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The dwarven cavern (#172)
* blog: add The Dwarven Cavern
* blog/dwarven-cavern: cleanup this here
* blog/dwarven-cavern: more words
authored by
Christine Dodrill
and committed by
GitHub
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blog/the-dwarven-cavern-6e-2020-06-28.markdown
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blog/the-dwarven-cavern-6e-2020-06-28.markdown
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---
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title: "The Dwarven Cavern - A Beginner 6E Adventure"
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date: 2020-06-28
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series: thesource
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tags:
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- 6e
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---
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# The Dwarven Cavern - A Beginner 6E Adventure
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Recently itch.io had [one of the largest game bundles in history][itchbundle]
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and one of the things in it was this humble game named [6E][6e]. Some friends
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and I have started up a small group that meets on the weekends to spend a few
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hours with an adventure. I've been writing a few adventures for them, and I
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would like to start sharing their archetypes. These will all be included in a
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small zine that describes the systems we have built on top of 6E that I'm
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calling [The Source](https://www.patreon.com/posts/source-v0-1-38587786). This
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PDF will be available publicly once it is closer to done (however if you really
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want a copy early on to dig at it, let me know and we can surely work something
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out).
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[itchbundle]: https://itch.io/b/520/bundle-for-racial-justice-and-equality
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[6e]: https://s-jared.itch.io/6e
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Today, I would like to share the details that went into writing the most recent
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adventure: The Dwarven Cavern. This was derived from One Page Dungeons by
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[Geoffrey Cullop](https://twitter.com/cullopgeoffrey), specifically this is a
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variant of Kobold Caverns on page 5. Please note that the experience, gold and
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hitpoints of enemies are balanced for the group I play with, and will probably
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need to be adjusted for other parties of adventurers. This should work for
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players at level 1-3. By the end they should gain enough experience to level up
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once. My group is also very stun-heavy, so that makes my job of attempting to
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balance things really interesting.
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Like most great adventures, this starts at a humble tavern, The Flying
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Ombudsman.
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## The Flying Ombudsman
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The players start off in The Flying Ombudsman, a tavern in the town of
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LAST\_TOWN\_YOUR\_PLAYERS\_WERE\_IN. There are a few people sitting at the bar
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and drinking steamy mugs of grog. There is a salesperson sitting at one of the
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tables fidgeting with a golden scepter head and looks like she has plenty of
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items should people want them. There is someone rather sad sitting at another of
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the tables, looking like he has suffered a great loss.
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For extra immersion, have the NPC's speak with a slightly Irish accent. For
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extra fun, throw in random words from scottish, english and australian accents.
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Keeps the players thinking.
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When players ask the bartender for a mug o' grog, he will sell them one for 5
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gold (limit 4 each player). If players ask for the history behind the name,
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explain to the players the information in The Story of Hol below.
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The salesperson at the top sells the following:
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| Name | Effect | Price |
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| :---------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------- | :------- |
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| 3x potion of cure poison | Cures poison and grants 2hp | 15g each |
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| Golden Scepter head | Doesn't look like it does anything if it's not on top of a staff | 50g |
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You may want to add a few more items to this list. I need to draw up a table
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for items that salespeople like this can have.
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The salesperson can also get you a room at the inn for 30g. It is big enough to
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hold all of the party.
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When players talk to the person at the bottom, they get a sad story about the
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hoe-pocalypse that threatens the end of the village the person comes from.
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Dwarves snuck up from underground and stole the hoe from him, making it
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difficult to feed his hamlet. He asks the adventurers to go to the cavern the
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dwarves live in and get them back. The players should eventually agree to do it,
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and the NPC will progressively offer more and more gold as a reward. A charisma
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check will get him to throw in some salted meat as a reward.
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### The Story of Hol
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The bartender previously ran a failing tavern, and was running out of hope and
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money. One day, the bartender found a weird looking mug and found that it could
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be used to talk with the gods. He eventually found a god named Hol. Hol offered
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him the recipe for the strongest alcohol he could possibly make, for a price.
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The bartender agreed without further thought and gained the ability to make
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intensely strong alcohol, but lost his ability to negotiate permanently.
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One day the local ombudsman got news of how strong the liquor was and decided to
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enforce some obscure liquor control law to get the strength reduced. The bartender
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refused to negotiate and it escalated into a situation where the bartender kicked
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the ombudsman so hard that he flew into the wall. People started calling the
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tavern "the place where the ombudsman flew" and that eventually evolved into the
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name The Flying Ombudsman.
