Templarkommando
2016-04-22, 04:51 PM
TL;DR - I'm trying to get my party to a dungeon in the quite distant countryside. They've recently drawn the suspicion of a unit of (200) displaced militiamen/town guards and their families. The guards are plotting to kidnap members of the party so they can interrogate them in relation to the destruction of their city, relations to the BBEG, and what they had to do with the death of their former mayor and also a beloved officer. How would you go about catching the party?
Let me apologize beforehand, because after putting this post together, I realize that it's a little disorganized.
Let me start by giving you some background:
About two months ago (game time) the party went deep beneath the world's surface into an ancient fallout shelter and discovered what was basically a suitcase nuke - though they didn't know it at the time. (Yes, this is 3.5 D&D) They went to the drop-off point for their newly acquired package and gave it to their contact who turned out to be a very large and very old ancient red dragon. The dragon asked them to deliver the suitcase to the city of Verdun. There are reasons why the dragon doesn't want to deliver this himself, but the biggest part of it is that dragons really like treating lesser races as puppets in my campaign world. He rewards the party for their efforts with magic items all around, and promises more of a reward once they've made their delivery. The party made the delivery to their next contact who is just some random unimportant guy at the moment - and I have no plans for him presently. The party heads back to Koldern (the capital city of my campaign world) and about a week later they start hearing rumors that Verdun was destroyed. There's a lot of background stuff going on, but the Lord Mayor of Verdun and a unit of his city guard were in Koldern when the city was destroyed. The reason that they were in town is because they were trying to solidify an Alliance with the local Duchess who is a fairly powerful arcane caster. The guards were serving as a sort of personal body-guard. So anyway, there's a conspiracy in the Kingdom to consolidate power and fake claims on titles in order to put conspirators in positions of power. The city of Verdun wouldn't accept their demands, so the conspiracy has made them into an example for others that would refuse them. I've been gradually introducing this shadow council group to the campaign world, but they're not quite out in the open yet. Fortunately for them, there's more that they can do to make examples than just blow up a city - they can also assassinate major political figures. Enter the Lord Mayor of Verdun and Colonel Randall Ironarm. These fellows were both assassinated (about a week apart in the last in-game month) with the help of a group of vampires with ties to the shadow council. The party investigated both of these murders and discovered a little about the shadow council, but they also killed the vampire assassins. Hooray for them! The problem here is that the Verdun city guard remnant only knows that the party seemed to show up around the time that both their mayor and their colonel were killed. Hence their suspicion. They're a little leery of the party though because they seem to be powerful adventurers. For this reason, the city guard which is composed of 200 heavy infantry soldiers (mostly level 1 warriors and commoners, but also a level 6 Bard and a couple of other unspecified characters with PC class levels). They want to capture the party and interrogate them. This plot can either succeed or fail, but it will accomplish the same goal - it will put the party in contact with these guys who will then send them off to their next adventure.
The point of this next series of encounters (called The Strangers' Masquerade - Description of the deity Stranger to follow) is three-fold. 1.) I want to give the party a feel for life in an Early Renaissance/Late Middle Ages campaign setting. 2.) Play the part of a setting where the plot to capture the party can unfold. 3.) Open up a chance for role-play in a mostly combat-free and mundane environment. I'm going to run this Masquerade like a dungeon, except I'm going to roll a die to determine what part of the city that they wonder into during the festival. Instead of rooms, I have a series of "Events" that I have arranged. Everything is supposed to take place over the course of about a week during the middle of the winter in a city with a sort of Mediterranean climate... the festival is based vaguely off of the Carnival of Venice with a few other things thrown in. These notes aren't extremely organized, and are meant to be used just by me. That said, if you have ideas for other events, feel free to suggest them.
The Stranger- There is much that is mysterious and unknown in this world. Not everything is certain. The knock at the door could literally be anything. The Abandoned and broken man on the side of the road could be a bandit waiting for another prize. The stranger is the only deity who is always manifested on the prime material plane – or so the legend goes. Very little is known of him or his motivations. To one he may be friendly and to another he may be hostile. This is also the case with his clerics who wander throughout the world aimlessly – or if there is some purpose it is unknown. Some say that the stranger is just a powerful – if eccentric – wizard who is searching for something, but his clerics insist that he is a deity. The only apparently sure way of befriending the stranger or his clerics is to offer them hospitality before the giver is sure whom they are greeting.
Alignment: True Neutral
Symbol: A door (symbolizing that the knock at the door could be anyone or anything – an important doctrine for followers of the stranger).
Domains: Travel, Illusion, Mentalism, Celerity
Basically the deity explores the concept of the unknown. Hence all the masks that people wear at the masquerade.
