Season 1, Quest 4: Bandits
Melissa made me promise that with this campaign that I would not have a Bandit King of any kind. This quest features bandits, but no Bandit King per se, so I consider that fair. I mean, what’s a fantasy game without highwaymen of some sort, right?
So the game started with a cut-scene (which irked one of my players considerably), in which the heroes were traveling further into the Duchy and were ambushed by a band of highwaymen. As the heroes were vastly outnumbered and surprised - and are still only 3rd-level, so they aren’t so super-powered that the bandits wouldn’t be a threat - they gave into the bandit’s demands. So the quest began with everyone only having the clothes on their back: no armor, no weapons, no spellbook, and no healing potions.
Naturally, they wanted their stuff back, so they tracked the bandits back to their cave hideout. After walking down the uneven spiral stairs, the rogue tripped a trap and caused a bunch of rocks to fall on his head. As a result, the heroes trekked carefully through the poorly lit cave/crypt, stopping regularly to look for the numerous booby traps that the thieves had set. The first fight was rather difficult, as the barbarian was fighting with a pointy stick (which broke) and pretty much everyone else was throwing rocks. But with every enemy that dropped, the heroes would pick up their fallen gear, and quickly regained some semblance of their former abilities.
At one end of the cave, the heroes found their stuff (trapped, of course). Once fully equipped, the group located the ringleaders of the bandits and attacked. However, the fight was difficult and dangerous, as the thieves had an advantage in the shape of the space (two vary narrow hallways leading to a central room, which the heroes had to run down while being pelted by arrows and fireballs). Nonetheless, with the aid of some well-placed Sleep spells from Everritt, the heroes were able to claim victory over the highwaymen. As is typically for a troupe of adventurers, they took their stuff and left the surviving thieves tied up in the depths of the cave.
Honestly, I threw this quest together at the very last minute. I grabbed a map out of Heroes of Horror for the “cave,” randomly selected booby traps from the Trapsmith prestige class in Dungeonscape, and used a bunch of generic NPC statblocks from the DMG. And to my surprise, almost everyone had a blast: Melissa and Amy both expressed their enjoyment, which is a relief since the former had threatened to quit the game entirely after Quest #2. So I can run a combat heavy quest and it be enjoyable for everyone!
So the game started with a cut-scene (which irked one of my players considerably), in which the heroes were traveling further into the Duchy and were ambushed by a band of highwaymen. As the heroes were vastly outnumbered and surprised - and are still only 3rd-level, so they aren’t so super-powered that the bandits wouldn’t be a threat - they gave into the bandit’s demands. So the quest began with everyone only having the clothes on their back: no armor, no weapons, no spellbook, and no healing potions.
Naturally, they wanted their stuff back, so they tracked the bandits back to their cave hideout. After walking down the uneven spiral stairs, the rogue tripped a trap and caused a bunch of rocks to fall on his head. As a result, the heroes trekked carefully through the poorly lit cave/crypt, stopping regularly to look for the numerous booby traps that the thieves had set. The first fight was rather difficult, as the barbarian was fighting with a pointy stick (which broke) and pretty much everyone else was throwing rocks. But with every enemy that dropped, the heroes would pick up their fallen gear, and quickly regained some semblance of their former abilities.
At one end of the cave, the heroes found their stuff (trapped, of course). Once fully equipped, the group located the ringleaders of the bandits and attacked. However, the fight was difficult and dangerous, as the thieves had an advantage in the shape of the space (two vary narrow hallways leading to a central room, which the heroes had to run down while being pelted by arrows and fireballs). Nonetheless, with the aid of some well-placed Sleep spells from Everritt, the heroes were able to claim victory over the highwaymen. As is typically for a troupe of adventurers, they took their stuff and left the surviving thieves tied up in the depths of the cave.
Honestly, I threw this quest together at the very last minute. I grabbed a map out of Heroes of Horror for the “cave,” randomly selected booby traps from the Trapsmith prestige class in Dungeonscape, and used a bunch of generic NPC statblocks from the DMG. And to my surprise, almost everyone had a blast: Melissa and Amy both expressed their enjoyment, which is a relief since the former had threatened to quit the game entirely after Quest #2. So I can run a combat heavy quest and it be enjoyable for everyone!