TEXT: You Ain’t From Around
  Here
  A One-Round D&D 3rd Edition LIVING GREYHAWK™ Adventure
  by Steven A. Hardinger
  It’s been a few weeks since you’ve returned from Royal mail duty. The town crier announces a call from the
  Crown for licensed adventurers to explore the central regions of the Gnatmarsh. A scenario for PCs of 
  level 1 – 2 set in the Kingdom of Nyrond.
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, GREYHAWK, ROLE PLAYING GAMES ASSOCIATION and RPGA are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast,
  Inc. LIVING GREYHAWK and the D20 system logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and
  the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Any reproductions or unauthorized use of material or artwork
  contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.  This scenario is intended for organized play use
  only and may not be reproduced without approval of the RPGA Network. 
  © 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. 
  Visit our Website at:
  www.wizards.com/rpga
  NYR1-02
  
  GETTING STARTED
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  1
  T
  his is an RPGA® Network scenario for the DUNGEONS &
  DRAGONS® game. A four-hour time block has been allocated for
  each round of this scenario, but the actual playing time will be clos-
  er to three hours. The rest of the time is spent in preparation before
  game play, and scoring after the game. The following guidelines are
  here to help you with both the preparation and voting segment of
  the game. Read this page carefully so that you know and can com-
  municate to your players the special aspects of playing an RPGA
  scenario. 
  Preparation
  First you should print this scenario. This scenario was created to
  support double-sided printing, but printing it single sided will
  work as well. There is enough room along the inside margin to
  bind the adventure, if you desire. 
  Read this entire adventure at least once before you run your
  game. Be sure to familiarize yourself with any special rules, spells, or
  equipment presented in the adventure. It may help to highlight par-
  ticularly important passages. 
  When you run an RPGA D&D adventure we assume that you
  have access to the following books: the Player’s Handbook, the
  Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual. We also assume
  that you have a set of dice (at least one d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and
  d20), some scrap paper, a pencil, an RPGA scoring packet, and
  your sense of fun. It is also a good idea to have a way to track
  movement during combat. This can be as simple as a pad of graph
  paper and a pencil, as handy as a vinyl grid map and chits, or as
  elaborate as resin dungeon walls and miniatures.
  Instruct the players either to prepare their characters now, or
  wait until you read the introduction, depending on the require-
  ments of the scenario as described in the introduction. 
  Keep in mind that you must have at least four players (not
  counting the DM), for the game session to be a sanctioned RPGA
  event. As well, you cannot have more than seven players partici-
  pating in the game.
  Once you are ready to play, it is handy to instruct each player
  to place a nametag in front of him or her. The tag should have the
  player’s name at the bottom, and the character’s name, race, and
  gender at the top. This makes it easier for the players (and the
  DM) to keep track of who is playing which character.
  The players are free to use the game rules to learn about
  equipment and weapons their characters are carrying. That said,
  you as the DM can bar the use of even core rule books during cer-
  tain times of play. For example, the players are not free to consult
  the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide when confronted with a trap or haz-
  ard, or the Monster Manual when confronted with a monster. 
  Some of the text in this scenario is written so that you may
  present it as written to the players, while other text is for your
  eyes only. Text for the players will be in gray boxes. It’s strongly
  recommended that you paraphrase the player text instead of
  reading it aloud. Some of this text is general and must be adapted
  to the specific situation or to actions of the player characters.
  Scoring
  After the players have completed the scenario or the time allot-
  ted to run the scenario has run out, the players and DM score the
  game. The RPGA has three ways to score its games. Consult your
  convention coordinator to determine which method to use for
  this scenario:
  1-No-vote scoring: The players write their names and RPGA 
  numbers on the scoring packet grid. You fill in the top of the
  grid. That is all. No one is rated. This method is used for 
  people who are just playing for fun.
  2-Partial scoring: The players rate the game master and the 
  scenario on their player voting sheet, and provide personal 
  information, but don’t vote for other players. The game 
  master rates the scenario and completes personal and event 
  information, but does not rate the players as a team or vote for
  players. This method is used when there is no competition, 
  but the event coordinator wants information on how 
  the game masters are performing, or the game master wants 
  feedback on his or her own performance.
  3-Voting: Players and game masters complete the entire packet, 
  including voting for best player. If this method is used, be 
  sure to allow about 15-20 minutes for the players to briefly 
  describe their characters to the other players, and about 5-10
  minutes for voting. This method is used when the players 
  want to know who played the “best” amongst the group, or 
  when the adventure is run in tournament format with 
  winners and prizes. 
  When using voting, rank the players in order of your voting
  choice while they are completing their forms, so that you are not
  influenced by their comments on your abilities. It’s a good idea to
  have the players vote while you determine treasure and experi-
  ence awards for the scenario. 
  After voting, give the Scoring Packet to your event coordinator.
  
  GETTING STARTED
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  2
  T
  his is a LIVING GREYHAWK Adventure. As a LIVING™ adven-
  ture, it is expected that players will bring their own charac-
  ters with them. If players do not have a LIVING GREYHAWK char-
  acter generated, get a copy of the current LIVING GREYHAWK char-
  acter generation guidelines, a character sheet, and a LIVING
  GREYHAWK log sheet from your convention coordinator or the
  RPGA Web site, and then have any players without a character
  create one. Once all players have a LIVING GREYHAWK character,
  play can begin. 
  Along with the other materials that you are assumed to have
  in order to run a D&D game, it is also recommended that you
  have a copy of the LIVING GREYHAWK Gazetteer.
  LIVING GREYHAWK Tier Structure
  Because players bring their own characters to LIVING GREYHAWK
  campaigns, this adventure is tiered. Basically, the challenges in this
  adventure are proportioned to the average character level of the
  characters participating in the adventure. To determine the tier
  that you will use to run this adventure, add the character levels of
  all the characters. In addition, add the levels of any cohorts or ani-
  mals according to the values on their certificates. Cross-reference
  the total and the number of players participating in the game
  using the chart below to determine the tier used for this adven-
  ture.
  4 players
  5 players
  6 players
  7 players
  Lvl Cap
  T1:
  4-12
  5-13
  6-14
  7-15
  4th 
  The level cap indicated is the highest level of character allowed
  to play this adventure. Characters of levels higher than the
  highest level shown for the highest tier cannot be played.
  Lifestyle
  At the beginning of every scenario, each PC is required to
  pay upkeep costs matching the level of lifestyle they wish to
  maintain. The lifestyles, and the effects that each has on play,
  are:
  Destitute
  You have no living space, and must carry all your
  gear everywhere. You eat poor quality food. You
  wear a peasant outfit, your only change of clothes.
  Poor
  You sleep in poor accommodations, and eat poor
  quality food. You wear a peasant outfit, and have
  two sets of clothing.
  Common
  You have common lodgings, and eat common
  quality food. You have normal clothing for your
  profession (adventuring); nothing fancy. You prob-
  ably have two or three sets of clothing.
  High
  You stay in good quality lodgings, and eat good
  quality food. You wear anything in value up to
  courtier’s outfits, and generally buy a new set of
  clothing every two weeks.
  Luxury
  You have luxurious accommodations (twice the
  cost of good accommodations), and you eat excel-
  lent foods. You can throw a banquet for your
  friends every day, and frequently do. You wear
  clothing up to the value of noble’s outfit, and buy
  a new set of clothes every week. 
  Lifestyles come with bonuses or penalties to Diplomacy,
  Intimidate, Disguise, and Bluff skill checks. These penalties,
  shown below, should be applied at the DM’s discretion, and can
  sometimes backfire—for example, a PC with a poor lifestyle
  would not have a penalty when talking to a beggar, but would
  when talking to a city official. A PC with a high lifestyle should
  have a penalty when dealing with a group of street thugs, where
  a PC with a destitute lifestyle might not.
  DMs are encouraged to role-play these reactions when-
  ever possible.
  Lifestyle
  Cost
  Skill Modifier
  Destitute
  14 sp
  -2
  Poor
  43 sp
  -1
  Common
  12 gp
  0
  High
  250 gp
  +1
  Luxury
  500 gp
  +2
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  3
  Notice to Judges and Con
  Coordinators
  Before for you run this scenario or any other Living Greyhawk
  Nyrond Regional Scenarios, please contact the Nyrond Triad
  (NyrondTriad@aol.com) to get a copy of the Nyrond Judge’s Kit
  for the scenario(s) you are running. This kit will include addi-
  tional background for the Nyrond’s major NPCs, historical data,
  current events, information about crime and punishment, and
  other useful tools. This information will be constantly updated,
  so it is important for you to get this information with each new
  scenario. It is important to understand that the Nyrond Judge’s
  Kit is only for the campaign judges and is not for player con-
  sumption.
  Nyrond Campaign Objectives
  Introduce the witches of Gnatmarsh and the town of Paducah.
  •
  Introduce the rumor that Prince Sewarndt allied with the 
  Gnatmarsh Coven.
  •
  Emphasize the “grey” in Greyhawk with theft, conspiracy, 
  murder, and combat that the PCs cannot win.
  •
  Provide a moral dilemma: justice by a local sheriff of 
  ques tionable morality resulting in certain death of a possible
  innocent, or superceding this local justice by force and there
  by preventing the execution of a possible murderer.
  Judge Introduction
  The Judge is encouraged to study the RPGA Living Greyhawk
  Kingdom of Nyrond Web site to learn more about Nyrond before
  running 
  this 
  or 
  any 
  other 
  Nyrond 
  scenario
  (http://nyrond.oerth.com/nyrondmain.html). All of that Web
  site’s information is public knowledge for any PC or NPC living
  in Nyrond. Information below is taken in part from the Living
  Greyhawk Gazetteer:
  About the County of Brackenmoor: Any PC who is from the
  County of Brackenmoor will know this information, except for informa-
  tion within brackets.
  The immense Gnatmarsh and the lands south of the Celadon
  and west of the Duntide is under the supervision of Count
  Romadnen Beremen [N Clr-Zilchus], a cowardly ally of the king.
  The general economic depression of the land has forced the
  count to exact harsh taxes from his people, who have taken to
  lying and hiding much of their wealth from his greedy collection
  squads. [The sheriff of Paducah manages to provide sufficient
  “fees” for the collection squads so that Paducah actually feels lit-
  tle of these taxes. In this way the sheriff has influence over both
  the people of Paducah as well as the local collection squad.] The
  lands of Brackenmoor have never been particularly fertile, mak-
  ing the province the most depressed region in all of Nyrond.
  Brackenmoor’s saving grace is its relationship with the
  Celadon natives. Since Romadnen prefers the path of least resist-
  ance in all things, he maintained good relationships with the
  elves and woodsmen of the forest, even when Archbold’s direc-
  tives instructed a harsher policy. (Archbold was king before
  Lynwerd, and was the victim of an attempted coup by Prince
  Sewarndt, brother of King Lynwerd.) For this reason, most of the
  forest trade flows through Beetu, rather than Woodwych.
  The people here are poor and fearful folk. Those who live
  near the Gnatmarsh, and especially those who live in Paducah,
  the only real settlement in the Gnatmarsh, are considered base
  yokels, primarily due to their filthy living conditions and long-
  standing tendency toward interbreeding. Superstition and poor
  education have led to a general mistrust (and frequently down-
  right hostility) toward nonhumans.
  About Prince Sewarndt (N/NE hm Wiz 13):
  The Greyhawk Wars extracted a terrible toll on Nyrond.
  Whether Nyrond would fall was never an issue. The question was
  simply of timing. Remarkably Archbold’s own son the young
  Prince Sewarndt decided the issue. 
  In the fall 585 CY, King Archbold appeared to suffer a stroke.
  Clerics from around the land convened in Rel Mord, where later
  they finally determining that he had been poisoned. Within
  hours of the discovery, Prince Sewarndt and a group of military
  officers attempted to seize the throne. Only the intervention of
  the capital’s entire Heironean clergy saved crown and king. By
  the time Archbold’s older son, Crown Prince Lynwerd, could lead
  an army to his father’s side, Sewarndt and a handful of his cohorts
  had vanished into the Nyrond countryside. Sewarndt’s treachery
  shattered whatever resolve Archbold had clung to during the dif-
  ficult war years. A wholly broken man, he abdicated in favor of
  Crown Prince Lynwerd in Fireseek, 586 CY.
