Summary
A construction company called “We Be Webbing” is under fire after an elderly customer complains that their indestructible weblock chain technology proved to be very destructible.
NPCs
- Edd R No-kap – A “trustworthy” businessman that runs We Be Webbing. While he has a distinguished mustache (or wig) and wears a plaid suit, he is actually an Ettercap in disguise (who’d have guessed based on the name).
- Quentin Tarantulo – An upset purchaser of faulty webs, Quentin is an elderly Giant Spider that is unable to produce his own webs any more. As such he contracted Edd R No-kap and We Be Webbing to build his new web home. He is generally kind and will not be aggressive toward the party even if attacked (he’s older and will likely embrace his death).
No Need To Be Startled!
As the party walks through the forest, they come to an area shrouded in webs. Within those webs they begin to make out the remnants of a home that appears to be ripped to shreds. There’s a strange web hammock and a small nightstand with a framed painting of an elderly spider smiling next to a newly built web home.
From a shadowy corner a voice calls out, “no, please! You’ve already destroyed my home and taken everything from me!” A pair of eyes emerge from the corner and the voice gets more polite.
“Oh, sorry about that, I thought you were the same adventuring group that did all of this damage to my home.”
Along with the eyes comes the hair body of a Giant Wolf Spider, gray with age, and with movements that match its hair (or fur, whatever spiders have).
If the party kills the Giant Wolf Spider, the encounter is over. If they can resist, continue on.
The spider introduces himself as Quentin Tarantulo, a long-time resident of this forest. He’ll answer any questions the party may have but the following things are true:
- He is unable to produce his own webbing any more so he spent a small hoard on “state-of-the-art” web 3.0 construction of his home.
- The owner of We Be Webbing assured him the webbing would last forever, because it was of the highest quality
- A group of adventurers swept through recently and while he tried to hide, the adventurers cut his home up, stealing the remainder of his hoard
Quentin asks the party if they will help him recoup his losses by talking to Edd R No-kap, the owner of the construction company. He’s not interested in things getting violent, he just wants to live out the remainder of his life in peace. In total the Quentin spent about 4,000gp on the home.
Weblock Chain Technology
Further into the forest, the party finds an oddly architected system of webs that are extremely sticky and difficult to walk through (speed is reduced to a third). In the middle of the webbed building is a door that opens up into a strange office with blueprints, and giant spiders milling about. At a desk toward the back is a man in a plaid suit, with an impressive head of hair.
If left to their own devices, the giant spiders will continue about their business. The purple man in the suit is distracted in his papers, but has a name plate that says “Edd R No-kap.” If the party approaches, they can quickly determine that the mustache is fake and the man is actually an Ettercap in disguise. Anything but a Nat 1 gives the party that information.
If confronted, Edd notes that all of his business practices are above board and that We Be Webbing cannot be held accountable. Their Weblock Chain Technology (proprietary of course), has a disclosure that says “can be cut by magical attacks,” so unless Quentin can prove that the device used to destroy his home was not magical, Edd is not going to pay out the claim.
The office is covered in webs and everything is slightly sticky. With Edd getting more aggravated the longer the party questions him, they have the following options of how this could play out.
- The party finds the other adventurers: Maybe they’re in the next town over and the DM can determine if it was a magical weapon that cut through the fibers, validating what Edd says and allowing the party to come to an overall positive resolution. If the DM determines the other adventurer’s weapon was not magical, it’s possible that Edd and the Giant Spiders have left absconded will all evidence and left the office by the time the party returns.
- The party attacks Edd: If the party gets tired of Edd and don’t believe his claims, as soon as he is attacked the Giant Spiders will begin to attack as well. As the entire office is covered in webbing, the spiders know exactly where the party is at all times using their Web Sense. If at any point the entire party is stuck in the webs, Edd will whistle loudly, leap onto a spider and ride out of the building. The other spiders will follow, scooping up blueprints and other documents along the way. If the party is able to defeat Edd, he will plead with them to let him go. He just wants to run his business and promises not to swindle anyone ever again, even offering to build the perfect web home for the party if they’re interested. He’ll offer up the 4,000gp or if he’s dead the party can uncover a safe in the back of the room with 4,000gp inside.
- The party makes a deal with Edd: Edd is a business spider above all things. If the party can make it worth his while, he will be willing to pay off the claim without any evidence. Options to make it worth his time might include: exclusive contracts in other parts of the forest, or helping him expand into non-forested areas. If they can find a way to double his gold (make 8,000gp total) he will absolutely pay out to Quentin.
- The party disappoints Quentin: If the party can’t find the evidence, can’t persuade Edd to pay out, or they are unable to come up with the money, Quentin will be extremely sad and vanish into the forest. When the party least expects it, he will reappear and with his last breaths attack the party.
There are a lot of different ways your party could try and complete this encounter, and there are likely even more ways than the above. Let us know what other ways you would want to see this encounter end!
