Lvl 3 Molton Mischief

8/6/2019 Lvl 3 Molton Mischief

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Molten Mischie is a standalone encounter designed or veadventurers o 3rd to 5 th level. Settled on the edge o a orest with ties to the Feywild, the town o Yaviras has becomeaccustomed to the harmless trickery o gnomes and aeries.But when a practical joke goes awry and a portal to the el-emental chaos is created and ery elementals begin to crossover, a living in erno threatens to consume the orest, town,

and anything else in its path.

BACKGROUNDThe town o Yaviras is no stranger to practical jokes. Sur-rounded by Thornthatch orest, a verdant area known or itsconnections with the Feywild, interacting with the mis-chievous ey creatures is commonplace, and the elves andeladrin have grown to tolerate the innocuous pranks andtricks o their planar kin. It has become routine to accept theunpredictable hoaxes and games o the gnomes and aeries,

adapting to oating urniture, curiously animate objects, anda need to veri y the authenticity o every rumor or story.

Most o the japes are harmlessly gentle, but the gnomeshave a competitive nature and have sometimes causedtrouble when vying or the attention and admiration o other

ey creatures. Escalating the scale in an attempt to create thecleverest, most memorable prank that Yaviras has ever seen,the town has been subjected to brie periods o panic anddanger. Once, the town was pushed through a ey passageinto the Feywild itsel , where it was beset upon by monsters. Another time, a orest dragon was summoned and released within the town square, destroying most o the buildings andpoisoning many residents.

Most recently, a gnome named Pim attempted to pranka notoriously intolerant elven wizard named Mivith, best-known or a power ul interest in elemental beings and anequally power ul dislike o practical jokes. Sneaking intohis house one night, Pim enchanted a painting made o theelemental chaos, creating a portal linking the two planes.The other gnomes and aeries praised his cra ty audacity, butshortly a ter the deed, re and lava elementals began cross-

ing over, drawn to the magical presence o Thornthatch or-est. The wizards house was soon engul ed in ames and lava,but the painting was undamaged, allowing more elementalsto pass through. As the res and lava spread throughout Yavi-ras and Thornthatch, the residents desperately try to controlthe elementals and save themselves rom the a termath o apractical joke one that has become no laughing matter.

GETTING THE PLAYERS INVOLVED

Molten Mischie can be used as a standalone encounter, or asthe basis o an entire adventure. The players can stumbleupon the elementals o Yaviras, ollow a scorched trail to thetown, or be sent there with one o the ollowing hooks:

Hook 1: Down in Flames

Through the combined e orts o the residents o Yaviras, theelementals causing the res have been contained within acrater o scorched earth, but it is only a temporary solution;as long as the portal to the elemental chaos remains active,the elementals will continue to cross over. The elven wizardMivith has been tasked with nding a solution to the prob-lem, and is excited to do so. Although the painting couldsimply be destroyed, Mivith is hesitant to lose such a potentconnection to the plane o elements; he would rather theenchantment was disabled, so he could inspect the paintingand uncover any remaining magical properties. But as long

as the dangerous elementals surround the painting, its im-possible or Mivith to do anything at allthats the rst stepto solving the problem.

Mivith asks the PCs to head into the crater and disable (or,i they choose, destroy) the painting to close the portal. Headvises the PCs that disabling the paintings enchantmentmight weaken the elementals link to their native plane.

Quest XP: 500 XP and 250 gp or disabling the enchant-ment on the painting, or 125 XP or destroying it.

m olten

m iscHieF

A standalone encounter or fve adventurers

All text and art is Corwin Riddle and Ready an Action.

By Corwin Riddle

5

2 Complexity

Difficulty Heroic

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Hook 2: m aking a menDsPim is slightly remorse ul or the damage hes caused, andhas decided to make up or his mistake by regrowing thetrees o Yaviras and Thornthatch orest. Many o the biggesttrees have already been reduced to ash, but Pim knows howto extract the essence o li e rom the remains necessary tobring the area back to li e. To accelerate the growth, Pim

needs several ery coresmagical essences le t behind bydestroyed elementalsto combine with the ash and kindlethe spark o li e within new trees.

Pim asks the PCs to destroy the elementals, bringing backat least 3 o the ery cores le t behind. He tells the PCs thatonly the larger elementals have cores power ul enough orhis purposes.

Quest XP: 175 XP or bringing back at least 3 ery cores.

