Cairn: Snakes on the Plains

25 Mar, 2025

Here's my conversion of Snakes on the Plains for Cairn! You can find this excellent adventure as part of Dungeon Age's 13 Weird One-shots.

The Hook

If the players aren't motivated by selfless heroism, give them a 5000gp debt to a powerful faction in the nearest city. This is a great way to get heroes in Cairn and similar levelless games to seek out treasure, inspired by Electric Bastionland.

Magic Items

• All treasures here are worth 1/2 their value if their magical nature is undiscovered.
• Cobra Fang Dagger (1000gp): 1d4 magical damage. Critical damage poisons the target, making them blind until they rest.
• Rakir's Recurve (1000gp): 1d8 magical damage, bulky, blast.
• Rat Whistle (1000gp): 1/day, blow on the whistle to summon an obedient swarm of grass rats, or make an existing swarm obedient; the swarm disperses after 1 hour.
• Reindeer Figurine (1000gp): Place on the ground and it transforms into a large red reindeer. The reindeer is friendly, obedient, and can be ridden into battle. The reindeer reverts to figurine form after 1 hour; if slain before reverting, the figurine breaks and cannot transform again.

Monsters

Keen Rattler

HP 3 | STR 8 | DEX 14 | WIL 10 | ATK Rapid Fangs (1, venom)

• Venom: Critical damage deals 1d8 DEX damage.
• Immune to animal toxins
• In a group, one rattler uses its rattle to lure heroes into isolation or an ambush.

Kingly Cobra

HP 5 | STR 10 | DEX 12 | WIL 12 | ATK Blinding Spit (1d4, blinding) or Tail Whip (1d6, tripping)

• Blinding: Critical damage blinds target until they rest.
• Tripping: Critical damage knocks target prone.
• Immune to animal toxins

Grass Rat Swarm

HP 6 | STR 6 | DEX 14 | WIL 4 | ATK Too Many Bites (1d6, disease)

• Disease: Critical damage makes target Deprived until medically treated.
• The swarm can burrow into the dirt, where they can't be harmed.
• The swarm can infest a hero's clothing, where any attack against them deals equal damage to the infested hero.

Rakir the Viperhawk

HP 6 | STR 12 | DEX 12 | WIL 16 | ATK Razor Talons (1d8) or Humbling Flourish

• Humbling Flourish: All enemies within 10ft take 1 damage and fall to their knees. Critical damage deals 1d4 WIL damage.
• Rakir attacks snakes on sight.

Red Adder Priest

HP 7 | STR 10 | DEX 10 | WIL 14 | ATK Sudden Snakes (1d6+1d6, venom) or Divine Fangs

• Venom: Critical damage deals 1d8 DEX damage.
• Divine Fangs: A pair of glowing fangs slices down from the heavens onto one or two adjacent targets. DEX save or take 1d4 WIL damage and be blinded until rest.
• Immune to animal toxins.

Golden Mongoose

HP 7 | STR 14 | DEX 12 | WIL 12 | ATK Crazy Bite (2d6)

• Immune to all toxins.
• The mongoose attacks snakes before anything else.
• When its task is complete, the mongoose becomes an inert golden statue.