BAD MOON

WANING
A Short Adventure for Four
10th-Level Player Characters

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Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game by E.

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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet,
Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.
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Bad Moon Waning is a short D&D adventure for four

10th-level player characters (PCs), though it can be
modified for higher- or lower-level play if desired (see
the Scaling the Adventure sidebar).
The adventure is set in and around the village of
Deepwood, an isolated town located as its name
suggests in the heart of a great forest. It can easily be
placed in a remote, wooded area of any campaign world.

PREPARATION
You (the DM) need the D&D core rulebooks, including the Players Handbook, the DUNGEON MASTERs Guide,
and the Monster Manual. This adventure utilizes the
v.3.5 rules, but it can easily be used with the 3.0 rules
as well.
You can place this adventure in any section of your
campaign world that features a remote, forested area in
which an isolated town might exist. If there is a small
town that the PCs visited in a past adventure but
haven t returned to in quite a while, so much the better.
As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here
as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
To get started, print out this adventure (including
the maps). Read through the scenario at least once to
familiarize yourself with the situation, threats, and
major NPCs (particularly their motivations). Make
adjustments as necessary to fit the storyline into your
campaign.

ADVENTURE
BACKGROUND
Deepwood is a small community consisting of hunters,
loggers, artisans, and a few hardy families who just
prefer to live far away from cities. There are a couple of
farms in the surrounding area, but the people here
subsist for the most part on fish, game, and naturallygrowing crops such as mushrooms, wild vegetables, and
seasonal fruit.
The people of Deepwood have always led quiet lives.
Traders come through a few times a year to exchange
goods and materials made in the cities for local furs,
pelts, artwork, and lumber, but otherwise there are few
visitors. The nearest town of any significant size lies
several days ride to the east. News from the outside
world takes a long while to reach this isolated community, and word of events taking place in Deepwood can
take days or even weeks to spread to the rest of the
world. Until recently, however, very few people
noticed or cared about such delays, since so little of
interest ever happened here.

In the past few days, however, word has begun to

spread in the outlying areas that all is not well in
Deepwood. The only point on which the rumors agree
is that the local priestess has been slain savagely
mauled by some sort of animal and that terrible creature now stalks the tiny village, seeking more prey.
Beyond this information, the details are sketchy and
sometimes conflicting. Some tales say that the beast has
already been killed; others claim that the townsfolk
have seen several half-man-half-beast creatures roaming the woods at night. A few say that the woods around
the village echo with the howls of an unusual number
of wolves and wild dogs.

THE TRUTH ABOUT DEEPWOOD

Although most of the townsfolk do not know it, werewolves make up a significant percentage of Deepwood s
populace. All of these shapechangers are natural lycanthropes humans who were born with the ability to
transform into wolves or wolf-human hybrids. They have
chosen to make their homes in this remote village, where
they can indulge their wild natures in the nearby forest
without frightening or causing harm to their neighbors.
Despite the wild blood that runs through their veins,
the werewolves who live in Deepwood are all good
people. Not one of them has ever taken a human life,
nor do any of them plan to do so. Deepwood is their
home, and they consider everyone living there to be
part of their pack, werewolf or no.
Several nights per month (particularly nights of the
full moon), the Deepwood werewolves run through the
forest as a pack, hunting deer or other game and celebrating their wild heritage. This hunting ritual has been
going on for years, and no normal member of the
community has ever suspected the truth. Thus, the
members of the Deepwood pack have been able to live
in freedom and harmony with both their surroundings
and their human neighbors for many decades.

THE LEADER OF THE PACK

Two months ago, the peace and harmony of
Deepwood was shattered. The pack was hunting a
particularly large and powerful buck in the forest by
the light of the full moon. But just as the Deepwood
werewolves were about to bring down their prey, a
tremendous wolf bigger than any three members of
the pack combined burst from the surrounding
foliage and snapped the deer s neck with one bite of
his massive jaws.
By right of strength, he growled, I claim leadership of this pack. You will all do as I say or face the
consequences.

Naturally, the pack objected, and its leader (a huntsman named Trammil Nimman) challenged the new
wolf, even though the latter outweighed him by a
considerable amount. The pack knew that his effort was
doomed to failure, but rather than killing Trammil, the
new wolf merely beat him into unconsciousness.
I do not wish to kill any of you, he said. That
would only weaken my new pack. But I will brook no
dissent. The next one who fails to follow my orders to
the letter will feel the full extent of my wrath.
The new leader seemed so bloodthirsty that the
werewolves feared he might order them to attack their
human neighbors. To their relief, however, no such
order was forthcoming. The new werewolf simply led
the pack into the hills to a cave entrance that was
masked almost completely by thick foliage.
Once there, he assumed a hybrid form and pulled
the curtain of leaves aside. The moonlight streamed
into the cave, revealing walls speckled with gold. Using
his tremendous strength, he struck one of the walls and
released a shower of rocks several of which turned
out to be gold nuggets the size of a man s fist.
This cavern is as large as a house, he said. Each
night, four of you will come here and mine the gold as
I ve just shown you. If you do not, I will reveal the your
true natures to the humans in your town.
The werewolves saw no other choice, so they obeyed
their new leader. Each night, four of them came to the
cave and dug out pound after pound of gold from the
cave walls. When they were finished, they took the gold
first to Trammil, who recorded the amount in a ledger,
and then to a secret glade for hiding.
Night after night they extracted gold from the cave.
While working, they discussed several possible solutions to their plight. Some members suggested that the
pack join together to attack this new wolf, but most
believed in the traditional practice of following the
strongest individual. Attacking as a group is for bringing down food, not a brother wolf. To challenge the
new leader in any way other than one-on-one combat
was deemed dishonorable and cowardly.
A few members of the pack offered to travel to the
city and hire champions to defeat the new wolf. After
all, they pointed out, other communities often did such
things when a monster moved into the area, and their
new leader could certainly be defined as a monster. But
most of the Deepwood werewolves felt that such a solution would be just as dishonorable as ganging up on
their tormentor.
If they knew his human identity, they mused,
perhaps they could at least gain equal footing with him
by threatening to reveal his secret unless he left the pack

in peace. But neither his hybrid appearance nor his

scent reminded them of anyone they knew. They were
sure that he had to be a citizen of Deepwood (or at least
someone who visited very frequently), else he could not
know so much about the pack and its relationship with
the townsfolk. But they were at a loss to identify him.

ARMON BISTLE
The pack s new leader is actually Armon Bistle, the richest person in Deepwood. Though he is not a werewolf,
he owns a talisman that allows him to mimic a werewolf s powers, including the scent ability. With this
artifact, known as Gnarlpaws Fang, he managed to
discover the true identities of the members of the
Deepwood pack by picking up werewolf scents on
them while they were in human form.
Armon actually has nothing against the pack. He s
known those people since moving to Deepwood more
than a year ago, and they have never been anything but
good neighbors to him. But Armon has always been a
manipulative, opportunistic man, and he will stop at
nothing to gain more wealth.
Before moving to Deepwood, Armon made his
living from confidence schemes. His typical ploy was to
move into a new town, make friends with the locals,
and then come up with an elaborate plan to fleece them
of all their wealth.
Bistle was good at his trade, and he managed to
amass quite a fortune in gold, gems, and other valuables.
Considering that he had been forced to flee from lynch
mobs in the last three cities where he had worked his
schemes, he decided that it might be time to retire. So
he took his ill-gotten loot, changed his name, and moved
to Deepwood, a community so remote that he was sure
none of his former neighbors could ever find him.
Initially, Armon had no intention of taking advantage of his new neighbors. Their combined wealth was
less than one-fifth of what he d already amassed, so
taking it would hardly be worth his while. More importantly, though, he knew that this village was probably
the last safe place in the world where he could hide.
Greed, however, is more powerful than logic. And
when Armon happened to discover a cave that was practically made of gold, he decided to use Gnarlpaws fang, a
magic item he d acquired during his last job, to take
the form of Gnarlpaw, an ancient werewolf lord, and
coerce the Deepwood pack into doing his bidding.

