Fire in the Jungle

Sure, snow and decorations can give any module some holiday feels. Here’s more ideas to mull over for spicing up vintage modules a bit more.

B1 In Search of the Unknown: Kobold Xmas Mayhem. 

The kobolds have indulged in a stash of holiday wine and decorations. All wandering monsters are kobolds singing nasty carols and hanging the decorations haphazardly. 

Nasty carols:

• “Wreck the halls and rip their dollies”
• “Jingle bells. Human smells. Hobbits laying eggs. Dwarves and elves soil themselves. And the chokers munch on hay. Hey!”
• “Simply having a wonderful Christmas time”

These wandering kobolds are coming from their lair. (Room 33 perhaps.) If PCs follow the trails of destruction they’ll eventually arrive at the lair…the Kobold Xmas Mayhem

It’s wild chaos with trashed decorations all over and the Christmas tree is on fire, but there are some high value treasures intact: punch bowl and goblets, crystal star tree topper, vintage wine. 

B2 Keep on the Borderlands: Christmas Clash at the Caves of Chaos

Jump straight into a mass combat scenario…

There is much commotion at the Keep. The revered Manger Stone is missing. Tracks in the snow lead east, toward the Caves of Chaos.

The Castellan leads more than a hundred troops to the Caves to crush the thieving monsters. He gives the PCs a special mission: provide tactical support on the battlefield and look for an opening to enter the caves and find the Manger Stone. 

Use your mass combat system of choice. Or use regular combat rules with a scale of 1 mini = 10 combatants, similar to An Echo, Resounding. 

When the Keep’s army arrives at the Caves of Chaos, the monsters attack in waves:

• The first wave is the goblins and kobolds, supported by the ogre and owlbear. (From caves A, D, E, G) 
• The second wave is the orcs, hobgoblins, and bugbears. (From caves B, C, F, H) 

These first two waves are just a diversion. The Evil High Priest’s true goal is to attack the Keep itself. The gnolls, undead, minotaur, stirges, and priests (caves I, J, K) escape out the back door and march towards the Keep. 

The few dozen defenders at the Keep, armed with ballistas and catapults, can hold off the besiegers temporarily. Will the PCs recover the Manger Stone and return in time to save the Keep? 

B3 Palace of the Silver Princess: In a Snow Globe

The dwarves want their giant ruby back from the Silver Princess. But the entire palace is shrunken and sealed in a snow globe in the collection of a beautiful witch.  

The dwarves and witch strike a deal. Her spell shrinks and teleports the dwarves into the snow globe palace. Recovering the ruby will reverse the spell. What does she ask of them in return?

Replace many of the module’s encounters and wanderers with squads of Nutcracker Soldiers. 

Nutcracker Critical Hit (natural 20 on attack roll): grabs PC and the next round will crunch the victim’s head like a nut, dead.

To make it a one or two-session adventure, I cut most of the dungeon level and focused on the upper level palace. The cave rooms under the tower were retained and held the Crystal Harp. 

Crystal Harp: When strummed, nearby Nutcrackers are temporarily deactivated. Also, the giant ruby echos the crystal notes, helping the PCs discern its hiding spot. 

We used six pre-made dwarf fighter PCs for this scenario. The lack of clerical healing was overcome by making a drinking game of it: each shot of scotch (or eggnog) heals d6 hit points. 

The Frosty Decapus. Epic battle vs six dwarves…

G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief: Holiday Heist

The PCs have arranged to be delivered in a gift wrapped crate to the hill giant’s holiday party. They start in the Long Hall with all the other gifts for the chief, under a large Christmas tree. Their goal is to pilfer the chief wife’s jewels and discover intel regarding the giant’s war plans. 

(In our campaign, we played it as a birthday party instead of a Christmas party, to the same effect.)

The key to the PCs success is stealth. The holiday festivities are noisy and the steading is rather dark with only flickering torches and fireplaces lighting some rooms and halls. Thus it’s feasible to sneak around. To add to the decision calculus for the players, I recommend using the door opening rules from 1E AD&D.

Fee fi fo fum. Best be stealthy around the tannenbaum…

I6 Ravenloft: Caroling in the Count’s Castle. 

The PCs are caroling around town, but a sudden blizzard has them stuck at Ravenloft castle. Strahd hates carolers, but is intrigued at the possibility of luring them into the dark corners of the castle to further his sinister ambitions. 

Maybe grant bonuses to the PCs the more they sing in the castle. This could play out like a Scooby Doo Holiday Special. 

Tegel Manor: Haunted Holiday Escape Room

The PCs have been invited to a party at Tegel Manor. They are requested to bring a little something for the gift exchange. Suggestions: a magical trinket, jewelry, fine housewares, etc. 

All doors out of the foyer and Great Hall, including the main entrance, are barred “for your safety” says the butler, who then guides the PCs to the banquet. They are boisterously welcomed by the skeletons in the Great Hall and prompted to exchange for a wrapped gift on the table. 

The gifts are treasures from around the castle:

1. Rope of Climbing
2. Broom of Flying
3. Tiger eye necklace
4. Gold candelabrum
5. Topaz diadem
6. Huge ivory horn cup 

The PCs must kill, incapacitate, or distract the skeletons and find a way out of the Great Hall. These are the primary options:

• Smash a door open. The noise will trigger a Rump family encounter within a turn or two. 
• Secret door behind tapestry on east wall. 
• Secret door in the south fireplace. 
• Wander behind the Christmas tree on the west side and teleport to the rat tunnels. 

Most of the escape options lead the PCs deeper into the haunted halls of Tegel Manor. Enjoy.

BH2 Lost Conquistador Mine: Santa Jack. 

It’s snowing on the high plains and Dutch Jack rides into town on a sleigh, dressed as Santa Claus with a sack of gifts. There’s a big festive party and poker game at the High Pass Hotel. Dutch Jack and Mendoza are both in the game (and maybe PCs too). Stakes are high before their final confrontation and the treasure map reveal. Will Mendoza gun down Santa?