TEXT: RATS IN THE CELLAR
  RATS IN THE CELLAR
  A Swords & Wizardry Quick-Play Adventure
  A tale of deadly rodents and free ale.
  RATS & ALE
  Damn your penchant for ale! “A free night of drink” Brock the 
  tavern-keep promised, in return for a little help ridding the 
  cellars of a rat infestation. And so here you are, stuck in the 
  tavern's cellar while above the patrons partake in merry-
  making, feasting, and drinking. 
    Oh well...the quicker you start exterminating Brock's rat 
  problem, the quicker you can partake of Brock's ale. And free 
  ale, at that!
  THE OLD CELLAR
  What the party doesn't know is that Brock serves the evil 
  Grimal, previous master of the tavern,  who now resides 
  deep in the tavern's cellar. Grimal was a cleric of an ancient 
  and forgotten god known simply as the Rat-God. After years 
  of servitude masked under the guise of a simple tavern-
  master, the eldritch entity would eventually  reward the cleric 
  with the Avatar Stone.
  The Avatar Stone, a huge, ruby-like gem, possessed the 
  power to bring nearby rodents under the cleric's control. 
  While bound to Grimal's will, the Rat-God could effect change 
  upon the rodents through the gem, growing them to 
  gargantuan proportions. With this squadron of mutated 
  vermin, Grimal hopes to attack the city and revive the cult of 
  the Rat-God.
  Two things have stalled Grimal's offensive foray into the city. 
  The first is the effects of the stone upon the cleric himself. 
  Close association with the stone has mutated the cleric into a 
  frighteningly enormous rat-like thing. So enormous, in fact, 
  that the horrid acolyte cannot fit through the cellar's corridors. 
  In hopes of rectifying this, Grimal uses the rats under his 
  control, both normal and mutated, to widen the corridors with 
  tooth and claw. 
  The second snag in Grimal's plan are the mutated rats 
  insatiable appetites.  Until Grimal can transform enough rats 
  to take the city, the mutated rodents need to be fed. The 
  huge vermin need to fed constantly and Brock has sent many 
  a patron to the cellar to satisfy the monstrous rats' hunger. 
  The party members are but the latest in a long line of patrons 
  sent below to feed the horrid beasts.
  TRAPPED!
  Brock will let the players know that he'll need to close the 
  door leading to the cellar. Should news of his little "problem" 
  get out, the loss of patronage could very well threaten his 
  livelihood. He'll beg the PCs to be as discreet as possible so 
  that news of the residing vermin doesn't reach the merry-
  makers above.
  In reality, Brock will lock the PCs in the cellar when he 
  believes they've ventured far enough, so as not to raise 
  suspicion. That way, the rodents may gorge upon the 
  hapless PCs at their leisure.
  EFFECTS OF THE AVATAR STONE
  In addition the the changes inflicted upon the rodent 
  population of the cellar, the Avatar Stone will affect the PCs 
  the closer they get to the cursed jewel (Room #4).
  Every turn (10 minutes or 60 rounds) have the PCs roll a d20 
  modified by the room number minus CON bonus and check 
  the result on the Avatar Stone Effects table below. Any 
  subsequent lesser rolls on the table will not yield results (the 
  curse may stay the same, get worse, but not better).
  Avatar Stone Effects table
  Roll
  Effect
  1-11
  No effects other than a noticeable physical 
  discomfort.
  12-15
  Detrimental physical pain. -2 to all rolls. Duration 
  1d6 rounds.
  16-18
  Intense physical pain. -4 to all rolls, -2 to damage. 
  Duration 1d10 rounds.
  19-20
  Transformed into a giant rat (see stats below). 
  Transformation takes 1d6 rounds during which the 
  victim may not act. Victim retains original INT.
  21+
  Transformed into an ordinary rat (see stats below). 
  Transformation takes 1d6 rounds during which the 
  victim may not act. Victim retains original INT.
  The effects act as a curse and may thus be removed via a 
  Remove Curse spell (S&W p.36). Clerics may be found once 
  above to preform such a spell, and if informed of the dreaded 
  cult that spawned in the cellar, they will be happy to remove 
  the curse at a lower cost or even for free.
  INTO THE CELLAR
  Room #1 (Ale Storage): The first chamber the PCs enter as 
  they reach the bottom of the stairs which leads to Brock's 
  cellar appears to be a storage area for the tavern's ale. The 
  room roughly spans 30'X30' and ends in a south-bound, 
  winding corridor. To either side of the room, barrels of ale are 
  stacked up three by four. Perceptive players might notice a 
  multitude of tiny claw and teeth marks upon the barrels, an 
  indication of the cellar's rodent population.
  To the south, passed the winding corridor, the way is blocked 
  by a set of iron bars. A crank mechanism on the eastern wall 
  allows he bars to be raised or lowered. Peeking through the 
  bars will reveal that no matching mechanism seems to be 
  present on the other side of the bars, as if these retractable 
  bars were set in place to prevent anyone from beyond from 
  venturing any further. 
