No Prep Module: Ogre Problem for D&D or RPGs

This adventure can be can be easily customized to a party of any size or level, or run as a level 5 adventure for 5 players. It can work as a small side adventure in an existing campaign, as a standalone one-shot, or the start of a new adventure. Use the links to the tools in their relevant section to customize the adventure to your party.

A river flows as clear as a blue winter sky through the plain. The terrain of is a charming collage of colors, completely wrapped in heavy crystals. It's clear and sunny with a refreshing breeze. High above the plain stands a facade carved into the side of a cliff face. It consists of two colossal tapering pillars flanking an outcropping. A group of ogres stand upon the cliff, arguing with an armed group of villagers across the road. As your group comes along the road there's a brief pause as they look at you.

There's a showdown between ogres and villagers, with the PCs standing in the middle of the trap both sides are using to keep the other at bay. PCs need to negotiate with the two sides while disarming the trap safely.

Whirling Poison Blades

Spinning blades are released in the floor or walls. The blades move back and forth along a track, cutting up anything or anyone in their path.

Effect: Initiative +3, moves 60 ft. in a straight line each turn. If it enters another creature's space, 53 (10d10) slashing damage. Moves back and forth along a track.

Countermeasures: A successful DC 20 Persuasion check can calm both sides. A successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools disarms the trap.

A family of Giants have moved into the nearby mountains, forcing the Ogres to move down and attack the villages at the foot of the mountain. The PCs may agree to help clear out the giants or try to negotiate on the ogres behalf. If the PCs decide to simply kill the Ogres, jump down to the rock avalanche below, and after a couple days the Giants will start attacking the villages.

The giant stronghold is on a mountainous cliffs. The mountain appears to have been cleaved in two and create two crumbling peaks with a narrow cut of a valley between them. It does not appear naturally created.

Enemy Patrol: 2 Forest Marauder (CR 4: Tome of Beasts p. 205) [Medium, 2,200 XP rewarded] [Customize]
Chance of Encounter Per Rest: 25%

1

A black, biting tunnel turns down into the stronghold, the air growing ever more musty. Veils and curtains of webbing fill the room, making it hard to gauge its width and depth. A plain, L-shaped-shaped carpet covers the floor to the west. In the center of the western wall, a space has been cleared for a simple sleeping pallet and a pair of large satchels. The stony floor is draped with more than a dozen bundles of decrepit leather, discolored fabric scraps, and torn pillows that serve as beds. The walls are adorned with bones and skulls, arranged in a morbidly decorative fashion. Across the room, a set of double doors stands closed.

There are 3 Thursir Giant (CR 3: Tome of Beasts p. 227) [Hard, 2,100 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

2

This room has a 15-foot-high ceiling and a large yellow altar on the crystal floor. Benches coated with centuries of dust lie about the floor in haphazard disarray. A constricted ledge on the west side oversees a stream. A bridge of crystal spans the gap, leading to a long ridge on the west side that follows the course to the east. A short flight of crystal steps leads down to a stone door that stands half-open. A stone door in the east wall is carved with a human's visage.

In this room is Green Slime (Drops from above. DC 10 Dex, 1d10 acid damage, damage each round until removed. Nonmagical wood, metal weapon or tool used to remove is destroyed. Destroyed by sunlight, cure disease, cold, fire, or radiant)

In the east passage is an unlocked door.

3

The smell of burnt crates and humid earth hangs heavy here. A rocky hill sits at the top of a steep, irregular rockfall about 45 feet high. A short flight of stairs leads up to a small, iron-bound door. A moist halfling skull is fixed to the center of the door by a stone spike. Cobwebs hang like dusty lace down every side of the room. The east end of this room has collapsed, exposing the room beyond.

There are 3 Thursir Giant (CR 3: Tome of Beasts p. 227) [Hard, 2,100 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

4

This concave room hooks up a long room to the north and a slope to a terrace that grows to the southwest. Stone hooks line the walls, and a dusty green cloak and cowl hangs from one hook in the center of the north wall. A long, sagging bed sits to one side under a massive ruined tapestry. Several furnishings decorate this room, made entirely of human bones. Four enormous mounds of bones occupy the corners of this room, and garlands of skulls extend from these mounds to a chandelier of bones that hangs from the ceiling. A strong smell of dust fills this room, in the middle of which stands benches. A blanket of moisture covers the tabletop with its kettles and utensils. A passage to the south bends out of view, while decaying stone doors obscure a chamber to the west.

In this room is a trap. A phrase etched on a wall is enchanted to trigger when read aloud, which makes scalding hot steam fill the area via vents in the floor.