Event 1: A mob of giggling young men and women stand in the center of an intersection in a large circle. They all wear masks of varying make. Most of them are made from flimsy bits of cloth, but do a good job of hiding everyone's faces. It seems that they are playing a game. Two lines of people are arrayed in a circle around the intersection. You watch as a particularly giggly young lady walks to the center of the circle and the circle of men steps forward. She hiccups and begins to spin in one place fairly rapidly. For a moment she looks like she's ready to vomit, but the dizzy woman then approaches a man on the outside of the circle who she promptly plants a kiss on. All of the unkissed men take a drink of some alcoholic beverage that they have held at their side. They then reverse and begin to repeat the process only with a man spinning, and ladies on the edge of the circle.
Event 2: A masked peddler is hawking a wheelbarrow full of trenchers. He smells bad, but is rather adamant about the character's need for one of his trenchers. This of course on the grounds that they look hungry. He wants a copper for a trencher.
Event 3: A couple are getting married at a small shrine on the side of the street. You realize that because of the occasion it might be possible that they are getting married despite not knowing each other.
Event 4: You see a park of sorts that has been set aside in a makeshift district square here. A number of trees and bushes are scattered about and several street lamps do a decent job of keeping the area lit. Several tables are laid out with a large amount of food. The buffet includes all manner of great delicacies. Breads and alcoholic beverages are clear, but there are also baskets of fruit and vegetables - including Oranges, Apples, Pears, Plums, Melon, carrots, mushrooms, leeks, parsnips, and turnips. Clearly, someone has gone out of their way to make this an excellent feast as another table is filled to the edges with various sweet and savory pies. Another still is filled with sweet morsels and bags of hard honey candy. Yet another table features large platters with honeyed capon chickens, roasted duck, a goose stuffed with garlic, grapes, and a litany of other spices, swan, roast lamb, beef, grilled fish and eel. Around the edge of the square you catch a glimpse of several very large barrels that likely hold ale or mead or some similar beverage. Dozens of people weave between the tables placing bits of food upon their bread bowls
Your approach toward the picnic tables is not unnoticed. A young adolescent dressed in a long red tabard with a black chevron approaches you - an almost gleeful smile upon his face. "Come on everyone. Don't be shy. Tonight you can feast like the Duchess, with her compliments!" He hands you each a rather hard and large bread bowl and motions for you to dig in.
Event 5: As you walk down the street, you come upon a tavern. A sign hangs above the door featuring a picture of a crow sitting in a metal bowl. The words "The Crow and Bowl" are inscribed upon the sign. It's doors are propped open and it seems that they have carried the bar out into the middle of the street along with several large casks. Several tables are littered around with a large number of patrons. You can hear music from a small band that is playing and dancing on a makeshift wooden stage up against the tavern building. A crew of no less than 6 barmaids race from table to table in a futile attempt to keep flagons full. A grizzled late middle aged man stands behind the bar. His white hair is cut short and his face is clean shaven. As you walk past, somewhere in the middle of taking a million different orders, he yells at you. "What'll it be?" He says in a thick accent.
Bartender has a thick Verdish (Irish) accent. Many of the patrons also speak with this accent. Secretly, this is a base of sorts for the Verdish Galloglaich - a unit of soldiers from Verdun that were displaced by the destruction. At one point - depending on how long the party stays here, the patrons may toast the Colonel. Some of the Gallogliach will challenge party members to a drinking contest here in order to bring party members into captivity. Try to isolate party members first.
Event 6: There is a long stretch of street here, and a large number of people are gathered and milling around. There are several stumps that have been hauled out into the street and upon them rest a half-barrel filled with water. Several apples float upon the surface of the water. You watch as a young half-elf plunges her head into the water in a straining effort to pick up the apple with her teeth. She keeps her face beneath the water for a few seconds and then finally catches the apple in her mouth by pushing it up against the side of the barrel. Several members of the crowd laugh at her, and others clap excitedly. She begins to towel off rather hurriedly, as it is rather cold out, finally she replaces her mask on her head. You see a gnome finish peeling an apple. He's cut the apple so that the entire peel is still connected, and he throws it on the ground and studies it intently for a moment. "Well," he says to you "what letter do you think it looks like?"
Event 7: "Come one, come all!" Says a peddler. "Getcha a nice souvenir from the city for the Stranger's Masquerade!" His stall looks something like a cross between a wheel barrow and a desk. He has a number of trinkets about including tiny figurines of various castles in town, and a few pretty baubles. His inventory also includes an impressive collection of masks. The masks range in quality from the downright terrible up to some rather respectable costume jewelry. The better masks feature rather expensive looking paints - whites, blacks, reds, greens, blues, and yellows. Some of the masks feature feathers or beads - one or two seem to have fake but tasteful gemstones - and others come with hats.
Event 8: Some sort of carnival folk have captured this street corner. A number of people - many of them gnomes and halflings - mill among green felt tables. In the center of the area a very tall elf wearing a tricorn hat calls out for anyone who wants to spin the wheel and place a bet. "Good evenin' ladies and germs! Step right up and take lady luck for a spin! 19 to 1 odds if you can pick the number!"
