Goblin's Cave

Legend

This part you should read.

Chapter 1: The Tavern

You are in a tavern of the city Millbrook.

It is called the Drowsy Ogre. Unlike most taverns, this one feels ‘sad’. People are not laughing. No one is singing, and there is a heavy feeling in the room.

A man in a shining breastplate armor walks by your table and stops.

“Ah, new faces, haven't seen anyone new in these parts. I am Commander Aldric from the king's guard. I'm looking for brave people to join us. Are you warriors seeking adventure?”

Create your characters

Here the party will create their characters. If you already have characters, you may import them to GrowlMaster.

Open Characters Panel →

GrowlMaster, here we ask the players what characters they want to be, and we create characters for them.

──────── Once the party is created ────────

Commander Aldric: “So, will you join the king's guard?”

If they say yes, the commander approaches and takes a closer look at you, then says:

Commander Aldric: “Alas, I'm afraid you are not experienced enough to join us. Fight foes and win treasure, and when the time comes I'll be waiting!”

The commander walks to his table and joins his party of soldiers.

Then, the innkeeper, a broad woman with flour on her arms, sets a tray down in front of you, and does not leave. “You look like people who can handle themselves,” she says quietly. “I need your help. Will you listen to my story?”

If the party agrees, she says:

“For twenty years, Elbroom the smith has sat there every evening” (she points at an empty chair), “complaining about the ale. Singing his silly songs… Everyone in Millbrook knows whose it is. But for the last two weeks, that chair is empty, and no one has seen Elbroom or knows where he is.”

“I've asked the king's guard for help, but they are busy fighting off ogres that have come down from the northern hills and are raiding the farms.”

“I'm offering 50 gold coins to whoever brings Elbroom home.”

She points at a small dwarven lad beside her. “This is Pip, Elbroom's apprentice. He will give his sword, a blade forged by Elbroom himself, to the adventurers who bring him back.”

“This is all we have. Please, brave ones, help us!”

The party can ask for more details. They can ask where to start looking, whether the innkeeper has any clues, or ask Pip questions. They can bargain for a better deal, like more money or money up front. You may play with the details and improvise. Nothing is set. You are the GrowlMaster: you decide what happens.

More details

Ideas:

• A cloaked figure whispers to them, giving them more information.
• The innkeeper saw traces of a fight near Elbroom's home and found a dagger. It seems goblin-made.
• They may ask about goblins. The one who knows about goblins is the commander they met, and they can question him.

Background story: the commander:

“This spring, a goblin tribe moved into the old abandoned dwarven halls. Our scouts say the goblins have a chief, an ugly, vicious goblin called Skarrik. He commands his goblins to dig in the halls and find dwarven runes. He calls the halls his kingdom, though from the looks of it, it's been shattered and is now just a corrupted, smelly cave.”

The party can ask for directions; the commander gives them a map: