The Rescue Of Ren

Here is an adventure for three to six player characters of 3rd to 6th levels. A small party better be toward the high end of the level-suggestions; a larger party may survive with less power.

The party of adventurers is in the Free City of Greyhawk, looking for employment. One day, a messenger comes to the inn where the party is staying. He asks for the leader of the group, presses a piece of paper into the leader’s hands, and asks for a tip.

The paper reads: “Bold ones! Your reputation for bravery and skill has preceded you! Come to the headquarters of the Traders’ Union, if you wish to learn something of advantage.” It is not signed, but the seal of the Traders’ Union at the bottom authenticates it. If the messenger boy is still waiting for his tip, he will be willing to guide the group to the Traders’ Union.

The Traders’ Union

This building is in a respectable section of the city, and is guarded by five 6th-level fighters.

Fighters (5): AC 4; MV 9”; HD 6; hp 45,42,40,39,36,33; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 (Longsword THACO 16; AL N

The fighters will be courteous, but will not allow anybody into the Traders’ Union building without proper authorization. If the boy is with the group, the fighters will accept his word as to the PCs’ status. Ifthe boy is not with the group, the letter with the seal will persuade the fighters to admit them.

On the inside, the Traders’ Union is a bustling, busy place. Members of all the races in Greyhawk can be found there, dickering over bales of goods. The guards escorting the PCs are unfailingly polite, but will not tolerate idle sightseeing or theft. Any PC who tries to steal anything in the Traders’ Union building will be detected by magic mouth spells placed in every room, and forced to make compensation.

The PCs are led through the entire Traders’ Union, to an upper story, where a respectable-looking dwarf and incredibly old elf await them, along with several prosperous-looking humans.

When the PCs are ushered into the room, the oldest human present will stand and welcome them, asking them to be seated. When everyone is comfortable, he will begin:

“My good sirs (and/or ladies), welcome to the humble headquarters of the Traders’ Union of the City of Greyhawk. My name is Strimtin Cannasay, and these good merchants with me help to keep the Union free, respected, and honest. We called you in for your, well, let us say, expertise in certain matters with which we are not able to deal.

“The Master of the Traders’ Union, Ren 0’ the Star, has disappeared. We have determined that he was captured by certain unsavory people with whom he was wont to play at games of chance. We believe that his kidnappers wish to extort money from him. We know where he is being held, and we want you to get him back to us.”

If the PCs ask how the Traders’ Union knows where their leader is being held, Strimtin Cannasay just grins and says: “Professional secret.’’ The traders will supply a guide to the area, and even the exact house, where Ren is being held.

The traders know a great deal more than they are telling the PCs. Ren 0’ the Star’s kidnapping was approved by the Union, as a way to scare Ren into giving up or cutting back his gambling. They dislike the way his gambling losses force him to deal with his customers, and know that his behavior reflects badly on all of them. None of the traders will admit that they were involved with Ren’s kidnapping. Since the whole affair was arranged through intermediaries, the kidnappers don’t even know who their true employers are.

Ren was kidnapped neatly from the street, but things quickly started to go wrong: The kidnappers, intoxicated by the sense of power at having a wealthy, powerful merchant like Ren at their mercy, began making ridiculous demands. Instead of simply going through with their assigned charade to scare Ren away from the gaming tables, they asked a ransom of 100,000 g.p. and safe passage out of Greyhawk!

The justifiably upset traders just want to get their colleague back (and if the kidnappers are silenced-forever- so much the better). The Traders’ Union will pay the PCs’ expenses, and add a reasonable reward, plus whatever they plunder from the kidnappers.

The Wrong Side of the Tracks

The PCs’ guide leads them through a maze of streets and alleys. The neighborhoods become worse and worse. The houses get more ruinous, the people shabbier, and the streets themselves more filthy. Finally, the guide and the PCs are stopped by a gang of youths, dressed in rags.

“Ten coppers apiece to pass, strangers. Nobody goes through Owlbear’s turf without paying Owlbear’s toll!” sneers the leader, while the rest swing knives, daggers, and clubs threateningly.

Street gang members (11): AC 10; MV 12“; HD 0; hp 1 (xll #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (dagger THACO 20; AL various, but always evil; SA nil; SD nil.

Gangs like this survive by bullying and robbing weaker slum residents, but if the PCs are able to kill Owlbear, or kill two or three gang members, the rest will retreat. They know they’ll find easier pickings elsewhere. Owlbear leads the gang by virtue of his superior level and strength. Other gang members have no stats greater than 11.

If the PCs pay, the gang lets them pass, sneering and spitting to show their contempt. Secretly, even Owlbear was terrified, but he knew that avoiding this encounter would brand him a coward. They have been paid by the kidnapping gang to divert attention from their headquarters.

The Kidnappers’ Headquarters

Two turns after meeting Owlbear’s gang, the PCs will be in view of the house where Ren 0’ the Star is being held. It is a two-story house, indistinguishable from the other houses around it. Once the PCs are certain of the house, their guide will disappear. He was not hired to fight, and will not fight under any circumstances.

