Gambling Problem

## **Basic Description**

Jacob Stevenson has a gambling problem. He has incurred 600gp of debt to a loan shark (Garrik Chambers) in Heldenburg. He has sent "Greg" to collect payment. Jacob, in a desperate move, has resorted to kidnapping to pay off his debts. Jacob has hired a small band of bandits to kidnapp Vondrir Flaskrock (son of a dwarf noble slaver)

### **NPCs involved**

* Jacob Stevenson (gambler)
* "Greg" (Road Assassin)
* Garrik Chambers (Road loan shark)
* Vondrir Flaskrock (Ambushed wagoneer)
* Harold Stigmar (captured wagoneer)
* Dylan (bandit leader - friend of Jacob)

### **Factions involved**

* The Freemen of Tiphor
* The Delian Order (order from the early 8th age)

## **The Quest**

### **Setup**

* Vondrir Flaskrock stumbles into town at night, gravely wounded. He finds the PCs and informs them that his wagon was waylaid by bandits, and that one of his friends (Harold Stigmar) was captured in the fight
* Vondrir is the son of a wealthy dwarf slaver.  He tries to keep that information a secret
* Vondrir was traveling with Harold and a guard. The guard is dead. Harold is captured
* Jacob is anti-slaver, and thinks this is a great way to not only make money to pay off his debts, but to damage an institution he hates

### **Enemy Information/Location**

* Long forgotten burial chamber of an old order of knights
* Human bandits
* Clothes: Leather/Chainmail. Tattered and dirty blue cloaks with green trim.
* Carrying: Loose change. No real information. Generic weapons

### **Goals**

1. Find the hideout
2. Rescue Harold Stigmar

### **Wandering Monsters**

* Potential patrol of 5-8 bandits
* Bandits will be either: Kenku, Bandits, Bandit Cpt, Thugs, Scouts, Brutes (Bugbear stat line)

### **Rewards**

* Lord Tristan the Rose carries a +1 weapon (mace).

**+1 Mace of the Rose**: 1/day casts cure light wounds. Requires attunement
* Bandit Leader (Dylan)

**+1 weapon (mace or sword)**
### **Items**

* **Small Green Box with elegant designs** (storage room). **DC 18 Investigation** hidden compartment with a diamond
* Various potions of healing

## **Quest Steps**

### **Part 1 (The Ambush Site)**

The ambush site takes place on a small hill. On the left is a birm and an up-slope. Trees and bushes provide a lot of cover for bandits to ambush the PCs.
On the right side is a small creek.

#### **Things to find**

* Fallen tree blocking the path
* **DC 14 Perception**: The soil is disturbed. A trap used to break wagon wheels has been sprung
* **DC 15 Investigation**: A broken wagon has been dragged off the road and discarded into the creek.

#### **Events**

* Eventually, 3-5 bandits will ambush the PCs. They just finished clearing the road when they heard the PCs approach and laid in wait.
* **PCs can ambush the bandits** if they approach the site stealthily. They might see the bandits discarding the wagon
* Bandits might flee if they are getting whomped. A captured bandit might disclose the location of their camp. He just wants to survive

### **Part 2 (The Traps)**

The bandits have lain down some obstacles to dissuade people from finding their encampment

1. **DC 14 Perception** to spot. **DC 15 Dex** to avoid. Swinging spike stick. 1d10 piercing damage. **DC 15 disarm**
2. **DC 15 Perception** to spot. **DC 15 Dex** to avoid. Hole in the ground. 20ft deep. 2d6 falling damage.

### **Part 3 (The Bandit Camp outskirts)**

#### **Old Knight's Tomb**

"As you approach a clearing, you and your group spot a small doorway inset into the hillside about 45 feet away. The door appears to be closed and flanking each side are two men lazily leaning against a wall. They seem to be bickering with each other, but they are too far away for you to hear."

* The door is locked. One of the guards has a key.

### **Part 4 (The Bandit Camp interior)**

#### **ROOM 1 (Small Chapel)**

"Opening the door reveals a small chamber. On the far side is the remains of a statue. Only the base, the legs and part of the torso remain. The rest lays scattered across the ground. The center of the chamber has four weathered and broken pews. The walls are fairly barren.

**DC 15 Investigation** reveals a barely legible inscription on the statue. "The Knights of the Delian Order"
#### **ROOM 2 (Offering Chamber and exposed cavern)**

"This door leads into a circular chamber with yet another closed door on the far side. A small section of the eastern wall appears to have collapsed, giving way to what looks like a tunnel heading down. The walls in this room has an intricately and moderately faded mural. At a glance, it looks to be a showcase of the achievements of whomever used to reside here. The center of the chamber contains a rusted and pockmarked brazier. The ceiling above the brazier seems to form a chimney. You can see the sky through the small opening above."

"The door on the far side of the room is locked. The door is made of stone." (Can be unlocked or brute forced. Easy/Hard respectively). Too many strength failures will cause a small cave in.

**DC 13 Investigation** on the mural. You see intricate medieval artwork depicting knights and priestesses conquering and defeating various types of foes (demons, devils, dragons, imps).
**If anyone speaks Silvan** Inscribed on the wall in **Silvan** is
* **ANSWER**: "I swear the Delian Oath. To battle chaos and protect the world from darkness. To uphold the will of our Pelor and to keep hidden from our enemies the secrets of our Order"

#### **ROOM 3 (Statue of the Delian Order)**

"This room is much smaller than the other two. The only noticeable feature is a slightly worn down stone statue of a fully armored knight standing at attention. It is centered along the southern wall."

