This is part 2 to my previous post, Goblin Attack! Go see that here.
The first part focuses on the background and traveling to the Goblin's lair. This is the second part, for after the players arrive at the cave and the horrible things that happen to them.
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| by whinbeck |
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| map of the Goblin's Cave |
1: Main entrance
Shielded by ferns. Two sentries armed with horns lurk here behind the foliage. If the tribe is in danger, they will sound the horns which will summon the warriors for battle.
If you get past the sentries you will find a long tunnel leading deeper into the hollow hill. Halfway through you will come to a sextet of statues, each one depicting a profane and horrible deity. These are the Gods of the Forest, the enemies of civilization and so are generally naked, feral looking beings that are mix of animal savagery and divine beauty. The female deities are fecund and feral, the males vigorous and savage. They are shown shattering artifacts of civilization, drinking from skulls or crowing in victory.
One statue seems different from the others, in that it has a cloak hanging off it's back, a curtain made of dozens of cloaks and garments stitched together into a sheet. It is the only statue adorned like this, but the cloth doesn't seem especially valuable. If you check behind the cloth, you will find a hidden tunnel.
Preceding forward, you will come to "3".
2: Ambush Point
1d6 normal Goblins and 2 Goblin Axegrinders hide back here, concealed in darkness. If they hear someone who does not sound like a Goblin coming down the tunnel, they creep out behind the enemy and ambush them.
2 of the Goblins will carry acid bombs, (2d6 acid damage, save for half, save or take no damage with shield, reduces AR by 1 per round or 1d6 acid damage if no armor until diluted or neutralized) and they will throw these to cut off a chance to retreat or prevent the party from moving deeper into the cave. The Axegrinders will then take their drugs and charge, fighting to the death. The other Goblins will throw stones from their slings to distract the party while the Axegrinders fight.
3: Common Ground
A gathering place where male and female Goblins can mingle. It is a large cave lit by a pair of large metal braziers full of glowing embers and softly glowing, bioluminscent mushrooms. Here you will find Goblins talking, napping, playing games, etc. You will always find 1d20+4 Goblins here, assuming the alarm hasn't been raised. Otherwise, you will find the place deserted.
From here, you will find two tunnels leading in different directions. The Eastern tunnel (leads to "10) carries the scents of cooking, strong mushrooms and a soft, flowery scent. Anyone experienced with Goblins or with a strong sense of smell, such as an Orzane or Deerling, can tell you that the smell is female Goblins. The other tunnel has wolf-tracks on the ground and smells of blood and the sour stink of fear. This leads to "4".
4: Wolf Den
You will find this part of the cave to be dark. The center of the cave is a depression in the ground, ringed by a crude fence made of sticks and bones. At the bottom of the depression you will find a sandy pit surrounding a large boulder, with a set of crude wooden steps leading up to the top of the boulder. The top of the boulder is stained with blood, and there are four metal rings there, presumably so something could be pinioned out on top of the flat rock.
Surrounding the boulder in the sandy pit are 1d20 Wolves, sleeping, grooming each other or playing with each other. The Wolves, if they detect you, will growl. If you seem to be a threat to them or the Goblins, they will bark and howl, alerting the whole cave. But creatures who smell like Goblins or stink of blood and the forest will be let by, as the Wolves cannot tell any better. Bribing the wolves with meat will also keep them quiet, though it would have be a decent amount of meat.
Additionally, this area of the cave is the Domain of the Wolf Spirit, Icarax. Icarax is usually invisible, but can make himself visible in this part of the cave without manifesting physically. When he does, he can appear as anything he wants, but usually resembles a twenty-foot long wolf with six legs, red-gold fur and three eyes, all glittering gold. If you have offended Icarax or he has reason to dislike you, he will order the Wolves to bark, or command them to jump the fence and attack. They can easily escape, but remain where they are because of their Alpha's commands.
