Head in the River

Encounter Intro

The river’s song is broken tonight—not by water against stone, but by a voice. At first, faint and fragile, it drifts across the current like a thread of music caught on the breeze. As you draw closer, the melody grows stronger, mournful yet beautiful, the kind of song that stills the forest and hushes the night.

Floating along the dark surface of the river is a severed head, pale and impossible, lips moving in perfect rhythm with the song. Its eyes flick open, glimmering with eerie vitality, and the voice turns from melody to words.

“Travelers,” it says softly, the water carrying each syllable like a hymn, “will you help me?”

Running Head in the River

The head is that of a once-famous bard, cursed for his hubris in challenging a god of music. He asks the party to carry him to his grave, where his body lies buried. His tone is earnest, persuasive, and steeped in tragedy. If the players agree, the encounter unfolds in stages:

• Discovery: The head is charming, eloquent, and eager to win the party’s trust. He shares fragments of his story, often through song.

• Journey to the Grave: Once the party approaches the burial site, the ground stirs and the air chills. 1d4+1 Specters (or stronger undead if needed) rise to bar their path. Their goal is not simply to destroy the players, but to stop the bard from reaching his body.

• Resolution:

  • If the party defeats the spirits, they may attempt to reunite the head with the body. The outcome is left open: a peaceful rest, an undead revenant, or even a powerful ally returned.

  • If they retreat, the head continues its endless drift along the rivers of the world.

  • If they hand him over to the spirits, perhaps they earn an unexpected blessing—or the bard curses them in his final song.

Keep the encounter flexible. The strength of this random event lies in how players react to the head’s story and whether they choose to trust him.