TEXT: Waterdeep Faction Adventures:
  It Got Under His Skin
  �
  A 4 hour adventure investigating evil in Undercliff
  Expanding on the ﬁrst Emerald Enclave faction mission 
  in chapter 2 of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
  Adaptable to any faction in Waterdeep, or as a 
  haunting investigation in any rural setting
  by PAUL METZGER
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  First Edition. 2018-10-26 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   1
  
  It Got Under His Skin 
  Adventure Background
  The demon lord Graz’zt is concerned by the 
  archdevil Asmodeus’s rapidly growing power in 
  Waterdeep. Unable to gain a foothold inside the 
  city proper, Graz’zt set his sights on the adjacent 
  rural area of Undercliff.
  A young human named Basil Mureal worked as 
  a guard at the labor-prison Amendsfarm, the 
  perfect occupation for a cruel man who never 
  exhibited the constitution or work ethic for 
  farming. When the charismatic Graz’zt 
  approached Mureal with an offer of making those 
  around him his lessors who would bow in respect, 
  Mureal immediately set his heart to serving 
  Graz’zt without even giving a second thought.
  Graz’zt instructed Mureal in a dark ritual turning 
  a simple hammer used in construction into a 
  powerful magic weapon. At the dark lord’s 
  command, Mureal used the hammer to murder 
  three prisoners, trapping their spirits inside the 
  weapon. He then set the tool yet again to 
  construction: three scarecrows, each animated by 
  a spirit captured from Mureal’s victims.
  With the scarecrows set to their immortal task 
  of terrorizing those in Undercliff who would openly 
  support Waterdeep’s power, Graz’zt turned to 
  constructing his next tool: a relic from the Blood 
  War representing a victory against the archdevil 
  army. Intoxicated with the power already 
  bestowed on him and hungry for more, Mureal 
  naively agreed to become a vessel for the demon, 
  completely destroying all semblance of the man in 
  the process.
  His babau demon now summoned to the 
  material plane, Graz’zt turned it to the task of 
  ﬁnding long forgotten tunnels in the cliff which led 
  into the city of Waterdeep. If he can establish a 
  presence in the city, he will take the opportunity to 
  sow chaos and undermine Asmodeus in any way 
  he can.
  Waterdeep: Dragon Heist 
  This adventure is based on the ﬁrst Emerald Enclave 
  mission (for 2nd level characters) on page 35 of the 
  hardcover campaign Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. 
  While the Emerald Enclave is a great ﬁt for the  
  mission explored in this adventure, it could also be 
  issued by any of the factions. A hook for each faction 
  is included in the ﬁrst section of the adventure.  
  If your campaign takes place in summer with the 
  Asmodeus worshipping Cassalanters as the villians, 
  fear not. Nothing the demon lord Graz’zt 
  accomplishes will interfere with chapter 6 in the 
  campaign book. 
  Look for more expanded chapter 2 faction adventures 
  from Paul Metzger on dmsguild.com  
  Although this adventure takes place in the farmlands 
  east of Waterdeep, it could easily be adapted to any 
  rural setting in your campaign. 
  Overview
  The adventure consists of these sections:
  Faction Hooks. A faction of your choosing 
  asks the adventurers to investigate the rumors of 
  a trio of scarecrows which have come to life and 
  are terrorizing Undercliff.
  Under the Cliff. On the way to Undercliff 
  Village, the party encounters a lynch mob.
  Blow to the Head. The characters investigate 
  a triple homicide at the labor-prison farm, just as 
  inmate tension boils over.
  Out of His Skin. The home of Basil Mureal 
  reveals dark secrets left behind.
  A Few Bad Apples. Mureal’s disappearance 
  doesn’t stop his cult from meeting. Which side of 
  the ambush will the characters ﬁnd themselves 
  on?
  Digging In. The adventurers confront a demon 
  in a cavern hidden in Waterdeep cliff. 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   2
  
  Faction Hooks 
  Every Waterdeep faction has reason to send the 
  party on this adventure, and each has some sort 
  of aid to offer.
  If your campaign is outside of Waterdeep, use the 
  examples below to create your own unique hook.
  Emerald Enclave
  The Emerald Enclave abhors the evil and 
  unnatural. When rumors that a trio of scarecrows 
  are terrorizing Undercliff emerge, the Emerald 
  Enclave taps their newest recruits to investigate.
  A familiar white cat with a small roll of paper 
  tucked into its collar waits for the adventurers. It 
  speaks: “Rumor from the farms to the east is of  
  three ﬁeld scarecrows come alive. If there’s truth 
  to it, Anselm Griggons, the proprietor of The 
  Harvest Home inn in Undercliff Village will know 
  as much as any man. If things are as we fear, you 
  may well need this scroll to help protect you.”
  The scroll is a shillelagh (PHB 275) spell scroll 
  that is written in druidic with a phonetic translation 
  underneath, allowing any character who can read 
  common to cast it.
  Bregan D’aerthe
  Jarlaxle Baenre knows that devil worship has 
  been spreading among the nobility in Waterdeep. 
  He’s curious to ﬁnd out if there is any connection 
  to the rumor of supernatural evil in the outlying 
  farmland. 
  He visits the characters in disguise as their 
  benefactor “J.B. Nevercott”, and asks the party to 
  look into the matter out of concern for the 
  smattering of his customers who reside in 
  Undercliff Village, which he describes as a 
  “delightfully quaint” place. Of its residents he 
  advises “the Underfolk are a backward people, 
  but mostly harmless.” He warns any characters 
  not human or halﬂing to brace themselves for 
  some soft bigotry, and further recommends that 
  any dragonborn, half-orc, tieﬂing, or monstrous 
  race characters may prefer to stay home; or at the 
  very least wear a cloak with a hood.
  Force Grey (Gray Hands)
  Ever vigilant Vajra Safahr is frustrated that the 
  City Guard never seems to take threats from 
  outside the walls of Waterdeep seriously. Since 
  she knows the Underfolk to stir up fantastic 
  stories, she’s not inclined to put Force Grey’s 
  resources to the task of investigating until she can 
  verify the veracity of the tales. She summons the 
  party via sending to Blackstaff tower to assign the 
  mission. 
  Safahr warns the party that they may ﬁnd their 
  weapons less than fully adequate if they do 
  encounter possessed constructs. She has a 
  magic weapon (PHB 257) spell scroll ready for 
  the party, and cautions they only use it in the face 
  of a dire situation.
  Harpers
  Mirt sends the adventurers a paper bird inviting 
  them to join him at the Yawning Portal. When the 
  characters arrive, Mirt buys a round of drinks and 
  shares the rumor of three scarecrows animated 
  and terrorizing nearby farms. He expresses some 
  skepticism, noting that “Underfolk are prone to 
  spreading such tall tales.” Mirt asks that the party 
  travel to The Harvest Home in Undercliff Village 
  and investigate. The inn’s owner, Anselm 
  Griggons, is loosely afﬁliated with the Harpers.
  Lord’s Alliance
  The ongoing gang war between the Zhentarim 
  and the Xanathar’s Guild is stretching Jalester 
  Silvermane’s resources to the breaking point. 
  Working late into the night, he hastily delegates 
  the alleged animated scarecrows to the 
  adventurers, scribbling on a piece of paper “Trio 
  of scarecrows alive and terrorizing Undercliff? Go. 
  Report Back. -Silvermane”. The note is delivered 
  the next morning by a young courier girl.
  Order of the Gauntlet
  Savra Belabranta arrives at Trollskull Manor at the 
  crack of dawn. “An opportunity to vacate evil!” 
  She shares the rumor that three scarecrows have 
  been animated and terrorizing Undercliff, and 
  gives the characters a vial of alchemist’s ﬁre (PHB 
  148). “You burn their wretched bodies, Tyr shall 
  forever burn their wicked spirits!”
  Zhentarim
  When the Doom Raiders heard rumors of three 
  scarecrows animated and terrorizing Undercliff 
  their suspicions immediately turned to Manshoon. 
  A ﬂying snake arrives delivering a scroll reading, 
  “Trio of scarecrows come alive in Undercliff. 
  Determine if work of Manshoon. If help needed, 
  reliable Zhents known to water at Tankard Times 
  in Undercliff Village.” 
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  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   3
  
