The Undying Lizard
The shores of Lake Thar are usually peaceful, but recently the usually peaceful and withdrawn lizardfolk living to the south have unexpectedly attacked the village of Highbush. Now hundreds of refugees are flooding north from the southernmost villages, following news of the attacks and rumors of a strange beast in the woods. The shocked authorities, desperate for a solution have put out a call for adventurers, offering a sizable reward for any who can figure out why the lizardfolk are attacking and put a stop to it.
Unbeknownst to any of them, the lizardfolk are being directed by a spirit naga named Kaldorna who was cursed and until recently trapped in the depths of an abandoned temple, before lizardfolk cleared the rubble blocking her in her lair. After seeing her magic, the lizardfolk have begun to worship her, calling her the Undying Lizard. She has directed them to start attacking human settlements in an attempt to expand her power.
This adventure was designed for D&D 5e but with some adjustments can be done using a variety of systems. It is intended for 3-5 level 4 characters. All enemies mentioned can be found in the 5e Monster Manual.
The Setting
The adventure starts out in the town of Thar, a walled town of roughly 2,600 humans, elves, and half elves. It is filled mostly with small, wooden houses and surrounded by farmland on the shore of Lake Thar. It is part of a area of cleared land on the east shore of the large lake surrounded by The Western Forest, a large forest of huge trees that block out most light below them. A major road that runs across the forest passes through the town, making adventurers and other travelers common.The Posting
Local authorities are offering 50 gp for useful information and 300 gp for putting an end to the threat. The village that was attacked, Highbush, is only a few hours walk south at the edge of the Western Forest. The local ruler offering the reward is Lord Jerrod Namor, who rules the town. The adventurers can find out about job in a few ways. Officials have posted the job on boards just inside both of the towns gates and in the Happy Lark, an inn popular with travelers. The party can also hear about the problem from the numerous refugees now camping out in any open space within the town, who if asked about their situation will tell the party about the lizardfolk attacks and mention the reward. They may even encounter survivors from Highbush, who will give specifics on the attack (about a dozen lizardfolk attacked at night, the villagers were unarmed and most fled). Refugees may also mention rumors of a strange creature in the woods, though none have gotten a good look or have idea what it might be, other than that it is quite large. If they wish, the party may meet with Lord Jerrod Namor, who lives in a small stone keep in the center of the town. He is a kind middle aged man who clearly cares deeply about his subjects, and will volunteer all information he knows to the party (the village of Highbush was attacked by a small group of lizardfolk a couple nights back; they usually never have problems with the lizardfolk, who tend to keep to themselves, and he believes a sinister force is behind the attacks).Highbush
The village of Highbush is about eight miles (13 km) to the south of Thar. It consists of a few dozen houses, and is now abandoned, with a few buildings burned down and several bodies left in the roadway. At the southern edge are the massive trees of the Western Forest, many over a hundred feet tall, with a layer of thick underbrush at its base. An obvious path has been hacked through the underbrush, and the party can see smoke rising a little ways in during the day, or the glow of flames at night. If they approach down the path, four lizardfolk armed with spears and spiked shields can be seen sitting around a large bonfire made of carts and furniture, roasting what appears to be a human leg over the fire. They will attack the party on sight. One will yell a battle cry, which any character who can speak draconic understands as "for the Undying Lizard".The Dark Woods
The underbrush quickly thins out within the forest to the point where there is almost none from about a hundred feet in, and very little sunlight gets through. Apart from the occasional ray of light illuminating only a small area, there is too little light for characters without darkvision to see without their own light source. The lizardfolk also lack darkvision and carry torches to see. The party may spot a large patrol or a group going to salvage from Highbush, made up of several lizardfolk and one or two lizardfolk shamans, though due to the torches they can be spotted from a distance and the party can chose to avoid them. Large numbers of lizardfolk moving through the area have left extensive tracks that are easy to follow, any character who sees the tracks needs only a DC 10 survival check to see them.The Temple
The tracks lead deeper into the woods where the party comes across two clearings, easy to spot due to the plentiful sunlight pouring in through them. One is a lizardfolk village, which clearly is populated by far to many lizardfolk for the party to fight, maybe as many as a hundred (thought that includes children and other non-combatants). The other appears to be a large step pyramid shaped temple, and least fifty feet (15 m) tall and heavily overgrown. Upon approaching the temple, a large doorway becomes clearly visible, about ten feet tall and nearly as wide. A large statue of a cobra sits above the doorway, lookingas though it is about to bite whoever is approaching. A pair of bored looking lizardfolk guards stand outside. Within the doorway is a long winding tunnel that gradually descends. It has a tiled floor in surprisingly good condition, with only a few tiles cracked or otherwise damaged. The tiles are in various colors, and stepping on a black one triggers a spike to descend from the ceiling, noticable with a DC 15 perception check. The connection between the black tiles and the spike traps will become clear to the players once they detect them or trigger a couple. A small number of rooms exit the tunnel along its course, with most being empty or even collapsed. A good ways down one is occupied by two lizardfolk guards armed with spears and spiked shields and a lizardfolk shaman who sit at a small makeshift table within the room. The party can see their torches and hear their conversation before they pass the room. At the end of the tunnel, is a large room, a nearly fifty food (15 m) cube. A decent amount of gold and silver coins are scattered across the floor, and the walls are covered in stone shelves filled with numerous ancient looking scrolls. In the center of the room sits a massive creature resembling a giant snake. Kaldorna will attack the party on sight with her lighning bolt spell, using it again whenever she can get two characters in a line. Once Kaldorna is defeated, the party is able to gather about 200 gp worth of coins from the floor. The scrolls contain ancient knowledge Kaldorna was guarding, including possibly some of her spells. Another is a personal chronicle detailing her time trapped in the room, her release by the lizardfolk, and her plans to expand her power over the surrounding area. After Kaldorna is defeated the lizardfolk attacks cease.
Related Locations
