Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #18 "Roleplaying Quests" This file was created from entries from the Roleplaying Quests contests held in Summer '04. Thanks to everyone who entered and who are now sharing their ideas with the Roleplaying Tips community. New entries for this file are always welcome. Cheers, Johnn Four johnn@roleplayingtips.com http://www.roleplayingtips.com @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Just A Misunderstanding? ======================== From: Orbfire Ristipolku Description ----------- A town is ruled by two noble families who are in constant squabble. Recently, things have been looking better and better for the town as the rivals have settled their disputes and have decided to marry the eldest children of the families. Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong. The bride claims that the groom cheated on her just before the big day! Now the bride refuses to talk to her future spouse and the families are in chaos. The PCs encounter one of the groom's advisors mourning because of the tragedy. When approached, he will say that he is very tired of the conflict and would do anything if the dispute could be resolved by re-igniting the feelings between the bride and groom-to-be. When the PCs take this as a challenge, the advisor grows glad and suggests that they ask around at the castle, and to talk to the bride and groom. The bride-to-be tells the PCs a heart-breaking story about how she heard a woman's voice in her spouse's bedchamber the other evening and saw in the flickering shadows cast by a lantern how a lady was bending over her fiancé's body as he lay in his bed. The bride then ran off outraged and in misery, for her trust and love had been betrayed. On the other hand, the fiancé claims that nothing happened and says that he woke up from his bed just to see his bride to rush out of the room and he says that there was no other woman at all. GM Notes -------- In fact, both of the two are telling the truth. The woman they both saw is the bride's younger sister, who happened to be dressed the same way on that faithful evening and who looks very much like her older sister, especially from behind. She has secretly loved the groom-to-be for ages and was hoping to have a final moment with him before he would be married and forever lost to the young girl. The PCs will have to use all their negotiating skills when trying not to hurt anyone. If the GM wishes a dramatic and tragical aspect to this adventure he could write in a suicide plot for the younger sister just in case she happens to lose her face in front of her family and unaware love of her life. The Obstinate Merchant ====================== From: Ross Tony Shingledecker Description ----------- The characters are in need of a campaign-specific item, ingredient, or piece of information, and only Jared, the wealthy merchant, has the contacts to obtain it (as it is hidden or remotely located beyond the reach of the PCs). The catch is that Jared refuses to help the PCs because he is a fervent believer in a religion that is opposed to the PCs' religion / outlook / actions / philosophy / place of origin / race / whatever. Jared wishes them no ill will but refuses to help them. He wants for no material comfort, and he is quite secure, always traveling with armed guards. Jared is well-liked in the city, and any actions that would directly harm him would earn the PCs many enemies. GM Notes -------- The local leader of the religion might be persuaded to throw his support behind the PCs and thus get Jared's help, but only if the PCs either proved loyalty to the religion or did some great deed in its service. There are other merchants in the city who dislike Jared but are unwilling to move against him. The PCs could unite them and put severe economic pressure on Jared to relent, but that would not likely work. Bringing about institutional change in the religion so that they are not perceived as evildoers or outcasts is a tall order. Jared will obey the law, so if the PCs convince the local government that their quest is of vital security, Jared may relent. Since he doesn't have the info or item on hand, and won't--even under torture--divulge the names of his contacts, sneakery and aggression won't help the PCs unless they bribe/threaten one of Jared's employees to find out who those contacts are. Even then, the contacts would probably not deal with someone from the region directly, preferring to go through their contact, Jared, instead. How will the PCs get out of this one? The Apparatus of Wit ==================== From: Ross Tony Shingledecker Description ----------- For some reason, the PCs need to get an ancient item called the Apparatus of Wit (they could need it for a wealthy buyer, to complete a ritual, or to win someone's favor). This legendary device is capable of solving complex riddles and creating new ones based on all the riddles it has ever encountered, although it is not sentient in the technical sense. But because it could beat any mortal at the riddle game, a group of vigilante bards disassembled it (they could not destroy it) and hid the pieces. Now, the only way to get it back is to locate the bards (who used anti-divination spells to protect the pieces), persuade each one individually to divulge the hiding place of each piece without letting all of them realize that the Apparatus was to be reassembled, locate the piece, and answer the riddle that reveals each hiding place. The catch is that the answers to the riddle-locks are not known to the bards who hid each individual piece--if bard A hid Piece A, then bard B wrote the riddle locking Piece A. In this way, no single bard knows how to access any of the pieces. GM Notes -------- This is a daunting task. The bards (there are six in all, for the six pieces) are distrustful of each other and anyone asking about the apparatus. Their identities should not be hard to find, but they must be found. The bards rove, so many roleplaying encounters might be required to track them down based on clues and hints. Then they must be persuaded to give up the location (not easy--a simple 'diplomacy check' or the equivalent might not be enough, a quest for each bard might be necessary), and persuaded to give up the answer to a riddle totally unrelated to that piece, all without letting the bards know that someone plans to reassemble the Apparatus. Players could lie and say that one Bard is trying to get all the pieces, or even get two bards in a riddle contest to get some info on the types of riddles they might use. PCs might participate in riddle contests, too [side note: while players don't like riddle contests often because the GM is prepared, you can put an interesting spin on this by having a PC face off against another PC in the contest...this is often fun and enjoyable, especially if you have a mock reward (such as a ribbon) to give to the winner]. PCs could pose as historical researchers. Lying and con man techniques would be involved in this approach though. If the PCs/players are bright enough, they might be able to guess the lock riddles themselves! Either way, this is a challenging task that swords will not solve. [Side note: You could even throw a monkey wrench in and have one of the pieces already be outside its initial hiding place. Then they'd have to go back to the bard and find out who else he told, etc.] [Side note #2: If you need riddles, check out books published by the Mensa society. Many are full of riddles that make no sense whatsoever, and would be perfect for this type of quest.] The Consort's Request ===================== From: Ross Tony Shingledecker Description ----------- About a year ago, the consort of a high official/governing figure/king/whatever was found to have been unfaithful with a leading member of the court/army/bureaucracy/whatever. She was spared because of the depth to which the husband loved her, but he never really trusted her again. She recently realized that she is pregnant--with her husband's child, not from an affair, but she is afraid that her husband or others will deny the child his/her birthright because of rumors of infidelity. Secretly, she contacts the PCs and hires them to do whatever is necessary (short of treasonous acts or anything that would implicate her) to prove that the child is her husband's. By the end of the month, everyone will know that she is pregnant, and she wants a case by then. GM Notes -------- There are many ways the PCs could go about this. They could use divination spells, or some alchemical precursor to DNA testing. Once the baby is born, they could use facial similarities and such, but that doesn't really help the consort, who fears her husband's benevolence might not hold out this time. The PCs could try to get together a legal case, with testimonies from maids and guards and such that the consort never had any visitors, and when the consort and the husband could have produced a child. They could bring in experts to testify, some sort of truth spell or truth- readers who could ask the consort. If it comes down to it, the PCs could pretend to be conducting these tests, or could bully maids into false testimony, or less savory techniques. To throw a monkey wrench in, the child might NOT be the husband's...in which case the PCs might need to bribe a spellcaster to let her get away with the lying, or convince the spellcaster that it would be the best for the kingdom if such allegations were stopped. This is a less challenging but still RP-heavy encounter. Lord, Help Us ============= From: Connors Description ----------- Leading up to this roleplaying encounter should be several combats with a common menace, such as orcs. These orcs have been ravaging the local area and the common folk have been making many complaints/offers to the PCs to help them. When the players start to wonder what the local authorities are doing they will likely ask around. The new lord is young and hasn't been seen to be doing much. BUT the locals aren't displeased with him/her...they are actually quite supportive and think he must have more important things (a GM can throw in a feud with a rival lord here to and it is the rival lord's fault in the eyes of the folk of the area the PCs are in). The folk the PCs are helping will hint strongly that they have always received help and support from the local lord and his/her predecessors. The PCs should also find out that the threat is growing and that there is a strong leader of the orcs (or whoever) amassing a small army - (something too vast for the PCs to handle alone). Eventually the PCs will have to go to the lord. The lord is deep in depression and worry. He/she thinks that the local folk don't like or respect him/her. He/she thinks that he/she is failing his/her people and they know it. The lord will also associate many other minor problems with his/her misery..."I am too young, inexperienced, etc". But with a little research from guards, town folk etc the PCs should learn that this lord is competent (they won a tournament, lead small number of troops in a battle, swayed a wizard from destroying a local temple, etc, all before becoming the lord). If the PCs don't try to find out more about the lord, then you could delay them by not giving them audience straight away. Sooner or later though, the PCs need to meet with the lord. They will then need to convince the lord that the people ARE on his side and are awaiting his/her help. This will need more from a few words from a bunch of adventuring strangers. They may have to arrange something like a march to the lord's castle, or even just bring in a few rural folk to speak with the lord. Simply, the PCs need to convince the lord that they DO have the support of the people. The lord should then mass a small army themselves and battle the threatening horde. The PCs could possibly be assigned leadership positions for the ensuring war if you wish to try a miniatures battle :). OR if you wish to keep the heavy roleplaying going they could be sent to negotiate a peace with the nasty leader. Better still you could use a mission Johnn has already mentioned...find the nasty leader's weakness, true motivations, befriend him/her/it and hold off the attack until the good lord amasses his/her army. Or if the group likes subterfuge then the PCs job may to simply scout out the enemy forces, report back to the lord, and finally go behind enemy lines. GM Notes -------- This situation is solid as it provides several possibilities in the end that can be geared towards the likes of the players you have. It is also preceded by some small combat scenes. BUT the important part is the roleplaying. The information must be gained this way, and then the lord needs encouragement and convincing. To make this part harder/more interesting etc, the GM could add a few common folk who DON'T support the lord. Perhaps they plan a protest march when the PCs are trying to convince the lord of the more popular support. Maybe the lord has received a letter from a minority group that claims their grievances. The lord shows the PCs as proof that his/her position is hopeless. PCs may then have to locate this group and bring them around too...or eliminate them for the greater good of the kingdom. GM could make that threat from another lord significant and central to the idea too. What is the lord to do--most troops are protecting the northern border from this hostile lord. Well, another roleplaying option where the PCs must go and convince this rival lord that there is a greater threat at hand and the two lords need to resolve their differences now! Hey this could lead to an alliance against the evil threat if the PCs roleplay well... The possibilities are endless. And besides, this is a nice change from the common folk disliking their lord something I see so often in campaigns. It is good for the PCs to work with a good lord, which may help them bring a greater good to a larger number of people...not to mention lords can often provide good rewards...:) The Map And The Trap ==================== From: Kai Asserson Nødland Description ----------- The PCs are on their way from a large city (preferably the capitol) to a smaller town situated around a small fort. But before they head out, they plan their leave at an inn. An agent from the Thieves Guild (or some other organization that is trying to get rid of the PCs) overhears this conversation, but with a successful spot-test (or similar) they notice him eavesdropping on them. He has something that makes him stand out (tattoo, eye patch, tall, small or something more subtle), and when he notices the PCs noticing him, he quickly exits the inn and disappears into the busy streets. They travel on to the small village. On their way, they encounter a troll or something else that might shift their focus from the guy at the inn. When at the village they overhear a child fighting with a wooden sword against some imaginary foe, talking about how he will conquer the guards at the fort, and get the treasure map from the captains office, then he will take all the magical items he has hidden away (and then his mom will see how big a boy he is and give him a lot of hot chocolate). The PCs will then try to infiltrate the small fort and get out with the map unseen, they must pick some locks and disable some traps to get to the captain's office, but the office itself is unlocked, with no traps and with the treasure map laying unprotected in plain sight. And so they venture out to where the treasure is to be hidden, an abandoned farm. The treasure is inside a decaying windmill (the fans on the windmill being the x that marks the spot). When they have all enter the inside the windmill, the door behind them shuts and is magically sealed. On the boardwalk above them, a conjurer appears. All the stairs leading up to the boardwalk have been destroyed, and the beams bearing the boardwalk have all been smeared with some grease (making them almost impossible to climb) prior to the PC's arrival. This gives him a tactical advantage, and before the battle commences he gives his regards from the head of the Thieves Guild, saying that this is the last time they will escape their wrath (or something less cheezy.... Ooh! I know! The Thieves Guild is known for giving their victims, or the bodies of their victims, a lily. When the PCs enter the windmill they notice a lily on the floor right in front of them, then the door slams shut. Aw man! Why didn't I use that!). GM Notes -------- The players don't know that the man who eavesdropped on them at the inn is working for the Thieves Guild (though they will probably suspect it), nor do they know that he has ridden with all haste to the village that he overheard they were going to, where he sets the trap with the help of the captain (who also works for the Thieves Guild). If the players would talk to the kid they overheard talking about the treasure, they would find out that the captain himself started these rumours. The kid will also mention the weird men he saw the captain speak to outside the gates. If the players investigate further, they will hear of a man who heard a secret but is not telling anyone. The players may confront this man and either lure the secret out of him or intimidate it out of him (it should come to the PCs attention, under the confrontation with him that he is afraid of drowning, ('No no no, I`d rather drown *shudder* then tell you this secret'). The secret he was hiding was that he overheard the captains speaking with two men, one he describes as the man who eavesdropped them at the inn, the other as a wizard of seemingly above average power ('well he ain't no hedge wizard, that's for sure'), and that the wizard is preparing a trap in an abandoned windmill, ('he said: ' I've got the tactical overhand as long as they don't get to on the boardwalk, but trust me, they wont'. Don't remember more than that though'). Now if the players go to the windmill, they might look for an alternate entrance, and will find some easily climbable vines leading up to a window giving them entrance to the second-level boardwalk, eliminating the wizards tactical advantage. This quest might be most suitable for a group with a rogue, or a rogue-like person, with the abilities to open locks. Make the 'treasure' something that your players like, if not gold, then perhaps a small pet dragon, or the captain's secret diary. If the players don't investigate and plan to barge directly into the windmill, explain the eerie surroundings of the windmill, and let them arrive at the windmill at dusk (unless they desire otherwise). My players didn't investigate, and as a result one of the players almost died (that foolhardy sorcerer, always charging directly into combat!) but still, I would've given the players more xp if they investigated first, even if this gave them an easier battle, but hey, that's just me. Dark Paradise ============= From: Edgar Downing Description ----------- Eliminate toxic waste facility on jungle that is turning local creatures into monsters. The Planet is a jungle/rain forest known for its beautiful birds and sunsets and is commonly a major tourist attraction. It has been used illegally for toxic waste dumping by Nirvana Corporation, who has set up shop in an abandoned resort. GM Notes -------- Nirvana were originally co owners of the major resort on The Planet, but were removed for embezzling money. Since then they have begun dumping toxic waste into the jungle in an attempt to ruin their former partner's business. Savior ====== From: Edgar Downing Description ----------- SRC Savior was responding to distress call from a salvage vessel called the Hathaway which was suffering from drive malfunction. Shortly after arriving at the solar system Alephi 7, the SRC activated its own distress beacon as well as sending a garbled transmission about hostile forces killing everyone. Alephi 7 is well known for its highly unstable sun which emits random solar flares and radiation emissions, some of which are powerful enough to obliterate a starship. Fortunately such deadly buildups are easily detected a few hours in advance. GM Notes -------- Hathaway was salvaging a derelict vessel which had developed a deadly strain of fungus that attacks and dissolves plastic, as well as drives people insane--it destroys their brains reasoning capabilities. It is only contagious to people by ingestion. The crew of the Hathaway while salvaging had their auto chef and several other key components of their vessel contaminated. Then after eating food from the auto chef they went insane and began attacking each other. Some of the surviving crew members, upon realizing that their drive system was either damaged by the fungus or the insane crew members (as well as their radio), proceeded to activate their distress beacon. (To heighten the tension and suspense, the GM can always have a lethal solar flare building up only a scant hour or two away.) The Conquest ============ From: Nick Maggs Description --------- A human lord broke a peace treaty and annexed a large area of forest and wilderness. His peasants are currently clearing it and turning it into farmland. This has angered the natural denizens, among them a tribe of wood elves. There has already been bloodshed, but it is clear that the elves are outnumbered and outclassed. The human lord seems to be fantastically wealthy and is constructing a string of keeps to secure his gains. He has a powerful army of mercenaries, all well equipped. GM Notes -------- The source of the Lord's power is his money--without it he can't pay the mercenaries, or pay the masons constructing the forts. A heavily guarded pay chest runs from keep to keep across the annexed land, but its origin is back in the lord's original kingdom. In the lord's territory is an old mine, once abandoned but now re-opened. This is the source of the wealth. The mine is played out, but one of the galleries has broken through into dwarven tombs. The lord is ruthlessly looting these, providing him with fantastic wealth. The mercenaries in the lord's army are being paid with dwarven coin, and equipped with dwarven weapons. PCs could potentially sign up as mercenaries and discover that the wealth is of dwarven origin. The mercenaries are only loyal as long as the gold lasts. With a reduced supply of coinage the human lord would be more inclined to look at alternate ways of resettling his people and would be more likely to negotiate with the elves. He currently considers them to be little more than savages, in need to civilization. His own land is overcrowded and in need of the fresh farmland. If the dwarves found out that their ancestors are not resting easy, the elves would have some unexpected support. The PCs could collapse the gallery preventing the flow of gold from the tombs. If the PCs are a more bloodthirsty group, they could organize the elves into a guerilla force targeting the construction of the keeps and the pay chests. A Night(mare) in Hell ===================== From: John Gallagher Description ----------- The PCs wake up covered in blood, and no memory of how they got that way. They are all in a large sitting room, with a fireplace, sofa, chairs, etc, but the room is in shambles. After a moment they realize that they have no memory of ANYTHING, not their name, not where they got their clothes, and certainly not how they came to be covered in blood and holding a blood-soaked makeshift weapon, like a kitchen knife, fireplace poker, etc. Each PC rises to his feet from behind a piece of furniture...and sees a room full of strangers all climbing to their feet, all blood spattered, all of them wearing similar tattered heavy burlap shirts with steel rings set in it (remains of a straitjacket) and all carrying knives and fireplace pokers, etc... Also scattered about the room are the corpses of several people. One woman was wearing a torn and ragged white uniform of sorts, one wore a lab coat and carried several strange instruments and hypodermic needles. Investigation shows that the remaining victims didn't seem to put up any fight at all. One grins maniacally, as if his killer was a welcome friend. Exploring the large-ish house reveals a couple dozen more bodies, all murdered brutally. Several of the victims had been locked behind barred doors. Several more uniformed women are found. And an office, with a locked cabinet containing potent doses of anesthetic drugs. The kitchen, with bodies of kitchen workers strewn across the floor, is obviously a cafeteria style kitchen, made to serve large numbers of people. Documents found in the office reveal that this place is an asylum for the violently insane. Should the PCs bother to count, they will find that the number of inmates logged in the records is equal to the number of non-uniformed corpses PLUS the size of the party. In other words, 4 PCs plus 26 inmates' corpses equal the 30 inmates mentioned. The records should also mention (if there are 4 PCs) four particularly violent inmates, who seem immune to the anesthetics and barbiturates used to keep the other inmates in line. And then, of course, the corpses start rising to their feet to seek revenge on the PCs, who apparently murdered everyone in the asylum. GM Notes -------- This adventure works best if your players have never actually seen the PCs they are playing. So I planned it as the first adventure in a campaign, where I made the PCs for the players. I had planned to hand out blank character sheets and let the players fill in stats and skills as they discovered them. The truth here is that the players are trapped in a shared nightmare. A number of supernatural creatures that feed on fear have combined their efforts to trap the entire party in one dream. In order to do this, the creatures have to inhabit the dream with the PCs, and they have to play the parts of all the undead monsters the PCs encounter. To escape, the PCs have to realize they are dreaming, and destroy the 'head' dream weaver. The dream 'monsters' can be destroyed, but the actual dream weavers don't die unless the PCs are aware that they are dreaming. Give these creatures powerful illusion powers, but only the head creature should have any serious physical attack capability. Death in the Desert =================== From: Alec Voelker Description ----------- The PCs are starting off to travel into the desert with a large caravan. Before the caravan leaves, a small man sells all the people water before the caravan sets off into the desert. Three days later everyone falls strangely ill. This illness lasts for two days, then everyone passes out. The PCs awake in a walled in closure where lush trees and greenery surround them. They are taken before an old man and he explains that he is the king of the area and has rescued the PCs from the desert. The king is very forgetful and he leaves every thing up to his vizier, whom he trusts completely. The vizier is a cruel man that delights in torture. The PCs must espouse the vizier without falling into disfavor. GM Notes -------- The vizier uses the king like a puppet. All the guards are controlled by the vizier. The neat twist to this plot is that the king is nowhere near as old as he portrays, and he is as cruel as the vizier. The PCs must free the people of the kingdom from under the evil king and his vizier. Kidnapped? ========== From: Ryan Rank Description ----------- After a few reputation building adventures, the PCs are contacted by a local rich man. This man is not royalty, but still rich. His daughter has been kidnapped and he wants the characters to go find her. Fairly standard fare thus far... After looking high and low, the characters only get one lead: Dreamscape. "Dreamscape" is a separate article and is much too massive to insert into a simple adventure premise. There is a mystic in a city that can send them to Dreamscape. And because the PC's don't know anything about Dreamscape, it will be difficult to find the mystic that can send them there. The lead could take the form of a man who heard about Dreamscape, and that you can go there and find out where to find just about anything (within reason). But the risk of going there is usually greater than the reward. After getting out of Dreamscape, the PCs will have to go a relatively long distance to get to the daughter. (insert small side adventures and other encounters here). When the PCs find her they will discover that she was not kidnapped but ran away because of the verbal and