the sun goes down

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

1

THE SUN GOES DOWN

WITH A RUBY SMILE WRITTEN BY REMLEY FARR ♦ ART BY SHAWN DALEY ♦ MAPS BY REMLEY FARR

“A small port seems the perfect place to dock when a freak storm forces the

small trade cog, Sea’s Rock, to find solid ground. But the newly discovered

port town raises questions: where are all the residents, and are any of them

still alive?”

“The Sun Goes Down with a Ruby Smile” is a Dungeons and Dragons 5th

Edition module designed for 3-5 players at level 1. This module favors

investigative and inquisitive playstyles over kicking in the door with swords

drawn. Without at least one medium-sized, female humanoid PC or a PC

who can speak and read orc, this may be a difficult module for the players

to complete in a cohesive manner

This is not an official Wizards of the Coast product.

This module is free to download and share.

For questions or concerns, email [email protected]

Visit Remley Farr’s website at www.insomniacsink.com for more info!

Read this to the Players

Three weeks after signing onto Captain

Tommik’s leaky trade cog, the Sea’s Rock, a

raging storm refuses to let up. The captain,

his navigator, and the adventurers scramble

all over the deck, fastening ropes and

tacking sails. It’s not until the halfling

navigator, Bosin, spots a port through the

rainy onslaught that anyone feels the

slightest bit of hope.

Captain Tommik aims the Sea’s Rock

towards the port, tacking hard to avoid

being swallowed by the sea. If it weren’t for

the half-ton of iron ore in the cog’s decks,

the lightweight ship would be decorating

the sea floor by now.

The gangplank slams into the empty

marina, and you don your cloaks and hustle

across the leaky, wooden boards, aiming for

a log customs building nestled where the

marina meets the shore. A crackle of

lightning deafens your ears, drowning out

the howling wind and splattery rain for a

split second.

Just as you shove the wooden door to

the customs building open, you are greeted

by a dark, cold, but dry room. Hanging your

dripping cloaks on the wall hooks, you

collapse onto the floor, exhausted after

hours of running around on deck.

Another flash of lightning illuminates

the stumpy, dwarfish form of Captain

Tommik as he strides into the wooden

building, rivulets of rain dripping from his

blonde beard. “Ah, that’s what I call a wee

inconvenience!” he says, wringing his

beard. “This ‘ere’s good place as any. Bosin

an’ I’ll grab food and belongings from the

Rock, an’ we can hole up in ‘ere fer the

night. Keep yer eyes out fer townsfolk.

Don’t wanna ferget yer manners.” And with

that, he vanishes into the raging winds.

You look around the customs office,

trying to take in the frantic situation. No

less than ten minutes ago you were fighting

to keep a ship above water. Now you’re

safe on solid ground. Every inch of your

body aches, and you can’t shake the image

of flailing ropes and water-soaked sails out

of your heads–after all, you’ve been staring

at them for hours upon end.


2

The storm rumbles outside, the rain

showing no sign of letting up. Small

bootprints of mud and water dot the

floor from where you’ve tracked them,

but for now, at least you’re able to

breathe easy. All you need is a day’s

worth of rest in here and you’ll be back in

tip-top shape. That is, if this freezing cold

rain doesn’t let up.

What do you do?

For the Dungeon Master

The players have been battling a

relentless storm for almost the entire

day, and they’re at the 1st level of

exhaustion (PH pg. 291). Chances are that

the players will decide to poke around

the dingy customs office or wait for

Tommik to return with Bosin and some

gear, which will take roughly thirty

minutes.

Captain Tommik himself isn’t an

awe-inspiring character, stat wise,

nothing more complex than a level one

dwarf merchant armed with a basic

dagger, though he has a gruff command

about him that only an age-seasoned

dwarf could muster. He scrapes his

existence transporting goods with his

navigator. As of now, he’s working for the

Skymarch Company, one of many trading

groups that deals with resources mined

from dwarf ruins, and he hired the

players as deckhands in between ports.

Unknown to the players, Tommik has

an addiction to sama, a plant that, when

a leaf is chewed and swallowed, calms

people’s nerves. Dwarves naturally are

afraid of water, and ingesting sama helps

take the edge off. Seeing as how sama

plants are contraband in many societies,

Tommik keeps the sama addiction a

secret, even from Bosin. Eating a sama

leaf gives an advantage on fear saving

throws for eight hours, and Tommik

ingests a leaf every eight hours (using a

slight of hand check vs. any nearby PC’s

perception check). If caught and called

out on it, he’ll claim he was eating from

his bag of nuts (using a deception check

vs. PC’s insight check). He’ll plead that he

needs the sama to stay calm on the

water, and any dwarf in the party would

sympathize with his claim.

Captain Tommik will stay near the

Sea’s Rock while the party ventures out

so that he can keep an eye on the ship

while the adventurers do “what yer paid

to do!”

The navigator, Bosin, is an equally

unremarkable halfling and merely a

lackey for Tommik. He’s spry, capable of

shimmying up the sails and swinging on

ropes. He tags along with Tommik and

doesn’t talk much, though a quip or two

is sure to pop out of his mouth when he’s

feeling particularly full of himself. He

fights with a dagger or crossbow when

prompted, though he should rarely see a

reason to do so.

When Tommik returns from the boat

with Bosin, they’re carrying plenty of gear

to hole up in the customs office for the

night: four lanterns with oil, bedrolls for

themselves and each party member, and

enough rations to stave off hunger for

the night.

Unlike the PC’s, Tommik and Bosin

are at exhaustion level 2, and will want to

go to sleep immediately. Tommik will use

this time to sneak a sama leaf, and Bosin

will collapse into a snoring heap

immediately after unloading the gear.

Five Contracts

Of course, the party hasn’t stumbled

upon a simple marina and customs office.

The adventure would be too stale if that

were the case. What they’ve really come

across is a covert, off the grid mining

colony set up by one of Skymarch

Company’s rival corporations, the

Stoutman Caravan. And unfortunately for

the party, nearly everyone in the mining

colony met their demise at the edge of a

pick five years ago.

