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Dungeon Crawl Classics #48
The Adventure Continues
A COMPILATION OF ADVENTURES
FOR CHARACTER LEVELS 4-6
Credits
Developers: Harley Stroh, Joseph Goodman
Writers: Eric Artis, B. Matthew Conklin III, Ken Hart, Phillip Larwood, Jeff LaSala, Brendan LaSalle, Jason Little, Mike
Ferguson, Stephen S. Greer, Greg Oppedisano, Artem V. Serebrennikov, Justin Sipla, Jessica Van Oort
Front Cover Artist: William McAusland Back Cover Artist: Eugene Jaworski
Interior Artists: Chris Arneson, Gary Dupuis, Jason Edwards, Friedrich Haas, Cory Hamel, Doug Kovacs, Cliff Kurowski, Gary
Dupuis, Brad McDevitt, Jesse Mohn, Mark Parsons, Chad Sergesketter
Cartographers: Rob Conley, Jeremy Simmons Line Editor: Harley Stroh
Editors: Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel, Ken Hart, Elizabeth R. A. Liddell, Liz Rich
Graphic Designers: Joseph Goodman, Greg Porter
Proofreaders: Mike Ferguson, Rick Maffei, Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel
Playtesters: Dave Bean, Andy DeSimone, Nanci Moy; Stanley Cramer, April Greer, Ben Williams; Ginni Bain, Lori King, Duane
Waldrop, Micki Waldrop; Bret Boyd, Scot Boyd, Chuck Cuthbert, Heather Cuthbert, Greg King, John Geoghegan, Brad Nieder;
Toni Easter, Matt Gossett, Haden Huffaker, Stephanie Huffaker, Dave Husted, Erin McSpadden, Jeff McSpadden; Kathryn
Sipla; John LaSala, Marisa LoPrete, Kate Baldwin, Richie Procopio; Ed Artis, Barry Buchanan, Bill Harris, Bob Vought, Mary
Jo Pupala, Daryl Corey, Jon Lillemoe, Paul Steele; Sara Hannon, Sarah Hagenmaier, Amanda Williams, Emily Gaines, and Kitt
Evans; Michael Aitchison, Glen Hogbin, Kevin Knight, Trevor Magrath, Adam Ryder, Lee Wise; Jay Albrecht, Clint Carrell, Chad
MacPhee, David Ticheler, Paula Ticheler
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Table of Contents
Adventure Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page
Madness at the Mutilated Oak . . Ken Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Arneson . . . . . . .3
Ghosts of the Mastodon Clan . . . Brendan LaSalle . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Parsons . . . . . . .15
Heroes’ End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen S. Greer . . . . . . . . . . . Gary Dupuis . . . . . . . .29
Tide of Evil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eric Artis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doug Kovacs . . . . . . .53
Mistfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Ferguson . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chad Sergesketter . . .66
Yellow Jade Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeremy Simmons . . . . . . . . . . . Cory Hamel . . . . . . . . .82
Nightmare Closet. . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff LaSala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Friedrich Haas . . . . . .92
Dale of the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Lampi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doug Kovacs . . . . . . .108
Like Clockwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cliff Kurowski . . . . . . .118
The Crawling Tower. . . . . . . . . . . Phillip Larwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cliff Kurowski . . . . . . .131
Fortune’s Folly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Gentry & Lara Gose . . . . . . Brad McDevitt . . . . . . .145
Snare of the Shadow Sylphs. . . . Jessica Van Oort . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Edwards . . . . . .153
Scourge of the Wasp Lord . . . . . Justin Sipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jesse Mohn . . . . . . . .165
The Ruby of Rak’shaz . . . . . . . . . Artem Serebrennikov . . . . . . . . Doug Kovacs . . . . . . .185
Vale of the Indus . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Conklin & Greg Oppedisano. . Chad Sergesketter . . .199
Appendix 1: New Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Bonus! Xcrawl: Dungeonbattle Brooklyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Questions or comments? Visit us online at:
www.goodman-games.com
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Dungeon Crawl Classics
Madness at the Mutilated Oak
By Ken Hart
AN ADVENTURE FOR CHARACTER LEVELS 4-6
Introduction
Adventure Summary
Answering a call for help, the heroes arrive in the small
town of Cillamar, where they learn that a bard of grow-
ing fame (and dubious talent) has disappeared, along
with several other men. In addition, an unearthly shriek
of agony has been heard coming from the region to the
east – an odd landscape of sharp stones, barren paths,
and twisted trees. A huge oak tree towers over that
area. An evil elven druid is inflicting great damage on
the tree and its protective dryad in her desire to possess
the “fey treasure” that she believes lies within the oak.
She possesses a fey-created staff that has enabled her
to manipulate the missing townspeople into serving her.
Remember the golden days of role playing, when
adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be
killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon
on the 20th level? Well, those days are back. Dungeon
Crawl Classics feature bloody combat, intriguing dun-
geons, and no NPCs who aren’t meant to be killed.
Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl,
with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the
secret doors you know must be there somewhere.
Madness at the Mutilated Oak is designed for four to six
characters of 6th level. While the characters can be of
any class, a druid or ranger may be especially useful.