The door of the house is locked, but any thief can easily pick the lock: It was put there only to discourage the slum-dwellers from trying to enter. The walls of the house are soundproofed; it is impossible to hear noises through them. The doors between rooms are not locked, and the hinges are oiled to open quietly. In any room, there is a base 10% chance of a PC party being caught by surprise when a door opens from another room, unless that room is empty or has been cleared by the PCs.

Room 1: This was once the front parlor, when the house and neighborhood were not in such bad condition. Here, two men in chain mail with shields and weapons are playing dice.

Fourth-level fighters (2): AC 4-chain mail + shield; MV 9”; HD 3; hp 25; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 (battle axe and spiked buckler Str 13, Int 8, Wis 9, Dex 11, Con 12, Cha 10; THACO 18; AL CN.

These fighters were hired by the kidnappers, and know nothing of the activities of their employers. They fight well, but will surrender if they see that their odds of winning are slim.

Room 2: This room is nearly bare. There are heavy mats on the floor, and carpets have been hung from the walls to pad them. A man and a woman in leather armor, with a family resemblance to each other, are exercising here.

Moriton and Jerilyn Tallinn are members of the kidnapper gang. They know where Ren 0’ the Star is, but will not tell. If they see that they are losing the fight, they will try to escape through Room 1 into the street. They feel little loyalty to the rest of the gang. Each of them has 1d20 g.p. and 180 sp; they supplement their salaries with a little theft.

Room 3: This is a dining room, with a rough, improvised table. At the table, a woman in rusty mail and a man wearing studded leather armor are eating.

Alia Halaby, one of the people at the table, is a member of the gang, and if she is allowed to surrender, she will tell where Ren 0’ the Star is being held.

Trinian Poolgazer, the other person at the table, is a half-elf, and a member of the gang. Under no circumstances will he reveal where Ren 0’ the Star is. If he enters combat, he will delay using his spells (spiritual hammer, command and cause fear), to try to make the attackers think that he’s just a thief.

Under the table is a bucket with an executioner’s hood inside. If the fighting is going badly for the gang members, Trinian Poolgazer will uncover the bucket and throw the hood at the highest-level PC he can see.

Executioner’s hood: AC 6; MV 6”; HD 6 + 6; hp 35; #AT 1; Dmg ld4; THACO 13; AL N; SA surprise on 1-3; SD immune to sleep spells.

Here is an adventure for three to six player characters of 3rd to 6th levels.

Conclusion-Ren Returned

Room 4: This room is neat and clean. A half-orcish woman in splint mail is sitting in a chair, reading a book. Against the wall, stairs lead up, presumably to a second floor.

Grugrunk Abedluthic, a half-orc, is the leader of the gang. She knows exactly where Ren 0’ the Star is, but she will only confess his whereabouts if she is forced to surrender and then convinced that her captors will kill her if she doesn’t talk. She knows the following spells: spell immunity, animate dead, feign death, hold person, silence 15’ radius, spiritual hammer, command, cause fear, sanctuary.

The stairway to the upper level is trapped. The second step from the top is hinged so that the riser will drop away under a person’s feet. Anybody triggering this trap must save vs. dexterity or suffer ld6 points of damage. Persons failing their save vs. dexterity must then save vs. constitution or their 1d6 points of damage will be a broken leg, reducing their effective movement rate to 3”.

When the PCs climb the stairs, they must save vs. spell, or they will believe they see an attic that has been heavily damaged by fire. This room is the headquarters of a spell caster. He has cast invisibility on himself, then cast improved phantasmal force on the room to make it look ruined.

Kee Arkguard, the last gang-member, is interested only in his own safety. He will betray anybody if he can get something out of it. He owns a wand of illusion, as well as a staff of swarming insects. He has 6,000 g.p. hidden in the room, and will bargain for his life if he thinks he is likely to lose a fight.

He knows the spells hallucinatory terrain, non-detection, improved phantasmal force (already expended), invisibility (already expended), misdirection, change self, hypnotism, phantasmal force. He has his spell book nearby.

Guarding the spell caster are several undead, animated by Grugrunk Abedluthic.

Monster Zombies (2): (AC 6; MV 9”; HD 6; hp 39 each; #AT 1; Dmg 4-16; THACO 13; AL N; SA nil; SD immune to charm, cold, death magic, hold, sleep, turned as ghasts.

Animal Skeletons (12): (AC 8; MV 6”; HD 1-1; hp 7 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4; THACO 20; AL N; SA nil; SD immunity to charm, cold, death magic, hold, sleep, edged weapons inflict 1/2 normal damage) guard the illusionist’s safety.

The wall underneath the stairs has a secret door. Behind this door, Ren 0’ the Star is tied up and gagged, suffering from lack of water and food, but otherwise unharmed.