The Price of Greed
by SulkingRaccoon
This adventure is designed for a standard party of level 1 adventurers. The written material is fairly short, and can probably be played in one or two sessions. The adventure can grow into a bigger story, or be worked into an extant setting.
Hadina, Pride of Azadan Desert
The city of Hadina lies in the heart of the scorching Azadan Desert, surrounded on all sides by endless stretches of sand and suffocating heat. It is built on a small oasis, and with this precious water has managed to grow into a bustling town.
One of the Hadina's most prominent merchants is the dwarf Erias Malbek. He is undoubtedly very wealthy, but never flaunts his prosperity. He usually keeps to himself, associating only with his close friends and colleagues. So, any player who is a Hadina resident is surprised when Malbek hires the party to perform a "special mission."
Part 1: Merchant Malbek
Around noon, merchant Malbek calls the players to his home for a meeting. The merchant is middle-aged, with tanned skin and dark hair, and is dressed in simple linen garments instead of the colorful silks merchants often don. He has a very curt and almost standoffish manner of speaking and so he is well-known in his circle for acting aloof among anyone who isn't his close friend. This habit arises from the fact that Malbek is very slow to trust others. But, as he addresses the players, he sounds desperate.
He is deeply concerned by the absence of his business partner, Zaida Demir. She was supposed to arrive from the town Zakalla two days ago, but is nowhere to be found. Malbek fears she may have been captured by a group of bandits led by the infamous desert mage Drutho. He wants the players to leave the following day for Zakalla, and hopefully find Demir somewhere along the way. He promises the players 50 gold each for a successful rescue.
If the players accept, Malbek gives them a thorough description of his colleague. She is a human in her late thirties, with copper-colored hair and a large hooked nose. She is usually seen wearing patterned robes and a red scarf. Malbek will stiffly refuse to give any details about her belongings or the reason for her trip.
Next, he explains the route to Zakalla. It’s a fairly straightforward three-day journey north, but there are no good places to rest between the two settlements. And worse still, the route is notorious for bandit raids and hostile desert wildlife. Malbek urges the players to prepare carefully for the journey, then retires to his office. The players will have the rest of the day to collect supplies for their travel, and get a good night’s sleep.
A Perilous Path
The Azadan desert is blazingly hot. As the players traverse it, they will need to consume sufficient food and at least 2 gallons of water per day or risk exhaustion, as described on page 185 of the Player's Handbook.
Part 2: Into the Desert
The trip to Zakalla takes approximately three 8-hour days of walking, and the first day of travel is blazingly hot. By midday, the desert terrain has changed from rolling sand dunes to rocky hills. As the players approach a craggy mountain pass, they might notice a few sandstone scorpions with a DC 15 Perception check. If not, the pack of three scorpions will attack the players as they crest a hill.
Just downhill, there is a male elf corpse with several deep gashes and scorpion tracks leading away from it. The body, apparently belonging to an impovershed vagabond, is dressed in rags and torn boots. There a gold bar cradled in the corpse's arms, inscribed with the name “DEMIR.” Clearly, the traveler stole it from somewhere.
Sandstone Scorpion
Medium beast, unaligned
- Armor Class 14 (Natural Armor)
- Hit Points 9(2d6 + 2)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 11 (+0) 13 (+1) 1 (-5) 9 (-1) 3 (-4)
- Senses Blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 10
- Languages —
- Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Actions
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 5 (2d4) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The sandstone scorpion is a dust-colored arachnid with tough skin and a long, fearsome stinger. It rarely hunts humanoids for food, but it is fiercely defensive of its territory and will attack if it feels threatened.
Part 3: An Unexpected Meeting
As the sun begins to set, the players see what appears to be a small, abandoned encampment just off the side of the road. It’s comprised of a few rundown shacks and various debris. A player proficient in History or a player with the Criminal background will recognize this kind of setup as a hideout for bandits or smugglers. A DC 15 History check reveals that the road used to be farther away from the hideout, but had to shift due to a previous water source drying up, which explains why the outpost was abandoned.
The larger shack contains a set of thieves' tools and a ring with a few rusted keys. The other shed is filled with insect-ridden sacks of grain. The only other creatures around are the wizard Drutho as well as (n - 3) ember lizards, where n is the size of the party. The wizard is noisily rustling around in the larger building.
Drutho is a tall, beige-colored lizard with simple desert clothes. He carries with him a small turquoise orb, his arcane focus, and a dusty leather book. Having dealt with law enforcement in the past, he assumes the players are out to capture him, so he and his lizard friends will attack the party as soon as they are able. If the players capture Drutho or manage to talk him down, they will find him to be affable and cajoling when he feels threatened. He also loves to crack jokes at the expense of "warmbloods," especially their low heat tolerance. If pressed, Drutho will explain that he heard rumors about a fortune being buried at this encampment, and that he wanted to keep it a secret from his underlings. He's searched exhaustively for the treasure, but found nothing.