THE LONE WOLF

For a while, events went exactly as Armon Bistle had
planned. The Deepwood pack obeyed his orders, mined
the gold, and hid it away. Only Trammil Nimman ever

showed signs of disobedience, growling under his

breath as he recorded the amount of treasure in his
ledger each morning. As the pack s former leader,
Trammil desperately wanted to oust Armon, but he
could never get the rest of the pack to agree on a means
other than single combat to do so.
As time went on, Trammil became bolder. He spent
most nights sniffing around the village in his wolf form,
hoping to catch the scent of the new leader on a villager
and thus establish his identity. Alas, his attempts were
doomed to failure because, unlike a real werewolf,
Armon smelled like a human in human form and like
the ancient werewolf lord Gnarlpaw in wolf or hybrid
form. Thus, the scent that Trammil and the other werewolves recognized as their pack leader was totally absent
when he resumed human form. But although Armon
knew that the item protected him from detection by this
means, he also realized that it was only a matter of time
before he made some error that would enable Trammil to
discover the truth. Thus, Armon decided to gain some
unwitting aid in removing his rival.
One evening, Bistle used Gnarlpaws fang to transform
into Gnarlpaw, then prowled around town until Trammil
picked up his scent. He led the werewolf on a tremendous
chase that ended in the town s only house of worship a
small temple dedicated to the goddess Ehlonna. There
Armon savagely slaughtered Ishtal, the elf priestess who
ran the temple. As he had hoped, Trammil followed his
scent to the temple, where Armon waited to attack him.
With his teeth and claws, Bistle savaged his opponent, but
stopped short of delivering the killing blow. Instead,
Armon fled the temple, transformed back into his own
shape, and ran through the town screaming Murder! at
the top of his lungs. Trammil, who lay near death from
Armon s attacks, had barely staggered to his feet by the
time the townsfolk arrived.
Suddenly realizing the picture he presented as a
wolf covered in blood beside the corpse of the priestess,
Trammil changed back to his human form and tried to
tell his fellow villagers the truth. But seeing a killer
beast turn into their friend and neighbor only frightened the humans more. The werewolf townsfolk tried
to talk some sense into their human neighbors, pointing out the need for a proper trial, but the terrified
humans refused to listen. They bound and gagged poor
Trammil, dragged him out of town, and hanged him.
Torn between loyalty to their friend and fear of discovery, the other werewolves in town made no further
effort to stop the hanging, knowing that if their own
natures were discovered, they would face a choice
between shedding innocent blood and sharing
Trammil s fate.

SHADOW OF THE WOLF

In death, Trammil reverted to his human shape. But the
townsfolk left him hanging there and placed a sign
reading murdering dog around his neck as a warning
to any other werewolves that might be near.
Deepwood is now a town nearly paralyzed by fear.
Trammil had been a member of the community for years
and yet no one had ever suspected his dark secret. Worse
still, upon searching his belongings, the townsfolk found
a ledger containing notes in a language that they could
not read. Could this be a list of other local werewolves?
After all, werewolves often run in packs. Who else among
them might be a murderous beast in disguise?
The townsfolk decided to place the book in the
temple under constant surveillance, reasoning that
sooner or later one of the other werewolves would try
to steal it. If they could capture that person alive, they
might be able to gain more information. Alternatively,
if someone with knowledge of this language happened
through town, they might be able to prevail upon that
person to reveal the book s contents to them.
In fact, the book is Trammil s ledger, in which he
recorded the daily amounts of gold and the specific locations where the werewolves buried it. The language is a
shorthand used by woodcutters and caravan drivers (the
only language that Armon and Trammil shared, other
than Common). Although no member of the pack can
read the book either, they all know the general nature of
its contents and do not feel that they can gain any information from it. Only Armon has an interest in the book.

Since Trammil s hanging, the pack has refused to do

any more digging. In fact, its members have stopped
transforming into wolves altogether. While they find
living solely in human form a bit restrictive after giving
free rein to their wild sides for so long, they can think of
no other way to break the big wolf s hold over them
and break it they must, before more tragedy ensues.
Since the werewolves refuse to take on wolf form
anymore, Armon has no further means to coerce them.
He cannot approach them in his human form and
threaten to divulge their secrets because that would
reveal his own identity. And he cannot move through
town in wolf form because the townsfolk are more than
happy to slay wolves on sight. At this point, Armon just
wants to retrieve what gold he can and leave Deepwood
forever. But first he has to find a way to get his hands on
Trammil s ledger.
To complicate matters still further, Trammil s death
has convinced the Deepwood werewolves to turn on
their unwanted leader. Various members of the pack
have been taking turns guarding the area where the
gold is hidden. They plan to assume wolf form and
attack anyone who comes to retrieve it, since the only
person who could know about it is their tormentor.

ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
Upon arriving at the outskirts of Deepwood, the PCs
see Trammil s body hanging from a tree. As they
proceed into town, they sense that the inhabitants are

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THE MORAL QUANDARY
Although it may not be obvious at first, the pivotal
question on which this scenario turns is this: How
will the people of Deepwood react when they find
out that they have hanged an innocent man?
Trammil died both because of his lycanthropic
nature and because he allowed himself to be
maneuvered into a compromising position. He was
never permitted to plead his innocence because the
townsfolk presumed that, as a werewolf, he must be
guilty. But even though many characters would call
Trammil a monster, the fact remains that he was
punished for a crime he did not commit.
Several aspects of this adventure also hinge on a
tangential question: What will the ordinary citizens
of Deepwood do when they find out that their neighbors are werewolves?
The werewolves of the Deepwood pack have successfully hidden their true nature from friends,

neighbors, and even loved ones for decades. Can

the ordinary citizens of the town accept, understand, andmost importantlyforgive the pack for
its years of deception?
There is no easy answer to either of these questions. Indeed, it is these aspects of the plot that
you as DM can most easily adapt to suit your purposes. But before you can do that, you must decide
what message you want to impart. Possibilities
include:
Appearances can be deceiving.
Not all monsters are evil.
Never hide the truth, no matter how monstrous,
from those you love.
Punishment meted out too swiftly is often tainted
with injustice.
Nothing is as simple as it first seems.

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extremely fearful about something. They can interact

with the townsfolk as much as they wish to gather
information regarding recent events. All such information comes from the perspective of innocent humanoid
residents who know nothing about the Deepwood pack
or Armon s secret.
Eventually, using either their own abilities or a scroll of
comprehend languages that remains in the Temple of
Ehlonna, the PCs can decipher Trammil s ledger. The
information therein leads them to the Vale of the Silvery
Moon, where a confrontation with some of the Deepwood
werewolves (and Armon, if he still lives) occurs.

ADVENTURE HOOKS
The PCs could come to Deepwood for any of several
reasons. They might come of their own accord after
hearing rumors about a werewolf terrorizing an innocent village. Or they might inadvertently come across
Deepwood while traveling to or from a different adventure. Perhaps one or more of the characters even hails
from this remote town.
As DM, you know best how to involve your players
and their characters in an adventure. You can use the
following adventure hooks to spur your imagination,
modifying them as necessary to make them appropriate
for the characters interests.
While traveling, the PCs encounter a merchant or
other wanderer who has just come from Deepwood.
In the course of conversation, she tells them of the
troubles there.
Several people who were swindled by a con artist
named Sv rd Coppermill (Armon s previous identity) hire the PCs to track down their nemesis. After a
difficult investigation, they discover that Sv rd
seems to have relocated to Deepwood.

In a previous adventure, the PCs confronted a werewolf that managed to elude capture. For months (or
even years), they were unable to locate their quarry,
but the news from Deepwood seems to match this
creature s modus operandi.
The PCs are on a quest to find Gnarlpaws fang. Either
their own inquiries and research put them on
Armon s trail, or successful divinations point them
toward a tiny village in a remote forest.

BEGINNING THE
ADVENTURE
This adventure consists primarily of freeform encounters, which may be run in any order. Some encounter
areas are keyed to the maps; the specific placement of
the others is up to you as DM.
The adventure begins with encounter A as the PCs
approach the town of Deepwood. Thereafter, the
encounters may be used in any order, depending on
where the PCs decide to go and what they do.

A. APPROACH TO TOWN
The first clue about what s happening in Deepwood
comes as the PCs reach the outskirts of the town.
Several details may vary depending on how much time
has passed since the night of Trammil s hanging.
If the PCs wander into Deepwood while in midst of
some other adventure, or if they come for some reason
other than hearing of the werewolf attack, they could
arrive as early as the morning after the horrific events.
In this case, all the evidence is fresh, and the townsfolk s emotions are especially raw.
If the PCs are responding to the news of the attack,
they can arrive three days after the murder and hanging

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SCALING THE ADVENTURE
Bad Moon Waning is designed for a party of four
10th-level adventurers, but it can easily be modified
to present an appropriate challenge for parties of
different sizes or levels. Consider adapting the
adventure as follows.
Four 8th-Level PCs: Run the adventure as
written, but with the following changes.
Reduce the number of werewolves in encounter D
to three.
Reduce Armons hit points when he uses
Gnarlpaws fang by 25%.

Four 12th-Level PCs: Run the adventure as

written, but with the following changes:
Increase the number of werewolves in encounter
D to seven.
Add two fighter levels to Armon in his werewolf
lord form. (The creature is currently a 10th-level
fighter with the lycanthrope template; see his
statistics in encounter D and the werewolf lord
entry in the Monster Manual.)

