Way back in 2001, I co-authored an adventure with my good pal, Ken Marable, for the now-defunct Roc Games (the only "live" stuff I could find on the net about Roc Games now is here). In our standard mode of operations back then, I came up with the storyline, bounced it off of Ken, ran it by my wife (who has a fantastic "no, that's lame" OR "no, that's waaay to nuts" meter); then Ken came up with the stats to meet my adventure ideas. We also enlisted the help of a good friend of mine named Cliff Brannon (yes, ANOTHER Brannon) who wound up doing the cartography and art for us. It was a small, short adventure, but I thought it a good one and so I will now pass it on to you, my one (or two) adoring fans...
Introduction
Seeking the only cure that can heal those close to them, the party must plunge headlong into the source of a rapidly spreading and deadly disease. Despite the risk of possible death and infection, they forge ahead, knowing full well that only the secrets of that which lies at the center of this horrific outbreak will save them. However, the solution to this mystery could very well be the end of all they know, or the beginning of something they never before imagined.
Preparation
All that is required to use this adventure are the three core rulebooks. All NPC and monster statistics are provided with each encounter in an abbreviated form, or where appropriate, the proper page and resource is clearly referenced. Text that appears in shaded boxes is considered player information, which you can (at your discretion) read aloud to, paraphrase, or hand out to when appropriate. Unshaded boxes contain important information that you should pay particular attention to and will often contain special instructions.
Further, after each NPC description one will find two new sections, labeled as NPC Initiation and NPC Continuation. Both of these sections are optional, but could be of great use to most DM's. This information is provided with the forward-looking DM in mind, and it is not required for the successful completion of the adventure. The NPC Initiation section provides helpful suggestions for introducing that particular NPC to the party, as well as possibly providing information for use in seamlessly blending the NPC into the scenery of a DM's campaign. The NPC Continuation section provides seeds that the DM can use, throughout the PC's interaction with the NPC, to plant ideas for future adventures or encounters involving or relating to that particular NPC.
Adventure Synopsis
A horrible, crippling malady has befallen the homeland of the PC's, killing countless people with cold, unfeeling indifference. The source of this sickness is ultimately traced to the sudden appearance of a strange blight-like plant growth in a near-by forest. Seeking answers, the PC's travel to this blighted glade and along the way encounter a crazed druid. This druid, who has obviously been driven mad by the disease, babbles incoherently about "talking trees" and "whispering willows" within the infected forest. He warns the characters with an ominous tone that "enlightenment and death lie within" before attacking them in a madness-born rage.
Once the obstacle of the insane druid has been overcome and the PC's enter the glade, they eventually learn that the source of the infection is actually a sentient, living plant form. The plant, which is native from the Ethereal plane, was somehow seeded on the Prime Material. Now, far away from its native realm of potential matter, it has discovered that it can feed off of the dreams and mental energy of other sentient creatures. The plant does not wish to harm anyone, but it struggles to survive, and the horrible disease is a ramification of its attempts to communicate and sustain itself.
The PC's, now faced with a thorny quandary, must decide whether or not to help this marooned plant by becoming its hosts, or destroying it. Either way they will be able to save their homeland, but one way offers a passage into a broader, more remarkable realm.
Initial Adventure Hooks
The very existence of a disease that is quickly reaching plague-like proportions, not to mention the suffering and deaths of many of their townsfolk, loved ones, family, or servants should be enough to propel the characters into this adventure. However, for more callous PC's, seeking out and eliminating the cause of this disease might have the distasteful ring of "Good Samaritan" to it. This, of course, might not speak to their primary motivators
