TEXT: ~Credits~
  WRITING and Design:  
  K. L. Resler
  DEvelopment & art direction: Robert J. Schwalb
  Editing: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes 
  Proofreading: Jay Spight
  Graphic Design: Kara Hamilton  
  and Hal Mangold
  LAYOUT: kara hamilton
  ILLUSTRATIONs: Biagio d’Alessandro
  Cartography: Cecil Howe
  Forbidden Fruits is ©2017 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.  
  All rights reserved.
  Shadow of the Demon, Forbidden Fruits,
  Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated logos  
  are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
  Schwalb EntErtainmEnt, llc
  PO Box #12548, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
  info@schwalbentertainment.com       www.schwalbentertainment.com
  A Shadow of theDemon Lord 
  Adventure for Expert Characters
  Trouble has come to the door of Bleak’s Faste, a 
  stronghold built to protect the common peoples 
  living in and around the Dark Forest. Beastmen have 
  stepped up their attacks, raiding the trails and roads 
  in a relentless assault that has kept the stronghold’s 
  soldiers on the defensive. To make matters worse, 
  the expected supplies from a nearby commune have 
  yet to arrive; unless they come soon, the soldiers will 
  become too hungry to keep the howling, cackling 
  hordes at bay.
   Forbidden Fruits explores the mortal peril that the 
  growing darkness poses to even the most virtuous 
  of people. Anyone can be warped into debauchery 
  and madness when they dwell in lands on which the 
  shadow falls. The group completes this adventure 
  by stopping the corrupted communers, preventing 
  further infestation, and delivering the needed goods 
  to Bleak’s Faste.
  
  2
  Adventure 
  Background
  Beastmen have haunted the Dark Forest for as long 
  as anyone living there can remember. Their constant 
  raiding led to the construction of Bleak’s Faste, a 
  mighty fortress of stone and timber standing at the 
  fork of a river that flows along the forest’s edge. A 
  small commune nearby keeps the garrison supplied 
  with foodstuffs in exchange for protection. Without 
  these supplies, the soldiers would surely starve. Of 
  late, though, the needed shipments have not been 
  arriving.
   An old, ruined tower stands upon the commune’s 
  lands. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants, it was 
  abandoned long ago after a battle with a demonic 
  woodwose and its mad followers. Their tainted 
  remains decayed into the magic-soaked lands, causing 
  a thorny, sticky vine to grow over the area.
   The people of the commune moved into the tower, 
  never realizing that the strange vine would be the 
  source of their undoing. Its corrupting influence 
  eventually drove them insane, twisting their religious 
  beliefs into something dark and monstrous. Over the 
  years, evil’s grip tightened until the people living there 
  were utterly in its thrall, transformed into hideous 
  mockeries of their former selves. As well, a strange 
  crop has brought new horror to the inhabitants.
   The communers’ madness reached fever pitch last 
  harvest season, when they found an unconscious, 
  grievously wounded minotaur on their return trip 
  from Bleak’s Faste. Though two of its limbs were 
  missing and the other two were mangled, they saw 
  in the beastman a sign from their horned god and 
  believed it could help them bring forth the god in 
  physical form. They carried the creature back to the 
  tower, where they cleaned the stumps of its missing 
  limbs and amputated the others. The people have 
  held it captive there ever since.
   The minotaur’s disappearance has whipped the 
  local beastmen tribes into a frenzy. Now they range 
  out from their forest homes, bent on finding their 
  prized champion and slaughtering all who get in  
  their way.
  Getting Started
  Forbidden Fruits takes place in and around the Dark 
  Forest, a large swath of woodland found in the 
  Northern Reach, but you can set it in any wooded 
  location under the threat of beastmen attacks. The 
  characters start the adventure traveling through the 
  farmlands near Bleak’s Faste.
   You’ll need to come up with a reason to involve the 
  group. Expert characters are moving away from their 
  original haunts, so they might be passing through the 
  area on the way to another adventure or returning 
  home from one they just completed. Alternatively, 
  Commander Rabi at Bleak’s Faste might have sent 
  out a call for arms, offering a 5 cp reward for each 
  beastman head collected.
