TEXT: The Greater of Two Evils
  The Greater of Two Evils
  The Greater of Two Evils
  The Greater of Two Evils
  The Greater of Two Evils
  
  T
      
      
  his adventure is one piece of a movement within the D&D community to invite, encourage, and include those who have not been
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  to help you make lives better, to provide tools, training, and a community to this end. We believe that this will extend
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  for including characters with disabilities, mental illness, and neurodivergence in fifth edition goes live on Kickstarter.
    
    
  This adventure includes death, violence, ableism, and the undead.
  2
  
         
         
  T
  he baron hires you to stop an undead creature
  that’s sure to bring evil to the community, but
  is the evil already there?
  This side adventure is designed for four to
  six characters with an average party level of 4,
  totaling roughly 20 levels.
    
    
  Baron Timo Dewitte hires the party as bodyguards, claiming
  that a necromancer has sent some kind of zombie after him.
  He knows that the creature is heading his way and wants it
  destroyed before it reaches the manor. As the party searches
  for the creature, they encounter those who know both Baron
  Dewitte and the being that has become the undead creature,
  although they don’t know the connection. They learn that
  Baron Dewitte is a scheming murderer and receive hints that
  the undead creature was attempting to expose him before
  getting caught and permanently silenced.
  By the time the party encounters the creature, a revenant,
  they realize that the revenant isn’t sent by a necromancer but
  rather a vengeful spirit who wants to avenge his own death.
  The party must decide whose side to take in the conflict.
   
   
  This adventure could happen in any somewhat urban setting
  large enough to support a Baron’s manor. The party is hired
  by Baron Timo Dewitte and will usually be motivated by the
  financial reward or the desire to help a living human against
  the undead.
    
    
  This adventure could take place anywhere that has a noble
  manor or even a wealthy section of a city and the possibility
  of undead. It particularly fits well with the Ravenloft setting in
  nearly any of the domains listed in Van Richten’s Guide to
  Ravenloft.
   
   
  3
    
    
  Medium humanoid (human noble), chaotic neutral
  Armor Class 15 (breastplate)
  Hit Points 9 (2d8)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  11 (+0) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 16 (+3)
  Skills Deception +5, Insight +4, Persuasion +5
  Senses passive Perception 12
  Languages Common, Goblin
  Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
  Actions
  Actions
  Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.
  Reactions
  Reactions
  Parry. Timo adds 2 to his AC against one melee attack
  that would hit him. To do so, he must see the attacker
  and be wielding a melee weapon.
  
  
  Large monstrosity, lawful evil
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 68 (8d10 + 24)
  Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  17 (+3)
  16 (+3)
  17 (+3)
  7 (-2)
  12 (+1)
  8 (-1)
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages —
  Challenge 3 (700 XP)
  Tail Spike Regrowth. The manticore has twenty-four tail
  spikes. Used spikes regrow when the manticore
  finishes a long rest.
  Actions
  Actions
  Multiattack. The manticore makes three attacks: one
  with its bite and two with its claws or three with its tail
  spikes.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
  Tail Spike. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range
  100/200 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing
  damage.
  
  4
  
  
  Medium humanoid (human), lawful good
  Armor Class 9
  Hit Points 4 (1d8)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  9 (-1)
  8 (-1)
  11 (+0)
  11 (+0)
  10 (+0)
  9 (-1)
  Senses passive Perception 10
  Languages Common
  Challenge 0 (10 XP)
  Pot of Hot Soup. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach
  5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4 - 1) bludgeoning damage +
  2 (1d4) fire damage.
  
  
  Medium humanoid (human), lawful good
  Armor Class 10
  Hit Points 3 (1d8 - 1)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  9 (-1) 11 (+0) 9 (-1) 11 (+0) 10 (+0) 12 (+1)
  Senses passive Perception 10
  Languages Common
  Challenge 0 (10 XP)
  Temperature Intolerance (Severity Degree 2, Periodic).
  You are sensitive to atmospheric temperature
  changes and have a small range of temperatures
  where you are comfortable, feeling like the
  environment is much warmer or colder than the
  actual temperature, sweating or shivering when
  most people are comfortable. This range may
  change suddenly. You have a −1 per Severity Degree
  penalty to Wisdom (Perception) checks to
  determine the relative environmental temperature. 
      The symptom fluctuates. It will recur in 1d20
  days, , rerolling cumulatively on a 20, taking 1d100
  hours to reach full effect. On a roll of 95-100, roll
  again and add the rolls together, repeating for each
  roll of 95-100. At the end of the symptoms, they
  gradually disappear over 1d100 hours.
  Hypertension (Severity Degree 3). Hypertension does
  not normally have noticeable symptoms, but you are
  more susceptible to complications. Every 3d100
  days, you must succeed on a DC 5 + (Severity
  Degree) Constitution saving throw. On failure, you
  develop one of the following complications or
  symptoms: Organ Failure, Blindness, Diabetes,
  Memory Loss, or Dementia. (Roll randomly or,
  because these will significantly affect your
  character, discuss them, and choose one.)
  Actions
  Actions
  Club (Table Leg). Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit,
  reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4 - 1) bludgeoning
  damage.
   
