I wanted to share a couple of things I’ve done with the Lucky Monkey. Two are fairly generic, while the other is more specific to my own campaign.
1 – The first thing is fairly simple, and really doesn’t affect the story much – it’s more to do with world logic: I’ve never been comfortable with the fact that the Lucky Monkey is just sitting out in the middle of the wilderness without any protection whatsoever, miles from the nearest neighbors, even though there are dinosaurs and even the occasional demon running around. So I’ve put an 8-foot-high stone wall around the place, with a gate leading to a courtyard area between the stables and main building and another gate out back near the kitchen door, and stationed two 2nd level warrior guards to look over the place. This of course won’t matter a whit when Triel & Co. attack the place, but since I’m planning on having the PCs stop there on the way to Cauldron for the first time and meet the owner, I felt it was important just for some believability.
2 – Some folks have posted on these forums about what to do concerning the ownership of the Lucky Monkey after the murder of Orin Marsh the owner. I decided to head off such queries from the start. I gave Orin a family – a wife and two young kids. I actually did this more for story flavor than to deny the PCs a claim on the building.
When the assault begins on the roadhouse, Orin sends his family to a small, secret bolt-hole in the attic, designed as a safe room just in case – after all the place is all alone in the middle of nowhere, so it makes sense there would be something like this. Orin goes to defend the roadhouse along with the others, and dies tragically. But the thugs and Alleybashers ransacking the place don’t find the secret room where Orin’s wife Tessa is hiding with their two children: son Denny, age 10, and daughter Sara, age 8. If the PCs are very thorough, they may find the secret door in the ceiling of the family’s bedroom, and rescue them (which would be a nice find amidst all the tragedy); or they will emerge after a day or two of hiding. They will obviously still own the Lucky Monkey, and with some help from Shensen will begin to rebuild it. Maybe the PCs will even add to the rebuilding effort since they will have already met the family previously.
3 – The other change I wanted to mention since some people like myself don’t have Cauldron placed in a sub-tropical environment. I really like the concept of the Lucky Monkey, with its cavorting monkeys defying danger at every turn, but since there are no monkeys naturally occurring where I’ve placed Cauldron, I needed a reason for the roadhouse to have such a theme. I came up with the idea that Orin’s great-grandfather was a sailor who traveled all over the Azure Sea and points south. He loved the exotic flora and fauna of the tropics, and had a particular fascination with monkeys. When he finally retired and settled down, he built a roadhouse decorated with his favorite animal.
As mentioned in #1 above, I plan on having the PCs spend the night there before they get to Cauldron. I want them to get to know the owners and meet Shensen, all of which will make the events in Flood Season that much more meaningful. When they arrive, they will see that Orin has recently had a few potted banana trees shipped in to place outside the front and side doors to add to the ambiance. He happily tells anyone who comes to stay about his recent acquisitions. He also mentions that he heard the same shipment that had his banana trees also had several baboons on it. He has no idea why (“Maybe someone is starting a circus or something”), but he mentions how he would love to have a few for his courtyard, it would really add to the ambiance of the place…. (Be careful what you wish for Orin). Thus I can also keep Tongueater and his baboon troupe in the story as well.
Findas, I love all your additions/modifications that you have made concerning the Lucky Monkey. You have really put some thought into it. I think the additions really add a lot to the adventure. Would you mind if I "borrowed" these ideas for when I run the SCAP?
Do you have any other additions/modifications to the rest of the SCAP that you would like to share?
Olaf the Stout
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Good ideas. I dont know what terrain/environment/climate you do have the inn, but changing the baboons to something more appropriate for that climate wouldn't be diffucult nor impractical. Babboons could be replaced by wolves, wolverines, bears, lions, tigers, whatever; and tongueater could be any number of other type of lyncanthrope. If it is more temperate climate a pack of wolves with a werewolf is very appropriate.
Finally, to add to the "monkey" theme that the grandfather loved, perhaps he brought back a pet monkey from his travels who was his life-long friend and pet. The monkey may still live as a special part of the family in the inn; which would lead to fun amusement for the PCs who most likely have never seen a monkey, or if the monkey is dead, perhaps the owner had him stuffed and he stands on some important area of the place.