If the players ask him about Demir, he will claim to have interacted with and even stolen from her before. However, the last time he encountered her was over a month ago.
Drutho's book is a journal providing similar information – there are a few entries describing a human female merchant, but no recent ones. It also describes the mage's reasons for poking around in the encampment. Drutho’s journal also acts as his spellbook, and a Wizard PC who gets their hands on it can learn any of Drutho's spells.
Ember Lizard
Medium beast, unaligned
- Armor Class 12 (Natural Armor)
- Hit Points 11(2d8 + 2)
- Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 5 (-3)
- Senses Darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 10
- Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
- Languages —
- Damage Immunities fire
- Damage Vulnerabilities cold
Spider Climb. The ember lizard can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage and 2 (1d4) fire damage.
The ember lizard is a peculiar desert reptile with burning-hot scales. Despite this fearsome trait, ember lizards are usually solitary and timid rather than aggressive. Some eccentric collectors keep the lizards as pets.
Drutho, Unscrupulous Mage
Medium humanoid (lizardfolk), chaotic neutral
- Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor)
- Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)
- Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 10 (+0)
- Senses passive Perception 11
- Languages Common, Draconic
- Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Spellcasting. The mage is a 2nd-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): Fire Bolt, Gust, Infestation, Mold Earth
1st level: (3 slots): Burning Hands, Earth Tremor, Heatwave, Shield
Actions
Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 2 (1d4) piercing damage.
Tactics. Drutho will always open with Heatwave, and will cast that spell whenever he runs out of temporary hit points. If he gets hit by an attack, he uses Shield. Otherwise, he will default to using Fire Bolt on his turn, or Burning Hands if he thinks he can hit more than one target.
Drutho is most at home in dry, scorching deserts. Eager to augment his spellcasting powers, he often hires groups of bandits to hunt down magical artifacts for him to use.
Heatwave
1st-level evocation
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self (30-foot sphere)
- Components: S, V
- Duration: Instantaneous
Rays of debilitating heat emanate from your hands. Cold-blooded creatures in range (including yourself) gain 1d8 temporary hit points, and warm-blooded creatures (including yourself) take that much fire damage.
Part 4: A Gruesome Discovery
The players’ second day of travel is a quiet one. As they move forward, the desert becomes more flat, desolate, and empty, until there are no landmarks in sight. Around noon, halfway between Zakalla and Hadina, they will come across a slightly decayed corpse, lying near a dead mule and a cart with a broken axle. The cadaver, a human female, matches Malbek’s description of Demir. There are a few empty canteens and an Orb of DirectionXGE lying next to her. Her body has no major wounds, and any player who is proficient in Surivial or Medicine will realize that she died of dehydration just a few days ago.
The cart, which has a broken axle, is incredibly heavy and cumbersome. A light tarp rests on top of it, and underneath the cloth lies several stacks of gleaming gold bars, all identical to the one held by the previous corpse. The cart is only half full, but it’s probably more wealth than the players have ever seen.
Part 5: Temptation
Trapped in the middle of a desert with unfathomable wealth, the players need to act quickly. If they decide to take the cart and its contents with them, they will only be able to travel at half speed. That means they’ll have a three-day journey to either Zakalla or Hadina. If the players wish to be honest, and return the cart to Malbek, the merchant will be distraught but incredibly grateful to the players, and will give each of them a reward of 100 gold. However, the players might become greedy, and try to sneak off with the cart instead.
Regardless of what the players choose, their next journey will be incredibly treacherous. They might be assaulted by greedy bandits, or hungry wildlife. Perhaps they’ll be accosted by several beggars, each pleading for a minuscule fraction of the new-found fortune. Maybe the players will run into a destitute traveler who has already taken a small portion of the gold for themselves. The difficulty won’t end when the players escape the desert. They’ll have to navigate a city with a cart-ful of cash, probably encountering a host of bums, borrowers, and bankers.
The ending of this adventure is purposefully left open and vague, in the hopes of allowing a playgroup to find their own unique resolution. This adventure can easily act as a one-shot, but could also be the introduction to a bigger, grander story. What will the players do with this new gift of fortune?
Experience Gain
Once the players find the cart of gold, they each earn 300 experience for their combats won and the discoveries made.
Image Credits
Images found on Deviantart:
Page 1: Blood Metal - The City Lost to the Desert by W-E-Z
Page 2: Giant Scorpion by lacillac
Page 3: Desert landscape by rambled
Battle maps made by me