A Twist on an Old Favourite

Knowing of Troll's monstrous hunger, the Player Characters know they have little time if they plan to save the Damsel in Distress! The trail of the troll is easy to follow, and leads to a nearby cave...

Informer: Jeremy Morten

Pitch

As the Player Characters are in town (or on the road), they come across an old man in traveller’s garb. Hysteric and in tears, he falls to his knees when the PCs approach and begs them to help him. He tells them that he is a travelling merchant, but as he approached the town his wagon was attacked by a bloodthirsty troll. The troll destroyed the wagon and killed the horses, but most horribly he ran off into the woods with the Merchant's daughter over his shoulder! Knowing of Troll's monstrous hunger, the Player Characters know they have little time if they plan to save the Damsel in Distress! The trail of the troll is easy to follow, and leads to a nearby cave...

Alternatives

• Where the Player Characters discover they are too late. All that remains of the merchant's daughter are some gooey bones in a corner of the cave. After dispatching the troll, however, the Player Characters learn that the merchants daughter does not rest well in her grave, overcome with hatred and blame towards her father (for abandoning her to the troll) and the PCs (for not coming quickly enough to her rescue) and rises as a Specter.
• Where the Player Characters find a troll, but not the kind they were expecting. Within the cave, standing over the desiccated corpse of the troll that attacked the caravan, is a vile Black Troll, an undead monstrosity, who ambushed the troll and killed him as the player characters made their way there. The Black Troll is powerful, but cornered and weakened from its struggle with the troll. The Damsel herself is unharmed (or already dead, see above). As the Players return to the Merchant, however, they are ambushed by the original troll, risen as another Black Troll!
• Where the Player Characters find themselves the victims of an elaborate con. As they enter the cave, they see the troll standing, axe at ready, across the cave. As they rush to attack, they instead fall into a pit trap hidden in the centre of the room. The image of the Troll fades, replaced by the Merchant, who reveals himself to be a bandit when he tells them that he will only throw down a rope once the Characters throw him their coin purses (along with any other wealth they might have on them). The "Merchant" is in fact a sorcerer and competent illusionist, and has been duping travelling adventurers like the Player Character for awhile now. As he gloats over the Player Characters, however, a real Troll, attracted by the noise, enters the cave...

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Contact: Jeremy Morten