SPECIAL FEATURES

t He e ncHanteD P aintingNear the center o the crater is the enchanted painting. Hereare its properties: At the end o each round, a Fiery Spurt will appear

adjacent to the painting and enter the initiative order atthat spot, immediately moving toward the weakest LavaSurge or Blazing Ravager.

The players can attempt to destroy the painting, whichhas 50 hit points and de enses o 14. I destroyed, nomore Fiery Spurts will emerge rom the painting.

The players can attempt to disable the enchantment with ve success ul DC 14 Arcana skill checks whilestanding adjacent to the painting (made as standardactions i per ormed during the encounter). I they aresuccess ul, no more Fiery Spurts will emerge, and everyelemental takes an immediate 1d6 damage.

e xtinguisHing e lixirBe ore the PCs enter the crater, they will be approached by a

resident looking to assist, who will either sell or donate 1 o the ollowing potion to each player:

Lava SurgeMedium elemental magical beast (fre)

Level 3 ArtilleryXP 150

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +2HP 40 ; Bloodied 20

AC 16 ; Fortitude 14 , Refex 16 , Will 12Immune petri cation;Resist 10 re; Vulnerable 5 coldSpeed 4

b Lava Claw (standard; at-will)Fire+7 vs AC; 1d6 +3 damage

r Magma Splash (standard; at-will)FireRanged 15; +6 vs Refex; 1d8 + 5 re damage and an ongoing 5 re dam-age. Miss: creatures adjacent to the target take 1d6 re damage.

c Molten Blast (standard; recharge 56 )FireClose blast 3; +6 vs Will; 1d6 re damage and any enemy in the blast ispushed 2 squares.

Absorb (minor; at-will)The lava surge absorbs a nearby ery spurt, destroying it and regaining 10hit points.

Alignment Unaligned Languages PrimordialStr 17Con 7

Dex 17Int 1

Wis 10Cha 5

Blazing RavagerLarge elemental magical beast (fre)

Level 3 BruteXP 150

Initiative +1 Senses Perception +1HP 56 ; Bloodied 28

AC 15 ; Fortitude 14 , Refex 14 , Will 13Immune petri cation;Resist 10 re; Vulnerable 5 coldSpeed 6b Fiery Slash (standard; at-will)Fire

Reach 2; +6 vs AC; 1d6 +3 damage and 1d6 additional re damagew Burning Strike (standard; recharge 56 )Fire

Reach 2; +7 vs AC; 2d6 + 5 re damage and an ongoing 5 re damage.Any creature damaged by this attack is pushed 2 squares.

CombustionFireWhen the blazing ravager is reduced to 0 hit points, every creature within2 squares takes 1d6 re damage and is pushed 3 squares.

Absorb (minor; at-will)The blazing ravager absorbs a nearby ery spurt, destroying it and regain-ing 10 hit points.

Alignment Unaligned Languages PrimordialStr 12Con 19

Dex 11Int 1

Wis 10Cha 6

Extinguishing Elixir Level 1 An enormous black and white cloth, hard as stone, flows into the airand creates a nearly indestructible barrier.PotionPower (Consumable Healing): Minor Action. Drink this

poition and spend a healing surge. Instead o the hit pointsyou would normally regain, you regain 8 hit points, remove anyongoing re damage, and gain resist 5 re until the end o yournext turn

Fiery SpurtSmall elemental magical beast (fre)

Level 2 MinionXP 31

Initiative +4 Senses Perception +1HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.

AC 11 ; Fortitude 11 , Refex 10 , Will 10Immune petri cation;Resist 10 re; Vulnerable 5 coldSpeed 5b Scorch (standard; at-will)Fire

+6 vs AC; 3 re damage Alignment Unaligned Languages PrimordialStr 8Con 7

Dex 8Int 1

Wis 9Cha 5


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GETTING STARTEDRegardless o why the PCs decide to enter Yaviras, read this when they arrive:

A pillar o smoke rises above the buildings ahead, guiding you toward the crater. Many elves and eladrin have come outside to watchthe spectacle, mumbling to themselves about possible causes andsolutions to the blaze.

Others, covered in soot, carry buckets o water along the trail tothe crater. As you near the crater, you spot several elves draped inrobes, rantically trying to seal in the crater with walls o icewhichmelt almost as soon as they are erected.

