Harpy Cliffs
The cliffs and mountains stand like a wall dividing the seemingly eternal land of vast farms and plains from the ocean and the chance for commerce on the other side. Travel through these mountains is difficult at best, however the value for doing so is great to the people on both sides of the walls, for the farmers need metals to continue to farm and to defend themselves, the other side of the mountains needs the food supplied by the hardy farmers. And in the middle dark creatures have come to need the ready supply of fresh meat and treasure that those attempting to traverse this land provide.
As winter comes and people finally are forced to stop traveling through these mountains a band of harpies is left starving, to large to support themselves on the meager meat remaining they begin to raid the villages of the plains attacking farmers and livestock.
The PCs are hired to kill these harpies so that they will no longer pose a threat to the villages.
The harpies live high in the snowy mountains in a series of shallow caves where they are lead by a priestess to a god of wild suffering who lives in a crude small temple on a mountain peak.
This RPG Quest is written out in order of the encounters the PCs have. You may draw maps as you wish however for this quest these should not be necessary.
The snow has just ceased falling as the PCs head out from the village at the foot of the mountains, the wind having died down enough for them to more easily make the journey. The cliffs of the mountains sit like obsidian against the white snow that covers them.
The woods at the mountains base are alive with the singing of snow birds searching the snow for food, then everything goes still.
1-An ogre mage invisible and looking for treasure along the pass flies along the hill above the PCs knocking snow down into an avalanche in hopes of crushing the PCs, he will then swoop in on them and blasting them with a cone of cold before engaging the PCs with giant sword.
2-A pack of 7 starving dire wolves begins to stalk along following the PCs looking for an opening, they will wait until the PCs are seriously injured to attack, even waiting for them to return from the harpies den. The PCs can of course attack them early should they wish.
3-A pair of hill giants freezing in the cold of the mountains have come into the lowlands, they attack the PCs out of mere cruelty and do not wish to fight much more then necessary. For this reason they will throw some boulders and continuously flee should the PCs pursue them, but they won’t actually engage the PCs
4-A small harpy raiding party of 4 harpies sees them in the mountains and makes a quick attack. Should any of these harpies escape they will return with 7 more harpies.
5-Three hill giants more desperate then the other two rush in to try to snatch up some of the PCs and flee with them for food.
6-A small gang of 3 ettins attacks the PCs
7-Higher up in mountains a Remorhaz lured to this place by the harpies as a winter guide ambushes the PCs, the battle alerts a band of 3 harpies to their presence.
8-Around the center of the mountain lies 5 nests of 4 harpies in caves.
9-there are 4 more nests of 3 harpies up nearer the top of the mountain.
10-The temple is a dark place of large rocks piled high and stained with blood, inside is a level 9 harpy cleric, she is in a trance and cannot be hurt until she comes out of it, when she does she moves with a supernatural speed hasted for 2 rounds.
Piled in the center of the temple and before a crude carving of a twelve mouthed god is a pile of all the treasure from the harpies, each which is standard, except for the cleric who includes that of a level 14 character to the pile.
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