Bait and Snap | Free 5e and PF2e Encounter

Written by Hana the Lorekeeper

Deep underground, where you can’t see the sky, many dangers prey on unsuspecting travelers and those dwelling in stony caves. Many creatures are hesitant to trust surface-dwellers, and some lose no sleep if they attack without asking questions. Would you dare to delve into the underground, where only crystals and fungi light the way, where danger dwells above, below, and right in front of your face?

If you're looking for other 5e and PF2e resources, check out our entire collection of Lair Magazine issues. This particular encounter came from the May 2024 issue of Lair Magazine, Desperation & Darkness, where you can find even more to add to your campaign!

Bait and Snap - 5e

Level. This encounter is designed for a group of four to six level-five characters.

Creatures. This encounter features the following creatures: commoner, dene’tok.

Location. The scent of decomposing plant material isn’t enough to disguise the smell of iron that permeates the air. Purple-brown moss covers the cave floor and walls, except for the back corner, where a pool of glowing red liquid lies. Crystals and plants near the pool are stained a sickly red hue due to exposure from the pool, and a massive central stone pillar supports the cave roof. Bones from various humanoids and beasts decorate the ground and pool bottom, and some of the newer corpses look like withered husks. Dug into the cave floor and walls are various tunnels and bold holes, allowing Small and Tiny creatures to dart inside them.

Loot. Scattered amongst the various bones, fabric scraps, and corpses are four bloodstones worth 50 gp each, which one can find with a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check. Three bloodstones are in the blood pool, each worth 100 gp, but they deal 2 necrotic damage per minute to any creature holding them. Mari is wearing a silver spider necklace set with red rubies worth 50 gp.

Encounter Description

The three dene’tok here, known as Dres’conde (dress-con-day), are infamous for stealing livestock and young children who wander away from home. They are intelligent enough to lay traps for clueless travelers to fall for. Their favorite trap uses a semi-conscious humanoid as bait to lure in their next meal.

Roleplaying Notes.

• The three dene’tok are Morde, Mastic, and LaMirg. Morde has a long, jagged scar down its muzzle, Mastic’s jaw is stained red, and LaMirg is entirely black.
• While they can’t speak, the trio is sadistic, vindictive, and locally well-known. To appease them and prevent attacks at night, locals will sacrifice criminals, livestock, and unwary adventurers to protect themselves, but the dene’tok always desire more.
• When given a humanoid sacrifice, the dene’tok will drag the victim back to their lair and keep them alive for a week to bait any wandering travelers nearby. If a week passes, they’ll kill and consume the starving and half-dead victim, then look for a new one.
• Mari, a drow commoner, is their current sacrifice-turned-bait. She is weak and delirious, suffering from multiple bite wounds on her body. Her garbled and incoherent cries will alert the party and unknowingly draw them into the trap.
• Should Mari survive the encounter, she will be eternally grateful for the party’s help. She will explain that her village sacrificed her to the dene’tok because her mother lost a bet with the local spider priestess. While angry about the events that led to her sacrifice, she isn’t the first, and she begrudgingly understands that they were sacrificing a few to save the majority.

Encounter Notes.

• Mari only has 1 hit point when the party arrives on the scene, and she lies half-buried under rocks to prevent her from moving.
• Should the party heal her with a spell, Mari will scream out a warning that this is a trap.
• The Dres’conde are hiding in various holes around the cavern, stalking the party and preparing to ambush them. They will attack when the party is distracted or pulling Mari from under the rocks.
• Two of the dene’tok will attack the biggest threat (likely a heavily armored or buff character) as the third one rushes spellcasters and any character in the back closest to the entrance.
• The dene’tok will try to keep the party trapped in the cave, darting in and out of the bolt holes and tunnels.
• While attacking, the dene’tok will cackle and giggle in parodies of a person’s laughter to disturb opponents.
• The trio doesn’t fear dying and will happily trade their lives to take down a character permanently.

Crazy for Goat Blood. Because of their love for goat blood above all other types, the characters can tempt the dene’tok to give up Mari and allow the party to leave. In order to do so, they must provide double the number of goats as there are individuals present (Mari counts in this number). The party can either bring goats in or summon them with the conjure animals spell. Spellcasters can use illusion spells to try to fool the dene’tok; however, if they notice the deception, the dene’tok will attack the responsible party with no regard for their lives.

Necrotic Bloodstones. The characters may be curious about the necrotic bloodstones’ origins or purpose. The answer to this is beyond the scope of this encounter, but the game master is encouraged to use them to tie into the ongoing campaign or to expand on an element of your world-building.

Secret. While natural dene’tok exist throughout the underground, this trio is the manifestation of natural magic that gathers in the blood pool. They will appear once per decade, haunt the area for a year, and then return to their slumber. Because of this effect, any member of Dres’conde will return at full health 1d12 days after being slain.

