One Page Adventure: Bogged Down

Our eigth one page adventure (OPA) – download bite-sized inspiration for your RPG sessions!

This is the second entry serving as a draft of what might someday become “Quickphix’ Travellog of Roadside Dungeons” – a compedium of several one-page dungeons to serve all you GMs out there as inspiration. We are still trying to figure out if the sketch-book style and personal narration works in its favour or not. For now, please enjoy the page as it is: a short horror-side story for any of your campaigns.

Overview

Recommended RPG: D&D 5e, but easily adaptable to others
Number of players: 2-4
Duration: short (1-3 hours)
Difficulty: moderate

The Story

I was travelling through the back-country when I saw an evening rainstorm brewing on the horizon. The only sign of civilisation far and wide was a small farmstead near the the road. I decided to rely on their hospitality and knocked on the main house’s door. A young lad named Davy opened the door and talking to him it became quickly clear that he was all alone in this big farm. It did strike me as strange – but he invited me into the warm house. I should have listened to my instinct then. I could have avoided one of the worst nights of my life.

In this one-page adventure, you and your companions spend the night at the Swampview Farmstead. It seems like a perfectly peaceful place to stay – but where are Davy’s parents? Does the boy hide anything from you? For better or for worse, you should get to the bottom of this weird situation. While the storm passes, you are stuck here – but you don’t want to get “Bogged Down”!

Hints, notes and ideas for this One-Page Adventure

Davy should be presented as weird but seemingly harmless. With mistrusting players, he can serve as a red herring distracting the players from the real culprits of the family’s disappearance. However, he isn’t evil – he just didn’t have the courage to process to think about what might have happend.
Like any good horror story, the monster should remain hidden for as long as possible. GMs can hint towards to their presence through their distinct sweet smell and fast, stealthy movement.
Depending on the tone of the campaign, the ending can be made grimmer or happier – by finding the family-members trapped under the well – or their corpses.