  A Hostile Land
  Several days of travel separate the various locations 
  described in this adventure. Each time the group 
  travels to a location, roll on the following table to see 
  what happens on the way.
  Travel Table
  d6
  Event
  1
  A tear in reality opens next to one of the 
  characters, releasing 1d6 small demons before  
  the rift closes with an audible snap.
  2
  1d3 hell swine graze in a clearing. When they 
  notice the group, they attack.
  3
  The group comes across a gnarled, dead tree 
  trunk on which have been nailed dozens of 
  stripped human faces. Insane symbols are 
  scrawled in blood all over the trunk. Any 
  character that sees this must get a success on a 
  Will challenge roll with 1 boon or gain 1 Insanity.
  4
  The group comes upon a hunting party consisting 
  of 1d3 + 3 wargs.
  5
  If the group includes any male characters, a lonely 
  dryad emerges from a tree and tries to enthrall 
  the best-looking one. If the party is composed of 
  only females, the dryad is friendly and provides 
  basic information about Bleak’s Faste and the 
  commune if asked.
  6
  A random character steps onto a concealed pit. 
  The character must get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll or fall in, taking 3d6 damage from 
  the sharpened stakes lining the bottom.
  The Farmlands
  On the road to Bleak’s Faste, the characters encounter 
  an agitated man shouting at a group of farmers in the 
  road, “I’m tellin’ ya, it’s a beastman. Raped two of my 
  goats to death and ripped apart their paddock. It fell 
  into the old silo and got trapped there. Now I don’t 
  know what to do with it. I can’t open the door enough 
  to stick a pitchfork in it without gettin’ my eyes 
  scratched out.”
   If the characters offer to help the man, he leads 
  them to a decrepit, roofless silo with one section 
  collapsed inward about halfway up. Something within 
  growls and shrieks while claws scrabble on the inside 
  of the jammed door.
  On looking into the silo, the characters see what 
  looks like an immature fomor crouched on the floor. 
  The beastman is small for its kind and has but one 
  horn growing from the side of its head. Patchy fur 
  
  3
  covers its pink, scabby flesh; its limbs are shorter than 
  normal and uneven in length. The creature wears a 
  collection of rotting, fly-infested animal parts on a 
  cord around its neck.
  If the characters break down or pry open the door, 
  the fomor juvenile springs on them in a flurry of 
  clawed hands and gnashing, jagged teeth, desperate 
  to escape. Though small, it’s ferocious and tries to kill 
  anything that gets in its way, howling unintelligible 
  words all the while.
  FOMOR JUVENILE 
  DIFFICULTY 1
  Size 1/2 beastman
  Perception 10 (+0); shadowsight
  Defense 13; Health 8
  Strength 8 (–2), Agility 13 (+3), Intellect 8 (–2), Will 7 (–3)
  Speed 10
  Feral The fomor makes attack rolls with 1 boon when it can 
  reach two creatures or more.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Claws and Teeth (melee) +3 (1d3)
   If the fomor escapes, the characters can follow 
  the trail of destruction it leaves as it heads to the 
  commune. If the characters kill it, the man thanks 
  them and offers to provide food and shelter for their 
  efforts.
  Bleak’s Faste
  The fortress commands the southern shore of a fast-
  flowing river that marks the edge of the Dark Forest. 
  Its walls stretch east and west up to the river’s edge, 
  punctuated by guard posts with alarm bells and  
  signal fires.
  Just outside the walls, the players see guards tossing 
  beastmen corpses into a pit filled with smoldering 
  bodies. Commander Rabi (a dwarf veteran) oversees 
  the work, occasionally barking an order. Rabi has seen 
  her fair share of combat, as evidenced by her scarred 
  and weathered face and a missing chunk of scalp 
  behind her left ear.
  Talking with Rabi
  It should be obvious that Rabi is in charge. If the 
  group came here to collect bounties on beastmen 
  heads or to help the defenders against the raids, 
  they can approach the commander. Otherwise, Rabi 
  notices them and addresses the group instead.
