After a one-day trip to GenCon, primarily to see the Knights
of the Dinner Table: Live Action Series*, Mrs. Frugal GM (She probably hates
that) and I headed off to NE Iowa to visit the family farm. My mother and
step-father have probably 800 or so acres complete with a cool creek, orchard,
and lots of “nothing” (outside of farm chores).
Believe me, “nothing” can be a lot of fun, the lack of
distractions can really let the mind wander and I was thinking of numerous
adventure seeds based around the farm and the surrounding locale:
1) A small creek-side camping area for poorer travelers lies
along the trail just short of a well-known wayside inn. Recently folks encamped
overnight have gone missing, with only signs of a violent struggle denoting
that anything has happened. The inn’s proprietors have been taking advantage of
the attacks by publicizing them and jacking up their prices. The truth is that
the guard dogs from a nearby orchard managed to catch a fruit-thief some time
back and got a taste for humanoid meat. Every week or so they drag off a
camper, stuff the body into a tree hollow, and let it age.
2) An ancient quarry has been closed off to the public for years, becoming overgrown. The owner, a bit of a conservationist, has deliberately left the area alone because some bobcats have moved in after decades of being hunted out in the area. Little does the owner know that the bobcats have moved out long ago because some orcs have moved in. The small tribe finds the location ideal and has worked hard to keep their den a secret. Smarter than the average Orc, the leader has mandated that the tribe only pillage and plunder a half-day march away.
2) An ancient quarry has been closed off to the public for years, becoming overgrown. The owner, a bit of a conservationist, has deliberately left the area alone because some bobcats have moved in after decades of being hunted out in the area. Little does the owner know that the bobcats have moved out long ago because some orcs have moved in. The small tribe finds the location ideal and has worked hard to keep their den a secret. Smarter than the average Orc, the leader has mandated that the tribe only pillage and plunder a half-day march away.
3) A strange malady has been affecting the locals recently. A disease that manifests itself as a fuzzy mold-like growth that appears on the smallest of wounds has been infecting people. This disease doesn’t appear to be contagious, but victims appear to be in a constant state of inebriation and heal at ¼ of the normal rate. The only deaths that have occurred so far are by those who have succumbed to too many wounds and resulting secondary infections. At first there appeared to be a connection between the victims and a local vintner as all those stricken had consumed a particular vintage from the winery. The problem is a lot of folks have also consumed the same wine without any problems. The problem is that the wine is a blend from several batches and one, only one, of the source wines was infected with a magically altered strain of yeast. That particular wine was blended in towards the end of that year’s bottling, but a significant amount of wine is being saved to blend in to next-year’s wine. The yeast doesn’t die off under normal brewing conditions, requiring magical heat/fire to be killed off, and has been fermenting the blood of those that have consumed the tainted wine. While there hasn’t been any direct deaths yet, there will be in a few days as the victim’s liver shuts down and people go into comas from low blood sugar. A combination of Cure Serious Wounds and Fireball (or similar spells) will cleanse a victim’s body of the yeast.
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