Goblin Adventure for D&D or RPGs
This adventure can be can be easily customized to a party of any size or level, or run as a level 1 adventure for 5 players. It can work as a small side adventure in an existing campaign, as a standalone one-shot, or the start of a new adventure. Use the links to the tools in their relevant section to customize the adventure to your party.
Flex your open world and improv muscles by running a goblin adventure! An all-goblin party is a good fit for open world since they're naturally mischevious, tend to not be very welcome anywhere, and in case they get into TOO much trouble and end up with a TPK, well everyone expects it since they're just goblins.
Start with everyone introducing their goblin and how they came to be with the party, rewarding a point of inspiration for each one. Then once you've recapped how this unlikely band of misfits came to be, ask the group what their motivation is and have them decide just what it is these goblins want to set out and accomplish, instead of you providing the plot hook. It can be as weird or mundane as they like, and you may be surprised what your group comes up with, but don't worry! With a set of tricks in your toolbox you'll be able to make a fun session no matter what it is.
The point of this adventure is to take more of a back-seat approach and let the players guide the narrative. Maybe they want to spend an hour roleplaying in the swamp before even going anywhere, and that's ok. Your job is to present them with choices, challenges, and complications only when you need to themed around whatever it is they're trying to do. For that we'll need to prep a few things that can be generically inserted anywhere, using them only when needed and keeping them in reserve until then.
Firstly, your goblin group is going to have to travel to get whatever it is they want, so use the Wilderness Travel tool to determine what they encounter, or use this:
The dirt soon turns to fallen leaves and snow as the trail dissolves toward a small frozen river, next to a modest, grass-covered hill. To the north is the shell of a ruined roadside inn. The upper floors of the structure have collapsed, leaving heaps of rubble and shattered timber around the structure's base. Ahead, the dirt road splits in two, widening toward the southwest. There you see patches of cobblestone, suggesting that the branch was once an important thoroughfare. To the north, a rift flows through a broken forest.
A forest in the winter. 1 player must Navigate, which is a DC 15 Survival check, otherwise they get lost and you generate another wilderness encounter until they pass and get to where they're trying to go. Each creature needs 1 lb of food and 1 gallon of water per day, a player can Forage with a DC 10 Survival check to find enough food and water for everyone for a day. Additionally, players could choose to Search for something specific, or be on the lookout for monsters, in which case with a DC 15 Perception they can get advance warning of the storm and satyrs. A player may also want to Craft something, which you can allow with the normal rules (check the Downtime Tool for help).
A lightning storm occurs in the afternoon, and if the party doesn't properly take cover they may get struck (resolve it like you would the spell Call Lightning). At night, they'll encounter non-hostile Satyrs who may be looking for good food or good fun.
There's a number of things your players may choose to do or interact with in the description or in the events, and you should improv it on the fly. A good trick is to roll a d100 in secret to determine the outcome. A higher roll means something good happens (like what the player wants, or better if it's really high) and a lower roll means something bad happens (in which case you pick something sufficiently devious). From there allow the player to come up with their response and roll any relevant skill checks with an appropriate DC (based on how crazy or difficult the thing is they're attempting to do, check Skill DCs for more info) to see if they succeed or fail. The players may also try to find something else more interesting, in which case the Interesting Locations tool can generate you something. Here's an idea: A cavern on a peninsula. A huge idol is here, with red gem-like eyes and a twisted grin that leers at anyone who approaches it.
Depending on how long your sessions run for, or how much your players want to stay in the outdoors, you may want to generate 2-3 of these wilderness encounters.
If the PCs want to go to a town, then use the Town Generator to make one, 1-2 should be enough for most groups since traveling between towns requires wilderness encounters and potential combats. Here's a town you can use: Gear Harbor
At some point you're going to want a combat encounter, either because your group made someone angry, encounters it in the wilderness, or gets into trouble at a nearby town. Again you should have 2-3 combat encounters at the ready, but here's the trick: instead of declaring the monsters as what their statblock says (like this is a kobold, this is a goblin) reskin them into something that's appropriate for the situation. Maybe the PCs angered some guards in town, in which case reskin the monsters as town guards. Maybe they decided to attack the satyrs, in which case reskin them as satyrs. Your players won't know the difference, and it can help cut down on metagaming by using statblocks they're not expecting for a given enemy.
