TEXT: 1
  DRY SPELL
  A Short Adventure for Four 
  3rd-Level Player Characters
  CREDITS
  Design:
  Darrin Drader
  Editing:
  Penny Williams
  Typesetting:
  Nancy Walker
  Cartography:
  Todd Gamble
  Web Production
  Julia Martin
  Web Development:
  Mark A. Jindra
  Graphic Design:
  Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege
  Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game by E.
  Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet,
  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.
  D&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and DUNGEON MASTER are registered trademarks owned
  by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. The d20 logo is a trademark owned by Wizards of the
  Coast, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses
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  This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United
  States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the
  material or artwork contained herein is prohibited 
  without the express written permission of 
  Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  ©2004 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  All rights reserved. 
  Made in the U.S.A. 
  This product is a work of fiction. 
  Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, 
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  For more DUNGEONS & DRAGONS articles, adventures, and information, 
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  Dry Spell is a short D&D adventure for four 3rd-level
  player characters (PCs). It can be placed in any remote
  section of your campaign world that is a few days’ ride
  from a city. The area should receive little annual rainfall
  and feature nearby plains or desert. 
  The adventure is designed to take place during
  summer, since most ecosystems experience severe
  droughts more often during that season than any other.
  Changing the season is feasible as long as a drought
  remains a logical possibility. 
  Although the adventure works with any group of
  characters, it is helpful to include a ranger or some
  other character capable of tracking so that the PCs can
  locate the primary site of the adventure quickly. If the
  party has no tracking ability, you as DM should either
  introduce an NPC tracker or find some other fast way
  to get the PCs into the action.
  As always, feel free to adapt the material presented
  here as you see fit to make it work with your
  campaign.
  PREPARATION
  You (the DM) need the D&D core rulebooks—the
  Player’s Handbook, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the
  Monster Manual—to run this adventure. This scenario
  utilizes the D&D v.3.5 rules, but it can easily be adapted
  for use with the 3.0 rules as well. 
  To get started, print out the adventure, including
  the maps. Read through the scenario at least once to
  familiarize yourself with the situation, threats, and
  major NPCs (particularly their motivations). In addi-
  tion, you might want to familiarize yourself with the
  bugbear from the Monster Manual, though all the sta-
  tistics needed to run the bandit leader are provided
  with the adventure. Text that appears in shaded boxes
  is player information that you can read aloud or para-
  phrase for the players at the proper times.
  ADVENTURE 
  BACKGROUND
  The bugbear known as Relgore Himtooth is the leader
  of a band of humanoid thugs that preys on travelers and
  raids small farmsteads, stealing the valuables within
  and occasionally murdering the occupants. The locals
  have long sought a solution to this problem, but they
  have found none so far. They lack the funds necessary
  to draw qualified adventurers to the region, and the
  problem is not severe enough for the lords who rule
  this area to dedicate a superior force to its defense.
  
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  About two months ago, Relgore and his band
  attacked a coach that was traveling through the coun-
  tryside, easily overwhelming the driver and passen-
  ger—a noble named Nerius Bootlum. At the time of the
  attack, Nerius was on his way to consult with a sage
  named Elwin, who resides in a town some distance
  away, about a curious magic item called the eversoaking
  sponge. Leaving the two humans for dead, Relgore took
  everything he found in the coach, including the ever-
  soaking sponge and a small fortune in gems that Nerius
  had with him, and fled to a nearby cave that his
  company uses as a hideout.
  The coach driver was indeed dead, but Nerius
  Bootlum had actually survived the attack. When he
  regained consciousness, he slowly and painfully made
  his way to a nearby Temple of Heironeous, where he
  received magical curing. Angered by the unprovoked
  attack, Nerius arranged to have a squad of militia
  dispatched to the area where his carriage had been
  waylaid. The militia tracked down Relgore’s band, and
  the ensuing battle took a heavy toll on the raiders, reduc-
  ing the band to about half its former size. The survivors,
  including Relgore, managed to escape and lie low long
  enough for their pursuers to claim a successful mission
  and return to their posts within the city. Nerius, know-
  ing full well that the threat to the region had not truly
  been eliminated because no proof of Relgore’s death had
  surfaced, placed a price of 2,000 gp on the bugbear
  leader’s head, in hopes that a bounty hunter or adven-
  turer would be motivated to seek him out and slay him.
