The Cleaveriver Treasure and Dragon: Part One

This one-shot adventure and open module in Nimenra have 2-5 characters of level 1-3 roam the rolling hills of Marlun searching of the supposed treasure that may or may not exist while at the great threat of a "dragon" and also help a village with their troubles. Players take the role of treasure hunters/seekers just arriving and hear that most treasure hunters, if not all, have decided to not try finding the treasure when a dragon is out there hunting and killing them. Those hunters who have been brave enough have left and never returned. To find the treasure it will be up to the players to find and locate the dragon, kill it and hopefully locate the treasure at the same time. This is the first part of two and will mainly surround the Stonerisers and their involvement in the larger quest.

Introduction

Treasure has been found in a small village in Marlun! Many seekers go for the chance to find its riches and more. Amongst them are you, togeter or not you are travelling to Cleaveriver in hope of finding the treasure.

By the time you arrive, however, rumours of a "dragon" have scared most from leaving the safety of the camp and village for weeks. Only the village game hunters like Greymane Scarbrand venture outwards into the forest and hills and those who do not believe in the rumours. Tensions are rising, and people on both sides want the dragon gone and treasure found. The mayor Lucan Mane is at a standstill with his own village wanting to force the remaining treasure hunters away. What will the newcomers do to help the situation?

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GM SECTION ONLY

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The beginning

PC:s are arriving in the village of Cleaveriver that has been the centre of rumours that have dragged people to it: A great treasure is somewhere in the hills. PC:s are not alone to go after it, however, there is already a large camp of treasure hunters here and when they arrive they meet one of its "leaders", Jorum. He tells the PC:s about the "rules" which consist of that the only fighting that is allowed is in his fighting pit, the treasure is out there and the one who finds it tells everyone about it and the village is angered with them and that the PC:s should annoy them as much as they can (Which they probably should not). He also tells the PC:s that no one is going out at the moment due to the dragon... which is probably guarding the treasure.

After this, Petren, a travelling cartographer, arrives from the village to tell of a treasure hunter that is back, covered in blood and missing an arm. The man has been carried to the doctor Neiren. While others are not to keen on it, the PC:s would probably want to go and hear from the man can say.

In town, you are met with suspicious looks from a majority but a few give the impression of friendliness. It seems the village attitude is definitively mixed towards you, once you cross the bridge, you see the brown-red home of the doctor with a sign dangling in the light breeze.

PC:s arrive at the doctor who opens his door while drying his hands from blood and tells the PC:s that the man is dead. The PC:s have an opportunity to look at the corpse or ask Neiren about the man. Neiren is neutral to the PC:s unlike other villagers and will answer to the best of his ability. The dead man has a large gash but the missing arm is the most obvious damage the man has received. With a DC 12 Nature they will know that the creature is large due to the size of the gash and definitely tore the arm. Neiren will tell the PC:s about Lucan Mane, the mayor of Cleaveriver, who want to deal with the dragon and the treasure hunters. He also talks about Greymane Scarbrand, a local hunter, who does not believe the dragon rumours. He can be found out hunting during the day.

Moving onwards - dragon or village

Lucan Mane is at the assembly hall where he works as the mayor with his assistant and treasurer Liam. When Lucan is approached about this problem he will talk at great lengths about the trouble the village has with the treasure hunters (they have caused great roubles with brawls, damage to property and similar things) and the dragon, which he fears will drag the attention from the current war's participants since a dragon would turn the tide of said war. The PC:s are tasked, if they want some more gold, to deal with these situations.

During this conversation, the PC:s can make a DC 10 Insight on Liam, who is revealed to be nervous. When asked about it, he is denying it until talked to privately. He asks the PC:s if they can help him with missing gold from the treasury. If the PC:s want to know more, they have to do a DC 15 Persuasion for him to reveal that it started about a week after the treasure hunters came but it can only be someone from the village since the key is only in the treasurer, mayor and the five old families hands. He does have his wonder if it is the Stonerisers.