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if they use some magical means to speed their travel to

Deepwood. It takes a total of six days to travel there by
conventional overland methods. But whether they
arrive in three days or six, the townsfolk have had time
to clean up the temple, bury the priestess, and begin to
deal with their emotions.
Read or paraphrase the following aloud as the characters approach Deepwood. Adjust the text as needed to
suit the exact situation.
The forest begins to thin slightly, and the dirt path
winding through it becomes wide enough to be
defined as a road. A small, crudely painted sign by
the side of the road reads Welcome to Deepwood.
Along the bottom, someone has carved a few additional words: As far from anywhere as you ll
ever find.
A newer and less inviting sign of human habitation hangs from a nearby elm tree a human
corpse dangling from a noose. It is dressed in rags,
and a placard reading murdering dog is affixed to
its shirt.
The corpse is that of Trammil Nimman. Its condition
depends entirely on how long the PCs took getting to
Deepwood.
Development: The rope from which the body
hangs is woven through with a leafy vine. A successful
Knowledge (nature) check reveals it as wolfbane.
The PCs can lower Trammil s body to the ground if
they like, or they can use spells to examine it where it
hangs. Neither tactic reveals anything of interest about
his body.
If the PCs use speak with dead on the body, Trammil
gives them the information contained in the journal
hidden in his cabin (area B7).
The town of Deepwood lies only a short distance
down the road from this point. Each PC may attempt a
Spot check upon leaving area A. A check result that
beats DC 10 reveals that the streets seem unusually
empty. A DC 15 or better check result reveals several
people watching the party s actions from behind
curtains or shutters. Anyone whose check result beats
DC 20 saw people in the streets who immediately fled
into their homes upon noticing the PCs near the tree.
No matter how long the PCs wait, none of the residents leave their homes or approach the PCs while they
are standing near the corpse and the tree. Once the
characters enter Deepwood, their reception improves
slightly.

B. THE TOWN
OF DEEPWOOD
The citizens of this small village, both werewolf and
human, have been traumatized by recent events. Most
have spent a great deal of the time since Ishtal s murder
and Trammil s hanging locked in their huts and cabins
for safety. Whispered talk among neighbors has fueled
a keen paranoia, as the normal townsfolk consider who
else among their neighbors might be a murderous
shapechanger, and the shapechangers wonder if they
will be next on the hanging tree.
Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the
PCs enter Deepwood.
The town of Deepwood is a collection of shacks,
cabins, and one or two fancier buildings nestled in
a large clearing in the forest. Smoke wafts from
many of the chimneys, hinting at a goodly
number of residents, but none of them are visible.
The streets are empty, and all the windows are
shuttered.
The townsfolk are even more wary of strangers than
they are of each other particularly strangers who have
displayed an interest in the body on the hanging tree.
Still, both hospitality and curiosity demand that someone greet the newcomers. By default, that person is
Edvard Kititch, the closest thing Deepwood has to a
mayor.
Greetings, strangers! calls a tall, thin man stepping from a sturdy cabin in the center of town. I
am Edvard Kititch, he says, casting a wary look
about him. Welcome to Deepwood. Please forgive
our lack of hospitality, but the town has been
languishing under the shadow of a terrible
tragedy.
Edvard is quite willing to explain recent events if the
PCs have not already heard the tales. If they tell Edvard
that they have come to help, he becomes quite effusive,
shaking their hands and thanking them profusely.
Then he calls for the other townsfolk to come out of
hiding.
At that point, several citizens come out to greet the
PCs, but clearly not the entire populace. Despite the
recent horrors, life goes on. People still have to hunt,
fish, gather wood and berries, and tend both the domestic and the wild animals in the region.
Creatures: There are only a dozen or so households in Deepwood. Most of the townsfolk with the

exception of the Deepwood pack are 1st-level human

commoners, but you may also want to make a few of
them experts or warriors. It is not necessary to create
full statistics for everyone in town, but you should try to
provide as much detail as the campaign requires.
Development: The citizens immediately begin to
ply the PCs with questions. Is their town safe? Are there
more monsters in their midst? And why did Trammil
kill the priestess Ishtal? Some of them implore the PCs
to get to the bottom of this situation; others simply cry
or continue asking questions.
If the PCs agree to help the citizens, Edvard gives
them permission to enter any building and look in any
cabinet, box, or hiding space they deem necessary. He is
willing to shoulder full responsibility for their actions if
they will try to end this nightmare.

B1. KITITCHS CABIN

Edvard Kititch and his wife Lilly share this comfortable
cabin. Edvard is a tanner, and he maintains a separate
cabin nearby in which to practice his trade. He is also
the closest thing Deepwood has to a mayor an eventempered, fair man to whose judgement his neighbors
generally defer.
Edvard and Lilly are only recently wed. Lilly is the
daughter of Pruert and Ginny Jyles (see area B14). She
is also a werewolf, although she has not shared this
secret with her new husband as yet. Even as fairminded as Edvard is, she fears that he will turn his back
on her (or worse) when he learns the truth.
Creatures: If Edvard is not already escorting the
PCs, he is here when they arrive. Lilly, however, is
standing guard at the Temple of Ehlonna (see area B11).

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THE DEEPWOOD PACK
While the citizens of Deepwood are unanimous in
their desire to see their current situation resolved
and normalcy restored to the town, some of them
are understandably uncomfortable with the possibility that the PCs may uncover all the towns secrets.
Eight of the townsfolk have gone through a great
deal of trouble over the years to hide the fact that
they are werewolves from their neighbors.
MARKED TERRITORY
The pack has marked the town and surrounding
woods as its territory. Rangers, druids, and other
characters who are skilled at tracking wild creatures
may, at the DMs discretion, occasionally notice wolf
markers of various kinds, including scratches on
surfaces and musky odors on large and important
buildings or trees.
While examining the homes of members of the
Deepwood pack, the PCs may notice other behavior
patterns that are reminiscent of wolves or wild dogs.
For example, they might find important items
buried under piles of less important possessions.
Or if a werewolf has children, the room where the
youngsters sleep may be located as far from the
entrance as possible, and the parents might try to
interpose themselves between the PCs and that door
at all times.
FINDING THE PACK
The characters may be able to discover the nature of
the Deepwood pack through the use of extraordinary
abilities or magic (particularly spells from the
Divination school). They might also turn up clear

evidence of the packs innocence in the recent troubles. The results of their investigation hinge on what
questions they ask and to what conclusions they
jump.
When presenting information, answering questions, and adjudicating the effects of spells as DM,
do your best to give the players truthful information
while still leaving room for interpretation. Its important that the PCs be able to make their own judgments about what really happened on the night of
the murder and hanging.
If the PCs confront any werewolves with the truth
about their natures, they do not deny the allegation,
but they do nothing to cast suspicion on any as yet
undiscovered members of the pack. They do,
however, ask the PCs to keep their secret. After all,
they have been members of this community for years
and never personally done anything to hurt anyone.
If asked directly whether they knew about
Trammils true nature, members of the pack affirm
that they did but insist that he could not have killed
the priestess because doing so would have been
against his nature. They suspect that their new
leader actually killed the cleric, though they do not
know it for sure, and they refuse to speculate about
the murderers identity at all. (Right now, like it or
not, Armon Bistle is the leader of the Deepwood
pack, and as such he is a problem that they wish to
deal with by themselves.)
Unless otherwise noted, use the werewolf statistics
given in the Lycanthrope entry in the Monster Manual
for all members of the Deepwood pack, except that
each can have any neutral or good alignment.

pqqqqrs

D Edvard Kititch: Male human Commoner 1;

hp 3.
Development: This cabin contains nothing of
value to the PCs investigation. However, the group
might find evidence of marked territory here, as
discussed in the Deepwood Pack sidebar.

in Deepwood, since all the citizens of the town

contributed to purchasing the land and materials and
building the structure.
Creatures: No one is here when the PCs arrive.
Development: There is nothing useful to the
investigation in this building.

B2. TANNERY

B4. LEONES CABIN

This small shack behind the Kititch cabin is where

Edvard tans leather and hides brought to him by
hunters, trappers, and various other members of the
Deepwood community. Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the PCs enter.

This cabin belongs to Enga Leone and her partner Avon

Vestille. The two women are trappers and taxidermists
who have found a veritable gold mine of small animals
in the local woods. Rather than compete with one
another for the pelts, they ve pooled their resources. As
a result, they make a respectable profit from the
merchants who come through town every few months.
Unbeknownst to Enga, Avon is a werewolf. She
decided to work with Enga so that she would be in a
position to tell the pack where all the local traps had
been placed.
Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the
PCs enter.

This cabin has no doors, but its many windows

provide excellent ventilation. Even so, however, a
nauseating stench wafts through the building. In
the corner stand two barrels one large and one
small. A clay pit filled with pungent, murky, brown
water fills the central area. A pole spans the pit just
below the water s surface, and several animal hides
are draped over it, submerged in the liquid.
Creatures: No one is here unless Edvard has
accompanied the PCs.
Development: The large barrel contains crushed
bark. A Knowledge (nature) check (DC 15) reveals that
this bark was taken from an oak tree. The smaller barrel
is filled with dung, which is used in the first stage of
tanning. A Knowledge (nature) check (DC 25) reveals
that it is the dung of a carnivore of at least the same size
as a human.
All these items are standard materials for the unpleasant job of tanning. Anyone who succeeds at a Spot check
(DC 10) notices that Edvard has thoughtfully located his
workshop downwind of Deepwood proper.

