[DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

So, how about Mirror of the Fire Demon, huh? Seems like there is some demand for ready to use modules for the GMs.

(WARNING: Obviously, you may not want to look at the stuff in this thread if you do not GM a DF game but play in one instead. TLDR; SPOILERS!)

So, I kind of want to enlist this forum in fully fleshing out some ideas for Dungeon Fantasy adventures - advice and contributions to the adventures would be great.

You can, of course, post any related material (including your own adventures) in this thread.

To start off, here's the beginnings of stuff I'm working on;

Divide and Conquer
A mystery scenario set in an large city.
The PCs must find out who is responsible for the murder of a local woman heavily involved in the trade wars of three merchant families. On the way, they discover a plot to mass-counterfeit gold coins, overseen by a deadly secret society.

The Continuing Crisis
An action packed disaster movie-style scenario.
A town called Requiem, famous for its excellence in magical research and quality production of enchanted items, has suddenly been horribly destroyed by an unknown catastrophe. The PCs have either been hired to rescue survivors, decided to loot the town for thier own gain or they were somehow caught in town when the disaster struck and must escape to safety. Unfortunately, Requiem's ruins have become infested with strange monsters and an entrenched bandit syndicate is hiding out in the ruins while the baron's army stands outside in a bitter standoff with the evil plaguing the town. What was Requiem's dark secret?

Music of the Death Cult
An horror scenario set in the grim, snowy mountains.
The PCs have been hired to help an expedition investigate a manor in a mountain range, where strange and unknown music is coming from. As the PCs survive the strange and disturbing wilderness, they come to find the empty mansion was the headquarters for a hideous death cult. Exploring further, they uncover ancient catacombs leading into the depths of the mountain. But the source of the mysterious music they hear may be the last thing they discover...

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

Our group went on the following adventure:

The PCs are hired by a consortium of elvish wine merchants to sabotage a dwarvish brewery in the nearby mountains. If the local dwarven ale supply runs dry, the elves calculate, demand for elvish wine will go up. As it turns out, the brewery is built inside of a dormant volcano and run by golems and fire elementals (as well as dwarves). Ultimately, the PCs ended up flooding the entire facility with molten lava, releasing it from the machinery that powered the brewery.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

I'm basing my DF campaign on Ye Olde Mythes and Legendes; the first adventure is going to consist of the PCs being tossed into the Labyrinth (the local prison complex) by the Magistrates of Crete. One of the Magistrates will give the PCs their equipment back and promise a pardon if they kill the Minotaur, a great beast that lives at the heart of the Labyrinth. Maybe have them recover some fancy bauble, too. They fight through the Labyrinth, kill the Minotaur - and then **** gets serious. It's going to eventually segue into Mirror of the Fire Demon, but with an ocean taking the place of the desert and old-style gods taking the place of the wizard who owns the mirror of the fire demon.

These two adventures will be the basis of a series of adventures focusing upon the PCs stumbling into a plot to cause a world-wide calamity and then trying to fix it before Armageddon.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

The PCs are to intercept a young noble on his way to marry a princess in a neighboring kingdom. Somewhere on his person, his retinue or his baggage is a letter of credit, from his father the Duke meant to bribe one of the King's Generals. The PCs are to bring the letter to an Ambassador from a 3rd kingdom, who will pay them 1 1/2 times the value on the letter, or kill them and pocket the money. Guess which.

Ideally leaving the Groom to be in condition to be married. This will stall the upcoming war something the Ambassador, Duke and King respectively all want.

