Encampment Encounters: Things That Go Bump In The Night

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Our sidequest series titled “Encampment Encounters” continues!  This encounter just toys with the PCs as they stay in a farmer’s barn.

Tags: Farm, Animals, Peaceful

Setup:

  • The PCs aren’t near any town or even a village large enough to have an inn.  Therefore, their best chance for a roof over their heads is to ask a farmer. But spending the night in a barn can be less than peaceful.

Strategy:

  • The farmer doesn’t have room in his simple two room house for the PCs, so he offers to let the PCs stay in the barn.
  • The farmer offers the PCs a hot meal in exchange for some extra work in the morning. (Fixing a fence, for example.)
  • During the night the PC on watch hears hooting outside. If they didn’t close up the hay loft, the owl can get in.  Perhaps it is the first of a swarm.
  • Next, the PC on watch hear some shrill noises from a distant corner of the barn. Investigating, the PC(s) easily spot a swarm of rats! If they had only left them alone…
  • Later, the PC on watch hears rustling nearby.  If the PC observes closely he sees a snake. If he knows snakes, he may realize it is poisonous. It is headed to a rat carcass. Do the PCs want to risk leaving it alone to potentially bite them or the farmer later?

Follow-up Ideas:

  • The party might have gotten enough sleep between events, or maybe they need to sleep in.  The rooster nearby won’t let them!
  • If the PCs promised to work a bit in the morning, the farmer says breakfast will be ready in a little over an hour, once the PCs do their task.

If you like this please see our Sidequest Decks.  Every card is a mini-adventure! (Larger in scope than the encampment encounter above.) Many different decks each focus on a different genre and/or setting.