THis is just my $.02
Robert
Findas, I love all your additions/modifications that you have made concerning the Lucky Monkey. You have really put some thought into it. I think the additions really add a lot to the adventure. Would you mind if I "borrowed" these ideas for when I run the SCAP?
Do you have any other additions/modifications to the rest of the SCAP that you would like to share?
Thanks Olaf, glad you like the ideas. If even one person is a bit inspired by them, it makes it worth the time to post them. I’ve certainly “borrowed” plenty of the ideas other folks have posted here – that’s one of the great things about this forum and a big reason I keep coming back. So of course you may borrow, steal, and/or modify anything of mine you like.
As for other additions/modifications, my group is still very early in the adventure path (and meets far too infrequently) so I haven’t thought too deeply past Flood Season, other than to be greatly inspired by some of the other ideas I’ve found here. I will definitely be using delvesdeep’s wonderful Demonskar Ball scenario, and I really like his ideas concerning changes to the Cagewrights and Adimarchus (but the latter is a long, long way down the road for me). Also, I’ve made lots of small changes based on my own campaign, which wouldn’t necessary apply to others. I do have a minor point I’ll be posting about shortly concerning the elevator between Jzadirune and the Malachite Fortress, and if I come up with anything else appropriate I’ll be sure to share it.
I dont know what terrain/environment/climate you do have the inn, but changing the baboons to something more appropriate for that climate wouldn't be diffucult nor impractical. Babboons could be replaced by wolves, wolverines, bears, lions, tigers, whatever; and tongueater could be any number of other type of lyncanthrope. If it is more temperate climate a pack of wolves with a werewolf is very appropriate.
You’re absolutely right of course, but I like Tongueater and the baboons, and wanted to find a way to keep them in the story in a way that made sense. Hence the idea of the banana trees and Orin’s mention of the baboons being on the same boat, which let me not only keep them in the story, but also foreshadow their appearance in Flood Season. And I couldn’t resist the chance of Orin mentioning how he’d love to have a few baboons for his courtyard – it was just too good to pass up.
Pre-Flood Season Visit
I realized that I had all this material I prepared for the PCs visit to the Lucky Monkey while on their way to Cauldron, and thought that I might as well post it as someone might find some it useful. I’ve tried to edit out as much of the campaign-specific stuff as I could, but there’s still some to be found. Keep in mind I’ve placed Cauldron in a more temperate region than what’s in the HC.
I printed out the ground floor of the Lucky Monkey to normal map scale and pinned it to some cardboard. (I downloaded the version available at theRPGenius.com which has all the room numbers removed, then blew it up to scale using MS Paint). It looks great as a big map, and really brought the inn to life. It was a real hit with the players, and I received many positive comments. Should be great fun to pull it out again when they return for more serious matters.
The Lucky Monkey sits to the east of the road, partially surrounded by forest (or jungle). An eight-foot-high stone wall surrounds it, along with a stable house. Two guards stand at the courtyard gate – human males in chainmail with swords and longbows (Warrior 2).
The building itself is old and well used – the chimneys stained with soot, the roof sagging, the wood siding weathered and stained. Sturdy wooden shutters frame the windows. There is new wood siding evident in several places.
The building’s façade sports numerous carved wooden monkeys, many of whom are engaged in risky, death-defying stunts. In one, a wooden monkey balances on a narrow tree branch to get a banana hanging over a sleeping tiger; in another, a monkey sits on a boulder completely unaware that a poacher sneaking up behind him was suddenly attacked and eaten by an ankheg.
(This may not be appropriate if your version stays in the jungle):
Two strange-looking plants in great wooden containers flank the front doors, and another two stand next to the side doors in the courtyard area. (Knowledge (Nature) DC 20 identifies them as banana trees).
There are four wagons with canvas coverings against the inner walls of the courtyard, with two more guards watching over them (Fighter 2).
