A8 (Mammy's Room)

It's impossible to avoid being disgusted by this encounter. A morbidly obese, man-eating, blood-painting, in-breeding necromancer is the star of the show. Mammy's necromantic powers are strongly represented in her incarnation here, and she has her own complement of three uniquely capable undead warriors to harass intruders. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• Mammy Graul
• Corpse of Despair (see Dragon #371)
  
• Plague Fogger (see Dragon #371)
• Flayed Crawler (see Dragon #371)

Total: 2,650 xp (Level 9 Encounter)

Mammy keeps her undead close, luring the party in to dominate them. If she gets the chance, she favors controlling strikers, or leaders with at-will healing powers (Paladins are especially tempting) so that she can regain lost hit points during the fight. While Mammy's speed puts her at a significant disadvantage when she needs to be somewhere more than one square away, her high attack bonuses and excellent defenses let her take the run action (to horrifying effect) without worrying too much about impacting her performance.

Stat block:

A5 & A6 (Playpen)

Maulgro and Lucky Graul would be comedy relief if they weren't so disturbing - twisted, petty, childish versions of full-grown ogrekin. During this fight, they ought to act verbally hostile to one another. If one of the two is critically hit, the other laughs pitifully at his misfortune and gains a bonus to damage for his renewed enthusiasm. This encounter, however, isn't intended to be particularly challenging. These two Graul brothers are pushovers compared to the rest of their deranged family. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• Lucky Graul
• Maulgro Graul

Total: 1,000 xp (Level 4 Encounter)

Though not part of this encounter, the ring found in area A6 is worth 400 gold pieces (and is treasure parcel 10 from level 8).

Stat blocks:

Conversion Now Available in PDF

I've been planning on turning the completed conversion information on here into a more user-friendly format for some time now. With spring break providing ample free time to invest in the project, I've turned the entire Burnt Offerings and Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide conversions into a PDF document designed to mirror the flow of the original adventure. It's a work-in-progress, but I want to get it out there and see what people think of it. Feedback is much appreciated. I'll probably be giving all converted adventures this treatment eventually. Have a look, and let me know what you think!

Burnt Offerings & Player's Guide Conversion PDF

Update: Version 0.2 is available at the above link.

A1 - A3 (The Trapped Entryway)

The porch, family room and dining room all contain nasty surprises for the PCs. While they aren't set up in a way that encourages a tactical encounter, they are grouped closely enough together that they naturally flow into one another as the party explores the first floor of the farmhouse. Grouped together, the traps contain enough experience to satisfy another encounter's worth of experience gain for the party (plus Shalelu):

• Door Spikes
• Floor Saws
• Sofa Pit Trap
• 3 Scythe Traps

Total: 2,050 xp (Level 8 Encounter)

Bear in mind that the door spikes and floor saws are linked to the same trigger. The scythe traps can be a bit tricky to adjudicate - just keep in mind which side of the door the character is coming through, and whether or not the switch for that trap has been flipped.

Stat block(s):

The Graul Farm

It shouldn't be difficult for the party to spy Crowfood up ahead tending to the field - nor should it be difficult for him to spot the party, trudging up the path with a wounded bear in tow. At the same time, it is reasonable to assume that some of the party (including Shalelu) will choose to approach the farmstead stealthily, through the woods on either side of the path.

Before the party reaches the farmstead, however, a pair of nightbelly boas descend upon them from the nearby trees, anxious to squeeze the remaining life out of the crippled bear (and possibly a couple crunchy adventurers). Crowfood and the snakes both come at the party simultaneously, and as long as Kibb remains in the fight the boas are content to pursue him, and crush anyone who might put themselves between them and the bear. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• Crowfood
• 2 Nightbelly Boas (Crushgrip Constrictors)

Total: 1,800 xp (Level 7 Encounter)

Kibb remains reserved, preferring to let the obviously capable PCs handle threats as they crop up. Do not include the bear when calculating experience awards.

Stat block(s):

The Strange Bear

Allow the party a short time to tend to Kibb (a cave bear). The bear begins the encounter at its bloodied value, and has a single healing surge as a heroic-tier creature. It is also hobbled (slowed) until it receives an extended rest, on account of the trauma to its leg caused by the bear trap. The party shouldn't have more time than is required to free Kibb from the trap, assess its wounds, heal it if they so choose, and perhaps begin to wonder about its odd behavior before Rukus' hounds burst into the clearing.

