Escape From Goblin Town
STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. I'M ABOUT HALFWAY DONE!
Adventure Overview
The PCs travel to the underground city of Goblin Town to visit Of the Goblins the Freedom, a goblin ranger, and the mentor/grandfather of one of their party. From his deathbed, Freedom's eyes light up, "You're here! Finally, I can rest."
The old goblin's eyes close for the last time, his body glows with ghostly blue light, and it fades away. In his place is a baby goblin with blue skin and a Baku hovering over the child protectively.
In your minds you hear the Baku's worried high-pitched voice, "The hags can smell him again! You have to save the baby!"
You hear what sounds like a ram pounding on the back wall of Freedom's home. Shouts and banging come from the front door. "Open up Freedom! She wants to eat your baby!"
Of the Hope the Way
The Death of Freedom
Additional Materials
Freedom's Story
The story of Freedom and the wish that saved his grandson, Of the Hope the Way.
Last Will and Testament Of the Goblins the Freedom
Freedom's message to his grandson in his own words and an accounting of his worldly goods.
The party stands in the bedroom of the old goblin ranger as he breaths his last. He's on the brink of death with only a few words left for his grandson/friend.
You open the door and the old goblin looks over with tears in his eyes. "You're here! I can finally let go. Come hug me before I'm gone."
"When I realized that I was dying, I wrote my will and testament. It's here on my bedside table. When I'm gone the hags are going to remember. They'll be able to smell him again."
But First A Few Answers
Before Freedom dies, he'll be able to answer three questions from the party. Here are possible questions and answers.
What's happening?
"I'm dying. I made a wish to save my grandson, your cousin, a baby blue goblin. It gave us a year of safety. He's coming back now."
"You're going to have to fight your way out. You can have my weapons. The sun is setting and the Cold Iron Gang will blockade the eastern exit where you came in. The Sticky Boys will come from the north and The Nephews from the west."
Why is the baby blue?
Few blues are born to regular goblins and they are very special. They are the potential of our people. They are special, with powers of the mind that the rest of us lack. They are full of destiny and power and tragedy. They rarely live to adulthood. Hags and aswang find them especially delicious. The Magisters see them as a threat to their power and kill them on sight.
Of the Goblins the Freedom
The Hero of Taintchapel, ranger, father, and grandfather. Freedom holds onto his final breaths hoping to save his grandchild, Of the Hope the Way.
Who can help?
"The goblin commoners are afraid, but they're good people. They hate the hags and will help you if they can. They'll be hiding in their homes and in the Market to the south. My good name might rally them, but you have to break through their fear."
"The Zone Authority doesn't care about goblins, but they might help your friends here. Or they might help a Blue. There's a guardhouse to the northeast."
What dangers do we face?
"The gangs have grown strong as I weakened. Three gangs work for the three hags of a coven. The hags hate each other as much as they need each other. They make us fight one other as we goblins always have. The hags want the baby. They'll work together, but they don't want to."
The gangs are detailed in the Gangs of Goblin Town section below.
What is in the house that can help us?
The home goes to my grandsons, Of the Forge the Spark and Of the Hope the Way. You here can use my arms and armor to fight your way out. I've listed them here in my will.
Freedom's Last Words
"My time has come. My wish bought me this one short year. Please. It's up to you. Save my grandchild. He is coming!"
Pale blue light engulfs Freedom's body and he glows from within. The old ranger's body fades away, leaving behind a baby blue goblin and a protective baku.
You hear Freedom's voice in your heads one last time: "This is the Way!"
The Siege of Blue Stones
The party only has a few minutes to read the will and gather their wits before they are discovered. The hags have caught scent of The Way and they've sent their gangs to the neighborhood of Blue Stones to investigate.
The little baku looks up at you and grins with relief. "Thank the Heavenly Ki-rins, you're here! We have to protect the baby! Please help me save The Way!"
"Quickly, gather what you can and let's get out of here. You've planned how to escape with a baby right?"
The Way looks up at you with a toothless grin. He laughs and smiles in his wooden box, delighted by his new friends.
Bainshiro, the Baku will help you escape the gangs of Goblin Town.
Roll For Initiative
Bainshiro says, "I'll help you escape with the baby, but first we have to..."
Suddenly the front doors of Freedom's tenement home explode as an ogre's club smashes it. You hear a goblin gangster screech out, "Give the baby to Cold Kelly. We'll think about letting you keep your heads!!
Standing in the door, too large to enter, is an ogre howdah with four Cold Iron Goblins in a howdah on its back. The goblins wear half plate and shoot through the door with heavy crossbows. They benefit from half-cover as long as the ogre howdah is alive and they are on its back.
Possible Encounter Resolutions
Fight
The characters engage the ogre and goblins in combat. If the fight is still going on another gang of four Sticky Boy Goblins come through the back door on round 5.
