Brassmans Adventure Club - Wild Oneshots

1 Wild OneShots
Wild One-Shots
In this book
One of the most useful tools I ever ran across as a young DM in the early 90’s
was AD&D’s Book of Lairs II. I had run a few classing modules, but wasn’t very
good at writing any original stories beyond dungeon crawls - but in that book I
really started to learn how to write.
Every critter in the Monster Manual can have it’s own story, it’s own unique
challenges, and nothing has to be a boring throw-away trash mob.
I prepared the encounters in this book in that spirit, hopefully giving you a
tool that will let you take some simple, short encounters and use them to tell
great stories at your game table. You can play them however you like, completely
ignoring the backstory or diving deep into the role.
Just remember to have fun, and happy adventuring!
Contents:
Encounter Tables 1
‘On the Road’ Plot Ideas No Good Deed 14
Random Wilderness Encounters for Level 6-8
Random Mountain Encounters The Toad Temple 17
Random Swamp Encounters for Level 8-10
Raiders of the Sky Stone 3 Riddle Me This 19
for Level 1-3 for Level 11-13
The Magical Spring of Hauttfer 6 A New Sister 23
Through the Night Gate 8 A Giant Squabble 27
Rampage on Breakburn Fen 11 The Carrion Field 30
Credits
Encounters written by: William Fisher Cover Art: Andrew Weinman
Editing: Matt Charles, Maggie Kirk and Design: William Fisher
William Fisher Cartography: William Fisher
Brassman Foundry
William Fisher, Principal
Matthew Charles, Lead Designer
Anna Alexanian, Creative Director
info@brassmanfoundry.com
www.brassmanfoundry.com
How to Use this book
There is no right or wrong way for a Dungeon Master to use these stories - we created this book
as a tool you can quickly pull off the shelf and quickly add some flavor to your table, so feel free to
change, ignore, or add anything that works best with your story
Each writeup is split into the following sections:
Background - There’s a story behind every fight, so we’ve given you plenty of information to be able
to role play the baddies and their motivations. If you want to jump right into a fight, feel free to skip
right to the crunchy bits.
Encounters - Each story is broken down by major plot events or settings, and gives you details about
how enemies or NPCs will act and how the players should be guided through the story. In addition to
the maps and stat blocks in the book, each encounter also has a Quick Card which details the enemies,
map, and special rules and tactics for the fight, as well as a place where you can track enemy HP.
Fitting it in - All of these encounters have NPC and placenames for generic settings, but they are
designed so you can include your own villians, towns or forest names to fit best in your campaign.
Each encounter also includes plot hook suggestins on how to motivate your players into getting in-
volved, but as always feel free to make up your own.
Rewards and Scaling - The last section of each encounter writeup includes XP, Treasure, and Scal-
ing suggestions. These are more quick tools so you don’t have to go look anything up, but feel free to
change them to better suit the advancement speed, level of wealth, and magic you want in your world.
Play Mechanics - A basic stat block for all creatures in the encounter are included in the writeup
and on the quick encounter cards, as well as a map that you can use to set up the main action for your
players. You may want to familiarize yourself with powers and spells of any given enemy, and the
specific book refernce pages can be found in the “scaling” section.
Wilderness Plots and encounter tables

“on the road” plot ideas • You come to a river where a ferryman says
the price of passage is saving a stranger’s life.
Stuck for a story idea? Here are a bunch of
open-ended events that you can use to base an • A druid convinces your mounts to go on
encounter on. strike until they get wages and benefits.
• You cross a border into a land where writing • As you walk, rocks and boulders begin to fol-
is outlawed by the church. low, rolling along beside and behind you.
• A Tavern and a crossroads suddenly, magically • An Orc and an Elf in prison clothes run out
appears ahead of you in the road. of the woods, shackled together and breathing
heavily from running.
• A talking cat tests riddles on all travellers,
apprenticing to become a sphinx. • A tiny elderly woman camps beside the road,
chopping wood for a fire with her bare hands.
• A hunting party of pixies riding squirrels
overtakes you, on the trail of the “changeling • A man with pure black eyes has a fruit stand by the
fox.” road, and something is banging under the counter.
• A small cairn of stones is in the center of • You grow suddenly sleepy, and realize you are
the road, painted with runes reading “Warning: in the center of a large patch of mushrooms
minimum safe distance” emitting strange spores.
1 Wild OneShots
(plot ideas continued) Mountain/Hill Encounters
• You approach a hard line where the vege-
tation is massively overgrown in a wide circle
around a huge statue of a dragon. Roll a d10 and tailor the challenge to your level
Roll Result
• A jewel sparkles in the road ahead of you. 1 Basilisks (mm24) sleep hidden in a
When you pick it up it opens a massive sinkhole grove of statues
• A dog walks out of the bushes and drops a 2 Air Elementals (mm124) swarm around
human ear in the road. a magical gem
3 Yeti (mm305) have blocked the road
• The sky darkens as a massive flock of birds 4 Owlbears (mm249) compete for mates
fly overhead from the west, where distant music 5 Perytons (mm251) fly out of nowhere
is playing and try to fly off with the smallest PC
• A woman in white walks suddenly up, asking 6 Gargoyles (mm140) Guard a tomb
to travel with you for protection. As night falls, 7 Duergar (mm122, mtf190) pan for gold
she rises up to the stars on a beam of light. 8 Gold Dragon (mm115) has a shrine
where it is answering pilgrim’s questions.
• You approach a huge stone sarcophagus large
9 Orcs and Orogs (mm247) camp just off
enough for a giant. You hear a grinding noise as
the road with captured slaves
the lid begins to move.
10 Giant Elk (mm325) escort a child to a
druidic ceremony
Wilderness/Forest Encounters
Swamp/Coast Encounters
Roll a d10 and tailor the challenge to your level
Roll Result Roll a d10 and tailor the challenge to your level
1 Boars (mm319) and Giant Boars Roll Result
(mm323) are circled in a clearing 1 Yuan-ti (mm309) are rounding up
2 Bugbears (mm33) lead a caravan of snakes and reptiles into a cage
wagons - it is probably stolen 2 Giant Crocodiles(mm324) hide in a pool
3 Griffons (mm174) guard an egg clutch 3 a Catoblepas (vgm129) lumbers by,
4 Ettercaps (mm131) and Giant Spiders knocking a tree onto the path
(mm328) guard bolts of spidersilk cloth 4 Ochre Jelly (mm243) devour a wagon
5 Young Green Dragons (mm94) are prac- 5 Shambling Mound (mm270) waits direct-
ticing hunting ly in the road for someone to step on it
6 A Revenant (mm259) and other venege- 6 Banshee (mm23) surround a burial mound
ful dead seek their murderer 7 Lizardfolk (mm205) drag a litter filled
7 Carrion Crawlers (mm37) strip a corpse with dragon bones and scales
8 Quicklings (vgm187) and Pixies (mm253) 8 Water Elementals (mm125) are bound to
have a racetrack set up a spring of clean water feeding an aqueduct
9 Elf Shadow Dancer (mtf225) trains 9 Sahuagin (mm263) drag a bound elf
apprentices deep in the woods towards the ocean
10 Awakened Plants (mm317) have taken 10 Troll (mm291) and Ogres (mm237) are
over the area surrounding a spring collecting tolls
2 Wild OneShots
Quick-Use Encounters: in the wilderness
And now, after months of walking and waiting,
Wilderness Encounter: Nukilik and his hunter band have to race to find the
fallen skystone before someone else reaches it and
Raiders of the Sky Stone he fails his sacred duty.
Getting the PCs Involved
About the Encounter • Any- The PC’s witness the burning line in the sky
and flash of impact as an object falls to earth nearby.
A band of warriors from a remote tribe have wan-
dered far from home in search of a sacred relic, and • Travelling- While traveling through the woods, they
they won’t let anyone interfere. reach a spot where the trees are damaged, flattened in
For: 4 level 2 characters a pattern originating from a blackened crater.
Setting: Wilderness or Forest • Retrieval- A master smith has gotten word from
Play Time Estimate: 45 minutes a sage that a large meteorite will soon fall to earth,
and it’s metal could be used to forge an incredibly
Background powerful weapon.
Sha’an Burningeye, the Skyspeaker of the Bright • Lawful- A magistrate has gotten complaints of
Eagle Kin woke in the middle of the night shouting, some stealth and skilled hunter poaching small
and most of the village was soon awake with her game from one of the local estates, and is looking
as she sought out the collection of maps that the for help tracking the culprits down.
hunters have brought back over the decades. The
stars had spoken to her in dreams, and they would
soon send a gift to the Kin - one that the far-hunters
The Encounter
would have to travel for months to receive. The Night before
The stars had not sent a sky stone to the kin for Any sleeping PC’s are awoken in the dead of the
decades, and this one would be exceptionally powerful night by a loud rumbling.
as it was foreseen falling from the blade of the War-
rior. A small band left the next day to travel hundreds
of leagues to the spot where the meteorite would fall
“A strange glow appears in the northern sky. Half a
to earth (if the Skyspeaker was to be believed,) with
minute later the glow proves to be coming from a massive
Nukilik offering to lead them. The Skyspeaker quick- streak of fire on the northern horizon, headed your way.
ly agreed that he was the best choice, he is one of the
As the fireball crosses overhead it takes on a greenish hue,
most skilled and powerful hunters of the Kin, but he
and the low rumble turns into a roaring wall of sound.
is not yet huntmaster or warmaster and the village
Almost as fast as it came overhead, it has crossed the sky
would not be threatened by months of his absence.
to the east and vanishes behind trees. Suddenly there is
The hunters have now traveled for weeks through a massive thunderous sound, the ground shakes, and the
unfamiliar lands, avoiding civilized peoples who may eastern sky brightens almost to daylight for several seconds.
interfere with their sacred mission or covet the stone A minute later all is eerily silent once more.”
for themselves. They have been encamped for al-
most a week near where the shaman indicated, but It is obvious which direction the meteorite was
either the terrain changed, or the map was inaccurate traveling in, but it should take a Survival Check
because when the fiery tail of the skystone lit the sky DC14 to estimate the accurate distance and path to
last night it appeared to fall miles from the Bright the impact site.
Eagle camp.
3 Wild OneShots
Meeting the Tribe
Scout Med. Humanoid
The PC’s should meet the men of the tribe well
away from the site where the meteorite fell to earth. HP 16 AC 13 Move: 30’
One of the Bright Eagle scouts will be on reconnais- Per: 15 Init: 12 Keen Hearing and Sight
sance in front of the main group (Passive stealth 16, Attacks: Multiattack(2), Shortsword+4
although they would be actively avoiding detection) (1d6+2pi) Longbow+4 15-/600ft (1d8+2pi)
and spot the party, signaling back their location. If Skills: Nature+4, Perception+5, Stealth+6,
spotted himself, the scout will do everything possi- Survival+5
ble to vanish into the wilderness.
Tribal Warrior Med. Humanoid
HP 11 AC 12 Move: 30’
“Suddenly a man steps from behind a tree into your Per: 10 Init: 10 Pack Tactics
path. He is tall and lean, wearing roughly sewn leather Attacks: Spear+3 5ft or 20’/60’ (1d6+1 pi)
and furs and wielding a long spear with a bone blade. As
he looks you over, several similarly dressed figures make • If the PC’s seem convincingly disinterested in
themselves known, remaining in the shadows of the trees the meteorite (and the massive explosion overnight)
behind him. Nukilik will give them a cautious benefit of the
He addresses you formally in accented common ‘I am doubt, he will wish the players well, and take off
Nukilik, of the Kin. I wish you peace. My band is only without the need for stealth.
passing through, and seek information on these lands.’” If a fight does occur, the tribe will try to disable
To make sure they don’t interfere in his sacred mis- weak PC’s while remaining under as much strategic
sion, Nukilik wants to peacefully confront the party cover as possible. If they manage to drop a player or
and determine their interest in the Sky Stone. Although two they will strategically withdraw from the battle-
he has no desire to be openly hostile, his distrust of field with their own wounded and make best speed
outsiders means he will be cautious, with enough to the crater. If they are obviously outmatched
demonstration of strength to discourage a fight. (more than half of them are defeated) they will
retreat and scatter in multiple directions.
Nukilik will be polite and calm as he tries to deter-
mine the PC’s intentions. He will volunteer as little However this first meeting ends, the players will
information as possible about his mission, although probably want to investigate the impact site, which is
will freely discuss his tribe and how far they are from still several hour’s travel away. Navigating there will
home. If a player brings up the meteorite he will ca- yet again take a DC14 survival check (although as the
sually try to learn what they know and if they are also players get closer, you can lower the DC as they nar-
seeking the impact site. If they turns hostile, one of row in on the right spot.) It is possible to track Nuki-
the scouts will fire a warning arrow from behind the lik’s band, but they will actively try to throw pursuers
party, and Nukilik will remind the players that he is off their trail (Contested survival check) Lastly, if the
not looking for a fight, but he is prepared to win one. players have a way of getting a bird’s eye view (from a
familiar, for instance) the site the meteorite landed is
Aside from a fight, there are several ways this con- obvious even from many miles away.
versation can end.
• If the party is actively seeking the meteorite, The Crater of the Sky Stone
Nukilik will clearly warn them against seeking fur- The place where the sky stone fell to earth is now a
ther and his band will withdraw and sneak off. massive crater, 100ft wide, 200ft long, and 30ft into
the earth at the deepest (The crater itself is blasted
• If anyone offers to help the tribe to find the
almost smooth, but the trees closest to the blast site
stone, he will try to discourage them but will ulti-
have been flattened, creating difficult terrain for 30ft
mately accept them accompanying his band (so he
all around. Further away from the impact there are
can keep an eye on them)
still trees, battered but standing.
4 Wild OneShots
Ultimately Nukilik knows there are only two
options - he returns home with the sky stone or he
and his men die trying, so if negotiations stall he
will offer one final warning before personally begin-
ning combat. The scouts will use their bows from
the cover of the treeline, focusing on the strongest
fighters. Similarly the warriors and their leader will
close and focus on one combatant at a time.
If the players offer to surrender they will be given
quarter, and if the Kin end up holding the crater,
they will attempt to stabilize any players who have
been reduced to 0 hp. On the other hand if the fight
turns badly, any warrior left standing will attempt to
claim the meteorite and flee.
The Reward
Depending on the tone of your campaign, the
encounter should yield full experience (300xp) for
In the center of the crater the sky stone lays, half negotiating with the raiders or for a combat victory.
buried in loose soil. The stone that caused such The Sky Stone is not in itself magical, but is made
destruction is a rough chunk of dark metal speck- of a rare metal that may have special properties of
led with shining silver flakes, only 5 inches across its own. It is priceless to the Bright Eagle Kin and
and a little over 10 lbs. It has lost it’s explosive heat, probably to others, and they would gladly part with
instead being almost ice cold to the touch although all of their money and goods (20gp) to leave with it.
not enough to cause any ill effects when handled. If the tribesmen are defeated, they can be searched
Unless they accompanied the Kin, PC’s arrive to find the following coin and trade goods: 17 Silver, 1
to find the warriors of Bright Eagle have already Platinum, 12 animal furs (3gp), 1 tiger eye worth 10 gp
reached the site and are cautiously approaching the Remember, you can scale this reward to better fit
center of the crater. The scouts remain hidden in your campaign wealth level.
the remaining trees and in the event of combat they
will use the woods as ½ Cover (+2 AC.) The warriors Scaling
are spread out near the deepest part of the crater, Scale the encounter by changing the number of Kin.
with Nukilik himself in the lead, slowly advanc- The full listings for the creatures involved in the
ing while offering prayers to the stars in the tribe’s encounter are: Scout CR1/2 (MM349) Tribal War-
native tongue. All of the band is alert for strangers rior CR1/8 (MM350)
approaching to interrupt them, and if they spot the
Version1: 1 Scout, 4 Tribal Warrior 400xp encoun-
players approaching will call out a short signal.
ter 200xp award
The scouts will fire a warning arrow at anyone
Version 2: 2 Scout, 4 Tribal Warrior 600xp en-
spotted approaching through stealth, but Nukilik will
counter 300xp award
pause and address anyone who openly approaches,
or if a player gets closer to the stone than he is. The Version 3: 2 Scout, 6 Tribal Warrior 875xp en-
conversation will follow a similar line as the previous counter 350xp award
encounter, although he will be insistent that he be encounter Lvl 1 Lvl 2 Lvl 3 Lvl 4
the only one to touch the stone and he will be leav- Version 1 Deadly Med Easy Trivial
ing with it. If they are negotiating, he is willing to
Version 2 Deadly Hard Med Easy
offer a boon, and ultimately to pay the players every-
thing the band has to peacefully retrieve the stone. Version 3 Deadly Deadly Med Easy
5 Wild OneShots
Getting the PC’s Involved
Wilderness Encounter: • Any- The innkeep at the The Boiling Boar Arms
in Hauttfer has a “treasure map” that points to the
legendary spring of youth that lies in the forest
The Magical Spring of near the town. He will sell it to the PC’s for a mea-
ger 10gp.
Hauttfer
• Traveling- On a little-used path through the
woods, the PC’s notice the forest has gone silent,
About the Encounter and a phosphorescent glow comes from mush-
A spring near town is reported to have powerful rooms on a nearby rock face.
magic, but the legend is only half right.
• Good PCs- A young woman is looking for a track-
For 4 characters at level 4
er to help find her brother, who never came back
Setting: Forest or Wilderness near a settlement from hunting two days ago.
Play time estimate: 60 minutes
• Hired work- A noble seeks the magical healing
Background water of the spring to heal his dying daughter, and