physical abuse brought onto her by her father. Decision time. Should the PCs return the girl and get the reward, having to live with sentencing the poor girl to living with her abusive father. Or should the PCs let her go? Both decisions have repercussions. If they let her go, they have an angry rich man after them, and a rich man can hire really good mercenaries. If they chose to take her (she can be coerced), she will insist on going a certain way. It will be a somewhat fast route, only adding a small amount of time to the trip. But it will take them through a cemetery. It does mot matter if it's during the day or night, they will not get jumped by anything. One of the PCs will see a tombstone with her name on it. And next to it, they will see her father's. Those two tombstones are from over 200 years ago. What is going on? If there are any questions about this, she will claim that those tombstones are from ancestors of hers. She wanted to pay her respects. Any psychic/magical characters will not detect anything particularly wrong with this. She is, however, hiding something... The rest of the trip will go uneventfully and they will get back to her home. GM Notes -------- The two are caught in an endless loop. 200 years ago, the father failed at a ritual to make himself immortal. The ritual involved the sacrifice of his daughter. Every (fill in the blank) years, history will repeat itself. He will sacrifice his daughter and it will all start over again. This time, though, the characters can stop it. If they keep her alive, the loop will be broken. But it won't be as easy as that. The father is a big bad demon. He also has many guards in his complex that will help him in his cause. If the loop is broken, everything around the PCs will disappear, including the money they were paid. So, what is the motivation for keeping the girl alive? It is almost inevitable that one of the characters in the group will get attached to her. The disappearance after saving her will allow for some very good role playing opportunities, as will the decision of whether to bring the girl back or not. Lost Souls ========== From: Jean De Blacque Description ----------- The player characters are mages with no connection, requiring that every player plays an introduction game first. After a MIB team kills the first character another player gets attacked and 'luckily' shrugs off the attack. In any case when he kills or escapes he will find a matchbox with name of a club and other names including the first player killed as his name is ticked, his name is also included on the match box. Now everyone has a common goal, avoiding death. GM Notes -------- Game is designed with WoD system and Mage: The Ascension reflection. Characters are hunted because they all carry barabbi souls which complicates the situation as their soul is corrupted and there is no coming back. Should they embrace their darker natures? Search for a thin chance at redemption or try to hide when everyone in the supernatural world may be hunting them? In extended way, this game will include a lot of possibilities and an in game ethical debate. The first player is actually one invited by the GM, who unlike the players knows he is marked to die. The club is also a cover for a technocratic expedition. Hero Worship ============ From: Julia Pope Description ----------- One or more of the PCs has attracted the attention of a star-struck kid who wants to grow up to be "just like them." This can have some benefits in town, of course, where the child might be induced to carry messages, run errands, and other relatively harmless pursuits, but is likely to lead to trouble when the PCs leave - this kid is really too young to go out on adventures. GM Notes -------- The kid has to be persuaded not to follow them, for his/her own safety. Convincing him/her to stay home could be a major task. If they try to rationalize or make promises (i.e. "you can come with us when you're older"), they can convince the kid for a short time. Yet the child will seek out a spell- caster that is willing to transform him/her into the seeming of an adult, or a magic item that can accomplish the same goal. The child then tries to join the party as a new adventurer. Curses! ======= From: Michael Schmidt Description ----------- One or more members of the party have been cursed. In order to lift the curse they must retrieve a particular item from an evil dragon whom lives a short distance away. There's a catch, however; the dragon must give them the item willingly. They can not kill the dragon to take it, nor can they use magic or other means to compel the dragon to comply, (though they can use magic or other means to otherwise trick the dragon). GM Notes -------- The item in question happens to be very dear to the dragon, and the heroes will need to convince him not only to give it up but avoid being killed in the process! Power Corrupts ============== From: Julia Pope Description ----------- A famed champion of the land, a veteran of many battles, who was always been known as a just and fair individual, has lately become erratic and perhaps even dangerous. The PCs are asked to find the cause of this sudden change of heart without hurting the hero, who is still vastly popular with the common folk. GM Notes -------- As the PCs look into the matter, they can learn that the old hero recently acquired a new magical weapon. This item is malicious, chaotic, and very intelligent, and is slowly taking over the mind of its owner. The key to helping the hero is to get the weapon away from him/her without violence, even though the weapon will resist every effort to be separated from such a powerful vessel. The warrior will be wary, even paranoid, of potential theft and trickery on behalf of the PCs. Secret Vows =========== From: Julia Pope Description ----------- At the wedding of an important noble, a female peasant steps forward to object, claiming that she and the noble in question were already married in a secret ceremony. She asks the PCs to help prove the truth of the matter by seeking out the only witnesses and persuading them to speak out. GM Notes -------- The noble's family, not wanting to see their family member lawfully married to a commoner, will seek to quash the PCs' efforts by threatening/bribing the witnesses, and perhaps, as a last resort, threatening/bribing the PCs themselves. And what about the noble's own feelings - were the couple really in love and the noble was pressured into an aristocratic match, or do they regret their hasty elopement and seek to put it behind them? If it turns out that the couple is truly in love, are the PCs willing to risk incurring the displeasure of a powerful clan to help them be together? All The World's A Stage ======================= From: Michael Schmidt Description ----------- While travelling through a nearby kingdom, the party is arrested on false charges and brought before the 8-year-old King. The Child-King offers to let them go only if they agree to entertain him by acting out his favourite story as a play. If they refuse, or if they displease him, they will be beheaded! GM Notes -------- The King's uncle is behind the trumped up charges, and is in fact the one who planted the suggestion of the punishment in the King's ear. He plans to convince the King to star as the lead character in the play, and has arranged not only for the boy to die for real in the climactic death scene, but for the heroes to be framed for the murder. The Negotiators =============== From: Michael Schmidt Description ----------- The heroes have been invited to a party at the palace celebrating the return of the crown Prince from the war with their enemy, the neighbouring kingdom, (where the Prince was held prisoner for months). At the height of the festivities, the Prince produces a magical bomb and declares that he will kill everyone if his father does not sign a treaty giving rulership to the enemy. He further explains that the device can detect the use of magic, that if anyone attacks him he will detonate it, and that attempting to disarm him will cause the bomb to detonate if it is not also disarmed in a specific way. The heroes will have to talk him down and negotiate the release of the hostages, and themselves! GM Notes -------- The Royal Vizier and the court doctor have both already determined, and declared, that it is in fact the real Prince. No one realized that he was brainwashed during his time in the enemy camp, and truly believes what he is doing is right. The Prince's enemy 'handler' is also present in disguise, and knows the commands that will not only release the Prince, but set him off as well. The King Is Dead...Long Live The King! ====================================== From: Julia Pope Description ----------- The mausoleum of a great leader from a former dynasty, upon being opened for its once-a-century cleaning and maintenance, is found to be empty. The PCs are hired by the current ruler to find where the body went. GM Notes -------- The body has been stolen by a group who are dissatisfied with the present ruler, and who wish to raise the great leader from the dead. If the PCs don't manage to prevent them from achieving their goal (assuming they even want to - maybe the present leader is a real dud!), this could cause civil war as some people join the great (formerly-deceased) ruler and others' side with the rightful, if less- celebrated, monarch. And what if the great leader turns out not to be that great after all? Child's Play ============ From: Julia Pope Description ----------- The PCs come across the tomb of a long-dead princess, who was buried with many magical, semi-sentient toys that can walk and talk to keep her company. The toys, after so many centuries in disuse, ask that the PCs rescue them from their boredom and give them to living children. GM Notes -------- If the PCs take the dolls, the princess's spirit will haunt them or haunt the new owners of the toys. The haunting will be harmless but annoying, until the PCs find some way to keep the Princess entertained in the afterlife. She's a spoiled brat, but also very lonely. Persuading the magical toys to return to her is an option, but might be difficult once they've had a taste of freedom. Another option might be to find her some ghostly playmates. And yet another option would be to figure out how to put her spirit to peaceful rest. The Chosen One ============== From: Julia Pope Description ----------- The last cleric of an ancient deity is searching for a long- prophecied disciple who will be able to revitalize and save their faith, becomes convinced, due to certain portents, that one of the PCs is this person. GM Notes -------- Well, maybe they are and maybe they aren't. If they believe they are the chosen one, are they willing to undertake such a life-changing step as becoming a priest of a religion no one else follows and then trying to revive it? But if they're not, then they could try to find out who is the rightful disciple and put them in contact with the persistent cleric, if s/he can be shown to have made an error. Cowboys and Orcs ================ From: Michael Schmidt Description ----------- The party is riding along a country road when they spot in the distance the first farm they've seen in days. They also notice a thick column of black smoke rising into the air, and the foul smell of burnt flesh on the wind. Getting closer they see two orcs standing next to the small fire in the farm field. When the orcs see the party they ready their weapons, an axe, and a two-pronged spear. GM Notes -------- These orcs are the actual owners of the farm. They are peaceful, and fled their tribe to live a solitary existence off the land. The father and son are standing next to the burning remains of their only cow, which died from illness. They speak almost no common, and will defend themsleves if attacked (the father is a level 2 fighter, the son is only a level 1 warrior). There are two female orcs in the nearby farmhouse. The mother watches her husband and son from the kitchen window (witnessing the arrival of the party with fear) while her young daughter plays on the floor behind her. Who Are You...? =============== From: Doug Kallies Description ----------- This scenario will work best if one or more of the PCs has an NPC contact that they are very familiar with (mother, father, spouse, close friend, etc.). The aforementioned PC(s) receive an urgent message from their contact asking them to come quickly as something is not right at home. When the group arrives, they find the village beset by a plague. Villagers are wasting away from a disease that rots and hollows them from the inside out. The disease resists all forms of natural and magical healing. Furthermore, after some investigation and at the urgings of the contact that summoned them there, the PCs find out that prior to the illness being contracted, infected villagers seemed to be acting very strangely. They would be crass and cruel and not at all like themselves. Around this time, the PCs contact will suddenly start to exhibit behavior that does not match his normal persona. As their relative/friend begins to waste away from the strange disease, the PCs begin to notice strange behavior amongst themselves, and the rogue isn't feeling too well... GM Notes -------- About a week before the PCs were summoned, the people from the village witnessed a meteor shower one evening. With that shower, arrived a Doppelganger Plant (see Ravenloft: Denizens of Darkness by Sword And Sorcery). The Plant is using its Mind Bondage ability to transform the townsfolk (and possibly some of the PCs) into Podlings and is feeding off of their life forces. The slow degeneration of their contact and the mix of duplicity and paranoia should allow for some excellent role- playing opportunities before the PCs finally find the clearing in the nearby woods that the plant has taken root in. If played well, the scenario should have the actual players looking behind them in uneasiness as they leave. Not Without My Pooky ==================== From: Jeff Lucarelli Description ----------- Shortly after arriving in a new town, the PCs hear about a large troll living under a bridge, harassing passersby and scaring the town's children. The mayor of the town asks the PCs to get rid of it, offering the PCs copious (or even ridiculous) amounts of flammable liquid and torches to do the deed. GM Notes -------- The troll in question is very powerful, but he doesn't want to kill anyone. PCs who question the mayor or the townspeople will find out that, even if the troll is scaring children and yelling at travelers, he hasn't _hurt_ anyone. But the troll is very mean and will cruelly make fun of people who approach him (including the PCs). The troll is upset because local children have stolen his best friend, Pooky -- a small, mud-encrusted doll made of straw that wears a little pair of pants. Over My Dead Body! ================== From: Jeff Lucarelli Description ----------- The PCs are surprised to find a week-old dead body lying in the middle of the road. The body sits up, surprised to see the PCs staring at him. The undead man begs them not to kill him (again) and asks them for their help. GM Notes -------- The undead creature is a revenant, a man risen from the grave to avenge his own death. The revenant was formally a prestigious knight who was killed by his wife and his lord so that they could be together. The revenant wants the PCs to help him expose the murder, bringing the wife and lord to justice and allowing him to rest in peace. But it won't be easy. The PCs will need a lot of evidence for their word to be believed over that of the much beloved lord and his new lady. And The Floods Rolled In... =========================== From: Jeff Lucarelli Description ----------- The PCs find an isolated, flood-ravaged town during a voyage. The remaining townspeople beg for the PCs' help in rebuilding. GM Notes -------- There is nothing sinister going on -- the farm town has just been extremely unlucky over the years. Due to the weather- related deaths and emigration, there aren't enough able- bodied people left to rebuild the town. And there is much to be done here: rotted houses need rebuilding, people still need rescuing from the deeper parts of the flood, walls to prevent future floods need to be built, people need healing, etc. The town's entire crop was lost as well, so the PCs need to secure enough food for the town to survive the coming winter. Or should the PCs concentrate on helping the remaining townspeople move to a less accident- prone town instead? Some people can be pretty stubborn when asked to move... A Good Stiff Belt ================= From: O.G Description ----------- Drokk the half-orc barbarian makes a decent living working for a traveling bare-knuckles fighting show. It's a small affair, one wagon, a tent, and a makeshift ring. The PCs observe the tent being set up in the morning and a crier announcing that, for a small admission, the townsfolk can see the fights that night, and that Drokk will take on all comers. That night, the PCs will be approached by Drokk's manager, a wry old gnome, who begs the party for their help. Drokk can't find his lucky belt and is refusing to fight without it. The townsfolk are getting restless, and he doesn't know what to do. He asks the party to go talk to Drokk to convince him to fight, or somehow fix this situation before it gets any more out of hand. GM Notes -------- Drokk should be several levels higher than the average PC (or at least appear that way - this can be scaled for higher level PC's by making it a Gladiatorial event in a city with the gnome running a school instead of a show). Drokk should be played as a gentle, simple-minded giant of an half-orc (think Herman Munster). There are a number of ways the situation can be resolved. A persuasive party member can convince Drokk that they have an even luckier belt, and that he can use it (good luck on getting it back, though). A deductive party will find by talking to Drokk (after much prying is done - he's already worked up and prone to tantrums) that the belt is little more than a worthless length of rope (one of the locals who was hired to help set up the tent wrong used it to secure the tent flap open). A strong fighter could fight the first match of the evening to prove to Drokk that he doesn't need his belt to win (this will also most likely result in the PC losing his belt to Drokk in the process). Challenging Drokk's courage will only result in that particular PC being dunked in a large half barrel of water that Drokk keeps to cool off in after his fights. At any rate, if the party succeeds, they are given free admission and free refreshments. A good haggler may be able to whittle a few silver or gold out of Drokk's manager, perhaps even a portion of that night's till. The gnome travels constantly and can provide much news about surrounding lands and current events (re: adventure hooks). If a fighter stood in for a match and won, they will be paid and possibly offered a job on the under-card. More importantly, they now have a lifelong friend of Drokk, who may well return at a later date to join the party as an NPC or possible henchman. A possible variant to the above storyline (for a more confrontational party) is that one of the men challenging Drokk in the evening knows about his lucky belt and paid someone to steal it. The party would have to deal with a group of toughs to get it back. Bounty Hunters ============== From: Marcus Clay Description ----------- A group of bounty hunters called The Nine hunt and kidnap high-powered PCs for anyone willing to pay their exorbitant fees. They are specialists in their field, like a Doppelganger SpyMaster, or a Nightshade Shadow Dancer, where their class skills play off their inherent abilities. They travel around on a flying ship called the Cortogan, which is mostly a modified slaver ship. Their prices allow kingdoms and villains the means to deal with a region's hero, or securing their bid for the throne, or what have you. GM Notes -------- This idea is mostly a vehicle for high-level PCs to have a form of a challenge in any campaign. Simply create 9 maxed out creature/class combinations and bring them in unexpectedly. If the PCs can be fantasy super heroes, then they need super villains. It would also be an idea to develop weaknesses for the PCs and have the villains know it and try to exploit it. Escape from Elves! ================== From: Marcus Clay Description ----------- A unique group of elves (ice, fire, etc.) have been released from their prison and they need to make more sacrifices to their demon-god in order to free the rest of them. They plan on freeing their legions of armies first and then taking back the land they once inhabited, which involves laying siege to a major city nearby. The PCs were taken prisoner and are about to be sacrificed! GM Notes -------- This is actually a spin on the Lord of the Rings story, because there is also an unknown clan of Good Goblins nearby that can help stop the siege, or if the PCs work fast enough, stop the elves from freeing their brethren. There is really a chance to roleplay if there are any elves or half-elves in the party. A Witch ======= From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- The PCs happen upon a dirty, black haired, ten year old girl. She is being dragged and shoved along by a group of angry villagers. The villagers will acknowledge the PCs as their betters and humbly recount the situation. The girl's disposition has changed lately and she is blamed for all sorts of odd happenings. The plan is to take her to the closest pond and dunk her until the truth is discovered. The PCs would understand this practice normally ends in the death of the subject. GM Notes -------- The villagers are in trouble no matter what the PCs do. The girl is a doppelganger that has already disposed of the real girl. This doppelganger is a particularly powerful, depraved, and sadistic member of his race. He is tormenting these poor people by playing on their fears and superstitions. He was about to force them to commit this horrific act upon a child. Then, he planned to play dead and visit madness and death upon them later that night. The PCs will suffer a similar fate if they insist on taking the child into their protection. Birthright ========== From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- A petty noble, flanked by his distressed mother and sisters, employs the PCs to capture and return his disturbed brother who refuses to accept his ascendance to the manor. The losing brother insists he has been robbed of what is his. The winning brother is saddened but insists he must accompany his brother to the capitol so the King may peacefully resolve the situation. The common people, as well as the gentry, side with the reigning brother. GM Notes -------- The losing brother is, in fact, the first-born. By normal practice, he should be the new ruler. The older brother is rash, hotheaded, and not well suited to rule. The younger brother is calm, decisive, and able. The mother is worried about the future of the kingdom and talked the younger son into usurping the throne. The older brother would tragically fail to survive his trip to the capitol. The younger brother would not kill out of evil, but from an end to the strife that may continue for years to come. Lovers' Tiff ============ From: Spikey Description ----------- The peace between two Lands (Houses, tribes or factions) depends upon an arranged union: a uniting of the warring factions through the marriage of the Daughter of side A to the son of side B. The marriage goes ahead, and the party is invited by past acquaintances (a possible reason to assemble a new group), and the two kingdoms are united in joy. All standard political fare surely? Well, not since the Princess discovered her husband to be was a philanderer. Through fair means or foul, she has heard that the goodly Prince (or heir) has been far too friendly with a member of her household (ladies in waiting, maid, etc.). The party is required to prove or disprove the man's fidelity. Should he be proven inconstant, the alliances will crumble and war is inevitable. GM Notes -------- The Prince is honest and good, but guileless. Those who wish to destroy the alliance have set him up with a love philtre and a lady of easy virtue and only showing him the path to true and freely given love can the situation be resolved. Of course, the enemy will no doubt offer great rewards if the evidence can be made to point towards their own goals. The party becomes the last hope for peace. Alternative Lovers' Tiff ======================== From: Spikey Description ----------- The wedding has not yet happened and looks as though it never will. The Princess has fallen for a paladin, a hero of hunky chest and chiseled chin. She refuses to go on with the marriage even though, until a week ago, the husband-to-be was the apple of her eye. The pair had been best friends since infancy and lovers for as long as they understood such emotions. However, the newcomer has swept the poor girl off her feet and now the alliance seems doomed. The task of the party is to play matchmakers between the star-crossed lovers. GM Notes -------- The paladin is a womanising oaf, but one whose companions (a bard and a thief) are adept at covering up. The party needs to gather evidence of his darker nature, his impregnation of several serving wenches, and his less than charitable attacks on poor, defenceless leprechauns. If any of this evidence is gathered through force or co-coercion, it will fail. The princess is so blinded that she will rationalise a forced confession as simply that: falsely given in return for survival. Gross Incompetence ================== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- Thieves and vagabonds have been crossing into the kingdom and creating havoc in a distant region. The King sent a group of men-at-arms to deal with the situation. When they did not return, he sent his youngest son and another set of men-at-arms on a 'Character-building' mission to deal with the situation. The problem is there has been no word from the son, and complaints are still coming back from the realm of disorder. The King wants the party to bring the son back, solve the problem, and if possible, make the son look good. GM Notes -------- The core problem is a basic one of rounding up the bandits, finding a leader, and working out a deal. The problem is that the son, having 'finally' gotten out of the 'bloody' castle, is leading a life of disolution in a local inn. The original men-at-arms were captured, with some of them joining the bandits, some heading back home, and others hiding out in the hills. Good luck turning this all into a hero story for the son. Daemon of Conflict ================== From: Spikey Description ----------- The area is plagued with a spirit that feeds on conflict and competition. Whenever a conflict occurs, whether this is haggling over the price of cotton in the bazaar or an attempt to strike a foe, the ground rumbles and the beast roars. Whenever a violent act is taken, the expected result does not occur. Swords seem to do no damage; fires set in anger burn nothing. GM Notes -------- The creature was raised by a local cabal of Magicians in an attempt to protect the area from bandits and invaders, but the spell has not gone to plan. Now the beast is infused with the very earth and plants, seething from every cross word and every blow struck. These mages are now bound to the beast and struggle to keep it weak. To do this they absorb the blows and wounds inflicted around the countryside themselves, because as much as the anger and violence feeds it, it requires only a handful of deaths to break free. The more wounds they take, the less they are able to restrain the beast. By the time the party learns of what is going on, some mages might have already died and will need to be replaced. Success itself might cause many new problems. What if all those wounds absorbed by the mages suddenly return to their intended victims? (The 'food' of the creature/spell can be tweaked for each campaign, depending on what the GM wishes to exclude. It's interesting to define more detailed causes such as certain branch of magic that the party relies upon too much or something as simple as 'metal weapons'.) Insurgent ========= From: Michael Anderson Description ----------- The characters are hired, asked, or ordered to escort the six-year-old daughter of an executive cross-country. The executive is in the employ of a powerful corporation (let's call it RSI), and is being actively recruited by another powerful corporation (let's call it Trexel). The executive has been relocated to the east coast (or wherever cross-country is), and wants his family to join him. However, because of a genetic problem with the daughter's eardrums, the daughter cannot fly (the pressurization in the airplane as it reaches altitude causes her extreme pain). The executive is under constant watch by RSI security so that he does not defect to Trexel, and so that Trexel does not try to 'grab him'. RSI is concerned that Trexel may try to snatch his daughter to force him to defect to their company. If asked why RSI Security doesn't do the escort themselves, they will say that RSI is running a child across country but this child is a decoy, while the child the characters are taking is the real daughter. RSI gives them a map to follow and a series of safe houses where they should report each evening. RSI warns them that there is a possibility that Trexel Corporation may see through the decoy maneuver and launch an attack on them. All they have to do is get her from one end of the country to the other. GM Notes -------- The girl is not actually the daughter of anyone important. Rather, she is one of many participants in a prototype study of a new chemical weapon. The girl has had a cybernetic device implanted in her chest cavity. The device is a very sensitive chemical bomb in early development. RSI is interested in seeing how well it travels, but they don't want to risk any of their own personnel (or important personnel if the characters work for RSI). The weapon is the ultimate stealth device; send a child into an area with a parent. Guards and soldiers would not suspect them, and then detonate the child. (Sick, but that's how corporations think in cyberpunk worlds.) There are still a couple of kinks to work out. The device is extremely sensitive to pressure at altitudes higher than 12000 feet (the characters' map takes them through lowland passes, avoiding any high mountains), so it cannot be flown across country. Pressure builds up in the device and must be released every twenty-four hours. This happens each night at the safe houses (disguised as a physician examining the girl as the father wants to be sure that no harm is coming to her as she travels). If this does not happen, the device has an increasing chance of detonating every hour past twenty-four. (GM can decide, but I used 5% per hour). As the pressure builds, the girl will start to experience discomfort and cry out for her box (the machine that relieves the pressure). The child should bond with the characters early on. She should be pouty and upset with being stuck with the characters at first. This will hopefully trigger the standard human response of wanting to be liked, and trying to get the child to like them. However, as time goes on and events unfold (see below), the child should grow attached to the characters and begin to express affection and love. The child should start saying things like: 'I wish you were my dad/mom', 'My parents never spend any time with me, but you are lots of fun.', 'I feel safe with you.' Play on the characters' heartstrings. Get them to love the child. Trexel Corporation is actively seeking to steal the prototype. They have a number of spies in the RSI organization, and know that the characters have the prototype. However, they also don't want to expose their personnel to the dangerous device, so they have hired a number of mercenaries to try and capture the girl. As the journey begins, these mercenaries start attacking the characters. At first the characters might believe that it is just roaming pirate gangs that can be found in the area, just one of the dangers of travel in a cyberpunk society. But as time goes on, the attacks will be more coordinated and professional. After each attack the child should bond more and more closely with the characters, and during each attack the child should cry out plaintively for help. Each night the characters report to the safe house, but it should eventually be made clear that there are people at the safe house who are moles in the organization. At some point it would be good if the characters could be encouraged to decide to stay away from the safe houses, and abandon their RSI issued vehicles (perhaps they find a tracking device). Of course, if they don't go to the safe house, the pressure will build up and the girl will cry for her box. This might be a good point for the characters to not only discover that they are transporting a human bomb, but also to realize that if they don't perform some kind of emergency procedure (something with garbage bags and rubber bands) to relieve the pressure, the bomb could go off, killing them, the child, and spreading nasty chemicals for miles around. If the characters decide to leave the child, have her cry and plead. Of course the characters can leave, but then for the rest of their lives they will carry that guilt. If they decide to relieve the pressure, make the maneuver relatively simple. Perhaps they and the child receive some minor chemical burns (these can be treated at the safe house). At this point they are forced to return to the safe house at least one more time. They could opt to get out of the contract here, but if they try, RSI will offer them more money, or threaten them. Eventually the characters will get close to their destination, at which point the child will cry to not be separated from them. She will talk about the horrible condition of her life; the constant surgery, the captivity, etc. She will beg them to set her free. There are many options at this point, the characters could find an underground surgeon to remove the device; they could complete the mission; they could take the child to Trexel and try and negotiate for her release in exchange for the technology, etc. When I played this scenario with my group, they wound up being captured by Trexel. The girl was taken, and they were imprisoned in a nasty maximum-security prison on trumped up charges. They eventually escaped, and much later on were hired again by RSI to raid a Trexel facility to steal some technology. They were experts at this kind of thing. However, when they got there, they discovered that the technology that they were to steal was the child from before and several others like her. Of course, there was a teary reunion with a lot of: 'Oh! I knew you guys would come and rescue me! Don't ever leave me again!' To Speak, Or Not To Speak ========================= From: mike b Description ----------- The local police have apprehended an infamous kidnapper. He/She's kidnapped many children and the police are worried. They want to find out where the children are, but the kidnapper is a mage, and any attempts to get him/her to talk might end up with him/her casting a spell on them. GM Notes -------- The kidnapper's child was put up for adoption by the authorities and so the kidnapper/mage has been going through the village for weeks, taking children he/she thinks might be his/her child. Out of about a dozen children taken, none on those have proved to be the person's child. Upon capture, the kidnapper showed the police that he/she is a mage also and the authorities have yet to question him/her. Time is running out and the children might die if the police don't find out where they are soon, but the fear of being cursed, hexed, or otherwise having a spell cast is keeping them from questioning the kidnapper. The Four Horsemen ================= From: Arasan Nayamu Description ----------- In the middle of a desert, in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of the night, four men woke up and found themselves lost, with no memories of the past few weeks, and not a lot of provisions, nor the means to travel. The four men shakily agreed to befriend one another with feelings that they've known each other for some time but couldn't place a finger on where or how. A chance caravan took this party of four men to a nearby city in exchange for a little bodyguard power. An old, but direly eccentric, merchant-entertainer gnome named Solvor Shrillseeker eventually hired the party to round up some recently lost property. Four foals (baby horses) were stolen from him the night before and he'd gladly pay to get them back. His simple-minded half-orc guard Jrak, in protest to Solvor screaming at him, said that he was told to watch the horses and he did! He watched the thieves take the horses right out of the city! The party went off into the desert with a guide. They discovered the foals in an old abandoned temple that had been sealed with puzzles and traps of all sorts. They were incredibly surprised to find that the foals consisted of a baby unicorn, a baby pegasus, a baby nightmare, and a baby hippogryph. The thieves however, were nowhere to be seen or heard. This puzzled the party for some time. Then one of my players came up with an idea. 'Friends? I know this is crazy... but what if... *we* were the thieves?' (Nailed it! I couldn't believe it! No one had ever figured it out before when I had been talking about the plot to my family and friends. My wizard player nailed it and despite being flustered as a new DM and having to redo the plot a bit, I was so proud of him!) They decided to look for some clues that explained why they had stolen the foals in the first place. They discovered a crypt that led underneath the above ground temple and into what was really the abandoned temple underground: a vast maze of catacombs and old hiding places for a clearly ancient persecuted people. When they emerged from their dungeon crawl, they found to their utter horror that the foals had been stolen again and blood was spattered on the walls of the rooms where they had been kept. The guide, an apprentice of Solvor, went back to the city to tell Solvor of what has happened and brought Solvor back with him. Solvor was confronted by the party and he admitted that he had blocked their memories and left them in the middle of the desert. He said the blockage would dissipate in a few days and that he was just having a bit of fun with the party and had no idea that things would turn out like this. The party had their way with Solvor, scaring him a bit with threats and dilluted poison. Now they *really* wanted to see why they had stolen the foals. By this time a few days had passed and their memories started to come back to them little by little in a reversed method. They remembered stealing the foals. They remembered traveling the desert together. They remembered leaving the confines of a cave and so they headed toward where they thought the cave was. Sure enough, there was a cave, and after a rough battle between a harpy flock and a wemic pride, the client appeared. He was part wemic and part lammasu. He was a guardian of the desert named Elijah. Well, that's the name he said you can call him anyway. Elijah healed the party of their wayward memories instantly and they finally remembered everything. They stole the foals because he had summoned them and asked them to steal the foals from Solvor for him. Elijah knew that Solvor was treating the horses decently and would normally not get involved with a thievery. But, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. Solvor was holding the foals for someone else and Elijah did not by any means wish for them to go back into the hands of this someone: a pit fiend. This devil, not caring to take care of the foals, gave the responsibility to Solvor because he was gullible and could be bought. Solvor used the foals for his entertainment booth; showed them off in the bazaar of the desert city for money. As long as the foals stayed pure and unharmed, the devil didn't have a problem with this, but Solvor was contracted to give them back to him after a certain amount of time. He was also cursed not to say anything. After contacting a friend, Elijah had hired the party to steal the foals. The foals were then stolen and hidden away in the temple and sealed in their respective rooms by Elijah's great magic. The party went back to the city to rest up and Solvor caught them with the help of Jrak, blocked their memories, and left them in the desert to either await the vultures or come back to the city and do exactly as they had done. The party told Elijah that all was in vain due to Solvor's meddling. Elijah forgave Solvor and gave him the new task of helping the party out instead of causing mischief. After healing Solvor of his curse, Solvor was able to tell the party where the pit fiend was holing up: in a volcano on an island. (The city was a seaport on the edge of the desert, like Lut Gulein in Diablo II.) The friend of Elijah's arrived the next morning and he turned out to be a silver elf with a silver mask covering half his face. He suddenly took charge of the party and they headed for the island. When they got there they found that the pit fiend had the foals tainted with his devil's blood by injecting it into them magically and then dipping them into flaming pits of green fire! They emerged from the pits of flame in cages and the foals were now adults-evil, adult versions of themselves. (Even the nightmare was pure evil, whereas before he was just an angry, frightened baby.) The silver elf, who called himself Osprey until now, confronted the pit fiend who was called Y'kntarr. Osprey transformed into his true form of a huge silver dragon named Amberderium, killed the pit fiend and in turn, the pit fiend killed the silver dragon. As the dragon and pit fiend were fighting, the party battled evil versions of themselves (sort of dopplegangers) and rescued the foals by talking gently to the evil adult mythical horses. The foals remembered who they were and transformed back into innocent mythical foals once again. Then the volcano blew (of course) and the party rescued the wild elven villagers of the island from the flowing lava and they all sailed off into the sunset on their ship. The Surreptitious Lockpick ========================== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- The Prince of the realm visits the mausoleum of his ancestors every month or so to pay his respects. The mausoleum is in an untraveled part of the cemetery. Last month he noticed some footprints and scuffmarks in the dirt. Two nights ago he noticed that the lock had been left askew and it looked like the metal had been scraped. He placed guards, but they have not noticed anything, and the lock is obviously being handled. The Prince wants the PCs to find out who is tampering and why, and then stop it. GM Notes -------- The mischief is being committed by a local master thief who has sweet-talked the old woman who brings the guards their dinner. As a result, he is able to place a sleeping drug in their ale putting them to sleep. The guards are too afraid to tell the lord what is happening. The thief has a long-standing grudge against the Prince (something about fees not paid for services rendered) and plans to get into the mausoleum and do two things: paint graffiti that is easily visible from the outside, and steal a family ring from one of the corpses. That ring will be used to place blame on the Prince for some evil act that the thief will commit. The Troll Path ======================================= From: Steve Davies Description ----------- The local lord is mad because his stonemasons are behind schedule building what should be a simple wall, and in addition, they are asking for more money and complaining bitterly about the unnatural happenings. The lord wants the problem to go away. GM Notes -------- There is a path, clear to anyone who looks (which the masons have not done, 'We're masons, not rangers!') that the trolls take every night. This path can be followed back to their lair. The problem is how to change the troll's path, get them to stop tearing down the wall, or change the lord's plans. Winterberries In Snow ===================== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- The Queen loves winterberries, and while pregnant with her first child (and hopefully the royal heir) she craves winterberries. Unfortunately, it is high summer. The King offers a handsome reward for anyone who can bring the Queen winterberries. GM Notes -------- A little consultation with herbalists will reveal that in cool climates, like the tops of mountains, the winterberry can be picked all year round. The catch is (you knew there was a catch, didn't you?) winterberries dissolve into liquid after only a couple of days in temperatures above freezing. So, the heroes need to go into the mountains, get the winterberries and a whole bunch of snow, and bring the whole lot back to the Queen before the snow melts. Excommunication =============== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- The head of the largest local church hires the heroes to discover and reveal the sins of a local loudmouth. GM Notes -------- The local loudmouth is pointing out places where the church is not following its own guidelines, and where it is corrupt. The church has decided that it is time to excommunicate him and is looking for enough evidence to go ahead with the ceremony without too many questions being asked. The loudmouth is no saint, having been a mercenary and adventurer in earlier life, so finding 'dirt' on him will not be a problem. In the process, the party should also find some dirt on the church, or church leaders. Calm the Vortex =============== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- A swirling vortex has formed in the center of the busiest harbor in the land, effectively shutting down the harbor and bringing trade to a standstill. Everyone, from merchant to noble to clergy to peasant, wants the vortex to end. GM Notes -------- Someone has dropped a powerful and heavy magical item into the harbor. The direct-force way of attacking it risks pulling characters into the vortex and whatever perils it contains. Ships will not put to sea to help. Exploring the history will lead the heroes to the lad who pushed the item into the sea, as revenge on an unfaithful love, without realizing what he'd done. Recalling the Messenger ======================= From: Steve Davies Description ----------- The King mistakenly thought that one of the neighboring kingdoms was raiding his lands. He dispatched a messenger declaring war. Unfortunately, he found out the day AFTER the messanger left on the fastest horses that the kingdom was not responsible. He wants the heroes to stop the messenger at all costs. GM Notes -------- Since the messenger is heading to the blamed kingdom, he must go through the lands in which the raiding is going on. There, he is captured by the bandits and possibly rescued by the rival kingdom. Secret Admirer ============== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- A young noble has intercepted a message, written in a distinctive round hand, that reveals a lady's infatuation with him. The problem is he cannot tell whose handwriting the letter contains. He wants the heroes to discreetly find the authoress. GM Notes -------- While the intrigue of getting writing samples from a large local noble population can be fun in itself, there are several twists possible, including gender-switches, or a code in which specific noble names are switched for others -- so the letter is not about the person named in it. Deathbed Friend =============== From: Steve Davies Description ----------- Someone important is dying but wants to see his oldest friend one last time before he goes. The heroes are pressed to find the friend. GM Notes -------- The last time the friend had been seen was many years before as he was entering the service of a traveling illusionist. It is believed that he took up the traveling life, but has not been seen in these parts for some time. Caravan Duty ============ From: Bobby Nichols Description ----------- The local lord who hired the PCs is the law in the area. The PCs are told that the famed crystal staff of high muckety-muck has been stolen. Sources say that the staff is being smuggled out in the caravan of Rutrik the Merchant. Due to political affiliations and such, (the noble is married to Rutrik's sister, and Rutrik is the illegitimate son of the king of the area), the noble cannot actually prosecute, seize the caravan, and search it. The noble is hiring the PCs to join the caravan, find the staff, find the perpetrators of the crime, and return the staff to the noble. If Ratrik is behind the theft that knowledge is valuable, but the PCs are not to antagonize Ratrik under any circumstance. Who's Next Door =============== From: Bobby Nichols Description ----------- A gang of rogues has recently formed and they are plotting their first job. What exactly they are planning on is dependent on how much impact you want this gang to have on the PCs. For example, the gang is planning on robbing the moneylender where all the PCs keep their money. Or they are planning on mugging the brewer who is rumored to be rich as Midas. In any case, a PC sees suspicious characters lurking about, entering an abandoned building, and then leaving later. The rogues do not appear to be doing anything overtly wrong, but if challenged, they might attempt to bluster their way free of any entanglements. GM Notes -------- The rogues are confident about accomplishing their job. After the score though, they become very nervous and scared and any little noise will scare them into flight. It Really Bugs Me... ==================== From: Bobby Nichols Description ----------- Aski, a farmer from the outskirts of town, comes screaming into town about giant bugs and how they are eating his crops. This is a case of crying wolf, as the farmer is something of a pessimist and too many people have been taken in by his pleas before. Aski is laughed at and made fun of by the other townspeople. Any who ask about Aski will be told that he does this every now and then just to get attention. "Aski probably saw a large grasshopper," they laugh. Unfortunately for the town, Aski isn't mistaken or exaggerating this time. A large bug-like creature (an ankheg for example http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd/srdmonstersa.rtf) has moved into Aski's barn and given birth to a whole spawn of smaller bug-monsters. If the bug monsters aren't taken care of quickly, all the fields around town will become infested with the little horrors. Farmers' Drug ============= From: Nick Maggs Description ----------- A deadly and addictive drug is causing huge amounts of suffering in the PCs hometown. The drug is coming into the town from a neighbouring region. Attempting to stop the drug couriers is not an option as they have the 'bought' the local law enforcement agency within the town. The PCs must attempt to get to the root of the problem and eliminate the supply of the drug. GM Notes -------- Desperately poor local farmers are growing the drug. They need the extra income generated from the drug sales to pay the crippling taxes inflicted on them by the local landowner. The landowner would come down very hard on the unfortunate farmers if he found out that a deadly narcotic was being grown on his land. The farmers growing the drug are victims as well. The real villain is the landowner, but other than imposing impossible taxes he has done nothing wrong. The PCs need to find away to convince the farmers to stop growing their deadly crop - but still make ends meet. An added complication could come from the drug dealers who are making a very nice profit by acting as middlemen in the distribution of the drug. I used this scenario in an oriental setting. The drug distributors were Yakuza, while the landowner was a samurai who would have happily slaughtered the peasant farmers if he found out that they were dishonouring him by growing the drug crop. I hooked my PCs by having several of their contacts and trainers become dependant on the deadly narcotic. Get The Bad Guys ================ From: Angela K. Robertson Description ----------- A local sheriff who provides protection to the local town against the constant threat of invading 'bad guys' hires the party. (The bad guys can be orcs, trolls, thieves, or whatever.) After some time of regular duty with standard combat encounters with the bad guys, another member of the sheriff's team goes missing. The party is sent by the sheriff on a search mission to find the traitor and bring him/her back into custody. GM Notes -------- The 'traitor' really did switch sides to assist the 'bad guys.' As it turns out, the sheriff has been harassing them to gain access to some protected resource (this can be land, gold, etc.) and to win support from the town. The bad guys fight back to protect their resource as well as their lives. The party eventually meets up with the traitor in a secret 'bad guy' hideout and has to decide which side to believe. The Song ======== From: Darryl Description ----------- The Captain of a ship requests you to provide a cure for his twelve-year-old son. While sailing the Strait of the Mystic Singers (first time for the son who is in his first year as a galley boy upon the ship), the crew prepares to cross through the area by placing wax over their ears to protect them from the singing of the sirens who live in the caves on the shore of this strait. The boy was busy cleaning the galley floor and was overlooked when the wax was passed out. Next thing the boy knows, the First Mate is lifting him out of the waters into a rowboat. He had dove from the ship and was swimming for the shore where he heard the singing coming from. Now back home, the boy is never content and tries to find a way back to the sirens. The Captain shares with you that the way to get near the sirens is to wear wax over the ears. A song by a bard tells the story of a siren that once removed the charm from a Prince but the song does not tell how. GM Notes -------- The sirens are beautiful women who capture men with their voices. They can only give birth to girls, so to reproduce they must lure men to themselves (if this aspect of the quest becomes important a short mention by the GM could cover it or play it as a single brief emotionless encounter by the siren). Any man who clearly hears them singing will come to live with them, be totally devoted to their wishes, and will never leave, kind of like a pet dog. Few men last more than one year in the cold and wet caves, with most dying during the harsh winter. Sirens have no desire for constructed homes so no man builds one. This being the life of a siren, they do not develop an emotional bond for a man but view him as a brief necessity and enjoy his assistance and physical warmth for as long as he is alive; at death they eat him. Sirens are wary of all people because they are known as "husband stealers" and "men killers." They are aggressive towards women because the songs do not charm them. As for a cure, a siren only has to touch you and choose to withdraw the effects of the song. Once this is done, the person will never be affected by their singing again. They will know the sirens are uncaring creatures and avoid them (if resentment is strong, the character might choose to try and eradicate them - another plot). Keep Them Talking, I'll Get Help ================================ From: mike b Description ----------- There are two (fantasy) enemy armies about to clash on the field. The big one belongs to the enemy, and the smaller army belongs to a friend of the PCs'. The larger army would slaughter the smaller army, but the PCs, who are helping their friend lead the army, in all chivalry, must speak with the enemy leaders about peace conditions (think Braveheart or Troy). The larger army is bent on either taking the land from the small army or battling them because they know they can win. The PCs know that an ally army is moving closer and will be there to help them in a little while. The PCs also know that, to get enough time for the ally army to get there, they must keep the enemy leaders talking for as long as possible. GM Notes -------- Basically, if you keep the enemy leaders there for long enough, the allies will hopefully show up and help out. A good thing is to get the enemy generals talking about their children and families and stuff, so the PCs will less likely kill