Friday Encounter: Healing Spring

This encounter is best suited to an out-of-the-way location that must be discovered by the players, such as in the wilderness or in a dungeon. It could also be used in a town, though this may change some of the dynamics involved. It may be useful to have this encounter foreshadowed in rumors from NPCs, such as people in nearby towns claiming to have heard of a spring with magical healing properties, so that the party will be able to recognize the spring and its abilities when they find it.

The party should come upon an enchanted spring, where cool, clear water bubbles up from the ground. The water is always clear and clean regardless of the surrounding conditions, and it sparkles with a bluish sheen when the light hits it. If one bathes in the water for at least one hour, they will find that their wounds are miraculously healed, and they feel rejuvenated with a surge of energy.

In game terms, bathing in the spring conveys all the benefits of a long rest, and also removes any negative conditions one is under at the time. The water loses its magical properties if it is removed from the spring and cannot be transported. The spring may be visited any number of times; you may wish to mark the hex or point this encounter was obtained on, if using such mapping schemes, in case the players want to return to the spring

This may seem like an unusually generous encounter, but there are a number of ideas at hand here. It can be useful to have a resting place in the middle of an otherwise dangerous or inhospitable area in order to give the party somewhere they can backtrack to - think of the bonfires in Dark Souls, for instance, and how staying within a safe distance of one while exploring often becomes a strategy in and of itself. This goes doubly so if you are using Gritty Realism rules or only allow long rests in a safe location, so opportunities to heal to full are at a premium. Having a safe place that the party must return to can change the dynamics of how they explore.

Note also that the location of the spring itself may not necessarily be safe. The party might think they've found a spot to rest, but if enemies do come upon them while they're bathing in the spring, they may need to defend themselves unarmed and without equipment, providing its own tactical challenges.

In fact, the spring happens to be known to a tribe of elves (if in the wilderness) or goblins (if in a dungeon), who consider it a sacred site. The tribe is fiercely xenophobic and tends to attack unfamiliar people on sight - and if they were to find those strangers defiling their holy ground, they would surely not be amused. Every time the PCs visit the spring after the first time, there is a +10% chance that a hostile party of five goblins or elf scouts will be at the spring. If the party spreads word of the spring, they may encourage others to seek it out for themselves - and this may bring them into conflict with its guardians...