   
  Medium humanoid (human merchant), neutral
  Armor Class 9
  Hit Points 4 (1d8)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  8 (-1) 8 (-1) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 14 (+2)
  Skills Deception +4, Persuasion +4
  Senses passive Perception 11
  Languages Common
  Challenge 0 (10 XP)
  Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +1 to hit,
  reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4
  - 1) piercing damage.
   
   
  Medium humanoid (human), neutral
  Armor Class 15 (scale mail)
  Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  13 (+1) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 10 (+0)
  Skills Perception +2
  Senses passive Perception 12
  Languages any one language (usually Common)
  Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
  Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5
  ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage, or
  6 (1d10 + 1) slashing damage if used with two
  hands.
  
    
    
  A messenger from Baron Timo Dewitte comes into the inn
  and approaches the party. Their reputation has preceded
  them, and he would like to hire them for a short term
  bodyguard position. If they agree, they will be compensated
  20 gp each per day. If they’d like more details, they can meet
  with the baron personally.
  Assuming they agree, they are taken to the manor house.
  The house is a large two story stone building with a tile roof,
  surrounded by barley and vegetable fields in the front and an
  orchard in the back that also serves as pasture to his sheep
  and cattle. Several other buildings spread through the
  sprawling manor to house poultry, mounts, and servants, and
  a large pond provides fish, waterfowl, and a small patch of
  watercress that grows near the spring that feeds the pond,
  reserved for the Baron alone.
  The messenger leads the party through the foyer into a
  cedar-paneled lounge with padded chairs and small tables
  with bowls of apples and devil fruit, so named for the red
  spines that sprout from the top and the sweet-but-spicy flavor
  that burns the mouth of unsuspecting travelers. The aroma of
  the cedar combines with the citrus coffee brewing on the
  coals of the fireplace.
  The messenger offers the party a seat, opens a cabinet, and
  pulls out a tray of candied cherries and a platter of mugs for
  the coffee, offering them to the party while he notifies the
  baron that they have arrived.
  A few minutes later, the baron enters with the messenger,
  flanked by two guards in scalemail, longswords sheathed at
  their belts. They take positions at the two entrances to the
  room as the baron finds an open seat, and the messenger
  pours him a mug of coffee.
  5
    
    
  Medium undead, neutral
  Armor Class 13 (leather armor)
  Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  18 (+4) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 16 (+3) 18 (+4)
  Saving Throws Str +7, Con +7, Wis +6, Cha +7
  Damage Resistances necrotic, psychic
  Damage Immunities poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened,
  paralyzed, poisoned, stunned
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
  Languages the languages it knew in life
  Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
  Proficiency Bonus +3
  Regeneration. The revenant regains 10 hit points at the
  start of its turn. If the revenant takes fire or radiant
  damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the
  revenant's next turn. The revenant's body is destroyed
  only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't
  regenerate.
  Rejuvenation. When the revenant's body is destroyed,
  its soul lingers. After 24 hours, the soul inhabits and
  animates another humanoid corpse on the same plane
  of existence and regains all its hit points. While the soul
  is bodiless, a wish spell can be used to force the soul to
  go to the afterlife and not return.
  Turn Immunity. The revenant is immune to effects that
  turn undead.
  Vengeful Tracker. The revenant knows the distance to
  and direction of any creature against which it seeks
  revenge, even if the creature and the revenant are on
  different planes of existence. If the creature being
  tracked by the revenant dies, the revenant knows.
  Actions
  Actions
  Multiattack. The revenant makes two fist attacks.
  Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
  target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the
  target is a creature against which the revenant has
  sworn vengeance, the target takes an extra 14 (4d6)
  bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the
  revenant can grapple the target (escape DC 14)
  provided the target is Large or smaller.
  Vengeful Glare. The revenant targets one creature it can
  see within 30 feet of it and against which it has sworn
  vengeance. The target must make a DC 15 Wisdom
  saving throw. On a failure, the target is paralyzed until
  the revenant deals damage to it, or until the end of the
  revenant's next turn. When the paralysis ends, the
  target is frightened of the revenant for 1 minute. The
  frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end
  of each of its turns, with disadvantage if it can see the
  revenant, ending the frightened condition on itself on a
  success.
  
  The baron takes a long whiff of the coffee, looks at each party
  member, and smiles contently. “Thank-you for considering my
  offer. I need a specific form of proactive protection that is
  outside the expertise and pay grade of the guards I employ.”
  He glances at the guards and nods his head at each in
  appreciation. “I banished the wizard, Jakob Velghe, from this
  region when I was visiting my mother’s grave and caught him
  performing necromancy, defiling the bodies of the departed
  loved ones of this community. He has sworn vengeance on
  me, and travelers have reported seeing an undead
  abomination not far from here, and each reports it being
  closer. I need you to destroy this creature before it disrupts
  our peaceful community. I would have you hunt down the
  necromancer, too, but reports of his whereabouts are few and
  far between, but what little information I have indicates that
  he’s leaving the region, so I’m hoping he’s going to corrupt
  some other region beyond my responsibility or reach.”
  Once the party accepts, the baron offers them any supplies
  they reasonably need, 10 gp advance payment, and directions
  to where the creature was last seen, which is about a day’s
  journey along a well-marked path.
  They are welcomed as guests for dinner and offered a meal
  of lamb chops, potatoes, and baked apples glazed with devil
  fruit sauce while a minstrel plays a gentle tune on a lyre.
     
