House of the Wasp [Shadowdark]

A Level 5 adventure for Shadowdark

Lady Vespidi, matriarch of the Wasp Clan, has created a new masterwork weapon, the Parasite Spear. All are welcome to enter the House of the Wasp to prove they are worthy of such a weapon. Except, of course, for the filthy Toad Clan and the thieving Rat Clan!

Behind a hidden door on a remote cliff, the House of the Wasp sprawls through darkly elegant halls. Poets, artisans, and warriors fill its chambers. Some will challenge you, some will train you, and some are demons in disguise. And beware the agents of the Toad and the Rat…

All are welcome to try to claim the Parasite Spear. None are expected to succeed.

THINGS TO DO

• Find and defeat Lady Vespidi's champion to claim the Parasite Spear.
• Seek out and train with the Wasp Clan masters to learn new skills.
• Ally with the Toad Clan monks, who want to see the House of the Wasp burn.
• Ally with the Rat Clan ninjas, who want to steal the many secrets of the Wasp Clan.
• Slay Lady Vespidi to claim the bounty on her head!

LENGTH

• Speed run to the big finale: 1 session (4 hours).
• Completionist run to see every room: 2-3 sessions (8-12 hours).

INHUMAN FACTIONS

• Wasp Clan. Elegant warriors and artists, with black hair and black eyes, in black and gold silk. Very proud. Polite, yet sinister. Eager to punish acts of disrespect.
• Toad Clan. Spiritual priests and protectors, with shaved heads and yellow eyes, in woven green reeds. Distrust all warriors. Hate the Wasp Clan for selling weapons of war. Want to burn the House of the Wasp.
• Rat Clan. Cunning spies and thieves, with white scars and red eyes, in mottled gray leather scraps. Wary of all strangers. Will barter but not help others. Want to steal Wasp secrets.

• Note. All clans are demi-humans who can see in the dark.

NEW CLASS: THE SWORDMASTER

• A new class for Shadowdark, the Swordmaster is an unarmored fencing expert
• Devastate multiple foes with your Whirlwind Slash!
• Choose from among twelve additional Swordplay Techniques!

DESIGN NOTES

• This adventure provides a variety of challenges, including stealth, negotiation, faction play, PC training, traps, and combat.
• Contains 29 locations presented on one map.
• Contains many original illustrations by the author.
• Players will explore a samurai castle, where their hosts are equally likely to train them in arcane skills as to slay them for breaches of etiquette.

FILES

• PDFs. This product includes two PDF files. The Standard Layout is the adventure text plus the front cover. The Booklet Layout is the adventure text plus the front cover, back cover, and blank pages to make booklet printing easy. 
• VTT Map. This product includes one PNG format image file of the adventure map, with the secret areas removed to be player-facing.

CONTENT INCLUDES: DM notes, hooks, rumors, random encounters, location descriptions, NPC notes, dialogue prompts, stat blocks, original creatures, original treasures and magic items, illustrations, and maps.

PRODUCT KEYWORDS: adventure, castle, samurai, ninja, monk, training, wasp, toad, rat, oni, demon.