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Holiday IronDM
Sharlizze’s Angels (an adventure for PC’s level 8-10)
Ingrdients:
Dwarven bandits
Women’s clothing
Ancient Monk
Naga
Scroll of Miracle
Simulacrum
Synopsis:
This adventure is more of a social/political “who dun it?” than a combat heavy slugfest. The players must find and return a very valuable scroll without embarrassing to locals too badly. A savvy reader will notice several references Charlie’s Angels which can add some lightness if you find the adventure getting heavy handed, or the player’s are getting frustrated. To be successful, a party should have a Rogue or Bard with significant ranks in gather info and bluff, or cleric or paladin with significant ranks in diplomacy. Even a Barbarian with some ranks in intimidate can add value.
Background:
In a low, temperate set of hills somewhere in Greyhawk, an uneasy truce exists between three power centers. A kingdom of hill dwarves, rich in metals, and minerals, a tribe of Orcs, rich in woods, foods, and fresh water, and a Monastary of Monks, who maintains the peace between the two, in order to keep economic and military stability in the area.
For the three daughters of a very wealthy dwarven noble, however, life could not have been more boring. Absinthe, Mythrille, and Ruvee did not find dwarf stomp dancing, or the endless militia drilling interesting in the slightest. And they certainly did not intend to be married off to some overstuffed merchant, insistent on pulling on their side braids lecherously…no-siree!
Instead they endlessly explored the hill’s rocky underground, enjoying the minor secrets therein. Here they encountered Sharlizze, a Guardian Naga sorceress. Shalizze recognized the potential in these bright young dwarvish gals, and helped train them to become an elite group of bandits, running covert missions in the local hillside and underground. Over time the now highly skilled girls (Ab is a L7 Rouge, Myth a L6 Sorceress, and Ru a L6 Bard) took on freelance missions from a few dwarves, travelers, and even civil orcs, if the price was right.
All this is looked upon with great amusement, by Walks with Winter’s Clouds, the Monasteries Ancient Monk, and former leader (Monk 15). Using his Slippers of Airwalk (a custom magic item), he sits on clouds and watches them benevolently. In fact, he has become a de facto supporter of the ladies, going so far as to cover up the girls tracks on some of their earlier, clumsy missions. He regales his brethren with stories of the girl’s misadventures, and this keeps the otherwise cold monastery warm with the Monk’s laughter.
Still, there just wasn’t anything too significant for the young bandits to do! The Naga was too conservative to teach Myth any “real” magic, there were no tough fights against “evil’ to get into, and there was nothing too valuable to steal, really, without being downright nasssty, and at heart the girls were basically good, if headstrong.
And then the miracle happened…well, a scroll of miracle, that is. The young ladies were hired by a quiet, cautious orc to steal a simple scroll from a caravan traveling to the Monastery, and the girls were only too happy to oblige. Oddly, the caravan guards were unusually competent, and they fought with a desperation that gave the girls a funny feeling. When the lovely bandits went to the meet to give the scroll over to the orc and get payment, they found him dead, pierced by no less than a dozen crossbow bolts. Worse still, the Naga is pressuring the girls to give HIM the scroll – he says for their own benefit, but the girls, realizing they are over their head, are not sure who to trust now. Certainly not their father, who is unaware, even, of the girls talents.
In reality this scroll was to be used to perform a Miracle at the Monks temple (you can choose the miracle to suit your campaign), and it’s going missing poses a very serious problem for the Monks. They are putting pressure on Walks with Winter’s Clouds to do whatever it takes to get that scroll back, as they know it HAD to be the dwarf bandits.
Enter the PCs…
Plot Hooks:
1) The party could contain a dwarf, in which case a relation of that characters from the hill clan could appeal to the group for help, saying there has been some hostilities from a local Monastery recently, and no one there can “get their head out of their arse long enough to solve the #$%*@ problem!”
2) The PCs could be hired by a party (in a nearby town) that supplied the scroll of Miracle to retrieve it, and return it to the Monastery.
3) The PCs could be approached by the Orc Tribe, seeking revenge against those that slew the quiet, cautious orc (who was in reality, the Orcish second in command) or at least find out why he was killed.
4) Nosy PCs could simply be passing through the hills and have the lady bandits raid them during the night: On chasing the raiders, and finding the dwarven kingdom they are likely to become embroiled in the search for the scroll.