  Under the Cliff
  Dozens of farms are dispersed along Undercliff 
  Way, the long road winding through the open 
  rolling prairie east of Waterdeep, connected to the 
  High Road at both the north and south where it 
  leaves the city. 
  Describe the environment based on the season 
  your campaign takes place in. Spring sees 
  workers plowing and sowing the ﬁelds, cattle 
  graze under the hot summer sun, tall rows of corn 
  and barley stand ready for autumn harvest, and 
  the harsh winter cold reveals a barren wasteland 
  covered in snow.
  The Many Scarecrows of Undercliff 
  Scarecrows are a common sight in Undercliff. Nearly 
  every ﬁeld the party comes across has one or more 
  standing watch. Point at least one cluster of three out 
  as the characters pass by a farm on the way to 
  Undercliff Village. These remain completely motionless 
  and upon inspection seem harmless. 
  Make scarecrow sightings mundane. Perhaps have one 
  in the distance move, only to have been knocked over 
  by the wind. Consider making your players paranoid at 
  every sighting, or lull them into complacency.  
  The three scarecrows animated by Basil Mureal sense 
  that the characters are dangerous allies of Waterdeep 
  and have set their sights upon the party.  
  The adventure provides suggestions as to when the 
  animated scarecrows might attack (use Encounter S - 
  Scarecrows Come to Life!) , but ultimately it’s up to 
  you to when they make their appearance.  
  Happy haunting! 
  Encounter A - The Lynch Mob
  As Undercliff Village is coming into the view in 
  the distance, the party notices a large group of 
  people gathered near a lone oak tree just off the 
  side of the road.
  A terriﬁed looking tieﬂing man sits sideways on 
  an unsaddled horse. The noose tied around his 
  neck is attached, with little slack, to a large 
  branch of the tree overhead.
  Vance Lifften sits in the saddle of a horse next 
  to the condemned tieﬂing, ﬂanked by three thugs 
  (MM350). All four men are human. The angry 
  mob before them is a 70/30 mix of humans and 
  halﬂings, all males. 
  The Political Climate in Undercliff 
  The city of Waterdeep has made a spectacular 
  recovery in the short time since the Sundering. Under 
  Laerel Silverhand’s leadership, most noble families 
  have regained their wealth, and the standard of living 
  for all but the poorest of Waterdeep’s residents has 
  been steadily on the rise. 
  Most Underclifftens, as they refer to themselves, feel 
  left out of this prosperity. They feed the city, yet live 
  hard agrarian lives ﬁlled with manual labor and few 
  amenities. They hear the citizens of Waterdeep refer 
  to them as “Underfolk” and mock their slow nasal 
  accent. They return contempt in kind, deriding even 
  laborers in the city as “elites” up on a mountain of 
  riches who have no understanding of what it means to 
  live as a “real” citizen of the north.  
  Graz’zt found it easy to tap into this resentment and 
  form a small cult serving his goal of undermining 
  Asmodeus. Although the number dedicated to 
  outright demon-worship is few and secretive, their 
  political ideology based around the racial superiority 
  of humans and halﬂings (the vast majority of 
  Undercliff’s population) and extracting economic and 
  cultural revenge against the city is quickly becoming 
  widespread.  
  Lifften is the leader of the Graz’zt worshipping 
  cult, The Merciless Order of the Six Fingered 
  Hand, but no one present is aware of this fact. 
  Although he possess dark magic, he won’t risk 
  betraying the secret by casting spells.
  Lifften is currently whipping the mob into a 
  frenzy. When the party approaches, they hear the 
  tail end of his speech:
  “…and monsters make more monsters! Y’all seen 
  what’s been going on lately. The elites up top in the 
  city encourage this wickedness to ﬂourish, but not 
  down here in the heart of our land!”  
  The speech is followed by a few shouts from 
  the crowd, e.g.  “death to the monster!”
  Lifften sees the characters approaching as his 
  speech wraps up and nods to his henchmen, who 
  move in opposite directions to ﬂank the party. He 
  notices that a character is dragonborn, drow, half-
  orc, tieﬂing, or any monstrous race unless they 
  have are wearing a hood and make a successful 
  DC12 Charisma (Deception) check; or have 
  employed magic or a disguise kit to hide their true 
  race (no check required). 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   4
  
  If he spotted a character of one of those races, 
  Lifften shouts out, “Well lookit here. It’s our lucky 
  day! Seems we gonna have us some double (or 
  triple etc as warranted) justice!” His henchmen 
  charge towards the party with the goal of 
  capturing any characters of those races. The 
  angry mob engages in combat at mentality level 
  3. 
  A party seen to be comprised of only socially 
  acceptable races won’t be attacked unless they 
  physically interfere with the lynching. 
  The characters might try persuading the lynch 
  mob not to hang the tieﬂing. They won’t convince 
  Lifften, but they may turn the sentiment of the 
  crowd. When a character makes an argument in 
  favor of sparing the tieﬂing’s life, have them make 
  a Charisma (Persuasion) check. The check is 
  made at advantage by a cleric or paladin invoking 
  the name of a god, but at disadvantage by any 
  character who is a not a human or halﬂing. This 
  check is contested by one of the same from Liften 
  (+2), who presents these arguments, in order:
  • “This thing is a demon, not a man!”
  • “Who knows what other nightmares it will create 
  with its dark magic? The scarecrows are surely 
  just the beginning!”
  • “How could Chauntea rightly bless the harvests 
  of those who tolerate this evil?” This check is 
  made at advantage.
  The mob mentality level starts at 3, which is its 
  maximum. When the characters win a contest, 
  reduce the level by one. If Lifften wins, increase it 
  by one. 
  After three rounds of argument, Lifften tires of 
  the debate and smacks the rump of the adjacent 
  horse, sending it running and the tieﬂing dangling. 
  If the party attempts to save the tieﬂing’s life, 
  combat ensues. Note the current mob mentality at 
  the beginning of combat. If the tieﬂing isn’t freed 
  from his noose, he dies from suffocation at the 
  end of the ﬁfth round of combat.
  When rescued, the tieﬂing identiﬁes himself as 
  Falados. Emigrating to Waterdeep with just the 
  clothes on his back, he was jumped by the man 
  on horseback and his thugs. Falados expresses 
  utter dismay at what just occurred - his decision to 
  see out a new life in Waterdeep was driven by an 
  understanding that his kind were accepted there. 
  Falados won’t come right out and say it, but 
  hints more than once that he wishes the party to 
  escort him to Waterdeep. If they refuse, he takes 
  off running towards the River Gate.
  If the characters don’t intervene, they watch the 
  innocent man choke out his last breath. The 
  crowd peacefully disperses and the tieﬂing’s 
  corpse is left to dangle from the tree.
  Angry Mob 
  Armor Class: 9 (unarmored) 
  Hit Points: 4 (1d8), damage threshold 4 (same)  
  Speed: 30 
  Reach: 5 
  The mob occupies a 40 foot diameter circle. Any 
  creature size medium or smaller can occupy a space 
  inside this circle, but it is considered difﬁcult terrain.  
  Mob Mentality Levels 
  Level 0. Placated. The mob gawks as combat 
  proceeds, but takes no actions or reactions. 
  At levels higher than 0: any hostile creature that ends 
  its turn in the mob’s reach must make a DC 14 
  Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. The mob 
  will take any number of reactions during a round of 
  combat to make a single opportunity attack against 
  any creature that leaves its reach. 
  Level 1. Riled. The mob makes a single shove attack 
  (+5) against each enemy in reach, attempting to knock 
  prone. If the target is already prone, it is also grappled 
  (escape DC 14). 
  Level 2. Angry. Same as level 1, but the mob also 
  makes an additional kick attack against any grappled 
  creature, +5 to hit, damage 1. 
  Level 3. Frenzied. The mob moves towards the 
  nearest enemy and makes a single stab attack, +0 to 
  hit, damage 2 (1d4) against each enemy in reach. 
  The mob taking 4 or more damage from a single 
  attack indicates that one of the commoners (MM 345) 
  comprising it has been killed. The remaining 
  commoners immediately take their reactions to ﬂee. 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   5
  