   Rabi can tell the group that beastmen attacks 
  happen all the time, and usually the garrison is 
  enough to handle them. In recent months, though,  
  the creatures have become more aggressive. Just in  
  the last week they almost overpowered the troops 
  on the walls. She has issued a call for volunteers, but 
  given that it’s harvest time, few folk can afford to leave 
  their fields.
   Of even greater concern is the lack of supplies. 
  Rabi explains that the nearby commune provides the 
  fortress with foodstuffs in exchange for protection. 
  The deliveries are crucial for feeding the soldiers, and 
  without them, Rabi fears they won’t have enough to 
  get through the winter. Shipments should have begun 
  arriving weeks ago, but no one has seen or heard 
  from the commune since the spring planting season. 
  Months can pass before the communers make contact, 
  but this is the first time they have been so long 
  overdue.
   If the characters offer to help defend the fortress, 
  Rabi says she needs them to investigate the commune 
  more than extra mouths to feed. She suspects the 
  communers have not been able to get the goods out 
  due to the increased beastmen raids. She will pay the 
  group 10 gc to escort the harvest shipment to Bleak’s 
  Faste.
  The Commune
  East of the stronghold, a group of nature-worshiping 
  humans established a commune in the rich soil of the 
  river delta about ten years ago. They chose a secluded, 
  abandoned fortress with a fair amount of fertile land 
  that locals believe is haunted and won’t approach. The 
  commune accepts no visitors, and none of its workers 
  deal with anyone in the outside world as they tend 
  the fields. Their only interaction is with Bleak’s Faste, 
  when a handful of communers bring their seasonal 
  produce and grain to the soldiers living there.
  Rumors
  If the characters ask locals about the commune, 
  they learn that many are suspicious of the strange, 
  unsociable group . Thus, the commune’s members are 
  left to their life of silent worship and service without 
  interference. Rolling on the Commune Rumors table 
  can provide more colorful, if unreliable, detail.
  Commune Rumors
  d6
  Rumor
  1
  No one has ever seen a child on the commune’s 
  lands.
  2
  They’re a strange lot but seem harmless.  
  They keep to themselves, and that’s just fine.
  3
  That place is haunted! Everyone vanished from it 
  during a battle a hundred years ago, including my 
  great-great-grandpappy. No one with any sense 
  goes near that place.
  4
  New recruits are brought in under cover of 
  darkness against their will.
  5
  The communers’ tongues have been cut out.  
  My Aunty Willums said one wagged its stump  
  at her once.
  6
  On nights of the new moon, if you listen in the 
  darkest hours, you can hear screaming, howling, 
  and yodeling coming from the commune.
  
  4
  Approaching the Commune
  From a distance, the player characters can see an 
  8-foot-high circular stone wall surrounding a yard
  with a red stone tower standing at the center. The
  wall has been patched with rocks and clay where it
  had crumbled from age and disuse. Strange-looking
  brambles grow out of what look to be three freshly
  dug graves nearby, and in various places they climb up
  the outer wall of the compound. No sounds emanate
  from within and no one answers calls.
   Characters exploring around the wall might find a 
  trapdoor covered by a camouflaged net near the south 
  side. Anyone searching the ground in the area finds 
  it automatically, while characters just looking around 
  can notice it with a success on a Perception challenge 
  roll made with 1 bane. The trapdoor opens into a 
  tunnel that connects to another trapdoor inside the 
  compound.
   The main entry is through the barred gate on the 
  north side of the wall. Opening it requires a success 
  on a Strength challenge roll with 1 bane or dealing 20 
  damage to the gate. Alternatively, a character can scale 
  the wall, but doing so is risky. Any climbing character 
  must get a success on an Agility challenge roll with 1 
  bane or become exposed to skinweed (see below).
   If the fomor juvenile escaped from the 
  characters earlier, they face it here, prowling 
  around the walls trying to find a way in.
  Skinweed
  This exotic disease is transmitted by a creeping 
  vine, usually found in the Spiderwood, but here 
  covering the walls of the compound. Sap enters 
  the victim’s bloodstream when the vine’s sharp 
  thorns tear the flesh. Those afflicted by skinweed 
  suffer from a maddening itch as the disease 
  progresses and, if left untreated, die when vines 
  burst from their bodies.
