This is a good initial party get together, that works well for an initial or first time adventure. Someone needs to be a thief, best if he is just starting out. Since this is used as a characters initial adventure it tends to steer and have more of a fixed story line than many scenarios. (p.s. I avoiding typing he/she in many places, not because I don't want to be PC, but rather I think it reads easier.)
Note: Some GM only notes are included at points in [ ]'s, frequently it bits of text that may be read directly to the player(s).
GENERAL BACKGROUND (optionally read to player(s)):
Years ago in the small village of Dillow, a hobbit named Pilar (pronounced Pee-lar) retired from adventuring and opened up a small inn, "The Home of the Happy Hobbit", a two- or three-storey structure with basic kitchen & dining services, a bar, and a few private rooms to rent. While some suspect Pilar used to be an adventuring thief, he denies it and uses colourful metaphors and ambiguous language to describe his previous experiences.
"Oooo, if I only had a gold piece for every time I've been misunderstood/misquoted/misplaced/misjudged/misbegotten/ misinterpreted/misguided/missing-in-action/miserable......."
In general he is fair with his customers and is more interested in a relaxing livelihood, than squeezing his patrons for a few extra coppers.
The inn itself was nondescript for awhile, but soon began to make a name for itself. They have the ability to serve ice cold drinks even on the hottest of summer days. You can also get cheese, milk, and fruit out of season; things you can't even get at the inns in the larger cities. Pilar is the only one who knows the secret and he has yet to tell anyone. His part time helpers are mostly members of his extended family/clan.
GM PLOT TOUR and OVERVIEW:
Dillow has a small garrison, <30 guards, who patrol the countryside in an effort to keep order and monsters in their place. Usually there are no more than 5 to 10 guards in town. The captain of the guard is a human named Wooten.
The main player character is the thief. The thief's tutor, Pilar the hobbit and innkeeper, is murdered and the PC is accused of the crime. Unknown to any of the players, Pilar has a basement that leads to some cooled caves. He recently stumbled on a new fissure that eventually led to an ancient finished dungeon corridor. The corridor eventually dead ended at a cave in. There was also a room that looked either unfinished or caved in, but Pilar discovered that the rubble appeared to be silver ore. Knowing little about mining, but knowing from his adventuring days that many dwarves have knowledge of mining, he has been on the look out for a dwarf, or more precisely a miner. He has tried extracting some of the ore himself, but created a small cave in that almost buried him.
Pilar's actions were noticed by an unknown adversary (possibly an innkeeper from a nearby city who wanted Pilar's secret of cold drink) who sent a FAIR half-orc assassin (named Ugluk) to Dillow under the guise of a miner named Draggard. Draggard showed up in town and having been briefed on some very basic mining terms, was able to convince Pilar that he could help him. Pilar swore him to secrecy, got him to sign some form of a contract, and then took him to his secret cave. The hobbit explained how he had taken a small bit out, found it to be silver ore of decent quality and had been unsuccessful in extracting any large quantity. As the conversation progressed it started to become evident that Draggard didn't know mining from a hole-in-the-ground (so to speak). As Pilar was just starting to get suspicious, Daggard took the ice dagger he had broken off in the ice cave and killed Pilar with a vicious back stab.
What Daggard did NOT know, was that the door to this dead-end dungeon room had a hidden catch that left it locked from the inside. The catch is in the door frame right at floor level. Pilar found it, when he was in a similar situation as the door frame by the catch was slightly worn. Daggard is trapped, scared, and foreseeing himself starving to death, although he thinks that someone will find the way down here sometime today or tomorrow. As he waits he thinks of a plan.
CHARACTERS, WITH POSSIBLE STARTING LOCATIONS
BACKGROUND for thief player (optionally read to all players): [ This character may have grown up in or around Dillow. There are many farms and large woodlands in the surrounding countryside. ]
Pilar, the local innkeeper, is by far the most colourful individual in the village. You have always been fascinated by his stories of adventuring. His stories of adventuring have always fuelled your imagination. Going into deep dark dungeons, fighting evil monsters, and finding precious and magical gems seem almost dreamlike compared to this sleepy little town. Over the years you have found yourself helping out at the inn and fancy yourself to be a protege of Pilar's. He has shown you several "tricks of the trade" including how to pick simple locks ("I've only done this when the owner forgot his key or if I was curious as to what was inside", insists Pilar), how to sneak about quietly in shadows, and even how to scale a wall.
[ Make up an specific tales you feel will appeal to the character, sometimes explaining why a "thief" is not a bad thing to be. ]
THE STORY (as presented to the thief character):
It is a slow time in Dillow. Pilar's inn has no boarders. [ possible exception is to have one of the PCs to be the only boarder ]
Recently, however, Pilar has been noticed to be rather excited about something. He has been seen around town asking people if they know any dwarves.
[ Specific individuals may have even been asked if they know anything about mining. If someone investigates enough they may be able to learn that Pilar has recently purchased some mining equipment (shovels etc.) ]
You wander into town and immediately notice that the inn is still dark and closed. Usually Pilar is open by now, serving the occasional breakfast. There are no lights on inside.
