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Nerdarchy > Dungeons & Dragons  > Out of the Box D&D Encounters  > Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #41 – “Down the Well”

Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #41 – “Down the Well”

Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #40 - "Snowblind"
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #42 - "Empty Chair"

Out of the Box introduction

Inspiration can be the single greatest challenge for Dungeon Masters new and old. Without it we fall into that funk where we draw a blank on how to proceed, or lose our energy in proceeding forward. The loss of inspiration can lead to the death of any campaign, and it’s something to watch for.
Thankfully, many DMs can find inspiration in almost any source. I have personally used music to great effect to create NPC storylines, and enhance visual imagery in descriptions. It’s important to note I have only played music in two encounters total, and do not use it like some as a background effect. Instead, it inspires creation ahead of time.

Music is but one choice. Ideas can spawn from the news, television shows, books, comics, and everyday life. The inspiration for this encounter came from a painting. I know it likely sounds very old hat to be inspired by a painting, but that’s how it went. This painting was of what looked like an innocent looking well. However, the artist chose to do a cutaway view of what lay below this well, and delved into the realms of fantasy. Below, a hidden pool lit from above. Within that pool swam a fantastical fish.
Now, moving forward then becomes a series of questions on approach and intent. Is this simply a hidden gem for the characters to find, or something else? Is it a hidden reward? Is it the solution to a puzzle or the puzzle itself? Or is this the start of something even greater? The best part is this: it doesn’t have to be only one of those. It can be many of them all at the same time. Because D&D is based in fantasy, it could be any number of things. The one thing it will be for sure is this – a place for your players to dwell on for as long as they like. Even if this one encounter is your sole source of inspiration, how the characters react to it will become another…and so on, and so on…
Out of the Box D&D encounters fey

A Dungeon Master takes inspiration from everything. Wishing Well, winner of What Lies Beneath 7 Photoshop Design Content, is one such source of inspiration. Click the image to check out more fantastic images by the artist. [Image by Mark Damiano]

Environment

Wilderness/urban/town center (Wherever a well or pool can be found)