  Harvest Home Inn
  The heart of Undercliff Village is the Harvest 
  Home Inn. It’s the largest building for miles, built 
  at an angle following a curve in Main Street at the 
  center of the village. The expansive tap room and 
  dining hall on the main level serves as the social 
  center of Undercliff, and the second story is split 
  between six spacious guest rooms and a private 
  residence.
  The owner, Anselm Griggons, is middle aged 
  human with ﬁery red hair and a beard to match. 
  Born and educated in Waterdeep, he spent about 
  a decade adventuring before “retiring” to settle 
  down in the country. Much of the inn’s success 
  can be attributed to Anselm’s wealth from his 
  previous career allowing it to operate without 
  making a proﬁt.
  When the characters arrive, Anselm is standing 
  behind the bar reading a broadsheet. A character 
  who examines it will notice that it is an edition of 
  the Waterdeep Wazoo dated more than a tenday 
  ago. 
  When the characters inquire about the 
  scarecrows, a teenage halﬂing boy sitting at the 
  bar, eating a delicious smelling bowl of stew, 
  interrupts before Anselm can get a word in. “I 
  seen it myself, sirs, Taller than any of ye, with a 
  great big rotting punkin’ for a head! Chased me 
  along the main road for a quarter mile before I got 
  far enough ahead and it turned to go after a heifer 
  instead. I just kept runnin’ all the way home!”
  Anselm veriﬁes that he has heard a number of 
  similar stories and believes them to be true. “I 
  started hearing these tales ﬁve or six days ago 
  with three distinct variations. The pumpkin headed 
  one young Wessel was chased by, one with a 
  burlap sack over its head, and another clad in 
  bright red rags. The stories started about the 
  same as those murders up at Amendsfarm. 
  Seems like hell of a coincidence.”
  All Anselm knows about the murders is that 
  three inmates are said to have bashed each 
  others (“…or their own? Could have been a 
  suicide pact I suppose”) heads in with rocks. 
  If a character associated with the Harpers 
  reveals they were sent by Mirt and shows Anselm 
  their harp pin, Anselm gives them a scroll of 
  heroism (PHB 250). He cautions that a few stories 
  of scarecrow encounters included feeling 
  paralyzed by fear upon looking at one.
  Anselm has rooms for rent if the characters 
  wish to say. At only 10 sp including meals it’s an 
  exceptional value for the level of comfort. 
  If the characters spend the night out of doors at 
  some point during the adventure, that could be a 
  good opportunity to run Encounter S - Scarecrows 
  Come to Life!
  Tankard Times Tavern
  Directly across the street from the Harvest Home 
  is a ﬁlthy drinking establishment that owes its 
  continued existence merely to the fact that 
  Anselm Griggons doesn’t tolerate the behavior of 
  its patrons in his own establishment. No matter 
  the time of day, the customers in Tankard Times 
  are foul mouthed, rude, prone to ﬁghting, and very 
  drunk.
  The proprietor, Bartholomew Ender, embodies 
  the place. He serves elves and dwarves only 
  grudgingly, all the while making antagonizing 
  remarks about “pointy ears” and “beard ladies”. 
  Other races are outright banned from the 
  premises. 
  Two Zhents, Morlan Frost and Dirk Starnag 
  (human male thugs MM 350) practically live here. 
  The don’t have any direct association to the 
  Doom Raiders or Manshoon, but sell their 
  services as mercenaries to anyone willing to pay 
  them 3 sp a day each. They only work as a pair 
  and if either of them has any loyalty at all, it’s only 
  to the other. If things take a turn for the worse, 
  they are quick to abandon their charge. 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   6
  