them. It creates an internal struggle in the PCs and makes them think that their enemy is more human. But, as soon as the enemy army arrives, they can have a battle. So there's hack-n-slash and roleplay. I Always Die At Weddings ======================== From: jon grilli Description ----------- The PCs are hired by a local, rich, and powerful nobleman to escort his betrothed from her home to his. When they arrive they find that guards will also accompany this very beautiful young lady from her own home. (Note: the guards should be powerful enough that the PCs can't take them in a straight up fight.) As they travel from her home to the nobleman's, the girl is always crying and despondent and doesn't speak to anyone. When the PCs finally get around to asking her what's wrong, she tells them that, as ancient tradition has it, immediately after she is married she will be sacrificed for the good of the land. The PCs now have to figure out a way to talk the guards into going a different way so as to buy time, slow down the caravan some other way, and hopefully, talk the nobleman out of the sacrifice. GM Notes -------- Ok, this is the classic story of saving the doomed princess. In real world history, human sacrifice such as this was sometimes practiced to ensure victory in battle or good crops. Anywho, an important part of the plot is to make sure the PCs are heavily outgunned/magicked/whatever by the guards from the girl's homeland so they can't just kill them and set her free. They should be able to talk the guards into a 'short cut', buying themselves and the girl sometime. If they're really bold and clever, they may be able to pull a switch, substituting one of themselves for the girl, letting her go free, then finding a way out of it. Alternatively, once they get to the nobleman's place, they could really pour it all on and try and convince him that the sacrifice is a bad idea. For a twist, when it comes right down to it, have the nobleman and the girl actually be totally in love, but they both realize the sacrifice has to happen for everything to be ok; the sacrifice wedding happens and the PCs helplessly watch a tragic love story. Which Hero's Which? =================== From: jon grilli Description ----------- A local noble is throwing a celebration and everyone is invited; except the players. The celebration is for a group of local hero/adventurers in honor of their recent victories. As the players inquire about this group, they find that those being celebrated are being rewarded for deeds that the PCs actually accomplished. As part of the celebration, the nobleman is about to outlaw all other adventuring groups as vigilantes. The players must find a way to convince the nobleman and townspeople that they are the real heroes. GM Notes -------- This one has the potential to be both serious cloak and dagger roleplaying and have some comedy thrown in with mistaken identities and such if your group goes for that kind of thing. The plot anchor is that the nobleman throwing the party for the fake heroes and trying to outlaw the PCs is in on it. He is aware the PCs are the true heroes and he wants them gone so he can pull some nefarious deeds of his own, so he hires a group of nobodies, maybe traveling bards, to be the local heroes. The PCs, after finding out about the party, need to find a way into the place under the nose of a house guard, ideally without weapons. Maybe the PCs could pose as caterers, or some such. If they try to break in, you lose the RP element and it's a combat thing. A fun moment might be when the PCs try to convince the locals that they themselves have actually done the heroic deeds, especially if they are relatively fresh off the road; beat up, dirty, maybe injured. Heroes don't look like that! Money Trouble ============= From: Jeff Gillis Description ----------- One of the close NPCs to the party has got himself into a little bit of a debt problem-he's borrowed money from the local moneylenders. Normally, the party could just go out and fight some encounters or do some dungeon crawl to come up with the coin, but there is only a short time left to come up with the money before their friend goes missing. GM Notes -------- Their friend has tried to call in favors from all his friends but to no avail (or there is a friend who could help them but he needs some convincing since he had a fallout with the NPC a few years back). The moneylenders are too big to fight it out with in such a short time before their friend goes missing. They could go to the moneylenders to convince them to hold off, which could in turn lead into another quest to get them to delay. The PCs could try some con ideas to make some fast cash or even possibility try to find someone to gamble with. If the time is short the PCs won't be able to resort to combat but will need to find some way to delay or make quick cash some other way. Mediation...Large Scale ======================= From: Ross Tony Shingledecker Description ----------- Two huge armies (representing nations, kingdoms, wizards' colleges, merchant factions, rival galaxies, or whatever) are on the brink of a terrible war. If the war commenced, as a majority of people in both parties believes is inevitable, thousands will die fighting, and tens of thousands of others will perish from disease, famine, looting, and the other horrors of war. As a last ditch effort to keep the peace, the leaders of the two factions request the PCs to mediate between them (or among them if there are more than 2 factions). Perhaps the PCs are famous across the world/galaxy, perhaps they were chosen because of their neutrality, perhaps they were chosen for their past deeds as conflict mediators, perhaps they were chosen by lot to ensure a fair mediation, but for whatever reason, the job is theirs--prevent a war. GM Notes -------- Obviously, how the PCs should go about this would be specific to the factions about to engage in war, but here are some general strategies: declare immediate moratorium on conflict/contact, set up a 'neutral zone' (Romulans?) or Demilitarized Zone (real history?), meet with leaders separately, hold a summit, set up a sort of tribunal where each side presents their case, set up a negotiation where each side brings list of demands and concessions they're willing to make (preferable with the rulers present so decisions and compromises can be made swiftly), go on a goodwill tour of the areas to drum up popular support for peace, participate in a trade of personnel/technology/knowledge, maybe even of nobles' children or the like (so that the 'us and them' situation becomes an 'us and them on this side, us and them on that side' deal), combat dehumanizing (or de-elvenizing or whatever) propaganda, propose an alternate threat (like space pirates or a third encroaching army---shadier PCs might actually create an alternate threat for this purpose), point out the horrors/scars of the last war, force everyone to read 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (a very nonpolitical, nonpacifist, but VERY antiwar book written by a WWI German soldier, later banned by Hitler because it taught that war was bad), or any of a multitude of other tactics. Look to history as an example. If the PCs fail, have the war happen anyway, and make it every bit as horrible as was threatened. Monkey Wrenches that might disrupt the PCs efforts: demagogues stirring up popular support for war (shadier PCs might assassinate them), people who claim the PCs really work for one side or the other, people dredging up past information about the PCs to support a wild claim, people resenting outside influence, units of the military associated with a faction going rogue and attacking anyway, units of anyone's factions crossing the wrong border, proof of espionage/assassination on the part of one of the factions, agents of an (apparently) neutral party trying to stir up unrest (like a third merchant house that stands to gain if the other two fight to the death), one faction demanding something that the other refuses to compromise on, a surprise attack by someone, or any of other numerous aggressive things. Look to history for examples. Innocent Until Proven Guilty...With a Twist (And Not the Lemon Kind) ==================================================================== From: Ross Tony Shingledecker Description ----------- Paul has been arrested for the brutal murder of a local woman, and all the clues point to him as the suspect, but for whatever reason, the PCs try to find him innocent (he might be paying them, they might owe him a favor, they might be his younger brother). The only thing Paul has going for him is the alibi of his friend Luc, and alibi that proves true with polygraph tests, Zone of Truth spells, or whatever is appropriate. GM Notes -------- This cliché scenario is interrupted by a surprise: Paul and his accomplice Luc DID commit the murder, and their alibi (that they were at a deserted local place [the creek, the Jeffries tubes, Deadman's Bluff, whatever] using some sort of illegal drug or engaged in some other minor illegality while 'having fun') holds true because it is, with the small omission that their 'fun' was the murder of the woman. They agreed to frame a neighbor, but Luc double-crossed Paul and framed him instead. Paul hasn't revealed this because their alibi is the only thing keeping him from the gallows/firing squad/airlock/whatever. Luc promises the PCs to do everything he can to help prove his friend's innocence, all the while directing them towards more and more evidence against Paul (what that evidence is depends on the technology level of the world and the nature of their CSI/equivalent [could be diviners]). Eventually, either the PCs decide that Paul is clearly guilty, or Luc 'breaks down' and confesses that he saw Paul do it but is covering for his 'friend'. Either way, the PCs now face a dilemma--do they stand behind their employer/relative/favor-holder/whatever and search for counter-evidence, even though they know he's guilty, or do they let him hang? Perhaps in their search for counter-evidence, they discover Luc's more-than-bystander role, and implicate him..or implicate something/one else entirely. Either way, this quandary forces the players to decide a lot about their characters and their motivations---even a paladin might give a murderer another chance if it's his brother (and in the modern world, we hardly see the job of a court-appointed DA as 'evil', because the chance that the guilty walk is better than having an innocent punished)--but furthermore, this affects all sorts of other dealings the PCs might have. If they turned in someone who did them a favor, no matter how guilty, people might be less willing to do them favors. If they were related, their family might shun them for betraying 'the family' (and their last name doesn't have to be Corleone for this to happen). And if they were hired and turn the man in, I for one wouldn't hire them to defend me, innocent or guilty, because of their track record. Their are ramifications if they spring him, too, especially if he commits another murder and they are blamed for allowing him to roam free. Even if he lives out a crime-free life, he and the PCs might fall under general suspicion or mistrust as fallout from their actions. Tough choice. Lost In Time ============ From: fanagann Description ----------- This quest requires some preparation, and free space in your world. Let's assume you have a kingdom called "Koarchion", from three sides surrounded by a frozen sea. Koarchion should have a short border with another kingdom- Palchorn. Everyone in your world should know that five years ago something happen (they don't know, what), and Koarchion closed this border isolating itself from the other world. Nobody had entered or get out of it for this period of time. The border between those kingdoms was protected from the Koarchion side with soldiers, who during years changed into a huge army, and the Palchorn is afraid, that Koarchion is planning a war. So they search for help (our players) to form a special group, and investigate, what is happening inside Koarchion. Make this group as small as possible. It should be hard for them to find way in, but it's up to GM to give them enough clues and more then one option to choose. I use my example in which one of the great mages of Palchorn creates a portal somewhere inside a forest in Koarchion. As they enter the portal they will hear some voices talking about time, flow, trip (think about something. Maybe it's a vision? Something can happen when they go out of the portal. Read further for more information). Then something odd happens (portal suddenly closes, and it shouldn't), and players realize, that they can't return. So they try to understand, what is going on. GM Notes -------- GM should make all he can to make them think, that they moved in time, and don't know in which time they are now. The cities should be ruined, and there should be a lot more females then males in them, because there is a war with Palchorn (someone from this group can remember, that years ago there actually was a war. This will add more confusion). Roads are unused, covered with grass. And another trick: there isn't something like a calendar, and nobody remembers actual date, because they don't care. Few people know the day of the week, fewer the month of the year, none the year itself. Think about other elements and details that can confuse players. The ruler may organize faked battles in the cities, and even burn parts of them to prove, that war is really going on. The truth: Five years ago in mountains of Koarchian very rare minerals have been found. They are the most valuable ones, and everyone seek them as they have magical power (or something else). So the ruler of this kingdom decided that he will keep al those goods for himself, but he doesn't want his population to rise against him. So he started a little mystification. He closed the border, and spread news inside Koarchian, that Palchorn started a war. Officially: everyone now work to maintain the army. All volunteers and soldiers are on the border. And those valuable minerals are used to buy equipments and hire mercenaries. In fact they are stored by the ruler, and everyone work only to provide food for the soldiers, which live peacefully without effort, so they like it, and doesn't want to change it. Every volunteer, who doesn't accept fact, that there is no war is killed. The ruler using his powerful mages shortened duration of seasons, and increased growing speed of plants, so people have to work harder to increase mining rate of minerals, and every great mage in the kingdom is imprisoned, because he could sense this magic power. That means the time looks like is flowing faster. Everybody who actually knows which date truly is (and there are only few of them) will think, that war lasts for 6 years, not 5 (this will make players think, they moved a year in future, and make more complications). All other little details, and twist in that plot should make players more confused and mystification more reliable, so think about it, and add as you wish. It's up to GM how they will learn the truth, and make this mystification public (and if someone ever believes them). At the end, they have to find their way to escape. When mystification ends, ruler of Koarchion will try to save himself by truly starting a war. So players will have to stop it, because it will be their fault! Game Within A Game, Or The Microcosm (Shorter, But Cooler) ========================================================== From: Ross Tony Shingledecker Description ----------- This RP Encounter is sure to test a player's RPing ability to the utmost, while being potentially lighter in nature and less stressful than most...although by affixing a penalty to failure, this encounter can be deadly serious as well. The gist is simple: make the CHARACTERS play an RPG. It could be a dream sequence, a sort of illusionary enchantment, a VR game, a tabletop adventure, or a Holodeck experience, depending on the gameworld. In fact, you could even mix genres with this game, having Cyperpunk characters play a VR game of D&D. The trick here is that players don't assume a new persona for this game-within-a-game, they assume the persona of their current character as he or she assumes a new persona. So, Player Bob's weaselly computer hacker character JoJo always wondered what it would be like to be strong and hunky, so when JoJo's hacked team enters the FantasyRealm simulation, he chooses a fighter-type base character to move through the simulation with. Within this context, you can run any sort of game you want. GM Notes -------- This can be an excellent way to relive stress after a long, brutal, draining adventure, or in the middle of one to give players a break...for example, a group of Call of Cthulu investigators combating an infestation of parasitical mindcontrolling worms in Washington DC (the worms are, of course, taking over government officials)are forced to halt their efforts by the Fourth of July Weekend, in which millions of tourists flood the town and all government members are too high profile to kidnap, interrogate, or 'remove'. So the investigators relax for the weekend by playing a good old adventure game--tabletop D&D 1st Edition. *grin* In fact, you could use this as a reward...every time the group completes a major objective in the fight against the parasites, they give themselves some time off--to play this campaign...thus, two campaigns occur simultaneously, and each player has to keep tract of the primary character's ambitions and goals, the goals that character has for the 'fictional' secondary character, and the ambitions/goals that the primary character has ascribed to the secondary character. How cool is that? Also, this can be a way to give characters playing high-level characters a chance to play low level ones just for a bit, or vice versa. A way to make it a dark, stressful experience if by attaching a failure condition--for example, a group of adventurers in a D&D setting run afoul of a powerful lich, who toys with the characters by capturing their bodies and forcing them into a dream state, assigning each to a dreamCharacter quite unlike himself, and assigning them an objective ('Enter the dreamTemple's sanctuary and perform the dreamRitual in 3 dreamDays...') and a failure condition ('...or you will never leave the dreamWorld and your bodies will be mine forever! MWAHAHAHAHA!'). Freaky. The Untouchable =============== From: fanagann Description ----------- Someone important in the city is dying because of poison, which is known to attack after three days and kill this person. The city is searching for the antidote, but it's hopeless. I leave background information to GM, but this poison was created specially for this occasion, and will need alchemist to create antidote, which can take weeks. So, there is only one option, one item which can help. It's the "Key of Life". A necklace with a symbol of life placed on a little icicle-like blue-black gem. Whenever someone holds it with his hand - he can't die no matter what (wounds heal immediately, he can breathe under water, don't have to eat or drink, spells negative effects doesn't affect him and so on) and all items he owns (weapon, clothes) can't be destroyed. If that dying person could grab it for some period of time - someone will have time to create antidote or after does three days poison will vanish. But there is only one glitch: someone owns this artifact, and this isn't person you would normally talk with. GM Notes -------- This person (call him: Hadari) have found this artifact a year ago, and he knows how to protect this item. He has tied his left hand holding the Key of Life, with a rope, so even when he sleeps - he won't release it. Before that, he hired a mage to cast a spell on his hand, so when anybody touches it - he will know it, and if asleep - will wake up. Players have to find a method to take this necklace from him. But he is VERY cautious - if he suspects that somebody is behind any trick - he can just wait even for a weeks (he don't have to eat). So he must think that this was an accident and there is nobody near, or somebody has to make him lose his carefulness somehow (maybe by drinking beer contest? But he isn't so stupid!). Clues: he is a physically weak person (you can trap him in a hole which requires both hands to get out of. When you see him trying to get out - frost him or paralyze. Then necklace is yours), He likes to show off (make him do something reckless which requires both hands, and he shouldn't know that at the beginning, then do as above) Think about other ideas, and remember - they have only three days, and he is VERY suspicious. He can't know that this is a trap! The Last Heir ============= From: Joachim de Ravenbel Description ----------- The PCs have just (unwittingly) killed the heir to the throne. His youngest brother (or sister or whatever) left the kingdom three months ago on a spying mission in an hostile land. In order to redeem themselves, the PCs must find the new heir and bring him home or be banned forever. GM Notes -------- lots of possibilities here... What if... ...the heir turned traitor ? ...the heir never went to said land ? ...has been turned in a frog ? (hmmm... well...) ...lots of politics during the PCs absence... They might wall find their own country in civil war when (if) they come home with the heir... It's All Relative ================= From: Michael Erb Description ----------- A long-estranged family member shows up unexpectedly wanting to mend ties and become part of their brother/sister/cousin/son/daughter's life once again. Their motives are sincere and they terribly miss the relationship, but old habits die hard and things are still strained between the family members. GM Notes -------- The visit comes shortly before a player character is supposed to undertake a quest or adventure, and the relative wants desperately to know 'what you are doing with your life' and hopes to shadow the PC on their mission. Their outlook on life should be quite at odds with that of the PC however. For example, if the PC is a fighter, the relative may be a priest or pacifist. If the PC is a mage, the relative may not consider such bookish behavior to be a 'real man's work' or may be anti-magic altogether ('It's of the devil, I says!' while Mom is hurling spell components down a well). The PC may also spend more time protecting their family member than doing their job. Regardless, it will be up to the player to decide how important family is and whether the two can find common ground and rebuild their relationship. The Case of the Mirthful Murderer ================================= From: Beckett Warren Description ----------- The PCs come to a village tavern and meet a friendly Canine-humanoid (Gnoll, wolfen, etc.), Lupe, who buys the party a round. He should be played as a hard-drinking, yet jovial fellow, always ready with a joke or one liner. This presents a comedically minded GM an opportunity to break out a few jokes. "How many orcs does it take to kidnap a child? 12, one to do it 11 to write the ransom note." (http://www.delving.com/jokes.html has some fantasy themed jokes). Two important points must be made during this encounter, that Lupe is a pretty good guy, and that he drinks to the point of obliteration. At some point in the evening Lupe should make an inappropriate joke to a passing NPC. The NPC should take offense and demand an apology or "satisfaction." The PCs should try to defuse the situation, as Lupe should be quite drunk and belligerent. This offers an opportunity for role-playing or diplomacy rolling. After the matter seems to be resolved the party should retire to their quarters for the evening. The next morning the PCs will hear from the innkeeper that their friend seemingly killed the NPC he quarreled with the night before in a most gruesome fashion. The body was found with bite and claw wounds, and the sole witness saw what had to have been Lupe. The Innkeeper should say something to the effect of "I never would have thought he had it in him" to plant the seeds of doubt of Lupe's guilt in the party's mind. Lupe is being held in the village stocks until his hanging in three days. Lupe is in fact not the killer; a wealthy lycanthrope merchant/moneychanger is the true culprit. The PCs can freely speak to Lupe who is on display in the middle of town. He will acknowledge the fact that he was blacked out, and seem to be truly remorseful. He had never killed anyone before and will make a comment that he knew drinking would be his downfall. Should the party question the witness he or she will maintain that though it was dark, and the murder happened at some distance away, it was unmistakably a dog-man, and who else is a dog-man besides Lupe? In the course of the investigation clues should slowly point away from Lupe, toward the merchant-killer. A witness may have seen Lupe return home, drunk out of his mind, but there was no blood on his fur or clothing; the victim may have had a gambling problem and owed money around town, particularly to a merchant or money changer; if the guilty party is questioned he or she may be short and shifty with the PCs, yet acknowledge a disdain for Lupe; etc. GM Notes -------- If the werewolf killer seems too trite, the murder may be a psion with animal affinity (claws) and cast a suggestion upon the witness. This could also serve as an introduction to a story arc in which many of the powerful merchants and nobles of the land belong to a lycanthrope cult, becoming a source of villains for the PCs. Valarax's Gold ============== From: Chris Young Description ----------- Valarax is a merchant who is just about to make his big break, and everyone who's anyone knows it. The only problem is that his last shipment caravan was found ruthlessly slaughtered en route to its destination and the entire shipment stolen. All of the persons found were simply slaughtered, except for the adolescents and young adults. Each adolescent has a different Necromantic Rune carved into the flesh of their face, inked with what appears to be golden ink. The caravan has been arranged into the symbol of a deity, which is believed to be evil. When the PCs return to town, Valarax is being chewed out by a man who claims to be an associate of Valarax's buyer in the caravan's destination city. As the shipment will not be delivered, the buyer wants Valarax to give him back his money. Valarax, however, can't do this, as he was counting on that last shipment to be his big break in the merchant biz. The Associate, now known as Kartan, Blandrug's lackey, threatens Valarax with death, and storms out. Valarax hires on the PCs to go adventuring and recover his gold. The GM can insert whatever adventures or side treks he wants here, but Valarax needs enough currency of some type to total 30,000 gp, only in currency. The next time the PCs return to town, they find Valarax murdered, with another Necromantic Rune carved in gold in his face. A note, apparently from Blandrug, says that he hopes Valarax liked his "little present; it's made of the same material you owe to me." When the group investigates Blandrug in the next city (preferably a ten day's travel away), he has been murdered as well, again with a Necro Rune, as have all his shop assistants. The difference is, only Blandrug is marked. The only one left alive is the bag loader, and he's a basket case now. Have the PCs be the targets of numerous thieving attempts for no apparent reason. Late one night, a letter arrives telling the PCs that they had better get out of town and mind their own business, or they'll be next. It's signed Deveran Dawnscryer. Deveran Dawnscryer, however, is a local hero, a Paladin of the highest order. He couldn't be such a meany! Next, have the players consult a sage. They will find that four of the items you placed in their treasure are the keys to stopping an evil ritual involving the complete incantation the Necromantic Runes form! And almost have all the runes! The PCs then enter the undercity to find the BBEG, which turns out to be Valarax, who was really a cleric of an incredibly evil deity. He's going to perform the ritual to destroy the souls of the city's inhabitants, which he will use to create an unstoppable army made of golden warriors. All he needed was 30,000 more gp. Unfortunately, he had to fake his own death to get