Level

1-3

Description

Grasslands open before the party, flowing in waves of gold and green. Ripples of shadow dance through the strands, and wildflowers sway tall and wild. In the distance, perhaps 100 feet away, the low and broken walls of an abandoned homestead break up the sea of grass. Beside it on the left stands the low rock cylinder of an equally abandoned well.
Those more observant, with passive Perception of 14 or higher, will hear the faint sounds of singing above the whistle of the breeze. Should anyone approach closer to the old homestead ruins, for every 10 feet closer, reduce the passive Perception needed to hear the singing by one.
Should any male character get within 60 feet of the surface of the well, they must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the Song of the Well as Shavae, the well siren, has begun her song. If more than one target fails the Wisdom saving throw, she will either choose the target who failed by the most, or the target with the highest Charisma (DM’s choice), and the others will be released from her enchantment. Should the charm somehow be broken, she will sing again, as those who were charmed before are not technically immune to her song unless they are deaf or otherwise immune to her song.
Should all possible male targets pass their saving throws, she will call out for aid, claiming she is trapped down the well, and has been here for a very long time. She will claim her hands are hurt, and so cannot climb up any ropes or other lowered objects. Shavae is quite deceptive, and will use whatever tools she has to lure a target into the well.
Characters who either throw themselves in the well, or otherwise climb into the well, will find the descent easily 50 feet deep. At the end of this 5 foot diameter, 50 foot deep cylinder, the well opens up into a larger cavern. From the bottom of the well it’s a 20 foot drop to the surface of a pool, 30 feet in diameter and a further 20 feet deep. Strange grasses of bright green, pink and yellow sway at the bottom of this clear pool, and the scattered speckles of copper coins and other minor treasures twinkle in the light from above from the bottom of the pool.
Those who haplessly throw themselves into the well, or otherwise fall into it, will land with a splash into the water, suffering only 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall due to the softer impact and the welcoming cool water of the pool. Beside the pool, growing up from the bottom as if it were meant to, is a thick stemmed and sturdy creeping vine or plant filled with leaves of green, pink and yellow. Its upper leaves are just catching some of the sunlight as it beams from above.
Swimming happily through the clear waters of this pool is what looks to be a beautiful female humanoid with the lower half of a fish. Her long pink hair spills behind her as she swims gracefully below the water, propelled by an elaborate pink, purple and blue-scaled fish tail. Black pupils set in golden yellow eyes stare at whoever falls into her pool. She will approach charmed characters slowly and methodically, smiling all the while.
If a lone target falls into the well, and is the recipient of the Kiss of the Well, and remains with her in this pool frolicking and romancing for 1 hour, she will attempt to take them to the bottom of the pool. If the target is still charmed, or comes willingly, she will try to take the target to the Feywild to mate. To do so, the character will have to succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw to successfully navigate the breach. If they succeed, the target will disappear into the Feywild until the next full moon, reappearing in the prime material plane at a place of the DM’s choosing. If the character fails this saving throw, attempts to escape, or attacks the Shavae in any way, she will fly into a rage and attack.
If Shavae disappears into the Feywild with a mate, the well reverts to a mundane 50 foot deep, 5 foot wide well, but may revert to a siren well if she chooses to return. If all of the characters pass the initial saving throw and do not enter the well, but throw minor treasures into the well, there is a 50 percent chance Shavae will grant them Well Siren’s Luck (see variant rule below). To determine the success of this, have each character who throws treasures into the well flip a coin. if it is tails, then they are granted the boon.
Those who might want to climb out of the well can try to do so courtesy of the grasping vine growing in the cavern. Climbing this vine requires a successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check to allow the character access to the bottom of the rough well stones, which will require a further successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check to navigate. Falling from the vine into the water will result in no damage.
Gathering the treasures from the bottom of the pool will take a full hour, and can only be done if the Shavae is dead. Should she disappear to the Feywild, her treasures will go with her.

Out of the Box fey

Monsters

Shavae – Well Siren (1)

Treasure

1000 cp, 200 sp, and three small aquamarines worth 25 gp each, as if a romance with a fey wasn’t enough

Variant rule

Well Siren Luck. One in twenty well sirens can grant a special book to those who toss small treasures into their wells. Coins, gems or jewelry tossed into the well to one of these well sirens may invoke Well Siren Luck. The creature who threw the treasure may gain advantage on saving throws for 1 hour if they also sing back to the well siren.

Complications

Given the relatively low level of this encounter, it is totally possible softer characters may either die from falling in the well due to previous injury, or a combination of falling in the well combined with attacking Shavae. Keep in mind this encounter isn’t necessarily a combat one, but can become one quickly enough. It is a common fact that players can take encounters in unknown directions, and this could be the start of an entire Feywild-themed adventure. Feel free to go as far with an encounter like this as you like, perhaps spawning other well siren locations throughout your world to unlock further journeys into this mysterious realm.

Lost lore

As sages will testify, the barrier between the Feywild and the prime material plane can be thin in places, and not all of those places are walked by the feet of natives to the world.

Well sirens seem drawn to these places, ending up in wells, pools, lakes and ponds. Some say the first well siren was a lonely merfolk, searching far and wide for her lost love. In this search, she wandered through one of these hidden portals and became forever trapped in the eternal dream that is the Feywild. And yet, she sings her song still, in hopes of drawing her love home.

Other learned folk will claim these fey are seductresses who seek only to draw mortal men into their aquatic traps to mate and propagate the species like the untamed fey they are.

Only well sirens know the truth, and they’re not telling anyone.

Charming and Dangerous. Well sirens are not to be taken lightly, and delight in tricking unsuspecting male humanoids into their watery homes. If their songs do not work, and a male humanoid is within earshot, these creatures are not beyond playing the part of a damsel in distress or fabricating other tales to draw a potential mate near. Charmed targets drawn into their watery homes are given the Kiss of the Well, so they may survive at least long enough to pleasure the well siren and spread the species. Those who truly please the well siren are taken to the Feywild, rarely ever to be seen again. Those who treat the well siren rudely are eaten just as quickly.