However, the general has gotten wind of this and has an army to stop the PCs.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

Here's what I got so far for my adventures;

Divide and Conquer

"If money is, as it is often posited, the root of all evil, then where does that leave greed? Let's do the math: Greed takes up most of your time and most of your money, so therefore greed = time x money. And, as we all know, time = money. Ergo, greed = money x money. So, if money is the square root of all evil, then we are forced to conclude that greed is evil as well, perhaps even more so, in that it forced us to do math.
But when does the desire to simply possess something turn into unchecked greed? That's easy: when the things that you possess start possessing you"
-- Dale E. Basye and Bob Dob, in Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck (2009), "Backword", p. 361

1. Overview
The city of Port Vith is an interesting place. It is a festive and prosperious place, a major trading port and Baron Cadwell's personal home. It is a decadent and uneasy place, filled with violence, crime, grime and intrigue. Many make their home here; farmers, sailors, craftsmen and merchants. Murderers. One of the three major merchant companies, each run by a rich family, is in charge of a brutal secret society of spies, thieves and hitmen. One of the society's leaders, Trey Quipper, has been secretly running a gold mine on the baron's private property and using the illict gold to make counterfeit coins. Recently, however, he has found out that a woman of a rival merchant family, Reina Warsh, managed to discover the approximate location of the gold mine (although she didn't realise what exactly she discovered). Being a pragmatic sort, he took this opportuntity to kill two birds with one stone - he orders his men to murder Reina and try to frame the other rival family for it.
The adventure starts with the PCs arriving in Port Vith, and Reina Warsh having a few hours to live. Once in town, they attract the eyes of the merchant families as potential employees or enemies - perhaps tempting them with payment. Eventually, though, they either find the body of Reina Warsh, or are employed to find her killer. Following the clues, they eventually discover links to the secret gold mine scheme and the involvement of the secret society. Meanwhile, the murder is used by the Quippers to inspire the common people to riot against the Gapu family and the secret society starts to realise what a threat the PCs are. Once the assassins they send are stopped, the PCs must then use the clues they have gathered to locate the secret society's lair and infiltrate it. What happens then will decide the fate of Port Vith.

Sidebar: Key Elements
This adventure relies less on combat to advance then being able to connect the dots. The dots in question are the ARRIVAL IN TOWN, the EMPLOYMENT BY A MERCHANT FAMILY, getting clues during the INVESTIGATION, surviving the RIOTS, dealing with the ASSASSINS and confronting the secret society at their LAIR. An important consideration for the GM is giving the players CLUES about the killer's identity, the secret society, the gold mine scheme and the location of the lair. Be sure that there is ample opportuntity for the PCs to find them and figure out their significance in the bigger picture, allowing them to uncover the killer and the secret society.

Sidebar: Protagonists
Keep in mind that this is a "town adventure". Illegal activity by the PCs could lead to them being arrested or wanted by the city watch. The adventurers may have to use stealth and cleverness, rather than brute force. Also, Druids and other adventurers who specialise in 'wilderness' skills may/will be less useful for this adventure. Although there are guidelines provided for scaling the adventure to greater or lesser threats and rewards, the intended party is three to five characters built on 250 points each, and at least one of the PCs is of an profession suited for urban adventures (see DF 2, page 30) and with only normal starting gear.

Sidebar: Hooks
The adventure generally assumes the party investigates the murder either on their own after discovering the body in person, or having been hired to do so by one of the three merchant families (see below). Alternatively, they may be press-ganged into action if a PC was caught doing something illegal. The party could turn down the offer, the GM should probably be ready to run with it, deciding on what happens due to their inaction. To minimise the possibility of the party's refusal of adventure's call, be sure to appeal to both player and character (offer a nice reward, roleplay the employer as sympathetic and generous, note the disadvantages (i.e. Curious, Charitable, Greed, etc.) the PC has).

