Another week, another adventure! I will readily admit that a lot of my adventures aren't very serious. This is, frankly, by design. I enjoy writing adventures with an element of comedy to them (which is why I love Boggles, Nilbogs and that whole vein of creature). I do, however, also enjoy pushing my players in a moral sense on occasion. This adventure is a great example of that, as I hope you will realise by the time you reach the epilogue. This can be a really interesting beginning to a longer story, or be played as a dark standalone adventure, and I really hope you enjoy running this for your groups.
The Build Up
Whilst the party are first beginning to investigate a new town/village, let one of the rumours they hear be that a family were attacked nearly a month ago, on a full moon, by some unknown creature. No one survived the attack, and all of the bodies were covered in scratch and bite marks. Every couple of days, in game, have the party overhear worries about the same happening again, this month. The party will, of course, assume a lycanthrope of some variety, and this can be easily confirmed by asking any of the locals what they think - a Werewolf is living somewhere in the area.
If the players ask about the state of the moon during the evenings, let them know that it is nearly full, probably only 2 or 3 days left until the next full moon. The day that the full moon is due, have them approached by a relative/friend of the deceased family.
Another fun rumour to plant is that the woods in the north have recently become more hostile, with dangerous creatures/plants becoming more commonplace.
The Quest
The relative will ask the party if they can investigate the area. He/she will ask the party to stand guard in the town, preferably near their house, and keep watch after dark. In exchange for this service, they will offer to pay the party 100 gold (obviously, the party will want to haggle - the NPC will offer to throw in a family relic, a necklace worth 75 gold).
Regardless of whether or not the party accepts the quest, the next part will happen almost exactly the same (except they won’t get paid).
In the Village at Night
If the party agrees to the job, then they will likely be stood guard outside the relative’s house when this next part happens. If they do not, then make sure to ask them whereabouts in the village they are when the sun sets.
After the sun has gone down, and the moon is high in the sky, the party will hear a howl, coming from the opposite side of town. Shortly after hearing the howl, they will hear a scream, seemingly having come from a fully grown human man. If (when) the party investigates the scene, they will find a villager/town guard (your choice) dead on the ground. The body will be covered in bite and scratch marks, and there will be a trail leading away from the settlement, into the woods to the north.
If the party asks around, any villager they talk to will comment on having seen something/someone running away to the north, holding what seemed to be a child. If the party doesn't ask, they won’t know. So hey, either works! Either way, the trail will lead the party to the woods in the north, where the adventure will begin for real.