A drop-in encounter for any town or village. Usable mid-session, mid-campaign, or as a palate cleanser. Lower level parties (level 4 or below) are recommended.
The intent of this encounter is to test the morals of the player characters and help define their growth as heroes (or anti-heroes). Regardless of the outcome, this encounter is going to give a clearer picture of who the characters are, and their role in the world around them.
Check out “Horror at Yishusu Landing”, a horror campaign your players will love:
Someone in this town is watching the party, and they’ve been watching for a while.
His name is Edric Fenn, thirty-two years old and he looks like he hasn’t eaten for weeks. He’s not a criminal by trade: he’s a tanner’s apprentice whose family is currently collateral.
The Hollow Vein, a mid-tier thieves’ guild operating out of the city’s underbelly, took his wife and daughter three weeks ago. The ransom: 500 gold pieces. He has eleven, and the deadline is in six days.
He picked the party because they looked like they could afford it.
The Theft
At some point during the party’s time in town (resting or passing through the market), Edric makes his move on the PC with the loosest coin pouch (the lowest Dexterity). That player makes a DC 13 Perception check.
The PC feels the hand. Edric freezes. Go to The Catch.
The PC loses 10 gp and notices nothing. Edric disappears into the crowd. He tries again the next day against a different PC, same DC. This continues until someone catches him.
He won’t run far because he can’t afford to.
The Catch
Edric doesn’t fight. The moment he knows he’s caught, his shoulders drop and both hands go up. His hands are shaking.
He begs quietly so as not to draw attention.
“Please. I’m not… I know how that sounds. Just give me a moment to explain.”
What the party learns depends on how hard they press.
Give the party enough to move forward regardless of rolls. The checks just determine how quickly the picture forms.
The Decision
Once the party understands what’s happening, they have a choice.
The local watch holds him. Maren and the girl don’t make it, as they are sold by the organization to more nefarious agents (maybe a necromancer who has plans for living flesh).
Edric is back to eleven gold and six (or less) days. Same ending.
If the PCs decide to help, they can do so by fronting the coin (if they can afford to), or by trying to save his family.
The Infiltration
The Hollow Vein’s counting house is guarded, warded, and full of people who do this for a living. Direct assault isn’t an option: the guild has twice the numbers and enough local authority in their pocket that the watch won’t intervene cleanly. The road out of a swordfight here ends badly for everyone. This is clearly a job for patience.
Edric knows the layout. He knows the guard rotation: two at the door, one inside, shift change at midnight. He doesn’t know where Maren and his daughter are being held.
The party’s approach is theirs to design. Suggested skill challenges:
Getting Maren and the girl out quietly is the best outcome the PCs and Edric can hope for. Getting caught means the PCs may need to negotiate (fighting is a fool’s errand, as noted above), and luckily the guild would rather be paid than escalate into violence.
The Aftermath
There’s no loot here (unless the players are foolish enough to try to rob the guild). What there is:
Edric, Maren, and a seven-year-old girl stand in an alley at midnight holding each other lovingly, and very much alive because the party made a call.
Edric survives, and possibly becomes a powerful villain hellbent on revenge against the guild and the PCs.
Edric’s sorrow eventually leads him to make pacts with forces beyond his understanding and becomes enveloped by dark thoughts. Maybe he becomes a necromancer or warlock, with the hopes that one day he can bring back his family.