  Due to a campaign of false information by Sewarndt and the
  Gnatmarsh Coven, as well as the exceptional gullibility of the
  inbred folk of Brackenmoor, most everyone, including King
  Lynwerd, incorrectly believes Sewarndt is hiding in the Duchy of
  Korenflass under the protection of Duke Regurd. Sewarndt also
  was the source of a rumor claiming that Lynwerd’s bastard lives
  with a coven of witches deep in the Gnatmarsh. The truth is that
  Sewarndt himself dwells among the witches. He is teaching
  them, bending them to his evil, and consolidating his power for
  future actions against the crown and king.
  Seven months ago, true to form of his cowardly policies, the
  Count of Brackenmoor appointed two Paducah residents to serve
  his needs there: Mayor Romano as the political head of town, and
  Sheriff Venokur as local law enforcement and tax collector. The
  Count doesn’t believe either is bright enough to handle their
  respective positions, but feels locals will be better tolerated by
  their own. A month after arriving in Paducah, Venokur was con-
  tacted by the coven of witches who reside deep in Gnatmarsh.
  The witches demanded his allegiance. Venokur, just bright
  enough to respect the coven’s power, and further prompted by his
  own cowardice, agreed to ally himself with the coven. Crass bul-
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  4
  lying behavior oft spirals downward.
  Venokur after being browbeaten by the
  witches turned on Romano and demanded a
  portion of his pitiful mayoral salary as insur-
  ance—If Romano pays the sheriff, Venokur
  will not spread rumors that the mayor is a
  witch. Romano (also a coward) gave in to the
  blackmail, resulting in shift of power from
  the Mayor (a loyal servant of the Count) to
  the sheriff (a loyal servant of the coven). Six
  days ago, Romano finally found enough
  courage to warn the Count of the coven’s
  grab for power. He sent a message to the
  Count—Venokur’s men intercepted that
  message.
  Shortly after the PCs arrive in town,
  Venokur kills Romano using a serrated hunt-
  ing knife. The body is dumped into the
  Gnatmarsh where it is ravaged by giant mos-
  quitoes before washing back into town. It
  seems that the Count underestimated
  Venokur’s intelligence and ambition.
  This scenario contains several handouts
  that represent papers the PCs might collect
  and keep. If a PC gives one or more of these
  papers away, the corresponding handout
  must be collected as well, unless the PCs have
  made copies before turning over the original
  documents. The PCs must state that they had
  copies of the document made before they
  handed it over. Don’t accept “we would have
  made a copy before we turned it in.”
  Adventure Synopsis
  The PCs respond to a call for adventurers to
  explore the center of the Gnatmarsh. They
  board a boat for a ten-day trip down the Duntide. Aboard the boat
  they meet a rogue who is in league with the evil sheriff of
  Paducah. The rogue steals from the party. Further down river
  they are briefly ambushed by rebel elves outside of Adrean’s
  Landing. In Paducah, they meet the mayor (anti-Sewarndt fac-
  tion) and sheriff (pro-Sewarndt faction). The PCs may explore
  the town as they wish, probably meeting the local fortuneteller
  who is a coven witch with good tendencies. Attempts to pene-
  trate the swamp are turned back by encounters with various
  nasty critters that dwell within That night the mayor is murdered
  by the sheriff. The recovered body suggests that the mayor may
  have been victim of the local giant mosquitoes. The sheriff insists
  it was a witch, and a very brief witch hunt results in the arrest of
  the fortuneteller. The sheriff and his men move to execute the
  witch, but the coven interferes. This should present a moral
  dilemma for the PCs: obey local law (the sheriff), ignore the lack
  of evidence and allow the witch to be executed, or break local law
  and rescue the fortuneteller.
  The early portion of the scenario is divided into days. The
  ninth day is very busy, so it is divided into traditional encounters.
  Don’t get bogged down on the boat, as there is much to do once
  the party gets to Paducah.
  Player Introduction
  It’s mid spring, a few weeks after you returned from royal mail
  duty. If the recent weather is any indication, summer in Nyrond’s
  capital city of Rel Mord will be unusually hot and humid this
  year. Life here is routine, some would even say dull. What’s the
  point of having an adventuring license if there’s no adventure?
  Map 1: The Kingdom of Nyrond
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  5
  These thoughts are interrupted by the clanging of a bell and the
  practiced, booming voice of a town crier. “Hear ye, hear ye! The
  Crown has need of licensed adventurers to explore the central
  regions of the Gnatmarsh in preparation for road building and
  other developmental work. Interested adventurers and other
  mercenaries should report to Dock 7 at sunrise tomorrow. Bring
  your adventuring license or be prepared to register. Hear ye, hear
  ye!” The crier repeats the message as he wanders off down the
  street.
  If questioned about the message, the crier is polite and courteous,
  but he knows nothing other than what he was told to say. He does
  not expect tips, but being nobody’s fool, the crier will certainly
  take any money offered.
  Day 1
  Even at sunrise, the docks of Rel Mord are a busy place. The
  smells of fish, wood and water fill the air. Labors scurry to and fro,
  sweating under their loads. A fresh wanted poster flaps slowly in
  the cool morning breeze. There are several barges, ships and
  boats at Dock 7, as well as some other people that do not appear
  to be laborers. These other people look like....
  Have the players describe their characters at this point. Anyone
  who looks at the wanted poster can view Handout #1. If ques-
  tions about Sewarndt arise, give each player a copy of Handout
  #2.
  Allow the PCs a few minutes to interact before Captain
  Spikely addresses them.
  A sailor descends from a boat with a stylized dragon bowsprit and
  the name Duntide Dragon painted on the bow. The man speaks:
  “I am Captain Spikely and this is my boat, the Duntide Dragon. If
  you are here for the Gnatmarsh job, I will need to inspect your
  adventuring papers before you board. If you are not yet licensed,
  I have been authorized as a representative of the Crown to collect
  the license fee and issue the license. Step lively, mates.”
  Before the PCs board, they will be asked to show their adventur-
  ing license. Inspect the appropriate cert from each player.
  Without a cert it is assumed the PC does not have a license,
  regardless of what they say. Unlicensed persons can register by
  paying the fee of 10 Nyrond nobles (the local gp). Bribes may be
  accepted (judge’s discretion; Bluff, DC 18). Questions will be
  answered only after all licenses have been checked and persons
  not participating in the mission are sent away. 
  The keelboat has sufficient room for one horse per PC in the
  party, but the PCs are expected to feed and clean up after their
  own animals.
  Listen up, mates. We will sail downriver for about ten days, and
  then land at Paducah in the Gnatmarsh. From there you will jour-
  ney inland, explore the Gnatmarsh and collect all manner of
  information about the marsh, including anything you can about
  the people and creatures in the area. The Crown will then use this
  information to plan road building and other developmental proj-
  ects within the marsh. For the purposes of this mission informa-
  tion can be of any type, such as local legends and political situa-
  tion, maps or samples of uncommon flora and fauna. The Crown
  is especially interested in rumors of witches in the area. Your pay
  is based on your duties aboard the boat. Those of you with sailing
  skills who crew the boat will be paid one noble per day. Those of
  you without sailing experience are expected to stand watch and
  will receive a total of five nobles for the trip. And, of course, you
  can keep anything you legally find, minus the King’s Fifth.
  Questions?
  The PCs bunk below decks. Spikely questions the PCs about their
  sailing skills, and those with sailing skills are asked to assist with
  handling the boat (1 noble/day). Other PCs are put on night
  watch (5 nobles for the trip). A PCs who fails in his or her duty is
  put off the boat, lashed or may even be executed depending upon
  the severity of the crime.
  Captain Spikely can provide any information that is reason-
  able for an experienced Duntide boat captain to know as long as
  it doesn’t give away the scenario. Judge’s Map #1 might be useful. 
  Once all questions are answered:
  Are any of you from the Gnatmarsh? No? Just curious…
  The giant mosquitoes of the Gnatmarsh ignore any PCs of
  Gnatmarsh ancestry (which may become relevant during Day 9
  of the river trip). Note the names of these PCs on the Judge’s
  Summary Sheet at the end of the scenario.
  One more thing, mates—Raise your right hands. As agents of the
  Crown, do you swear to uphold the King’s Law as well as any local
  law and to act in a manner supportive and complimentary of the
  Crown under penalty of lashing, imprisonment and/or death?
  Spikely waits for the “I do’s” then welcomes them aboard. The
  Duntide Dragon is a well-maintained but worn keelboat with a
  normal crew of four. The boat leaves immediately. Persons who
  refuse to swear are not allowed to board the boat. For them the
  adventure is over. 
  Captain Spikely (human male Ftr6, LN, hp 40; Chr 15; Feats:
  Alertness, Leadership, Weapon Focus [scimitar])
  Appearance: 6 ft. 2 in. Spikely has deep green eyes, and blond
  hair that looks like it is combed by the wind. You can almost
  smell the sea in his veins.
  Personality: “Sailing is my life. I’d rather stand at the wheel
  than sleep or gamble,” Spikely says. He wants to get a Royal Naval
  ship on Relmor Bay. “Could you put it a good word for me next
  time you see King Lynwerd? I’m sad that my biggest role in the
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  6
  war was to haul a load of potatoes and sheep to Mithat on Relmor
  Bay, and that without seeing a single enemy vessel.” In truth, the
  captain sailed a number of important secret missions into Relmor
  Bay and on occasion behind enemy lines. Spikely knows almost
  nothing about Paducah, but can provide any other information
  that he might reasonably know that does not give away the sce-
  nario. Spikely is normally a calm leader, but gets upset when his
  keelboat is called anything but a keelboat.
  The captain has been instructed to wait no more than one
  week at the Paducah docks for the return of the PCs.
  Sailors: Tome, Dheek, Charrie and Bahilly (human males
  Ftr1, LN, hp 9. Feats: Weapon Focus [club])
  Appearance: Average and unshaven humans, with stereotypi-
  cal crude sailor language and interests.
  Personality: “We live to sail, drink, chase women, and gamble.
  Sailing kept us out of the infantry during the war, and we get to
  travel. The pay is reasonable and it’s safe enough work, but I
  would abandon this tub instead of giving my life for the boat or
  Captain Spikely.” The sailors know everything that a PC could
  ever want to know about sailing, drinking, chasing women and
  gambling, but little else. They are quick to spread gossip and
  rumors (Appendix 1).
  The other NPCs are already on board, and introduce themselves
  as the PCs board the boat.
  Royal Bard of Count Romadnen Beremen of Brackenmoor
  (a.k.a. Skree): The “royal bard” prefers to be called “The Bard.” He
  is actually a rogue named Skree traveling to Paducah. Skree
  works for the Paducah sheriff but is unaware of the sheriff’s con-
  nection with the Coven of Gnatmarsh and their connection with
  Sewarndt. Skree appears very open, answering all questions put
  to him (he lies as often as needed, but his lies are consistent and
  believable). Once he learns that the PCs are adventurers and/or
  working for the Crown, he tries to learn everything about them
  and their mission so that he can sell the information to the sher-
  iff. He knows much more than the PCs will ever learn from him,
  but he can provide information that is either common knowl-
  edge or minor lies. He will claim it’s his first trip to Paducah and
  that he is negotiating an important secret agreement between the
  Crown, the Count, and the people of Paducah. Skree often steals
  items for his personal use or to sell to the sheriff of Paducah.
  More detail about Skree can be found in Appendix 2.
  Eweman (human male Ftr1, LG, hp 6. Feats: Track.)
  Appearance: A generic human shepherd, complete with crook
  and beard, and an ugly war wound scar on his right forearm.