Some characters may suffer ability damage in this
adventure, so access to a lesser restoration spell or
potion would be handy. See the “Scaling Information”
section for ways to tailor this adventure to your group’s
size and unique style of play.
The PCs must get past her bugbear minions, defeat a
satyr ranger and his dire weasel “pets,” and avoid the
stings of giant wasps to reach the great oak. Once
there, they must deal with the powerful druid herself and
her charmed protectors. The challenge for the heroes is
to defeat the druid without killing the four innocent
townspeople, who have few qualms about using deadly
force against the adventurers.
Should the valiant heroes succeed, they earn the grati-
tude of the badly injured dryad, who rewards them and
gives them information about the region and the secret
of the great oak.
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Game Master’s Section
nently. If the party has a fey ally, then have that fey
plead for aid in the dream. Upon waking, the PC real-
izes that something bad is happening near Cillamar.
The nature of the threat isn’t clear, but the need for help
is urgent.
Encounter Table
To help the GM prepare, we have included a quick ref-
erence table showing all encounters at a glance. Loc
the location number keyed to the map for the encounter.
Pg – the module page number that the encounter can
be found on. Type – this indicates if the encounter is a
trap (T), puzzle (P), or combat (C). Encounter – the key
monsters, traps, or NPCs that can be found in the
encounter. Names in italics are classed NPCs. EL – the
encounter level.
Phinneas Muddey and Arvik Duerlagg are well traveled
in the Kingdom of Morrain, so it’s possible they encoun-
tered one of the adventurers during a previous exploit.
That hero could desire to make a quick stop in Cillamar
to visit a good friend or settle an old score (depending
on the nature of the earlier encounter).
The eerie shrieking is apparently causing many animals
and monsters to flee the odd region – and enter the
town! The heroes, while traveling nearby, hear that
Patriarch Ranz Mentzer of Cillamar is seeking adven-
turers to deal with the source of the disturbance.
Loc
Pg
Type
Encounter
EL
1-1
7
T/C
Rolling rock trap
7
Groth Greenstab,
bugbear Drd1
2 bugbears Fgt1
Background Story
Several hundred years ago, a band of evil fey – mem-
bers of the “Unseelie Court” – entered the Known
Realms through a shadowy gateway at the bottom of a
well. This portal led to a dark dimension where crea-
tures such as themselves thrived. Once they arrived
here, they attacked and manipulated innocents, espe-
cially children, driving them to commit tragic acts.
Powerful druids banded together to defeat this threat.
The angry fey retreated, but they swore they would
return and cursed the land around them. The druids’ vic-
tory was thus tainted, as the natural landscape was
transformed by the fey oath into a bizarre mix of forest,
dust, and volcanic rock. The druids sealed the well with
the creation of a magical oak above it. As long as the
oak lives, the gateway to the dark domain cannot be
reopened.
1-2
8
C
Kalan, satyr Rgr2
7
4 dire weasels
1-3
9
C
3 giant wasps
6
1-4
10
C
Lucia Saralonde, Drd7
8
Phinneas Muddey, Brd4
Kelvin and Ambrose
Wickworth, Com1/War1
Arvik Duerlagg, War2
Scaling Information
Madness at the Mutilated Oak is designed for four to six
characters of 6th level, but can be modified for parties
of different sizes or levels. Consider adapting the
adventure using any of the following suggestions:
Weaker parties (3 or fewer characters, or lower than
6th level): Remove the class levels from the bugbears
in area 1-1 and have the rolling rock trap affect only one
square. Remove one of the dire weasels in area 1-2. In
area 1-4, reduce Lucia to 6th level.
Unable to “heal” the landscape, the band of druids grew
despondent. Trusting to good-aligned fey to watch over the
great oak, they soon retreated from memory. The decades
passed, and much of this history was lost, although some
tales of the fey’s influence in this region remain.
Stronger parties (7 or more characters, or higher
than 6th level): Increase the class levels of the bug-
bears and Kalan by +1. Add one more giant wasp to the
encounter in area 1-3 or increase their hit dice by +2.
Increase Lucia’s level by +1.
Lucia Saralonde, an evil druid, believes that she is a
direct descendant of fey and is obsessed with gathering
fey knowledge and power. She recently discovered a
magical staff, the switch of the unseelie, and she has
traced its origins to this region. She believes that a
hoard of druidic or fey treasure lies within the great oak.
With her allies – a satyr ranger named Kalan and a trio
of bugbears she has anointed “the Greenstab Tribe” –
Lucia arrived at the great oak, captured Tangle, the
dryad assigned as its protector, and has since been tor-
turing the dryad in a futile attempt to uncover the source
and nature of the treasure. To further torment Tangle,
Lucia has inflicted great damage on the oak itself. In a
rage, she cast blight , which would have killed the tree if
Getting the Players Involved
The following hooks can be used to get the players
involved in the adventure:
If there is a druid or ranger in the party, or if any mem-
ber has established friendly relations with non-evil fey,
that character can be haunted by disturbing nightmares,
full of violence and pain. The great oak appears promi-
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