As the party comes into the courtyard, they see Denny lighting lamps in the courtyard – a boy about age 10, brown hair, dressed in overalls and a dirty shirt. Not shy, he walks towards PCs: “G’day lords and ladies! Guessin’ ya got no horses to be stablin’” he says while staring at their weapons and gear. “Do you all really kill things with those?,” pointing at the weapons. ((assuming they answer yes)) “What kinds of things? Monsters? People?!” If PCs seem annoyed or in a rush, he directs them towards the side door – which he’ll do anyway if they continue to move. If PCs are indulgent, he will ask for details of their kills, hoping for a good heroic story. He’s happy to keep them there for an hour or more.
Entering through the double doors, the group meets Tessa, a human female (Expert 3; 40, 5’5”, 135#). She is about 40, with brown hair tied in a bun, dressed in a simple brown and yellow dress and smock. Smiling and friendly, but not particularly chatty, she tells the party about the kinds of rooms available and checks them in. There are the three types of accommodation available:
Shared Rooms (dormitory style) 3sp/night
Private Room 1.5gp/night
Lord or Lady’s Room 4gp/night, includes breakfast
Tessa also tells the group that their weapons must be peace-tied while they are in the roadhouse. She summons a 14 year old boy named Gerrit, who gets the party’s keys and shows them to their rooms. Gerrit has slightly darker features, dark brown hair and eyes, dressed plainly in brown pants and a white shirt. He is the son of two of the inn’s staff, and his only interest seems to be in growing up enough to leave and go adventuring or soldiering.
#1 Common Room
A large, comfortable looking space, made all of finished wood – a dark floor, walls, beams and ceiling of lighter pinewood, stained from years of smoke. Furniture the same piney wood.
There are many people in the room: Behind the bar is Orin and his daughter, while a gnomish serving maid works the room. See People below. All weapons appear to be properly peace-tied.
Throughout the roadhouse, the motif of lucky monkeys can be seen. For example, the mantles of the carved stone fireplaces feature numerous monkeys cavorting through trap-filled passageways.
Stage – This raised platform is arranged like a stage; two large chairs sit against the walls before an extraordinarily large fireplace.
Courtyard – The central courtyard is peaceful and well-tended. Trees and flowerbeds accent the area, and a white gravel path winds past a pair of marble fountains that bear intricate carvings of monkeys taunting all manner of strange monsters.
People
Owners – Orin and Tessa Marsh, son Denny age 10, daughter Sara age 8.
Orin – Fighter 2/Expert 3. 40, tall, overweight, balding; cheerful personality, engaging, clearly likes what he’s doing and likes people. Walks with a slight limp in his left leg.
Personally greets all visitors at some point after they come in – introduces himself and asks guests names and where they’re going in a very friendly manner.
(Again, this part is for a non-tropical area):
Orin happily tells anyone who comes to stay about his recent acquisitions. He also mentions that he heard the same shipment that had his banana trees also had several baboons on it. He has no idea why (“Maybe someone is starting a circus or something”), but he mentions how he would love to have a few for his courtyard, it would really add to the place….
Rumors: If asked about Cauldron, Orin can tell the PCs the following:
- (I had a couple of rumors specific to my campaign here), plus:
- I hear there’s been a rash of kidnappings in the city over the past couple of months. No one knows who’s responsible.
Secrets:
- Keeps a cudgel and shortsword behind the bar.
- Has loose connections to Last Laugh – will occasionally pass on information or keep an eye out in exchange for money or protection.
Sara – commoner ½ , brown pigtails, dressed more like a boy than a girl though – brown pants and a white shirt. Only a blue butterfly pin on shirt softens image.
Opheda – expert 1, serving maid, gnome, 3’4”, 35#, tan skin, bright blue eyes, yellow hair curled in 2 buns (Princess Leia style). Very energetic, friendly but in a slightly patronizing way. Not much time to talk.
Some time after PCs are seated, Shensen walks in from #10. She steps into common room and stops a moment to look around at the room and who’s there, then goes behind bar, gets a cup of wine, says something to Owen, who laughs as she smiles. She then heads back towards the Chapel.
