Getting In

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 3:  Getting In

Level 1 Medium

False Floor Pit, Level 1 Warder Trap, DMG pg. 87, xp 100 (1 player)False Floor Pit, Level 1 Warder Trap Elite, DMG pg. 87, xp 200 (2 players, substitute for False Floor Pit, Level 1 Warder Trap)
4 Twig Blight Seedlings, Level 1 Minion Skirmishers, xp 25 ea. (3 players)
1 Lesser Silt Elemental, Level 1 Skirmisher, 100 xp (4 players)
1 Lesser Silt Elemental, Level 1 Skirmisher, 100 xp (5 players)
1 Lesser Silt Elemental, Level 1 Skirmisher, 100 xp (6 players)

Setup

You ride out of the keep and through the small village and take the road heading west.  The countryside is much as it was on the ride into Linden.  However, after a few miles, you must turn off the track and head to the northwest, into the forest.  There are no roads here, and the sun is obscured by the trees, and there seem to be no landmarks.  After a while, every tree looks like every other tree.  So it is not easy finding your way or keeping your course.

Have the character with the best Nature mod make a nature check (DC 10).  If he passes, all the characters get a +2 bonus to their Endurance checks (DC 10).  Anyone who fails his Endurance check suffers the equivalent of one Healing Surge damage.

Nonetheless, after several hours of riding, you come upon a small clearing.  The pine trees circle the open area as if they are keeping watch, and several smaller bushes line the edges of the clearing (Nature DC of 20 to identify the bushes as Twig Blight Seedlings).  Just inside the circle of watching trees there are several patches of wet, silty ground (Nature DC of 20 to identify the patches as Lesser Silt Elementals).

In the center of the clearing, standing nearly as tall as the surrounding pines, is a statue ancient and worn with age.  It is so weathered that the features are so indistinct it is impossible to tell who it might have been, but it seems to be some magnificent warrior or king.

The statue itself stands upon a base which seems to be solid stone, but it is surrounded by weeds and bushes which have grown up over the years.

Thoeak, the elf given to you as your servant, says quietly, almost under his breath, as if the statue might hear, “The villagers in Linden tell tales of this place, but I had no idea it actually existed.  No one knows who he is, but they all say this place is haunted.  Those who come here never come back, they say.  Parents threaten their children that if they don’t behave, they’ll be taken to the ‘statue in the forest’ and left.”

Tactics and Development

If the adventurers search the base of the statue, they may discover the secret door into the base of the statue (Perception DC 14). 

Each failed Perception check adds one Twig Blight Seedling to the upcoming battle.  Upon each failed check, explain that it may be their imaginations, but it seems that there are more bushes around the edge of the clearing than there were before.

When the adventurers discover the secret door, they may search it for traps.  The trap is set to open when the door is opened.  The Perception DC to see the trap is 20.  If the adventurers say they are searching the door for traps, not the ground near it, the Perception DC rises to 22.

Either way, as soon as the door is opened, the monsters attack in a surprise round.

Features of the Area

Illumination:  Bright sun light.

Statue:  The base is 20 feet by 20 feet and is ten feet tall.  The statue itself stands another 15 feet above that.  It can be scaled with an Athletics or an Acrobatics check of DC 15.

Trees:  The average pine stands about 35 feet tall and can be climbed with an Athletics check DC 10.

Treasure

If the adventurers have fought one or more Lesser Silt Elementals, then they find Bracers of the Perfect Shot (Level 3 magic item) in one of the elementals, apparently absorbed, but not digested, in some previous battle.  If they have not fought any elementals, then they find these bracers mixed in with the bones of a human scattered on the stairs that lead down from the door into the statue.