“War is Heaven”
Difficulty: This adventure is for 4 to 6 level 7 characters with a run time of 1 to 2 hours per mission up to 12 hours.
Special Notes: Epic Heroism, with a Long rest of 1 hour and a short rest of 5 minutes is recommended if a group wants to play multiple parts of this adventure in a row.
Summary
The party is called to the front lines of a battlefield to be briefed by the general. During the briefing an assassin appears and kills the general in front of them.
Setup: To War!
The party is called upon by their allies to help aid General Krusk Zatchet, the half orc in battle. The promise of treasure and glory should be enough to lure them on the adventure, but if not have a friendly NPC that they care about be involved in the war effort and already on the front lines. The messenger who is asking them to come has with him enough wyverns for the party to each ride one to the battlefield. To fly to the battlefield, each PC must make DC15 Animal Handling, Athletics, and Acrobatics checks. If a PC fails 1 then they take 3d10 fire damage from magic artillery fire on the ground, if a PC fails a second time, then they gain a point of exhaustion from wrestling with the beast to keep it in formation. If a PC fails the third roll then they roll on the Lingering Injury Table of DMG272. If a PC fails all 3 rolls, they make a dexterity saving throw DC20. If they fail, the wyvern is impaled by a ballista bolt and the PC falls 5d20 feet off the back of the wyvern onto the battlefield below. The wyverns take the PCs to a sheltered, dugout overhang in a series of trenches dug in a large field. Smoke rises in the distance in all directions. Troops of all types can be seen moving around trying to keep cover. Explosions throw dirt and dust into the air frequently.
Investigation: Briefing
General Krusk Zatchet and his 2nd in command, Murook Kreel, are standing by a table that has a rough representation of the battlefield on it with markers that indicate troop movement. The general thanks the PCs for coming to help. He starts to explain the situation, but keeps getting interrupted. Let the party see the following interactions as different messengers enter and talk with the General:
Goblins(12 Goblin Boss and 20 Goblins MM166) have collapsed the fortifications in the left rear flank. Krust sends orders to Captain Arrakk Belltower to deal with it.
A dragon(Young Black MM88) has Unit 7 pinned down in a ravine on the north side of the front lines. The general orders a group of dwarven diggers to extract them.
The mage artillerists are running low on guano and sulfur and the supply wagon can't get past a collapsed bridge. The general sends orders to Vaath Reyn to recover the supplies and transport them on foot.(Stone Giant MM156)
Scouts report enemies marching around the south side with a large number of undead. The general sends orders for a regiment to take a group of clerics to go hallow the grounds. (4 Ogre Zombies, 8 Zombies MM316)
An enemy was been captured yesterday. The general sends word that any intel recovered be brought to him immediately(Maurezhi MToF133, 4 Ghouls MM148)
A strange artifact was uncovered while digging a trench.
Counter Attack: Rakshasa
After hearing about the artifact, but before responding, General Zatchet's throat and stomach simultaneously slit open spilling blood and entrails all over the table as he falls forward, scattering the fake battlefield all over the floor as he slumps to the ground dead. A Rakshasa(MM257) holding two bloody scimitars materializes laughing wildly. He isn't interested in fighting the party and will plane-shift away immediately. Zatchet's 2nd in command, Murook Kreel takes command, but is not as competent a commander as Zatchet. He will ask the party to investigate the strange artifact. At this point the party can help out with whatever part of the battle they wish. The artifact is the Iron Bands of Bilarro(DMG177).
Climax:
Goblins: The party can join Captain Arrakk Belltower (Veteran MM350) to fight the goblins. His men are all dead and he's surrounded when the PCs arrive. At initiative 0 roll 1d6 and on a 5 or 6 1d4 more goblins arrive from a tunnel in the ground until the PCs close the tunnel. The tunnel supports have 100 hp and an AC of 10.
Dragon: The party must distract the dragon long enough for the dwarves to dig a tunnel to unit 7. After 7 rounds, a messenger will arrive telling the party that unit 7 is safe. The dragon stays in the air, attacking with it's breath weapon when it is charged, and swooping down to grab PCs in it's claws, then dropping them from the air.
Stone Giant: The party finds Vaath Reyn(Knight MM347) and his men next to the road watching as a Stone Giant picks through the supply wagon surrounded by crushed bodies. If the PCs help him distract the giant, his men can get the supplies and carry them to the mages across the battlefield. There are many boulders the giant can throw.
Zombies: When the PCs arrive, the clerics are almost done with their spell, but the zombies are rushing towards them. The players have to protect the clerics while they finish their spell. After 7 rounds the area becomes affected by the Hallow Spell (PHB249) with the Fear extra effect. This will cause the undead to flee the area immediately.
Interrogation: When the PCs arrive all the guards of the captive are dead. The captive appears to be still tied up. It is secretly a Maurezhi and when a PC gets close it attacks and the guards turn into ghouls and attack the party.
Artifact: If the PCs go to recover the artifact, then when they pick it up, the ground begins to shake and a sinkhole opens up under their feet. When the dust settles, a Cyclops(MM45) bursts from the ground holding his pet Giant Scorpion(MM327) by the tail. His underground home has just been destroyed and he throws the scorpion at them and attacks the PCs. There are many rocks on the ground for the cyclops to throw. Calm Emotions and speaking giant may resolve the fight without violence.
Wrap-Up: Retreat!
After the battle, messengers tell the players that the battle is lost and that Murook Kreel has sounded the retreat. They may elect to take command of the army themselves in light of this cowardice and may want to play the portions of the adventure that they didn't see the first time.
Treasure: Iron Bands of Bilarro & Roll once on Treasure Hoard: Challenge 5-10 DMG p.137 for each battle won.
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