Shensen – A half-elf woman in size and features, except that she has dusky skin and long sliver hair. She is nimble and athletic looking. She wears well-tailored clothes made for traveling, in greens and browns. Does not appear to be wearing armor or carrying any weapons.
Patrons:
Caravan – Lead Teamster, 3 other drivers, 8 guards – 4 in common room, 2 outside guarding wagons, 2 sleeping before watch (1 is a sorcerer).
Table 1: 3 drivers sit together, talking and drinking:
Clara, lead teamster – Expert 3/Fighter 2, human female, 5’6” 160#, 35 yrs old, unkempt, dusty blonde hair, gray eyes, dressed in leather riding gear, carries a whip and a dagger (longsword under her seat on wagon). Rough & tumble personality, neutral towards PCs and not too interested in hearing any stories. Talks too loudly.
Marty – Expert 3, human male, 5’4” 125#, 29 yrs old, dark hair and eyes, scruffy beard, has a gold front tooth which he is found of flashing. Black riding clothes with patches of leather reinforcing spots. Carries a whip and a dagger (2 other daggers hidden on person). Quick to laugh, sly, somewhat friendly but in a suspicious way.
Taya – Expert 2, half-elf female, 5’0” 104#, 32 yrs old, dark brown hair, bluish-green eyes, brown riding clothes with a red leather vest. Carries a whip and dagger. Expressive, open with friends, a little innocent but learning – looks up to Clara and her knowledge. Loves traveling, worships Fharlahgn, but is seeking direction. Originally from Cauldron. Shortly after Shensen comes in, she will go to see her.
Clara is suspicious of anyone asking too many questions, and will give a hard look at the other two teamsters if they are too talkative. If PCs can relate to her she may warm up a little, but never reveals too much. PCs must talk about making it on their own, pulling themselves up by their own boot straps, etc., and empathizing with Clara’s own self-reliance: “Can’t count on nobody in this world but yourself.” But not in a mushy way – PCs must be bawdy, unabashed and loud, and they’ll get her attention and eventually win her over.
Info/Rumors from Table 1:
- What they mostly have to say about Cauldron is what a pain in the butt it is to move wagons and goods around – first you have to deal with the steep streets of the city itself (dangerous and slippery when wet), then the long, winding road leading down the mountainside from the gates.
- They are moving goods for Maavu Arlintal, one of the biggest merchants in Cauldron.
- Cauldron is all politics and nobles maneuvering for position – she’s not interested in any of it.
- Apparently there’s been some kidnappings in town.
Only if the PCs really turn her to them:
- What’s inside the carts: 2 carts carry worked, dressed obsidian – columns and plinths, with a few flat facing pieces. 1 cart carries barrels of wine. 1 cart carries several amphora of olive oil, and two thick stone chests made from basalt. (Again, this is not based in the jungle, so substitute to your liking)
Table 2: 4 guards and other driver sit at next table, tossing dice for coppers. They eye anyone wanting to join in suspiciously, but can be persuaded – Deak will help to convince them. Playing Drop Dead: The game is a simple one where the player rolling adds up the total of the five dice thrown (5d6), unless there’s a two or five, in which case the total is zero and those dice are removed from play. The player keeps rolling until she has no more dice left. The one with the highest total after everyone rolls wins the pot. (This is an actual dice game I found in a book of games).
(This made for a great moment when the dwarven paladin from our group wanders over to where the dice game is going on and asks what they’re playing. “Drop dead” says one of the players. The dwarf is taken aback and begins to turn away, and everyone at the table laughs. Deak stops him, explaining that is the name of the dice game they are playing, and encourages the dwarf to come and play. He still feels slighted however, and declines).
Deak – Expert 2/Rogue 1, human male, 5’6” 144#, 23 yrs old, med. long brown hair kept in a ponytail, brown eyes, a scar from his right temple down to his jawbone; black riding clothes, generously cut; carries a whip (3 hidden daggers). Smooth, glib, a con-man. Slight of Hand +9, Bluff +5. Slightly NE.
