Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #7 – Feeding Time
Many entries in both the Monster Manual and Volo’s Guide to Monsters indicate one or more monsters have some sort of relationship with each other. What I’d like to present here is one between a Monster Manual entry (Bullywug) and Volo’s (Froghemoth).
Players tend to avoid large bodies of water, especially in swamps and marshes. This may mean larger creature encounters might be avoided by wary adventurers. Conversely, adventurers never turn up a chance to exact some self-appointed authority over lesser monsters like Kobolds, Goblins and the like. In this case, we’ll use a few Bullywugs as a lure to draw the players into an encounter with a larger creature they may otherwise avoid. To add to that lure, we’ll need to add an additional lure to coax the more empathic or morally upright characters into the mix. In this particular case, we’ll add in a victim kidnapped by the Bullywugs to serve as a meal for their new patron and pet.
When combined together, it makes what looks like a low-level encounter into a higher one. This can prove to be quite a surprise for lower and mid-to-high level characters alike.
Environment: Wilderness/Swamp
Level: 9-11
Description: The swamp is alive with the sound of insects, the croaking of frogs, and the whistling of the wind through the alders. The air hangs heavy with the smells of mud, algae, and dank water. Tangled alders and swamp grass grab at your clothing, making it easier to lose the occasional boot in the mud. Seeds from long grasses cling to sweaty skin, adding to the discomfort of biting gnats and mosquitoes.
Over the din of the fauna and complaints about itching, faint cries draw your attention. Cresting a low rise covered in tall grass, the party sees a tall willow leaning over a large pond. The pond is perhaps 50 feet in diameter, and is lined with tall grass and bull rushes.
Allow the party to make Wisdom/Perception checks. The level of success will determine what or how much they see.
DC:10 – They’ll see a small wooden cage woven from willow and alder branches. Tiny fingers jut out from inside. Whimpering can be heard from within. It dangles from the top of this bent willow by a crude rope, hanging precariously over the pond. Two long ropes trail off into the grass, held or secured by unknown means.
DC: 15 – In addition to the above, small muddy green hands can be seen holding the ropes that trail off into the tall weeds. Bulbous yellow eyes peer from the grass at the cage.
DC: 17 – Small frogmen, a few on each rope, are trying to pull the willow over, lowering the cage. Those who succeed to this level can also try a Wisdom/Insight roll to glean their intent. A successful DC:15 will reveal that they intend to dip the cage into the water. Why they are doing so is unclear. They may be performing a sacrifice, or simply practicing cruelty.
Each rope has four Bullywugs (Monster Manual, page 35). The players can attempt to ambush the Bullywugs or try other means to end the cruel intentions toward their captive, given the level of the party and number of spells and abilities available.
The DM should make things like line of sight be tricky from the original viewpoint, requiring the players either move closer or risk revealing themselves to attack. Given that the Bullywugs themselves represent little to no threat to such a level of player characters, I expect the party will have no issue with closing quickly or start throwing fireballs and such.
Here’s the catch. If the player characters kill too many Bullywugs too quickly. they’ll lose their grip on the ropes. There are currently eight Bullywugs holding the ropes. A minimum of four are required to keep the willow from snapping the ropes out of their hands and springing the cage back up to the full height of the tree. Should this happen, the cage will then be 25 feet above the pond and the captive within will take 1d4 Bludgeoning damage. There’s also a 20 percent chance the cage will break free from its moorings and fall into the pond anyway.
In any regard, it’s important to determine who the captive is. The DM might wish to have the captive be someone of significance to his or her campaign. Or this captive could be a simple Commoner (Monster Manual, page 345) who may have relatives or other loved ones looking forward to their return to an upcoming village or other community. This is a great chance for DMs to insert desired plot hooks for an upcoming community. A commoner might well die from either the cage rattling them around like a maraca or from the fall to the pond. They may have enough buoyancy from the cage to float for a couple of rounds if the DM so requires.
Now, either the player characters are close to the pond in fighting the Bullywugs, or the heroes have killed these humanoids and the captive is in danger. This, too, will draw the player characters close.
The DM should wait for the player characters to get close, perhaps pond-side or actually swimming in the water to save the captive.
That’s when the Froghemoth will rise from the water, one tentacle at a time. This reveal should be suitably dramatic. Have the water in the center of the pond bubble and churn for a moment, and as the single eye stalk slowly peeks out revealing three round eyes that blink out of sequence, the tips of tentacles begin to break the surface of the water. A Froghemoth can attack any player character within 50 feet, being able to move 30 feet through the water or onto land, then stretching a tentacle another 20 feet. This can be even more dramatic if two or more player characters are within reach by doing so. Froghemoths are greedy and perpetually hungry. If the cage has fallen into the water, one of its two tentacles attacks to grab the cage.
This monstrosity is no easy feat to defeat, and represents a lot of attacks and hit points in one creature. Whether or not the DM chooses to kill the captive is up to them, as it is an easy feat for the Froghemoth to accomplish. It is, after all, just a Commoner (most likely). However, the DM can also reward the player characters for heroic attacks that distract the beast from killing this victim. That builds drama and rewards heroics. Given the level and abilities of such a party of adventurers, the options are too numerous to go into here. However, feel free to reward ingenuity and bravery.
The massive monstrosity is dimwitted and dangerous, but it’s also acting out of hunger and not malice. Should the player characters reduce this creature to 25 percent of its hit point total (a total of 46 or fewer hit points remaining), it will retreat into the pond. Player characters who pursue the creature into the pond will face a Froghemoth fighting for its life, with all that entails. Tread carefully.
Monsters: Bullywugs (8) – As per Monster Manual, p. 35
Commoner – possible captive – As per Monster Manual, p. 345
Froghemoth – As per Volo’s Guide to Monsters, p.145
Treasure: The Bullywugs each carry a Trinket (pp 160-161, Players Handbook) taken from a past victim they fed to the Froghemoth, as well as 1d20 each of Gold, Silver, and Copper pieces.
Should the players defeat the Froghemoth and cut it open (or have been swallowed by the beast and discovered it inside), they will find a pitted bone case with a Wand of Lightning Bolts (DMG, page 211) and three undigested Rubies worth 500gp each.
Complications: The biggest complication would likely be being swallowed by the Froghemoth and not being able to escape. However, the entry for the creature accounts for this under the Bite feature, allowing for the possibility of escape. Drowning in the water while being restrained by the monster is also a possibility, which is most likely when the player characters try to defeat the creature while it’s in the water. Pay careful attention to this chance. The last and likely complication is the death of the captive. Whether or not this happens is entirely up to the DM. The captive may be a plot hook for later, or a lesson in hubris for the player characters. The captive’s fate, more than any other, is in the DM’s hands.
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