B3. SMOKEHOUSE
Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the PCs
enter this cabin.
This small cabin has only one door and no
windows. Inside, the air in the single room is hot,
dry, and filled with thick clouds of smoke that
emanate from a clay fire box near the far wall. Strips
of meat hang on racks in the center of the room.

This cabin is where the people of Deepwood smoke

meats to preserve them for use at a later date (usually
either on a long journey or during the winter months).
The smokehouse is the only truly communal building

The cabin s main room is filled with pelts, traps,

and dozens of stuffed and mounted rabbits,
beavers, and badgers. A closed cabinet stands near
one wall. Hanging from the walls are deer, cougar,
and bear heads. This area looks very much like a
hunter s trophy room.

Creatures: Both Avon and Enga are present when

the PCs arrive.
D Avon: Female human werewolf Warrior 1; hp
20 (see Monster Manual page 175).
D Enga: Female human Commoner 1; hp 3.
Negotiations: Both women give permission for
the PCs to search their cabin, though Avon seems
somewhat reticent and wary about answering their
questions.
Development: Each woman has her own
bedroom. A successful Search check (DC 12) of Avon s
room reveals some of the clues described in the
Deepwood Pack sidebar.
A full-size stuffed wolf is hidden beneath the bed in
Enga s room. If the characters ask why it is not
displayed in the main room with the other taxidermy,
Enga shrugs and explains that Avon detests it and flies
into a rage every time she sees it.
Development: The cabinet is unlocked. It
contains a small barrel of sawdust, several boxes filled
with glass eyes, and a thick leather bundle. Unrolling
the bundle reveals several scalpels, surgical saws, and

other implements useful for removing the viscera from

a trophy before stuffing it for display.

B5. MENDIS HOUSE

Rajel Mendi lives in this large home with her husband
Rik, their two daughters Keri (14 years old) and Yamile
(11 years old), and their son Bosh (7 years old). The
unofficial sixth member of the family is Cral Redfoot,
Rajel s apprentice, but he lives in Rajel s workshop
(area B6).
The house features a large central living area and a
single bedroom where Rajel and Rik sleep. The children sleep in the loft.
Rajel is an alchemist. She spends most of her days in
her workshop (area B6), and for most of their marriage,
Rik has spent the majority of his time caring for the
children. But now that Bosh is old enough to study with
the other village children (see area B13), Rik is learning
to be a forester. A few times a week, Avi Fincher (see
area B12) takes him into the woods and teaches him
some of the basic skills of the trade.
Creatures: No one is at home when the PCs
arrive here.
Development: There is nothing of importance to
the investigation in this house. However, the entire
home is spotlessly clean a fact that the PCs may find
interesting or even suspicious.

and their lupine heritages. He was not especially interested in becoming an alchemist s apprentice, but that
was the only viable reason he could come up with for
his interest in moving to Deepwood.
Creatures: Rajel is working alone in the shop
when the PCs arrive.
D Rajel Mendi: Female human Commoner 1; hp 3.
Negotiations: Rajel knows nothing about Cral s
true nature. If asked about him, she says that he is a
good apprentice willing to study hard and do what
he s told. A successful Gather Information check (DC
15) gets her to add that he s not like other alchemists. If
asked to elaborate, she explains that most of her
colleagues are driven individuals who are obsessed with
understanding the scientific basis of nature and altering
its processes. But although Cral is a hard worker, he
doesn t seem to have the natural inclination toward that
sort of work that most alchemists show.
Development: Because Cral is a werewolf, the
PCs may be able to turn up some of the evidence
mentioned in the Deepwood pack sidebar in this
building. There is nothing of special interest in the
workshop.
Cral is nowhere to be found. If asked about his
whereabouts, Rajel explains that he is probably out
gathering ingredients they need for their current projects. In truth, he is one of the werewolves guarding the
gold (see encounter D, below).

B6. ALCHEMISTS WORKSHOP

Behind the Mendis house stands a small cabin where
Rajel practices her craft. Here she mixes alchemical
solutions, experiments with new ingredients and
formulae, and creates any salves and ointments her
friends and neighbors require. Read or paraphrase the
following aloud when the PCs enter.
The walls of this small cabin are lined with long, flat
tables. Each is covered with a maze of stoppered
bottles, mortars and pestles, vials of differentcolored solutions, candles, and trays smudged
with pastes, oils, and lotions.
In one corner stands a small, neatly made cot.
Several large tomes are stacked on the floor near
its foot.
The cot is here because the workshop also serves as a
home for Rajel s apprentice, Cral Redfoot. The books
are introductory texts on chemistry, herbalism, and
other related subjects.
Cral is a werewolf who came to town because he had
heard about the Deepwood pack and the way its
members had managed to celebrate both their human

10

B7. TRAMMILS SHACK

Until recently, this small, rundown building was home
to Trammil Nimman, the hanged werewolf. Trammil
was a hunter who had been a member of the Deepwood
community for more than ten years. Although he was
not the most affable fellow in town, he was considered
an upstanding and trusted citizen until his true nature
was revealed.
Trammil was a solitary sort who didn t seem to mind
living alone. He spent a good deal of his time out in the
woods tracking and killing deer, bear, and other game
that he would trade with other townsfolk for various
goods and services.
Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the
characters enter this cabin.
The single room of this small cabin is a terrible
mess. Whoever searched this place was none too
delicate about it. Clothing lies everywhere, and
personal possessions have been tossed about with
some abandon.

Creatures: No one is here when the PCs arrive.

Development: A successful Search check (DC 15)
in the shack turns up a leather-bound journal half-filled
with handwritten text. The writing is the same shorthand used in the ledger that the townsfolk are guarding
in the temple (area B11).
A PC may decode the book with a successful
Decipher Script check (DC 25). A +10 insight bonus
applies to this check if that PC has already deciphered
the ledger. Some spells, such as comprehend languages,
will also allow the characters to read the text.
This journal is Trammil s personal diary. Most of its
entries have to do with the mundane details of his
hunts how many animals he saw, what the conditions
were, signs of upcoming weather patterns, and the like.
In the first half of the book, Trammil mentions the
pack only in passing. The last fifteen pages, however,
provide a detailed account of the pack s interactions
with its new leader, including a full description of
when and how the big wolf took over. In the last few
entries, Trammil expresses his determination to
discover the wolf s true identity and his belief that the
creature means harm to all the people of Deepwood.
Though this journal confirms that there are several
werewolves in Deepwood, it gives no names, professions, or other means of identifying them. Its language
also strongly indicates that these werewolves are not
the problem, since they have been living peacefully in
the community for years. Clearly, it is the new leader
who has upset the equilibrium.

B8. BASTONES FARM

This small farm is home to Kent Bastone, his wife Nadi,
and their infant son Rustle. The Bastones grow some
vegetables and potatoes and tend a mid-sized herd of
sheep and goats, which supply the town with milk and
other dairy products, wool, and occasionally meat.
Creatures: All three of the Bastones are present
when the PCs arrive.
D Kent and Nadi Bastone: Male and female
human Commoner 1; hp 3.
D Rustle Bastone: Noncombatant.
Negotiations: The Bastones relate the following
pieces of information in response to appropriate PC
questions.
The local woods have always been home to more
wolves than one would usually expect to find in such
an area.
Despite the size of the local wolf population, the
Bastones rarely have trouble with predators raiding
their herd.

Once Kent thought he saw an especially large wolf

chasing several smaller wolves away from the farm
just as though he was protecting the herd.
Since Trammil was hanged, the wolves seem to have
disappeared. The night air used to ring with their
baying, but now the darkness is disturbingly quiet.
Development: There is nothing of particular use
to the investigation on this farm.

B9. UBERTS SHACK

This small, neatly kept shack belongs to Nero Ubert, one
of Deepwood s most eligible bachelors. Nero is a hunter
who typically stalks rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, and other
small game. He occasionally hunts with Gar Harth, and
both used to hunt occasionally with Trammil Nimman.
Nero lives alone and has a well-deserved reputation
for being a jocular, outgoing, flirtatious fellow. He is
well liked by everyone in Deepwood. Unbeknownst to
his neighbors, he is also a werewolf.
Creatures: No one is here when the PCs arrive.
Development: Examination of Nero s shack
yields a few of the clues noted in the Deepwood Pack
sidebar, but it contains no particularly useful or damning evidence.
Further Investigation: Nero s neighbors
consider his absence from town unremarkable. If questioned about him by the PCs, they explain that Nero
often disappears into the woods for up to a week when
he is hunting.
This time, however, Nero has actually gone off on
quite a different errand, though his neighbors are not
aware of it. He is one of the werewolves guarding the
gold in the Vale of the Silvery Moon (encounter D).

