Content Warning
This adventure includes death and violence, undead, and kidnapping.
Can you stop the serpent god?
Lizardfolk have been kidnapping people from the village to summon an ancient serpent god. Can you prevent the return of the Soil Serpent?
This one-shot adventure is designed for 4-5 characters, levels 5-8, with a total of about 24 levels.
About this Adventure
The village of Cleargrove endures increasing attacks by lizardfolk, and scouts from the village believe they’re planning to recover a staff hidden within the haunted ruins of the Shrine of the Soil Serpent. A representative from the village asks the party to recover the staff to keep the lizardfolk cultists from getting it and summoning the soil serpent, an elemental snake god. When the party reaches the inner court, they find that the staff is a stalk, the stem of a potted carnivorous plant. The lizard folk try desperately to acquire the plant, as it has charmed them into bringing it victims. If the party brings the plant to the village, the representative will plant it in the ground, claiming that it will grow fruit to keep the lizardfolk away, but once planted, it quickly grows into a monstrous attacking plant, allied with the village representative.
Adventure Hooks
This adventure begins in any population center. It’s written for a village, but the size of the community is of little importance besides the availability of a town guard to handle the lizardfolk; even if the guards protect the community, the party can still be enlisted to investigate the sudden increase in attacks.
The adventure takes place in the village of Cleargrove, but you could use any community in your campaign world that’s near a forest, rainforest, or swamp.
Dramatis Personae
Lizardfolk Ambush
Shrine of the Soil Serpent Marketplace Map
While the party is going about their business in town, they hear a scream as 3 Lizardfolk Plant Ghouls grab 2 villagers and attempt to drag them away. They appear to be typical lizardfolk, except they don’t speak. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check when within 5 feet of them reveals that they smell like a combination of rotten meat and a clove-like spice.
Once the party defeats them and rescues the villagers, Elel Talthanryl, who owns a greenhouse in town, approaches the party and thanks them profusely. He explains that they’ve been having problems with lizardfolk attacks, dragging away villagers. As soon as the party asks any questions, Elel says, “We’ve sent some scouts to find out. Let me get them for you.” He walks over to a nearby merchant tent where Ryia and Erelmil are chatting with a vegetable seller. He introduces the pair to the party.
Roleplaying the Scouts
Since Ryia has difficulty speaking due to pain in her mouth, the GM can emulate this either by speaking quietly with minimal lip movement or by describing her speech, such as, “She speaks quietly, but if you listen closely, you can hear her say….” Especially when playing in noisy environments or remotely, this descriptive narration will give players insight into Ryia’s experience. At times, Ryia may gesture to Erelmil, who’s used to listening to her, to repeat what she said or expand with his own experience, but only when she asks him to.
When Erelmil is in combat, he will use his hand crossbow from a distance, then sneak attack and cunning action to strike and hide. While hiding, he may take that opportunity to reload his hand crossbow when it’s prudent to keep his distance. When Ryia uses the same tactic and hides near Erelmil, she can help him load it, using one of her multiattack actions or a bonus action.
The scouts are eager for the party’s help. As the party asks questions, they will be able to give the following information:
- Six people have been kidnapped from the village of different ancestries and ages. Ryia and Erelmil can determine no pattern to the kidnappings.
- The kidnappings started about 30 days ago. Before this, lizardfolk rarely came near the village and generally kept to themselves in nomadic families throughout the area but sometimes came into town to trade goods or information, and besides some misunderstandings with some local farmers, interactions with them have always been positive.
- If asked, nobody has heard the attacking lizardfolk speak, not even to each other, which is unusual.
- They’ve been tracked to the ruins of the Shrine of the Soil Serpent, which has been abandoned and overgrown for centuries. Nobody goes there, because it’s haunted. If pressed, nobody can remember details about that except that the story goes that those who’ve gone near it disappeared, and some stories say that the missing people were seen later as zombies.
When Elel hears of the shrine, he becomes horrified. His monocle drops from his eye, and he grabs it and puts it back in place. He says, “Oh no! They must be seeking the staff!” When the party asks about the staff, Elel informs them that the Staff of the Serpent is believed to be buried deep in the shrine, and those who possess it can use it to summon the Soil Serpent, an ancient snake god that legends say came up out of the earth to consume and dominate the world. However, the staff is also believed to be capable of destroying the Serpent instead of just banishing it, which is why the staff was buried, not destroyed. Elel urges the party to go and recover the staff to keep it from the lizardfolk, and possibly destroy the Serpent once and for all.
If the party asks Ryia and Erelmil to come along, they’re willing to take the party within sight of the shrine but refuse to get any closer, and will immediately return to the village.
Trek to the Shrine
Shrine of the Soil Serpent Forest Map
The shrine is about three miles from the village in a dense part of the forest. Erelmil and Riya can give detailed instructions but have no desire to go back. When they say, “It’s just past this next hill,” 4 more Lizardfolk Plant Ghouls ambush the party, throwing their javelins while hiding in the trees, then leaping on the party.
The Shrine of the Soil Serpent
The ruins of the shrine are home to a vast network of vines, but as you get closer, you see a door to a buried complex, a pile of rubble that seems as if it would collapse were the vines not holding it together. A snake slithers out from between the cracks and darts to catch a rodent, taking its mouthful of prey into another crevice. The sun shines down on an 8-by-8-foot square stone doorway with seemingly more gaps than stones, yet it still stands.
