A resourceful and courageous goblin “inventor” named Grobnaz has obtained a large number of alchemy ingredients (via perfectly legal channels, of course) and is mixing them more or less at random, then trying to sell them to passing adventurers. You never know what you’re going to get.
Background
These encounters take place on a street corner in a bustling city, probably in a part of town where goblins are welcome and street vendors are unregulated. Grobnaz has a large, bubbling cauldron and makeshift alembic behind him, and two goblin assistants, who stir the pot noisily. The smell changes with every new ingredient they add. The alembic appears to be malfunctioning. Grobnaz himself is wearing a box strapped to his chest that is filled with clinking vials and bottles of the potions and elixirs he has already made.
Situation
Grobnaz is calling out to passing pedestrians who look like adventurers, or who look like they have money, or both. He attempts to sell them potions for their adventures, and is very insistent. He speaks well enough to be understood, but too loudly. His pupils are dilated unevenly. Anyone who takes even a cursory look at the cauldron or attendants can tell they have no idea what they’re doing. Grobnaz is proud to announce that he has no idea what the potions do, but that he is charging about the half the cost of a potion of healing for each mystery bottle. In the last week, customers have gained the strength of a giant, become nearly-immune to fire, and also been severely poisoned, so it’s a real toss-up.
Goals
Goals
There are three main parties interested in Grobnaz’s street operation:
- Grobnaz himself is hoping to learn the craft of alchemy by observing the effect of each combination (which he has painstakingly memorized) on those who drink it. He also wants to make some money in the process, but this is his secondary goal.
- Passing adventurers want to get the best possible potion combination for the cheapest price. They also want to not die in the process of finding that deal.
- The local alchemists’ guild wants to expand its hold on the local potion market and increase their own control of it. This means exposing Grobnaz for the menace that he is… but without actually getting him shut down. At least, not until they get what they want from the local authorities.
What do your player characters want? What are their best and worst qualities? What goals are they pursuing? Read through a few of the examples below, then choose the encounter that best suits your situation.
- If you have player characters who are pious or helpful, or who like to defend the weak, run Encounter A. If, on the other hand, they are greedy or uncaring, run Encounter C.
- If you have player characters who want to gain political or social favor with a local faction, run Encounter B. If you have player character who want to uphold certain vows, or to gain favor with their gods, run Encounter A.
- If you have player characters who need information from or about a criminal element in the city, run Encounter C.
- If the player characters are working to foil some kind of villainous plan, run Encounter A.
- If the player characters are just looking to make a quick buck, you have two choices: run Encounter B for a combat-based opportunity, or run Encounter C for a skill-based opportunity.
Random Potion Table – Used in Each of the Encounters Below
| Roll 1d20 | Potion Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | The potion is a perfectly brewed potion of poison. |
| 2 | The target is subject to the effects of the confusion spell. |
| 3 | The creature becomes strongly magnetic. All metal weapons and armor that are not being held or wielded within 30 feet are immediately drawn towards them at high speed. The creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw at the start of each of its turns for 1 minute or take 4d6 piercing damage and be restrained until the end of its next turn. |
| 4 | The creature’s hair and nails turn to ash, causing it to have disadvantage on all Charisma checks for 10 minutes, after which they are restored. |
| 5 | The target turns into a frog as though it had failed a save against polymorph. |
| 6 | Smoke starts pouring out of the target’s ears, blinding it for 1 minute. |
| 7 | The creature sprouts gills and gains the ability to breathe water, but loses the ability to breathe air for 1 minute. |
| 8 | The target can speak only Aquan for 1 minute and forgets all other languages. |
| 9 | The target rises 10 feet directly upwards at the start of each of its turns for 1 minute and cannot stop. At the end of the minute, the target falls. |
| 10 | The target belches a spectacular amount of vomit which corrodes the ground. All terrain within 10 feet of the drinker becomes difficult. |
| 11 | The targets grow to massive proportions and flap wildly, causing all unsecured objects under 50 pounds to go flying from the wind. |
| 12 | The target heals 1d6 hit points at the start of each of its turns for 1 minute. If it heals beyond its maximum hit points, it begins to suffocate as its own flesh begins to close its mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. The target can stop its own suffocation by taking damage and keeping its hit points below its maximum. |
| 13 | The creature starts belching fire. At the beginning of each of its turns, it must create a 5 foot wide, 10 foot long line of fire, dealing 2d6 fire damage to any creature in the line. Each time this line is creature, the creature takes 1d6 fire damage. |
| 14 | The creature becomes deafened and blinded but gains blindsight out to 30 feet for 1 minute. |
| 15 | The creature grows claws for 1 minute, gaining a climbing speed equal to half their base movement speed. |
| 16 | The creature gains the benefits of the invisibility spell. |
| 17 | The creature swells up and turns blue. It gains 10 temporary hit points, and returns to normal when these temporary hit points are gone. |
| 18 | The creature gains one additional action this turn, but takes 2d6 necrotic damage if they use it. |
| 19 | The creature’s blood turns acidic for 1 minute. If they are damaged by a creature within 5 feet of them, that creature takes 1d4 acid damage. |
| 20 | The creature gains immunity to all damage until the end of their next turn. When this effect ends, they gain 1 level of exhaustion. |
Encounter A
In this encounter, Grobnaz pushes a group of rookie adventurers into trying a mystery potion, with unpredictable (and perhaps gruesome) results.
