Legacy Module 3

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Rivalry

Game: Legacy of Heroes

Projected Dates: May-July 2012

Author(s): Kathy Ice

Starting Party Level: 2

Module Background:

Summary of Module: A competition has been arranged with a nearby school. The PCs compete for spots on the Maplehurst team, and defeat a few of their fellow students. Some of these students become resentful, and try to frame the PCs to get them in trouble. To clear their names, the PCs must chase down these other students, with the help of Fizzle's Fantastical Flying Floop. A pair of gargoyles makes things interesting for a while, but eventually the PCs win the day and save their reputation. I hope.

Changes to module when played: 1 paragraph (to be done when the module concludes)

Scene 1: Tryouts

[2 weeks] [400 xp]

Headmaster Roww makes an exciting announcement: a group of students from Maplehurst Academy will be traveling to The Gnowsy Thornton School for a day-long competition. The competition will include academics and athletics, and tryouts for the Maplehurst team will begin right away.

The PCs will have the opportunity to try out for various events. I plan to let the players decide what their characters want to compete in, so this section will necessarily be a little free-form. My goal is to have each PC—or at least, the majority of PCs—succeed at earning a spot on the team. In doing so, they will defeat other Maplehurst students who are also very good at...whatever...just not good enough.

[Jerry: We need the events here and the mechanisms for how they work.]

[Kathy: I'm reluctant to cast the events in stone, because I don't know what the PCs are going to want to do. It does me no good to, for example, painstakingly spec out an archery competition if none of the PCs end up choosing archery as a thing they want to compete in.

Similarly, the rival students need to lose to the PCs (in most cases), so it's difficult to say specifically what competitions they'll be in, other than “the same as the PCs.”]

The competitions will probably include: wrestling, footraces, swimming, riding, archery, an original song competition, and some kind of “knowledge bowl” event. Most of these will use a series of Skill checks to determine outcomes. Wrestling and other combat-type events will use an abbreviated combat. If the PCs have a good idea for another kind of competition, I'll include it too.

Belorin Echt and Zeliak Hawk (half-orc and human; two of Grell's former friends) are defeated in physical competition (such as footrace, wrestling, etc.).

Holly-Iris Kallier (halfling) is defeated in something nimble (archery, etc.).

Neave Zvarra and Belhorn Troud (human and minotaur) get defeated in academics.

[Jerry: Need the name of the competing school, its location, and some information about them. Why is this a rivalry. A story to tell the PCs about the rivalry. Perhaps a story about when tempers had flared as described below?]

[See above for the school, which was in the original document. It is (let's say) about 10 miles away. They are a snooty school, whose students tend to look down on Maplehurst kids as “riff-raff”. (This was hinted at in the game's planning document). With regard to specific past incidents, I prefer to make vague references and let the PCs use their imagination. The Headmaster may speak about “the unfortunate events with the hippogriff” or “structural damage to the ornamental fountain” or “the disgraceful behavior of the Equestrian team in the main library,” but will give no specifics.]

Preparations for the competition begins. There is a long-standing rivalry between the two schools, and there have been times during past competitions when tempers have flared and unseemly actions resulted. The Headmaster warns everyone in the school that no displays of bad sportsmanship will be tolerated.

Treasure: Each student who makes the team is given a special gold ring with the school crest on it. They are essentially signet rings, with a monetary value of 5 gp.

Scene 2: A Warning

[1 week] [100 xp]

A couple of days later, one of the defeated Maplehurst students comes to the PCs. He tells them that he was recruited by a disgruntled group of students, defeated by the PCs, who want to “teach the PCs a lesson.” He would like to go along with the group, find out what they're up to, and help the PCs thwart it.

The evening before the competition, their “mole” returns to report. The other group has stolen Gnowsy Thornton's mascot, a bulldog, and brought it to the room where the Maplehurst team has been training. Their goal is to have the theft discovered, and the PCs blamed for it.

Jerry: I’m assuming Gnowsy Thorten is the name of the other school? We’ll need a description of the bulldog and how it is to be played. Does it bark a lot? Poop?

The bulldog is old, and somewhat arthritic. It pretty much just wants to sit and be petted. It makes various grunting and woofing sounds, usually at just the wrong moment. It likes cheese.

If the PCs investigate, they find, sure enough, that the Gnowsy Thornton bulldog is in their training room. They have no way to prove that they are not the thieves; their best course of action will be to return the bulldog before the theft is discovered. But how?