out of town before Blandrug caught on, and thus had to wait for you to be killed and have his thieves take your gold and items, but since that didn't work, he'll just invoke the power of his deity and kill you all. Or maybe not, he just can't decide (CN alignment). It is completely possible to roleplay and change his mind. He might even turn himself in! If the PCs defeat Valarax in combat, his soul suddenly powers the single golden warrior golem he already made, and it attacks them. If the PCs survive, they earn the gratitude of the city, and many riches besides, but the 30,000 gp of Valarax's Gold must be turned over to the church of a good deity for safekeeping (all the good deities's churches are competing over who gets the gold, another roleplay encounter). GM Notes -------- Valarax needs to keep his identity secret at the start. The large part in between the events to advance the story may be broken up by returns to town, but if the PCs try to visit Valarax, he is either not in, or ill, and his scribe asks the group to return when they have the money. Other than that, the GM can alter or add anything or he wishes. The Mind of a Guardian ====================== From: Chris Young Description ----------- All of the city watch/guards are going on strike. They refuse to accept orders and demand that a variety of valuable crystals be turned over to them, or they will all leave and never come back. The guards have been seen entering the sewers, all sorts of back alleys, and secret passages at night. The King has deployed spies to discover what the guards are up to, but nothing has been found out as none who enter after guards return. The King hires the PCs directly to find out what's going on, but not to remove the source of the problem. All of the guards are stockpiling the items they gain in front of a strange door in the sewers. When asked about the door, the King claims no knowledge of it or the strange sigil upon it. GM Notes -------- The guards are being mind-controlled by a powerful illithid that wants four large crystal artifacts, called the Tetra Quadron, from the King's vaults. He also wishes to control castle servants and the King's spies, as none of the guards gain access to the deeper places in the castle. The only real reason the illithid wants the Tetra Quadron is because he likes shiny items, and he wants to get them without bloodshed, as he is a conscientious objector. The King actually does know what the door is about, and knows that an illithid is trying to get the Tetra Quadron, as it contacted him telepathically. Problem is, he is extremely paranoid that this could get out to the public, and that they would force him to give up his great magic items to rout the illithid. He refuses to allow the PCs to kill the thing though, as he is a pacifist. He wants to find a way to get the illithid out, keep his items, and make more money at the same time. Now the PCs will have to convince him otherwise. Why the King is so greedy about them, and what the artifacts' powers are, is left to the GM to customize for his/her campaign. The Mining Dwarves ================== From: Chris Young (An Idea from a Friend) Description ----------- What the PC group knows: the old dwarven mine has been abandoned. One day the usual tenday messenger went up the mountain to the dwarven mine, and they were gone, no message, no farewells, no nothin'. This would have disturbed people but for the healthy metal works trade coming from the new human realm to the east. Eventually, human settlements sprung up even more on the mountainside, and there's even a village of reformed trolls occupying the first level of the old mine. Everything's just wonderful now. What the PCs don't know, and may find out in short order: the dwarves have disappeared, but aren't extinct or dead in any way, contrary to popular rumor/gossip (though hundreds of years usually makes things old). They simply found something better to mine than iron and mithril: a mithril alloy! Back on level ten of the old mines, the dwarves discovered an underground river that led to an even larger complex of caverns that were home to frogmites, even more mithril ore, and a water dragon. Since then, the frogmites live comfy lives by providing the dwarves with fish to eat, the dwarves have made weapons, armor, and all manner of other things with the new metal they can make by having the dragon breathe on the mithril. The dwarves have no idea why this works, but they intend to capitalize on it by re-entering the outside world and making war to take back their mountain! With their new armor and weapons (some even enchanted!) no one would be able to stop their dominion! Only a few problems: 1. The humans already suspect that something fishy is going on in the old mines. 2. Humans are resilient buggers and wouldn't appreciate the dwarves attempting to rout them from the homes their ancestors kept for almost a thousand years now, but would definitely like that new alloy for themselves. 3. The reformed trolls want to keep their homes too. So, how to stop the dwarves? The PCs will have to become the central diplomats between the dwarves & friends, the human settlements, and the mercantile troll village. Eventually, a peace treaty may be wrought, but otherwise things could get bloody in a hurry. GM Notes -------- The frogmites definitely don't want to lose their easy life. The dwarves want to keep their mountain and their metals. The humans want money and could be willing to set up trade agreements. The trolls will insist on being the go-betweens for the humans and dwarves. The dragon is, as of now, True Neutral. When the dwarves free it as part of their agreement, it becomes Chaotic Neutral, with a main goal of finding out what the heck went on in the last thousand years or so. If any of the PCs look particularly scholarly or elven, or both, it may just ask them for information. If the dragon is angered, it might take the dwarves' side in the ensuing conflict, or be manipulated to fight for the humans. It might not take any side and simply blast everyone. It's up to the GM. The players have a total of 72 hours of consecutive game time (consecutive sessions) to eliminate the threat and save everyone. If that fails, they must fix the problem after war has already started. The only combat involved should be the monsters inhabiting other levels of the mines (both old and new). The main focus should be diplomacy and roleplaying here. Excelsior Atrophic (Glory Slowly Wasting Away) Of The Noble House Of Damren =========================================================================== From: Chris Young Description ----------- The noble house of Damren has lived in Waterdeep for as long as anyone can remember. They aren't truly a house of note, except for one thing: ten years ago, the then 9 year old daughter of Augustus Damren disappeared in the fire that consumed the old family manor. Her body was never found, and magical attempts to find her all failed, save for one thing: Saria Damren was still alive, somewhere. Now it is ten years later, and suddenly Augustus is plagued with nightmares and fears of a slowly gathering darkness consuming his waning house's power and life. He hires a group of adventurers to find his daughter, who he is confident is still living in Waterdeep or the immediate area surrounding it. He wishes to pass the leadership and power of the house over to her, and to apologize for not being able to find her in the house when it was burning. He is only a shell of the imposing, charismatic man he once was, and is slowly wasting away along with the glory of the house. GM Notes -------- The source of the slowly gathering darkness in Augustus's mind is many scrolls of Nightmare spells-from the secret cache of angry pyrokinetic sorcerer Saria Damren. She believes that her father did not care enough for her to rescue her, and, seeing his outwardly happy life later on, believes he never cared about her. She wants to make him suffer for that... or so she tells herself. In truth, Augustus is a broken man, and Saria just wants to know that her father loved her, and still loves her now. (Her mother died when she was 6, so she was kind of sad about that too.) After questing for Saria's whereabouts in the undercity, the PCs will most likely have to help the troubled family patch up their emotions and lives, and most likely prevent Saria from burning down the manor with Augustus inside. There's only one catch. If the PCs don't prevent the fire, the Order of Magists and Protectors will hold them responsible for the fire, and the PCs may end up being fined or incarcerated. Guilty! ======= From: Chris Young Description ----------- A local half-orc has been convicted of a heinous crime, and will hang at the gallows in two days if no evidence against his death can be presented and verified. Ruling Council members will need talking to, shady characters investigated, every lead thoroughly yet frantically searched! Remember, only 2 (two, dos, deux) days! GM Notes -------- Whether the half-orc is innocent or guilty is only the surface here. The truth is that no matter what evidence is found, the magistrate that presides over the city's court is highly corrupt, and is being paid off by the thieves guild. The half-orc angered them by causing an agent to bungle a job, so they've decided to let the dirty orc share their fellow's fate. Investigation of the guild also reveals numerous links to other figures of wealth and/or import in the city and the surrounding countries. The thieves' guild is actually running a good bit of the continent! What is done with this information is up to you! Brokering the Deal ================== From: Chris Young Description ----------- The PCs have been enlisted as assistant brokers/accountants/enforcers for the next deal to be cut by the wealthiest merchant in the area. He wants their help to ensure that no funny business goes on. Unfortunately, the merchant has lost his voice. To that end, he is going to have the PCs be the bargainers at the location for the business deal. They will have to actually cut a deal with the buyers and make sure that they meet the quota set by their employer. Once his quota is filled, the PCs are free to go. GM Notes -------- There's nothing sinister going on here, no GM ulterior motives. It does, however, help to have someone that knows economics and accounting in the group so that you can get the best bang for your buck (or gold piece). It's also a great way to introduce shady/flamboyant characters, all of whom might have something going on, or a job that needs doing by a group not adverse to shady dealings. Here are some examples: Fendar Cresk (LE Human Ari 3): A greedy man who likes silk more than even money; is also a liason with the cult of Vecna (Shar for FR). Dumanum Groob (N Gnome Ftr1/Rog4): With maxed ranks in disguise and bluff, plus the aid of a Hat of Disguise, Dumanum is always impersonating this or that noble/watch member/festhall dancer/etc. He enjoys shopping and walking away with other peoples' orders. Lipaur Drithtaniel (CG Elf Rog3/Wiz5): An agent of the city's rulers, Lipaur spies on those who engage in shady merchant dealings in the city. He is a no nonsense person, and strikes first and hard when necessary to prevent catastrophe. Elg Pendruckle (LN Halfling Exp4/Rog2): A wagon repairman who also cuts purses. His main foible is his love of (whatever the wealthy employer of the group sells). He'll do anything for it. He also hates Dumanum Groob, as he lost a shipment of parts due to him. If he finds out Dumanum is in the shop, he'll stop at nothing to expose him. Doom and Gloom, Scene the Second ================================ From: Chris Young Description ----------- That pesky Doomsayer's prison sentence has been served, and he's back at it again (doomsaying, that is). Only this time he's got some help in the form of small Despair Motes, incorporeal creatures from the Plane of Shadow that feed off the negative emotions of mortals. Once again he must be stopped, only this time the souls of the people are at stake! GM Notes -------- The Doomsayer still abhors combat, and his allies cannot combat. Each Despair Mote is the soul of a person who died with despair in their hearts, so each one has a story to share, if only someone would ask them! Anyone who gains enough negative levels to kill them (from the Motes) becomes one through a mutation of the soul. If the problem isn't rectified, the Doomsayer might just rule the WORLD! Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ahem... The Eldritch Knight in Spite of Himself ======================================= From: Chris Young Description ----------- Adan Blackfoot has lived in seclusion on the Elemental Plane of Air for years now, hiding from a diabolical man. When she is killed for her sorcerer's blood, her soul is dragged down to the Nine Hells. Now her family has hired the PCs to bargain with the Archdevil for their daughter's soul. Her widowed husband demands to accompany them, and is allowed to, but at the warning to the group that he is touched in the head from his wife's death. GM Notes -------- Adan's husband will attempt to attack the Archdevil as soon as the party arrives to bargain. He is killed in short order, and now the PCs must bargain for two souls instead of one. Problem is, they only have enough to free one soul! Eco system ========== From: Spikey Description ----------- This one is the opposite of the standard monster hunt. The reason for the set up is due to the unmitigated success of local monster hunters. They have decimated the local population of trolls (replace with any monster you want) so completely that the eco-system is suffering. Without these natural predators, everything is out of whack. Rodents are multiplying, herbivores too. Rodents eat the wheat and plant life that isn't eaten by the herbivores. This is bad news for the local community, so bad that they actually wish the trolls (or whatever) were back. The occasional lost traveler doesn't seem half as bad in comparison with dozens of deaths from disease and starvation. In addition to the mundane and secular problems, the imbalance to the eco-system is really screwing with the magical energies and a local druid is finding his long term rituals and spells no longer work as well as he needs. The druid's god requires him to the restore some balance to the area. For this he needs the party to act as 'park rangers' and capture new members of the predator species (and if you are looking for a longer campaign, then protecting them until they can establish themselves in the area once more). If the party are motivated by greed, have the local landowner offer a cash money reward for the job. GM Notes -------- It's self explanatory really. Capture a monster without killing it. Capture another one, preferably to make a breeding pair. Transport them to the area in question. Repeat until you think they're bored or the eco-system is restored. The beasties in question can be chosen based on the party's abilities and level, and it is even feasible that more than one species could be needed. It is not always a case of just capturing the monsters King Kong style either. Maybe a magic user could provide a portal and the party just needs to chase the quarry through (or survive long enough while acting as bait and get the thing to follow them through). The Green Madness ================= From: mike foulks Description ----------- An oppressive master known only as 'the green wizard' rules a town that the PCs pass through. Peasants beg the party to help them be rid of this cruel master and offer what little gold they can because life under him is so bad. People are being dragged off at random and taxation is cruel and chaotic--sometimes the peasants are taxed several times in a month for wildly varying amounts. GM Notes -------- The green wizard is actually a green slaad with levels of wizard. The only way the party can gain access to him is by scaling his tower filled with magic, monsters, and traps. The tower is dimensionally anchored so as to prevent teleportation into it or inside it. The tower has no windows. When the PCs get to the top floor, killing the green wizard is easily accomplished. His defence is only for show because he secretly wants to be slain. What happens afterwards, however, is the fun bit. Write down each of the PCs' dominant character traits (one trait per PC) and separately write down 20 quirks (i.e. agoraphobic, drunk, agitated). When the players try to leave, all of the monsters have re-spawned and all of the traps have re-armed. To add to their problems, they have all started behaving out of character. Every 10 minutes take each player outside in turn and roll a random dominant personality trait for him, plus a random quirk. It is great fun for players and the DM to see these really played up and bonus xp should be awarded for players who do this well. The second time personalities change, slip an extra dominant personality trait into the mix, 'dangerously anarchic': the personality of the green slaad that the party thought they slew. When the team leaves the tower, they will return to normal all except for the person who has the dangerously anarchic personality trait - that person will be the vessel through which the slaad has escaped his prison in the tower. The only way to prevent this escape is to make sure that, when leaving the tower, the slaad's personality does not inhabit any of the characters. To accomplish this, the PCs could just sit and wait by the door until no one admits to having anarchic tendancies but the slaad will get wise to that trick and make a run for the door (in the body of one of the PCs). The others will need to incapacitate the errant player and take him out of the tower unconscious at which point they will return to normal. I have run this game before and believe me it was great fun. Enjoy. Mayor's Wife's Brother ====================== From: brianransom Description ----------- The players have witnessesed a random crime. The players may either report it or not, for as they sit preparing for the next day and breaking fast, they are approached by a middle-aged man, thin and weedly. He approaches with an officious air, and the backing of two large guards. He demands to know the players' part in the affair, writing everything down in a huge book. GM Notes -------- This particular official is an investigator for the town guard. He gained his position by being related to the current head of town, or the guard. He loves to abuse his power, and can and will make the characters lives miserable for any imagined slight. False Healer...? ================ From: Allandaros Shadowslayer Description ----------- While travelling down the street of a large city, the party sees a street healer - just another one of the charlatans who dot major cities. An amusing name like 'Dr. Zombardo' is strongly suggested. As they pass the stand, the healer goes into the final phrases of his mumbojumbo, waves his hands wildly, and sprinkles some dust around. The woman standing there is healed, her bleeding sores disappear. Clerics know that he wasn't invoking any deity, and if mages attempt to detect magic, they see no magic around the quack or the woman. GM Notes -------- In actuality, it's not the charlatan doing anything - it's the woman. Through some quirk of nature itself, she's able to control her healing as she desires (it's an innate, nonmagical ability). Thus, she spent time around plague victims, got some sores, and triggered the rapid healing when the sand blew over her. Stirring The Tinpot =================== From: jon grilli Description ----------- The PCs are called in for a meeting with the local noble or leader. He explains that the next town/county/planet is run by an evil dictator. The nobleman would start a war to free them; however, he doesn't have the money or enough troops. Enter the tools, uh, I mean PCs. It's their job to go undercover and foment unrest by convincing the locals that if they rise up the nobleman will help them throw off their evil dictator. Also, the PCs are warned that the evil dictator is powerful, so they will have difficulty getting anyone to be open with them about his evilness. In fact, many of the people of the target town will probably protest that their leader is a noble, selfless ruler who always does his best for them. The PCs need to work stealthily and carefully to break through this stonewall of fear to convince the peasants to throw off the yoke of oppression and join with their benefactor nobleman in freeing the province. GM Notes -------- This is designed as a clandestine RP story with lots of sneaking around to back alley meetings and imploring people to trust the PCs. The big switch comes about half way through. Once the PCs have spent some time in the 'enemy dictator's' province they should start to realize the truth. The evil dictator is actually a nice guy, good ruler, and his people really do love him. The nobleman who gave the PCs the mission is the bad guy; he wants the target town to have a revolution so that he can sweep in during the chaos and take over, thereby expanding his own realm. The PCs have a couple choices after finding this out: walk away completely, go back to the real bad guy who hired them and accuse him, or make their way to the target, who's actually the good ruler, and try and warn him of potential danger. Several possibilities there for making this an ongoing game that can last many sessions. Also, possible comedy for those that welcome it into their game. Imagine the responses of a friendly, happy people as the PCs try and wink and nudge their way into the confidence of the locals; even a shouting match as the PCs try to convince the people that their beloved leader is actually evil. If the PCs do ultimately pull a switch and managed to gain audience with the good ruler to warn him of the danger of the bad ruler who hired them, they then need to convince the good ruler they can be trusted. After all, they did come to depose him... Shakespeare: By A. Monkey ========================= From: jon grilli Description ----------- A great and powerful wizard (scientist, jedi, whatever fits) foresaw the coming of an unstoppable evil, a darkness coming over the land (worlds, dimensions). He undertook to warn the people by writing down the truth of his prophecy. However, the evil menace was aware of him and he had limited time. He decided the only way he could defeat the baddies was to write down the truth and pass it on before sacrificing himself. Fortunately, the dark horde was unaware of his effort, and destroyed him thinking they had solved the problem and bought themselves enough time to complete their evil plan. The PCs witness the wizard's demise. As he is dying, the wizard manages to hand off the manuscript to the PCs. Unfortunately, the manuscript is in the form of a play that, on the surface, has nothing to do with any evil menace and appears to be a children's comedy dedicated to his 10 year old granddaughter. It is, of course, a code. Within the text are the answers the PCs seek. The only person who can unravel the code is the wizard's 10 year old granddaughter, whom the wizard trusted enough to tell the truth to. The PCs must now convince the girl's mother to let them babysit the girl, then comes the really hard part of convincing a 10 year old girl to unravel the code before it's too late! GM Notes -------- Ok, another one that could have some comedy involved if you're so inclined. Oh the fun of trying to get a 10 year old to help you out. The hard part is of course not scaring the girl; if its straight up intimidation, the child should break down crying and try to run away. Also its gotta be a little difficult to convince the girls mom to let some strangers talk to her kid. Perhaps ideally the best way to get the girl to co-operate is for the PCs to act out the play(use any text, maybe a childrens book read as a play) and to get the little girl involved. Picture the little girl telling the PCs they arent trying hard enough. Ultimately this one is very open ended also. Either the PCs can find out about an actual evil horde(cause theres always one somewhere) coming to wreak havoc which can lead into extended play as the PCs try and fight it and save the world/land/city or the PCs can find out that the old wizard WAS in fact just writing a play for his granddaughter and the code imbedded in the play was their secret way of communicating fun, 'naughty' stuff behind moms back i.e. where the treasure(of candy) is hidden. Bureaucratic Nightmares ======================= From: Derek McKay Description ----------- The party has just completed a difficult and challenging mission for the local town's administration, and now it is time to collect the reward. This means going down to the council offices. On arrival, there is a long queue, and a lengthy wait, as those in front apply for 'goat licenses' or complain about the new 'wood tax'. Eventually, the group's turn arrives and they are told that they are in the wrong place, and that rewards are not dispensed here. However, on asking the clerk, there is no further information available. GM Notes -------- This little scenario will have the PCs getting very frustrated as, having won the mission, they are being thwarted by bureaucrats! The GM can spin this out as much as necessary, and after asking other officials there, the party can follow the trail that rewards are only given from Counter 12, and that the sign pointing to Counter 12 is nearly impossible to spot. There the group learns that they don't have Form 27B (a possible handout), but that you can only get those from Counter 14. There is no-one there (holidays, illness, only works part-time and so on). And then, the office hours are very inconvenient. Some of the workers are new there, and know little about the system. Finally, as the group goes to leave, there could be one last bureaucrat who asks them to fill in a lengthy 'Customer Satisfaction Exit Survey' ('So sir, would you describe your total-visit-experience as a: excellent, b: good, c: satisfactory, d: lacking?'). PC tactics on the other hand, may include bribery, intimidation ('Who's your supervisor?!'), diplomacy, charm, charm-magic and so forth. But the DM should be cautious not to raise frustration levels too far, lest it end in a berserker rage or a fireball! Necromancer's Revenge ===================== From: EdanCM Tarzan Description ----------- In the small village of Parellel's End, where all may not be as it seems, tales spread of an evil Necromancer by the name of Desire. It's reputed that she is living just outside of Parellel's End near Blackburn swamp. Strange lights and goings on have been spotted there and anyone who has gone to investigate has never returned. From this has sprung a reward for any party brave enough to investigate and come back with information and possible ways to get rid of her. GM Notes -------- If the party happens to stop off at the local tavern within Parellel's End, they may hear tales of a previous necromancer, called Ebony, who had lived within the swamp and been killed. It is one of Desire's sisters and, in her anger, she is building a pyramid-like structure, called the Tomb of Darkness and Light, from which she plans to reign over the land and exact her revenge, bit by painful bit. Oh, the plans she has in store for them! Desire is extremely cunning and expert at disguising herself. She is a very dominant personality, cruel and sees anything she does as 'justified' based on her sister's death. Pleasure is her younger sister and she wields powerful mage spells, especially anything to do with wind. Both are lovely, extremely seductive, and consider anyone else beyond their family beneath them, so they refer to everyone else as 'Ye of the Lessers.' The Labryinth ============= From: EdanCM Tarzan Description ----------- A band of adventures has been asked to investigate Desire, an evil Necromancer who has set up a strange pyramid-like structure within Blackburn swamp, just north of Parellel's End. When the adventures go to investigate (in the hopes of securing the sizeable reward for information and/or her death), they discover there is more to the Tomb than meets the eye. It's filled with strange magic, much of which is confusion, illusions, and deadly traps. If the PCs make it that far, they find out there is a labryinth beneath from which a strange, heart