Setting up this Encounter
This encounter involves a group of rookie adventurers. If you have player characters who are pious or helpful, make these rookies sympathetic and disappointed, not pathetic. Describe them as frustrated and worn-down.
If you have player characters looking to uphold vows or gain favor with the gods, make them angry and indignant instead. Either way, make your Grobnaz more menacing and villainous. Describe his as aggressive or pushy, and have him drool when he talks, or scrape his claws on his armor—something to make your players set their teeth on edge.
If your players are looking to foil a villainous plot, Grobnaz should have an obvious affiliation with the villain your characters are pursuing. This can be a piece of clothing, special marking or tattoo, or something about his speech, but the player characters should notice it easily. Depending on how much information you want to give your players, Grobnaz might offer information easily or hold it close.
Action!
As the party passes by, they can see and hear Grobnaz arguing with a group of rookie adventurers. There are as many of them as there are in your party, and they have similar (though not identical) roles. The group leader (name idea: Allen/Alina Stormtaker) is holding a handful of glass vials, each with a different color liquid. One is smoking ominously. Grobnaz is trying to get the rookies to try the potions right then and there, on the street. As the party watches, one of the rookies takes a vial of thick blue liquid from the leader and pops the cork, but hesitates—not sure if drinking it is a good idea.
If no one intervenes, the rookie drinks the potion. Roll once on the Potion Table to see what happens. If it’s a 16+, roll again until you get a bad effect.
No one passing by intervenes, though if something really bad happens, they may hide. Left to their own devices, Grobnaz’s party (him plus two lackeys) and the rookies will argue over the potion effect, fight to first bloodied, then both retreat. Remember that Grobnaz wants knowledge first and money second, so if he can push more rookies into drinking potions, he will. The rookies want their money back, but don’t want to pay too dearly for it.
Resolving this Encounter
When this encounter finishes, your players who are pious, helpful, or who want to defend the weak should have had a chance to demonstrate that. Depending on the tone of your game, you should either reward them for this (gold never hurt anybody, and a few of the mystery potions, gifted by whomever they helped, are a good reward at this level, too… for the brave) or punish them for this (in a game with a grim or dark tone, whomever they helped would distrust them and perhaps express ingratitude at their aid).
If your players wanted to uphold certain vows or gain favor with certain gods, you can reward them based on how well they did that during this encounter. A passerby explaining the party’s actions to a local religious order might results in some goodwill, aid, or prayers. You might even show direct mechanical favor from the gods (advantage, a spell slot recharge, or bless spell effect) if that’s the type of game you’re running.
For players looking to foil a villainous plot, getting involved here should move them decidedly towards or away from that goal, depending on how they performed. If you’d like them to move towards successfully foiling the villainous plot, have Grobnaz know a key piece of information, such as a name, meeting place, password, or item location, that he is happy to bargain with. If you’d like to move them away from foiling that plot, have Grobnaz or his lackeys report the party’s actions to a villain or lieutenant. Have your villain react to the party meddling in their plans by sending more lackeys after the party, or by moving or changing their operation to invalidate some information the party already has. (Remember to always make new clues available in that case: the lackeys know the new password, for example, or the old meeting place contains some kind of evidence that points towards the new one.)
Encounter B
In this encounter, Grobnaz pushes a group of rookie adventurers into trying a mystery potion, with unpredictable (and perhaps gruesome) results.
Setting up this Encounter
This encounter involves a group of rookie adventurers. If you have player characters who are pious or helpful, make these rookies sympathetic and disappointed, not pathetic. Describe them as frustrated and worn-down.
If you have player characters looking to uphold vows or gain favor with the gods, make them angry and indignant instead. Either way, make your Grobnaz more menacing and villainous. Describe his as aggressive or pushy, and have him drool when he talks, or scrape his claws on his armor—something to make your players set their teeth on edge.
If your players are looking to foil a villainous plot, Grobnaz should have an obvious affiliation with the villain your characters are pursuing. This can be a piece of clothing, special marking or tattoo, or something about his speech, but the player characters should notice it easily. Depending on how much information you want to give your players, Grobnaz might offer information easily or hold it close.
Action!
As the party passes by, they can see and hear Grobnaz arguing with a group of rookie adventurers. There are as many of them as there are in your party, and they have similar (though not identical) roles. The group leader (name idea: Allen/Alina Stormtaker) is holding a handful of glass vials, each with a different color liquid. One is smoking ominously. Grobnaz is trying to get the rookies to try the potions right then and there, on the street. As the party watches, one of the rookies takes a vial of thick blue liquid from the leader and pops the cork, but hesitates—not sure if drinking it is a good idea.
If no one intervenes, the rookie drinks the potion. Roll once on the Potion Table to see what happens. If it’s a 16+, roll again until you get a bad effect.