[ If at this point the character asks around he MAY find out that yesterday Pilar was seen talking with an ugly stranger. ]
[ If one of the players characters was staying at the inn, they found themselves locked out last night and had to go stay in a farmers barn. They plan on coming back into town later to have a word with Pilar, but that is later. ]
[ Hopefully the character will now be asked to do some roleplaying and try to enter the inn. ]
[ If checked, the door and windows are locked]
Your curiosity is aroused and since Pilar has shown you several times how to pick the lock, it only takes you a moment to open the door (after all you help out here, you're practically an employee!).
Inside, all is quiet, too quiet. You look around, it doesn't look like Pilar finished cleaning up last night. There are a few tables that haven't been cleared. There is no fire in the fireplace either. You notice that the kitchen door behind the bar is open, which is very unusual.
[ There is nothing else out of place, perhaps some unwashed glasses on the bar. ]
As you enter the kitchen you notice that the door to the basement stairs (under the stairs that lead upstairs) is also open.
[ If the character proceeds. ]
You slowly descend the stairs into the darkness. The creak of the stairs sound especially loud in the eerie silence.
[ There is a lantern hanging at the bottom of the stairs if needed. ]
You find yourself in the basement storeroom. Boxes and barrels fill the room, in some places from floor to ceiling. The room is filled with an abundance of odours from the containers. Off in one corner you see some shovels, torches, and rope.
You are about to leave when you feel a chill. You give one more look around and notice some boxes in one corner seem out of place. You look behind those boxes and you see an open trap door with a ladder leading down into a rough hewn passage.
[ Assuming the character continues.... ]
You proceed down the ladder, finding it a bit odd as you realize the rung spacing is intended for someone shorter than yourself [ OK, so I'm assuming the character isn't a hobbit ]
You find yourself in a rough passageway. It seems like it might be a natural fissure, with minimal working to make it wider in a few places. It slopes down slowly. After 50 or 60 feet of rough twisty passage you come to a crude door. On closer inspection, it is really a very heavy curtain.
As you slide the curtain to one side you are met by a very cool blast of air. Inside is a crude chamber with rough walls, a few stalagmites and stalactite, and yet more containers, some cheeses, and kegs of beer. The ceiling and walls are very damp. Looking around, you see in the far corner behind a stalagmite is another crude trap door. This one is at a 45 degree angle between the floor and the wall. The hinges are on the top of the door.
[ If they look carefully they will see a hook mechanism that can hold the door open. ]
Pulling open the trap door, you are met with a freezing cold breeze. A small opening leading steeply down is revealed. You notice a muddy rope has been tied to the stub of a stalagmite and has been fed down the hole. As you start to make your way down you start losing your footing as it gets very slippery [ check Dex ]. You slide down the rest of the way, figuring your total descent to be at least 40 feet. The last 5 feet is a drop off, leaving you on your butt, and a cold one at that. Looking about, you have entered a small underground ice cave. Ice stalagmites and stalactites abound in this 100 foot circular cavern. A small pool is visible on the far side. You can hear the sound of dripping and/or running water. The ice glitters like diamonds.
[ This is what it appears to be, a super cooled cave from an unknown source. There are no diamonds here. An ice toad lives in the pool, which Pilar knows of and now knows to avoid. The to/from destination of the feed stream for the pool is not detailed, nor is the full reason for the ice cave.
The floor is slippery, rough, and uneven. If the floor is examined at the entry point, a path/trail (.) can be found that winds through the cave, avoiding the pool, and leads over to the other opening.
** If the stalagmites along the path are ALL CAREFULLY examined, ** one of the smaller ones can be found to be flattened, having been ** recently broken off. This clue should NOT be given out easily.
]
You see between the stalagmites a passage that leads back, sloping upwards slightly. The going is rough as the floor is slick. The rough passage winds back a little bit and then unexpectedly turns into a finished corridor. The stone work on the walls seems extraordinarily good.....and old. The passage way leads straight back for about 50 feet or so, ending in a cave-in of rubble. Oddly enough, there is a door about 40 feet along the right hand wall.
[ This next part need to be played out carefully. Daggard is trapped inside. He will probably hear if the person makes any kind of noise coming down the corridor or checking the door. The following is only one possible scenario. ]
You carefully open the door. It goes in a little bit and then opens up into a room. You can see what appears to be Pilar lying face down. You take a step into the room and are shoved from behind. You fall to your knees and you are just able to make out someone human sized running out of the room.
[ If the character takes off after Daggard..... ]
As you come out of the room you see the fleeing person is at the end of the hall, going out of sight round the bend. His footsteps echo loudly in the otherwise silent surroundings.
[ At this point you should allow the person to chase, keeping the culprit in sight, but not gaining ground significantly. If the person is able to make the proper dice rolls, you might allow them to grab a foot when going up the slippery chute or the ladder, but then give Daggard a good chance at kicking them off.