sends the PC’s to Hauttfer to find it.
Decades ago a great wizard was traveling through
the town of Hauttfer and told the publicans of the
town that, in exchange for their warm hospitality,
The Encounter
he had enchanted a nearby spring to grant youth The Road from Hauttfer
and beauty to anyone who drinks of it. Since then, Unless you have your players randomly stumble
countless treasure hunters, adventurers and hopeful across the spring, they are probably going to be
locals have searched the forest near the town to find seeking the legendary waters. This should be chal-
the mystical fountain. lenging (as it is a truly ‘lost’ spring that very few live
Almost every word out of the mouth of the legend- to tell the tale of) but should not be discouraging or
ary ‘Wizard Erisster’ was a lie. He wasn’t even a wiz- seem impossible.
ard, just a con man looking for free room and board By asking around Hauttfer, greasing some palms
for a week. The spring is quite real, but the magic en- and loosening some tongues, you should let the PC’s
chanting it is quite different and much more danger- acquire a questionable map or vague directions to
ous than the legend states. ‘Errister’ slipped a stone of the rumored location of the spring.
contagion into a spring deep in the woods, and most
of those who have stumbled across it never survive The journey should take most of a day, leading
to spread the tale. Why he would do this is anybody’s the PC’s more than a dozen miles away from town
guess. Some people just want to see the world burn… and away from all roads. The forest is teeming with
or drink lethally contaminated ‘magic water.’ wildlife and generally safe, with signs of light foot
traffic, woodcutting camps, and deer trails.
Some of the unfortunate seekers of the spring did
not go quietly into that long night; either the pain Eventually the players will reach a section of the
of their torturous deaths, the anger at being cruelly woods where the paths are all overgrown, the trees
tricked, or the dark magic that took their lives have are old and there is more shade than sky above
left them clinging to this world. The undead are them. When they get close to the spring itself, the
clustered around the ‘magic spring,’ where they suc- change in the atmosphere should be apparent -
cumbed. They quickly mass to drive off any living either by having the players roll perception DC 11
thing that approaches the spring, possibly to protect to notice a sudden lack of wildlife, or just through
the foolish from the same fate but more likely out of narration.
a burning hatred of the living.
6 Wild OneShots
est creature if combat has already started.
At the bottom of the pool is a small emerald per-
manently enchanted with a potent Contagion spell,
which contaminates the water and will affect anyone
who touches the stone with bare flesh. The stone
radiates strong necromantic magic.
Any animal or person that drinks from the pool
itself will contract an extremely deadly strain of
Flesh Rot. Initially, 1 level of exhaustion is removed
and individuals feel an immediate surge of strength
and well-being, but within 2 hours the disease takes
effect and the affected individual must make a Con
save DC15 or take 1d8 necrotic damage, suffer Cha-
risma disadvantage and vulnerability to all damage.
Every consecutive 2 hours, they must make another
DC15 Con save or take another 1d8 necrotic. As
with contagion, passing 3 Constitution saves will end
the disease, but the disease persists until they have
passed those checks or the victim dies. Anyone who
dies of this disease has a 10% chance of rising as an
undead creature sometime in the next month.
The Spring
They place they are seeking is a small, mostly
nondescript rocky extrusion that has formed a small Skeleton Med. Undead
hill. On one side of this formation, the bare rock HP 13 AC 13 Move: 30’
face has a crack with water spilling out of it into a Per: 9 Init: 12 Darkvision 60ft
4ft wide, 2ft deep pool that has worn into the rock Attacks: Shortsword+4 (1d6+2 pi) Short-
ground. The water is so clear that it almost sparkles, bow+4 80/320ft (1d6+2 pi)
especially with the steady trickle of water falling Vulnerable to blunt, Immune to Poison
down from the rock face.
Trees and shrubs come up almost to the edge of
the pool making it hard to spot unless you know Warhorse Skeleton Large Undead
what you are looking for, despite the underbrush HP 22 AC 13 Move: 60’
being sparse. The local forest is almost completely Per: 9 Init: 11 Darkvision 60ft
empty of animal life but strewn with mushrooms, Attacks: Hooves+6 (2d6+4 blunt)
giving the area a serene, mystical feel. Of course at Vulnerable to blunt, Immune to Poison
second glance the verdant plant life is growing off
abundant corpses and the bones of animals and men
litter the forest floor. Zombie Medium Undead
Several undead victims of the pool’s curse lie ran- HP 22 AC 8 Move: 20’
domly on the forest floor among the other corpses, Per: 8 Init: 8 Darkvision 60’
and will slowly rouse to confront anything larger than Attacks: Slam+3 (1d6+1 blunt)
a dog that approaches the pool. The undead are most- Undead Fortitude if reduced to 0 hp, takes
ly mindless, and will initially attack the closest creature a con save DC5+dmg to drop to 1hp instead.
to the water without fear or organization. Some may Radiant damage or critical hits cancel this save.
be slower to rise than others, and will attack the near-
7 Wild OneShots
On one of the fresher corpses there is a journal
detailing the adventures of Markain Hawklight, who
followed the trail to the spring several months ago
and had the forethought to write down his final
Wilderness Encounter:
experiences as the disease coursed through his body.
His last journal entries describe exactly how he
Through the night gate
‘outwitted’ the undead ‘guardians’ of the spring, and
then how he came to the horrible realization that the About the Encounter
water is cursed rather than blessed. A powerful Fae Lord is traveling away from the
Feywild, and the guards he set on the door home are
The Reward restless
Depending on your story goals, you should reward For: 4 characters at Level 5
the PC’s 200xp or other appropriate amount if they Setting: Any Remote Wilderness
decide to deal with the corruption of the spring, in Play Time Estimate: 60 minutes
addition to the 600xp for defeating the undead. Also,
putting the many corpses to proper rest should yield
xp or inspiration.
The disease spreading emerald will be of worth to Background
someone (300gp) although the corruption is in- The faerie Lord Sléibhín Scalaidhe (SKA-ly),
stantly evident to any potential buyer, and it would Count of the unseelie court and keeper of the night
probably be unwise to sell to anyone who actually roads is on vacation. This happens regularly enough,
WANTS a horribly dangerous cursed gem. as the guardian of secret passages to and around the
A thorough search of the many possessions and Feywild he and his entourage spend a lot of time
corpses around the spring reveal that most of the on the road. Today Lord Scalaidhe is on a rare trip
weapons and gear have long since weathered to junk, to the mortal realms, traveling deep under the earth
but PC’s can find: to an audience with a powerful drow priestess that
seeks favor of the dark fae.
210cp, 90 sp, 70 gp, 2x Onyx (50gp), 2x Jasper
(50gp), Moonstone (50gp) Which means that deep in the forest the gate he
came though, a door into the deep dark reaches of
Remember, you can scale this reward to better fit
Faerie, stands open waiting for the ambassador’s
your campaign wealth level.
return.
Scaling Of course, it is Scalaidhe’s duty to protect the ways
The full listings for the creatures involved in the into faerie and leaving a gate standing wide open
encounter are: Skeleton CR1/4 (MM272) Warhorse (even in the middle of nowhere) would be a faux
Skeleton CR1/2 (MM273) Zombie CR1/4 (MM316) pas. However entertaining it would be for a mortal
Version 1: 3 Skeleton, 2 Warhorse Skeleton, 1 to wander into the night paths and become lost in
Zombie 800xp encounter 400xp award the Feywild, it would probably annoy the Queen of
Air and Darkness, so the Count has left a loyal guard
Version 2: 4 Skeleton, 3 Warhorse Skeleton, 2
behind him.
Zombie 1500xp encounter 600xp award
For today at least, at the bottom of a wooded dell,
Version 3: 6 Skeleton, 4 Warhorse Skeleton, 3
an ancient runestone stands and crossing behind it
Zombie 2550xp encounter 850xp award
widdershins will reveal the gate to night. Posted in
encounter Lvl 3 Lvl 4 Lvl 5 Lvl 6 front of it are a pair of displacer beasts and their
Version 1 Hard Med Easy Trivial darkling footmen, the loyal guards of Scalaidhe
Version 2 Deadly Hard Easy Easy tasked with keeping mortals ignorant and the ca-
Version 3 Deadly Deadly Med Med pricious beings of the Feywild on their side of the
8 Wild OneShots
gate. They will stand guard for the next two days enough about the players to size them up. On a
and nights as the envoy concludes his business and Wisdom (perception) check DC15, a PC can spot
returns to close the gate behind him. And they are a shadowy figure watching them from the woods,
very, very bored. which runs off towards the gate when spotted.
Getting the PCs Involved However they approach, the players will travel for
several hours through the woods until they approach
• Camped at night- a very stealthy intruder rifles a quiet, shadowy spot deep in the wilderness.
the groups possessions, takes some odd trinkets,
and wanders back into the woods. The Guards
• Caster PC- A player’s familiar (or an unrelated
enchanted messenger animal) becomes suddenly
“The flat floor of the forest drops gently ahead of you
distracted, leading the PC’s to a powerful magic
into a shallow depression flanked by low hills. The branch-
deep in the woods.
es of the surrounding trees arch over this dell covering it in
• Traveling- on a secluded road the party sees a shadow, although nothing larger than a bush grows in the
large and obvious track where a band of heavy feet low point itself. In the center of the clearing, back towards
and hooves came out of the deep wilderness. the hills a roughly hewn four foot tall stone sticks straight
out of the ground. You see faint carvings in the stone’s
• Good PCs- A faerie dragon (or other good fae) surface, illuminated by a very faint glow emanating from
approaches the PC’s for help with intruders in her behind the menhir. “
territory.
The chief guards of the gate are two Displacer
The Encounter beasts, who are much more intelligent than simple
beasts. They are diligent and patient wardens, acutely
Finding the Gate aware of the importance of this portal and the con-
The gate into the Feywild is several miles off of sequences of failure to secure it - The unseelie lords
any traveled path and so randomly stumbling across do not tolerate incompetence.
it is unlikely, however there are plenty of ways the The Beasts also have several Darklings with them
players could be drawn towards this particular loca- to act as squires, scouts, and interpreters. These
tion. cloaked, halfling sized figures are true fae - capri-
Most notably, the energy of the feywild leaking cious, distractable and almost wholly unmotivated by
into the material should be creating strange reactions the future consequences of their actions.
that even mundane mortals would notice. Animals One displacer beast lies in front of the menhir,
may behave strangely, a lone cloud or a rainbow may feigning sleep. A second is hiding on the top of the
hover in the sky over the gate, faint music or faerie hillcrest at the back of the depression. Darklings
lights may appear to players even miles away. This hide among the branches of the trees (DC19) flank-
should be enough to let the PC’s know that there ing the mouth of the dell. As the PC’s proceed into
is something out there they should investigate, and the clearing and approach the one obvious opponent
point them in a general direction. the cat-like beast will keep “napping.” One of the
To point them all the way to the location, the Darklings will instead address them from its hiding
players will be able to find the obvious tracks of the place in the trees. It will initially warn them off say-
Baron’s entourage which can be followed (Survival ing “this is no place for mortals.” Given practically
check DC11) back to their point of origin. Also, any response the hidden Fae will boast, threaten and
the darklings that have been left to guard the portal generally run at the mouth about how he ‘guards this
have taken to wandering the wilderness and making place for the Lord Count who travels in the mortal
trouble. They are ranging fare enough to raid nearby realms’, and how ‘if you are near the gate to Faerie
settlements for milk and honey, and will be curious when the master returns, he will claim your soul.’
9 Wild OneShots
Darkling Small Fey
HP 13 AC 14 Move: 40’
Per: 15 Init: 13 Blindsight 30’ Darkvision 120’
Attacks: Dagger+5 thrown 20/60ft (1d4+-
3pi) if at advantage add (2d6 pi)
Skills: Acrobatics+5 Deception+2 Percep-
tion+5 Stealth+7
Death Flash: on death, any creature in 10ft
save Con DC10 vs blind
Light Sensitivity
Displacer Beast Large Monstrosity