B10. TRACERS HOUSE

This large cabin is home to Bale Tracer and his family.
Both Bale and his wife Gritta are foresters by trade. On any
given day, one of them is in the forest gathering wood,
clearing underbrush to prevent particularly destructive
forest fires, and examining the local flora and fauna for
blights and disease, and the other is at home caring for
their infant daughter Rika and toddler son Shep.
The Tracers moved to Deepwood only two years ago
from a large city. No one knows why they packed up all
their belongings and moved to this isolated town, but
they have been good neighbors to everyone here.
The Tracers home has a main living area and four
side chambers. The cabin is clean, but the furniture is somewhat shabby.

11

Creatures: Bale Tracer is at home today with the

children.
D Bale Tracer: Male human Commoner 1; hp 3.
D Rika and Shep Tracer: Noncombatants.
Negotiations: A successful Diplomacy or Gather
Information check (DC 30) convinces Bale to tell the
PCs his story.
Bale Tracer was a successful merchant in the city
where he once lived. Gritta was his fianc e, and they
looked forward to a long and happy life together. Then
the local magistrate took a fancy to Gritta. Though she
spurned him, he paid her father an obscene amount of
money to call off her betrothal to Tracer and promise
her hand to him. Determined to marry even without
her father s permission, Gritta and Bale packed up what
belongings they could carry and moved as far away as
they could get.
Development: Two of the four side chambers
in the Tracers house are bedrooms. Another contains
sealed crates and tarpaulin-covered furniture, and
the fourth is a walk-in pantry filled with all sorts of
items that might ordinarily be found in a general
store. This home contains nothing of significance to
the investigation.

B11. TEMPLE OF EHLONNA

This building was the town s only house of religious
worship. But since the murder of the priestess Ishtal
took place in the nave, the citizens of Deepwood now
consider this temple a cursed place. Until they are
certain that the danger has passed, they refuse to enter
the temple alone.
The exterior of this Temple of Ehlonna seems to
be made of brick, but the building is so thickly
covered in ivy that it is difficult to be certain.
Inside, most of the space is taken up by a large
nave. The ivy grows through the building s many
open windows and covers the interior walls nearly
as thickly as it does the outside.
Six rows of benches fill the center of the room,
and a slightly raised platform equipped with a
lectern stands at the far end. Behind the platform
is a single door.
Two women are sitting on the benches closest
to the lectern.

At Edvard s insistence, the town has placed Trammil s

ledger on the lectern, and at least two townsfolk stand
watch over it at all times. They believe that the book
contains information about Trammil s accomplices, and

12

they await one of two possible outcomes an

attempted theft of the book by another werewolf, or the
arrival of a traveler who can read the language in which
the book is written.
Creatures: Currently, Lilly Kititch and Simone
Harth are standing guard. They have been here for
several hours chatting amiably, but they are still alert for
intruders. They notice the PCs immediately unless the
group purposely attempts to sneak in. To get in without
alerting the guards, each PC must make a successful
Hide check and Move Silently check (DC 20 for both).
D Lilly Kititch: Female human werewolf commoner 1; hp 20.
D Simone Harth: Female human Commoner 1;
hp 3.
Negotiations: The women challenge the PCs and
refuse to let them examine the ledger unless Edvard
personally tells them it s all right. Even though Lilly
(see area B1) is a werewolf, she feigns having only
human abilities if attacked. Thus, the PCs should be
able overcome these two women without any difficulty,
but doing so would certainly damage their relations
with the rest of the townsfolk.
The Ledger: The ledger is written in the same
shorthand as the journal hidden in Trammil s shack
(area B7). To understand the writing, a PC must succeed
on a Decipher Script check (DC 25). A +10 insight bonus
applies to this check if the character has already deciphered Trammil s journal. Some spells, such as comprehend languages, will also allow PCs to read the text.
The book contains scrupulous notes on how much
gold was dug each night (usually between 5 and 15
pounds). The book indicates that all the gold has been
buried somewhere called the Vale of the Silvery Moon.
You will find gold under any mound that bears the
mark of the pack, it says.
If the PCs ask, anyone in town can tell them where
the glade is. If they decide to go there, continue the
adventure with encounter C, below.

B12. FINCHERS SHACK

This wooden shack belongs to Avi Fincher, a woodsman who spends most of his time gathering mushrooms and wild vegetables, or cultivating herbs and
other medicinal plants. Avi sometimes spends weeks
on end in the woods. He comes home only long enough
to properly store his recent collections, restock supplies
that are difficult or impossible to forage in the wild
(such as wine, watertight pouches, and fresh clothing),
and get a night or two s sleep in a bed. Understandably,
the shack perpetually looks disheveled, as though it had
recently been ransacked.

Creatures: When the PCs arrive in town, Avi is

out in the woods with Rik Mendi (see area B5).
Development: There is nothing of interest to the
investigation within Fincher s shack, but it might take
the PCs some time to determine that fact.

a kind but slightly dotty woman who is willing to talk to

the PCs about anything they like in fact, she ll talk
their ears off if they let her.
There is nothing of particular use to the investigation in this house.

B13. VIDADS HOUSE

B14. JYLES FARM

This large home looks different than most others in

town. Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the
characters approach.

This small farm is home to Pruert Jyles, his wife Ginny,

and their teenage son Ython. They grow maize,
cabbage, and other vegetables, plus some winter wheat.
All three members of the Jyles family are well liked
in Deepwood. They are friendly, outgoing people who
are always willing to help their neighbors with any project or difficulty. All three of them are also werewolves.
Creatures: No one is home at the Jyles farm when
the PCs arrive.
Development: If the PCs investigate the farm,
they may find some of the clues mentioned in the
Deepwood Pack sidebar. Anyone who succeeds on a
Spot check (DC 30) notices that there are no animals on
the premises no livestock, horses, chickens, dogs, or
cats. This fact is not necessarily damning, but it is
strange for a farm.
Even stranger is the concept that a farming family
would leave no one at home to tend the fields during
growing season. A successful Survival check (DC 15)
reveals that the fire in the hearth has been cold for at
least two full days.
In fact, all three members of the Jyles family are
currently standing watch over the pack s buried gold
(see encounter D, below).
Further Investigation: No one in town knows
anything about the absence of the Jyles family, and
many think it odd. Several people claim to have seen
one or another of the Jyles clan during the past couple
of days, but there was nothing strange about those
encounters. Some of the townsfolk find their absence
ominous and suggest that the Jyles family might have
fallen victim to the werewolves. Others suspect that the
three farmers fled because they were Trammil s accomplices, and perhaps werewolves themselves.

This home does not look at all like the rustic, utilitarian homes around it. With decorative, colorful
trim around its frame and eaves, planting boxes
below its windows, and frilly curtains in every
window, this building looks like something out of
a fairy tale. Smoke drifts lazily from the chimney
and fills the air with the smell of freshly baked
bread.

This house belongs to Esther Vidad, an elderly woman

who spent her life as a painter. Any PC that succeeds
at a Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), or
Knowledge (nobility and royalty) check (DC 15)
recognizes her name and knows that her work is
highly prized among noble and merchant families far
and wide.
After her husband passed away five years ago, Esther
laid down her brushes and simply disappeared. In fact,
she had retired to Deepwood so that she could spend
her remaining years without the constant distraction of
commissions and offers of patronage. She had never
had any interest in the business end of her career; her
husband had always tended that aspect. With him gone
and a comfortable fortune in hand, she decided to
disappear into Deepwood and paint whatever she liked.
Esther also serves as the local teacher, running a
school in her home. All the children in town come to her
house whenever their chores are done to learn reading,
writing, basic mathematics, local history, and etiquette.
She refuses, however, to teach painting, and she advises
any of the children who inquire about this possibility to
turn their interests to something more practical.
Creature: When the PCs arrive, Esther is in her
home baking bread and cookies. She greets them effusively, offers them food, and answers their questions to
the best of her ability.
D Esther Vidad: Female human Commoner 1;
hp 3.
Negotiations: Esther believes that the best way
to deal with hard times is by sharing sweet food. She is

B15. HARTHS HOUSE

This cabin houses Gar Harth, his wife Simone, their
daughter Pauline (21 years old), and their son Link (13
years old). Garth is a hunter who prefers stalking large
prey and is especially fond of hunting dangerous
animals such as bears and wolves. This preference causes
his wife and daughter no end of anxiety, but Link
admires his father and wants to follow in his footsteps.
Creature: When the PCs visit, only Pauline is at
home. She explains that her father and brother have

13

gone into the woods so that Gar can begin teaching

Link the tricks of the trade. Her mother is currently in
the Temple of Ehlonna standing guard over Trammil s
ledger.
D Pauline Harth: Female human Commoner
1; hp 3.
Development: Pauline seems very out of place in
Deepwood. A delicately beautiful young woman, she
seems ill suited for life in the wilderness. If the PCs ask
the right questions, she tells them that her mother grew
up in a large city and moved here only because she
loved Gar so very much. However, she raised her
daughter to be a proper lady with refined etiquette.
Now that she is old enough for marriage, Pauline finds
that no one in this rustic little town suits her tastes. She
desperately wants to go to a city any city but her
father will not hear of it.
Nothing in this house is useful to the investigation.

