Our latest game day took a decidedly undead turn as we plunged into the thick of a zombie apocalypse in a one-shot adventure we'll call “Zombie Farmhouse“. The premise was simple, if morally ambiguous: times are tough for our adventuring party, and when rumors of a wealthy but abandoned ranch surface – supposedly holding a treasure of over one hundred thousand gold pieces – we decided that a little looting might be in order. Never mind that the ranch was smack-dab in the middle of an area overrun by zombies, skeletons, and shadowy creatures! Our GM painted a grim picture of the nearby city of Medrock having fallen to a dark entity known as the Queen of Shadows, whose army could even convert fallen soldiers into new threats and raise the dead.
Our ragtag group of adventurers, who had at least one prior adventure together, consisted of:
Bardom, a somewhat suspicious but ultimately loyal character who can get a bit obsessive.
Luther, a Dragonborn Paladin whose family was tragically killed in a raid, leading him to a hermetic life within the church. He wields a glaive and aims to be the party's tank.
Gold Tooth, a cigar-chomping individual with a pistol (or two!) who seems ready for action, if perhaps a bit cavalier.
Our journey began with the approach to the rumored ranch. We encountered a typical farmhouse setting: vegetable gardens, green silos, a small windmill, a large house, a storage barn, and a livestock barn. Even the local wildlife wasn't safe, as we soon spotted three bowls in the corral, one of which looked distinctly unwell with blood on its horns. Gold Tooth, ever ready, took a shot at the suspicious bovine.
Our exploration continued as we cautiously moved through the farmyard. We managed to avoid some initial zombie encounters. We checked out the livestock barn, finding only the gruesome remains of cows. Moving around, we discovered beehives, a chicken coop, and a wind-powered water pump. The chicken coop, unfortunately, had its own undead occupant – a zombie with a grotesquely extended stomach, clearly having indulged in the former residents. This led to our first combat encounter, complete with initiative rolls and some initial damage dealing. A bizarre moment occurred when the seemingly defeated zombie burst open, revealing a ‘zombie chicken' that then attacked Bardom! Gold Tooth swiftly dispatched this feathery menace with his pistol.
Next, we investigated another barn, this one reeking of death and containing eight dead horses, drained of their strength. Inside, a shadow creature was spotted, leading to another round of initiative and combat as Gold Tooth bravely (or foolishly) closed the barn door with the shadowy foe inside.
Eventually, our attention turned to the main farmhouse. We cautiously peered through windows, spotting two adult zombies in a dining area and one tangled in the kitchen. We also noted a potential master bedroom with no immediate threats and a shadow moving in the southeast corner. Planning a coordinated entry, Gold Tooth directed the others to breach the front door while he and Bardom prepared to enter from a side entrance.
The entry into the house was chaotic. We found ourselves in the dining room, facing the zombies we had spotted earlier. A new threat emerged: a floating head! Even more unsettling, we discovered entrails on the floor between the dining and living rooms. One of the zombies proved particularly disgusting, puking on Luther, who unfortunately failed his saving throw and was poisoned. Combat raged within the confines of the farmhouse as we dealt with the various undead threats, including the reappearance of the shadow from the barn.
The house contained more than just zombies, however. Further exploration revealed a bathroom (thankfully clear of immediate threats) and a bedroom where a trap door was discovered in the floor. The master bedroom also contained a safe with four keyholes. After some searching and an awkward pause when we were missing one key, Gold Tooth produced the final key from his vest. Inside the safe, we found a substantial hoard: 25,000 Platinum pieces, 50,000 gold pieces, 10 objects of art, 125 gems, a Helm of Brilliance, 10 pieces of jewelry, a long sword +2, plate armor of vulnerability, and a rod of rulership!
With the treasure secured and the immediate threats neutralized (though the GM hinted that had this been a longer campaign, the sounds of our fighting and the general undead infestation would have drawn even more creatures), we concluded our adventure. The “Zombie Farmhouse” proved to be a perilous but ultimately profitable endeavor, even if it involved facing some truly bizarre undead, from zombified chickens to floating heads and puke-spewing corpses. It was a classic example of how a seemingly simple quest for riches can quickly devolve into a fight for survival against the horrors of a zombie apocalypse.