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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 9698209" data-attributes="member: 1210">These are my notes for the first adventure I'm running for one group that is playing my custom system ("DnD Jazz"):(EDIT: Maps not included. They are hand drawn and the city map is something like 3' x 4'.)ADVENTURERS’ INITIATIONThe pcs are the next group of possible initiates into the Adventurers’ Guild of Fandelose. They are gathered together at the Fandelose Brewery, where Kovian the Blue, their sponsor, gives them a pep talk and then tells them that they will have to succeed on three tasks to join the guild.The first task is to journey into Bronze Tiger territory and meet with Kovian’s son, Kordian. Kordian’s relationship with Kovian is not good. They fell out with each other several years ago, when Kordian decided to join up with the Bronze Tigers. Now Kovian is concerned about his one year old grandchild, Korlian, being raised in the gang, and he wants the initiates to retrieve her and bring her to Kovian. He believes that they can do so through negotiation, but on no account should they allow her to be harmed or hurt Kordian.Kovian makes the following points.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Kordian is no doubt aware that being raised in a gang is almost certain to result in a violent and unhappy future for Korlian.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Although he and Kordian are estranged, Kordian has maintained a good relationship with his mother, Marimar.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Marimar, not Kovian, will raise the child.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Kordian’s address is #43 Five Fingers Street, in the southwest part of town and in the neighborhood called Tiger Town. Though it’s not certain that he will be there, that is a good place to start looking.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It is generally frowned upon to kill a citizen of the city, especially inside the city walls. Though the city is in a state of semi-anarchy, it is far better to spare any hostile Bronze Tigers if at all possible.</li> </ul>In addition, Kovian gives the party a bag that contains 20 doses of dzur to use as an incentive for Kordian. Beyond this, persuading him is up to the party, but Kovian warns them that neither Kordian nor Korlian are to be harmed in the process.MISSION 1: GETTING THE BABYIf the pcs go to Kodian’s home, they find him- a Bronze Tiger captain- and about a dozen Bronze Tiger thugs hanging out, gambling. The group comes to alert when they see the pcs, but are not immediately hostile. If the pcs are respectful, the Tigers offer to let them join the gambling game, playing craps. This works as follows:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The shooter rolls 2d6.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On his first roll, the shooter wins on a 7 or 11, or loses on a 2, 3, or 12. Otherwise, the roll becomes the point.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If there’s a point, the shooter keeps rolling, losing on a 7 or winning upon rolling the point.</li> </ul>If the pcs aren’t respectful, they risk a violent confrontation. However, this can be defused if a pc makes a Cha check.Once the subject of Korlian is breached, things get tense. The pcs can make their case to Kordian, then the highest Cha negotiator can attempt to make a DC 10 Cha check on 4d6. They get a 1d4 bonus die for each of the following factors:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The pcs approached the subject only after establishing a friendly rapport with the Bronze Tigers.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The pcs mention that growing up in a gang environment is likely to be bad for Korlian.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The pcs mention that Kordian’s mother will be the child’s caretaker.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The pcs gave Kordian the bag of dzur as a bribe.</li> </ul>On the other hand, the pcs receive a 1d4 penalty die for each of the following factors:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They state or imply that Kovian will raise the child.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They won significant money at the craps game.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They were disrespectful in their approach to the Tigers.</li> </ul>If the pcs succeed on the check, Kordian reluctantly agree to let them take Korlian away. He surrenders the child. However, their mission isn’t over yet! One of the Bronze Tigers is loyal to Boray, a rival to Kordian. Seeing that he is going to surrender Korlian to the pcs, the Tiger hurries to inform Boray, who quickly arranges an ambush at the corner of Gatehouse Road and Bronze Avenue. Boray’s goal is to cause trouble for Kordian with the other Tigers by stirring up problems between him and the Adventurers’ Guild. To this end, four Bronze Tiger thugs and a guard drake await them in the street, demanding the return of the child. Another Bronze Tiger thug lurks on the roof of #21 Gatehouse Road with his three blood hawks, which he sends to attack the pcs if they refuse. Boray figures that either he kidnaps the child and makes Kordian think the Guild stole him away or he convinces the Guild members that the Tigers broke their agreement.MISSION 2: WATER MONSTERSAfter successfully completing their first mission and reporting back to Kovian, the pcs are given their second task: they must journey to the Upper District and slay at least one monster per pc in the canals. Kovian tells them that, while the dangerous creatures in the canals don’t usually venture far out of the water, the canals do have quite a few inhabitants that cause trouble to the farmers. Chief among them are giant bloodworms, giant crabs, and a family of bunyips. The pcs have 24 hours