  Blow to the Head
  The prison-labor farm Amendsfarm sits just north 
  of the cliff, near Waterdeep’s North Gate. 
  Criminals sentenced to hard labor (see The Code 
  Legal W:DH 222) work off their debt to society in 
  its ﬁelds and orchards. Most of the prison is very 
  low security, as the population are primarily  
  serving short sentences for theft of various 
  severity. Although many easily escape, for most it 
  is not worth permanent exile from Waterdeep. 
  A small subset of the prisoners are serving 
  longer sentences for serious crimes such as 
  murder or participating in the slave trade. These 
  inmates are more heavily guarded, and reside in 
  barracks in a walled off section of the northwest 
  end of the prison. 
  This higher security area is where Basil Mureal 
  worked as a guard and found his three victims. 
  Six days ago he had the opportunity alone with 
  them in one of the bunkhouses, each in restraints 
  after a hard days work in the orchard. Mureal 
  bashed in the skull of each prisoner with the 
  rounded end of his hammer, then ﬂed home to 
  stash the weapon. He returned with three large 
  rocks, dabbed them in blood and brain, released 
  the corpses from their manacles, and ran to his 
  superior to report that the prisoners had killed one 
  another in some sort of altercation.
  Entering the Prison
  The party is greeted at the main entrance to the 
  prison by a halﬂing guard named Dandel 
  Fatrabbit. They inform the characters that 
  yesterday was visiting day, and the party will have 
  to come back next tenday. 
  When told that the characters are there to 
  investigate the recent murders, Dandel 
  immediately escorts a party afﬁliated with the 
  Lord’s Alliance or Force Grey to the warden’s 
  ofﬁce. Otherwise a successful DC 14 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check or a bribe of at least 5gp is 
  required lest the party is turned away. If the check 
  fails, Dandel not-so-subtly asks for the bribe by 
  making a pointed cough while jingling the coin 
  purse on their belt. 
  Investigating the Murders
  Amendsfarm’s warden, Emmeline Crater, is in her 
  ofﬁce when the party arrives and is happy to 
  accept them. She secretly has serious doubts 
  about Mureal’s story and suspects that he 
  murdered the prisoners. Crater hopes she can 
  pass off responsibility for the outcome of an 
  investigation onto the adventurers. The Fraternal 
  Order of Peacekeepers demands loyalty to fellow 
  ofﬁcers above all else, even if a crime has been 
  committed. In a case involving a prisoner, not 
  siding with a guild member would be especially 
  unthinkable. If the characters somehow manage 
  to search her desk, they ﬁnd a letter to the 
  warden of Repenttoil labor-mining prison along 
  the Triboar Trail in the Sword Mountains to the 
  north. It commends Mureal’s service and 
  recommends him for a transfer and promotion - 
  the guild’s go-to approach for dealing with this 
  sort of situation.
  Crater calls the high security supervising 
  ofﬁcer, Villhelm Price, into her ofﬁce to answer the 
  party’s questions. Price, along with Mureal, is a 
  ranking member of the Graz’zt worshipping cult, 
  but he has no direct knowledge of the murders or 
  Mureal’s recent actions. He has a very low 
  opinion of the prisoners he guards and has taken 
  Mureal’s explaination at face value. If the 
  adventures cast suspision on Mureal during their 
  investigation he becomes increasingly testy and 
  defensive of his friend.  
  Speaking to Mureal. Basil Mureal has been 
  put on paid leave for a tenday following the 
  incident, which is standard procedure. Price 
  hasn’t seen him since the incident, but suspects 
  that Mureal is home at his cottage, recovering 
  from the trauma of coming upon the grisly scene. 
  Price is happy to give the party directions to 
  Mureal’s home, which is covered in the section 
  below, Out of His Skin.
  Amateur Coroners. If the characters wish to 
  inspect a body, they are in luck. Two of the victims 
  were from Waterdeep and are presently interred 
  among family in the City of the Dead, but one 
  man hails from Baulder’s Gate, and his body 
  awaits transport. Price shows the characters to a 
  storage shed containing a pine box containing the 
  corpse, liberally packed in salt.
  •  A successful DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check reveals that the the single 
  deep puncturing blow that bashed in the man’s 
  skull and brain was made by a blunt, rounded 
  instrument probably no more than 3 inches in 
  diameter.
  Speak with dead or other magic requiring the 
  deceased spirit have no effect, as the man’s spirit 
  is now animating a scarecrow.
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   7
  
  The Crime Scene. The 20 by 30 foot 
  bunkhouse where the murders took place has sat 
  vacant and untouched since the bodies were 
  removed. Aging and due for replacement the 
  following year anyway, it is slated to be 
  demolished. A character succeeding on a DC 12 
  Intelligence (Investigation) check notices that 
  bloody footprints appear both out towards and in 
  from the building’s entrance, which Price 
  supposes is from the bodies being removed. A 
  successful check also reveals that blood splatters 
  appear only on the eastern wall of the building.
  Encounter B - What a Riot!
  Tension has been mounting in the high security 
  area since the murders. Most prisoners have 
  known one another for a long time and formed a 
  tribal relationship, if not friendships. The prisoners 
  are convinced that Mureal, who constantly 
  mistreats them in minor but unnecessary fashion, 
  is responsible for the murders.
  The situation turned ugly while the party was 
  investigating. Called lazy and prodded along by 
  the tip of a guard’s spear, one prisoner snapped 
  and snatched the weapon.
  The characters hear shouting from the 
  unfolding standoff. The guard is grappled by a 
  prisoner, hands restrained behind his back. The 
  guard’s spear is pointed menacingly at his 
  midsection, wielded by the man who hand taken it 
  from him, and three more hardened prisoners 
  stand in solidarity behind them. Four guards stand 
  in a cluster ﬁfteen feet away, spears drawn.
  The characters catch the tail end of the spear 
  wielding prisoner shouting “…sentenced to labor, 
  not death!”. The guard held hostage takes the 
  appearance of Price and the party as an 
  opportunity to break free. He brings a foot up into 
  the groin of his captor, who falls prone. The guard 
  is rewarded with a spear to the midsection, and 
  then all hell breaks loose.
  Realizing that their participation in the 
  insurrection will be punished by death, the 
  prisoners ﬁght until all the guards are dispatched, 
  then attempt to ﬂee the prison. They ﬁght through 
  the adventurers as well, but aren’t concerned with 
  killing the party unless the adventurers stand in 
  the way of escape.
  Out of His Skin
  The past tenday was the most eventful of Basil 
  Mureal’s sad life. Of the all the members of the 
  Graz’zt worshiping cult he and his friends 
  christened The Merciless Glove of the Six 
  Fingered Hand, the demon lord had chosen him. 
  As instructed, Mureal enchanted his ball-peen 
  hammer and used it to kill the three prisoners. 
  Using the same hammer, he constructed three 
  scarecrows animated by the prisoners’ spirits. 
  The day after unleashing his scarecrows on 
  Undercliff, Basil Mureal received another edict 
  from the Dark Lord. Graz’zt offered Mureal the 
  opportunity to become an immortal being in 
  exchange for his mortal body. Mureal jumped at 
  the opportunity and performed the ritual Graz’zt 
  prescribed. At high moon, Mureal’s muscles, 
  bones, and viscera scrambled, transforming into 
  the babau demon. The babau’s horn and tail 
  sliced though Mureal’s human skin, which 
  sloughed off into a heap on the ﬂoor as the 
  demon emerged. The babau climbed the wall to 
  the lone window above and disappeared into the 
  night in search of the lost tunnels in the cliff 
  connecting Waterdeep to Undercliff.
  Basil Mureal’s Cottage
  Mureal’s cottage is about a mile south along 
  the same road as Amendsfarm. It is small, 
  consisting of a single 20x20ft room containing an 
  iron stove, dining table, and writing desk. A ladder 
  leads up to a loft in the peak of the building, which 
  contains Mureal’s bed, a small dresser, and the 
  home’s only window. Across the dirt road stand 
  three scarecrows. The adventurers easily locate 
  the cottage from Villhelm Price’s directions and 
  description. 
  Trapped Door. The door to Mureal’s cottage is 
  locked. It can be opened with a successful DC 10 
  Dexterity check with thieves tools or forced open 
  with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) 
  check. 
  Before undertaking his transformative ritual, 
  Mureal placed two vials of alchemist’s ﬁre (PHB 
  148) on a shelf above the door, looped with twine 
  tacked to the inside of the door. When the door is 
  opened, the vials are pulled from the shelf and 
  break open on the ﬂoor, splashing the sticky 
  substance over a 10 foot radius circle centered in 
  the middle of the doorway. Any character in the 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   8
  