One of the PCs recalls that a fellow student, Fizzle Tinkerhand, has been babbling about some flying contraption he's developed and is trying to test. Fizzle's a little touched, and the thing could well be a deathtrap, but flying is one of the few ways they could pull this off. (Note: Fizzle is Brian's old character. Since Brian made it pretty clear that he does not intend to re-join the game, I thought it would be neat to use his character as a key NPC.)

Scene 3: Fizzle's Fantastical Flying Floop

[2 weeks] [200 xp]

After a quick search, the PCs find Fizzle putting the finishing touches on his invention. He is proud of it, and happily shows off Fizzle's Fantastical Flying Floop. It consists of two large couches, tied together facing one another, with wood-and-canvas “wings” attached, and a broom for a tail. On the front is a stuffed, mounted goblin head. The thing actually flies, and the goblin head can speak in Goblin and Common.

Jerry: Need NPC description of Fizzle.

Average Height and Weight for a Gnome, which means short and light. He has a white mane of hair that is almost always unkempt, giving it an “I just got electrified look”. His eyes are a stark contrast of bright blue.

Fizzle takes little persuading to allow the PCs to take the Floop for a test flight. He is anxious to hear how the thing performs. He asks the PCs to help him get the contraption up onto the roof, where it can take off.

The PCs (presumably) climb aboard the Floop, with the mascot, and take off into the night. They soon find that the Floop, or rather the Floop's goblin head, has a mind of its own and is not shy about expressing its opinion. It complains about the long flight, it hurls insults, it mocks the PCs for any attempt they make to control it. But it does get them to Gnowsy Thornton.

The goblin answers to “Floop,” but it's unclear whether that was his name before it got attached to the contraption. Floop is sarcastic, insulting, and a little lazy. Also, he wants to head for the nearest pub to get a drink. Skill checks to keep him going include Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Fly. Anybody foolish enough to put a body part too close to Floop will get bitten.

At one point during the flight, Floop says “watch this!” and does a barrel-roll. PCs need to make a DC 10 Reflex save or tumble out. PCs can try to catch someone who falls, and somebody needs to catch the bulldog. Who begins howling, and must be quieted. If not dissuaded, Floop attempts more aerobatics. He thinks it's funny when people (or the dog) fall out.

Scene 4: Skullduggery

[1 week] [100 xp]

The PCs have to sneak the bulldog back where it belongs, and retrieve some incriminating “clues” planted by the other group. They will have a rough map, courtesy of their informant. They'll need to come up with a plan, and then do some skill checks to pull it off. If their plan is reasonable, the skill DC will be pretty low and they should succeed with only the occasional random noise to scare the heck out of them.

Scene 5: The Disadvantage of Flight

[4 weeks] [2200 xp]

The sun rises as the PCs fly back to Maplehurst. Unfortunately, they catch the attention of a gargoyle, who probably came from the monster preserve. It attacks, and the PCs have to fight it off. This fight is in the open sky, with the Floop complaining, but essentially doing what the PCs want.

However, no sooner do they dispatch this gargoyle when another one comes after them. Its mate? Difficult to say. The Floop, however, has had enough. It dives for cover, taking the PCs on a dizzying, tumbling ride through bushes and trees and vineyards, refusing to listen to any directions it receives, the gargoyle hot on its heels. So, there is a second gargoyle fight, but it is different from the first in that the PCs are not only fighting, but also trying to keep from tumbling out of the Floop.

Gargoyle CR 4 XP 1,200 CE Medium monstrous humanoid (earth) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5

Defense AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 natural) hp 42 (5d10+15) Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +4 DR 10/magic

Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee 2 claws +7 (1d6+2), bite +7 (1d4+2), gore +7 (1d4+2)

Statistics Str 15, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 11, Cha 7 Base Atk +5; CMB +7; CMD 19

Feats Hover, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Fly)

Skills Fly +12, Perception +5, Stealth +11 (+17 in stony areas); Racial Modifiers +2 Stealth (+6 in stony environs)

Languages Common, Terran

SQ freeze

Ecology Environment any Organization solitary, pair, or wing (3–12) Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Freeze (Ex) A gargoyle can hold itself so still it appears to be a statue. A gargoyle that uses freeze can take 20 on its Stealth check to hide in plain sight as a stone statue.