B16. SONNATS HOUSE

This two-room cabin is home to Griggor Sonnat and his
young son Harrold (5 years old). Griggor is a master
potter and sculptor. Four times per year, a merchant
arrives in town with an empty wagon, pays Griggor a
handsome price, and carts off all the work the artisan
has completed.
Griggor s wife Samsa died of pneumonia two years
ago. For a while, the artist cared for Harrold on his
own, but he found that he could not give his son the
care he needed and still maintain a high enough
productivity to keep his merchant benefactor happy.
So Griggor took on an apprentice a young woman
named Guerta Tishil. She lives in the pottery (area
B17) and shares both childcare and production duties
with Griggor.
Griggor is fond of Guerta and hopes to marry her
one of these days. But first he must share the family
secret with her that both he and his son are werewolves. Keeping this fact quiet has been quite difficult
because Harrold is not yet old enough to understand
the need for secrecy.
Creatures: Griggor and Harrold are at home when
the PCs arrive.
D Griggor Sonnat: Male human werewolf
Expert 3; hp 25.
D Harrold Sonnat: Noncombatant werewolf.
Negotiations: Griggor greets the PCs politely,
gives his permission for them to look around, and
then goes to check on his son, who is asleep in the
bedroom.
Griggor is willing to answer any questions the PCs
have, but he objects to them interrogating his son,

14

claiming the boy would be needlessly upset by talk of

murder and monsters. If the PCs do get a chance to
speak to the boy somehow and mention anything about
werewolves, the boy happily informs them that he is
one, and so is his daddy. Griggor, if confronted with this
information, does not deny it but acts as noted in the
Deepwood Pack sidebar.
Development: While searching the cabin, the
PCs may discover some of the clues discussed in the
Deepwood Pack sidebar. There is nothing of particular
use to the investigation here.

B17. POTTERY WORKSHOP

This is the building where Griggor Sonnat spins bowls,
cups, vases, and other pottery on his wheel. He also
keeps carving tools here and sometimes carves sculptures from large blocks of wood. The walls are lined
with cabinets that are partially filled with beautiful
ceramics.
Creature: This building is also home to Guerta
Tishil, Griggor s apprentice and part-time nanny for
the artist s young son Harrold (see area B16). Guerta
knows that Griggor and his son are werewolves
because Harrold told her so the first week she was in
town. Although she was frightened nearly to death at
first, she has come to realize that the artisan and his son
are gentle, loving souls who would never hurt anyone.
Indeed, when the moon calls out the beasts inside
them, they flee the town and spend the night in the
woods so that they will not inadvertently harm anyone.
D Guerta Tishil: Female human Commoner 1;
hp 3.
Negotiations: Guerta does not willingly share
this information with anyone. She deeply loves both
Griggor and Harrold and would never betray their
secrets. In truth, she hopes that the master craftsman
will one day think of her as more than an apprentice
and propose marriage.
Development: A Search check (DC 15) in the
pottery workshop turns up a small wooden bust of a
howling wolf. Guerta has been working on this carving
for some time. It is based on the only glimpse she has
ever gotten of Griggor in his wolf form. If questioned
about it, she claims that it is simply her way of dealing
with the fears raised by the current situation. If I can
carve it, she says, then I feel I have some measure of
control over it.

B18. BISTLE MANOR (EL 14)

This mansion is the home of Armon Bistle, the richest
man in Deepwood. Read or paraphrase the following
when the PCs approach the building.

15

In a larger town, this building would be considered overly large and unnecessarily ostentatious.
In Deepwood, it is the dominant architectural
feature. Easily as big as any four other homes
combined, this garish yellow house is covered in
decorative molding painted a tawdry green color.
The building has two floors, and a wide, ornamental chimney rises high above the center of the roof.

Anyone looking at the exterior may attempt a

Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check (DC
15) or a Spot check (DC 25) to notice that the decorative
chimney has been constructed in such a way that it
might actually house a third, windowless story.
Creatures: Armon Bistle is at home when the PCs
arrive in town. His butler, Darby Mastiff, answers the
door if the PCs ring the bell. He shows them into the
parlor and goes to fetch Armon, who is in his study
considering what he should do about the Deepwood
pack and how to get his hands on Trammil s ledger.
D Darby Mastiff: Male human Commoner 1; hp 3.
D Armon Bistle: Male human Rogue 6; CR 14;
Medium humanoid; HD 6d6+6; hp 27; Init +3; Spd 30
ft.; AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 13; Base Atk +4; Grp +5;
Atk +7 melee (1d4+3/1920, +2 dagger); Full Atk +7
melee (1d4+3/1920, +2 dagger); SA sneak attack +3d6;
SQ evasion, trap sense +2, trapfinding, uncanny dodge;
AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +4; Str 13, Dex 16, Con
12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 14.
Skills and Feats: Appraise +12, Bluff +11, Decipher
Script +12, Diplomacy +6, Escape Artist +12, Gather
Information +11, Hide +12, Intimidate +13, Listen +8,
Move Silently +12, Search +12, Sense Motive +9, Spot
+8, Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge.
Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that
normally allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving
throw for half damage, Armon takes no damage with a
successful saving throw.
Trap Sense (Ex): Armon has a +2 bonus on Reflex
saves made to avoid traps and a +2 dodge bonus to AC.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Armon retains his
Dexterity bonus to AC even if he is caught flat-footed or
struck by an invisible attacker.
Possessions: +2 dagger, cloak of resistance +2,
Gnarlpaws fang.
Negotiations: Darby is quite well aware of his
master s character and history (including the recent
debacle with the werewolves), but he guards his tongue
carefully and says nothing about such matters at least
not of his own accord.

16

When Darby tells Armon of the PCs arrival, the lord

of the manor comes to the parlor and greets the visitors
somewhat irritably. If they ask to examine Bistle
Manor, he pointedly asks them to be quick about it,
then mutters that investigators should be spending
their time doing something to help this frightened
community rather than trying to pin the blame on the
richest man in town.
Development: If Armon knows the PCs are there,
he follows them from room to room, constantly pointing out how unfair it is for people to assume that someone who is rich must also be evil. He is actually trying
to annoy them into rushing their investigation, hoping
that they will overlook any clues that may be lying
around.

Ground Floor
The ground floor has five rooms the parlor, dining
room, kitchen, pantry, and servants suite.
Parlor
This large, open room serves as both a foyer and a place
to entertain guests. Read or paraphrase the following
when the characters enter this room.
Expensive couches and settees, tapestries, and
other art objects have been placed tastefully
around the room. Dominating the far wall is a
large fireplace flanked by staircases leading up. On
the southern edge of the eastern wall is a double
door leading into the dining room.

On the northern side of the eastern wall is a secret door

(Spot DC 15) that leads into the kitchen. This construction provides a servant s entrance that does not disturb
the room s ambiance.
Dining Room
A tremendous, polished-oak table large enough to seat
thirty guests is the dominant feature of the dining
room. The exterior wall is covered with windows that
stretch from waist height nearly to the ceiling. Along
the inner wall are a large fireplace and a door that leads
into the kitchen.
Kitchen
This kitchen has enough space and equipment to
prepare meals fit for kings and queens. The oven is built
into the building s central fireplace. Doors in the east
and south walls lead to the pantry and the dining room,
respectively.

Pantry
This large, walk-in pantry is filled with dried and
preserved foods. A door in the south wall leads to the
servant s suite, and one in the west wall leads to the
kitchen.
Servants Suite
This single-room apartment can house as many as four
servants. Along each wall stand a cot and a small
wardrobe, and a potbellied-stove occupies the middle of
the room.
Creature: At the moment, Armon has only one
servant a butler/cook named Darby Mastiff. Darby
has worked for Armon for more than ten years and
displays unflagging loyalty to his master.

Second Floor
The second floor has six rooms: the master bedroom,
three guest bedrooms, a study, and a bath.
Master Bedroom
This chamber is where Armon Bistle sleeps. Read or
paraphrase the following when the characters enter.
An opulent, canopied bed dominates this room, and
thick velvet draperies shade its many windows. In
the northwest corner is a writing desk, and a large
wardrobe stands against the southeast wall. A fireplace is built into the eastern wall.