  area must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving 
  throw or be splashed by the ﬂuid and set on ﬁre.
   A character on ﬁre this way takes 1d4 at the 
  start of each of its turns until it can make a 
  successful DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish 
  the ﬂames. 
  The trap also sets the cottage ablaze. The 
  characters can easily extinguish the ﬁre, but if 
  they don’t the structure will burn to the point that 
  no useful clues can be found after 5 minutes. 
  Consider this opportunity to run Encounter S - 
  Scarecrows Come To Life!
  Any character who looks through the window at 
  the peak of the building can spot the trap, no 
  check required. The trap can be disarmed from 
  inside the cottage with the door still closed wtih a 
  successful DC 5 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) 
  check. On a failure, the vials drop to the ground 
  as though the trap had been triggered. 
  Ritual Leftovers. Any character who looks 
  inside the cottage immediately notices a pile of 
  pink skin matted with blood lying in the middle of 
  chalk drawn circle. Written around the circle in 
  Abyssal are the words “As Glasya spilled His 
  blood shall I too become”. A character who can 
  read those words or has them translated can 
  make an Intelligence (History) check. A result of 
  15 or higher reveals that this is a reference to the 
  story of the babau demon on VGtM 136. The 
  character is also aware of the babau’s damage 
  resistances, its ability to create magical darkness, 
  its weakening gaze. 
  Investigating the shed skin reveals that it was 
  sliced from the inside as though with two serrated 
  blades; one originating at the top of the skull and 
  the other at the tailbone. Moving the skin reveals 
  a chalk drawing of a six-ﬁngered hand. 
  Laying just to the side of the circle is a ball-
  peen hammer (see sidebar, Mureal’s Ball-peen) 
  caked in dried blood an encrusted with bits of 
  wood and straw. Any character proﬁcient in 
  arcana immediately gets an uneasy feeling when 
  they look at it.
  Search for a Few Minutes. A search of 
  Mureal’s cottage reveals exactly the mundane 
  items one would expect, and nothing of value. 
  The pocket of Mureal’s jacket, which is draped 
  over a chair, contains two six ﬁngered leather 
  gloves with a small carrot placed in the sixth 
  ﬁnger, next to the pinky ﬁnger.  
  On the writing desk is a leather bound journal 
  with minutes chronicling the meetings of The 
  Merciless Glove of the Six Fingered Hand. The 
  meetings have convened an hour after sundown 
  on the same day each of the last tendays. The 
  last entry is dated a tenday ago tomorrow, and is 
  included as handout for your players on the last 
  page on this adventure. If the players ask about 
  the other pages of the journal, it’s mostly the 
  same sort of stuff. Meeting #9 marks the last time 
  the cultists heard “THE VOICE”, which instructed 
  them to focus their efforts on ﬁnding a tunnel lost 
  in the walls of the cliff. Prior references to “THE 
  VOICE” are missives on the superiority of humans 
  and halﬂings, and the dangers of the other races 
  and the city above that tolerates them.
   In reading the meeting minutes for meeting 
  #14, the characters should learn that the location 
  of the meetings is a derelict barn at the 
  Snobeedle Orchard and Meadery. If the players 
  don’t glean this fact, their characters can with a 
  successful DC 10 Intelligence (History) check.
  The characters might also note that Basil 
  Mureal is cult’s secretary, and the initials of the 
  vice president, V.P. matches Villhelm Price of 
  Amendsfarm. They may not have found out his 
  name when the character encountered the 
  lynching, but president V.L. was the ringleader, 
  Vance Lifften.
  Mureal’s Ball-peen 
  Weapon (light hammer) 
  You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made 
  with this magic weapon. 
  When Mureal’s Ball-peen is used to kill an evil-aligned 
  humanoid, its spirit immediately manifests itself on the 
  material plane as a dretch (MM 57), which appears to 
  burst from the corpse of the victim. The dretch is 
  hostile to all creatures except the wielder of Mureal’s 
  Ball-peen. Roll initiative for the dretch, which has its 
  own turns. The dretch pursues and attacks the nearest 
  non-demon to the best of its ability.  
  Construct of Evil (Requires attunement by an evil-
  aligned character) 
  When a character attuned to Mureal’s Ballpeen kills an 
  evil-aligned humanoid with the weapon, they may 
  choose to capture the spirit rather than having it 
  manifest as a dretch. If they do so, they may later 
  spend 1 hour using the hammer to construct a 
  scarecrow (MM 268), binding it with the spirit 
  captured. 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   9
  
  A Few Bad Apples
  The Snobeedle Orchard and Meadery is located 
  off to the east side of Undercliff Way, just shy of a 
  mile north of Undercliff Village. The orchard, 
  planted with various varieties of apples, plums, 
  cherries, peaches, and apricots, is synergistic 
  with the large bee colony which provides the 
  meadery’s honey.
  The season your campaign takes place can 
  add some ﬂavor to the location. For example: 
  spring buds and bees, summer workers pruning, 
  fall’s abundant harvest, a taproom packed full of 
  bored wintering farmers.
  The Drinking Hall
  The Snobeedle cousins are attentive hosts to 
  guests in their expansive drinking hall, which is 
  sized to accommodate human-size guests. In 
  addition to the famous mead, the drink menu 
  contains no less than seven varieties of cider. 
  Wine and ale are noticeably absent from the list 
  as they are not produced on site. The selection of 
  food is limited, but quite delicious. The 
  Snobeedles bake large quantities of soft white 
  bread in house, which is served with honey and 
  wide array of jams, all of which can also be 
  purchased by the jar in a small gift shop.
  Humans and halﬂings are warmly welcomed by 
  all, elves and dwarves less so but still treated 
  politely, and “undesirable” races noted earlier in 
  the adventure are tolerated but given a passive-
  aggressive cold shoulder. Characters of those 
  races make Charisma checks at disadvantage 
  inside the drinking hall.
  The hall is usually quite busy, and if the 
  adventurers take the time to visit or simply 
  evesdrop, they hear two popular topics of 
  conversation (no check required):
  • The scarecrows. The adventurers don’t hear 
  an actual ﬁrst hand account, but many second 
  or third hand stories with increasing levels of 
  embellishment. The common thread seems to 
  be that there are three animated scarecrows. 
  One dressed in tattered rags, another with a 
  burlap sack with slashed eye holes over its 
  head, and one whose head is a giant pumpkin 
  • Murders at Amendsfarm labor-prison. The 
  consensus seems to be that three dangerous 
  convicts got in a quarrel and murdered each 
  other, though at least one halﬂing posits that it 
  could have been a guard responsible (“and I 
  don’t blame him if it was! Imagine the stress of 
  having to control those wretched men!”) There 
  is also a general sentiment that the prison 
  shouldn’t exist where it is. It competes with the 
  local farms who don’t have free labor, and why 
  should the lives of their families be threatened 
  by the criminal element produced by the city?
  Invitation from a Cultist
  If the characters didn’t ﬁnd out about the cult 
  meetings from the journal in Basil Mureal’s 
  cottage, they are instead approached by a male 
  halﬂing named Quentin Snobeedle. A member of 
  the cult, Q.S. has identiﬁed the party as a threat 
  and attempts to lure them into an ambush at the 
  derelict barn.
  Blond of hair and beard, both sparse and poorly 
  groomed, Q.S. is one of the many halﬂing cousins 
  who run the meadery. He doesn’t have a proper 
  ownership role, however, and never really ﬁt in 
  with the cheerful demeanor of the rest of the 
  family. As a bit of an outsider even among his own 
  kin, Q.S. found a subculture with deﬁned enemies 
  and promises of power very appealing. 
  If the characters tried to rescue the tieﬂing 
  being lynched, Q.S. was in the crowd. He 
  approaches the party congratulating them on their 
  bravery. If the characters left the tieﬂing to hang, 
  Q.S. was in the Harvest Home and overheard the 
  party inquiring about the scarecrows. In this case, 
  he approaches the characters with a suspicion of 
  the source. 
  In either case, Q.S. invites the party to visit the 
  meadery on the evening of the cult meeting. He is 
  a gracious host inside the drinking hall, and 
  contrives an excuse to lead the party out to the 
  derelict barn in the hour after sundown. 
  The tactics on encounter sheet A assume that 
  the cultists aren’t expecting the adventurers. In 
  the case that cultists get to spring an ambush, the 
  tactics are mostly the same with a few exceptions.  
  The cult fanatic will cast shield of faith prior to the 
  start of combat, allowing him to deploy his 
  spiritual weapon a round earlier. While the cultists 
  are ready with their scimitars, they remain 
  untrained and undisciplined ﬁghters.
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   10
  
