Story Arc

[tilt]

1. cup stolen
2. players are at market
3. show of strenghts in games (to make sure they are noticed by the steward)
4. brawl in market (optional encounter)
5. prison encounter (a note of what would happen if the players go out of control)
6. steward hires characters since his normal discreet men are out to investigate some border problems
7. characters joins caravan
8. investigation in progress
9. caravan attacked (pursue stolen wagon or save the caravan people)
10a. if wagon pursued - fight robbers (cup not here)
10b. if wagon not pursued - fight raiders (cup not here)
11a. return to caravan - dead and hurt people - 3 wagons stolen
11b. pursue lost wagon - find secret compartment exposed
12a. pursue lost wagons - find secret compartment exposed
13. track robbers
14. fight robbers
15. get cup
16. return cup to kingdom

[tilt]

Now we have to flesh this out starting by putting in approx 10 encounters combat and non-combat.

[NeonKnight]

In 4th, this would be:

Approximately 5 Combat encounters (1 at level, 2-3 level +1 and one at level +2), 1 - 2 Skill Challenges, and at least 1 Major Quest and 1minor quest (Major Quest is 100 xp/PC, minor is 100 xp for whole group)

[jtougas]

Here is an idea for the first encounter.


Encounter :The PCs at the Market

The PCs either arrive at (city name) hoping for employment and diversion during the annual Summer Solstice festival, or they are natives of the city returned for the festival. Either way they find themselves at the market just after Highsun. The market is filled with people as this is a "national" holiday and work has been suspended during the festival. The sights, sounds, and smells are almost overwhelming. Everywhere the PCs look there are vendors selling everything from whole chickens to far more exotic items. As they move through the crowded streets, they are assailed from every direction by hawkers pressing them to buy this or that because this vendor or that has better quality and prices and hasn't killed anyone lately with poisoned or contaminated food…
After working their way through the market, the PCs come to a large open area just outside of the city. Here men and women are engaged in strength and skill challenges of every description. There are huge heavily muscled men (and one Dwarven female) lifting giant stones chiseled into the shape of the rising sun. Other people are carrying long poles across their shoulders from which hang leather baskets filled with smooth stones. A look at their faces shows that they are very heavy. Another part of this area holds targets placed at various distances with archers attempting to hit these targets. There are also other more obscure challenges such as walls of smooth stone with no obvious handholds. Several people are attempting to climb these. There are other challenges as well, some familiar some not.

Insert Skill Challenges Here

Notes: The PCs should feel like they are in a bustling festival atmosphere. The GM should describe the noises, smells and sounds. The PCs should be allowed to browse the carts and shops and spend a few coins.
The skill challenges are tailored for each of the main character classes. They are in fact part of an elaborate set-up. While skills challenges of this type are common at festivals, these were designed by the King's steward with a specific purpose in mind. The purpose is to find a group of people capable of retrieving the Cup of Kings. In fact the challenges are staffed with agents of the Kings steward tasked with finding this group.
Obviously this adventure is predicated on the fact that the PCs will have the correct skills to pass the challenges and attract the attention of the Kings steward. This may be too "linear" for some GMs however. It is entirely possible that other NPCs might draw the attention of the steward and be asked to join the PCs group for this adventure.
Success in these challenges will mean that the stewards agents tell him of the PCs he will then send someone to summon them to him. Failure (or non-participation) will set up the next encounter The Market Brawl.

I have been reading up on skill challenges but am still a bit fuzzy on the details. I’m sure there are other people with current 4e experience that can create them faster and better than I can.

*EDIT* I was thinking that a illustration of this scene would be really cool.

[jtougas]

Here is an idea for the optional "Brawl at the market" encounter.

The PCs have spent the day wandering through the city browsing the vendors wares and sampling some of the products from far off lands. As the sun begins to go down the atmosphere of the festival starts to change. The families are going home to be replaced by groups of youths and couples. The PCs should find themselves in a corner of the city away from the bustle of the crowded market center. This area should have several wine and beer stalls. As the PCs buy drinks for themselves a argument breaks out in the crowd. It doesn't take long for it to escalate into a fight between two large men both of which appear to be quite drunk. They fight amongst the stalls and tables, knocking glasses and mugs to the ground along with the occasional bystander. This goes on for several minutes until the fight lands on the PCs table (or general area if not seated). Suddenly the PCs find themselves involved as the two men start to throw punches at them. The crowd sensing an escalation of the entertainment grows even louder. The city watch is nowhere in sight.

