The Temple of the Mad Monkey

Adventure for a level 7-9 party

Overview: Sir Kingston Vandertrap, the renowned explorer and historian, is missing. He was last seen taking a party deep into the jungles of Chult to map a river. That was a month ago. The players will be hired by Sir Jerald Vandertrap to find his missing brother. The adventure will take the players into a temple behind a waterfall filled with ancient traps and a devious wangdou monkey.

Setup: The players are in “The Captain’s Rest” in Chult.

You are in Chult, the ancient jungle continent, staying in Fort Beluarain at a small inn called “The Captain’s Rest.” It’s run by Captain Sayver, a retired boat captain, who once sailed the maze of rivers in Chult. You are approached by a nervous looking noble human. “Hello,” he says. “My name is Sir Jerald Vandertrap. You’ve heard about the Vandertraps, right?” He sits down and orders a drink from the bar. He then looks at your blank expressions. “No? Huh. I thought everyone knew my brother. You see that’s why I’m here. My brother is the famed explorer Sir Kingston Vandertrap. He went on an expedition up the Thuggee River about a month ago. He’s been sending regular reports with messenger birds but a couple of days ago they just stopped. I think something’s happened to him. I want to hire you to make sure he’s okay and I will pay you two hundred gold to help me. A hundred now and then a hundred more when you return with news. What do you say?” He extends a tentative hand towards you.

If the players accept then the adventure can move forward. If they decline then find some other adventure that better suits them. They might be able to negotiate a slighter higher payment with some good persuasion checks but not more that two-hundred an fifty gold. Sir Jerald pays the hundred gold up front and mentions that he has already hired a boat captain to take the group up the Thuggee River. The boat captain is a sarcastic and optimistic halfling named Captain Deeps. She’s a bit inexperienced but she’s friendly and skilled enough. The party could also hire Captain Sayver if they make a good Persuasion check DC 15 and offer to pay him one hundred gold. Captain Sayver will save the party time and avoid random events.

Part 1. The Boat Ride

The trip up Thuggee River is perilous because it traverses wild and dangerous terrain. If the party hires Captain Sayver, the trip takes three days. Roll on the Random River Event table two times on the second and third day. If the party stays with Captain Deeps, the trip lasts four days. Roll 1d10 on the Random River Event Table once for each day to see what happens. Each event can only happen once. Reroll any duplicates.

Random River Event

1. Three giant boa constrictors (see Monster Manual) attack the boat.
2. You hear the beat of drums coming from somewhere deep in the jungle. It goes on all night. You awaken the next morning with one level of exhaustion.
3. The boat strikes heavy rapids. Everyone must succeed at an Acrobatics check (DC 14) or get thrown overboard. Any player thrown overboard suffers 6d6 bludgeoning damage before they are finally pulled to safety.
4. A group of 20 lizard folk (see Monster Manual) on wooden rafts sneak up to the boat in the night and try to overwhelm it. The players must succeed on a group Perception check (DC 15) to see the lizard folk before they attack. Failure and the party is surprised which grants the lizard folk advantage on their first attack.
5. The party encounters a hermit sitting on a log in the middle of the river. He has taken a vow of silence and will not speak. If asked, he did see the Vandertrap expedition group go up the river and he will make signs of a waterfall and a monkey. He is a 10th level monk if attacked.
6. A couple of large trees block the boat from traveling up the main river. You are forced to take a side path.The side river takes you under a lot of low hanging branches and vines. There’s a crash and four ape men drop onto the boat deck and attack.
7. The smell of something dead permeates the air. The party passes a dead elephant on the river bank. Two crocodiles are slowly ripping and chewing meat from it. The crocodiles are well-fed and do not attack. They will flee if threatened.
8. A swarm of mosquitos follows the party all day. Each player must make a Constitution saving throw DC 15. On a failure the player catches a virus. They will suffer disadvantage on all attacks for 1d3 days until they feel better.
9. One of the players (choose randomly) is targeted by three flying snakes. The snakes each make a single attack before anyone can do anything. If injured, the snakes will flee. They will continue to attack that one player until they are killed or injured.
10. The jungle hangs over this portion of the river. A number of thick vines droop down into the water. The players will hear movement from the shadows and then they will be attacked by two assassin vines.

 Part 2. The Waterfall

Following the directions given to you by Rejinald Vandertrap, you follow the river to a large clearing. A beautiful  waterfall feeds the river from this point and the jungle stretches endlessly in all directions. You see a boat tied to a tree not too far away. It’s quiet and you approach the boat cautiously. As you get closer an elven woman steps out and hails you.
The woman’s name is Vanya. She’s a botanist and in her middle years. She’s in the boat with a teifling druid named Gelson. The druid is very ill and lies in a cot in the boat suffering from a fever. Vanya will tell the group that Gelson was bit about two weeks ago by a monkey. He’s confused and incoherent and he’s been steadily getting worse. She’s tended him but since he was the healer of the group, all she has been able to do is keep him from dying. A successful Investigation or Medicine check DC 16 will reveal that Gelson has been poisoned. Anti-venom or a restoration spell will ease his condition but Gelson will need several weeks to recover. Vanya will say that Vandertrap went into the waterfall following the monkey that bit Gelson but that was six days ago. She hasn’t seen him since. She can’t sail the boat so she’s been unable to get help. Vanya will point out the secret path that leads behind the waterfall but she won’t follow. She will stay with Gelson.

Parts 3 and 4 will take the party into the monkey Temple in the search for Vandertrap.