I’m covering for my Pathfinder GM, and I convinced my group to have a go at Torchbearer. It was a long time since I posted one of my dungeons, as always it is up to critique, and maybe some of you will find it useful:
Hook
Townspeople talk of half-eaten cattle, missing merchants and the loud howling of a wolf in the dead of night. A beast that stalks in the woods at the feet of the Rust Mountains.
The neighbouring families have placed a bounty on the werewolf: a sack of gold, silver and copper worth 6D of treasure and the hand of Almy a young maiden, but no man is brave enough to hunt the wolf down.
Nodra a grim old hunter with a bad leg wants the maiden’s hand and has been trying to trade her for a horse with her father Ansel for a long time, to no avail, but now he’s eager to trade her with the adventurers instead. Little does he knows that Deargad, a young urchin, wants Almy’s hand as well and he has stolen a precious gem worth 4D of treasure from a dwarven caravan and is planning to pay the right to her hand.
The identity of the werewolf is Yegor, a bandit from a camp hidden in the mountains that was bitten while raiding a barbarian tribe. Terrified he ran off the camp to protect his comrades. Now a group of bandits are searching the roads, looking for their missing friend.
The adventurers can make an out-of-Town Asking Around test regarding rumors about the beast. This test is done during the Adventure phase and as such does not adds lifestyle, but it does takes up a turn.
Dungeon
The territory north east of Red Bones is a humid, fertile woodland with frequent rainstorms coming down from the Dark Sea. The sky is cloudy and the Winter is harsh, but hard-working farmers can make a good living supplying Red Bones and Stone Claw.
Wild game is dangerously strong here and the perpetual storm produce cold, starless nights. The woods are completely Dark from dusk till dawn.
Yegor has three different hideouts set on the woods. On full moon nights he stalks for prey, the rest of the month he can be in any of these three hiding spots (but mainly in the shack up north, area #3).
Fighting on the woods the adventurers can use the trees as an advantage for their disposition in a Kill, Capture or Drive off conflict. On the other hand the werewolf has the advantage for Flee conflicts.
Outskirts
It takes an Ob 4 Hunter test to find one of Yegor hideouts. Suggested twist: sorry adventurers but our werewolf is in another hideout. If hunted during a fullmoon night the wolf will try to ambush the hunters.
The adventurers can make an Ob 2 Ritualist test to “seal off” the hiding spot from werewolves and deny Yegor off a safe place to rest. Sealing all his hideouts will get the werewolf Exhausted. Suggested twist: your chanting alerts Yegor who will try to build another hideout or attack the adventurers.
All camps count as dangerous inside the woods, not only because of the werewolf but because of the wild animals that roam about.
Water Well
Is located in the old, overgrown farm of the Rolnik family. The old house is almost collapsing, and weed covers all the field like a green rug. If the adventurers have tracked down Yegor here with a Hunter test, don’t make them test again, if not its an Ob 3 Scout test to find the well.
#1a Entrance: the well seems completely abandoned, no lightsource can reach down the hole, but during daylight a grappling hook tied to a knotted rope can be seen at the bottom. It’s an Ob 3 Dungeoneer test for one character climbing down the well, Ob 4 for the whole party. Suggested twist: the rope dislodges, dropping the adventurers, the fall breaks fragile equipment.
The well leads to a dried out underground river, now an irregular tunnel. The tunnel goes from northeast to southwest and is in complete darkness. Walking less than 90 feet southwest they’ll find the cave (#1b) at the side. Walking northeast they’ll find a dead end (#1c).
#1b Cave: this cave is definitively inhabited. Melted candles are placed around the walls and a bonfire in the middle. Bones litter the floor and a shoddy bed made out of clothes rests against the west wall.
