One of the pilgrims is a visibly pregnant woman, Lucretia. She is on the pilgrimage in the hopes that her baby will be blessed by the gods and enjoy good fortune, as she knows her time is coming and hopes that it will be born when she reaches the site. It is evident that she is a deeply superstitious person, adorning herself in many protective talismans, citing every occurrence on the trip as evidence of a divine act, and leading the pilgrims in prayer every time the cart sets off - in her own words, this is because she "wishes to leave nothing to chance" when it comes to the safety of the journey.
If the party agrees to ride with the pilgrims, Lucretia will suddenly go into labor in the middle of the journey, while the cart is well into the wilderness. It is clear that she will need help, yet there are no midwives among the group. All eyes will, of course, turn to the PCs to see if they can be of aid.
This is perhaps best run as a skill challenge. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, this is a series of skill checks, with the goal of reaching a certain number of successes before a certain number of failures. In this case, enter Action Time and have all PCs who wish to attempt to deliver the baby make a DC 12 Medicine check (they may add their proficiency bonus with a healer's kit if they have one and are proficient with it). Mark off the results of each attempted check. The goal is to roll three successes before three failures.
There are a number of outcomes to this encounter, based on the number of successes and failures rolled. Each of them may have interesting consequences for the party and the campaign.
Three Successes, No Failures: Both the mother and the baby are alive and well. Lucretia is overjoyed - and considers the successful birth a sign of divine favor, and the PCs as agents of the gods, whether they know it or not. She will name the baby after one of them and insist on following the party around, dutifully obeying their every word, as she feels they were sent to guide her. If they attempt to turn her away, she will adamantly refuse.
Three Successes, Less than Three Failures: Lucretia has come out of the ordeal exhausted and in need of rest, but she and the baby are alive. She is grateful for the PCs and considers herself in their debt, but sees them as merely kind-hearted strangers doing the right thing and won't ask anything too outlandish of them. She will still wish to repay them - she may have a rumor to impart to them that will lead them toward an advantageous resource, or a clue to a quest, or perhaps merely a trinket that will be of use to the party.
Two Successes, Three Failures: Lucretia is alive, but the baby is unfortunately stillborn. She is bereaved with grief, especially considering the importance she placed on the pilgrimage - in fact, she is quick to blame the strangers who joined the pilgrimage late for bringing misfortune upon them, and places a curse on them so that ill fortune will follow them. Each PC must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. If they fail, until their next long rest, they have Disadvantage on all ability checks and saving throws.
One Success, Three Failures: The baby is alive, but the mother has died in childbirth. None of the other pilgrims have any want for a baby, and have no idea what to do with it. Now the PCs have a baby they need to find a home for - until then, they will find that keeping a baby around entails a lot of work, and is not very conducive to stealth.
No Successes, Three Failures: Both the mother and baby are dead. The rest of the pilgrims immediately turn to the party as bringers of ill fortune, and believe their presence has cursed their expedition. They will form an angry mob and attempt to chase the PCs into the wilderness; furthermore, when the PCs arrive at their destination, the mob will be there too, and they will remember their faces.
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