  Since then, Relgore has reassembled the scattered
  remnants of his band, but it is far too small to use as an
  instrument of vengeance against the militia and its
  leader. Recently, however, the opportunity for some
  malicious mischief presented itself, and Relgore seized
  his chance to act. The weather has been unusually dry
  this summer, and the wells in the nearby settlements
  have dried up, forcing the natives to either rely on
  water they have stored or bring in water from the
  nearby lakes. Relgore realized that the eversoaking sponge
  could soak up immense quantities of water, and that he
  could reuse it after it had reached capacity simply by
  squeezing a small amount of water from it. So he
  decided to take his revenge against the humans by
  draining the lakes that sustained them in times of
  drought. Over the course of a week, Relgore eliminated
  the water from three lakes in the area, reducing them to
  nothing more than dry mud beds. The few local clerics
  began channeling most of their magic into create food
  and water spells in an effort to keep the populace from
  dying of thirst. 
  A few days ago, new of this situation reached Nerius
  Bootlum, who quickly made the connection between
  dry lakes and his stolen eversoaking sponge. To date, he
  has posted several public notices requesting assistance
  with this problem.
  ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
  Should the PCs agree to help the locals resolve their
  dire predicament, you as DM must choose a spot for
  Relgore’s lair and arrange a means for the party to find
  it. Once there, the party must overcome the remaining
  members of the raiding party, defeat Relgore, obtain
  the eversoaking sponge, and return it to its rightful owner.
  ADVENTURE HOOKS
  As the DM, you must decide how best to involve the
  PCs in the adventure. You can use the following hooks
  to spur your imagination, modifying them as necessary
  to fit your campaign or the characters.
  • The characters learn of the drought and the dried-up
  lakes while traveling through the area on other busi-
  ness. Questioning the locals reveals that they believe
  a raiding band of humanoids is somehow responsible
  for the problem. 
  • The locals approach the characters and ask them to
  track down a band of thugs that is somehow worsen-
  ing the drought situation. If not stopped, the thugs
  are likely to drain even more water sources.
  • Nerius Bootlum has advertised around his own town
  for adventurers to destroy a bugbear lord and his band
  of thugs. If the PCs inquire about the job, Nerius
  gives them the relevant information and promises
  them a reward of 2,500 gp for the head of Relgore
  Himtooth and the return of the eversoaking sponge.
  They may keep any other treasure that they manage
  to recover, including the gems that Nerius lost to the
  raiders.
  BEGINNING THE
  ADVENTURE
  Dry Spell is a site-based adventure in which the action
  occurs in and around the hideout of the bugbear
  raiders. The PCs may spend time beforehand gathering
  information in one or more of the frontier towns in the
  area, if they wish. Everyone knows where the three
  drained lakes are, but no one knows exactly where the
  bandits’ hideout is. If the PCs investigate the most
  
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  recently drained lake, they can find the tracks of
  Relgore’s raiders leading back to their hideout.
  Alternatively, you may arrange for other means to get
  the characters to the right spot, if desired.
  Unless you decide to place the raiders’ hideout
  within a day’s march of a town, the PCs must bring
  along plenty of food and water for the trip. Characters
  who don’t carry sufficient supplies must forage for food
  and water (see the Survival skill description) in the
  wilderness. Those who don’t get enough to eat and
  drink suffer the effects of starvation and thirst, as
  described on page 304 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
  The adventure begins when the characters reach the
  area near the marauders’ hideout. 
  A. RANDOM
  ENCOUNTERS
  Because of the drought, a number of hungry predators
  are roaming the area near the hideout. During the trip
  from a drained lake to the hideout, the chance for a
  random encounter is 12% per hour. When such an
  encounter occurs, roll 1d6 and consult the following
  table to determine which creature or creatures the party
  meets, or simply choose one.