  Tracking Down the Cult
  If the party arrives at the meadery with the 
  intention of seeking out the derelict barn, it’s not 
  hard to ﬁnd (see Derelict Barn, below). The 
  Snobeedles allow anyone to wander around the 
  property as they please. In the late summer into 
  fall, the outdoors is full with customers carrying 
  sacks of freshly picked fruit. 
  If the characters inquire about cults or demons 
  inside the drinking hall, they are met with pure 
  skepticism. Such perversion must be rampant in 
  the city, of course, but surely not down in this 
  more civilized area. There is one exception, 
  however. On a successful DC 16 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check, a character notices that 
  Quentin Snobeedle has gone even paler hearing 
  demons or cults mentioned, and is showing 
  visible signs of nervousness.
  If the party confronts Q.S., it’s clear that he’s 
  hiding something. A successful DC 10 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check is enough to get something 
  out of him. He stammers out an unconvincing lie 
  about having overheard outsiders from the city 
  talking about scarecrow animating rituals in the 
  basement of the Harvest Home in Undercliff 
  Village. A character expressing doubt can 
  determine that the halﬂing is not being truthful 
  with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check.
  Q.S. is weak spined without his friends around 
  to back him up. If a character threatens the 
  halﬂing, have them make a DC 14 Charisma 
  (Intimidation) check:
  • On a success, Q.S. turns on the cult in an 
  attempt to save his own skin: “Look, I didn’t 
  want to have anything to do with it! Tye (Tye 
  Tosscobble, T.T. from the meeting minutes) 
  roped me into it. You can’t tell my cousins. The 
  family business would be devastated!” Q.S. 
  informs the characters when and where the cult 
  meeting will soon be taking place, and agrees to 
  help the party in any way they ask. A successful 
  DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that he 
  has steadied his resolve to bend to which ever 
  side is going to come out on top, and won’t 
  hesitate to betray the party. 
  • On a failure, Q.S. feigns offense, “My family 
  welcomes all who wish to enjoy our hospitality, 
  but I personally will not tolerate such rudeness. 
  Good day!”. Q.S. leaves to go about his duties 
  and makes sure catch the other cultists prior to 
  the meeting to warn them of the party’s 
  presence.
  Derelict Barn
  One of the original structures built decades ago 
  by the Snobeedle family still stands at the 
  northeast edge of the property, adjacent to an old 
  plot of apple trees which have long since stopped 
  producing fruit. 
  The barn is 40 feet wide by 80 feet long, though 
  the rear 30 feet has caved in and is completely 
  unusable. The 20 by 20 foot wide opening in the 
  front sits open to the world, the doors long ago 
  having rotted off their hinges. Numerous halﬂing-
  sized openings are visible in the rotting lumber 
  that makes up the barn’s side walls.
  A rickety ladder leads 20 feet up to a 15 foot 
  deep loft above the door spanning the barn’s 
  entire width. Both are dangerous after decades of 
  neglect. Any creature traversing either during its 
  turn must make a DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) 
  check as they do so. On a failure, the entire 
  structure collapses under their weight and they 
  fall with it to the ground, taking 2d6 bludgeoning 
  damage and landing prone among the debris.
  The barn offers a number of places to take 
  cover, including a wheelless wagon with a broken 
  axel and numerous large hay bales (which are 
  dangerously dry and can easily burst into ﬂames). 
  Rusty old shovels, hoes, and other farming 
  tools are scattered around the edges of the bar, 
  which could be used as improvised weapons.
  A dozen or so milking stools, all capable of 
  supporting sitting weight, are arranged in a circle 
  in the middle of the barn’s usable area.
  When the cult is meeting, the interior of the 
  barn is dimly lit by candles safely placed inside of 
  glass jam jars.
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   11
  
  Encounter C - 
  96 Mercilessly Gloved Fingers
  Shortly after dusk the cult members, all wearing 
  six ﬁngered leather gloves with a carrot playing 
  the role of the digit of the extra ﬁnger inside, 
  arrive at the barn for the meeting. Just enough 
  candles are lit to provide dim light through the 
  interior of the barn, yet not draw attention from the 
  outside. 
  Vance Lifften, who lead the tieﬂing lynching at 
  the beginning of the adventure, is a cult fanatic 
  (MM 345) and leader of the 7 cultists (MM 345) 
  remaining now that Mureal is no longer among 
  them. The cult fanatic is clearly identiﬁed as the 
  leader by the fancy vestments he wears, 
  compared to the simple black robes of the other 
  cultists.
   If Lifften has been killed, make Villhelm Price 
  (of the prison) the cult fanatic instead. If both men 
  are dead, choose another cultist to play the role. If 
  it was necessary to move on to understudies, 
  reduce the number of cultists accordingly. Note 
  that Q.S. is included in their ranks, and his role 
  may have changed depending on his interactions 
  with the adventurers.
  Don’t forget that if an evil cultist is killed by 
  Mureal’s Ball-peen during the encounter, a smelly 
  dretch (MM 268) will burst from the dead cultist’s 
  corpse!
  Cultists Ambush. If the party didn’t ﬁnd out 
  about the meeting from the clues in Mureal’s 
  cottage and are instead being lead to the barn by 
  Q.S., a lookout warns that the party is 
  approaching. The cultists position themselves to 
  ambush the adventurers, and the cult fanatic 
  prepares for the ﬁght by casting shield of faith. 
  Make a single Dexterity (Stealth) check for the 
  cultists. This sets the DC for being noticed by the 
  adventurers as they enter the barn. If the DC is 
  higher than a character’s passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) score (-5 due to disadvantage 
  because of the dim light), they are surprised and 
  can’t move or take actions or reactions during the 
  ﬁrst round of combat. If a character indicates that 
  they are actively looking for danger as they enter 
  the barn, have them make a Wisdom (Perception) 
  check (at disadvantage due to the dim light) 
  instead.
  Characters Ambush. It’s ﬁne if the party 
  decides to storm the barn while the meeting is 
  taking place, but they may also decide to plan an 
  ambush. Each character can successfully hide 
  with DC 8 Dexterity (Stealth) check. 
  If Q.S. is on to the party, he arrives with the rest 
  of the cult on high alert, and they can’t be 
  surprised. They undertake a thorough search of 
  the barn, locating the nearest character lying in 
  wait (no check required) and then engage in 
  combat.
  Otherwise, the cult arrives as a group and 
  begins to light the candles scattered throughout 
  the barn. The characters observe one cultist 
  excitedly whispering to the cult leader and 
  pointing at a piece of paper in his hand. 
  If the party waits as the meeting proceeds, it 
  goes along the same lines as the previous 
  meeting minutes would suggest. Basil Mureal’s 
  absence is is noted, and sympathy is expressed 
  about the terrible tragedy he had to witness at the 
  prison. The cultist with the map triumphantly 
  announces that he has located the tunnel, to 
  rousing cheers. A quasit (MM 63) is summoned, 
  which promptly polymorphs into a bat and ﬂies 
  from the barn. Social Hour is especially 
  celebratory. If the characters waited this long, 
  their patience is rewarded. All of the cult members 
  get drunk enough to suffer the poisoned condition, 
  imposing disadvantage on their attack rolls and 
  ability checks.
  Developments. If the party defeats the cultists, 
  they ﬁnd the hastily drawn map of the cliff, with an 
  arrow pointing to a spot behind a wooded area 
  slightly north of where the last guard tower marks 
  the end of the city wall before Cliffwatch to the 
  south. “Tunnel! crazy dark” is scribbled on the 
  paper.
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   12
  
