OSR Scenario by Expeditious Retreat Press
The Green Fang kobolds have existed on the fringes of the human settlements of northern Burdock’s Valley for decades, secure in the strange, thorny thicket surrounding the Broken Knob. Until recently they were content to hunt, forage, and generally avoid human contact. But reports of open assaults on merchants, caravans and travelers using the road from Gosterwick to Deepton are mounting. The formerly timid kobolds seem to have become aggressive and hostile. Why? Eusebia, the Archontean thesmothete in Gosterwick(AV AK-23), has had enough. She has quietly let it be known that she is willing to fund an expedition to cleanse the Thicket of this scourge, once and for all. It should be easy work – after all, how much trouble can kobolds pose?
This product presents the first of a series of four adventures set in Burdock’s Valley, close by the megadungeon of Arden Vul, in the World of Magae. While not directly linked to Arden Vul itself, the four provide a complement to adventures set in that legendary locale. Prior purchase of the Halls of Arden Vul is not strictly necessary to run any of these modules, although full details of some of the setting is best acquired in that product. Conversely, some thematic elements, especially in BV3, will be familiar to seasoned explorers of the Halls. By and large, though, the material here is new and fresh. Each of the modules contains a complete, self-contained adventure; that said, the four are loosely linked via an optional over-arching meta-hook, such that they could easily be linked together to form a single adventure arc. The four BV adventures are as follows:
BV1: The Thicket
BV2: The Tomb of Kallia (including NF-1 to NF-30)
BV3: The Eye of Thoth
BV4: Lost Zhamandor (including NF-31+)
The maps for The Thicket are available for free in the PDF The Maps of Arden Vul.
Note: This expansion is suitable for experienced players running a low level party of adventurers, perhaps of levels 1-3. The most numerous opponents to be faced are the members of a tribe of kobolds. While kobolds are notoriously weak foes, these kobolds have several tricks up their sleeves, and arrogant 1st-level parties imagining an easy slaughter may well find themselves quickly in hot water. Following the design principles laid out in the Halls of Arden Vul, moreover, several locations in this adventure contain serious threats to low level parties. Smart players will know when to retreat, only to return with a different plan and perhaps an additional level of experience. Foretold is forewarned!
The Thicket is available through DriveThruRPG in Print and PDF.
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