entered yesterday.

The key opens the lock effortlessly and theparty enters into the tunnels. The overallwidth of the sewer tunnel is about ten feet,but only about three feet of that is flat onthe bottom, the rest curves making the tun<nel a tube. The flat part of the bottom isflowing with sewage.

The sewer slopes gently upwards for aboutfifty feet before opening into a large

drainage chamber GAH. The stone of thischamber is charred from decades of fireballsbeing hurled into here to control the rodentpopulation. There is a large grate in theceiling above that in in the middle of thetown market. >alf eaten scraps, rotten meat,trash and other refuse is constantly droppedin here. This chamber is usually the mostrodent filled part of the sewer, but nosigns of rodents can be seen here now.

There are two locked gates on either side ofthis chamber. Ef the characters e1plore bothbefore continuing then they will notice that

the gate to the west has a key in it on theother side. There is a hand still holdingthis key, but it has been skeletoni-ed fromthe wrist down. The rest of the body cannotbe seen from the gate, but nonetheless thepartyFs key cannot be inserted into thisone. Ef the party attempts to pick the lockthey will find that the key is wedged hardin the opening and the door is effectivelyimpassable.

Ef the party only goes towards one gate forsome reason, have the hand be at the gate

they choose and then they must go to theother one.

hen they get to a gate they can enter theirkey works effortlessly and opens into an<other upwardly sloping tunnel ust like theentrance tunnel. After about twenty feetrats can be seen running away from theparty. After about thirty feet sounds ofchattering can be heard. These sounds only

become louder until they emerge in chamber%.

The light is filtering down from the streetabove, softly illuminating the horde of ratsthat are gathered near the tunnel on thesouth side of the room. The rats suirm andscuttle near the entrance before they rushforth and attack.

The party must defeat the *warm of +ats be<fore they can advance. The rules for the*warm can be found on page @6 of the !ungeon=asterFs %asic +ules, and on page ??9 of the=onster =anual.

#nce the swarm is defeated, the parties cancollect the heads for the bounty. Ef all ofthe heads are collected they will be worth atotal of 3d@ gold.

/rom here the tunnels continue south. henthey reach the ne1t collection chamber GH

they see three huge rats gnashing at thegate. These rats are too large to fit be<tween the bars, but if the party tries toattack the giant rats without entering theroom they will retreat through the open gateon the other side.

There are three giant rats in this chamber.The rules for the giant rats can be found onpage 38 of the != %asic +ules, or on page?38 of the =onster =anual. The party cancollect the heads of these, and when shownto the atch they will pay five gold perhead.

After clearing chamber , the players have achoice. They can continue down the path tothe other chamber which can then be fol<lowed down to the other chamber %, or theycan go down a southern tunnel towards ham<ber !.

)ach chamber that the party enters will havean identical monster group as the otherchamber they have cleared with the same let<ter, so has three giant rats and % has a*warm.

The chamber % they could not access beforehas the remains of the two members of theatch that were lost. %oth have been heavilyeaten by rats and most of their flesh, notto mention their clothing and armor, hasbeen gnawed and destroyed. Et looks as ifthe someone drug the atchman who was tryingto open the stuck gate back to this chamber.)ach atch memberFs spear and shield arestill usable, but the atch will e1pect



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their return after the party e1its the !un<geon.

hen the party approaches chamber ! Geitherone as they are both identically stockedHthey hear the loud chattering similar tothat heard in chamber %. hen they get closeenough to see in the chamber they see an<other *warm of +ats, but this one is accom<panied by a (iant +at. The giant rat cannot

make it through the gate, but if attackedthe *warm will pour through the iron bars.hile the swarm is attacking, the (iant +atwill move to the other chamber !. Et willget there in two turns, and after it arrivesthe *warm of +ats in that chamber will beginto move towards the party. Et will arriveafter two more turns, possibly before theparty has finished with the first *warm.=ake sure to keep track to see where theswarm is while the party is fighting.

After both swarms are defeated the party can

either move to the other chamber ! to attackthe two (iant +ats, or investigate the finaltunnel towards chamber ).

hen the party decides to investigate thefinal gate, have them make a perceptioncheck. Ef any player succeeds they will hearthe sounds of stone scraping and light con<versation. They cannot make anything outthat is being said, yet.

Ef they can approach while sneaking theywill see four humans working on a wall be<hind a small build up of debris that is

keeping the flow of water from the grateabove from coming near their door. They willbe discussing how to lay the blocks to makea secret door.

Ef the party has a combat in the hallway, orif they approach without stealth then thehumans will be alerted to their presence andbe ready for them. En either of these cases,one of the humans will run down the paththey have carved through the wall and warnthe rest of the cult in the *hrine areas.

Two of the three that stay to fight, andthey will fight every time in an attempt todefend their cult, will have the stats of a(uard Gpage ;@ in the != %asic or page ?@8of the =onster =anualH, while the other two,including the one who runs to warn the oth<ers, will have the stats of a ultist G;@ or?@;H.

Ef the party can somehow ambush and defeatall four before one can run then they have a

chance to ambush the cult on their hometurf. Ef the one cultist is able to run andwarn the others then the cult will be pre<pared for the party.