Encounters:
#1. The Dwarven bandits. This is the first and most likely encounter. It’s not like the girls have ceased their activities altogether: they are young and foolish. The girls know the valley pretty well, and have spells and items focused on stealth and evasion - they should be able to get away without being killed, and yet still lead the party to the dwarven kingdom. This encounter should be staged outdoors, and at night. Absinthe has many ranks in Move silently and Pick Pocket. Myth and Ru, will use Empowered sleep and/or charm spells to waylay and night guards (The girls are really not that vicious), and Ab might try a subdual sneak attack. In any event, once they have a semi-valuable item, they will dash off into the night. It’s important that the GENDER of the bandits not be revealed casually, as this is one layer that the DM should allow the players to uncover. It would be typical for many gaming groups to assume the highly competent bandits were men (and they often disguise themselves as such).
#2. Talking with the dwarvish Lord. As the PCs approach the dwarven kingdom, and ask for entrance, they will be invited to a feast/social gathering. In an unsurprising coincidence, although the King is indisposed, a prominent noble (the father to the young ladies) will host the event. Here is the perfect opportunity for the PCs to use gather info, bluff, intimidate, and diplomacy to determine the who, what, and when of the scrolls disappearance. In fact, have the girls show up tardy to the event. Experienced, savvy adventurers will note that the girls are special right away: spot checks for well concealed weapons, magic items revealed by detection spells – but the ladies should not detect as evil (as they are chaotic good). Remember the father will not want his honor insulted by having his daughters accused of stealing.
#3. A meeting with the Orc tribe. Depending on timing, Circumstance, and plot hooks, an envoy of Orcs may approach the party before they ever get to the Dwarf kingdom. Although they will paint an innocent picture of their second in command being most foully murdered by the “bandits” (they do not know the bandits are female), your party can again use bluff, gather info, sense motive and diplomacy to determine that it was the Monks, seeking revenge who killed the second in command (still…this should lead them back to the dwarven kingdom, and looking for bandits.) I suggest that the second in command’s retinue have this information.
#4 An Encounter with the enigmatic Walks with Winter’s Clouds (Monk 15). While he wishes the return of the scroll in a very real way, he desperately desires to do this in a way such that no harm comes to the girls. He will be evasive in indicating the exact guilty party, but he will freely provide that the scroll is in the dwarven kingdom, that the Monastery MUST have the scroll back, and that there is a delicate balance of power between the Monks, the Orcs, and the Dwarves. Again, have the party sue diplomacy, bluff, and sense Motive to feel out the monk (and don’t forget good role-playing!) In fact, if the first encounter with the young ladies is going poorly for them, you can have the Monk intervene to save their bacon.
#5 A “virtual encounter” with the Guardian Naga, via Lesser planar allay, scrying, or other remote communication device. Though he will not reveal his location, or his involvement with the bandits, the Naga is a very powerful Sorcerer. The DM should feel free to use the Naga to help the party get by stumbling blocks of trying to locate the scroll, or dealing with the intricacies of dwarven/orcish politics. He will even go so far as to reveal that the bandits are female if the party is really stumped.
#5 Final Encounter: At some point, reasonably discreet PCs will confront the girls, whose first instinct is to RUN. The ladies have set up a variety of escape routes, and traps set up to waylay the PCs. At least one of the ladies should be able to elude the party’s grasp. And lead them through some dark tunnels to at least some of these suggested areas:
a. One of the tunnels will lead to a sliding/falling trap that will drop the party directly into the girls changing room! Filled with women’s clothing including plenty of women’s unmentionables. The girls have constructed the trap such that the party will knock over several brass urns of jewelry, alerting the lady’s men-in-waiting, and creating an awfully awkward situation for the PCs as the guards and servants discover the PCs up to their elbows in frilly dresses and bra’s, with a loop of pearls hanging from a disheartened short spear (you get the picture)
b. A secret room that is pitch dark, and cold (make checks for cold subdual per the DMG). The characters, on lighting up the room, will discover the three lady bandits in much more serious, military regalia, including gleaming martial weapons. They will attack the party ruthlessly, using flanking, the uneven slippery ground, and the darkness to their advantage. In reality, these are simulacrum’s created by the Naga, intended to scare off weaker opponents, or fool an ignorant party into believing they have slain the girls. The simulacrums will not leave the room.