to accomplish this mission.If the pcs go to the canals to search for trouble, they can make a 4d6 Int check every hour, using the highest Int among the searchers and gaining a 1d4 bonus die if at least two creatures are searching. On a success, they encounter the following:1 to 6: 1d6 giant bloodworms7 to 9: 1d6 giant crabs (roll for each: 1 to 5- young; 6- adult)10: 1d6-2 (minimum 1) bunyipsMISSION 3: RENEGADE HUNTAfter successfully completing their second mission, Kovian assigns them their final mission: to hunt a renegade adventurer named Norly. Norly is a gnomish wizard, and he is believed to have fallen in with a group of bandits north of town. Kovian thinks, but is not certain, that the bandits dwell in a place called Bandit’s Rook, which overlooks the Red Bank Road. They have certainly been robbing travelers on the road. The pcs can bring back Norly dead or alive, or if he isn’t with the bandits, they can bring back information that clears him of the accusations against him. Because this involves traveling most of a day outside of town, Kovian gives the party five days to complete this task.Kovian lets the party know that Bandit’s Rook is about half a day’s march north of town, but that they will have to find its exact location on their own. He suggests that they might check with travelers on the road, especially merchants.Assuming that the pcs head north on the Red Bank Road, check for random encounters every two hours. A random encounter occurs 1 in 6. If an encounter is indicated, roll on the chart below.1-8: 2d4 merchants with 1d2 wagons traveling to or from Red Bank9-12: 1 griffon attacks from above13-14: 1d3 giant spiders15-17: 3d6 goats18-19: 2d4 giant frogs (1-5: adolescent; 6-7: adult; 8: old)20: Rockslide- each pc takes 1d10 bludgeoning damage (Dex save negates)FINDING BANDIT’S ROOKPcs who travel about half a day’s march north of Fandelose can attempt to find Bandit’s Rook by searching the area. They succeed on a DC 8 Int check on 4d6, using the highest Int among searchers with a 1d4 bonus die for each character aiding.Failing that, encountered merchants have a 50% chance of knowing the Rook’s location. They will reveal it if an asking pc makes a successful Cha check.BANDIT’S ROOKBandit’s Rook is just off the road, about 60’ above the road and in a series of rocky outcroppings that provide significant concealment. If pcs approach it during daylight hours and without attempting to use stealth, the bandits there see them and try to first warn them off with a few arrows. If this doesn’t dissuade the pcs, they start shooting to kill.Bandit’s Rook is inhabited by 10 bandits and a bandit captain named Argus. Their morale isn’t especially high; if they are defeated, any questioning will reveal that they know Norly, and he did indeed stay at the Rook for a couple of days, but not because he went renegade and wanted to join the bandits. Instead, he paid the bandits to let him use the Rook as a base camp while he searched out an old Imperial military outpost deeper in the hills. The bandits know where it is and will gladly guide the pcs there in exchange for their lives. They don’t know exactly what Norly was looking for in the outpost, and they fled, leaving him to his own devices, when the group with him came under fire by arbalasters.Treasure: Each bandit has 3d6 cp. The captain has 45 sp, 20 ep, 60 gp, and a silver ring worth 40 gp.THE OUTPOSTThe outpost is five hours’ march deeper into the hills. Although it is on an artificial plateau, one corner has collapsed, allowing access via a steep pile of rubble.As creatures approach, unless they are stealthy or come at night, two arbalasters open fire on them from atop the wall at C.A. RUBBLE PILE: Creatures can climb this pile of difficult terrain fairly easily, requiring a 3d6 Str check each round. Failure means no progress.B. CLIFF: This artificial cliff is steep but not unclimbable, requiring a 3d6 Str check (DC 7). It’s 20’ high. Failure means no progress, or a fall on a 15 or higher.C. WALL: This 10’ high dirt wall is home to the two arbalasters that open fire on approaching creatures. The wall can be climbed with a 3d6 Str check.D. BARRACKS: This wooden building is falling apart. It has three doors and three shuttered windows. Within are rotten bunks and the corpse of Norly, tangled in a mass of vines- actually an assassin vine.Treasure: Norly’s body bears 30 cp, 45 sp, 16 ep, 12 gp, a dagger, a potion of healing, and his spellbook, which contains the following spells: cantrips- close or open, dancing lights, detect magic, mage hand; 1st level- charm person, minor illusion, shocking grasp, sleep.E. TOWER: This rickety wooden tower is three storeys high, with a ladder in the center leading up to each ascending floor. Each level is 10’ high.Bottom Floor: The bottom storey of the tower has a collapsed table and several rotten chairs. Weapon racks on the walls hold a collection of six dilapidated spears (2 wear points on each) and a barrel holds 50 arrows (2 wear points on each).Second Storey: The second floor of the tower has six windows with arrow slits spaced around the room. The ladder leading up is so rickety that it will collapse if a creature weighing more than 100 lbs tries to ascend (1d4 damage from the fall, Dex save negates).Top Storey: The top floor has a large hole in the roof, and pieces of the wood that once made up that section of the ceiling are scattered around the room. Three skeletal bodies are in here, still wearing the ruined remains of chain mail armor and with spears with 2 wear points on each. The bodies show signs of violent death and have been partially torn apart; a 4d6 Int check can ascertain that they were slain and eaten by a griffon.Treasure: One of the bodies bears a scroll tube that holds a map that leads to something labeled “Hill Giant Lair” about ten miles to the west in the hills.</blockquote>

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