Event 9: A large number of children and a few adults are gathered around a small puppet stage. You can see two very rudimentary looking puppets that seem to be having a rather high pitched argument with each other. (puppets are sock puppets)
Dragon: "I am a dragon, and I am going to kill everyone here unless I get what I want."
Knight: "What do you want dragon?"
Dragon: "I demand a virgin be sacrificed to me and then I'll go away!"
Knight: "A virgin? You're not going to find any of those around here."
Dragon: "Then I'm going to burn the whole village to the ground?"
Knight: "Well, I'm a knight! And I'm going to kill you with this sword!"
Dragon: "Oh no!"
Knight: "Die Dragon!" <attack dragon with ink pen>
RARAARARARARARARARARRARARR!
Event 10: You press through the city streets which are abuzz and teeming with activity. Some people press in a little too closely and you have to push them back, you check your bags - everything is still in its proper place. Make a spot check
DC 20 spot check reveals that the party is being followed - read the following -
You suddenly notice a very shiny silver mask from the corner of your eye. The person wearing it wears a luxurious looking dark blue cloak. You think back a few minutes, and realize that you've seen this mask and cloak combination before... about fifteen minutes ago in another area of the city. You suddenly have the distinct feeling that you are being followed.
DC 20 bluff check for cloaked person to not notice that he has been noticed. If unsuccessful at all, read this:
The masked individual notices your gaze back in their direction. They suddenly inhale sharply, turn, and begin sprinting away at break neck speed - pushing through the crowd and vaulting over carts.
Chase scene:
To follow your quarry you're going to need to push through the crowd as well: DC 10 Dex Check
The masked person vaults into a large hay wagon that blocks the street. And quickly clambers to the other side. DC 20 Tumble check to follow him successfully.
He quickly skitters up a drain pipe while trying to escape from you. He pulls himself up onto the roof and begins to run away. DC 15 climb check to follow him.
He continues along the roof-road until he reaches a stable that caps off the end of the street. He leaps onto a bareback horse to make good his escape. DC 15 Jump check to get onto another (there are only 2 others) horse.
He doesn't seem to be riding very well. It might be possible to leap onto the back of his horse, or at least cut him off. What do you want to do?
DC 20 Jump to get from this horse to the masked man's horse
or
DC 15 Handle Animal Check to cut him off.
If the last roll fails masked man escapes. If roll succeeds, caught man is very scared and explains that it's a holiday tradition to sort of stalk people. As a prize for catching him, the man gives his captor a jeweled dagger (worth 500 gp) in exchange for letting him go. Name: Donovan Calahan of the Koldern Calahans, very rich and snotty sounding.
Event 11: As you walk past the timbered houses of the city you notice that several of the residents have laid out a carved melon or gourd with a face similar to some of the masks that you have seen. Some of the gourds and melons actually have masks strapped to the front and are illuminated by candle-light.
You walk up to one such house and notice as a band of about fifteen young men -some carrying torches - knock on the door of a house. They regale the house's residents for something that they call fig pudding. The door opens and the owner claims to not have any figgy pudding, but instead offers the teenagers several small loaves of bread. The band seems unimpressed, but they accept the handout grudgingly and continue down the street.
As you look further down the street, you can see several similar houses decorated similarly. A couple of them appear to have been vandalized. Rotten vegetables, and animal excrement have been left on the porch of one house in particular. Across the door, the word "trick" is scrawled in chalk.
Event 12: A section of the street seems to have been cordoned off by barricades. Within the barricade a large playing field has been erected, and about fifty shirtless men, dwarves and elves chase after a leather rolling leather ball that is about 2 and a half feet around. Some of the men wear jury-rigged helmets, others are completely naked - which strikes you as strange since it is the middle of winter. They shove and brawl with each other vying to get the ball to one of two marked goal posts. If the ball goes one way, they dive with great exertion to recapture it for their team. You watch as a dwarf tries to use his low center of gravity to deflect a man running with the ball. He is successful in this, but is also knocked flat on his back as the man bowls into him. He is knocked back and his head snaps back and hits the cobble stones hard as a spatter of blood sprinkles along the pavement. The dwarf seems to be unconcious, but play continues while some people watching from the sideline sprint onto the field and carry the dwarf off very hurriedly. The dwarf groans as he is carried away, but seems to have just had the wind knocked out of him.
You hear a guard jape to his partner standing nearby, "Thank the gods that this is legal only one week out of the year."
Event 13: A band of little boys wearing crude masks run up to each of you and press a box into each of your hands. They loudly shout "What's in the box!" before running back into the crowd.
% dice:
1-10: A silver piece
11-20: Two copper pieces
21-30: An apple
31-40: A small wooden toy soldier
41-50: A spider
51-60: A small loaf of bread
61-70: A tiny vial containing an oil that smells strongly of mint.