HP 85 AC 13 Move: 40’
Per: 11 Init: 12 Darkvision 60’
Attacks: Multiattack(2), Tentacle+6 10ft
(1d6+4 bl)& (1d6 pi)
Avoidance: if a Dex save allows half damage,
takes none if successful
Displacement: has an illusion that disadvan-
The Displacer Beast will quickly decide that this tages attacks against it. If hit by an attack, the
verbal barrage is revealing too much information. illusion drops until end of it’s next turn
From it’s cat-nap it will growl, long and low, as it
slowly picks it’s head up to look towards it’s unruly once their Baron returns, the gate will be closed.
minion and cutting it off mid-threat. Before the The PC’s are welcome to stay peacefully as long as
players have any time to react to this the gate behind they don’t approach the gate (which will fade back
the runestone snaps open, bathing the dell in purple into invisibility in less than a minute.) The bored
light. A pixie darts out of the portal, laughing at its darklings will attempt to taunt and goad them into a
own cleverness and shouting over its shoulder in a fight if they do stick around.
high, clear voice, “You’ll never catch me, giants! I’m Though a fight is not inevitable, the Fae guards are
off to the mortal wo….” prepared for one and none of them will retreat - a
A displacer beast tentacle comes out of nowhere displacer beast is a mean opponent, and she still has
and sweeps the tiny fae out the air, slams it against allies hidden nearby. The other darklings will open
the menhir with a crunch, and then disappears back by throwing knives from cover, then close on less
into the grass. The beast keeps its concentration on armored targets near the back. The second displacer
the trees and the Darkling speaks once more, “I am will wait until a good ambush opportunity presents
supposed to let you know that she guards the way to itself, then join the fray against any strong fighters.
the night lands, and you should probably back off if None of the fae are out for blood, and they will
you want to keep breathing.” actively stabilize any wounded PC’s after the fight
The guards are reasonable and will not attack unless (who will remain unconscious as the remaining
provoked by an action such as attempting to approach events continue, waking up in an empty dell in the
the gate. They will explain that the portal is perfectly woods after the Baron passes.)
safe and guarded, and anything attempting to travel
from either side will be stopped (cue whimpering
Return of the Count
from a very broken pixie.) And they will insist that Assuming there was a fight and your players come
10 Wild OneShots
out on top, they are now in the presence of an open first seem (the empty flask holds a baby’s first breath,
door into another plane - which is an irresistible the honey is from faerie bees, etc.)
big shiny for any curious adventurer. The portal
remains hidden unless a creature circles the stone Scaling
twice widdershins (counterclockwise,) which will The full listings for the creatures involved in the
make it appear and allow anyone to pass through it. encounter are: Displacer Beasts CR3(mm81) Dark-
Unless you want this encounter to lead your play- ling CR1(vgm134)
ers into the feywild, the Count and his entourage will Version1: 1 Displacer Beasts 5 Darklings 2400xp
emerge from the woods where they have been observ- encounter 1200xp award
ing just as the players have reached a decision point (or Version 2: 2 Displacer beasts 2 Darklings 3400xp
if the players just decide to wait on him.) You should encounter 1700xp award
make it clear that he is a large armored fey man, radiat-
Version 3: 3 Displacer Beasts 3 Darklings 4800xp
ing primal power, riding on a massive faerie horse and
encounter 2400xp award
backed up by a dozen enigmatic but powerful looking
retainers. A fight will not go their way. encounter Lvl 4 Lvl 5 Lvl 6 Lvl 7
As his retinue all begin to walk a circle around the Version 1 Deadly Med Med Easy
stone and through the gate, the Count will warn Version 2 Deadly Hard Med Med
them that his road is no place for mortals. and that Version 3 Deadly Deadly Deadly Hard
the gate will close forever once he is through. He
won’t be angry if the players fought his guards (who
were obviously incompetent) but will take their re-
mains off the field and back through the gate.
Lastly, as his path was discovered by a mortal, he
Wilderness Encounter:
will answer three questions or requests (which he is
magically bound to do.) He won’t bring this up and
Rampage on
will try to avoid it, but a chatty darkling may reveal
this if they are dealt with peacefully.
Bleakburn Fen
Once all his business is concluded, the Baron will
be the last to enter the glowing portal and it will
About the Encounter
snap closed behind him, leaving no trace of magic A legendary monster is tearing a swath of destruc-
or of his passage through the mortal realm. tion in the wetlands, and the nearby homesteads are
in its path
The Reward For: 4 characters at Level 6
Depending on your campaign and RP goals, keep- Setting: Swamp or Forest near a settlement
ing the gate protected and closing it (or keeping it Play Time Estimate: 60 minutes
open) may yield experience beyond the 1700xp for
combat. The Count may offer some item or service
as a boon. Background
The dark Fey don’t often keep treasures on them All the local bards know the story of Gurrath
that the mortal world would recognize, but if defeat- Pegason’s fight with the beast of the White Copper
ed the darklings carry the following: An apparently River - if you walk in to any popular tavern or public
empty flask, A scrap of paper or parchment with an house you can hardly avoid hearing how the paladin
unintelligible note scribbled on it, A gem or small and her band tore the heads from the foul serpent
piece of jewelry worth 43 gp, a bottle of honey, 6 sp. one at a time. Frankly it all sounds a little exaggerat-
Since they are from the feywild, any of these ed and melodramatic to me, but it is always easier to
things may be more valuable or important than they be an art critic than an artist.
11 Wild OneShots
The part that most of the bards
don’t tell is how hard it is to burn a
giant hydra body when it falls back
into the river it is attacking from.
Or how the Lady Gurrath’s squires
almost immediately set into their
sack wine once the battle rush left
them. And event they didn’t know,
although they should have suspected,
that one of the foul beast’s heads
washed downriver with a spark of
life in it still.
Near Esterbrook the White Cop-
per river widens and slows, and
much of the marshland on it’s gently
curving banks have been drained to
create incredibly rich farmland. Of
course the currents that drop the
richest silt also deposited the twitch-
ing remains of the Hydra several weeks ago, and it
The Encounter
has been recovering since. Finding the beast
After weeks of regenerating in a the small swampy Given that a huge monster is mindlessly raging
woodland the locals know as the Bleakburn, the around a populated land, finding the Hydra is more a
Hydra is almost back from being just a head to full matter of time than of difficulty. The massive tracks
strength. Sick of measly meals of bugs, snakes, and that the beast leaves cross the landscape in several
toads on the fen the monstrosity has begun to pur- places, including crossing the main road 5 miles east
sue livestock - rampaging into farms, smashing barns of Esterbrook. The Hydra has destroyed at least 4
into splinters and consuming the farmers alongside farmsteads already and every night it marches raven-
their cattle. As it eats it grows, and the attacks are ously forth from the swamp to find a meal.
coming more frequently. The people and authorities in Esterbrook are ter-
rified that the beast will attach the town sooner than
Getting the PCs Involved later. They all urge the players to go into the swamp
to slay the hydra - clearly glossing over the fact that
• Any- The party comes across massive lizard
fighting in its home territory on the marsh may be to
tracks marring the peaceful countryside and point-
the monster’s advantage.
ed towards town
As they cross through the countryside, word of
• Good PCs- A bandaged farmer flees down the the PC’s has already spread enough that farmers
road with all the possessions he could save on a and travelers alike stop them to talk. They are also
cart, warning travelers of a monster. terrified, but the country folk will beg the players to
instead stay and protect the farms, where they can
• PCs For Hire- The local lord is throwing a feast,
prepare defenses and a strategy. Their desperate ar-
and needs someone to fetch a prized boar from a
gument is clearly flawed as there is no way the party
farm near the river.
can cover every vulnerable site in a ten mile radius.
• In a Town- A bard spins the tale of the Beast The players need to pick between two bad plans.
of the White Copper River, and has a rumor of a
If they go on the hunt the last few miles of the
similar beast so hero may win fame by slaying.
trail run through the difficult terrain of the Bleak-
12 Wild OneShots
burn Fen, where many crossed layers of the beast’s
tracks become confused. The hydra has eaten or run Hydra Huge Monstrosity
off anything large enough to be a threat, so the only HP 172 AC 15 Move: 30’ swim 30’
real hazard of the marsh is getting lost. Succeeding Per: 16 Init: 11 Darkvision 60’
on a DC13 Wisdom (survival) check will mean they
Attacks: Multiattack (1/head), Bite+8 10ft
find the monster’s nest in short order, otherwise they
(1d10+5 pi)
wander lost in the marshland for several hours.
Hold Breath can hold its breath for 1 hour
During the day the Hydra sleeps in a shallow (5 to
Multiple Heads (5) while it had more than
10ft) brackish pool 50ft inland from the riverbank.
1 head, has advantage vs blind, charm, deaf,
There are sparse swamp trees nearby, but generally
fright, stun, and unconscious. Each head makes
the lines of sight are clear enough that the players
an attack. When hydra takes 25 or more damage
should see the massive creature from far away. Of
in a single turn, one head dies. At end of its
course, the hydra always has one head on the look-
turn, hydra grows two heads for each head that
out, and it will spot the heroes just as easily.
died since its last turn, and it regenerated 10hp/
The monster will wait for the players to close on regrown head.
it’s pool. If they try to wear it down from range it
Reactive Heads: Each head has a reaction
will first sink deeper into the water (Gaining ½ cover
that can be used only for opportunity attacks.
and +2AC) and if they persist it will just dash to the
river and vanish.
If they do close in, the players will be fighting in sundown. The night sky is overcast, and despite its
water that is either 5ft deep and difficult terrain or size the monster can move quickly and silently and
10ft deep causing creatures to make athletic checks be within 100ft of the farm before the players spot
while swimming in heavy armor and suffer disad- it moving rapidly towards them.
vantage on most melee attacks (phb198.) The Hydra The hydra will dash straight in towards any live-
will also be resistant to fire damage when mostly stock or people and attack anything alive in its path.
submerged (although fire damage will still block It will attack defenses or walls to access anything
it’s regeneration.) Other than terrain advantage, the alive behind them, although it will avoid obvious
beast doesn’t have any strategy deeper than being large fires. It will concentrate on the enemy in range
vicious and nearly impossible to kill. that is most damaging to it and move on once they
Other than the glory of the battle and bragging have dropped. It won’t stop until it goes down or
rights, there is almost nothing of value in the mon- everything on the field is dead.
ster’s nest (see rewards below.) You can review damaging objects on dmg246, but in
brief wooden objects have AC15 and stone has AC17.
The beast finds you! Reinforced medium barriers have 20hp and farm
If the players decide to find a defensible position building wills will have 40hp. This means that the hy-
or farm, they need to pick a battleground. If they’re dra, which has an attack with each head that deals 10
having problems deciding, a wis (survival) or int damage on average, can essentially instantly obliterate
check should direct them to a location. This decision any object standing in its way (which may be surpris-
should seem important, but the hydra should attack ing and understandably concerning to players.)
whatever location they choose (unless you want to In the end it should be a fight that the bards tell
intentionally slow the story down.) tales of for a generation, because there are many
Wherever the PC’s choose to make their stand, local eyes around to report how the heroes saved the
they should have some time to set up quick defenses farms and the day… hopefully.
out of re-purposed wood and anything else clever
they can come up with. The Reward
Once they have set up it should be close to dusk,
There are not many ways to deal with a rampag-
and the hydra will find them about an hour after
13 Wild OneShots
ing Hydra other than fighting it - yielding 3900xp, county’s reeve and a profoundly greedy, thoroughly
although you may award xp for protecting farms or corrupt bureaucrat.
saving innocents. With Nofort’s patronage shielding Bren from legal
The hydra is not interested in treasure and has not repercussions of his bad actions, it has been several
collected anything of use in his lair, but it does have years since anyone in the podunk village has dared
a +1 dagger embedded in one neck, and a local au- stand up to the Buzzard. Most people would take
thority should offer a 200gp bounty for the beast. offense to none of their neighbors ever making eye
contact, however Bren deludes himself that he has
Scaling respect like unto a king (even though he has to lick
As there is only one Hydra, which is CR 8 the Baron’s boots to keep his meager power.)
(mm190), altering the number of heads the beast The classical downfall of all petty tyrants is not
starts with will let you scale the encounter. knowing when they’ve pushed too far. In the Buz-
Version 1: Hydra starting with 4 heads and 140hp zard’s case the last straw came when the prodigal
CR7 2900xp encounter 2900xp award daughter of a Retiman tanner came home after years
Version 2: Standard Hydra (5 heads CR8) 3900xp of learning the hard lessons of the wide world.
encounter 3900xp award Salmia Farroweye spent most of her teen years as a
Version 3: Hydra starting with 6 heads and 200hp spy for Bayalla trying to prevent war with the Hurang-
CR9 5000xp encounter 5000xp award ian Empire, and then spent two more years as an aux-
iliary scout when the inevitable fighting began. When
encounter Lvl 5 Lvl 6 Lvl 7 Lvl 8
at 23, as a veteran of a bloody foreign war, she decided
Version 1 Hard Med Easy Easy to finally return home only to find a small town bully
Version 2 Hard Hard Med Med running rampant it was annoying. When the Buzzard
Version 3 Deadly Deadly Med Med cornered her in the tavern to let her know he ‘owned’
her just as he owned the rest of the town it became
a problem. Of course every young lady of the town
would probably get the same treatment.
Wilderness Encounter: Luckily Salmia is the type of person who knows

