Compilation of this volume was originally started by Aaron Sher and has been completed by me. It contains plot and scenarios mostly for fantasy RPGs but some from other genres have also been submitted. (Come on other-genre players - get your contributions in for Vol IV). Plots have been presented in no particular order but there is a large Appendix which is a compilation of the responses to the "On the road you meet..." thread in rec.games.frp.misc. I have made only minimal changes (spelling usually) to the material as received. I hope everyone finds this enjoyable and useful.
Authorship of individual plots have been accredited individually with email address where I had them (missing from some collected by Aaron - if you can supply please email me). Author attribution is at the top of each plot.Authors appreciate feedback - if you use any of these try telling the author how you did. IT MAY WELL ENCOURAGE THEM TO CONTRIBUTE MORE PLOTS TO THE NEXT VOLUME.
Finally, my thanks to all who submitted these plots and especially to Aaron Sher who dreamt up the Net.plot.books in the first place.
Phil Scadden
MDLCPGS@LHN.GNS.CRI.NZ 18/2/94
Author: Ben Davis
Email: bjd12@cus.cam.ac.uk
Local temple (agricultural type goddess) been generally lax and living it up, not actually doing much work in the way of religion. One of the PCs knows someone in this temple - is asked to do a favour. The major temple of the same religion is sending round a small group to "inspect" all the little provincial places. The report will be both a financial one (audit) and a load of interviews with the congregation. If the report gets done properly (ie truthfully) all the priests are in big trouble.
What the PCs are asked to do is to help alter the way the report gets done. The problem is that _a_ report has to get done, that killing the visitors is a massive no go, and that the PCs are going to have to alter the perception of the temple and the surroundings without the visitors realising.
In the version we ran, the PCs got a hand from the priests in that the priests took care of the congregation (by buying them all drinks etc) and the party only had to deal with the visitors. They did this by finding out some background (5 visitors), and then seducing 2, getting 1 blind drunk, bribing one, and blackmailing the last. Thus the report was written by the right people, and no- one's suspicions were raised.
Staying in pub - landlady's daughter comes back from playing on the beach in the early morning to collapse - initial thoughts are that she's ill, further investigation will reveal she's been poisoned.
Turns out the kids (small group on beach) found a rowing boat aground, with a case in it. They nicked the case, found it was full of food, and eat it several die, all very ill (they didn't eat much of the food 'cause they didn't like it - unusual taste).
Food was being dropped off to be picked up by a caravan passing nearby, where it would be swapped for an identical case (unpoisoned) and sent on to its buyer, a powerful alderman (or equivalent) in a nearby town.
So - to help out the landlady the PCs have to sort out a number of things owner of the boat, realise a caravan was going to be nearby at the time, find out from the merchant where the food was going, make all the right connections. They should then meet up with the alderman, who'll realise the attempted assassination attempt (especially if the PCs have still got a sample of the food - its a delicacy that's his favourite and that no-one else likes), and may ask the Pcs to sort out who was behind the poisoning. This will now entail crawling around the city getting the poison analysed, tracing the boat, the buyer of the poison and so on. Who's behind it is up to you (as is everything else really) - I had his son responsible (via a long and convoluted chain.
PCs are dealing with some nomadic tribe (in my version, they were trying to set up a trade deal with them). Problem - chiefs brother has disappeared in mysterious circumstances (surprise me) and, guess what, the tribe is mourning and is not prone to doing business - so, if the intrepid PCs can rescue the brother, everyone'll be happy.
The brother has in fact tried to visit the ancestral plane to find out loads of Good Things, meet ancestors etc. He got the instructions from a ghost in an old ruined hill fort, which he got the location of from a diary he bought from some other nomads (the PCs can sort all this out with the right clues). He went to the hill fort, summoned the ghost, and got the spell to open a gate to the other plane. Unfortunately, the ghost being a miserable bugger, and the brother being of the trusting and slightly awed sort, the ghost withheld how to get back "for a laugh". So, the brother successfully built the gate, went to the ancestral plane, only to discover he couldn't get back. The PCs had better be more ruthless when talking to the ghost or exactly the same'll happen to them,
The way this scenario goes depends very much on what the PCs do - when I ran it, the main feat was getting to the hill fort and talking to the ghost - rounding up the components for the gate and rescuing the brother were fairly simple compared to that.
PCs are asked/hired to go and pick up (if they have a starship) or escort on a liner (if they haven't) four people from a nearby system. Ideally, get them to agree before they have much chance to do any background research.
The world they'll be going to is a Balkanised water world. The four people they're meeting are political dissidents from one of the governments, a theocracy. The starport is in a different country, a bureaucratic obsessed blood pressure inducing place.
Unsurprisingly, the four dissidents don't turn up for the rendezvous. Depending on things, they've either:
Just for comment, we were using a 2300AD/old Traveller(TM) hybrid (2300AD characters, Traveller universe, hybrid gear with a touch of Cyberpunk(TM) for good measure.)
The kidnapper (in our campaign his name was Barbarossa) is really a slaver who enjoys tormenting his captives before selling them off in a slave market in a country faaar from the respective PCs home.
After x years of slavery in {a coal mine, a salt mine, the fields picking cotton} our heroes get a chance to escape. The escape can be an adventure by itself.
The PCs may be from any part of the world. (They may even have problems in understanding each others language in the beginning.) After successful escape they by incident see Barbarossa. The word "revenge" suddenly appears in their minds.
What can they do to hurt the seemingly too powerful slaver?
The PCs find a freshly dug grave, haunted by the ghost of the victim, who will follow them around and wake them at nights wailing "John Smith killed me; avenge my death". They are also hired to hunt down someone who robbed a rich merchant. His name was John Smith. Whatever. Eventually the PCs will go looking for John Smith. He is a local farmer, totally innocuous, who lives on a rather isolated farm near a dangerous area.
When they find him, he tries to zap them with a nasty wand, but after one charge, he drops it and attacks with a sword. He is berserk, but has very few hits and dies rapidly. When they get back to town they are told that while they were gone John Smith left on a boat/caravan/pogo stick. They are confused. They are even more confused when they are attacked by John Smith.
A shape changer/illusionist has got hold of a neat magic item that is supposed to make people believe they are someone else. Unfortunately the item is broken and makes people believe they are one particular person ... namely John Smith, the first person the item was used on. Undeterred, our villain controls numerous people, making them John Smiths and occasionally taking on the John Smith persona to do dirty deeds. Even when there are obviously far too many John Smiths, he'll keep doing this, as people will be reluctant to kill someone who could be their wife, brother or mother!
