I have an idea - I call it chateau fruitloop.
Essentially its a standard medieval castle, owned by a famous wizard - Nenius, a powerful, shadowy figure on the borders of civilisation. Recently the kingdoms oracles have predicted a calamitous event will strike before the summer solstice, its origin seemingly connected to the mage as the locus point is his castle.
Two weeks ago you were dispatched as part of an escort to a powerful group of adventurers sent to reason with the mage. The adventure starts with the party arriving at the castle. Upon arrival, most of the group is escorted to the mages inner sanctum where the adventurers and the various ambassadors are admitted to the mages private suite, While you and most of the rest of the low level soldiary are left outside the great bronze valves. As you restlessly wait in the antechamber an argument breaks out inside, voices rise and fall. The doors are too thick for individual words to be discerned but obviously the argument within is being carried passionately.
Then a voice screams "nooooooooooo", before the scream can finish a massive explosion throws you to the floor.
When you pick yourself up, you find the massive bronze doors have been buckled out by the force of the explosion and are unopenable. A muffled sound brings your head arround, and you see that the captain of the guard lying on the floor, his throat papitating spasmodically. His skin seems to be stretching elastically, and darkening, his limbs lengthening, and as you watch, he metamorphs into a giant frog, before your astonished eyes.
About half of the castles inhabitants (both humans and animals) have been metamorphosed into different forms (ranging from humanoids to various animals, both magical and mundane), another quarter have simply vanished and the remaining quarter have stayed as they are. Add in a few escaped convicts from the castles dungeon a party of raiding orcs passing outside the walls, and a few other curious onlookers and the party will have plenty of opponents to cut their way through as they seek to survive. Some of the enocunters would be humourous eg. the players enter a formal dining room to find a bemused looking orange tabby sitting on the highly polished table regarding a shivering kobold which is frantically striving to shove its head into a mouse hole.
And that basically is the game. Escape from a castle gone mad.
The setting:
I was envisaging a standard medieval castle with a laboratory and dungeons located beneath a central keep, an outer bailey with a small village for the castles retainors, maybe a small river flowing through it - diverted at one point to make a moat. A curtain wall with towers and barbicans encircling the keep and village, with catapults and ballista that can be used by the characters on monsters without and within.
Introduction
You have been assigned to escort a group of notable seers, sages and clerics to the castle of the great mage Nenius. Some weeks ago the heads of certain sects in the capital all experienced the same prophetic dream of a catastrophe that threatens not only the stability of the kingdom, but the dominance of mankind within the realm of living things. Divinations of the dreams revealed that the locus of the threat was the castle of Nenius. It is known that the mage has been conducting certain magical experiments in the greatest of secrecy.
So you have ridden hard for two gruelling weeks and today you have arrived. An hour ago you were admitted through the front gates of the castle. Nenius's guards escorted you into the keep, guiding you through a bewildering maze of corridors
Now you wait in an antechamber as the sages confer with Nenius in his inner sanctum. About twenty minutes ago, there was a lot of shouting, but it seems to have died down now.
Suddenly a voice shouts "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
The captain of the guard stands up, dropping his hand to the pommel of his sword "I think I'll go investigate" he says
A massive concussion shakes the room, and you are thrown from your seats. Picking yourselves up from the floor exchanging bewildered glances
urrrg.... gruh .... arrrrr
You turn to see what is making the weird noises. The captain lies of the floor, his mouth terribly distorted. As you watch it stretches incredibly wide, and then his hair seems to melt into his scalp. His arms and legs are lengthening and are taking on a greenish tinge, the eyes bulge, the head flattens.
And before your astonished eyes a giant frog sits in the puddle of the captains uniform.
1. The antechamber is richly appointed with elegant tapestries. Inspection of the massive bronze valves leading to the mages inner sanctum will reveal that they have been jammed shut and no amount of effort on the characters behalf will be able to force them. Shouting to the rooms occupants will go unanswered.
2. Two guards stood at this post when you entered. Now one lies in a pool of blood, and crouching over his supine body is a lizard like creature. As you approach it swivels to face you, and you see its claws are red with blood.
The former guard is now a Troglodyte, HP 10
3. This is formal dining room, richly decorated, obviously where the great mage entertained the rich and important. On a highly polished mahogany table a bemused looking orange tabby sitting on the highly polished table regarding a shivering kobold which is frantically striving to shove its head into a mouse hole.
Orange Tabby AC 7 HP 2
Kobold (former mouse) AC 7 HP 3
4 Owlbear. This creature can be found roaming the corridors. If approached by the party it will sit on its hind legs and beg for a treat. Around its neck is a torn collar bearing the name Fido. If not killed it may be encountered later in hot pursuit of the orange tabby from 3.
5. Nursery. This cheerfully decorated room contains two beds. On one reclines a heavily pregnant young lady, and on the other is an equally pregnant and rather flustered looking cow.
“I always said Gretna was a bit of a cow” the young woman announces wearily to you as you enter.
Cow (former Gretna) AC 10 HP 8
Young lady no AC HP 3
6 Barbican. A medium sized pike thrashes dying amidst a tangle of chain mail, if tossed into the moat or river, it will disappear with a flash of silvery scales into the murky depths. Should the players take their time, then the fish will be dead by the time they arrive. Over a period of days various creatures will come by and devour portions of the fish.
7. Sir Eric the Paladin
Sir Eric means well, he’s a kind, friendly sort. He’s also a walking disaster, who kills his friends far more effectively than his erstwhile opponents. While in the company of the luckless Eric, all players save at –2.
Str 17 Int 9 Wis 12 Dex 6 Con 16 Char 17
AC 4 HP 32
Plate Mail, shield, heavy lance, long sword, dagger, heavy warhorse (hp 20)
8. Woolly Mammoth. This great creature is glutinously devouring the
9. This room is dominated by a huge dollhouse of the castle. Little model figures line its corridors and rooms. Moving a doll results in the teleportation of the figure in real life, alongside the dollhouse are various accessories and figures, placing these in the dollhouse will result in a life sized edition of the item materialising out of thin air.
These items include
Plush dog – turns into a loyal war dog
Plush teddy bear – turns into a cave bear, nursing a bad headache
Tiny Treasure chest – produces a chest laden with gold and silver coins