[osr Challenge] The Zandar

The Zandar: A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Labyrinth Lord adventure set in the Ashford Valley.

Get Ready:
The PCs are on the hunt of a mythical flower that will bring wealth and success.

Get Set:
A popular slang term in the countryside of the Ashford Valley is the Zandar. It means something very wishful or ludicrous. A comment like “I think the miller’s daughter likes me” made by an ugly peasant could very well be responded to with “Only if you found the Zandar.” The Zandar is a plant which, if possessed, will bring wealth, success and a beautiful wife (or husband), but no one really believes it actually exists.

The PCs get involved in the usual way - someone comes to them with info to the hidden cave of the Zandar and asks them to find it for them.

Go!:
The PCs are approached in Ashford town by old friends, Myson and Chilon, brother sages of great knowledge. Between the two of them, they've found the location of the Cave of the Zandar, the mystical place where the magical plant grows.

Both sages want the PCs to find the cave and bring back a whole plant in a pot so that they can grow it in their hot-house. They provide them with a pot, some magical dirt and a watering can. The cave, they explain, is in the Rolling Hils, close to the walls of the Valley. Myson provides a map and Chilon provides information on the guardian - it is a spirit that will test the PCs for worthiness (the GM is free to provide hints on the test and make up the test altogether).

The entrance to the cave is a sheer climb up 50 feet and is now a giant hawk's nest. The two giant hawks will fight to the death to protect their nest. Once in the cave, the tunnel slopes down to a grotto where the Zandar grows. The grotto is where the testing guardian spirit appears to the PCs. The spirit will not attack unless it is attacked and will not prevent the PCs from taking the Zandar. If the PCs fail the test or steal the plant, the Zandar will wilt before they get it half-way down the Valley.

Two other groups are interested in the plant. The Gnome Brothers, Namwinkle, Punwinkle, and Roonwinkle (from Gnome Trouble), and Dark Forces (using their undead servant Leir the Madman) are after the plant. The Gnome Brothers just want it for greed while the Dark Forces want to corrupt the plant for evil. Between the two of them, they'll ambush the PCs on the way back to Ashford town.

If the plant is stolen, it will wilt because the thief failed to pass the test. Only by giving the plant freely can the effects be granted and that only to that one person. What the true effects of the Zandar are is up to the GM. After that, the plant remains fresh as if it was in the cave but will not reproduce. Attempts to find the cave again will fail, as the legend says only one Zandar can be removed each century. Better luck in 100 years.

Notable NPCs:
Myson and Chilon, Sages; Alignment: Neutral; Armor Class: 9 (robes); Hit Dice: 1d8, Hit Points: 4 each; Attacks: dagger (1d4); Save: NM; morale: 6; Special abilities: sage knowledge, 1 magic spell (GMs choice).

Giant Hawks; No. Encountered: 2; Alignment: Neutral; Armor Class: 6; Hit Dice: 3d8+3, Hit Points: 25 each; Attacks: bite (1d6); Save: F2; Morale: 8.

Guardian Spirit; Alignment: Lawful; Armor Class: 2; Hit Dice: 4d8, Hit Points: 32; Attacks: longsword (1d8); Save: F4; Morale: 12.

The Gnome Brothers (Namwinkle, Punwinkle, Roonwinkle); Alignment: Neutral; Armor Class: 5; Hit Dice: 1d8; Hit Points: 6 each; Attacks: dagger (1d4) or short sword (1d6); Save: D1; morale: 8; Special abilities: 1 each, smoke bombs (obscure the area) and sleep bombs (Save vs. Poison or sleep).

Leir the Madman (undead demon-possessed human); Alignment: Chaotic; Armor Class: 4 (-3 Dex, leather armor); Hit Dice: 4d8, Hit Points: 30; Attacks: scythe (+3 to hit, 1d10+3), dagger (+3 to hit, 1d4+3); Save: F4; Special abilities: Strength 18, Dexterity 18 (granted by his Dark Master); Morale: 12.