The village of Redtower, home city of the Scarlet Citadel megadungeon, is a modest community, boasting just a handful of interesting locations for the adventuring crowd that the neighboring Scarlet Citadel sometimes attracts. You’ll find a smithy, stables, an inn, a brewery, and two temples (with a third abandoned temple to boot).
But you can add just about anything to make your campaign special. One option is the Apple Pie Social, Redtower’s local fair and the most looked-forward-to event of the village.
The social occurs four times a year, always a week after Redtower Orchard harvests its apples during the summer and autumn months. Despite Redtower’s small size, the village still goes all out for the social, thanks largely to Redtower’s affable Mayor Broz.
All local businesses participate in the social. The Cage Tavern and Sweet Sap Brewery hold tastings for their latest ciders and meads, Agniezka hosts a horseshoe toss, Cibor and Eva from the Orchard run an apple bobbing game in partnership with the White Woods Lodge, and the Temple of Rava has apple pie baking and eating competitions.
The main event of the social is the Pie Fighting Championship, a tiered fracas of pie slinging delight where teams compete for ribbons, gold prizes, and glory.
When the time of year is right, bring the Apple Pie Social to your next Scarlet Citadel game session—or your own campaign! Here are two minigames you can use to do just that.
Minigame: Apple Bobbing
Half a dozen barrels sit in the sun next to a small kiosk laden with baskets of apples and jugs of cider. A stylized leafy tree sign above the kiosk’s table displays the words, “Apple Bobbing Game 5gp”.
It’s a tradition for Cibor and Eva to run the Apple Bobbing game in Redtower. Cibor likes to joke about using the ugly apples that aren’t fit for harvest but Eva’s always quick with assurances that the apples are perfectly fine and just as sweet as ever.
The game is simple: bite (no hands!) all the red apples out of the barrel as quickly as you can while leaving the green apples in.
How To Play. Each player (GM too) needs two sets of dice (d4, d6, d8, 2d10, d12, d20) of different colors. One set represent the red apples and the other represents the green apples. When the GM declares “ready, set, bob!” every participant rolls all of their dice simultaneously without stopping.
When a player rolls a 1 on a red apple die, they set it aside and stop rolling it. When a green apple die lands on a 1, the player must return one red apple dice they set aside (if any) to the action. The game ends when all but one of the players has all red apple dice on 1.
The winner is the player who finished first, earning bragging rights and a jug of Redtower Blessed Cider. Runners up each earn a single goodberry, which expires at the end of the day.
REDTOWER BLESSED CIDER
Potion, Common 75 gp
This wineskin of Redtower apple cider has been blessed by the alseid priests of White Woods Lodge. When you drink it, your hit point maximum increases by 5 for 1 hour.
Minigame: Pie Fighting Championship
A small crowd cheers around a makeshift arena in the town’s center. Challengers in the arena sling pies back and forth at each other! An errant apple pie sails beyond the arena’s borders and splatters onto a happy bystander—the crowd goes wild! Mayor Broz stands near the arena’s entrance taking bets and placing15 gp entry fees into a tidy safe box.
Ask Mayor Broz what is going on and you’ll likely get the following, “What better way to let off steam than a friendly pit fight . . . erm, pie fight? Do you want a taste of the action?”
While many come to Redtower’s apple pie socials for the food and mingling, the locals love the Pie Fighting Championship and the speculation around who will win the coveted purple ribbon grand prize. In an effort to draw in the same tourist-adventurers who hang around the Scarlet Citadel, Mayor Broz is eager to enter would-be heroes into the championship for the low entry fee of 15 gp.
How to Play. The Pie Fighting Championship is a series of combat encounters where two teams attempt to beat each other with pies for colored ribbons and cash prizes, starting at the lowest tier (the white ribbon) and ending at the highest tier (the purple ribbon). Each encounter is a friendly fight with no weapons or damage-dealing magic allowed. All damage dealt must be nonlethal or the offending challenger is disqualified. Sister Cecylia stands by just in case to deliver a curative spell. Armor, non-damaging spells, and other features are fair game. Each encounter takes place within a 30-foot-square roped off pit arena dotted with 1d4 + 2 obstacles to take cover behind.
The teams stand in the middle, back to back, and must run to opposite sides of the arena where tables laden with dozens of pies await to be thrown. At the end of three rounds, the team with the most combined HP is declared the winner.
A team must have at least four teammates to enter into the championship. If a team needs more teammates to qualify, Remy Argentford and Mags Halfbottle (both halfling commoners) cheerfully offer to stand in.
All of the pies count as improvised weapons with the thrown property, dealing 1d4 bludgeoning damage on a hit. Each pie also has an additional effect outlined below.
Classic Apple. This chunky pie is unsurprisingly messy. The target must succeed on a DC 15 STR save or be knocked prone.
Rhubarb Bliss. This pie has some fey magic woven into the sugared crust. The target must succeed on a DC 13 CHA save or be charmed for 1 minute.
Shepherd’s. This hefty dinner pie hits like a plate full of potatoes. Critical hits made with this pie occur on a roll of 19 or 20. On a critical hit, roll damage a third time and add to the result.
Sweet Cream. This delicious pie always lands with a satisfying splat. The target must succeed on a DC 13 CON save or be blinded until the end of their next turn.
| Ribbon & Prize | Challengers |
| White, no prize | Redtower Militia Kaczper, Olaf, Mirela, and Rike (all four human guards) |
| Red, 25 gp | Ariadna and Ambrozy Gjorski (both human scouts), Militia Captain Tudmock Redberg (dwarf noble), and Sister Norneth (elfmarked spy) |
| Blue, 50 gp | Ammanis, Bellenor, Kashyna, and Synnana (all four alseid druids) |
| Purple, 100 gp | Konrad (human mage), Zula (human priest), Constable Roch, and Agniezka (both human veterans) |
This is really fun! Might see if I can fit one of these contests in my last few Scarlet Citadel sessions :)
Hey KP,
I LOVED this. Used it in my Session 1 ToV campaign. Players got a kick out of it. More simple rules that enable memorable experiences like this would be great!