  1d6 Roll
  Creature(s) Encountered
  1
  Dire rats (7–12); hp 5 each; see Monster Manual,
  page 64.
  2
  Giant worker ants (2–4); hp 9 each; see Monster
  Manual, page 284.
  3
  Black bear (1); hp 19; see Monster Manual, page 269.
  4
  Giant ant soldier (1); hp 11; see Monster Manual,
  page 284.
  5
  Leopard (1); hp 19; see Monster Manual, page 274.
  6
  Worg (1); hp 30; see Monster Manual, page 256.
  B. THE MARAUDERS’
  HIDEOUT
  Relgore and his band typically lair in one of several
  caves, which are scattered throughout the surrounding
  territory. They normally do not stay at one encamp-
  ment for more than three nights at a time. 
  The hideout where the marauders are staying at the
  time the party approaches is a small network of caves
  set into a hillside or mountain. The raiders cannot see
  much of the surrounding territory even from the cave
  mouth, so the characters can get within 100 feet of the
  entrance before the outer guard notices them.
  These natural caves were carved out of sandstone by
  some long-ago waterway. The rough walls have a Climb
  DC of 22 and are treated as hewn stone walls (see Table
  3–9 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide for other details). The
  floors are uneven and are treated as hewn stone floors.
  A DC 10 Balance check is required to run or charge
  across these floors; failure means that the character can
  still act but cannot run or charge that round. Ceilings
  are 12 feet high in the passageways and 15 feet high in
  the chambers. Because of the current weather condi-
  tions, the interior of the complex is dry and dusty.
  Because the bandits usually do not stay here for long,
  this complex bears few signs of habitation. The raiders
  sleep on piles of skins and furs that they carry with
  them from place to place, and they normally hide their
  treasure in their bedding. 
  B1. CAVE ENTRANCE (EL 3)
  When the PCs come close enough to get a good view of
  the cave mouth, read or paraphrase the following aloud.
  Any PC who has been following the tracks left behind
  by the group of marauding bandits automatically
  notices that the footprints disappear into the cave.
  Creatures: Golgo the ogre guards the exterior of
  the cave. 
  D Golgo (Ogre): hp 33; see Monster Manual, page
  199.
  Tactics: Unless the characters back away into the
  trees or hide as soon as they see the cave, the ogre
  notices their approach. If Golgo sees the PCs before
  they see him, he moves behind one of the trees and
  attempts to hide there. Because of his size and the fact
  that he has no ranks in the Hide skill, Golgo must make
  an untrained Hide check with a Hide modifier of –9,
  thanks to his size, Dexterity score, and armor. Each PC
  has a –1 penalty on Spot checks for every 10 feet of
  distance between him and the ogre.
  If Golgo successfully hides from the party, he moves
  out from behind the tree as soon as any intruder comes
  within 20 feet of his location. If he succeeds in surpris-
  ing the party, he throws his javelin at a dangerous-look-
  ing character during the surprise round and then
  charges the nearest PC with his club.
  Development: If Golgo is reduced to 10 or fewer
  hit points, he uses the withdraw action to make a full
  retreat into the cave. He attempts to reach his comrades
  in area 2 and warn them.
  A few trees partially mask a cave entrance carved
  into the hillside. The interior is unlit, and no
  details are visible within.
  
  4
  
  5
  B2. GUARD POST (EL 4)
  When the PCs reach this area, read or paraphrase the
  following aloud.
  Creatures: Behind this rudimentary wall are three
  gnolls and two orcs, who immediately attack anyone
  other than a bandit who enters the cavern.
  D Gnolls (3): hp 33; see Monster Manual, page 199.
  D Orcs (2): hp 5, 7; see Monster Manual, page 203.
  Tactics: The gnolls take advantage of the soft cover
  (+4 bonus to Armor Class) provided by the wall and use
  their shortbows to fire arrows over it at the PCs.
