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Module: Dirt City Disease

Dirt City

15 May 2005

Author: Stephen Knotts (with lots of help from Jerry, Jan and Kup :)

Summary of Module: The rise of the Fey King has caused giant foods to be grown in Dirt City. As the Fey King grows in power, the giant foods quickly rot and those who ate the giant foods may contract dieases. The Fey King wants to rid the Wold of non-nature loving creatures, and the denizens of Dirt City are not crunchy-granola type of people. The heroes have to find a cure to the disease before everyone is dead.

[Jerry: Ok, first thought. We will probably get to the end of the crossover even this summer. The ending isn't planned yet, but it could start anytime after woldcon in about 3 weeks. So modules are not needed as much as just ideas. I'm not requiring modules until after the crossover. I'll review this, but not approve it as you will undoubtedly need to make changes to it above and beyond the normal to fit what everyone is doing and the plans for leading up to the end of things.]

[Jerry: The Fey king is the source of the problems with nature. His essence affects nature and makes it awaken and go wild, and grow paranoid aggressive like he is. Doesn't mean he personally is making all the attacks. His essence and aura causes all th is. So don't make every attack direct from him....at least you don't have to.

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

Scene 1: The Invasion Plan is Revealed. (2 weeks) No treasure. The heroes get pieces of information to understand that Graitchen had planned an invasion of Dirt City and though he is dead, the invasion is still taking place. Dirt City needs to get ready for the fight!

[Jerry: Who is Graitchen?]

(This scene is here only to get the heroes back to Dirt City as quickly as possible in order for them to oppose the Fey King in the city. The invasion will be delayed due to the death of several ringleaders until after the crisis with the Fey King. This is to ensure that the Fey King is a Wold-shaking EVENT.)

The heroes also get information that the Fey King is not a good guy and how he was stopped the first time. The heroes need to realize that they have the information on the way to stop him and that other heroes need that information. 

[Jerry: this informaiton is secret. Groups around the wold are questing for the information on how to stop the invasion of nature. you can't just give that out in scene 1.]

1. Anunnaki (PC of Daniel Walters) was captured by Graitchen. He has a scroll message for Theodore from his mentor Geoffery saying that the old man has vital news about the source of the strange natural happenings and that Theodore needs to come to Dirt City as quick as he can.

2. The information the heroes have about the invasion is false. The death of Graitchen and then the events of the Fey King put all swamp plans on hold. This can be a simmering pot waiting to boil over, or something let to cool.

Thliss-Ka – Lizardfolk Warrior. Honorable and seeking greater honor as a warchief and for his warriors. Having been bested in a fight, it is his duty to be Dietrich’s slave until the human says otherwise. And therefore his duty to answer questions or do anything he is asked or told.

Stilt Hut in the Swamp. This is the location of the ending of the last module (Retrieve the Book). The thatched hut is 20 by 30 feet long and held above the swampy ground by four foot high poles. The back wall is caved outward as if someone had made a hasty exit. At the back of the hut is a dilapidated dock with three skiffs tied up.

[Jerry: I don't understand the plotline of this scene. What happens? give it to me in chronological order please.]

Scene 2: Disease in Dirt City. (2 weeks) No treasure. The heroes return to Dirt City and are met by members of the League of Adventurers. The giant fruits have turned rotten and people are getting sick. All except for one VERY LARGE Pumpkin in the middle of the Full Moon Market. 

[Jerry: What fruit? No fruit is mentioned in scene 1. It's in the summary at the top, but not in the module until now and it's already rotted.]

The League of Adventurers (LoA) has information that the ‘nature gone wild’ is happening all over the Wold and linked to the Dreams of the elves. The birth of a Fey King in Culverwood seems to have been the exact time that the fruit started going bad. The Golden Dragons have asked for the LoA and heroes around the Wold to help. 

The beginning of the scene ends with the arrival of a Gold Dragon (Valdor?) to take the vital information of how to defeat the Fey King to the Gold Dragons.

[Jerry: What vital information? Where obtained? I think you are referring to things in other modules and things that happened before this. Write this out with the idea in mind that a sub not acquainted with your game is going to read this and run your game. You have to explain everything.]

1. Coordinate with Jan to get a Gold Dragon character to pop in and talk to Dirt City heroes. GD must portray thanks for valuable information and warnings about the destruction caused by the Fey King in other areas of the Wold. (COORDINATION DONE)

2. GD uses Transport Rings one of which is kept by LoA to get to/ from Dirt City

The heroes relay the information about the impending invasion, and the LoA and the Temple assure them that they will get the Houses and Prince to understand and prepare.

[Jerry: The Dragon groups have their own running around to do. Any communication to the prince will have to be done by the party. :)]

3. There has been no fighting among the Houses, in fact not much of any activity at all. They seem to be keeping their people shut in to avoid the plague and taking a wait-and-see approach. Some individual members (all elf stock) are actively helping the Fey in the area by guarding the Pumpkin. 

In the Temple of Wardd, the three comatose girls still spout their prophesies. Some have mentioned a cure for the disease coincides with the defeat of the Fey King. The heroes can stymie the disease by collecting three seeds from the Big Pumpkin. It is not rotting, and appears to be a base for fey creatures to populate Dirt City. 