rendering whinny came from. GM Notes -------- Desire is quite clever in the placement of illusions and traps and has many ingenious ones, such as a clear gelatinous cube pressed between panes of glass, of which must be broken if they wish to go deeper. There is a man in chains within one room who appears to have been tortured, but in reality is Desire's brother, Bradock, who is a master mage and favors fire. The whinny is that of a unicorn being held captive within the labrinyth while Desire attempts to find ways to siphon its magic before killing it. Such is the extent of her greed and cruelty. Shredded.....What??? ==================== From: EdanCM Tarzan Description ----------- After the party has survived the labrinyth (hopefully), they find Desire and Pleasure have stepped up their attempts to have a stranglehold upon the land. Also, news of a rare dragon, a cobalt of extreme age and ancient magic, was slain. It's body ravaged as if by souvenir hunters. Now, again, from the swamp come the strange lights, winds, disturbances, and general ill feeling, along with a scent of death. If they decide to go back to investigate, what will they find? GM Notes -------- Desire and Pleasure have had the dragon 'harvested' for a special creation of cruelty. As the party reach the rise overlooking the Tomb, a strange 'gnashing' can be heard. If they continue, they will see Desire and Pleasure planting parts of the dragon within the black soil of the swamp and attempting to create a deadly wall of bony death that threatens to devour everything in its path. Can they escape and evacuate the village in time? The Gallerie d'Art ================== From: Joachim de Ravenbel Description ----------- An evil (or chaotic) character collects petrified samples of every race. The PCs have all fallen pray to this unusual collector and are artfully displayed as statues in a romantic garden. Now, however, the spell ends slowly as the collector is killed (or whatever). Weeks after, they awake finally in the garden where signs of the struggle are still visible. Some victims didn't have as much luck as the PCs and their statues lie broken on the lawn. The memories of the PCs' pasts have disappeared through the long, long time of petrification and they don't know where they are, or why. They don't know each other and some might just have been born centuries after the first. For instance, if you play in a modern setting (with magic, of course), the first victim could be an ancient Egyptian, Greek, or Roman warrior. The next could be a Celt, the third an early European middle-age monk, and the fourth a WWII RFA pilot, and so on. GM Notes -------- The possibilities are endless. Are the 'samples' random victims being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or were they 'stored' in a specific location, waiting for the right conjunction? Some skillful DM might create some hindsight of their previous lives. In a world where reincarnation is possible, they might find loved ones or enemies alive for the second, third, or hundredth time, totally unaware of their ties to the PCs. Or, is there an arch villain that survived all of them? Who Needs The Rescuing? ======================= From: Bill Korsak Description ----------- Through bar tales, a bard, or a guy reading the royal proclamation, the PCs learn that the Princess has gone missing and has last been seen in an area that has a large population of dragons. Will the brave heroes do the noble deed and rescue her? GM Notes -------- This is a variation on the tried and true plot rescue the Princess from the Dragon. The twist is that the dragon needs to be rescued from the princess. What no one tells the adventurers is that the Princess has a fascination with big game hunting and she is hunting the dragon. The dragon will promise favors, or even reward them, if they stop the Princess from hunting him. Other possibilities are that they are former lovers. We Have To Get The Band Back Together! ====================================== From: Sean Holland Description ----------- A wealthy patron is throwing a huge party, the party of the year even, for his birthday. His only regret is that his favorite band will not be there. If someone could get the band back together for one last show, the wealthy patron would be very grateful… For more civic minded characters, this could be changed to a vital charity concert. GM Notes -------- The band split apart under very acrimonious circumstances. None of the members have spoken in years and their initial reaction to any suggestion of a reunion will be hostile. In some cases, even getting to see the former members of the band will be difficult. Maybe one has joined a cult or dropped out of modern society and now lives in the Alaskan wilderness. Another is a highly successful music producer and has swarms of underlings that shield him from the real world. Time is short; the PCs will have to act fast. The PCs will have to first locate all of the band members, get into see them, and manage to convince them to do the concert. Once they have done that, they still need to get the band to the concert, prevent anything from going wrong before the band goes on stage, and hope that the band still has it all together. Eyes Only For Me ================ From: Sean Holland Description ----------- Bodies are being found with their eyes and blood sucked out. A panic is beginning to spread among the townspeople. The killer, who strikes only at night, must be found and stopped. GM Notes -------- The murders are being committed by a hungry ghost of a man who had his eyes cut out before he was savagely murdered. His ghost is trying to regain his sight by stealing eyes, preferably the eyes of the living. The spirit only perceives eyes and life force, everything else is a misty blur to it. It can consume both literal eyes and symbolic ones, the blood being consumed is a side effect of devouring the eyes (and a red herring to throw players off track). It is possible to find out that a year ago to the day that the murders began, a minor merchant had been found killed in the same streets, tortured to death, his eyes cut from his body. The character may have to deal with panicked townspeople, thieves trying to take advantage of the confusion, and obstructionist local officials. In my campaign, the players used a peacock to lure the ghost out to where it could be confronted and destroyed. Nice Guys Often Get Themselves Killed ===================================== From: Sean Holland Description ----------- The party is asked, nay, begged, by a grieving father to find and bring to justice the gang that sold tainted drugs to his son, causing his death. The father is able to provide a decent description of the gang and where they operate from (he has been watching them since his son's death). GM Notes -------- The grieving father is in fact a member of a rival criminal syndicate in disguise who hopes to trick the PCs into taking care of an increasing threat to his syndicate. He will be happy to provide information (the PCs may note that he is remarkably well informed about the gang) and even a small amount of money to encourage the PCs to fight the gang ("Take it, it is my life's savings but if it will avenge my son . . ."). A young homeless man did die of an overdose the week before the characters are approached, but if they check with the authorities, which could prove time consuming and involve much red tape, they will find that no one had claimed the body and he was buried in a pauper's grave. If the PCs start getting suspicious, the 'grieving father' will vanish and start rumors in the underworld that will reach the drug gang about how the PCs are planning to kill them and take over their turf. He will also vanish into the underworld if the PCs are successful as he does not want them to take revenge once they realize that they have been used . The Bug ======= From: Darryl Description ----------- You are hired to transport a bug from a store to a wizard 8-10 days away. The bug is a magic sensitive creature and very expensive. You are given a note with a price for delivery from the Wizard you will deliver it to if the bug arrives safely in perfect condition. It looks like a round bug with six legs, a bright green-blue shell, wings that flap but it is unable to fly, and is six inches long (think large ladybug). You are given twelve days of special food (plants & seeds) which is all it eats and are to feed it every dawn and dusk and replace its water. It is kept in a wood box (2' x 2' x 1') with holes in the top and as long as it glows or is flashing brightly, it is doing well. Being magic sensitive you can not employ any magic near it nor touch it with a hand wearing a magic ring, even if the ring's magic is inactive. If a PC asks, the bug is female. GM Notes -------- The first 3-4 days are fine, but then you enter a forest area for the next 3 days which is filled with these bugs. The light is a mating call and it also gives off a smell which people can't detect but male bugs are attracted to her by both. Males are 2 HP each, 4-5 inches long, look just like the female, light up, can fly and will chew through most anything including cloth, leather, and wood to get to a female or special bug food. Any magic spells or magic weapons have double damage results to the bugs but the woods have an unending supply of them. PCs should prevail but should take some property damage in this delivery trip. If a male bug gets several minutes with the female (bright flashing light from both) she will stop flashing (and smelling) and glow softly and all male bugs lose interest in her. Her value upon completion of the delivery is only half now and only a tenth if she arrives dead. If magic is employed near her, damage is calculated by spell level and the bug has only 3 HP. Level 0-3 is 1 point damage if within 10 feet, Level 4-6 is 2 points if within 20 feet and Level 7+ is 3 points if within 30 feet. If a spell of darkness is cast and the bug is taken into this area, it suffers 1 point of damage per minute. Cleric spells work safely around and on the bug and it can be healed once per day. Any magic damage to the bug shows as a doubling of light from it and a loud chirp, followed by 33% (per 1 HP) reduction in the intensity of the light it gives off and less males attracted during this time. It heals at 1 HP per day. Born Without a Soul =================== From: Slivvy Gaidin Description ----------- An old and powerful magic-using vampire has grown tired of the long, cold years granted by his un-life. Now he longs to feel the warmth that only exists in the world of the living. In an attempt to re-join the world of the living, this vampire (BBEV for ease of reference) has fabricated several humanoid forms and infused them with unholy magic, giving them a false sort of life. The creations are designed to be permanent life-vassals for a spell (much like the spell 'Magic Jar') that will allow the BBEV to transfer his soul into the bodies. Through these bodies he hoped to exist among the living once more and walk the daylight unharmed, all while his undead body lay resting within his coffin. The creations, known simply as 'Perfects', are flawless in both body and mind. They have been given manufactured memories to prevent them from becoming mad should they ever happen upon the realisation of their unholy existence. Nearing the end of the creation process, the BBEV was interrupted and had to flee his laboratory, preventing him from completing the final step: grafting souls to the created bodies. As a result of this interruption, the manufactured creatures were able to escape the laboratory and now walk the world as soulless (but still fully functional) mockeries of life, each constantly seeking a life essence, or soul, to call their own. After escaping, the BBEV will attempt to locate the Perfects, capture them, and continue with the creation procedure. This is generally not in the best interest Perfects, however, for while they will ultimately end up with souls, they will lose control of their bodies as the BBEV uses them for his own purposes. GM Notes -------- * The PCs, unbeknownst to their players, are all 'Perfects'. In the beginning, the PCs should know nothing of their creation, or of their lack of souls (barring the strong drive for spiritual fulfillment). * How the players choose to continue their adventures after escaping is up to them, but they should invariably end up encountering the BBEV. Hinting that the BBEV has their souls is likely to get the PCs assuming that he has stolen their souls, leading them to hunt him down and retrieve their souls (won't they be surprised when they find out...) * The BBEV does have a great envy of the living, and should the PCs show a strong desire for life he may be inspired to let them have their lives as their own (possibly even completing the creation process and granting them souls). The BBEV would still take a great deal of convincing to do this, and would likely need to be shown that the PCs are worthy of the lives that he has given them. * The BBEV's only desire is to walk the world of the living. Should the PCs provide him with an alternate means to attaining his goal he would be more than happy to complete the creation process, grant the PCs their souls, and trouble them no longer. This solution may be in the form of a magical spell or ritual, an artifact of great power, or even simply the promise to show him once more what it was like to be alive (be his friend, take him out to the theatre, invite him to parties, etc...) . * Combat. It is in the nature of most PCs to destroy NPCs (though you should note the remark below about combat). However, a coven of vampires is displeased at the BBEV's attempts to cast off his undead curse (it is an utter disrespect of the dark gift), and would be interested in helping the PCs destroy the BBEV. This conclusion still leaves the matter of the PCs being soulless. * Due to the manufactured memories, any skills and abilities that the PCs have function as though they had gained them normally. Should you so choose, this idea could be used on existing PCs, exclaiming that any adventures that they have been on so far have actually been part of their artificial memories. (And the treasure? It was just a dream....) You probably shouldn't do this though, as it will likely annoy the heck out of your players. * It is probable that the PCs would actively hunt down and try to kill the BBEV. This would likely be a futile solution as the BBEV was significantly more powerful than the PCs at the time of their creation. However, the BBEV does feel rather attached to his creations so he is unlikely to destroy them or harm them greatly in any fashion (preferring to flee from them and capture them in a less violent way). Old Woman Of The Wilds ====================== From: David McNeill Description ----------- This 'Old Woman' is well kept in appearance, dresses in local good quality peasant garb, is clean, and smells of flowers. She is often 'conveniently' at the site of, or very near to, some catastrophe. Many locals refer to her as 'The Witch' and tell tales of her horrid acts against their animals and crops. It is known that she is very, very old, so old in fact that many suspect her of some vile pact or practice that allows her continued life long after she should have died. Often, local peasants will seek her out for aid and are certain to bring offerings of food, money, or information that they believe will be of use to her. It is known that to not bring an offering or other means of repayment is a good way to find oneself with greater problems than those resolved. She is looking for her husband, the 'Old Man of the Woods'. This is why she accepts even small tokens, such as news from far off lands, as payment. Perhaps the adventurers will be willing to assist her in finding her husband? GM Notes -------- This Old Woman is in fact a Witch known in old writings as Sylvia, or the Woman of the Forest and has made a pact with the local forest deities. Many peasants are unaware of her quest to find the 'Old Man of the Forest,' Sylvester. The 'Old Man of the Forest' disappeared decades ago when a great war swept through the area. The 'Old Man of the Forest' set out to stem the bloodshed to protect the forest and it's inhabitants, he is still alive and Sylvia knows it in her bones. She haunts sites of conflict and catastrophe knowing that the 'Old Man' is drawn to such. Sylvia has become embittered over the ensuing decades of Sylvester's absence. Sylvia sees those who seek her aide and fail to pay her as disrespectful cretins. Such cretins suffer a curse of ill fortune cast as a lesson in good manners. Sylvia has made no secret of her wrath's means of finding those who think her safely out of sight and mind, and so has become feared much more than revered for her deeds. Sylvia likes and aids heroes, so long as they treat animals, plants, and others with due respect and courtesy. She often tests heroes by presenting herself at the bank of a stream it would seem she couldn't cross. If the hero (es) do not assist her, she will later on refuse to assist them should they seek her out, and she will ensure they know a Witch with Healing knowledge is about and near. Perhaps the players can piece it all together and help restore the local forests. Old Man of the Wilds ==================== From: David McNeill Description ----------- Sylvester looks rather bedraggled, with unkempt hair, an unhealthy stench of body odor emanating from him, and soiled and stained forester garb. He set off on a task years ago that he no longer remembers. He is known as a lusty old lush with little couth and a crass way with his words. He is nearly always found in village pubs/taverns, and is tolerated for his incredible storytelling. Many an adventurer has credited his stories with the information they needed to accomplish a quest at the bargain price of several bottles of cheap, strong wine, and his less than pleasant company. GM Notes -------- Sylvester is the 'Old Man of the Forest' who set out to stop a feud between two barons who, in their battles, were destroying the fields of the peasants who lived in the shadow of his forest. These peasants fled into the safety of the forest where Sylvester found them. Sylvester sought to help the peasants because they were destroying the sections of the forest they had fled into, and the easiest way of helping his forest was to remove the cause of the peasant's plight. The barons involved in the feud accepted Sylvester's offer to mediate their dispute, each with the thought of capturing the ancient lord of the forest and pressing him into their service. When the two barons attempted this at the same time their retinues clashed in a battle that saw both barons struck down and the feud ended. By the time Sylvester found his way out of the camp within which the parley was to have occurred a plague had struck the peasants within the forest. His wife and lady Sylvia having mistakenly taken the peasants for ungrateful fools who were despoiling the forest and so cursed the peasants with a plague. With the peasants dead before their time, Sylvester saw only betrayal followed by calamity and sunk into despair so deep that he has yet to climb out of it. All Sylvester feels is sorrow for what could not be and his stories point in that direction. Invariably, the stories mention Sylvia as the Old Woman of the Forest, Sylvester's way of calling for her help in returning to the forest. Sylvia, were she to seek him within the cities that spawned the disaster, would be able to heal him of his wounds and return their home to its former glory. Unfortunately, cities are not places Sylvia frequents. Her opinion of those who hale from cities is also quite dim. Perhaps the players can piece it all together and help restore the local forests. Lost Faerie Lass ================ From: David McNeill Description ----------- While traveling through a wooded area a wee faerie lass is found crying. She seems to have lost her way and cannot return home. Those with keen eyes will note a satyr lurking in the woods. Can the adventurers help her to find her home? GM Notes -------- The faerie lass is in reality a forester's child who wandered away from her parent's cottage in the woods. She was lured away by the promises of a satyr-sorcerer who mistook her for a suitably older girl. Angered by his inability to sate his lust, he transformed the girl into an eternally forbidden fruit that would never grow in age or wisdom. Should the lost faerie lass be taken to where her former home is and be presented to her parents the spell will be broken. They must be convinced that the faerie lass is their child, and she must be convinced that the forester's cottage is, in fact, home. She will know the kinds of things known only by a home's resident, as well as know of events only the forester and his wife know about. The forester and his wife are suspicious of faeries and their 'ilk'. They see faeries as mischief-makers and will believe the adventurers are fey in a the joke at their expense. In fact, there are faeries in the forest that would love to number the young girl as one of their sisters since the forester and his wife are so good to the faeries. The forester and his wife leave presents and offerings out for the faeries to prevent and forestall any harm faeries or other woodland folk might bring about. The faeries do not care about the fear of the forester and his wife; they appreciate their good treatment. Should the faeries be convinced that the faerie lass should be helped to return to her true home, they find the forester and his wife grateful. Knowing the events that transpired to cause the young lass to become transformed, the faeries might be coaxed into bedeviling the satyr into transforming the girl back. Farmer's Freshest ================= From: David McNeill Description ----------- A petition for volunteers is found in the local village square declaring an opportunity to make a fresh start in a far off land grant just given to the local lord in honor of their service to the crown. The buzz is everywhere as three expeditions have already gone with many younger sons and daughters heading off to make a new beginning in fresh lands. An old woman approaches the party and requests that her children, her eldest living son and his two sisters, be found and brought home from the new village since all of her other children and her husband died in a mysterious plague that swept through the village several weeks ago. No one has been able to determine what the disease was or why it seemed to affect some and yet spare others. Men died in a ratio of about three to one. The local lord is evasive about the plague and if asked about the petition for volunteers the lord asks that the adventurers go with the next party leaving for the new lands. Will they also look for the old woman's children? GM Notes -------- This is a ruse by a clever vampire. No colony exists. The far off lands do exist but it is to a decrepit keep that the 'colonists' are brought in small parties. These small parties are imprisoned and those who seem to be easiest to break are converted into minions of the vampire with a promise of power and eternal un-life in exchange for loyal service. These newly minted loyal servants then go and lead more from the village to the keep. The lord of the village the adventurers begin in is mind-controlled into serving the 'need' of the vampire. The lord is completely ignorant of the plague that swept through the village since no plague did, just his new vampiric master. The old woman's husband discovered the vampire and sought to destroy it. She is unaware of this. It was this that caused the vampire to work at destroying her family piece by piece. Soon she will be at death's doorstep and the doom complete with her death and the conversion of the children into willing chattel. Nearly everyone in the village, and in the temporary holding camps near the old keep, has seen signs of a vampire about, but all are blind to the signs. Orc Hunting =========== From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- A great camp has appeared at the edge of a major city. A rising leader has decided to raise a personal army of mercenaries and locals to eradicate orcs that have been raiding caravans for years. The camp is very well financed and the leader has a truly magnetic personality. The PCs are sent to scout the orc settlement and provide a detailed report of positions, disposition, numbers, etc. The party will then share in the great spoils of victory. GM Notes -------- Upon reaching the area in question, the PCs discover the creatures there are not orcs. They bear a strong resemblance to orcs, but are not even goblinoid. The race in question is tribal and quite close to human. Those humanoids are 100% not responsible for the raiding. The city's leader will not care if the beings in question are orcs or not, but he will be smart and give an excuse of it possibly being these people all along. He will give passionate, forceful excuses to carry out an attack. After he dismisses the PCs, the leader will make an offhand comment about "A few more hairy faces will not matter more or less" to an aid. The army is made up of town folk that the PCs would have to slaughter if they openly fought the leader. The leader has enemies in town who would love to discover his plans. Revenge Dish ============ From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- A man sends a flunky with an offer for a high-priced delivery. The PCs go to the distinctive mansion and meet the rich man. He explains Sedric, a good friend of his in the neighboring city, is having a birthday, but he cannot attend. So, the PCs must deliver a mouth-watering dish in a box along with his apologies. After the journey, the PCs arrive at the party, present a letter of identification, and hand the package to the birthday boy. The massive man who receives the gift opens it and flies into a thunderous rage directed at the PCs. Sedric does not believe what the PCs have to say. GM Notes -------- The package contained a cooked cow's stomach filled with pork sausage meat. That item is an inside joke against the Sedric's size and his gluttonous nature. The rich man and house that the PCs describe is of a former friend of his who died under "mysterious" circumstances. The friend's home is gone and his family is dead. The circumstance of his home filled with guests hearing all this embarrasses Sedric to the point of actual murder. The PCs must know something more about the person that hired them--more than the insulting story they are telling. Sedric is a good person but he has just been deeply wounded by a personal enemy. The only link is the flunky. He is a servant of one of Sedric's enemies. Payday ====== From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- A kind, elderly King asks the PCs to accompany a royal administrator to pay a mercenary force in his employ. The able commander, Vinceison, leads the mercenaries. The encounter with the King leaves the PCs with a lot of questions about what they are going to do. Vinceison coolly receives the administrator and recounts his grievances he has with the King. Apparently, the people they are protecting have not treated the mercenary force that has defended the kingdom from attack very well. GM Notes -------- Vinceison is about to become forced to act. The royal administrator only has half the gold the King has promised to the mercenary. If the PCs do not help, Vinceison will reply by sending back the head of the administrator separately from the body. The situation can be solved peacefully. But, if the situation continues, there might be a new King by the name of Vinceison. Rescinded Welcome ================= From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- The PCs resolve some minor menace in a picturesque hamlet. The quaint town folk embrace the party, showering them with praises and boundless affection. The mayor, Oliver Alanson, leads a great celebration in their honor. The next day the streets are empty and no one will talk to the PCs. A child reluctantly informs the party a man in their group did something bad to Miss. Jadia Alanson. Young Miss Alanson, the Mayor's niece, is locked inside her uncle's home. The townsfolk seem to actively hate the party members. The alleged villain is particularly reviled. GM Notes -------- The