Keith Presents: The Silly Campaign, Volume I: A Cruel DM's Thesis

March 2024

Players. Caleb, Justin, Eric, Jax

Companion Characters. See below

Main Antagonist. Werb, Maker of Things

Starting Level. 3rd

Format

The Silly Campaign is intended to be played in a completely open-world environment in which the DM prompts events to occur and information to be divulged at various points throughout the game. The players have full autonomy over the plot, and any NPC or named character can be killed. (Or conversely, brought back to life under the right circumstances.)

In this campaign, each session section is comprised of two components. The first are Events and the other is the Players’ Chronicles. Events are new information and movements of NPCs (like the players’ enemies) and the chronicles are the general structure of how the players interacted with the world that session, recorded by the DM. For example, an event might be a goblin army making its’ way towards a town. The players’ chronicles for that session might be the methods and tactics used by the players to deal with said goblins, as well as who they interacted with and where, thus providing information of their whereabouts or motivations to other NPCs.

Riddle of the Genius Loci

Serena, princess of Vale’s Retreat, disappears shortly into Act One. No one on the planet knows where she has vanished to, and no remains or clues have been found. After a handsome reward for her safe return is commanded by the king, the world’s adventurers begin racing one another to find her, including the evil wizard Malthezide, who wishes to marry her against her will so he can become a lich.

One of the only credible leads in the game comes from Gôl, who might tell the players that he senses a deeply unsettling, unnatural lifeform somewhere on the earth that is expanding rapidly like cancer. This is Almauzaroan, a genius loci who has enthralled Serena and prevented her access to the outside world.

The loci’s true name is not known by anyone currently alive. In order for the players to willingly enter its’ territory, its’ true name must be known by them; discerning it is a major quest item, and the rewards are simply clues to help decipher what its’ name is.

The following table serves as a guide for the clues and their respective locations.

	Clue	Dungeon
1	The name begins with an A. The name contains no spaces.	Desert Tomb
2	There are four A's in total.
3	There are 5 consonants in the name.	Forest Dungeon
4	One of the consonants is Z.
5	The name ends with an N.	Water Temple
6	There are 2 other vowels in addition to the As.
7	The name is 11 characters long. There is an R.
8	There is an M.	Ice Fortress
9	The last A precedes the N.
10	There is an L.	Mountain Gauntlet
11	The L goes after the first A.
12	The M comes before the second A.
13	The R is the 8th letter.

The clues are considered esoteric knowledge. You could count on one hand the number of people in the world that might be aware of even one of these clues, so the rest of them will need to be uncovered from the five dungeons. The end result is the players becoming the first people to learn Almauzaroan’s name.

When the quest begins, the players receive a story item or other function that allows them to check whether or not they guessed the name correctly once per long rest.

Player Character Backgrounds

Abraham Forester

Aasimar Monk

The bastard of a moderately affluent noble house in the southern district of Astur's Keep near the Dragon's Thumb Forest. The family lived in a moderate keep with a massive willow tree in its’ center, which is also their symbol. Dawsy’s life at home was fairly typical for an Asturian noble, even considering his illegitimate birth from another woman his father had met before he married his adoptive mother. Dawsy was born second-before last from his three brothers and three sisters.

Just as Dawsy became an adult his family was slaughtered by Kern’s strongest- and most-feared vampire, Lord Zaruna. The vampire entered the family's keep and killed them all before waiting for Dawsy to return home. While there, he broke the young man’s hands and prepared a ritual that would transfer all of the negative side effects of his vampirism to Dawsy. The ritual required both of his eyes, which Zaruna removed, collected, and destroyed as part of the casting.

Now living with the imposed negative side effects of vampirism, such as not being able to cross running water and being vulnerable to silver, Dawsy lived as an outcast in the Land’s End region for some time.

While living in the northern Astur’s Keep area, Dawsy crossed paths with a travelling circus based out of Ecil called the Cirque Mystique. Due to his severe deformities, the circus took note of the young man and offered him a place with them. While there, Dawsy met two influential people in his story: Fantoccio Catina, a shifty, clownlike man of exceptional intelligence who studied artificing at Gleam’s magic college, and Ike Anderson, a dwarven cleric who serves the goddess Silenna. At the insistence of Ike, Dawsy took up the monastic lifestyle and pledged his service to Silenna as well, who empowered him with an array of abilities for his service. Ike taught Dawsy about Silenna’s domain of kindness, sympathy, and altruism, as well as how to fight. Fantoccio crafted a set of bronze hands for Dawsy to remedy his encounter with Zaruna.