There are smoked venison and rabbit hanging above the fire that count as two preserved rations. Hidden between the clothes is a locked box (container, pack 4, has 4 pack slots). Opening the lock is an Ob 5 Criminal test. Suggested condition: Angry. Inside the box there are silver worth 2D of treasure, gold worth 2D of treasure and a jasper charm, actually a holy symbol depicting the Burning Man worth 3D of treasure.
#1c Collapsed Tunnel: this is the reason the water well dried out. The humid rock can be moved with an Ob 5 Laborer test to let the groundwater flood the tunnel and the cave. Suggested condition: the water rushes through the collapsed rocks and the adventurers must outrun the flood. It’s an Ob 3 Health test to escape the rushing waters. Suggested condition: Exhausted.
Under the Tree
Deep in the woods is an old tree. The earth below is loose and a large burrow has been dug. Yegor use to rest here the first and maybe second full moon nights.
#2a the Hole: it takes an Ob 3 Dungeoneer test to slick in. Suggested twist: the character is stuck.
Past the hole there’s a bear trap hanging from the low ceiling, placed to catch anyone who stands up too close to the hole (the werewolf goes through the hole in wolf form, saving himself the trouble of the Dungeoneer test and not falling into the trap). Suggested condition: Injured.
#2b Burrow: the moist earth has been notoriously excavated to make it habitable, and a human can rest here relatively comfortable. Thick roots protrude from the ceiling.
Any test that requires the adventurer to be standing up count the low ceiling as a factor. The burrow is in complete darkness during the night and in dim light during the day.
Scattered around there are sheets of paper hastily scribbled with graphite. Excepts read:
[i]“Twelfth day: our memory is getting blurry, start writing this. It’s around the fourth moon since we left the mountains. We know we remember. Go back as soon we find a wizard that can cure me. Get cash.”
“Just came from the well. Too good that merchant passed by. Like grandma used to say ‘Never hide the body where you hide the loot.’ Good times. We will be back.”
“Twentieth-second moon? Remember we are leaving the keys in the shack. Just a couple more coins and we’ll be high in the mountains. No more dog.”[/i]
Adventurers can try to secure the entrance to make a safe camp here.
The Remote Shack
Is located up north, passing the woods in a narrow valley between the Dragon and the Rust Mountains. Here’s where Yegor lives while in human form. It was owned by a barbarian hermit named Drog who’s rumored to be a warlock (and some think is the actual werewolf).
Reaching the shack is an Ob 2 Pathfinder test. If the adventurers already tracked down this hideout with a Hunter test, don’t make them test again. Suggested twist: they lost track and reach the shack only after dark.
The shack looks precarious, but habitable and the roof seems waterproof. It looks definitely inhabited and Yegor uses to lit a fire when resting there.
#3a The door: there is a false panel at the door with a spiked hole beneath. It’s an Ob 4 Scout test to notice it. Suggested twist: you break the panel, the loud noise alerts anyone inside the shack and you trigger the trap.
The trap takes an Ob 2 Health test to avoid. Suggested twist: you hurt your foot, causing a +1 Ob to all test that involve walking or running until treated by an Ob 1 Healer test. Suggested condition: Sick, the injure gets infected.
#3b Inside the shack: the room is furnished with an alchemist table and a closet. There is a window heading east. If Yegor is there when the adventurers arrive he will demand to know why the adventurers trouble him and reach out for his iron banded club. If the adventurers triggered the trap, Yegor will sneak out of the shack through the window.
A mixture of odors fills the place, raw meat, strong herbs, garlic and something foul but hard to identify.
The alchemist table has been used to dine, and food litter the place, fresh meat and fruits. The adventurers can get two fresh rations there. The shack can be used as an alchemist workshop.
The drawers have some tools, coppers worth 1D of treasure, a hammer and some nails. The last drawer is locked, but can be easily forced. Inside there is a silver dagger, in case Yegor feels like end it all.
The cauldron itself is a pack 3 item and has some left over soup that the adventurers can eat right away.