A few years before the murders,

representatives from the Stoutman

Caravan wanted to set up a mining colony

after buying a lead on a patch of land rich

with raw ruby ore. After contacting Agran

Dodd, a dwarf mining veteran in his late

300’s, the Stoutman Caravan signed him

up with a contract to establish what

would, on paper, be called the Pinewood

Lumber Export, or the PLE.

Dodd’s job was simple: set up a

small, convincing lumber operation while

simultaneously running an under-the-

table ruby mine. Keeping the Stoutman

Caravan’s access to rubies a secret was

vital to the operation: if any other

companies found out, they’d try to

financially strongarm the small, budding

business out of their property.

With that, Dodd set to work hiring

the “right people.” Wanting to keep the

port to the PLE as inconspicuous as

possible, he set up only a small marina

and customs office (the very same

customs office the players start off in)

with a small cabin set aside for himself.

As old as he was, retiring to a quiet life

full of financial cushion sounded perfect,

and the well-rounded dwarf immediately

began scouring for his “right people.”

First and foremost, he hired his

grandson, Hedgar Dodd, a rambunctious

dwarf lad worthy of receiving Dodd’s

inheritance. To satiate Hedgar’s

explorative nature, Dodd build a three-

story watchtower next to the customs

office (the players missed it while running

in due to the rain.) Hedgar proceeded to

decorate the watchtower as any dwarf

child would–tiny stone statues, flecks of

sparkly rocks, runic poems, and so forth.

Hedgar’s job was to look out for ships and

tend to Dodd’s needs in his growing age.

With the first contract signed, Dodd

set his beady eyes on acquiring lumber

workers. Three human brothers, the

Lents, fit the bill perfectly. They needed a

destination in life, and they could keep

mum, especially for the money that Dodd

could offer them. Also, they needn’t

know about the mining operation, and

they would be too foolish to suspect it,

anyways.

If any Lent brother was the

“prettiest” one, it would be Vinnie Lent.

Dashing in his own way, he spoke with

scowls and the occasional whistle

through missing front teeth. As the


3

RUBY AC – 12

Small humanoid (half-orc) – CN HP – 4 (1d6)

Speed 30ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

8 (-1) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)

Skills Intimidate +5 Senses passive Perception 11

Languages Orc (written only) Challenge 0 (0 XP)

ACTIONS

Crude Spear Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack +5 to hit, reach 5ft. or

range 20/40 ft., one target. Hit 2 (1d4-1) piercing damage.

GEAR

Fur clothes, 3 crude spears, letters from parents

oldest, Vinnie called the shots.

The middle brother, Paddy Lent, was

a tall, skulking fellow, eyes always

wandering towards the women. He was

usually in his cups, even when working.

Rumors pervaded that Paddy Lent

needed hard drink like dragons needed

gold.

Perhaps the only Lent brother with

any redeeming quality was the youngest,

Monroe Lent. Monroe never wanted to

join the PLE, but went anyways when his

brothers forced him into the

arrangement. A workaholic by nature, he

always had his eyes set on the seas, ready

for the day when he could amass his

savings and set sail.

With the mill workers taken care of,

Dodd needed people to tend to the

grounds: cooks, servants, farmers–

anyone to keep the Lent brothers

satisfied. That’s when he came across

documents for the Rumricks, a destitute

human family led by Kincade Rumrick,

the father.

Kincade was put in charge of the

brothers–best to not let the Lents’

fraternal rivalry get out of hand–and his

wife, Mrs. Rumrick, as well as his young

daughters, Mona and Sunny, managed

the various households.

With the facade in place, Dodd

needed to find the true mortar for his

operation: the miners. Seeing his true

genius at work, Dodd did the

unthinkable. He hired two half-orcs,

Rogath and Maovor, to be “guards” in the

eyes of the workers. They were hardy,

strong, capable of seeing in the dark,

drawn by greed, and just deplorable

enough so that nobody would snoop

around their business. Maovor especially

fit the requirements, being fat, bulbous,

and crude. Rogath helped balance

Maovor out, being better-spoken and

even slightly handsome, possibly being

more human than orc.

Unknown to Dodd, the Stoutman

Caravan hired on a fifth party to station

at the PLE: an elf priest named Reagent

the Brightloam. As a priest, Reagent

exchanged his work as a mediator and

medicine worker in exchange for small

pay and a house to stay in–he was also,

to Dodd’s disdain, given privy information

regarding the ruby operation.

Dodd’s plans seemed simple enough:

just don’t let the humans know that their

lumber mill is a front, and if they find out,

bribe them a bit. Business would be

fine...

Until the day Maovor the half-orc set

his pickaxe on fleshier quarry.

The Survivor

The kindling for Maovor’s massacre

began with Sunny Rumrick. Being a

creative artist and wordsmith, she drew

the attention of Rogath, and after eloping

with him in secret, became pregnant with

his child. To save herself from the hate

her traditional family would wrack on her

for loving a half-orc, she took a less harsh

bereavement by saying the baby’s father

was one of the shiphands who docked

while picking up lumber.

With Reagent’s help, Sunny gave

birth to a baby boy: Ruby. And with

Reagent’s salves and ointments, she was

able to hide Ruby’s half-orc traits until

Maovor noticed the toddler’s orcish

mannerisms. Enraged that Rogath took

one of the human women, Maovar told

Kincade Rumrick the truth about the

child. Kincade, in a heated rage, slew

Rogath and Sunny. After discovering

Rogath’s death, Maovor lost his self-

control, took up his pickaxe, and released

years of pent up aggression in a revenge

killing.

Everyone except Ruby and Maovor

perished.

Regarding Ruby

The half-orc/human lovechild, Ruby, still

roams the area. He isn’t afraid of bad

weather, which he exemplifies by

climbing the watchtower during the

storm so he could see the clouds and

lightning better.

For the duration of the storm, Ruby

sits in the watchtower, watching the PC’s

as they dash inside. He hasn’t seen

anyone other than Maovor since the

massacre, and he doesn’t quite know

what to do with these strange, new

characters except observe them.