The PCs will have to tackle numerous John Smiths of varying dangerousness and capture them, determine whether he's a stupid peasant or a high-level evil genius and deal with the situation.
This is great for low-level types without spells that could solve the problem rapidly. High-level PCs would just do a Detect X spell and wrap up.
Setting: Town with 1 or more tavern's, meeting places, etc.
Target is male Pc.
A Pc is on the make, ie. looking for love. A woman comes in and looks over the place and picks one of the Pc's. She grabs 'em and asks him to come back to his place. They get into a very *nice* coach. If the Pc asks any questions about the woman's background she'll say that she is a wealthy widow (she is lying!). One into the carriage she becomes all hands. Once home, a nice large mansion, she ignores the servants strange looks and drags Pc up to the bedroom where a night of passion will commence.
The punch line: The lady is really the wife of mayor/prominent community leader/miliary leader/etc who has been cheating on her. She's out to get revenge! The night with the Pc is the method of her choosing!
In the morning the servants, who do their best to ignore the Pc's presence, will come in and straighten up. They will fold the clothes and bring breakfast. In the middle of breakfast the husband will come home. The wife will get out of bed and start throwing their freshly folded clothes all over the bedroom. Mean while, one of the servants will tell the husband that his wife has company! The husband will charge into the bedroom and try to kill the Pc. This will be occurring while the wife is saying to her husband, "Serves you right for cheating on me!", "He was much better than you", "Oh! I never new what I was missing until last night", etc. This causes the husband to go into blind rage causing him to not fight up to this full potential.
Options:
The Pc can try to fight if he gets his weapon. Once this occurs the
husband will calm down and fight to the best of his ability. If the Pc does
kill or wound the husband the wife will attack the Pc. She really still loves
the husband (all well as a few other women!) and will try to protect him. At
this point the Pc becomes just a tool for her revenge. She does not care what
happens to him....
Flee!!!! The husband will chase the Pc into the streets and then stop saying that he'll get revenge!
Either situations can cause a man hunt for the Pc. The city guards will be brought into the situation. If caught, you can toss 'em jail, strip them of $$'s and items, etc. If they flee the town, bring this sub-plot back into play every time they return to the town. Or send mercs. after the Pc's party to bring back the one Pc to "justice".
Have fun with this one. Make 'em pay for fooling around with out thinking too much! 8^).
This was designed for a rather high level party in a very politically unstable world. The local government is being treated unfairly by the big federal-style empire ruling over them and the neighboring cities. The cities are currently in a state of alliance in trying to overthrow the central government, not through civil war (unless it comes to that) but through diplomatic means. The scenario is that the Emperor has a mysterious covert army, made up of people with assassin-type skills (in RM I use NightBlades). This army kidnaps the Emperor's heir's fiancee and tells her that they are revolutionaries supporting the revolutionary alliance. The Emperor then sends a small army force to each city to take the local government people into custody for questioning concerning the kidnapping, since he has found "clues that implicate them..." His plan is to take them into custody, then release the girl who will swear to her grave they were revolutionaries who kidnapped her, and thus he will have no recourse but to execute the troublesome barons. The Barons obviously are not going to go peacefully but then again they don't want an all out war. Have the Barons get some advanced notice somehow (spies with magic communication or whatever) so they can prepare. In my world I also had Paladins roaming the streets who supported the Empire. Now the Baron sends the city into an uproar to fight off the Emperor's troops. Catch is, the shadow army is here to catch the Baron alive (poison arrow comes to mind). As for what the PCs are doing, in my campaign they were rabid revolutionaries and they ran around killing Paladins and Emperor's troops until they saw the Baron and managed (plot catch) to see a guy aiming an arrow at him. They save the Baron's life and the Baron thanks them...and asks them to do him a favor. He's seen them working in the streets and knows they are good, plus they just saved him. He asks them to go to the capital city, speak to some of his spies there, and find out where the heir's fiancee is hidden. If they free her and convince her that the people behind her capture weren't rebels but someone else in disguise, then the Emperor will have to call off his troops and a war can be prevented. In my campaign they were also asked to delay the Emperor's reinforcement troops so they couldn't get to the city before the Barons were proven innocent. Note, this will probably not be possible without the PCs having access to some sort of teleportation/ instantaneous travel...
Background: setting 1998 earth, with incompetent bureaucracy ruling the USA, has already scuttled NASA and decided to go with a space program under direct congressional control (!). The ship travels by exploding fusion devices behind it and travelling forward on the strength of the blast. Obviously it has a very strong shield on the back. Obviously it is not aerodynamic.
The ship's mission is to go to Alpha Centauri and gather data on whether or not the system is suitable for human habitation (earth is becoming uninhabitable because of pollution and mismanagement).
The characters all have hidden motives, as they are all agents of one or another secret society in the fragmented USA government. They have to depend on a navputer+, a navigational computer that is programmed to take care of all their needs. ;-)
The problem is that Djinn wants to look at the world after 500 years, and to play off the humor of all these relics of ancient days wandering around in the brave new world of 2500 AD. Since the trip to AC will only take about 9 years of objective time, what to do?
I'm getting an evil idea...
The Navputer+ gets close enough to Alpha Centauri to check it out. Orders sent in the mean time by genius senator Orrin Hatch's subcommittee on efficient space exploration have downgraded the importance of human observation on this task. Quickly confirming that there is no suitable planet for life, the Navputer decides to continue on to Barnard's star before waking up the crew!
The crew awakens and starts working, then discovers that the starfield is all wrong and they're not in the solar system they expected, then they notice that huge gas giant in orbit. They discover a planet in the habitable zone, though calculations are difficult because of that huge companion planet. They also discover that they're short on fuel to get back. If they just head back they'll take about 100 years to make it the 9 ly (or so) back from Barnard's star. After much racking of brain they find a black hole passing by the solar system, just a little bit off the plane of the galaxy, and decide to use the black hole's gravity to give them a boost back towards Sol (it's going that general direction anyway).
Anyway, after much panicking and gnashing of teeth they go for it. Only complication is that the acceleration is going to be so strong that no human will be able to pilot through the black hole. They'll have to go into cryo and let the navputer (the one that didn't wake them up last time) do the steering, and don't have a big window for operations on the other end either, since food is running short.
