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SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE SUPPLEMENT SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #001:
VOL. 1 CREEP IN THE CELLAR

These short adventure seeds are meant to spark the

imagination of Storytellers. They’re rough outlines, bones
  PLOT: Alas! The taps have run dry at the tavern and the
adventurers must travel to the end of the short dungeon
sans flesh, stage directions in search of a play, with the below to get the brew flowing once again. The other
details left to the whims of whoever’s running the adventure. patrons have put together a collection of gold, silver and
In a way they’re our simultaneous tribute to old D&D copper coins to reward you should you survive the ordeal.
modules and Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s Oblique
Strategies all at the same time and to varying degrees of CHARACTERS: The Seer-Like Drunk; the Bartender; the
success. Regulars; the Barmaid Who’s Smarter than Everyone Else;
the Porter.
If a Storyteller chooses to run an adventure, they should
place that adventure in their notebook and then use ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: large rodents; a swarm of
subsequent pages to fill in the details as they see fit, such as horned cockroaches; a Giant Spider; the Vermin King.
drawing maps of locations, deciding upon character names
and traits, jotting down snatches of dialogue, changing TWIST: The kegs are being held hostage by the Vermin
rewards, listing variations and possible alternate paths… King, who is the former owner of the tavern and has been
you get the idea. twisted into his current form thanks to an evil enchantment..

NOTHING here is etched in stone. That cannot be WIN CONDITIONS: Hear the sad tale of the Vermin King
emphasized enough. There are no right or correct ways to (all he wants is someone to talk to); restore the taps to
go about running any of these adventures. This format working order.
appeals to us because the groundwork is laid but the details
remain sketchy. None of these adventures are actually REWARD: A tab at the bar; a scroll from the Vermin King,
complete and finished. Every category and heading is a upon which is a spell of the Storyteller’s selection is written;
suggestion and a possible jumping off point. These are a decent amount of gold, silver and copper.
open-source collaborations between the writer of the
adventure and whoever is telling the story. Play the ones
that speak to you and build your world as you see fit.
Rewrite them from the ground up if you want. Change the
Win Conditions. Add. Subtract. Make them your own. Stay
tuned for future Adventure Supplements, but don’t wait for
us: WRITE YOUR OWN ADVENTURES AND SHARE
THEM.

SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #002: SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #003:
MY ENCHANTED FOREST BODYGUARDS CIRKUS ORKUS

PLOT: The brother and sister twin children of a divorced PLOT: The adventurers are cooling their heels in a village
royal couple must travel from their mother’s estate on one when a small, one-ring traveling circus with a company
side of a vast magic forest to their father’s castle on the comprised mainly of orcs sets up in a field nearby. The
other side. The adventurers are their bodyguards on this ringmaster hires the adventurers to provide mock combat
dangerous journey and must escort the children safely to entertainment, but when the mayor of the village winds up
their destination without killing them or getting them killed dead and the villagers take up torch and pitchfork to lynch
or kidnapped by fairies. the orcs. The adventurers must stop the angry mob and
discover the truth behind the mystery.
CHARACTERS: The Children; their Parents; the May Queen.
CHARACTERS: The cast and crew of Cirkus Orkus; the
ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: Bridge trolls; a wandering Villagers; the Village Sheriff.
group of goblins; the Fairy Knight.
ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: The Menagerie of Cirkus
TWIST: The May Queen reveals that the children are Orkus; the Werewolf.
actually fairy changelings with glamour charms on them.
TWIST: The mayor was actually murdered by a prominent
WIN CONDITIONS: Solve the bridge trolls’ riddle; defeat villager, who is secretly a werewolf and is using the orc
the Fairy Knight in some sort of single combat; get one or circus as cover.
both of the children to the other side of the forest.
WIN CONDITIONS: Exposing the true murderer.
REWARD: A magic ring from the May Queen (powers TBD
by the Storyteller); a letter from the kids’ father which serves REWARD: Enchanted acrobat boots and gloves that allow
as a door-opener/get out of jail calling card. No cash. one to perform feats of extraordinary agility; a Seeing
Glass from the Cirkus’s fortune teller; Eerily Accurate
Throwing Dagger from the knife thrower.
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SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #004: SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #005:
THE HALFLING CONNECTION BLUES FOR THE DOOMTOWER