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Business has been booming ever since.
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## The Cave
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The first part has 1 mechanical trap around the second corner, players will need
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to work their way through it with low light or to grab a working torch off the
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wall. The trap does 1d4 damage.
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The tunnel opens into a guard station, the dwarf archers wait behind cover for
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players to get in range of their shortbows. If they get within 10 feet of the
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archers, they fall back to the room behind them to the left. The Archers have 6
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hp and grant 100xp on defeat.
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The room behind and to the left is a labratory that is very well-lit. Lots of
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weird liquid in flasks, scientific equipment, etc. There is a Dwarf Grenadier
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there and will attack you on sight. He throws alchemical grenades at range (1d6
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damage, =6 -> random elemental effect), If the players get within melee range of
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the Grenadier then he will use a poisoned dagger. If the guards retreated then
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he will use them as meat shields. He has 25 hp. He drops 1d4 alchemical grenades
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and also drops his poisoned dagger. He grants 300xp on defeat.
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The bigger chamber is the dwarven living area. Plenty of beds to hide behind,
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but there are 1d6 dwarves living in there. They attack on sight, but flee south
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if their attack goes poorly. The dwarves each grant 100xp on defeat. There is a
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chest in there that is actually a mimic. It drops an Amulet of Chest on defeat.
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The room south is the home of Bubba the Bugbear, a hired goon of the dwarves.
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Bubba and the remaining dwarves make their last stand here. Bubba grants 500xp
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on defeat and has 30hp and 1d6+2 attack damage with his giant club.
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The final room is the treasure room, which contains the stolen hoe, some other
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farming equipment and 250 gold. After this the dungeon is cleared and players
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gain experience from their journey, then go back to The Flying Ombudsman
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victorious. The quest NPC will award them with however many gold they agreed to
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and any items they also agreed to.
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## Enemies
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### Dwarf Archer
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*Decent guard, horrible foresight*
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- **Hit Points** 6
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
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| 0 | +1 | 0 | -2 | -2 | 0 |
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- **Condition Immunities** drunk, groggy
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- **Senses** Night-vision
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- **Languages** Dwarf
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- **Challenge** 2 (100xp)
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***Keep-away.*** Will flee at the first sign of trouble.
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#### Actions
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***Crossbow.*** *Ranged Attack:* 1d4 damage
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### Dwarf Grenadier
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*Mad scientist, crazier inventions*
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- **Hit Points** 25
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
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| 0 | +1 | -2 | +2 | 0 | +1 |
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- **Condition Immunities** drunk, groggy
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- **Senses** Night-vision
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- **Languages** Dwarf
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- **Challenge** 6 (300xp)
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***Insane.*** Will do things that normal enemies would not.
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#### Actions
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***Alchemical Grenade.*** *Ranged Attack:* 1d6 damage plus elemental effect if
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6 damage. See table for Alchemical Grenades.
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***Poisoned Dagger.*** *Melee Attack:* 1d4 damage. On hit player must roll for
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constitution. If the check fails they get _disadvantage_ for their throws the
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next 1d3 turns.
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### Dwarf
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*Underground folk that love digging*
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**Hit Points** 6
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
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| 0 | +1 | 0 | -2 | -2 | 0 |
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- **Condition Immunities** drunk, groggy
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- **Senses** Night-vision
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- **Languages** Dwarf
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- **Challenge** 2 (100xp)
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***Short and Stout.*** Easily able to hit enemies below the belt.
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#### Actions
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***Dagger.*** *Melee Attack:* 1d4 damage
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### Mimic
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*Just an ordinary chest, don't question it*
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- **Hit Points** 14
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
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| 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
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- **Condition Immunities** burn, poison
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- **Languages** None
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- **Challenge** 5 (250xp)
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***Unsuspicious.*** Come on, the chest wouldn't be alive, would it?
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#### Actions
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***Omnomnom*** *Melee Attack:* 1d6 piercing damage, gets advantage if the player
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tries to open the chest.
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### Bubba the Bugbear
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*From Bubba with Love*
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- **Hit Points** 30
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
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| +2 | +2 | +1 | -2 | 0 | -1 |
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- **Condition Immunities** blinded
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- **Languages** Dwarf
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- **Challenge** 10 (500xp)
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***Unreasonable.*** Does not respond well to trickery.
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#### Actions
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***Whomp.*** *Melee Attack:* 1d6+2 damage, piercing if the player fails a
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constitution check.
