The Nature GM

Greetings, brave travelers. Once again I meet you with two more side quests for different wilderness environments. They offer elements to spark player curiosity and risk possible danger just to see what lies beyond. As with the previous set, they are best suited for parties level 3-6.

These side quests also test the principle that if a player character is handed anything, they will add it to their inventory.

Desert: A Spring with No Name

Setup

The party is travelling across a desert and reaches a large mesa rock formation with several spires and arches around it. As they pass through the shade offered by this formation, they notice a vertical crevice with a trickle of water flowing from the bottom.

Through the Crevice

The crevice is narrow and only allows one person to pass through at a time. It angles sharply, and after about fifteen feet it opens into a hollow at the center of the mesa. The hollow is twenty-five feet across, and the walls are over a hundred feet tall. At the back of the hollow is a natural spring that flows into a small pool, shaded by a desert willow.

All around the walls of the hollow are cracks and crevices that giant scorpions begin crawling out of. They are hungry and want nothing more than to eat the characters. The first wave should be just one or two, followed by a wave of reinforcements that test the characters’ might.

The Spring

Once the scorpions are defeated, the spring and willow tree provide a very pleasant place to rest. The spring water is clear, cold, and good for drinking. It confers some combination of boons, such as:

• Recovering health
• Augmented eyesight, in the dark or over long distances
• Boosting the power of attacks or damage
• Providing protection against heat

These boons are temporary and end once the party has finished crossing the desert. If the water is bottled, its magical properties are not retained.

Coast: The Last Voyage

Setup

The party is walking along a rocky coastline. They see what initially looks like a flat, angled boulder just off the shore. As they get closer, they recognize it as a wrecked and partially submerged sailing ship.

The Ship

The ship is covered in algae and barnacles. It seems like it was wrecked many years ago. Any characters with sailing knowledge recognize that there is a safe way through the rocks, but for whatever reason the ship did not take it. The characters can just make out the name Kairos painted on the ship’s stern.

Exploring the ship reveals a school of startled fish, a splintered barrel, lots of very wet rope, and a sole skeleton at the helm. The skeleton is gripping the wheel tightly even in death.

When the characters see the skeleton, the following occurs:

A loud humming fills the air, and the entire ship is bathed in a bright glow. Your vision fades out to black. When you regain your senses, you are sailing on the open water. Captain Ichabod Ramsey is shouting that you are under attack. He orders you to defend the ship while he brings you safely to shore.

Fight to the Shore

The characters and Captain Ramsey are the only people on the ship. Several sea devils are rising from the water and climbing the ship’s hull. There is at least one sea devil per character and two for the captain. They will gang up on the captain and try to make him crash upon the rocks.

Captain Ramsey will focus on sailing unless he is directly attacked, in which case he will attempt to sail one-handed and fend off the attack with a cutlass.

If the characters defeat all the sea devils without Captain Ramsey dying or getting too distracted, they sail safely into the harbor. If they do not, the ship crashes onto the rocks.

Either way, their vision blacks out again. When they come to, they are back in their own time on the ruined ship.

The Captain’s Reward

If the characters safely brought the ship to harbor, the skeleton captain gives them a gold medallion that casts wind-based spells. If they did not, he gives them a lump of cursed coal that causes terrible nightmares until it is discarded.

The skeleton of Captain Ichabod Ramsey then crumbles into dust and is blown away by the wind.

Closing Thoughts

I would like to propose that a beach is a sort of desert. They are both generally flat, sandy, and featureless at a macro level. They might have dunes. Most animal and vegetative life is concentrated in small pockets of water and shelter.

Would it be more exciting to find a wrecked ship in a desert? It would certainly invite more questions.

However, with side quests that are not meant to balloon into a plot of their own, I am biased towards plausibility and predictability. And so I have kept the ships to shores.

This completes my wilderness side quest series for the moment. Next I want to do something will the truly delightful fantasy stock images I frequently sift through…what, exactly, remains to be seen.

Until then, keep exploring!