Effect: Targets all creatures within a 10 ft. square area, scalding hot steam fills the area. Any target that starts or moves through the area takes 15 (2d10) damage per turn.

Trigger: forbidden phrase, activates when etched runes are read aloud.

Countermeasures: A spell or other effect that can sense the presence of magic, such as detect magic, reveals an aura of divination magic around the phrase. A successful dispel magic (DC 11) cast on the phrase destroys the trap.

A strong gust of wind (at least 10mph) will disperse the steam. [Customize]

5

A separate post of light pours illumination into the room, its brightness looking like a solid pillar in the thick, verdant plant life. The light casts curious shadows across the faces of seven soapstone humans standing motionlessly on the edges of the walls. The walls were once dressed with tile mosaics, but they have been destroyed and defiled by graffiti. Tiny fragments of tile litter the floor. Cut into the wall is a small but strong-looking door of iron plates, about five feet tall and four feet wide. Thick rivets stud its surface, and a tarnished silver rune gleams on the door’s rusted face.

In the south passage is an unlocked door.

6

This room stands in deadly silence. Five long soapstone tables are set with steel and glass laboratory equipment in this room. The rocky walls glisten with liquid, and a weird array of colorful ore and irregular mushrooms lend an unearthly beauty to this spot. Towering doors of iron-bound ash exit to the east and south.

There are 2 Zimwi (CR 4: Tome of Beasts p. 415) [Medium, 2,200 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

There is a runed orb and recess here. When the orb is rolled into the recessed pit, it causes the door to slowly open at the red passage.

In the south passage (red) is a large door, locked securely (DC 30) and magically sealed.

7

The crystal floor is veiled beneath a thick tapestry. Several tables stand throughout the room, weighed down by stacks of glass phials and jugs, all of them bearing labels. Stone hooks line the walls, and a slick yellow top hat hangs from one hook in the middle of the north wall. The floor is dressed with sleeping furs, crates, sacks, and rubbish. Several old skeletons lie sprinkled near the northern wall. Damp sconces sit in various places, and bright cured animal hides are cloaked haphazardly around the room. Across the room, a set of double doors stands closed. A plain stone door is set into the west wall, and light seeps through its cracks. A pair of leaded glass doors, their panes cracked and broken, stand open between panels of stained glass set into the east wall. These panels depict tarrasques.

There are 2 Five-Armed Troll (CR 5: Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage) [Hard, 3,600 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

8

This immense room is a place of chilly, brooding blackness. The area is sprinkled with well-gnawed bones, cobwebs, and droppings. Two hobgoblins are sitting around a table, playing dice for copper pieces. The tunnel splits ahead, with one branch running west and the other continuing on to a lit room.

In the west passage is an unlocked door.

9

The smell of animal musk is sharp as you enter this darkly organized room. A cloaked figure is draped over, and a gray mace lies on the floor near its feet. A door stands closed to the north. On each side of the exit, heavy fog clings to the floor, obscuring everything that lies less than two feet above it. A stone door in the south wall is carved with a human's visage.

In this room is Green Slime (Drops from above. DC 10 Dex, 1d10 acid damage, damage each round until removed. Nonmagical wood, metal weapon or tool used to remove is destroyed. Destroyed by sunlight, cure disease, cold, fire, or radiant)

In the south passage (green) is a wide, deep pit that spans the passage with a ruined rope bridge hanging from the side.

10

Double stone doors lead into a barrel-vaulted area containing several piles of metal ingots. The air is hazy with the smoke of a fire. A golden-brown tapestry of mold covers an old skeleton in rusted scale in the eastern part of the room. A rough, winding path leads toward the north. Past the room, the hallway turns back to rough soapstone and turns to the east.

There are 1 Biclops (CR 6: Fifth Edition Foes p. 26), 1 Ettin (CR 4: Monster Manual p. 132) [Hard, 3,400 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

In the east passage is an unlocked door.

11

A relatively diamond-shaped room opens up past a set of double doors. A couple dozen long crystal sepulchers border the room walls, each carved with perplexing reliefs and designs and marked with human runes. Opening off both sides of this room are alcoves that contain decrepit a tattered notebook, dirty rags, and surgical tools. A door stands closed to the north. Across the room, a set of double doors stands closed. Cut into the wall is a small but strong-looking door of iron plates, about five feet tall and four feet wide. Dense rivets stud its surface, and a tarnished silver rune gleams on the door’s rusted face. Massive stone gates hang on the stonework, mud clinging to the bars.

An object in this room locks or unlocks exits.

In the east passage is an unlocked door.