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## Items
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These are the unique items specific to this quest.
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### Mug of Grog
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A wooden/iron mug full of the barkeep's grog. Consuming it gives you the
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following stat boosts for 3 turns:
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
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| +0 | -1 | +0 | -1 | -1 | +3 |
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This bonus does not stack. When you drink the grog, you keep the mug and can use
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it to bludgeon people for normal attack damage. It can also be used as a tool to
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check for traps.
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Does not sell, purchasable for 5g.
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### Golden Scepter Head
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A golden scepter head that looks like The Grand Nagus from Star Trek. It has no
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effect outside of when it's put on a staff. When it is on a staff it gives you
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25% more gold when you collect gold from places. This has 5 charges and cannot
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be refreshed.
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Sells for 50g, purchases for 50g.
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### Alchemical Grenades
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Standard grenades that look like they are made out of wood, metal, insanity and
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magic. They do d6 damage normally, but when you crit with one it also causes one
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of the following status effects (roll a d4):
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#### Alchemical Effects
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| Roll | Effect |
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| :----: | :------------- |
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| 1 | Acid makes the entity take off their armor |
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| 2 | The entity rolls a constitution check, if it fails they get poisoned and need to roll for constitution before every action, passing removes the poison, failing makes them not have any action. |
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| 3 | The entity is burned for 1d4 damage every turn they fail a constitution check. |
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| 4 | The entity is stunned for 1d3 turns. |
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Sells for 25g each, unpurchaseable.
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### Poisoned Dagger
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A standard dagger that gives no distinct bonuses. However when you use it as a
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normal dagger, you need to roll for constitution in addition to rolling for
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strength. If you fail the constitution check (but pass the strength check), you
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get poisoned from the poison streaking out of the dagger.
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The poison has 5 charges.
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Merchants do not want to take the risk buying it and will you pay them for its
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disposal. This cannot be purchased.
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### Bubba's Clubba
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A rather large mace that does +2 damage. It is a giant thing designed for a
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9-foot tall centaur. It takes up three slots in your inventory. It looks
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imposing and may require a lot of strength to use properly.
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Sells for 25g.
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### Amulet of Chest
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This cursed amulet lets the holder transform into a harmless looking treasure
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chest, but also grants them advantage if an enemy tries to open it. After 4
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transformations, they need to roll a charisma check when they try to turn back.
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If that fails, they stay a chest for an hour (with arms/legs/a mouth/etc). After
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4 more transformations, they turn into a mimic permanently. The transformation
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count stays persistent until someone becomes a mimic, then it resets to zero.
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Merchants will pay 100 gold for it, but will only accept it after the player
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rolls for charisma.
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## Dungeon Map
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## Adventure Highlights
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When I ran this yesterday, the following amazing things happened:
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- The players used a crossbow from a previous adventure and a torch to hit the
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grenades held by the grenadier, vaporizing it from 5 grenades exploding at once.
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- The Artificer shield-bashed one of the dwarves so hard that it ricocheted into
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the other dwarves like pool balls. That caused a lot of damage to all of the
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enemies.
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- The Monk critted a Ki art and shredded an archer with their claws, making the
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other archer flee.
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- The Thief straight up banished a dwarf to the shadow realm with a slingshot
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hit.
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I still wonder how they are going to use that Cursed Amulet of Chest though.
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---
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Thank you [@infinite_mao](https://twitter.com/infinite_mao) for making 6E. I can
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only hope that my buying your stuff separately and making this content for 6E
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can help give back to the community.
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Feedback on the balance of this is very welcome. I openly welcome any and all
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feedback about how this quest could be rebalanced to be a bit less lopsided in
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favor of the players. I also wanted to err on the side of balancing towards the
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players to avoid an unwanted party death.