  Transmission A creature becomes exposed to skinweed 
  by coming into contact with the vine’s thorns. The 
  exposed creature must get a success on a Strength 
  challenge roll with 1 bane or become infected, 
  suffering the stage 1 effects of the disease.
  Cure Anything that poisons the body will poison the 
  vine. An infected creature that takes 5 or more 
  damage from poison makes Strength challenge rolls 
  to recover from the disease with 2 boons.
  Stage 0 The vine dies within the body and must be 
  pulled out through the skin where possible.
  Stage 1 The creature becomes diseased and is feverish 
  and itchy.
  Stage 2 As stage 1, and the skinweed spreads farther 
  across the body and begins to protrude from the 
  skin. The itching increases in intensity, and victims are 
  often unable to sleep or focus. The creature makes 
  Will challenge rolls with 1 bane.
  Stage 3 As stage 2, and the creature must get a success 
  on a Will challenge roll or gain 1d3 Insanity from sleep 
  deprivation and relentless itching.
  Stage 4 As stage 3, and slime-covered flowers bloom 
  from bits of vine poking through the skin, often in 
  areas the victim can’t reach. The itching is so severe 
  that the creature becomes dazed for as long as it 
  remains at this stage, as it scratches and pulls at the 
  protruding vines.
  Stage 5 The creature takes damage equal to its Health and 
  dies as the vines reach its organs.
  Recovery Each time a creature infected with skinweed 
  completes a rest, it must make a Strength challenge roll 
  with 1 bane.
  20 or more: The disease moves down one stage.
   
  Success: No change
   
  Failure: The disease moves up one stage.
  0 or less: The disease moves up two stages (maximum 
  stage 5).
  Commune Locations
  Inside the commune, everything is quiet other 
  than the clucking of chickens that poke around the 
  grounds.
   Silo and Storage Sheds: Just inside the gate is a silo 
  containing various types of grain. Two nearby sheds 
  hold dried, smoked meats and stockpiled vegetables, 
  as well as stacked bales of hay and straw. Several bags 
  containing different types of seeds sit on a labeled 
  shelf. One bag’s contents are unidentifiable; the shelf 
  label says “Kuorne Octe.”
   Livestock Shelter: The wooden shelter holds four 
  oxen, as well as harnesses for wagons. Scratched into 
  the side of the structure is: “Thou shalt not lay with 
  the common beasts. The Great One shall quench all 
  desires.”
  
  5
   Loaded Wagons: Two wagons loaded with sacks 
  of grain look ready for transport. Any character 
  searching the wagons who gets a success on a 
  Perception challenge roll finds a small bag of strange 
  seeds nestled between the other sacks on each wagon.
  Trap Doors and Tunnel: On either side of the 
  wall, concealed by camouflage netting, are wooden 
  trapdoors. They open easily, and each reveals a ladder 
  descending 10 feet to the dirt floor of a tunnel.
  Inside the tunnel are two sweating, feverish men 
  (as cultists), one cradling the other in his lap. Both 
  appear pale and sickly, covered in red, puffy sores 
  from which erupt the tips of small vines. The man 
  who tends to the other is softly crying and clutching 
  at his own stomach.
   If the characters offer to help, the upright 
  communer tries to wave them back. He can’t talk 
  since he has no tongue, but if asked any questions, he 
  scratches into the dirt, “GO,” and points toward the 
  exit hatch. The prone man is clearly on death’s door 
  and expires within a few minutes.
   The group can leave the survivor or force him 
  to come with them. In addition to being infected 
  with skinweed (stage 3), he harbors a violator (see 
  below), which erupts at a time of your choosing if 
  the characters bring him along. If he remains in the 
  tunnel, the group will face the violator later should 
  they exit the commune that way.
   Women’s Barracks: The sparsely furnished 
  structure contains eight bunk beds with an aisle down 
  the center. At the foot of each bunk rests a storage 
  chest containing simple brown robes and blankets. 
  Neatly written across the walls in a flowery script is 
  the following:
  We shall bring forth the Great One.
  	 The	flesh	is	purified	when	split	and	sundered.	Ecstasy	
  awaits us all.
