A LOCAL LEGEND
DM information
adventure background
The berbalang’s lair
1
Concluding the adventure
2
3
the legend of the demon spirit
DM Information
This is a short adventure that can be set anywhere in the World of Greyhawk. This is set into
a fairly civilized area in the winter. This happens in a remote farming community. This happens
while the characters are staying overnight in an inn at the village of Trellmont.
This is an adventure for a group of 3 to 6 characters of 1st to 2nd levels. There should be about
6 total levels in the party. There is no special class that is vital for this adventure, and a good mix of
classes and races should be included in the party. Since a berbalang plays a central role in this
adventure, the DM should be familiar with this creature and its abilities.
Adventure Background
The characters are spending the night in the small village of Trellmont, perhaps while
traveling to some other place. As soon as the characters arrive in town, they find that the inn is
packed with a large merchant caravan that is in town for the night. The caravan master is a frequent
guest at the inn and has obtained permission to over crowd all of the available rooms. Because of
this, the characters will have to find some place else to sleep for the night. The surrounding snow
cover land isn’t compatible for outdoor camping. Not to mention the cold outside.
As long as the characters have been polite to the innkeeper, one of the local farmers, who is
drinking ale at the bar, will offer the characters the use of his barn for 3cp per character. The farmer
is named Korolard. He is a 0th level non-combatant who is normally unarmed.
Korolard speaks to the characters on the ride to his house in order to form a better idea of
what they are like. If they seem pleasant enough, he offers the dinner and breakfast with him and his
wife and 6 kids at no extra charge. If Korolard gains a bad impression of the party, he will charge
1cp per person and brings their meals to the barn. Except for the braying of Korolard’s mule, the
frosty night passes uneventfully.
Unfortunately, the night does not pass so quietly for Korolard’s neighbor and friend, Lingus.
The village of Trellmont suffers from episodic ravages of a sinister creature. Lingus’ oldest son,
Erowyn, is the 1st to fall prey this ninth year. According to the local legend, “the Legend of the
Demon Spirit,” 3 humans are taken each year. These are usually young men, and are taken during the
winter months.
The demon spirit is a berbalang who, despite being chaotic evil, has become very cyclical in
its hunting due to its success. The berbalang has a total of 36 lairs near villages, ports, and large
cities. The location of the lairs forms a rough circle. It takes the berbalang exactly 9 years to
complete the circuit of the lairs. It stays at each lair 1 month and takes a victim once per month
during the full moon, and then moves on to the next lair. Erowyn was late coming home from the
tavern and so made a perfect victim who never realized what was happening.
In the morning, Lingus arrives at Korolard’s house just after breakfast and requests his
presence outside in a very sober tone of voice. The characters easily notice Lingus’s red rubbed eyes.
After briefly conversing just outside the doors, Korolard approaches the characters that he and his
neighbor are going into town and offer them a ride if they wish to come along.
During the trip, any character observing Lingus notices his white hands are gripping the side
of the wagon and his unwavering stare straight ahead of him. If anyone tries to speak with Lingus, he
doesn’t answer and Korolard looks back with a pleading look in his eyes silently asking the
characters for their silence. If the characters persist, Korolard curtly informs them that Lingus’s
eldest son has been lost.
When the group arrives in town, Lingus walks straight over to a large house near the inn,
knocks on the door and goes inside. This is the home of the mayor. If the characters have shown an
interest in Lingus’s trouble, or if they ask what is wrong, Korolard now tells them.
PC’s: “Last night, Lingus’s son disappeared and tis likely that he will never be heard from again.
Erowyn must have been coming home late from the inn, taking a short cut through a field.
His tracks through the snow come to an end, there in the field, but Erowyn himself was gone.
Lingus found only his son’s cap nearby. The year of the demon has begun, and nobody will
be safe until the winter ends and…” He pauses, peering around the familiar village dolefully,
then finishes, “and 2 more have died. It always takes 3 before going.”
DM:
If the characters do not offer to help, Korolard bids them good day and enters the tavern to
tell everyone the sad news. If the characters don’t offer help, the adventure is over. If they do
offer to help, read the following to the players.
PC’s: Korolard at first looks pleased, but he quickly frowns and says, “The demon spirit is part of
our village. And though a sad one, ‘tis an unavoidable plague we live with. You would do
well to leave it alone; it’d be safer. Besides, Marcella is the only one who knows ‘bout it, and
she says it has to be so. Well, I have to go and warn the rest of the village, but I wish you
luck and good hunting in whatever you do.”