  Personality: Eweman is a war veteran who took up the pastoral
  life of a shepherd after the war. He is traveling to Adrean’s
  Landing to sell the 30 sheep that are on board. He lives for the
  sheep, but he does not get too attached, because they have to be
  sold and butchered at some point. Being a shepherd is good work,
  as people always want sheep, but he thinks he has the calling to
  be a priest of Heironeous, but physically and emotionally scarred
  by the violence of the Greyhawk wars, he’s also a pacifist.
  (Heironeous is the Nyrond state-favored religion, the god of
  good, law, and war, with LG worshippers). Eweman shies away
  from PCs who are outwardly violent or openly display weapons,
  especially big ones.
  For each day of the trip, ask the PCs about their activities. 
  Day 2
  Skree attempts to steal a valuable item or two from a PC. He will
  be careful in his theft, only doing so if his chances of being
  caught are minimal. If the PCs have announced their destination,
  Skree plants his distinctive serrated hunting knife on another PC
  for possible blackmail or extortion by the sheriff once the PCs
  reach Paducah. Alternatively, the planting of this knife can occur
  during any day, whenever the opportunity seems best. 
  Day 3
  The boat passes the town of Swan Bore late in the afternoon and
  Spikely announces the boat is making excellent time. An NPC
  (whichever one is convenient) relates the story of how the town
  was named: One a year, in the spring, a single giant wave rushes
  down the Duntide, with swans riding the wave’s crest. The phe-
  nomenon was first observed here, hence the town’s name. 
  The rest of the day is uneventful.
  Day 4
  A cold hard rainstorm starts just before sunrise and continues
  until the early evening. This damp and miserable day is otherwise
  uneventful. 
  Day 5
  Day 5 is uneventful.
  Day 6
  Around noon the Duntide Dragon docks at Adrean’s Landing. The
  boat stays in port just long enough for Eweman and the sheep to
  disembark, which takes about twenty minutes. PCs in an appro-
  priate position may notice (Spot, DC 10) an elf with woodland
  camouflage clothes lurking around the docks. He is obviously
  (Sense Motive, DC 5) looking for something. When the Dragon
  departs the elf rides out of town on a swift horse. Captain Spikely
  refuses to keep the boat in port if the PCs want to investigate.
  PCs who had volunteered to help crew the boat are ordered to
  help clean up after the sheep. 
  Elves native to this area are upset at recent human activities
  in Adrean’s Landing. These rebel elves want to scare folks away
  from this area. This will be expanded upon in a future Nyrond
  plot line. The elves therefore plan terrorist attacks on Duntide
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  7
  vessels. These attacks are meant to leave survivors to spread the
  tale, instead of just slaughtering all river traffic—something that
  the elves could easily do. 
  About an hour out of port, just south of Adrean’s Landing, the
  Dragon moves through a heavily wooded area. The Duntide is
  deep but narrow here, forcing the boat to navigate within 20
  yards of the shore. This is a perfect ambush spot, and the elven
  rebels of Woodwych have taken advantage of it. Before the attack
  occurs find out which PCs are on decks, and which ones are
  below. The rebel elves shoot flaming arrows at the boat. Divide
  these attacks between the PCs and NPCs on deck (Spikely and 3
  crewmen) at random. Persons on far side of the boat get +2 cover
  bonus. Persons below decks are not subject to attack. One volley
  is fired at the boat, after which the elves fade into the thick
  woods. The fire is easily extinguished before the boat is signifi-
  cantly damaged. Observant, unsurprised PCs on deck might get
  a glimpse of the elves, all o whom are similar in stature and dress
  to the elf watching the Dragon at Adrean’s Landing. The Captain
  refuses to stop the boat. If PCs go ashore they may find trails
  (Search DC 10) that fade after 20 yards. These elves are woods-
  men and have used this site to ambush Duntide vessels before, so
  it is easy for them to cover their tracks (Track/Wilderness Lore,
  DC 20). If the elves are caught they will fight, but they will not
  talk.
  All Tiers: EL Variable
  Rebel Elves (one per PC) male elf, Ftr1: CR 1; Medium-size
  humanoid (5 ft.); HD 1d10+1; hp 7; Init +4 (Dex), Spd 30 ft.; AC
  16 (leather, Dex); Atks +1 melee (1d8 [crit 19-20], longsword), +5
  ranged (1d6 [crit x3], composite shortbow; Dmg 1d6 (composite
  shortbow, crit x3); AL N; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +0.
  Str 11, Con 9, Dex 19, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 11.
  Skills: Climb +3, Jump +2, Climb +3; Feats: Weapon Focus
  (composite shortbow), Point Blank Shot. 
  Equipment: composite shortbow, 20 arrows, longsword,
  leather armor, travelers outfit, long green or brown cloak. 
  Tactics: While the elves are firing from the waterline they enjoy
  one half cover. If they are attacked on land they will do their best
  to fire from behind trees gaining the +4 AC and +2 Reflex bonus
  whenever possible.
  Day 7
  The boat passes the town of Arnford early in the day, which is
  otherwise uneventful.
  Day 8
  Day 8 is uneventful.
  Day 9/Encounter 1: You Ain’t
  From Around Here
  With the rising of the sun on the ninth day, the captain informs
  you that the keelboat has entered the Gnatmarsh and that she
  should make Paducah by high sun. The air today is heavy with
  humidity. The shores of the Duntide are thick with lush green
  vegetation and mosquitoes. Big mosquitoes. Watching them feed
  on the carcass of a warthog you figure they are at least six inches
  long, and none to friendly. Suddenly the swarm of hungry blood-
  sucking mosquitoes charges the keelboat.
  The mosquitoes are much more interested in the lifeless warthog
  carcass than any struggling PCs, but have a little fun with the
  party if time allows, then move on to the keelboat’s arrival in
  Paducah. The giant insects ignore PCs and NPCs of Gnatmarsh
  ancestry. Assume that all Paducah NPCs except Mayor Romano
  are locals.
  All Tiers: EL 3
  Monstrous Mosquitoes (12): CR 1/4; Tiny Vermin; HD 1/4d8;
  hp 2; Init +2 (Dex); Spd 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); AC 14 (+2 size, +2
  Dex); Atk +4 melee (bite, 1d3-5); Face/Reach 2 1/2 ft. by 2 1/2
  ft./0 ft.; SA Blood Drain SQ Vermin; AL N; SV Fort +2; Ref +2,
  Will +0.
  Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int—, Wis 10, Cha 2.
  Skills: Hide +17, Spot +7; Feats: Weapon Finesse (bite). 
  SA Blood Drain (Ex)—on a successful bite a monstrous mos-
  quitoes makes an automatic opposed grapple check. If the check
  succeeds it the bite deals 1 point of temporary Constitution dam-
  age. 
  SQ: Vermin—Immune to mind-influencing effects. 
  Tactics: If more than a quarter of their number fall to the PCs the
  rest flee and continue feasting upon warthog carcass.
  Around midday, the town of Paducah comes into view, and the
  captain orders the keelboat turned for docking. It’s hard to say
  what is thicker here, the humidity, the clouds of mosquitoes, or
  the smell of rot. As the keelboat slips next to the dock, the dirty,
  unwashed locals stare and point. A pudgy, sweating man paces
  the dock anxiously, stopping frequently to wipe his moist brow.
  He greets you when you disembark. “Welcome to Paducah, weary
  travelers,” he says slapping away one of the ever-present mosqui-
  toes. “I am Mayor Romano. How may I make your stay in our
  quiet little town more pleasant?”
  Mayor Romano wants to know why the PCs are in town (they get
  so few tourists), and how much money they have to spend. When
  he learns PCs work for Crown or are licensed adventurers, he
  becomes a real pest, mentioning that although he was born in Rel
  Mord, he’s come to love this “quiet little town with its quaint peo-
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  8
  ple.” (This is an important clue for later.) Romano clearly despis-
  es Prince Sewarndt, and will bring this up if the issue of
  Sewarndt hasn’t yet surfaced in this scenario. 
  Mayor Romano (human male, LG, hp 4, no noteworthy Feats,
  but many administrative and boot-licking skills.)
  Appearance: The Mayor is a short (5’ 4”), pudgy (250 lbs),
  sweaty middle-aged balding man. 
  Personality: He was appointed to this position by the Count of
  Brackenmoor because Romano was smart enough to make some
  decisions on his own, but not so smart as to be a threat. Romano
  just wants to make sure everybody is happy. He is a consummate
  yes-man and boot-licker. Mayor of Paducah is just another chap-
  ter in his boring rise to bureaucratic stardom. He is unmarried.
  The meeting with your host is interrupted by the arrival of five
  men wearing worn leather armor, new crocodile-skin boots and
  large hunting knives. A taller man with two knives, studded
  leather armor and narrow eyes glares at the Mayor in a way that
  suggests he won’t tolerate any back talk. Even the mosquitoes stay
  away from this man. He speaks in an arrogant tone: (address a PC
  at random, a nonhuman if possible) “You ain’t from around here,
  are you son?”
  Regardless of the PC’s response he continues:
  “I am Sheriff Venokur and these are my boys. As long as you
  behave and have gold to spend, you can stay. I am the law here; if
  you break my laws the King and Count won’t get here before the
  boys and I can hang you. (The other men laugh like stereotypical
  redneck yokels.) What is your business in MY town?”
  The Sheriff plays the arrogant tough guy until the pecking order
  is established, then he departs. The law is whatever pleases
  Venokur at the moment—might makes right, but gold grants
  immunity from prosecution. Sheriff clearly likes Prince
  Sewarndt, describing him as a “strong, no-nonsense leader,”
  although he is unaware that he is working for Sewarndt in an
  indirect way. Sheriff Venokur and His Boys are described in
  Appendix 2.
  An observant PC will note a lack of livestock in Paducah,
  especially horses. The locals have learned that the swarms of mos-
  quitoes would quickly kill livestock. The PCs (except those of
  Gnatmarsh ancestry) and their animals take 2 temporary
  Constitution points of temporary ablity damage every 12 hours
  from the insect bites unless they have thick skin (such as most
  reptiles), are protected by magic or the local mosquito repellant
  (Encounter 3).
  If the PCs explore the swamp, go to Encounter 2. If the PCs
  wander around town, go to Encounter 3.
  Encounter 2: PCs Explore the
  Swamp
  In this encounter the PCs should quickly realize the swamp is
  just too nasty for them.
  First Run-in: Crocodiles:
  About an hour into the swamp, the PCs happen upon a riverbank
  where they surprise a few hostile crocodiles eating what appears
  to be a human carcass. 
  All Tiers: EL 3
  Crocodile (2): CR 2; Medium-Size Animal (aquatic); HD 3d8+9;
  hp 22; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20 ft., swim 30 ft.; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +4 nat-
  ural); Atks +6 melee (1d8+6, bite) or +6 melee (1d12+6, tail slap);
  SA Improved grab; AL N; SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2.
  Str 19, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2 
  Skills: Hide +7, Listen +5, Spot +5. Feats: None.
  SA: Improved Grab (Ex)—to use this ability the crocodile must
  hit a Medium-size or smaller opponent with its bite attack. If it
  gets a hold, the crocodile grabs the opponents with its mouth and
  drags it into deep water, attempting to pin it to the bottom. The
  crocodile automatically deals bite damage each round it main-
  tains the pin. 
  The crocodiles defend their meal, but are happy hang around and
  kill PCs for a later snack. The PCs can disengage from this
  encounter at any time and the crocodiles will not pursue.
  Second Run-in: More Mosquitoes:
  The PCs are jumped by a swarm of giant mosquitoes.
  All Tiers EL 4
  Monstrous Mosquitoes (20): CR 1/4; Tiny Vermin; HD 1/4d8;
  hp 2; Init +2 (Dex); Spd 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); AC 14 (+2 size, +2
  Dex); Atk +4 melee (bite, 1d3-5); Face/Reach 2 1/2 ft. by 2 1/2
  ft./0 ft.; SA Blood Drain SQ Vermin; AL N; SV Fort +2; Ref +2,
  Will +0.
  Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int—, Wis 10, Cha 2.
  Skills: Hide +17, Spot +7; Feats: Weapon Finesse (bite). 
  SA: Blood Drain (Ex)—on a successful bite a monstrous mos-
  quito makes an automatic opposed grapple check. If the check
  succeeds it the bite deals 1 point of temporary Constitution dam-
  age. 