  Meanwhile, the orcs move around the obstruction and
  charge the nearest characters. If the party quickly
  dispatches the orcs, the gnolls abandon their short-
  bows in favor of their waraxes and engage the intruders
  in melee combat, meeting them at the 5-foot gaps
  between the ends of the stone wall and the cave wall.
  This tactic ensures that only one PC may engage each
  gnoll at a time.
  Development: The gnoll and orc raiders attempt
  to hold the party at this location until only two are left
  standing. At that point, the survivors flee to area 3.
  Under no circumstances do they brave the dangers in
  area 4 to warn Relgore of the invading party.
  Treasure: Each gnoll carries a pouch containing
  100 gp.
  B3A. OBSCURED PASSAGEWAY
  Over the years, various rockslides have filled this cham-
  ber with rubble. The bandits have actively rearranged
  the rocks to partially block the passageways leading to
  areas 3 and 4, hoping that any intruders who get to this
  point will think nothing of interest lies beyond and
  leave. Any character who makes a successful DC 12
  Search check notices the passages, but accessing either
  requires one character to spend a full round moving the
  loose rock out of the way. During this time, each of the
  creatures in area 3 may attempt a Listen check (DC 10,
  or 15 if the PCs are taking extra precautions to be quiet)
  to detect the presence of intruders.
  B3. COMMON AREA (EL 4)
  When the PCs enter this area, read or paraphrase the
  following aloud, adjusting as needed if the humanoids
  heard the PCs’ approach.
  Creatures: This chamber houses the lowest-rank-
  ing members of Relgore’s band—three goblins and
  four orcs.
  D Orcs (4): hp 5, 5, 5, 6, 6; see Monster Manual,
  page 203.
  D Goblins (3): hp 5, 5, 6; see Monster Manual,
  page 133.
  Tactics: Unless they heard the party moving rubble
  from area B3A or were warned in advance of intruders
  by escapees from area 2, the creatures within this room
  are unarmed when the party enters. As soon as they
  become aware of the PCs, the raiders grab their
  falchions and charge or, if they have a round before the
  characters close to melee range, they throw their
  javelins and then move in to engage them in melee.
  Development: The orcs and goblins in this room
  fight to defend it for as long as possible. As soon as it
  becomes apparent that their resistance is futile, they
  surrender to the party. Under interrogation, they reveal
  that area 4 contains one or more hazards. They think
  Relgore may have placed some kind of a trap there, but
  since they’ve never been down there, they don’t know
  what kind of trap it might be, or where it is located. All
  they know for sure is that the corridor is quite dangerous.
  Treasure: In addition to the weapons and armor
  that the goblins and orcs are using, they have a small,
  finely wrought gold bracelet (worth 70 gp) and 400
  gp that they were trying to split up when the PCs
  arrived.
  B4. PERILOUS CORRIDOR (EL 3)
  As soon as the PCs enter this area, read or paraphrase
  the following aloud.
  The dirt in this area hides several weak spots in the
  cavern floor, which are indicated by the red squares on
  the map. Relgore and his guards carefully investigated
  this room before taking up residence in area 5, so they
  all know where the dangerous areas are. 
  The hallway widens out at this point. Unlike the
  rest of the tunnels in the complex, the floor here is
  covered in a heavy layer of pebbles and dirt.
  The tunnel opens into a massive natural chamber.
  In the center of the cavern is a rough-looking
  table, and piles of furs and skins lie near the walls,
  along with some cloth-wrapped bundles. Seven
  ugly humanoids appear to be arguing over various
  pieces of loot.
  The passage opens into a large chamber with
  rough walls. A crude, 4-foot-tall wall made of
  stacked rocks stretches from one side of the room
  to the other.
  
  6
  Trap: As a last line of defense, Relgore covered the
  weak spots with debris, so that creatures stepping on
  the floor would break through it and fall. Some 30 feet
  below this corridor lies a chamber similar in shape to
  this widened section of tunnel. Any creature that falls
  into this lower room takes 3d6 points of falling damage
  and ends up in an open area directly beneath the weak
  spot that gave way.
