![[Rat's Nest Tavern.png]] # Intro The Rat’s Nest Tavern lies on the mud-slick and rubble-strewn Scrag Lane south of Shepherd’s Way, nestled between ramshackle tenements and crumbling flats. The original tavern has been almost entirely obliterated, and the neighbouring buildings are heavily damaged. What remains are stone foundations piled with debris. The first-floor walls stand about chest high, a few supporting timbers splayed outward like a burst ribcage. The rooftop and upper levels have entirely collapsed into a mist-covered crater filled with rubble. The original tavern sign juts out obliquely from a building on the opposite side of the street. It is engraved with a smiling, obese rat laying on a plate of food. %% A small chunk of the meteor broke off and crashed into the [[Rat’s Nest Tavern]] in [[The Sprawl]], utterly destroying most of the building. However, an intact [[Delerium]] crystal was left behind. Unfortunately, a [[Ratlings|ratling]] colony has created a burrow under the taphouse basement and moved the meteorite into their warrens. The ratlings have grown bold enough to launch raids throughout the ruins and take several captives in the process. # Overview In this adventure, the characters travel to the [[Rat’s Nest Tavern]] to obtain a [[delerium]] crystal or rescue a captive prisoner. How the characters accomplish either is up to them: they can fight, sneak past, or trick the ratlings, but the creatures will viciously defend their lair by responding with ambushes and traps of their own. ## Adventure Hooks [[Missing in Action]]. ([[Hooded Lanterns]]) [[Ansom Lang]] approaches the characters in [[Emberwood Village]]. His sister, [[Petra Lang]], was captured when [[ratlings]] ambushed them during a supply run last night. He needs the characters to rescue [[Petra]] before it’s too late. He offers 250 gold pieces as a reward for her safe return. - Against orders to retreat, [[Ansom Lang|Ansom]] tracked the [[ratlings]] to the [[Rat’s Nest Tavern]]. He was driven off when the ratlings wounded him with a contaminated sling bullet. Ansom explains that ratlings often keep prisoners to have a “fresh meal” later. He’s positive Petra is still alive. - [[Ansom Lang|Ansom]] warns the characters about the dangers of [[contamination]]. He can’t help the characters personally as he’s recovering from contamination himself. He advises them that if they get contaminated in the ruins, [[Flamekeeper Hanna]] in Emberwood Village can help them with her magic. - Finally, he promises to put in a good word with the [[Elias Drexel|Lord Commander]] for the characters’ help. However, he emphasises this is a personal job - he’s already risking insubordination: > [!Quote] > Amongst the Hooded Lanterns, our survival doctrine says we don't risk lives on 'futile' rescue attempts. We all knew the dangers when we signed up, but she's my sister. # Interactions For the most part, the [[Ratlings]] in the burrow are hostile to trespassers of any sort. They know who lives in the burrow and who does not, and can recognize each other by scent. They lure intruders into traps or ambushes where the ratlings can use their numbers to their advantage. The ratlings are most active at night, when two-thirds leave the burrow on foraging raids. During the daylight hours, most ratlings are sleeping in their dens except for a few sentries. ## [[Rat Prince]] The ratlings in the burrow are led by a large and ferocious [[Ratlings|ratling]] who self-styles himself as the [[Rat Prince]]. He rules because he’s the biggest, strongest, and killed the last ratling who called themselves the Rat Prince. He believes once his colony has enough food, they will be able to grow large and multiply. Then all the other ratlings will bow down to him for sure! - **Personality Trait** The Rat Prince bullies the others like a despot. When speaking, the Rat Prince repeats words two or three times for emphasis. “Yes yes yes...” - **Ideal** The Rat Prince loves killing, eating, breeding, and sleeping. Pretty much in that order. - **Bond** The Rat Prince wears a makeshift crown and claims he’s the ruler of all the ratlings in Drakkenheim. This is far from true, but good luck convincing the Rat Prince otherwise. - **Flaw** Logic makes the Rat Prince confused and angry, unless that logic involves food. Caught alone, the Rat Prince flees or begs for his life, offering anything he can think of to convince characters to let him go free. ## [[Warlock of the Rat god|Squeaks the Seer]] This albino [[ratling]] [[Warlock of the Rat god]] is the spiritual leader of the colony. - **Personality Trait** She makes up fantastic stories about the Rat God’s wrath and cunning. - **Ideal** The Rat God wants ratlings to eat everything they can. It gave her magic powers to