+5
go.sum
+5
go.sum
···
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github.com/golang/protobuf v1.4.0-rc.4.0.20200313231945-b860323f09d0/go.mod h1:WU3c8KckQ9AFe+yFwt9sWVRKCVIyN9cPHBJSNnbL67w=
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github.com/golang/protobuf v1.4.0 h1:oOuy+ugB+P/kBdUnG5QaMXSIyJ1q38wWSojYCb3z5VQ=
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github.com/golang/protobuf v1.4.0/go.mod h1:jodUvKwWbYaEsadDk5Fwe5c77LiNKVO9IDvqG2KuDX0=
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github.com/golang/protobuf v1.4.2 h1:+Z5KGCizgyZCbGh1KZqA0fcLLkwbsjIzS4aV2v7wJX0=
36
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github.com/golang/protobuf v1.4.2/go.mod h1:oDoupMAO8OvCJWAcko0GGGIgR6R6ocIYbsSw735rRwI=
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github.com/google/go-cmp v0.3.0/go.mod h1:8QqcDgzrUqlUb/G2PQTWiueGozuR1884gddMywk6iLU=
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github.com/google/go-cmp v0.3.1 h1:Xye71clBPdm5HgqGwUkwhbynsUJZhDbS20FvLhQ2izg=
···
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github.com/prometheus/common v0.4.1/go.mod h1:TNfzLD0ON7rHzMJeJkieUDPYmFC7Snx/y86RQel1bk4=
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github.com/prometheus/common v0.9.1 h1:KOMtN28tlbam3/7ZKEYKHhKoJZYYj3gMH4uc62x7X7U=
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github.com/prometheus/common v0.9.1/go.mod h1:yhUN8i9wzaXS3w1O07YhxHEBxD+W35wd8bs7vj7HSQ4=
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github.com/prometheus/common v0.10.0 h1:RyRA7RzGXQZiW+tGMr7sxa85G1z0yOpM1qq5c8lNawc=
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github.com/prometheus/common v0.10.0/go.mod h1:Tlit/dnDKsSWFlCLTWaA1cyBgKHSMdTB80sz/V91rCo=
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.0-20181005140218-185b4288413d/go.mod h1:c3At6R/oaqEKCNdg8wHV1ftS6bRYblBhIjjI8uT2IGk=
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.2 h1:6LJUbpNm42llc4HRCuvApCSWB/WfhuNo9K98Q9sNGfs=
···
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.8/go.mod h1:7Qr8sr6344vo1JqZ6HhLceV9o3AJ1Ff+GxbHq6oeK9A=
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.11 h1:DhHlBtkHWPYi8O2y31JkK0TF+DGM+51OopZjH/Ia5qI=
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.11/go.mod h1:lV6e/gmhEcM9IjHGsFOCxxuZ+z1YqCvr4OA4YeYWdaU=
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.1.3 h1:F0+tqvhOksq22sc6iCHF5WGlWjdwj92p0udFh1VFBS8=
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github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.1.3/go.mod h1:lV6e/gmhEcM9IjHGsFOCxxuZ+z1YqCvr4OA4YeYWdaU=
114
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github.com/russross/blackfriday v2.0.0+incompatible h1:cBXrhZNUf9C+La9/YpS+UHpUT8YD6Td9ZMSU9APFcsk=
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github.com/russross/blackfriday v2.0.0+incompatible/go.mod h1:JO/DiYxRf+HjHt06OyowR9PTA263kcR/rfWxYHBV53g=
···
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golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200122134326-e047566fdf82/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
168
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golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200420163511-1957bb5e6d1f h1:gWF768j/LaZugp8dyS4UwsslYCYz9XgFxvlgsn0n9H8=
169
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golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200420163511-1957bb5e6d1f/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
173
+
golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200615200032-f1bc736245b1 h1:ogLJMz+qpzav7lGMh10LMvAkM/fAoGlaiiHYiFYdm80=
170
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golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200615200032-f1bc736245b1/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
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golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
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golang.org/x/xerrors v0.0.0-20191204190536-9bdfabe68543 h1:E7g+9GITq07hpfrRu66IVDexMakfv52eLZ2CXBWiKr4=
···
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google.golang.org/protobuf v1.20.1-0.20200309200217-e05f789c0967/go.mod h1:A+miEFZTKqfCUM6K7xSMQL9OKL/b6hQv+e19PK+JZNE=
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google.golang.org/protobuf v1.21.0 h1:qdOKuR/EIArgaWNjetjgTzgVTAZ+S/WXVrq9HW9zimw=
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google.golang.org/protobuf v1.21.0/go.mod h1:47Nbq4nVaFHyn7ilMalzfO3qCViNmqZ2kzikPIcrTAo=
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+
google.golang.org/protobuf v1.23.0 h1:4MY060fB1DLGMB/7MBTLnwQUY6+F09GEiz6SsrNqyzM=
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google.golang.org/protobuf v1.23.0/go.mod h1:EGpADcykh3NcUnDUJcl1+ZksZNG86OlYog2l/sGQquU=
183
188
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184
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