If the party ventures out during the

rain and enters the watchtower, Ruby

can easily hop from the watchtower to

the customs office roof and disappear.

After the storm clears out the following

day, he’s gone.

Ruby’s psyche is stressed by two

factors: the unconditional love from his

mom, Sunny, as well as the unbridled fear

from the night that Maovor attacked

everyone. He sees humanoid men as

threats, especially orcs and other half-

orcs, and he will intimidate or lob spears

at them from a distance if provoked, but

women are different.

If there’s a female humanoid within

the party, Ruby will try and “rescue” her

from the party when their guard is down,

such as hiding in a room or sneaking up


4

on them when they’re sleeping. If there is

more than one female, he will try and

rescue the one that looks the most

attractive (DM’s discretion, charisma

might be the deciding factor).

Ruby never quite learned how to talk

or recognize speech, but he can read

simple orc messages thanks to his

mother’s and father’s letters and pictures

that he keeps collected in his grotto (Area

25).

Ruby will communicate by scribbling

orc words in the dirt, most of them

nothing more complex than noun and

adjective compounds. He will assign his

own names to the PC’s, such as calling a

fat dwarf “Pig,” a lithe elf “Tree,” or a

musical bard “Bird.” He will always refer

to the female he clings to as “Sun.”

If Ruby is with the party in certain

areas, he’ll react in peculiar ways,

showing fear in presence of a murder or

admiration when close to one of Sunny’s

paintings. Interpreting his emotions may

prove useful for the PC’s.

There’s always the chance that the

party might kill Ruby, especially if they

see him as a wild threat. A failed

perception check or a twitchy ranger with

a crossbow might shoot him instinctively.

Ruby isn’t extremely crucial to the

adventure, but the party will most likely

enjoy the journey if he partners up with

them and follows them around.

First Explorings

After the party enters the customs office,

they will realize one major detail after

Tommik leaves to gather supplies: it is

freezing cold inside the office. Feel free

to tell the party what the office looks like

once Tommik leaves.

The Port (1-9)

This is the area that handled the shipping

of lumber (and rubies!) out of the camp.

When the party first arrives in the rain,

they’ll barely be able to see ten feet in

front of them. The next day, the skies are

clear and the party can get a good view of

the area.

1. Customs Office: Lobby

The dank and dark room bristles with a

chill that could make a lich shiver. On one

side of the room lies a scribe’s desk

cluttered with mildewed parchment, old

quills, inkwells, ledger books, and a dirty

brass nameplate reading “AGRAN

DODD.” On the other side is a cast iron,

potbelly stove with a rusty smokestack

trailing across the ceiling. A rigid safe is

nestled in the corner, and there are two

doors on either side of the stove, one

with a puddle of water pooling out from

beneath it. There won’t be any rest

tonight if the room doesn’t warm up.

The lobby is Dodd’s workplace, where he

spent most of his time at the desk,

pouring over ledger work and invoices.

Investigating the scattered stationery

reveals that most of them are molded

and unreadable, but a successful DC 15

Intelligence (investigate) check reveals

that the papers have “Stoutman Caravan,

Pinewood Logging Exports” in the

heading. If Tommik is informed about the

papers, he’ll tell the party that the

Stoutman Caravan went bankrupt almost

five years ago.

The safe in the corner is locked, and

Tommik will tell the party, “Yer more

likely to break a hundred axe heads

before you break a safe like that.” The

only way to open the safe (aside from

magic or other extreme means) is to find

Dodd’s key at his house (Area 8). Inside

the safe is a small, cut ruby worth 200gp


5

and the original five contracts. As a DM,

have fun with explaining what the

contracts involve, as the players will have

lots of detail to piece together.

Without finding a suitable source of

warmth (the boat is too cold, and the

lanterns don’t give off heat), the party

won’t shake their exhaustion status

effect. There are several ways the party

might try and stay warm: using a winter

blanket or other cold weather gear,

chopping up the desk and lighting it in

the fireplace, or obtaining firewood from

a stack in Dodd’s house. They can burn

the papers, but the papers burn fast.

Someone will have to stay up all night

feeding handfuls of paper into the fire.

Let the party be creative, but remember

that wet wood is hard to light.

2. Customs Office: Dry Room

Entering the room, you see two beds with

moldy straw mattresses. This is an

overnight room for docking ships. It looks

like nobody has been in here in a while.

Any party member investigating the room

just a normal room used for overnight

housing. It’s still freezing cold in there,

and lying on the mattresses will cause

them to tear and crumble, causing the

player who tried doing so to land on the

floor in a nasty, dirty splat.

3. Customs Office: Wet Room

Upon opening the door, strong mist

blasts you in the face as you see a ragged

hole in the roof. Rain spills down through

the hole and runs between the

floorboards. There are two beds on either

side of the room. Lightning flashes once,

revealing a dead body, all bone and

tattered clothes, lying in the middle of

the floor.

This is the corpse of Agran Dodd, who

died after falling from the watchtower

next to the customs office and crashing

through the roof of this room. Disturbing

the body causes a Giant Rat (MM, pg.

327) to dash out from beneath the bed

and attack.

There isn’t anything on Dodd except

for a rusty battleaxe with “DODD”

scribbled on it in dwarf runes.

4. The Watchtower: Bottom

A three-story, creaky tower juts out of

the ground, shadowing the customs

office. An indoor staircase wraps from

the ground all the way up to the upper

balcony in a side winding fashion.

This is Hedgar’s watchtower. The PC’s

take notice of a creaking sound when

they walk up it. Examining the handrails

and posts show several crudely carved

pictures of dwarf heroes and legends, as

well as HEDGAR and GRANDFATHER

AGRAN carved all over it. These are from

Hedgar chiseling away in childish wanton

fancy.

5. The Watchtower: Top

There’s a section of the observation deck

where the railing is broken. A short, stout

skeleton with a large hole plunged

through its skull lies on the creaky,

wooden floor. A bulging blanket, a

strawless mattress, and a busted

telescope litter the dirty, damp floor.