The room gets most of its heat from the central chimney. On the north side of the fireplace is a secret door
(Search DC 20), behind which is a staircase that leads
up to the library.
Creature: Armon Bistle is still following the PCs if
they have not yet found a way to lose him.
Development: If the PCs find this secret door
while Armon is trailing them, he realizes the jig is up
and he must escape. He stops following them and tries
to move off quietly down the corridor, using a Move
Silently check. If he succeeds in removing himself
from their line of vision, he uses his Hide and Move
Silently skills to leave the house without their notice.
Once outside, he runs as fast as possible to the cover of
a nearby building, hides again, and uses Gnarlpaws Fang
to change into his wolf form. Then he goes straight to
the Temple of Ehlonna, grabs Trammil s ledger from
the lectern, and escapes into the woods with it, ignoring
the guards no matter what they do.
If the PCs are watching him closely enough that he
cannot easily sneak away from them, he uses his Bluff
skill to distract them while he makes his escape. If that

fails, he signals Darby (with two thumps on the floor),

who comes to create a distraction for his master.
If the PCs notice his escape and attempt to pursue
him before he can leave the house, Armon transforms
into his hybrid form (see encounter D) and fights
them. If he defeats them or forces them to retreat, he
goes to the temple and takes the book, as described
above.
Treasure: A successful Search check (DC 10) in
this room reveals an unexpectedly large number of
coins and jewels stashed under the mattress, in drawers,
and in other hiding places. The hoard has a total value
of 1,000 gp.
Guest Bedrooms
Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the PCs
enter any of these rooms.
Each of these chambers is richly appointed. It is
furnished with a large, soft feather bed, a finely
crafted wardrobe, and a dresser with washbowl
and mirror. A small fireplace set into the interior
wall brings heat in from the central chimney.
Study
The bookshelves lining these walls are filled with
volumes on a wide variety of subjects. Many are rare
first editions or unique journals written or drawn by
famous authors and artists. Four plush leather chairs
surround a low table in the center of the room. A
decanter of brandy and four large snifters stand on the
table, ready for guests.
Development: Any PC browsing these shelves
may attempt a Knowledge (history) or Appraise check
(DC 20) to realize that the books were probably stolen.
Bath
Drains set into the floor of this tiled chamber empty to
the rear of the house through spigots. Two large tubs
occupy the center of the room. The six wooden buckets
near one wall are obviously meant for carrying hot
water up from the kitchen.

Third Floor
The third floor consists of a single, windowless room
that serves as Armon s library.
Library
Armon uses this chamber to store most of the treasure
that he filched from the towns where he lived previously. Chests of gold and platinum coins ring the chamber, and small bags of gems are scattered around the
room. You may also place any additional treasure you

17

deem appropriate here. Gnarlpaws fang is not in this

hoard because Armon keeps it with him at all times.
Development: A successful Search check (DC 15)
in this room reveals a small, leather-bound journal. The
writing inside is in the same language as Trammil s
journal (see area B7) and the ledger that the villagers are
guarding in the temple (area B11). A successful
Decipher Script check (DC 25) allows a character to
read the writing. A +10 insight bonus applies to this
check if that PC has already deciphered one of the other
books. Certain spells, such as comprehend languages, will
also allow the subject to read the text. Whether or not
the PCs can read the book, a successful Spot check (DC
10) reveals that this text is written in a different hand
than that in the other two books.
The journal describes Armon s actions in the cities
he previously called home specifically, how he went
about conning his neighbors out of their money and
valuables. The book also describes Gnarlpaws fang and
its powers, as well as Armon s plans to blackmail the
members of the Deepwood pack. What s more, it lists
all the local werewolves names. The entries finish with
a detailed account of how Armon slew the priestess in
the temple in order to get Trammil killed.
Treasure: The total value of the treasure in this
chamber is 5,800 gp.

C. A HARD DAYS FLIGHT

Depending on how their investigations have gone up to
this point, the PCs should by now either know that the
gold is in the Vale of the Silvery Moon or be chasing
Armon Bistle through the woods as he leads them
toward that site.
The exact setup for this phase of the adventure
depends on what happened in town. Armon Bistle may
have escaped with Trammil s ledger, or the PCs may
already have defeated him. The group may have conclusive evidence of exactly which citizens are members of
the Deepwood pack, or they may still be struggling to
decide whether Trammil was the only werewolf in
town. You as DM must modify the material below based

on what the PCs have determined from their investigation so far.

If Armon Bistle escaped with Trammil s ledger (or
with information gleaned from it) and the PCs are chasing him, continue with encounter C1, below. If they
deciphered the information in the ledger and are trying
to retrieve the gold themselves, go to encounter C2
instead.

C1. TRACKING ARMON

Armon Bistle makes the trip through the forest in wolf
form, so he does not leave the same marks of passage
that a humanoid would. In fact, his tracks look no
different than those of any other large wolf. To make
matters even more difficult, the forest in this area is
filled with wolf tracks made by various members of the
Deepwood pack.
Because of the difficulty involved in separating
Armon s trail from the other tracks, any PC attempting
to follow Armon using the Track feat takes a 4 penalty
on the required Survival checks. Anyone trying to
follow him using only the Spot skill takes a 8 penalty
on the checks.
Armon moves at 50 feet in wolf form, and the PCs
probably have to move at half speed to track him. If this
is the case, the PCs won t arrive until the battle in the
vale is already well underway (see encounter D2b,
below). If they have some means of keeping up with
him, they arrive when he does (see encounter D2a,
below).

C2. ASKING DIRECTIONS

If the characters have translated Trammil s ledger, they
already know that Armon (if he is still alive) is probably
heading for the Vale of the Silvery Moon. Anyone in
Deepwood can give them easy-to-follow directions to
the grove, and any human citizen would happily lead
the group there if asked.
If the characters still do not know the truth about
the Deepwood pack (or know the truth but have not
revealed that they do), the werewolf citizens are a bit
uncertain about the wisdom of leading the PCs to the

pqqqqrs
ARMONS BACKUP PLAN
Even if the PCs do not find the secret door in Bistle
Manor, their arrival in town and insistence on poking
their noses into Ishtals murder and Trammils
subsequent hanging have made Armon extremely
nervous. At some point when the characters are relatively far from the Temple of Ehlonna, he steals the

18

ledger from the temple (see B18, Master Bedroom)

and flees into the woodshopefully before the PCs
can respond.
If he escapes from town with the ledger, he stops
as soon as he feels safe and reads it. Within 1 round
of perusal, he determines where the gold has been
hidden and heads for the Vale of the Silvery Moon.

pqqqqrs

place where they have been hiding the gold. But, for the
sake of keeping up appearances, even they are willing to
perform this task if so requested. A PC who succeeds at
a Sense Motive check (DC 15), however, notices that
such a guide seems hesitant about helping.
Whatever means the characters choose to find the
Vale of the Silvery Moon delays their departure, ensuring that they arrive after the battle is underway (see
encounter D2b, below) if Armon has preceded them.

D. THE VALE OF
THE SILVERY MOON
(EL 6 OR 14)
A few clearings exist even in the heart of the deepest
forest. In these grass-covered meadows, one can bask in
the sunlight or stare up at the stars completely unfettered by the leafy canopy that covers the rest of the
woods. Rabbits, badgers, skunks, and other burrowing
animals often build their warrens in such meadows
because the thick grass makes it easier to hide from
predators and the open space makes it more difficult for
the larger carnivores to approach stealthily.
Read or paraphrase the following when the characters approach.
Just ahead, the shady stretches of forest open into
a meadow. No tiny dapples of sunlight dance over
the ground here; the grove is brightly lit, and the
wind blows freely through the knee-high grass.

The Vale of the Silvery Moon got its name because the
human residents of Deepwood noticed that the glade
was filled with baying wolves on nights of the full
moon. These creatures, naturally, were the members of
the Deepwood pack, howling their devotions to their
lunar mistress.
As Trammil wrote in his ledger, the Deepwood pack
has hidden all the gold its members have mined here in
the vale. They chose this spot because the disturbed
earth makes it nearly impossible to distinguish the
animal dens from the places where something is
buried. The pack marked each hiding spot with wolf
scent so that its members could easily find the locations. Any other werewolf or indeed, any creature
with the scent special quality can easily detect which
mounds have a lupine scent.
The werewolves chose this method of marking the
spots for several reasons. First, it was a good way to
ensure that none of their human neighbors accidentally

happened across the gold. Such an event would be

particularly tragic, the werewolves felt, because it might
cause their leader to order the humans deaths. More
importantly, though, they believed that such a method
of hiding the treasure constituted their best chance to
learn the identity of their new leader. Whoever showed
himself capable of finding the buried gold, they
reasoned, must be the mysterious werewolf.
This plan, of course, is not as foolproof as the pack
first believed. The PCs might have any number of
ways of achieving the same effect. If they manage to
locate any of the gold, they might find themselves in
an unexpected confrontation with some very angry
werewolves.