Sidebar: Custom Fit
Overhauling Scenery - Changing the city shouldn't be too much trouble, although the merchant families and the secret society may have to change a few details along with it. For example, a clue about the killer's identity is that he left behind traces of pitch used in shipmaking and he works in a habour, so if the city is changed to a non-port, the killer will have to leave behind a different clue about his occupation. Also, note that the chase scene, the discovery of the body and the riots may have to change if your city is very unlike the one detailed here.
Your Own NPCs - The main personalities of the adventure are a murdered woman, a secret society and some merchant families. Making it more personal is simple; a recurring NPC is one of them, although the villain's scheme may change from a secret gold mine for counterfeiting into something else. The secret society may change up their membership, methods and goals.
Major Changes - The PCs are most likely to be better than most of the enemies in this adventure, although thanks to the lethalness of combat, a surprise attack or lucky roll could be dangerous. The real focus should be on the investigation and roleplaying. Shifting that focus is possible. If the party sides with the secret society, they may find themselves carrying out the murder and helping with the counterfeiting scheme, thus making them rely on combat more often and doing morally dubious actions.

Sidebar: PC Abilities and the Adventure
Exceptional Firepower - The enemies in this adventure are generally fairly mundane fighters and thieves, with some wizards mixed in. They'll have appropriate armour and weapons for covert business in the city, although the existence of enchantments can not be ruled out at all. If the party is heavily loaded with gear, keep track of encrumbrance. Also note that the city guards will be watching them as they arrive, so illegal and dangerous equipment may confiscated or restricted (more on that later). Being able to completely plow through any opposition, however, will not be an issue, as the main focus on the adventure is not violence, although scaling up the final confrontation in the lair may be necessary to preserve the drama.
Exceptional Travel - The adventure requires practically no overland travel at all, so teleporting or flight won't matter too much. While such abilities may trivalise some parts of the adventure, such as the chase scene or the riots, those scenes aren't vital to the adventure and keep in mind that enemies may use such abilities themselves.
Exceptional Information - Now here's what could trivalise the entire adventure, at first glance anyways. What if the murder victim is resurrected? What if the secret society's lair and gold mine are scried for? What if the murderer is scried for, or mind-read? The simpliest answer to these questions is that the secret society and merchant families all have magical protection against these spells, with the most valuable stuff (the lair and the gold mine) protected by spells with Endurance/Power-25. GURPS Mysteries also has some insight into how magical solutions to mysteries can be foiled or turned against the investigator (inventive uses of Scryfool, for instance). Of course, perhaps it is better if you just let PCs use their spells and abilities to get clues, although be sure to examine the limits and modifiers related to them very closely before you roll the dice. Also note just using such abilities successfully may not be enough; knowing that a NPC is the murderer because you read his mind once may not help the party find the lair or stop the assassins from attacking them.

Sidebar: Spin-Offs
* Further adventures in or around Port Vith are possible, assuming the adventure goes well. The city would make an excellent 'home base' for more typical dungeon crawling activities.
* The merchant families will be changed by the events of the adventure - the PCs may have won themselves an Ally Group, a Contact Group, a Patron Organsation or an Enemy because of their actions. Getting hired by any of them again could happen. Ditto the secret society.
* The material rewards of the adventure could serve for future plot hooks - a treasure map in the lair, for example.
* And what about the baron himself? Surely such major events in his city would get him involved! What kind of man is the baron, anyway?

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

About The Quipper
Headed by the aging Turril Quipper, this merchant family controls the secret society, although very few members of the society know who are the leaders. Assisted by his brother Davo, his own sons Trey and Wade, and their sons Barlo, Othello and Jimfree. They have many contacts in the city's marketplace, a stranglehold on the waterfront and influence the city's customs and importing/exporting. Right now, they wish to control the baron directly, through the money-lending institutions. Trey's counterfeit coins scheme is lucrative, but very risky. The mine is on the baron's private land, and the coins themselves are less than perfect reporductions due to the family counterfeiter's lack of skill. The family itself is all human, but also employs halflings, half-orcs, gnomes and half-elves in both legitimate and illegimate jobs.

