Appendix Adventure Suggestions for Gnome and Halfling Campaigns

It is important to remember when playing a gnome or halfling character that halflings are not short humans, nor are gnomes scrawny dwarves: each is an entirely different race, with different perspectives on the world and different motivations.

Opportunities that might bring human or dwarven characters bounding to their feet, eyes gleaming in anticipation, can bring quite a different response from a halfling--e.g., "So what if the old castle's full of treasure? I've got a warm fire, a jug half-full of ale, and my bread's almost done rising!" However, the same halfling might change his or her tune upon learning that the only known copy of a legendary chef's cookbook was rumored to be in the castle as well. Likewise, whereas the Big Folk would avoid a tomb if at all possible once they learned it was heavily-trapped, a gnome might well want to explore it for the same reason in order to see how the traps work and employ the same principles in his or her next practical jokes.

In any adventure involving a gnome or halfling character, the player must ask himself or herself "Why is my character here?" Gnomes love gems like halflings love good food, and most gnomequests will involve searching for fabled gems and lost mines. A halfling will be more likely to join an adventure out of a sense of duty (e.g., an old friend is in trouble) or pure curiosity than from greed for treasure or a desire to go out and fight monsters.

The following outlines are kernels for adventures specifically designed for an all-gnomish or all-halfling campaign. They can easily be adapted to almost any AD&D® campaign world and level of experience.

Gnome Adventures

Goblin Infestation: This begins as isolated and mysterious attacks against lone gnomes, who are either killed or otherwise unable to describe their assailants. During these raids the goblins capture something very valuable, whether it's the community's prized gemstone artifact or a well-liked gnome NPC.

The characters must anticipate where the attackers will strike next, lay illusionary bait for them, and then follow the raiders back to their lair. Once they've located the attacker's home base, they must infiltrate it, rescue the missing treasure or hostages, find a way to disrupt the goblins so badly that it will put an end to the ambushes, and escape.

Festival of the Starmelt: The clans are scheduled to gather for an important, once-in-a-decade observation. An old and evil dragon gets wind of the plans and decides to make an attack against the assemblage with the aid of a tribe of kobolds. Gnomish adventurers must discern the plan from captive kobolds and then take steps to confuse or divert the dragon before the festival begins.

City of Illusions: Gnome illusionists begin to find that sometimes their spells don't work, while at other times they behave in unexpected ways. Investigation will eventually trace the source of the problem to a strange village peopled entirely by intelligent illusions created for company by a since-deceased master Imagemaker. They resent the "involuntary servitude" of their fellow illusions and are trying to nudge them into rebellious sentience, with some success. The PCs must find a way to placate the angry illusion-people; with luck and tact, they may gain some unusual allies in the process.

Gemquest: A strange gnome comes to the village, badly wounded by some bizarre and magical force. He collapses and dies, but not before he drops a huge and stunningly beautiful gem of a type none of the gnomes have ever seen before, together with a gasped-out description of a "Mount Crystal" that lies somewhere in the distance. In truth, the gemstone is an intelligent parasitic quartzite creature from the elemental plane of earth that sapped his strength with its baneful magic, but not before he served as the bait to lure more gnomes into its trap.

Gnomes who make the journey will find Mount Crystal, a shining hill of white quartz. Inside, they find abandoned mines holding an incredible wealth of gems of all types--unknown to them, more of the creatures. Each creature forms a bond with a single gnome and drains 1d4 points of his or her Constitution per day. The characters must realize what is going on, find a way to break the charm which prevents each gnome from throwing away his or her own stone, and make a desperate break for freedom.

Halfling Adventures

Meddlesome Officialdom: A nearby human lord decides to charge the small folk a toll for using a road, bridge, or river passing through their town, as well as a tax on all transactions, sending guards and tax collectors to make sure that his commands are followed. The halflings must find a way to avoid paying the tariffs and eventually rid themselves of the pestering presence without resorting to violence.

The Bully: A tough human knight, or perhaps even an ogre, troll, or giant, takes up residence nearby. He or she appoints himself or herself the village's "protector" and demands food and drink, and eventually treasure, from the small folk in return. He or she is too strong for the villagers to defeat in combat, forcing the halflings to use their wits to come up with a clever plan to chase the brute away.

Kidnapped: All the human children from a nearby community are captured by goblins or kobolds and taken to the humanoid's lair--a lair with ceilings too low and passages too narrow for adult humans to enter. The humans approach the halflings and beg them to rescue the children, offering whatever inducements they can to gain the aid of a brave band of small folk.

A Tinker Comes to Town: A strange peddler rolls into the village with a wagon full of wondrous gew-gaws and trinkets. He or she sells many of these and gives others away. Shortly after the stranger leaves, the villagers start to change their lifelong patterns of behavior--some become short-tempered or depressed; others frivolous and irresponsible.

The trinkets are not the cause of the changes, however. There's an evil wizard at work, and the tinker's gifts are charms against her enchantments. The halflings must first find out what's going on, and then find a means to drive the wizard away.

Monster Depredation: A tribe of monsters, such as gnolls or orcs, begins to ravage the area. Only if halflings and their human and demihuman neighbors unite do they stand a chance to defeat the menace. The halflings must convince rival groups of humans, dwarves, and elves to work together in a common cause. When it comes to actually facing the foe, the halflings should try to defeat them through cleverness and deception rather than an outright attack.

The Forest Plague: A mysterious malady begins to affect the surrounding woods, causing trees to wither and die, crops to fail, and a general blight to settle across the land.

After some investigation (which can be an adventure in itself), the halflings determine that the plague results from losses suffered by local treants and dryads due to indiscriminate logging. The small folk must then find a way to deter the woodcutters until the people of the trees have a chance to recover, while at the same time avoid causing the woodcutters from losing their livelihood.

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