Drawn to the Well. These fey, once born, will search the Feywild for those barriers between worlds where they can make a home. Many prefer wells as they tend to draw easy prey, as mortal humanoids are drawn to water. The bottom of these wells are magically converted to spacious areas once the well siren chooses them, having weakened the barrier between planes enough to make them easy for these fey to shape. These deep homes can become quite spacious, allowing for the growth of aquatic plants and grasses, or even some smaller shrubbery capable of living off the limited light from the open well.

Shinies! Well sirens delight in all manner of small shiny treasures. Coins, small gems, jewelry and similar treasures give these fey no end of delight. They love to watch the light from above dance and sparkle over treasures thrown into the well. It is thought by some sages that the practice of throwing coins into fountains started with the practice of trying to gain the favor of well sirens. Fables have been told in ages gone by that those who treated a well siren with treasures were blessed with luck. Then again, many of those tales were told by those who partook of strong drink.

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Mike Gould

I fell into gaming in the oddest of ways. Coming out of a bad divorce, my mom tried a lot of different things to keep my brother and I busy and out of trouble. It didn't always work. One thing that I didn't really want to do, but did because my mom asked, was enroll in Venturers. As an older Scout-type movement, I wasn't really really for the whole camping-out thing. Canoe trips and clean language were not my forte. Drag racing, BMX and foul language were. What surprised me though was one change of pace our Scout leader tried. He DMed a game of the original D&D that came out after Chainmail (and even preceedd the Red Box). All the weapons just did 1d6 damage, and the three main demi-humans (Elf, Dwarf and Halfling) were not only races, but classes. There were three alignments (Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic). It was very basic. I played all the way through high school and met a lot of new people through gaming. My expected awkwardness around the opposite sex disappeared when I had one game that was seven girls playing. They, too, never thought that they would do this, and it was a great experiement. But it got me hooked. I loved gaming, and my passion for it became infectious. Despite hanging with a very rough crowd who typically spent Fridays scoring drugs, getting into fights, and whatnot, I got them all equally hooked on my polyhedral addiction. I DMed guys around my table that had been involved in the fast-living/die young street culture of the 80s, yet they took to D&D like it was second nature. They still talk to me about those days, even when one wore a rival patch on his back to the one I was wearing. We just talked D&D. It was our language. Dungeons and Dragons opened up a whole new world too. I met lots off oddballs along with some great people. I played games like Star Frontiers, Gamma World, Car Wars, Battletech, lots of GURPS products, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Twilight 2000, Rolemaster, Champions, Marvel Superheroes, Earth Dawn...the list goes on. There was even a time while I was risiding with a patch on my back and I would show up for Mechwarrior (the clix kind) tournaments. I was the odd man out there. Gaming lead to me attending a D&D tournament at a local convention, which lead to being introduced to my paintball team, called Black Company (named after the book), which lead to meeting my wife. She was the sister of my 2iC (Second in Command), and I fell in love at first sight. Gaming lead to me meeting my best friend, who was my best man at my wedding and is the godfather of my youngest daughter. Life being what it is, there was some drama with my paintball team/D&D group, and we parted ways for a number of years. In that time I tried out two LARP systems, which taught me a lot about public speaking, improvisation, and confidence. There was a silver lining. I didn't play D&D again for a very long time, though. Then 5E came out. I discovered the Adventurer's League, and made a whole new group of friends. I discovered Acquisitions Incorporated, Dwarven Tavern, and Nerdarchy. I was hooked again. And now my daughter is playing. I introduced her to 5E and my style of DMing, and we talk in "gamer speak" a lot to each other (much to the shagrin of my wife/her mother...who still doesn't "get it"). It's my hope that one day she'll be behind the screen DMing her kids through an amazing adventure. Time will tell.

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