About The Warsh
The youngest legacy of the three, the Warsh family openly dislike the other two factions, maintaining their own fleet in defiance of the Quippers and uncooperative with the Gapu due to striking differences of opinion when it comes to labour relations. Their reputation for secrecy is well deserved, maintaining the family's personal privacy through an growing influence of the local military and an army of mercenaries. Expanding their military might is their immediate goal, as that would allow them to win important trade concessions from foreign powers later on. To this end, they plan on suppressing any public unrest and crime - thus making the baron more comfortable with their use of martial force. Sea elves, dwarves, hobgoblins, dragon-blooded, humans and minotaurs are their employees. The family themselves are all high elves.

About The Gapu
Ever since the tragic death of their leader, the Gapu family have seen their control over Port Vith slip. Now, inter-factional conflicts over leadership positions have cost them precious followers. Despite this, the family still controls the exceptionally rich sides of the city, especially visiting foreigners. The family is all human, with mostly humans on their payroll - although many other races do count themselves as supporters and errand runners.

About Port Vith
The city is accessed two ways; a heavily defended habour on the east side (leading to a large river) and the north-western main gate.
A huge wall surrounds the city, lined with standard anti-seige equipment, guardtowers and regular patrols. The baron's castle is located on the east end of his private land, on a hill overlooking the habour. A large army of soldiers are kept in the city, in case of emergencies. He has an elite guard available for personal missions and as bodyguards. The elite guard all patrol his private land and secure his castle. The city itself is crowded and dirty, with narrow streets and dark alleys. The sewer system has manhole openings on the street level, although they are hazardous to walk around in, for obvious reasons, and it's illegal to do so. The poorer sections of the city look they're crumbling apart, and very shoddily built and repaired. Most buildings are one or two stories high. Water is drawn from public wells or the river. Open squares for public meetings are uncommon and patrolled by guards. Common crimes are often done by street gangs, who meet at night in squalid hidden gambling dens. Depending on how the PCs have interacted with the three merchant families, the rolls involved with certain activities may be penaltised or granted bonuses, at GM's fiat.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

2. Arrival
The PCs start the adventure entering Port Vith through the main gate, with a few guardsmen armed with spears watching out for trouble. Obvious signs of festivities are everywhere; cheers, laughter, street vendors and music. As the party goes through the gate, the guardsman halts them and cautions in a very bored tone that their weapons only be used in self defense and not to engage in illegal activities. At this point, if any PC is a race with Social Stigma (Savage or Monster), roll their "denied access to town" chance. A successful roll means that the guardsman will let the PC through ONLY if he is allowed to search the PC's person and/or luggage. Roll a contest the guardsman's Search versus the PC's Holdout (for his person) or Smuggling (for backpacks and saddlebags) for each possession the PC wishes to hide.
Once the party is inside the city, they find themselves in the middle of a festival. Advancing towards the party, right in the middle of the street, is a joyful parade of priests who, every year, lead a celebratory float from the richest districts down to the habour. Uptop this float is the Lady Doe, a rich merchant of the Gapu faction, waving to the crowd and leading the prayer chants.
Shortly after the PCs notice the float, a member of the Quipper faction begins to make trouble by getting in the way and starting an arguement with the lady's escort. The PCs will easily overhear the squabble - the escort will identify the troublemaker as an agent of the Quipper while the roadblocker will loudly mock the Gapu family as a bunch of self-important attention seekers. The arguement quickly escalates, with the lead escort striking the roadblocker down into the mud and starting a brawl unless the PCs intervene immediately. If they favour one side over the other, that faction will later seek the PCs' help with business. Otherwise, servants of the Warsh family will break up the fight, as seekers of law and order do. The troublemaker is a standard social agent, the Gapu escorts and Warsh peacekeepers are all combat agents (see last section for stats). Asking the other onlookers about this sight will yield information about the factions, albeit info that is incomplete and biased.
When the PCs move on to find a place to sleep, they will find that only one inn has any vacancies. Fortunately, as they arrive they find that an eccentric and generous member of a merchant family (GM decides which one) has announced that, for the next two nights, he will pay for the lodgings and food of any new travellers as a token of his faction's hospitality (which should deduct about $45 from the weekly $150 fee per person).
During the night, one of the PCs (preferably a character focusing on combat skills and with a high ST attribute) will approached by a scarred and arrogant man named Journo. Journo is an agent of the Gapu faction, and will ask that the character help with some errands later - nothing illegal but possibly dangerous. He is an excellent craftsman, with several skills such as Armoury at a skill level of 16 - otherwise, he has the same stats as a standard combat agent. If the PC/s accept his offer, he pays each one a sum of $100 in good faith. A successful Fast-Talk or Merchant roll will bump a single PC's take up to $200. He will get in contact with them at this same inn when they are needed.
Meanwhile, another PC (one who is either a thief, a scout or spending a lot of time outside the inn) is approached by a small group of hooded and cloaked men (all are standard secret society thugs). One quietly offers the PC work, making sure to flatter the PC's intelligence and quickness. Regardless of the PC's reaction (assuming he/she didn't outright attack them), the men will welcome the PC to "think it over" and talk with them tomorrow night, before giving the PC a gift of $550 in coins and quickly flitting away into the shadows. Any attempt to gather information about these men will be met with panicked evasiveness and pleas for an end to such dangerous curiosity. Attacking the hooded men gets the PCs marked as enemies of the secret society. Afetr meeting the hooded men, the secret society will have a few spies assigned to keep watch over the actions of the PCs. Each day and each night, the GM should roll a contest of the group's Observation skill or Per versus the spy's Shadowing-17 skill - the PCs realise they are being followed and observed if they win.