And finally, the experiment backfires again, though the trip is made at near light-speed (about 9 years) unpredictable time "currents" around the black hole make them *go away* for 500 years.
Finally, the heroes awake in the solar system, speeding past Neptune at .9C. Can they slow down in time to stop at earth, or do they have to depend on earth to save them? They'll probably try to pull another deceleration manoeuvre, but this time the only available large body is the sun. Can it stop them without killing them (is the nuclear shield on the back large enough to shield them)?
At long last the heroes arrive on earth, only to find it is 500 years later, nobody knows them, and their ship is an interesting relic. Their knowledge of Barnard's star is dated. The only unique information they have is on the black hole and the time dilation they experienced. It might be worth big bucks, but how to use the information?
1. Maybe they can create some kind of time-stasis device? The rest of the campaign could be a struggle to protect the invention and become industrial magnates, then eventually rulers of their own demesne, perhaps to sit on the first galactic throne, all the time struggling against industrial espionage, cults of personality, eco-terrorists, interstellar teamsters, and the adoring public.
2. Or maybe another black hole is approaching some important planet (earth?) and the original crew's data can help them divert it. But the Navputer was sold for scrap long ago, and the tapes are covered with dust (or were caught in a flood) since they were stored by an incompetent bureaucrat. The characters search for the Navputer, which is now running some children's ride in Spielbergland, etc. You get the idea.
The possibilities, especially for satire, are endless.
The reason for this is that the king wasn't behaving himself by sending adventurers after her, especially if the King has just blown it before by standing up to the evil church because he has come to the decision that he might have to take the risk and they are about to carry out their threat because of it, which makes time very crucial.
The best way to give them a time limit is to set a special event upon which the princess is to be unknowingly sacrificed. If the PC's fail to pull it off in time, they get no money for their trouble, make an enemy of both the king and evil church, as well as probably being suckered with a powerful curse.
Scenario Description:
A halfling thief named Freebag, was once a trusted member of a thieves guild.
Then one day he stole a very large sum of money from the guild. He is currently
in the process of leaving the area where the guild operates. In a village to the
east (Dar-Town is its name) Freebag spent a night in a safe house. While there
he heard of about a wizard who was selling a magic item in Hartthorn. Since
Hartthorn is a growing town and has no guild (the local leader is very strict on
thieves) Freebag decided to go there. Besides, it gets him farther away from
the guild. Freebag meets a small group of halfling fighters and merchants on the
way which let him travel with them. Mostly due to racial trust reasons. He
arrives at Fred's in Hartthorn at start of this adventure.
While Freebag was making good his escape, the guild didn't stand idle. Using some of their special methods they have placed the rumour about a magic item for sale in Hartthorn knowing if Freebag heard the rumour he would go after it. They have done several things like this in all areas out around the guilds area of operation. They not sure of his whereabouts, but, need time to get agents into position. A group of these agents arrived in Hartthorn several days ago. With the agents are two guild members who know Freebag. They will identify Freebag and stay out of his sight while the other agents do their plan.
The plan is to get the money back by counter-ripoff. Due to the local political situation, the agents do not want to incur the wrath of the local leader. They want to get the money back peacefully. The rumour is that a MU is selling a Girdle of Storm Giant Strength for 4000GP. Interested buyers are to contact a man named Logard at Fred's. The agents will recover most of the money and let Freebag go. If forced to, they will use violent means to recover the money. Players could disrupt this plan....
Players don't hear the rumor, *THIS IS IMPORTANT*, but, overhear the conversation between Logard and Freebag. If they players decide not to get involved the events still happen, but, the PCs go on their way. It is nice to have some adventures which the players decide whether or not to get involved with. In my game, they didn't pursue them the first time this was run. I expected the thieves to act as thieves, instead they just hung around waiting for the GM to lay an adventure in their lap.
Hastings Inn: Poor inn, average costs - substandard rooms, some low life types in here. Especially the owner! He is an evil low level mage. Hartthorn was built over the remains of an enemy fort (wooden fortress) which was destroy in a war 150 years ago. The leaders of the winning army were forewarned not to explore the underground area beneath the fortress. A few years ago, while digging a large wine cellar, the owner discovered at passage into the area beneath the fortress. He now charges 1SP or more to let adventures adventure within. The local leader knows about this but is not concerned.
Ki Rin House: Part of a chain of fine inns and hotels which all go by this name. This place is two story building, continual lights surround the entire building and very experienced guards patrol inside and out. Customers are searched going in and weapons are checked in and locked up. The all doors to all rooms are in view of each other. Frequented by merchants, mages, and anyone who can afford the stay (1GP per night at least, meals 1-5 gp). The are mostly good sorts here. The owner and his wife are powerful in their class. Thieves would best stay away from here! The owner pulls in a good 120 GP to 200 GP per day here.
Fred's: In my world, Fred is a god of drinking/pleasure. Many go here to drink and have a good time. Fred was used in several games throughout the U.S military in the 70's.
Stable: Good stable, excellent horses for sale!
****The Guild's Agents****
Leader
Logard male Human Fighter, powerful, nasty, chainmail, long sword- (2xspecialization with Long sword), dagger, longbow, lance, 1 magic potion perhaps
Melitiak Male Human Magic User, say 5 spells available and a magic item
Xilia female 1/2elf Thief moderately good, magic weapon
Trank male elf Thief moderately good, magical leather armor and a weapon
Eifpak male human Cleric. Good. Plate & sh, Potion of powerful healing
GoMoku Male Human Thief, newbie, Potion of powerful healing.
****End of Guild's Agents****
Freebag goes to the Ki Rin house to by a girdle of Storm giant strength which he heard was for sale. The halfling will be negotiating with a mu (Melitiak by name) to by a magic item from him (Melitiak is actually a member of The Guild trying to get the money back peacefully by counter-ripoff). The halfling states he must go to his hiding spot to get the large sum of money being asked for the magic item(4000GP). The two agree to meet back at the Ki Rin house in 24 hours. This should give the party plenty of time to ripoff Freebag. The hiding spot is in his room at the Hartthorn inn. The guild didn't know what room he is in and they don't want to do anything that might look like active thieving if they did. This could put legal/political pressure on the guild.
If the guild has to kill Freebag, they will hang aroid town and try to figure out who has their money. If anyone in the party starts to by expensive stuff or shows off hidden wealth they will become suspected by the guild. If the group approaches Melitiak to but the girdle of Storm giant strength at this time they will become suspect. The guild will sell the girdle in this case and get their money back. This way they succeed in their mission. If the guild suspects party members they will follow them around and watch them. They may try to kidnap a party member to get the money back. At worst they will attack them or enspell them somehow.