If Icarax has no reason to be angry with you, however, then he will ask you for help. He feels neglected by the Goblins, but his contract prevents him from hurting them or taking hostile action against them, as long as they hold up their end of the bargain. So he will ask you to go kill the Goblin Priest, and in exchange Icarax will not fight them nor permit the wolves to harm them. Icarax doesn't actually care if they succeed, but he hopes to use this to secure more lucrative terms and renegotiate the contract. If the priest dies, he can make a new pact with the Boss, or if the Priest lives, he can do so anyway.
Icarax will only manifest physically and fight the players if they have gravely offended him or denied him his sacrifices
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| from Magic the Gathering |
5: Priest's Quarters
This is the Quarters of Vihara, the Goblin Priest. It is spartan, with only a pile of furs, a small fireplace set into one corner of the room, a pair of straw-stuffed mattresses stolen from someone's house, and a pair of small chests. One is full of priestly garb, headdresses and stoles made of human skin and adorned with the teeth and fur of wild beasts. The other is full of the patchwork clothing of a Goblin female, dresses stolen from taller folk, shortened to her length and customized with patches of lace and colorful fabrics.
Vihara lives this way because he is a fanatic, dedicated entirely to the Druidic code. As such, he rarely speaks, wears little clothing and lives extremely modestly. Besides the items mentioned, he owns nothing else but his loincloth and the obsidian dagger he carries at his belt. His weakness is his wife and his ideological inflexibility. He refuses to compromise his beliefs, unless it would save his wife or his tribe.
He lives in this small cave with his wife, who is his own concession to civilization. His wife is a Goblin named Cisa. Unlike her husband, she does not speak any common languages, only Goblin. Vihara speaks several common languages, plus Goblin. If you kill Cisa and Vihara finds her body, he will swear revenge on you and go to any length to destroy you.
Where is Vihara?
1d4
1- He is in "4", preparing for the next sacrifice.
2- He is in "6" or "7", inspecting the slaves that have been captured, 50% of each.
3- He is in "5", his room, 1d4 [1= Talking to his wife; 2= Eating a meal with her; 3= Engaged in sexual congress with her; 4= Letting her rub his shoulders, as he's sore.]
4- He is socializing in "3", "9" or "10", 2-in-6 chance of each. If he is in "3" or "10", Cisa is with him, but if he is in "9" she has a 50% of being here alone and a 50% of being in "10".
Besides the entrance you came in, by the fireplace there is another tunnel that leads to the hallway that branches off from "4" that leads to "8" and "9".
6-7: Slave Quarters
Here you will find where the Goblins keep their slaves. The tunnel leading down to the slave pits is blocked by a wooden barricade that can be hastily moved into place and weighed down with stones to prevent escape. There are four Goblins here, blocking the way out. They usually keep the barricade half-closed when there is no emergency. One of those Goblins carries a warhorn to signal the others that there has been a breakout.
6- Female slaves
Here is where they keep the female slaves. This area is blocked off by a thick clay wall and a heavy wooden door with a key. The only ones with a key are the Priest, the Boss and the sentries. Of course, while the door is mostly impervious to Goblins, it could be broken down fairly easily by Medium creatures, especially if they had axes or some other tool for destroying strong wood.
Inside you will find 1d6+2 female captives. These women are not restrained, but have been stripped of all their clothing and jewelry and left here on the ground, with nothing but bare straw to sleep on. They will be largely silent and restrained in their actions and expressions, for all of them have been severely traumatized from the abuse they have suffered on behalf of the Goblins. Additionally, all of them have been repeatedly raped and many are pregnant. For any specific female, roll 1d10. That number should indicate how pregnant she currently looks.
The women here have been abused since they arrived here, fed drug-laced food and water and repeatedly raped. They will need a lot of love and attention before they can return to anything resembling a normal life.
7- Male slaves
This area is blocked off by a thin fence of wooden bars that could be easily broken. Inside you will find 1d4+1 male captives. Like their counterparts in the other room, they are naked, stripped of their armor, weapons and clothing, as well as what other possessions they might have had. Most are chained to an iron stake set into the center of the room, rusting manacles clamped around their wrists. Some are chained at the ankles at well, while others have had legs or arms amputated. Many of these captives display signs of abuse as well, such as having designs cut into their flesh, brands or insults written on their body in a common tongue or Goblin.