     
  The party sets out the next morning down a quiet path, the
  occasional cottage, birds and rodents, or other travelers
  breaking up the calm journey. Just before noon, they hear
  screaming and the sound of smashing coming from a cottage
  on the road ahead. If they investigate, they find a manticore
  that has stuck its head in the cottage and is terrorizing the
  residents, and one of them is about to throw a large boiling
  pot of soup at it.
  Once the ruckus finishes, the residents, a human couple who
  look to be in their fifties, introduce themselves as Jorik and
  Natasja, and in thanks for the rescue, they offer the party a
  meal. “We were just about to eat when the door smashed in,
  but you saved our lunch! Would you care for some rabbit soup
  and barley bread?”
  If the party stays for lunch, they’re also offered a choice of
  stout beer or devil fruit wine with their meal.
  Natasja is wearing clothing lighter than would be expected
  for this cool time of year and is fanning herself and sweating.
  Jorik tends to dote on her, which annoys her, even though she
  appreciates his intentions. “Jorik, I can get it myself.” “But
  Natasja, that attack was not good for your heart. I’m sure
  your blood pressure is through our now-broken roof!” “I will
  be able to relax when you let me make my own decisions
  about what I can and can’t handle. But the wall being
  smashed in is helping with this hot flash!”
  During the meal, the residents ask the party where they’re
  headed. If the party mentions the baron, the residents glance
  at each other. They’ll be reluctant to say anything negative
  about him to the party since they’re in his employ, but if the
  party can convince them that they have no loyalty with him,
  they will hint that the baron has had his share of shady deals,
  allowing stolen goods to pass through his barony for a bribe,
  although nobody has ever been able to prove it.
     
     
  
  
  Further down the road, in the afternoon, the party encounters
  a merchant, Björn, headed toward them with a horse-drawn
  open wagon. He stops and attempts to sell them his wares.
  He has a variety of jewelry made from large gem-encrusted
  teeth that he claims are dragon teeth. (They are not. They
  come from a dinosaur.)
  6
  
  Björn Vandendriessche attempts more conversation in hopes
  of a sale, asking questions about where they’re headed. If the
  party mentions Jakob, Björn knows he wasn’t a wizard.
  “Unless he sold his soul, he wasn’t magical, except at
  gathering information. He could get you any kind of dirt you
  needed on someone.” Björn doesn’t know the baron, nor did
  he know Jakob was missing. He has seen the creature in the
  woods, headed the same direction as him (toward the manor)
  and will tell the party if asked. If they don’t ask him, he will
  attempt to sell a necklace by claiming it will protect them
  from the creature lumbering through the woods. (It won’t, but
  if they ask, he will tell them that he saw something inhuman
  that they should want protection from.) He will point the
  party to another path that runs parallel to theirs that the
  creature seemed to be following.
  ’     
  ’     
    
    
  As the party follows the trail and comes near the manor, only
  a hill between, the party catches up with the creature, a
  revenant that is actually Jakob, who was killed by the baron.
  If they try to talk to him, he will ignore them and keep
  walking toward the manor. If they get in his way, he will try to
  force himself past them, pushing and threatening, preferring
  to avoid combat but not afraid of it. He will reluctantly talk to
  them if necessary. The truth, which he will tell them with
  urgency as he attempts to get past them, is that he had
  information on the baron’s illegal dealings and was
  threatening to reveal it, so the baron had him killed. He will
  rest once he stops the baron once and for all.
  At this point, the party must decide their course of action.
  Do they save the baron’s life by fighting Jakob? Do they step
  aside and let him go? Do they help him fight the guards?
  7
  
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Credits &
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright
  Lead writer, editor & developer: Dale Critchley
  Character art by Portrait Gallery app
  Artwork public domain illustrations by Dragan Milojković,
  Prettysleepy, Manticore by LadyofHats
   
   
  Dale Critchley is the owner, lead writer, and chief
  tea drinker at Wyrmworks Publishing. He’s been
  playing tabletop role-playing games since 1982
  and launched Wyrmworks Publishing as a hobby
  in 2001 to share his homebrew resources with
  the world. In 2021, after seeing the power that a
  TTRPG group can have to change the lives of the
  participants for the better, he rededicated
  Wyrmworks Publishing to focus on using
  TTRPGs to intentionally improve the lives of
  others and turned a hobby into a full time
  pursuit.
    
    
  
  
  What happens when people decide to level up
  their play by using the game to improve the lives
  of others? And how can YOU do the same with
  your game? Subscribe via YouTube / Podcast
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Adventures/D&D 5E Adventures/Accessible Adventure of the Week/Accessible Adventure of the Week - The Greater of Two Evils.pdf