Bl'golble's Gullet

Gotta get the Ancient Enchiridion of the Frog. It's been stolen by bullywugs. Local swamp trawlers, those that survived, claim it's held in the lair of a great ... frog ... behemoth ... thing in the depths of the Hormigrade Marsh. It's up to you to get back to the Frog Book. Go get it.

Hormigrade Marsh

Smells like rotten eggs

Thousand-year-old mummified bodies pushed up through the preservative peat

Sickly yellow in colour with lime-green tree roots hanging loose in a dark canopy

Adventurers must wear thick leather rain boots to slosh through the muck

Castle Flower

The Frog Book is defended by bullywugs. Their lair's edges can be identified by a slimy flower the size and height of a lord's castle. The Castle Flower's petals almost look like giant red fangs that stretch up hundreds of feet to the sky.

The group can climb through the petals, but as soon as they're inside, the sky goes dark and the sun is reduced to thin strips of bright light between the petals, before finally being choked completely out as the petals close in a ceiling high over the party's heads, plunging them into darkness. It feels like being trapped in a Venus Fly Trap, or in the belly of a great beast.

Up ahead: scuttling movement. Bubbles of foul-smelling swamp water rise up and threaten to burst.

Fight!

Bullywugs attempt to ambush the party by hiding within the swamp water bubbles. There are also two small islands with some willow trees that provide half cover from attacks.

The party is ambushed by 4 bullywugs, 2 giant toads, and 2 bullywug cultists. The bullywug cultists are each bonded to one of the toads, granting the toads advantage on attacks against enemies close to the cultists.

If one of the giant frogs misses an attack or otherwise fails to live up to the cultists' expectations, one of the cultists will cast shocking grasp as a bonus action on the frog to reprimand it. This doesn't affect its multiattack action.

The bullywug cultists each have swamp-stained pages on them, ripped straight from the Frog Book. The pages don't really have any special meaning; they seem more like a status symbol than anything else.

Advance!

The bullywugs were clearly defending a gnarled old willow tree with a trunk as thick as an elephant. Inside the willow tree is a black entranceway, and it falls deep into an underground cave below the peat. It looks almost like the black maw of a snarling creature.

Bullywug Cultist of the Frog Medium humanoid (bullywug), neutral evil Armor Class 15 (hide armor, shield)

15 (hide armor, shield) Hit Points 44 (8d8 + 8)

44 (8d8 + 8) Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 7 (-2) 15 (+2) 7 (-2) Senses passive Perception 12

passive Perception 12 Languages Bullywug

Bullywug Challenge 2 (450 XP) Amphibious. The bullywug can breathe air and water.

Dark Devotion. The bullywug has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Speak with Frogs and Toads. The bullywug can communicate simple concepts to frogs and toads when it speaks in Bullywug.

Swamp Camouflage. The bullywug has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in swampy terrain.

Standing Leap. The bullywug's long jump is up to 20 ft. and its high jump is up to 10 ft., with or without a running start.

Spellcasting. The bullywug is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). The bullywug has the following spells prepared:



Cantrips (at will): shape water, thorn whip, shocking grasp

1st Level (4 slots): beast bond, create or destroy water, entangle, speak with animals

2nd level (3 slots): earthbind, melf's acid arrow, misty step, protection from poison, spike growth

Actions

Multiattack. The bullywug can cast a spell. It then makes two melee attacks: two with its whip or two with its bite.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.