Here's an appropriate level 1 encounter for 5 players you can use, or you can use the Encounter Generator to make one that works for for your group: Combat Encounter
Finally, your players may decide to investigate that spooky cave or ruined temple, in which case you just need a dungeon. You can use the Dungeon Module Generator to customize your own, or use this one:
Type: Fire Lair
Enemy Patrol: 4 Bat (CR 0: Monster Manual p. 318), 4 Giant Rat (CR 1/8: Monster Manual p. 327), 1 Kobold Inventor (CR 1/4: Volo's Guide to Monsters p. 166) [Hard, 190 XP rewarded] [Customize]
Chance of Encounter Per Rest: 20%
Room Contents
You can also generate different descriptions using the Description Generator
1 (End)
This dusty, dreary room is sectioned off by walls of iron bars that split the room into two pens. Pieces of rusty chain armor are littered about this room amid the rubble of destroyed limestone chairs. Soiled cloths have been tossed in one corner. Worn blue drapes cover the windows of this circular room, and a heavy curtain hangs across an archway to the south.
There are 2 Bugbear (CR 1: Monster Manual p. 33) [Deadly, 400 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]
2
Wide, arctic fog surges around the room. Several tables stand throughout the room, weighed down by stacks of glass flasks and jugs, all of them bearing labels. Directly across from the shutters stands a set of double doors in the north wall. Next to the exit, a modest chest is set next to beds. To the south, lofty double doors hang slightly open, and a steady luminous light escapes through the opening.
There are 1 Tribal Warrior (CR 1/8: Monster Manual p. 350), 1 Hawk (CR 0: Monster Manual p. 330), 1 Blood Hawk (CR 1/4: Fifth Edition Foes p. 27) [Easy, 85 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]
In the north passage is an unlocked door.
3 (Start)
Attached to the west wall are four torch sconces. The nearest one holds a torch with a sophisticated metal base. In the middle of the northern wall, a space has been cleared for a simple sleeping pallet and a pair of small satchels. At the far end of the room stands a statue of a fierce-looking halfling in wide studded leather armor. The statue holds a spear in one hand and a smith’s hammer in the other, standing about eight feet tall on a large limestone pedestal. A short flight of sandstone steps leads down to a stone door that stands half-open.
There is a puzzle: When young, I am sweet in the sun. When middle-aged, I make you happy. When old, I am valued more than ever. A: Wine. Solving the puzzle causes the lava to drain at the green passage.
4
Dark alcoves follow the walls of this lofty room. A dangerous-looking clockwork construct rests in the center, resembling a stone statue without a head. Radiant light spills in through a pair of dirt-encrusted windows, revealing piles of hay with pitchforks sticking out of them. The tunnel continues beyond the room, curving abruptly to the north and out of sight. The gate to the east and north are sheathed in iron.
An object in this room is a magic mouth that speaks a riddle.
In the east passage (green) is a lake of lava that blocks the path.
In the north passage is an unlocked door.
5
The walls and floor of this natural cavern have been rigorously carved. The light from above falls directly on an iron statuette. Six bookshelves made of bones and festooned with decorative skulls surround a table, resting atop which is a simple bowl-shaped vessel. Two gates stand opposite one another in the middle of the west wall and the north wall.
There are 3 Scorpion (CR 0: Monster Manual p. 337), 3 Fyr (CR 1/4: Fifth Edition Foes p. 110) [Medium, 180 XP rewarded] here. [Customize]
In the west passage (green) is a lake of lava that blocks the path.
Give it a try! It requires less structure than you think for your players to have a good time and gives you a break from writing while also being a good chance to practice your improv skills. At the end of the day even if it goes badly, well, they were only goblins.
Need more help with your campaign? Check out all the other tools, generators, and articles: kassoon.com/dnd/
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