When the guild agents get their money back they will leave the town through the south gate into the fields and then to the wilderness. The guilds agents escaped to the south and entered an environment controlled by woodland creatures or a high level magic-user and /or Druid. If the PCs kills a deer hunting for food (or other woodland types) the group will be geased/quested to kill a creature which has been killing woodland creatures or hurting the forest. The creature is a basilisk. The group will find signs of it in an area one day, if they camp/sleep near this area the basilisk will find them at night. If they find the lair they could be in trouble! (in it's lair there is some treasure 2000 silver pieces, 400 electrum, 200 gold, 50 platinum, 1 scroll of protection from undead, and a +1 short sword. there is also a treasure map to a nearby tomb which contains 20 ghouls, 2 shadows, 14 wights, 1 ghast, and 1 wraith. The map doesn't mention the undead or that it is a tomb.)
If the group tries to find out who killed the halfling they will get the following information: Freebag came into town with a group of halflings. The halflings are staying at the Hasting's inn. Freebag stayed at the Hartthorn Inn.
Other information found out below if they investigate.
The other halflings will say that Freebag was hauling a heavy wooden chest on his horse. Freebag joined them in Dar-town and came along for strength in numbers and racial trust reasons. They know nothing else.
Hartthorn inn: Owner says that he was quiet and paid in advance for his room. He felt that Freebag had molten gold in his pocket. His daughter (wench) served him dinner normally. The wooden chest is not in his room. Wench @ the Hartthorn Inn: Mentions the dinner and wine and that he gambled after he ate. She will point out a gambler she last saw Freebag with. Gambler @ the Hartthorn Inn: States that he played cards with him and broke even. Halfway into the game some other men wanted to join so he gave up for the night. The men who join the game had been staying in this inn. The two men are GoMoku and Eifpak. He will give descriptions of the two men. GoMoku and Eifpak are camping outside of town since Freebag was killed.
Stable man found knocked out: He was guarding the place was knocked out. Nothing is missing. Freebag's horse is in here. If the hay in the horse stall is searched they will find the Scroll mentioned above.
A speak with dead performed on Freebag will work if they ask questions about his murder and who killed him. This is the easiest way for the group to discover the murderers. Note: the murderers are staying at different inns and they will leave town if other members of the guild group are caught.
2
If the group doesn't rip off Freebag for the money, the transaction for the
girdle will go on as planned. The Guild will get it's money back and Freebag
will go on his way with a fake girdle of Storm Giant Strength. Freebag will
quickly figure out that the girdle is a fake and will leave the area under the
Guilds control ASAP. The guild will not take any further action against Freebag
unless he stays in the area. In this case they will have him murdered.
It is possible that the group will try to rob the mage of his money instead. They must try this outside of the Ki Rin House, Else they will most likely die. The mage will be surrounded by his friends when he exits the Ki Rin House so if he is attacked the group should expect some back attacks. If the group wants to follow him out of town use the plan in the paragraph below.
The Guild group will regroup and leave town two hours after the sale of the girdle. They will exit through the south gate. If they notice anyone following, they will move forward quickly and try to setup an ambush. If the group catches up before the ambush, they will try to run. After having run away from the group once the PCs gets attacked at night at their camp (unless they appear to strong to handle) or the group is ambushed the next day. Each member of the Guild group has 20PP on them. The last guild member will have the chest of mob money.
3
If the group tries to get the Girdle from Freebag (non-stealthily) he will first
try to sell it to them for 6000GP. If attacked he will offer to give them some
very interesting information if they let him go (A scroll written in Thieves
Cant relating the safe house in Dar-town). Second, he will boast of his new
found strength and warn the group not to attack him. He will also inform them
of his expertise in fighting with the foil (a lie). If this doesn't work he
will run away, fighting only if there is no other choice. The group will figure
out the girdles quality quickly.
Scenario Description: An evil god of thieves demands a sacrifice of a thief to satisfy his needs. He would desire a non-guild thief, but, any thief will do. The clerics of this god are trying to find a thief/thieves to sacrifice. One of the higher level clerics is attempting to get the PCs into the temple by pretending to be a thief and stating he has knowledge of rich treasure within it.
Places in the scenario: Temple of Stoth: A large building with several towers. There are guards below and apparently none on the outside or at the upper floors of the tower.
Stoth: god of thieves- Alignment CE/CN- Purpose: to control all Thief related activity. This is not lawful, this is a selfish power hungry god who doesn't care who he steps on! He sees crime as anti-law. Notes: Thieves guilds which pay dues are left alone. In those guilds which pay, many members are also worshipers. Guilds which don't pay are considered enemies. Non-guild thieves which are not worshippers are enemies. Enemies are to be "converted" or removed from the business. Almost all member guilds have clerics in them, who control or manipulate the guild. The clerics have some thief skills as well as normal clerical spells, but, they are limited to thieves weapons and armour. Occasionally, Stoth (his clerics) demand a sacrifice of enemy thieves.
* . * KEY:
* . * * = Stone Wall
* . * .. = Heat Trail
* . * M = Magic User
* . * C = Cleric
******* . ******* F = Fighter
* M > . < T * T = Thief
* C <........> C * -- = Balcony Ledge
* C > < C * >
* T < > F * < = Curtain/Tapestry
******* ******* >
* *
* *
* *
****** ******
* *
* Balcony *
--------------------
If the group goes with him, Matar will insist the group not go through the from
doors as they are guarded. He will recommend climbing the walls up to any of
the balconies which are on the upper levels. He will claim the riches are kept
up there. The guards/clerics will notice Matar's movement and will be waiting
the groups arrival at a balcony. Matar will not be the first person to the top
of the balcony, unless the group insists. The first person to reach the balcony
will sees the heat trail(s) (if he has infravision) upon entering the first
hallway, which is dimly lit by candles, he will see heat trails which led to two
tapestries. One is on the left side of the hallway, while the other is on the
right side. Behind these there is Stoth worshipper's "sacrificial welcoming
committee". They will attack to capture the characters using magic, lasso, and
subdual damage. The should get surprise on the PCs unless the see the heat
trails. Other guards/clerics will arrive if the combat last a long time. The
PCs should concern themselves with escape.