On round 10, four Goblin Nephews join the fight from the front door. They are just as likely to fight each other as coordinate with each other.
Flight
The party can try to sneak out a back window. The gang of four Sticky Boy Goblins are waiting in the road behind the house for just such an eventuality.
The party must make a group stealth skill check (D&D 5E PHB, pg 175) against DC 12 to pass unnoticed.
Negotiation
The characters can simply turn The Way over to the gangs. The encounter ends, but the commoner goblins turn on them.
It is easy to figure out that the gangs hate each other. A DC 15 Deception or Persuasion check and a convincing story will convince one gang to fight any interlopers instead of the party for one round, giving them an opportunity to escape.
Which Way and How?
The party gets a few moments to catch their breath after escaping Freedom's home. At this point Bainshiro speaks to them in his high pitched, worried voice. "We must escape! The hags are coming!"
Bainshiro knows the basic information about the hags detailed in "The Gangs of Goblin Town" section, including the hags plans for The Way. He is especially terrified of the night hag Bitter Pam. He can flee to the ethereal plane, but she can follow him there. Bakus are one of her favorite prey, and she'd love the chance to hunt Bainshiro.
The Escape
Relations
Adversaries
The Gangs of Goblin Town
The Nephews
We're all family here! Now do what Tita Blanche says, or I'll eat you!
Tita Blanche's Nephews are a gang of goblins that the green hag Blanche holds together with delicious meals and the threat of becoming the next delicious meal. Unknown to the Magisters, she has complete control of the baked goods trade throughout Magister's Dominion.
Her gang dresses in the traditional garb of mountain warriors in her homeland. Red and black loincloths, feathers, spears, and wooden shields.
Blanche has hunted Freedom's descendants in the past. She has never had a Blue and she wants to hold a feast.
Sticky Boys
The secrets of your bedroom are mine to discover. My Sticky Boys will slash your body to pieces while I'm picking through your mind!
The sharply dressed Sticky Boys proudly march through Goblin Town in their custom suits and razor-sharp hand axes. They "protect" the commoners, mostly from themselves, and expect to be well paid for the service.
The mysterious night hag Bitter Pam floats through the sleepers of Goblin Town and the Enclave. Her brothels cater to the tastes of anyone willing to visit GobTown. She sells the secrets she finds in dreams and whispered in her beds to the highest bidders.
Pam is curious about the power of The Way's mind. She wants to harness his power if possible.
Cold Iron Gang
Point us at whoever you want. We don't care what we're killin', We're just here to fight.
The brutal Cold Iron Gang are a fighting force of armored goblins who fight from ogre howdah's, raining crossbow fire down on their enemies.
The annis hag Cold Kelly Dangler hires out her mercenaries to the Magister's and to the other gangs. Her best fighters are the equal of any others in the Zone.
Cold Kelly wants The Way only because the other hags want him and she doesn't want them to get what they want without going through her. She would just as soon smash him on the pavement to prevent a future threat.
This one-shot is meant to be played with the 5th Edition D&D ruleset. It's meant for characters between 3rd - 4th level. It takes place in my campaign setting, the World of Wizard's Peak in one of the cities of the Kirinal Concordance Zone.
Originally an adventure that my party played as part of the Blackjack Heritage campaign that I ran February 2021 in D&D 5E. This adventure can theoretically be played in any RPG system with goblins and hags. I'm including the crew of the Blackjack as the default party, but they can be switched out for your own characters.
Goblin Town
The action occurs in an underground town. The goblins who serve in the Magister's Enclave live here without the protection of walls or the law.The Default Party: The Crew of the Blackjack
A motley crew of adventurers traveling from the Kirinal Concordance Zone throughout the lands of the Sovranty of Lozar. They want to prevent the signing of the Hell Week Accords while trying to make as much Bilog as possible!
Of the Forge the Spark
Spark to his friends, this Artificer is the first goblin in his family to graduate from an institute of higher learning, WPU. He has finally decided to re-visit Goblin Town, the place of his birth, to see his grandfather Freedom, and to settle the matter of the bondservant brand on his neck.
Captain Niamhi Silversång
The Fourth Baron Silversång inherited the Blackjack from her father. She grew up believing that she was human and training to be a bard. At her Investiture Ceremony, she discovered that she was a Changeling and a Warlock. She's been dealing with her unwanted Infernal Pact ever since.
Xeno the Navigator
A Soulforged Cleric of Anam, Xeno questions everything about the world and how he and his people fit into it. He is serious, steadfast, and always willing to put himself between danger and his crewmates.
Lance Uppercut
The Aasimar Sorcerer Lanzo von Razak was born with the blood of heaven running through his veins and a glorious destiny in front of him. He has done everything in his power to avoid both ever since. Trained to be a cleric or paladin, he chose to become a sorcerer because it was the easiest way to harness his powers and shut up his tutors.
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