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BACKGROUND Grandmother and Uncle Chortle are using the children of Dunford, a small farming community on the edge of civilization, as a combination work force and livestock herd. Uncle Chortle feeds off the laughter and joy of the children, who then either end up as meals for Grandmother or are sent back into town to lure more children to Grandmother’s house. They make the trip by way of a partially overgrown game trail that few of the residents of Dunford remember. The PCs might be passing through town on the way to somewhere else, with Dunford is the last settled spot in this region, when they hear that several children have gone missing recently. They might decide to look into it out of the goodness of their hearts, or the villagers might offer what riches they can scrounge (probably no more than a few dozen gold pieces) to hire the PCs. Alternatively, the heroes might stumble upon the lake, the house, or the game trail while exploring the wild and find traces of the children there.
CHAPTER 1
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half a dozen bleak ones (see page 151), local children enslaved to Uncle Chortle, raises the total EL to 7. While the children are not dangerous individually, their tactics include striking from a distance and from multiple directions, and they will readily and mindlessly sacrifice themselves for either Grandmother or the jester. DMs seeking an easier encounter might remove the gray jester entirely. In this case, Grandmother instead controls the children through use of various herbal drugs and eyes of charming. If the DM wishes to make the encounter more difficult, he can advance the hag and/or the gray jester, or include adults with class levels among the bleak ones.
DREAD ENCOUNTERS
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Ichor constantly drips from one eye. Fingernails are lacking entirely gnaws fingertips to bloody stumps while talking to PCs. Fasts two days out of every three so skeletally thin that he could be mistaken for a corpse. Hands tremble one eye has nervous tic drags one leg when he walks. One leg has been replaced by a cylindrical metal cage containing a homunculus. Slurs her words when she talks, as though her tongue were numb. Abruptly begins speaking in a way that sounds exactly like someone the PCs know. Coughs constantly while talking to the PCs subject to fits of racking coughs coughs up blood from time to time into an already blood-soaked handkerchief. Both eyes are horribly bloodshot, as though he hadn’t slept in weeks. Speaks through a terrible wheeze, as though gasping desperately for air Nose trickles blood constantly she eagerly licks up. Sweats profusely and appears flushed, even when sitting still. Gets visibly enraged at the mention of an otherwise mundane word or phrase. Seized by sudden fits of extreme terror for no apparent cause. One eye is missing and there’s a button sewn in the back of the gaping socket. Carries a ragged, battered doll that she lavishes with attention and talks to in baby-talk. Whenever he walks into the room, the hairs rise on the back of the PCs’ necks. Picks absently at a large, infected scab. Pulls determinedly at her hair, which is beginning to come away in clumps. Kneels whenever he speaks to the PCs, and prostrates himself when they walk away. Speaks through clenched teeth, as though her jaw were wired shut. Has ritual wounds that refuse to heal (stigmata). Bears a perfect likeness to someone the PCs know.
THE ENCOUNTER The areas described below are keyed to the map entitled “Grandmother’s House” on page 15.
The Game Trail
SAMPLE ENCOUNTER:“TO GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE”
“To Grandmother’s House” occurs in a light wood on a lake, within a day’s travel of a small village. In this scenario, the PCs are faced with the combined horrors of innocence destroyed, cannibalism, and the threat of eternal servitude. The two primary villains are a green hag (Monster Manual, page 143) known as Grandmother and a gray jester (new creature: see page 151) called Uncle Chortle. Both were named by the children they have victimized. The precise relationship between Grandmother and Uncle Chortle is unclear. At times, they act like mother and son; at others, like brother and sister; at still others, like lovers (a horrid image in its own right). Despite being creatures of great evil, they seem to care for each other. It is obvious that Grandmother is the dominant member of the pair. Despite their affection, neither is willing to die for the other.
ENCOUNTER LEVEL “To Grandmother’s House” is an EL 7 encounter. The green hag has a CR of 5, the gray jester a CR of 4. The presence of
This is an old trail, partly overgrown and nearly forgotten by everyone except the children. Following it south approximately 8 miles leads the PCs back to Dunford. The trail is obvious here, but nearer town it’s masked by thick overgrowth. Finding the trail without the aid of a local requires a DC 10 Search or Survival check. As the PCs draw within a mile of Grandmother’s house, the sounds of the wood subtly change. The calls of animals seem to transform into the whimpers and cries of terrified children, then return to normal. The change is so subtle that it initially requires a DC 15 Listen check to notice. Within half a mile of the house, however, the terrified cries become clear. The sounds appear to be coming from the northeast, but they fade away if the PCs attempt to follow them. If the PCs make a second attempt to follow the sounds, the whimpers abruptly escalate into a shriek of agony and then go silent. The animal calls slowly resume and remain normal from that point onward.
The Wood In these areas, the forest thickens. If the PCs wish to make their way deeper into the woods, they need to blaze their
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