No one passing by intervenes, though if something really bad happens, they may hide. Left to their own devices, Grobnaz’s party (him plus two lackeys) and the rookies will argue over the potion effect, fight to first bloodied, then both retreat. Remember that Grobnaz wants knowledge first and money second, so if he can push more rookies into drinking potions, he will. The rookies want their money back, but don’t want to pay too dearly for it.
Resolving this Encounter
When this encounter finishes, your players who are pious, helpful, or who want to defend the weak should have had a chance to demonstrate that. Depending on the tone of your game, you should either reward them for this (gold never hurt anybody, and a few of the mystery potions, gifted by whomever they helped, are a good reward at this level, too… for the brave) or punish them for this (in a game with a grim or dark tone, whomever they helped would distrust them and perhaps express ingratitude at their aid).
If your players wanted to uphold certain vows or gain favor with certain gods, you can reward them based on how well they did that during this encounter. A passerby explaining the party’s actions to a local religious order might results in some goodwill, aid, or prayers. You might even show direct mechanical favor from the gods (advantage, a spell slot recharge, or bless spell effect) if that’s the type of game you’re running.
For players looking to foil a villainous plot, getting involved here should move them decidedly towards or away from that goal, depending on how they performed. If you’d like them to move towards successfully foiling the villainous plot, have Grobnaz know a key piece of information, such as a name, meeting place, password, or item location, that he is happy to bargain with. If you’d like to move them away from foiling that plot, have Grobnaz or his lackeys report the party’s actions to a villain or lieutenant. Have your villain react to the party meddling in their plans by sending more lackeys after the party, or by moving or changing their operation to invalidate some information the party already has. (Remember to always make new clues available in that case: the lackeys know the new password, for example, or the old meeting place contains some kind of evidence that points towards the new one.)
Encounter C
In this encounter, Grobnaz pushes a group of rookie adventurers into trying a mystery potion, with unpredictable (and perhaps gruesome) results.
Setting up this Encounter
This encounter involves a group of rookie adventurers. If you have player characters who are pious or helpful, make these rookies sympathetic and disappointed, not pathetic. Describe them as frustrated and worn-down.
If you have player characters looking to uphold vows or gain favor with the gods, make them angry and indignant instead. Either way, make your Grobnaz more menacing and villainous. Describe his as aggressive or pushy, and have him drool when he talks, or scrape his claws on his armor—something to make your players set their teeth on edge.
If your players are looking to foil a villainous plot, Grobnaz should have an obvious affiliation with the villain your characters are pursuing. This can be a piece of clothing, special marking or tattoo, or something about his speech, but the player characters should notice it easily. Depending on how much information you want to give your players, Grobnaz might offer information easily or hold it close.
Action!
As the party passes by, they can see and hear Grobnaz arguing with a group of rookie adventurers. There are as many of them as there are in your party, and they have similar (though not identical) roles. The group leader (name idea: Allen/Alina Stormtaker) is holding a handful of glass vials, each with a different color liquid. One is smoking ominously. Grobnaz is trying to get the rookies to try the potions right then and there, on the street. As the party watches, one of the rookies takes a vial of thick blue liquid from the leader and pops the cork, but hesitates—not sure if drinking it is a good idea.
If no one intervenes, the rookie drinks the potion. Roll once on the Potion Table to see what happens. If it’s a 16+, roll again until you get a bad effect.
No one passing by intervenes, though if something really bad happens, they may hide. Left to their own devices, Grobnaz’s party (him plus two lackeys) and the rookies will argue over the potion effect, fight to first bloodied, then both retreat. Remember that Grobnaz wants knowledge first and money second, so if he can push more rookies into drinking potions, he will. The rookies want their money back, but don’t want to pay too dearly for it.
Resolving this Encounter
When this encounter finishes, your players who are pious, helpful, or who want to defend the weak should have had a chance to demonstrate that. Depending on the tone of your game, you should either reward them for this (gold never hurt anybody, and a few of the mystery potions, gifted by whomever they helped, are a good reward at this level, too… for the brave) or punish them for this (in a game with a grim or dark tone, whomever they helped would distrust them and perhaps express ingratitude at their aid).
If your players wanted to uphold certain vows or gain favor with certain gods, you can reward them based on how well they did that during this encounter. A passerby explaining the party’s actions to a local religious order might results in some goodwill, aid, or prayers. You might even show direct mechanical favor from the gods (advantage, a spell slot recharge, or bless spell effect) if that’s the type of game you’re running.
For players looking to foil a villainous plot, getting involved here should move them decidedly towards or away from that goal, depending on how they performed. If you’d like them to move towards successfully foiling the villainous plot, have Grobnaz know a key piece of information, such as a name, meeting place, password, or item location, that he is happy to bargain with. If you’d like to move them away from foiling that plot, have Grobnaz or his lackeys report the party’s actions to a villain or lieutenant. Have your villain react to the party meddling in their plans by sending more lackeys after the party, or by moving or changing their operation to invalidate some information the party already has. (Remember to always make new clues available in that case: the lackeys know the new password, for example, or the old meeting place contains some kind of evidence that points towards the new one.)