The male captives have been tortured and abused since they arrived here. In addition to being rescued, they will need a lot of rehabilitation, love and compassion to ever return to being full human beingss.
8: Bosses' Quarters
This is where Bergo, the Goblin Boss lives. This small cave has the floor covered in carpets and sweet-smelling rushes and the air is thick with the scent of roasting meat and fresh flowers. The walls are hung with stolen linens to cover the cave walls and several large braziers fill the room with light. Here, Bergo reclines on his cushions or atop his stolen "throne", actually just a fine rocking chair made of red oak and covered in shiny, clear lacquer, and oversees his tribe's daily activities. There are always at least two Goblins standing guard at the entrance of his cave, but during an attack there will be an additional 1d10.
Besides these items, you will find a bed big enough for five Medium creatures that was somehow squeezed in here, a four-poster monstrosity with the pillars cut off and crudely re-attached, the silk curtains stained and charred around the edges.
Bergo is a fat, strong looking Goblin with a jolly belly, beady eyes and strong arms. Despite his humorous appearance, he is far more clever than he lets on. He can speak most of the local languages and Goblin, but will pretend to be dumb. He is the one who made the pact with the Wolf Spirit, and has the right to call upon a small measure of the Spirit's power. Despite this, he's not a fighter and will avoid any fight he does not believe he can win. His weakness is his lust. He is easily attracted and seduced by female flesh.
Bergo also lives in this cave with his three wives, the Goblin Hatha, the Kobold Vixi and the Human Ferra, Daughter of Harthor.
Hatha is the first wife and resents the others. She is plotting to get rid of Ferra, who she despises. She has repeatedly threatened the human girl in faltering common that she plans on slitting open her belly, removing her unborn children and eating them in front of her. Hatha can go wherever she pleases in the cave.
Vixi is a slave who was sold, and is making the best of a bad situation. She is Bergo's most eager partner at night, though because she is reptilian and he is not, she has yet to become pregnant. She is desperate not to be sent to the slave pens or sacrificed, and thus is extremely loyal. But should she be rescued or the Goblins attacked, she could easily transfer her loyalty to someone else. Besides her training in how to please a man or woman sexually, she knows how to cook, identify poisonous mushrooms and speaks Goblin and Kobold. She does not speak any language you would, but would learn quickly. Vixi can go wherever she pleases in the cave, but since she's not a Goblin, she is largely shunned by the other women.
Ferra is a young teenage girl, heavily pregnant and laden down with manacles about her wrists and ankles. She tries to put on a brave face, but usually cries whenever she thinks no one can hear her. She is constantly, horribly scared and would like nothing more than to die. The only thing that prevents her from taking her own life is the constant supervision of the guards and the child growing in her womb. Though that child causes her a great deal of grief, she cannot bring herself to hate it, even if it was forced upon her by Bergo. She also doesn't realize this, but she is Bergo's current favorite. Ferra is restricted to this room and cannot leave Bergo's cave.
Who is in this cave at the moment (besides Ferra)?
1d4
1- Vixi and Ferra. They are 1d4 [1= Talking quietly- Ferra speaks a bit of Goblin, but not much, so it's a faltering conversation with lots of confusion; 2= Ferra is crying and Vixi comforting her; 3= Preparing food.]
2- All of the wives, but not Bergo. The wives are 1d4 [1= Sitting in awkward silence, not talking; 2= Mending Bergo's clothing; 3= Eating some food; 4= Sleeping.]
3- Bergo and his wives. Bergo is 1d4 [1= Playing music for them; 2= Sleeping with one or more of them; 3= Eating with them; 4= Trying to comfort Ferra.]
4- Bergo, his wives, plus 1d10 other Goblins. They are discussing important business, and the wives are sitting off to the side, cooking or just waiting patiently.
Besides the entrance that is guarded, there is also a secret entrance behind the bed that leads to "9". Only Hatha and Bergo know about this, Vixi and Ferra do not.