Denouement for the Arrival
The point of these sequences is to introduce the three families and the secret societies, as well as giving them all a reason to interact with the PCs later.

Holes in the Arrival
If the characters do not stay at the inn or accept any job offers, little is lost, although sleeping in the street should require an Urban Survival roll at -3 to avoid either a pickpocketer (roll the PC's Observation skill or Per versus the thief's skill of 11, with a loss meaning a small possession or some coins are stolen), or a fight with a random street bum (stats same as Belligerent Drunk from DF 10, page 5). Making enemies of all the factions should result in less material rewards for successfully solving the murder at best.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

3. The Dead Woman
The following morning at the inn (or as they wake up in the street, if they didn't sleep at the inn), the PCs find a troubled elderly woman is frantically asking around for people to help her. If approached, she explains that she fears her house is haunted, as she frequently hears voices and walking sounds coming from the depths of her house at night. She wants brave adventurers to check her cellar for her and find out what is wrong. The innkeeper will comfort her, and try to convince the PCs that it is the right thing to do for his old friend here. If the PCs refuse, the innkeeper will let the elderly woman stay at his inn until the trobles blow over.
The eldery woman shows the party a trapdoor in her house that leads to the cellar. Inside, the PCs all get an Observation+3 roll to notice signs of recent crate shuffling around the northwest corner of the cellar. Checking that corner specifically, or just making a general Search+1 roll, reveals a hidden tunnel that any character bigger than SM-1 must crawl to get through (PCs bigger than SM+1 may have to make an Escape skill roll, see DF 2 page 8).
Through the tunnel is an abandoned chamber that was once the cellar of a house before it collapsed and buried several people alive. It is completely dark here. Towards the opposite end of the room is a man-sized passageway. With proper lighting, each PC can make an Observation or Per roll to notice a broken and old human bone amongst wreckage at the side of the room and can go through the wreckage (Search-3 roll required) to find a silver ring ($115, 0.15 lbs.), a large knife that supernaturally casts no shadow ($60, 1 lbs.) and a music box ($120, 2 lbs.) in the debris. Attempting to leave the area with the silver ring, however, will result in three skeletons rising from the debris to attack the party (stats as per M152, none have weapons, but will probably achieve surprise).
Once through the dark and long passageway, the party will emerge into another cellar - in this one, the passageway has not been hidden like the first, and a further passageway leads off to the far right. Near the far wall of the cellar are digging tools - shovels, picks, wooden beams and a wheelbarrow. A huge pile of dirt has been moved around to the other side of the cellar. As the party enters, loud noises are heard coming from the trapdoor - someone is coming down.
That someone is a member of the secret society - stats are as per a standard thug. If the party hides from his sight, he grabs a shovel and enters the passageway the party did NOT go through. If defeated and taken prisoner, he can be interrogated. He knows the tunnels are dug so the secret society can infiltrate the homes of their enemies.
Following the next tunnel will bring the party to another cellar - this one is well lit, and two men in hoods are at the center. They are digging up the floor and a large bundled sack lies next to them. If they are not disturbed, they eventually dig a big enough hole to bury the bundle in it, fill it in and move some items over the spot before leaving the cellar. In the bundle is the body of Reina Warsh, see the next section.
If the two men discover the PCs, they will attempt to flee. If captured, they will attempt to convince the characters that the secret society will come after them if they are slain or jailed.

