Lair of the Cyclops | 5th-Level Fifth Edition Adventure (Patreon)

May 2021 - Adventurer+ Tier Exclusive Adventure

A local cyclops builds an effigy of bone in service to an angry ghost

Lair of the Cyclops

Lair of the Cyclops is a Fifth Edition adventure for three to six players of 4th to 6th level, optimized for a party of four 5th-level characters. A menacing cyclops has been murdering and waylaying travelers in the area, and locals suspect that its lair must be somewhere nearby. Are the adventurers brave enough to confront the cyclops, and what secrets will they find in its lair? This adventure takes place in the Muhar desert in the Freelands campaign setting, but is flexible enough to be placed in any campaign environment with room for a large cave where a cyclops could dwell.

Background

The tribe of cyclopes known as the Awakened that once made the sands of the Muhar desert their domain have long since withered away. After neglecting the gods for too long, the Awakened finally paid the price, and now their walls, keeps, and castles that once stood proudly over the dunes have been reduced to their foundations. Though as many as seven hundred cyclopes once filled the desert, now only a handful of the brutes remain, struggling to carve out a meager survival for themselves against the territorial expansion of the mortal races. One of these last remaining cyclopes is Steropes, a god-fearing giant who recently stumbled onto the ruins of an ancient castle of the Awakened. When he descended into its depths, Steropes met Polyphemus, the mad ghost of an old cyclops hell-bent on carrying out a fruitless ritual to win back the gods' favor. Polyphemus has convinced Steropes that he must gather as many victims as he can, ritually sacrifice them, and then arrange their bones in a macabre display in worship to the divines. Polyphemus believes that if the bone sculpture can be made impressive enough, the gods will allow him and Steropes to enjoy an afterlife in paradise.

Adventurer+ Tier Patrons can get the VTT maps to this adventure by clicking HERE.