This is the first adventure I ever DMed. The two adventurers who came along, Lluth and Yulian, are quite a pair. They are brothers (though not by blood) with a sibling rivalry that is nigh-legendary. They joined the League after their master died at the hands of a witch, and as such, they have a particular hatred of black magic. They are also the kind of characters who keep you on your toes about everything. The questions they ask and the things they do force you to make quick decisions on things you've probably never thought about, like is it possible to harvest a Bulette's hide, or can you grind up cockatrice teeth to apply to your weapon as a sort of poison? I love DMing for them, and I am glad that they were my first.
Heartstone Cave, aptly named for it's resemblance of a heart. It is one of the larger sources of Giant Fire Beetles, and, as a result, one of the best sources of the Giant Fire Beetle's light organ. It's a safe alternative to fire for a light source, and one of the cheaper ones too. The only problem is that the organ loses its light about 3 days after harvesting, so the need is always high.
The numbers corresponded to different events. Mostly just what monsters they had to fight. I'm going to list them off in the order that the adventurers interacted with them, as well as include some of the actions they took. All of the monsters' stats are in the Monster Manual.
1. One Giant Bat. It was hanging on the ceiling, and the adventurers awoke it with their light. After they slew it, they bled it, carved it, and took some of the meat along with them for a meal.
2. A river flows through this area, but there is a rocky ledge along the side that the adventurers can follow. However, in the water swim a swarm of quippers, flesh-eating fish that follow their light. The water is about four feet deep at the deepest, and they found out after sticking their glaive in the water to test depth. Lluth and Yulian pulled the sled along the water, as the fish weren't interested in wood and metal. However, the ledge that the adventurers were following became uncrossable at one point due to erosion. The adventurers had to make a DC 15 athletics check in order to jump across. They ended up being smart and using their glaives to give them a boost, so it was easier to cross.
3. Two giant crabs were resting along the shoreline of the river. The adventurers made short work of them, though not without some hilarious crit fails.
7. At this point in the cave, there is a small crack at the bottom of one of the cave walls that seems to glow with light. Outside of the presumed nest are eleven giant fire beetles. The traps were set up, and the fire beetles drawn to them. The beetles had to make a DC 13 Intelligence check to see if they would fall for the pheromones. Many failed, and the cages were all filled. The adventures slew the rest of the beetles. Their noise caused another fire beetle to come out of the nest. Once inside the cage, the beetles could make a DC 13 strength check to see if they could escape the cage. Two escaped, but they were quickly subdued and put back inside the cages. Lluth and Yulian decided to take the other route out of the cage, as the quippers prevented them from taking the fire beetles across the water. As they were leaving, several more fire beetles came out of the nest, but the adventurers decided to leave them alone as not to overhunt the nest.
1. One Giant Bat. It was hanging on the ceiling, and the adventurers awoke it with their light. After they slew it, they bled it, carved it, and took some of the meat along with them for a meal.
2. A river flows through this area, but there is a rocky ledge along the side that the adventurers can follow. However, in the water swim a swarm of quippers, flesh-eating fish that follow their light. The water is about four feet deep at the deepest, and they found out after sticking their glaive in the water to test depth. Lluth and Yulian pulled the sled along the water, as the fish weren't interested in wood and metal. However, the ledge that the adventurers were following became uncrossable at one point due to erosion. The adventurers had to make a DC 15 athletics check in order to jump across. They ended up being smart and using their glaives to give them a boost, so it was easier to cross.
3. Two giant crabs were resting along the shoreline of the river. The adventurers made short work of them, though not without some hilarious crit fails.
7. At this point in the cave, there is a small crack at the bottom of one of the cave walls that seems to glow with light. Outside of the presumed nest are eleven giant fire beetles. The traps were set up, and the fire beetles drawn to them. The beetles had to make a DC 13 Intelligence check to see if they would fall for the pheromones. Many failed, and the cages were all filled. The adventures slew the rest of the beetles. Their noise caused another fire beetle to come out of the nest. Once inside the cage, the beetles could make a DC 13 strength check to see if they could escape the cage. Two escaped, but they were quickly subdued and put back inside the cages. Lluth and Yulian decided to take the other route out of the cage, as the quippers prevented them from taking the fire beetles across the water. As they were leaving, several more fire beetles came out of the nest, but the adventurers decided to leave them alone as not to overhunt the nest.
6. Two giant centipedes slithered out from some holes in the walls. After they were killed, the adventurers harvested some of the poison from them.
5. The path split at this point, with one of the paths looking much newer and smaller than the rest. Inside that path were three cockatrices, which the adventurers ended up fighting. They took the teeth from the cockatrices and vowed to find some way to use that with their weapons.
4. The walls were lined with spider webs, with a thin path leading through the center. The adventurers almost made it through, but touched the webs right near the end. Four wolf spiders emerged from the webs. Yulian, in his quick thinking, took out his torch and lit the webs on fire. All the wolf spiders were either killed or ran away from the fire.
The adventurers returned back to Grumps and were paid 10 gold each. The total experience count for this adventure was 750, with each adventurer getting 325 exp.
5. The path split at this point, with one of the paths looking much newer and smaller than the rest. Inside that path were three cockatrices, which the adventurers ended up fighting. They took the teeth from the cockatrices and vowed to find some way to use that with their weapons.
4. The walls were lined with spider webs, with a thin path leading through the center. The adventurers almost made it through, but touched the webs right near the end. Four wolf spiders emerged from the webs. Yulian, in his quick thinking, took out his torch and lit the webs on fire. All the wolf spiders were either killed or ran away from the fire.
The adventurers returned back to Grumps and were paid 10 gold each. The total experience count for this adventure was 750, with each adventurer getting 325 exp.