On a Children's Quest, A Starter 5e Adventure.

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The below is a fantasy adventure for 1-4 second level characters with players ages 8 to 12.
Running games for children that young requires special skills discussed On a Practical Guide to
Playing Dungeons & Dragons with Children.

Roofus Goodsman, the mayor's assistant, calls an audience with the players and says that Oracle,
the town wise-woman has foretold that the players have a destiny to save the town.

There is a great evil ready to be loosed in a nearby ruin. The players must visit the ruin to stop
the evil otherwise many bad things will happen.

He offers each of the players three items to each of the players and allows them to pick one. The
items offered are dependent on the class of the character.

Reasoning: This makes the children feel special and gives their characters a higher degree of
survivability. It also provides a fun choice for the player to immediately make that increases their
power and is a simple enough decision. Named items are in the Basic D&D .pdf

Items to give to the players

 Barbarian
o A Talisman made from a large bear eye surrounded by yellowed teeth, that when
worn, allows the wearer to make a Constitution check when reduced to 0 hit
points or less to remain at 1 hit point. The DC is equal to the damage dealt.
o +1 Great-axe made of runic steel that hums when wielded. It grants you +1 hit
point per hit die.
o An amulet made from the tail feathers of birds that have willingly donated them to
your tribe that acts as an Amulet of Health
 Bard
 o A masterwork musical instrument of the type the bard plays that grants you an
extra bardic inspiration die
o A jaunty cap that grants you an extra first level spell slot and advantage on
charisma check 3 times a day
o A worn pair of frogskin boots that act as Boots of Striding or Springing
 Cleric
o A luxurious silken stitched tabard in the colors of your god that grants you an
extra first level spell slot and a bonus use of channel divinity
o A holy symbol that increases your spell save DC by 2.
o A set of thick golden gauntlets that act as Gauntlets of Ogre Power
 Druid
o A thorn amulet that increases your level by 3 for the purposes of wild shape.
o A leather jerkin that gives you expertise in stealth while outdoors and grants you a
second level spell slot.
o A Vine ring that acts as a Ring of Evasion
 Fighter
o A well-used longsword that has a blade of iron with a hilt wrapped in oiled grey
wyvern hide. The blade is decorated with a lightning motif. There is an ornate
scabbard of Mithral inlaid with Lapis Lazuli. It acts as +2 magic sword
o A footman’s shield made of ancient steel with the image of an oak leaf, within a
eight-pointed star in white on a blue-green field. It acts +1 shield that allows you
to recover an additional hit die during a short rest for free
o An uncomfortable looking pair of books made from spider chitin, that act as a pair
of Boots of Striding and Springing
 Monk
o A pair of wrist wraps that increase the monks armor class by 1 and allow the
monk to do an extra point of damage with unarmed attacks.
o A headband that provides an additional 2 ki points.
o A simple stone band that acts as a Ring of Protection
 Paladin
o A golden shield that is a +1 shield that glows and grants an extra 1st level spell
slot.
o A heavy silver maul, inlaid with the symbols of your god that acts as a +1 Maul
that causes divine smites to do 1d10 points instead of 1d8.
o Fishscale gloves of swimming and climbing
 Ranger
o A longbow made of cherry wood. The grip is wrapped in black leather. The
bowstring is actually a fine chain made of sinister brass. It acts as a +2 longbow
o An elven lightblade composed of iron, with a hilt wrapped in pebbled black
leather. A blood groove runs the length of the blade on each side. The large, round
pommel is stamped in copper with the image of a centipede. It grants the two-
weapon fighting style and an extra 1st level spell slot.
o A darkleaf amulet around an acorn that acts as an Amulet of Health
 Rogue
o A dagger that has a blade of steel with a hilt wrapped in pebbled brown deer
leather. The pommel is in the shape of a spike and screws off to reveal a hollow
 hilt. It is a magical dagger that grants an extra 1d6 sneak attack damage and
returns to your hand using your reaction.
o A dark cloak made of shadow silk, that grants a +2 bonus on perception and
stealth checks.
o A small cap that acts as a Bag of holding
 Sorcerer
o A a kinked yew wand with a head of large Aquamarine, that glints with a
yellowish light while underground that contains an additional 1st and 2nd level
spell that can be cast using the sorcerer's spell slots.
o A silver bracelet that grants an additional first level spell slot and an additional
sorcery point.
o A green marble wand, ending in the shape of a ball of antlers of Magic Detection
 Warlock
o A dark iorn bracer that grants an additional spell known
o A steel ring covered in hooks that causes 1d4 points of damage if removed that
grants a +2 bonus to damage cast by spells.
o A glass ring filled with blood that acts as a Ring of Protection
 Wizard
o A golden ring that grants the wizard the ability to prepare an additional spell and
increases the DC of every spell by 2.
o A hat covered in moons and stars that allows you go retrieve small objects three
times a day
o A crystalline wand with a sapphire tip that is a Wand of Magic Missiles

The Adventure

Hand the Players the Map

The first choice: The ruin lies to the north east. There are two routes, a shorter but more
dangerous route through the Mirkmire woods, or a longer path through the Baleful hills.

Show them the map and let them make their choice.

Let them feel free to ask questions about the map and walk them along. Those things on the map
are actually there. Use this opportunity to describe the road, the nearby farmhouse, the turtle in
the road, the nearby well, and other sites on the map. Descriptions of each location are listed
below.

Advice: Treat the world as living and dynamic, allowing them to interact with anything. They
may have ideas about what things are, and being loose and going with their ideas while injecting
creativity and things they don't expect can lead to a fun session. Anytime they appear frustrated,
giving them some options and likely consequences of making each choice is a good idea. Feel
free to remind the players that they can ask questions.