**DC 14 Perception** Scythe trap. Right after the entrance. 1d6 slashing damage. **DC 14 Dex** to avoid. Trap auto-resets.
**DC 15 investigation** Inscription on the statue.
* **RIDDLE**: "If you are to keep this, you must first give it to me"

Answering the riddle will open a secret door.

**DC 17 investigation** will reveal a hidden secret door next to the statue.
**DC 19 investigation** will reveal a hidden magical rune. This rune gets deactivated if the PC speaks the Oath round in ROOM 2. Opening the door without speaking the oath will cause undead to rise in the next chamber.
#### **ROOM 4 (Secret burial chamber)**

"As the hidden door opens, an audible 'gasp' of air is heard, and your nostrils are hit by the smell of stale air. This room is pitch black. (Only darkvision can see in here). You can make out the faint outline of a handful of sarcophagi. 4 normal sized tombs with a larger one centered in the back of the room."

* If the PCs spoke the oath. They are greeted by a specter (Lord Tristan the Rose) who will bequeath a PC with a +1 weapon of the Delian Order. They just need to open his crypt.
* If the PCs just go in to this room, they will encounter undead in the sarcophagi. Zombies/Skeletons.
* Each has the name of the person resting. "Priestess Joy of the Dawn Father". "Ser Festermin the Bold". "Ser Kingsgrove the Virtuous". "Ser Incatasi the Mighty". "Lord Tristan the Rose". (large tomb).

##### **Enemies**

* 1 Ghoul
* 3 Skeletons
* 1 Zombie

#### **ROOM 5 (The Cavern)**

"A small campfire illuminates the center of this natural cavern. The space itself is quite humid, and the air is a little smokey. The walls are damp to the touch and in the distance you can hear the sound of flowing water. The ceilings here are quite tall, possibly 20 or 30 feet up. Above you is a small rope bridge that spans between two passageways higher up. (connects 8 to 6 by going over 5). There are also 3 more corridors in this room.  Around you are a small smattering of crates and barrels, some sleeping cots, and some rock formations."

Going from 5 to 6, goes up
Going from 5 to 7, goes down
Going from 5 to 8, goes up
#### **ROOM 6 (The Stockpile)**

"The sound of flowing water gets louder the further up you go."

**DC 15 perception** you can hear people talking
**DC 16 investigation** they find the green box with the diamond hidden inside
**DC 14 investigation** the PCs find a potion of greater healing
**If SNEAKING** "There are various humanoids in this room, currently oblivious to your presence.  Two of them, a dragonborn and a kenku seem to be rummaging through the multitude of barrels in this room.  'Oh Dylan won't mind if I snag this, of course' (Dragonborn).  The other figures are meandering about, seemingly unaware of your presence."
"This room is filled with a dozen or so barrels, chests, and crates.  On the far side of the room you see a small, but rapidly moving stream.  A handful of torches are mounted on the wall, providing a scant amount of light.  The ceilings in this room are quite low, ranging anywhere from 8 to 5 feet.  It is quite warm here - droplets of water coalesce on the walls and ceilings dripping down to the ground in a rhythmic pattern.  Adjacent to you is another passageway (**either the bridge or the way down... depending on entrance**)"

##### **Enemies**

* One Kenku.
* One Dragonborn (scout)
* 5 Bandits

#### **ROOM 7 (The Prisoner)**

This area contains Harold Stigmar, his interrogator, and some henchmen.  There is also the stripped down corpse of another male (arrow sticking out of his chest).  The brutish looking figure (a half-orc: bugbear stats) is currently "questioning" the prisoner.

"The smell of iron is potent in this room.  A large brutish half-orc, wearing only blood soaked pants and covered in decorative tattoos lords over the shackled body of a badly beated dwarf.  The half-orc questions the man.  "Where is the other?"  The body of a different dwarf lies in a heap nearby., arms still bound in chains.  Arms and jaw clearly broken.   Another man is attempting to keep a riled up wolf at bay, barely holding him back by the scruff.  The wolf is licking his jaws and staring with lethal intent at the prisoner, hungrily anticipating his next meal.  The beaten man on the ground just repeats "I don't know.  I don't know where he is!"

##### **Enemies**

* Half-Orc (bugbear stats)
* Bandit
* Wolf (Dylan's pet)

#### **ROOM 8 (Small Cave)**

This room contains some more sleeping cots and barrels. There are a few lanterns, some potions, and various simple weapons.

x3 potions of healing
all simple weapons found here
#### **ROOM 9 (The Boss)**

There is a table in the center of the room with a crudely drawn map. The map shows how the ambush of the wagon will go down. There is also the note from Jacob Stevenson. There are some animal furs on the ground with some bones nearby (the pet's bed). There is a comfortable looking cot in the corner with some ale and cheese on the ground.

##### **Enemies**

* Bandit captain
* Maybe a Kenku
* x# of bandits
* scouts?
* maybe the half-orc if the PCs are unlucky

### **Part 5 (The letter)**

* After defeating the boss, the PCs can discover a letter on the body of the leader.

"On the 18th day of Leaffall, a single wagon with a lone escort will make its way out of town.  Travelling with them is the son of a slaver lord.  We should kidnap and ransom him!  I'll meet you the following morn..  ---JS"