  	 Reserve	thy	fertile	valley	for	the	Great	One.	Bring	him	
  forth,	and	you	shall	be	saved.
  The	suffering	of	the	vine	is	salvation.
   Two women (as cultists) in shredded robes are 
  huddled against the far wall of the barracks. Both 
  have thorny vines growing under their skin, poking 
  through in places, and they scratch and pick to no 
  avail. On one woman’s exposed back, a flower blooms 
  from a protruding vine, brownish red and covered in 
  slime.
   The women ignore attempts to communicate with 
  them, gibbering maniacially as they gouge and tear 
  at skinweed growing from their flesh. Their words are 
  unintelligible because they have no tongues.
   Strange Crop: Last harvest season, one of the 
  communers received a bag of new seeds from a guard 
  at Bleak’s Faste labeled only “Kuorne Octe”—seeds 
  that came from a dubious merchant. Next spring, the 
  communer planted them to find out what would grow.
   Now this strange crop forms several rows on the 
  west side of the compound. Their tall stalks shoot up 
  from the soil, a few of which bear bulbous, veiny leaf 
  pouches. These kuorne octe are vile, semi-intelligent 
  plants that grow in the Spiderwood.
   Inside the leaf pouches are lumpy, thumb-sized 
  larvae. If a character moves to within 1 yard of the 
  crops, the pouches peel open. The larvae within shoot 
  sticky, barbed tentacles at the nearest humanoid that 
  hook into the flesh where they land. They try to enter 
  the person’s mouth (or any other orifice), oozing an 
  amber-hued slime trail that stings viciously in the 
  lacerations. Once inside, they implant seedlings that 
  sprout into a greater horror.
  KUORNE OCTE 
  DIFFICULTY 25
  Size 2 plant
  Perception 15 (+5); sightless
  Defense 15; Health 20
  Strength 14 (+4), Agility 6 (–4), Intellect 5 (–5), Will 10 
  (+0)
  Speed 2
  Immune gaining Insanity; asleep, blinded, dazed, fatigued, 
  frightened, stunned
  Fire Vulnerability A kuorne octe takes double damage 
  from fire.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Barbed Vines (melee) +4 with 2 boons (1d6 + 2 and the 
  target becomes grabbed on attack roll 20+ plus Infest)
  Infest If the target was already grabbed, the kuorne octe 
  attempts to plant a seedling in one of the target’s 
  orifices. The target must get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll or become diseased as its organs liquefy. 
  A creature diseased in this way cannot heal damage and 
  makes attack rolls and challenge rolls with 1 bane. If the 
  diseased creature becomes incapacitated, it dies and a 
  violator erupts from its body 1d6 hours later.
  Each time the diseased creature completes a rest, it 
  must make a Strength challenge roll. On a failure, the 
  creature takes a cumulative 1d6 penalty to Health. This 
  penalty lasts until this diseased affliction is removed. If 
  this penalty reduces the creature’s Health to 0 while it is 
  diseased this way, it dies and a violator tears free from 
  its corpse 1d6 hours later. Three successes removes this 
  diseased affliction from the creature.
  Four communers lie dead behind the rows along 
  the wall. Lacerations crisscross their necks, faces, 
  and hands. One has been choked to death by her 
  own hand, ripping the corners of her mouth in the 
  process. The bodies look strangely flat, like half-filled 
  waterskins. A success on a Perception challenge roll 
  with 1 bane reveals that one of them seems to ripple, 
  as though something were moving inside it.
  If a character moves to within 2 yards of a corpse, 
  a mass of veiny, barbed tentacles erupt from it as a 
  violator attacks. The monster’s torso remains inside 
  the body, dragging it along like a hermit crab’s shell. 
  Once the corpse has been hacked away, the violator is 
  easier to kill.
  
  6
  VIOLATOR 
  DIFFICULTY 50
  Size 1/2 or 1 frightening plant
  Perception 15 (+5); sightless
  Defense 18 or 14 (when injured); Health 25
  Strength 13 (+3), Agility 13 (+3), Intellect 5 (–5), Will 10 (+0)
  Speed 12; climber
  Immune damage from cold, disease, and poison; gaining 
  Insanity; asleep, blinded, dazed, fatigued, frightened, 
  stunned
  Fire Vulnerability A violator takes double damage from 
  fire.