Ancient Tablets

This is the roughly-translated full text of the vampiric tablet. Major spoiler warnings for Dawsy’s Arc below:

I. There is a tremendous evil in the world, far greater than any else so far. The influence will be responsible for an event called "the blink", which will bring about "the new beginning".

II. A vampire lord will perform a ritual to become both immortal and completely invulnerable, thus allowing them to survive the “blink”. The prospective vampire ascendant must first shed a "seventh son" of everything he has before transferring to him his vampiric weaknesses.

III. The prospective vampire ascendant now has to gather 1,000 innocents and perform a sacrifice to become stronger. However, the prospective ascendant is vulnerable until the 1,000 people have been gathered, and may only die of old age or by a fatal blow from a hallowed sword.

IV. After gathering the 1,000 innocents, the prospective vampire ascendant must consume the soul of the original seventh son. Once this concludes, the ritual is complete and cannot be undone. The ascendant is now effectively invulnerable, and can only be vanquished by the sword.

V. The hallowed sword, called the Illumina, is a weapon of perfect justice designed and created by Phage and is the prospective vampire ascendant’s greatest threat. Warriors do not seek this sword: It seeks them. It searches for its' just champion and the champion only. It stipulates the champion will be of pure heart and intention. The sword knows who the champion, the "chosen one", is.

VI. The champion is the single greatest threat to the vampire ascendant, greater even than the evil force described from part one. The champion will be fearless, immune to charms and flattery, possess the ability to cheat death, and have a wide array of magical abilities at their disposal.

VII. Should the prospective ascendant fail to amass 1,000 innocent souls or cannot consume the soul of the seventh son, then their own soul will be destroyed and all of their labors will be for nothing as they experience death. Otherwise, if they succeed, they will become strong enough to outlive "the blink".

Larry Ragosa

Grung Bard

Shy about his first name, Ragosa is a 26-year-old green grung who grew up from an extremely poor family in the slums of Ecil. He found a discarded electric piano during his childhood that he eventually extensively-modded to become a keytar.

Ragosa's family and friends scraped together every last bit of funds they had, along with help from their son's earnings performing in the streets to get him into the music school of Ecil's prestigious, world-renowned magic college. It was at this school that Ragosa met his arch-rival, a gold grung named Ribbert Rich, another pianist who specializes in classical concert piano, contrasting with Ragosa's signature keytar.

After crossing paths with Rich, Ragosa was consistently outperformed by him in virtually all aspects, including opportunities that arose after the two graduated. Rich had everything he didn’t: Money, friends, notoriety, a host of original, famous musical compositions, and, in Rich’s opinion, talent.

Now too dishonored to return home with nothing to show from his college experience, Ragosa can be found performing on the streets of Ecil for spare change or looking for odd jobs in the southern district of Astur’s Keep.

Fantoccio Catina

Clown Artificer

A clown born to some kind of immigrant family who were the owners of an airship manufacturing company. When Catina was 5, an airship he was aboard with his parents was struck by lightning, an accident from which he was the only survivor. He was taken under the wing of Marian Dorian, owner of a cheap, shady circus called Miss Dorian's Cirque Fantasia.

Dorian quickly made Catina into a slave, fashioning him into a sort of human puppet. Catina was the circus's #1 attraction until he escaped, relocating to the city of Gleam for their more-modest magic college to study artificing and performing arts in an effort to rebuild his life. During college, Catina's senior thesis was a set of magic rings that form puppet strings on another creature, allowing him to pass magical effects onto the target.

The rings were originally intended to be able to control people, but he was unable to add this functionality because of an incident during his junior year. Catina enrolled in a magical engineering class where he met one Alistair Pierce, a rather milquetoast, unassuming man who would become Catina's #1 worst enemy.

In reality, Catina is delusional and doesn't actually know why he hates Pierce so much. To this end, he fabricates details and other lies to everyone to justify his vendetta against the man. Catina’s hatred of Pierce culminated with an attempted acid bomb attack on him which backfired, disfiguring another classmate of theirs named Grayson Quigley.

Catina was tried by Gleam's highest court and was sentenced to 10 years in their dungeon. After prison, Fantoccio found work in a different circus, Ecil’s Cirque Mystique. While there, he met and became allies with Dawsy, the blind monk. Directly before the events of the Silly Campaign, both men joined forces in order to help one another exact their revenge.