With this all set. The PC:s can start exploring the village and try to find clues, starting with the village vs camp problem (for the dragon, check part two!).

The Village

The village is quiet most of the day. The farmers work their fields, the hunters are not out in the woods or hills and help the farmers instead. Locals are split on meeting foreigners at the moment (see sidebar) and will be neutral at the best.

Greymane is located outside and is the most friendly to the PC:s (beyond Lucan). Meeting him demands PC:s to track him down outside which can be done with some directions from villagers and a DC 15 Survival. During this the PC:s can meet 2-3 Wolf or accidentally go into Greymane's traps (both DC 10 Perception to spot) He will be surprised to be found but help them. He believes that the Stonerisers are the source of the rumours and the PC:s should direct their attention to them.

The Camp

The PC:s are welcomed with sucpition and small interest from the camp's inhabitants. From ruffians to plain hopefull treasure hunters, they are a cultural mix of Humans and Demons that all try to find the so called treasure. Few dare to venture outside when the dragon is about however...

In camp is the veteran mercenary Anthest, who is a friend of Petren the cartographer. He is a Lawful Neutral level 2 Fighter NPC that can be added to the party if needed (stat block in the sidebar). He will want a share of the treasure, however, when it is found preferring a 50/50 split amongst the party. If the party is already 3 or more, he might not be needed and can be skipped.

Jorum has a small fight pit set up at the southwestern end of camp. He offers the PC:s to fight in it if they want (winnings range from 1-10 silver). He (and other "leaders" of the camp) provide little help and reveals the fact that he and his gang has caused the most trouble in the village, openly boasting about wreaking the local tavern as an example. Jormu is considered in game terms a Assassin with 40 HP, a shortsword, light armour and no Assassinate feature. He will be of no help to the PC:s, only if they were to tell him the location of the treasure would he be interested (and no dragon). There are other people in camp that will lead the PC:s onwards.

Short Information

Adventure setting
Marlun, Cleaveriver
Character Level on adventure:
Lvl 1-3 Characters
Important NPC:s
Lucan Mane (Village Mayor)
Agnes Stoneriser (Antagonistic) and Wulf Stoneriser (Neutral-Unfriendly)
Greymane Scarbrand (Friendly/Helpful)
Morgan CannDunnd (Friendly)
Hermound Douviét (Neutral)
Jormun (Neutral/Unfriendly)
Awun Guwern (Neutral/indifferent)
Anthest (Potential Companion/Neutral)
Related Articles
Cleaveriver (Also contains location map)
The Dragons of Nimenra
Abbrivations
GM = Game Master
PC(s) = Player Character(s)
Rewards
Differs, Mayor Lucan Mane gives 5 gold each.
If PC:s are level 1, they gain a level.

PC:s and villagers

The PC:s might need help, new equipment or food and drink while on the mission in Cleaveriver. Problem is that the village is split in opinions on the treasure hunters. It is about a 55 % chance of meeting someone who is hostile to the treasure hunters and not willing to help or sell them anything (Except for the named NPC:s, see the toolbar for info on their stances). A DC 20 Charisma check is needed in these cases to be given the reluctant aid from these people. The owner of the local tavern, Peter, will not rent out any beds to anyone regardless of what the PC:s do. He is a strong supporter of the Stonerisers, however, and the reveal of one person's doing is more than enough to swing his opinion around.
However, the Dwarven community outside is more than happy to be of help. While food costs the triple amount (they don't usually sell their own food) the normal equipment is in the normal price range. Doing Morgan's quest Dwarven Tenacity will result in PC:s given a discount of 25 percent on goods with the Dwarves beyond the normal rewards.

Stonerisers' House Map

The Stoneriser's Main House

Open full size

The Stoneriser Estate is one of the oldest homes in Cleaveriver. The main house is built in stone, it shows ancestry that dates back hundreds of years inside thanks to the small wealth the family has acquired through trade compared to the others in the village. Currently, the house lord is Wulf Stoneriser, married in from the Casandris family, and the house lady is Agnes Stoneriser. They live here with their sons, while servants live in the larger side house that is connected through a second-floor connector.