71-80: A soiled baby diaper
81-90: A gold piece
91-95: A platinum piece
96-99: A ruby worth 1000 gold pieces
100: A hat of disguise
Event 14: Everything in the perpetually living crowd seems calm. It moves ever forward to its next destination when suddenly you hear a shout. A great plume of flame suddenly erupts over the crowd as you walk past a long covered wagon. You can feel the warmth on your skin as the plume slowly disappears. You look for its source, but as you look about the cover of the wagon is suddenly ripped back - revealing a makeshift stage. Two people stand on the stage, and a third - a gnome clambers up the back of the wagon to humorous effect. The person in the center - a lady elf sends sparks of the end of her fingers onto the end of a baton which kindles into flame, she repeats the process several times in a showy manner. "Ladies and gentlemen," she says in a loud alto voice, "please enjoy this show for your evening entertainment!" She hurls one of her three flaming batons high into the air - holding the other two in one hand. Just before the first begins to descend back to her, she throws another into the air ang begins to juggle the batons very quickly while dancing and swinging her legs in a very complicated acrobatic dance. The crowd erupts into applause which is followed by a series of oohs and ahhs!
Event 15: A man dressed in chainmail runs up to you - huffing and puffing. "Here, take this!" he says excitedly. "Find a guard and give this to him!" The man presses an envelope into your hands. "Don't look at it, don't show it to anyone but a guard! Okay, quickly now, I have to hurry back to the captain!"
The party will be sent to several guards. The first of which will take the situation seriously. As time goes on, guards will take it progressively less seriously until one finally reveals the contents of the letter - which reads "Send the fool further."
Event 16: A very large wooden scaffold has been made into a stage here. A very large crowd gathers around it. A man yells out the results of a contest that he refers to as the most beautiful mask contest. It seems that the winner is wearing a very gaudy golden mask encrusted with onyx, and sapphires
Okay, now that we're through that, here's where the Verdun City Guard come in. These guards have prepared a series of gambits with which to capture members of the party. Remember, none of these gambits have to be successful necessarily - they just have to put the party on a collision course with the Verdun remnant so that they can be sent off on their next quest. (Basically to stop the wedding of a conspirator which would solidify an alliance for the bad guys). The plan for these gambits are to be covert - no one is *supposed* to die, but the remnant feels that their backs are against the wall, so they're going to resort to a few desperate measures (like using children to draw the party out). These notes are compiled similarly to the events from the masquerade. Here are the gambits that I have prepared presently to catch the party. Again, if you have any ideas to add to these gambits, please feel free to make suggestions:
There are a few gambits that the guards are going to use to attempt to capture various party members. At each Event, roll a percentile dice. On a roll of 35%, an attempt to capture a party member will be made if possible.
Gambit 1: A young boy will call out the name of one of the party members, and proceed to run away. If that member pursues alone, then the guard will attempt to confront that party member en masse once the party member is separated from the other PCs.
Gambit 2: A young girl will ask one of the party members if they know where her mother is. She will then wonder off - hoping for that party member to follow. If alone, the guard will confront that party member en masse.
Gambit 3: One of the guard members is a bard named Kale Wildsong. He's a sixth level bard and will avoid combat, but will attempt to set up an impromptu show with his mandolin.
DC 17 will save to resist being fascinated, and another DC 17 will save to resist a suggestion to meet later alone at a specified place to meet the artist, get autographs and hang out.
Upon meeting with that party member, they are confronted by the guards en masse.
Gambit 4: Five g members with the run feat an potions of haste will attack one of the party members with arrows of sleep with a DC 13 will save to avoid falling asleep. Arrows do non-lethal damage. They will try to place themselves on a roof to avoid be caught.
Gambit 5: Read the following situation to the party:
"You see a small blue and yellow tent-pavillion with open flaps. Outside of it hangs a sign with an open hand. Within the hand is an eye. Outside of it a woman dressed in flashy blue and white robes promises to tell someone their fortune if they are interested."
The fortune teller will take only one character into the pavillion on the grounds that the "spirits are shy tonight!"
Once isolated in the pavillion with the flap closed, the fortune teller will produce a crystal ball (Crystal Hypnosis Ball DC 19 will to resist suggestion). The fortune teller will make a few descriptive remarks about the character attempting to get the player on their side, and then ask the character to look deep, deep into her crystal ball. On failure, the character will receive a suggestion to meet at a secluded place in order to achieve the object of their greatest desire. Once at this secluded place, the party member will be ambushed en masse by the remnant.
Gambit 6: Several of the soldiers will challenge one of the party members to a drinking contest. If they are able to drink one of the party members to unconsciousness they will take him to a holding cell.
If any of the party is captured successfully they will be asked the following questions (again suggestions welcome):
- What is your connection to the Duchy of Longinus? (A Duchy connected in some way to the BBEG)
- Why did you kill Colonel Ironarm? (Trying to trick party members into confessing the crime).
- What do you know about the destruction of Verdun?
-Did you have anything to do with the destruction of Verdun?
