The Tadley Wyrm
Trouble in Tadley
Firetalon, a vain red dragon has descended on the
town of Tadley, eating cows and terrifying the
locals. Can the heroes save Tadley?
Burned Bridges and Barbequed Beef
The heroes are travelling to the pleasant town
of Tadley when they find the bridge across the
River Tad has been destroyed. Something has
torn it apart, and the timbers have been burned.
Challenges crossing the river include
• The river is deep, cold and fast flowing making
swimming difficult
• Broken bits of bridge come loose, and are
swept toward the heroes
• A giant river pike decides the heroes look like
today’s lunch
Once across the river the heroes see a pen of cattle
on a hilltop. As they watch a giant red dragon lands
on the hill, burns and devours the cattle, and flies
off. Maggie, a chatty farmer looks on on sadly, and
then starts rounding up more cattle for the next
day. She can tell the heroes that
• The dragon is called Firetalon. He has taken
over the town of Tadley.
• Firetalon wants five cows a day. If he doesn’t
get them he’ll start eating people.
• Firetalon is keeping all the townspeople locked
up in the church as hostages.
Tadley is a small town built on a hill. At the base of
the hill are the town walls, and at the top of the hill
is the church. Firetalon is coiled around the church
like a snake, his head lolling over the roof.
What the Dragon Wants
Firetalon wants food. It’s a little known fact that
dragons, like snakes, shed their skins as they
grow. Firetalon is about to shed his skin (and get
even bigger) and needs to feed up ahead of time.
Firetalon is also thoroughly evil, and enjoys
listening to the sobbing and crying of the
townspeople he has trapped in the church.
Defeating Firetalon
Firetalon is a dragon, and as such, just hitting him
with a sword isn’t going to cut it. Weapons just
bounce off him, and spells fizzle on his enchanted
hide. The heroes are going to need to think of
something very clever to defeat him, and decide if
they just want him to leave, or if they want to slay
him. Possible approaches are...
• Trickery: Like most dragons Firetalon is very
vain, and convinced he is much cleverer than
any person could possibly be.
• Poison: The heroes could introduce poison into
the cattle, but what poisons a fire-dragon?
• Special weapons: Could the heroes get
Firetalon to stick his head through a gate and
then drop a portcullis on his neck? Could they
decorate their armour with spikes and get him
to squeeze?
• Mighty magic: Ordinary spells won’t stop
Firetalon, but a special spell might. Of course
that’s going to require at least three special
ingredients themed to the spell.
It might seem a bit strange setting up an adventure
and not knowing how it will conclude, but my
experience has always been that players are never
short of solutions to intractable problems. Just be
sure as the GM to turn their ideas into thrilling
fun.
Suggested Hero: Prince Crispin
Prince Crispin is famed for his singing voice,
which is rumoured to have magical powers, his
athleticism and his charm.
Singing (d12), Running and jumping (d10), Making
friends (d8), fighting monsters(d6)