9: Warrior's Quarters
This is where the male Goblins live. It is a large, dank cave lit by a large bonfire that is regularly fed, keeping the entire cave warm and dry. The male Goblins sleep in big piles, stealing and trading for blankets, pillows and spaces on the flat stones that get heated best by the fire.
The Goblin males that fill this cave count as a Goblin Army if roused to attack.
To see what they are doing, roll on the table below:
1d6
1- They are relaxing, chatting, socializing with each other.
2- They are eating a meal together, reclining on cushions or sitting cross-legged on the blankets and rugs.
3- They are watching a performance where the female slaves are forced to dance for their amusement. The female slaves are being guided by the music of flutes and the whips carried by a pair of Goblins, who lash them if they don't dance. The dance is lewd and the female slaves are either naked or wearing the scraps of clothing. In either case, after a few minutes of dancing, the Goblins will drag them off the improvised stage and have their way with the slaves.
4- As above, but it's the female Goblins and there is no coercion. If not disturbed, the performance will degenerate into an orgy.
5- They are preparing for a raid, sharpening weapons, putting on armor, painting designs on their skin which they believe will protect them from enemy weapons.
6- Nothing. Most of the males are gone on a raid and so this cave is empty but for 1d8 stragglers, each which have a 50% of being injured.
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| by Matt Cavotta |
10: Women's Chamber
This is a large cave where the female Goblins not attached to one of the leaders live. Male Goblins other than the leadership are forbidden from entering here unless they have permission or it is an emergency. The area bears clear signs of feminine attention, with colorful banners draping over the walls, fresh rushes spilled across the floor to fill the chamber with a pleasing scent and designs painted up on the walls. This cave is also where the tribe keeps what livestock they don't immediately destroy, so there are small pens lining the edge of the room, with goats, a handful of sheep and a whole mess of chickens.
To see what the Goblin females are doing, roll on the table below:
1d4
1- Socializing, chatting, braiding each other's hair, while they perform minor chores, such as sharpening their knives, mending clothes or etc.
2- Eating together.
3- Practicing their dancing and singing. A couple of them are beating on drums or practicing with tambourines and flutes.
4- Playing with the children. 1d20 Goblin children are running loose across the room and the women are playing with them.
11: Nursery
This small, dark cave is where the infants and children are kept before they are fully grown. Goblins mature quickly, being strong enough to do almost anything an adult can within a month and being sexually mature within 3 months. Goblin pregnancies last anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks, though with a stronger mother, they can go quicker than that.
Besides the Goblin babies and children, there are also other occupants to this cave:
- Human children. Babies usually inherit their race from their mother, even if the father is of a different race. As such, some of the children produced by the female slaves have been normal human children. These will be raised for some time, then offered as human sacrifices to either the Gods of the Forest or Icarax.
- Half-breed children. These children are a fusion of Goblin magic and human strength, and as such, will grow up to be larger and stronger than most Goblins. These ones are destined to become members of the tribe.
- Heavily pregnant Goblin women. Their sisters coo and take care of them during the last week or so of their pregnancy, when their bellies become so swollen with pups that they cannot do more than waddle and become useless for most activities.
Note for the Referee: Goblins and other monsters are usually evil not primarily because of their nature, for even humans and other mortals have a partially evil nature, but because of how they are raised. There is no need to exterminate the Goblin children, for if raised properly, they could become good or even lawful, though they would likely face discrimination their whole lives.
12: Kitchen
This room hosts several short wooden tables for preparing food, a massive, crude hearth made of clay bricks and hosting a massive blaze and areas where animals and creatures can be suspended to bleed them out.
Goblins will eat almost anything, being extensive omnivores, but they love meat, especially the meat of humanoids. After a mortal is slain and sacrificed, assuming the spirit does not consume the whole body, the meat will be brought here for butchering and preparation.