The skeleton is Hedgar Dodd. A Wisdom

(heal) check DC 15 notices that the hole

in its head was caused by a heavy,

piercing weapon.

Checking under the bulging blanket

reveals a severed arm, identified as

belonging to a half-orc on a successful

Wisdom (heal) check DC 15.

This is where Maovor committed his

final murders, impaling Hedgar in the

head with his pickaxe. Agran Dodd

grabbed his greataxe and stormed up the

watchtower, where he dueled with

Maovar. In a stroke of luck and skill, the

dwarf veteran severed Maovor’s arm, but

the vicious half-orc gritted through the

searing pain and slammed Agran into the

railing, breaking it and toppling the dwarf

over the edge where he smashed through

customs office roof.

Anyone standing near the shattered

railing causes a section of the

watchtower balcony to collapse. Making

a successful Strength (athletics) DC 16 or

Dexterity (acrobatics) DC 12 check causes

the PC to dodge back to the safe side of

the watchtower or cling to the edge. A

failure causes the PC to fall and land on

part of the roof, taking 1d6 falling

damage. A very bad failure causes the PC

to fall through the hole in the roof and

take 2d6 falling damage.

From the balcony, party members

can see what looks like two clearings.

One clearing has houses, and the larger

clearing has a herd of animals in it. A

successful Wisdom (perception) check DC

20 notices the animals as oxen. There are

also two paths leading from the docks to

these clearings.

6. Dodd’s House: Living Room

The cabin is empty of life except for a few

roaches skittering between the

floorboards. A mildewed painting of an

older dwarf and a younger dwarf bedecks

a wall. The fireplace against the wall

sports a well-stocked woodpile next to it,

and above the mantle is an empty

weapon’s display hook. There are two

doors, one on each side of the mantle. A

table and set of short, wooden chairs sit

to one side.

The painting is of Dodd and Hedgar, and

it was painted by Sunny, whose signature

can be found in the bottom corner if the

players look hard enough. Ruby will

recognize his mother’s name instantly

and react to it.

Searching the room reveals a tin of

tobacco and an ivory pipe (20 gp). Any

food or drink that would be stored in the

cupboards has long since been eaten by

roaches.

7. Dodd’s House: Library

Bookshelves with worm- and rat-eaten

books bedeck each of the walls. A reading

chair sits against a desk. On one wall is a

large map in a glass display case.

Examining the bookshelf reveals nothing

but books that have been chewed away,


6

the binding coming unglued and falling

apart.

Examining the map shows a detailed

scribbling of the logging camp as well as

the names of the people who worked

there, including their positions. Extracting

the map from its display case is easy if

the party wishes to take it with them.

Examining the map gives the players

the following details.

A flourish of calligraphy reads

“Pinewood Lumber Export,” and a

forested area is drawn out. Near the

coast is the customs office, a

watchtower, and a cabin, as well as the

marina. Two trails lead off, one to a small

clearing with two houses and a shack, the

other to an enormous clearing with a

fenced area and a great tent, suggesting a

logging clearing. These places are

connected by a trail as well. There are

four lists, each with a set of names

beneath them.

You can then tell them about four

lists in detail. The players can write these

names down themselves, or you can

write the names down beforehand and

give them to the players. The categories

and names are as follows, in this order,

LOGGING

• Kincade Rumrick

• Vinnie Lent

• Paddy Lent

• Monroe Lent

STEWARDS

• Mrs. Rumrick

• Sunny Rumrick

• Mona Rumrick

• Reagent Brightloam

• Ruby Rumrick

SECURITY

• Maovor

• Rogath

ADMIN

• Agran Dodd

• Hedgar Dodd.

An Intelligence (investigation) check

DC 20 reveals that Ruby Rumrick is

written with different handwriting,

suggesting it was added in later. Also,

Sunny Rumrick’s signature is on the map

since she painted it. Ruby will see this

and recognize it as well.

8. Dodd’s House: Bedroom

A clothes rack of tunics, breeches, and

bandanas give the idea that this room

belonged to a male dwarf. The bed is low

to the ground, and the room is mostly

intact. There is a wooden dresser

opposite the bed and a nightstand near

the bed.

Pilfering through the clothes rack and

dresser will yield 2 sets of work clothes, 2

sets of artisan’s clothes, and a big, wooly

cape. Inside the nightstand is 27gp and

4sp, as well as an intact, hardbound

book: Morbin’s Almanac of Precious

Stones, which includes prints and

descriptions of several gems, mostly

rubies. Tommik will price the book at

40gp and will offer to buy it.

Inside the almanac is the key to the

safe in area 1. Also, anyone using the

almanac to appraise a ruby or ruby ore

will know its full value.

9. Dodd’s Well

This stone well is hidden behind a bunch

of overgrown bushes. It’s been covered

by a metal-wrought grate.

Players actively searching the area near

Dodd’s house stumble across this well.

Dropping rocks or anything small through

the cracks shows that there’s still water

beneath it.

If the party is able to remove the

grate and climb down, they’ll come

across a small, 10 x 10 underground

water area with 8d6 cp scattered around

the bottom.

The Residencies (10-18)

The Lents, Rumricks, and Reagent lived

here before they died. There are two

cabins in a clearing, a small patch of

overgrown grass where Reagent’s shack

burned down, and an old well. Two paths

lead off to the Port and the Clearing.

10. Rumrick’s House: Living Room

The front door to this house is wide open,

and there’s a wooden dining table with

five chairs around it, one with a pillow in

the seat. A fireplace thick with ash and

with a hanging kettle sits against the wall.

There are several torn paintings on the

wall. There are two doors leading to

other rooms, both bashed in.

The chair with the pillow was for Ruby.

The torn paintings are all of animals,

trees, and flowers. They were destroyed

in Kincade Rumrick’s rage after finding

out Sunny’s bastard lovechild was from

Rogath and not one of the port sailors.