[Jerry: What 3 comotose girls?]

Liam Kent– Woldian League of Adventurers. Educated accent, probably New Elennian. Tall man, his long dark hair is tied back with what could well have been a ladies scarf, before it became faded and ragged at the edges.

Fiedel – Woldian League of Adventurers. The halfling is distinctive -- tall for one of his kind, with spiky white-blond hair. Blurts out whatever he is thinking in a “All is happy with the Wold since I am here” attitude. 

Clu'eth – 5th level Cleric of Wardd, works at the temple. Male cleric. Human. Clu'eth has one hand that is much shorter than the other, the fingers are withered and useless. "You all look filthy anyway," he adds, and with a glance at his own deformity, "and the dirt alone takes it's own toll in the end."

Junior (Ianven Jr.) – Rose’s Brother. 3rd level Cleric of Wardd. Is happy to see little sister Rose and is helping Clu’eth to prepare the antidote “with just a bit of luck”. Anticipate Junior getting killed during Scene 4 to incite Rose and the heroes.

Temple of Wardd. The Huge Temple of Wardd is a large and beautiful multi-colored building among the shabby and gray constructions of the rest of the city. When constructed and everytime repairs have been needed, the priests of the God of Luck always cast their prayers to the wind and see what comes up. Sometimes they have gotten donated bricks from a project, sometimes timber from a shipwreck, sometimes blocks of heavy marble left over from repairs on the Prince’s Palace. Whatever it is, it always seems to be just enough material and skilled people to help the temple. The effect is a patchwork of material and style that just happens to look like it should belong just like that.

Inside, meditation halls, private rooms, storage bins, and everything else a well-off temple needs are here. It may take a bit of luck to find what you are looking for, but the priests seem to have plenty where that came from.

[Jerry: All locations and NPC summaries belong at the end of the module as per our template.]

Scene 3: Big Pumpkin. (2-3 weeks) List any treasure given. The heroes enter the Big Pumpkin to collect three pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin is solid through to the very middle and is a maze of passageways and is guarded by fey and worms (various). At the center, a guardian beast of the Fey King guards the seeds that are as big as a dinner plate.

It actually has holes in the rind where creatures are coming out and making nuisances of themselves. There are elves who are also actively helping the Fey.

1. A Pumpkin has grown up in the fields in the middle of Full Moon Market that is large as the House Strongholds.

2. Air, Dust, and Earth Mephits play in the streets of Dirt City, terrorizing the populous.

3.. Beetles and Worms come out of the rind attracted to food stalls.

4.. A band of elves are with the Fey and actively helping the defense of the Pumpkin.

The Pumpkin. In the middle of the Full Moon Market (City Above), a Great Orange Pumpkin towers over all but the nearby House strongholds. The Rind is smooth but hard as granite. At street level, there are a dozen round openings ranging in size from 3 foot diameter to a whopping seven foot diameter hole. No one can see into the pumpkin very far, for the tunnels twist quickly and hide what is inside.

[Jerry: Bigger on the inside than the outside? size? senses? smell? is it caving in the tunnels below?]

Scene 4: Brewing the Cure. (2-3 weeks) Clu’eth, Junior, and Anunnaki’s parents alchemy lab supply the equipment and know-how to create an elixir that will cure the disease. While the brew is being made, the servants of the Fey King try to destroy the lab in a last ditch effort to stop the plan. The heroes must defend the lab until the potion is ready.

NPCs

Clu'eth - Cleric of Wardd, works at the temple. Male cleric. Human. Clu'eth has one hand that is much shorter than the other, the fingers are withered and useless. "You all look filthy anyway," he adds, and with a glance at his own deformity, "and the dirt alone takes it's own toll in the end."

Junior (Ianven Jr.) – Rose’s Brother. Cleric of Wardd. Is happy to see little sister Rose and is helping Clu’eth to prepare the antidote “with just a bit of luck”. Anticipate Junior getting killed during Scene 4 to incite Rose and the heroes.

Shuruppak, Anunnaki's father – Gray Elf, operates a small alchemists shop in the City Below- Merchant’s Quarter. Secretly Caped member of the House of the Cloak. Loves his lab and chemicals, very good alchemist. Helped call the Fey King and wants to make amends.

Ninbanda, Anunnaki's mother - operates a small alchemists shop in the City Below- Merchant’s Quarter. Secretly Cloaked member of the House of the Cloak. Runs the front shop and manages the Cloak Cell. Shrewd business dealer. Was against the calling of the Fey King.

Locations

The Radjni Alchemy Shop. Located in the City Below in the Merchant’s Quarter, The Radjni shop is a four room affair consisting of a shop front and two doors going to the lab from one, and the living / bedroom from another. A counter separates the entrance door from the inside doors as well as a shelf of containers, a shelf of books, and a business roll-top desk. Anticipate the Alchemy Shop to be nearly destroyed in the fighting. (Hint and broad play to get Berlon to invite Anunnaki’s parents to move in and work at Berlon’s alchemy shop in the Trade Quarter.)