  Digging In
  Although transformed from Basil Mureal’s innards, 
  there really isn’t anything left of the man in the 
  babau demon. The creature’s thoughts extend 
  only as far as achieving its objective: locating a 
  long lost tunnel in the cliffside which leads to the 
  city of Waterdeep above. 
  After crawling out the window of Basil Mureal’s 
  cottage, the babau scoured the cliffside nonstop 
  for two days before it found the heavily obscured 
  and caved in opening, seemingly intentionally 
  ﬁlled in with rocks ranging in size from rubble to 
  boulders. Shrouded the whole time in magical 
  darkness, the babau tirelessly continues 
  excavation.
  Encounter D - My Sweet Babau
  The babau (VGtM 136) demon presents a 
  possibly deadly challenge to adventures who 
  attempt to slay it. However, it is singularly focused 
  on excavating the tunnel and ignores anything not 
  actively standing in its way of accomplishing its 
  work. If combat goes poorly, the characters can 
  easily escape.
  After about 20 feet, the 5 foot diameter tunnel 
  opens up into a roughly 40 foot wide by 60 foot 
  deep natural cavern. The cavern is littered with 
  numerous 5 ft diameter boulders which can 
  provide 3/4 cover to a medium sized creature. 
  A 15ft sphere of magical darkness emanates 
  from a point on the far end of the cavern, where 
  the babau is currently excavating. It attacks if it 
  senses hostile creatures approaching.
  Epilogue
  If the adventurers return to Waterdeep alive and 
  report what they learned about the scarecrows to 
  the faction that assigned the adventure, they gain 
  1 renown, or 2 renown if they also defeated the 
  scarecrows. 
  Anslem Griggons visits the party at Trollskull 
  Manor two days later to personally thank the 
  characters for ridding Undercliff of the scarecrows 
  (and the cult and babau demon, if applicable). As 
  a (former) fellow adventurer, he’s impressed with 
  how they handled themselves and presents a 
  reward of 100gp from his own personal fortune. If 
  the party was able to slay the babau demon, he 
  also presents a gift from his adventuring days, a 
  periapt of health (DMG 184).
  Anslem shares that word of of the character’s  
  deeds has spread through Undercliff, and a 
  popular drinking song detailing their 
  accomplishments has caught on in his taproom. 
  He notes that there’s been a marked change in 
  attitude about city folk, and if the party contained 
  any “undesirable” races, he seems optimistic that 
  those attitudes are slowly changing as well. 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   13
  
  Encounter A - The Lynch Mob 
  Liften
  Armor Class: 13 (leather armor)
  Hit Points: 33
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +0
  +2
  +1
  +0
  +1
  +2
  Two melee attacks or one ranged attack
  Shortsword: +4 to hit, damage 5 (1d6+2)
  Dagger: +4 to hit, damage 4 (1d4+2)
  Tactics: Fights from horseback, guarding the 
  tieﬂing from rescue.
  Flee: Half (16) HP, or if any of his henchmen ﬂee 
  or are killed.
  Treasure: 1d6 gp. Six ﬁngered gloves.
  Thugs (MM 350)
  Armor Class: 11 (leather armor)
  Hit Points: 32 
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +2
  +0
  +2
  +0
  +0
  +0
  Two melee attacks or one ranged attack
  Mace: +4 to hit, damage 5 (1d6+2)
  Heavy Crossbow: +2 to hit, damage 5 (1d10)
  Tactics: Target undesirable race characters. 
  Prevent party from rescuing tieﬂing.
  Flee: Quarter (8) HP. Two other Thugs ﬂeeing or 
  dispatched.
  Treasure: 1d4 gp.
  Angry Mob
  Armor Class: 9 (unarmored)
  Hit Points: 4
  Speed: 30
  If mob mentality level higher than 0, ending turn in 
  area DC 14 Strength or prone
  Attacks vary by level. See sidebar page 5
  Overview: Liften’s thugs either are trying to 
  capture characters of undesirable races to be 
  lynched, or defending tieﬂing from rescue. 
  Environment: Barren and grassy. Large lone oak 
  tree, lowest branches 25 feet up. Mob between 
  party and tieﬂing.
  Difﬁculty: CR 3, 900XP. Party of 5 2nd - Hard
  XP Award: 450 XP 
  Initiative & HP Tracking
  20
  15
  10
  5
  Round:     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   14
  
  Encounter B - What a Riot! 
  Prison Guard
  Armor Class: 14 (leather armor)
  Hit Points: 12
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +2
  +2
  +1
  -1
  -1
  -2
  One melee or ranged attack
  Spear: +4 to hit, damage 5 (1d6+2)
  Unarmed: +2 to hit, damage 1
  Tactics: Attempt to double-team the most 
  dangerous prisoner and wrestle to ground (help 
  action for grapple at advantage) and then knock 
  out and manacle. If any guard is killed, will attack 
  with spears in attempt to kill.
  Flee: Will ﬁght to the death.
  Treasure: None.
  Hardened Prisoner
  Armor Class: 11 (unarmored)
  Hit Points: 55 
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +3
  +1
  +2
  +0
  +0
  +0
  Weapon Steal: If target fails DC 14 Dexterity 
  save, contested Athletics (+5) to take weapon.
  Two melee attacks or one ranged attack
  Unarmed: +3 to hit, damage 3 
  Stolen Weapon: +5 to hit, damage 7 (1d6+3)
  Tactics: Attempt to steal weapons. Engage 
  guards ﬁrst, only attack party members who 
  engage in combat.
  Flee: Fight to the death.
  Treasure: None.
  Overview: One guard is grappled by a prisoner, 
  another prisoner has the guard’s spear. The 
  standoff turns to combat when the guard attempts 
  to break the grapple.  
  Environment: 3x2 grid of 30x20ft barracks, 20ft 
  high wooden fence surrounds area, 10ft from 
  buildings.
  Difﬁculty: CR 4, 1200XP. Party of 5 2nd and 5 
  guards - Hard/Deadly.
  XP Award: 800 XP 
  Initiative & HP Tracking
  20
  15
  10
  5
  Round:     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   15
  