Main Antagonists

Almauzaroan, Ancient Awakened Terror

A genius loci who wants to consume the entire planet, originating from the Far Country. Views humans as an inherently-flawed race and believes they are the far more substantial threat to the earth than it. After the cult kidnaps Serena during the end of Act One, the loci enthralls her and uses her as its’ mouthpiece, rapidly expanding both the cult’s embrace and the loci’s expansion rate. Almauzaroan’s name is an esoteric secret that is guarded closely by the cult to ensure it never becomes vulnerable. Even the cultists don’t know it.

If its’ name is ever discovered, it will finally become vulnerable and thus be able to reach mortality. Once the loci’s existence becomes well-known, the Oerlikon will intervene en masse, and Gôl may offer to join their forces with the players in order to stop it.

Almauzaroan feeds on souls in order to expand, and as such, frequently asks the cult for sacrifices, both internal and external. The cult’s prime directive is to keep the loci a secret, and they will risk everything against the players to maintain its’ esoteric status.

Malthezide

An evil gnome wizard who lives in the imposing tower at the center of the Forbidden Lands. At his disposal is an army of skeletons he turns on the world in search of Serena, the violet-eyed princess of Astur’s Keep. He wishes to marry her as part of his plan to become a lich.

Malthezide is not affiliated with the cult, and may even be persuaded to use his powers to help defeat the genius loci and Werb, effectively making him an ally if played correctly. In combat, he has all the powers and more of a regular lich, but he does not rejuvenate as one if he dies.

Vlaakith, the Lich-Queen

The one and only usurper of the Githyanki people’s throne, Vlaakith herself is tied to the epic fish quest proclaimed by Mersenne in order to reap the benefit for her own gain. Commanding an army of gith and dragons, she will stop at nothing to eliminate the players if they continue on the Catch ‘em All quest.

Werb, Maker of Things

Also known as ‘the guide’, Werb is a fantastically-powerful reality warper whose wide array of abilities dance on the line of omnipotence. Through an extensive web of lies and red herrings, Werb eventually reveals to the party that he created them. He asserts that their reality is not ‘real’, and is in fact a dream. During the early stages of the campaign, Werb assumes a totally different identity, posing as a tiny, male pixie who helps guide them through the world and its’ interactions.

Companion NPCs & Quest Arcs

New to Kern are recruitable companion NPCs. There are two types: Townies and Warriors. Townies generally either do not fight at all or know very rudimentary combat techniques and may be of interest to the players for their utility in tasks like cooking, piloting vehicles or ships, or gathering information, to name a few. The first towny the players are introduced to is The Guide.

Warriors have dedicated character sheets and may join the players during their travels. Each player character can control one Warrior at a time, and as the game progresses, the party has full autonomy over what level up features the warriors receive, unless otherwise specified. Alternatively, Warriors can be sent on quests of their own by the players to gather resources, more allies, or information that would otherwise not be accessible to be gathered by a Towny.

Each companion NPC has their own worldview, desires, strengths, and weaknesses, and as such, their approval (or lack thereof) of the players determines whether or not they will wish to remain with them.  

At the end of each session, the players can spend 100 Gold with the Guide to change any character’s class.

Bricks Thurgood

Human Fighter, Chaotic Good

Alongside his monkey costar Doctor Flips, Bricks is a hard-boiled, washed-up crystal ball actor and stunt performer who lives in a trailer on the northwestern outskirts of Astur’s Keep by day. By night, the duo roamed the streets of that city and Vale’s Retreat to fight criminals.

Richard Marshall Thoroughgood was born just in time for the boom of the Golden Age of Crystal Ball films. Before this, he lived in poverty in Astur’s Keep, eventually finding work as a smuggler when he reached his late teens. He worked delivering mundane stolen goods to make a small living, until he met Mister Flips, his eventual best friend. Finding their way into acting, Thoroughgood and his eventual monkey costar became icons of the industry while he took the sobriquet “Bricks Thurgood”.

The duo starred in dozens of major titles, mainly of the action genre, becoming prolific Crystal Ball actors. They appeared in such lauded films as:

The Malder, Silver Cloak: The Crusade, The Spirit of the Wild (A film about the Oerlikon), The Malder II: Re-Maldening, Grimblewimblewibblewobble (a bizarre, avant-garde gnomish film banned in five countries), The Malder pt. III: Splarpy Strikes Back, The Thingie (a movie about a shape-shifting alien creature), Alexander Astur: The Founder (a stylized, epic tale/biography of the man who founded the eponymous city), For a Few Gold Pieces More (a period film based on real anarchical events that unfolded in the land of Clank), Big Trouble in Little Ecil, and Mald (the critically-panned fourth installment in the Malder franchise that later gained a cult following).