DM:
Korolard will answer any further questions as best he can and will gladly direct the characters
to Marcella, the village wise woman. When he’s told the characters all that he can, he bids them
good day and heads over to the tavern.
Marcella is a farmer’s widow who is proficient with herbalism and village folklore. She
learned much of her lore as a young girl from her great aunt. Marcella is now 56 years old and is the
village’s wise woman and healer. The closest cleric lives 12 miles away. She is very curious and
impatient to learn all that she can about life. This creates an initial impression of abruptness, but her
demeanor softens as she begins telling or listening to a tale.
Marcella is a 0th level non-combatant that is not armed, but can fight with a staff when the
need arises. She has 2 hit points and average or lower statistics.
Before telling the legend of the demon spirit, Marcella questions the party about where they
were born, why they are adventurers, and why they want to know about the evil that plagues
Trellmont. She is pessimistic about their chance of success at killing it and must be given a good
reason for spending her time talking to them about it. Money can be placed in a jar near the door, but
this won’t motivate her to tell the characters the Legend of the Demon Spirit. A genuine and evident
desire to learn, and an offer to tell her an interesting story or legend will be an acceptable exchange.
An offer of a service will also be a good idea, and she will have the characters chop fire wood for her
home. If the characters use any force, including threats, she will ask them to leave.
If Marcella can be convinced to relate the story, the DM should feel free to interrupt the
telling often with Marcella’s personal questioning of the characters and their motives. The wise
woman is interested in learning as much about the adventurer’s lives as possible.
When she is ready to tell her story, Marcella sits down with her legs crossed and gestures for
the characters to sit in a half circle around her. Then she begins as described below.
The Legend of the Demon Spirit
“Since the dawning of the world, my young ones, spirits have roamed all over the lands.
Many are amenable to sacrifice, and it is these that I keep at bay. Others can be called upon when
there is need and you employ the proper rituals. Yet some are perversions of nature, unnatural
beings that cannot be controlled except by the greatest of magic workers. The Demon Spirit of this
village is such a one, and unfortunately my humble talents are not a match for its strong will.”
“Every 9 winters, during the full moon of each of the 3 months of cold, the demon spirit
awakens and hunts those who brave the dangers of the night. Having killed, the demon spirit sleeps
until the next full moon. After the demon spirit has claimed 3 young men, it is satiated and dreams 3
years for each of the lives stolen.”
“For unknown to many, this spirit seeks to relive the life that is feels was unfairly stolen from
it. Killed as a young herdsman, the spirit would not travel on but was determined to live among flesh
and blood. And so it hunts young men to give it another chance, though fleeting, at living.”
Marcella pauses and looks all of you over, then says, “Well, if you are determined to hunt it
out, good luck. All I can tell you is that I once sheltered a young girl who had lost her husband to
this spirit. She told me that she saw it flying in the direction of the stream, going deeper into the hills
to the north. Now, spirits often live under water, and this one is horrible enough to have a lake, so
you might find it there, but don’t blame me if you don’t. Despite what some mean folks think, it isn’t
my fault that this thing’s picked our village. It’s just the way of life.”
DM:
Marcella will answer any other questions as best she can, but she has told all that she knows
about the demon spirit. If asked whether anyone has confronted the demon before, she
struggle to remember. After a short time of thinking hard, Marcella tells the characters about
Olthair.
PC’s: “Olthair was a good hearted farmer who was once a soldier. It is said that, when the demon
spirit came back a 2nd time during his life, Olthair got up one night, put on his old armor, and
told his daughter that he was going to rid the world of at least one evil. His only living
relative, his young daughter, left for the city a few years after that night. Olthair was never
heard from again.” Marcella bows her head sadly and says, “I wish you all of the luck that the
gods will grant.”
DM:
Unless the characters have more questions, Marcella shoos them outside, locks the door
behind her, and walks off to collect herbs. By this time, Korolard has gone home, so it is up
to the characters to decide what to do next. The mayor will gladly talk to them, but he knows
nothing that Marcella has not already told the characters.
