The Powerful Pigeon Paradox

The DM Lair

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CREATURES NPCS
• Swarm of Ravens – CR 1/4 Zydus. A fallen deva of Baygul who was cast out
• Centaur – CR 2 of his god’s grace for eating the eggs of a holy
pigeon.
• Gelatinous Cube – CR 2
• Priest – CR 2 Lord Krem Chess, the High Priest of Baygul. A
• Nightmare – CR 3 high priest how knows everything about Baygul.
• Couatls – CR 4
Baygul. A diety that holds pigeons to be holy.
• Flesh Golems – CR 5
• Unicorn – CR 5
• Deva – CR 10 RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
You might have a random encounter take place
GM NOTES if the heroes try to use more long rests than are
expected, are in the middle of raiding a
• This adventure is designed for 4 level-
compound and take a long rest, or even on
seven characters.
short rests.
• GM Warning: This adventure is
designed to be brutal and challenging. • 1d4+2 Pegasi
Players and characters will need to be • 1d4+2 centaurs
well prepared to survive and achieve • 1 swarm of pigeons (use swarm of
victory. ravens stat block)
• A couple short rests are to be expected,
but not a long rest. INCITING EVENT
• Contains some treasure but not much. Since this is a one-shot game, the PCs will start
on the trail leading to the entrance to Fort
STORYLINE Butterhorn and already have been given the
• A fallen deva named Zydus has stolen a information about their quest.
holy pigeon from a local temple
devoted to Baygul. He plans to use the
pigeon to deliver “sacred” messages to
temples of Baygul across the realms.
However, these messages will be crafts
in order to misguide the priesthood of
Baygul and lead them to commit
sacrilege and unholy acts.
• Lord Krem Chess, the High Priest of
Baygul, has commissioned a group of
adventures to retrieve the holy pigeon
at all costs.

LOCATIONS
Fort Butterhorn. An ancient fortress high in the
mountains where Zydus and his minions dwell
with the stolen holy pigeon.

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 The Powerful Pigeon Paradox

FORT BUTTERHORN • The western wall is lined with arrow

slits.
Lighting. Lighting varies in the fortress, but if it’s
• Just inside the door to the south is a
not noted, assume there is no light.
large floor mat that reads “Welcome.”
Architecture. The fortress was carved out of the • There is one statue of a lifelike halfling
solid rock of the mountainside. Iron support (whose eyes seem to move) standing in
archways are present throughout the interior. the corridor and chunks of broken stone
The ceiling in corridors is 10 feet high, and the (from other statues) are scattered
ceilings in rooms are generally as high as the about.
room is wide, unless otherwise noted. • Trip wires are cleverly concealed every
5 feet. Characters tripping on them
Doors. Most doors are constructed of
must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving
hardwood banded with iron.
throw or fall. The trip wires can be
Secret Doors. Secret doors are made of slabs of spotted with a DC 18 Wisdom
stone that turn on a central pivot when about (Perception) check.
fifty pounds of pressure is applied to one edge. • The ten-foot-square just south of the
The doors are crafted to appear as part of the northern door is a massive iron plate
wall (duh), but can be detected with a (not concealed). If stepped on, it
successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. depresses about 6 inches and there is a
large “click” and rumbling that
1. ASCENT resonates from the north. It otherwise
does nothing. (No really, it does
• The ascent up to the entrance is fairly
nothing.)
steep.
• If the character tarry here more than a
• The PCs start here for this one-shot.
few minutes, any centaurs who remain
from area 2 arrive in the western
2. THE KEEP hallway behind the arrow slits to attack
• This structure is 30’ high and has with their longbows.
crenelations around its edges.
• The walls are covered with shards of 4. GUARD ROOMS
broken obsidian that have been
• These rooms contain barrels of arrows.
cemented into position. Characters
• The floor is covered with straw.
climbing the walls take 1d6 slashing
damage per five feet climbed.
• 4 centaurs are positioned atop the 5. FLESH TO MEAT’CHA
keep. • 2 flesh golems stand guard in the
northern and southern cubby holes in
3. THE FOYER this room. Illusionary walls cover the
entrances to the cubby holes so the
External Door. The outer doors leading to the
golems can remain hidden.
foyer are heavily fortified and locked. They can
• The golems spring to attack any
be broken down with three successful DC 20
intruders when the first person enters
Athletics checks or unlocked with a successful
the square marked “A” on the map.
DC 22 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check.

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 The Powerful Pigeon Paradox

6. FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE 7. CORRUPTED UNICORN GLADE

A BEE • This room is magically starlit and knee-
high grass grows from the floor. A large,
• Two ten-foot-tall stone statues shaped
hollow log lies along the eastern wall.
like large doves stand along the far
• A corrupted unicorns with a nightmare
eastern wall of this corridor. Every six
mate lair in this room.
seconds, a charge of electricity travels
from one statue to the west and strikes • If a battle breaks out in this room, the
the far wall there; the statues alternate couatls from area 8 arrive in 1d4
sending out charges. The electricity only rounds.
occupies the top part of the corridor, so Treasure. Inside the hollow log is a large coffer
anyone can walk below without danger. that contains 1d4+2 superior potions of healing.
• The wall and ceiling of this corridor are However, the potions only function as a healing
covered in broken obsidian shards. potion the first time a potion is used. Any
• Creatures caught in an arc of electricity subsequent potions deal poison damage
take 4d8 lightning damage on a failed instead.
DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, or half as
much on a successful save. 8. COUATL LAIR
• Casting dispel magic on a statue causes
• This room is hot, humid, and filled with
its magic to cease functioning for 1
jungle vegetation of a wide variety of
minute. Completely destroying the
colors.
stone statues (not an easy task) also
• A twisted wooden staff stands in the
breaks the magic effect; however, when
middle of the room. This is a staff of the
a stone statue is destroyed, it explodes
python that the couatls guard. It was
in a burst of electrical energy, dealing
used to steal the holy pigeon from the
8d6 lightning damage to everyone
local temple and is now considered a
within 20 feet.
sacred item by Zydus.
Levitation Trap. A twenty-foot-long section of • 3 couatls lair in this room and are
corridor to the west is trapped. When someone usually found wrapped around the
steps in a square on the map marked with an vegetation. Due to the colors of the
“A”, the trap is triggered. Everyone in the area vegetation, the couatls blend in
of effect must make a DC 17 Constitution saving perfectly and are difficult to spot.
throw for every round they remain in the area • If a battle breaks out in this room, the
of effect. On a failed save, the character floats unicorn and nightmare from area 7
up five feet and enters the line of effect of the arrive in 1d4 rounds.
electrical charges being emitted from the
statues to the east. 9. SECRET PASSAGE
Characters can escape the levitation trap by • This room is very secret.
pulling themselves along the walls or ceiling
until they are out of the area of effect.
However, they take 1d6 slashing damage for
every 5 feet traveled this way due to the broken
obsidian shards.

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 The Powerful Pigeon Paradox

10. BAGEL BRAIN • Every time a lever – any lever – it deals

damage to the person who pulled it
• A magic circle is inscribed in the center
based on its color.
of this room. Three levers protrude
o Blue – 2d6 lightning damage
from the northern, western, and
o Red – 2d6 fire damage
southern walls.
o White – 2d6 cold damage
• Inside the magic circle is written, “What
o Green – 2d6 acid damage
do you call a seagull that flies over the
o Purple – 2d6 force damage
bay?” though it is difficult spot.
o Black – 2d6 necrotic damage
• Above the northern lever are the letters o Yellow – 2d6 poison damage
W N B T L and R. o Orange – 2d6 radiant damage
• Above the southern lever are the letters • When the sand in the hourglass runs
A E Y I O J and U. out, the characters are teleported back
• Above the western lever are the letters to area 10.
P Q C M G H and S
• When “bagel” is spelled out by pulling
13. THE WHISPERING WALLS
the appropriate levers – NORTH,
SOUTH, WEST, SOUTH, NORTH – the • The walls of this room are covered with
magic circle in flairs to life for several lips that constantly mock the
seconds and teleports anyone inside it characters:
to area 13. o “Don’t touch the colored
• When anything else is spelled out with levers!”
the levers, the magic circle teleports o “Did levitating shock you?”
anyone inside it to area 11 or 12, o “Could you really not spell
randomly chosen. ‘bagel’?”
o “Beware of sharp objects!”
o “Bad nightmare recently?”
11. GELLY BELLY o “TPK. TPK. TPK.”
• This room contains a gelatinous cube • In the center of the room is a pedestal
and characters teleported to this room upon which sits a plate of brownies. The
are automatically inside the cube and door leading east is sealed shut, and
considered engulphed. only opens when someone eats one of
• When the gelatinous cube is killed, the the brownies.
characters are teleported back to room • The first person to eat a brownie gains
10. 4d6 temporary hit points. Anyone else
• The gelatinous cube magically who eats a brownie is poisoned for the
regenerates after just a seconds of next hour.
being killed.

12. LEVE’R ALONE

• The walls of this room are covered with
multicolored levers. A central pedestal
holds a sand hourglass with sand slowly
falling in it.

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 The Powerful Pigeon Paradox

14. OH, HEAVENS, NO…THE HOLY

BLENDER!!!
• A deva and four priests occupy this
room. The deva is in the far east alcove
sitting upon a large gem-encrusted
throne, and the priests are in the
northern and southern alcoves behind
lecterns, singing an unholy chorus.
• A large golden cage hanging from the
ceiling in the eastern alcove holds the
holy pigeon.
• The deva greats them with a slow golf
clap and says, “Well, frankly, I’m
shocked you survived. Any questions
before we begin?”

Combat Notes
• One the first round of combat, the
priests cast spirit guardians!
• The deva has “flyby attack” and swoops
down to attack an isolated PC and then
flies back up out of range.
• Instead of sanctuary, the priests have
healing word. The priests focus on using
their healing spells to heal the deva and
each other.
• If the deva is dropped to zero hit points,
a priest casts healing word on it,
bringing it back up. If any priests drop
to zero hit points, the deva can bring
them back up with its healing touch.

RESOLUTION
If the character survive and rescue the holy
pigeon, the High Priest of Baygul rewards each
of them with a year supply of baked goods from
the local bagel shop.

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 The Powerful Pigeon Paradox

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