Shrine of the Swamp Hydra | 5th-Level Fifth Edition Adventure

This week we have an exciting collaboration for patrons with original music by McRo Music and a beautifully hand-drawn shrine map by The MAD Cartographer! Watch the banner video above to get a listen to the music and see the map! 

Stop a cult of cannibals that desecrated a hero’s shrine from resurrecting an ancient hydra

Shrine of the Swamp Hydra

Shrine of the Swamp Hydra is a Fifth Edition adventure intended for three to six characters of 4th to 6th level and is optimized for four characters with an average party level (APL) of 5. Deep in the heart of the swamps hides a cannibalistic cult of reptile worshippers. Led by a deranged half-black dragon fanatic, the cult has been attacking outlying farms in the marshes to sacrifice people on the altar of a desecrated shrine. They are close to resurrecting a long-dead hydra from beneath the foundation. Can the adventurers rescue the prisoners before they are eaten and sacrificed to raise the hydra? This adventure takes place in the Freelands Campaign Setting but fits into any existing campaign with a misty swamp with only a few modifications.

Backstory

Aeryth Brightspear was once a champion warrior who traveled throughout the land looking to test her prowess against the fiercest of creatures in single-handed combat. Orcs, giants, and even a young dragon all fell beneath her shining spear, and her legend grew. It wasn’t until she faced Airos the hydra that she genuinely met her match. Some say she sacrificed herself to save the lives of others, while others believe she simply grew overconfident. Whatever the cause, Aeryth’s body was pierced by Airos’ fangs just as she drove her broken spear deep into its heart, killing it even as she fell dead herself.

Locals built a shrine above the battle site in honor of their fallen champion. Aeryth’s bones were interred in a tomb while the hydra was buried beneath the foundation. The people who Aeryth had saved came to pay their respects to the slain hero, some even choosing to be buried near the shrine. Over the decades, the visits lessened, and the shrine fell into disrepair, eventually being swallowed by the swamps that became increasingly dangerous to travel through. It has now become the home of a cannibal cult bent on desecrating the shrine and resurrecting the hydra as their god.

About the Forked Tongue Cult

Girekko the Night Smile is a crazed half-black dragon necromancer with a hunger for power and disdain for the living. She has gathered a rag-tag collection of lizardfolk and humans who call themselves the Forked Tongues—the humans physically slicing their tongues to resemble their reptilian brethren better. They are half-starved and insane swamp dwellers dressed in ragged hides and filthy rags. Devoted to Girekko, they stalk the swamps with rusted cleavers and handbills, enjoying the fear they instill in their prey right before they slaughter them for food. In her madness, Girekko has convinced both herself and her followers that humanity is a pestilence and that reptiles should rule as they once did in the age of dragons.

The cult has started attacking travelers and eating them as part of ritualistic sacrifices made in Brightspear’s Shrine. Girekko harnesses the power of the sacrificed to strengthen a magical orb that allows her to raise the dead. With enough sacrificial blood, it can raise Airos, the hydra Aeryth Brightspear defeated long ago. Girekko has tasked her followers with attacking outlying farms to bring more victims to sacrifice at the shrine.

The MAD Cartographer creates fantasy battlemaps for VTT, including dynamic Foundry VTT content that comes complete with walls, lighting, sounds, and more. Each month they have a new theme and create multiple unique maps each week and have an extensive backlog of over 700 maps available to their patrons. You can check them out at https://www.patreon.com/themadcartographer

McRoMusic has been playing and composing music for nearly 20 years and is an avid tabletop RPG fan. Now he's married the two, and is creating high-quality music for players and GMs to enjoy at their table! McRoMusic can be found on Spotify (and anywhere else that you stream your music), and also has a Bandcamp store and Patreon if you would like to support him directly. You can check him out here https://www.patreon.com/McRoMusic

Explorer+ Patrons click HERE to get the Adventure PDF, Ambient Music, and Hydra VTT Token.

Dungeon Master Patrons click HERE to download the VTT Ready Digital Map.