The Compendium of Fable and Legend (9873802)

The Compendium of Fable and
Legend
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Fable and Legend
The Compendium of Fable and

Legend
Introduction: The universal truth of the road is this: Every
stranger has their fables - and every town has its legends. This
book contains nine campfire or hearthside fables, which a Dungeon
Master may use to add roleplaying flavor to the population of any
small town. Many stories have stat blocks included, should a Dungeon
Master want to make the fable into a reality.
A collection of self-enclosed fables, intended for

drop-in use in any campaign.
by Alex Billedeaux
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Players Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Masters Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other
Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards
of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the
express written permission of Wizards of the Coast.
2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Bochat 31, 2800 Delmont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square,
Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.
Fable and Legend
Legends of the Arcane

The world is full of wondrous and
magical things. Pelor save me should
I ever find any of them.
Amir Khalid, 1363
Saedwins Hare
Look out upon the horizon. The lands
around us support many exotic beasts.
Some of these animals are more
natural than others. It is said that,
somewhere in the hills, a creature
exists who will never die.
A great wizard named Saedwin came
here. His belongings were naught,
save for a purse of gold, a parcel of
herbs, and a rustling cage. Whenever
village folk visited him, he threw a
blanket over the cage. No one, he
said, could bear witness to my
secret. Immortality.
Deep in the night, the family closest
to our villages edge complained of
thunderous incantations. Twisted
villainous words and lights. Though
they tried to sleep, they were awoken
by sharp movements and the gleam of
fangs beneath their bed-side window.
Saedwin was told to desist with his
experiments, but he continued to work
in secret. What is one familys
rest, when weighed against real and
measurable immortality? As a final
test, Saedwin fed the elixir to one
of his hidden creatures. However,
before he could imbibe the formula
himself, the guards arrived. They
knocked the vial from his hand and
brought him into custody.
It is said that Saedwin withered away
in prison. The guards went to
investigate his campsite and found
only a rustling cage, filled with a
family of rabbits. Though the guards
let the hares go, Herman Shirley
insists that one of the rabbits had a
glint of wisdom in its eye. It turned
one last time and winked at him,
before vanishing into the highland
brush.
Fable and Legend
Infernal Tales
Fear the Devils, children. They want
only pain and power.
The Mother, 1422
The Devil Shackle

Many folks avoid our lands. They say
that this region is a haven for
worshippers of the Devil King
Asmodeus. The elders say that there
once were such devil worshippers
here, but the sinister men have long
been ousted from our lands.
Twas a mob that arose to send off
the devil worshippers, but an acolyte
of their numbers made a desperate bid
to hide his infernal artifacts. This
acolyte, Ramir Strenhold, went out
into the night and took six links of
iron with him. While his brothers
burned or fled, he ventured down into
the abandoned ruins of our land and
hid the iron links away.
Now, I know little of devil worship
I thank the gods for that but a
travelling cleric once told me that
such links could be part of a Devil
Talisman. He believed them to be
links to a great shackle that, when
assembled, could be used to drag a
devil free from the Nine Hells.
Somewhere in this land, the Devil
Shackle lies hidden away. The day
will come when an unwitting soul will
assemble the links. On that day, a
very old and powerful Pit Fiend will
walk the Material Plane wreathed in
fire and dripping with blood.
Fable and Legend
Blade of the Second

Do you admire weapons of legend? Do
you, God-fearing men assuredly, have
a healthy fear of Devilish guile?
Good. I have a story for you.
Back when the world was young, these
lands were home to a village of
heathens. The villagers had dedicated
themselves to the paranoid and evil
Dispater The Iron Duke of the
Second Infernal Plane.
Not all of the folk were evil. In
truth, most had been raised to know
Dispater as a benevolent God. The
town elders were the only cultists
who participated in bloody ritual and
sacrifice.
The next day, the village thanked

him. They promised that they would
drive out the cultist elders, should
the elders not change their ways. For
this, the Paladin blessed them. He
asked if there was an anvil upon
which he could destroy his cursed
weapon.
Just then, he felt light upon his
skin and a celestial whisper in his
ear
I spare this Blade of the Second.
Cast it into a pond as you journey
uproad. Let the weapons survival
serve as a reminder to any evil
creature that should seek to be of
use to the Gods above.
As you may know, the great devil

