The Fording

The stones were painted six weeks ago. This morning a loaded cart went in at the line, at the usual hour, the way it always has.

The water was not where the stones said it would be.

A cart is going under in the middle of the river, a horse is panicking, and a caravan-master half this road knows by name is in up to his chest and not swimming for the bank. There are five things worth saving out there, four of you, and about eight rounds before the current takes the lot.

YOU CANNOT SAVE ALL FIVE. That is the adventure. It is written out in full - who is where, what each one costs to reach, and what happens to the ones nobody got to. There is no correct answer printed anywhere in it.

WHAT YOU GET - 36 pages, and nothing left for you to invent

- 5 scenes, every one written out in full: read-aloud text, what happens if they fail, what to do if they skip it

- 2 battle maps in three versions each - DM, player, and a copy with no grid. 70 px per 5-foot square, so it drops straight into Roll20 or Foundry already aligned

- 4 ready-to-play 1st-level characters. No session zero

- 11 secrets to hand over wherever your players decide to dig, plus tables and printable handouts

WRITTEN FOR A FIRST-TIME DM. One clock, stated out loud in the first minute, and every check tells you what happens when it fails - which is the half most adventures leave to you.

PART OF THE SALT ROAD. Sixty miles, sixteen stops, each a day apart. Every one of them has noticed the same thing and not one of them has said so out loud. This adventure stands completely alone - it needs nothing from any other - but a table that plays four of them starts comparing notes without being prompted.

THE FILES - four PDFs: A4 and US Letter, each in colour and in a printer-friendly build. The printer-friendly version is the same book in pure white, nothing removed. Plus 6 map images.

Compatible with Fifth Edition. Instant digital download - nothing is posted.

Made with AI assistance: the text and maps of this adventure were written and generated with AI, then edited, checked and laid out by hand.