  SQ: Vermin—Immune to mind-influencing effects. 
  The mosquitoes fight until killed or driven away. If a PC attempts to
  flee the area, half of their mosquito attackers remain with them
  (round down) while the others switch to other PCs at random. Thus
  a PC who attempts to disengage from three mosquitoes ends up
  with one. The monsterous mosquitoes ignore animals or PCs wear-
  ing mosquito repellent (Encounter 3) or are of Gnatmarsh ancestry.
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  9
  Third Run-in: Ogres: 
  A gang of hungry ogres jumps the PCs. Stealthy parties are still
  jumped, but not surprised. If by this third encounter with swamp
  denizens the PCs haven’t figured out the swamp are too deadly
  for them, don’t pull any punches.
  All Tiers: EL 3
  Ogres (4): Large giant (9-10’); HD 4d8+8; hp 26; Init –1 (Dex);
  Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +5 natural, +3 hide); Atks +8
  melee (huge greatclub, 2d6+7); Face/Reach 5ft. by 5 ft./10ft.; AL
  CE; SV Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +1.
  Str 21, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7.
  Skills: Climb +5, Listen +3, Spot +3. Feats: Weapon Focus
  (greatclub).
  If the PCs defeat the ogres they find very fresh evidence of a large
  tribe of cannibalistic ogres: several dead and butchered ogres, fire
  pit still burning, discarded clubs and spears, many large foot-
  prints, etc. If this doesn’t get them to turn back, them they meet
  8 ogres (stats above). Continue along this line until PCs are driv-
  en from the swamp or killed. If the PCs make any efforts to exit
  the swamp they have no new monster encounters.
  Encounter 3: A Night on the
  “Town”
  Allow the PCs explore town as desired (Judges Map #2). If time
  permits the Sheriff and His Boys will show up and do anything
  reasonable to extort gold from “rich” adventurers, such as creat-
  ing taxes or fees. The Judge is encouraged to creatively adapt the
  situation to the PCs’ personalities. These acts of extortion should
  believable but not outrageous, amounting to perhaps a few
  nobles per PC. The Sheriff wants to avoid a fight because he does-
  n’t know how strong the PCs are, but the Sheriff and The Boys
  will defend themselves if attacked. Sheriff Venokur and His Boys
  are described in Appendix 2.
  Skree will continue to gather information about the PCs from
  a distance and while concealed. If the opportunity presents itself,
  if the PCs do not appear to be very watchful, and if he has not
  already managed to do so, Skree will plant one of the serrated
  hunting knives on a PC for future extortion purposes.
  The Coven is also watching the PCs, but very discreetly from
  behind cover or on top of shacks. They cannot be seen by the PCs
  unless the PCs are actively searching (Search, DC 13). Once dis-
  covered, the Coven member flees into the swamp, and cannot be
  tracked there.
  Paducah is a dirty, smelly, rotting backwater burg of the worst
  kind. PCs and animals that enter a building have a 5% chance to
  contract fleas. This chance increases to 20% if they actively search
  the shack or engage in other activities that allow intimate contact
  between a PC and the shack’s content or inhabitants. (A good hot
  bath and new clothes can remove the fleas.) Paducah is also rather
  small, so if a shack is not described below, it does not exist.
  Places to visit in town:
  1) Seedie’s Inn: 
  The largest and best-maintained shack belongs to Seedie
  Meridian. It also serves as a general store, saloon, casino and over-
  all place of recreation. Any standard item in the PHB is available
  here at twice the listed price, except armor, which is unavailable.
  Common weapons such as daggers, longswords and shortbows
  are available at twice the PHB price; less common weapons such
  as halbeards or two-handed swords are unavailable. The local
  moonshine is 1 cp per mug. The crocodile stew is spicy but tasty
  at 1 cp per bowl, and sleeping place in the common room (there
  are no private rooms) at 2 cp per night. 
  If the PCs act in a way that clearly indicates they are not
  locals, then Seedie will try to sell them 
  “An exceptionally rare unirabbit skin...the only one I’ve ever seen.
  A wonderful investment at only 25 nobles.” 
  It’s a moth-eaten rabbit skin with a broken-off deer antler glued
  to the middle of the forehead. Do I really have to tell you, kind
  Judge, that this item is worthless? 
  Seedie’s next sales pitch:
  “Well, I can see that you all ain’t no redneck yokels, you knows
  your stuff. Now what you really need is this here bug off goo.” 
  Seedie holds up a leather pouch with an unpleasant musty
  odor. “Keeps them bugs away, it does. Just 1 noble (2 nobles if the
  PC bought an unirabbit skin) for one week’s worth for one per-
  son. You can’t beat the price. And this here’s a fresh batch, too...last
  for a whole year afore it gets to smelling’ bad and not working no
  more.”
  Seedie is correct about the price, in that no one else sells the bug
  repellent, and his price is absolutely firm. He has 4 pouches (5
  one-day doses per pouch) of this bug repellent in stock. This stuff
  really does work. When applied to exposed skin of a PC or mam-
  mal, mosquitoes no longer attack. Seedie buys the goo from Fax
  the Fortuneteller, but under no circumstances will he reveal the
  recipe, because it would ruin his monopoly. (Highball, the town
  drunk, knows a bit about the recipe because he goes into the
  swamp deeper than anybody else will dare to collect rare ingre-
  dients.) Seedie will accept barter instead of gold, taking items at
  half their Player’s Handbook values, and not giving any change,
  except the cash that the PCs have already given.
  Seedie the Innkeeper (human male, Com1; LN; hp 5;
  Profession [innkeeper] +4).
  Appearance: Short (5’ 4”), not very pretty, with greasy skin and
  an unidentifiable but annoying odor.
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  10
  Personality: Seedie is a typical redneck yokel gos-
  sip who loves the sheriff. Seedie knows just about
  anything the PCs want to know about the town and
  the Gnatmarsh as long as it doesn’t give away the story.
  He doesn’t know Sewarndt well enough to comment,
  but says that the locals, especially the Sheriff, really
  seem to like him. Seedie will make up wild stories if
  he doesn’t know the true answer to a question, or if
  anyone is paying attention to him. He loves to tell and
  collect rumors (Appendix 1). Seedie is unmarried
  (which is just as well given his inappropriate view of
  the place of women in the world).
  2) The Hangin’ Tree:
  Just outside the jail is a large moss-covered and
  gnarled old tree that obviously serves the as gallows
  (rope marks; recently hung half-orc body). Rumor in
  town has it the body is that of a witch, caught and
  hung by Sheriff Venokur two weeks ago. Closer
  inspection reveals animal and mosquito bites on the
  body that occurred after death. The body is of a half-
  orc barbarian who fell into the Duntide near Arnford
  in the previous Nyrond scenario, Mail Call. The actual
  cause of death was hypothermia and drowning. There
  are no bruise marks around the rope suggesting the
  body was dead before it was hung. In truth, the Sheriff
  found the body in the Duntide in the middle of the
  night, and made up the witch story so that no one
  would suspect him of working with The Coven.
  Implying the body was that of a witch insulted The
  Coven. That the Sheriff suggested The Coven would
  tolerate a half-orc was even worse.
  3) Jail and Sheriff’s Office:
  The only stone building in town houses a single jail
  cell with heavy wooden bars. The cell currently hous-
  es a man who smells as if he is sleeping off the effects
  of too many mugs of moonshine. The jailhouse also boasts what
  must be a desk, but is really just a few rough wooden planks
  thrown over a pair of rickety sawhorses. Atop the planks lie a
  large sheathed knife and a weathered wooden box with a large
  lock. (Also include any items stolen from the PCs that are not car-
  ried by the Sheriff or too large to fit in the lock box.)
  If the PCs do not enter the jail, Highball will awaken and taunt
  the PCs. He wants the PCs to free him, or at least come inside and
  find out the truth about the evil Sheriff. Highball is sleeping off
  the effects of too many mugs of Seedie’s best moonshine.
  Highball the Town Drunk (human male Com1; N; hp 2; Skills:
  Gather Information +2)
  Appearance: 5’ 8” tall, skinny, and smells strongly of alcohol.
  Highball is unkept, and not very pretty, even by Paducah stan-
  dards.
  Personality: Highball is a drunk and a rumormonger, spending
  most of his adult life unconscious or in jail. When sober he
  makes a living by doing the dirty work that no one else wants
  (digging graves, gutting fish, going deep into the swamp to get
  rare ingredients for repellent goo, etc.) Venokur hasn’t killed
  Highball yet because no one would ever believe anything
  Highball had to say, and because Highball is useful to Paducah in
  a small way.
  Things the PCs might ask of Highball:
  What’s in the swamp? I seen alligators and bugs and ogres and
  witches and lived to tell about it. No one else has because no one
  else knows more about the swamp than me. And I know when to
  Map 2: Paducah
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  11
  leave too. But because I spend most of my time with my ol’ friend
  mister moonshine, ain’t no one believes me. (Highball has seen
  all the normal swamp monsters often enough to accurately
  describe them in great detail. Once he saw six humans, three
  each male and female, doing some sort of magic, hence believing
  them to be witches. He is more right than he knows.)
  Tell us about the Sheriff: The Sheriff beats me and poisons me
  (only a little bit), and steals taxes (true) and works with them
  witches (true). He sits at his desk and writes papers at night when
  no one comes around to have a nice chat with poor ol’ Highball.
  And he yells at Fax too…she’s the fortuneteller. Calls her a
  Heironeous-forsaken shriveled old witch. I think ol’ Venokur
  talking about Heironeous like that is the reason why our shrine
  fell down.
  Tell us about the body on the gallows: About a fortnight ago I
  seen the Sheriff drag something out of the river. It looked like a
  body. He hung it up on the tree, then says he caught himself a
  witch.
  What else do you know? Feel free to provide any other details
  Highball might reasonably know (be consistent with the rest of
  the scenario) or make up any wild stories about things he doesn’t
  know. The rumors in Appendix 1 are a good place to start.
  On the desk the PCs will find: 
  A serrated hunting knife like those carried by Venokur and his
  men.
  Any items stolen by Skree from the PCs that would not be car-
  ried by the Sheriff and that are too large to fit into the strong-
  box.
  The strongbox, which is a weathered wooden box, about one
  foot on an edge. The lock is easily opened (DC 20), or the box
  can be smashed: 
  Strongbox: 1/2 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 10; AC 5; Break DC 18.
  Inside the strongbox:
  •
  Items stolen from the PCs and that are small enough to fit the
  box.
  •
  300 gold nobles. This is protection money as well as cash 
  skimmed from taxes collected for Count Romadnen 
  Beremen. (Applicable Nyrond law: In cases where 
  commoners find booty that assists in the conviction of 
  corrupt nobles, those commoners shall be awarded 25% of the
  value of the evidence found. This 25% can be claimed by con
  tacting the local authorities, who in this case would be the 
  office of Count Beremen or higher. Any PC with a rank of 
  Knowledge [Nyrond local or Nyrond law] would know this 
  fact.)
  •
  A multi-section ledger of the Sheriff’s income. In Part I, taxes
  for the Count are listed in two columns (the actual taxes due
  and collected and the second column shows a lesser amount
  the Sheriff plans to report. Part II lists items bought from 
  Skree (generally cheap jewelry and lesser quality weapons—
  items stolen from the PCs have been entered in this section),
  their estimated value (always overestimated), and the amount
  collected when sold (usually about half of their real value). 
  There is no indication how or where the items are sold. Part 
  III lists the beginning of the Sheriff’s protection racket: three
  entries (Seedie at one noble per month, Fax at 5 nobles per 
  month, and Romano at 10 nobles per month). Part IV lists 
  funds “left in the swamp at the agreed place, in honor of The
  Coven” payments of random amounts of 10 – 100 nobles at 
  random times. (There is no indication of exactly where the 
  Coven payments are dropped.)
  •
  Receipt for 2200 nobles deposited with a Q. Valdeez in 
  Callistor (seat of the county of Brackenmoor) “from Venokur,
  lawfully appointed Sheriff of Paducah, for safekeeping,” dated
  one month ago.