- Where are Conrad Lambert and Barendt Rundheim? (two former party members that disappeared)
It's not especially hard to convince the remnant that the party is innocent. After this happens, the Bard Kale Wildsong will beg them to do anything that they can to stop the wedding which would solidify an alliance for the bad guys.
Let me apologize beforehand, because after putting this post together, I realize that it's a little disorganized.
Let me start by giving you some background:
About two months ago (game time) the party went deep beneath the world's surface into an ancient fallout shelter and discovered what was basically a suitcase nuke - though they didn't know it at the time. (Yes, this is 3.5 D&D) They went to the drop-off point for their newly acquired package and gave it to their contact who turned out to be a very large and very old ancient red dragon. The dragon asked them to deliver the suitcase to the city of Verdun. There are reasons why the dragon doesn't want to deliver this himself, but the biggest part of it is that dragons really like treating lesser races as puppets in my campaign world. He rewards the party for their efforts with magic items all around, and promises more of a reward once they've made their delivery. The party made the delivery to their next contact who is just some random unimportant guy at the moment - and I have no plans for him presently. The party heads back to Koldern (the capital city of my campaign world) and about a week later they start hearing rumors that Verdun was destroyed. There's a lot of background stuff going on, but the Lord Mayor of Verdun and a unit of his city guard were in Koldern when the city was destroyed. The reason that they were in town is because they were trying to solidify an Alliance with the local Duchess who is a fairly powerful arcane caster. The guards were serving as a sort of personal body-guard. So anyway, there's a conspiracy in the Kingdom to consolidate power and fake claims on titles in order to put conspirators in positions of power. The city of Verdun wouldn't accept their demands, so the conspiracy has made them into an example for others that would refuse them. I've been gradually introducing this shadow council group to the campaign world, but they're not quite out in the open yet. Fortunately for them, there's more that they can do to make examples than just blow up a city - they can also assassinate major political figures. Enter the Lord Mayor of Verdun and Colonel Randall Ironarm. These fellows were both assassinated (about a week apart in the last in-game month) with the help of a group of vampires with ties to the shadow council. The party investigated both of these murders and discovered a little about the shadow council, but they also killed the vampire assassins. Hooray for them! The problem here is that the Verdun city guard remnant only knows that the party seemed to show up around the time that both their mayor and their colonel were killed. Hence their suspicion. They're a little leery of the party though because they seem to be powerful adventurers. For this reason, the city guard which is composed of 200 heavy infantry soldiers (mostly level 1 warriors and commoners, but also a level 6 Bard and a couple of other unspecified characters with PC class levels). They want to capture the party and interrogate them. This plot can either succeed or fail, but it will accomplish the same goal - it will put the party in contact with these guys who will then send them off to their next adventure.
The point of this next series of encounters (called The Strangers' Masquerade - Description of the deity Stranger to follow) is three-fold. 1.) I want to give the party a feel for life in an Early Renaissance/Late Middle Ages campaign setting. 2.) Play the part of a setting where the plot to capture the party can unfold. 3.) Open up a chance for role-play in a mostly combat-free and mundane environment. I'm going to run this Masquerade like a dungeon, except I'm going to roll a die to determine what part of the city that they wonder into during the festival. Instead of rooms, I have a series of "Events" that I have arranged. Everything is supposed to take place over the course of about a week during the middle of the winter in a city with a sort of Mediterranean climate... the festival is based vaguely off of the Carnival of Venice with a few other things thrown in. These notes aren't extremely organized, and are meant to be used just by me. That said, if you have ideas for other events, feel free to suggest them.
The Stranger- There is much that is mysterious and unknown in this world. Not everything is certain. The knock at the door could literally be anything. The Abandoned and broken man on the side of the road could be a bandit waiting for another prize. The stranger is the only deity who is always manifested on the prime material plane – or so the legend goes. Very little is known of him or his motivations. To one he may be friendly and to another he may be hostile. This is also the case with his clerics who wander throughout the world aimlessly – or if there is some purpose it is unknown. Some say that the stranger is just a powerful – if eccentric – wizard who is searching for something, but his clerics insist that he is a deity. The only apparently sure way of befriending the stranger or his clerics is to offer them hospitality before the giver is sure whom they are greeting.
Alignment: True Neutral
Symbol: A door (symbolizing that the knock at the door could be anyone or anything – an important doctrine for followers of the stranger).
Domains: Travel, Illusion, Mentalism, Celerity
Basically the deity explores the concept of the unknown. Hence all the masks that people wear at the masquerade.
Event 1: A mob of giggling young men and women stand in the center of an intersection in a large circle. They all wear masks of varying make. Most of them are made from flimsy bits of cloth, but do a good job of hiding everyone's faces. It seems that they are playing a game. Two lines of people are arrayed in a circle around the intersection. You watch as a particularly giggly young lady walks to the center of the circle and the circle of men steps forward. She hiccups and begins to spin in one place fairly rapidly. For a moment she looks like she's ready to vomit, but the dizzy woman then approaches a man on the outside of the circle who she promptly plants a kiss on. All of the unkissed men take a drink of some alcoholic beverage that they have held at their side. They then reverse and begin to repeat the process only with a man spinning, and ladies on the edge of the circle.
