A WILD SHEEP CHASE

Summary

The party’s attempt to grab a rare afternoon of downtime is interrupted by a frantic sheep equipped with a Scroll of Speak to Animals and a fierce determination to get their attention. With the aid of some magic, the creature reveals itself to be no mere beast, but a wizard who fell victim to an embittered apprentice and a stolen Wand of True Polymorph. After two years imprisioned with nothing to eat but his own lawn, the ex-elf has escaped and is in dire need of aid. Transformed assassins are looking to grab themselves a mutton dinner, while the only object capable of restoring his opposable thumbs lies in the hands of his former pupil and current nemesis. Fortunately, the wooly wizard has found new allies he can rely on, right?

Can the heroes put an end to Ahmed Noke’s transmutational tyranny and restore an innocent wizard to his true form? There’s only one way to find out...

How to Use This Adventure

The main text is divided into several distinct scenes, each covering a location, encounter or major plot point. These usually have several ways for the players to advance the story, but are by no means exhaustive. Other information, enemy stat blocks and notes are highlighed in grey boxes. This is followed by maps, detailed character descriptions and roleplaying notes. While it is possible to run the game on the fly, it is recommended that you read the adventure in its entirety before starting to play.

Adventure Hooks

Getting the players into this adventure is pretty straight-forward. All that is requires is that they be walking down the street in a town or city large enough to host a wizard. If you want to plant seeds in advance, you may wish to introduce the character of Noke through rumors or idle conversation with shopkeepers and innkeepers, who view him with fear and awe.

Scene 1: Baaaa-d News

The game begins with the party idling away an afternoon. They might be enjoying a drink at a tavern, resting at their base of operations or simply walking down the street without a care in the world. No matter where they are, however, it soon becomes clear that something quite odd is happening. There is a sound of clattering hooves, surprised yelps and a frantic bleating, Before the party can react, a sheep bounds towards them. The beast appears to be a regular sheep in every way - fluffy white coat, black face, curled horns - but it is carrying and elaborate scroll in its mouth. The sheep tries to get close to the most magically-gifted member of the party and waves the scroll at them, letting them take it should they reach for it. A wax seal purports that it is a Scroll of Speak With Animals (Modified). If a character says this out loud - to explain to other party members, for example - the sheep appears to nod and bleat enthusiastically. Should they use the scroll, all of them hear the sheep’s baaing instantly morphs into cultured, elven-accented Common, albeit with a slight hint of a bleat. After establishing that the player can understand what it’s saying, the sheep introduces itself as 

Finethir Shinebright, a wizard in dire need of aid. If the players are willing to listen, he explains that he recognises them as adventurers and that he is in dire need of their aid. Specifically, he wants them to help take back an extremely powerful magical artifact from a dangerous, possibly insane wizard. He will attempt to tell his story, but shortly after he starts the sound of howling fills the air… 

Scene 2: Shepherds, Crooks

If the party is in public a huge Half-Orc swaggers towards them, pushing through the crowd without a care for angry yells left in his wake. If they are in their base of operations or anywhere private, he settles for violently hammering on the door. He's accompanied by trio of collared wolves (MM p341) with strangely intelligent eyes and a shadowy, hulking figure that stands at least eight feet tall wearing a dirty brown cloak. The half-Orc, Guz, demands that he be given "Master Noke's sheep." He says it escaped, and is of great sent-ee-ment-all value to his master. Any mention of Shinebright's true nature is met with hollow, mirthless laughter. Guz is not a bright fellow, but he is very loyal and determined to complete his task. His trackers know that Shinebright is there, no matter how well the party tries to hide him, and he will not take no for an answer. While he would prefer to work through violence and intimidation, he is also willing to offer bribes and promises of magical favours if that looks like the best option.

If he feels like he's not making progress, Guz will simply attack without warning. The wolves will follow him up, while the cloaked figure will let its hood fall, revealing that it is in fact a polymorphed Brown Bear (MM p319).

Combat Tactics  

The exact details of any battle that breaks out will depend on the location. If it takes place in an inn, tables and overturned chairs litter the floor. In a street, you may wish to have frightened passers-by form zones of difficult terrain. All of the beasts still have an intelligent human mind contained within them, and act intelligently. Guz is happy to charge into the front line and take on any heavy hitters alongside the Brown Bear. Meanwhile the Wolves will aim to cut round behind the party in a bid to grab Shinebright (use the statistics of a Pony (MM p325) but with INT and WIS scores of 18 and 14 respectively. They intend to capture Shinebright, not kill him.