  •
  Block of red sealing wax (a deeper red than the Mayor’s seal
  ing wax) and a carved wooden block (for making seal in wax).
  The seal is the symbol of a lion standing on its rear paws and
  bearing a knife in each front paw.
  •
  Notes for a report to the Count concerning recent events in 
  Paducah (Handout 3).
  •
  A letter addressed to “The Righteous Prince Sewarndt,” 
  sealed with the Sherrif’s wax and seal. (Handout 4).
  •
  A letter from the Mayor, addressed to Count Romadnen 
  Beremen (Handout 5). The Mayors’ seal (described below) on
  this letter has been broken. 
  4) Mayor’s Home and Office:
  This one-room shack is no better than any of the other Paducah
  homes. The only item of note is a small, fine-quality traveling
  desk. The desk is closed but not locked.
  In the desk:
  •
  Typical office supplies (blank parchment, quills, ink, small 
  quill sharpening knife, etc.)
  •
  Several blocks of red wax (slightly lighter in hue than the 
  Sheriff’s wax) and a carved wooden block for making a seal in
  the wax. The seal depicts an owl in flight.
  126 gold nobles in a fine leather pouch. The PCs have no legal
  reason to take this money.
  5) House of Fax the Fortuneteller: 
  This house is of the same architectural style as the rest of the
  town (decrepit shed), but is painted a bright red. The door bears
  symbol of an open hand, palm out, bearing a rising sun. The ubiq-
  uitous rot smell is overpowered by the even nastier smell of mos-
  quito repellent goo. The door opens by itself as you approach to
  reveal a stunning young woman seated at a rough table, concen-
  trating on a large stuffed bullfrog. She wears a symbol—a yellow
  pentagon with an eye over a cup depicted within the geometric
  shape. 
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  12
  Fax has rigged the door to open when the PC step on a pressure
  plate in front of it (Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 17). This
  helps bolster her clairvoyant reputation: “I knew you are coming
  so I opened the door for you!”
  The inside of the shack is downright opulent by Paducah
  standards: chairs with upholstery (albeit, bug-eaten), burning
  incense and even a rug (although the rug’s original color is lost to
  all the years of ground-in mud from booted traffic). Fax is sitting
  at a table, eyes closed, meditating on a stuffed bullfrog, the
  swamp’s equivalent of a crystal ball.
  She recognizes the PCs as visitors to Paducah, and offers to
  read fortunes for one gold noble per PC. She’ll use whatever for-
  tune telling method works with the props available to the judge
  (cards, dice, scraps of paper thrown in the air, etc.). The PC must
  ask a question, and Fax provides a cryptic and vague answer.
  If the PCs clearly aren’t impressed with this bit, she’ll drop it
  in favor of normal conversation. After all, she’s lonely, and also
  makes money by selling advice and answering questions—she is
  also a swamp sage (Knowledge [nature] +5). She asks for one
  noble per question answered, but will take whatever she can get.
  In truth she’s lonely because the Sherrif has called her a witch
  and so most of her clients have stopped coming. Overall she is
  pleasant, intelligent and helpful.
  Her motives in chatting with the PCs, however, aren’t quite
  what they seem to be. Fax really is a witch, a minor member of
  The Coven that lives deep in the Gnatmarsh. She serves as the
  Coven’s eyes and ears here in Paducah, and wants to get as much
  information as possible from these rare visitors.
  Questions that might be asked of Fax:
  Are you a witch? Some say I am, others not. What is a witch? If
  a witch is a person who can see into the souls and future of oth-
  ers, then I am a witch. If a witch is an evil person that consorts
  with demons, then I am not a witch.
  What do you know about the Sheriff? Venokur is a brute and
  bully who extorts gold from the poor people of Paducah.
  Someday a stronger person will come along and kill him. Still,
  there has been a decrease in crime since The Count appointed
  him Sheriff seven months ago.
  What do you know about The Coven? Many people believe
  that it exists, so that leads me to believe it as well. And I haven’t
  heard of this so-called Coven being involved in any socially
  unacceptable practices, so even if it does exist, is it a threat? Just
  out of curiosity, why are you interested in The Coven? (She will
  continue to ask questions to ascertain why these strangers are
  interested in The Coven, and to determine what they know.)
  What do you know about Prince Sewarndt? Some say he is
  good and kind, others evil and treacherous. Sort of depends on
  your definitions of good and evil, no? It is said that after his mis-
  begotten deeds in Rel Mord he fled to Korenflass and is hiding
  out with the Duke there, planning another attempt to take the
  throne. Korenflass is far away from Paducah, so it doesn’t bother
  me much. (She knows the truth about the Prince and The Coven
  but will never reveal it.)
  What do you know about the swamp? It’s muddy and full of
  nasty critters like crocodiles, mosquitoes and ogres. No one in his
  or her right mind goes in there, except Highball. He collects rare
  plants for Seedie’s mosquito repellent goo.
  Any other questions: Fax will answer these honestly but cryp-
  tically. She is the most knowledgeable person in town, but her
  answers must not give away the story and must be consistent
  with the rest of the scenario.
  More details about Fax can be found in Appendix 3.
  6) Boat Rental & Fishmonger: 
  At this decrepit shack one can rent rowboats (there are two avail-
  able, both of questionable seaworthiness) for one noble per week.
  One can also sell fish taken from the Duntide at one copper per
  pound. 
  Perin the Boat Guy (human male; Com 1; NG, hp 4; Skills:
  Knowledge [local] +2, Profession [fishmonger] +4.)
  Appearance: Perin always stands as if he’s on the deck of a ship,
  heaving in a violent storm. Wearing a black eye patch, sporting a
  wooden left leg, and clenching a pipe between his teeth, its easy
  to get the idea that he may be a pirate.
  Personality: Perin
  is too much of a chicken to even consider a life of piracy. He
  seems to have an excellent memory for detail (especially con-
  cerning the rumors in Appendix 1), but the detail is rarely rele-
  vant to the conversation at hand. He saw Venokur drag the half-
  orc body out of the river, but didn’t make the connection with the
  body on the hanging tree. Overall he’s not terribly bright, except
  in matters pertaining to fishing, rowboats, the ebbs and flows of
  the Duntide and Relmor Bay. He was born in Paducah, has lived
  all his life here, and expects to die here. He loves catfish and
  knows 14 different catfish recipes—it’s just too bad Seedie won’t
  make catfish stew.
  7) Shrine to Heironeous: 
  This is a decrepit, rotting ruin, abandoned for well over a year. It
  was never more than a shack, even before it collapsed into the
  mud. It is now home to a family of snakes.
  EL 3
  Vipers (6): CR 1/2; Small-size Animal (3’ long); HD 1d8; hp 4;
  Init +3 (Dex), Spd 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC 17 (+1 size,
  +3 Dex, +3 natural); Atks +4 melee (bite 1d2-2 and poison); SA
  Poison; SQ Scent; AL N; Saves Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1.
  Str 6, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2.
  Skills: Climb +12, Hide +15, Listen +9, Spot +9. Feats: Weapon
  Finesse (bite).
  Poison (Ex)—Bite, Fortitude save (DC 11); initial and sec-
  ondary damage 1d6 points of temporary Constitution damage. 
  The snakes fight until half are killed or driven away.
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  13
  The snakes were slithering atop the damaged, gilded holy
  symbol of Heironeous that was once the centerpiece of the
  shrine. It can be easily retrieved after the fight. There is nothing
  else of interest in the ruins except broken stone, rotten timbers,
  weeds and the ubiquitous Paducah mosquitoes.
  8) Communal Outhouse 
  Generic Houses (Many; not shown on Judges Map
  #2).
  These are one-room shacks and are dirty, buggy, leaky, and smelly.
  Each houses a family whose composition depends upon the
  judge what the PCs seem to want, although the PCs get nothing
  from these families except knowledge common to all residents of
  Paducah as well as the rumors in Appendix 1.
  Encounter 4 (optional): 
  Crocodile Attack!
  If time allows or if PCs are itching for a fight, crocodiles wander
  out of swamp when it is most inconvenient for the PCs.
  EL 3
  Crocodile (2): CR 2; Medium-Size Animal (aquatic); HD 3d8+9;
  hp 22; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20 ft., swim 30 ft.; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +4 nat-
  ural); Atks +6 melee (1d8+6, bite) or +6 melee (1d12+6, tail slap);
  SA Improved grab; AL N; SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2.
  Str 19, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2 
  Skills: Hide +7, Listen +5, Spot +5. Feats: None.
  SA: Improved Grab (Ex)—to use this ability the crocodile must
  hit a Medium-size or smaller opponent with its bite attack. If it
  gets a hold, the crocodile grabs the opponents with its mouth and
  drags it into deep water, attempting to pin it to the bottom. The
  crocodile automatically deals bite damage each round it main-
  tains the pin.
  Encounter 5: Murder and Witch
  Hunt
  At a convenient point in the game, the PCs learn the biggest
  news to hit Paducah since the end of the war: the murder of
  Mayor Romano. The PCs discover the body at some convenient
  point in the story at least 12 hours since they met the Mayor, and
  when at least one hour of playing time remains.
  The crime: 
  About 12 hours ago, the Sheriff took the Mayor a few hundred
  feet into the swamp to show him a body he had discovered. The
  dense swamp vegetation makes it very difficult to find and follow
  any tracks related to the crime (Search, DC 30). There, the Sheriff
  killed the Mayor with his hunting knife, knowing that the nor-
  mal swamp flora (crocodiles, mosquitoes, ogres, etc.) would
  digest the body. The Sheriff did not notice that this portion of the
  Gnatmarsh has a sluggish current that carried the body toward
  the Duntide. The water quickly cleansed the blood from the knife
  wound, while the mosquito repellent was washed away more
  slowly. Eventually the giant mosquitoes found the body and had
  a banquet.
  Rounding a corner reveals a fetid branch of the swamp that flows
  into the Duntide. Face down in the brackish slime is the bloated,
  bug-eaten body of a pudgy man.
  The body is obviously that of Mayor Romano, dead for at least 12
  hours. (Heal or Wilderness Lore, DC 20). A Search (DC 12) of the
  body reveals 12 gp, an empty pouch of mosquito repellent, hun-
  dreds of giant mosquito bites and a knife wound in the back.
  Careful inspection of the knife wound reveals it is consistent
  with the wound expected from the serrated hunting knives car-
  ried by the Sheriff and his men (Search DC 15; +2 Circumstance
  bonus if PCs have one of these knives for comparison). 
  As soon as the PCs have learned the true cause of death, the
  Sheriff and his boys arrive. Allow the PCs to make a Listen check
  (DC 13) to notice that the Sheriff and him men are approaching.
  If the PCs are surprised Venokur and his men spend the surprise
  round surrounding the PCs. 
  Venokur says the following: 
  Ha! I knew you was evil when I first smelt you. Hands up! I arrest
  you all for the cold-blooded execution of our beloved Mayor
  Romano.
  If Skree has managed to plant his knife on a PC, he has told
  Venokur which one carries the plant, so the Sheriff pats down
  that PC first. If the knife is discovered this PC is accused of the
  murder. If the PC gives any reasonable excuse as to their inno-
  cence, the Sheriff reconsiders: perhaps PC found the knife and
  would like to return it? The Sheriff then asks the PC to pay the
  “justice fee” (10 noble per each PC’s character level) to prove their
  innocence. (The Sheriff likes the idea of showing these strangers
  that he is boss, but hesitates when it comes to executing the
  King’s men. Blackmail and extortion are other matters entirely.)
  In the unlikely case that the PC plead guilty, take the PC to
  the hanging tree for execution, unless they accept the Sheriff’s
  offer to bribe him. (If so, the Sheriff will take as much as he can
  get from the PCs.) Try to avoid a fight in this encounter if at all
  possible, but if combat seems likely, one of The Boys will come up
  with the bright idea that only a witch could make the bugs ignore
  Seedie’s goo, and so a witch must be responsible. The Sheriff con-
  siders this:
  After rubbing his unshaven chin for a few seconds in deep
  thought, the Sheriff says “That’s a might fine idea, about them
  witches and all. Course we has had us witch problems here in
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  14
  Paducah lately anyways. Time for us to burn a witch I reckon.