In the north passage (red) is a large door, locked securely (DC 30) and magically sealed.

In the south passage (blue) is a wall of solid rock that blocks the path.

12

The walls are carved with the sullen images of humans, and a low crystal iron throne stands at the northern end of the room. Confined corridors lead off to the east and the west. Two open stone chests stand against the east wall. A layer of fine gravel coats the inside of the chests and the floor around them. Pentagrams sit away from the double doors that give access to the room. A gate of rough-hewn timber blocks a brief passage to the north.

There are 2 Flab Giant (CR 4: Tome of Beasts p. 223) [Medium, 2,200 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

In the north passage is an unlocked door.

13

Guttering orange torches set in sconces along the walls illuminate the room, and a mighty summoning circle sits on a podium at the opposite end. Attached to the north wall is a steel plate that has an stone lever protruding downward. Unusual stains cover the floor of this area. Cut into the wall is a small but strong-looking door of iron plates, about five feet tall and four feet wide. Wide rivets stud its surface, and a tarnished silver rune glimmers on the door’s rusted face. A door next to the far wall leads to the north. Worn gray drapes cover the windows of this circular room, and a heavy curtain hangs across an archway to the east.

There are 2 Troll (CR 5: Monster Manual p. 291) [Hard, 3,600 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

In the east passage (red) is a large door, locked securely (DC 30) and magically sealed.

14

The roof over this part of the stronghold has collapsed, creating a yawning hole with vandalized rafters bisecting it. Farther away, a single door leads from the south wall. Cut into the wall is a small but strong-looking door of iron plates, about five feet tall and four feet wide. Heavy rivets stud its surface, and a tarnished silver rune sheens on the door’s rusted face. Shattered glass and the remains of shattered tables cover the floor in the dry section of the room. A door stands closed to the north.

If the room is searched, they find 1100 cp, 7000 sp, 2400 gp, 110 pp,

250 gp valuables (1250 gp total): 2 Bronze crown, 2 Box of turquoise animal figurines, and Brass mug with jade inlay

There is a puzzle: What is it that after you take away the whole, some still remains? A: Wholesome. Solving the puzzle causes the rope bridge to magically repair at the green passage.

In the west passage (red) is a large door, locked securely (DC 30) and magically sealed.

In the north passage (green) is a wide, deep pit that spans the passage with a ruined rope bridge hanging from the side.

15

A balcony set into the north wall looks upon the room and has two towering portals atop it, with a green velvet curtain behind them. A black archway leads out through the north wall. Piled around the room are excrement, barrels, skins, and old bookshelves draped with cobwebs and mud. Directly across from the wood bars stands a set of double doors in the east wall.

In this room is Brown Mold (Frigid temperature. DC 12 Con, 4d10 cold damage, half on save. Immune to fire, causes it to expand. Destroyed by cold)

If the room is searched, they find 700 cp, 9000 sp, 1900 gp, 120 pp,

250 gp valuables (500 gp total): Carved ivory statuette, and Brass mug with jade inlay

There are 1 Thursir Giant (CR 3: Tome of Beasts p. 227), 1 Ettin (CR 4: Monster Manual p. 132), 1 Flab Giant (CR 4: Tome of Beasts p. 223) [Deadly, 2,900 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

There is a token here. When the token is brought to the passage, it causes the rock wall to lower into the ground at the blue passage.

In the north passage (blue) is a wall of solid rock that blocks the path.

16

There is little dust on the ground, but light fog tumbles down from above. Glints of light seem to flash from a crystal ball on a table. A crevasse passes over a steep slab of bedrock in front of a short passage. The cave beyond is long and low, with an uneven ceiling about 70 feet high. A door stands closed to the east. A gate of rough-hewn timber blocks a lengthy passage to the north. A door next to the far wall leads to the west.

There are 2 Hill Giant (CR 5: Monster Manual p. 155) [Hard, 3,600 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]

17

A deathly silence fills the room. A long, sagging bed sits to one side under a squat ruined tapestry. This rectangular shaped vault is filled with mud. The arched ceiling 50 feet above is painted black and sparkles with a display of humans at battle with tarrasques. A door stands closed to the east. A barricade next to the far wall leads to the west.

In this room is a trap. This trap is activated when an intruder steps on one of the alternating hidden pressure plates that opens a wall to reveal a huge man-eating plant that tries to eat anyone nearby.

Effect: Initiative +2, +11 to hit against one target, a wall opens to reveal a huge man-eating plant which tries to eat anyone nearby. The plant deals 58 (10d10) damage on a hit. Targets hit by the plant are restrained until it's killed or they escape with a DC 19 STR check.