how to deal with trouble and the resourcefulness
to make it stick - she just had to plan a way around
No Good Deed Baron Nofort’s protection. For days she approached
the burghers of the town with a plan, finding them
About the Encounter perfectly willing to put up coin to protect their
daughters. Then came one easy part, hiring a bigger,
An innocent girl is on the run from very bad men,
badder dog to sic on the Buzzard. And the hard
but she is leading them into a trap.
part - getting him away from anyone the town and
For: 4 characters at Level 7 anyone who may report his fate back to Nofort.
Setting: a road leading through settled lands
Play Time Estimate: 60 minutes
• Shady PCs- There is word in the criminal under-
Background world that someone in Retima is paying handsomely

for some illicit work.
Retima may be a small town, but it is large enough • Rumors- Locals in the tavern are talking about
to have a bully. Bren the Buzzard is an incompe- the tanner’s girl, who had a loud fight with “the Buz-
tent, petty thug but long ago he learned to use the zard” in broad daylight.
tools of violence and intimidation to make up for
• For Hire- A merchant needs guards for their
his intellectual shortcomings. This particular combi-
caravan headed to the nearby town of Retima.
nation also proved very useful to Baron Nofort, the
14 Wild OneShots
The Encounter The Tables Turn
When the players decide to continue with their
In Town travels, they are interrupted not far outside of town
Salmia’s plan is contingent on two things. First she as they see the thieving girl again. Bren the Badger
intends to taunt Bren the Buzzard into following her has tracked her down and now she is running, terri-
to a remote location where no one can see his fate fied, and being pursued by the tyrant and his flunkie.
and report it to the Baron, and then she intends to This is of course exactly where she wants to be -
ambush him with overwhelming force and make him letting them chase her to the point where her own
disappear - permanently. hired enforcer is waiting in ambush.
As they are preparing to leave town, the players wit-
ness Salima putting the first part of this plan in motion.
“The girl from town runs in a panic towards you,
glancing back at the two rough looking men who are
“Passing the open door of a tailors, you overhear shout- jogging behind her with cruel grins on their faces. With her
ing. A scarred brute of a man emerges in a huff, shouting attention focused over her shoulder her foot snags on a loose
behind him ‘And don’t be late again. You don’t want me to stone and she sprawls face first in the dirt. As she starts
have to get rough.’ to recover her feet she looks up and sees you. A brief look
of confusion crossing her face before she shouts ‘you have to
No one on the street makes eye contact as he begins to
help me! He’s going to…’ The rest of her words are lost as
stalk off, tossing a coin purse casually in the air. His brisk
the lead thug reaches her and stomps on her back, forcing
pace is interrupted when a young woman walks suddenly
her into the dirt once more.”
out of an alley and the two collide, knocking her over.
She looks up from the ground with wide eyes, stammering Salmia didn’t expect the players to be here, but
“I, I’m sorry, Bren. I’m so clumsy, you know.” He kicks she is staying in character until she knows if she can
at her, shouting obscenities and how she’s a stupid peasant, trust them or use them to her advantage. Her plan
but she scrambles to her feet and takes off down the road. still relies on having no witnesses that can tip Baron
He angrily shouts after her for a moment, then turns and Nofort off as to the fate of his flunkie.
continues the way he was headed. Bren is annoyed that he has been robbed, more
The woman, on the other hand, pauses once his back is annoyed that he has had to chase a measly girl down
turned and pulls out the brute’s coin purse. She notices you in the woods, and will be very impolite if the players
watching, gives you a quick wink, and scapmers down the try to interrupt him. He won’t break directly into
next side street.” violence, but arrogantly (and truthfully) explain that
the girl stole from him and this is none of their busi-
Salima has made sure that enough people saw her ness the punishment she gets.
rob the Buzzard in broad daylight that word will get Oh, and there one more party who has a stake in
around town. When she leaves this encounter, she this game. Perched in a blind in a nearby tree sits
makes a bee-line to a local tavern and begins treating Agrona Four-Fingers, the notorious highwaywoman
others with the stolen coin and bragging. that Salima hired to ambush Bren.
She has a lookout, and when the Buzzard finally does She will follow Salima’s lead but knows the score
come for her an hour later, she slips out the back and - no one is supposed to survive to talk about the
takes off, leading the thug on a chase out of town. ambush.
If the players intervene at any point, she will shrug The bandit is well prepared, in the tree blind she
and insist it was a harmless prank. She will even give has ¾ cover (+5AC) and to make this job foolproof
them the stolen coin to give back to him - her goal set up traps at the ambush zone. One will send a log
is accomplished as she knows that he can’t let the sweeping at chest level along 15ft of the road and
slight against him stand. dealing 4d8 blunt (Dex save DC14 for half damage.)
15 Wild OneShots
The second is a last resort, as it will hurt Salima Master Thief Medium Humanoid
as well, but will release a cone of thunder damage
from the base of her tree, 40ft towards the road. HP 78 AC 16 Move: 30’
Four-Fingers can trigger either of these traps at will. Per: 13 Init: 14 Resist Poison
Attacks: Multiattack(3) Shortsword+7 (1d6+4
The PCs get to choose between backing an arro-
pi) Light Crossbow+7 80/320 7(1d8+4 pi)
gant criminal thug or a frightened, defenseless thief.
Sneak Attack 1/turn add (4d6 pi)
If the players begin to side with the thugs, or try
to take everyone back to town for justice, Salima will Saving Throws Dex+7, Int+3
trigger the ambush. Skills Acrobatics+7, Athletics+3, Percep-
If they try to help the girl, Salima and Four-Fin- tion+3, Sleight of hand+7, Stealth+7
gers will both stand by as Bren annoys the PCs and Cunning Action each turn can use dash, dis-
they give him a beating. Once they have ‘rescued’ engage or hide as a bonus.
the damsel in distress Salima will stand up, suddenly Evasion if a dex save allows assassin to take
composed, and thank them. She will however insist half damage, it takes no damage on a success
that they move along, and not tell anyone else what
Uncanny Dodge as a reaction the thief
they have seen.
halves the damage from one attack that hits it.
If the players begin asking questions, asking for
payment for defeating the thugs, or try to provide
medical treatment to the Buzzard, Selima will simply The Reward
say “sorry about this” and signal to Four-Fingers. The PC’s should get the combat reward of 2400xp
However the fight begins in earnest, the hidden defeating the ambushers, whether or not they are
bandit will take advantage of cover and the traps, killed or they escape.
and Selima will try to sew confusion while taking The master thief is the purse-keeper, and if she re-
cover herself. Both of them are aware that leaving mains on the battlefield the PCs will be able to find
witnesses essentially means their own death, and will 7 sp, 87gp, A jade necklace worth 100gp, a potion of
fight accordingly. If the fight turns against them, Polymorph Self, a potion of healing
either will run without disregard for their partner.
Scaling
The full listings for the creatures involved in the
encounter are: Thug CR 1/2 (mm347) Scout CR
Thug Medium Humanoid
1/2 (mm349) Master thief CR 5 (vgm216)
HP 32 AC 11 Move: 30’
Version1- 1 Thug, 2 scout, 1 Master Thief 4000xp
Per: 10 Init: 10 encounter 2000xp award
Attacks: Multiattack(2) Mace+4 (1d6+2 sl)
Version2- 2 thug, 3 scout, 1 Master Thief 6000xp
Heavy Crossbow+2 100/400ft (1d10 pi)
Skills: Intimidation+2
Version3- 2 thug, 2 scout, 2 Master Thief 8000xp
Pack Tactics
Scout Medium Humanoid encounter Lvl 6 Lvl 7 Lvl 8 Lvl 9

Version 1 Hard Med Med Easy
HP 16 AC 13 Move: 30’
Version 2 Hard Hard Med Med
Per: 11 Init: 12 Keen Hearing and Sight
Attacks: Scimitar+4 (1d6+2 sl), Shortbow+4 Version 3 Deadly Deadly Hard Hard
(1d6+2 pi)
Skills: Multiattack(2) Shortsword+4 (1d6+2
pi) Longbow+4 150/600ft (1d8+2 pi)
16 Wild OneShots
viously someone must have put something really
interesting inside…
Wilderness Encounter: • Retrieval- the wife of one of the local fisher-

men, thinks that her foolish superstitious husband
The Toad Temple left a family heirloom ring at the ‘damned frog
shrine’ and would like the PCs to retrieve it.
About the Encounter • Greedy PCs- There is a temple in the woods near-
A mysterious temple stands by the river, dedicated by that is dedicated to frogs… and the idiot locals
to some forgotten batrachian god offer gold to the dumb beasts!
Setting: Jungle or Swamp near a river The Encounter
Play time estimate: 90 minutes The Temple
The Toad Temple is a 120ft square stone struc-
ture that rises into a high, tiered pyramid style roof
Background: a hundred feet above the forest floor. Its exterior
surface is extensively covered in carvings and re-
No one remembers why the Toad Temple was
liefs, depicting frogs and toads, lizard-men, and men
originally built, the few people who live on the
interacting with giant frogs.
Qul’aan Fens just know that the ornately carved
stone temple has always been there, looming out It sits beside a minor river in the Qul’aal Fens,
of the forest. Someone certainly put a great deal of which sluggishly feeds into a large pool inside the
time and craftsmanship into the relief sculptures of cavernous main chamber. The temple itself is built
toads and lizard men covering it’s surface and the one of the solid patches of ground in the spongy
millennia it has stood, structurally sound despite fens, and is surrounded by a dense forest.
being unattended by man, is testament to the skill of The temple only has one door through an obvious
its architects. grand entry, which is made of heavy stone and is
That is not to say that the Temple is abandoned. stuck mostly open by mud that has collected on the
A wealth of wildlife has taken up residence inside floor (str DC18 could get it moving.) Anyone daring
the cave-like interior of the temple, the undisputed enough could easily swim in through either of the
masters of this place being a colony of Giant Toads water entrances, which pass beneath the stone walls
who have been living and breeding here for as long just two feet underwater, however the toads of the
as anyone can remember. Although the original temple would quickly react to anyone in their pool.
builders of the temple are long forgotten, the boat- Inside of the temple it is dark and fetid with the
men and fishwives of the Fen still respect whatever smell of water, rot, and wildlife. There are no win-
power once resided there, and occasionally leave dows to let light or air in, so it is dark and uncom-
livestock or even precious offerings for the great fortably warm inside. Most of the giant toads stay
Toads, for good luck. hidden, but those with exceptional eyes may see one
or two sitting outside of the mud piles near the back
Getting the PC’s involved: of the room (around a 100ft from the main door.)
• Lawful PCs- The toads of the temple have The floor of the temple was made of cut stone,
become aggressive lately, and are interrupting but has long since been covered in mud and algae.
river traffic. The locals are trying to find someone A colonnade runs along two walls of the interior of
strong enough to cull the monsters. the temple which has a stone ceiling 15ft high, and is
• Any- In their travels, the party runs across a large, strong enough to support weight. It’s pillars are wide
ancient, abandoned temple near a small river. Ob- enough to provide cover from the interior.
17 Wild OneShots
(1) The Altar
Located just inside
the door in the center
of the temple is a large
stone altar, 3ft high and
10ft long. It is carved
with the same skill and
detail as the exterior
of the temple, but has
been caked in mud and
slime over the years.
There are offerings, in-
cluding gems and gold
coin, placed carefully on
top of the altar as well
as scattered remnants
and leavings, including
rope and bone from
animal offerings that are
occasionally left for the
toads.
A careful search (3) Inner Shrine A solid stone chamber is built
through the junk around the altar will yield 30gp into the corner of the temple, with well serviced
worth of coin, 4x 10gp gems, and 4x 10gp carved stone doors on three sides. None of the doors lock.
art objects (toad figurines.) However, anyone staying The floor is slightly elevated inside, and the room
near the altar for more than a minute will attract the is clean and orderly unlike the rest of the temple,
attention of the toads in the pool, who are used to although caked in dust and cobweb.
food being left here.
The focus of this room is shrine built into the outside
(2) The Pool The very center of the cavernous wall with a large stone frog effigy. Candle stubs and ash
temple interior is dominated by a large, murky pool surround this shrine, as well as many more offerings
which is 10ft deep in most places but not stagnant that some long forgotten caretaker moved from the
due to the lazy flow of the river through the chan- main altar into this chamber. Elaborate stylized relief
nels under the temple walls. The pool is edged in panels cover the walls, depicting some event or ritual
stone, but is caked in sucking mud and slime to an with men and toads in a primeval forest. They was
extent that, within 10ft of the edge of the water the once paint embellishing the carvings, but it has peeled
muck offers no footing and is difficult terrain. and faded over the years. Ancient wooden benches sit
Roughly half of the toads in the temple rest below along the walls, but have rotted to near splinters.
the surface of the pool, and will react to most dis- Decorations and other things of value are quickly
turbances by jumping from the water to eat whatever apparent with even a cursory look, listed in the ‘Re-
is causing the ruckus. When badly injured, the toads wards’ section below.
will attempt to dive back into the pool, taking any-
one they may have swallowed with them. (4) Toad Burrows Over the centuries the toads
have heaped mud 10ft high into the back corners
The pool is the Toad’s ‘safe spot’ and they won’t of the temple, and now the mounds are dried hard
retreat out of the temple, but continue to ambush as concrete and riddled with 4ft round tunnels and
from underwater until the threat is neutralized or burrows. The other half of the Toads will be gath-
they are all dead. ered near these burrows, with one or two lounging
outside either mud pile.
18 Wild OneShots
Version 2: 12 Giant Toads: 7200xp encounter
Gant Toad Large Beast 2400xp award
HP 39 AC 11 Move: 20’ Swim 40’ Version 3: 15 Giant Toads: 12000xp encounter
Per: 10 Init: 11 Darkvision 30’ 3000xp award
Attacks: Bite+4 (1d10+2 pi) & (1d10 poison)
& Grapple DC13
Version 1 Med Med Easy Easy
Swallow+4 against grappled creature, if suc-
cessful is blinded and restrained, takes 3d6 acid
damage at start of toad’s turn. Version 3 Deadly Deadly Hard Hard
Amphibious, Standing Leap: long jump 20’
and high jump 10’
These tunnels are strewn with refuse and bones,