After the Dust has Settled

Once Noke's goons have been defeaated, distracted or otherwise dealt with, Shinebright pleads with the party. Without their help, he is doomed. Noke still has many guards still working for him and eventually they will find him. If they’re feeling mercenary, he reminds the party that in his true form he is a powerful and wealthy wizard and promises great rewards. He is more than willing to commit to deals that he knows he can't actually fulfill. In any case, in order to turn back into his original form Shinebright needs another dose of True Polymorph. Which means he needs access to his old wand. The sheep explains that his former apprentice still dwells in his old home, located just to the southeast of town. He keeps the wand on him at all times and only leaves if he absolutely has to. Shinebright knows his old home’s layout (see Scene 3) intimately, and is more than happy to describe it in endless detail. If Guz captures him, he and his allies will set off for Noke's home. The party will have to decide if they follow, potentially launching a chase scene. 

Scene 3: The House in the Woods 

The path to Noke’s Tower cuts off from a main road a few miles out of town, darting off betwen a gap in the bushes. It is a well-trodden route that soon begins to weave its way between tall oak trees Anyone who cares to examine the path for tracks will easily see the impression of many feet and paws, with the most fresh sets appearing to match up with the group led by Guz. The track continues through sparse woodland for perhaps a mile without any sign of habitation. Unless they know what to look for, the party may be surprised bu the view that awaits them when Shinebright's old house appears through the treetops.

Tree House

Rather than stone or glass, Shinebright fashioned his home from the living branches of four sturdy oak trees. These have been shaped and woven to create three thick platforms. The lowest of these platforms is roughly 40ft across and sits about 10ft from the ground. The only obvious route up is a gentle slope formed of roots and branches that connects roughly with the main path. The branches that form its base are roughly bowl-shaped, and from the floor it’s possible to see flowers and small trees growing around its edge. The rest is forms a garden with a well-trimmed lawn ringed bisected by a stone path. 

Showdown?

When the party arrives at the compound, there is a pair of Wolves either sleeping or playing with an oversized pair of dice on the lawn, marking scores on a slate with claws. A Brown Bear is in the outhouse, taking care of business. Noke will be in the central platform, working furiously on new spells. If he notices the party as they approach he will order them to "return the sheep and in return I will not destroy you all." If they talk, he will reveal his reasons for hating Shinebright and boast disjointedly of his own achievements. He will also ask if they killed ‘my man, Guz,’ and be visibly upset if they have. Should they refuse to return Shinebright despite his pleas, orders and attempts at bribery, he will order his men to attack.

Combat Tactics

The most important part of this fight is Noke, who is offensively weak but can buff up his allies dramatically. Once the Brown Bear emerges from the outhouse he will cast Enlarge/Reduce (PHB p237) on it in a bid to increase its damage. He will supplement his minions’ damage with Ray of Frost (PHB p271) but that’s about it, as he will focus on keeping up concentration. The two wolves will act intelligently, darting around to attack casters and other weak targets while the bear blocks the path up towards Noke. However, the polymorphed guards are not likely to fight to the death and will flee once they fall below half health. Once it becomes clear that the fight is lost, or a player simply gets too close to him, Noke will cast Haste (PHB p250) or Expeditious Retreat (PHB p238) flee into the central platform, locking the door behind him and retracting the bridge. He will move to his bedroom as fast as he can and casts True Polymorph on his bed, which is the largest thing he can find. Three rounds after he runs away he burst from the roof of his bedroom riding the Bed Dragon Wyrmling., a beast that looks like a dragon carved from wood, with billowing bedsheets for wings and a tail that ends in a soft pillow. If the party are in the main living ares he will crash through the ceiling and attack.

Scene 4: Big Choices

Should the players recover the wand it becomes immediately obvious that it is damaged. Anyone proficient in Arcana can tell that it has been modified so it can be used more often, but overuse has rendered it extremely unreliable. If they wish to speak to Shinebright, a quick search of the central platform will allow them to find another Scroll of Speak with Animals. At the sight of his former apprentice's ruined corpse, Shinebright may even undergo some realisation of how poorly he treated his former apprentice and turn somber despite his triumph. Shinebright is willing to risk his own death in order to be turned back into an elf. However, he is also open to persuasion if the party try to talk him out of it. Before undergoing the risk of having the spall performed on him, Shinebright will ask that if he does die, the party give word to his old college.