Event 2: A masked peddler is hawking a wheelbarrow full of trenchers. He smells bad, but is rather adamant about the character's need for one of his trenchers. This of course on the grounds that they look hungry. He wants a copper for a trencher.
Event 3: A couple are getting married at a small shrine on the side of the street. You realize that because of the occasion it might be possible that they are getting married despite not knowing each other.
Event 4: You see a park of sorts that has been set aside in a makeshift district square here. A number of trees and bushes are scattered about and several street lamps do a decent job of keeping the area lit. Several tables are laid out with a large amount of food. The buffet includes all manner of great delicacies. Breads and alcoholic beverages are clear, but there are also baskets of fruit and vegetables - including Oranges, Apples, Pears, Plums, Melon, carrots, mushrooms, leeks, parsnips, and turnips. Clearly, someone has gone out of their way to make this an excellent feast as another table is filled to the edges with various sweet and savory pies. Another still is filled with sweet morsels and bags of hard honey candy. Yet another table features large platters with honeyed capon chickens, roasted duck, a goose stuffed with garlic, grapes, and a litany of other spices, swan, roast lamb, beef, grilled fish and eel. Around the edge of the square you catch a glimpse of several very large barrels that likely hold ale or mead or some similar beverage. Dozens of people weave between the tables placing bits of food upon their bread bowls
Your approach toward the picnic tables is not unnoticed. A young adolescent dressed in a long red tabard with a black chevron approaches you - an almost gleeful smile upon his face. "Come on everyone. Don't be shy. Tonight you can feast like the Duchess, with her compliments!" He hands you each a rather hard and large bread bowl and motions for you to dig in.
Event 5: As you walk down the street, you come upon a tavern. A sign hangs above the door featuring a picture of a crow sitting in a metal bowl. The words "The Crow and Bowl" are inscribed upon the sign. It's doors are propped open and it seems that they have carried the bar out into the middle of the street along with several large casks. Several tables are littered around with a large number of patrons. You can hear music from a small band that is playing and dancing on a makeshift wooden stage up against the tavern building. A crew of no less than 6 barmaids race from table to table in a futile attempt to keep flagons full. A grizzled late middle aged man stands behind the bar. His white hair is cut short and his face is clean shaven. As you walk past, somewhere in the middle of taking a million different orders, he yells at you. "What'll it be?" He says in a thick accent.
Bartender has a thick Verdish (Irish) accent. Many of the patrons also speak with this accent. Secretly, this is a base of sorts for the Verdish Galloglaich - a unit of soldiers from Verdun that were displaced by the destruction. At one point - depending on how long the party stays here, the patrons may toast the Colonel. Some of the Gallogliach will challenge party members to a drinking contest here in order to bring party members into captivity. Try to isolate party members first.
Event 6: There is a long stretch of street here, and a large number of people are gathered and milling around. There are several stumps that have been hauled out into the street and upon them rest a half-barrel filled with water. Several apples float upon the surface of the water. You watch as a young half-elf plunges her head into the water in a straining effort to pick up the apple with her teeth. She keeps her face beneath the water for a few seconds and then finally catches the apple in her mouth by pushing it up against the side of the barrel. Several members of the crowd laugh at her, and others clap excitedly. She begins to towel off rather hurriedly, as it is rather cold out, finally she replaces her mask on her head. You see a gnome finish peeling an apple. He's cut the apple so that the entire peel is still connected, and he throws it on the ground and studies it intently for a moment. "Well," he says to you "what letter do you think it looks like?"
Event 7: "Come one, come all!" Says a peddler. "Getcha a nice souvenir from the city for the Stranger's Masquerade!" His stall looks something like a cross between a wheel barrow and a desk. He has a number of trinkets about including tiny figurines of various castles in town, and a few pretty baubles. His inventory also includes an impressive collection of masks. The masks range in quality from the downright terrible up to some rather respectable costume jewelry. The better masks feature rather expensive looking paints - whites, blacks, reds, greens, blues, and yellows. Some of the masks feature feathers or beads - one or two seem to have fake but tasteful gemstones - and others come with hats.
Event 8: Some sort of carnival folk have captured this street corner. A number of people - many of them gnomes and halflings - mill among green felt tables. In the center of the area a very tall elf wearing a tricorn hat calls out for anyone who wants to spin the wheel and place a bet. "Good evenin' ladies and germs! Step right up and take lady luck for a spin! 19 to 1 odds if you can pick the number!"
Event 9: A large number of children and a few adults are gathered around a small puppet stage. You can see two very rudimentary looking puppets that seem to be having a rather high pitched argument with each other. (puppets are sock puppets)
Dragon: "I am a dragon, and I am going to kill everyone here unless I get what I want."
