TL;DR (1-2 sentence max) – The party arrives in a desert town just as the sun is setting and need to solve the mysterious happenings in Carterville
Background
Previously they were very involved with gold operations, and exporting fertile dirt with extremely rich nutrients. Recently someone or some thing has cut off the trade routes and is preventing all import/export. Chasms have popped up around the town. One bridge, wagons can’t use it, too heavy.
Potential Hooks
- family member in town
- connection that is worried that the town will never recover
- Rumors of a tyrant taking over the town have spread across the realm
Act 1
Party gets to town, some slight exploration and an interruption about the nightly dirt-gathering
- long line of folks waiting, or just folks gathering dirt and putting in a bag
Party will learn more details about why this is
- townsfolk are worried about “him” coming to town and taking them away
- putting a little dirt under their pillow
- is it superstition?
- Mr. Grimes hasn’t been putting any dirt under his pillow and has been fine
why is this a state of being at the moment?
Act 2
The arrival of the dirt man
- takes Mr. Grimes
- takes the party (if they didn’t grab dirt)
- takes ONE of the party (if only one didn’t)
Investigation begins
- what incentive to give the party if they don’t care about investigating
Party must find entry to the lair
- main entry is hidden DC12 to find it on the mountainside
- secret entrance, if the party rappels down the chasm, they’ll find an entry tunnel
Act 3
In the lair, deep beneath the mountain
underground
that’s where he keeps his dirt
Has a vault – dirt is transferred here by the dust mephits – Map from Dyson’s Logos
Rooms – use the blockier rooms as the location where the dirt man’s creator once stayed. Where they are now? Who knows.
- Office – DC20
- contain a book that details the history and journaling of whatever created the dirt man
- trapped, magical
- bedroom
- lab
- books?
Resolution
- Reason with the Dirt Man, who can’t speak
- Take the Dirt Man out
- Determine what to do with Mr. Grimes
- Explore the meaning of the dirt and what the mine/tunnels/vault is intended for
Monsters Needed
1x Dirt Man – Clay and Dirt Golem – Final boss, should likely have some dirt-based lair actions.
5-10x Mud Mephit – These will act as guards to the lair, using their false appearance to blend in with mud in larger areas.
5-10x Dust Mephit – These mephits are the grunts in the lair, carrying dirt into the dirt vault.
Additional options for the Dirt Man and a reward from Swole Initiative:
Location – Carterville
Mid-sized
Population of 300
NPCs in Cartville
Blacksmith – Dusty Dungle
Tavern – Smudge Maloy
Merchant standard goods – Mr. Grimes’ Goods and Gourds
Rewards
- 500gp
- rare gems
- some of the gold bars
- bags of fertile dirt
- exhuming the chest gem from the golem
- anything else found in the lair
Original Script
Here’s an encounter for your next session of DnD
If they approach and ask what’s going on, the men of the group note that they are guys, and they’re collecting their nightly offering to “him,” the men shudder as they say it
The townsfolk warn the party to grab some of the dirt and place it under their pillow as an offering as well, lest they be taken
If the party spends the night in town, they’ll awake to find a large mustachio’d clay and dirt golem in a duster inquiring about their dirt offering in broken common
If they have dirt to give him, he will happily take it, rubbing it on cracks in his body, dimming a bright light emitting from his chest
If they don’t, the dirt man will attempt to forcefully take them down to his lair
It’s deep beneath a mountain on the outskirts of town and he’ll force the party to dig endless tunnels, generating more dirt.
The lair appears to be some sort of dirt vault where the dirt man keeps his surplus
What would your party do? Let us know in the comments
