Cavern of the Lost Legion

Cavern of the Lost Legion is another entry into my micro-adventures.  For this adventure I keep the possible big baddie off stage.  It is suggested at by a single, ambling ghoul dressed in armor.  However, if the party noises around too much, they may unleash a small horde of sixty-two ghouls.

The ghouls are my tick-tock effect.  While the players are trying to escape from the cavern they have a couple of time consuming activities that may have them visited by a few more ghouls stumbling in from the north.  This keeps the party on their toes and gives them a sense of urgency.  I like to cause panic while GMing. 

The other small elements I added to the adventure were cave clams.  Small mollusks that attach themselves to the rocks in underground waters.  They are extremely tasty and considered a delicacy, therefore they could be sold at market.  They don't attack or have stats, just a food resource the party can use to supplement their rations or income. 

The second creature I added was a water viper.  A small translucent snake whose bite does no damage, but on a successful strike the victim is poisoned.  The venom lasts for three days and does 2d6 damage each day.  The victim rolls a save at the beginning of each day to halve the damage.  Only a Cure Poison spell can stop the venom's progression.  After the third day the venom has been eliminated from the body.

I first wrote this adventure as a narrative to get a feel for what it was going to become.  I have to try different approaches to help spark the creativity and one of my favorites is to write an account of an adventurer that is retelling the story or in the process of going through it.  I may or may not share that version.  They are rough, narrative glimpses with, hide your shock, numerous typos. 

I imagined using this small section of tunnels in an already larger underground complex, or maybe the party needs to get to the other side for some reason.  What I am sure of is, if they escape the tunnels and fail to barricade the ghouls within again, the Lost Legion will soon walk upon the land and it will be the fault of the party.  This can make for some excellent after the adventure, this what happened, talk.

The PDF for Cavern of the Lost Legion can be gotten at my Patreon site for the low, low price of free.  Of my glorious patrons at the $2.50 level and above, expect a laminated version (suitable for wiping) in the mail next month.