help the ratlings get food and get the “shiny” (delerium). One day it will eat the world. The other ratlings all think this sounds fantastic. - **Bond** She thinks collecting the shiny (delerium) pleases the Rat God, and leads cannibalistic rituals in its name. Ratlings love eating, so they love these rituals. - **Flaw** She thinks she can talk to the Rat God through the delerium crystal. She keeps the stone in her lair (Area 8) and becomes enraged if other ratlings touch it. # Area Details ## Scrag Lane > [!Read] Scrag Lane > The Rat’s Nest Tavern lies on the mud-slick and rubble-strewn Scrag Lane south of Shepherd’s Way, nestled between ramshackle tenements and crumbling flats. The original tavern has been almost entirely oblit- erated, and the neighbouring buildings are heavily damaged. What remains are stone foundations piled with debris. The first-floor walls stand about chest high, a few supporting timbers splayed outward like a burst ribcage. The rooftop and upper levels have entirely collapsed into a mist-covered crater filled with rubble. The original tavern sign juts out obliquely from a building on the opposite side of the street. It is engraved with a smiling, obese rat laying on a plate of food. Characters who search the streets for nearby sewer entrances may discover the hidden entrance to the ratling burrow through the sewers. There is the remains of a hooded lantern ranger in the streets outside, the corpse is identifiable with a investigation check. Survival checks can lead to two routes from the fight from last night - 1 to the sewers and 1 to the cratered basement. ## Taproom Ruins > [!Read] Taproom Ruins > Inside what remains of the tavern walls, the wooden floorboards of the ground level have almost entirely collapsed into a large gaping hole. Tumbled brick piles, ashen cinders, burned shingles, splintered wooden planks, support beams, fractured furniture, cracked mugs, broken glass, random bits of bone and cutlery are scattered everywhere. The hole opens to the basement ten feet below. **Investigation or Survival (DC 10)** Animal-like scratchings, gnaw marks, patches of coarse fur, muddy tracks, and rat droppings may be found by examining the area. ## (1) Cratered Basement > [! REad] Cratered Basement > The stone walls of the basement are scorched and blackened. Rubble and debris surround a muddy crater fifteen feet wide and five feet deep. A faint glimmer of octarine light twinkles within. Examining the crater for the source of the glow turns up 1d6 delerium slivers (worth 10 gold each). There’s a distinct rocky divot about a foot wide just off the centre of the crater, as if a large hunk of rock was dug out and excavated. If there was a meteorite here, it’s gone now. The [[ratlings]] removed a chunk of rock fused with a delerium crystal from the crater and dragged it into the [[#seers den]]. A **Survival (DC 10)** check reveals drag marks, muddy tracks, and clawed footprints of several beastly creatures indicating something heavy was removed from the crater recently. **Investigation (DC 10)**, or proficiency with mason’s tools/ stone working. The breached wall was not caused by the meteor impact. The passage was dug relatively recently. ## Ratling Burrow These details are common to most areas within the ratling burrows: **Passages** The tunnels are dug out from packed earth, clay, loose dirt, and bits of stone. The cramped passages are five to ten feet wide, and rarely more than six feet high. Medium-sized creatures must stoop throughout. The tunnels weave and bend left and right, but also up and down. **Chambers** The larger rooms are eight to ten feet in height. They are mostly dry past the entrance, but unrecognizable filth, bone fragments, scraps of fur and cloth, and bits of leaves and grasses lay underfoot. **Light** The [[Ratlings]] rely on darkvision for sight, so there are no light sources within. **Sounds and Smells** The air underground is humid. It reeks of rat urine and feces. The sounds of squeaking and chattering ratlings as they scrape and scurry about can be heard down the tunnels. ## (2) Trapped Entrance Passage > [! Read] Entrance Passage > This muddy passage is roughly eight feet wide. It tunnels steeply down ten feet before veering sharply left. **Perception (DC 10)**. The wet mud is slippery, and could lead to a nasty fall. Whoever is in the lead will notice this first. **Mudslide Trap** Characters without a climbing speed travelling down the entrance passage must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or slip on the muddy slide. Characters using a rope gain advantage on the saving throw. Characters who fail this save fall prone and immediately slide down the passage, where they are deposited onto the **pit trap** in the [[#(3) Lookout’s