Marge – Guard leader, Fighter 3, half-orc female, 5’11” 180#, LN, young, black hair in a long braid, squints a lot (bad eyes) which could seem like scowling; chainmail, longsword, longbow. Serious, dour, doesn’t even try to be friendly – if PCs join table, says she’s going to check on the wagons and leaves. Will do this eventually anyway.
Rosco – Cleric 2 (Kord) red hair and freckles, greatsword on back, wearing dirty under-armor shirts and pants, holy symbol around neck – gets teased by Matt and Ema.
Matt, Ema – Fighter 2, humans, average looking, Ema wears chainmail, Matt wearing dirty under-armor shirts and pants; both carry longswords.
Matt – black hair, shy, doesn’t say much – thick voice, speaks slowly
Ema – dark brown hair, short, stocky build, crooked nose. “Into” being a fighter, talks about fighting, likes violence. Jokingly talks about killing any PC who’s winning game.
All are suspicious and initially unfriendly toward PCs, but might warm to them if they seem personable and lose a few rounds of dice. Buying drinks always helps.
Info/Rumors:
- Rosco, Matt and Ema all hired a few weeks ago from Sasserine.
- Fought a group of 4 gnolls on their way up to Cauldron 3 days ago – seemed underfed and a bit desperate.
- (Others specific to the campaign).
Refugees – Kalt (son) and Brun (father). Sitting in one of the private areas, but curtain is open a few inches. Neither is very educated.
Kalt – commoner 1, 20’s, brown hair and eyes, scraggly beard, peasant clothing. Somber, serious, but not unfriendly.
Brun – commoner 3, 40’s, brown hair with some gray, more of a beard, similar in clothing and appearance. Surly, unfriendly, rude.
Goat-herders from the nearby hills. Hill giants killed the goats. Kalt fled with his wife, 4 children and father. Brun ripped a thigh muscle during escape. They fled here to Lucky Monkey. Orin and family took them in. Brun deeply suspicious and mistrustful of magic, refuses to be healed, especially by Shensen (“That she-devil? Never!”). Is especially ornery because he’s in a lot of pain. Kalt sent wife and kids to Cauldron with a caravan over a week ago. Brun also refuses to go to the city – says it’s a place of evil and misery. He’s determined to go back to his home – a little hovel that was burned by giants.
If PCs convince him to accept healing, Brun will be greatly relieved, so much that he may take up worship of healing PCs god. Still refuses to go to Cauldron. Kalt decides they will go back and check out their old home first, before getting wife and kids.
Wife: Greya; Kids: Yama, Kip, Ott, and Pea. Staying at the Laughing Horse Inn.
2 guardsmen (far off from otheres, against the back wall) – Drand and Aron. Decided to leave Cauldron and go join the city guard in Sasserine, just like their friends Sua and Tak did a couple of months ago. A little nervous, reluctant to talk too much at all, but especially about Cauldron. Will become suspicious of PCs if they ask too many questions, thinking maybe they’re spies for Terseon Skellerang.
Rumors:
If made friendly (very difficult – they are much more likely to just leave):
- The Town Guard is worried about recent kidnappings
- Some of the rumors in the HC.
Kitchen Staff
Bran & Cookie Kettle, early 30’s, along with 12 year old daughter Yaro, all human. Son is Gerrit.
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Pre-Flood Season Visit
I realized that I had all this material I prepared for the PCs visit to the Lucky Monkey while on their way to Cauldron, and thought that I might as well post it as someone might find some it useful. I’ve tried to edit out as much of the campaign-specific stuff as I could, but there’s still some to be found. Keep in mind I’ve placed Cauldron in a more temperate region than what’s in the HC.
Wow Findas; good stuff. THanks for sharing. Even if its not all useable theres certainly something in there for everyone.
I think I'll use some of this in my own campaign
Thanks,
Robert
Great stuff once again Findas. Keep it coming if you can. I love how you bring the cookie cutter NPC's to life with just a brief description. Do you plan for any of these NPC's to make reappearances during the AP?
Olaf the Stout
Do you plan for any of these NPC's to make reappearances during the AP?
