EGD Adventures: The Hangman's Woods Part 3 (The Coven’s Lair)
Written By: Nicholas Uster
Running The Adventure
The Hangman's Woods is a short adventure for 4 to 5 characters of 7th level. The adventure takes place just outside of the city of Black Spinel, aka “The Sugar Bush,” contained within The Dark Plains region.
Everything you need to know about the setting is contained within Part 1 of The Hangman’s Woods (click here). All information for important creatures, people, or items is included within the body of the article. This article will contain part 3 of the 3-part adventure.
Overview
The Hangman’s Woods is a 3 part adventure. This is part 3 “The Coven’s Lair”
The adventurers have continued their journey, encountering the few dwellers of the Hangman’s Woods. Bringing their quest to an end, they finally reach the Snagwood Hag Coven.
Part 3: The Coven’s Lair
Continuing The Journey
As the characters travel to the Snagwood Hag Coven, feel free to include some random encounters from the table available at the end of the document.
If the party tries to take a short or long rest, they will be plagued with nightmares. Any creature that finishes a short or long rest in the region must succeed on a DC 10 wisdom saving throw or gain no benefit for finishing the rest. Describe at least one of the nightmares to the party. They can include torturous beasts, the characters’ fears, or even taunts from Auntie Bloodthorn herself.
If the players take shifts for a night watch, those awake must make a DC 15 wisdom saving throw. If they fail, they suffer one of the effects on the table below, temporarily losing their sanity to the woods.
1.) They see a phantasmal image of their worst fears. They become frightened for 1 minute, and take the dash action in a random direction as determined by the DM.
2.) Their weapons or equipment begin to whisper to them in infernal, barking the names of loved ones.
3.) They hear someone desperately calling their name. The longer they take to approach the call, the louder and more desperate it grows.
4.) They are paralyzed with fear as they watch wraithlike creatures descend on other members of the party, seizing them in foul tentacles.
5.) Their nose begins to bleed profusely. Nothing they do can stop the bleeding.
6.) The sounds of the forest dwindle as they fall deaf. Their vision begins to fade as they become blind.
The Noxious Springs
After the arcane tempest erupted through the Dark Plains, the enchanted springs in the heart of the forest were tainted, driving out the spirit of the springs. As she left, the celestial pools became a noxious bog. The Snagwood hag coven later seized the land and inhabited the connected cave system, using the magic that flows through the springs for their nefarious purposes.
Another hag within the coven, Auntie Moros, takes pride in marking the territory surrounding the springs. She has scattered sinister omens throughout the nearby forest and areas surrounding the cave entrance to strike fear into the heart of any adventurers. These can include pinwheels made with severed humanoid fingers, voodoo-esque dolls that bear a resemblance to the party, dead birds tied and hanging from tree limbs, preserved and leathery heads, etc.
If a player touches or drinks the dark water that fills the spring’s pools, they must make a DC 15 constitution saving throw. On a failure, they experience an effect from the table below. On a success, they are immune to the water’s effects for 24 hours.
1. The creature is poisoned for 1 hour. If they fail the saving throw by 5 or more, the creature is also unconscious while poisoned in this way. The creature wakes up if it takes damage or if another creature takes an action to shake it awake.
2. The creature takes 3d6 acid damage, and must repeat the saving throw at the start of each of its turns. On each successive failed save, the character takes 1d6 acid damage. After three successful saves, the effect ends.