PLOT: The crime boss of the great metropolis of Lanternport

is a dragon who rules his empire from the caverns beneath
  PLOT: The Doomtower is a lonely keep located at the center
of the Swamp Elf domains. The adventurers must climb to
the city. The adventurers -- who are in debt to the dragon -- the top of the Doomtower, confront the Cursed Elf Sorcerer
are sent to run down the halfling thief who has stolen one of and silence the Horn of Doom, which plays an endless
the dragon’s favorite jewels and who is now in hiding in droning tune that can be heard throughout the land.
one of Lanterport’s most dangerous slums.
CHARACTERS: The Swamp Elf Chieftain.
CHARACTERS: The Red Dragon; the Halfling Thief.
ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: Swamp monsters; a skeleton
ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: The Red Dragon; dwarven army; deadly traps in the Doomtower; the tower maze and
gangsters. an undead minotaur; the Cursed Elf Sorcerer.

TWIST: When the adventurers track down Filbert, he no TWIST: The Cursed Elf Sorcerer has arranged for the
longer has the stolen gem; he has passed it on to the very adventurers to come and end his terrible unlife by silencing
tough dwarf gangsters that hired him. the Horn of Doom.

WIN CONDITIONS: Get the gem from the dwarves and WIN CONDITIONS: Release the Cursed Elf Sorcerer from
back to Terebog. their curse; silencing the Horn of Doom.

REWARD: a favor from the Red Dragon; a gift certificate to REWARD: The Hand of the Sorcerer (a magic object that
any Adventurer’s Emporium location; teleportation to any can point to a desired destination if a ritual is properly
location the adventurers desire. performed); the lease to the Doomtower; pieces of the Horn
of Doom (which can be made into a Music Box of Doom by
an astute maker of magical items).

SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #006: SWORD & BACKPACK ADVENTURE #007:
ENTER THE DRACOLICH 12 LITTLE WAYFARING STRANGERS

PLOT: The adventurers find themselves on a boat embarking PLOT: The characters are hopelessly lost in a deadly winter
from Lanterport, headed to a mysterious island where they storm while crossing a mountain pass when they come
have been invited to compete in a mysterious tournament upon an adventurers’ inn. After taking shelter, the cozy way
against other intrepid souls. The winner of the tournament is station becomes a house of intrigue when guests begin to
promised untold riches. die and a malevolent spirit appears, warning that all will be
dead before dawn.
CHARACTERS: Head of the Lanterport Constabulary Force;
Sea Captain; colorful adventurers from other lands. CHARACTERS: The other guests; the Innkeeper and his
small staff.
ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: combat in the 20-Sided Circle
of Death; Markus the Fist, the Champion of the Games; the ADVERSARIES/OBSTACLES: The Spirits of the Dead; The
Dracolich. Actual Killer.

TWIST: The host of the contest is actually a Dracolich, who TWIST: The storm is magical in origin and is being fed by
is actually luring adventurers to their death at the behest of the spells of a clandestine necromancer among the inn’s
some other power, which hints at a larger conspiracy. occupants, who plans to plunder his victims and set up a
permanent house of death to lure unlucky souls.
WIN CONDITIONS: Winning the contest and either
defeating or banishing the Dracolich. WIN CONDITIONS: Find the secret necromancer;
Neutralize the secret necromancer.
REWARD: Three spells from the Dracolich’s horde; the
eternal friendship and fealty of at least one other REWARD: The sorcerer’s spell of weather manipulation; a
adventurer; an honorary position in the Lanternport map to a new dungeon; a badass new weapon.
Constabulary Force.