In The Hills It Lies

What is a Final Thoughts Mini Scenario?

A Final Thoughts Mini Scenario is a very simple scenario outline with a summary, locations and some little bits and pieces you can then use to build on or add into a larger campaign. They are designed to be very easy to pick up and run with if you find yourself in need of a prompt. They are not meant to give you everything but they are ingenious little ideas that should give you enough to work with as either a one-shot or encounter.

Mini Scenario: In The Hills It Lies

The Summary 

The Bleakdreg Hills have always been a source of great rumour and ritual. They are a higgledy piggledy mess of deep cavernous valleys and large rotund black hills. It's said if you start rolling down the largest of the hills the hidden sharp rocks and deceptively vertical drops would tear you apart before you made it even a quarter of the way down. Yet, they are not large enough to deserve the title of mountains and for that the hills are often thought to be jealous of their gargantuan cousins.

Each year they seem to heave and sigh, their great bulks thrusting upwards a little higher as if trying desperately to become something much more. With each years new growth, the rumours grow more wild about the creatures and treasures that lie trapped in the folds of bleak mounds.

There are rumours of an old crown crafted from the bones of giants who no longer roam the earth. It squats on the skull of an ancient king who died long ago, raving and mad, locked away in a vault in the caverns of the Bleakdreg Hills. The only opening into these treacherous caverns lies protected by the small and bizarre little village of Itsmoth whose inhabitants rarely accept visitors and seem to be utterly mad. The crown is said to give the wearer strange and unusual powers; including the ability to touch  turn anything into solid gold. It is said to be surrounded by all the items the ancient king touched before he died.

The Grim Reality

The Hills are an ancient creature however it is not an ancient god like the Villagers of Itsmuth believe. It is simply a gigantic cosmic maggot that lies cocooned beneath the earth, slowly growing bigger and bigger as it digests the creatures dumb enough to wander into it. Eventually it will, as a great alien moth, burst from the crust of the earth and ascend back into the heavens... killing everything that lived on it. It is completely oblivious to the tiny ant-like creatures bowing and praying. It is just a simple moth, after all.

Everything that goes in is usually trapped by the moths innards to ensure it is digested. The ancient king mistook the moth for a cavern and went inside to hide his treasures.

The Village of Itsmuth

"Its Mouth", or "It's a Moth", however you want to emphasise the name is up to you. The village of Itsmuth is a barren little village nestled in a valley between the Bleakdreg Hills two largest mounds where a gaping hole can be found. There are several clusters of small thatched houses and a Smithy.

 Farmers and shepherds seem to be the most common professions amongst the villagers. There are one or two fisherman who walk the river that snakes through the valley. The most notable building is the Church which was built in front of the cavern allowing pilgrims through into the caverns beneath the hills.

The Villagers (Bleakys)

The Villagers are all a strange bunch who worship the Bleakdreg Hills as if the hills themselves were a god and claim that one day, when they have grown too enormous for the world to hold, the Hills will break the sky and claim the lives of all the unbelievers. Only the Believers of the Hills (who have been nicknamed Bleakys, much to their disgust) will ascend onto the "Humps of Faith" and live through the glorious fiery collapsing of the sky. Try to make as many buttock and bosom based innuendo's as possible when referring to this religion to add to its utter ridiculousness.

The villagers will not reveal their true religion to outsiders straight away. They do not trust Non-Hill Folk. The religion involves sacrificing non-believers to the hills which they believe grows them. They do this by burying outsiders alive during the full moon when the hills seem most restless.

If the players take up residence in the village overnight before heading into the caverns the villagers will attempt to capture them, put them in wooden cages and bury them alive to feed the Hill God unless they can prove they are devoted or willing to convert.

The Church

The Monastery has three rooms. There is a main hall for worship. Within there is a fire pit in the centre and a dark altar with a black cloth thrown over several rocks and crystal balls, so the altar looks like the rolling Bleakdreg Hills. The rocks are worthless but the crystal balls are worth 10 silver pieces each. The altar has absolutely no magical properties whatsoever, however, the Villagers and High Priest of the Hills will be adamant that not paying tribute to the altar will leave the players cursed. The main room leads to a great gate which can be opened by two people which leads into the dark caverns of the hills. Once the door is open, a gentle breeze flows out and stinks of rotting meat and stale air.

