Quest 1

Related: Arbengau

Gudromi

Heralds of Ice

Daemons

The players have finished the mission in Selesta. The city fell into chaos and they were forced to send off their money for safekeeping abroad. The people who offered to save it for them, some of the ministers whom they saved from the parliament building before it was bombed, offered to invest it in safe items. This is what they know is for sale:

20 acres of land.

OR

A run down castle.

--

Both properties are in the countryside in Arbengau.

The new players are their new neighbours, a band of travelling warriors / experienced folk. They are at a "housewarming" party at the hamlet hall, which is a converted barn near a stable.

The housewarming party is brought to an awkward pause when sheriff Walbram tells them that the property has been bought out, under some kind of overriding and compelling contract, by another party.

Sheriff Walbram wants to keep it a secret, because he has been told to do so.

ThemeAction/Adventure
This is the most common and straightforward sort of adventure there is. In the Action/Adventure scenario, you present your characters with a task and then confront them with obstacles to     overcome in order to accomplish the task successfully.

GoalThwart Monstrous Plan
This is a classic fantasy-adventure plot: The characters learn of     some horrible plan made by a monstrous enemy, and must thwart it      before the kingdom is lost or the world is destroyed. This is an     epic goal, and usually requires that the characters go to all sorts of places, rounding up allies and artifacts, before being strong enough to face their enemy.

PlotSeries of Villains
This is a very dramatic plot, and very well-suited to oriental campaigns. In it, the heroes have undertaken a quest, usually the finding and defeat of the Master Villain. They may have to travel to his citadel, or head off in another direction to find some artifact capable of defeating him, or run away from pursuing villains until they can figure out what's going on. All along their route, they are set upon by villains -- each villain has a     name and distinct personality, and each encounter is      life-or-death for the heroes and villains; the villain never escapes to safety if the tide turns against him, he fights unto death.

ClimaxBloody Battle
This is the best Climax for an adventure involving the clash of     mighty armies -- or for any adventure where, toward the end, the Master Villain and a large body of minions confront the heroes and their own troops. This finale is characterized by a monstrous clash between the two forces, with the heroes chewing through the enemy ranks to get at the Master Villain and his elite guards. It's strenuous, exciting, and classically simple.General

SettingOn the Road
Most of the adventure takes place on the road, as the heroes are travelling from place to place. This is especially good for adventures where heroes are investigating a wide-ranging mystery, are part of a caravan, or are being pursued by loathesome villains.

Specific Setting IPalace of the Queen
The heroes could be here for many, many different reasons: Trying to get a favor from the ruler, part of some nobleman's retinue, members of the palace guard, sneaking in to save the ruler from assassins, sneaking in to assassinate the ruler, thrown into the dungeon for crimes they did or didn't commit, etc.

Specific Setting IICaves of Magical Folk
These can be either beautiful, glittering homes of gorgeous magical peoples, or the dank and terrifying lairs of horrible monsters.

Master VillainAdvance Agent
This villain is the vanguard of some sort of invasion; to make way for the kingdom of Alchtein to invade.

.Minor Villain IAvenger
This character is much like the Master Villain of the same name, but he's not in charge of all this villainy, and he's definitely an enemy of one of the player-characters. You'll have to decide who he is and why he hates one of the heroes; he could be     anything from a recurring villain to someone who simply lost a      fight to the hero once.

Minor Villain IIMistress with a Heart of Gold
This character is much like the "Lover or Daughter of Villain" type of Mystery Woman from the Story Hooks section. In this case, she usually accompanies the Master Villain, but sometimes goes on     missions of her own, where she runs into and develops affection for one of the player-characters.

Ally/NeutralTalkative Barkeep
This classic encounter is the garrulous innkeeper who has information the characters want; trouble is, they'll have to     bribe him to get it, or agree to stay at his inn, or buy a lavish meal, or listen to his incessant stories about his career in the army, or whatever.

Monster EncounterBeast Amok
Some time when the heroes are in a village or city, an animal, probably an otherwise tame or captured beast, is set loose by the villain's minions or driven mad by the Master Villain. The beast goes berserk in the crowds; if the heroes aren't inclined to     capture or kill it, it goes after them.

Character EncounterMean Drunk
The Mean Drunk works much like the Belligerent Soldier except that he's not as tough, is of course drunk, and is usually accompanied by other Mean Drunks.

DeathtrapTomb Deathtraps
Another classic type of trap is the sort of triggered trap left behind in abandoned tombs, ruins, and catacombs. Here, a hero who touches the wrong step, floor tile, wall brick, torch bracket, mounted gemstone, or other device will trigger some sort of     ancient trap designed to kill tomb-robbers and intruders.

ChaseSpecial Terrain
You can make any chase more memorable by having it take place in     a setting to which it is utterly unsuited. For instance, horse chases are fine and dramatic when they take place through the forest, out in the open plains, or along a road -- but they become diabolical when they take place inside the Royal Palace or     in dangerous, labrynthine, treacherous catacombs.

Omen/ProphesyHero Fulfills Prophecy
This is the most useful sort of prophecy. In the early part of     the adventure, one of the heroes discovers that he fulfills some ancient prophecy.

Secret WeaknessLove
The Master Villain possesses the "weakness" of genuine affection or love -- probably for some NPC, though it could be very intriguing if the object of his affections is a player-character. The heroes can then defeat the villain by holding his loved one hostage, or proving that his loved one will be seriously harmed, betrayed, or killed if the villain keeps up with his activity.

Special ConditionTime Limit
Finally, the most obvious condition to place on an adventure is     to give it a time limit. If the Master Villain is going to     conclude his evil spell in only three days, and his citadel is      three hard days' riding away, then the heroes are going to be on      the go all throughout the adventure -- with little time to rest, plan, gather allies, or anything except get to where they're     going.

Moral QuandryFriend Quandry
At a critical point in the story, one of the campaign's NPCs makes an impossible demand of one of the heroes.

Red HerringLying Rumor
This is the worst and most useful type of red herring -- the interesting rumor which just happens to be false. In adventures of this sort, the best Lying Rumor concerns the Master Villain; it gives the heroes some "important" information about him which later turns out to be useless.

Cruel TrickWanted by the Law
One final complication, one which occurs pretty frequently, is     when the heroes are wanted by the law. When they're wanted by the law, they have to travel in secret and very limited in the resources they can acquire.