  Protective Shell While a violator is not injured it reduces 
  any damage it takes by 1d6 (to a minimum of 1 damage).
  Size Dependent A violator’s Size depends on the Size of its 
  host.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Barbed Tentacle (melee; reach +2) +3 with 2 boons (1d6)
  SPECIAL ATTACKS 
  Tentacle Flurry The violator flails its tentacles in a 3-yard-
  long cone originating from a point in its space. Each 
  creature in the area must get a success on an Agility 
  challenge roll with 1 boon or take 3d6 damage.
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Evade and Strike When a creature attacks the violator’s 
  Defense or Agility, the violator can use a triggered action 
  to impose 1 bane on the triggering creature’s attack roll. 
  If the attack roll results in a failure, the violator can move 
  up to half its Speed and use its barbed tentacle to attack 
  the triggering creature.
   Men’s Barracks: Spartan in design, this building 
  contains eight bunk beds with an aisle down the 
  center. At the foot of each bunk rests a storage chest 
  containing simple brown robes and blankets. Neatly 
  written across the walls in a flowery script is the 
  following:
  The	sons	of	the	vine	will	change	the	world.
  Plough,	sow,	reap.	The	flesh	is	purified	when	split	and	
  sundered.	Ecstasy	awaits	us	all.
  	 Waste	not	thy	seed	upon	mortals.	Make	fertile	the	soil	in	
  praise	of	the	Great	One.
   Tower: A 25-foot-tall stone tower juts from the 
  center of the grounds. Arrow slits dot the walls at 
  varying heights, and cracks and crumbling holes 
  have been smoothed over with a red stucco. A weird 
  vine climbs the south side of the tower, bearing 
  sickly sweet-smelling flowers and sap-covered thorns. 
  On the north side, dirty handprints surround the 
  following words chiseled into the base, as though 
  touched and revered daily:
  Celibacy	is	godliness.	We	save	ourselves	for	the	Great	One	
  to bring him forth into the world.
  	 Scourging	purges	the	desires	of	the	flesh	and	purifies	the	
  hearts	of	those	willing	to	receive	the	Great	One.
  	 Silence	is	its	own	reward.	Speak	no	words,	and	you	shall	
  have no regrets. Consorting with outsiders brings doom 
  upon	us	all.
  The	vine	brings	suffering,	and	suffering	brings	salvation.
  A single wooden door on the east side of the tower 
  offers access to the interior.
  Tower Interior
  Shadows fill the space, cast by candles on an altar 
  and set into nooks in the wall. The air on the first 
  floors is thick with incense that smolders in a brazier 
  on the altar.
   Ground Floor: This part of the tower is used for 
  worship.
  A stone statue of a bull looms atop a dais across the 
  room from the door. A crown of dried leaves, flowers, 
  and thorny vines wraps around its head and horns. 
  An empty offering bowl, stained with dried blood, 
  lies at the front of the dais. Scourges and whips hang 
  on the walls next to tapestries depicting obscene acts, 
  and handwoven thatch rugs checker the stone floor.
   When a character reaches the center of the room, 
  2 violators (Size 1) charge from behind the statue, 
  dragging the remains of their hosts along.
   On the south side of the room, a steep stone 
  staircase leads up.
  Second Floor: The second-floor landing has a 
  single wooden door that is slightly ajar. A character 
  listening at the door hears a wet slithering sound 
  inside.
   Lined up on a table along the west wall are six 
  cages, each big enough to hold a medium-sized dog. 
  The walls bear murals of grinning, ecstatic women in 
  various stages of birthing horned, cow-headed infants, 
  and of the children growing into robed, godlike 
  figures.
   Four cages each contain a fomor juvenile that 
  claws and rages against its prison. The other two are 
  open and empty. If the characters don’t kill the caged 
  fomors, the beastmen escape and attack the group 
  when they reach either the third or fourth floor, at 
  your discretion. On the north wall lies a nest of hay, 
  blankets, and scattered bones.
   A table on the opposite side of the room is equipped 
  with leather straps and bloody medical instruments. 