and nothing of value has survived in them. None of Wilderness Encounter:
the tunnels are very deep, providing hiding spaces
and cover from ranged attacks but being spacious Riddle Me This
and shallow enough that they don’t interfere with
close combat. About the Encounter
If there is a commotion within the temple, these Centaurs have come from far and wide for a con-
toads will move to investigate. If someone ap- test of wits that outsiders are not meant to witness.
proaches the burrows, a toad will leap to ambush
them from inside a tunnel, assuming there are still
toads there. Setting: Jungle or Swamp near a river
The Reward
Defeating the creatures in the temple yields 2400xp
Aside from the 110gp of scattered items near the Background
altar, the shrine room holds most of the temple’s Once every ten years, the reclusive centaurs choose
wealth and it is almost entirely unguarded. The the wisest and cleverest of their respective tribes to
shrine is not sanctified to any known deity, and is participate in a ritual contest of wits and lore. The
not ‘hallowed ground.’ chosen make their way alone across the continent
In the shrine room: 250 cp, 130 sp, 150 gp, rough to a “great moot” held in the Pelion glade sacred
pewter pendant, set with a beryl (70gp), Painted to their people. The champions spend three days
Glass Statuette of a Toad (25 gp), alabaster ring, set celebrating, sparring, and trading the news of all the
with a piece of jade (225gp), Carved Wooden Bowl tribes before the final challenge, a contest of riddles
(25 gp), Carved Ivory Rod (50 gp), 2x Potion of and songs to determine the Lore-keeper for all the
Water Breathing. tribes.
As always, you can scale this reward to better fit It just so happens that the secret Pelion Glade is
your campaign wealth level. very nearby, and the champions gathered two days
ago to begin the Moot. Under the watch of the
Scaling last lorekeeper Aegampos the centaurs have been
The full listings for the creatures involved in the celebrating, socializing, and testing out their minds
encounter are: Giant Toads CR1 (MM325) and mettle for two days (while drinking heavily and
Version 1: 10 Giant Toads: 5000xp encounter disturbing the locals.) Now the final competition, the
2000xp award most sacred rite of all the tribes, is about to begin.
19 Wild OneShots
• Rumors- Local residents have seen an encamp-
ment in the wilderness, and heard loud noises for
Centaur Large Monstrosity
the past few nights. When anyone approaches, a very HP 45 AC 12 Move: 50’
tall figure with a long spear warns them off from the Per: 13 Init: 12
shadows. Attacks: Multiattack(2), Pike+6 10ft (1d10+-
• Curious PCs- A scholar of ethnic cultures asks 4pi) Hooves+6 (2d6+4 bl) Longbow+4
the PCs to accompany her on a “once in a lifetime” 150/600 (1d8+2 pi)
research opportunity. Charge If centaur moves at least 30 feet
straight toward a target, it deals extra 3d6 pi
• Any- The PC’s find “cavalry” tracks or hear the
with its pike
sound of battle which leads them to a clearing in the
woods. Skills Athletics+6, Perception+3, Survival+3
• In Town- A drunken centaur walks into the local Centaur Sage Large Monstrosity
tavern, calls for a round of drinks for the bar “on
him” and promptly gallops off, not paying his tab. HP 59 AC 11 Move: 50’
Per: 13 Init: 12
Attacks: Shillelagh+5 (1d8+3 bl) Hooves+6
The Encounter (2d6+4 bl)

Skills Medicine+6, Nature+6, Perception+3,
A mythic Gathering Survival+3
Spellcasting The Sage is a 3rd level spellcaster
Whether they are specifically sent to the gathering
based on wisdom (+5 to hit, DC13)
of the centaurs, or the stumble across it, the first
indication that the players have found the correct At will: druidcraft, guidance, shillelagh
place is the sound of a raucous party taking place in 1st level (4 slots) entangle, fog cloud, healing
the middle of nowhere. The sound is easy to follow, word, longstrider,
and after a short walk through the woods the PCs 2nd level (2 slots) hold person, pass without
will find the source. trace
“You emerge from the treeline opens into a large glade Centaur Champion Large Monstrosity
where hundreds of centaurs are having a massive party. HP 82 AC 12 Move: 50’
Centaurs male and female, young and old are drinking, Per: 13 Init: 12
eating, cavorting, sparring and gaming all across the field. Attacks: Multiattack(2), Greataxe+7 10ft
Several carts are laden with barrels and barrels of wine (2d12+4sl) Hooves+7 (2d6+4 bl) Longbow+5
and beer, and every partygoer seems to be enjoying the 150/600 (1d8+2 pi)
libations - including several already sleeping it off on the
Charge If centaur moves at least 30 feet
outskirts.
straight toward a target, it deals extra 2d12 sl
One of the larger warriors spots you spying from the with its greataxe
trees and trots over. As he approaches he laughs, and offers Skills Athletics+6, Insight+2, Perception+3,
a massive drink stein ‘ah, little manlings, welcome to the Performance+6, Survival+3
Pelion Moot! Accept Aegampos’ hospitality in peace. Just
don’t have too much fun, eh?’ Brute, Leadership or 1 minute champion
may command any non hostile creature within
He leaves the drink with a wink, and gallops back to 30ft, adding 1d4 to an attack or save whenever
the festivitie” they roll.
20 Wild OneShots
In this giant bacchanal the players can find any • Contests of Wits - The “big challenge” is a
number of ways to get into trouble - the centaurs contest of wit and wisdom, so many of the partic-
are open, friendly, and will actively try to engage the ipants are practicing against each other throughout
PCs in the celebration. Practically anyone they ask the gathering. They are also the ones on the sober
will tell them why the centaurs are gathered, and side. Riddle or lore contests, card or dice games,
insist they should enjoy themselves in preparation and “lying” contests are all battles of wits that allow
for the ‘big contest.’ for a variety of both Int and Wis skills to come in
Your players can spend as little or as much time as to play. As above, wits challenges can be a series of
they like carousing with the centaurs, role-playing, contested rolls, or you can add a lot more roleplaying
listening to songs and poetry, or participating in any into these challenges.
of the many contests that the creatures are having • Sparring - The centaurs warriors are actively
amongst themselves. Magical aid or clever cheating, sparring all around the field, and will be happy to
are just as acceptable ways to win as raw skill in this provide wooden sparing weapons in a variety of
culture, and no one will have any hurt feelings about types. Sparring can either be point sparring or full
the results of these minor challenges. combat, which should be treated as a standard fight,
Keep in mind that these challenges can count to- assuming that all blows are pulled to be nonlethal.
wards “defeating” an opponent, and so your players Any 21th level PC should be easily able to take a
are earning XP this entire time. centaur in single combat, but this will just impress
the gathering as to the party’s skills.
• Drinking Contests - One thing that every cen-
taur at the gathering will be happy to engage in is • Archery or martial challenges - Lastly the
a contest of imbibing. You can use the Carousing players could just challenge an opponent to a martial
rules (dmg128), you can narrate the party, or you can demonstration of target shooting, log cutting, or
have the NPC and the Player roll to see who gets other martial demonstration. Unlike other challeng-
more drunk. Everyone surrounding will probably es, this one can involve multiple opponents, all of
get in to a very lucrative betting pool when the 40lb which would roll an attack or martial skill to see who
gnome challenges the 800lb centaur to see who goes gets the highest roll. The Players will be the most
down first. skilled, but there is an element of chance in the rolls
that they may still lose - but it is traditional to have
three rounds of attempts and be judged on the best.
There are no official rules for drunk effects in
5E, but a simple system is for a player to make a Once the Players have had their fill of the festival
Con save vs poison, starting around DC13, with and earned some XP and some renown in the gath-
each failure temporarily lowering either Wis or ering, it is about time for the sun to go down and
Dex by 1 and similarly raising Str or Cha. Each the sacred contest to begin.
succesive check should be at increased difficulty, The Sacred Contest
and 4 failures will find the PC at -2 Wis, -2 Dex, +2
Str, +2 Cha - completely hammered. A 5th failure As soon as the sun goes down, the centaurs begin
means the character passes out drunk. to gather around a large circle of torches, with a
huge stallion Aegampos, the previous champion, and
a ritually dresses mare, Eupheia, in the center. The
• Contests of Strength - Most centaurs have a high Players are welcome to watch.
strength and are skilled in Athletics (+6) so any player The priestess Eupheia opens the ceremony, invoking
brave enough to accept a raw strength contest. Wrest- Skerrit and beginning a tale of the history of the cen-
ing, lifting, and throwing are in abundance and any taur tribes. Aegampos, holding a massive ritual spear,
PC can step in. These challenges should consist of a takes up the tale and recites a long list of the previous
series of contested checks, allowing for roleplaying, lorekeepers, ending with his own name. He then drives
intervention, betting, and drama to occur between the the spear deep into a boulder (placed for this purpose)
three or four rolls before a winner is declared. and calls for new champions to be brought forth.
21 Wild OneShots
Eupheia rounds the circle with a sacred urn, col-
lecting names from the heads of the centaur clans.
When all names have been collected, she returns
to the center and the champions are called forth by
Some sample Riddles
Q: What is greater than God,
name.
more evil than the devil,
This is when all hell breaks loose, as someone has
the poor have it,
included the name of the PC with the highest wis-
the rich need it,
dom (or one that won a contest of wits previously.) and if you eat it, you’ll die?
That character is pushed forward into the circle with A: Nothing
5 centaurs, and the crowd erupts in shouts, cheers,
and all the usual shock and confusion of a surprise Q: Who makes it, has no need of it.
twist. Who buys it, has no use for it.
Who uses it can neither see nor feel it.
What is it?
“Amidst the confusion the officiants confer briefly, then A: A coffin
Aegampos calls out to the crowd “Although this has never
happened before, the names were placed in Skerritt’s Q: What gets broken without being held?
urn and he judged them meet and good. The challenger A: A Promise
is allowed.” Once (the Player) is lined up with the other
challengers, the massive centaur whispers to them “It is ac- Q: Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not.
ceptable that you take this honor and not sully the contest, What am I?
but understand that you should not prevail, or there will be A: A Ton
consequences.” Q: What occurs once in every minute, twice in
every moment, yet never in a thousand years?
You should make it apparent that the party is sur- A: the letter M
rounded by almost a hundred drunk and riled up centaurs.
Q: I’m the tip of safety borne
The contest itself if a series of riddles which Aegam- Upon the ends where riches worn,
pos asks of the contestants, who must answer correctly My dented shield will push afield
within a minute or be eliminated. They can guess as The mighty lance you likewise wield.
many times in that minute as they like, but can have no I fend away these weapons true
outside help. The initial rounds can be rolled as simple You send to me as we renew.
wis or int checks (DC14) or you can roleplay them with A: A Thimble
the riddles provided. The player can throw the contest,
Q: Treasure waits beyond the reach
or may feel free to compete to win.
gold within a hold,
In each round one of the five centaur champions remnants of the dead are stitched
will fail to answer correctly, and will be cheered and to keep the living whole.
excused. After 4 rounds of riddles, a stallion named Broken bones among the weeds
Caseon will emerge as the last centaur standing and scattered ‘round and round,
will either be anointed as the next decade’s lorekeep- where untouched gems wait silently
er, or will face the player directly, each having to ask o’er blades upon the ground.
A: Birds nest
their own riddles until one cannot answer.
This final round should include real role-played
riddles, but if the player doesn’t want to come up If the player loses, the ceremony concludes shortly
with anything clever when it is their turn to ask they and the party goes on through the night. When the
may make a contested wis or int roll against Caseon, party wakes with truly wicked hangovers, the field is
who will roll int (history+5.) empty except for hoof marks and the trash from a
wild party.
22 Wild OneShots
If the player wins, the centaurs object and get very,
very hostile. The party will have to decline the vic-
tory to get out of the gathering without a fight, but
they can certainly still be diplomatic.
Forest Encounter:
If they insist on being declared the victor, or gen- A New Sister
erally fail to respect the situation, a fight will break
out. Most of the congregation are non-combatants
and will fall back and leave the strongest warriors to About the Encounter
fight the party, which means they are only facing 8 A powerful hag is seeking to step into leadership
centaurs, along with Eupheia (the sage) and Aegam- of the local coven and needs a pawn to help her
pos (the champion.) break the ice.
The centaurs will fight for real, taking advantage For 4 characters at level 13
of numbers and the large field to attack the players Setting: Jungle or Swamp near a river
with wheeling charges and bow-fire. The champion
will close to direct combat, and the sage will use hold
person and entangle to make the PCs easier targets.
The Reward Background