Kathy Casandris - Lovers' Trouble

Another character that can be located in the camp is Kathy Casandris, a local woman who the PC:s will find crying in a tent. A DC 10 Perception is all that is needed to hear her. She cries for the mercenary, who she thought was her lover Traven and is crying in relief and sorrow that it was not him and that he is still missing. When asked when he disappeared, she tells them he has been gone for two days. She thinks he went with a group to find the treasure and is trapped or has been taken by her family. But the fact is that he has been instead kidnapped by Micheal and Agnes Stoneriser. Her only relative in town at the moment is Liam Casandris, her cousin, and his parents and they know nothing, Liam even has tried to convince her parents to accept her back. While in town, the PC:s can be told (DC 12 Persuasion on a local that is not an important NPC) that a man matching Traven's description was close to the Stoneriser estate. This will hopefully lead the PC:s to investigate the Stonerisers and solve the situation by finding Traven in the basement of the estate.

The Secrets of the Stonerisers

Greymane suspicions are somewhat correct about the Stonerisers involvement. Agnes Stoneriser, the wife of Wulf Stoneriser, have had treasure hunters kidnapped since they have disrupted the peace in the village. She also has actively made caused trouble in camp by masking her sons and other relatives to cause fights and disputes in camp. None of the Stonerisers are keen on talking to any treasure hunter, including the PC:s.

The Stoneriser estate is the largest in town with three buildings they call their own, the main house, a larger side house and a longhouse that functions as a guest house and storage. The main house is the only important one for the adventure, having a basement, first and second floor. Most of the day the Stonerisers are inside with the exception of Michael and Brak, who are working as hauliers and carpenters. A Guard (with a club) is stationed outside the door from 10 AM to 3 PM since that is when Wulf is working in his office and Agnes with servants do other business in the village or the house. The guard is in nature unfriendly to anyone who does not look like they are from the village and attempts to convince them to go inside is a DC 20 Persuasion. The estate's garden is surrounded by buildings and a wall on the northeastern side. Climbing the wall is a DC 12 Athletics. There will be a guard walking underneath the balcony during the day.

While inside during the day there is a 50% chance that a servant or Agnes Stoneriser is on the first floor. They will be doing work inside (up to GM to move them around). The PC:s should roll initiative for any break-in attempts (with other potential hostile characters to have a Initative of 10 during this) or other similar action while inside the house. What can be found in each room is located on the map information in the sidebar. The PC:s should aim to get the information from the desk in Willm's Old Room. The desk is a DC 15 Investigation to find all the information or DC 10 to find one piece of it. This information is about disappeared hunters and how Agnes has stirred up trouble in camp. There is a sack of coins with a series of messages that tells of her attempts to have people in the camp murdered, among them the leaders.

In the basement, there is mostly storage but also a hidden room that the Stonerisers' ancestors built as an armoury. Agnes (and her late father) refurnished it with holding cells and she has kept it secret from her husband, together with all of the other activities she has done since the treasure hunt has begun. Only she and her youngest son Michael knows of it. It is located behind a shelf that can be moved with a DC 15 Atletics or with a secret button that can be found with a DC 10 Investigation of the north wall. Inside the hidden room, there are two abducted hunters, one of which is Kathy's lover Traven (see related camp quest).

If any of these incriminating information or actions is found out and reported to either Wulf, Greymane or Lucan, they will react with shock but with evidence in hand, they will act on it. Agnes and Michael (together with two others) will be arrested for further inquiry. Lucan Mane will thank the PC:s for also recovering the missing treasury gold and mending somewhat of the problems with the camp and village, giving the PC:s 5 gold each. Greymane will reward them with that he has recently found fresh tracks while the PC:s done their investigation that leads to the dragon's cave. The PC:s might want to direct their attention to that immediately.