widower Sandra Alanson is the towns' wise woman and the mother of Jadia. She has discovered Jadia conceived a child a few days ago. The party is a convenient way out of Sandra's problem. She has let the townspeople know Jadia is the victim of the unwanted advances of a party member. The mayor is understandably concerned and may call on the local lord to send out a knight to handle the ruffians. Unless the party can unlock the secret, they will become hunted criminals. Sixteen-year-old Jadia does not agree with her mother's actions but she does not have a better idea. The boy who is truly responsible is barely fifteen and not a good candidate for a husband The Guild Master ================ From: Andre LeJeune Description ----------- The King wishes to award a trade monopoly to a merchant house that can best provide services. The two top contenders are House Beldarian and House Thenot. The King has heard the exact same story form both sides and he is very frustrated. The only person the King thinks he will get an accurate description from is the Craftsman guild master Hestor Lizean. Lizean must be contacted secretly so that the party can get an honest answer. So, the party members must impersonate visiting merchants to contact Lizean. GM Notes -------- The Beldarian and Thenot factions have spies in court and plan to influence the PCs. The trade monopoly translates into years of enormous profits. The lives of the PCs are in great jeopardy. Lizean is an infamous lecher and glutton whose shrewd mind contrasts sharply with his wanton appetites. The PCs will not be able to hide their true identities for long. The guild master is not interested in being killed by the merchants so he must be convinced to help. The group must go through Lizeans' belly to get him to help. Grand parties, women, and food will get the PCs the information they need, a little at a time. The Island Of The Icefinger =========================== From: D. Ragon Description ----------- In the nearest temple there will be a guy (call him: Geduen) talking all the time about "the Incredible Element of Life" that has the power of resurrection. No one believes him, knowing that only very good priests or necromages can resurrect the dead. So what is this element really for, and what is so incredible about it? Geduen is very friendly and shares the "secret" with anyone. He tells them that someone possesses this "Element of Life," but this element's power is not referred to as a single life, but to the life of every being, every star, and every planet. And it's a whim of those hands to kill or resurrect, such a power it is that the Incredible Element of Life carries. The true story is that there is an island in the world called "Spire of the Icefinger." This island is very odd in that it becomes visible only once a year in a random place on the sea, and it's small enough to contain the Spire and a little wooden house. It is the home of an Imp, which is a guardian of the island's secrets. The time of the year that causes the island to emerge from the freezing waters is called "Zakr - Talam," translated as, "The day without sunrise," or "Two - night." It's the time when two days pass without the sunrise. It's not that simple to find a person who can tell something about this anomaly. Standing in front of Geduen in that temple doesn't make it easier, but you don't have a choice. First idea is to convince him to tell what he knows about the society of people who know when and where Two-night happens, of which he is a member. He himself wants to use this Element, but not for the resurrection. Geduen will easily share his knowledge to anyone who can take him along to the Spire. Till this day no one believed him, so now it's a chance for him. He knows the meeting place of the society, but doesn't know where the island shows up. During the meeting the guru of the society will tell that he knows when and where the island will emerge. He organizes a contest, and the winners will go with him as companions in his trip. GM decides how many winners there can be depending on the number of players plus one. It's obvious that players have to win that contest, and somehow make Geduen as one of the winners, which isn't so simple. He is talkative, stubborn, a bit stupid, and full of weaknesses. It's hard enough to make him win, and no one can know about any cheating during the competition. After that, they board ship with the guru and follow the guru's directions. Three days later, as the island appears before their eyes, they see the Spire and the hut. A road leads them to the Spire. In the center of the hut's floors are round stairs and rooms filled with books and other items. Walls inside the Spire are lined with clocks placed on every floor up to the top of it. They're uncountable and the floors are colossal. The Imp tells them each clock represents the life of one being, one star, or one planet, so if they could find a dead mate's clock - they could bring him to life. Of course, they will need the information about what floor, what clock, and what to do with the clock. The Imp knows it all, but he wants players to do something for that information. It's up to the GM as to what he want his players to do. It can be a puzzle, a riddle, or he will tell them to find the info themselves. Here is an idea on how to make this spire more interesting. Somewhere on the walls there are mirrors that reflect this world, but somewhat differently. They can reach the strange world by stepping through the mirrors. On the other side, lots of people lives inside the spire. They can be the ghosts, nightmares, or the dark sides of players. Everyone there should be somehow related to the players (e.g. they met the party, fought with them or something), so the players will be surrounded by familiar faces. Enemies can try to fight with them, try to escape, or will ask "why did you kill me?". Friends will offer help but in most cases wouldn't know anything important. They can find here the other form of the Imp. The idea is to find the person (persons) who killed players' mate, or died in the same battle. They can tell them on which floor their clocks are. On this strange world they can surely find the dead mate's spirit. He will ask them, "Why didn't you help me?" He will be angry and sad. He knows what clock belongs to him, but he doesn't believe that the players are trying to help him, so they will have to find a method to obtain the information from him. If the PCs find a clock and reverse it by one hour, its owner will arise. Everything crumbles, and they have little time to escape on their boat, because the island is diving into the sea again. What about Geduen? As soon as they reached the Spire he suddenly disappeared. Well, he tried on his own to posses the Element, but he didn't know that the Element was the Imp himself. He is probably still searching for it inside the Spire... What Are The Chances? ===================== From: Tony Description ----------- The PCs find themselves resting at a stereotypical inn during their quest to rid the area of a gang of assassins that have killed prominent local figures. Just about the only thing out of place about this otherwise nondescript setting is the strange phrase some of the NPCs (barkeep, patrons, owner, etc) all seem to slip into conversations they have with the characters. This can range from the standard 'the sparrow flies at midnight' to something more innocuous such as 'can I get you a drink?' This is a code phrase that these NPCs use, who are all members of the very circle of assassins the PCs have been chasing, to test whether the newcomers are initiated or not. The realization that there is something more than it seems going on here is only the first challenge facing the PCs, however. To unravel this mystery, they will have to figure out what the appropriate response is. Eavesdropping, negotiation, bribery, or other techniques are all fair game in discovering the phrase. This carries its own risks, as prying too hard will land the PCs in very hot water, as they are unknowingly surrounded by the very people they hunt. Once established, the PCs may repeat the phrase to uncover more information about the group they have encountered. The climax (and most intense roleplaying) of the encounter comes when the PCs are then happily solicited by these same NPCs to join their elite organization. The characters will have to quickly think of a plan, but obviously cannot simply hack their way out of such an overwhelming encounter. Talking their way out would allow them to escape unscathed, or the characters may very well decide to seek indoctrination into the assassins' circle, as it would provide them the opportunity to dismantle the operation from the inside out. In any case, by the end of the encounter the PCs will have discovered the hideout of those responsible for menacing the populace. GM Notes -------- Should the players not catch on to the plot, you can spur them along by providing clues such as noting that the man the characters just talked to was the third person today to have that same tatoo on his forearm, or that only people with a certain haircut enter the meeting room door. This will hopefully get them into an inquisitive state of mind. The PCs' feigning interest in becoming assassins themselves provides numerous opportunities for future roleplaying, as it makes them 'double agents' in a conspiracy to topple the very group they joined, without drawing too much suspicion to themselves. Paradise ======== From: EdanCM Tarzan Description ----------- In order to put the pirate, Captain Coal, out of commission, the villagers have solicited for help. A ship is provided and a king's ransom in gems and gold has been gathered for payment of Coal's capture, or proof of his death. His head would do nicely, the King insists. A very rough map is provided of where Coal's lair/island is believed to be, so it's up to the group to decide whether they try and follow or try to beat him back to the island. A few have escaped from the Captain's lair in the past, showing up on the shores on bits of driftwood or dilapidated rafts. Unbelievable tales of strange creatures (dinosaurs) and armored man/beasts roam it. There is only one safe way in or out, known only by Coal and his crew. GM Notes -------- There is a mountain, not quite central to the island, in which Coal's lair is. It's filled with traps and built within the mountain. (Best done like a dungeon crawl). The men/beast come from a mix of magics, herbs, etc. They appear humanoid in shape with a greenish cast to their skin, at first. If an encounter seems imminent, a shocking transformation occurs (might wish to roll surprise/shock). The outer skin appears to suddenly _flip_ rather quickly, exchanging places with the harder, reddish colored armor beneath. It's a natural armor of sorts on this type of beast and nearly akin to steel. If the party manages to get past these and into the lair, they could encounter Coal's daughter, Jewel. In contrast to her dark haired, dark eyed father, she is blond with blue-green eyes. She uses little magic and is more skilled in swordsmanship. Submitter: Gary Selwood Title: Daughter's Lie Description A local lord's daughter is claiming to have had an affair with a ranger who patrols the nearby forest. She claims that she is pregnant by him. The lord wants the characters to go after the ranger and bring him back to the keep so he can take responsibility for the child. The lords lets the characters know that it is all right if they have to rough him up to return him. GM Notes The ranger did not have an affair with the lord's daughter and knows nothing about this. The lord's daughter is not pregnant. The ranger has rebuffed the daughter's advances. She is planning to give the ranger a love potion to make him love her so she can marry him. The characters should find this strange since he mentioned that he harbored no feelings towards the princess when they were bringing him in. He actually will state that he finds her spoiled and rather homely. The characters should try to uncover the truth and now save the man. They will most likely have created an enemy in the daughter and possibly the ranger if they mistreated him and did not save him if the spell ever wears off. Submitter: Eden Title: Wyld Magic Description An ancient druidess is long overdue from her trip to the mountains in search of herbs. Her name is Alacar, and those within her village worry for her safe return because their lives and crops depend heavily upon her abilities. So, it's advertised for a group to go into the mountains to search for her. GM Notes It may, or may not occur to the group to ask why the villagers themselves haven't gone in search for this woman they claim to depend upon so heavily. If the truth be fully known, they might not go. Alacar has become a bit crazed and often seeks out unusual magics, and while she did enable the villagers to have wonderous crops, it certainly wasn't done cheaply. As they follow her trail, they may come across things affected by random bursts of twisted magics. One that I used that was particularly interesting was part of the black mountain actually being 'alive'. A slumbering pitch black stone dragon called Shade. He may, or may not, converse with the PCs, though he might just as easily attempt to kill them. This was also peppered highly with secret notes to an occasional player that they were being watched, the only one to hear a strange noise, etc. Vines, in one instance, came to life and attempted to entangle them and attempt to strip flesh from bone. There was also a small section where they had to travel through a cave in which a small stream ran beside the path within. They kept seeing something dark within the stream (which was deep) and were so intent on this they failed to notice a crevice in which piercers and tentacles lurked to attack when they walked past. The dark shape, it was later discovered, was a rather large, but harmless fish. It provided for long, tense suspense filled moments. When they find Alacar, it's quite clear she is insane, and may try to kill them as well. The Darkest Of Winters ====================== From: Jenette Downing Description ----------- An adventure for Palladium Fantasy 2nd Edition by Jenette Downing Scene 1: (Note this adventure works well for mid to high level player characters, levels 5-9. Weaker characters may need aid from additional NPCs.) If the player characters already work for a guild or the western empire then read the following to them. If they are freelance adventurers have them approached by a minor western empire noble and hired as freelance muscle to solve this matter discreetly, as their guards are currently busy with a disturbance in a nearby kingdom over some matter of cattle giving birth to monsters. Either way, once the players agree to listen to the sales pitch and to the government's headquarters (the western empire noble will speed their journey via magical teleportation--a clue to the players this situation is serious.), or after they are sent in to meet with the noble read them the following: You are escorted to a small, richly adorned room by the guards and settle yourselves in the old but classy chairs provided by an older, gray haired gentleman who looks to be roughly 60. He rises from a well upholstered chair and introduces himself as Mr.Cleauge White fish. After making introductions he sits down and begins to speak in a voice that is firm, despite the man's apparent age. 'Gentlemen,' (and or ladies). 'As you may have already heard by rumor, a freak storm has arisen blanketing the town Calvert and surrounding territory in roughly 2-4' of snow. This combined with nearly arctic temperatures has virtually cut the town off from civilization. We, of course, evacuated the town, but some residents were unable or unwilling to leave. We lost contact with them three days ago. Our wizards have confirmed this storm is not a natural act of nature and is caused by supernatural means. We need you to go in there, find out what's causing this tragedy and put a stop to it. Due to the severity of the storm, we are unable teleport you in, however we have made available winter equipment, cold weather clothing, rings of cold resistance, snowshoes etc...) You will also be provided with a magic pigeon ring and a horse drawn carriage fully equipped to handle the winter conditions." (Read the following if the players are NOT under the employment of the western empire.) 'Now I am prepared to offer you 50,000 gold each for your assistance in this matter as well as letting you keep all equipment issued to you including the ring of cold resistance and coach.' (This should interest the players enough to agree to the job. However Whitefish is willing to go as high as 120,000G if need be.) (Read this if the player characters ARE working for the western empire.) 'You will of course get a bonus for hazardous duty (double the normal weekly salary for one week for the bonus amount.)and should manage to accomplish this assignment without too much difficulty.' (Back to the briefing.) 'Now I assume you all are familiar with these type of situations, but as an added measure of security I will be sending a Janissary William S. Donavan along to supervise the situation and report any major breakthroughs to me. He is, however, only a supervisor and the best course of action will be left up to you.' (GM note. Whitefish will also inquire about the players weapons, and if needed will supply them each with a indestructible weapon of choice and leather armor of Iron if necessary (A.R 15 S.D.C 95.) (Stats on William S.Donavan. Alignment: Selfish. IQ:17 MA:13 ME:12 PS:19 PP:22 PE:18 PB:14 SPD:17 S.D.C:32 HP:72 Equal to a 7th level Janissary of note: Demon and Monster Lore:88% Prowl: 70% Wp Paired, Sword, and blunt. Hand to Hand Martial arts. (Also note in the back of the vehicle will be an armored case 4x2x3' locked by padlock with wards of death, agony, and mystic alarm upon the chest .Inside will be the following: three small wands of flame projection. rng:75' payload:20 shots.Damage:5d6sdc per 1-70% of setting combustible material on fire. Also inside the case will be three pump cross bows with 20 spelled silver arrows each. The crossbows hold 8 bolts each and inflict 5d6+3 each. The bolts are spelled to damage supernatural evil inflicting 8d6+8 each. Also inside are rings of armor (enough for one per character and one silver moon gate key with 1 use per day. All told the value of these weapons and key are well over 10 million Gold. Player characters who are not working for the western empire will NOT be told about the contents of the locked case, and if they inquire will be told it is alchemical equipment. If at any point in the game agent William becomes critically injured he will regain consciousness long enough to hand a key to the characters that will access the case before dying. He is the ONLY one besides Whitefish that has a key to the chest. Characters with the lock pick skill may attempt to pick the lock but are at -70% to do so. Characters with the locksmith skill can attempt to crack the code, but are at-20% and it will take at least 1d4+2 hours to do so. Not to mention the obvious danger from the wards themselves. Those that do work for the empire will need to send a magic pigeon update to the noble to get authorization and the key when necessary; but will know about the chest and its contents. Also the chest and its contents will NOT be allowed to be kept by the players after the mission. Failure to return any part of the treasure, especially the moon gate key will result in forfeiture of payment and a possible death sentence, especially if the players "cut and run" with the contents after completing the adventure rather than return for payment. If player do this they can be expected to be dogged by assassins through out the western empire and be wanted for will over a million gold each! The players will be teleported to a town closest to the incident along with Donavan. Donavan will be friendly to the player characters but somewhat cold and aloof. He privately feels that the players are out for themselves and care little about the town or it's residents.(good role playing on the players parts will see him open up a little and be slightly more friendly. Scene 2: Read the following to the players after they have boarded the horse drawn carriage at the town a couple of hours away. As you leave the town the sweltering heat draws beads of sweat on your foreheads and makes your shirts cling damply to your skins. Once again you find yourself wondering how snow can possibly exist in weather like this in the middle of July. After only 45 minutes of riding you can see the dark clouds looming on the horizon like a thunderstorm gathering force. However this particular storm is more whitish gray than bottomless black and stays centered over a 50 mile or so area. The sky overhead however is bright and sunny and the air slight breeze fights the unending battle against the heat. Heavy horse shoes and oversized wagon wheels bump along the road at 12mph. The road slides by and you begin to notice an hour or so later the grass changing from green to an unhealthy yellow, the cornfields showing signs of frost bite. Agent Donovan stops fanning himself off and rolls the window down, the once sweltering air having turned to the coolness of late autumn. Not too far in the distance you see the first flakes of snow starting to fall. Less than twenty minutes later the oil heater is roaring against the biting cold outside, the road ahead obscured by an all out blizzard, your speed reduced to less than 5 MPH as the carriage is buffeted by harsh arctic winds. After another half hour of creeping through the blizzard you notice the road up ahead abruptly ends in a deep ravine where a bridge should stand by the map. (Actually, a bridge used to be there but was burned down. Players who get out to examine where the bridge was will find deep drifts of snow and frigid winds. Digging beneath the snow at the edge of the ravine where the road ends will reveal charred wood beams burnt through. (Also make the driver make a control roll to keep from plunging nose first into the river. Regardless of the roll he stops just in time. The roll is to keep suspense up.) After making a navigation roll and consulting a map of the surrounding area the players will discover an alternate route two or three miles back along a back road. This route will take them to the town, but will take considerably longer. (While traveling along the back road players will see a log cabin back about 15 or so feet from the road with smoke curling from the chimney. However the front door will be hanging open connected by one hinge. If the players stop to investigate they'll find the door looks to have been busted out from the inside with claw marks all along the inside of the door. the wind has blown to much snow around to make out any tracks. Other than that the inside of the house is undisturbed and everything appears to be in order. There's even a crossbow hung on the wall between a set of deer heads.(it's a heavy crossbow in good working order but unloaded. 12 bolts of ammo is on the matle in a pouch. Psychics and those with sixth sense will get a vague feeling of unease inside the house mixed with fear and hunger. Also while exploring the cabins four rooms (one bedroom, one bathroom, one kitchen/living room/ one pantry fully stocked with canned and dried food.) players will hear the howls of wolves in the distance. If the contemplate staying at the place for the rest of the day until tomorrow Agent Donovan will suggest they head for Inn in the town as planned and stay there. (it's roughly 2:30 in the afternoon.) If the players insist on staying have the wolf howls grow closer and more numerous until it's clear the wolves have their scent and are closing in. Unless they move on the wolves are likely to kill the horses potentially stranding them in the artic like wilderness. Scene 3: The players should arrive at the town about 7:00pm the storm having slowed their progress significantly. As they drive through the town they'll see a few houses with their lights on, but the street will be absolutely deserted. Upon arriving at the Inn they'll find the open sign is on and the lights inside seem bright and cheerful. However, upon entering the players will be assaulted by an odd musty odor that smells faintly sour and rotten along with cold air, maybe even colder than the air outside. Psychics will feel absolute dread and terror inside the building giving them +6 on initiative and -2 to strike do to being so hyped up with adrenaline. The front desk is abandoned, with papers scattered randomly and half a doughnut partially dunked in a cup of frozen coffee. The chair behind the desk is also knocked over and a few drops of blood leading down a hallway to the right. Following the blood will lead the players to a supply closet door. Inside the closet are six bodies that will fall out to the floor when the door is opened. The bodies look as if they were stuffed into the small closet and their skin will be shrunken, almost mummified, the blood drained out of them completely. Closer inspection will reveal looks of horror on their shrunken faces. The smell, while hideous, is lessened to a large extent by the freezing temperature by is putrid none the less. Players will also see more blood drops leading to another door down the hall, this one the Inn cellar. When the players open this door a miasma of smells resembling a slaughter house will flood the corridor.(make the players make a roll to save vs. puking 15+or blow chunks in the hallway, possibly on agent Donovan. Bonus to save vs. HF may be added to this roll. The players will hear from the basement a faint moaning, players of a good alignment will have no choice but to investigate for survivors. The torch bracket near the entrance is empty and the basement is way too dark to see normally. Agent Donovan will excuse himself for a moment and return with one globe of daylight ring for each member of the group. The stairway leading down to the basement will be bathed in dried and frozen blood, making travel hazardous and slippery. Once down there the stench will make everyone gag and those that have not already puked must roll above a 17 to keep from doing do. The players lights will reveal numerous bodies in various states of frozen decay piled about waist high in half the basement. The moaning sound is coming near a large fireplace unlit. Players will also notice the torch brackets have been smashed and arms jammed into the holders, frozen blood hanging in long icicles from them. Closer inspection of the fireplace to discover the moaning sound will reveal two things. The fireplace is extinguished because buckets of internal organs have been dumped into the opening, coiled lengths of intestines draping over the sides, frozen organ mucus and slime covering the heater in a thin coating that sparkles underneath the players flashlights. The mysterious moaning is nothing more than the wind howling up the chimney. Shortly after the players will hear dripping sounds coming from all around them, followed by dozens of small crackling sounds. Exploring with the lights will reveal the arms jammed into the torch brackets are starting to move and drip blood, as well as grasp fitfully at the air with. The players are then likely to try to get the heck outta there as quickly as possible. (GM's remember the icy steps, the players probably won't!) If the players slip and fall back down then are just in time for the arms to crawl out of the torch brackets and attack them. (stats: sdc 2d6 each, move slowly like slugs and can dow claw damage for 1d6 or crushing for 1d4.