  Boys, you know what to do.” The Boys let out a hunting yell and
  scatter into town, some unsheathing nasty looking serrated hunt-
  ing knives. To you the Sheriff says, “stay in town. This ain’t over
  yet. I reckon you might all want to help me find this here evil
  witch?”
  Things the PCs might ask the Sheriff:
  Who carries these serrated hunting knives? Only me and the
  boys (true), but the blades disappear from time to time (false),
  because of witch magic or swamp pixies.
  Did the Mayor have enemies? Everyone loves him! (Everyone
  but Venokur and his men). Such a kind and generous man!
  (Partially true). For example, he would pay a portion of Paducah’s
  taxes out of his own pocket to reduce the tax load on the citizens.
  (False: The Mayor was as much a poor man because of these taxes
  as everyone else.)
  Are there bandits in the swamp? or Do swamp creatures
  attack the town? Oh yes. We have us a big ogres problem. If’
  ogres attack, every able-bodied man in town is expect to fight.
  That means you too. (Ogres used to be a problem until the Sheriff
  made a deal with The Coven who controls them. Now the ogres
  stay clear of Paducah. If PCs have met the ogres (Encounter 2),
  they should have noticed the local ogres use clubs not knives, as
  is typical for ogres. Knowledge: monsters or related DC 20).
  Tell us more about your witch problem? Them witches ain’t
  no problem. It’s just a story to scare the young’ns and to help me
  enforce the law. (The Sheriff doesn’t dare reveal what he really
  knows about the Coven so he turns on his heal and stalks away
  after answering this question. If the party insists, the Sheriff will
  repeat the same story, again consistently lying as needed to main-
  tain his cover.)
  The Sheriff provides any other answers as needed to divert
  the PCs attention away from him, lying (but being consistent) if
  need be.
  Encounter 6: It Was the Witch in
  the Town with the Knife
  The Sheriff dispatches three men to various parts of Paducah to
  hunt for the witch, keeping one of the boys with him during his
  personal hunt. Allow the PCs to hunt for the witch (or not) as
  they wish. The Sheriff will not object to the PCs accompanying
  him, and will be downright cordial if the PCs have been respect-
  ful of his position. If the PCs go straight for the Fortuneteller’s
  shack, she will be elsewhere (and subsequently captured by one
  of The Boys). Regardless of PC actions, the witch will be found by
  one of The Boys first, then taken for “trial” and swift justice
  (Encounter 7).
  Allow the PCs to interview NPCs, search the town, explore
  the swamp (Encounter 2), play with the crocodiles (especially if
  the PCs split their group; Encounter 4), etc. When 30 minutes of
  playing time remain, move to Encounter 7. The PCs might not
  get to do any investigation of their own if time is very short.
  Encounter 7: Swift Country Justice
  and A Moral Dilemma
  This is a very fluid encounter, requiring flexibility on the Judge’s
  part. Allow the players to interrupt boxed text and other scripted
  actions at any time. The goal of the Sheriff is to hang Fax the for-
  tuneteller to remind everyone that he is The Law. The Boys do
  whatever the Sheriff suggests, without hesitation, unless their
  morale is seriously stressed. Fax wants to buy time so that The
  Coven can get here to rescue her.
  The following is addressed to the Sheriff if present, otherwise
  to the apparent leader of the PC group.
  One of the Sheriff’s men strides rapidly toward your group, on
  his face, a look of smug satisfaction. 
  “We found her! And she didn’t resist any. Now she’s all tied up
  like a pig for roasting, ready to be tried. I always knew Fax was an
  evil witch! And we found the knife on her, all right. She tried to
  turn me into a frog, but I’m a good man so her evil magic ain’t no
  good on me,” he says as he hands the Sheriff a wicked-looking
  serrated knife with a large bone handle.
  When the PCs arrive at the hanging tree:
  Arriving at the hanging tree, you see a beautiful young human
  woman, hands tied behind her back. The noose around her neck
  suggests she is not long for this Oerth. Three of the sheriff’s men
  move to hold the loose end of the noose rope that is thrown over
  the branch of the majestic oak tree about ten feet off the ground.
  A wooden symbol depicting a yellow pentagon with an eye and
  cup lies in the mud at her feet. Also here is the Royal Bard you
  met earlier, but he doesn’t look so royal now.
  Observant PCs (Spot, DC 22) will notice knife is clean and the
  handle too large for her to use effectively. In addition the knife is
  identical to those carried by the sheriff’s men, and this particular
  deputy’s knife sheath is empty. Allow the PCs to react, and then
  continue.
  “Well well,” says the sheriff as he approaches the woman with obvi-
  ous anticipation, “I always knew you were a witch. You’re going to
  hang by the neck until dead and the mosquitoes are going to eat
  your Heironeous-forsaken, soulless body. That’s going to happen.
  No way to stop it. But Paducah is a civilized town, ruled by my law,
  so first you get a trial. Anything to say for yourself?”
  In a calm voice the young woman replies, “I am innocent. I
  serve the people of Paducah by revealing the will of the gods. Mayor
  Romano was my friend.” She finishes with a single word muttered
  under her breath.
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  15
  The single word is an urgent message spell (Handout 6), exclu-
  sive to The Coven. As it turns out, Coven members have been
  hiding nearby, watching the PCs throughout the scenario any-
  way.
  “Enough!” roars the Sheriff. “You had the knife what that made
  Romano dead. You are a spellcaster and therefore a corrupt, foul
  creature. What I do now is not punishment but I am just direct-
  ing you to your just reward for a life of evil. Hang by the neck
  until dead!” The sheriff’s men jerk the rope, easily pulling the
  struggling witch three feet off the ground. As she gasps for
  breath, the Sheriff smiles meaningfully at you as local justice is
  brutally carried out.
  Judges Map #3 shows the position of Fax, the Sheriff and his
  men (This map is scaled for standard metal figures). This will
  become a combat situation, but exactly how will depend upon
  the actions of those involved.
  The Sheriff wants to hang the witch as a demonstration of his
  power, but not at the expense of his own skin or slightly less
  important, the skins (and therefore the loyalty) of the boys. Given
  a choice, the Sheriff will have his men concentrate their
  attacks on the Coven because killing representatives of
  the King (the PCs) is usually not a good idea. PCs that get
  in the way will be assumed to be in league with The
  Coven and therefore subject to attack. Once combat
  begins, one of the deputies holding the rope spends the
  first combat round tying it off to the tree so that the for-
  tuneteller continues to strangulate. Sheriff Venokur and
  His Boys are described in Appendix 2.
  Fax the fortuneteller wants to escape. She has called
  The Coven but is unsure when or if they will arrive. She
  will try to delay the hanging as long as possible by rea-
  soning with her captors or with the PCs, or by getting the
  PCs to fight the Sheriff. In combat she will side with the
  Coven, and with the PCs only if they have taken obvious
  actions to rescue her. Once hanging, she must make a
  Fortitude save every round with a cumulative –1 penalty
  per round to avoid strangulation. Strangulation does 1d4
  points of temporary Constitution damage every round
  Fax fails her save. In addition, she will not ask for the
  King’s Justice (see below) because she believes the sheriff
  will kill her while she waits in jail, but she might be per-
  suaded with good reasons from the PCs. (The Sheriff
  would go out of his way to assure her safety because he is
  afraid of what might happen to him if she died in his jail
  while waiting for the King’s representative to arrive.)
  The Coven (when they arrive) wants to rescue a fellow
  Coven member, but not at the expense of their own skins.
  (The Coven members take up tactical positions, consider-
  ing cover, line of sight, etc.) All Coven members are aware
  of the dangers of living in town. They also want to punish
  anyone who has the audacity to think they can harm a
  Coven member without retribution. In combat the Coven will
  attack any groups that attack them first. If the Coven initiates
  combat as a distraction for rescue, then the Sheriff’s men are
  attacked. Once Fax is rescued the Coven will withdraw to the
  swamp, where they cannot be tracked or found. If Fax is killed,
  The Coven will move to recover her body, as they are well aware
  that dead bodies can still be interrogated. Because Coven mem-
  bers have been hiding in town, discreetly watching the PCs, they
  arrive at the hanging tree five rounds (half a minute) after the
  urgent message spell.
  Thanks to the foresight of Toomay, the Coven’s combat tacti-
  cian, Fax and the Coven members all speak an obscure swamp
  dialect that even Venokur doesn’t understand (imagine modern
  Cajon with a Swiss accent). They use this language in combat and
  for any other secretive communications.
  The PCs may ask about the legal implications. The law in
  Brackenmoor, as established by the Count, states that trial must
  precede punishment for high crimes (murder, kidnapping,
  attacking the Count’s military, horse theft, etc.). Punishment is
  death by hanging. The sentence is to be carried out, commuted or
  altered by each town’s Sheriff as the Sheriff sees fit. (Venokur will
  Map 3: The Fight
  
  THE ADVENTURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  16
  be happy to explain these laws to anyone who asks. Note that
  Venokur is actually violating this law by not providing for a trial,
  so the execution is illegal.) The King’s Law states that all matters
  of crime and punishment except those against the Kingdom of
  Nyrond shall be handled as determined by the Duke, Baron,
  Count or Earl of any given region. Persons that stand accused of
  any crime in any region may ask for the King’s Justice. In this
  case, the accused waits in local jail until a representative of the
  King can arrive to investigate the case. PCs do not have the
  authority to administer the King’s Justice. (The concept of King’s
  Justice is known to Nyrond PCs. It was mentioned when they
  received their adventure’s license oath. Subtly remind them of
  these facts of law if necessary.) More detail on Nyrond Law can
  be found at the RPGA Living Greyhawk Kingdom of Nyrond
  web site (http://nyrond.oerth.com/nyrondmain.html).
  Conclusion 
  There is no “boxed text” conclusion because there are many pos-
  sible outcomes. If alive, the sheriff asks the PCs to leave town.
  When the PCs eventually do leave, ask them to make their
  report. Pay careful attention to which PC makes the most com-
  plete report, and/or includes the most important details.
  All NPCs will refuse to accompany the PCs back to Rel Mord.
  If rescued by the PCs, Fax will ask to return to Paducah, and
  eventually find The Coven. PC spellcasters who assist in rescuing
  Fax will be contacted by an anonymous source in Rel Mord,
  offering to teach them a new spell (a first level spell of the PC’s
  choice).
  If the PCs provide evidence of Venokur’s corruption, they
  receive a cash reward.
  The End
  
  EXPERIENCE & TREASURE
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  17
  Experience Point Summary
  To award experience for this adventure, add up the values for the
  objectives accomplished. Then assign the discretionary roleplay-
  ing experience award. The roleplaying award should be given for
  consistent character portrayal and contribution to the fun of the
  game. You can award different roleplaying amounts to different
  characters.
  Award the total value (objectives plus roleplaying) to each
  character.
  Days 1-9 (On the River)
  ¥ PC served as a useful member of the crew25 xp
  Encounter 1
  ¥Gathered information about swamp
  50 xp
  Encounter 2
  ¥Avoided pointless combats in swamp
  75 xp
  Or
  ¥Defeated mosquitoes 
  25 xp
  ¥Defeated crocodiles
  25 xp
  ¥Defeated ogers
  25 xp
  Encounter 3
  ¥Gathered information from Seedie
  25 xp
  ¥Investigated the Hanging tree
  25 xp
  ¥Gathered information from Highball
  25 xp
  ¥Gathered information from Fax
  25 xp
  Encounter 4
  ¥Defeated crocodiles
  25 xp
  Encounter 5
  ¥Determine who murdered the mayor
  75 xp
  Encounter 7
  ¥Rescued Fax
  100 xp
  Total experience for objectives
  450 xp
  Discretionary roleplaying award
  0-50 xp
  Total possible experience
  500 xp
  Treasure Summary
  Player characters may keep items from the scenario that are listed
  on the treasure list below or which meet the following conditions: 
  •
  The item must be non-magical and specifically listed in the 
  text of the adventure (e.g armor on foes). If it is not listed in
  the text, the characters cannot keep it. Items of this nature 
  can be sold for 50% of book value, or recorded on a log sheet. 
