Art by Dean Spencer

MICRO-ADVENTURE #88
AND SO IT BEGINS… ROSE
This is written for a solo adventurer going Rose waves at the character impatiently.
on his or her first adventure. Have your Her broom handle is broken. “It took you
player roll up a character, raw off the long enough.” She pokes her broken
attribute rolls, then plunge it into this broom toward a pair of cellar doors. The
adventure. Equipment and starting money broken handle is shoved through the two
are earned. And this adventure skews more handles securing them shut.
towards fighter types.
“Rats. Big ones. Eating me out of house
and home. Go get them. Shoo. Shoo.”
MEET THE BOSS
The character is brought before Rex, he’s
ROSE’S CELLAR
the one with the equipment. He knows
The worn and broken stone stairs descend
you want to be a famous adventurer and
8’ into an earthen floor root cellar. The
your pockets are empty of coin. He has a
only light sources are coming through the
proposal for you.
open doors, which only illuminates the
“So you want to be a hero? Well you’re first room, and streaks of light coming
going to need equipment. I have through the floorboards above. Infravision
equipment. I’ll spot you a weapon and is spoiled due to the light contamination.
leather armor in trade for a quick task.” Characters are at a -1 to all ‘to hit’ rolls
beyond the first room.
Weapons Rack
2 daggers hand axe The smell of wet fur is strong. Sounds of
skittering feet upon dirt and the distinct
mace short bow*
squeaking of rats is easily detected.
short sword spear
staff torch
*short bow comes with 10 arrows

The weapons are of poor quality. If an

attack roll results in a 1, the weapon
breaks.
If the character selects a torch, it can be
used as a club and burns for 6 turns
illuminating 30’ and causes the rats to flee.

“My mother has pests in her cellar. It’s

infested with rats. She can’t get to her
pantry and stores. I’m sure it’s a mess
down there. Clean the rats out then I can
send someone to rat proof the place.” He
points down the dirt street to a modest Art by Dean Spencer

looking cabin with a older woman standing

outside with a broom. “Her name is Rose.”
1. Root Cellar 1 square = 3’
Smaller rats crawl on the walls and scurry
across the floor. Amongst them is a larger
rat, the size of a dog. It’s looking in the 1
direction of the stairs. 2
The walls are lined with wooden shelves
with various boxes of vegetables. Several
of the boxes are spilt on the floor and
trampled by rat feet. To the east and south
are passages leaving the room. 3
If the character has a torch the rats flee.
The giant rat runs to the east. Otherwise
the giant rat attacks. 4
Giant Rat Rose’s
AC 7 [12], HD ½ (2hp), Att 1 × bite (1d3 Cellar
+ disease), THAC0 19 [0], MV 20’ (40’) /
60’ (20’) swimming, SV D12 W13 P14 B15
S16 (1), ML 8, AL Neutral, XP 5 the floor. Several more rats swim in and
out of the water from a hole in the wall.
Disease: Bite has a 1-in-20 chance of
infecting the target (save vs. poison). The To the north are the remains of a dozen
disease has a 1-in-4 chance of being deadly sacks of grain, but the grain itself is gone.
(die in 1d6 days). Otherwise, the victim is
sick and bedridden for one month. The smaller rats are aggressive in this room
Afraid of fire: Will flee from fire, unless if the adventurer does not have a torch.
forced to fight by summoner. They swarm the intruder.
Attacking in water: May attack without
penalty; excellent swimmers. Rat Swarm
The smaller rats jump on the adventurer AC 9 [10], HD 1hp, Att 1 × bite per pack
causing a distraction (-1 ‘to hit’), but no (1d6 + disease), THAC0 19 [0], MV
damage. 60’ (20’) / 30’ (10’) swimming, SV D14
W15 P16 B17 S18 (NH), ML 5, AL
If the giant rat is defeated the adventurer Neutral, XP 5
sees a chain collar looped around its neck. See giant rat entry for Disease, Afraid of
There is nothing of value in the room. fire, and Attacking in water.
Pack: Each group of 5–10 rats attacks as a
pack. Each pack makes a single attack roll
2. Sump Pit against one creature.
The door to this room is on the floor, It is Engulf: The creature attacked must save
covered in rat feces. Several smaller rats vs. death or fall prone, unable to attack
scurry along the floor and walls. More than until able to stand up again.
the previous room.
This is where the rats fleeing escape to and
To the south of the room the wall is the source of the rats. There is nothing of
crumbling as water pools into a recess in value in the room.
3. Ambush The bowl could be sold for 5sp, but most
Debris from the walls litter the floor. At refuse buy it since it’s sacred object
the end of the passage is a wooden door. dedicated to Dedragoria.
There is a 1 in 6 chance the adventurer Conclusion
steps on a crude caltrop (causing 1hp of If the kobold escapes, it locks the trapdoor
damage). If this happens or the adventurer from its side. If it doesn’t escape the
reaches the opening in the corridor, a trapdoor remains open and the adventure
kobold leaps out and attacks. If a character could continue (see Part 2).
has a torch, he or she is not surprised.
If the adventurer has killed the giant rat
Kobold and the swarm of rats (or chased them
AC 7 [12], HD ½ (2hp), Att 1 × weapon away with a torch) Rex can send in
(1d4 or by weapon -1), THAC0 19 [0], someone to repair the walls. He also
MV 60’ (20’), SV D14 W15 P16 B17 S18 rewards the adventurer with an
(NH), ML 6, AL Chaotic, XP 5 Adventurer’s backpack.
Ambush: Set up surprise attacks.
Infravision: 90’.
Hate gnomes: Attack on sight.

The kobold wields a stone knife and wears

a crude fetish necklace with two rat teeth
and bits of rat fur on a leather cord.

Art by Dean Spencer

4. Altar
The door to this room is stuck. It requires
a round to push it open. A table and chair
were stacked against the back of the door.
To the south, a crude wooden altar has
several melted candles in front of it. On Adventurer’s Backpack
east wall are three sets of shackles secured crowbar, grappling hook, iron spikes (12), mallet,
rations (standard 7 days), rope 50’, tinder box, torches
into the stone. (6), waterskin

A kobold pops its head over the altar

Rose cannot be found after the adventure.
shoots at the adventurer with a crossbow
Rex doesn’t tell the adventurer where she
(see stats above in room 3).
is, citing that it’s none of his or her
Behind the altar is a trap door that the business. And won’t comment on the altar.
kobold escapes into if given the chance. However, if kobolds are mentioned, he
frowns.
The wood is stained with blood. Beneath
the altar is a copper bowl used during “It seems I am still in need of your
ceremonies. Inscribed into the rim of the services.”
bowl is, Degragoria. Divine Mother and
Destroyer. Our Blood is Your Blood.