Page 32 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

DEVELOPMENTS At an intersection near the middle of the Village, a narrow
If the characters ask about Cragmaw Castle, Reidoth gladly lane winds up the steep hillside to the north. Directly to the
provides directions. He is a member of the Emerald Enclave,
south is a ruined building that might have been a store or
a widespread group of wilderness survivalists who preserve
the natural order while rooting out troublesome threats. workshop. Webs stretch across the lane, from the building to
The enclave works to restore and preserve the natural the trees on the north sid~ of the road.
order by keeping the elemental forces of the world in check,
preventing civilization and the wilderness from destroying Two giant spiders hide on the inner walls in this ruined
one another, and helping others survive the perils of the building, so they are not visible from outside. Trailing
wilds. The goblins are a threat to the delicate balance. lines from the webs in the lane allow the spiders to sense
If the characters ask Reidoth about Wave Echo Cave, he when prey is moving through the webs, at which point
will not divulge its location but will offer to guide the party they nimbly scuttle over the wall and attack. The alert
there in exchange for a favor: he wants them to chase off spiders surprise any character whose passive Wisdom
the dragon in area 7. If they succeed, Reidoth will honor (Perception) score is less than 17.
his part of the agreement but will not accompany the party Webs. The webs fill two squares north of the doorway
inside the mine. (and the square marked "6"). They are difficult terrain,
If the characters attack him for any reason, Reidoth and a creature trying to move through them must succeed
transforms into a gray squirrel and scurries out of the on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. On a failure, the
cottage through a crack in the wall. He vanishes into the creature is restrained in the webs (see the rule book for
woods, then waits for the hostile characters to leave. His the effects of being restrained). A snared creature can
watch post contains nothing of value.
take an action each round to attempt to break free with
a DC 12 Strength check, or it can try to cut its way free
JOINING THE EMERALD ENCLAVE
If the party helps Reidoth by chasing off Venomfang, by using a light weapon that deals slashing damage. The
the druid privately approaches certain members of the webs have AC 10, 5 hit points, vulnerability to fire damage,
group and urges them to join the Emerald Enclave. He and immunity to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage
speaks with those who exemplify the ideal of protecting (see "Damage Resistance and Vulnerability" in the
the natural order. If a character agrees, Reidoth gives the rulebook for how vulnerability works).
individual the title of Springwarden. Going around the webs is difficult because of the
thickets on the north side of the road. Going around
5. BLIGHTED FARMHOUSE the ruined building to the south leads to the twig
blights in area 5.
To its south, this farm abuts a field with thick patches of
gorse and briars. TREASURE
The corpse of an unfortunate adventurer is cocooned in
spider silk in the western half of the building. The body
This ruin looks as if it might once have been a farmhouse.
is shriveled up and sucked dry, but appears to have been
It is now half swallowed by a dense thicket, with trees growing
a male elf. The body wears studded leather armor and a
up through its ruined foundations. The lane continues south a shortsword in the scabbard at its hip. A careful search also
short distance past the ruin before ending in an overgrown field. yields a potion of healing in a belt pouch, along with 23
gp and 35 sp.
The thicket east of this ruin is crawling with eight twig AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
blights. Any disturbance in the ruined farmhouse (for
example, characters rooting around in the rubble) draws Divide 400 XP equally among the characters if the party
the blights' ire. defeats the giant spiders.
Each round for 3 rounds, two twig blights head for the 7. DRAGON'S TOWER
south doorway leading into the farmhouse while two
more head for the north doorway. The blights attack This tower was formerly the home of a human wizard,
until destroyed. who was killed fighting the ash zombies that overran
Thundertree thirty years ago.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Divide 200 XP equally among the characters if the party At the top of the hill stands a round tower with a cottage
destroys the twig blights.
attached. Both are in good condition, although half of the
6. RUINED STORE tower's roof is gone. A door leads into the cottage, and
This former general store is not a complete ruin yet, with several arrow-slit windows are visible in the tower. You can't
portions of its tile roof still intact. help but notice an eerie quiet in the area and a strange, acrid
smell in the air.
The corpses of two hideous giant spiders are sprawled near
the edge of the pathway, apparently dragged there. Their
bloated bodies are puckered and blistered, and appear to
have been mauled by a large animal.

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PART 3: THE SPIDER'S WEB