Appendix: Scenarios

A glance at this site will suggest all manner of adventures that can happen in The Lands. What follows is just a few suggestions. All these adventures are rated M for Mature players.

The Fox And The Hare

The characters are partaking of some rest and recreation in the sprawling Decapitated Orc Inn of the valley of Allmeet. They notice someone putting a poster on the wall close by. It entices adventurers with the promise of travel and generous reward in return for finding the lost Dagger of the Brethic Overlord. It has been issued by one Ackerley the Sage. The party decide to investigate further and so travel to Roburg to meet Ackerley.

On the way they stay in the Overcrossing Inn and there listen to the Legend of the Royal Dagger as told by the local bard and publican Lura Flanna. Once in Roburg they meet with Ackerley who thinks he knows the location of the lost artifact because of his interpretation of an old verse:

The fox chases the hare
The hare seeks the setting sun
The setting sun shows the way
To trinket best unsung

Ackerley mixes all sorts of lore together to present a case for how to find the tomb in which this ancient treasure hides. The party - filled with a desire for adventure and riches - set off for the village of Muddy Gully in the Brethic Hills in a festive mood. But - as the verse says - some things were never supposed to be celebrated.

Gruntball Murder

The characters have come to Kelda for the annual Gruntball Championship. Travelers from Rovnara to Ivana and beyond are gathering to both play in the competition and cheer on their sporting heroes. The adventurers enjoy a show by the puppeteer Rafe Greygaze and then go to watch the game. At the start of the last round of the final game something happens that is new even in the history of the dangerous game. The most controversial player - Ziv Vaderkov - falls dead a moment after catching the ball - his heart simply stopped beating. The final is postponed a week to allow for mourning.

Ilona Vaderkov - the widow of Ziv - is convinced he fell to foul play. Ziv came from Ivana and was deemed by many to be the most likely winner of the next Contest of Rule once the current Duke of Ivana dies. Ilona also thinks the city guard of Kelda are incompetent. She was in the stalls with the party and approaches them that evening to request help in discovering the truth. She offers generous remuneration and eternal gratitude from the Vaderkov Clan.

That same night the umpire who threw the ball to Ziv is killed in his sleep. This murder happens at the very same inn that Ilona and the party are staying at. Do the adventurers wish to investigate a murder? If so do they think it was politically motivated or was it just a case of overzealous sports fanaticism? And which of the two is more deadly?

Chocolate Piracy

The characters go to the Hill Street Coffee Shop to see what all the fuss is about. This particular coffee shop has become the talk of Nartellfar because of a sensational new product served there - hot chocolate! Is it the ambrosia that everyone says it is? On arriving they find the shop is the site of a riot. The proprietor - Milo Mocha - had been running low on chocolate and has been mixing it with coffee but now all the exotic powder is gone. The party help quell the crowd and, once the dust has settled and the city guard have taken away the hot bloods, Master Mocha asks the characters to stay behind to meet with an associate of his.

Nadina is commander of a merchant vessel in port that was supposed to bring more chocolate from Farport. However on the way she was raided by a ship flying the banner of the Crossed Blades Pirates who took all the cargo for themselves. It was only because Nadina had once been friends with the Crossed Blades Admiral Tempest that her ship and crew were spared. Now that the popularity of chocolate has been proven, Milo wants more to both serve at his own shop and on-sell to other shop-keepers, and is prepared to pay plenty for its return. For her part Nadina is furious at the Crossed Blades and has been fomenting resistance among other merchant mariners, who have agreed to gather a small privateer navy to assult the Pirate Isles.

To do this properly Milo and Nadina need information, and the party are offered a generous reward, and free passage to the Pirate Isles, if they will visit and assess the defenses of the pirate capital of Whistling Cove. Locating the chocolate store would also be useful. Do the adventurers dare get involved in the dangers of piracy and economics? The alternative may be never getting a chance to try chocolate for themselves!

Note: Forming A Party

Sometimes an adventuring party can seem a motley crew and some background as to why the characters are working together is useful. Existing relationships are an interesting and rewarding explanation in terms of characterization and story. A party of four may be connected by four relationships such that each character has an existing connection with (say) two of the others and only needs to become more familiar with one of the others. Circumstance and ambition will do the rest in bringing the party together. Here are a few kinds of relationship to put into character background...

* Traveling Companions - Two adventurers were part of a small caravan of merchants and travelers who had banded together for safety in the wilderness between nations. That caravan was attacked by bandits and it was only by working together that the two characters survived. They went separate ways but on meeting in the present are drawn to one another to regale others with the tale.

* Cousins - Two adventurers are related. They played together in childhood but then were separated because of some petty argument that divided the extended family. They have differences but also recognise that blood is thicker than water and find it comforting to have someone familiar with them now that they have met in foreign parts.

* Past Lovers - Two adventurers have met in the past and shared a bed. That was some time ago and different temperaments or desires drove them apart. But there is still an attraction and a degree of fondness there. Despite misgivings they find that they want to work together even if it is to make sure that the other is safe.

* Housemates - Two adventurers have been put in the same room by an inn-keeper. In the big city it is difficult for a former villager to make new friends but the face once sees every day may become the face one turns to for company or advise. And if they have shared a room for even a few days they will have some sense of how to get along.

Many other such relationships can be developed as part of a character back story and can be a lot of fun to devise.

Note: GM Gift Giving

Generally characters will start with an economical set of personal possessions and a modest standing in the world. However the GM can carefully give each character something to set them apart from others. A few such gifts to start an adventuring life may be as follows...

* A loyal and clever pet (that effectively gives the GM a role in the party).

* Magical arms or armour of at best +1 game mechanic bonus.

* A limited use magical item such as a potion or scroll.

* A personal connection with someone of importance in The Lands.

Other such markers of fortune will hopefully be won during the course of adventures.

Note: Static Scenarios

I am also thinking of writing some static scenarios (aka short fiction) set in The Lands from time-to-time and here is one such story...