Deep in the wilds in the south of the White-
Combat should not be encouraged in this encoun-
wood the Sisters of Barrowdell have lived for as
ter, but remember that winning ‘peaceful’ contests
long as any living human can remember. The hags
such as strength and riddle contests should also
mostly keep to themselves, doing whatever it is that
yield experience, so surviving the moot should yield
nightmare fae creatures do with their days, and only
7000xp (whereas straight combat would yield 5400xp)
occasionally interacting with the civilized people of
Gambling or outright winning the contest should the Whitewood or stealing infants. The locals, for
yield some portion of the treasures the centaurs their part, know to avoid the Barrowdell and mourn
have brought with them. Slaughtering them will any children who disappear in the woods as certainly
also allow PC’s to gather all their loot: 200 cp, 60 sp, dead - if not worse.
40 gp, Javelin of lightning, Cloak of protection, 2
Such was the status quo until Maggie Mudnuzzle
moonstones (50gp), Silver plated compass (25gp),
engraved bone dice (25gp) wandered into the Whitewood. You see, while she
was on one of her notorious trips “meeting the local
Scaling babbies” a band of do-gooders came through and
The listings for the creatures involved in the en- slaughtered the other two crones at the blasted crag.
counter are: Centaur CR2 (MM38) with custom vari- No elderly hag wants to be alone in the world and so
ants Centaur Sage CR3, and Centaur Champion CR4 once she came home and discovered the deaths of
her sisters, Maggie immediately set out to get herself
Version 1: 5 centaur, 1 Centaur Sage, 1 Centaur
a new coven - by hook or by crook.
Champion 10125xp encounter 4050xp award
As one of the greater Annis hags Maggie knows
Version 2: 8 centaur, 1 Centaur Sage, 1 Centaur
she has a right to disrupt the Barrowdell coven and
Champion 13500xp encounter 5400xp award
step into their circle, but there is a certain etiquette
Version 3: 9 centaur, 2 Centaur Sage, 1 Centaur to these things. She arrived in the Whitewood sev-
Champion 19650xp encounter 6550xp award eral nights ago, and has been patiently trying to find
encounter Lvl 11 Lvl 12 Lvl 13 Lvl 14 someone who is both brave enough to venture deep
Version 1 Hard Med Med Easy into the wilds despite the legends of dark witches,
and dumb enough to go with a complete stranger.
Sounds like every adventurer party I’ve ever en-
Version 3 Deadly Deadly Hard Hard
countered!
23 Wild OneShots
No hag shows up on another circle’s land unan- ville’ and her husband gave them wide berth, her son
nounced without gifts, and so Maggie plans to bring vanished last night. She knows none of the towns-
some nice stupid fat adventurers as offerings to the folk are strong enough to help her, but she will offer
coven. And if the ensuing fight manages to eliminate the players anything she owns to go rescue Jamie
one of the sisters, that will secure the Hag’s position from Barrowdell.
all the sooner. The Hag is a practiced liar with a solid story, and
Getting the PCs Involved will actively use deception (+5) to convince the
players. She will offer to lead them to Barrowdell,
• Any- A middle aged woman comes through town and will promise her ‘life savings’ of almost 50gp
looking distressed, claiming that the witches of the as a reward. If the players hesitate she will try any
Barrowdell are hunting her. argument to convince them - killing the witches will
• Good PCs- Several children have gone missing, protect all the people of the Whitewood
and the bereaved mothers are positive that the If the players ask to investigate her home or get
hags have taken them. any money up front, she hysterically insists that the
witches could be cooking her boy for dinner even
• Arcane PCs- A magic tome lists the Sisters of the now and every minute counts.
Barrowdell as the last keepers of arcane knowledge
Assuming the players agree, she will thank them
the party is interested in.
profusely, and lead them almost 10 miles into the
• Any- A dark cloud has settled over a mountain wilderness, straight towards a small mountain peak
nearby, and has not moved for several weeks. Ani- rising alone out of the woods.
mals and birds are avoiding the area. If she fails to convince the PCs old Mudnuzzle
will fall back to another, crueler plan and snatch a
child right from under their nose. She will then lay
The Encounter an obvious trail for the players to follow to the Bar-
rowdell, and sneak along behind them.
A Mother’s Plea Into the Barrowdell
Old Maggie Mudnuzzle has a plan to ingratiate The Hag’s lair lies a thousand feet up the side of
herself into a new coven, and it starts with her re- the mountain, on a rocky shelf in the lee of a sheer
cruiting some noble heroes. Using Disguise Self, the rock face. The only clear approach is a rough 10ft
Annis Hag will adopt the guise of a farm-wife and path that was carved long ago into the mountain. It
find the players on the road or just leaving town. is possible to scale the rock face, but it would mean
a climb of 200ft or more from below.
The Barrowdell itself is primitive - the only struc-
“A middle aged woman with a tear-streaked face ture is a 20’ diameter rock hut and the only decor
approaches you. ‘You lot look scrappy. I don’t suppose you are a massive cauldron set in front of a rough stone
can spare a minute to listen to a sob story?’ she says. table. Set right against the rock face is a wood fenced
‘It’s them witches in the Barrow. They done it - they took pen where two young children huddle in piles of
my Jamie!’ leaves and bones. In fact, weathered animal and hu-
Her eyes well with tears as she plainitvely holds up a man bones litter the entire area, in piles towards the
child’s woolen cap, but turns her head aside and blinks her edge of the shelf but under foot everywhere.
vision clear.” Due to the difficulty of the climb up, the Hags will
have certainly spotted the players coming to the very
She woman spins a tale that many locals may center of their land, and are waiting around their
relate to. The Hags of Barrowdell have been known cauldron to receive ‘guests’.
to snatch local children, and even though ‘Peg Gren- The sisters of Barrowdell are Granny Spiderfeet,
24 Wild OneShots
Scrappaddle the Knobby, and GayleAnne Nerve- She is ideally waiting for hostilities to break out
wrangle, and they are more amused than threatened and hopes that the players will eliminate one of the
by a bunch of adventurers climbing the mountain. Barrowdale hags so that she can simply step into
They are used to desperate or nefarious locals com- that absence.
ing to them for favors, and will assume the players If the players seem to be dealing peacefully, she
are here to do business. will reveal herself saying ‘sisters, look at the gifts I
brought you!’ Mudnuzzle will then offer her own
deal - they work together to defeat the players, snack
“Three monstrous, withered crones stand on the other on their bones, share their loot, and then negotiate a
side of a bubbling cauldron, watching you as you reach the new arrangement for the Coven.
top of the path. However the inevitable hostilities break out, the
The center witch, with matted white hair and dark players are up against a precarious tactical situation.
blotchy grey skin, speaks with a growl. ‘You’ve come a good The coven has a great deal of magical power and the
ways up our mountain, mortals, so you must have a reason. PCs are literally perched between a rock face and a
Do tell me you’ve brought a gift for our favors?’ sheer drop (with a turncoat behind them) and the
One of the other hags cackles, ‘I do believe they ARE Hags know it.
the gift, Granny! But do let’s hear what they have to say.’” The sisters will fight to disable a number of players
with magic so they can concentrate on defeating them
one at a time. Granny Spiderfeet (the night hag) will
If the players approach to talk, they will find immediately cast eyebite and begin trying to disable
three very knowledgeable fae who are willing to cut players, one Green Hag will cast polymorph, and the
deals for knowledge or arcane favors. The caveat last will pay attention to counterspelling player casters.
of course being that it requires dealing with truly
evil monsters who kidnap children - and actively If the fight turns against them even after the Annis
have two tied up and crying in the corner. The Hags Hag reveals her betrayal, she will begin attempting
will ask the PCs to provide them more hidden lore, to toss players off the side of the mountain. This is
magical artifacts, and promised favors. They will deal an all-or-nothing fight, as the hags won’t retreat and
in good faith, althouh when evil fae make promises abandon their sisters, and the players don’t really
they sometimes keep their bar- have a way to retreat.
gains in unexpected ways.
Out of hospitality, the Hags
won’t attack anyone who hasn’t
shown active hostility to them.
Of course, most players will
realize the dangerous nature of
negotiating with the Sisters of
Barrowdell, and sooner rather
than later they will probably begin
a fight.
Breaking the circle

Assuming she accompanied
them, Maggie Mudnuzzle hangs
back when the players confront
the coven, watching for the best
time to reveal herself.
25 Wild OneShots
Annis Hag Large Fae
When three Hags from a Coven (MM176) they HP 75 AC 17 Move: 40’
share an additional pool of spells, spell attack+7 Per: 16 Init: 12 Darkvision 60ft
DC15 Attacks: Multiattack(3) Bite+8 (3d6+5 pi)
Lvl 1(x4) identify, ray of sickness Claw+8 (3d6+5 sl)
Lvl 2(x3) hold person, locate object Crushing Hug+8 (9d6+5 bl) & Grapple
DC15 while grappled, creatures take (9d6+5 bl)
Lvl 3(x3) bestow curse, counterspell, lightning bolt at the start of hag’s turn, hag cannot make other
Lvl 4(x3) phantasmal killer, polymorph attacks.
Lvl 5(x2)contact other plane, scrying Save Constitution+5
Lvl 6(x1)eyebite Skills Deception+5, Perception+5
Resist cold, blunt slash & pierce from non-
Night Hag Medium Fae magic weapons
Innate Spellcasting+5 (DC13)
HP 112 AC 17 Move: 30’
3/Day each: Disguise Self(including medium
Per: 16 Init: 12 Darkvision 120ft humanoid), Fog cloud
Attacks: Claws+6 (2d8+4 sl)
Skills Deception+7, Insight+6, Perception+6, Green Hag Medium Fae
Stealth+6
HP 82 AC 17 Move: 30’
Resist cold, fire, blunt slash & pierce from Per: 14 Init: 11 Darkvision 60ft
nonsilver nonmagic weapons Attacks: Claws+6 (2d8+4 sl)
Magic Resistance advantage on saves vs spells Skills Arcana+3, Deception+4, Stealth+3
Change Shape, Etherealness, Nightmare Mimicry, Amphibious, Illusory Appear-
Haunting 1/day ance, Invisible Passage
Innate Spellcasting+5 (DC13) Innate Spellcasting (DC12)
At Will: Detect Magic, Magic Missile At will: dancing lights, minor Illusion, vicious
mockery
2/Day each: Plane Shift (self only), Ray of
Enfeeblement, Sleep Scaling
The listings for the creatures involved in the en-
The Reward counter are: Sea Hag(Coven CR4)(MM179) Green
Hag (covenCR5) (MM177) Night Hag (coven CR7)
Depending on the nature of your campaign, you
(MM178) Annis Hag CR6 (VGM159)
should award at least 1500xp for freeing any captives
or any other roleplay goals you set, plus a maximum Version 1- 1 Green Hag(coven) 2 Sea Hag(coven)
8800xp combat reward. 1 Annis Hag 12600xp encounter 6300xp award
The Hags have an extensive treasure pile in their Version 2- 2 Green Hag(coven) 1 night Hag(co-
hut including the following, but feel free to replace ven) 1 Annis Hag 17600xp encounter 8800xp award
some with exotic or arcane items to make things Version 3- 2 Green Hag(coven) 1 night Hag(co-
more interesting. - 200 cp, 73 sp, 280 gp, 40 pp, ven) 1green hag 1 Annis Hag 21200xp encounter
Shortsword+1, 2 lvl1 scrolls, Ornate Bronze crown 10600xp award
(250gp,) Gold bird cage with electrum filigree
(250gp)
Version 1 Hard Med Med Med
As always, you can scale this reward to better fit
Version 2 Hard Hard Hard Hard
your campaign wealth level.
Version 3 Deadly Deadly Hard Hard
26 Wild OneShots
• Travelling- suddenly a giant boulder crashes to
the ground near the PCs. It seems to have come
Mountain Encounter: from up that hillside...
• Looking for Work- A nearby town has ordered
A Giant Squabble several sculptures for the town square, and send the
PCs to pick them up from the giants that are carving
About the Encounter them.
Two giants who aren’t being very good neighbors