The party can encounter Bricks as either a friend or foe. If one player spends any reasonable amount of time committing crimes in Astur’s Keep, Bricks will confront them and become hostile if they aren’t able to smooth things over with him. Otherwise, he can be encountered fishing without authorization at the Barth Fishing Settlement, trying to catch one of every sea creature. With some persuasion, he may talk about his plans with the prize. Initially, he lies, but soon laments that he wants to give it to Doctor Flips, letting the monkey decide whether to remain intelligent or not.

Likes: Doctor Flips, malt liquor, acting, cinema, the Golden Age of Crystal Ball films, vigilantism

Dislikes: Murlocke, Githyanki, Malthezide

Doctor Flips

Monkey, True Neutral

Doctor Flips is the former monkey costar of Bricks Thurgood who achieved a genius-level intellect after a Wish spell gone awry.

Initially, he used his newfound intelligence to become Bricks’ strategic advisor and artificer, providing the duo with magic contraptions, weapons, and armor in their adventures fighting crime. The people of Vale’s Retreat and Astur’s Keep revered their anonymous vigilantes as a singular entity, “the Sentinel” of their realm.

One fateful evening, the duo was particularly agitated during the week-long chase of Murlocke, an evil (albeit brilliant) sorcerer and noble of the city. The halfling had more recently embarked on an arson spree shortly after becoming the wielder of the Eye and Hand of Vecna.

Cornering Murlocke at the top of the city’s tallest building, Bricks and the monkey interrogated him before finally grappling with him. Bricks loomed over the halfling’s 2-foot-tall frame, sledgehammer pointed at the moon, and asked for the halfling’s final words. They were, "I wish you and your monkey traded intelligence.”

The spell failed, or at least partly.

The once-brilliant noble of the town and Bricks’ beloved costar blinked at once, each of them having their minds permanently altered by the spell: They traded intelligence.

Likes: Magical technology, puzzles, artificing, funny little tricks, bananas, cigarettes

Dislikes: Cages, very loud noises, bright lights, balloons, cruelty, bad deals, bad scents

Lizzie Adams

Human Warlock, True Neutral

Lizzie is a strange girl the party encounters in Aestros. Before potentially joining their adventure, she made a pact with a powerful devil that granted her Warlock powers in exchange for committing a lich-worthy act.

Attempting to live under the radar, she makes extremely limited use of her powers, but only because she is tormented both by her patron and her past.  

Her childhood was strained growing up in Lyre slowly suspecting her abusive, autocratic father was a cultist. This suspicion culminated with him attempting to sacrifice her to the Cult of the Loci when she was 17 years old.

Seeing an opportunity just before her sacrifice, the notorious devil Beel Allocen appeared to her, and offered her a proposition: Her soul in exchange for a way out of the cult’s grasp.

Accepting his deal is a dilemma that her mind constantly races about. The devil persuaded her to kill her father, granting her a magical hatchet as her pact weapon. After finding out about her father’s death, Lizzie’s mother disowned her, where she relocated to Aestros to try to live a life away from use of her powers.

During Act Two, Lizzie has some opportunities to reconcile with her mother. Later, during Act Three, Beel Allocen kidnaps her and then proposes altering her pact.  

Likes: Open-mindedness, compassion, heroic acts, protecting the weak/innocent

Dislikes: Cruelty, campiness, Beel Allocen, other devils/fiends/demons, one-sided deals

Trance of Malice. Each time Lizzie uses an action to make an attack with her hatchet or an action to cast the Eldritch Blast cantrip, she can use a bonus action to make an additional hatchet attack.

Mana Conduit. All of Lizzie's spells that deal Fire damage do an additional 1d6 Fire damage, and once per long rest, she can cast any of her Warlock spells without using a Warlock spell slot.

High-Strung (Party). While Lizzie is present, the party gains a +5 bonus to initiative rolls, and each allied creature standing within 30 feet of Lizzie is immune to being Surprised if its' source is also within 30 feet of her.

Murlocke

Halfling Sorcerer, Chaotic Evil

A dimwitted but extremely charismatic halfling known as the town fool of Astur’s Keep for roaming the city’s streets tricking innkeepers into letting him eat or sleep in their establishment for free. He has the ability to create unnaturally-realistic shadow puppets via his sorcerous powers obtained via birthright. He has tight, olive-colored skin with wiry fingers and an extremely small stature. There is no door in Astur’s Keep that will keep Murlocke out, though he hates running into Bricks Thurgood, his arch-rival.

