Monster Ring Adventure Module – Recommended party level 4-6

Description

The players encounter an enraged owlbear, which they should easily dispatch. Upon killing it, the dead owlbear turns into a wild-looking human. The players will likely assume he was a druid. He is not. The dead man is wearing a monster ring with a pearl on it. The adventure really begins if any of the players put on the ring and one of them is cursed by it. Otherwise, they could sell the ring and move on to another adventure. They won’t be able to tell the ring is cursed unless they use an identify spell. If one of the player’s is cursed then they must journey up a tall mountain and bathe in a pool there. However, it’s a sacred mountain to a group of dwarves and the dwarves are about to drink it dry. The players must either battle or sneak their way to the sacred mountain pool. 

Setup 

You are travelling through a thick forest towards the dwarven keep of Mount Karapell when you hear movement in the brush to your left. From a large bush emerges an enraged owlbear. It roars a challenge at you and charges.

If any of the players are a dwarf then the owlbear targets them first. The owlbear is really a human named Sorvel Tanell. He was a pick-pocket and thief before he stole a monster ring that turned him into an owlbear. He’s been trying to get into Mount Karapell for weeks but the dwarves keep driving him off. He’s lost his mind completely at this point and turned feral. He will fight to the death. When he dies, he will transform into a naked man whose only possession was a golden ring with a pearl on it. Should any of the players put on the ring, they will transform into an owlbear after their first long rest.

Mount Karapell

After several more hours travel you arrive at the foot Mount Karapell. Quite a few others are walking the road with you. Almost all are dwarves. There are streamers and banners hanging from posts along the road. People are singing and there is a joyous atmosphere.

They are pilgrims who are here for the Ceremony of the New Sun, which is a large festival that marks the beginning of summer. There is a special pool near the peak of the mountain whose sacred waters fill at spring. During the festival, dwarves come from all over to drink the water of the sacred pool pf Mount Karapell so that they will be blessed by Moradin for another year. The pool is completely drained by the end and doesn’t refill until the following spring. The players will arrive in the town without any other incidents and may enjoy some of the festival events. The sacred pool of Karapell will be blocked off by large curtains and guarded by dwarves in the center of the main square. No one in Karapell will be able to identify the ring. If asked, some of the guards will mention that a murderous owlbear attacked the city a few days ago but was driven off by the town guards. The pool drinking ceremony will be tomorrow night.

Festival Activities:

Music and Dancing: A section of the main square has been set up for musicians to play for the entertainment of the visitors. Bards may ply their trade here. For every hour spent playing, the bard may make a performance check (DC 12). They will receive 2 gold + (1 additional gold for every 2 points they score above the DC rounded down). If the bard can speak dwarven then they may roll at advantage. Other players may enjoy the music, dance, or drink here.

Axe Throwing Competition: Each hour players may spend 1 gold to enter the axe throwing competition. They must defeat the two skilled axe throwers called Amrom Threzhelm and Kellnar Blackhold in three throws. Both Amrom and Kellnar roll with a +4 bonus. 

Based on the throw, contestants receive the following points: 

0-10 = miss (no points awarded)

0-14 = edge hit (3 points awarded)

15-18 = midsection hit (5 points awarded)

19+ = bullseye (10 points awarded)

Whoever wins the contest receives the pot of 20 gold pieces. No magical axes are allowed. There can be only one winner. Continue with tie-breaker throws until someone wins.

Competitive Bearding: This is a two player game. Any one player with a beard may play as a performer and another as their stylist. You must have a beard to be the performer. There is no entry fee although a poor showing will result in friendly heckling. Basically, the stylist makes a Dexterity check DC 14 to transform the beard into something amazing. On a success they give the performer advantage on their roll. The performer then makes a Charisma check. Based on their roll they will receive the following rewards.

0-10 = No reward and major heckling from the audience.

11-14 = Runner-up ribbon and minor heckling from the audience.

15-16 = Third place. The audience cheers and the player receives a commemorative mug.

17-18 = Second place. The audience claps loudly and the player receives a fancy beard trimming kit worth 10 gold.

19+ = First place. The audience goes wild and the player receives a set of golden beard rings to decorate their beard worth 100 gold. These rings can also be bought from the jeweler sponsoring the event.

Iron Bar Throwing: Players may engage in some friendly iron bar throwing. There’s no competition for this but the players may engage in some betting here. Contestants must make a base Strength check and the highest roll wins the game. 