After following Daggard closely, as they reach the kitchen/bar area they can see/hear Daggard bursting out of the inn and shouting "Murderer! Murderer!" to the captain of the guard who happens to be in the street in front of the inn with a couple of guards. ]
[ If the character takes their time and looks around the room first... ]
The room is long and narrow. One side ends in a finished wall, the other ends in a caved-in mess of rubble. There is a wheelbarrow full of wet dirt near the rubble. There are no other pieces of mining equipment. Pilar is lying face down, between the wheelbarrow and the door. He is pointed towards the rubble. Upon examination he is found dead from a some sort of stab wound to the back.
[ At this point they will probably leave to find out more. By the time the character gets up to the first floor, he will be met at the door by the Wooten (the captain), two guards, and Daggard.
In either case, something resembling the following ensues.
- Daggard spins a tale which includes the following points - He had a meeting scheduled with Pilar today, about mining - Finding the inn dark, but the front door open he proceeded down the various passage ways, much like the character did - He found you standing over the body and ran back to tell the captain
- As the character raises objections, Daggard tries to dispel them. - Daggard is willing to be searched, even suggesting it if no one brings it up. Furthermore, Daggard suggests searching the inn, passageways, and the room itself for the weapon. The results of such a search reveal NO pointed weapons or tools. There are no spikes or picks among the mining equipment. Searching the final room and rubble reveals no weapon. - If the character happens to have a dagger or pointed weapon, Wooten can examine it and tell that it doesn't have any blood on it, and it doesn't appear to have been used recently and/or doesn't match the stab wound.
As this goes on, part of Daggard's natural personality should come out. He is a half-orc and is very abrasive and ugly to boot. He is also slippery and a stranger in town. Wooten would like to believe the character, but doesn't trust Daggard. If the character is having trouble figuring out the puzzle part, have Wooten ask some leading questions, but do NOT solve it for the character. Have the other characters help if need be. Maybe the contract between Pilar and Daggard can be found. As a last resort maybe someone will notice the broken ice stalagmite along the ice cave path.
The key is the wet dirt in the wheelbarrow. That is where Daggard put the ice dagger after stabbing Pilar. Wooten is willing to take the characters word especially after Daggard gets a scared look in his eye when the key piece of evidence is explained.
Maybe the characters will get a reward. Maybe Daggard will confess and name his employer. Do with it what you will.
If the characters are later allowed to enter dig into the tunnel after the cave-in, what wonders they find is up to you.... ]
The "The Home of the Happy Hobbit" basic map:
Map Key:
| or - : wall
| | : door in horizontal wall
= : small door in vertical wall
|xxx| : heavy/locked door
< > : window
# : rock, or inaccessible
. : path
% : cave-in or rubble
$ : silver ore
V or > : slope in direction indicated
{ : water, pool or stream
S : ice stalagmite and/or stalactite
m : shovels and misc. mining equipment
w : wheelbarrow
P : Pilar's body
Ground Floor:
+-----------------------|xxx|----------------------+
| = =s __| |
| | Kitchen/ =t _ | |
|---raised floor-------| Upper store|a _ | ^
|______________________| |i - |
| B A R ! | |r - | v
|___________________!__|____________|s . | |
| | fire | |
| +-------+ |
| |
^ ^
( various benches, chairs, & tables )
v v
| |
| |
| |
+----| |------------< >---------------< >------+
Upper Floor:
+---< >----------< >-------------------------------+
| | s __| |
| medium = t _ | |
| private | +------------+a _ | ^
| room | |############|i - |
|--------------| |############|r - | v
| cheap | +--------+###|s . | |
| private = | fire |########| |
| room | +--------+--------+ |
|--------------| | | |
^ | = Pilar's = Pilar's ^
large | | Office | Room
v expensive | +-----------+ v
| private | | cheap | |
| room = = private | |
| | | room | |
+----------------< >----------------------< >------+
Lower Level:
############## -|xxx|------------+############################################
############## = = |############################################
############## | Kitchen/ +-||-+############################################
############## | Upper store| _ |######## > ### ######################
############## | | - |###### > #######V## #####################
############## | | - |###### ######### | (cool ##################
############## |____________| . |#+-----+############ room) ##################
############## | fire |###| +-+ X|############ ###################
############## +-------+###| basement |############# ###################
############################| storeroom |################ X ##################
############################|m |#################V###################
############################+-----------+#################V###################
##########################################################V###################
##########################################################V###################
##########################################################V###################
########################################################## ###################
######################################################### ##################
###################################################### .. ###############
############################################ ... S S ##########
##$$$$####################################### S ..... S S #####
#$$$$##------------------+################# S S . S #######
#$$$$$$$% w |############### S . S S S ######
#$$$$%$$ P |############# S ... S . S S ####
$$$$$$$%% |########### S .S ....S S S S ###
##$$$$$$-----+ +--------+############## .. S ######
##$##$#$#####| |######################### .S S S S S #######
----------%%--||--------###############.S.. S (ice cave) S ####
<-UNKNOWN %%% #### > > ..S S S ###
--------%%%-------------## # ############ S {{{ #####
########################## #################### {{{{{{{{ #######
###################################################### {{{{{{{{{{{{{ ########
#######################################################{{{{{(pool){{{{{#######
#########################################################{{{{{{{{{{###########
#########################################################{###{{{{#############
########################################################{######{##############
#######################################################{{#######{{############
#####################################################{{##########{{###########