Years in the past, Murlocke was a young, respected noble and landowner in Astur’s Keep. His parents were wealthy, upper-class halflings who still own one of the several prominent banking establishments in the world, concentrated in Astur’s Keep.

Murlocke’s fall from grace began after accidentally obtaining the Eye and Hand of Vecna from an auction in the city. The cursed artifacts began to influence him until he eventually attuned to them, wildly enhancing his sorcerous powers.

Because of the nature of the artifacts, his criminal activity began to spiral out of control. During his seventh arson spree in one week, he was forced into a corner by the city’s vigilante protectors, Bricks Thurgood and Doctor Flips. The duo tracked him down and nearly killed him. Instead of accepting his fate, Murlocke used Wish to escape the situation by trying to use it to unmake the city’s protectors.

There is considerable speculation on if the Wish succeeded or not. Murlocke teleported away in an instant as a result of the spell, but the enchantment became distorted – he and Mr. Flips had traded Intelligences.

Now with the intelligence of a monkey and two supremely-evil artifacts in the places of his extremities, Murlocke has become a homeless, town fool of Astur’s Keep. He spends his current days roaming the city’s streets by night and using his powers to trick innkeepers and restaurant owners into letting him use their services for free.

Murlocke can only be recruited if the party spares him while completing Bricks’ and Doctor Flips’ companion quests, or does not recruit the duo altogether.

Likes: All-you-can-eat buffets, stealing, innkeepers that are dumber than him, rats, money

Dislikes: His shenanigans being called out, ‘do-gooders’, people who abuse power

Vinnie Sorceil

Gnome Wizard, Neutral Good

A gnomish professor of illusions, horticulture, and rune-reading who teaches at Gleam’s magic university. His peers know him both as a gnome of class and refined tastes as well potent, lifelike illusions.

As a gnome, Vinnie knows the name of all other gnomes, including Malthezide – but he knows him on a greater basis than name alone. The two were friends during their childhood growing up in the Feywild while practicing magic.  

Vinnie and Malthezide studied together at Ecil’s prestigious university. During their first years here, the gnomes cultivated an extremely-profitable drug empire in Astur’s Keep growing and selling evil ‘vvizard ‘vveed.

By using their access to the Astral Plane via the university’s magical equipment kept on hand, the gnomes spent 1,000 years of earth-time breeding plants and cultivating the evil ‘vvizard ‘vveed. Their finished product remains the undisputed ‘king of the jungle’ in Kern, and the herb is heavily sought-after in international trading. Fakes and other imitations of the drug are also in equally-high quantity.

Returning from the Astral Plane, the two gnomes began their operation, distributing the product to all sorts of dealers throughout the city. Pulling in over 14,000 gold pieces per month, they expanded the game, which quickly involved selling to pirates and other merchantmen based out of Xantoh’s Watch others who would distribute to the western hemisphere.

Likes: Fishing, lawn care, animals, evil ‘vvizard ‘vveed, flying carpet racing, magic items, ancient history, chess, Crystal Ball programming

Dislikes: The Guide

Master of Illusions. Vinnie can use a bonus action to cast any spell of the Illusion school he knows that has a casting time of 1 action. Additionally, if another creature attempts an Intelligence (Arcana) check to determine if one of Vinnie's spells is an illusion, he can add his proficiency bonus to his spell save DC again for this check.

Squirm Sesh. Once per in-game week and not while in combat, the party can spend at least 30 minutes but up to 8 hours to smoke up at the rear and initiate a squirm sesh. Until the next long rest, any party member with spell slots can choose to cast one spell of 8th level or lower without consuming a spell slot.

Takes One to Know One (Party). While Vinnie is present, the party gains an advantage on any Intelligence (Arcana) checks that have to do with sensing magical illusions.

Windt

Snail Sorcerer, True Neutral

Windt is a huge, slimy, telekinetic snail with bulging, molten-red eyeballs on his antennae. His skin is a shade of deep purple, and he sports a full, grisly, yellow shell adorned with spikes.

The party meets Windt as a slave of Ribbert Rich during Act One. Though he is reluctant to talk to the party about his past and upbringing, during Act Two, he may reveal to them that he was created as a “by-product” of a Wish spell cast by an evil, “disturbingly-intelligent” wizard called Sextus who lived in a secluded tower off the coast of Astur’s Keep. Immediately trapping him upon his awakening, the wizard subjected him to cruel and maniacal tests involving magic and surgery, all building towards some kind of ritual.