Consequences

If the party decides to go ahead with the spell and it succeeds, Shinebright congratulates the party heartily. He will have to be reminded of anything he actually promised them while he was still a sheep, and cannot actually pay any financial reward, as Noke was virtually bankrupt and had sold most items to pay for research materials and guards. He will, however, be willing to perform transmutations of up to 5th level for them, charging just ehough to cover the components. He will also take in any polymorphed guards who fled, promising to work towards returning them to their natural shapes. If the party decides to go ahead with the spell and it fails, Shinebright dies permanently. The party is free to honour his final wish and leave the tower more-or-less intact, or loot to their hearts’ content. The tower is surprisingly empty of anything of benefit to non-transmuters, however, with valuables restricted to expensive lab equipment and arcane paraphernalia estimated to be worth around 1,000gp. If the players wish they can also take the entire tower complex as their own, though this may cause trouble when the local nobles try to pay Noke a visit and find him missing… If the party refuse to perform the spell, Shinebright accepts but will not give up his hopes entirely. He will take back his old home and work towards a way to remove his curse. In any case, he heads to the bedroom and slips on one of his old robes, which he wears until he is transformed back to his natural shape. Though he will be upset with them, Shinebright will acknowledge that he owes the party a large debt.

Characters 

Finethir Shinebright

Arrogant, self-obsessed and filled with an inflated sense of his own ego, Finethir Shinebright is one of the people worst suited to be transformed into a sheep. Still, no matter his form the former elven wizard manages to exude an air of fussy, bookish intellectualism. Left to his own devices, Shinebright will talk at length about himself, his achievements and his study of the arcane. He shows a staggering inability to notice anybody's needs or desires and is perfectly capable of ruining friendships or professional relationships completely by accident. 

Despite his flaws, however, he is generally goodhearted. Assuming he notices them and it doesn’t inconvenience him too much he will try to help others where possible, though he will loudly complain of their inability to grasp concepts as simple as poly-planal transweave theory. Once upon a time the local nobles, merchants and arcanists spoke the name of Finethir Shinebright with respect, awe and grudging admiration. A master of transmutation, he would regularly be called upon to carry out grand tasks such as clearing blocked roads by turning massive boulders into rabbits. Two years as a sheep have taught him very little about humility, but a lot about grass. If he returns to his natural form, 

Shinebright is a willow-thin high elf with straw-coloured hair and an extremely long nose. He favours loose blue robes and almost always wears slippers.

He left home at just 14 to study the wonders of arcane transmutation,

 but found college didn’t challenge his abilities. Instead, he abandoned his scholarship and travelled to visit Shinebright, who agreed to take him on as an apprentice. Though Noke hero-worshipped the legendary Shinebright, the years dragged on and on without any change in their relationship. Decades passed and still the master transmuter treated him like a child, expected to cook, clean and recite answers by rote. 

When Noke pressed him on it, Shinebright would explain that his was how he had been taught, and didn’t seem to register Noke’s claims that, as a human, he couldn’t spare a century to serve out an apprenticeship. At the same time, Noke began to realise that much of Shinebright’s acclaim came not from his own abilities - extensive as they were - but from the Wand of True Polymorph he wielded. He finally cracked on the night of his 40th birthday, when Shinebright ignored his request to advance his studies, saying he was too young. After polymorphing his master, Noke began to set himself up as a master wizard. However, a combination of guilt and suddenly unstoppered ambition spelled bad news for his mental state.

He is paranoid that someone will attack him as he attacked Shinebright and rarely sleeps. This paranoia has led him to invest in a troop of guards, many of whom he has transmuted into stronger, more bestial forms. With expenses rising and determined to exceed the fame of his former master, Noke is keen to take on even grander projects, even if this means pushing the wand to its very limits. Ahmed is a relatively short, dusky-skinned middle-aged man with untidy salt-and-pepper hair. He wears Shinebright’s old blue robes, which have been badly altered and drag along the floor. He has a nervous habit of gently pinching his left earlobe when under stress.

Key Characteristics: 

- Determined to prove his brilliance

- Still burns with anger for Shinebright 

- Paranoid of losing the wand 

- On the edge of madness 

Guz

A hulking brute of a half-orc, Guz views violence and intimidation as the only sensible methods for achieving his goals and assumes that most people feel the same way. Though to most outside observers he may appear wholly reprehensible, he is incredibly loyal to Noke - who genuinely doesn’t care what a creature looks like on the outside - and owes him unswerving devotion. Guz isn’t particularly intelligent and can be easily confused by quick-talking foes, though this usually just makes him angrier. In person he stands well over six feet tall, wears tattered but clean leather armour and wields an enormous greatsword that he is more than capable of wielding with a single hand. His hair is woven into a single plait that reaches to the small of his back. He is also fond of trying to use long, complicated words he has picked up from Noke - though the extent to which he actually understands what they mean is up for debate.

Key Characteristics:

- Incredibly loyal to Noke 

- Works through violence and intimidation 

- Tries to emulate Noke by using long words 

- Not very intelligent