c. The girls training room. The floors walls and ceiling to this room are covered with ropes, ladders, mats, and weights. It is padded for silence. In this room, the girls gain a +2 circumstance bonus to hit, dues to their intimate knowledge of where to stand, and what to hang on to keep an opponent off balance. In addition, there are covered pits, dart traps (sleep poison), and snare spells places in random spaces within the room, which the girls are aware of, but the players are not. Have Absinthe and Ruvee use tumble, jump and balance to get around, for effect! This is where any direct combat with the girls would take place. If any one of the girls is knocked unconscious in this room, the other two will immediately surrender, crying and carrying on – this time genuinely. They will appeal to the party to heal their friend, or let Ruvee use her cure light wounds if Ruvee is not the one to drop.
Resolution:
The scroll is kept in a simple basket in the ceiling of Absinthes bedroom, which contains a small anti-magic zone, preventing simple divination and scry attempts. Once the scroll is had, the party can play out the ending in several different ways. Will they vilify the girls, and chastise the Dwarf noble for his indulgence with his daughters? Will they vilify the Orcs, for being the cause of all this trouble in the first place? Will they preach to the Monks, for allowing the girls to remain unchecked in the hillside, when they knew what was afoot? There is the potential to make three powerful friends, or three powerful enemies (or some combination) in this region, depending on how the PCs handle things.
Spinoffs:
#1 The default Guardian Naga is instead a Dark Naga, and is evilly using and influencing the girls to get access to that scroll, which he will use to complete a truly vile rite, turning the girls into intelligent undead under it’s sway.
#2 The Monastery is Lawful Evil (rather than the default Lawful Neutral), and returning the scroll means the Monks will be able to complete some vile rite.
#3 The orcs are more sinister, and wanted the scroll simply to disrupt the existing power structure, so they could go to war with the dwarves. In this spinoff, the orcs will try to get the theft of the scroll blamed on the bandits, and describe the bandits as agents of the drwarven kingdom, hoping the PCs will tattle to the Monastery
Sharlizze’s Angels (an adventure for PC’s level 8-10)
Ingrdients:
Dwarven bandits
Women’s clothing
Ancient Monk
Naga
Scroll of Miracle
Simulacrum
Synopsis:
This adventure is more of a social/political “who dun it?” than a combat heavy slugfest. The players must find and return a very valuable scroll without embarrassing to locals too badly. A savvy reader will notice several references Charlie’s Angels which can add some lightness if you find the adventure getting heavy handed, or the player’s are getting frustrated. To be successful, a party should have a Rogue or Bard with significant ranks in gather info and bluff, or cleric or paladin with significant ranks in diplomacy. Even a Barbarian with some ranks in intimidate can add value.
Background:
In a low, temperate set of hills somewhere in Greyhawk, an uneasy truce exists between three power centers. A kingdom of hill dwarves, rich in metals, and minerals, a tribe of Orcs, rich in woods, foods, and fresh water, and a Monastary of Monks, who maintains the peace between the two, in order to keep economic and military stability in the area.
For the three daughters of a very wealthy dwarven noble, however, life could not have been more boring. Absinthe, Mythrille, and Ruvee did not find dwarf stomp dancing, or the endless militia drilling interesting in the slightest. And they certainly did not intend to be married off to some overstuffed merchant, insistent on pulling on their side braids lecherously…no-siree!
Instead they endlessly explored the hill’s rocky underground, enjoying the minor secrets therein. Here they encountered Sharlizze, a Guardian Naga sorceress. Shalizze recognized the potential in these bright young dwarvish gals, and helped train them to become an elite group of bandits, running covert missions in the local hillside and underground. Over time the now highly skilled girls (Ab is a L7 Rouge, Myth a L6 Sorceress, and Ru a L6 Bard) took on freelance missions from a few dwarves, travelers, and even civil orcs, if the price was right.
All this is looked upon with great amusement, by Walks with Winter’s Clouds, the Monasteries Ancient Monk, and former leader (Monk 15). Using his Slippers of Airwalk (a custom magic item), he sits on clouds and watches them benevolently. In fact, he has become a de facto supporter of the ladies, going so far as to cover up the girls tracks on some of their earlier, clumsy missions. He regales his brethren with stories of the girl’s misadventures, and this keeps the otherwise cold monastery warm with the Monk’s laughter.