At this point, it is obvious that there ismore than a rat problem in the sewers andthe party can either return to the entrancewith the rat heads they have collected andlet the atch take care of the humans they

have found here, or they can do as most ad<venturers do and descend into the +atFs'est.

Ef the party decides that they are done,then skip to the section titled *ut of the+e"ers.

Ento the +atFs 'estThe hole that the men were working on leadsdown a rough cut staircase. The path isabout five feet wide and nearly thirty feet

long. The steps are each a couple of feetwide and very shallow, giving the impressionthat it does not go down very deep. There isa lot of light coming through the opening onthe other end.

Two guards are in the room the stairs comeout in Groom /H. Ef the cult knows the partyis coming then the (uards will be ready andthrow their spears at the first member ofthe party to emerge. Ef they donFt know theparty is coming then they will attack inhand to hand as soon as the party e1its thestairs. Ef the party wins and decides to

search the bodies they will find 3d6 gold oneach, in addition to their shields, spearsand chain shirts.

)ven if the cult didnFt know the party wascoming before, the sounds of combat willdefinitely alert the group in the *hrine+oom Groom (H. The center of this room has alarge marble shrine carved with multiple im<ages of rats. #n top of the shrine is alarge collection of rodent skulls, and a fewhumanoid ones as well. *tanding behind theshrine is a large Thug G;; in the != %asic,

or ?;4 in the =onster =anualH surrounded bya *warm of +ats. The Thug will already havehis crossbow ready, as he would have heardthe fight in the stairs room G/H.

The *hrine is leansedAfter the defeat of the Thug and his *warmof +ats the party can search the *hrine. TheThug has his crossbow, mace and leather ar<mor. En addition he has a pouch with 3; gold



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pieces and a silver ring with a rat head in<laid Gvalue 54gpH.

Ef one of the cultists from the fist groupin room ) ran away, then after the party isdone searching and looting, have them make aperception check. Ef they pass they reali-ethat that particular cultist was not one ofthe people they fought in the shrine. Thisshould make them think that there is either

a secret door, or the cultist could tele<port. #f course the answer is the secretdoor.

Ef the part is successful in finding the se<cret door, they will enter the final chamberG>H and see the cultist that got away speak<ing with three other humans. Ef they sneakin they will hear the cultist describing theparty finding the lair to the oldest human,who is shaking his head and looking worried.

As soon as the party is noticed, or attacks,

the oldest man will run to the southwestcorner and try to climb the ladder to thetrap door in the ceiling. The other threeultists will pull their scimitars and tryto fight the party so their leader can es<cape. Ef the party can somehow stop theleader from escaping then he will fight withthe stats of an Acolyte Gpage ;? in the !=%asic or ?@3 of the =onster =anualH. Ef heescapes then the party will find the trapdoor held firmly shut and unable to beforced from this side Git would have beenlocked and a stone table would have beenmoved on top of itH.

The cultists all have their scimitars,leather armor and five gold that the partycan loot. Ef they somehow can stop theacolyte and defeat him then he is carrying544 gold and is wearing an amulet under hisshirt. This amulet is the Amulet of +odentommand.

#ut of the *ewers#nce the party has descended as far as theycan and slain Gand lootedH as much as possi<

ble they return to the entrance where thetwo members of the atch that saw them enterwill lead them back to the >alls of theatch.

There, #rdeleus and Alissi will ask theparty about their trials. Alissi is a fifthlevel leric of Tyr and will use her divinemagic to udge the validity of all that theparty tells them. Ef you have access to the

7layerFs >andbook then Alissi uses the Ioneof Truth spell on the party.

Ef the party is able to defeat the Acolytewithout his running away then #rdeleus willknow that the Acolyte was named +eskas, andhe owned a tavern named The 0aughing *kull.The trapdoor in chamber > leads to thestoreroom of The 0aughing *kull. After talk<ing about +eskas, #rdeleus will ask for the

Amulet of +at ommand. Ef the party gives itup, then they will get an e1tra reward. Efthe party wants to keep the item then theywill be politely asked to leave town and notreturn.

+ewards

alculate the J7 from everything they havekilled so far and divide it amongst the mem<bers of the party.

The party gains 3d@ gold for each *warm theyhave defeated and 54 gold for each (iant+at. Ef they find and return the weaponsand shield of the fallen atch they willgain an additional reward of ; gold each.

)ach member of the cult that the party de<feats has their possible loot in their de<scription.

Ef they stop the Acolyte and return theAmulet of +at ommand to the atch then theywill each be given one month of =odest 0ife<style in the tavern which +eskas owned and

operated Ga value of ?4 goldH while the tav<ern is confiscated by the watch and in theprocess of being sold.

Amulet of +at ommand)ondrous ite!, rare re-uires attune!ent.

This amulet has ? charges and recharges 5d?charges each night at midnight. The bearerof this amulet can use a charge to call ratsfrom the surrounding area and cause them tofight as a *warm of +ats obedient to theamulet controller.



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5 suare euals ten feet

=ap Key:

A: %last room%

=ap Key:

/: )ntrance room(: *hrine room>: *ecret cult meeting hall.


a rodent problem

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