The closet has some strongly aromatic herbs, garlic and a handle with two keys hanging from the door. Inside there are the decomposing corpses of Drog and the merchant that Yegor never got around to bury. Drog still has some alchemist supplies between his robes and the merchant has a folded map in an internal pocket. The map works as a supply for Cartographer.
Yegor
only wants to get enough money to pay the magicians in Red Bones to remove his curse and return to his family among the bandits of the Rust Mountains. Little does he knows that he needs a priest or sorcerer as powerful as the Master of the Tower to lift the curse, and none of them would meet with a lowlife like him.
A life of banditry has made him a cunning and suspicious creature, and he will try anything to survive and protect that which he claims as his own, by that by guile, wits or brute force. Though cold-blooded he does feel remorse from the deaths he causes when he turns into the beast.
When in human form use these stats. His life as a werewolf has raised his Might to 3.
| Raw Abilities | Rating | Town Abilities | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | 1 | Circles | 1 |
| Will | 3 | Resources | 0 |
| Health | 5 |
Skills: Scout 5, Fighter 4, Manipulator 3, Hunter 2
Wises: Rust Mountains-wise, Ambush-wise
Traits: Clever (1), Scarred (1)
When the beast takes over, use these stats. The same goes if one of the characters gets infected with lycanthropy.
| Might: 4 | Nature: 6 |
|---|---|
| Descriptors: Hunting, Devouring, Terrorizing. | |
| Conflict Dispositions | Conflict Weapons |
| Kill: 7 | Kill weapons |
| Attack: +1s, Diseased Bite |
Maneuver +1D, Agile Hunter
Defend -1D, Diseased Bite, +1s Immunity to common weapons|
|Drive off: 4|Drive off weapons|
||Attack: +1s, Diseased Bite
Maneuver +1D, Agile Hunter
Defend -1D, Diseased Bite, +1s Immunity to common weapons|
|Capture: 13|Capture weapons|
||Attack: +1s, Diseased Bite
Maneuver +1D, Agile Hunter
Defend -1D, Diseased Bite, +1s Immunity to common weapons|
|Flee: 10|Flee weapons|
||Attack: +1s, Four-Legged
Maneuver +1D, Agile Hunter|
Instinct: Stalk, strike and flee.
Special: Werewolves can only be wounded with silver weapons, Attack and Feint with common weapons don’t reduce the creature disposition in Kill conflicts. Attack and Feint against a werewolf with silver weapons bypasses its Immunity. Lycanthrope: A werewolf’s bite spreads the disease. Any character who receives an injury as a result of a kill, capture or drive off conflict compromise with a wererat in which the slavering beast used its Diseased Bite also gains a special sick condition. This condition may only be removed by a cleric capable of breaking curses. If the condition is not recovered by the end of the next town phase, the character becomes a wererat and thus a GM-controlled character.
Note: The stat block above is for a werewolf in man-wolf form. Werewolves in wolf form should use the Wolf stat block. Werewolves in human form should use the stat block for the type of human they appear to be.
Wandering monsters
[ol]
[li]A violent rainstorm unleashes above the woods, all sources of light extinguish and the adventurers must find shelter before it starts ruining more equipment or worse.
[/li][li]The adventurers must traverse a deep puddle of mud, Ob 2 Health test. Suggested twist: they lose their shoes. If they don’t have any shoes, they lose some other piece of equipment.
[/li][li]They find Cricket, the child of one of the families of the area, who followed them and got lost in the forest. Leaving him to be means certain death and there is no chance they get to drop him in his house before dusk.
[/li][li]They find a group of six bandits who are looking for their comrade Yegor. They are armed to the teeth and have no intentions of making new friends.
[/li][li]The stumble upon a devil’s boar den. The jordurr is not amused.
[/li][li]Yegor sets them an ambush by an old tree. He pulls it out of the dead roots and It falls above them. Ob 2 Health test to avoid. Suggested condition: Injured.
[/li][/ol]
Stay cool 