D1. HAZARDOUS GROUND

Literally hundreds of burrows dug by small mammals
and rodents honeycomb the ground in this clearing.
Small mounds of earth alternate with entrance holes to
tunnels, making the ground surprisingly uneven.
However, these excavations do not become obvious
until someone begins to walk through the grass.
Anyone attempting to run through the clearing
must make a successful Balance check (DC 12) or stumble and fall halfway through his movement. Such a
character ends up prone and must spend a move action
on his next turn to regain his feet.
A character intending to use the full attack action
while standing in this grassy meadow must first
succeed on a Balance check (DC 12). Success means the
character may continue normally; failure means he has
chosen a piece of ground with particularly bad footing
on which to make his stand. Such a character may
choose to make the full attack normally, but he stumbles and falls prone immediately afterward.
Alternatively, he may spend a move action to set his feet
more firmly and then make a single melee attack.

D2. THE DEEPWOOD UPRISING

Since the first night that they buried gold in the Vale of
the Silvery Moon, the members of the Deepwood pack
have made sure that two or more of their number are
always on guard in the meadow. At first, they simply
hoped to learn the identity of their tormentor so that they
could negotiate with him for the pack s release. Trammil s
hanging, however, convinced them to go against their
canine nature and simply turn on their evil leader.
Creatures: Five werewolves Ginny Jyles, Pruert
Jyles, Ython Jyles, Cral Redfoot, and Nero Ubert are
presently hiding in the woods near the Vale of the
Silvery Moon. Each has selected a different hiding
place so as to get the best view of the meadow and lower

19

20

the risk of detection. Any character who specifically

looks for people hidden in the woods may attempt a
Spot check (DC 25) to notice one member of the
Deepwood pack. For every 5 points by which the Spot
check result exceeds the required DC, the character
notices another of the hidden werewolves. (Thus, a
character would spot two werewolves on a check result
of 30, three on a 35, four on a 45, and all five on a 45.)
D Human Werewolf Warriors (5): hp 20 (see
Monster Manual, pages 173-175 and page 178).

D2a. On-Time Arrival

If the PCs have arrived at the glade at the same time as
Armon, the other werewolves observe them for a while
before choosing a target. Armon arrives in wolf form,
but if the PCs are present and attempt to talk to him, he
shifts to hybrid form.
Tactics: The only person the werewolves really
want to kill is their mysterious evil leader. Depending
on the interaction between the PCs and Armon (and
who shows interest in finding and digging up the gold),
the werewolves may decide to attack just Armon, just
the PCs, or everyone in the vale.
Lacking any other basis for a decision, the hidden
werewolves attack anyone who correctly identifies
more than one of the mounds in which the gold is
hidden. If there is more than one potential target, the
werewolves choose one that has displayed wolflike
tendencies (such as adopting wolf or hybrid form, or
using the scent ability) before any that appear to be
normal humanoids.
Negotiations: Negotiating with the Deepwood
pack is difficult at this point, since its members have
little interest in sparing their tormentor. At this stage,
they are prepared for a battle to the death and have
whipped themselves into a state of bloodlust. In fact,
they so anticipate the coming battle that they may make
unfortunate errors, such as confusing a PC s wolf
animal companion (or a PC who has assumed wolf form
via wild shape or polymorph) for their hated opponent.
To prevent the werewolves from attacking, or to get
them to cease attacking after they have already begun, a
PC may attempt a Diplomacy check opposed by the
Will saving throws of each werewolf in turn. If another
member of the Deepwood pack is present (for instance,
someone from town who led the PCs to the glade), each
PC gains a +5 circumstance bonus on the check, and
each attacking werewolf gets a 5 penalty on the save.

D2b. Late Arrivals

If the PCs were delayed in getting to the glade and
Armon has preceded them there, they arrive after the

battle between Armon and the Deepwood pack has

already begun. Read or paraphrase the following when
they arrive.
In the clearing, a horrible battle is raging. Five
large, muscular wolves are circling and attacking a
massive half-man half-wolf creature. The wolves
dash in and bite at their opponent, who in turn
slashes at their hides with his wicked claws. All
the combatants are bloodied, but the hybrid creature seems to be in much better shape than any of
the wolves.

Armon the hybrid stands in the middle of a

constantly moving ring of wolves that duck in, attack,
and then dash back into the ring.
Creatures: All five of the Deepwood werewolves
who have been standing guard in the clearing are
attacking Armon Bistle, who is in hybrid form.
Tactics: The werewolves strategy is to keep their
opponent trapped and wear him down with hit-and-run
tactics. Armon s plan is to grab and grapple with one of
his opponents, snap its neck, and then move on to
another. As the fight progresses, the combatants switch
back and forth between their wolf and hybrid forms
whenever doing so provides an advantage.
Reduce all the combatants to one-half their usual hit
points to reflect damage already taken, then let the PCs
roll initiative and enter the fray as desired. As indicated
above, negotiating with the Deepwood pack may prove
difficult, but once Armon is defeated, the werewolves
may be willing to listen to reason. Armon, on the other
hand, has no interest in any outcome except the death
of every other creature in the glade.
Treasure: The total value of the unrefined gold
buried in the Vale of the Silvery Moon is 6,000 gp. The
cave still contains a like amount, though mining it is
difficult and time-consuming. If the werewolves
continue to do the mining, they can extract only half as
much per day as they did before.

ENDING THE
ADVENTURE
Once the fighting, biting, and clawing are over, the PCs
must make their peace with the members of the
Deepwood pack. Doing so may prove difficult if they
have killed or permanently injured any pack members
during the climactic battle. You as DM should determine the outcome of any Diplomacy checks or other
attempts they make to calm the werewolves.

21

If the PCs have brought the matter to a satisfactory

close and helped the werewolves make peace with their
neighbors, the town of Deepwood offers them the gold
from the grove as a reward. Otherwise, the werewolves
offer them half of the gold for their aid and keep the
rest to build themselves a new town elsewhere.

FURTHER ADVENTURES
If the PCs lost the fight with Armon, they may want to
go after him. Doing so requires tracking him down
again, since Armon Bistle has decided to retire this
time for good. Not even a cave of gold can tempt him
back into his old way of life now; the Deepwood incident came much too close to killing him. If he manages
to escape, he changes his name, finds another town just
as remote as Deepwood, and builds another large house
using the gold from the glade and his home.
In the meantime, Darby the butler gathers up the
valuables from the library in Bistle Manor and travels to
a large city of your choice. There he settles in to await
word from Armon that a new home has been established. When the message arrives, he brings the valuables, along with any other materials or goods that
Armon requires, to the new site, and the two of them
establish themselves in their new home.
Unless the PCs use extraordinary methods, Armon
should be untraceable once he escapes from Deepwood.
If you wish, however, the they may eventually happen
across him in his new hometown. They may not recognize him immediately, since he has changed his hair
color, grooming habits, and wardrobe. His disguise is so
effective (+10 on Disguise checks) that the characters
might not recognize him even if they do find him.

NEW MAGIC ITEM

The following minor artifact allows Armon Bistle to
carry out his nefarious plans in Deepwood. It may be
introduced into any campaign.

GNARLPAWS FANG
This talisman appears to be a wolf s fang strung on a
simple leather band. The tooth, however, is the fang of
the legendary werewolf lord Gnarlpaw.

22

Anyone wearing this talisman gains the ability to

transform into Gnarlpaw as a full-round action, choosing either his dire wolf or his hybrid form (use the
Werewolf Lord statistics in the lycanthrope entry of the
Monster Manual as a base). While in one of these two
forms, the wearer of this talisman gains the use of all of
Gnarlpaw s special qualities, special attacks, feats, and
skills, though he may also continue to make use of his
own feats and any of his own skill modifiers that are
better than the werewolf lord s.
Normally, a lycanthrope has a single recognizable
scent, no matter what form it takes. But since the
wearer actually becomes Gnarlpaw for a time, he smells
like Gnarlpaw when in wolf or hybrid form, and like his
humanoid self when in humanoid form. Thus, scent
does not betray the wearer s identity when he is in
humanoid form, the way it would a real werewolf.
Every person who wears Gnarlpaws fang becomes
exactly the same creature when the talisman is activated and thus looks and smells like Gnarlpaw.
The wearer has full control over his form when
wearing the talisman and can activate it or dismiss the
effect whenever he chooses. Wearing Gnarlpaws fang
does not necessitate a change of form during full moon.
Strong transmutation; CL 19.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stan! has been publishing fiction, cartoons, and games
professionally since 1982. He has served as a graphic
designer and line editor for West End Games, as an
editor and designer for TSR, Inc., and as an author,
senior designer, and creative director for Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. Stan! is currently doing freelance writing,
game design, and illustration while serving as creative
vice president for The Game Mechanics, Inc.
<www.thegamemechanics.com>. His recent projects
include the URBAN ARCANA Campaign Setting for Wizards
of the Coast, Inc. and the Modern Players Companion,
Volume 2 for The Game Mechanics.
Stan! lives in Renton, WA where he eats nothing but
meat and cheese. Visit him online at <www.stannex.com>.