Trigger: alternate tiles, activates when 20 or more pounds are placed on alternating floor tiles.

Countermeasures: A successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check will deduce that the alternating floor tiles are pressure plates, and wedging an iron spike or other object under the pressure plates prevents the trap from activating. Alternatively, step on the safe floor tiles in alternating order.

The plant is immobile and vulnerable to fire damage. It will not distinguish between allies, enemies, or already dead targets, and will not grab more than 2 targets at a time. [Customize]

18

Cracked and crumbling cots and ripped weave are showered about this 40-by-20-foot room. A long, sagging bed sits to one side under a long tarnished tapestry. Soapstone arches support a ceiling enveloped with frescoes 75 feet overhead. The frescoes depict armored knights on horseback, their finer features marred beyond recognition. A table, a bench, and a writing desk have been badly damaged. A barricade next to the far wall leads to the north. Small doors of iron-bound ash exit to the south and west.

In the room is a puzzle: A box without hinges, lock or key, yet golden treasure lies within. What is it? A: An egg.

If the puzzle is solved, they find 700 cp, 3000 sp, 1700 gp, 140 pp, Potion of Climbing, Potion of healing, Potion of Climbing, Spell scroll (1st level), Potion of healing, Spell Scroll (cantrip),

250 gp valuables (1000 gp total): Gold ring set with bloodstones, Carved ivory statuette, Silk robe with gold embroidery, and Brass mug with jade inlay

In the west passage is an unlocked door.

19

Attached to the south wall are two torch sconces. The nearest one holds a torch with a complex metal base. In the middle of the room, stands a grand, plain iron tub with clawed feet. The tub is full of blood. Past the room, the hallway turns back to rough soapstone and turns to the east.

In this room is a trap. A door or chest is rigged to activate when opened, which releases the spell stored within the trapped object.

Effect: +3 to hit against one target, Casts Earth Tremor centered on the trigger with a DC of 11 (if relevant)

Trigger: door, activates when a door or chest is opened.

Countermeasures: The DC to spot the attached wire is 10. A successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools breaks the wire attached to the door harmlessly. A character without thieves' tools can attempt this check with disadvantage using any edged weapon or edged tool. On a failed check, the trap triggers.

Casting dispel magic (DC 20) on the trap will cancel the stored spell. [Customize]

If the room is searched, they find 210 sp, and 90 gp

20

On the other side of the rickety stone doors, a smooth room serves as a den. A plain, T-shaped-shaped mat covers the floor to the south. On the soapstone floor, fallen chandeliers lie amid decaying paintings and other furnishings. The floor is wrapped in stone, and the rocky ceiling stands 70 feet high. Seven wooden training dummies stand against the walls, all of them nicked and splintered. Benches coated with centuries of dust lie about the floor in disorderly disarray. A barricade next to the far wall leads to the north. The tunnel continues past the room, curving abruptly to the west and out of sight.

In this room is Violet Fungus: This purplish mushroom uses root-like feelers growing from its base to creep across cavern floors. The four stalks protruding from a violet fungis central mass are used to lash out at prey, rotting flesh with the slightest touch. Any creature killed by a violet fungus decomposes rapidly. A new violet fungus sprouts from the moldering corpse, growing to full size in 2d6 days.

In the west passage is a locked door (DC 15). Key could be found on a nearby creature or furniture.

Return to the Ogres

With the giants defeated, the ogres are grateful to the party for allowing them to return home. However, while they were gone, the ogres were working on an even greater trap to take out the PCs and kill everyone in the village in one fell swoop: a boulder avalanche.

This is half combat and half skill challenge, ask the PCs what they're going to do, and come up with an appropriate skill to match what they describe. Additionally, if the ogres see the PCs not dying horribly to the avalanche, they're going to start throwing boulders of their own to finish them off. If the PC passes a DC 15 skill check they're able to take a combat turn to deal with the ogres, otherwise they lose the ability to attack and need to deal with the consequences of their failed attempt. For example, if they tried and failed to stop some of the boulders from rolling into the village, several people will be crushed and they'll need to spend time helping them. Additionally, make a +6 attack roll against their AC that on hit deals 2d6 bludgeoning damage as boulders bash them around.

After defeating 5 Ogres, the rest will flee.

Depending on how things went down, the villages (and villagers) may be badly damaged in the crossfire. The PCs may want to help rebuild, and if they do the villagers will be so moved by their heroism and generosity that they're gifted a Sentinel Shield, which gives AC +2 as well as advantage on initiative rolls and Perception checks.

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