One Shot: Smoke on the Water

Odro Indi is out for revenge against the noble houses of Zud Gekis and he will stop at nothing to see them suffer. At the command of his fiendish master, Odro Indi has laid a curse on the nearby caverns. As long as the magic holds no ship can make it up or down the river without combusting in flame. The town has become worried about the loss of supplies and seeks adventurers to remove the curse that has befallen them.

GM Notes

• Designed for 4-5 1st level character

Monsters

• 3 Merfolk (150, MD)
• 2 Cave Badger (150, MD)
• 1 Crocodile (100, EA)
• 2 Skeletons (150, MD)
• 2 Geonid (150, MD)
• Imp (200, MD)
  
  

Treasure

• 3 Gems worth 50 GP
• A potion of mind reading
• A potion of superior healing
• 105 GP
  
  

NPCS/ORGs

• Odro Indi
• Theran the Elder
• The Theran Company
  
  

Starting the Adventure

The adventure begins when the party is summoned by Theran the Elder, he explains that ships entering and leaving the river docks have been catching flame for the last week. During the attacks, villagers spotted merfolk at the scene of the crime. Villagers recently sent a local hero into an abandoned mining cavern to investigate 2 days ago, but he has not returned. The village has pooled their funds together and paid The Theran Company 50 GP to discover the source of the curse and put an end to it. He offers the party 20 gold in advance to buy supplies but can be convinced to give them all 50.

Finding the Cavern

The cavern is an hour walk outside of Zud Gekis. Halfway to the cavern, the party sees a burning ship on the riverbank. 2 Gnoll withering are gnawing on the corpses from the ship. If they are killed, the party can find 5 gold, 3 bolts of silk, 50 ft of rope, and a barrel of salted herring.


The entrance into the cavern is a deep hole, but if the party investigates the nearby area they may find the secret entrance (room 8) with a DC 16 Survival check. A hole into the cavern is 50 feet deep and the most recent rope (from the village hero) has been cut. Falling down deals 5d6 damage.

Plot points/Scenes

Room 1: The Cavern Mouth

• Inside you find a natural bridge over a small pool of water.
• The walls are jagged and the ceiling is connected to the floor by natural columns
• 2 skeletons lay in the water and activate when someone steps on the bridge. They try to surprise the party.
• The corpse of the village hero is laid against the back wall. He has 25 GP and a torch on him.
  
  

Room 2: The Abandoned Mine

• There is a cache of abandoned, decrepit mining equipment
• It is a long chamber with an echo
• It was abandoned when the caves proved unprofitable
• Hidden in the mining equipment is a lever that opens the secret wall to room 4
• A small stream of water runs down from room 3 and the party can hear gnawing
  
  

Room 3: Damn It

• The center of the room is filled with a pool of stagnant water.
• 2 Cave badgers are in the room. They have built a damn blocking the way to the next room. Light shines through.
• It appears that the water has dried up on the other side and the party can see a potion bottle mixed up in the middle of the damn (potion of mind-reading)
• The badgers know something is wrong but are invested in their home. They will defend it if necessary.
  
  

Room 4: Underwater passage A

• The room is hidden behind a secret wall (opened in room 2)
• Moss covers the floor and a long tight chasm of wet walls leads through room 5 too room 6
• 10 GP glitters in a pool of water on the floor and a quick glance suggests some kind of unwater passage. It is 20 feet deep and 60 feet long, connecting to Room 8
• A crocodile has taken up residence in the waters and patrols from rooms 4 to 8. It is looking for easy prey
  
  

Room 5: The Chasm

• Tight slippery walls run 30 feet to room 6. The chasm is 5 ft wide and covered in slippery molds.
• If players try to shimmy across, acrobatics check (DC 12). On a fail, they fall into the underwater passage running from rooms 4 to 8 and take 1d4 damage.
  
  

Room 6: The Tight Passage

• The ceiling here is claustrophobically low and is scattered with bones
• Hallways lead to rooms 7, 8, and 10.
• From room 7 they can hear soft sobbing
• From room 8 they can hear bubbling water
• From room 10 they can see massive boulder (if they have light)

Room 7: The Natural Prison

• A circle of stalagmites makes a natural prison in the center of the room
• 3 Merfolk are trapped in the cage. They have been forced into being the scapegoat for Odro Indi's plans and are scared of "landfolk". They assume the party is there to hurt them. If not convinced they can trust them, they will try to defend themselves. They carry a potion of superior healing that one of them snuck back after their last "outing"

Room 8: Underwater Passage B

• A pool of water connects to an underwater passage
• The passage leads to room 4
• A crocodile patrols the waters looking for easy prey (see room 4)
  
  

Room 9: The Secret Entrance

• A shaft in the ceiling lets in dim light
• Several ancient runes are carved into the walls.
  
  

Room 10: The Columns

• The room has two natural columns that fill much of the room.
• Rocks protrude in most directions
• Hidden in the corner is 20 GP
• It may seen like the boulders move when they don't look
• 2 Geonids are in the room. They know the party is coming. They don't try to sneak up to the party and rob them of their gold and add it to their pile of shiny.
  
  
• A hallway leads to room 11
  
  

Room 11: The Spider's Web

• A large stalagmite has broken and fallen on the floor
• Spiderwebds fill the room
• If the party has made enough noise to alert the imp in room 12, he is here as a spider. He will press a button that make the ceiling begin to cave in, then retreat to room 12.
• If the ceiling drops, dex saves (12) for 1d4 damage/half
  
  

Room 12: The Warlocks Cove

• Dark runes cover the walls and evil magic fills the room
• An imp is in the room and is the familiar of Odro Indi. He will protect the orb until it breaks or he is at 3 HP.
• When I ran this, the Imp was a little underpowered. Feel free to give him 3 legendary actions to be more in line with the solo monsters from XGtE
• A stand in the middle of the room holds 3 gems, (worth 50 GP each) making a curse focus. The focus has an AC of 13 and 10 HP. Once destroyed the curse ends and the imp will try to flee.
• Once the orb is broken, flames will appear, and Odro Indi will lose his temper on the party, saying that they are helping the monsters who burned everything he loved and that he will have his revenge. He will declare that if they are wise, they won't cross him again.

Art Credit: Legend by Grafit-art

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The Cursed Caverns_Player

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Plot type

One Shot

Related Characters

• Odro Indi
• Theran the Elder

Related Organizations

• The Theran Company

Related Locations

• The Cursed Caverns
• Zud Gekis

Related Session Reports

• The Embers of the Forgotten

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