“Bobold the Kobold”
Difficulty: This adventure is for 4 to 6 level 1 players.
Run Time: 2 to 4 hours.
Summary
An ancient wizard who was causing cursed rain that turned people into zombies has been defeated, but a single Kobold, named Bobold, escaped and is trying to bring his soul back. The party must chase him through the wizard's lair and stop him, but can they avoid the traps he has set in their way?
Setup: Purple Rain
The party is set upon by 4 zombies(MM316) after a short rain of purple liquid. During the battle, the castle on the hill is lit with lightning strikes. As the battle ends, describe the topmost tower of the castle exploding. An adventurer is blown off the tower and lands at the party's feet.
Investigation: Loose Threads
The party can discover the following information while talking with the adventurer before he dies.
The wizard in the tower was causing the strange purple rain and was controlling the zombies.
The adventurer's friends died while fighting the wizard.
They managed to trap the wizard's soul in a ring of mind shielding.
A single kobold escaped with the ring.
The kobold is on his way to the lowest dungeon to throw the ring into the lava to destroy it and free his master.
The entrance to the lower levels of the castle dungeon is through a sewer grate on the side of the mountain.
Evil Ally: Flumph
When the party enters the sewers they meet a Flumph(MM135) named Florence. Florence claims to want to help them with anything they need and acts friendly, but really he is friends with Bobold the Kobold and will lead the party into traps. If Flumph is with the party, all characters have disadvantage on all saving throws against traps.
Exploration: The Dungeon
Use the dungeon from DMG p.312 or build your own dungeon using DMG p.290-301 or your prefered method. Populate the dungeon with the following traps or make more traps of your own design.
Bear Trap: The PC in the front of the party rolls perception DC10. On a failure the trap makes an attack roll at +8 against the player for 1d10 piercing damage. On a hit, that player's speed is 0. An athletics check DC15 is required to open the trap. Thieves Tools DC10 disables.
Crossbow Tripwire: The PC in front of the party rolls perception DC15. On a failure they trip the wire and two bolts are fired at them at +8 to hit for 1d10 damage. DC15 thieves tools to disarm. A failure triggers the trap.
Falling Portcullis: If the entire party is in the same room, all of them roll perception DC20. If any one of them fail, they step on a pressure plate that drops a portcullis down behind them, preventing them from going back the way they came. Thieves Tools DC20 disables.
Swinging Bucket: A bucket of rocks tied on a rope swings down. Roll an attack at +4 for 1d4 bludgeoning damage.
Collapsing corridor: The corridor behind the party starts collapsing. Players that don't use their full dash action to run must make a dexterity saving throw DC13. On a failure they take 1d8 bludgeoning damage or half on a successful save. The entire corridore is difficult terrain after that.
Caltrops: Bobold the Kobold throws caltrops on the path in front of the party that covers the ground ahead of them for 30ft. Characters must move at half speed or take 1 damage for each 5 ft traveled.
Barrel of Tar: A barrel of tar is spilled out onto the party. Each PC makes a dexterity saving throw DC12. On a failure, that PC's movement is reduced by half and can't use reactions. On their turn they can only use an action or a bonus action, not both, and can't make more than one attack each turn. It takes an entire short rest to clean, or 10 minutes to clean with magic assistance.
Bucket of Centipedes: Make an attack roll +4 for 1d4 bludgeoning damage. On a hit, a swarm of centipedes lands on that character and they are surprised. On a miss, the swarm is in front of the character and attacks.
Atmosphere: Dungeon Aftermath
As the party moves through the rooms of the dungeon avoiding traps, describe each room as having the aftermath of a higher level battle. The adventurers that killed the wizard snuck into his castle from below, ascended his tower, and fought him. Now the party is seeing the aftermath of those encounters. Some things to include are:
An ogre half disolved by acid.
A dead mimic.
A room littered with bones from destroyed skeletons.
A dead young red dragon missing it's teeth and claws.
A room chared black with soot and ash.
A hobgoblin tied to a chair, apparently tortured to death.
A yeti head in one room. The body in another room.
A Grimlock impaled on a stalagmite, still alive but dying and unable to free itself.
Climax: Bobold's Revenge
After you feel you've thrown enough traps at the party, or after they've explored enough of the dungeon, or if they make it to the basement then they meet Bobold the Kobold(MM195) at the edge of the lava. During combat the only action Bobold makes is to try to throw the ring into the lava. A player can roll an athletics or acrobatics check DC15 to catch the ring. If the ring breaks, a ghostly spectre emerges from it, merges with the Flumph and consumes Bobold the Kobold. After that the spectre/Flumph materializes into a lich laughing manaiacaly, tosses the party to the side without killing them, and leaves. If the party prevents the rings's destruction, they get a Ring of Mind Shielding containing the soul of a powerful evil archmage that wants to turn the world undead.
Wrap-Up: Looting the Castle
The party searches the rest of the castle and finds some loot but no sign of the lich. If they explore the top of the tower they can roll and extra treasure table roll as they search the dead adventurers.
Treasure: Roll twice on Treasure Hoard: Challenge 1-4 table on DMG p.137 and a Ring of Mind Shielding.
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