Scene 5: Ending. (1-2 weeks) At the end of this scene, the Fey King should have his final defeat, and the people of Dirt City are saved.

The Giant Pumpkin becomes hardened and a permenant reminder to Dirt City of the Fey King. Because of it’s maze, it can become a favorite playground for urchins, or a trysting area (if you can find your love, you are meant to be together), or an adventure when someone is lost in the maze of tunnels…

[Jerry: I don't know that I"m keen to a pumpkin in Dirt City. Kinda silly for such a serious place. What if it appears only once a year or something?]

End matter:

A: NPCs.

Thliss-Ka – Lizardfolk Warrior. Honorable and seeking greater honor as a warchief and for his warriors. Having been bested in a fight, it is his duty to be Dietrich’s slave until the human says otherwise. And therefore his duty to answer questions or do anything he is asked or told.

Liam Kent– Woldian League of Adventurers. Educated accent, probably New Elennian. Tall man, his long dark hair is tied back with what could well have been a ladies scarf, before it became faded and ragged at the edges.

Fiedel – Woldian League of Adventurers. The halfling is distinctive -- tall for one of his kind, with spiky white-blond hair. Blurts out whatever he is thinking in a “All is happy with the Wold since I am here” attitude. 

Clu'eth - Cleric of Wardd, works at the temple. Male cleric. Human. Clu'eth has one hand that is much shorter than the other, the fingers are withered and useless. "You all look filthy anyway," he adds, and with a glance at his own deformity, "and the dirt alone takes it's own toll in the end."

Junior (Ianven Jr.) – Rose’s Brother. Cleric of Wardd. Is happy to see little sister Rose and is helping Clu’eth to prepare the antidote “with just a bit of luck”. Anticipate Junior getting killed during Scene 4 to incite Rose and the heroes.

Shuruppak, Anunnaki's father – Gray Elf, operates a small alchemists shop in the City Below- Merchant’s Quarter. Secretly Caped member of the House of the Cloak. Loves his lab and chemicals, very good alchemist. Helped call the Fey King and wants to make amends.

Ninbanda, Anunnaki's mother - operates a small alchemists shop in the City Below- Merchant’s Quarter. Secretly Cloaked member of the House of the Cloak. Runs the front shop and manages the Cloak Cell. Shrewd business dealer. Was against the calling of the Fey King. Anticipate will have to reveal she is a good fighter (7th level Rogue) during Scene 4.

B: Locations. 

Scene 1: Stilt Hut in the Swamp. This is the location of the ending of the last module (Retrieve the Book). The thatched hut is 20 by 30 feet long and held above the swampy ground by four foot high poles. The back wall is caved outward as if someone had made a hasty exit. At the back of the hut is a dilapidated dock with three skiffs tied up.

Scene 2: Temple of Wardd. The Huge Temple of Wardd is a large and beautiful multi-colored building among the shabby and gray constructions of the rest of the city. When constructed and everytime repairs have been needed, the priests of the God of Luck always cast their prayers to the wind and see what comes up. Sometimes they have gotten donated bricks from a project, sometimes timber from a shipwreck, sometimes blocks of heavy marble left over from repairs on the Prince’s Palace. Whatever it is, it always seems to be just enough material and skilled people to help the temple. The effect is a patchwork of material and style that just happens to look like it should belong just like that.

Inside, meditation halls, private rooms, storage bins, and everything else a well-off temple needs are here. It may take a bit of luck to find what you are looking for, but the priests seem to have plenty where that came from.

Scene 3: The Pumpkin. In the middle of the Full Moon Market (City Above), a Great Orange Pumpkin towers over all but the nearby House strongholds. The Rind is smooth but hard as granite. At street level, there are a dozen round openings ranging in size from 3 foot diameter to a whopping seven foot diameter hole. No one can see into the pumpkin very far, for the tunnels twist quickly and hide what is inside.

Scene 4: The Radjni Alchemy Shop. Located in the City Below in the Merchant’s Quarter, The Radjni shop is a four room affair consisting of a shop front and two doors going to the lab from one, and the living / bedroom from another. A counter separates the entrance door from the inside doors as well as a shelf of containers, a shelf of books, and a business roll-top desk. Anticipate the Alchemy Shop to be nearly destroyed in the fighting. (Hint and broad play to get Berlon to invite Anunnaki’s parents to move in and work at Berlon’s alchemy shop in the Trade Quarter.)

C: Magic Treasure: need to do.

D: Experience;

Scene 1: 250xp each. 50xp bonus for characters who realize the urgency to get back to Dirt City.

Scene 2: 250xp each. 50xp bonus for good role-playing interaction with Gold Dragon

Scene 3: 500xp each. 50xp bonus for identifying the worms and beetles will leave characters alone if they don’t have food. 50xp bonus for thinking of creative way to get through pumpkin.

Scene 4: 750xp each. Final fight.

 50 xp for each week missing a post.

[Jerry: Do not penalize individuals for missing posts. It will create an xp gap in your game and is a negative statement instead of a positive one. If posting is good, give the whole group a small but significant xp award like +5% or something.]