The kitchens also play host to a fat human by the name of Cerris. Cerris is beloved by the woman, who treat him like a favored pet. They have do the things that require strength a Goblin does not ordinarily possess and torment him for their own amusement. He bears marks all over his body from where they burned, cut and beat him. But they are also kind to him in some ways, using his cock, fingers and tongue to pleasure themselves. Some of the half-breed children in the nursery are actually his. The females claim he is a eunuch and that they ate his manhood, but this is a lie.
Cerris hates himself because when the Goblins came, he threw down his arms without fighting and while others died, he went meekly. He wants to die but is too scared to kill himself. If you offered him the choice, he might accept, but would beg for mercy when the time came.
13: Watering Hole
This tunnel leads to a small cave that is filled with the sound of flowing water. Here the women come and draw water from an underground stream. There are also a pair of small boats, meant to evacuate the women and children in the event of an emergency. They will board the boats and sail down the river, which will eventually deposit them several miles away above ground. There is also a large chest here full of inflated goat bladders, which could easily support a Goblin who wore one, preventing him from sinking and acting as a primitive lifejacket. The same applies to a Medium creature, though they might want to wear two if laden down with armor.
Vivios the Water Dragon can inform you of this stream and how to reach it, if you ask him for another entrance to the Goblin cave, though he might request a favor in exchange for the information.
14: Temple to the Gods of the Forest
This room is a large cave with holes in the ceiling to admit long beams of golden sunlight. Within this cave, there grows a thick and tangled forest glade, wild and sinister. As you approach these trees, those aligned with civilization, wearing clothes or armor or enemies of Druids or the Folk will feel a tangible hostility radiating from the plants. Surrounding the trees are relics of civilization, paintings, books, abacuses, garments, carpets, a wagon, etc. Thee roots and branches extended by these trees, along with the runners and shoots put out by the plant are crushing, breaking or squeezing these relics, a visible expression of contempt.
In front of the grove, thickly entangled with roots, is a massive ball of melted silver, gold and other metals. This is all the metal items the Goblins found no use for, heated and cold-welded together. This ball of metal could easily be worth several hundred silver, if the various metals were separated. It could also be worth about a hundred silver if just sold for scrap, metal is very valuable.
Finally, there is the corpse of a man in full armor laying in the midst of the plants, but none dare touch them, the grass growing away from him and none of the hanging branches approaching closer than five feet of his body. Similarly, the man's body is perfectly preserved, as if he had just laid down. Additionally, the man's armor and clothing is perfectly clean as well. But the most interesting thing about this body is his axe, which lays across his chest, as if his body has been laid out for his wake. The axe's blade appears to be made of gold, but is harder and stronger than iron, and the handle and rear of the blade is covered in copper filigree depicting scenes of slaughter, with a string of fire opals set into the handle. This axe is magic- when it is removed from the corpse, the body instantly rots down to the bones and the armor rusts and crumbles into ash.
The axe is called Evermore and it has the following abilities:
- The wielder does not age as long as he has the axe in his possession. He cannot be aged magically as long as he has the axe.
- 3/Day, the wielder can, by touching a creature or object, suspend any degenerative condition for 1 hour. Anything that would cause a persistent negative effect, such as a persistent wound, poison that does damage over time, a disease, or anything else the Referee feels appropriate is suspended for 1 hour. After that hour, the effect resumes as normal. Creatures under the effect of this ability also have resistance to Necrotic damage.
- 1/Day, the wielder may, by touching a creature or object, lock that object in time for 1 minute. During that minute, the object is indestructible and cannot be moved, even by gravity. If it is a creature, it cannot take actions and does not notice time passing, nor does it age nor do any conditions that would affect it proceed, but are instead suspended for the minute.
Besides the axe and the ball of metal, there is a 50% that some of the other relics here could be worth up to 1d10*10 silver pieces to the right buyer. However, should you take anything besides the axe or the body of the man holding it, you will be cursed by the Gods of the Forest. This curse will not be obvious, but it will have lasting consequences for the future. Any adventurer would know that treasures left for the Gods are often holy to those entities, and taking them could result in bad outcomes. However, what are possible consequences in the face of glittering gold?
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| artist unknown |
This is amazingly good.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's always nice to know someone appreciates these posts.
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