Gargoyles often appear to be winged stone statues, for they can perch indefinitely without moving, allowing them to surprise their foes. Gargoyles tend toward obsessive-compulsive behaviors that are as varied as their kind is plentiful. Books, stolen trinkets, weapons, and grisly trophies harvested from fallen foes are just a few examples of the types of things a gargoyle might collect to decorate its lair and territory. Gargoyles tend toward a solitary lifestyle, though they sometimes form fearsome groups called “wings” for protection and sport. In certain conditions, a tribe of gargoyles might even ally with other creatures, but even the most stable alliances with a gargoyle tribe can collapse for the smallest of reasons—gargoyles are nothing if not treacherous, petty, and vindictive. Gargoyles have been known to dwell in the heart of the largest of cities, crouching amid the decorations of stone cathedrals and buildings where they hide in plain sight by day and swoop down to feed on vagabonds, beggars, and other unfortunates at night.

End matter:

A: List all NPCs used in the module. Even if it is NOT the first time for that NPC to be used in the campaign, write a sentence or two describing the NPC. If there are changes in the NPC in this module, note that it is a change and what changed. An alternative to this is to have an NPC page on Woldipedia and link to that page where all NPCs are here.

The rival Maplehurst students: Belorin Echt and Zeliak Hawk (half-orc and human; two of Grell's former friends), who got defeated in physical competition (such as footrace, wrestling, etc.). Holly-Iris Kallier (halfling), who got defeated in something nimble (archery, etc.). Neave Zvarra and Belhorn Troud (human and minotaur), who got defeated in academics. All but the first two are new NPCs, and the first two didn't get names the last time I mentioned them. I do not plan to do full statistics on them, because I don't have a fight scheduled for this module. However, I'd like to keep them around as possible recurring villains.

Royse Mellon, the mole. He has been mentioned briefly, and has a bit of a crush on Wilma.

Fizzle Tinkerhand, Brian's old character. Average Height and Weight for a Gnome, which means short and light. He has a white mane of hair that is almost always unkempt, giving it an “I just got electrified look”. His eyes are a stark contrast of bright blue.

Assorted instructors, none of whom will be new; I'll use ones already mentioned on the Woldipedia page.

B: List all locations used in the module. [same as for NPCs.] Describe the location. We’re talking places like inns, shops, temples, etc. If there are changes to the location from the last entry, note what has changed and that it HAS changed.

Various locations at Maplehurst.

Gnowsy Thornton School, which is a new location I just invented. I picture ivy-covered red-brick snobbery.

C: Magic Treasure: List all magic treasure given in the module. Check with the DM of the Catacombs if you are not sure about what their rules are for magic items, what can be sold, etc. This should be done to Woldian standards.

Fizzle's Fantastical Flying Floop (wondrous item)

The Floop consists of two couches tied together, facing one another, with wood-and-canvas wings, a broomstick tail, and a stuffed, mounted goblin head on the front.

This item functions as a 10x10 Carpet of Flying, with the following changes: The carrying capacity is 1600 pounds, with speed 30. The Floop does not get faster with less than 800 pounds on it. The Floop is an intelligent magic item with a Chaotic Neutral alignment. It communicates via speech (Common and Goblin). It's total Ego score is +4. It is always “active,” and requires no command word.

At the end of the module, the PCs will be given the option of keeping the Floop, or selling it for a total of 20,000 gp. This is a one-time offer; if they keep the Floop, they can't sell it later. It cannot be sold in the Catacombs.

If the PCs decide to keep the Floop, I will write up ideas for future DMs about keeping it from being a game-breaker.

D: List the experience for the module. [Remember we are advancing at 3 levels a year for levels 1-3, 2 levels a year after that until 20th level is reached.] I highly suggest dividing the xp for the module by the scene and then giving out “xp per scene.” Play-testing shows that this helps keep the interest of the players high.

3000 XP.

General notes:

Give me the level of detail necessary to for a sub, not familiar with the game or campaign to run the module. Anything beyond that is up to you. Look at your module as you fill in the template with that "focus" in mind. Can my Asst. DM or a sub DM run this with this amount of information? I do not need monster details for the module -- just the name of the monster, etc. If strategy is needed, include that. You can work up the monster's stats when the combat comes. We are all honorable enough to not cheat "against" the players during combat. It is very easy however, to just paste monster stats from an online source into the module though. It puts everything in one place.