Approaching the fireplace shows that

there is a message carved into the

wooden mantle, “Let not the diseased

hog sire,” and a dagger is shoved into the

wood at the last letter, as if punctuating

the point.

The kettle is empty, and searching

the room finds nothing but silverware,

plates, and other household basics worth

5gp at most. Digging through the ash

finds the burned remnants of Sunny’s

love letters to Rogath, which are written

in orcish. Kincade threw them into the

fire after finding them.

Ruby will definitely react to the

paintings after seeing his mother’s

signature on them.

11. Rumrick’s House: Bedroom A

The door to this room is kicked in, and

the place is entirely disheveled: broken

paintings, scattered dresses, splintered

bedposts, even a broken window. Last


7

night’s rain has soaked the outer half of

the room.

Sunny and Mona shared the same room,

and the room is in shambles from a

combination of Kincade snooping for

evidence, as well as from Maovor’s

rampage.

Searching the room finds busted

paint bottles, dried paint, dirty work

clothes, and a broken wooden chest

that’s the perfect size for storing letters.

Looking around the window shows

that this room is within perfect eyesight

of the bedroom windows from the Lent

brothers’ house.

12. Rumrick’s House: Bedroom B

This is the master bedroom. A large bed

sits in the center with a dead woman

dressed in nightclothes on one side of it.

The window behind the bed is shattered.

A writing desk and wardrobe sits around

the room.

The parents’ bedroom is largely

untouched, except for the soaked

mattress. The corpse is Mrs. Rumrick,

who died when Maovor broke the

window behind her and strangled her in

her sleep.

On the desk is a forgotten inkwell

and quill, as well as two crossbow bolts. A

damp, moldy book, Divine Bosnir, lies

open, slivers of paper marking several

passages. The ink is too runny to read,

but an Intelligence (religion) check DC 10

reveals the following:

The book in your hand chronicles the

teachings of the Church of Bosnir, a

lawful neutral deity with a small following

among the rural people. Bosnir’s

followers are very utilitarian, valuing hard

work and perseverance above all else.

When followed justly, his laws can create

paragons of determined people. When

followed unjustly, his laws can create

superiority complexes that border the

line between zealot and psychopath.

Bosnir’s followers ritually carve or write

scriptures from Divine Bosnir on their

tools, carts, and boats—sometimes even

tattooing them onto their bodies.

Kincade had been scribing scripture

from Divine Bosnir onto his crossbow

bolts, preparing to kill Sunny and Rogath.

The two bolts on the desk don’t have any

scripture on them.

Searching the wardrobe produces

three sets of work clothes for a man and

woman each. Under the bed is a trunk

with 240sp in it, as well as 11gp.

13. Lent House: Living Room

This room is full of hunting trophies,

antlers, and skins. Several steins and

drinking paraphernalia are scattered

about. On the wall is a painting of a coat

of arms: two axes crossed behind a stout

oak trunk. Two lifeless bodies lie in the

left corner. There are three doors along

the back wall, the right one is smashed

down. The middle and left ones are

intact.

The coat of arms has Sunny’s signature

on it. A search of this room finds several

rotted away hunting trophies and

silverware that’s grown tarnished. The

two bodies are Monroe and Paddy Lent,

who were gouged by Maovor’s pickaxe

after they ran out of their rooms, hearing

Vinnie’s laments.

Searching the bodies finds a short

sword on each one, as well as dingy

nightclothes. It looks like they were killed

after just waking up.

14. Lent House: Bedroom A

The room is damp from rain, as seen by

the broken window on the side. A dead

body under blood-matted sheets lies on

the bed, and the furniture has

succumbed to rot years ago.

The body is Vinnie Lent’s. After Maovor

entered the Lent house, he busted down

Vinnie’s bedroom door and killed him in

his bed. Examining the body shows

multiple gouges. Also, pulling the sheets

off of him excites a swarm of wasps that

have built a next in his ribs (MM pg.338).

Players that makes a successful Wisdom

(perception) check DC 15 can hear small

buzzing sounds from under the sheets.

15. Lent House: Bedroom B

The room is filthy, but by the looks of it,

this place was a wreck before the

murders. There’s a bed lying in the

center, and a tripod-mounted spyglass

sitting against the window. A spittoon sits

in the corner near a dresser.

This is Paddy Lent’s bedroom. He was a

slob and a pervert, and anyone who

examines the busted spyglass can see

that the spyglass is aimed at the window

to the girls’ bedroom at the Rumrick’s

house. The spyglass itself is tarnished and

old, the lenses foggy, but can be sold for

50gp for scrap.

Looking under the bed finds

women’s undergarments, stolen by

Paddy. The clothes in the dresser are all

gigantic since Paddy was a large man.

The whole room smells of mildew

and rot. Ruby doesn’t like this room, and

will write EVIL EYES repeatedly in orcish

on the walls with a charcoal piece.

16. Lent House: Bedroom C

This is a man’s bedroom containing a

bed, dresser, and several scattered maps

and charts. It’s tidier in appearance than

the other two bedrooms. There’s a rotten

violin lying on the bed.

This is Monroe Lent’s bedroom.

Examining the maps shows that they’re

from several shipping companies,

possibly special ordered. Comparing the

maps to some of the charts shows that

this individual had plans to travel.

Sorting around the furniture yields a

few books not worth any more than 5gp,

but digging under the pillow finds an

opened envelope containing a letter of

acceptance from Tristan Musician

Academy, as well as a list of costs and

supplies needed. Along with the envelope

is a hidden stash of 68gp.

Monroe Lent was planning on leaving

the lumber mill and sneaking away to

school, but Maovor ended his life before

he could do so.


8

17. Reagent’s House

An array of blackened posts and ash give

away that there used to be a house here

until it burned down.

Reagent’s house burned down when he

attacked the rampaging Maovor with a

burning hands spell, torching half of

Maovor’s body before Maovor cut him

down with the pickaxe.

Digging around the overgrowth and

remaining ash disturbs a smoke mephit

(MM, pg. 217) that attacks the party.

