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This is not a complete adventure, more to come.
The Troll Priest of the Swamp Ruins
Introduction
Hidden by time and dis you will find the remains of a lost city. What was once a sprawling expanse of magical innovation is now a few scattered buildings covered in muck. The magic these ancient folk wielded can still be found throughout, it weaves through everything in this forsaken stinking bog.
What is this?
Swamp city is a system-agnostic hexcrawl adventure. It could be used in any system or setting as, while it has fantastic themes, it exists in isolation to the known world. It might be on a new planet, or in the last marshes of a post apocalyptic world, or perhaps in Old Forests of the Kingdom. It doesn’t matter your game, you can use this in it.
The adventure does not connect directly to a particular system but it does supply suggestions for the difficulty of encounters. NPCs and Monsters have very simple descriptions that give motivations, reactions, and an indication of how they might approach combat.
Each location has a loose description that is used to guide play. They are not rules, they are not set in stone. They guide play. Describe the location as it best fits your game and let the players, and their characters, interact.
Preparing
Read through the adventure. You might like to print out the text only a4 pages and makes notes on them as you go.
Each location in the swamp can be put into any hex on the hexmap provided (feel free to use any hexmap you like too). If you would like a random element, Roll 10d6 onto to the map. Each location the dice falls is the location of a room. The number on the dice represents the number of Explorers at the location, a result of 5 and 6 means there are no Explorers. Any explorers or any other NPCs or monsters in the description of the location.
Gamemasters, you do not need to go overboard with your preparation. Let the table, the dice, and the characters tell the story.
The Swamp
It smells. This water is stagnant. Mosquitoes buzz and bite, the air does not move, and there are things moving in the water. There are rocky mounds with the carved entrances scattered throughout and you’ve seen the flicker of torches in some of them. Then it starts to rain.
| d6 |
What brings you here? |
| 1 |
The allure of magic. |
| 2 |
In search of a lost amulet. |
| 3 |
This place is the X on your map. |
| 4 |
You’ve lost your way. |
| 5 |
A healer lives here, they can cure the plague. |
| 6 |
The Troll Priest can extend life. |
Moving through the swamp
Each hex takes 4 hours to move through. Whenever the party moves into a new hex roll of the table below. This table can be rolled on when a complication arises too.
| d20 |
Complication |
| 1 |
A huge swarm of mosquitoes engulf on of the party. |
| 2 |
A dead explorer covered in leeches. |
| 3 |
A crocodile. Looks like it’s sleeping. |
| 4 |
Three frogs sitting on lilly pads. They’re talking to each other. |
| 5 |
An explorer violently swinging a sword in the air screaming “I see you!” |
| 6 |
1d6 explorers resting at their camp. |
| 7 |
A quivering pile of rotten vegetation. |
| 8 |
The water at your feet begins to bubble and steam. It is boiling! |
| 9 |
A small sting on your leg. It’s a leech. It is many leeches |
| 10 |
Roll Twice |
The Explorers
Folks have travelled far to explore these ruins. There are always folks moving through the swamp in search of magic, treasure, and secrets. The term explorer is used loosely. They can be anything that suits your setting; bandits seeking gold, cultists in search of artefacts, or cyborg scavengers collecting relics of the past. They all work.
Use this table to whenever an explorer’s reaction would be unclear.
Generic Reaction Table
| d6 |
Reaction |
| 2 |
Hostile, they attack immediately. |
| 3-5 |
Aggressive, slightest wrong move they will attack. |
| 6-8 |
Wary, they keep their distance. |
| 9-11 |
Curious, they want to know more. |
| 12 |
Thankful & positive, they want to be your friends. |
Roll of this loot table whenever an explorer is being searched, dead or alive.
| d12 |
Item |
| 1 |
One quarter of a mouldy map of the swamp. |
| 2 |
Finely crafted lockpicks. |
| 3 |
A bundle of five torches. |
| 4 |
A handwritten dictionary of the hieroglyphics used in the city. |
| 5 |
Well made but well used leather gloves. |
| 6 |
A pair of compasses that point towards each other. |
| 7 |
An expertly crafted dagger. |
| 8 |
A torch dipped in citronella oil. |
| 9 |
1d4 six sided dice carved from red bone. |
| 10 |
A battered but serviceable nasal helmet. |
| 11 |
The street address of a location in the nearest city. |
| 12 |
A key carved from purple stone. |