  Camouflaged Pit Trap: CR 3; mechanical; loca-
  tion trigger; no reset; DC 20 Reflex save avoids; 30 ft.
  deep (3d6, fall); multiple targets (first target in a square);
  Search DC 24; Disable Device 16. Market Price: 900 gp.
  B5. RELGORE’S CHAMBERS (EL 5)
  If the PCs made any noise in area 4, read or paraphrase
  the following aloud when the PCs enter this area.
  Adjust the text appropriately if they succeeded in
  approaching in absolute silence.
  The statues, sculpted by yuan-ti in ages past, depict
  heroic members of this vile race. 
  Creatures: Relgore lives in this chamber with his
  two orc bodyguards. Unless the PCs use a silence spell or
  somehow manage to traverse area 4 without making
  any noise, the three bandits are concealed inside niches
  in the wall when the PCs enter. 
  Relgore has been a bandit for many years and has
  survived several attempts on his life. He has been
  forced to rebuild his group on more than one occasion
  after suffering heavy losses. Relgore believes that he
  can fight the PCs and win, or at least wound them and
  escape with his life.
  D Relgore Himtooth: Male bugbear barbarian 3;
  CR 5; Medium humanoid (goblinoid); HD 3d8+9 plus
  3d12+9; hp 50; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; AC 19, touch 12, flat-
  footed 19; Base Atk +5; Grp +9; Atk +10 melee
  (1d12+7/[TS]3, +1 greataxe) or +7 ranged (1d6+4,
  javelin); Full Atk +10 melee (1d12+7/[TS]3, +1 greataxe)
  or +7 ranged (1d6+4, javelin); SQ darkvision 60 ft., fast
  movement, illiteracy, rage 1/day, scent, trap sense +1,
  uncanny dodge; AL CE; SV Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +2; 
  Str 19, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 6. 
  Skills and Feats: Climb +5, Hide +4, Intimidate +4,
  Jump +4, Listen +2, Move Silently +8, Spot +2, Swim +2;
  Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack.
  Rage: The following changes are in effect as long as
  Relgore rages: HD 3d8+15 plus 3d12+15; hp 62; AC 17,
  touch 10, flat-footed 17; Grp +11; Atk +12 melee
  (1d12+10/[TS]3, +1 greataxe) or +7 ranged (1d6+6,
  javelin); Full Atk +12 melee (1d12+10/[TS]3, +1
  greataxe) or +7 ranged (1d6+6, javelin); SV Fort +9, 
  Will +4; Str 23, Con 20; Climb +7, Jump +6, Swim +4.
  His fit of rage lasts for 8 rounds, but he may voluntarily
  end the rage prematurely. After raging, he is fatigued
  (–2 Strength, –2 Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for the
  duration of that encounter. He can fly into a rage only
  once per encounter and once per day. Entering a rage
  takes no time by itself, but Relgore can do it only during
  his action, not in response to someone else’s action.
  Illiteracy: Relgore does not know how to read and
  write.
  Scent (Ex): Relgore can detect approaching
  enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense 
  of smell. 
  Trap Sense (Ex): Relgore gains a +1 bonus on
  Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus
  to AC against attacks made by traps.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Relgore retains his
  Dexterity bonus to Armor Class even if he is caught flat-
  footed or struck by an invisible attacker. He still loses
  his Dexterity bonus to AC if he is immobilized.
  Possessions: Scale mail, +1 greataxe, eversoaking
  sponge.
  D Orcs (2): hp 5, 7; see Monster Manual, page 203.
  Tactics: The characters have only a few seconds to
  look over this room before the bandits attack. Their
  strategy is to bring down whichever PC looks like she
  can deal the most damage, then focus on the next-
  toughest opponent. However, Relgore is also interested
  in gaining magic items, so he attacks characters who
  appear to be spellcasters whenever possible.
