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9568 Moonlight Madness.pdf - Free

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them less conspicuously. But eventually Vandric, always<br />

ready to protect helpless villagers, became suspicious of<br />

the stories about a huge wolf that was frequently seen<br />

leading packs northward. All it took was a trader’s tale of<br />

seeing a wolf of that description turn into a man for Van-<br />

dric to dispatch a detachment north to trail the wolf and<br />

slay it.<br />

The group is led by an aspiring young ranger in Van-<br />

dric’s entourage who calls herself Cazpar the Giant-Killer.<br />

Cazpar is eager and zealous but inexperienced. She has<br />

been tracking the wolf for quite some distance and is con-<br />

vinced that it is nearby, for the tracks are fresh. Actually,<br />

she has lost the trail of Muldoon, who assumed bird form<br />

to fly back for the next load of creatures. The young<br />

ranger is now following the trail made last night by the<br />

party’s werewolf (or by the werewolf that attacked their<br />

camp last night, if the DM chose that option). Vandric‘s<br />

men recognize PCs who have been to Cold Springs. They<br />

consider the characters heroes in the anti-lycanthropy<br />

campaign, and may even ask them to join in the hunt<br />

(they need someone to hold all that wolfsbane, after<br />

all. . . ).<br />

Cazpar’s patrol approaches the clearing from the south<br />

at a gallop. Cazpar has her sword out and is ready to leap<br />

off of her horse and attack the wolf as soon as she sees it.<br />

Give the players two rounds of action before the horse-<br />

men enter the clearing-time to grab up a piece of cloth-<br />

ing or a weapon, but not both. It’s also not enough time to<br />

take proper cover, though a character can partially duck<br />

behind a bush.<br />

”This way! The filthy werewolf is hiding in here,”<br />

cries a voice from the woods. Moments later, horsemen<br />

in Vandric’s livery come thundering into the clearing.<br />

The leader, a young woman of about eighteen, stops<br />

her horse and scans the area carefully. ”Quiet, men. I<br />

know it’s here. Be careful! Those lycanthropes are a<br />

vicious lot. Stay together now. Don’t let it hear you.”<br />

Cazpar is so intent upon finding the werewolf that at<br />

first she barely notices the condition of anyone standing<br />

in the clearing. If attacked, she and her men fight back<br />

with enthusiasm, striking to kill with their silver weap-<br />

ons, but they will break off combat if they recognize the<br />

characters or the PCs call for a halt. Note that Cazpar is<br />

fairly naive and will be highly embarrassed by the ap-<br />

pearance of unclothed or partially clothed characters,<br />

once she notices them. Her men, however, are more<br />

worldly. Confronted with any nude female player charac-<br />

ters they are bound to make a few earthy remarks; at the<br />

very least, consider them distracted. Unsure how to han-<br />

dle the situation, Cazpar will grow very angry with them,<br />

in part to cover her own embarrassment.<br />

40<br />

htic.Ily, lio1vec7e;, Cazpar cc L~tion-<br />

4-iiy Vl5lllk I’Cs to<br />

be quiet, not noticing their bruised and bloody state until<br />

her examination of the area is finished or until someone<br />

brings it to her attention. She dismounts and looks at the<br />

ground to pick up the wolf tracks she has been following,<br />

waving aside any characters who approach, declaring<br />

that they will “disturb the spoor.” She finds what she’s<br />

looking for (exactly whose tracks these are is up to the<br />

DM) and points dramatically ”It went thataway!” (i. e., in<br />

exactly the direction any werewolf PC took).<br />

When that her examination is complete, she stands in<br />

the center of the clearing and announces: ”This clearing is<br />

now secure. Assume guard positions.” The fighters move<br />

to the perimeter and take up evenly spaced positions<br />

around the edge, facing outward, silver weapons glinting<br />

in the morning light. Cazpar continues following the<br />

tracks of the wolf (which, of course, lead straight into the<br />

ravine to the spot where the werewolf PC was sleeping).<br />

However, she becomes puzzled by the additional tracks<br />

of any other were-animals, should different PCs suffer<br />

from different types of lycanthropy (e.g., she may mutter<br />

”Boars? Tigers? No, only one of each. Hmmm. A fox, too.<br />

Very strange.”).<br />

When Cazpar encounters any character, she issues a<br />

stern warning:

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