Imaculata
Hero
Here's an example of how I prepare a side quest for my players:
Side quests – Buried at Sea
An ex-communicated monk of the church of Saint-Germain, called Brother Augustine , approaches the party with an unusual request. He tells them how the church has hidden away priceless documents of Saint-Germain’s voyage, never to look upon them because they are considered holy relics. He wants them to retrieve the documents, so that Saint-Germain’s ship wreck may be found, and his body finally be put to rest.
Brother Augustine was thrown out of the church when he was found reading the sacred texts of Saint-Germain, but he believes the priest’s piety does not serve Saint-Germain himself. He believes Saint-Germain’s ship must be found, and his fate must become known. Brother Augustine is a good guy, but not always very honest. His interest in Saint-Germaine is sincere, but not informing the party about the other interested party is not quite so sincere.
The party will need Brother Augustine to translate the text. There are however others after the sacred text. The Brotherhood of the Chalice are after the holy text, and have pressured Brother Augustine into a deal to retrieve it for them. The Brotherhood are a violent secret group that serve the glory of the church by whatever means. They believe Saint-Germain to be a heretic, who falsely claimed to be divinely inspired, and thus his words must be destroyed. The Knights are all lawful good paladins, but quite fanatical.
Breaking and entering
Brother Augustine informs the players that the church of Saint-Germain has a hidden vault down below the building, which is accessed via a secret door. There’s a tiny switch hidden in the pulpit, that gives access to this secret area. He also informs the players that the Holy book of Germain is suspended above the ciborium, and can only be reached by climbing up to the rafters, via one of the doors in the aisles. The key to the doors of the cathedral are usually located underneath the altar.
What the players do not know, is that the catacombs underneath the church of Saint Germain are infested with undead. Players can collect holy water from the font to arm themselves against these foes.
The staff
Father Pauly usually watches the church during the day, and welcomes visitors. He carries a duplicate key to the church and all its doors. In his private chamber is also a key to the vault underneath the church. Brother Henri tends the candles and the garden throughout the day. He has a bit of a love for wine, and sometimes drinks too much when no one is looking. Brother Henri has a diary in which he writes of the mysterious disappearance of Brother Marius Reverdy.
“One night, I could see them hastily carrying Brother Reverdy outside, his hand all smoking and twisted. He was in great pain, but Father Pauly told me to go back inside. That was the last I ever saw of Brother Reverdy.”
Brother Marino watches the church at night. Around midnight a servant girl brings fruit and bread to the backdoor of the church, usually on Fridays. But what nobody knows is that Brother Marino uses this moment of opportunity to break his vow of celibacy, and pays the girl well for it.
The catacombs (dungeon)
Beneath the church are the catacombs, and remnants of a much older church. Something is causing the dead to rise underneath the church, but it is a well kept secret. The vault hides a corrupted artifact of Hydra, but locking it away could not lock away it’s corruptive powers. When one of the monks, Brother Reverdy, tried to move the artifact, he touched it by accident, and it corrupted him. Father Pauly was forced to kill him, and buried him in an unmarked grave behind the church. The players can meet the ghost of Brother Reverdy at night behind the church. Destroying the artifact sets the spirit of the monk free.
The catacombs underneath the church are covered in coral. Any injuries on top of the coral infect a character with Coral Scratch (Fort DC 12, 1d4 hour incubation, 1d3 Dex damage). Special incense keeps the undead from wandering into certain areas. They avoid any area blessed with the incense. A cursed hydra tree also grows from the vault, and touching it causes corruption.
Rewards upon completion:
1000xp (+300xp for destroying the artifact and +100xp for liberating the monk), 1d100sp in art objects, 1d100gp in religious artifacts, and randomly 1d8:
1: Random magic wand, 2: Random magic ring, 3: Random magic armor, 4: Random level 2 or 3 magic scroll, 5: A strange blue crystal, 6: A Nether Compass, 7: Masterwork rapier, 8: Statue of Saint-Anna (+500xp upon returning this item to Saint-Anna’s church, it was lost during a nightly fire and raid).
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