AREA : t He s corcHeD c rater

s etuP3 Lava Surges (L)2 Blazing Ravagers (R)15 Fiery Spurts (F)

Read this when the PCs enter the crater:

As soon as you enter the crater, you are overcome with acrid smand a stench o sul ur. The heat is almost unbearable, as i yoactually walking among the res o the elemental chaos. Lyinthe middle o the crater is the painting, oating in the air, revoslowly as re and lava spew out rom within. The ground is useared and burntpiles o molten rock smolder under oot as

climb down the steep incline. Perception (DC 10): Depicting an elegant image o creaturesperched on rocks above re and lava, the painting is enchant-ed with a strong magical seal. You believe it can be disabledand removed by those skilled in the Arcane.

F eatures oF tHe a reaHeight: The crater is recessed 30 into the ground.

Illumination: The area is well-lit thanks to all the cozy re.

Enchanted Painting: Marked as a mirror in the center o the crater. See Special Featureson how to interact with it.Molten Rock: Marked as piles o black and red rock on theground. Counts as difcult terrain or PCs, and deals 1d4 redamage to any PC that enters or starts its turn in a square.


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t actics A ery spurt that is protecting a ravager or surge will

take its movement and turn as part o the ravager orsurge it is adjacent to, moving as the larger elementalmoves.

The ery spurts act as a shield or the lava surges andblazing ravagers, and will surround them and mirrortheir movement to attempt and block them rom the PCattacks. They will only attack a PC i the PC moves adja-cent to them, they will never move away rom the largerelemental they are protecting.

The lava surges will attempt to stay at range, using Magma Splashwhile hiding behind ery spurts. I sur-rounded, it will use Molten Blast to create some distance.

The blazing ravagers will move into melee range, hidingbehind a wall o ery spurts and using the reach o FierySlashand Burning Strike.

As long as there are at least two ery spurts de endingit, the lava surges and blazing ravagers will use Absorb each round i not close to ull hit points. A ter that, they will only use Absorbi low on hit points and in danger o dying.

P layer s trategy The PCs can either stay close and take down each

elemental and its ery spurts one by one, or use area at-tacks to remove all o the spurts and spread out.

Disabling the painting is a simple skill challenge, andcan be completed during combat or a ter the elementalsare de eated. I disabled during the encounter, the eryspurts will stop appearing and each elemental will take1d6 damage. I destroyed, the ery spurts will stop ap-pearing, but the other elementals are una ected.

Many o the elemental attacks push the PCs around,so they will need to stay aware o nearby difcult anddamaging terrain.

c ombat FlavorI you dislike reading powers and e ects to your players, givethem hints with the ollowing avor text.

When a Blazing Ravager uses Combustion, read:

The elemental begins to glow brightly and shake, as the energy within erupts as a ery explosion.

When any elemental uses Absorb on a Fiery Spurt:

The elemental reaches out and pulls one o the smaller elementalsinto itsel , regaining strength and vitality.

When a Fiery Spurt emerges from the painting:

A small, ery elemental, similar to others you see be ore you,emerges rom the painting.

If the painting is disenchanted:

The oating painting pauses or a second be ore clattering to ground. The paint seems to melt, dripping of the canvas and di

pearing, revealing a subtle illustration depicting res o the eltal chaos, though charred and blackened.

c onclusion When the painting is disabled or destroyed and the remain-ing elementals are de eated, the temperature begins to dropand many elves, eladrin, gnomes, and aeries enter the craterand immediately start burying various plants and seeds. ThePCs are ree to collect the ery cores and urther inspect thepainting. Pim is nearby and takes the cores to start planting.

When nished, Mivith approaches the PCs, handing out thequest reward and saying:

Thanks to Pim and his kin, it shouldnt be a problem to replantrees and orest damaged by the res. My house, on the other is completely gone, but I suppose it was worth it to learn so muabout those creatures.

He pauses, and looks around to make sure no one else is neabe ore continuing. Besides, he says, not that I would ever tor the others, but the whole situation was a little unny, I haveadmit.

a DjustmentsI you like this encounter but arent sure how to t it into your campaign, here is some advice:Its too easy: Increase the number o ery spurts that spawn each time, or increase their damage, or increase the number o successes needdisenchant the painting.Its too hard:There is no limit to the number o attempts or disenchantingmirror, and doing so will immediately destroy every ery surgthe encounterhint this to your players i they are having trou

We want to play a full adventure:Open up a monster manual and start picking any ery creaturemost are around 4th or 5th level and should do nicely.

Enjoy this adventure? Visit www.readyanaction.com for more free encounters, with a new one added each week!


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1Heres a to-scale map, justprint, cut out, and rotatethe pieces. They go togetherlike this (the arrows all faceNORTH):

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Lvl 3 Molton Mischief