Still, there just wasn’t anything too significant for the young bandits to do! The Naga was too conservative to teach Myth any “real” magic, there were no tough fights against “evil’ to get into, and there was nothing too valuable to steal, really, without being downright nasssty, and at heart the girls were basically good, if headstrong.
And then the miracle happened…well, a scroll of miracle, that is. The young ladies were hired by a quiet, cautious orc to steal a simple scroll from a caravan traveling to the Monastery, and the girls were only too happy to oblige. Oddly, the caravan guards were unusually competent, and they fought with a desperation that gave the girls a funny feeling. When the lovely bandits went to the meet to give the scroll over to the orc and get payment, they found him dead, pierced by no less than a dozen crossbow bolts. Worse still, the Naga is pressuring the girls to give HIM the scroll – he says for their own benefit, but the girls, realizing they are over their head, are not sure who to trust now. Certainly not their father, who is unaware, even, of the girls talents.
In reality this scroll was to be used to perform a Miracle at the Monks temple (you can choose the miracle to suit your campaign), and it’s going missing poses a very serious problem for the Monks. They are putting pressure on Walks with Winter’s Clouds to do whatever it takes to get that scroll back, as they know it HAD to be the dwarf bandits.
Enter the PCs…
Plot Hooks:
1) The party could contain a dwarf, in which case a relation of that characters from the hill clan could appeal to the group for help, saying there has been some hostilities from a local Monastery recently, and no one there can “get their head out of their arse long enough to solve the #$%*@ problem!”
2) The PCs could be hired by a party (in a nearby town) that supplied the scroll of Miracle to retrieve it, and return it to the Monastery.
3) The PCs could be approached by the Orc Tribe, seeking revenge against those that slew the quiet, cautious orc (who was in reality, the Orcish second in command) or at least find out why he was killed.
4) Nosy PCs could simply be passing through the hills and have the lady bandits raid them during the night: On chasing the raiders, and finding the dwarven kingdom they are likely to become embroiled in the search for the scroll.
Encounters:
#1. The Dwarven bandits. This is the first and most likely encounter. It’s not like the girls have ceased their activities altogether: they are young and foolish. The girls know the valley pretty well, and have spells and items focused on stealth and evasion - they should be able to get away without being killed, and yet still lead the party to the dwarven kingdom. This encounter should be staged outdoors, and at night. Absinthe has many ranks in Move silently and Pick Pocket. Myth and Ru, will use Empowered sleep and/or charm spells to waylay and night guards (The girls are really not that vicious), and Ab might try a subdual sneak attack. In any event, once they have a semi-valuable item, they will dash off into the night. It’s important that the GENDER of the bandits not be revealed casually, as this is one layer that the DM should allow the players to uncover. It would be typical for many gaming groups to assume the highly competent bandits were men (and they often disguise themselves as such).
#2. Talking with the dwarvish Lord. As the PCs approach the dwarven kingdom, and ask for entrance, they will be invited to a feast/social gathering. In an unsurprising coincidence, although the King is indisposed, a prominent noble (the father to the young ladies) will host the event. Here is the perfect opportunity for the PCs to use gather info, bluff, intimidate, and diplomacy to determine the who, what, and when of the scrolls disappearance. In fact, have the girls show up tardy to the event. Experienced, savvy adventurers will note that the girls are special right away: spot checks for well concealed weapons, magic items revealed by detection spells – but the ladies should not detect as evil (as they are chaotic good). Remember the father will not want his honor insulted by having his daughters accused of stealing.
#3. A meeting with the Orc tribe. Depending on timing, Circumstance, and plot hooks, an envoy of Orcs may approach the party before they ever get to the Dwarf kingdom. Although they will paint an innocent picture of their second in command being most foully murdered by the “bandits” (they do not know the bandits are female), your party can again use bluff, gather info, sense motive and diplomacy to determine that it was the Monks, seeking revenge who killed the second in command (still…this should lead them back to the dwarven kingdom, and looking for bandits.) I suggest that the second in command’s retinue have this information.