Well, Shensen of course (when I ran this, my group’s young “lady’s man,” a half-elf bard, stayed up half the night wooing her, so he’ll absolutely love the chance to rescue her). And they’ll most likely meet Tessa and the kids again. Otherwise, I don’t have anything specific in mind at the moment, but the characters are all filed away in the back of my mind, and I may pull a few of them out if there’s a place for them to reappear.
There are obviously a lot of potential hooks in the encounter, but many of them were not taken up by my players. For example, had they tried to help Kalt and Brun, that could have lead them to the family in Cauldron, or some fun converting Brun to one of their faiths, or tracking down the giants who burnt their home. If they stayed in the dice game long enough (they only played a couple of rounds), then Deak would probably have tried to swindle them, etc. As it was they were fairly conservative in their interactions, and other than the bard they headed to bed early (I think they were somewhat anxious to get to Cauldron after a session-and-a-half of traveling to it).
Keep it coming if you can.
Looking through my files, there are a few more bits I could post once I edit them a little. I’ll start new threads though, as they’re on different subjects. Look for something on the Drunken Morkoth Inn soon!
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In my upcoming SCAP campaign "The Lucky Monkey" is on the road between Sasserine & Cauldron near Redgorge. Redgorge serves as the farmstead for Cauldron -- all those Cauldronites gotta eat! But to keep the Inn isolated I made sure I explained that as a farming town Redgorge has to be near somewhat more fertile land so it's about a day away from the Cauldron / Sasserine Road, and therefore, The Lucky Monkey.
-W. E. Ray
Findas, have you written any more foreshadowing bits like these that you would like to share? I'd love to read them if you have.
Olaf the Stout
Hi Olaf!
Nice of you to ask, and sorry for the delay in responding. Our group has been on an extended break lately, due to some of the players having to deal with family matters. So we haven’t played in 4 months, and consequently I haven’t been checking the boards as much as usual. But we’re due to start up again on Saturday.
In any case, I haven’t written much for the campaign lately, since I’m ahead as it is and there hasn’t been the push to do anything. I’ll have a look through my files and see if anything jumps out at me, in which case I’ll try and post after Saturday’s game.
Good to see you back Findas. I await with interest.
At the moment, the SCAP looks likely to be the next campaign I run. This probably won't be until the end of the year/start of next year but there's a bit of prep work (like NPC details and foreshadowing) that I would like to get done before the campaign gets going.
Any extra material like you have written in this thread is pure gold to me. Keep up the good work! :-)
Olaf the Stout
We will have our first session of SCAP tomorrow night. I'm not nearly as prepared as I would like but I think it will be ok. I'm running a basic combat to get everyone into the game, then doing the Lucky Monkey as written above for foreshadowing/roleplaying purposes, then an encounter to introduce them to Alek and then on to the gates of Cauldron. If we make amazingly good time in our first session together (which I doubt), we might get to the first encounter from the Hardcover. I'll be very interested to see how much time they spend and what they do at the Lucky Monkey. It may tell me a lot about the group.
Thanks again for all of the work you have done. It will be (I think) a great help.
Any further suggestions are apprciated.
Any further suggestions are apprciated.
First of all, make sure to use RPGenuis and these forums for all they’re worth. There are tons of great ideas to be had in both places. Also, it may or may not work for you, but see my post on the Drunken Morkoth Inn for another location I’ve written about.
Olaf – Your continued kind words are a definite inspiration, thank you.
I’ve looked through my files and found something else I thought I could share, for which I’ve started another post – see The Cauldron Herald.
Any further suggestions are apprciated.First of all, make sure to use RPGenuis and these forums for all they’re worth. There are tons of great ideas to be had in both places. Also, it may or may not work for you, but see my post on the Drunken Morkoth Inn for another location I’ve written about.
Olaf – Your continued kind words are a definite inspiration, thank you.
I’ve looked through my files and found something else I thought I could share, for which I’ve started another post – see The Cauldron Herald.
Hey, if you keep coming up with great stuff, I'll keep praising you! That, and stealing it.......er......I mean borrowing it for my game! :)
I'll go take a look at the Cauldron Herald now.
Olaf the Stout