 The turtle in the road has a patterned shell, with one spot that is opalescent.
  The house north of the road is deserted. Rations can be found within. It is unclear what
happened to the people who lived there.
 The tree nearby the house has a beehive.
 The cow is white and is quite friendly.
 If they climb down into the well, they can find a small sack in the bottom that contains
100 gold coins.
 The small pond has an aggressive frog that gives players the stink eye if they mess with
it.
 The field of flowers is filled with sprites who dance and play in the air. If the player
approach they turn invisible and disappear. If there is a ranger or druid and they watch for
a while and leave an offering, the sprites might approach and grant the characters
advantage on the next ability check they make.
 This sign is weathered and points in three directions. The arrow pointing towards the
town is labeled Brighton. The arrow pointing north says Mirkmire Woods. The sign that
points south says Baelful woods.
 The Crystal lake is calm, with a rocky southern shore. If the characters investigate the
waterfall behind it they find a small pool with a hatching dragon egg. Out crawls a
pseudo-dragon who imprints on one of the party members, focusing on pure spellcasters
first.
 Attempting to pass around the eastern edge of the woods causes Rock Trolls on the
upper ledge to drop rocks on the player characters. The ledge is 40 feet up and must be
climbed. (Rock Troll Stats as Kobolds.) There are 2 rock trolls +1 for every member of
the party over 4. The rolling rocks do 1d8 damage if they hit, and the character must
make a Dexterity saving throw or fall to the bottom of the hill.

The Southern Path

While traveling through the southern hills, the party is attacked by a single rock gnome named
Phil. He doesn't attack the party with weapons, but instead with words. If the party ignores him,
he becomes bored and wanders off. If they attack him, he begins to attack them with cutting
words. (verbal attacks that do 1d6 points of damage, with a +4 attack bonus). If the party hits
him, he splits into two half-sized gnomes, that continue attacking the party. If the party hits those
gnomes, they turn into two half-half-sized gnomes which continue attacking the party with
insults. If the half-half-sized gnomes are hit, they die. If at any time the party flees, the gnomes
stop attacking.
Reasoning: Attacking people who insult you only grants them more ammunition.

The house on the hill is the home of a wretched looking woman, with a long nose that has a big
wart with thick hairs growing out of it. She is hunched over, has bulging eyes, and wears a dark
coat of beasts that looks like rats crawling over her skin. Her name is Esmeralda and she,
although scary sounding is quite nice. If the players attack her, she attacks back and is quite
powerful (stats as an Oni). If she wins the combat, she heals any characters back to full health,
and deposits them at the crossroads by the pond. If the players are kind to her, she invites them
in, and blesses them with charms of protection. The next creature that wishes to attack fails on
their first successful attack automatically. Reasoning: Appearances can be deceiving.
The cave is the home of an ogre named Blorp. He is frightening and scary, making loud roaring
and groaning sounds, but is really peaceful and sad. He attacks as an Ogre if the players fight
him. But if they are nice to him and find a way to make him happy, he can be friendly.
Reasoning: Sometimes new things or people can be scary but are really nice

The Northern Path

The Mirkmire woods. These woods are dark and spooky. It should just be a three hour journey
through the woods, but they are enchanted. At the end of every hour, make DC 10 Wisdom
checks for the party. For every two cumulative failures, they wander around in circles (the hour
doesn't count) and they are attacked by 1 Giant Spider per 2 members of the party. If the party
wipes, they wake up at full health outside the forest.

If the players make it through the woods, they find a vicious Dire wolf near the exit. It growls
scarily at them, but is really just very afraid. If the characters befriend it and remove it of the
painful infection it has (cure light wounds), then it can be a loyal companion.

The Ruin
Outside the ruin, there is a very wizened old man who is about two feet tall and quite frail. He
floats above the ground about 3 feet, but appears very sick. He calls the players to him and says
that he is the guardian of a great evil and his life is almost over. He needs someone to take over
his job or the evil will get free and run rampant. But if they take this job, the won't ever be able
to leave, stuck here until it is almost time to die. Let the players talk it over for a minute, but if
they can't decide, tell them they don't think the old man is going to live very much longer.

No matter which decision they make, they here an evil laughter coming from beneath the stairs.
They are attacked by a death knight (Skeleton) with red glowing eyes and wearing ancient
armor. His armor class is 17, and he has 3d8 hit point per member of the party. He also has the
Undead Fortitude special ability as a Zombie.

Death Knight (Skeleton)

Medium Undead, Lawful Evil

Hit Points: 3d8 + 6 per party member
Speed: 30'

Strength: 10 (+0)
Dexterity: 16 (+3)
Constitution: 15 (+2)
Intelligence: 6 (-2)
Wisdom: 8 (-1)
Charisma: 5 (-3)
Damage Vulnerabilities: bludgeoning
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned
Senses: darkvision 60 ft. Passive Perception 9
Languages: Common
Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the Death Knight to 0 hit points, it must make a
Constitution saving throw with a DC of the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a
critical hit. On a success, the Death knight has 1 hit point left.
Terrifying Gaze. As a reaction, the Death Knight my gaze at any opponent that successfully hits
it with a melee attack. The target must make a DC 9 Wisdom save, taking 10 (3d6) psychic
damage and moving away from the Death Knight using their reaction, or half damage only on a
successful save.

Actions

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. One target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) Piercing
damage.

Flame Gaze. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 80/320 ft., One target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3)
fire damage.