The Log Shove: Two teams of three compete on a platform. This is kind of like tug-of-war except that each team lifts one side of a log and their goal is to push the other team over the edge of the platform into a pit of mud. The winning team gets a cheer and maybe a free drink while the losing team gets dunked in mud and has to go to the bathhouses to get hosed down.

There are a number of other smaller events and games taking place in the town. The town guard are all level 5 fighters and will step in to stop fights, theft, and generally keep the peace.

The Dream

If any player has been cursed by the Monster Ring then read the following:

You have a vivid dream of the Mount Karapell sacred pool. You approach the cold waters and dive into it. You see colorful lights swirling past your eyes until you emerge from the pool into the sunshine of a new dawn. It’s a pleasant dream. You open your eyes and yawn. You feel a thud as the bed collapses beneath you. You shout out in surprise and are even more surprised when you hear the shriek of a bird coming from your mouth. You feel odd. Looking down, where your hands should have been are now claws and you seem to be completely covered in feathers. You glance up at the small mirror hanging from the inn wall and you see a confused owlbear blinking back at you.

The player is now an owlbear. The innkeeper will come knocking shortly to ask about the crash. If discovered, the town guard will be called. The transformed player will no longer be able to speak in any language but may communicate to his or her companions through sign language. Writing will be too difficult with the owlbear claws to make anything understandable. Any clothing they were wearing is now shredded and broken. Magical armor will have fallen off.

The cursed player has one day to figure out how to get to the Mount Karapell pool and bathe in it before the ceremony when all of the dwarves drink the pool dry. The players may try subterfuge, negotiation, bribery, brute force, or anything they like. One possible approach is to give them a friend in town. Call him Lars Grimborn. He can recommend trying to get to the pool through its source, the Karapell stream. The only challenge is that the stream is completely underground through a series of tunnels and its a bit dangerous. However, apart from the cavern entrance, it won’t be guarded.

The Karapell Tunnel

Entrance: The entrance to the Karapell tunnel is an iron gate guarded by a single dwarf guard. The guard’s name is Hugh Mudbelt and he can be easily subdued, intimidated or bribed. The gate is locked. A Strength check DC 15 or a Sleight of Hand (lockpick) check DC 14 will open it. Hugh has the keys.

The Swirling Road: Just beyond the Karapell tunnel entrance is a series of swirling passages. It is easy to get lost and end up back at the entrance. Players must make a Survival check (DC 15) to successfully navigate the swirling road. Two failures and five guards will appear at the entrance to stop the group. The guards will flee if over half of them are defeated.

The Narrow Ledge: The tunnel opens into a wide cavern with a narrow bridge of stone leading to the other side. It’s 20 ft. across and 50 ft. down. Anyone may cross the bridge with a successful Dexterity check DC 14. A failure with a roll lower than 9 will result in the player falling down the cavern where they will take 5d6 bludgeoning damage and must find a way to climb back up.

The Dark Cave: Just past the narrow ledge is a very dark cavern filled with stalagmites and stalagtites. As the players walk they will hear the crunch of something under their feet. It’s the bones of many small animals. There’s a roper in this room. Unless the players somehow spot it, the roper will get a surprise round to attack them.

The Stream: The sound of roaring water greets the players as they approach the undergrown stream that feeds the Mount Karapell pool. Stepping into the stream won’t cure the cursed player but they will begin to tingle and feel better. The stream is about a foot deep and seems to be moving slowly. There isn’t a ledge to walk along. The players must walk in the water. As they continue, the waterline will slowly drop and lessen until it ceases to flow entirely. Then read the following:

You hear the sound of rumbling from the tunnel behind you. It gets louder and louder. That’s when you see it. A wall of water rushing towards you. “Run,” one of you shouts but you only get a few steps when the water crashes into you sweeping you off your feet. You are tumbling head over hears in a torrent of water. The current shifts and you are suddenly traveling up. You see a light ahead of you. You burst into the air carried upwards by a geyser of water. You have a brief image of a sunrise and a crowd of people surrounding the sacred pool of Mount Karapell. They were in mid-cheer but make a collective gasp as they see you suspend momentarily thirty feet above them. That’s when gravity steps in and you fall into a large pool with a huge splash. You emerge into the crowded square soaking wet. (insert cursed character’s name) is normal again, albeit naked. 
The adventure ends. The cursed player is whole again. The Monster Ring will have fallen off their finger into the pool. Unless the players think of retrieving it, someone else (possibly someone they don’t like) will find it in their mug of water during the festival.