Home › resources › Encampment Encounters: Stowaways

Encampment Encounters: Stowaways

Posted on Posted in resources Tagged with , ,

Our sidequest series titled “Encampment Encounters” resumes again!  These encounters are things that could happen when the party decides to take a rest.

Tags: Dinner, Food, Critters,

Setup: Some critters got into a PC’s pack while they were crossing a stream (leeches), trudging through the desert (scorpions), passing through fields (bees), walking a forest path (ants), etc.  The creatures have multiplied quickly and developed extra powers when they ate a spell scroll or a potion in the pack broke and coated them.

Strategy:

  • After trudging through the wilderness, the party stops to rest for the evening and assigns duties: set up tents, gather wood, prepare food, etc.
  • A PC preparing food has a chance to notice something crawling in a pouch.  Another PC has a chance to notice a weird damp spot on a backpack or a place where something chewed the backpack.
  • If not noticed, when a PC opens the container the critters fly/crawl out suddenly and attack! If a PC did spot them, he or she can take precautions.
  • The critters have developed into a swarm which nearly filled the backpack or container.  What’s worse, any magic in the container mutated the creature.  Roll a d6: 1: Bites or claws now add acid; 2: Bites of claws now add poison; 3: Bites or claws are extra sharp causing extra damage; 4: The creature is now able to regenerate; 5: The creatures are fast and able to move 2x or make an extra attack; 6: The creatures are able to turn ethereal.

Follow-up Ideas:

  • Perhaps a wizard PC would like to try to replicated the effect on the critters?