All those thieves who do not escape will be killed that night! Other classed characters which might somehow be with will be quested to act as a guard for the temple. This quest will last as long as if the player was charmed, but, at -2 on his intelligence. At the end of this time the may leave.
2
If the PCs won't come with him, he will break down and cry. He will claim that
he was quested by a good aligned cleric to get back a magical holy item from the
evil temple. He has tried, but, can't get past a trick lock mechanism on a
sliding metal door. The door has a lock on both sides which must be picked at
the same time. The locks reset if the door isn't open or the other lock isn't
unlocked immediately. He needs at least one other thief to help him. He is
willing to let the thief have any and all treasure found inside except the item
he needs.
If the PCs buy this, goto to #1 above.
If they don't buy this, goto #3 below.
3
Earlier in the evening/day, a thief picked pockets on a non-thief PC in the
group. The thief (Matar) will now show the thieves this item. They will
recognise the item as belonging to the character. Matar will tell them to come
with him and raid the temple or this person will suffer dearly. The character,
has not been really kidnapped for fear of provoking what ever guild might
represent that PC's class.
If they buy this goto #1 above.
If the PC's threaten Matar back, he can be convinced to take the characters
to where the PC is. This is Another trap.
If they PC's fail to get involved, the clerics will react as follows. Roll 1d8
The PC's find a map to an abandoned underground lair - including some description of the resident of the lair. They recognize the resident and know that he is long dead (perhaps a high level MU). The map details the caverns to a great extent (perhaps leaving out some key rooms). The map also neglects to mention the many traps set throughout the lair - or perhaps mentions one or two giving the PC's a false sense of security. As for monsters, are undead boring? They still be around from the MU's days. Perhaps rodents, snakes, spiders as well. For the main villain a wight or perhaps a very minor demon (trapped on this plane with the appropriate wards - "You have entered a room with a large circle engraved on the floor. You notice this circle because it lights up as the fighter walks into it. The room suddenly becomes very dark and you hear a low growling laughter."). Or perhaps the MU is not dead, only very old and quite insane - thus maybe he has neglected to memorise his higher level spells and sits quietly on his throne waiting to die (thus not such a formidable opponent). Or perhaps his last opponent turned him into an ogre or a doppelganger or whatever you want (maybe using divine intervention to end his spell casting ability).
A company has lost contact with a mining planet about 12 h away from the main base. The mining base is mining a valuable metal. There has been some problems with the production in the last 2-3 month, and the last time the transport ship returned, it returned with only a fraction of the normal production.
The PC's are going with the normal transport ship out to the base after a briefing at the main base.
At the base when they arrive with a complete record/file from HQ. The base personnel are waiting to fill the transporter as usual. (Yes, as usual...) The players are invited by the base commander to get the usual tourist guide in the mining complex. All of the 20 persons on the mining base are equipped with the usual transmitter, that gives possibility to know where they are at all times. (Only the base commander can get into this program) When the players are shown the production facility, an accident happens on a random mining level, where the leading geologist accidentally falls into the main elevator, where he is crushed under the stones under the transport up to the production hall. The players in the production hall will be able to see the bloody stones, and they will think that this was *NOT* an accident. The base commander breaks down when he sees hes good friend crushed under the stones, and the base doctor will have to put him to sleep for 12 h. This should cut most of the party's resources. (This is meant as a delay and an obstruction for the players) Most of the valuable information is bound to the commanders personal password.
All the records on the station are *NOT* falsified and they show that there has been no problems with the station. They have delivered the normal production at the normal times.
Sidetrack no. 1: The dead geologist, has a photo of a beautiful girl standing on his bed table, but hes personal record shows no such thing. His record has not been updated by the commander since the connection with the girl happened under his 2 month leave, from which he has returned from for only 3 weeks ago (He came out with the last transporter)
Sidetrack no 2: The dead geologist had been offered an other job by another company. (At the same place where his girlfriend works..). It is a research job, and he would have taken it when his contract was finished, because he likes to do research better then to do mining.
Sidetrack no 3: He is doing some research in his spare time together with 2 other scientists at the base. They are working on an analysis of crystals electronic possibilities. They have found a interesting crystal in a meteorite on the surface, and is now making some tests...
Solution: The dead geologist *WAS* an accident. The mining station *HAS* delivered its regularly normal production. At the HQ there was a smart programmer, that has falsified the messages from the mining station and redirected the valuable metal to his own bank account.. This should bee easily found out if the players check the messages logs in the HQ and the base. The players messages is getting edited before they get through to HQ and HQ's replay is also getting edited by the programmer before it is sent back to the players. This will allow the players to get most of the info they need to find out what is wrong..
I spun a few threads more myself, when I ran the scenario. It took my players 12 h of very exiting and good roleplaying to find the solution. They did *NOT* like the solution, but if you build it logical up, and make the communication lines heavy (Long replay times: The computer for the personal files at HQ has gone down, and is first up in an hour... etc...)
My mining base was a large asteroid with no atmosphere, so the players could only move in the base and the mining shafts. The mining was run by robots and the persons at the base were there to plan the mining, maintain the robots and operate the refinery.
This adventure was originally made for the BOOT HILL western game, but it can be adapted to any western game campaign.
The woman is none other than Elizabeth Cartwheel, Ben's daughter. She takes the party to the Cartwheel ranch, a few miles out of town, where they meet Ben. He explains that the man in black name is Montgomery, and he is Mr. G's right hand. Mr. G is a mysterious and prominent rancher in Promise City, and he "owns the town". He seldom leaves his ranch, The G ranch, and is rarely seen. Ben also tells the party about the news of the last two days, mainly, the disappearance of the town judge, Judge Parson, and also about the kidnapping of the Indian Chief Sitting Bear, from the Indian reservation to the north of El Dorado County.
The party will probably accept Ben's invitations and stay for the night. Next day, they will go to town, and, quite by chance, they will stumble upon Judge Parson's wagon, a few hundred yards from the road. Next to it is Parson's body, shot. Examination of the wagon shows that two people were riding on it, one of them the judge. Marks of horses are seen around the wagon. A few feet from it, the party finds an Indian feather, the type of feather worn by Indian chiefs. And they find a small cigar stub.
If the party informs the sheriff, he will say he'll conduct an investigation, but will be suspiciously uninterested. If the party searches the Judge's office (inside the Promise City Court Room), they will find a clipping from an old newspaper quoting some words from chief Sitting Bear, which are underlined: "... white men have arrived here, sick and bleeding, and we have done for them what we could, but they died here, sharing their last secrets with me...". They also find a map, with a red line connecting Promise City with the reservation, and a name: Richard Flynn.