Notes: This encounter is optional. The GM could use it to further the plot if the PCs either fail the skills challenge encounter (or don't participate). This encounter will lead to the PCs either being arrested or brought to the local jail for questioning at the very least. (if they are very convincing). This encounter is tied to the "Jail" encounter and should be run if that encounter is going to be used.
This encounter is not meant to be a serious "combat" encounter. None of the PCs (or the NPCs) should be seriously hurt during the fight. The NPCs are unarmed and will stop fighting if arms are produced. The PCs should be discouraged from killing the NPCs as well (although if they do the City Watch arrives and arrests them on sight). If the PCs use magic in the fight they will also be arrested. If either of these things happen, the king's steward will be very hesitant to use the PCs to retrieve the Cup of Kings and may demand that agents of his accompany the PCs.
This encounter is designed to be light hearted and fun. The GM should describe the two men fighting in terms of their drunkenness and their rapidly deteriorating ability to stand up. Insults hurled between the men will also help set the scene.

Again another cool place for a illustration.

*EDIT* Here is a basic encounter map for this encounter (all the elements were made by me. The cobblestone texture as well as the roof textures are from here.)

[jtougas]

Here is an idea for the jail encounter.

Encounter Two: Jail


The PCs find themselves at the city jail, either inside or outside of the cells (see notes).The jail is a dimly lit, ominous place that due to the festival is filled with drunkards, brawlers and thieves. The stone walls echo with the shouts of the prisoners and the guards, and the air smells of sweat and vomit. The guards are surly and prisoner abuse is common.
The placement of this encounter is up to the GM. It can be used after the PCs meet with the Kings steward and he describes their task. In this case the PCs are escorted to the jail by the Captain of the guard and left alone to interrogate the prisoner. If this encounter is used with the optional "Brawl at the market" encounter there are two ways the PCs could end up at the jail:
1. The PCs have been arrested. In this case due to the overcrowding of the communal cells the PCs will be placed in the individual cell with the tall prisoner (large parties will be split up)
2. The PCs have been taken to the jail for questioning. In this case the jails senior guard, Jamlamin Tarmikos will interrogate them and then leave to present his report to the Captain of the guard. The PCs are not confined or chained but they cannot leave the jail. This would be a good opportunity for the GM to drive home the dismal nature of this place. After a few rounds the senior guard will return with the Captain of the guard and the Kings steward.

The Jail

The jail is a squat rectangular structure made from dark gray stone. It is one hundred twenty five feet long and twenty five feet tall. A ten foot high wall made from the same stone surrounds it. The entrances to the jail are barred by grids of iron bars secured into the stone floor. Gates have been built into these and form an anteroom in which prisoners can be held. The guards always lock both doors when entering or exiting the jail.
There are eight communal cells on each level with an additional four cells in a separate area adjacent to the main guards' station on the first level. The communal cells are twenty feet square. There are air slots 10 feet above the floor on the back wall of the cells. They are three inches wide by three feet long. They are not barred. The entrances to these cells are barred by the same type of iron rods as the jail entrances with doors measuring six feet tall by 4 feet wide. These doors are padlocked with heavy steel padlocks. Each cell is equipped with several of the metal sanitation buckets but no other furnishings. The floors are made of stone with no hay or dirt or any kind of padding. Each cell is designed to hold ten prisoners but due to the festival the number of occupants is closer to fifteen to eighteen.
The individual cells are for prisoners deemed too dangerous for the communal cells. These cells are outfitted with manacles hanging from short chains fitted to the back wall of the cells. They have no other furnishings save a metal sanitation bucket. Three of these cells are currently empty with the fourth holding a tall thin man with several bruises on his face. He is not manacled and sits on the floor.

The Guards

There are twelve guards in the jail. At any given time six of the guards are patrolling the hallways between the communal cells. Two guards are always at the guard station. The other four guards are at the front and rear entrances to the jail. The senior guard can usually be found at the main guard station on the first level although he occasionally patrols the communal cells checking on the guards there.
The guards are all armed with long rods of a dark hard wood. They wear dark leather armor and tall leather boots. They also carry a whistle on a cord around their necks. This whistle is used to call reinforcements from other parts of the jail.
The senior guard and the Captain of the Guard both wear chainmail armor and carry short swords.