  Various tubes, beakers, syringes, and strange devices 
  line the shelves on the walls. Any character with a 
  medical or healing profession can determine the 
  instruments are commonly used to assist in difficult 
  births. Two violators (Size 1/2) scuttle out to attack 
  the characters, one from under the cage table and 
  one from under the birthing table. Bits of their fomor 
  hosts are still attached to their bodies.
  Steep stone stairs on the west wall lead up.
  Third Floor: Behind the heavy, barred double 
  doors on the third floor landing is a scene of carnage. 
  Six dead communers lie on the floor around a 
  deformed, emaciated minotaur chained to a wooden 
  table. If a character moves to within 2 yards of a 
  corpse, a violator erupts from the body.
   The minotaur has stumps for arms below the 
  elbows, and its amputated legs end at the knees. It 
  grunts as it pulls weakly against the chains that hold 
  
  7
  it down. (The communers were using the beastman 
  in an attempt to bring forth their horned god from 
  willing female devotees.)
  Steep stone stairs on the north wall lead up.
   Fourth Floor: The stairs end at a wooden door 
  that leads to the parapet-bordered roof of the tower. 
  Muffled sobbing can be heard behind the door.
   The communers performed their fertility rituals 
  under the night sky at every new moon. Unlit torches 
  line the walls, and two large drums sit on opposite 
  sides of the space. The place smells of sweat, blood, 
  and other fouler secretions. Lewd paintings adorn the 
  parapet, most of which involve large horned beasts 
  rutting with humans.
  A filthy elderly communer named Marna Escodi, 
  who is quite out of her mind, huddles next to one of 
  the drums. She pulls her hair and scratches at her 
  face while babbling about the intruders murdering 
  her beautiful babies, how close she came to bringing 
  forth the Great One, and that all her work has been 
  lost. She is the commune’s founder and has been 
  corrupted by the foul magic soaking the land.
  MARNA ESCODI 
  DIFFICULTY 100
  Size 1 human
  Perception 14 (+4)
  Defense 13; Health 68; Insanity 6; Corruption 6
  Strength 11 (+1), Agility 14 (+4), Intellect 17 (+7), Will 11 (+1)
  Speed 10
  Thrashing Vines In combat, vines burst from Marna’s body 
  and whip around her. When a creature moves to within 
  2 yards of Marna or ends its turn there, it must get a 
  success on an Agility challenge roll or take 1d6 damage 
  and be exposed to skinweed.
  Dread Impetus When Marna takes a turn, she can act 
  before the player characters.
  ATTACK OPTIONS 
  Staff (melee) +4 (1d6 + 1)
  SPECIAL ACTIONS 
  Maddening Outburst When Marna successfully casts a 
  spell, she can use a triggered action at any time before 
  the end of her turn to loose a stream of nonsense. Each 
  creature within short range that can hear her must get  
  a success on a Will challenge roll with 1 bane or gain  
  1 Insanity and become dazed for 1 round.
  Counterspell When a creature attacks Marna with a 
  spell, she can use a triggered action to counter it. The 
  triggering creature makes the attack roll with 1 bane  
  and Marna makes the challenge roll with 1 boon to resist 
  the attack.
  MAGIC 
  Power 5
  Curse pox (6), swine (2), toad (1)
  Forbidden obedience (6), vision’s end (3), part bone from 
  flesh (2), horrid joining (1)
  Magician sense magic (6)
  Nature oak hide (6), overgrowth (3), ensnaring vines (3), 
  wrath of nature (1)
  Conclusion
  The adventure ends when the characters recover the 
  grain shipment and bring it to Bleak’s Faste, at which 
  point they receive the promised reward. However, if 
  they fail to deal with the horrors at the commune, 
  more trouble might befall the region.
   If any violators or fomors are left alive, they escape 
  the fortress and terrorize the surrounding farmlands. 
  Also, if the group fails to find and destroy the kuorne 
  octe seeds, the foul plants spread into the farmlands 
  with predictably dire results. Both scenarios could 
  expand the adventure in interesting ways.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Shadow of the Demon Lord/Adventures/Expert/SotDL - Forbidden Fruits (expert).pdf