The attack dogs arrive one round before Rukus does and are likely wary of the sudden increase in potential threats in the clearing. They remain at bay near the edge of the clearing (unless attacked) until Rukus bellows out an order in Giant to bring the bear down. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• Rukus Graul
• 5 Ravenous Attack Dogs (Dungeon #160)

Total: 2,100 xp (Level 8 Encounter)

Rukus has no problem retreating if the fight turns out poorly for him. He orders any dogs left standing back to the farmstead and takes flight himself. If Rukus is slain, unengaged dogs will break for the forest.

It is a DC 20 Streetwise or History check to identify the Black Arrow patches that Rukus possesses. A DC 15 Nature check is enough to observe that Kibb is trained and wants to show the party something.

Stat block(s):

Turtleback Ferry

Little about Turtleback Ferry itself needs anything in the way of conversion information. A passive perception that hits a DC of 25 is enough to notice a poorly concealed Sihedron rune on one of the customers of Paradise during the first time the party passes through the village. For each additional day spent there, the party can make Perception checks at DC 25 to spot a Sihedron rune.

For the moment, the party has little reason to tarry in Turtleback Ferry and a number of good reasons to make their way towards Fort Rannick. Assuming they take the path across the river and towards the fort, begin The Strange Bear as indicated in the original adventure.

Hundreds of Them!

As the party searches through the satyrs' campsite and recovers from the ambush, the rest of the satyr brigands return from their own day of attempting to trick travelers out of their belongings. They keep a displacer beast in tow in case things turn ugly, and are incensed to discover that their camp is being looted. They fly into a rage as soon as they realize something is wrong. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• Displacer Beast
• 3 Satyr Rakes
• 2 Satyr Pipers

Total: 2,000 xp (Level 8 Encounter)

The displacer beast is quite powerful for a standard monster. The satyrs value its usefulness and try to avoid exposing it to too much danger. Use the pipers tactically, with one of them locking PCs down with dazing melody and the other using feral overture to give the displacer beast a boost in prowess.

Suddenly, Satyrs

As the party travels from the Magnimar coast to Turtleback Ferry, they come across a band of satyrs. If they are traveling overland, they are led by merry music to a campsite, or spy them from the road. If the party is coming up the river, they encounter the satyrs' music while stopped for the night. They certainly could choose to avoid the camp altogether, but unless they leave the area immediately and give it a wide berth, this merely frustrates the satyrs and delays the inevitable - they are attacked in the middle of the night instead.

This is your chance to embellish as much as you wish. The satyrs should seem friendly at the outset (though a DC 15 Arcana check reveals the information provided in the Monster Manual, which ought to make anyone a bit more wary). They don't hesitate to offer the party more drinks than they can handle, and enough merryment to make them drop. They're simply biding their time until they feel confident enough that their marks are distracted, inebriated and exhausted. They attack earlier if confronted by the PCs about their deceptive ways. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers (plus Shalelu):

• 2 Owlbears
• 2 Satyr Rakes
• 1 Satyr Piper

Total: 2,350 xp (Level 9 Encounter)

The satyrs' owlbears are out of sight nearby, but come running when the piper begins using his supernatural tunes against the party.

Within the satyrs' campsite, the party finds a sizable sack filled with 200 gold pieces, a spool of finely-spun violet cloth crossed with countless threads of pure gold (worth 1,500 gold pieces - treasure parcel 6 from level 8 altogether), and treasure parcel 3 from level 8. All have no doubt been taken from those previously acquainted with the band of satyrs.

Tangent: The Hook Mountain Massacre Bestiary

The Hook Mountain Massacre contains the Smoke Haunt, Totenmaske, Skull Ripper, Argorth, Mother of Oblivion and Ogrekin template.

Smoke Haunt:



Totenmaske Devourer:



Totenmaske Burial Mask:



Skull Ripper:



Argorth:



Mother of Oblivion:



Ogrekin:

Ogrekin is a template that you can apply to any humanoid. When applied, select one advantageous deformity and one disadvantageous deformity, or roll on the tables provided. This template works best when applied to soldiers and brutes - creatures with high strength scores and powerful melee basic attacks.

Prerequisites: Humanoid