Ruby knows that the smoke mephit is

there and will avoid the area, scribbling

random combinations of EVIL SMOKE

DEATH in the ground.

A successful Intelligence (arcana)

check DC 10 reveals that some smoke

mephits haunt places where people

burned to death, feeding on the

anguished memories of the burnt victims’

demise.

Slaying the smoke mephit makes a

“memory” appear in its remains,

emanating like a floating picture:

The smoke incarnation dissipates

into a billowing residue, the ashes of its

body reforming into three ghostly shades.

One of the shades is hunched over and

tall, elfish in appearance. The second

shade, shaped like a human female, runs

to it, arms flailing in a panic.

They run around, making as if to hide

in the ash, when the third shade rumbles

in. The third shade is tall and broad,

monstrous in form, and pantomimes

breaking through a door. The elfish shade

raises its arms as though casting a spell,

and ash spews forth from its hands,

covering the third shade.

As if shaking off a headache, the

monstrous shade plows through the

silent spell cast by the first shade and

raises its hand. A pickaxe-shaped tool

forms out of the ash in the monster

shade’s fist and crashes into the elf

shade, bursting it into smoldering flecks.

The second, female shade makes to

run, but the monster shade raises the

pickaxe and charges her. As it approaches

the shivering, female shade, the ashes

formed by the dead mephit coalesce

inward as though pulled by an unseen

force, then explode outward.

A smoky haze fills the area where

this house used to stand, slowly drifting

to the ground. The reenactment is

complete, and the wretched elemental

mephit won’t haunt these grounds

anymore.

There is no other loot in the area.

The players have just witnessed Mona

running to Reagent for help and Maovor

bursting through the door, slaying both of

them.

18. Residents’ Well

This stone well still has a chain attached

to it. The other end of the chain

disappears down into the well.

This is the well that Sunny Rumrick would

use to drop letters down to Rogath.

Anyone venturing down into the well

ends up in Area 25.

The Clearing (19-20)

The large array of rotted stumps near the

tree line gives away that this was a

logging camp. There’s an old livestock

pen with oxen meandering around it, as

well as old carts, some with rotten tree

trunks in them. A dilapidated tent sits to

one side. There are two paths leading

away.

This is the logging area where the

Lents and Kincade Rumrick would cut

down trees and tote them to the port

using the oxen and the carts. The

dilapidated tent is where Maovor and

Rogath lived. The two paths lead to the

Port and the Residencies.

19. Livestock Pen

A rundown livestock pen encircles almost

half of the clearing. Most of the fencing

has fallen over, but the oxen seem to be

staying in the area. Even though the

fence isn’t holding the oxen at bay, they

still consider the pen a home.

There are roughly twenty oxen grazing in

the area. About half of them are young,

the others old. The oxen are familiar with

people since they were used to haul carts

of lumber, but disturbing them will cause

the bull oxen to attack (use the Giant

Goat stats from MM pg. 326).

20. Half-Orc Tents

This old, worn out tent is orcish in

appearance. It looks as if it collapsed

many years ago.

Rogath and Maovor lived here. Looking

through the tent fabric reveals a ladder

leading down into a hole. Going down

this ladder leads to area 21.

The half-orcs built their tent over the

entrance to the mine so that they could

dig for rubies without anyone catching

onto what they were doing.

The Mine (21-28) There are two ways of entering the mine.

The primary entrance is through the half-

orc tents (area 20), and the second

entrance through the residents’ well

(area 18).

The mine is long and twisted, having

been carved out for several years by

Rogath and Maovor. There are no

sconces for torches or light since the half-

orcs could see in the dark

At the very end of the mine is

Maovor, who can’t escape the area he’s

trapped in. He might roar occasionally,

especially if the party makes a lot of noise

or gets closer to him. Feel free to have

perception checks made to hear an

echoing bellow from deep down the

cave. The closer the party gets to him,

the worse the place smells. Ruby will help

lead them if they feel lost.

21. Primary Entrance

A ladder leads twenty feet down from the

half-orc tents. This entrance to the cave

has two pickaxes nestled near the front,

and jagged walls and floors from years of


9

carving. A tunnel leads forward.

If the half-orc tents have been moved

from the entrance above, dim sunlight

can spill in through this room.

22. First Dig Site

The tunnel opens into a circular room

with a pit dug out in the center. At the

bottom of the pit is a patch of water from

where the diggers dug too deep.

There are footprints from where the half-

orcs walked back and forth. Examining

the water reveals that the rocks at the

bottom are full of cracks that the water is

seeping up from.

23. First Bend

Around the first bend is a dead body

pinned to the wall by a pickaxe. The

tunnel continues on into another dig site.

After killing Rogath and Sunny, Kincade

Rumrick was slain by Maovor–he was the

first victim in Maovor’s revenge. Maovor

slammed a pick into him, pinning him to

the cave wall.

Examining the body shows that

there’s a note pinned to his shirt with a

crossbow bolt. The note is bloody with

fingerprints, and there’s dried blood on

Kincade’s hands. The charcoal-written

note reads “MY LITTLE SUNSHINE CRIED

OVER THE MONSTER AND I SHOT HER

TOO. I’M SORRY. MAOVOR DESERVES HIS

VENGEANCE FOR-” and ends in ragged

writing. Kincade wrote the note and

pinned it to himself before dying.

His crossbow is lying next to him, and

the bolt pinned to his shirt has a piece of

Bosnir scripture written on it, “Good men

rot; dead men rot.” The crossbow itself

has writing on it, “Food for the hunter,

life for the family.” Ruby reacts to the


10

bolts with unease because he associates

them with his parents’ death.

24. Second Dig Site

This site is very similar to the previous dig

site, obviously a spot where the miners

found some ore deposits and decided to

clear out the area. There’s a patch of

running water in the center of the dig

area.

Not much in this room is different than

the previous dig site, though the water is

part of an underground estuary that

travels under the dig site and exits into

area 25.

Ruby will show the party that it’s

possible to swim through the water,

demonstrating it by hopping in and out

and ushering them to follow him.