pose a risk to anyone traveling nearby The Encounter
For 4 level 16 characters The trouble with Vorvag and Ovbog
Setting: Hills or Mountains Although a pair of raving, boulder throwing giants
Play time estimate: 90 mins is an obvious target for ‘let’s go smite that’ you
should at least hint to the PC’s that stone giants are
generally peaceful and rarely known to be of the evil
persuasion. The party is walking into a simple neigh-
Background borly squabble, albeit on a dangerously grand scale,
Vorvag and Ovbog have been neighbors for de- and the pair of giants are willing and almost eager
cades, but now the otherwise pleasant and peaceful for a peaceful solution. This can be hinted at by
giants have gotten into a dispute over their herds what the squabbling neighbors are shouting about.
and the feud has devolved to the ‘throwing giant The two giants live in caves on opposite sides of
boulders at the other guy at all hours’ stage, which a small valley that formed just above the treeline
can be hazardous to the local population (not to high up in the mountains. The path leading there
mention the landscaping.) is cleared and leveled enough that it can easily be
It’s an old story really, one neighbor has a herd of walked up, even hauling carts. The valley itself is a
grassy field several hundred feet across, strewn with
rams and the other has a herd of boar. Given that
large rocks and gently sloping up towards the north
stone giants have a fairly communal view of per-
where it narrows and meets the mountains.
sonal property and freedom, the animals have never
been penned and the specific details of who owns (1) The Fields Ovbog maintains several large veg-
what have been muddy for decades. etable patches (large patches, the vegetables aren’t
Two weeks ago, one of the rams went missing, particularly giant.) and there are crates filled with
prompting Ovbog assume that his neighbor had produce with a normal-sized plow stacked against it.
butchered it and greedily kept all of the meal for The fields themselves have large rut holes in them,
himself. In turn, he took one of Vorvag’s boars ad which a boar is climbing out of when the PC’s ap-
roasted it up for his own dinner, making sure that proach.
the scent of the meal drifted all across the valley. (2) The Ram Grove The Giants’ herd of rams
Since then both of the giants have been pas- lives primarily around a small copse of trees. Some-
sive-aggressively escalating the sudden feud, until one has begun building a stone wall on one side of
today when the simmering tensions exploded into the trees, but it only runs several feet and then trails
shouting and boulder-hurling. off into a pile of unfinished stone. The rams wear
cowbells, but they are wandering all around the val-
ley grazing. Several trees have been cut and stacked
Getting the PC’s involved nearby as lumber and firewood.
• Good PCs- A giant goat is eating a local farm- (3) The Boar Run The herd of boars live in the
er’s crops, it wears a collar with “Goat of Ovbog” rocky north end of the valley, which given the large
scratched crudely on it. boulders and temperamental pigs can be a dangerous
27 Wild OneShots
place to walk if you are not a giant. When any PC tools are out where the giant has been at work build-
enters, roll 1d6, and on a 1 one of the boars decides ing another tanning frame
to charge them, attempting to knock them down The rear of the cave holds a massive bed as well
then wandering off as if nothing happened. as a giant, empty loom and a stone spinning wheel,
The boars all have rope collars, one of which has but the wheel itself is cracked and piles of unspun
a dented cowbell hanging from it. More damaged wool are everywhere. A huge wool dog collar with
metal bells can be found scattered on the ground. “Wilpur” embroidered on it lays on the bed.
(4) Ovbog’s Cave Negotiations
In the eastern wall of the valley is a cave one giant Each giant wants several things from his neighbor,
cared out long ago and furnished into a comfortable and has clues to this in/about their caves, and they
dwelling. Quarried stone blocks and half carved stat- will settle down if offered two. Assuming the players
ues are organized outside of the cave entrance, along decide to intervene in the squabble, there are clues
with a pile of huge pig bones. to what the giants want scattered around the valley
The main cave is dominated by a table and two and in their caves. The players can spend as much
massive wooden chairs, one of which leans from a time as they like exploring, talking with the giants,
broken leg. The walls have alcove shelving built into and running back and forth to propose a compro-
them holding a variety of stoneworking tools, and mise while the two yell back and forth.
strangely enough a crate of cowbells. A leather ma- Vorvag wants:
son’s apron hangs from a hook by the entrance, giant
• Two barrels of vegetables to cook
sized but so tattered it is held together with woolen
rope. • A new stone wheel for spinning
• Cowbells for the boar herd
(5) Vorvag’s Cave
• An apology for butchering a boar (“Wilpur”)
In the west valley wall is another cave, interior of
the cave holds a massive firepit with a great bubbling Ovbog wants:
cauldron which seems to have an incredibly bland • A new leather sculptor’s apron
broth in it. The room boar skulls decorating the • A new or repaired wooden chair
walls, and has several 10ft wide tanning frames with • A fence to pen in the rams
pig leather stretching on them. Giant woodworking • The boars to stay out of the fields (which cow-
bells will help)
The players can choose to leave
at any time of course, but they will
miss out on any reward, and leave
angry giants threatening the coun-
tryside.
The giants will continue to hurl
insults across the valley (and occa-
sionally a boulder, intentionally not
aiming at anyone.) If the players
approach them each will calm down
almost instantly, greet the visitors,
and begin to gripe about their life
and their neighbor. The giants can
be magically calmed or persuaded,
but they will obviously keep their
grudges unless their needs are met.
28 Wild OneShots
Vorvag talks about: GIant Goat Large Beast
• how greedy Ovbog is, having gobbled up his HP 19 AC 11 Move: 40’
favorite piggie
Per: 11 Init: 10
• his work keeps backing up
Attacks: Ram+5 (2d4+3 bl)
• the boars keep wandering into the mountains
Charge If goat moves at least 20 feet straight
• he can’t even cook a meal other than pig
toward a target, it deals extra 2d4 bl & str DC13
Ovbog talks about: vs prone
• Vorvag being a lazy neighbor who can’t even Sure Footed Adv. on Str and Dex vs Prone
finish a wall he started.
• he can’t entertain guests lately
GIant Boar Large Beast
• animals running all around the valley ruining things
HP 42 AC 12 Move: 40’
• no one make giant clothes in these parts
Per: 8 Init: 10
Neither giant will come out and say what they
Attacks: Tusk+5 (2d6+3 sl)
want, insisting “a good neighbor should offer a gift
Charge If boar moves at least 20 feet straight
as an apology.” If a player suggests a good gift for toward a target, it deals extra 2d6 sl & str DC13
the other, or some way that giant should “mend vs prone
fences” they will readily agree to do so, as long as it Relentless: 1/short rest, if boar takes 10 or
is reciprocated. less damage that reduces it to 0hp, it drops to
Once they are promised two gifts they are looking 1hp instead.
for, they will announce, “It is enough! Go tell that
other windbag.” Once both are satisfied the giants Stone Giant Huge Giant
will reconcile, Vorvag will cook a big pot of stew,
HP 126 AC 17 Move: 40’
and they will invite the players to dine with them at
Per: 14 Init: 12 Darkvision 60’
Ovbog’s and act as if nothing has happened.
Attacks: Multiattack(2), Greatclub+9 15ft
If the players decide to attack the rowdy giants (3d8+6 blunt) Rock+9 60/240ft (4d10+6 bl) &
from the start, if they attack the charging boars, or str DC17 vs prone
generally start a fight, all the denizens of the valley
Saves: Dex+5, Con+8, Wis+4
will turn on them. It will doubtless turn into a need-
Skills Athletics+12, Perception+4
less slaughter of peaceful giants and hyper-agres-
sive livestock as the players murder-hobo their way Stone Camoflauge, Rock Catching Dex
DC10 to catch object thrown at giant
through life.
The listings for the creatures involved in the en-
The Reward counter are: Stone Giant CR7 (MM156) Giant Boar
CR2 (MM323) Giant Goat CR1/2 (mm326)
The PC’s should be awarded a full 9100xp award
if they find a peaceful resolution of the giant’s Version 1: 2 Stone Giants, 3 Giant Boars, 5 Giant
squabble, and possibly a 2000xp bonus for a creative Goats: 19125xp encounter 7650xp award
role-playing solution. Version 2: 2 Stone Giants, 6 Giant Boars, 6 Giant
If the giants are killed, in Vorvag’s cave is 30 gp, Goats: 27300xp encounter 9100xp award
2x 50gp Onyx gems, in Ovbog’s is 140 sp, 20 gp, 1x Version 3: 3 Stone Giants, 6 Giant Boars, 6 Giant
50gp bloodstone. Goats: 36,000xp encounter 12000xp award
Scaling encounter Lvl 15 Lvl 16 Lvl 17 Lvl 18
To scale down, the herds are smaller. To scale up Version 1 Hard Med Med Easy
the encounter, there is a 3rd giant trying to mediate Version 2 Deadly Hard Hard Hard
the dispute. Version 3 Deadly Deadly Hard Hard
29 Wild OneShots
and unburied.
The crows feasted. The beetles and worms feasted.
And then the plants began to feast - the sheer vol-
Wilderness Encounter: ume of the putrefaction and death attracting the at-
tention of some of the nastiest scavengers possible
The Carrion Field - Corpse Flowers and Shambling Mounds.
About the Encounter Getting the PCs Involved

In the wake of a recent battle some incredibly dan- •Good PCs- A noble’s widow wants someone
gerous scavengers have moved in to clean up to recover the family signet from her husband
For 4 characters at level 17 who fell in the great battle
Setting: Any wilderness
•Traveling- the PC’s see a massive flock of carrion
Play time estimate: 60 minutes birds is circling over a nearby hill.
•Wealth Seeking- A local merchant is paying
Background scavengers to bring arms and scrap metal from the

nearby battlefield, although he will admit that not
Several months ago a legion of hobgoblins came everyone he sends actually comes back.
over Peymen’s Gap and into the foothills east of the •Cleric PC- A message from their patron deity in-
Zenealian Baronies. The horde gathered strength sists that the abandoned dead of the battlefield be
from the giantkin and goblinoids that live hidden in put to rest properly, and the field be consecrated.
the borderlands, and a call rang out through the bar-
onies to all true Knights of Zeneal to take up arms
protect the land.
The rest was as predictable as the steps of a
dance - one that has been going on for centuries -
and after weeks of stalling and maneuvering the two
armies finally came together when the demihuman
host occupied a hill 40 miles east of Larcbost. The
battle lasted most of two days, and was a mutual
massacre. The knight-barons of Zeneal hadn’t seen
a real battle in two generations, and their untested
leadership splintered against the iron fist of the
hobgoblin warlord Movlod’s forces. As the hope
of humanity routed leaving half of their number
dead on the hillside, the Grand Master of the Eagle
Knights and his elite guard punched straight up the
hill and decimated the hobgoblin command taking
the head off both Movlod and his entire army. The
routed human forces fled to their home territory in
panic. The leaderless giants and goblinkin immedi-
ately began squabbling and drifted back towards the
mountains.
And the battlefield was abandoned by both sides,
leaving thousands of dead from both sides untended
30 Wild OneShots
The Encounter When plants attack!
The camp remnants and piles of bodies all around
The Battlefield the field make spotting irregularities especially
Whether the players ask locals about the location difficult, especially when they seem to be inanimate
of the battlefield or they stumble across it while objects. Hence the corpse flowers (A) and sham-
traveling, the site of the recent battle is impossible bling mounds (B) are biding their time concealed by
to miss. Huge numbers of carrion birds and the the dead (DC22 Wis perception to spot.) All of the
overwhelming stench of decay make the location monstrous plants are ambush predators with blind-
obvious once the party gets within a few miles of sight, and so are aware of exactly where the living
the site. are unless they are magically concealed. Until they
reveal themselves they will attempt to take ready
actions to ambush PCs that pass near them or who
“As you top a shallow rise a hellish scene lays ahead of engage with another target.
you. The dead of two great armies lay all around, food for The exception to this is the corpse flower in the
thousands of vultures and crows which are the only living command tent which will remain motionless, lying in
things you see. The dead have been rotting here for weeks, wait for a living humanoid to approach. As soon as
and the stench of decay is overwhelming. The scavengers cry a player ends their turn within its range of 30ft (20ft
and take to wing in reaction to other living things inter- move plus 10ft reach) the creature will spring into
rupting their feast. action with a surprise attack.
As you go deeper into this charnel field, scattered bodies Unless they have somehow spotted the well-hidden
of humans and goblinoids turn into veritable piles where plants or have magical protection such as a weapon of
the battle lines met on the shallow slopes of a low hill. warning, the players should lose a round to surprise
The remains of wooden pickets outline a rough military (review surprise rules on phb189) and once the trap
camp on the hill, with tents and supplies of one army lay is sprung by ANY predator, they will all jump into
suddenly abandoned on the field. A massive command the fray.
tent rises skeletally from the crown of the hill, as most of Other than their ambush tactics, the scavengers on
it’s canvas has been ripped to tatters by the battle and the the battlefiield are largely uncoordinated and will act
elements.” independantly to overwhelm individual PCs through
their own tactics. In addition to attacking, the corpse
flowers will begin pumping out distracting zombies,
On the field itself corpses litter the landscape over and the shambling mounds will try to engulf weaker
a full square mile surrounding a 30ft tall hill where targets.
the hobgoblin army centered their line, and where
the command tent still stands. Though many animal Do keep in mind that, since there are bodies as
scavengers and a few intelligent ones have had their far as the eye can see, the corpse flowers can (and
run of the field for weeks, no organized effort to will) Harvest the Dead every turn (using 1 of their 3
deal with the dead has been made and most bodies attacks) and then either ressurect a zombie or heal
still lay where they fell. themselves as a bonus action, which means the bat-
tlefield can very quickly become overrun by undead.
The players can wander freely around and search
the battlefield undisturbed by anything other than Your PCs should be high enough level that this
angry crows, finding mostly deteriorated equip- will be a quick and dirty fight. The killer plants
ment and rotting bodies. Even though it is a large will either surprise and overwhelm targets from the
area to explore, be careful to establish the positions beginning, or they will be overmatched in a few
and actions of your players because when anyone rounds, even with engulf and zombies keeping play-
approached the command tent, they will trigger an ers occupied and outnumbered.
ambush.
31 Wild OneShots
Shambling Mound Large Plant
The Reward
HP 136 AC 15 Move: 20’ Swim 20’ Aside from any story or roleplaying xp award for
Per: 10 Init: 9 Blindsight 60’ accomplishing specific tasks, the combat award of
Attacks: Multiattack(2) Slam+7 (2d8+4) & 13200xp should be the only way to gain experience.
DC14 grapple if medium or smaller Note that any zombies that are resurrected in the
Engulf when grappling, the target is en- course of the fight should yield additional xp.
gulfed. Target is blind, restrained, and unable It would take a week to search and sort through
to breathe. At the start of Mound’s turn target the thousands of dead, and though exposure to the
must save Con DC14 vs 2d8+4 bl. Can only elements are quickly decaying most of the combat-
engulf one creature, if the mound moves the ants’ arms and armor, They should be able to find
creature moves with it. any sort of standard gear somewhere on the field.
Resist cold, fire With time and mules or wagons, PC’s could collect
scrap metal and low quality arms and sell them for
Immune lightning, blind, deaf, exhausted
1gp per 5 lbs of hauling weight (up to 2000lbs, or
Lightning Absorption healed by lightning dmg whatever is appropriate for your game)
A discerning search (investigation check DC14)
Corpse Flower Large Plant should take about an hour to reveal the most valu-
HP 127 AC 12 Move: 20’ Climb 20’ able caches of coins and valuables - including
Per: 2 Init: 12 Blindsight 60’ 590 sp, 340 gp, 55 pp, weapon +1, Elemental gem,
Attacks: Multiattack(3) Tentacle+5 10ft Bag of holding, 1 Citrine(50gp), 2 jewelry items (50
(2d6+2 bl) & Con DC14 vs (2d6 poison) Gp), 2 rings (150gp)
Harvest the Dead corpse flower grabs a dead
humanoid within 10 feet and stuffs it into itself
to be used with the corpses trait. Scaling
Corpses contains 1d6+3 corpses (up to 9) The listings for the creatures involved in
Corpse flower can use a bonus to either 1) the encounter are: Shambling Mound CR5
digest a body and gain 2d10HP or 2) animate (mm270) Corpse Flower CR8 (mtf127) Zombie
a body into a zombie (mm316) which appears CR1/4(mm316)
within 5ft and is an ally. Version 1: 1 Shambling Mounds, 2 Corpse Flowers
Stench of Death Each Creature starting a 19200xp encounter 9600xp award
turn within 10ft save Con DC14 vs incapaci- Version 2: 3 Shambling Mounds, 2 Corpse Flow-
tated until end of turn by poison. On a success ers 26400xp encounter 13200xp award
creature is immune for 24 hours. Version 3: 2 Shambling Mounds, 3 Corpse Flow-
ers 30600xp encounter 15300xp award
Zombie Medium Undead
HP 22 AC 8 Move: 20’ Version 1 Hard Med Med Easy
Per: 8 Init: 8 Darkvision 60’ Version 2 Hard Hard Hard Med
Attacks: Slam+3 (1d6+1 blunt)
Version 3 Deadly Hard Hard Hard
Undead Fortitude if reduced to 0 hp, takes
a con save DC5+dmg to drop to 1hp instead.
Radiant damage or critical hits cancel this save.
32 Wild OneShots
OPEN GAME LICENSE VERSION 1.0A
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity,
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15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game
Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Con-
tent may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must System Reference Document 5.0 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast,
affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney
may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell,
the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary
Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Open Game Content distributed using this License.
Wild One Shots Copyright 2019, Brassman Foundry
3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Con-
tent You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
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6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the ty (see above), the game mechanics of this Brassman Adventure Club
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33 Wild OneShots
AC002
May 2019: DM Tools - Wild One-Shots
What’s in the book?!