The Berbalang’s Lair
The journey through the hills to the north of the village, covered in a light snow, will not
cause the characters any trouble, since the still flowing stream that Marcella mentioned will prevent
the characters from getting lost. A ranger in the party will be very helpful at this point. The cave
entrance to the berbalang’s lair is not obvious. The stream now springs up from the hill next to where
the berbalang has hid its body. The stream once came up from the berbalang’s hill. There is a 25%
chance of noticing the dried up streambed. A ranger has a 50% chance of noticing this streambed. A
short search of the area will always reveal it. By pursuing the dry streambed, the characters will learn
that it ends in an 8’ pile of rubble. Dwarves and gnomes will instantly recognize that this is not a
natural pile. All other characters can make an intelligence check to grasp that the rocks could not
have slid down from above.
In order to clear the entire entrance hidden by the rocks, the characters will have to spend 2
+1d4 hours laboring to remove the large boulders at the bottom of the pile. The top 3’ of the pile can
be rolled off of the pile with a good push by anyone with a strength of 13 points or better. At most
one person can push from the top and another can push from the side, thus allowing them to combine
their strength rolls. It will take 1 round for a character to clamber through the opening if nothing is
held. If the characters have their hands holding things, it will take 3 rounds to get through the
opening. Holding a sword or torch will slow the character to 3 rounds to traverse the opening.
As noted in the berbalang’s description, the berbalang forms a duplicate of itself once per
month. This allows the duplicate to hunt and bring back prey. The prey it pushed through the top of
the rubble pile. Then the duplicate flies out and replaces the rubble. After that the duplicate
dissipates.
In addition to hiding the entrance, the rocks clatter loudly when moved, thus alerting the
creature that something has found its lair. The berbalang will be in the death like trance state that is
normal for its kind. During this time, its spirit roams the astral plane while the body rests immobile.
If sound reaches the berbalang’s body, its conscious spirit hears it and immediately begins the
journey from the astral plane back to its body. This journey takes 1d20 rounds for each day that has
elapsed since the death of Erowyn. Most character parties will reach the lair the day after the young
man is killed, thus requiring 15 rounds for the berbalang to return to its body. This gives the
characters 15 rounds for an easy kill. The DM will have to keep careful track of time, starting from
when the berbalang is alerted, in order to determine whether it has returned by the time the
characters find its body.
1)
Cave Entrance
This naturally formed limestone cavern is about 5’ wide and 12’ long, with an 8’ high ceiling.
The floor is covered with brittle human bones, shredded clothing, and a number of coins. The
partially eaten body of a human male, Erowyn, lies here as well. The body is greatly mutilated but
preserved by the cold. As the characters move around in this small cavern, the DM should describe
the crunching sound of bones in order to build up tension. The discovery of the remains of Erowyn
could provide some horror and shock to the characters. Even if the characters silently move the
rocks, they will have to move across the bones silently, which is not possible unless they silently
move the bones out of their way. Otherwise, the berbalang will be alerted by the noise and begin to
return to this plane. No matter how quietly the characters are, it always knows when anything is
within 5’ of its body.
While most of the victims of the berbalang have been villagers, there has been the occasional
traveler, and these travelers have contributed the majority of the treasure found here. The treasure
consists of: 1,718cp / 221sp / 40gp / a 75gp onyx / a 20gp moss agate / two 17gp turquoises / a 10gp
tiger eye agate / a 10gp malachite / a 7gp blue quartz crystal. The berbalang doesn’t care about losing
treasure since it leaves this treasure here to distract the unwary traveler who finds its lair.
If the party stops to collect all of the treasure, the characters will spend 10 turns minus 1 turn
for every person collecting treasure. If the berbalang’s spirit returns during this time, it projects an
image 100’ directly over the entrance. This projection silently flies down and attacks the party with a
2 point penalty to the character’s surprise roll. A character standing guard will negate the surprise
penalty. See area #3 for the berbalang’s combat tactics.
Two rounds of searching will locate a 3½’ opening in the floor at the back of the cavern. Any
human sized creature can crawl through this hole, except those wearing platemail or full plate armor.
Combat in this tunnel can be done only with claws, teeth, and short stabbing weapons no larger than
a dagger. Creatures of 4’ or less in height have no penalties in their combat rolls. Those more than 4’
tall have a -2 penalty to hit. No shields can be used, and no dexterity bonuses to armor class are
allowed.