The monastery has a sleeping quarters for the religions pilgrims and priests. If the players try to sleep here the villagers will attempt to bury them alive in the name of the Hill God the next day. If the players search around they can find pilgrims clothing to disguise themselves and they can find personal belongings of various priests. They may be able to find some small items of value, such as holy items carved into the shape of sensual hills or small cross-stitches depicting a great creature bursting from the ground burning gold stick figures.

The final room belongs to the High Priest of the Hills. They will own few items of wealth and the "Sacred Text of the Many Mounds", which details the religion in all its glorious ridiculousness. If you want to add a bit more, have the book be a magical item or contain some strange spells.

The Caverns

The caverns can be as large or as small, as labyrinthine or as linear as you fancy. Upon entering them the caverns seem to be thick cylindrical tunnels that run deep inside the hills. The walls are coated in a thick illuminated green slime that gives the players a very dim scope of vision. The walls feel strangely malleable to the touch as if they are made more of a bone or flesh rather than rock and earth.

Any major damage to the inside of the caverns will cause the Cosmic Moth to awaken and take flight, destroying all of the Bleakdreg Hills and the villagers of Itsmuth.

The Heart

If the players reach the heart they will find themselves up to their knees in a thick yellow mucus. The "doors" out of this place are two large openings one to the left and one to the right. Occasionally yellow mucus comes gushing in from the right opening to pool around the floor and it is then sucked out again by the left opening. The left opening if inspected properly has a golden hand print on indicating that that may be the way to go to find the treasure room. As the players cross the room they have a 2 in 6 chance each of setting off the hearts reflex. If they do, the tunnel behind them will close up and suddenly yellow mucus will come spilling in through the right opening the wall enough to fill the room. Players must then swim or climb their way out of the left opening which has slammed shut. They can cut or burn their way through if they are not strong enough to open it with their hands, but remember that this might wake up the Cosmic Moth and carry them away into space.

The Stomach

Lodged in the stomach of the Cosmic Moth lies the tomb of the ancient king. A golden skeleton, astride a great throne of flesh and bone turned to gold, lies with its mouth open wide and grinning. It is dressed in rotted regal clothes and the bones seem to be dissolving slowly. The floor here seems to heave up and down, making walking across the fleshy ground very difficult. Pools of thick yellow and green burning sludge cover the floor and players must roll if they wish to get across to the throne safely. Here, there lies a great many coins and treasures (calculate the wealth based on the level of your players) that the players can grab. Beware, the longer the players stay in this room the more susceptible they become to the toxic fumes and will need to roll Save Vs. Paralyze often to keep themselves awake.

If the crown on the king is removed without gloves then the player will need to make a Save Vs. Magic or be turned into solid gold. If the crown is broken the players will return to their fleshy form however it is at your discretion if or how they return alive.  Upon disturbing the crown the stomach will begin to heave and shake, spraying acidic mucus everywhere. Save Vs. Breath Weapon will be needed to avoid the acid spray and any damage done.

This should be one of the most deadly rooms your players encounter.

The crown can be sold for  10 x 5d10 or it can be worn. If worn the wearer must make a Save Vs. Magic or be turned to gold. They can then touch an object and turn that object to gold. They cannot control this and once used they cannot remove the crown. If they touch themselves they need to Save Vs. Magic or be turned to gold again and again.

Ideas for Other Rooms

You could have the brain where players can stimulate different parts of the giant cosmic moth. Perhaps they do not realise that twanging a strange collection of knotted nerves actually causes a hill somewhere to explode, killing a small family of shepherds and their livestock as a great iridescent wing explodes from the landscape. You could have a room of eggs, if your cosmic moth is female, that hatch if the players pick them up and contain carnivorous maggots. You could even have the Cosmic Moth's urinary track which causes the players to be flushed out into a neighbouring valley. It is up to you.

Conclusion

How you end this scenario is open . I would try to have it so that the players really stimulate the moth into life and bring about Armageddon for the small village of Itsmuth. They then try to leave and end up evacuated into space. However, it is down to your players too and their choices.

Throw in traps and magical items, a few strange rooms and interpret this how you like. Flesh out the NPC's and really go to town on the insides. As a climax, have the players needing to flee the moth before it flies off or have them cornered by the angry villagers after they emerge.