Triangular Bandit: A Moominvalley Campaign

Estimated Time To Complete: ~2-3 hr

Introduction
You're taking a stroll along the winding mountain path. You can hear the echo of a harmonica
against the barren cliffs, a friendly tune that puts you in a good mood. Then you reach the
Observatory, and there you see chaos, the Professors running around like headless hens.

Encounter #1 - Calming the Professors (Location: the Observatory, Estimated time:

The Professors are in a tizzy, to say the least. They're very upset, and some are even crying.
First of all, the players need to calm them down. They can do so in various ways, such as
talking calmly, humming, or talking about science (be it real or fake), but the sound of
harmonica music will upset the professors even more. The players need to roll a DC 10
check of the DM’s choice to calm them down, one at a time. There are five Professors there
are the moment.

(BREAK: You sit and just breathe for a while, encouraging the sceptical professors to
do the same.)

---

Encounter #2 - Questioning the Professors (Location: the Observatory, Estimated

With a DC 5 Persuasion check the Professors are easily convinced to tell the players what's
wrong, and they lead the players inside the Observatory. There, the players discover that it's
empty; all their stuff has vanished. It literally wandered out the door, the Professors can tell
them. It was a triangular man, who sat down on a chair and played a tune on his harmonica,
and suddenly, as if by magic (which is silly, some professors say; it has to be some new
science!) the furniture danced out of the Observatory after the triangular man. Perhaps the
players guess that the harmonica they heard earlier was this triangular man's playing,
perhaps they don't. Either way, the professors need their equipment back soon, because
tomorrow night they are expecting a star-shower and it would be a disaster to miss it.

(BREAK: The professors are able to give you some tea. The taste is very weak and it
gives you the determination you need to help the professors.)

---

Encounter #3 - Track the Triangular Man (Location: Varies, Estimated time: 20-30
minutes, Success Threshold: 5-15)

The triangular man stole a fair bit of furniture from the Professors. Not just from the
Observatory chamber itself, but from their kitchen and bedroom. What he needs all that stuff
for is a mystery.
The Mountain: The mountain path is hard, with tracks being difficult to find. On a DC 15
Perception check a character can spot the tracks and follow them down the mountain. If the
party doesn't spot any tracks but decide to head to the other mountain top, they can ask the
hobgoblin if he's seen anything. On a DC 10 Persuasion check he tells them that while he
hasn't seen any wandering furniture, he does know a triangular hobgoblin that he can
assume is the culprit. On a DC 15 Persuasion check he can tell the party that the other
hobgoblin is slippery, and would rather block everything out than deal with confrontation.

The Meadow: The tracks steer the players toward the meadow. The meadow is fairly easy to
find tracks from furniture at. With a DC 10 Perception check, the players can find trampled
flowers trying to straighten themselves up. There are also indentations in the river banks
where furniture has leapt across the water. On a DC 15 Perception check, the players can
find a lost cushion caught against a rock in the water.

The Forest: The forest is the easiest place to find tracks at, and a DC 5 Perception check
allows the players to find the tracks from the furniture, where particularly bulky things have
snapped branches, pulled up roots, and disrupted the underbrush. On a DC 10, they also
discover a fair amount of ruffled creatures that live in the forest, like pixies and animals.
These creatures are easily irritated, and are very guarded toward humanoid player
characters in particular. The tracks lead toward the beach. If the players fail the perception
check, they can be guided there by the wildlife.

(BREAK: It's starting to get late, and you can see a few stars through the trees'
crowns.)

---

Encounter #4 - Location Discovery (Location: The Beach/Moominhouse, Estimated

When the players reach the beach, they find an upset Sniff. He's very distraught, but after
calming him down with a DC 10 Persuasion check, he tells them that a stranger has moved
into his cave, with furniture and everything. The best thing to do is bring Sniff to the
Moominfamily, where he can be taken care of while the players deal with the situation.
Besides, it's late, and he should probably just sleep for a while.

(BREAK: Moominmamma convinces you to stay the night and make up a space for
you to rest. If you have taken any damage, you heal up completely.)

