Suggested Level: 3–5
Quest Giver(s): Freddie, Haren Brookfell, or Cerris Fenwild (depending on prior quests completed)
Summary
The reeds whisper no longer. They scream.
After weeks of disappearances, strange signs, and eerie sightings, something has emerged from the marsh that no one can deny. Boats have been dragged beneath the water, fishers ripped from docks, and an entire reed-harvest crew vanished without trace save a blood-soaked basket.
Freddie believes it’s a marsh gator of unnatural size. Cerris feels something older has awakened, twisted by the weakening of the land’s balance. Haren suggests it’s the same creature that killed a friend he lost weeks ago.
It hunts by night. It watches during the day.
The villagers call it “The Slasher Below”—but what it truly is depends on how much corruption has spread.
Near the Lair:
You find tracks—massive, clawed, like an alligator’s but bipedal. Water drips from the reeds above, as though they’d been disturbed seconds ago.
Then a sound—thick, guttural, gurgling like mud through a throat.
Something watches.
Something waits.
Objectives
- Investigate the latest attack site near the western reed bank.
- Locate the predator’s den or hunting ground.
- Defeat, trap, or drive off the creature.
- Optional: Discover the source of its mutation.
Combat Encounter
Suggested Battlefield
- Shallow water with deeper trenches (slow terrain unless players fly or use boats)
- Tall reeds that provide partial cover
- Optional fallen log or bog platform to use as a trap/advantage zone
Marsh Predator – Corrupted Gator-Beast
Huge monstrosity, CR 3–5 depending on corruption level – adjust for the party size.
- AC: 14 HP: 68 (8d10+24) [+20 HP for L4, + 50 for L5] Speed: 30 ft., swim 40 ft.
- STR 18, DEX 12, CON 17, INT 2, WIS 12, CHA 5
- Bite: +6 to hit, 2d10+4 piercing + grapple
- Tail Slam (Recharge 5–6): 10 ft cone, DC 13 STR save or knocked prone
- Swamp Lurk: While in water or reeds, has advantage on Stealth and can Hold Breath for 1 hour
- Chaos-Bitten Mutation (optional): At 50% HP, grows spiny fins and gains Reaping Lunge: once per round, makes a second Bite as bonus action.
Optional Adds
- Rustjaw Scout (CR 1): Shadowing the beast to test its lethality or manipulate its kills
- Bogling Minions (1–2): If previously spared or enraged, they now reappear, worshipping the beast as a “servant of the Deep Fang”
Rewards
- Trophy of the Marsh: Carving the predator’s fang or eye provides a token of renown. Selling it in Hodnet or showing it to Elsbeth earns:
- +25 gp
- Advantage on future Charisma checks with trade leaders
- Swamphide Mantle: If crafted from its hide (requires tanner or leatherworker), provides advantage on Stealth in wetland terrain
- Twisted Claw Talisman (if corrupted): Grants +1 to melee damage vs creatures affected by Chaos effects, but causes 1 psychic damage on a natural 1 attack roll.
Lore Payoffs
- Corruption – if the beast is autopsied, there will be signs in it’s body of strange magic brands that draw corruption possibly from the elemental or necrotic schools. (Most likely from the necromancer experimenting in WH4.1)
- Rustjaw Tie-In: If the Rustjaw Circle is involved, the beast may have been lured or fed to create fear and disrupt trade routes for smuggler control.
- Beory’s Judgment: If the land is restored (via WH4.5 or WH4.7), the predator’s corruption might subside—or other beasts may still stir in deeper marshes.
Aftermath & Follow-Up Hooks
- If corruption is deepening, Cerris warns: “This was no predator. It was a messenger.”
- If the Rustjaw were involved, a ledger, token, or ciphered note may be recovered on a scout body nearby, pointing to Hodnet’s docks or a hidden riverside cache.
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