  Encounter C - 96 Mercilessly Gloved Fingers 
  Cult Fanatic (MM 345)
  Armor Class: 13 (leather) / 15 (shield of faith)
  Hit Points: 33 
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +0
  +2
  +1
  +0
  +1
  +2
  Two melee or one ranged dagger attacks
  Dagger: +4 to hit, damage 4 (1d4+2)
  Spellcasting: save DC 11, +3 to hit
  Sacred ﬂame (272) +3 to hit, damage 4 (1d8)
  1st level
  O O O O
  command (223),  inﬂict wounds (253), 
  shield of faith (275)
  2nd level 
  O O O
  hold person (251), spiritual weapon (278)
  Tactics: 1st round: bonus action shield of faith, 
  moves behind cover, sacred ﬂame. 
  2nd round: spiritual weapon near melee ﬁghters, 
  sacred ﬂame. Continue retreat under cover.
  Further: Bonus action spiritual weapon attacks. 
  Looks for opportunity to use command grovel on 
  character surrounded by cultists.
  Flee: Constantly, slowly, behind cover. From barn 
  on half (16) hp or 3 or fewer cultists left in ﬁght.
  Treasure: 1d12+3 gp. Potion of healing. 
  Cultist (MM 345)
  Armor Class: 11 (leather armor)
  Hit Points: 9
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +0
  +1
  +0
  +0
  +0
  +0
  Scimitar: +3 to hit, damage 4 (1d6+1)
  Tactics: Disarray. Swings rapier at nearest target.
  Flee: Half (4) hp or 4 other cultists dead or ﬂeeing
  Treasure: One dispatched cultist has hand drawn 
  map to tunnel in cliff.
  Overview: The party was either led into an 
  ambush or (hopefully) set up their own ambush in 
  the derelict barn.
  Environment: Huge old barn, front 30ft wide 
  sliding door stuck 10ft ajar. Back collapsed. Many 
  small holes in sides. Scattered with hay bales, 
  broken wagon, other junk. Easy to ﬁnd ways in 
  and out.
  Difﬁculty: CR 4, 1550XP. Gang of low XP 
  enemies. Party of 5 2nd - Hard/Deadly.
  XP Award: 625 XP 
  Initiative & HP Tracking
  20
  15
  10
  5
  Round:     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   16
  
  Encounter D - My Sweet Babau 
  Babau (VGtM 136)
  Armor Class: 16
  Hit Points: 82
  Speed: 40
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +4
  +3
  +3
  +0
  +1
  +1
  Resistant to cold, ﬁre, lightning, and nonmagical 
  weapon damage
  Immune to poison 
  Darkvision 60ft
  Innate Spellcasting: save DC 11. 
  At will: darkness (230), dispel magic (234), fear 
  (239), heat metal (250), levitate (255)
  Two melee or one ranged attacks
  AND weakening gaze
  Claw: +6 to hit, damage 8 (1d8+4)
  Spear: +6 to hit, damage 7 (1d8+4)
  Weakening Gaze: within 20ft, DC 13 Con save or 
  damage from strength based weapons only deal 
  half damage for 1 minute. Save to  end each turn.
  Tactics: The babau is singularly focused on 
  excavating the collapsed tunnel, and ignores 
  hostile creatures if left to continue its task. It 
  works shrouded in magical darkness. If the babau 
  senses a threat beyond its darkness, it begins 
  combat by casting fear. 
  The babau is a cunning enemy. It prefers to 
  remain shrouded in the magical darkness. It will 
  dispel magic harmful ongoing effects, heat metal 
  the armor of enemies, and levitate incoming 
  melee ﬁghters. If it attacks as its action, it ﬁrst 
  uses its weakening gaze on the strongest 
  strength based melee ﬁghter in range.
  Flee: Fights to the death or until it can resume 
  excavation.
  Treasure: None.
  Overview: The babau is excavating a rubble ﬁlled 
  tunnel and has made about 5 feet of progress 
  when the party enters the cavern.
  Environment: A 5ft diameter tunnel in the cliffside 
  meanders for about 20 feet before opening into a 
  40x60 naturally formed cavern. The cavern is 
  littered with numerous 5 ft diameter boulders 
  which can provide 3/4 cover to a medium sized 
  creature. A 15ft sphere of magical darkness 
  emanates from a point on the far end of the 
  cavern, where the babau is currently excavating a 
  collapsed tunnel. 
  Difﬁculty: CR 4, 1100XP. Party of 5 2nd - Deadly.
  XP Award: 1100 XP  
  Initiative & HP Tracking
  20
  15
  10
  5
  Round:     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   17
  
  Encounter S - Scarecrows Come to Life! 
  Scarecrow (MM 268)
  Armor Class: 11
  Hit Points: 36
  Speed: 30
  STR
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  +0
  +1
  +0
  -0
  -0
  -0
  Vulnerable to ﬁre damage
  Resistant to nonmagical weapon damage
  Darkvision 60ft
  Two Claw Attacks
  Claw: +3 to hit, 6 damage (2d4+1). DC 11 
  wisdom save or frightened until end of next turn
  Terrifying Glare: Within 30 feet, DC 11 wisdom 
  save or frightened and paralyzed until end of next 
  turn.
  Tactics: The scarecrows may wait for the 
  characters to approach, having put themselves en 
  route to an objective. If the characters are close 
  by, they might attempt to sneak up on the party. 
  Either way, as soon as the characters are within 
  30 feet, they begin combat with their terrifying 
  glare, and then move into close range making 
  claw attacks. All three scarecrows focus their 
  attacks on the weakest character.
  Flee: Will ﬁght to the end.
  Treasure: None.
  Overview: The scarecrows have sensed that the 
  characters are dangerous allies of Waterdeep and 
  set their sights upon the party. The encounter 
  occurs at a time of your choosing. Unless caught 
  creeping up on the party, the scarecrows start 
  combat with a surprise round.
  Difﬁculty: CR 4, 1200XP. Party of 5 2nd - Deadly.
  XP Award: 600 XP
  Initiative & HP Tracking
  20
  15
  10
  5
  Round:     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   18
  
  The Merciless Glove of the Six-Fingered Hand. 
   
  Meeting #14 Minutes. 
  Rollcall. 
  Oﬃcers Present: V.L., President, V.P., Vice President, B.M., Secretary, M.E., Treasurer  
  Members Present: T.T., Q.S., I.P., G.G. 
  Recruits Present: N.G. 
  B.M. Reads minutes of meeting #13. Minutes approved by unanimous consent. 
  M.E. Reports cash on hand 9 sp. Reminds all that ale does not magically appear at these meetings 
  on its own. Passes the hat. 
  V.L. Thanks Q.S. for continued use of derelict barn at meadery for meetings. Seconded by all. 
  V.L. Inquires on attempts locating tunnel.  No success reported.  
  Q.S. Moves to attempt summoning. V.L. seconds. V.P. objects as it has not been successful since we 
  last heard THE VOICE in meeting #9. Motion approved 5-3. 
  Demon successfully summoned. Demon bites N.G. Demon emits retch inducing green gas. Demon 
  killed by V.L. Barn temporarily evacuated. 
  Meeting resumed.  
  V.P. posits successful summoning a blessing. Oﬀers thanks, asks that THE VOICE appear to give 
  guidance. No appearance made. 
  N.G. shares oatmeal cookies baked by mother. Declared delicious by unanimous consent. 
  V.L. moves to induct N.G. as full member. I.P. seconds. Motion approved 7-1. 
  Social hour. 
  V.L. moves to adjourn. V.P. seconds. Motion approved 9-0.
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   19
  
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or  
  copy this document for personal use only.
  IT GOT UNDER HIS SKIN
   20
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Settings/Forgotten Realms/Waterdeep/It Got Under His Skin - Waterdeep Faction Adventure/1244993-It_Got_Under_His_Skin_2018-10-26.pdf