(you might want to have the players roll to save vs. insanity 13+ or roll for a random insanity. Some good insanity's are fear of the dark, fear of blood, basements confined places, or fear of dismembered corpses.) (GM note the whole house is possessed from the horrible deaths that occurred in the basement. At the very least a few haunting entities are liable to arise out of it all. While leaving the hotel players may catch a glimpse of something moving outside one of the windows, something pale blue and humanoid, although it's hard to tell from the storm. Scene 4: Once safely inside the carriage agent Donovan will send a magic pigeon report to Whitefish on the status of the inn, while players are calming frayed nerves and possibly cleaning blood and organ pieces off themselves. If the players ask agent Donovan for advice he'll suggest they visit and spend the night at one of the other houses that someone is occupying. After driving back to town players will find the storm is letting up, although it is still bitingly cold. They also notice most of the lights are out in the houses except for a few. After selecting a house when the players knock on the door it will open, as if not properly latched. Inside the house players will notice the smell of home cooking and the interior will be warm and cozy, complete with fire in the fire place. Unfortunately the place is also deserted, except strangely enough a full course meal is setting on the table, some of it partially eaten. Searching the house will reveal nothing out of the ordinary. Though it seemed used to be the home of a married couple with two children and a dog, (a family portrait hangs above the fire place) There are no clues as where the family vanished to or why. Psychics will sense nothing out of the ordinary except a background evil that seems to be more a part of the town than the house itself. After about an hour of searching the players will get a knock on the door. Upon answering they will see an old farmer (late 50's thinning dark brown hair streaked with a gray badly trimmed beard.) (Quick stats on farmer Jeremy Heartland: Alignment: Scrupulous Good, IQ: 7 MA: 10 ME: 13 PS: 17 PP: 14 PE: 24 PB: 10 Spd: 19 HP: 34 SDC: 20 Skills of note: Farming 89% Track animals 60% Wp bow, knife. He is nearly frozen to death and will ask for lodging for the night. If questioned he will respond with the following. Q: What's going on with the town? A:'I can't rightly say, bout two, two'n half weeks back things started getting cooler, kind a chilly. People blamed it on a freak summer, not much really interest'n. Then it just got colder'n colder, till one day snow started fallin! Cin you imagin that?Snow! Right here in the middle o' July!' Shakes his headin disbelief. 'Some folks left in a big hurry, said the next ice age was comin, others claimed demons did it. Some folks with with armor and some weird ass wizards came and poked into stuff. Ordered everyone out till they could solve the problem. Thing is, not everyone's got some place ta go see? So most of us just bundled up an dealt with the early winter. Lots a kids out playing in the snow, farmers like myself didn't know what ta do! Our crops'n livestock're what we make our money offa! The Empire says we'll be paid for any losses so we all jus sit real nice'n tight and wait. 'Cept this morning I git up and find ma wife'n kids 're all vanished! not a trace of 'em ta be found. Likes they just up 'n left without saying's good bye! But they must a gone ball lucky bare naked cause none 'o their clothes's missin.'So's I goes out to the barn an looks around thinkin maybe they's all hid'in on me, playing some sorta joke, an I find all muh cattle'n pigs'n sheep torn wide open, like somebody shoved a keg 'o moonshine down their throats then shoved a match up their rears! Guts strewn everywhere, blood'n bones.' He shudders and turns pale. 'Then I see a patch of my field ripple an slide over quiet as a mouse fart an swallow up ma plow! Then it came a slide'n towards me. So's I just a hopped on muh horse an rode it like ah bat from hell till it died a couple a miles from town. Then I jus' walked the rest of da way an saw yer light on an figured you folks'd let me git a bite ta eat. Speakin' a which, is that chicken n' mashed potatoes I smell?' Q: Will you show us the way to your farm? A: 'Not tonight I won't! That place's haunted! I ain't never goin' back there alone, or ever at night, even with you fella's as company.!' (he'll promise to show them the way tomorrow and explains the directions, but refuses to go back there tonight under any circumstances. Q: Where's everybody in the town? You said a lot of people stayed behind. A: 'Don't rightly know that neither.' Maybe they jus up'n vanished like ma family!' (Jeremy honestly doesn't know anything about what's going on in the town and will try to be as helpful as possible to the players. Due to his mental retardation he mostly let his wife run things, and hardly ever questioned what she told him.) About two hours after the players have settled in the house for the evening a broken branch from a overhanging tree smashes open a window, blowing out any light candles or torches plunging the place into total blackness, except for the light of the fireplace, which casts crazy and demonic shadows across the walls. In the silence all that can be heard is the howling of the wind outside and the far off wail of a dog, or maybe a wolf. Players are liable to conduct a through research of the house suspecting something. However a frozen tree branch snapping off from the wind and crashing though the window caused the smash. This makes a perfect opportunity for GM's to psyche the players out with half imagined sounds and make the simple perimeter search eerie in the darkness. Psychics will sense growing danger if they check, and anyone who looks out a window will notice the storm has stopped completely and the sky is coal black, the full moon peaking up over the horizon, casting a pale hue over the dead town, the only sound is an occasional gust of wind that rattles the house and makes old timbers creak in protest. Jeremy will quickly offer to stay and watch the fire while the players investigate, claiming 'I had enough o' spooks back on the farm an I ain't no heroes like you folk.' Since he is unarmed it is unlikely he would be of much help anyway. If players pressure him to help he will say as much and firmly plant himself near the fire in a lounge chair. Less than a half hour after they complete their first search, or perhaps while in the middle of the search they hear the shattering of glass somewhere up stairs, or down if they are all up stairs. Psychics will sense danger is closer than ever. The wind blowing open a poorly secured window nothing more, but served to further crank up the tension by causing the glass breakage. After returning from the second search, or finishing up the first one they will find Jeremy has found a bottle of whiskey from somewhere and drunk himself into a stupor. In his drunken state he will blabber on about his wife's obsession with the dark crystal moon and how she should leave past sins buried. He will respond to any questions with curses directed at the moon and the cold. Shortly there after he will pass out and snore loudly, muttering references to the 'Dweller Beneath' in broken sentences, as if it's chasing him. By now the players should feel tired and be ready for sleep, after settling down for the night (Agent Donovan will suggest posting guard and sleeping in the living room next to the fireplace after making the evening pigeon report to Whitefish, but not force the issue.) The players will sleep fitfully, their dreams troubled by nightmares of dark demonic shadows chasing and attacking them.(subtle psychic influence from the forces controlling the town.) Later on that night whoever is on guard (ideally a player character) will hear a thump on the picture window of the living room. Drawing back the curtain will reveal the naked form of a lady clinging to the window like a fly. Her finger tips, toes and heels have grown suction pads that secrete a sticky slime enabling her to cling to virtually any surface.(If the players didn't post guard have them awoken by the thump on the glass) After seeing the naked lady read the following to the players: "As you peel back the curtain you see clinging to the window the pale naked form of a young lady, she looks to be roughly 23 with the body of a model, her skin silky smooth and tinted a light bluish purple, almost glowing in the light of the full moon. You also notice the sucker like cups growing out of her finger tips, toes and heels, which stick to the glass like glue. Her eyes are pupil-less and solid gray like chips of ice, the expression on her face is blank, like a statue given life, her naked form pressed grotesquely against the window.' Observant players (call for a perception roll) will notice she doesn't appear to be breathing or give any outward signs of life. Psychics or magic user using see aura will notice her aura is a hypnotic swirl of colors streaked with black and fiery red. She is obviously possessed and altered in some way. Those with sixth sense will feel danger from her. An exorcism ritual will instantly kill the creature, causing it to fall boneless to the ground. The players now are faced with two options.1: Go outside and deal with the thing. 2: Wait until morning then go deal with it. Jeremy will be to drunk to be of any assistance, if he can be woken at all. (GM's call.) If he can be awoke, his only drunken response will be: 'Gitta load of dat! If'n I did that kind a thing when t'was her age muh daddy woulda whipped my butt till the cows came home!' After which he'llpromptly pass back out. If the players decide to go out after it then read the following: 'As you step out into the frigid night air, your footsteps are muffled under the fine, powdery snow, the glare of the moon dazzling your eyes for second and lighting the neighborhood like noon. As you cautiously approach the clinging woman she pays you no mind, clinging stubbornly to the window.' The lady will ignore any attempt the players may make at distracting her, focusing upon the fireplace. (The lady is really after Jeremy, having tailed him from where his truck died to this house, she desires his blood only.) This presents players with another problem: How to get her off the window. (It's well below zero outside and breaking another window will quickly freeze the interior of the house solid) Shooting her has a 1-70% of going through her and shattering the glass, (depending on the size of the bolt) Hitting her risks driving her through the window, and she is immune to psychic and magical paralyzation, sleep, or any other ability that would influence her body. (the possessing entity has an iron grip on her mind and body.) Cutting her throat or something similar will work, but even after she's dead, her body will still cling limply to the window and must be cut or pried off.(the latter option requires a combined PS of 18+ and my still break the glass.) She will not resist or fight back against any attacks directed at her, but upon her death 2d4 of her friends will leap out of the snow and attack the players! All are completely naked and carry no weapon, except for the sucker pads on their hands and needle like teeth.(GM's alter the number as you see fit, depending on the abilities of the players and their level.) Quick stats on the possessed town folk: Alignment: Diabolic Evil IQ:1d4 (considered to be a mindless predator) ME:NA MA:NA (controlled by the possessing entity) PS 3d6+6 (considered to be supernatural) PP:2d6 PE:NA PB:3d6 Spd:5d6 HF:12 AR: none SDC:1d4x10 HP:8d6 Combat Bonuses: Five attacks per melee and +4to strike and parry, has no dodge and is immune to HF. Attacks include open hand sucker slap, (hand attack inflicts normal supernatural ps hand to hand damage, but also clings to shirts, pants, etc.. and when pulled away will tear strips of clothing with it. (exposing characters to the cold and possible frostbite.)The creatures instinctively aim for the face or patch of exposed skin. A roll of 16+ indicates it has hit such a place. Damage from a tear is 2d6 direct to hp! Plus victims lose initiative and 2 melee attacks from the pain and horror. Blood loss will inflict another 1d4 per melee round until first aid is applied. The bite attack is always at the neck and inflicts 3d6 direct to hp, and is only used once opponent is on the ground unconscious, or otherwise subdued.(-8 to strike a still conscious opponent.) The creatures will fight to the death and pursue fleeing characters inside the house by punching through doors, windows, etc. If players decide to ignore the creature and wait until morning, have the creature detach from the window during the night and spring the ambush on them as soon as they leave the next morning. The only difference is the woman will be clinging to the front door, and immediately leap upon the person who first opens the door.(possessed creature automatically gains initiative and one free attack) Psychic characters who sense before opening the door will be able to sense danger out side but not exact location. This gives them a chance to roll for initiative over the creature but are at -4 to do so. If the players dealt with the lady last night then the way to the carriage will be all clear. Once at the vehicle Donovan (if he survived the ambush) will pigeon in with a report and gain authorization to access the armored chest in the carriage. He will distribute the weapons among the group, and politely but firmly refuse to arm Jeremy. Also note that Jeremy will remember nothing of his drunken stupor the previous night. If Agent Donovan didn't survive the ambush when they report in that morning, Whitefish will order them to access the weapons case and arm themselves, but not to arm Jeremy, (telling them he can't be trusted with such deadly weapons) The weather that morning will be overcast and chilly with snow starting to fall, the players should realize that the storm is far from over, and this is only a brief respite. Scene 5: While traveling back through the town on the way to Jeremy's farm, The players will see a Doberman Pincher on the side walk staring at the vehicle.(This is the first animal the players have yet to see, even birds aren't in the town.) Jeremy will immediately rush to the door window and recognize the dog as his and demand the players stop. 'That's ma dog Rex, you gotta let me git him, he don't mean no harm to no one.' If the players should refuse to stop Jeremy will try to open the door and leap out of the vehicle. If he is restrained he will become violent and fight to the best of his ability to be let outside. Once he is outside Jeremy will proceed over to his dog all smiles, the dog merely stand there and wits for him, not reacting to his calls or approach. Psychic's will sense danger, and see aura spells will reveal the dog is not even an animal, but some 'thing' in the shape of a dog. Jeremy will ignore any warnings the players may shout and still reach out and pat the dog. As soon as Jeremy's hand touches the dog it will shape shift into a black blob. Read the following to the players: 'As Jeremy's hand reaches out and caresses Rex's head you notice the dogs fur start to ripple, like waves of energy coursing through him.' 'Rex?' You hear Jeremy ask with a hint of uncertainty to his voice as the dog shudders again, its eyes turning coal black and the hair sucking itself inwards, the dog blurring into a formless black blob that pulsates with evil energy. In one smooth motion, like liquid pouring itself through the air the patch of unholy darkness flows over Jeremy's hand, rushing up his sleeve and under his jacket. With a scream Jeremy collapses into the snow.' At this point the players hear a scream and see a lady across the street, horrified at the scene unfolding before her. The black goo reacts to the scream like a magnet and starts flowing towards her. At this point the players will probably be rushing to attack, if not the woman will scream again and run into the store she came out of; at which point the blob will seem to melt into the snow and vanish. If the players should decide to attack the black slime (players of good alignment will have no choice) the stats are as follows: Black Maggot of Death fragment Alignment: Diabolic IQ:21 MA:19 ME:23 PS: varies depending on form, anywhere from 12-35 PP: varies 8-26 PE unlimited PB: varies depending on form, 1-30 SPD: Varies 6-120! In its natural form, a black shapeless blob, the creature has stats at maximum except for PB which is about 2. HF:16 6 attacks per melee +7 to strike, +5 to parry and dodge. AR none. SDC: 60 HP:140 These fragments of The Black Maggot Of Death (full stats on the entire creature later) can assume virtually any form and even imitate specific people or objects at 80% proficiency! This is ability only works after the fragment has 'digested' a particular individual or covered an inanimate object for 2d4 minutes.(note that each fragment is part of the whole, so what one fragment learns to imitate all of them do.) Its one main weakness of imitation is the fragment cannot speak, and animals can easily sense the fragment is evil and will flee the vicinity. The creature is also invulnerable to normal weapons. Weapons of silver and fire weapons inflict double damage, as do magical spells and offensive psychic powers. Poisons and paralysis spells do no damage. The fragment is roughly 4' but can separate any number of smaller fragments but none smaller than 1'.The smaller fragments have only 3hp per inch and no sdc, as well as inflicting one seventh of the normal damage. (divide damage by 7)Each 4' fragment it joins with adds the listed amount to hp and sdc, but does NOT increase the PS, PP, or PE. the creature gains its strength from supernatural magic, not ordinary means. Its attacks are either a blunt strike doing standard supernatural PS damage, or it can form a mouth and fangs biting for 5d6.Its preferred attack is to 'touch' its victim with part of its body and suck them dry, drawing the out blood through the skin, a painful process that leaves massive bruises (-3 to pp for 1d4+2 days) and does 4d6 per touch. Victims suffering more than five touches a day will have the following penalties from blood loss for 2 days. (-2 to ps + pp, -4 to pe, will tire twice as quickly and have a 1-30% of of passing out after 1 hour of constant exertion.)Victims suffering 12 touches or more will need a blood transfusion within 1 hour (psychic or magical healing will also work) or lapse into a coma for 2d6 days then possibly die. (roll to save vs coma/death) The touch will also feel icy cold, then burning hot as the blood is pulled through the skin. A successful roll under Demon/Monster Lore will give players a vague memory of some reference to 'black maggots' in some text or another, as well as mentioning its weakness to flame.(note, setting the creature on fire gives the creature a 1-40% chance of setting the players on fire when it attacks.) If however the players remain inside the vehicle until the blob melts into the ground they will be able to hear the ladies pleas for help from inside, asking if it's safe to come out. Once players leave the vehicle to inspect Jeremy's body or coax the lady outside the blob can either remain hidden, or rise up and assault the players in an ambush (GM's option) Jeremy's body will look almost mummified and dead beyond a doubt. Closer inspection will reveal no obvious wounds, or hint how he died (due to blood loss there is no bruising) A successful roll under the medical skill forensics will reveal death from blood loss drawn through the skin. The woman once she emerges from the local store will identify her self as Megan Wilder, she is quite pretty, around 32 and much relieved to see people. She will introduce herself and give the players the following story: 'I'm so glad you guys came! Since this freak winter storm arrived people and pets have been vanishing all over. I was staying in my house until my cat turned into a puddle of black ink and oozed through a crack in the floor. After that I flipped out and ran off. I've been hiding out in the general store since, and that was a couple of days ago. I thought I heard a horse last night, but because of the storm and winds I wasn't sure. Then sometime last night I heard breaking glass and what sounded like a fight later on. Then I ran out of wood and it started getting freezing in there. Lucky for me I heard your horses this morning, I ran out just in time to see old farmer Heartland get attacked by that blob. My god, how horrid! is he okay?' After finding out he's dead she will respond with: 'A pity, he was a good man, even is his wife is a witch.' If questioned further on this comment, (if the players don't agent Donovan will) she will simply reply: 'Yeah, his wife Francis was a witch or something, everybody in town knew that. She was caught several times wandering around the woods and outskirts of town at night on a full moon picking plants, and once was seen by Josh sacrificing a chicken on some alter in the woods. Josh was one of the town guards, he followed her into the woods one night to see if she was stealing from nearby farms and said he saw her sacrifice it to the black mother of something or other. Old Jeremy never knew anything about her worshipping demons, he was a little touched in the head if you know what I mean. Someone once mentioned it to him and he flew into a rage and beat the hell outta the man that said it, claiming he knew she loved god cause god loved him. A real shame he ended up like that.' Megan honestly knows nothing else of value but will try to help the players in any way possible. Megan Wilder's Stats: Age:32 Weight:137 Height 5'6' Alignment: Principled Good IQ:18 ME:14 MA: 22 PS:11 PP:12 PE:15 PB:20 SPD:14 Skills of note: First Aid 65% Hand to hand training: basic. 2 attacks per melee wp blunt. After the players explain who they are and what their purpose is she is likely to suggest they check out the farm as well as ask if they can arrange for her to be teleported out or something. (Note: Requesting teleportation will do no good as the magic from the storm worsening again would make teleportation highly dangerous, if not impossible. The players will be instructed to protect Megan to the best of their ability and continue on with the mission.) (Note, Megan has only the blunt wp and will refuse any weapon offered to her except possible a small war hammer or club, although she will offer to carry extra weapons and ammo for the players.) Scene 6: The journey from the town to the farm is without incident, although the storm is raging in full fury again, plunging the world into gray snowy shadows once more. Once the players arrive at the farm they will notice indeed it does seem deserted. Psychics will sense an evil presence here stronger than any they've felt since entering the town, although not as blindly terrifying as the hotel. (Megan will insist on coming with them, saying she's too scared to be alone in the Carriage, and might be of help if they get hurt.) When the players debark from the buggy read the following to them: 'Amidst the blinding, swirling snow you can just barely make out the outline of the farm house, even through it only rests 15 or so feet from you. As you traverse the short distance the wind claws at your clothing with icy fingers, snaking tentacles of cold air under your collars and along your spine. When you're within five feet of the house you notice the door to stands wide open beckoning you silently, the dark silhouette a gaping maw into the unknown.' Once inside players will find themselves in a short hallway where winter jackets are hung. The hallway leads to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen there is little of interest other than dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, it will be hard to see anything due to the storm raging outside the windows and no torches inside. (m,issing from the brackets, remember the beast hates fire.) While exploring the rather large kitchen the sink pump will start to pour another of the black maggot fragments into the sink. Have players make a perception roll 13+ to notice this. Otherwise the black maggot fragment automatically gets initiative and will attack whom ever is closest to the sink. This fragments stats are the same as the one previously listed. Also have players roll under their IQ to realize the danger of using flame weapons in the kitchen. (Fortunately there is a half frozen bucket of water next to the stove should they set the place a blaze. Megan or agent Donovan will notice this and act accordingly.) As they proceed into the interior they come to the den/living room read the following. "Aside from a dark blue carpet and rocking chair the only other real adornment is a book case along the side wall filled with all manner of books. Also you notice the fireplace is packed full of snow, as if it was carried in here by the shovel full and packed solidly inside, possibly even up the chimney. Perceptive characters will notice the carpet ripple slightly as they approach it, cluing them in as to its real nature. Up stairs they find old ladies diary filled with notes about her summoning and worship of the Black Maggot Of Death Most of it is incomprehensible rambling of defiling the town and consuming everyone with her wrath. In the basement they will find numerous devices of torture and an old wooden chair stained with blood with metal shackles fixed to it. Further exploration within will reveal a hidden underground passage lined with wind chimes on the ceiling made from bones. After proceeding along this hallway and fighting off attack by hell hounds and more possessed towns folk they emerge in the middle of the forest in an icy glade. Immediately visible is a small stone altar with a boy perhaps 12 years old sacrificed upon it. His body looks to be slit down the middle and the heart removed, frozen blood still covers the corpse and stains the snow around the altar. Standing on either side of the altar are two ice demons from northern hinterlands book. They immediately attack as soon as one of the player characters draws a weapon or moves towards the altar. Behind the altar they find partially obscured footprints in the snow leading off in the distance. Following them will lead the players to a small cave entrance. Inside the entrance a narrow tunnel curves down into the heart of the land. Its ringed with ice and bloody footprints lead downwards. Following them will bring the characters to a huge cavern deep underground that looks to be carved out of some even larger glacier buried uner the surface. Inside is a huge black blob nearly a hundred feet across pulsing in the back of the room, fading in and out of existence as wel as an altar carved from ice, which has a naked girl no more than 14 to sixteen years old bound to it in silver chains shivering visibly. Standing behind her crouched with a sacrifical dagger poised in her hand is the woman, staring at the players with an evil grin. She is flanked on either side by multiple flesh golems. With a shriek she declares that until they characters are slain she cannot proceed with the ritual to bind the Maggot mother to this world and orders her flesh golems to attack She then drops to her knees and prays, becoming enveloped in an impenetrable shroud of dark energy emeniating from the altar. After slaying the flesh golems they characters only need to smash the altar to destroy her energy field as soon as the altar is smashed the dark shape solidifies and enveloped the woman in one of its tentacles where she emits a horrid shriek seconds later the tentacle squirts out white bones across the floor and fades from existence, leaving behind a small black stone that glitters evilly. Slowly the ice begins to groan and crack, slowly closing in around the characters. If the characters flee they will find the woods slowly returning to a warmer state. If the characters smash the stone rather than flee the ice stops its advance and immediately starts to melt covering the floor in ice water that rapid grows deeper upon exiting they will find it is rapidly growing warmer and becomes a hot summer day within 4 hours, the rapid thawing causing flash floods in other areas. The girl is cold but unharmed. She remembers nothing of her experience, only that her mother tried to drown her under ice. She will be extremely grateful to be rescued. Donovan will adopt her readily, mentioning he already has a son about her age. After which the magic aura will have faded from the town and they can safely teleport back to the nobles kingdom. Upon their return the characters will be thanked and paid in full, possibly being allowed to keep some of the chests equipment (GMs call) if they managed to save the girl and Donovan survived. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Have more fun at every game! johnn@roleplayingtips.com End of Supplemental #18 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@