Knight: "What do you want dragon?"
Dragon: "I demand a virgin be sacrificed to me and then I'll go away!"
Knight: "A virgin? You're not going to find any of those around here."
Dragon: "Then I'm going to burn the whole village to the ground?"
Knight: "Well, I'm a knight! And I'm going to kill you with this sword!"
Dragon: "Oh no!"
Knight: "Die Dragon!" <attack dragon with ink pen>
RARAARARARARARARARARRARARR!
Event 10: You press through the city streets which are abuzz and teeming with activity. Some people press in a little too closely and you have to push them back, you check your bags - everything is still in its proper place. Make a spot check
DC 20 spot check reveals that the party is being followed - read the following -
You suddenly notice a very shiny silver mask from the corner of your eye. The person wearing it wears a luxurious looking dark blue cloak. You think back a few minutes, and realize that you've seen this mask and cloak combination before... about fifteen minutes ago in another area of the city. You suddenly have the distinct feeling that you are being followed.
DC 20 bluff check for cloaked person to not notice that he has been noticed. If unsuccessful at all, read this:
The masked individual notices your gaze back in their direction. They suddenly inhale sharply, turn, and begin sprinting away at break neck speed - pushing through the crowd and vaulting over carts.
Chase scene:
To follow your quarry you're going to need to push through the crowd as well: DC 10 Dex Check
The masked person vaults into a large hay wagon that blocks the street. And quickly clambers to the other side. DC 20 Tumble check to follow him successfully.
He quickly skitters up a drain pipe while trying to escape from you. He pulls himself up onto the roof and begins to run away. DC 15 climb check to follow him.
He continues along the roof-road until he reaches a stable that caps off the end of the street. He leaps onto a bareback horse to make good his escape. DC 15 Jump check to get onto another (there are only 2 others) horse.
He doesn't seem to be riding very well. It might be possible to leap onto the back of his horse, or at least cut him off. What do you want to do?
DC 20 Jump to get from this horse to the masked man's horse
or
DC 15 Handle Animal Check to cut him off.
If the last roll fails masked man escapes. If roll succeeds, caught man is very scared and explains that it's a holiday tradition to sort of stalk people. As a prize for catching him, the man gives his captor a jeweled dagger (worth 500 gp) in exchange for letting him go. Name: Donovan Calahan of the Koldern Calahans, very rich and snotty sounding.
Event 11: As you walk past the timbered houses of the city you notice that several of the residents have laid out a carved melon or gourd with a face similar to some of the masks that you have seen. Some of the gourds and melons actually have masks strapped to the front and are illuminated by candle-light.
You walk up to one such house and notice as a band of about fifteen young men -some carrying torches - knock on the door of a house. They regale the house's residents for something that they call fig pudding. The door opens and the owner claims to not have any figgy pudding, but instead offers the teenagers several small loaves of bread. The band seems unimpressed, but they accept the handout grudgingly and continue down the street.
As you look further down the street, you can see several similar houses decorated similarly. A couple of them appear to have been vandalized. Rotten vegetables, and animal excrement have been left on the porch of one house in particular. Across the door, the word "trick" is scrawled in chalk.
Event 12: A section of the street seems to have been cordoned off by barricades. Within the barricade a large playing field has been erected, and about fifty shirtless men, dwarves and elves chase after a leather rolling leather ball that is about 2 and a half feet around. Some of the men wear jury-rigged helmets, others are completely naked - which strikes you as strange since it is the middle of winter. They shove and brawl with each other vying to get the ball to one of two marked goal posts. If the ball goes one way, they dive with great exertion to recapture it for their team. You watch as a dwarf tries to use his low center of gravity to deflect a man running with the ball. He is successful in this, but is also knocked flat on his back as the man bowls into him. He is knocked back and his head snaps back and hits the cobble stones hard as a spatter of blood sprinkles along the pavement. The dwarf seems to be unconcious, but play continues while some people watching from the sideline sprint onto the field and carry the dwarf off very hurriedly. The dwarf groans as he is carried away, but seems to have just had the wind knocked out of him.
You hear a guard jape to his partner standing nearby, "Thank the gods that this is legal only one week out of the year."
Event 13: A band of little boys wearing crude masks run up to each of you and press a box into each of your hands. They loudly shout "What's in the box!" before running back into the crowd.
% dice:
1-10: A silver piece
11-20: Two copper pieces
21-30: An apple
31-40: A small wooden toy soldier
41-50: A spider
51-60: A small loaf of bread
61-70: A tiny vial containing an oil that smells strongly of mint.