  •
  Animals, followers, monsters, henchmen, and so forth (any 
  living being, basically) may not be kept from a scenario for 
  any reason unless the treasure summary lists the being 
  specifically. It is okay for the player characters to form 
  relationships with NPCs, but these will not be certed and 
  cannot bring material benefit to the character. Contacts 
  (sources of extra information) must be specifically certed.
  •
  Theft is against the law, but may be practiced by some player
  characters. Items which are worth more than [insert cam
  paign value] that are of personal significance to the owner 
  (including family heirlooms), and all magical items, will be 
  discovered in the possession of the character by one means or
  another. The character must return the item and pay a fine 
  equal to three times the value of the item stolen. In addition,
  the PC caught receives campaign-decided penalties for being
  known as a thief. For other stolen items which meet the 
  criteria in #1 above, use your judgment and the 
  circumstances within the game to determine whether a PC 
  thief gets away with the theft or not. 
  Any item retained according to these rules, which does not have
  a certificate, will not ever have a certificate issued for it. 
  The campaign staff reserves the right to take away any item
  or gold acquired for things it later finds unreasonable but which
  were allowed at the time.
  Days 1-9 (On the River)
  •
  1-18 gold nobles (gp) per PC
  •
  Adventuring licenses for newly registered adventurers
  Various Encounters
  •
  Serrated Hunting Knife (2 gp, 1 lb., steel common): This fine
  knife has a large bone handle and a serrated edge. It does 
  damage as a dagger. Up to 8 of these knives can be obtained 
  by PCs. 
  Encounter 3
  •
  Unirabbit Skin (2 sp., *, mangy rabbit skin and part of a deer
  antler, common): This skin is a rare find, as few persons are 
  foolish enough to fall for this old scam. It is a moth-easten 
  rabbit skin with a broken antler of an unknown animal glued
  to the middle of the forehead.
  •
  Up to four pouches of Seedie’s Mosquito Repellent Goo (1 gp,
  *, goo, common): When applied to exposed skin, this foul 
  smelly, stick green past repels mosquitoes of all types from 
  the wearer. One does lasts 24 hours, but is easily washed off 
  by a dip in the horse’s water trough, a good hard rain, or a 
  thorough doing with wine. 5 doses per pouch. Expires one 
  
  EXPERIENCE & TREASURE 
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  18
  year after received.
  •
  300 gold nobles from the Sheriff’s desk (or the 500 gold 
  nobles in the Conclusion, but the party cannot have both).
  •
  126 gold nobles from the Mayor’s house. The PCs have no 
  real reason to take this money.
  •
  Gilded Holy Symbol of Heironeous (10 gp, 1lb, wood with 
  gold leaf, common): This wooden holy symbol of Heironeous
  depicts a white hand grasping a vertical lightning bolt. It is 
  decorated with gold leaf.
  Conclusion
  •
  500 gold nobles (or the 300 gold nobles from the Sheriff’s 
  desk, but the party cannot have both).
  •
  1st-level arcane spell scroll (25 gp, * vellum, common): A scroll 
  with a 1st-level arcane spell of the PC’s choice (i.e. any 1 st-
  level arcane spell from the Wizard/Sorcerer list in the 
  Player’s Handbook identify) 
  •
  1 influence point with the Count of Brackenmoor
  
  APPENDIX 
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  19
  Appendix 1: Useful Rumors
  These rumors are presented in approximate order of importance
  to the campaign.
  1) Information leading to the capture of the King’s nefari-
  ous…nay traitorous! Brother, Prince Sewarndt is worth money.
  Juicier rumors and solid facts are worth the most.
  2) Prince Sewarndt is in hiding in Korenflass.
  3) Prince Sewarndt is in hiding in the Gnatmarsh, in league with
  a coven of witches. They say he has married the head witch in an
  unholy, evil ceremony, and that she will bear a child who is real-
  ly a demon.
  4) Some say King Lynwerd is feeble and incompetent, a puppet
  whose strings are pulled by certain noble families. We should rise
  up and overthrow him so that Prince Sewarndt can take his right-
  ful place on the throne.
  5) The mosquitoes in the Gnatmarsh are unnaturally large. I once
  saw one large enough to swallow a man whole.
  6) An illegitimate son of King Lynwerd has surfaced among the
  witches of the Gnatmarsh. 
  7) The King’s Militia is always looking for volunteers for long-
  term assignment to patrol the river. Persons without family obli-
  gations are considered first.
  8) The Kingdom’s new debtor’s prisons have been built to accom-
  modate all the unlicensed adventurers. Executions will used to
  ease the expected overcrowding.
  9) Hordes of bandits roam the Gnatmarsh/Woodwych border.
  Patrols have been ambushed and killed, but sometimes a single
  survivor is allowed to return to tell the tale. Some say the bandits
  are elves, some say ogres, other stories tell tales of undead.
  10) The former Baron of Woodwych, named Bastrayne, has a
  price on his head of 10,000 nobles. Description: short with flam-
  ing red hair and noticeably pudgy fingers. His people hated him,
  although the nobles are blamed for not seeing him as a traitor. He
  fled Nyrond with wagonloads of gold that he extorted from his
  nobles and The Crown. The King himself had to come to
  Woodwych to put down the resultant revolt. Everyone likes the
  new Baroness Verin Talinth.
  11) While traveling to Rel Mord, the King’s fiancée fell ill. No one
  has seen her since. Some believe her dead by poison at the hands
  of Prince Sewarndt, othr believe it is demon-induced sleep.
  12) Demons haunt the Almorian lands, so travel down the
  Flessern River is dangerous at best.
  13) There is still a pirate problem in Relmor Bay. No one knows
  for whom the pirates work. One wonders if they are of the Scarlet
  Brotherhood, preying on the fair peoples of Nyrond. Others say
  they are southern nobles out making a fortune for themselves.
  14) I once saw a two-headed marsh troll. It was thiiiiiiis big.
  15) I heard there is a sunken lich tomb somewhere in the swamp.
  It’s power feeds and controls all the evil denizens of Gnatmarsh.
  16) Adrean’s Landing is a brand-new town that’s taking too much
  of the Baroness’ resources. She should put her money instead in
  a place where people already live, like Swan Bore.
  17) Don’t go out at night anywhere in the kingdom. People have
  been arrested, charged with thievery, and have had their hands
  cut off. Some others have been sold into slavery.
  18) The rich nobles are in league with fiends.
  19) All nobles are in league with fiends.
  20) King Lynwerd is demon. At night he changes into a hideous
  three-headed creature and eats maidens and sheep.
  21) There’s going to be a new coliseum at Adrean’s Landing, com-
  plete will gladiator games and chariot races.
  22) Nyrond will invade the Theocracy of the Pale within a year to
  rid that land of oppression. Heironeous himself will lead our
  armies.
  
  APPENDIX
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  20
  Appendix 2: Sheriff Venokur
  and the Boys
  Royal Bard of Count Romadnen Beremen of Brackenmoor
  (a.k.a. Skree) male human Rog4: CR 4; Medium-size
  humanoid (5’7"); HD 4d6+4; hp 22; Init +8 (Dex, Improved
  Initiative), Spd 30 ft.; AC 14 (Dex); Atks +7 melee (1d4-1 [crit. 19-
  20], serrated hunting knife [dagger]); SA Sneak Attack +2d6; SQ
  Evasion, Uncanny Dodge; AL CN; SV Fort +2, Ref +8, Will +0.
  Str 8, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 15, Wis 8, Cha 15.
  Skills: Appraise +9, Bluff +9, Decipher Script +9, Diplomacy
  +9, Forgery +9, Gather Information +9, Innuendo +6, Listen +6,
  Move Silently +11, Pick Pocket +11, Profession (spy) +6. Feats:
  Alertness, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse (dagger), 
  Appearance: The bard is dashing and every bit the ladies’ man.
  He drips with jewels (close inspection reveals most of them to be
  of poor quality or fake) and fine manners. On his belt he wears a
  high quality serrated hunting knife with carved bone handle
  sheathed in tooled leather.
  Personality: Skree is a spy and con man who tries to avoid
  physically demanding situations such as combat. He will stay out
  of the final combat unless the PCs are clearly losing, or he can
  strike to save the life of Venokur (and thus earn his gratitude).
  When not playing the part of the Royal Bard, Skree is openly sup-
  portive of Venokur.
  Venokur, Sherrif of Paducah, male human Ftr3: CR 3;
  Medium-size Humanoid (6’ 0"); HD 3d10+6; hp 36; Init +6 (Dex,
  Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (studded leather, Dex);
  Atks +3/+3 melee (1d4 +2 [crit. 19-20], 2 serrated hunting knives
  [daggers]); AL LE; SV Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +3.
  Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 16.
  Skills: Intimidate +6, Knowledge (nature) +3, Profession
  (sheriff) +2, Spot +2. Feats: Ambidexterity, Improved Initiative,
  Iron Will, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (hunting knife).
  Appearance: A stocky and balding man, 6’ 2" tall, with narrow
  eyes and a commanding presence. He wears studded leather
  armor, two bone-handled hunting knives in tooled leather
  sheaths, and new crocodile skin boots. He carries any valuable or
  obviously useful items stolen by Skree from the PCs.
  Personality: "I am the law. This is my town. Are we gonna have
  any trouble?" Venokur is a small-time crook, interested basically
  in money, blackmail, extortion and controlling his backwater
  town. He controls his men with cash payments and threats.
  The Boys, male humans, Ftr1: Medium-size Humanoid (5’9");
  HD 1d10+2; hp 15 (Toughness); Init +6 (Dex, Improved
  Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (leather, Dex); Atks +4 melee (1d4+2
  [crit. 19-20], serrated hunting knife [dagger]); AL LE; SV Fort +4,
  Ref +2, Will +1.
  Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 9.
  Skills: Knowledge (nature) +4, Move Silently +3, Search +3,
  Swim +6. Feats: Improved Initiative, Toughness, Weapon Focus
  (hunting knife)
  Appearance: Typical backwater redneck yokels (although they
  are smarter than they act, to keep Venokur happy). Each has one
  of the bone-handled serrated hunting knives and leather armor.
  Personality: We do whatever Venokur tells us, especially if it
  involves getting money, but sometimes he goes over the line. For
  example, we won’t attack visitors just to amuse him.
  
  APPENDIX
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  21
  Appendix 3: Fax and The
  Coven
  Fax the Fortuneteller, female human, Clr2 (Boccob)/Sor2:
  CR 4; Medium-size Humanoid (5’ 2"); HD 2d8+2d4; hp 20; Init +5
  (Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 11 (Dex); Atks +1 melee
  (1d3-1 subdual, fist); SA Turn Undead; SQ Magic and Trickery
  Domains; AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +9.
  Str 9, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 15
  Skills: Alchemy +10, Concentration +7, Heal +10, Knowledge
  (arcana) +10, Knowledge (religion) +10, Knowledge: swamp +5,
  Perform +5, Profession: fortuneteller +10, Wilderness Lore +4.
  Feats: Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Still Spell.
  Spells Prepared: (4/3+1): 0-lvl—detect magic, detect poison, guid-
  ance, light. 1st-lvl—change self*, monster summoning I, obscuring
  mist, sanctuary.
  *domain spell
  Spells Known: (6/5): 0-lvl—daze, ghost sound, mage hand, pres-
  tidigitation, urgent message (new spell). 1st-lvl—charm person, silent
  image.
  Appearance: Charming middle-aged woman with an air of
  mystery. She is prone to criptic answers, and she pretends she
  hears voices and spirits that tell her the will of the gods (typical
  fortuneteller behavior).