Shrine of the Soil Serpent Shrine Map
- Entry Chamber. As the party approaches the doorway, the air fills with the combined odors of mildew, rotten meat, and a clove-like spice. The doorway leads to a wet stone hallway with a slight downward slope. Anyone walking must succeed on a DC 8 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or fall prone. Anyone in a wheelchair or similar mobility aid makes the check with advantage and slides to the bottom without becoming prone on failure.
The rectangular room is decorated with serpentine green and orange patterns, most of the paint having long since faded. A small snake comes out of one crack in the wall to the left and immediately disappears into another crack on the same wall. Another doorway lies ahead.
- Former Priest Living Quarters. A sink, fire pit, and rotted wood that used to be furniture are all that remains of the possessions of the priests that used to serve this shrine. If the party investigates the piles of wood, they’ll find a chest within, which nearly falls apart on opening, revealing rotten clothing and disturbing a Swarm of Centipedes within that will attack the party unless someone is carrying a fire source. The swarm will scatter at the first sign of fire.
- Discard Room. The smell of rot gets stronger as you approach. The floor is scattered with torn and moldy fabric and bones, some of which still has rotten flesh attached. A few rats scurry from pile to pile, and a constrictor snake crawls out from under one of the larger piles. It will threaten the party for a round by coiling for a strike, but if the party backs off, it will go snatch a rat instead, only fighting in self-defense.
- Guard Chamber. As the party enters this large stone chamber, strewn with broken furniture, they notice the smell of rot and spice getting stronger, almost unbearable, especially for those with sensitivities to strong odors. A Plant Ghast and 3 Plant Ghouls, which look identical to their undead counterparts, spring from behind the furniture to attack, attempting to surprise the party. They will fight to the death as they try to protect the Staff of the Serpent from intruders, targeting anyone wielding fire first.
- Chapel. The serpentine patterns on the walls extend to the floor, forming a spiraling pattern that surrounds an altar in the center of the room. The first character to touch the altar each day heals 1d8 hit points. If a second person touches it, vines spring from the cracks, and the character must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or be grappled for 10 minutes or until the vines take 20 points of fire or slashing damage.
- Sanctuary of the Staff. The serpentine walls and floor of this room’s design are accented with gold flake, which reflects the faint light that pokes through cracks in the ceiling, making this dim light the brightest room in the shrine. The air has become so damp that condensation on the broken ceiling drips from its jagged edges. The clove-like smell hangs heavily in the air, stronger here than anywhere else. In the center of the room, a 2-by-2 feet cylindrical metal pot of dirt decorated with cobra designs holds a 6 ft. vertical green shaft wrapped in snake-like vines. On inspection, the party can see roots extending from its base into the dirt, and the vines have tiny buds protruding from them, and the clove-like smell gets stronger near it. The potted plant is the Staff of the Serpent, and the party can move it, but it weighs 250 pounds. Removing the staff from the pot will not destroy it.
- Former Ritual Preparation Room. This room contains a rotting table and cabinets, coils of rope, a rusty round shield with a two-feet diameter dirty water ring in the center, and several rusty and blood-stained manacles and cutting tools. Close inspection will reveal a rusted metal box in the cabinet with 212 sp and 76 gp.
- Antechamber. This room has a wooden trapdoor in the ceiling that’s cracked open just far enough for the legs and bottom rung of a ladder to protrude. A braided cable hangs down from it to 6 feet from the floor. A player pulling on the cable can release the jammed hinges with a successful DC 8 Strength check. Once released, the door opens, and while the ladder remains attached to the door, a heavy paper box full of mold falls out and fills the room with toxic spores. All creatures in the room must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 13 (4d6) poison damage and be poisoned for 2 hours. A character attempting to catch the box as it falls must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity check. On success, they prevent its spread to others but get a face full of spores and must make the saving throw with disadvantage. Any amount of fire or cold damage sent into the opening before pulling the door will destroy the mold and ruin the effect. The space above the trap door is an otherwise empty cavity.
Returning the Staff
Once the party returns the staff to the village, Elel excitedly takes the staff and looks for a patch of open ground to plant it. He explains that the buds will produce fruit that’s needed for the ritual to destroy the serpent. As soon as the staff gets planted, it grows in 1 round into the Soil Serpent. It attacks the closest creature but will not attack Elel, who is thrilled that his plan as the secret leader of the Cult of the Serpent is succeeding. If the party is having trouble defeating the Soil Serpent, Riya and Erelmil will arrive and join in the combat at the beginning of the third round of combat, and the town guards will arrive and join in during the fourth round (as many as necessary).
Seeds of Future Adventures
Once the Soil Serpent is destroyed, the town guards will arrest Elel. If the plant isn’t burned completely, the wind will carry its seeds away where another staff will begin to grow….
Credits
Writer: Dale Critchley
Copy Editor: Naomi Hazlett
Sensitivity Readers: Naomi Hazlett, Melissa Critchley, Simone Arnold, Matthew Rickmon, Amy Weisner
Layout Editor: Beth the Bard
Stock art by Jacob Blackmon and Adela Quiles
Maps by Dale Critchley, © 2022 Wyrmworks Publishing