  1
  
  RATS IN THE CELLAR
  Room #2 (The Old Storage): 
  This room spans roughly 
  50'X50'. Torn sacks of molding 
  grain and spices can be found 
  strewn across the room. 
  Lumps of decomposing edibles 
  can be found here and there. 
  Rubble of tiny stones can be 
  found resting along the eastern 
  and western walls of the room. 
  The origin of the rubble is 
  clearly the stone around the 
  southbound door, which 
  appears to have been eroded 
  by the scraping of a million tiny 
  claws and the gnashing of a 
  million tiny teeth. The wooden 
  door leading further south is 
  being held upright by the drop-
  bar alone, the hinges holding it 
  in place no longer connected 
  to the wooden door-frame, 
  which has also suffered the 
  assault of the rats' single-
  minded attempt to widen the 
  way for their master and larger 
  kin beyond.
  Hidden within the accumulated 
  rubble, a swarm of rats 
  (ordinary) will watch the party 
  enter the room, awaiting the 
  command from Grimal (by way 
  of the Avatar Stone) to pounce 
  upon the party.
  Room #3 (The Old Worship 
  Room/Giant Rat Lair): This 
  room is similar in dimensions 
  to the previous one. Both 
  northern and southern doors 
  show the same treatment as 
  the tooth and claw widened 
  door from the previous room, 
  but on a larger scale. Upon the 
  floor, in the middle of the room, 
  a large symbol has been 
  painted in darkened red (a 
  stylized, horned rat's head). 
  Humanoid bones, picked 
  clean, can be found strewn 
  across the room. Unlike the 
  previous room, the denizens of 
  this chamber (giant rats) do 
  not hide from the party, 
  awaiting to be prompted by their master, but viciously attack 
  the party on sight in a frenzy of hunger and blood-lust.
  Room #4 (Grimal's Chamber): The only objects of note in 
  this room are the Avatar Stone, a sickly red stone the size of 
  a man's head, and a rune laden chest which, judging by its 
  size, is meant to hold the stone. Locking the Avatar Stone 
  within the chest will stifle the stones nefarious powers. 
  Behind the stone crouches the grotesque and gargantuan 
  form of Grimal. A pulsating melding of human and rat, with 
  claws, teeth, and tail coexisting in an unnatural and unholy 
  alliance with basic human anatomy. The large, shambling 
  high-priest of the Rat-God will immediately spring to attack 
  the party.
  THE AFTERMATH
  Should Grimal and his rodent minions be defeated, the GM 
  may wish to inject a confrontation with an enraged Brock. 
  Any clerical order told about the dark cult found below the 
  tavern will be indebted to the party. How this gratitude is 
  manifested is up to the GM. Healing at a reduced price would 
  certainly be in order. A lawful clerical order will also offer to 
  destroy the Rat-God's unholy relic.
  ANTAGONISTS
  Rat, Ordinary (5d10): HD 1hp; AC 9[10]; Atk 1 bite/group of 
  10 (1d6); Save 18; Move 9; CL/XP A/5XP per rat; Special: 
  5% are diseased (S&W p.53).
  Rat, Giant (3d6): HD 1d4hp; AC 7[12]; Atk 1 bite (1d3); Save 
  18; Move 12; CL/XP A/5XP; Special: 5% are diseased (S&W 
  p.53).
  Brock, Dwarven servant of Grimal: HD 4; 28hp; AC 5[14]; 
  Atk 1 weapon (see equipment, below); Save 13; Move 6; 
  CL/XP 4/120XP.
  Equipment: Chain Mail, Battle Axe (1d8, +1 if two handed), 
  Heavy Crossbow (1d6+1), Dagger (1d4), Potion of Healing 
  (1d8+1 hp), key to lock the Avatar Stone's chest, 250 gp.
  GRIMAL, MUTATED HUMAN/RAT HYBRID
  Armor Class: 4 [15]
  Hit Dice: 5
  Attacks:  2 claws, 1bite (1d6/1d6/2d6+disease)
  Saving Throw: 12
  Special: Disease
  Move: 12
  Challenge Level/XP: 6/400 XP
  The mutated human/rat hybrid is a large, pulsating melding of 
  human and rat, with claws, teeth, and tail coexisting in an 
  unnatural and unholy alliance with basic human anatomy. 
  Much like its rodent kin, the human/rat hybrid's bite is also 
  infectious. On a failed save, the human/rat hybrid's bite will 
  reduce the victim's CON by 1 point per day until a Cure 
  Disease spell is cast, halting further CON loss. For ever 
  additional Cure Disease spell cast upon the infected victim, 1 
  point of depleted CON is restored, up to the victim's original 
  CON.
  SPOILS OF VICTORY
  Other than treasures amassed from defeating the foes found 
  in the cellar, there are no noteworthy spoils in this 
  adventures. GM's may add loot from the previous patron sent 
  down to feed the rats. Also, if the GM decides to include a 
  confrontation with Brock, the players may loot the tavern. 
  2
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Swords & Wizardry (osr) [multi]/SnW 1e & 2e/Adventures & Settings/SnW - Rats in the Cellar.pdf