The Thief

The prisoner in the individual cell is the PCs main focus. He is Crull Chorster a middle ranking member of the city's thieves guild. He was caught sneaking through a gate after the Cup of Kings was stolen. Chorster is tall thin and wiry with long dark hair. His face shows many bruises and cuts.

What the thief knows

Crull Chorster is actually the thief that stole the Cup of Kings. He was merely unlucky in the fact that he was caught after hiding the cup on a caravan scheduled to leave the city. He has not told the guards this. (Hence the bruises on his face).
How Chorster reacts to the PCs is dependant on how they first encounter him. If the PCs are in the company of the Captain of the guard he will be very reluctant to share any information with them making the challenge that much harder.
If the PCs are brought in under arrest Chorster will be less "on guard". He still won't volunteer any information but he will be more likely to tell the PCs his story after a few well placed questions. Chorster is secure in his belief that his guild will affect his release. He is also aware that he will have to leave the city if he wishes to stay alive. (This might be a way for the PCs to convince him to tell his story). If the PCs are successful Chorster tells them the following:
1. He stole the Cup of Kings.
2. He works for the city's' thieves guild.
3. He hid the Cup in a secret compartment in a wagon of a caravan that is scheduled to leave the city soon.
He is slightly arrogant about his crime saying that it was pure luck that he was caught. His self estimation of his skills is quite high.

What the PCs can do with the information

This is also dependant on previous events. If the PCs were not involved in the "Brawl at the market" encounter, they will probably return to the kings' steward and report what they learned at the jail. If they were involved there are several possibilities:

1. The PCs were NOT arrested and learned this information.
2. The PCs WERE arrested and learned this information.

If the PCs were not arrested they may try and use this information to secure a job and the reward that goes along with it. Telling this information to anyone other than the kings' steward might compromise the value of the information however.
If the PCs were arrested they may try and use this information to gain their freedom. This should be a fairly easy challenge as the kings' steward would gladly exchange the PCs freedom for information on the Cup. (Assuming the PCs haven't engaged in wholesale slaughter or magical destruction) This strategy might also affect the reward paid to the party upon completion of their task.

Notes: The jail is not a happy place. It is dim, hot and loud. The air is full of unpleasant smells. The prisoners are mostly male and mostly drunk. They mill about the communal cells shouting at the guards, fighting amongst themselves and occasionally vomiting on the stone floor.
The prisoners can expect no privileges. They are fed twice a day and the sanitation buckets are emptied into vile excrement covered carts once each day. Prisoner abuse by the guards and other prisoners is common. Guards can often be seen betting on fights between prisoners. These fights can occasionally be to the death.
Mostly all of the prisoners currently held in this jail are in fact criminals. (The drunks are usually held for one night and day and then released). The PCs should be dissuaded from affecting a mass escape. The people in this jail for the most part deserve to be here.

*EDIT*
I threw together a quick encounter map for this. (obviously someone could "pretty" this up I just made it to diagram the encounter)


Here is a "Pretty" version I kept the labels as I would have had to use pre-made objects and I didn't want to do that (obviously)

[Korash]

Good stuff JT, but i think that there is a problem with the placement of the thief. If he is in an isolated cell (I have no problem with that, concidering what he did) and the prisoners are in the comunal cells, how are they supposed to get any info out of him. It is extremely unlikely that he would be willing to yell anything that he has to offer across the entire jail, just because the characters ask him a few questions. Even if those questions could be heard over the dim of the other prisoners.

Just my 2 cents (+ exchange rate and inflation) worth

[jtougas]

1. The PCs have been arrested. In this case due to the overcrowding of the communal cells the PCs will be placed in the individual cell with the tall prisoner (large parties will be split up)

Missed something ?

[Korash]

WHOOOPSY.....

I guess i did

Sorry about that

So much for my "proofing abilities"

[jtougas]

WHOOOPSY.....

I guess i did

Sorry about that

So much for my "proofing abilities"

No problem. Keep proofing me. I need it.