One-Shot Adventures

11 the passage you're in twists and turns in a dozen directions. An icy labyrinth lies ahead. If you shout your name and make your presence known, go to 34. If you calmly sneak up and try to see what's making the sound, go to 27. #55 Careful of the crumbling floor, you peer down into the dark hole. A horrible reek hits you, and you involuntarily snap your hand over your nose. Even in this cold weather, something down the hole smells really bad. You look down further into the pit and see that the ground is about ten feet below where you stand. You could jump down. Make a DC 6 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If you fail, you twist your ankle for 1 hp damage. Brushing yourself off, you look around the dimly lit chamber. You realize your torch is sputtering. Within seconds, the darkness in the chamber closes around you. You can barely make out a worn door, a few feet away, indecipherable writings slashed into its wood. If you creep up to the door and listen, go to 46. If you go forward bravely and push the door aside, go to 7. #56 Gritting your teeth you pull up the bloody, torn mattress that lies on the floor. A silver sparkle catches your eye. You reach down and pick up a beautiful silver and glass scepter. Perhaps it belonged to the noble pictured in this room. Confident that you've found a great treasure, you throw your burning torch on the mattress and let the room ignite. You're determined to clean out the filth of the creature that lived here. Dashing out of the smoky room, you leave the Castle of Madness behind. Surely more treasure and adventure lies within its walls, but you feel better returning with trusted friends. Perhaps with a party of adventurers, the yetis and blood men will not pose as much of a threat. Go to 60. #57 You're smart enough to know that it's not the design on the tapestry that is worth gold, but the fabric itself. Carefully examining both tapestries, you see that the runed axe one is cheaper and shoddier than the finely woven fabric of the armored maiden tapestry is. Satisfied that you've made the right choice, you tuck the heavy maiden tapestry into your bag. You decide to examine the hole in the floor. Go to 55. #58 Grasping your knife tightly – the space around the bed is too small to wield your main weapon – you kick over the mattress. You jump back in shock when you see a half-eaten, bloodless corpse staring up at you. Turning away in revulsion, you stagger back before you steady your- self for a second look. e man has only been dead for a few weeks – he's dressed in a wind-torn cloak and has well-worn boots on the remains of his feet. Apparently, this man was exploring the castle like you. What ate him and stuffed his body in this bed, however, is beyond your imagination. You leave the room and head down the corridor. Go to 25. #59 Your foot slips up the stairs once, but your tight hold on the railing saves you from a nasty fall down the steps. You have to drag yourself up the last few steps, since the ice is about as thick as your fist. Pulling your way onto a cold landing, where the wind whips through open windows and chills you to the bone, you glance around this ancient lookout tower. It seems all barren, except for a lone crossbow mounted on the wall. You pull it down and strap it to your back. You've never used a crossbow before, but it may come in handy later. You kick the dirty snow beneath the crossbow and find what you were looking for – a single, rusty bolt. You'll have one shot with this crossbow. Happy that you found anything at all in this crumbling tower, you carefully make your way down the stairs. You can go explore the bedrooms more. Go to 28. Or, you can skip the bedrooms and go down the main corridor. Go to 25. #60 You arrive back in the town of Winterhaven a little injured, but safe. You quickly head to the local merchant's bazaar to sell the wares that you found. e merchants are all very impressed - many of the goods you found were antiques and are quite valuable. If you've written down the word RESCUER, you managed to drag the wounded warrior back to Winterhaven. You discover his name is Jrak Kul, a lieutenant in Winterhaven's town watch, and a member of the secretive Martyrs of War clan. e Martyrs reward you handsomely for his safe return – 200 gp – and invite you to join their ranks. Congratulations – you have bested the Castle of Madness, and you have quite the tale to tell the folks at the tavern. For completing the adventure, gain 400 XP plus whatever XP you gained from slaying the castle's monsters. Furthermore, you can sell some of the items you gained from the castle, or keep them for a future adventure!

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