Enduring over 3 months of torture, he began to develop mystical, psionic powers as a side effect of his constant exposure to the magic weaponized by Sextus on him. He kept those powers a secret while he crafted an escape plan.

Though he rarely did so, Windt correctly deduced that the wizard had left his tower when he realized he needed to stock up on more alchemical ingredients for his experimentation, remarking to the snail that he had “put up with a lot more than [he’d] expected.” He located a spell scroll of Teleport and used it to vanish.

One year later, having fallen into Ribbert’s control and tormented by his past, Windt is loathsome of his own existence and has sworn every fibre of his being towards getting revenge and destroying Sextus. He is currently addicted to glitter, a nondescript, powdery drug.

During Act Three or towards the end of Act Two, the party learns that Windt was actually created “by the god of magic” himself as a contingency against Sextus. The “ritual” that Windt only knows bits and pieces of was actually for Sextus to become immortal. The god of magic, wanting some sort of caveat, created Windt: For as long as Sextus lives, Windt lives. (If Windt ever dies, then Sextus doesn’t have a threat anymore.)

Windt is destined to one day kill Sextus, as he is the only thing that can.

Likes: Moisture, glitter, illicit drugs, lotion, various kinds of food

Dislikes: Sextus, dry arid climates, sobriety, salt

Battle-Hardened Shell. While not wearing armor, Windt is immune to critical hits, and his armor class is equal to 13 + his Charisma modifier.

Snail Trail. While using his walking speed, Windt can use a bonus action to leave a trail of slime behind him when and wherever he moves during combat. The trail is difficult terrain, is 5 feet wide, and covers the space he moves. The trail remains there until the start of his next turn. Any creature that enters the trail has to succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against Windt's spell save DC or fall prone.

Grouplink (Party). While Windt is present, the active party gains the effect of Rary's Telepathic Bond with an increased range of 120 feet.

Zenaida Kessler

Half-elf Fighter, Lawful Good

Zenaida has journeyed far from the Elven-dominated city of Aelene nestled in Vale’s Retreat on a mission to rescue Sasha, her younger sister, from the grasp of Zaruna, Vampire Lord. The fiend killed their parents and took the young girl, leaving behind no clues as to why she was taken or where they went.

Despite the gravity of her quest, her golden retriever-spirit and passion for making evildoers pay drives her against the face of uncertainty and impossibility, and would happily do it all for free time and time again.

Likes: Heroic acts, chivalry, protecting the weak/innocent, honesty, corny jokes, animals, lively parties, bard music

Dislikes: Cruelty, vampires, lying, bad attitudes

Steadfast Striker. The number Zenaida needs to roll to score a critical hit is reduced by 1.

Momentum of War. Any time Zenaida reduces a creature to 0 hit points during combat, she gains one extra use of her Second Wind ability until the party finishes their next long rest.

Vigilant Pursuit (Party). The party gains an additional 10 feet of walking speed when moving towards an Evil-aligned creature while Zenaida is in the party.

Dungeons

I. Desert Tomb

Expected Level. 5th (then to 6th-level upon completion)

Monster List

All Skeletons and Dwarf Skeletons are equipped with light and heavy crossbows, respectively.

Light Crossbow (Skeleton). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8+2 piercing damage.

Heavy Crossbow (Dwarf Skeleton). Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 1d10 piercing damage.

1F

• Optional (Easy – CR 2). Mimic (×1)
• Combat 1 (Easy – CR 8). Basilisk (×1), Dwarf Skeleton (×2), Gelatinous Cube (×1), Skeleton (×8)
• Combat 2 (Easy – CR 10.5). Dwarf Skeleton (×5), Giant Spider (×1), Guard Drake (×3), Skeleton (×4)
• Combat 3 (Medium – CR 13). Guard Drake (×2), Mummy (×1), Salamander (×1), Skeleton (×4)  
• Combat 4 (Very Hard – CR 19.5). Dwarf Skeleton (×1), Giant Skeleton (×1), Guard Drake (×3), Mummy (×1), Skeleton (×12)
• Combat 5 (Hard – CR 15). Dwarf Skeleton (×4), Earth Elemental Myrmidon (×1), Giant Scorpion (×2)
• Combat 6 (Very Hard – CR 20). Basilisk (×1), Gelatinous Cube (×3), Giant Scorpion (×1), Giant Spider (×2),  Medusa (×1)
• Combat 7 (Medium – CR 12). Basilisk (×2), Dwarf Skeleton (×2), Earth Elemental (×1)
• Combat 8 (Very Hard – CR 20). Air Elemental (×1), Basilisk (×1), Dwarf Skeleton (×4), Earth Elemental Myrmidon (×1), Giant Scorpion (×1)
• 1F Boss (Very Hard – 18). Cyclops (×1)