Baalzebul has no love for Dispater.
He actioned a secret plan to bring a
legion of his Osyluth onto the
Material Plane to wipe out the
cultist village of his Devil enemy.
A passing Paladin, a good and
righteous man, came upon the village
in the time of its despair. He
discovered that many of the villages
inhabitants were honest folk. Their
only crime was ignorance of a true
benevolent god. He vowed to defend
them from Baalzebuls host.
I will save you, he said. But I
cannot do it on my own.
The elders of the town forged a blade
by Dispaters infernal rights. The
weapon was enchanted with oaths of
evil and tempered in a basin of cool
blood. Only with this evil device,
could the Paladin hope to push back
the Osyluth troop.
The battle went as such: The Paladin
tore through the devils, leaving not
but clouds of sulfur behind him. Each
parry flashed with sinister crimson
light and, though he broke the
assault, the Paladin worried that he
would lose his holy power and the
love of his god.
Fable and Legend
Demon Whispers
The Abyss, like the demons who reside
there, is infinite. Our world has
been forfeit since the first demon
crawled out.
Thola Skal, 1401
The Possession of M. Dundragon

Look at your shadow. Here, in the
firelight, it seems to act of its own
volition. Watch it whip this way and
that, as though it were alive.
things and began the day-long

journey.
All through Mannys journey to the
temple, he felt a malevolent presence
moving with him. How could it be? Not
another soul moved on the horizon. By
the days end, Manny stood before
Dawnbringer Temple. He called to the
Clerics.
I have been afflicted by a demon,
he pleaded. It must be nearly upon
me. Let me in.
You are not the first person to have

this thought.
The clerics opened the doors and

ushered him inside.
Manny Dundragon was well-loved by the

clergy at Dawnbringer Temple a holy
site which once stood on this very
spot. The clergy protected the local
families from evil, through the
invocation of their god - Lathander.
Manny Dundragons sizeable church
donations bought him special
protection.
You will be safe here. No demon can

come uninvited through our gates.
Protection is all well and good but

you and I know that evil has a way of
seeping in.
Manny waited in Dawnbringer Temple.

He could not have known that the
demon - not content with only the
life of Mannys child - had followed
Manny into the holy site. Grown
incorporeal through its half-life,
the demon had found a way inside.
Though the lamplight never faltered,
Mannys shadow began to dance and
slither and crawl.
Demons normally follow a cycle. When

destroyed on the Materiel Plane, they
return to the Infinite Layers of the
Abyss. If a demon is impeded from its
reincarnation in the Abyss - say by
the God Lathander - the demon remains
on the Materiel Plane. It lives a
half-life. It becomes more essence
than creature.
Manny Dundragon was working in the
barn alongside his sons, when the
unthinkable happened. A few clouds
passed in front of the sun,
temporarily shrouding the farm in
darkness. A scream resounded. When
the sun returned, Mannys youngest
boy was gone.
Go to Dawnbringer Temple and pray
for the return of our child, his
wife told him. Manny could think of
no other option. He gathered his
Fable and Legend
A Gate to the Abyss

When I was a boy, I worked as a
weavers apprentice. Id spend the
days fetching him thread for his
craft and running errands about town.
If I was lucky, he would tell me
stories.
Look at our town, he told me once.
It is a happy place. The pub owner
has hung our bright blue tabards from
his roof. The folk take well to our
sunny yellow tunics. Even in the
stern healers house, you can find
one of our woven green rugs. But,
somewhere in this town, there is a
man and in this mans cellar there
is a gate to the Infinite Abyss.
All that once was idyllic is struck

down and the city burns. The people
die. Our shop is leveled and all
those who once knew of its existence
are slain.
We live in a bright and happy town.
It is filled with color. It is filled
with hand-stitched work. And
somewhere, in some mans cellar,
there is a gate to the Infinite
Abyss.
One day, he will arrange the skulls

around a circle of bonemeal. He will
pray to his dark demon lord and
invoke a planar shift that tears the
floor of his cellar asunder. Millions
of demons will clamber to the
surface, pushing each other down and
stepping on the throats of other
demons to rise to the open gate.
Dretch will pour from the maw. Using
their terrible claws, they will slay
the summoner for his service. The
town will become enveloped in the
stink of a fetid cloud.
And here now are our blue tabards.
See how they are ground between the
teeth of a Hezrou. The ancient
demonic monstrosity has wakened and
found its way out of the summoners
burning abode. It stalks the streets,
looking for prey.
Above, I see wings. Sickly Chasme,
half man and half fly, hunt from the
air. Within the day, their numbers
will become so thick that the sun
itself will be blotted out of the
sky. Once darkness reigns in our
town, and the healer has renounced
his God Pelor in favor of a new
darker lord, a great evil will emerge
from the pit. The Belor steps onto
the Materiel Plane, wreathed in flame
and bearing a sword of fire.
Fable and Legend
The Evils of Men

