SG5 The Basilisk (5e)
THE BASILISK
A Mid-Level Fantasy Adventure
Intended for 4 to 6 player characters of levels 6 to 8
RUMOURS SPEAK OF A VILE WIZARD WITH A PENCHANT FOR PETRIFACTION.
HE IS SAID TO DWELL IN HIS TOWER HOME¸ GUARDED BY HIS PETS & ALLIES.
CAN YOU STOP THIS FIEND BEFORE HE SOLIDIFIES HIS HOLD ON THE VALLEY?
Greetings adventurers and Game Masters!
I am happy to announce the release of "THE BASILISK"; a mid-level one-shot fantasy adventure intended for 4 to 6 seasoned adventurers of levels 6 to 8. This is another of my love letters to Old School Gaming¸ this time to the typewritten and mimeographed modules of the 1970 that I cut my teeth on! This also marks a bit of a milestone as it is the fifth compatible module I have released¸ intended for use with both OSR games (like OSRIC) and the modern 5E version of the world's greatest roleplaying game!
Synopsis: In this adventure your players are approached by a local magic shop merchant¸ Noval Gramarye¸ who requests their aid. It seems his future son in law¸ an alchemist¸ has been missing for nearly a month now¸ after he went off on a research trip. The young man was following up on tales of an ancient wizard's abode known as Stoney Tower¸ believed to be located in the nearby forest. Rumours claimed the tower was somehow connected to petrifaction¸ the primary focus of Quintus' alchemical research. He went searching for the tower in the forested foothills about a day's ride to the south and east of their village¸ and has not been heard from since. His daughter set out a fortnight ago to find and return her love and she never returned either! The young couple's wedding is mere days away and the merchant is beside himself with fear and worry. He begs the players to find his children and bring them home safe.
A lot is riding on the players completing their quest¸ for if they do not return with the couple in time for their nuptials¸ set for the coming weekend¸ the event will have to be cancelled. While this would be a sad occurrence¸ it is far worse than a mere personal tragedy because the missing young man's father is none other than the leader of the local thieves' guild; Vinnie the Butcher. The merchant is certain if the players don't return with the happy couple in time to save their wedding day that his deposit on the hall won't be the only thing he loses!
So it's down to our heroes to rescue the missing couple¸ save their wedding date and make sure the father of the bride's gets out of this alive!
My core design goal for the module was to provide an authentic facsimile of an old typewritten adventure from the late 1970s; it is complete with nubby construction-paper covers¸ brads and staples¸ and black and white text and graphics throughout. I believe I achieved my goal¸ within the confines of still making the book readable and useable in the present day. However¸ since this book is being published in the year 2020¸ and I spent quite a lot of time working on the world maps and expanding and colourising the wonderful Dyson Logos dungeon map upon which Twr Caregog is based¸ I wanted to provide colour copies of those map for the benefit and enjoyment of the Game Master and their players¸ so this supplement also includes a separate COLOUR MAP BOOKLET¸ containing full colour illustrations of the maps from the adventure.
This module is part of a new series of "generic" adventure from Starry Knight Press¸ written to be system agnostic and usable with OSRIC (& other OSR games)¸ 5E¸ and any fantasy ruleset. While aiming to offer a non-rules specific module¸ we do strive to provide information to make the book useful to the majority of