  Personality: Fax is a neutral witch with good tendencies. She
  lives in town as eyes and ears of the Coven, and makes a living by
  telling fortunes and preparing the mosquito goo that she sells to
  Seedie. Fax is generally not trusted by the townsfolk because
  she’s a spellcaster. She has convinced the townsfolk she is very
  powerful, and because does occasionally do something useful
  like healing, she is left to her own devices. In addition the towns-
  folk very superstitious and concerned about godly wrath if they
  hurt her. 
  Interc, female gnome Wiz2 (Illusionist): CR 2; Small-size
  Humanoid (3’ 0"); HD 2d4+6; hp 14; Init +6 (Dex, Improved
  Initiative); Spd 20 ft.; AC 18 (mage armor, Dex, Improved
  Initiative); Atks –1 melee (1d4-2 [crit 19-20], dagger); SQ cast the
  following cantrips once per day—dancing lights, ghost sound,
  and prestidigitation; AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3 (+5 vs. illu-
  sions)
  Str 7, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 14.
  Skills: Alchemy +5, Concentration +7, Knowledge (arcana) +8,
  Knowledge (nature) +8, Listen +3, Perform +3, Spellcraft +8. Feats:
  Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Summon Familiar.
  Spells Prepared (4/3): 0-lvl—detect magic, flare, light, ray of frost;
  1st-lvl—color spray, magic missile, silent image.
  Familiar: toad.
  Appearance: An average gnome with unkempt hair and a
  crafty, wild look in her eyes. She spends most of her time in the
  shadows as if afraid of the light.
  Personality: Interc avoids hand-to-hand combat, preferring
  illusions and trickery, and the comfort of masking her actions in
  the shadows. "An hidden illusionist lives to be cast better illu-
  sions tomorrow."
  Squirrellie, female dwarf Drd2 (Obad-Hai): CR 2; Medium-
  size Humanoid (4’ 0"); HD 2d8+6; hp 22; Int +6 (Dex, Improved
  Initiative); Spd 20 ft.; AC 17 (mage armor, Dex); Atks +0 melee
  (1d6-1, club); SQ Nature Sense, Animal Companion; AL N; SV
  (additional +2 vs. spells and spell-like effects) Fort +6 (poison +8),
  Ref +2, Will +6.
  Str 8, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 10.
  Skills: Animal Empathy +5, Appraise +4, Concentration +7,
  Craft +5, Handle Animal +5, Knowledge: nature +8, Spellcraft +8,
  Wilderness Lore +8. Feats: Improved Initiative.
  Spells Prepared (4/3): 0-lvl—create water, detect magic, flare, guid-
  ance; 1st-lvl—faerie fire, goodberry (precast: 5 berries), invisibility to
  animals.
  Appearance: Bearing wooden shield and club, Squirrellie looks
  like an under-funded dwarven fighter. The crocodile at her feet
  suggests it would be unwise to discuss this look within earshot.
  Personality: Squirrellie never fights without her best friend
  and closest companion, Croc the crocodile, at her side. She does-
  n’t back away from combat, but avoids starting a fight of her own.
  Her number one loyalty in all things is to Croc, with the Coven a
  very close second.
  Crocodile, Squirrellie’s Animal Companio: CR 2; Medium-
  Size Animal (aquatic); HD 3d8+9; hp 22; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20 ft.,
  swim 30 ft.; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +4 natural); Atks +6 melee (1d8+6,
  bite) or +6 melee (1d12+6, tail slap); SA Improved grab; AL N; SV
  Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2.
  Str 19, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2 
  Skills: Hide +7, Listen +5, Spot +5. Feats: None.
  SA: Improved Grab (Ex)—to use this ability the crocodile must
  hit a Medium-size or smaller opponent with its bite attack. If it
  gets a hold, the crocodile grabs the opponents with its mouth and
  drags it into deep water, attempting to pin it to the bottom. The
  crocodile automatically deals bite damage each round it main-
  tains the pin. 
  Toomay, male human Sor2: CR 2; Medium-size human (6’ 4"):
  HD 2d4; hp 8; Int +6 (Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 16
  (mage armor, Dex); Atks +1 melee (1d4 [crit. 19-20], dagger) or +3
  ranged (1d4, sling); AL N; SV Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +3.
  Str 10, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 17.
  Skills: Concentration +5, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge
  (tactics) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Spellcraft +8, Tumble +4.
  Feats: Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (dagger)
  Spells Known (6/4): 0-lvl—daze, detect magic, flare, mage hand,
  ray of frost; 1st-lvl—mage armor (precast x4), magic missile.
  Appearance: Toomay looks like she’s always planning and
  scheming, because that’s exactly what she is doing.
  
  APPENDIX
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  22
  Personality: As the group combat leader; she is fond of using
  her sling but avoids hand-to-hand combat if possible. Croc is an
  armored unit that should be out in front to protect the infantry.
  Spellcaster artillery should work from a distance. She loves com-
  plex plans involving infiltration and tactical movement, but
  rarely gets to carry them out in the service of the Coven. If she’s
  bored she might figure out a way to start a fight, as long as it
  doesn’t get hr friends seriously hurt. "Bruises are a sign of exer-
  cise, and exercise never hurt anyone." She always uses mage
  armor before any potentially hostile situation. "Better to be safe
  than dead."
  
  HANDOUTS
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  23
  Players Handout #1: 
  Prince Sewarndt Wanted Poster
  Wanted Dead or Alive
  The Rebellious Prince Sewarndt
  Who Did Commit High Treason and Other Crimes against His August Supremacy, Altmeister
  of All the Aerdi, King Lynwerd I of Nyrond, and the Kingdom and Crown of Nyrond
  Reward
  100,000 Nobles Alive
  25,000 Nobles Dead
  (Because there is only one Sewarndt wanted poster at the docks, there is but one copy of this handout. The players may keep this
  handout only if they take the wanted poster. Taking wanted posters by bounty hunters, military personal, adventurers, etc. is allowed
  by Nyrond law.)
  
  HANDOUTS
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  24
  Handout #2: 
  Common Knowledge-Prince Sewarndt 
  Each PC may have a copy of this handout
  The Greyhawk Wars extracted a terrible toll on Nyrond. Whether Nyrond would fall was never an issue.
  The question was simply that of timing. Remarkably, that issue would be decided by Archbold’s own son the
  young Prince Sewarndt. In the fall 585 CY, King Archbold suffered a sudden stroke. Clerics from around the
  land convened in Rel Mord, finally determining that he had been poisoned. Within hours of the discovery,
  Prince Sewarndt and a group of military officers attempted to seize the thrown. Only the intervention of the
  capital’s entire Heironean clergy saved the crown and the king. By the time Archbold’s older son, Crown
  Prince Lynwerd, could lead an army to his father’s side, Sewarndt and a handful of his cohorts had vanished
  into the Nyrond countryside. Sewarndt’s treachery shattered whatever resolve Archbold had managed to cling
  to during the difficult war years. A wholly broken man, he abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Lynwerd in
  Fireseek, 586 CY.
  Locating the Prince for trial and execution has occupied bounty hunters, nobles, and commoners alike for
  several years. The most consistent rumors have the Prince allied with Duke Regurd Korenflass, where he is
  consolidating his power for another attempt at the throne. Agents loyal to the Prince have been discovered in
  Oldred, the seat of the Duchy, and throughout the Kingdom.
  Handout 3: 
  An Unfinished Report 
  Next report to C. R. B.
  ---Crocs & ogres in swamp becoming more restless. Something stirring them up, or just mating season?
  ---Seedie’s goo continues to improve….market in Rel Mord and Greyhawk? 
  ---Coven activity? Ask for assistance or at least adventurers to look into this. Maybe they can prove for certain
  the Coven does not exist, so Count need not worry…so he can turn his attention elsewhere and leave me be.
  ---Mayor needs replacement!!!! No concept of LAW. I’ve had to increase hangings to instill respect among
  locals. Mayor is probably a spy for P. S.
  ---Band of adventurers docked today from up north on ship Duntide Dragon. Poking their nose into every-
  thing. Watch them…Make sure they understand who is in change; "shorten noses" if necessary. 
  
  HANDOUTS
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  25
  Handout 4: 
  Sealed Letter Found in the Sheriff’s Strongbox
  Addressed to "The Righteous Prince Sewarndt"
  My Dear Prince Sewarndt,
  I cannot begin to express with words how your recent actions in Rel Mord have inspired me. While I am not an exceptionally reli-
  gious man, I feel Hextor, our Lord of Tyranny, has blessed you in your mission to provide the best leadership possible for the Holy
  Kingdom of Nyrond. Archbold’s pitiful mismanagement of the throne during the war coupled with Lynwerd’s bumbling stupidity (not
  to mention weak-minded sentiment over his ill fiancee) have all but lost the Kingdom to the demons of The Pale.
  Therefore I humbly offer my services as a warrior trained by hands-on experience during the war, in addition to my extensive net-
  work of well-placed informants in Arnford, Swam Bore, Adrean’s Landing, Rel Mord and elsewhere along the Duntide.
  We would be pleased and honored if you chose to relocate from Oldred to Paducah. No place in Brackenmoor and perhaps all of
  the Kingdom can provide the homely hospitality and small-town flavor that Paducah is famous for. Seedie’s crocodile stew alone is
  worth the trip. Once you have settled here, various local powers, from ogres to witches, can easily be purchased or otherwise forced to
  serve us.
  Your humble servant,
  Venokur,
  Sheriff of Paducah,
  Legally appointed by Count Romadnen Beremen
  Handout 5: 
  A Letter with a Broken Seal.
  Addressed to "Count Romadnen Bereman, Callistor, Brackenmoor." Dated 16 days ago.
  Sir,
  In continuing fullfilment of the conditions of my appointment as Mayor of Paducah some seven months ago, I humbly offer this
  semi-monthly report on the activities in and around the town of Paducah, the Shining Jewel of the Bountiful Gnatmarsh. May it please
  your eyes.
  Although I have the greatest respect for your leadership, I must confess a continuing doubt as to the intentions of another of Your
  just and worthy appointees, Sherif Venokur of Paducah. Several local folks have approached me with consistent stories of blackmail,
  extortion and theft by Venokur and his gang of four other men. Other suspicious acts that I will discuss in detail when I am blessed
  with an appointment to visit Your Lordship at court lead me to believe (if I may humbly suggest) that Venokur is in league with the
  coven of witches rumored to operate deep within the Gnatmarsh. If Your Lordship has evidence to suggest otherwise then I too must
  confess a similar disbelief. Similarly this would render moot the rumor, which is without evidence, of an illegimate son born of His
  Royal Highness, King Lynwerd I. The boy is said to live with this coven. Of course Your Lordship’s wisdom and knowledge prevails in
  these matters.
  The corruption of Venokur, should your Lordship aceept it, is in degree only a small bit less than that of the renegade Prince.
  May Heironeous protect us all.
  Your humble and dutiful servant,
  Mayor Romano of Paducah
  
  CRITICAL EVENTS
  You Ain’t From Around Here
  26
  Critical Event Summary
  The purpose of this summary sheet is to provide information to the Nyrond Triad to see how events in this scenario influence future
  happenings in Nyrond. Return this survey to the event coordinator or Steve Hardinger (partdragon@aol.com).  Please give PC
  names,  players names and RPGA numbers.
  1.
  Which PC(s) were born in the Gnatmarsh? (These PCs are immune to the giant Gnatmarsh mosquitoes, but they are gener-
  ally regarded as slow-witted and inbred, with appropriate penalties to reaction rolls.)  
  2. 
  Fax was (circle one):    Rescued by the PCs      Killed but not executed       Executed
  Explain if needed:
  3. 
  Did the PCs do anything extraordinary (significantly different from what the scenario implies they might do)?
  4. 
  Did any PC spellcasters behave in a way that was less than good?  Explain.
  5. 
  Which PC served the Crown best (that is, gathered the largest quantity of useful information)?   Provide a brief explanation.
  6. 
  Describe any events not outlined in the scenario that you feel could effect the future of the campaign in Nyrond in any way.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Living Greyhawk/Modules/Nyrond/591/Normal Scenarios/NYR1-02 - You Ain't From Around Here (APL 2-2)/NYR1-02 - You Ain't From Around Here.pdf