---

Encounter #5 - Staking out (Location: The Beach, Estimated time: 5-10 minutes,
Success Threshold: 10)

After breakfast, it's time to pick the mission back up. The players can decide if they want to
convince Moominpappa not to come with his shotgun, or if they'll let him come along. Once
they reach the beach, they find that someone has indeed moved into the cave. And the
furniture from the Observatory can be found there, occasionally dancing to the tune of the
triangular man's harmonica as he is trying to decide what goes where.

The characters need to make a DC 10 Stealth check to remain unnoticed by the triangular
hobgoblin. If noticed, skip Encounter 6 and go directly into Encounter 7.

There are several ways to deal with the situation. The players can opt to approach in a
friendly way, and try to talk with him. If so, go to Encounter 6. If they choose a more
aggressive way, go to Encounter 7.

(BREAK: You retreat a bit from the beach, to take a moment before you proceed with
your plan.)

---

Encounter #6 - Bargaining (Location: Sniff's Cave, Estimated time: 10-20 minutes,

If the party decides to approach the triangular hobgoblin in a friendly manner, they can try to
convince him to leave the cave and return the furniture to the Observatory.

On a DC 10 Persuasion they can convince the hobgoblin to tell them why he took over
Sniff's cave (he's looking for a place to live and found it to be cozy and have a lovely view)
and why he took the Professor's' furniture (he likes science and their equipment seemed a
perfect fit for him).

On a DC 15 Persuasion check they can convince the triangular hobgoblin to leave Sniff's
cave, though not to return the furniture without a solution. He'll just have to find another
place to move into, and it's better to have the furniture prepared. On a second DC 15
Persuasion check the party can convince the hobgoblin to give up the furniture. If they have
an alternative to either another place for him to move or other furniture he can use, the DC is
lowered to 10.

Move directly into either Encounter 7, if convincing the hobgoblin fails, and into Encounter 8
if it succeeds.

---

Encounter #7 - Confrontation (Location: Sniff's Cave, Estimated time: 10-20 minutes,

If the triangular hobgoblin either discovers the party before they're ready or if the party
approaches aggressively, the triangular hobgoblin will throw seeds into the mouth of the
cave. This will cause a rapid growth of bamboo trees to cover it, blocking the players from
entry. Inside the cave, the hobgoblin will prepare spells that will turn anyone that breaches
the bamboo cover into small animals. The bamboo trees keep growing the more time passes
and eventually start to grow into each other if not taken care of. At first the players need to
succeed on a DC 10 Strength check to break down the bamboo, but every five minutes
in-game the DC rises by 1. The Moominhouse is 15 minutes from the cave if walking. The
DC can't exceed 20.

The characters can try to persuade the hobgoblin to leave, the same way they can in
Encounter 6, but the DC for each check is increased by 5 if they do so in this situation.

After the characters break down the bamboo, the hobgoblin throws spells at them that on a
failed DC 10 Constitution saving throw turns the character into a small animal. Tthe DM rolls
for Moominpappa if he came along; he has a Constitution Modifier of +2 for this purpose.
They can scare away the hobgoblin with a DC 10 Intimidation check if not turned to animals,
and a DC 20 if they are animals. If one or more players gets turned into an animal but some
succeed on their saving throw, the DC is 15..

(BREAK: Moominmamma brings fika for you to share, while Sniff investigates the
damage to his cave.)

---

Encounter #8 - Moving the Furniture (Location: Varies, Estimated time: 10-15 minutes,
Success Threshold: 10)

If the triangular hobgoblin isn't scared away, he can be persuaded to bring the furniture back
to the Observatory with a DC 10 Persuasion check.

If the triangular hobgoblin has been scared away, the old Valley hobgoblin can be convinced
to help out with a DC 5 Persuasion check.

The Professors are very grateful for the help, and offer the party to stay the night and watch
the star-shower with them as thanks. The DM decides how to reward experience points.

Moomin was created by Tove Jansson, Dungeons & Dragons belongs to Wizards of the
Coast. Moomins & Dragons was made by Bekah Walker (@bekahwalker101). This
mini-campaign was created by Tofi Stigandr (@toffepajja)