During their escape, Flynn and one of his henchmen were wounded. While under subsequent pursuit by the regular Army division that was supposed to have kept the money safe, Flynn divided his band, sending the henchman that hadn't been wounded in a different direction, to throw off the pursuit. This ploy worked to a great extent; when the Army finally captured the diverting outlaw, Flynn and his remaining man had a good four hours advantage. The Army threw itself again on pursuit. Many hours later, when it was obvious for Flynn that he was going to be captured, he and his underling hid the booty somewhere along the road. Having ridden themselves of this bulky weight, they were able to escape and where never seen again.
The captured outlaw, the one who had been sent as a diversion, was put on trial, presided by Judge Parson. Parson was not an honest person, and he saw this as the chance to get his hands on the booty and disappear. The problem was, he had to find out where the money was hidden. To this end he interrogated the outlaw, who didn't know where the booty was, but said Flynn's plan was to lay low in the Indian reservation for a while. Parson conveniently kept this information a secret. The outlaw was finally found guilty of robbery and hanged, although the money was never found.
Ten years go by. In 1890, Judge Parson finds a newspaper article written by a bold young reporter who managed to get inside the Indian reservation and interview Chief Sitting Bear. One particular sentence in the article struck Parson: "... white men have arrived here, sick and bleeding, and we have done for them what we could, but they died here, sharing their last secrets with me...".
Convinced that those words meant that Chief Sitting Bear had a clue to Flynn's final destiny and to the location of the treasure, Parson went to the Indian reservation pretending to be a friendly reporter, and interviewed the Chief about the secrets whispered by those white men. Confronted by the Chief's refusal to disclose the dead's secrets, and already without doubt that those "white men" had been Flynn and his henchman, because of the similitude in the dates, Parson dropped the pretence and kidnapped Chief Sitting Bear, taking him, bound and gagged, back to Promise City.
What Parson didn't know is that for the last ten years he had been closely watched by Mr. G. Mr. G, being wealthy, and also being a jewellery admirer, had secretly hired Flynn to sneak into the bank and steal the Isabel Piece for him. The plan went wrong when Flynn, consumed by greed, decided to take not only the Piece, but also the money, and to doublecross Mr. G. After Flynn's escape and disappearance, the location of the treasure was as much a mystery to Mr. G as it was to Parson. However, Mr. G was convinced that Parson knew something important, and kept a watch on him. That precaution finally paid off.
While returning from the Indian reservation with Chief Sitting Bear, Parson was ambushed by Montgomery and murdered. Chief Sitting Bear was then taken to the G Ranch, where he was going to be interrogated.
After one or two encounters with Mr. G's men (who by now have figured that the party is meddling around), the party should be ready to sneak into the G ranch (a big complex surrounded by a wooden fence and guarded by G's men) and save chief Sitting Bear. (the rescue should be where lots of the action will go).
After being saved, the chief tells the party that Flynn was really with him ten years ago, and he mentioned that "some important Promise City rancher" had hired him to steal the Piece, and that he had doublecrossed this rancher. Flynn also told the chief the location of the treasure, and he tells the players about it. (you should make the location of the treasure a cryptic message which the Indians would not be unable to understand because they don't know the proper names; for example "three gun-lengths north of the division of the river of the Griffin", where Griffin is the name of a small town; otherwise, you will have to explain WHY the Indians haven't dug the treasure by themselves!)
The party travels to the cave, possibly having one or two encounters on the way. There are several possibilities here:
This scenario is designed for lower level characters (2-4), however it could be modified to suit higher level groups. The campaign setting is low magic, and powerful magic in the hands of the group will make this more difficult to run. This takes place in and around a small city in the center of a large rural agricultural area. There are several small hamlets and villages within a few days ride of the city.
The party is sitting in their favorite bar/temple feeling bored when the pounding of hooves and the shouts of guards draws their attention outside. Just as they make it out the door, they see a large group (15 or so) of armed riders charge out the nearby city gate, pursued by a small number of city guardsmen. The guardsmen return shortly, and if the players inquire, they can discover that the local tax collector was just robbed and this year's revenue from the annual sheep tax was stolen.
Within an hour or so, a guard captain should start visiting various taverns, announcing a generous reward for the return of the strongbox. The characters should notice that there is little interest among the locals to pursue the fleeing tax monies. Questioning locals will reveal that the thief is a well known bandit that has plagued the town from time to time, He has a fairly nasty reputation and has killed at least 8/10/14/22 men (depending on who you talk to. 6 is the real number).
Once the group decides to actually go for the raiders, they should have little trouble following the trail. It leads straight across country for several days riding. If the characters are familiar with the area, they will realize the trail is leading to a tiny village nearby. Sometime before reaching the village, the party should lose the trail when crossing a river. further efforts to pick it up should prove to be very difficult. Hopefully the party will head into the village.
The party should arrive in the village near dusk and find it to be very deserted looking. The only building that shows any light is the small fortified tavern at the far end of the village. The tavern is a two story affair, with rooms above a common area on the first floor. If they go in, they will find only the tavern keeper standing behind the bar. He will appear to be nervous and occasionally dart glances in the back room behind the bar. He will claim to have seen no strangers in town and try to get rid of the party with the "we close in 5 minutes" bit. Should the characters check the back room, over the barman's protests, they'll discover 3 bandits holding the barman's wife at knifepoint.
The bandits will threaten the barman's wife and one of them will whistle loudly. In short order several more bandits will appear from upstairs and a few more will enter through the back door. Finally a group of 8 or more will enter through the front door, dragging the unconscious body of anyone that was watching outside. The leader of the bandits is in this last group. He is a rather twitchy looking fellow, armed with a rather large bastard sword and chainmail. The rest of the bandits are in either leather, scale or chain. Most are armed with broadswords and short bows. The bandit leader is approximately an 8th level fighter (or high enough that the party will not succeed in taking him out without help). Most of the bandits should be the equivalent of 2nd level fighters or thieves. There is at least one with some knowledge of magic. All told there are 15 bandits plus a leader. Quite a group, but they don't look like much.
Should the players decide to fight, they should be quickly and mercilessly pummelled into unconsciousness. This is the ideal course ;) Should they not fight, the bandits will chose one or two characters to rough up with the goal of starting a fight. The characters will be prevented from leaving, and eventually, a fight will start.