Aye, Ive seen demons, devils, and
monsters. Of all the worlds
creatures, its men I fear most.
E Brightwood, 1377
The Riesling of Orcus

There is a wine called Haeltower
Riesling. Have you heard of it? I
should hope not. Neither had the
village of good folk who lived in
this region several hundred years
ago.
the murderous merchants in the nearby

woods. The elders teach that, as the
sole survivor recovered from his
resulting fever, he had the thought
to come to this very plot of land and
raise our village.
Call the strangers what you will.
Wine Merchants. Demon Worshippers of
Orcus, he who wants all life to pass
into undeath. The elders warn that
they will one day come back, to
finish what they started.
They thought that it was a luxury

wine. You know, like Haeltower who
bottles all that wine on the Sword
Coast? The strangers brought it in by
the wagonload. They claimed to be
merchants determined to set up shop
far from home.
But they could spare a few casks for
some small town folk.
There was an uncasking in the local
inn, where every man and woman of
drinking age was served a mug of the
Haeltower Riesling. The village elder
paid a hefty sum to attain his own
private wineskin.
As the villagers talked to the wine
merchants, they began to notice
strange things. The wine merchants
knew little of the Sword Coast. They
spoke spitefully of the Gods and,
each time they took a drink of the
wine, they gripped crystal amulets
around their necks.
The first to fall was the town elder.
Foam erupted from his mouth. He
clawed at his throat as he struck the
floor. Many villagers soon followed.
It is said that one of the villagers
grabbed a crystal necklace off of a
wine merchant. Clutching it in his
hand he was protected from the
poison. He fled from the inn, losing
Fable and Legend
A Monster in Your Town

I wouldnt dally long, traveler. We
have little love for strange
visitors. You see, around here, there
is a notorious story of Aeron Frien
and the Town Monster.
Aeron Frien came to our town on the
cusp of harvests end. Most of the
townsfolk were busy threshing and
winnowing the grain.
You have seen the signs, have you
not? The fog, creeping in at night.
The wolves, prowling at your borders.
I heard nigh on a dozen howls as I
travelled up the main road.
Aye, Ive seen poor weather and Ive
heard animal calls. The farmer said.
But we are a small rural community.
If you are suggesting we are plagued
with evil omens, such things do not
happen here. Have a drink and let us
talk no more about it.
Omens they are, said Aeron. Heed
my words, for soon they will be
impossible to ignore. There is a
monster in your town.
The Farmer laughed and thought
nothing more of it. For several
weeks, he heard nothing more from
Aeron. Occasionally, the two would
see each other and the Farmer would
give Aeron a curt nod.
The Farmers daughter fell ill
victim to the early onset of a harsh
winter. The Farmer did not know what
he had done to make Pelor curse his
family so. Yet, when he looked at the
thick fog in the night and heard the
howling of the wolves, he began to
wonder if Pelor had a hand in the
cold snap at all.
He tried sent for a healer, but was
told that nothing could be done for
his daughter. Without an act of god,
she would pass within the week.
Perhaps there is another way, my

friend. Meet me at the riverside
tonight, behind Maywood Manor. I will
show you who is responsible for your
daughters illness.
The Farmer, having no other option,
stole out to the river in the thick
of night. He and Aeron crept into the
Maywood Manor and found Tull Maywood
sleeping stiffly in his featherbed.
Blood pounded in the farmers ears.
He could feel a chill like ice on the
evening breeze.
Aeron drew a stake from his coat and
began to walk to the bedside.
Wait, shouldnt he be in a coffin?
Dont they sleep in coffins?
Aeron looked up from the sleeping man
and handed the stake to the Farmer.
I do not want to stake an innocent
man, nor make you an accomplice, but
I know this is the creature
responsible. I think you should take
the final blow.
The farmer gripped the stake and
advanced on the bedside. As Tull
stirred, the Farmer swore he saw the
slight point of a long tooth beneath
the mans lip. Tulls eyes shot open.
The Farmer plunged the stake into
Tulls chest.
Its done, lets go, the Farmer
heaved. But Aeron was standing behind
him. Hed fell into frantic laughter.
One snaggletooth man and a change in
the weather is all it takes.
The Farmer did not understand. He
looked at the stake, out the window,
and at the man in the bed.
You will remember that I said there
is a monster in your town. I did not
lie. Aeron walked up and jabbed the
paralyzed Farmers chest. For the
monster is here, resting inside each
and every human soul.
From the shadow, almost like hed