Maybe your players just wandered down a side road you didn’t expect. May-
be you’re looking for content for a quick 2 hour adventure. Maybe you just
want to find some plot hooks for the campaign you’re writing.
Well, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve created this DM Tools book so
any busy Dungeon Master can pull it off the shelf and jump straight into ad-
venturing without all the research and prep time. We know how long it takes
to create good stories, so we have done all the hard work for you.
Inside Wild One-Shots you will find 10 encounters designed for parties of all
levels to have instantly playable adventures for D&D 5e Games. Each write-
up has a thorough backstory, and we’ve included a mix of roleplay and prob-
lem solving scenarios alongside with the more traditional fights.
These encounters are all written for a wilderness or rural setting, because
even though we all meet up in the local tavern the real adventure happens on
the road!
Brassman Foundry
info@brassmanfoundry.com
www.brassmanfoundry.com
@brassmanfoundry
34 Wild OneShots
Encounter: The Sky Stone
Enemies
for 4 level 2 characters A band of warriors from a remote
tribe have wandered far from home 4x Tribal Warriors CR⅛ (25 XP)
Hard - awards 300XP
in search of a sacred relic, and they HP 11 AC 12 Mv: 30’
Notes: Wilderness, Humans
won’t let anyone interfere. Spear+3 (4 pi)
Details: Wild One-Shots (pg 4)
Pack Tactics
HP:
Map Notes
The crater descends fairly smoothly
2x Scouts CR½ (100 XP)
to 30ft at the deepest.
HP 16 AC 13 Mv: 30’
In an 30’ area around the crater the
Multiattack(2), Shortsword+4 (5 pi),
ground has been torn up to create Longbow+4 (6 pi)
difficult terrain (half movement.)
HP:
The trees and underbrush provide light
obscurement and ½ Cover (+2 AC.)
The Tribal warriors fan out in the
crater, the scouts are concealed as indi-
cated in the treeline.
A meteorite lies in the center of
the crater.
Encounter: The Magical Spring of Hauttfer Enemies

4x Skeletons CR¼ (50 XP)
for 4 level 4 characters A ‘magical spring’ in the wilderness
draws in fortune seekers and travel- HP 13 AC 13 Mv: 30’
Hard - awards 600XP
ers only to offer them the curse of Shortsword+4 (5 pi), Bow+4 (5 pi)
Notes: Forest, Undead undeath.
Details: Wild One-Shots (pg 7) HP:
Map Notes
There are several corpses around, 3x Warhorse Skeletons CR½ (100XP)
and so the ones that have become HP 22 AC 13 Mv: 60’
undead are not readily apparent, Hooves+6 (11 bl)
until a character gets close enough
to draw their attention, possibly HP:
leading to a surprise round.
A cursed emerald is the source
of the undead, contaminating 2x Zombies CR¼ (50 XP)
the water of the spring where it is HP 22 AC 8 Mv: 20’
easily noticeable.
Slam+3 (4 bl)
Undead Fortitude
HP:
Encounter: Through the night gate
Enemies
for 4 level 5 characters Minions of a Faerie Lord guard
a gate to the depths of the feywild, 2x Darklings CR½ (100 XP)
Hard - awards 1700XP
and are determined to challenge HP 13 AC 14 Mv: 40’
Notes: Wilderness, Fae, Planar Gate
anyone seeking it. Dagger+5 thrown 20/60ft (5 pi) if at
advantage add (7 pi)
Death Flash
Map Notes HP:
The darklings and one displacer
beast hide in nearby trees (DC19 to
spot) and will wait to join and back 2x Displacer Beasts CR3 (700 XP)
up the obvious beast if a fight breaks HP 85 AC 13 Mv: 30’
out.
Multiattack(2), Tentacle+6 (7 bl) plus
The trees and underbrush provide (3 pi)
light obscurement and ½ Cover (+2 HP:
AC.)
A gate to the feywild lies open
behind a stone glyph, and anyone
walking clockwise around it will pass
through.
Encounter: Rampage on Bleakburn fen

Enemies
Encounter: The Toad Temple 12x Giant toads CR1 (200 XP)
for 4 level 9 characters A mysterious temple stands by the HP 39 AC 11 Mv: 20’ swim 40’
Hard - awards 2400XP river, dedicated to some forgotten Bite+4 (7 pi) and (5 poison) plus grap-
Notes: River, Beasts, Toads batrachian god, and the giant toads ple DC13, Swallow
inside don’t like company.
Map Notes
Toads hide in the pool (2) and in mud burrows
(4) so that the temple seems mostly empty when
first entered. They will be attracted to any noises or
disturbances in the temple.
The mud and slime all around the pool makes
10ft around the water difficult terrain.
Stone doors without locking mechanisms protect
an inner shrine (3) where decorations and other
valuables are stored.
2x Green Hag CR5 (1800 XP)

Encounter: The new Sister HP 82 AC 17 Mv: 30’
Claws+6 (13 sl)
for 4 level 13 characters Three hags form a coven and stand
Spellcasting (DC12)
Hard - awards 8800XP at the cauldron, the fourth (Annis At will: dancing lights, minor Illusion,
Notes: Mountain, Hags Hag) is disguised and remains on the vicious mockery
path down the mountain, waiting to HP:
turn the tables.
Two young children are captive 1x Night Hag CR7 (2900XP)
Map Notes in a pen near the mountain face. HP 112 AC 17 Mv: 30’
It is possible to climb up the cliff face Claws+6 (13 sl)
from the east, but there is a 200’ climb to
Map Notes
Magic Resistance, Spells+5 DC13
reach this plateau (or fall back down it) spell attack+7 DC15 At Will: Detect Magic, Magic Missile
Lvl 1(x4) identify, ray of sickness 2/Day ea: Plane Shift, Ray of Enfeeblement, Sleep
While in a coven, 3 hags share:
Lvl 2(x3) hold person, locate object HP:
spells+7 DC15
Lvl
Lvl3(x3)
1(x4)bestow
identify,curse,
ray ofcounterspell,
sickness 1x Annis Hag CR6 (2300 XP)
lightning bolt HP 75 AC 17 Mv: 40’
Lvl 2(x3) hold person, locate object
Lvl
Lvl4(x3)
3(x3)phantasmal killer, poly-
bestow curse, counterspell, light- Multiattack(3), Bite+8 (15 pi), Claw+8
morph
ning bolt (15 sl), Crushing Hug+8 (36 bl) and
grapple DC15
Lvl5(x2)contact
Lvl 4(x3) phantasmal
otherkiller,
plane,polymorph
scry- Spells+5 DC13
ing Lvl 5(x2)contact other plane, scrying 3/Day each: Disguise Self, Fog cloud
Lvl6(x1)eyebite
Lvl 6(x1)eyebite HP:
Enemies
Encounter: A Giant Squabble 6x Giant Goats CR½ (100 XP)
for 4 level 16 characters Two giants are having an argument
HP 19 AC 11 Mv: 40’
Hard - awards 9100XP in the valley where they live along
Ram+5 (8 bl), Charge - add (5 bl) and
Notes: Giants, Beasts, Mountains with their livestock. Their shouting str DC13 vs knockdown
and rock hurling is a hazard to all
travelers.
There are boulders readily available goats from their field (2) along with
everywhere for giants to throw. the giants themselves, who will band 6x Giant Boars CR2 (450XP)
Any hostile action will draw the together to drive off threats.
HP 42 AC 12 Mv: 40’
boars from their runs (3) and the
Tusk+5 (10 sl), Charge - add (7 sl) and
str DC13 vs knockdown
HP:
2x Stone Giants CR7 (2900 XP)

HP 126 AC 17 Mv: 40’
Multiattack(2), Greatclub+9 (19 bl),
Rock Throw+9 (28 bl) and Str DC17
vs prone
HP:
Enemies
Encounter: The Carrion Field 2x Shambling Mound CR5(1800 XP)
for 4 level 17 characters On the site of a recent battle, HP 136 AC 15 Mv: 20’
Hard - awards 13200XP deadly scavengers have set up to prey Multiattack(2), Slam+7 (13 bl), if both
on anyone who comes to investigate hit the target is grappled (DC14) and
Notes: Battlefield, Ambush, Plants or loot the dead. engulfed(each turn/con DC14 vs13 bl)
2x Corpse Flower CR8 (3900 XP)

HP 127 AC 12 Mv: 20’ climb 20’
Map Notes Multiattack(3), Tentacle+5 (9 bl) and
The battlefield is dominated by con DC14 vs (14 poison)
piles of bodies, which provide cover Harvest the Dead
and camouflage for the monster Stench of Death - creatures starting
plants that are scavenging the field. within 10’ save con DC14 vs incap
until end of turn
A corpse flower (A) will attack Corpses - bonus action, animate zom-
anyone who enters the tattered bie or heal 11hp
command tent. The other corpse HP:
flower and shambling mounds (B)
will follow up during the surprise
Zombies CR¼ (50 XP)
round.
HP 22 AC 8 Mv: 20’
Slam+3 (4 bl)
Undead Fortitude

Brassmans Adventure Club - Wild Oneshots

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1 Wild OneShots

Wilderness Plots and encounter tables

Background water of the spring to heal his dying daughter, and

Displacer Beast Large Monstrosity

Wilderness Encounter: Luckily Salmia is the type of person who knows

Background world that someone in Retima is paying handsomely

Scout Medium Humanoid encounter Lvl 6 Lvl 7 Lvl 8 Lvl 9

Wilderness Encounter: • Retrieval- the wife of one of the local fisher-

These tunnels are strewn with refuse and bones,

The Encounter (2d6+4 bl)

The Reward Background

Breaking the circle

Two giants who aren’t being very good neighbors

About the Encounter Getting the PCs Involved

Background scavengers to bring arms and scrap metal from the

May 2019: DM Tools - Wild One-Shots

What’s in the book?!

Encounter: The Magical Spring of Hauttfer Enemies

Encounter: Rampage on Bleakburn fen

2x Green Hag CR5 (1800 XP)

2x Stone Giants CR7 (2900 XP)

2x Corpse Flower CR8 (3900 XP)

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