Burrow]]. ## (3) Lookout's Burrow > [! Read] Lookout's Burrow > The sound of soft rustling and chittering rats fills this muddy earthen den. - 2 [[Ratlings#guttersnipe]]s and 6 [[Ratlings]] are on watch. Each carries a crossbow and a few preapred flasks of [[alchemist's fire]]. ![[Adventuring Gear#^alchmestfire]] **Pit Trap** A spiked pit trap ten feet deep is dug in the ground at the base of the Trapped Entrance Passage . The hole is covered by a large cloth anchored on the pit’s edge and camouflaged with mud and debris. **Perception (DC 10)** spots the pit. Anyone who moves onto the cloth falls into the pit onto the sharpened wooden spikes at the bottom, and takes 5 (2d4) piercing damage from the spikes, and 5 (1d10) damage from the fall. The edges of the pit are slippery, making escape difficult. Climbing out requires a DC 10 Athletics check. A creature who fails by 5 or more falls back onto the spikes. A [[Swarm of Rats]] lives at the bottom of the pit, and begins devouring anyone who falls within. The swarm attacks any creature in the pit as food. ## (4) Ratling Nests ### Ratling Nests > [!Read] Ratling Nests > This tiny dugout cavity contains a cup-shaped nest made from long grasses, hay, mud, twigs, and leaves, and is lined with shredded bits of discarded cloth, fur scraps, bits of leather, paper, and small glimmering trinkets 8 [[ratlings]] and 1 [[ratling#guttersnipe]] are present in each nest cluster, scattered across the individual nest cavities. - Ratlings hoard small trinkets as personal treasure, plus a delerium sliver or a pouch of 10 (3d6) gold. One nest contains a potion of healing. ## (5) Food Caches > [!Read] Food Caches > Haphazardly splayed about this rancid smelling den are all manner of recently-scavenged dead animals, body parts, and other unsavoury stores. Living meat stays well-preserved, so occasionally prisoners are tied up here for a fresh meal later. **Treasure** The north cache contains theives tools, a poisoner's kit, an herbalism kit, alchemist's supplies, and two potions of healing The south cache holds a still-living captive prisoner - [[Petra Lang ]]of the Hooded Lanterns. She is unarmed, wounded (with 20 hp remaining), and has expended all her spell slots. However, she’s willing to help fight her way out if provided a weapon. Characters can recognize her as a Hooded Lantern lieutenant by her cloak and garb. If she survives, she asks the characters to help her get back to Shepherd’s Gate. She can make the trip on her own, but wants the characters to meet her comrades. ## (6) Idol of the Rat god ### Idol of the Rat god > [! Read] Idol of the rat god > This chamber contains a bloated effigy of a horrifically obese demonic rat made from rubble, mud, and rat feces, set with two pieces of [[Delerium]] for eyes. Offerings are scattered about the statue's feet - skulls, bone, daggers, bits of rotting meat, and smaller delerium fragments. Before it lies a blood-soaked altar made from a simple sone slab. 6 [[Ratlings]] attend the shrine. They flee for help if intruders arrive here. **Treasure** The eyes of the idol are delerium fragments. 1d6 delerium slivers are scattered about the altar. Several scrolls are placed at the altar here - [[Bane]], [[Faerie Fire]], and [[Inflict Wounds]] ## (7) Gathering Den ### Gathering Den > [!Read] Gathering Den > Bales of hay and animal skins surround a glowing bonfire in this large foetid chamber The [[Rat Prince]] is often found here carousing with six other ratlings. The ratlings meet here to discuss their nefarious and ill-conceived plans. There are several sets of tools in this room — including tinker’s tools and alchemist’s tools, which the ratlings use to create makeshift weapons and improvised explosives. (5 alchemist fires) This burrow tunnel opens into the sewers. The ratlings flee here and scatter if they are wounded or cannot defend their lair. ## (8) Seer's Den ### Seers Den > [!Read] Seer's Den > In this spacious chamber is a large and sumptuous basket nest. Woven over the nest is a canvas made from stitched together scraps of fine cloth, twigs, and choice leaves. Before the nest is a rough stone plinth upon which is placed a hunk of silvery rock about a foot wide. A protruding delerium crystal is embedded in its surface. [[Squeaks the Seer]] keeps her nest here. She has an [[imp]] familiar who remains in rat form. In its true form, it resembles a disgusting winged and hairless rat. The delerium crystal is here. It’s still stuck in a rocky chunk: a combination of stone from the tavern basement, melted earth, and meteoric rock. The Ratlings dislodged it and brought it here because they couldn’t break the crystal from the rock themselves. The chunk of rock weighs about fifty pounds. ![[Delerium#^Excavation]] %%