Court of the Badger King

By Taylor Navarro


The Court of the Badger King is a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS encounter for characters of level 3-5 traveling through a countryside or wooded area.

Synopsis

While traveling, the characters notice signs of badger activity and come across the entrance to a labyrinthine sett (a network of tunnels and chambers occupied by badgers) containing a badger population capable of speaking Common. Characters who enter fall directly into the presence of the Badger King, a curious and cautious monarch, who they can trade with for assistance in leaving the sett or fight to gain freedom.

Encounter Information

Use the following information to run the encounter.

The Sett

The following features are common throughout the sett.

Entrance. The sett is entered by a 10 by 5 foot hole in the ground surrounded by large mounds of dirt creating difficult terrain in a 15 foot radius around the entrance. The tunnel’s steep slope can be climbed on a successful DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check. Characters using a climber’s kit reduce the DC by 5 and have advantage on the roll if assisted by the badgers.

Tunnels. All tunnels are 10 feet high and 8 feet wide. The maze is swiftly navigated on a successful DC 18 Wisdom (Survival) check. Badgers, or characters assisted by badgers, automatically succeed on this check and can quickly find key locations—including the exit. On a failure, the characters are lost for 1d4 hours before finding their intended location.

The King’s Chamber

The King’s Chamber is a 60 foot square and the largest room in the sett, with 50 feet long tunnels on the east, west, and south walls. The ceilings are 20 feet high and held up by six dirt pillars spaced evenly 10 feet away from the east and west walls. Each pillar has an AC 8 and 15 hit points.

If a pillar is destroyed the ceiling within a 5 foot radius immediately collapses. All creatures within this area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a success they move out of the area into the nearest unoccupied space. On a failure they fall prone and must use half their movement to escape the debris. If three or more pillars are destroyed, the ceiling for the whole chamber collapses after 1 round. Creatures caught under the debris are blinded, suffocating, and each foot of movement costs 4 feet of movement for creatures without a burrowing speed.

Underground Citizens

The sett is populated by 1d6 badgers and 1d4 giant badgers with the following change to their stat blocks: they can speak and understand Common, Sylvan, and Undercommon.

All badgers walk on all fours, and are wearing red and blue tabards with decorative wooden swords. The badgers can communicate in grunts—a language referred to as Badger—which is understood using speak with animals.

The Badger King

The Badger King (see stat block below) is an imposing creature wearing a crown of bones and antlers adorned with trinkets and jewelry. Use the following information when roleplaying the badger king:

Personality Trait. The Badger King is incredibly curious about the surface world, and asks questions about unusual items they openly carry.

Ideal. The land and culture of the badger-kin are scared and in need of protection from humanoids who might seek to destroy it.

Bond. The Badger King would fight to the death to protect those in his charge, and would expect the same of them in return.

Flaw. The Badger King believes himself and his small army are stronger than they are. He boasts of their martial prowess if given the chance and believes they can defeat the characters.

Running the Encounter

Characters with a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 13 or higher, or who are proficient in Nature, notice claw marks on any wooden fencing or trees in the area during travel. On a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception or Survival) reveals tufts of gray, black and white fur on prickly flora (e.g. holly bushes or thistles); whereas a successful DC 13 Investigation check reveals partially concealed holes in the grass covered with fresh dirt mounds. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check determines these are indicators of badger activity. The DC is reduced by 1 for each additional clue found.

Characters searching for the sett find a partially concealed entrance after 1d10 minutes of investigation. Characters who approach the sett—or a randomly determined character if the adventurers aren’t looking— must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or fall into the tunnel and down the slope. Characters who fall into the tunnel don’t take damage and slide through a series of tunnels and are deposited in the king’s chamber. Creatures who follow them also end up in the same location.

The badgers are curious and nonhostile when the characters first enter the chamber. Should the characters attempt to talk, the Badger King strikes up conversation in Common (see Peaceful Parlay section), however should anyone pull out a weapon or threaten the king or his subjects, the Badger King initiates combat (see Fearful Fighting section).

Peaceful Parlay

If conversation is struck, the Badger King will offer the party a guide to exit the sett in exchange for an offering. Though he will not specify exactly what he will accept, the following offerings grant passage out of the sett:

  • Fruit, dried meats, or eggs
  • Gold coins
  • Various tools or other mundane items (e.g. hammer, pitons, flasks, etc.)

If a character offers the Badger King a magical item, he becomes overjoyed and grants the Seal of the Badger King in return.

Upon receiving the offering, one giant badger per two characters escort the characters to the surface.. The king summons more from the tunnels if enough giant badgers aren’t present in the chamber. Characters wishing to ride on a giant badger must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion or Animal Handling) check. On a successful DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check, the king allows a character to ride his back and join the escort out of the sett.

Seal of the Badger King

Wonderous item, uncommon

The scratches on this wooden pendant resemble a crown. Once per day, as an action you can cast conjure animals without expending a spell slot or requiring concentration, summoning eight badgers from the king’s court. If used within a forest area, the badgers can guide the characters towards a destination, even if they are lost by magical means. This item’s ability resets each day at dawn.

Ferocious Fighting

The Badger King initiates combat by calling his badgerkin to arms and using his Dig action before initiative is rolled. If the Badger King dies, any remaining badgers use the Dash action to flee into the tunnels and leave the characters undisturbed for as long as they are in the sett. The trinkets and jewelry on the king’s crown are worth 20gp altogether, and a successful DC 11 Intelligence (Arcana or Investigation) check reveals the crown is magical.

The Crown of the Badger King

Wonderous item, uncommon

When wearing this crown you can comprehend and verbally communicate with any creature with a burrowing speed, though their knowledge and awareness may be limited by their Intelligence score.

The Badger King

Large beast, unaligned

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 90 (12d10+24)
  • Speed 30ft., burrow 45 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 15 (+3) 16 (+2) 13 (+2) 10 (0) 9 (-1)
  • Skills Perception +4
  • Senses passive Perception 10
  • Languages Telepathy 80 ft., Badger, Common, Elvish, Sylvan, and Undercommon
  • Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Actions

Multiattack. The badger king makes three attacks: one with his bite and two with his claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 4) slashing damage. On a hit, the target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Dig. As part of this action the badger king Disengages and burrows into the ground, moving up to its maximum burrowing speed and gaining a +5 bonus to all Dexterity (Stealth) checks when concealed in this way.



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This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast. Such material is used with permission under the Open Gaming License.


All other original material in this work is copyright 2019 by Taylor Navarro and published under the Open Gaming License.