Denouement for The Dead Woman
The point of this section is to discover the body and the involvement of the secret society. Immediately after, they will start finding clues and possibly get hired by a faction, see the next section.

Holes in The Dead Woman
If the PCs refuse to investigate, they may miss out on some treasure and some important clues. The body must be found eventually, and the secret society's involvement is an important discovery as well. They may still investigate the dead woman's house later, though, which should make up for some of the missed clues here. And the GM can simply rule that the dead woman was uncovered by someone else, who reported it to the authorities.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

4. Investigating the Murder
If the party discovers the murdered woman and reports it to the authorities, they are held for questioning and are looked over by a team of wizards who know spells like Truthsayer and Sense Emotions at skill 18. Any PCs with Social Stigma (Savage or Monster) must roll their chance of "being denied access to town" - success on this roll means the city watch press-gang him into helping with the murder case by using a Lesser Geas spell.
If the party has managed to investigate the tunnels, but do not report the body, the city watch will find out when the body is discovered by another person and leap to the top of the suspects list. If they fail to hide from the watch, they are arrested and questioned as above. Successful hiding means the secret society will contact them, offering protection in return for service.
The murdered high elven woman is Reina Warsh, who recently got in a violent arguement with Roland Gapu, a cruel and selfish member of the Gapu family.
Examining the body reveals that red indian burns around her neck - a Diagnosis+4, Garrote+2, IQ or First Aid+1 roll suggests she was strangled from behind with a rope or cord. She has no other injuries on her body, but there's still dried blood on her right cheek and palm.
Looking at her hands specifically, or making a general Search-2 roll, reveals thick clumps of loose red hair are in her clenched hands. Reina is golden haired and Roland's hair is black.
If the PCs are hired or forced to investigate the murder, the first stop the watch or the employer tells them to make is Reina's house. They find it empty of people, but fresh in clues.
There are signs of violence here; a dagger and bloodstains on the floor, broken furniture and torn clothing.
A puddle of brown liquid is also in the room with the bloodstains, at the foot of the stairs. Tasting it reveals that it is wine, and allows a roll against Connoisseur (Wine) to identify the brand as Bellut Estates.
Several containers of jewelry and money have been looted - none of it able to be traced. However, while checking the looted jewelry box in the upstairs bedroom, the PC handling the box gets a roll against Observation-4 to notice a hidden compartment. Checking this reveals a map of the baron's private lands, with a spot marked "X". This is the location of Trey's illict gold mine.
Careful examination of the bloodstains reveal a partly obscured "QU" was been finger painted on the floor with the blood. Small strands of red hair can be found near it.
The dagger is crusted with dried blood.
Near the cellar entrance is a signet ring of the Gapu family - a Heraldry roll identifies it, although a follow-up roll against Forgery reveals it is a fake.
A length of blood-stained hemp rope lies near the trapdoor (rolls against Knot-Tying or Seamanship+1 reveals that it is a rope used primarily on ships). An Observation-2 roll when near the trapdoor reveals that some of the ladder's rungs are coated lightly with a thick black liquid - a roll against Seamanship-4 or Engineer (Gadgets)-2 reveals it is a pitch used to repair and build ships.
Going up the trapdoor in the other cellar connected through the tunnels leads to a deserted house, owned by a leatherworker named Yuri and rented to a man named Daxter. Daxter was a travelling farmhand, a portly and black-haired young man who left the house the day before.
The small house is fairly empty, with little bare furnishings. On a desk is a half-full bottle of brownish wine. While it has no label, the bottle's top has the remains of a wax seal around it. Identifying it as a Bellut Estates brand requires a roll against Heraldry-1 or Connoisseur (Wine).
Bellut Estates brand wine is only sold in a few waterfront inns within Port Vith.
In the desk drawers, a black leather hood can be found - a Search roll reveals a few strands of red hair in the hood.

