Abandoned Tower
A D&D Adventure
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For 1 Level 1 Character
INTRODUCTION
As a young adventurer, you seek to gain some more experience, hopefully by meeting more battle-tested treasure hunters. You prepare for a four-day journey to an abandoned watch tower, once used as an army outpost, but now decayed into ruins. It is a waystation for travelers in stormy weather, for those brave enough to risk encountering the monster rumored to live within. The tower is not far from the intersection of two trails often used by adventurers, so you are likely to meet some helpful veterans there.
Since the abandoned tower is four days away from town, you would do well to purchase several weeks worth of supplies, as you will not be able to do so when you are away. In particular, remember to bring rations, water, and plenty of torches or other light sources.
Once equipped, you set out on foot one morning, and on the night of the fourth day, you approach a ramshackle wooden structure at the foot of a hill, where two dirt paths meet. This two-story building has lights in the lower windows, and rowdy laughter and yelling shaking the siding boards. Behind the building, a faintly worn path rises up the grassy hill, toward a stone structure at the top, silhouetted against the purple night sky. As it is past 8 o’clock, and you are weary from 16 hours of walking, you would do well to see if you could stay here for the night, rather than try to follow the path in darkness.
BALDRICK’S INN (DM use only)
1st Floor: The front door opens into a large, dilapidated room with loose floorboards and broken furniture. The patrons appear to be adventurers, mostly fighters and dwarves. Most of them are reveling or arguing; in some cases it is hard to say which is which. At a counter, a bald middle-aged man frantically pours glasses full of ale, for a rather lovely young wench to deliver to the rowdy customers.
The bald man is named Baldrick, and he offers room and board in the upstairs rooms for only 1 gp a night. He can’t promise that you’ll sleep well, or even that the floor won’t collapse, but it will at least save you from braving the elements and unknown horrors outside. He will also sell perishable food rations at 4 gp per week’s rations. These are of poor quality and subject to contamination (1 in 6 chance of causing illness for 2-3 days).
The adventurers, if approached, may reveal some tips of the trade to the young PC. Some advice may be simple pragmatism, such as purchasing a lantern so you can set it down and have both hands free for battle, or using a ten-foot-pole or a dagger to probe possibly dangerous items. Other advice may involve tactics, such as when and how to negotiate with monsters, and avoiding battles where you are outnumbered. The PC should get no more than two or three tidbits per day spent at the inn.
2nd Floor: The structure of the second floor is even more rickety than the first. Every floorboard creaks, and more than a few crack under the weight of a footfall. The rooms have no locks on the doors, though Baldrick encourages boarders to create a barricade with a wardrobe chest. The bed is a straw-stuffed mattress on a simple wooden frame. The wind whistles through the window and cracks in the boards, while the floor shakes from the constant racket below. The PC gets a poor night’s sleep, and recovers hp at half the normal rate. Also, he or she is much too fatigued to run for more than 3 rounds at a time, and suffers a -1 penalty on hit rolls after only 1 round of running.
Worse, there is a 1 in 6 chance that a Bandit will try to enter the room as the PC is sleeping. If the door is not barricaded, he easily succeeds. Otherwise, he slowly moves the furniture. Because the PC sleeps so poorly, there is at least a 4 in 6 chance of awakening when the Bandit enters (5 in 6 if a barricade is used). If the PC does not wake, the bandit will steal some equipment or gold, and the PC may have to do some trading to recover his losses. If the PC does awake, he must face the Bandit unarmored, and possibly unarmed!
THE TOWER’S HILL
A narrow, winding grass path leads up the hill. The terrain is muddy, as there have been torrential rains the past few days, so it takes an hour to climb to the summit. Once there, the rains begin again, so the PC must seek shelter in the huge, foreboding watch-tower.
OVERVIEW
The tower is made of stone walls 3-5′ thick and 15′ tall. Dilapidated wooden ceilings cover all but the perimeter hall and four corner towers. Rain leaks through here more or less profusely, but hardy adventurers nonetheless camp here during storms, not only because Baldrick’s is usually full (fortunately the PC has a room reserved), but because there is the additional allure of treasure here. Most of the great hoards have been long plundered, but there are still some secrets to be found in this ancient tower.
Fighting in the rain causes a -1 on hit rolls for creatures and characters not adapted to darkness, and effectively reduces dexterity by 2.