71-80: A soiled baby diaper
81-90: A gold piece
91-95: A platinum piece
96-99: A ruby worth 1000 gold pieces
100: A hat of disguise
Event 14: Everything in the perpetually living crowd seems calm. It moves ever forward to its next destination when suddenly you hear a shout. A great plume of flame suddenly erupts over the crowd as you walk past a long covered wagon. You can feel the warmth on your skin as the plume slowly disappears. You look for its source, but as you look about the cover of the wagon is suddenly ripped back - revealing a makeshift stage. Two people stand on the stage, and a third - a gnome clambers up the back of the wagon to humorous effect. The person in the center - a lady elf sends sparks of the end of her fingers onto the end of a baton which kindles into flame, she repeats the process several times in a showy manner. "Ladies and gentlemen," she says in a loud alto voice, "please enjoy this show for your evening entertainment!" She hurls one of her three flaming batons high into the air - holding the other two in one hand. Just before the first begins to descend back to her, she throws another into the air ang begins to juggle the batons very quickly while dancing and swinging her legs in a very complicated acrobatic dance. The crowd erupts into applause which is followed by a series of oohs and ahhs!
Event 15: A man dressed in chainmail runs up to you - huffing and puffing. "Here, take this!" he says excitedly. "Find a guard and give this to him!" The man presses an envelope into your hands. "Don't look at it, don't show it to anyone but a guard! Okay, quickly now, I have to hurry back to the captain!"
The party will be sent to several guards. The first of which will take the situation seriously. As time goes on, guards will take it progressively less seriously until one finally reveals the contents of the letter - which reads "Send the fool further."
Event 16: A very large wooden scaffold has been made into a stage here. A very large crowd gathers around it. A man yells out the results of a contest that he refers to as the most beautiful mask contest. It seems that the winner is wearing a very gaudy golden mask encrusted with onyx, and sapphires
Okay, now that we're through that, here's where the Verdun City Guard come in. These guards have prepared a series of gambits with which to capture members of the party. Remember, none of these gambits have to be successful necessarily - they just have to put the party on a collision course with the Verdun remnant so that they can be sent off on their next quest. (Basically to stop the wedding of a conspirator which would solidify an alliance for the bad guys). The plan for these gambits are to be covert - no one is *supposed* to die, but the remnant feels that their backs are against the wall, so they're going to resort to a few desperate measures (like using children to draw the party out). These notes are compiled similarly to the events from the masquerade. Here are the gambits that I have prepared presently to catch the party. Again, if you have any ideas to add to these gambits, please feel free to make suggestions:
There are a few gambits that the guards are going to use to attempt to capture various party members. At each Event, roll a percentile dice. On a roll of 35%, an attempt to capture a party member will be made if possible.
Gambit 1: A young boy will call out the name of one of the party members, and proceed to run away. If that member pursues alone, then the guard will attempt to confront that party member en masse once the party member is separated from the other PCs.
Gambit 2: A young girl will ask one of the party members if they know where her mother is. She will then wonder off - hoping for that party member to follow. If alone, the guard will confront that party member en masse.
Gambit 3: One of the guard members is a bard named Kale Wildsong. He's a sixth level bard and will avoid combat, but will attempt to set up an impromptu show with his mandolin.
DC 17 will save to resist being fascinated, and another DC 17 will save to resist a suggestion to meet later alone at a specified place to meet the artist, get autographs and hang out.
Upon meeting with that party member, they are confronted by the guards en masse.
Gambit 4: Five g members with the run feat an potions of haste will attack one of the party members with arrows of sleep with a DC 13 will save to avoid falling asleep. Arrows do non-lethal damage. They will try to place themselves on a roof to avoid be caught.
Gambit 5: Read the following situation to the party:
"You see a small blue and yellow tent-pavillion with open flaps. Outside of it hangs a sign with an open hand. Within the hand is an eye. Outside of it a woman dressed in flashy blue and white robes promises to tell someone their fortune if they are interested."
The fortune teller will take only one character into the pavillion on the grounds that the "spirits are shy tonight!"
Once isolated in the pavillion with the flap closed, the fortune teller will produce a crystal ball (Crystal Hypnosis Ball DC 19 will to resist suggestion). The fortune teller will make a few descriptive remarks about the character attempting to get the player on their side, and then ask the character to look deep, deep into her crystal ball. On failure, the character will receive a suggestion to meet at a secluded place in order to achieve the object of their greatest desire. Once at this secluded place, the party member will be ambushed en masse by the remnant.
Gambit 6: Several of the soldiers will challenge one of the party members to a drinking contest. If they are able to drink one of the party members to unconsciousness they will take him to a holding cell.
If any of the party is captured successfully they will be asked the following questions (again suggestions welcome):
- What is your connection to the Duchy of Longinus? (A Duchy connected in some way to the BBEG)
- Why did you kill Colonel Ironarm? (Trying to trick party members into confessing the crime).
- What do you know about the destruction of Verdun?
-Did you have anything to do with the destruction of Verdun?
- Where are Conrad Lambert and Barendt Rundheim? (two former party members that disappeared)
It's not especially hard to convince the remnant that the party is innocent. After this happens, the Bard Kale Wildsong will beg them to do anything that they can to stop the wedding which would solidify an alliance for the bad guys.