Kobold Hall

You travel 15 miles from Fallcrest into the wilderness to find the once sprawling manor now known as the ruins of Kobold Hall. Inside the keep, you find a trapdoor at the base of an old guard tower. It must lead beneath the ruins.

Kobold Hall is the sample adventure in the back of the Dungeon Master's Guide for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. It is a textbook example of a Five Room Dungeon. The hook starts when the player characters travel to a new town, and are attacked by kobold brigands that are easy to fight off. The mayor of the town will hear of their exploits, and asks if the player characters can use their kobold-fighting prowess to put a final end to these brigands so the town can resume trade with their neighbours unmolested.

Area 1 - The Sludge Pit (Entrance with a Guardian)

2 skirmishers to hold the enemies in place, 2 artillery to attack from distance. There's a pit of viscous sludge in the middle. The gate to the rest of the Hall allows small creatures (like Kobolds) to pass freely, but medium-sized creatures (like humans or elves) must lift the gate out of the way, which makes the lift-er very vulnerable.

Area 2 - The Tomb (the Puzzle)

3 skirmishers, 2 blaster-type traps. Pressure plates (not shown on the map attached to this page) activate dart launchers; the plates do not react to small creatures such as kobolds. The skirmishers will try to get their enemies to chase them across the pressure plates.

Area 3 - Skull-Skull Arena (the Setback)

2 brutes, 4 minions, 2 artillery, 1 blaster-type trap. The kobolds and their guard drakes are on the raised platforms above the sarcophagi. Access to the platforms are by stairs behind double-doors. Kobolds on each platform alternate swinging a small boulder affixed by rope to the ceiling above the sarcophagi -- this rock will smack enemies attempting to cross the room. The kobolds use the rock for sport, piling skulls on the coffins and knocking them over like skittles. The pit is 10' deep, with more sticky sludge, but also beneath the swinging rock's reach.

Area 4 - The Big Boss (the Climax)

1 artillery (leader), 2 soldiers, 1 skirmisher, 2 artillery, 1 blaster-type trap. The trap is a rolling 10' wide boulder that starts on the largest platform and continuously rolls in a circle around the room, bludgeoning any enemies in the way. The kobolds stick to the raised platforms. The artillery-leader is the kobold chieftain, who can buff his defenders and has a dragon-like breath attack. When looting the chieftain's body, the adventurers find instructions to the secret door to the west.

Area 5 - The True Threat (the Revelation)

1 solo brute. The encounter here is a young white dragon. This dragon sponsored the kobolds, leading to their success over the other tribes, but the dragon's intimidation and greed drove these kobolds take greater risks in raiding human caravans. Once eliminated, the remaining kobold tribes will resume fighting amongst themselves, too busy to harass the caravans again.