The characters will wake several hours later with aching heads and bruised bodies. The bandits will be long gone. As each wakes, they will discover that any valuables they had have been stolen. They will also notice 2 strangers in the inn. The first stranger is a lean, hardbitten, cold eyed human wearing dusty riding clothes and a suit of elvan chain. Slung over his shoulder is a bastard sword with a rather unusual blade (dwarven steel, +2 damage due to hardness/sharpness, non-magical). The second is a tall, broad shouldered elf, carrying a huge long bow (probably not anyone in the group that could string it, much less fire it). He is dressed as a noble and looks somewhat out of place. A glance outside will reveal that the characters horses are still there, and there are two large well kept riding horses there as well.
The strangers will be very reluctant to discuss themselves. The human in fact will not give his name. They will ask about the bandits and try to obtain all information they can from the party about their movements. They will head out after the bandits once they have gotten all the info they can from the group. Should the group suggest an alliance, the pair will resist, but will eventually be convinced to let the party tag along. They will make it clear that they are in charge and the bandit leader is theirs to kill/capture. The bandits trail should be clear from the village, and the party will quickly realize that the bandits are headed for an abandoned orchard and farmhouse that lies a days ride away.
The party will arrive at the farmhouse and quickly discern that the bandits are there. There are about 20 horses tied up in the barn and sounds of a large group coming from the remains of the farm house. The elf will vanish into the trees near the farm and the sword slinging human will start into the farmhouse. The party should be forced to act quickly. In any case, mayhem will soon start, as the sword swinger heads straight for the bandit leader, who immediately attacks. The other bandits will spread out and a general melee should ensue. The sword swinger will concentrate on the leader, and the bowman hidden in the woods will do the same should the chance arise, otherwise he will pick off bandits. The party should have their hands full with the rest of the bandits. Should the party prove successful, they will find the tax chest intact (magically sealed), and the two strangers will show no interest in it. They will instead pack the now dead bandit leader and several of his followers onto horses and leave without a word. Should the party inquire, they will be informed that there is a bounty offered for bandit in some nearby city. They will refuse a share of the reward money. The adventure will hopefully end with the party returning the tax chest, the strangers collecting the rewards on the bandits, and everyone happy. Note that the players will find most of their stolen belongings as well.
The elvan bowman is also a 6th level fighter with the additional advantage of having a good dexterity and maximum elvan strength. His bow is a custom design which adds strength bonuses to damage. He gets an additional attack per round with the bow, and is non-proficient with any other weapon.
The bandit leader is specialized in bastard sword. He has the benefit of a good strength and constitution. He is also somewhat insane and enjoys killing.
Motivation:
The strangers are both bounty hunters with personal grudges to settle as well.
The sword slinger's wife was raped and killed by the bandit leader, and the
elf's father was killed by him. Also the reward for the bandit and several of
his band adds up to 3 times the amount offered for the return of the chest.
Side Plots:
The players get involved in bounty hunting via the two strangers. Someone tries
to stop the players from reaching the city with the chest. One or both of the
strangers are sorely wounded and the party decides to help them out.
References:
For more info on the strangers and the bandits, watch "For a Few Dollars More"
with Clint Eastwood ;)
Scenario Description:
Thieves hear of a magical or monetary prize to be gained from a well to do's
house. While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the
place they meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on
the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information
which will make the job easy. Unknown to the characters, the thief is really a
Djinni in disguise.
Places in the Scenario:
Well-to-do' house: Called house in the text. A small manse with a wall around
it and a few guards outside. Inside there a creatures protecting the owners
wealth. The owner is a magic user who happens to be away at the time of this
adventure.
NPCs in the scenario:
Ah-Trah: A Djinni of the most powerful type. He is an ultra-genius, and has the abilities of a high priest and wizard on his home plane. He is noble and has a large number of servants. He likes to travel to the prime material plane for fun every few years or so. If he gets killed there he reappears on his home plane but can't leave it for 1001 days. Many of the items mentioned in this scenario were made by him. Including any rings of wishing. The wishes can't be used against him in any way (this includes his servants and his possessions). He is on the current adventure to get his ring of air elemental command back (he didn't make it, it is a very powerful item on his plane). He lost it when he died on his last trip to this plane. If he is a friend for life of the group he will aid them when he can and invite them to his castle or go on adventures with them every few years or so. Some adventures could be on his own plane. Has the sword of the air with him on this trip and a jar of Keoghtoms Ointment.
Birnleyas Corinthas: A thief which the PCs will meet during the ripoff part of the scenario. He is around 9th level and is evil. He will think nothing of stabbing the PCs in the back after the adventure, and won't bear his part of the combat burden. He has +2 leather armour, +3 dagger, Potion of speed, and a potion of extra healing. He has an 17 strength, and a 19 dext. He fights with a dagger in each hand or with short bow.
New Items in the scenario:
Bag of the Winds: A magical pouch which when opened and a command word is spoken will blow a very strong breeze in a specific direction. The direction is fixed and can't be changed. The breeze can be used to breakup magical gases, such as a stinking cloud, or to power the sails of a ship. The wind will last as long as the bag is open. There are a few rare versions of this item which when used aboard a ship will lead a ship to a specific preset location (a port or an island for example). This has been used by navies to allow ships to return to port easily and magic user pirates as a method of finding treasure they have buried on islands.
Dust of Dispelling Air Elementals: When this dust is thrown into the air a blue field of shimmering energy will emanate from the dust. The dust will cover a 20' x 20' x 15' area. Each air elemental within the dust must face a savings throw vs spells at -3. If failed the air elemental is forced to return to the elemental plane of air. If saved, the creature is unaffected. There is usually a pouch containing 1d4+5 uses of the dust. This item doesn't work on the elemental plane of air.
Potion of Protection from Dragons Breath: adds +4 to savings throw vs any dragon breath for half or no damage! This is a very rare item made only on the elemental plane of air. A flask will always contain just one dose. The potion lasts for only 3-12 rounds.
Sword of Air: +2 weapon, +3 vs elementals, Powers: acts as a necklace of adaptation if you have it on your person (even if in a scabbard), and user can see through all fogs, mists, gases, even if they are magical, as if they are not there. Although the sword must be drawn for the second power concentration is not required.
