I have written out the off-the-cuff adventure from my [last library Dungeons & Dragons](https://steemit.com/dnd/@jacobtothe/dungeons-and-dragons-at-the-library) campaign in a more formal fashion, and would welcome feedback from other role-playing game veterans. This is loosely based on an idea I began to write out here on Steemit a long time ago, but changes happened.

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# <center>Adventure 1: The Summoning</center>

### Introduction

The story opens in the late summer, two days before the first monthly market festival of the harvest season. Establish whether they are camped outside of town, renting rooms at the taverns inside the walls, or living in one of the village houses.

### Riverton

Riverton is a small farm village and market town in the northern reaches of Hisbernia on the south bank of the Stern River, which flows roughly from west to east at this point as it winds from the Dwemerhame Mountains toward the Sea of Teeth. The town is surrounded by a palisade wall about six feet tall on the east, south, and west. At its center is a large grass-covered market square. Along the riverbank to the north are docks and wharfs with warehouses, fish packing businesses, and granaries nearby. The commercial district is a row of shops south of these dockside structures facing the market green. The taverns and inns are to the west of the green. To the east of the green are the town administrative buildings. The village temple is on the north side of the road just inside the east gate. The inhabitants of Riverton are almost entirely human, along with a few halflings.

<center>![fort-parker-palisade-3584793_640.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbDiwCvfje9PpNJ8jEK6tnsnTmgYUPMwZzzEDKcAdHzSi/fort-parker-palisade-3584793_640.jpg)
A palisade wall
[Image credit](https://pixabay.com/photos/fort-parker-palisade-fort-parker-3584793/)</center>

### Alarm

Early in the morning, all player characters are awakened by the ringing of alarm bells. When they seek out the cause of the alarm, they will be told by frightened villagers or town guards that something is wrong at the village temple. Upon their arrival at the temple, they will meet Captain Brevar as he is sending the town guard to establish a perimeter. If the players do not investigate the cause of the alarm, he may conscript them from the tavern to help address the emergency. 

### The Temple

The ground has a fissure surrounding the temple about 15 feet from the perimeter of the building, and the surface seems to have sunk by about a foot. If the players ask to investigate before proceeding to the temple, they can learn the following:

· None of the guards or gathering onlookers report any earthquakes during the night, and no one heard any commotion.

· Any character who investigates the fissure with a DC15 Nature check can confirm that there doesn’t appear to be a seismic cause for this fissure. At DM discretion, a dwarf may pass this check automatically.

· A DC15 Perception check will discover that the earth is strangely dry, and the grass in the temple grounds is beginning to wilt despite the morning dew everywhere else. At DM discretion, druids pass this check automatically.

· A DC20 Arcana check will reveal traces of summoning ritual magic to sorcerers, warlocks, or wizards.

The temple is a round stone structure with a set of double doors facing south toward the road. These doors are still closed for the night, but there are no locks. Upon opening the doors and entering, the players see two burnt corpses in the center of the room, surrounded by a complex circle of strange marks. Exploring the temple further will lead to the realization that all of the altars around the temple had been defaced with strange sigils, and the idols and icons have been smashed.

· Examining the burnt corpses reveals that one has a charred holy symbol of Pelor, and was doubtless the village priest. The other holds a dagger still clenched in his hand. No other objects or garments remain.

· A DC12 investigation check will discover that the marks on the floor around the bodies and the marks on the altars are dried blood.

· Characters who understand Abyssal recognize the markings as such, and immediately see errors in spelling and grammar.

· A DC12 Arcana check with knowledge of the language reveals it to be a summoning circle for a demon of Asmodeus, but it appears the intended subject of the summoning had incinerated its would-be summoner and the remains of the blood sacrifice.

· If players attempt to record the markings, there are no effects from writing them down, although a DM roll behind the screen for atmosphere may be appropriate.

### Investigation

Captain Brevar sends some of his men to canvas the town and the camp outside the walls for missing persons, and asks the players to investigate outside of town. If the players insist upon joining the search for missing persons, a DC12 group investigation roll passed by half or more of the party will conclusively discover that no one seems to be missing from any homes, tents, or lodgings. If they agree to search for evidence left by the murderer, a DC15 perception check will discover tracks in the still-dewy grass outside the temple. These lead to a point in the wall between the river and the east gate where a DC12 investigation check can uncover recent scuff marks of someone climbing over the wall. If they do not discover those clues, a DC10 investigation check outside the wall reveals the same information. A DC12 Survival check allows the tracks to be followed for an hour across the fields and into a forest between the river and the road where they end at a campsite.

### The Campsite

The camp consists of a small fire circle and a small tent. A folding metal stand over the fire circle holds a greasy frying pan. Inside the tent is a bedroll, a backpack, and a scroll case. The backpack contains 5 days of trail rations and the contents of a standard scholar’s pack. The scroll case contains loose pages of notes in Common and Abyssal along with strange sigils and shorthand notation. A DC15 Arcana check or knowledge of Abyssal reveals that these notes relate to summoning rituals and demonology, but presumably the final notes were taken into town and destroyed along with the summoner. A DC10 survival check tells the players that this fire has not been lit since some time last evening.

### Reporting Back

When the party returns to town, Captain Brevar is grateful for their efforts. Offer a nominal reward in gold, perhaps 10 GP per player, and Captain Brevar asks for their further aid. If they did not mention the scroll case, or did not retrieve it at all, Captain Brevar asks the party to visit other towns and investigate for temple sacrilege and warn the local guards and elders there of the potential threat. If they have the scroll case and report finding it, Brevar advises seeking the aid of someone who could help determine the nature and extent of the threat from the notes inside.

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If this is of interest, I will write an outline of upcoming campaigns as they play out. I will be splitting this adventure into two smaller campaigns, since I can't manage 14 players all at once. This adventure will take place in the [Fractured Realms setting](https://steemit.com/games/@jacobtothe/the-fractured-realms-part-6-geography) in [northern Hisbernia near the Dwemerhame Mountains,](https://steemit.com/games/@jacobtothe/the-fractured-realms-part-9-a-revised-map) so one party will head north to find a wizard, and then to Newcastle in the mountains where cult hunting and dungeon delving will ensue. The other party will head south and encounter necromancer shenanigans. Well, unless they screw up my plans altogether, which players are wont to do.