If the party starts to leave the second

site and continue into area 26, Ruby

shows concern. He knows that Maovor

lives back there and doesn’t want to

disturb him, but Ruby also is keen on the

idea that the adventurers might be able

to kill the bestial half-orc.

25. Rogath’s Grotto

A giant, underground grotto encircles the

room. A large pool of water sits in the

center, and a chain with a bucket dangles

from a hole in the ceiling. Up against the

wall, out of the water, are two corpses

embracing each other, a crossbow bolt

sticking out of each one. A stack of folded

parchment papers sits next to them. A

makeshift bed made of grass and scrap

fabric is there as well. Bits of ruby ores

are wedged in the wall behind the

corpses, as well as some ore set over

their bodies for decoration.

Sunny and Rogath would meet in this

grotto when they were eloping in secret.

They would also communicate with each

other with letters by lowering them and

raising them to the well above using the

chain and bucket.

Rogath died in Sunny’s arms after

Kincade chased him through the

underground estuary and into the grotto.

He then shot his daughter with his

crossbow. The Bosnir scripture written on

Rogath’s bolt is “And thus Bosnir smote

his Bile and Bilge, casting them from their

thrones with his stout bolts,” and the

scripture on Sunny’s bolt is “She goes

down with a ruby smile, the blood of

innocence quaffed upon her lips.”

The stack of parchment papers are

Sunny’s writings, most of them love notes

to Rogath. All of these include pictures as

well, the words describing the pictures

written in orcish with Sunny’s delicate

handwriting.

The makeshift sleeping area is

Ruby’s: this is where he lives. He

scavenged what little bits of shiny ore he

could find and placed it on his parents

like gravestone flowers (worth 50gp).

Ruby will act or write out whatever

he can to let the party know that these

are his parents and that this is his safe

haven. Any party member trying to

remove the ruby ores from the wall or

bodies will be met with snarling and

aggressive behavior from Ruby, who

equates the act with defamation.

The water is very crisp and

quenching, and the area will make a good

resting place if the party chooses to camp

for a little bit.

26. Second Bend

The tunnel from the second dig site

continues around a curve.

There’s not much to see here other than

the carved out areas of places where the

miners sought out more ore.

27. Third Dig Site

The tunnel leads to a huge drop off, at

least twenty feet down. The room is

enormous with a large pool of rushing

water in the center. Piles of fish bones

litter the floor near the water, and the

stench of rot fills the air.

Maovor has been trapped down in the

area past the third dig site for years.

Having only one arm, he can’t climb the

drop off point, and investigating the

steep drop off area shows several pickaxe

holes from where he tried to pull himself

up. If the party hasn’t been sneaking

silently, Maovor knows of their intrusion

and is hiding, waiting for them to climb

past the drop off point before attacking.

The bone-scattered area around the

water is sloped and slick with rotten fish

and dung. Anyone other than Rogath who

steps near it must make an Acrobatic

(Dex) save DC 10 or slip into the rushing

water and be swept down to area 24..

28. Maovor’s Lair

The stench of rot and feces rakes the air

in this final, hollowed out area. It looks as

if a rabid monster lived here.

Maovor will attack the first PC to enter

this room, charging at them to shove

them towards the water in area 27.

This area is where Maovor sleeps.

There are bits of ruby ore scattered

around it (50gp) and one large chunk that

is lodged where his missing eye would be.

Maovor’s Fight Maovor is a one-armed, half-burned,

one-eyed half-orc whose past five years

have been spent trapped beneath the

ground, surviving off of fish. His stomach

and jowls bulge and sag, and a chunk of

ruby ore in his burned out eye socket

glistens. His mind has deteriorated into

madness, and he’s now more monster

than sentient.

After charging the first player to

enter his lair, Maovor will try and bash a

hero with his rock, stunning the hero so

that he can steal one of their one-handed

melee weapons. If any of the party

members is carrying a mining pick or war

pick, he will choose one of them.

Maovor will prefer to fight around

the water, bellowing and puking until he

can obtain a melee weapon from the

party.

Even though Maovor isn’t afraid of

the water, if he falls in, he’s too fat to fit

through the narrow waterways beneath


11

the cave and will get stuck in the tight

space, drowning. Any party member who

has been down into the water can make a

DC 18 Wisdom (perception) check to

realize that Maovor’s girth is substantially

large compared to the waterway.

Feel free to be as nasty with Maovor

as possible. After all, he’s been stuck in

this area for over five years covered in

nothing but rotten food and filth. He

hasn’t taken any baths because he is

afraid of the rushing water. Maovor

doesn’t “make an attack,” he “swings a

greasy fist, shouting in malignant fury as

slaver drips down his meaty jowls.”

Unless heavily influenced by the

party, Ruby won’t fight Maovor. He’s

brave enough sitting at the top of the

drop off point.

Maovor will never beg for mercy,

choosing to fight until his death. His

existence is miserable, and only by

bringing misery onto others will his

cankered soul find some kind of rest.

Aftermath

Chances are that the party has obtained a

solid haul of loot and gear, as well as

determined the mystery behind the

Pinewood Lumber Export’s massacre and

the Stoutman Caravan’s fall to ruin. Let

the party divvy up their loot as they see

fit amongst themselves.

With the mystery solved and the

area cleared out, the party can choose to

do what they want in regards to Captain

Tommik. Chances are that Tommik won’t

know what happened, and they can be

honest with him by telling him what

happened, or lie and say that there’s

nothing of interest on the island.

By letting Tommik know what

happened, he will know that there’s a

ruby mine on the island. For adventures

after this one, they could broker this

information with Tommik’s company and

make some money off of it, or by keeping

the information privy to themselves, sell

it to the highest bidder and ignore

Captain Tommik’s input. Either way, the

captain and Bosin will be ready to sail out

since the storm’s cleared.