Talisman of Proof Against Magic: an ornate necklace worn around the neck which provides the wearer protection from one type of spell. Each talisman is created to protect against only one type of magic. Examples of type of magic are clerical spheres or any of the mages schools, but, only one type. When a spell of the correct type is cast and the wearer is in the area of effect, no effect of the spell will effect the wearer (even beneficial spells). The talisman holds a gem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes north of the city. 2) the marks say ""
6: Suddenly, the entire garden goes totally silent. No insects, birds, or
other animals are making any sounds. This lasts for 5 minutes.
*****
*****
The First Hallway: A shiny brass hallway,50' long, can be seen here. The mud
tracks continue here. If the PCs walk in the hall way, the hallway rings/chimes
like dozens of bells or chimes are being hit. Ah-Trah will fly down the hallway,
the PCs must move silently to avoid this noise. If the PCs check for traps
before they enter the hallway, they will discover the sound property of the
hallway. They can't remove the chiming effect. If the PCs make noise, the
person in the next room will be alerted. If not, the PCs will by 90% likely to
get surprise on him.
*****
The Second Room: This is 15' x 15' x 15' room made
of fine quality woods. Various types of wood have been inlaid in the floor in a
beautiful patterns. On the floor is a pair of mud soaked soft shoes. There are
two other exits in the room. One north, the other West. PCs will go west.
If the PCs surprise the occupant: You see an average looking male elf dress in fine leather armour sitting on the floor pulling on a pair of shoes. He is surprised.
If the occupant is alerted: Above the door frame of the door the PCs entered through is a male elf thief. He climbed up here when he heard the noise they made. He will observe them to make sure they aren't guards. When he is sure they aren't guards, he will reveal himself.
The thief is named Birnleyas Corinthas. He will ask to merge the two groups (the PCs group and His group, which is himself) and to split any treasure gained equally. If the PCs agree, he will join them.
If not, he will pretend to leave down the brass hallway. In a turn he will come back down. He will follow the group, and when they ENTER the room of Glass spiders he will drink his potion of speed and attack. He will get to the PCs 3 rounds after they enter the combat with the glass spiders.
*****
The Second Hallway: Just a normal stone hallway which leads to the room of
Glass Spiders below.
*****
The Room of Glass Spiders: This is a 30' x 30' 15' room made of granite brirass hem of some high value in it which is consumed when the user is
protected. The talisman will not function again until the gem is replace with
the correct type of gem with a certain minimum value. It takes at least a turn
for a skilled jewellery maker to replace the gem. The talisman in this
adventure protects against Alteration magic.
The Adventure
The PC thieves are at their local fencer of stolen goods selling their swag. The fence can't offer them as much as they want for their swag. To make up for it he is willing to tell them some information which could make them richer if they are willing to accept the offer. If they do, he will tell the PCs about a shipment which came into town yesterday. One of his most reliable agents spoke of a treasure which was taken to the house of a wealthy man. Tell the PCs whatever amount of treasure it might take to get them into the adventure, the treasure should not be reachable by the PCs! The fence will also remark that the man left town via ship before sunrise this morning. He suggests that the PCs could have an easy time ripping off this mark.
Planning stage:
If the PCs investigate who owns the house they will find out the following. The house is owned by Larthius, a young man who came into town three years ago. He bought the manse with cash and has not had many problems. Rumours state that one time a barbarian broke into the manse on a drunken rampage but was killed by lion guard. They can confirm that the man left town this morning. If the PCs are guild members and investigating the owner they will get the following as well. The owner does not pay the guild protection money so it is okay to steal from him. About the barbarian, a thief overheard the barbarian before he went into the manse claiming he once saw the man summon a flaming demon. Also, a body was found later in the river which appeared to be the barbarian. It had burns covering the body. The man has been seen around a few magic component supply stores. A rumour at the guild is that the guards at his gate in the wall are charmed. The guild will be able to tell the PCs where the ship was going when it left with the man. It should take at least 2 days for the man to reach the destination.
The ripoff:
While scouting around the house or when they start to burglarise the place the PCs meet a fellow thief. The thief will offer the group to join him on the adventure, and will claim to have scouted the area out and have information which will make the job easy. The thief states that he has been hired by an elementalist (a mage who has elemental based spells) to gain an item from inside. If asked, he will tell them the item is a ring of elemental command. His boss will pay with magic items if they will hire on with him (he won't say what the items are, but, promises the reward will be worth the effort). He claims to have scouted out the area and needs the aid of brave thieves. If they refuse the offer he will tell them to leave. If they get hostile, he will fly away invisible and return to scare them away with his abilities of illusion. If they accept, he knows all of the outside layout and of some of the creatures inside. He will seek to avoid combat. The thief will then tell the players his name "Ah-trah". Ah-Trah is really a Djinn. He will try and keep his identity away from the group. He is his own master!
Ah-Trah will avoid combat and will take the PCs on a specific route. If the PCs want to explore any other part of the manse the will find it extremely difficult and VERY LETHAL. Use the following order of rooms, hallways, etc to get the PCs to the final goal.
*****
Over the Wall: The thieves climb over the wall of the manse into a garden of
strange plants. Ah-trah will warn them that Lions roam the garden. There is
nothing of value here. For encounters in this area roll once on table A below
and twice on Table B. For every 3 turns the PCs hang around the garden roll
again on Table A and B (once each). At the end of the garden is a large crystal
doorway.
Encounters:
Table A: Roll 1d6
1: Shambling Mound, # appearing 1,
HP = Number of levels in the party * 3hp.
2: Stirges, # appearing 2-5;
3-6: Lions, # appearing 1-2; HP = 6hp/die
Table B: roll 1d6: Special effects, sounds, and sights
1: A large red flower is seen quickly snapping at a bat flying by. Upon
missing the bat, the flower appears to open up fully and turn in the PCs
direction.
2: The PCs discover the body of the largest lion they have ever seen. It
appears to have been crushed to death in a bloody fight.
3: Far off in the distance a very evil laughter can be heard. Perhaps the
sound of some summoned demon cheerfully torturing a summoner before taking him
back to the abyss.
4: You hear the sound of a nearby foots steps. If the PCs check they will
find one set of fresh footprints in the soft moist dirt of the garden heading on
the same path they are going. They will not find the person who made these
tracks.
5: The ground opens up below the group. Roll 1d20 + 3. If this is
greater than the PCs dexterity he falls into a hole 15' deep with 5' of foul
water in it.
If searched, the PCs will find a piece of leather with marks on it. A
successful read languages will determine: 1) That the marks are those made by
barbarian tribes no