LEVEL ONE
Wandering Monsters: 1-3: Giant Rats (1-2), 4-6: Giant Centipede, 7-9: Orc, 10-12: Bandit, 13-15: Dwarf, 16-17: Human, 18-19: Skeleton, 20: Zombie
1. The northern two-thirds of this room is covered by great wooden beams and planks, while the rest is an exposed corridor running east and west. Under the wooden canopy sits a female Neutral Level 2 Thief (8 hp; STR 9, INT 6, WIS 13, DEX 10, CON 13, CHA 9). She is pragmatically willing to help the PC with advice and guidance in exchange for a fighting companion, with treasure to be divided evenly. As she is a wise NPC, she may help prevent the PC from doing anything foolish. She is armed with a short sword and dagger, a short bow with 20 arrows, and a spear. She wears leather armor, and is equipped with thieves’ tools, a rope and spikes, a lit lantern and 2 oil flasks, a backpack containing 2 small sacks, and 2 weeks of food and water.
2 and 3. Empty. The northern branches of the corridor are covered with a wooden roof, offering protection from the rain.
4. Empty. Among many open, empty chests, lies one whose lock is rusted shut. It may be picked by a thief, revealing 600 sp.
5. Room is filled with a dense fog that has a pungent odor lasting 30 minutes. Chance of WMs increased to 1 in 2.
6. Giant Centipede (1 hp) crawling among skeletons of dead adventurers and unidentifiable creatures. It guards a box containing 400 sp and 50 gp, which is conspicuous as a wooden board in the stone floor.
7. Illusion: White Ape, stays near center of room, to scare characters away. It stands on a wooden board, under which lies 400 sp and 40 gp.
8. Bandit (2 hp), poses as an NPC thief, hoping to join the party and betray them. He is armed with a short sword and dagger, and is protected by leather armor and a shield. He carries 54 cp in a pouch.
9. Empty. A protruding block in the wall, if removed, reveals a small sack containing 100 sp.
10. Attentive characters notice that the rain hitting part of the floor makes a hollow sound. The stone there is easily shattered, revealing a cache of 400 sp.
11. A rope hangs down from the western wall, and continues over the roof of 14, out of view. If a character pulls or tries to climb the rope, a large bell tolls. Fortunately, the rain masks some of the sound, but creatures in Rooms 6, 12, and 14 will hear it and investigate.
12. A dead fighter lies slumped over a locked chest along the east wall. Anyone who gets in his position in front of the chest will get shot at by two darts (HR as 1 HD monster), for 1d4 damage each. The chest contains 600 sp and 10 gp.
13. Empty
14. Bandit (1 hp), posing as an NPC fighter, will try to gain characters’ trust, and trick them into putting themselves in a vulnerable position. He may pretend he is an actual guard stationed at the tower. He is armed with a normal sword and a dagger, and he wears damaged chain mail. He carries 62 cp, but buried under the dirt floor is his cache of 600 sp.
15. There are many open, empty chests in the room, except for one that is closed. This chest contains a spitting cobra (3 hp), which gets a surprise attack if the chest is opened by hand. The chest also contains 600 sp.
16. A fairly large Orc (8 hp), armed with a short sword, leather armor and shield. If in trouble, it may summon the help of its companion in 18. It carries 12 cp.
17. Berserker (7 hp), armed with a mace (1d6), carries 15 cp. 200 sp is buried in the northeast corner.
18. Orc (4 hp), armed with a short sword, leather armor and shield. It may summon the help of its companion in 16. It carries 7 cp. To save its life, it may tell where silver is buried in 17.
19. Neutral Dwarf (4 hp), armed with mace, chain mail and shield. He knows where 300 sp are hid behind a panel in the south wall. He carries 12 sp and 5 gp. He distrusts the bandit, and regards other characters with skepticism. He is not above killing others for their treasure if he can rationalize doing so.
20. Giant Centipede (3 hp) emerges from rubble. 75 sp and 10 gp are also in the rubble, but it will be tricky to get as there is a 500-foot drop below the shattered tower wall.
21. 2 Giant Rats (hp: 1, 2) scurry among the rubble. 150 sp can be found under the stone blocks if the characters can do some heavy lifting. A turquoise gem (worth 10 gp) may catch the eye of an attentive character.
22. Lawful Dwarf (8 hp), armed with sword, chain mail and shield. He will warn the characters away from the rubble north, saying there are undead creatures there. He will also provide sage advice about adventuring, especially about being judicious regarding whom to trust, when to fight, and when to negotiate. If he is impressed with the characters, he may offer them a Belt of Lifting (improves carrying ability, effectively reducing encumbrance by 250 cn). He will not fight alongside the PC, but may offer to accompany him or her in order to provide guidance.
23. Empty. A bunch of old crates and useless supplies.
24. Skeleton (3 hp), armed with a short sword, suffers no penalty from the rain.
25. Zombie (5 hp), buried in rubble near 22, is aroused only if characters pass near there. There is also a skeleton (7 hp), seemingly a pile of bones, who comes to life if the zombie is attacked. These undead are ancient guards of the tower, as evinced by their tattered uniforms. They are doomed to defend this tower until the end of the age.
