thedmtoolchest

A Simple Bargain | 8th-Level Fifth Edition Adventure

Added 2021-08-07 16:57:21 +0000 UTC

Just wanted to thank everyone for their patience while I was working through the emergency move. We're out of the old apartment and now in the new one surrounded by boxes that need unpacking. My workstation is in the process of being put back together and next week I'm back in the saddle!

This week's adventure is brought to you by our good friend, patron, and fellow master DM - MykeMyke. He was kind enough to take the time and write this to help fill the gap while I was out of commission during the move. Check out his discord here and inquire about his professionally run games!

A Simple Bargain

A Simple Bargain is a Fifth Edition adventure intended for three to five characters of 7th to 10th level and optimized for four characters with an average party level (APL) of 8. The adventurers come across the local recruiting agent for a steal-to-order organisation known only as The Procurers. The leader of which is a quietly dangerous fiend who uses infernal contracts to blackmail unsuspecting adventurers into obtaining exceptional items for their clients. The adventurers enter the service of The Procurers and must return with the Sun Blade that is currently in the possession of a clan of cyclopes that live in a formerly secret estate in the nearby mountains. This adventure takes place in the Freelands campaign setting but fits into any existing campaign with only a few modifications and name changes.

Backstory

The Glozug clan of cyclopes has moved around between various mountains for centuries. They have come and gone between their hidden estates to reduce the appetite of monster hunters. On their last move, the family was tracked, and the adults led off their pursuers while the young children continued on and made it to the house. Sadly their parents did not return, and that was a decade ago. One of the children was born differently, being conjoined twins - an ettin called Bakroz and Batroz. Growing up without their parents, shut off from the world made them anxious. Their brothers Tentruk, Ventruk, Altruk did the majority of the hunting in the surrounding woodlands, as Bakroz and Batroz were always tripping one another up. One day the ettin ran into a large cloaked creature in the forest – this was an oni, who sensed the childish discontent and saw an opportunity to manipulate them for their own ends. The oni convinced the ettin that they could give Bakroz and Batroz their dream of making them into separate cyclopes – they said they just needed to develop the right magic, and for that they would need a few things. For the past year, two oni have had the Glozug clan raid nearby settlements for gold, materials, and magical items to help further the magical development. The most recent “acquisition” was a Sun Blade that was previously enshrined in a monastery a week’s journey away. These raids have made local organisations aware of the previously secret clan house – most notably a steal-to-order “merchants guild” called only The Procurers. They had been hired to deliver that same Sun Blade to a private collector but didn’t want to risk a full-on assault against such dangerous adversaries. So they did what any shady organisation would – they went looking to hire grunts to do the heavy lifting for them.

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