B2F

• Combat 9 (Easy – 10.5). Dwarf Skeleton (×3), Gelatinous Cube (×2), Ghost (×1), Giant Spider (×1)
• Combat 10 (Easy – 8.5). Dwarf Skeleton (×5) Ghoul (×1), Guard Drake (×2), Zombie (×4)
• Combat 11 (Very Hard – 18). Demilich (×1)
• Combat 12 (Very Hard – 20). Basilisk (×2), Centaur Mummy (×1), Dread Warrior (×4), Ogre Skeleton (×2)
• Combat 13 (Medium – ???). Gelatinous Cube (×2), Helmed Horror (×2), Minotaur Skeleton (×1), Zombie (×6)
• Boss Fight. Dracohydra; Basilisk (×4), Dwarf Skeleton (in waves of 4-10), Guard Drake (×4), Zombie (in waves of 4-10)

Traps

• Ball & Chain. Any creature that enters the path of the ball & chain must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 bludgeoning damage plus 8d6 piercing damage and fall prone, or half as much on a success and not landing prone.
• Dart Trap. Any creature that comes into the line of fire of a dart trap has to succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 piercing damage and become poisoned.
• Explosive Trap. Any creature inside the radius of the explosive trap, when triggered, takes 16d8 Thunder damage, or half as much on a successful save.
• Fireball Trap. Any creature that enters a Fireball Trap area has to succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 Fire damage.
• Gas Trap. If a Gas Trap is triggered, a cloud of noxious, green gas forms in the area. Each creature in the cloud must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 4d8 Poison damage each round they are in the gas.
• Spear Trap. Any creature that enters the trigger zone of a Spear Trap has to succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 5d10 piercing damage.

Perception Checks & Illusions

• Cracked Walls. Segments of the dungeon’s walls that are cracked and caving in. They are weaker than the others and can be destroyed to create a new doorway or slipped through using other means. A successful DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal their presence.
• Illusory Walls. The dungeon’s strange magic creates the illusion of false walls. A successful DC 25 Intelligence (Arcana) check will reveal them.
• Loot. Certain loot is obscured by the environment. A successful DC 23 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal items hidden in plain sight.

Loot

• 3 × Huge Chest
• 2 × Pearl of Power
• 1 × Cape of the Mountebank
• 1 × Gauntlets of Ogre Power
• 1 × Ring of Protection
• 1 × Vorpal Sword

The tomb is discovered based on its’ depiction on the mysterious paper from “Flindliel” on the passenger liner from Astur’s Keep. A huge, sandstone door can be uncovered behind large piles of sand and boulders. It has a key slot, which the large brass key found alongside the paper can be inserted into. Once the key is turned, the door comes to life, shooting all of the dust and cobwebs off of it, revealing deep, purple runes carved into its’ surface on both sides. This begins the dungeon.

II. Forest Dungeon

Expected Level. 8th

Monster List

1F

• Combat 1. Greater Zombie (×7)
• Combat 2. Cyclops (×1), Giant Skeleton (×1), Greater Zombie (×3), Gelatinous Cube (×2), Ghost (×1)
• Combat 3. Crystal Golem (×1), Greater Zombie (×3), Beholder Zombie (×2)
• Combat 4. Cyclops (×2), Giant Skeleton (×1), Beholder Zombie (×4), Gelatinous Cube (×2), Ghost (×6)
• Combat 5. Stone Golem (×1), Giant Skeleton (×2), Ghost (×4), Greater Zombie (×2),
• Combat 6. Treant (×2), Gelatinous Cube (×10)
• Combat 7. Beholder (×1), Gelatinous Cube (×4), Greater Zombie (×3) , Ghost (×1)
• Combat 8. Ghost Dragon (×1), Ghost (×5), Giant Skeleton (×2)
• Combat 9. Giant Skeleton (×1), Greater Zombie (×6), Ghost (×2)
• Combat 10. Rot Troll (×2), Gelatinous Cube (×2), Giant Skeleton (×3), Ghost (×1)
• Boss Fight. Demilich (×1), Undead Archdruid (×1), Crystal Golem (×1), Stone Golem (×1), Greater Zombie (×3), Ghost (×7), Zombie (×7)

Traps

Ball & Chain. Any creature that enters the path of the ball & chain must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 bludgeoning damage plus 8d6 piercing damage and fall prone, or half as much on a success and not landing prone.