been waiting, Aeron Frien appeared.
Fable and Legend
Ghost Stories
I have heard tales that make me think
we should have begun burning bodies
long ago.
Chen Ling, 1330
The Man in Mirrors

The elders tell of a man who was
afflicted with a terrible illness.
This illness made him hideous to
behold.
While working a field, not so far
from where we are now, the man was
approached by a travelling sorcerer.
The sorcerer asked if he could stay
with the hideous man. The hideous man,
a kind and devout soul, accepted the
sorcerer into his home. For three
days, the travelling sorcerer stayed
with the hideous man and his family.
When the sorcerer prepared to leave,
he asked what the hideous man would
have in return for his hospitality.
how beautiful he became - more

beautiful by the day, in fact - the
Adonis was not satisfied with his
face. Soon the entire day withered
away before the mirror, rather than
only the morning. He became a hermit.
He leaned closer and closer to see
the flaws in his face.
On the first day of snowfall, the man
passed into the mirror. The elders
warn us of following in the footsteps
of the hideous man and falling into
the trap of self-interest. Should you
give in to shallowness and narcissism,
you will eventually see the hideous
visage of The Man in Mirrors staring
back at you above your basin.
Make me beautiful. That was the

hideous mans only request.
The sorcerer warned the hideous man
that such magic came with a price. If
the hideous man opened the door to
self-interest, the sorcerer warned
that powerful narcissism could
consume him.
Make me beautiful, the hideous man
repeated.
And so it was. The sorcerer departed
and the hideous man found that he had
become an Adonis. A well-sculpted
face now looked back at him in the
mirror. When he went to fetch water
from the river, he ogled at his new
striking form.
Each morning, the Adonis lingered
longer in front of his basin. Before
the season was out, his wife began to
notice the mornings wasting away
while her husband poked and pulled at
his skin in the washroom. No matter
Fable and Legend
The Returned
Have you heard about the famous
outlaw, Red Richard? He lived around
these parts. The most interesting
part of the mans life is actually
his death.
Red Richard was not a good man. His
band operated out of a huge hill-side
camp, from which he would intercept
passing travelers and merchants.
Richard was responsible for no less
than sixteen deaths. The last crime
he committed, the one for which he
would eventual die, was committed
against one of his own.
Brackard. He feasted after a good

haul and all around him?
Brackard. When he had a child of his
own, the child shared a face with
Brackards son. When Red Richard
found a woman who loved him, she too
was as Brackards wife. Each man and
child and woman was Brackard.
Everywhere he looked Brackard.
Long after Red Richards family left
and his outlaw band fell apart, he
could be found in the slums of our
village. He begged each passerby
Brackard to forgive him for what
hed done.
While robbing a merchant, Richards

most powerful lieutenant discovered a
ruby-inlaid necklace. Lieutenant
Brackard, having first choice of loot
from the take, chose the ruby
necklace for himself. In the days
that followed, Red Richard began to
believe that the necklace had magic
about it. Brackard began to take
lucky hauls and even took an arrow in
the stomach and lived. When Richard
requested the necklace as a show of
Brackards loyalty, Brackard refused.
Red Richard was not a forgiving man.
He stole into Brackards tent at
night and slayed Brackards entire
family. Brackard died, knowing that
his wife and child were passing with
him.
I do not know if that necklace did
have arcane power, or if perhaps it
was Brackards hate which fueled the
following events, but Red Richard was
wrong to think things were over.
According to the men in Red Richards
camp, Richard began to complain that
he was seeing things. Sometimes, when
talking to the men, Richard would
suddenly begin addressing them as
Brackard. Red Richard became distant,
speaking to himself.
Red Richard rose from his tent and
held countenance with Lieutenant
Fable and Legend
10

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