The Goblin Camp Raid

The adventure, scene by scene

1. Scene 1

   Smoke on the Wind

   Read aloud

   The elder of Millbrook meets you at the forest’s edge, worry creasing her face. "They took our whole winter chest — flour, dried meat, all of it. Goblin tracks lead into Greenbriar Forest. Bring it back, and I don’t much care how." Ahead, a thin curl of campfire smoke rises above the trees.

   DM notes

   Let the heroes ask questions (how many goblins? how far? any other clues?) — the elder knows only what’s in the read-aloud text. Then head straight into the forest toward the smoke.

2. Scene 2

   The Rope Bridge

   Read aloud

   A shallow ravine cuts across the path, crossed by a rickety rope bridge. Halfway across, two Goblin Scouts are lazily fishing over the side — they haven’t noticed you yet.

   DM notes

   The heroes can sneak past (Clever, Difficulty Number 12), talk their way across (Kind, Difficulty Number 13 — the scouts are bored, not loyal), or fight the two Goblin Scouts. Any of the three is a fine outcome — don’t punish a peaceful choice by making it harder than the fight.

3. Scene 3

   The Watch-Wolf

   Read aloud

   The trees thin out ahead — you’re close to the camp now. Chained near the tree line is a big, alert Camp Wolf, sniffing the air. It hasn’t spotted you, but it will if you’re not careful.

   DM notes

   A Clever check (Difficulty Number 13) sneaks the party past. A Kind check (Difficulty Number 13, offering food or a calm approach) befriends it instead — a nice touch is letting a befriended wolf help later in the raid. Failing either just means the wolf barks and alerts the camp a little early; it’s not a fight on its own unless heroes choose to fight it.

4. Scene 4

   The Goblins’ Secret

   Read aloud

   Before the final push, you overhear two goblins talking by a cookfire: "...bandits took our stores first, that’s why we had to raid the humans..." They sound more scared than mean.

   DM notes

   This is the heart of the adventure’s twist: the goblins aren’t simply villains, they were desperate. Heroes who overhear this can choose to negotiate at the climax instead of fighting — offer to help both sides if the chest is returned. Reward creative, kind solutions generously; this is the moment to let a Kind-focused hero shine.

5. Scene 5

   Bonus: The Bandit Camp

   Read aloud

   If the party chooses to help the goblins get their own stolen grain back, Grubnak points them toward a rough bandit camp a short hike away, guarded by a gruff Bandit Leader (use the Camp Wolf’s numbers, reskinned as a person with a club).

   DM notes

   Optional side-quest for groups with time and appetite for more. Recovering the goblins’ grain here makes the climax negotiation automatic — no roll needed, the goblins are simply grateful.

6. Scene 6

   The Camp Fire

   Read aloud

   The goblin camp opens into a clearing around a cookfire — and there, right beside it, sits Millbrook’s stolen supply chest. Grubnak the Camp Boss steps out to meet you, cleaver in hand.

   DM notes

   Three valid endings, all satisfying: (1) Fight Grubnak (and a called-in Goblin Scout) for the chest. (2) Negotiate — if the party knows the goblins’ secret (or recovered their grain), a Kind check (Difficulty Number 14) convinces Grubnak to trade the chest back peacefully, maybe even for future help. (3) A clever distraction or trade offer works too — reward any reasonable idea the players come up with. Let the table decide; there’s no wrong way to end this one.