Explosive Trap. Any creature inside the radius of the explosive trap, when triggered, takes 16d8 Thunder damage, or half as much on a successful save.

Fireball Trap. Any creature that enters a Fireball Trap area has to succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 Fire damage.

Spear Trap. Any creature that enters the trigger zone of a Spear Trap has to succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 5d10 piercing damage.

Necrotic Bramble Patch

• Description. These patches look like ordinary forest undergrowth but have a dull, grayish tint. When triggered, thorny vines lash out to restrain and drain the vitality of anyone caught.
• Mechanics. When a creature steps on the patch, they must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, they are restrained (escape DC 15) and take 3d6 necrotic damage at the start of each of their turns. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of each turn to escape, or another character can use an action to free them.
• Twist. Killing the vines doesn’t end the trap entirely. Every minute, the patch regenerates its necrotic aura, making it a constant threat in any prolonged encounter.

Bloodroot Vines

• Description. Twisted, blackened roots snake through sections of the forest, absorbing life from anything that touches them. The roots are hidden until disturbed.
• Mechanics. When a character walks within 5 feet of these roots, they must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or be grappled by the roots (escape DC 15). Once grappled, they take 2d6 necrotic damage at the beginning of each turn and must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have their maximum HP reduced by 1d4.
• Twist. Destroying the roots releases a cloud of necrotic spores, affecting anyone in a 10-foot radius who must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute.

Perception Checks & Illusions

• Cracked Walls. Segments of the dungeon’s walls that are cracked and caving in. They are weaker than the others and can be destroyed to create a new doorway or slipped through using other means. A successful DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal their presence.
• Illusory Walls. The dungeon’s strange magic creates the illusion of false walls. A successful DC 25 Intelligence (Arcana) check will reveal them.
• Loot. Certain loot is obscured by the environment. A successful DC 23 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal items hidden in plain sight.

Loot

Loot Hoard A

• 2 × Small Chest, 2 × Bottle
• Spell Scrolls: Banishment, Blight, Polymorph

Loot Hoard B

• 2 × Medium Chest, 1 × Bottle
• Spell Scrolls: Dimension Door, Blink, Fireball

Loot Hoard C

• 3 × Medium Chest, 2 × Large Bottle
• Spell Scrolls: Chain Lightning, Hold Monster, Blight, Leomund’s Tiny Hut

Loot Hoard D

• Large Chest × 1, Bottle × 1
• Spell Scrolls: Dark Star, Teleport

Loot Hoard E

• Huge Chest × 2, Bottle × 1, Large Bottle × 2
• Spell Scrolls: Simulacrum, Sunbeam

Loot Hoard F

• Medium Chest × 3, Bottle × 2
• Spell Scroll of Power Word: Kill

Loot Hoard G

• Huge Chest × 1, Large Bottle × 2
• Spell Scroll of Feeblemind

Boss Loot

• 20,000 × Gold
• 5 × Huge Chest
• 1 × Shortsword of Polymorph
• 1 × Nine Lives Stealer
• 1 × Matalotok
• 1 × Duskcrusher
• 1 × Eldritch Staff
• 1 × Staff of Power
• 1 × Cape of Enlargement
• 1 × Arcane Grimoire +2
• 1 × Winged Boots
• 1 × Boots of Swiftness
• 1 × Ring of Invisibility

III. Water Temple

Expected Level. 12th

Monster List

1F

• Combat 1. Greater Zombie (×7)

Traps

Ball & Chain. Any creature that enters the path of the ball & chain must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 bludgeoning damage plus 8d6 piercing damage and fall prone, or half as much on a success and not landing prone.

Sample Complex Trap

• Description. Description + trigger.
• Mechanics. Consequence of trap.
• Twist. X-factor.

Perception Checks & Illusions

• Cracked Walls. Segments of the dungeon’s walls that are cracked and caving in. They are weaker than the others and can be destroyed to create a new doorway or slipped through using other means. A successful DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal their presence.
• Illusory Walls. The dungeon’s magic creates the illusion of false walls. A successful DC 28 Intelligence (Arcana) check will reveal them.
• Loot. Certain loot is obscured by the environment. A successful DC 25 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal items hidden in plain sight.

IV. Ice Fortress

Expected Level. nth

V. Mountain Gauntlet

Expected Level. nth

The Game

Main Article: List of The Silly Campaign, Volume I Sessions