GILHELM'S RUN, a proto-adventure

 Wasn't sure what to do with this adventure I had sitting around. I wasn't feeling motivated enough to stat it up for any particular system, but it's too specific to be truly generic... if you can use it, use it, I guess! Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.

GILHELM’S RUN

Brandish Gilhelm, proprietor of the Bergman Yards, finds himself against a wall when the Tollsgate Guard break into his bar and accuse him of high treason. The heroes must leap to action to save Gilhelm, the Bergman Yards, and the valuable information in Gilhelm’s precious scroll case...

CHARACTER CREATION

Create characters as normal. After you´re done, answer the following two questions, or roll on the tables below for a random answer:

• How do you know Brandish Gilhelm?

1 You served together in the Sylbarran Navy

2 He gave you a loan when you needed to get on your feet

3 You’re the bane of the Bergman Yards when you get drunk, which is often

4 He's a childhood friend

5 You escort the ale and food shipments he gets from Deragonna

6 You're secretly a member of the Five Hands too

• What is a secret of his?

1 He´s a member of the Five Hands sect in Tollsgate

2 The ale he sells is watered-down, not authentic Dwarvish as he claims

3 He has a husband… and a girlfriend

4 He framed Alfonso Glass for a misdemeanor he committed

5 He’s in an experimental band called Viking Death Squad

6 He wants to retire and be an artist full-time, not run a bar

BRANDISH GILHELM

Brandish Gilhelm, a veteran of the Sylbarran Navy, is a kindly old barkeep, known for his tendency to sing as he serves the patrons. However, he lives a double life- he is an agent of the Five Hands in Tollsgate. Within the Five Hands, he wields a lot of authority, but this is not without its share of responsibility. He has been entrusted with a scroll case, the contents of which he will not disclose. He knows that a crooked guard named Alfonso Glass is after it, and will do anything to keep it out of his clutches.

WHAT'S IN IT?

1 Love letters between the Dragon Queen and her mate

2 Notes on the Blue Diamond

3 Maps of the Underdark below the Vipernoss

4 A contract outlining an illegal deal

5 Schematics for a new weapon

6 A ledger with information about the members of the Five Hands

ALFONSO GLASS

Alfonso Glass is a Smallfolk Captain of the Watch among the Tollsgate Guard. However, he has a secret: he erased his memory-suppression rune. Now he works as a freelance agent, using the Tollsgate Guard at the directive of the highest bidder. He’s currently hunting down the contents of Gilhelm’s scroll case, and the fact that Gilhelm’s a Five Hands agent only makes his job easier to explain.

WHO HIRED ALFONSO?

1 Alfonso is acting on his own interests

2 The Dragon Queen

3 Mistress Selbernacht

4 One of Tollsgate’s Smallfolk crime families

THE BERGMAN YARDS

The Bergman Yards is among the most happening locales in Tollsgate. Above the front door, the hull of a pirate ship sticks out of the brick facade, a cobwebbed and pirate-garbed skeleton named Barry frozen eternally in the hoisting of a rainwater-filled mug. Inside, warmth and merriment abound as workers frantically cater to the ‘round-the-clock rush. Warm ale gushes forth from taps on the ceilings, allowing a merry rain of alcohol anywhere on the floor on demand. The heroes are all nursing a pint and chatting with Brandish when there comes an abrasive knock on the door…

ENCOUNTER I: SHOOTOUT AT THE SALOON

• Alfonso Glass and 3 Tollsgate Guards began to break into the Bergman Yards

• d4 more Tollsgate Guards arrive every ROUND

• Gilhelm tells all the patrons to invert the tables and get behind them

• The patrons can be asked to do anything not life-threatening

• The Guards will not aim at any civilians; the target is exclusively Gilhelm and any heroes that seem to associate with him

• The furniture and amenities can be used in any creative way imaginable

• In d4 ROUNDS, Gilhelm will suggest a hasty retreat to the basement

ENCOUNTER II: COLD STORAGE

• Wine and ale are stored in barrels along these long, winding stacks

• The room is kept at a constant chill to ensure freshness

• All combatants take 1 FATIGUE every ROUND from the cold

• Spaced FAR from each other and each exit are a series of traps Gilhelm instituted in case of an emergency

• Close: a crushing block (2 WOUNDS) falls when a tripwire is released

• Mid: a pressure plate dislodges a shelf, making barrels roll a la Donkey Kong

• Far: a jet of flame (3 WOUNDS) scorches every other ROUND

• Alfonso sends in 4 Guards in 1 ROUND, then will himself arrive d4 ROUNDS later after the civilians have evacuated the tavern

• Once Gilhelm gets to the door on the far side, he can unlock the various sealant mechanisms in d4 ROUNDS

• If he were to die during this time, he undoes the lock immediately

• He then hands the closest hero the scroll case...

• 
  
  
  
  
  ...and whispers “find the Five Hands, they’ll help you” with his last breath

ENCOUNTER III: SEWERS

The stairs on the other side of the cellar lead down into the sewers below Tollsgate. The heroes have to evade the guards and make their way to the Five Hands stronghold, with or without Gilhelm in tow.

Every TURN the characters spend moving through the sewers, roll to see what they encounter. By default, the PCs have 3 encounters to contend with before they manage to locate the stronghold, though use your discretion to add or subtract from this number.

SEWER ENCOUNTERS

1 Guards: Glass and 2d4 Tollsgate Guards catch up to the party

2 Were-rats: 2d6 massive half-rodent creatures cavort in the dark, hungering for flesh

3 Scrappers: 3 bandits with rusted supplies and empty syringes stage a hold-up

4 Bridge: a crumbling walkway spans a trickle of sewer sludge, roll again on this table

5 Fork: the path branches; roll 2 times, each roll is an option along the path

6 Lost: roll 2 more times total as the sewer twists back on itself

ENCOUNTER IV: THE RESISTANCE

• A ladder from the sewer leads up to this abandoned warehouse

• This is the base of operations of the Five Hands in Tollsgate

• The Five Hands sect is led by Natalia Rotlip

• She’s a no-nonsense Smallfolk woman named for a large, hereditary mole over her lip

• There are 6 other Five Hands members in the warehouse

• The warehouse is filled with scrap wood, tools, and a small cache of explosives

• Glass and a veritable army of Tollsgate Guards will surround the warehouse in 3 TURNS

• This is the final hour of the Five Hands

• If Glass gets into the warehouse, the rebellion will be scattered beyond organization, and the scroll case will be in jeopardy!

CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE

There are as many ways to end this adventure as there are tables, but here are a few broad categories to use as jumping-off points.

• The Base Held. The Five Hands stands triumphant, the scroll case in hand. However, in all likelihood, Glass and the wider city is now aware of a Five Hand presence, very much illegal under Sylbarran rule. The Five Hands will need to make a getaway… enter a Smallfolk crime family, willing to smuggle them out at a steep price.

• A Narrow Salvation. The heroes have the scroll case, but perhaps at the cost of Brandish’s life, or the security of the Five Hands sect. With Glass hot on their tail, they’ll have to figure out what to do with the contents of the case, and who to trust.

All Is Lost. Glass has a hold of the scroll case. The heroes, in kahoots with the Five Hands, have to get it back fast, before he gets it to his client or uses it for himself. A tense heist mission on the clock, for all the marbles!