Denouement for Investigating the Murder
The point of this part is giving the characters clues as why Reina was killed and who did it.
The wine is meant to point towards the secret society's lair. The map is locate the gold mine. The hood is implicate the secret society. The pitch, red hair, bloodstains and rope are to identify the killers. The "QU" is meant to implicate the Quippers. The forged ring is meant to show the Gapu are being framed.
Keep in mind that helping figure out the significance of each clue can be done with the aid of a NPC that a character has convinced to help - roleplaying and influence rolls may be necessary.

Holes in Investigating the Murder
Missing any of these clues could cause the PCs to come to the wrong conclusion. Missing all of them may render the murder unsolvable. Keep in mind that additional clues will become available later in the adventure. It's perfectly okay for the PCs to do an excellent job and use certain resources (information spells, for instance) to zero in the killers and the secret society lair. In fact, this help prevent the upcoming riots and defeat the mastermind of the scheme before significant events happen. Keep in mind how this will affect the future of Port Vith.

Re: [DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread
 

5. Riots
After they have gathered the first batch of clues from the body and crime scene, the party will find the mood in the city streets is becoming hostile towards the Gapu. Several public speakers accuse the family of being responsible for the murder, and the masterminds of the secret society. By the end of the day, they will be impossible to miss, and crowds of commoners will be convinced of their arguements.
Once the party leave for anywhere significant (such as their room at the inn or the place marked on the found map), describe how the trip across the city takes thirty minutes before they come to a market square in the late afternoon (assuming the investigation and cooperation with the authorities will take some time during the late morning).
At this market square, a crowd has gathered to listen to a passionate orator (stats as per standard social agent) giving a speech denouncing the Gapu as parasites and crime lords. A successful roll against Psychology (Humanoid)+3, Propaganda or Public Speaking-1 reveals to a PC that the orator doesn't believe in what he is saying, but is trying to incite a riot.
If the party attempts to shout down the speaker or calm down the crowd, roll the Public Speaking skills of both the orator (base skill 16) and the party's speaker versus the crowd's Will-11. Apply +1 to the orator's roll and -1 to the PC's roll (along with the usual modifiers), due to the audience's predisposition against the Gapu. The side with the larger margin of success wins, but the audience may still be unconvinced if the "victor" failed his roll and got a Bad reaction.
Immediately after this contest, or after a minute if the orator is left to speak, thirty guardsmen on horseback show up and ring around the edges of the market square, ready to break up the crowd.
If the party attacked the orator, the crowd is panicked by the sudden violence and the guardsmen have a riot already in progress when they show up.
If the orator was allowed to incite the crowd (or if the party lost the contest and the orator didn't get a Bad reaction), the guardsmen get to properly surround the crowd and almost declare an order of dispersal before their lead rider is struck with a rock and the riot starts.
If the party wins the contest and gets a Bad reaction, the crowd doesn't riot but the guardsmen have a tough time getting the crowd to disperse and several people have to be arrested on charges of disturbing the peace.
If the party wins the contest and do not get a Bad reaction, the crowd is dispersed peacefully by the guardsmen.
If the riot starts, the party must declare their actions. The party will not be able to cross the line of guardsmen, although they may move to the edge of the crowd. One combat turn after the riot starts, characters at the edge of the crowd can attempt an escape. At this point, make a reaction against each individual PC who isn't a "monster" (see DF3, page 17) - treat this as a "potential combat situation" in terms of possible modifiers. A Good reaction means the PC escapes without being attacked by a guardsmen. "Monster" PCs are attacked automatically.
