A is for Apples

   Or better yet the Alchemists Apple Orchard. Your home towns old alchemist has a small plot of apple trees in his back yard. Apples of every color can be had whether you want the common red, the average green, or exotics like a truly golden apple he had them all.
   You where warned never to eat them and you of course made sure not to, it was that other boy who looked just like you that ate one and turned a bright purple for a day or so. Now later in life your back in town and the new alchemist who took over after the old one died will gladly let you test them as long you tell him what they actually do.

GM Notes: There are 1d4+2 trees in the back of the alchemists place which each at any one time can have 1d6 apples of any color and the back is surrounded by a 10 foot high wood wall of good quality. When picked a new apple will appear in 1d4 days with a 50% of being a new color if there is exactly one color present on the tree otherwise it is exactly the same color as the last picked. The new alchemist though trained by the old one does not know what the various colors mean because the old alchemist died before telling him. There are rumors that some of the apples actually grant youth or any number of such things and the new alchemist would like to find out if this is true. When a party firsts arrives there should be one or two different colors to a tree with little overlap but at most 6 though you may change this as needed. For the apples affect to happen you have to eat at least two thirds of it and you can not get another apples affect for a day. An apple can retain its magic for 1d6 days after picking but after that it fades into a normal color. Six suggested affects for the apples are:

1. Heal 1d6 hp but need to rest for 10 minutes for every hp healed
2. Take 1d6 damage, this damage can not reduce you to 0 hp
3. Turn a random color for 2d12 hours
4. +1 to hit for 1d4 hours but for the same amount of time after get -1 to hit
5. Your voice becomes like how it was when you where a child till your next rest
6. For 1d6 minutes you think you are an apple tree

   A possible hook for the orchard is that the new alchemist is not as he seems and the death of the old alchemist is not so innocent. Attracted by rumors of the apples magical abilities to grant youth or some other magical property the new alchemist came and studied under the old one in an attempt to find out the secret. When it became clear that this would not happen the new alchemist poisoned the old one and took over. With experimentation he found the once a day limit to the abilities and has been selectively picking the apples to cause new colors to appear. There is the possibility that he may have captured a number of village children who are now missing to test the apples on, if so he currently has 1d4 of them in a hidden basement under the orchard. If he has more then two children the town should be up in arms about this.

   That is only one of the possibilities. The new alchemist could be a nice person who honestly wants to find out what the colors do and someone has been stealing a specific color. There could be an increase of odd wildlife near the village that could be traced back to the new alchemist getting rid of unwanted colors out in the woods either trying to mutate the wildlife on purpose or by accident. Any number of posobilitys await and don't just restrict it to the players home town. it could fit anywhere with the first bit being told by a local. It will probably work best in a small out of the way town but interesting twist might be to have it in a city. Try it where you want and see what happens.