  Relgore begins combat by flying into a rage and
  throwing a javelin at a PC who appears to be a spell-
  caster. He then charges the PC who seems to be the
  most physically powerful. Thereafter, if he gets a chance
  to attack the party’s spellcasters, he does so without hesi-
  tation, though he is not willing to risk attacks of oppor-
  tunity to do so. If attacking spellcasters proves too diffi-
  cult, Relgore focuses on the most heavily armored melee
  fighter and orders the orcs to concentrate their attacks
  on that PC as well. Otherwise, the orcs attempt to keep
  the group’s fighters engaged and spread apart so that the
  bugbear can get through their line of defense and strike
  at the party’s spellcasters.
  Development: More than likely, the two orcs will
  fall in battle before Relgore does. If the battle goes
  This chamber is empty except for three piles of
  skins, a small pile of what appears to be treasure,
  and two statues depicting scaly, snake-headed
  humanoids. They look like they were sculpted
  from clay and then lacquered green.
  
  7
  against him, Relgore voluntarily ends his rage and seeks
  to flee.
  Treasure: A successful DC 15 Search check of the
  statues reveals that both are hollow and that each holds
  approximately 50 gallons of water. Despite their excel-
  lent craftsmanship, the two statues together are worth
  only 35 gp.
  Relgore’s guards have no treasure, but the bandit
  leader’s ill-gotten wealth is concealed in the pile of furs
  and skins on which he sleeps. Anyone who makes a
  successful DC 12 Search check in that area finds the
  following items: a chunk of obsidian (worth 10 gp), a
  piece of malachite (worth 9 gp), a golden yellow topaz
  (worth 800 gp), a fiery yellow corundum (worth 600 gp),
  and 400 gp.
  CONCLUDING THE
  ADVENTURE
  If the party successfully kills or captures Relgore and
  his band of marauders, the unnaturally severe drought
  ends, but it still takes several weeks for the lakes previ-
  ously drained of water to refill. Should the party seek
  the reward offered by Nerius Bootlum, he pays them a
  total of 2,500 gp, provided that they offer proof that
  they have killed Relgore Himtooth and return the ever-
  soaking sponge to him. The party may instead choose to
  sell the eversoaking sponge, which is worth much more
  than that, though finding a buyer in this area is diffi-
  cult, since everyone within a 50-mile radius is dismayed
  by its recent use. If the PCs do find a buyer in this
  region, the most they can get for the sponge is 50% of its
  usual market price.
  FURTHER ADVENTURES
  The party may be called on to escort caravans carrying
  water from another lake to the thirsty people in the
  drought area until their own water sources have been
  restored. Such a caravan may be set upon by other
  bandit groups, as well as the hungry and thirsty animals
  that are struggling to survive in this landscape.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  Darrin Drader was born in Pullman, Washington in
  1973, and he attended Washington State University
  there. He has lived in western Washington for the past
  eight years and is thrilled to be an employee of Wizards
  of the Coast, Inc. Darrin has done design work for Asgard
  Online Magazine, D20 Weekly Online Magazine, DRAGON
  Magazine, Star Wars Gamer Magazine, Bastion Press,
  and of course, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. His most recent
  credits include the Book of Exalted Deeds and the forth-
  coming FORGOTTEN REALMS Serpent Kingdoms (July 2004).
  pqqqqrs
  EVERSOAKING SPONGE
  This item was originally detailed on page 132 of the
  D&D Arms and Equipment Guide.
  Eversoaking Sponge: This large, normal-looking
  sponge can absorb an enormous quantity of water.
  If placed in a body of water, it floats and begins
  soaking up water at a rate of 1,000 gallons per
  round, stopping only when it has absorbed 225,000
  gallons of water—the contents of a pool 100 feet
  long, 50 wide, and 6 feet deep. This water dis-
  appears completely, and if the sponge is squeezed
  afterward, it releases only as much water as a
  normal wet sponge would. The eversoaking sponge
  absorbs only water, not mud or muck. Acid, oil, and
  other liquids affect it as they would a normal
  sponge.
  Moderate transmutation; CL 11th; Craft Wondrous
  Item, disintegrate; Price 26,400 gp; Weight —.
  pqqqqrs
  
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