#4 An Encounter with the enigmatic Walks with Winter’s Clouds (Monk 15). While he wishes the return of the scroll in a very real way, he desperately desires to do this in a way such that no harm comes to the girls. He will be evasive in indicating the exact guilty party, but he will freely provide that the scroll is in the dwarven kingdom, that the Monastery MUST have the scroll back, and that there is a delicate balance of power between the Monks, the Orcs, and the Dwarves. Again, have the party sue diplomacy, bluff, and sense Motive to feel out the monk (and don’t forget good role-playing!) In fact, if the first encounter with the young ladies is going poorly for them, you can have the Monk intervene to save their bacon.
#5 A “virtual encounter” with the Guardian Naga, via Lesser planar allay, scrying, or other remote communication device. Though he will not reveal his location, or his involvement with the bandits, the Naga is a very powerful Sorcerer. The DM should feel free to use the Naga to help the party get by stumbling blocks of trying to locate the scroll, or dealing with the intricacies of dwarven/orcish politics. He will even go so far as to reveal that the bandits are female if the party is really stumped.
#5 Final Encounter: At some point, reasonably discreet PCs will confront the girls, whose first instinct is to RUN. The ladies have set up a variety of escape routes, and traps set up to waylay the PCs. At least one of the ladies should be able to elude the party’s grasp. And lead them through some dark tunnels to at least some of these suggested areas:
a. One of the tunnels will lead to a sliding/falling trap that will drop the party directly into the girls changing room! Filled with women’s clothing including plenty of women’s unmentionables. The girls have constructed the trap such that the party will knock over several brass urns of jewelry, alerting the lady’s men-in-waiting, and creating an awfully awkward situation for the PCs as the guards and servants discover the PCs up to their elbows in frilly dresses and bra’s, with a loop of pearls hanging from a disheartened short spear (you get the picture)
b. A secret room that is pitch dark, and cold (make checks for cold subdual per the DMG). The characters, on lighting up the room, will discover the three lady bandits in much more serious, military regalia, including gleaming martial weapons. They will attack the party ruthlessly, using flanking, the uneven slippery ground, and the darkness to their advantage. In reality, these are simulacrum’s created by the Naga, intended to scare off weaker opponents, or fool an ignorant party into believing they have slain the girls. The simulacrums will not leave the room.
c. The girls training room. The floors walls and ceiling to this room are covered with ropes, ladders, mats, and weights. It is padded for silence. In this room, the girls gain a +2 circumstance bonus to hit, dues to their intimate knowledge of where to stand, and what to hang on to keep an opponent off balance. In addition, there are covered pits, dart traps (sleep poison), and snare spells places in random spaces within the room, which the girls are aware of, but the players are not. Have Absinthe and Ruvee use tumble, jump and balance to get around, for effect! This is where any direct combat with the girls would take place. If any one of the girls is knocked unconscious in this room, the other two will immediately surrender, crying and carrying on – this time genuinely. They will appeal to the party to heal their friend, or let Ruvee use her cure light wounds if Ruvee is not the one to drop.
Resolution:
The scroll is kept in a simple basket in the ceiling of Absinthes bedroom, which contains a small anti-magic zone, preventing simple divination and scry attempts. Once the scroll is had, the party can play out the ending in several different ways. Will they vilify the girls, and chastise the Dwarf noble for his indulgence with his daughters? Will they vilify the Orcs, for being the cause of all this trouble in the first place? Will they preach to the Monks, for allowing the girls to remain unchecked in the hillside, when they knew what was afoot? There is the potential to make three powerful friends, or three powerful enemies (or some combination) in this region, depending on how the PCs handle things.
Spinoffs:
#1 The default Guardian Naga is instead a Dark Naga, and is evilly using and influencing the girls to get access to that scroll, which he will use to complete a truly vile rite, turning the girls into intelligent undead under it’s sway.
#2 The Monastery is Lawful Evil (rather than the default Lawful Neutral), and returning the scroll means the Monks will be able to complete some vile rite.
#3 The orcs are more sinister, and wanted the scroll simply to disrupt the existing power structure, so they could go to war with the dwarves. In this spinoff, the orcs will try to get the theft of the scroll blamed on the bandits, and describe the bandits as agents of the drwarven kingdom, hoping the PCs will tattle to the Monastery
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