If Ruby has made it all the way to the

end with the PC’s, they might try to get

Ruby to travel with them. Ruby will be

hesitant since he’s wild and used to his

home on the port. Though there are

other ways that Ruby might decide to go

with the party: he can become an NPC

companion, clinging to the female who

he deems his new mother, or another

person can roll up a character sheet for

him and use him as a PC (build him like a

half-orc barbarian, chaotic neutral, with

an outlander background.)

Though unlikely, it’s possible that the

party can subdue Maovor instead of

killing him. After all, Maovor knows

common, and even though his mind is

mostly gone, can still communicate to a

degree. The party can use the evidence

they’ve found to take Maovor to a nearby

city and have him arrested and tried for

his crimes, possibly obtaining a reward if

they can find the former members of the

Stoutman Caravan or people who were

acquainted with the slain victims.

MAOVOR AC – 9

Medium humanoid (half-orc) – CE HP – 35 (4d6 +16)

Speed 30ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

16 (+3) 8 (-1) 18 (+4) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)

Skills Athletics +6 (-2 on checks

involving swimming), survival +5

Senses passive Perception 11,

darkvision 60ft.

Languages Common, orc Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Born to Filth. Maovir automatically passes Dexterity (acrobatics) checks

when moving across terrain covered in his bile or rotten fish heads.

Murderer’s Choice. When attacking with a mining pick or war pick,

Maovor deals an additional 1d6 piercing damage.

Relentless Endurance. When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed

outright, Maovor drops to 1 hit point instead.

Savage Attacks. When Maovor scores a critical hit with a melee

weapon attack, he can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one

additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

ACTIONS

Rock. Melee Weapon Attack +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 5

(1d4+3) piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13

Constitution save or else be stunned for one round.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

Maovor can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below.

Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the

end of another creature’s turn. Maovor regains spent legenary actions

at the start of his turn.

Bellow. Maovir screams at a creature. The creature must succeed on a

DC 13 Charisma save or be frightened for one round.

Bile Puddle. Maovor regurgitates all over an adjacent 5-foot square.

Creatures who are in it or who enter it must make a DC 13 Dexterity

(acrobatics) check or fall prone.

GEAR

1 large chunk of ruby ore in his eye socket (worth 250gp).


12

There’s also the chance that the

party decides to tell nobody about the

port, using it as their own personal base.

After all, there are plenty of houses that

only need minor repairs, as well as a

watchtower and some oxen that can be

tamed for food and labor. Captain

Tommik could even offer to be their

personal courier, ferrying food and

supplies to them from other locales for a

small share of their loot.

If the party chooses to work the

mines, one individual mining at least 8

hours a day can find 3d6+6 gp worth of

ruby ore in areas 27 and 28, though

there’s a chance they’ll mine the areas

clean and have to dig tunnels for more.

The opportunities are endless, and Ruby

can help them out as well. He might even

like the added company, especially if it

means having another mother figure in

his life or some friends to play with.


13

APPENDIX A 1 SQUARE= 5 ft.

Custom’s Office (1-3)

The Watchtower: Top (4)


14

APPENDIX A (cont) 1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

Dodd’s House (6-8)

Rumrick’s House (10-12)


15

APPENDIX A (cont) 1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

Lent House (13-16)

APPENDIX B World Map (Width ~ 3 miles)


16

APPENDIX C 1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

The Mine (21-28)


17

Dungeon Master Cheat Sheet

NPC’s and Story Characters, in order of importance

Ruby Feral half-orc child, illegitimate son of Rogath and Sunny, orcish parentage kept a secret †

Maovor Half-orc murderer, monstrous, missing an arm and eye, burned, final boss †

Captain Tommik Dwarf captain, merchant who hired the party, wants the island explored †

Bosin Halfling navigator, employed by Tommik †

Agran Dodd Old dwarf administrator of the PLE, hired all the workers, the “man behind the curtain” ҂

Hedgar Dodd Agran’s grandson, worked the watchtower, childish and inquisitive ҂

Sunny Lent Human woman, daughter of Kincade Ruby’s mother and Rogath’s lover, a talented painter ‡

Rogath Half-orc male, handsome, eloped with Sunny in secret, Ruby’s father ‡

Kincade Rumrick Utilitarian father, head of the lumber workers ҂

Reagent Brightloam Older elf priest, mediator and medicine worker, knows about Ruby’s parentage ҂

Mona Rumrick Kincade’s daughter, tried warning Reagent of Maovor’s killing spree ҂

Mrs. Rumrick Wife to Kincade, mother to Sunny and Mona ҂

Vinnie Lent Lumber mill worker ҂

Paddy Lent Lumber Mill worker, a slob and a voyeur ҂

Monroe Lent Lumber mill worker, a scholar and musician ҂

҂ = Slain by Maovor, ‡ = Slain by Kincade, † = Alive

LOCATIONS

• Port........................................................................ 4

o Custom’s Office....................................... 4

� Lobby ........................................ 4

� Dry Room .................................. 5

� Wet Room................................. 5

o Watchtower ............................................ 5

� Bottom...................................... 5

� Top ............................................ 5

o Dodd’s House.......................................... 5

� Living Room .............................. 5

� Library....................................... 5

� Bedroom ................................... 6

o Dodd’s Well............................................. 6

• Residencies............................................................ 6

o Rumrick’s House ..................................... 6

� Living Room .............................. 6

� Bedroom A................................ 6

� Bedroom B ................................ 7

o Lent’s House ........................................... 7

� Living Room .............................. 7

� Bedroom A................................ 7

� Bedroom B ................................ 7

� Bedroom C ................................ 7

o Reagent’s House ..................................... 7

o Residents’ Well ....................................... 8

• Clearing .............................................................. 8

o Livestock Pen .............................. 8

o Half-Orc Tents............................. 8

• Mine ................................................................... 8

o Primary Entrance ................................. 8

o First Dig Site ......................................... 9

o First Bend ............................................. 9

o Second Dig Site .................................. 10

o Rogath’s Grotto ................................. 10

o Second Bend ...................................... 10

o Third Dig Site...................................... 10

o Maovor’s Lair ..................................... 10

the sun goes down

Documents