The locals do not know the nature of this phenomenon and believe the trio migrates around the underground, returning to their home every decade to wreak havoc. The only way to stop this cycle for good is to divert the magic to a different pool, which requires a high-level spellcaster to complete.

Bait and Snap - Pathfinder 2e  (Low 5)

Level. This encounter is designed for a group of four level-five characters.

Creatures. This encounter features the following creatures: commoner, dene’tok.

Location. The scent of decomposing plant material isn’t enough to disguise the smell of iron that permeates the air. Purple-brown moss covers the cave floor and walls, except for the back corner, where a pool of glowing red liquid lies. Crystals and plants near the pool are stained a sickly red hue due to exposure from the pool, and a massive central stone pillar supports the cave roof. Bones from various humanoids and beasts decorate the ground and pool bottom, and some of the newer corpses look like withered husks. Dug into the cave floor and walls are various tunnels and bold holes, allowing Small and Tiny creatures to dart inside them.

Loot. Scattered amongst the various bones, fabric scraps, and corpses are four bloodstones worth 5 sp each, which one can find with a DC 20 Perception check. Three bloodstones are in the blood pool, each worth 10 gp, but they deal 2 necrotic damage per minute to any creature holding them. Mari is wearing a silver spider necklace set with red rubies worth 5 gp.

Encounter Description

The three dene’tok here, known as Dres’conde (dress-con-day), are infamous for stealing livestock and young children who wander away from home. They are intelligent enough to lay traps for clueless travelers to fall for. Their favorite trap uses a semi-conscious humanoid as bait to lure in their next meal.

Roleplaying Notes.

• The three dene’tok are Morde, Mastic, and LaMirg. Morde has a long, jagged scar down its muzzle, Mastic’s jaw is stained red, and LaMirg is entirely black.
• While they can’t speak, the trio is sadistic, vindictive, and locally well-known. To appease them and prevent attacks at night, locals will sacrifice criminals, livestock, and unwary adventurers to protect themselves, but the dene’tok always desire more.
• When given a humanoid sacrifice, the dene’tok will drag the victim back to their lair and keep them alive for a week to bait any wandering travelers nearby. If a week passes, they’ll kill and consume the starving and half-dead victim, then look for a new one.
• Mari, a drow commoner, is their current sacrifice-turned-bait. She is weak and delirious, suffering from multiple bite wounds on her body. Her garbled and incoherent cries will alert the party and unknowingly draw them into the trap.
• Should Mari survive the encounter, she will be eternally grateful for the party’s help. She will explain that her village sacrificed her to the dene’tok because her mother lost a bet with the local spider priestess. While angry about the events that led to her sacrifice, she isn’t the first, and she begrudgingly understands that they were sacrificing a few to save the majority.

Encounter Notes.

• Mari only has 1 hit point when the party arrives on the scene, and she lies half-buried under rocks to prevent her from moving.
• Should the party heal her with a spell, Mari will scream out a warning that this is a trap.
• The Dres’conde are hiding in various holes around the cavern, stalking the party and preparing to ambush them. They will attack when the party is distracted or pulling Mari from under the rocks.
• Two of the dene’tok will attack the biggest threat (likely a heavily armored or buff character) as the third one rushes spellcasters and any character in the back closest to the entrance.
• The dene’tok will try to keep the party trapped in the cave, darting in and out of the bolt holes and tunnels.
• While attacking, the dene’tok will cackle and giggle in parodies of a person’s laughter to disturb opponents.
• The trio doesn’t fear dying and will happily trade their lives to take down a character permanently.

Crazy for Goat Blood. Because of their love for goat blood above all other types, the characters can tempt the dene’tok to give up Mari and allow the party to leave. In order to do so, they must provide double the number of goats as there are individuals present (Mari counts in this number). The party can either bring goats in or summon them with the summon animal spell. Spellcasters can use illusion spells to try to fool the dene’tok; however, if they notice the deception, the dene’tok will attack the responsible party with no regard for their lives.

Necrotic Bloodstones. The characters may be curious about the necrotic bloodstones’ origins or purpose. The answer to this is beyond the scope of this encounter, but the game master is encouraged to use them to tie into the ongoing campaign or to expand on an element of your world-building.

Secret. While natural dene’tok exist throughout the underground, this trio is the manifestation of natural magic that gathers in the blood pool. They will appear once per decade, haunt the area for a year, and then return to their slumber. Because of this effect, any member of Dres’conde will return at full health 1d12 days after being slain.

The locals do not know the nature of this phenomenon and believe the trio migrates around the underground, returning to their home every decade to wreak havoc. The only way to stop this cycle for good is to divert the magic to a different pool, which requires a high-level spellcaster to complete.

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