Keep in mind that all guardsmen start the combat mounted on a horse - see B396. Stats for the guardsmens' horses are as per the Cavalry Horse on B459.
If the party chooses to fight, roll 1d every turn until eight turns have passed or three guardsmen get defeated - on a 1, another guardsmen joins in to attack the party. Once three guardsmen are defeated, it is assumed that the riot managed to wear down the wave's resistance and the party can either escape or stay with the crowd. Staying with the crowd means heavy chance of being branded a leader of the riots by the city watch. Any attempt to control the riot and calm it down is temporary at best.
If the party makes their escape, they find that all businesses nearby have closed up tight and locked. The party, however, spot the orator running down a side street, assuming the party did not kill or knock him out. Not following the orator will result in the party encountering a line of 10 soldiers marching towards the riot. They will not let the characters pass - may a "Confrontation With Authority" reaction roll (Social Engineering page 74) for the party as a whole.
If the party tries to escape by entering a residence, a young half-elven man lets them in as they pound on his door. He lets them hide as the soldiers pass, although the riot outside does not clear for another two hours.
If the party chases after the orator, they follow him into a ruined house and slams the door behind him. The door is barred, but the characters can break it down as per DF2 page 8. Inside the bare and barren structure is a trapdoor leading into a tunneled passage, much like the one the party found the dead body in. Following this passage to the other end leads the party to a ladder leading up to another trapdoor in another ruined house that's on the other side of the city.
If the party pursues the orator quickly enough, they catch in this house, trying to move a heavy chest on top of the trapdoor. He'll resist capture (he's unarmed), and interrogation will be hard without the help of the proper authorities.
The orator is a member of the secret society. He was ordered to stir up trouble for the Gapu by making speeches against them. He does not know who leads the secret society. The lair of the secret society can be accessed through a secret entrance in the Orange Fears Beer Hall near the waterfront. This is the only entrance he knows about, although he is sure there are others. There are normally 20 members present at the meetings. All members are throughly disguised and he has no idea of their identities. There is a meeting tomorrow night. He does not remember enough of the lair's layout to provide a good layout of the place. The identities of Reina's murderers are named "Uther the shipwright" and "Astrof DuPont", who can be found at the Orange Fears Beer Hall.
The orator carries $2000 in coins, his payment for inciting the riot.
The riot will destroy a great deal of property and cause several dozern deaths. Anyone suspected of rioting faces the death penalty.
Across the city, another two riots break out that night, albeit much smaller and shorter ones.

Denouement for Riots
The main point of the Riots is to ramp up the danger to the characters and show an example of what could happen if the PCs fail to solve the murder. The revelations that the captured orator will reveal can be found out later in the adventure, so the party doesn't have to chase him down.

Holes in Riots
Be warned that if the party is caught up in the riot, there is a significant chance of death. If they escape the riots through some other means, let them and be sure to congratulate them on avoiding a nasty fate. It is unlikely that the party will channel the riot in an useful direction. Any PC that tries should be given a hard time of it, and make certain the fact that the mass destruction caused is not worth it. The baron has a well-defended castle, and the soldiers will continue to pour in to suppress the violence. Attacking the crowd will be just as problematic - although perhaps less risky.