Ambush on the Old Marsh Road – Steal this Encounter

This is a level 7 encounter for five players.

Background: It’s no secret how the Old Marsh Road got its name. The Sulkpeel Swamp has always posed a threat to travelers, and the practice of going around it to get to the next major city soon created an easily followed path. As time progressed, some people settled along the road, offering beds to travelers and gathering herbs and reagents from the surrounding area to sell.

In more recent years, life has gotten harder outside of city walls. Acts of theft, violence, and the encroaching presence of the Speartooth Lizardfolk Tribe has driven out most of the road’s inhabitants, though many merchant still walk its path.

Enemies: The Speartooth Lizardfolk Tribe has set an ambush hoping to catch merchants. A group of adventurers, sporting potentially magic items, will substitute just fine.

• 6 Greenscale Warriors
• 2 Greenscale Darter (MM 178)
• Greenscale Marsh Mystic (MM 179)
• Blackscale Tribal Fury

Setup: The players could be traversing the road for any number of reasons, whether they are investigating the Speartooth’s reported movements, or just trying to get to the next town or dungeon. I suggest starting the players at the bottom of the map on the road. If your players don’t tend to seek out structural advantages, you could alternatively place them at the top of the map, so they are more likely to discover the temple’s secrets.

Place the Lizardfolk in the swamp, separated into two groups – one near the center and the other at the opposite end of the map from the players. The Warriors and Marsh Mystic can be discovered with a DC 16 Perception Check. The Darters and Tribal Fury require a DC 23 Perception Check. Any enemies not discovered should be given a surprise round.

Features: Marsh: Blue squares represent marsh terrain. These squares are two to five feet of still water on top of loose mud. Each square is difficult terrain. Small characters in Marsh Squares receive cover.

Characters in a Marsh Square can make a Stealth check by submerging themselves under water. Being submerged in the murky waters blocks line of sight, but not line of effect. Characters who are stealthed in this way must make checks to avoid suffocation while stealthed (DMG 159).

Boulders: The two boulders in the bottom right of the map are three squares tall. They block line of sight and provide superior cover. It takes a DC 12 Athletics Check to climb the boulder. Ranged attacks get a +1 to hit from on top of the boulder.

Makeshift Temple: In the top right of the map stands the remains of a one room house, now abandoned. Bits of the wall have broken away and the thatched roof is no more. Someone has converted the old home into a temple of Avandra (substitute any god of Travel).

Religion 11: This once home is now giving off a faint pulse of divine energy related to the goddess Avandra. The crudely carved symbols on the wall seem to relate primarily to her dominion over travel. The stone table, pushed into the center of the room, obviously some kind of makeshift altar.

Religion 16: The runes in this room send pulses of energy from the Feywild to speed the occupants’ step, increasing people’s ability to move with great care (reveal benefit below).

Any creature that starts its turn within the temple walls has the ability to shift one additional square whenever using a power or ability that allows them to shift.

Temple Walls: The walls are 2 squares tall and require a DC 16 Athletics Check to climb. The top of the wall is difficult terrain that requires a DC 11 Acrobatics check to move across.

Altar: The altar in the center of the room may look like little more than a stone table. The above Religion check reveals its true purpose, but not its bonuses. Moving onto the altar in the center of the room requires 2 squares of movement. Attacks from atop the altar gain a +1 to hit, and any divine powers do an additional +2 damage on a hit.

Door: The wooden door of the temple is reinforced with iron, and its lock is rusted shut. It takes a DC 20 Strength check to break down.

Enemy Tactics: The Lizardfolk attack without warning, hoping to take the party by surprise. The Warriors and Tribal Fury move quickly into melee, trying to establish flanking and keep the focus on them. The Darters and Marsh Mystic stay in the swamp for as long as they can keep Line of Sight with the PCs, trying to lure any who break away from melee into the slowing waters.  If a darter becomes the target of ranged attacks, it will submerge and find a new position before attacking again.

The Lizardfolk know the temple well, though they did not create it. If drawn in by the PCs, or if they manage to back the PCs in, they will immediately make use of the benefit, shifting two squares with a move action instead of the usual one. A DC 16 Nature Check will reveal that this is not a natural ability of the Lizardfolk, but they are under some kind of effect.

Once the Marsh Mystic and Tribal Fury are out of the fight, the others will flee if bloodied or intimidated. If the Tribal Fury falls before the Mystic, and the fight is not going well, the Mystic will begin to bargain with the adventurers, offering a truce at first, and bartering information (while still fighting) if it does not feel it can retreat safely.

Alternatively, the Lizardfolk are really just looking for wealth. Players who entice the Lizardfolk with opportunities of further gains, might be able to turn the combat into a skill challenge.

Hooks: The Speartooth Lizardfolk have seen more than one ambush before the PCs. Their loot may contain clues of former victims as well as possessions that may be rewarded if returned.

Further in the swamp, more Lizardfolk reside. When they find out of the slaughter of their hunters they will regroup and may begin to attack the closest villages directly.

The traveling cleric who created the temple to Avandra left clues to find another. Following his path takes the players on a twisting journey into the world of this goddess who is worshiped on the outskirts of man.

Notes: Should the party sleep in the temple, increase their distance traveled on the next day by 50%.

To download the full-sized version of the map click here. To download the same map with labeled grid for online play click here.

This map was built on a 20 x 30 grid to be drawn easily on a Paizo Flip Mat.

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