2)
Tunnel
This rough hole in the floor heads downward at a steep angle. Due to the small diameter of
the tunnel, a torch will quickly fill the area with smoke, making the air unbreathable. Either a lamp, a
spell must be used or the characters will have to travel in darkness.
The tunnel descends for 15’, then levels out for the next 20’. Take each character’s
movement rate and reduce it by 50% to find the character’s tunnel crawling rate in feet per round.
Thieves will crawl at twice this speed. Near the middle of the level sectio0n, the characters encounter
the skeleton of a 6 legged rodent with oversized teeth. This osquip was the creator of these tunnels.
The mate of this rodent is no place to be found, but the DM can emphasize that rodents travel in
packs. The mate escaped the berbalang and lives 4 miles to the east.
The tunnel turns directly upward after 20’, and the characters must climb the 15’ up direction
of the tunnel. The walls of the tunnel are rough and provide numerous handholds. The base chance to
climb safely is 60%, due to the small size of the tunnel and the many handholds. Climbing here is
equal to the characters movement rate in feet per round with thieves moving at twice their movement
rate in feet per round.
3)
Inner Lair
The natural chimney opens into a 15’ x 20’ cave with an 18’ high ceiling. The limestone floor
is dirty and naturally uneven. There are many small rocks spread around the otherwise empty cavern.
A natural spring once flowed from this room, but the berbalang plugged it up with rocks and debris
years ago.
The berbalang’s body is hidden in a niche behind one of the rocks toward the rear of the
cavern. If the characters are not using a light source, anyone with infravision has a 35% chance to
notice the heat of the berbalang’s body spilling from around the rock. If the characters have a light
source, the chance of noticing the body is only 15%, because in light the berbalang’s body blends in
with natural rock formations.
BERBALANG:
hd 4 +1 hp 23 thaco 17 morale 10 int very 12 align chaotic evil
Ac 6 move 6” ground / 24” fly class “B” #att 2 claws / 1 bite exp 650
Damage 1d4 claw / 1d6 bite size mansized 6’ tall with a 20’ wingspan
Project image up to 3 miles / for 3 days each month during the full moon /
this is a real image that can inflict and receive damage / the mind of the
berbalang knows what is happening to the projection immune to charm,
sleep, and hold spells
The black, leathery skinned berbalang attacks with the projection until the projection loses at
least 5 hit points. If the projection is killed before it can escape, the berbalang has a 75% chance of
dying from the shock. Otherwise the projection flies up to the ceiling and disappears. This is where
the projection dissipates, and the berbalang awakens and waits for the characters to arrive at his
location. If the characters decide to leave, the berbalang attacks them when ½ of them are in the
tunnel. It is capable of following the characters into the tunnel and fighting them there, but prefers to
avoid this due to the cramped combat conditions there.
If the characters explore the cave and approach the berbalang’s hiding place, it springs out
and attacks the nearest character with the character having a 1 point penalty to their surprise roll. The
berbalang fights until it has lost 11 hit points, then attempts to flee down the entrance tunnel. If it
escapes, it flies to its next lair and, after fully recuperating; it tries to locate the characters and exact
revenge on them.
If the characters succeed in killing the berbalang, a quick search of its lair reveals a partially
armored skeleton still holding a dagger and a shield with a gem studded rim. Marcella can identify
the shield as belonging to Olthair. A spell will reveal the shield to be enchanted. The magical aura is
coming from a ruby atop it and not the shield itself. The ruby is actually a brooch of shielding with
38 hit points of available damage to still be absorbed.
Concluding the Adventure
If the berbalang isn’t killed it will try to avenge itself on the characters. This need not be right
away, but can come years later. The berbalang will also avenge itself on the villagers since it sees the
villagers as the cause of its problems. The villagers will be disappointed at the failure of the
characters, and will be suspicious of them if they return with treasure.
If the characters kill the berbalang and bring back part of its body, or all of it, the villagers
will be amazed that their “demon spirit” was actually a mortal creature. The treat the characters to
numerous drinks at the tavern after the mayor makes a short but heartfelt speech of thanks. Lingus
offers the characters his tearful appreciation for avenging his son’s death. Some townspeople will
want the characters to find the cave again, remove the human bones for burial, and seal up the cave
entrance.
If the characters tell Marcella the entire tale because they know she would be interested, and
don’t tell it with the intent to prove her wrong, if they answer her lengthy questions and bring part of
the creature to her, she will reward them with a potion of levitation as a gift.