Hedonism in Hommlet

In the Temple of Elemental Evil Gygax wrote “If [the heroes] need more seasoning before continuing to the greater challenges, you may – and should – design and develop other adventures in the area”. 

This post is part of a series  of posts about my Ultimate Greyhawk campaign. Much like how comics and movies will reboot a franchise with a new take on an old concept, this is my personal re-imagining of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting beginning with the venerable town of Hommlet. 

The following location is numbered based on how it appears on the map of the village of Hommlet found in T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil. You can see the rest of the entries in the Ultimate Greyhawk sidebar of the blog.

18. Clearwater Brewery

If the locals are to be believed Braumeister Konrad Brewer can drink anyone under the table. He lives and works here with his wife Elsa and daughter Greta (age 8), along with his nephew Emmerich and his wife Frieda. They are very successful and relatively new arrivals to the village. The brewery is run with the help of 3 apprentices (Gerhard, Gisela and Hans) Everyone except Hans (who is of the Old Faith) worships St Cuthbert. The family brews ales and beers. Everyone is in the militia except little Greta. The brewery is protected at night by a guard dog.

Adventure Seed: The Night of Never-Ending Revels

The apprentice Hans once came from a family of excellent brew masters. They most likely would have become renowned and rich from their craft had they not been slaughtered by raiders from the Temple 10 years ago. Hans survived the raid and was able to save the family recipe. He was taken in by Konrad, who promptly stole the recipe and kept it as his own. Konrad has never divulged that he stole the recipe that he has made his fortune on. Worst of all he treats Hans and his apprentices horribly.  Hans, a devout worshiper of the Old Faith has had enough of his miserable lot in life. One day while off in a drunken rage in the woods Hans meets a Satyr (MM 267) named Nylos Flamedancer. Nylos seeing an opportunity to indulge in debauchery undreamed of convinces Hans that he is the answer to his prayers. A plan is set in motion and soon the village of Hommlet will come under the enchantment of Nylos. When the heroes return to town from a recent mission, they discover the entire village engaged in one gigantic hedonistic orgy of drinking and dancing while Nylos holds court. The revelers have no care for the work that needs to be done, and their farms, crops and animals all pay the price. Homes will be set on fire and shameless sexual acts openly displayed. The enchanted villagers will protect Nylos with their lives and try to kill or run the heroes out of town. Can the heroes solve the mystery before the entire town dies of exhaustion?