Overview

The Rivers’ Seven is a heist adventure for 2-4 players of levels 6-8.

The goal of the adventure is to save Thaylia and her son from the brutal enslavement by King Brutan Namor II and his wife Queen Violante Antona. In addition to saving the imprisoned bard, River Manor and his band hope to rob the wicked king blind.

This is a three part adventure.

• Part 1. Infiltration – This adventure will require finding the means of sneaking into Castle Namor.
• Part 2. The Queen’s Key – This adventure will mean putting all the pieces in place to free the bard and rob the king.
• Part 3. The Party – This adventure will involve creating a panic and escaping with the bard, her son, and the king’s treasure.

Part 1. Infiltration

Setup

In the sleepy village of Kelper’s Vine at the Inn of the Last Unicorn, River Maynor is looking for four good adventurers to help him complete a daring caper. Several months ago River received a letter from an old traveling companion of his, Thaylia the master bard. Apparently, she gave a performance for King Namor and his wife and she so impressed them that Namor decided she should never leave. She’s been held prisoner there and forced to perform the king and queen. The letter begs River to come and help her.

River has a plan. But it needs seven. If there aren’t enough players, fill in the last two rolls with two generic level 6 fighters named Walberg and Hubert or just Walberg if you only need one.

Queen Violante is having a birthday party in three days. There will be two infiltration teams:

1. One group will pose as merchants selling wine. River already has a wagon with several “special” wine flasks. Barrick will lead that team.

2. The other team will be posing as nobles and their guards. The players can choose either team to join or they can split the party if they want.

The first challenge is that the group will need a nobleman’s carriage and some invitations. There’s a noble named Clyde Witdale who is traveling towards Kelper’s Vine as you speak. You’ll just need to make sure he doesn’t arrive there. The players can negotiate their hiring rates with River but he won’t go past a fifteen percent cut per player.

Step 1. A carriage, a cleric, and a letter

Clyde Witdale is a human male about fifty years of age. He’s a a germophobe and travels with a cleric named Ellisbee, a titchy, nervous man and a coward. Clyde has a troop of six elite guards.

The party can come up with whatever plan they want to steal the carriage and the invitation. If the party is at a loss or doesn’t want to come up with anything, River recommends a “bandit” ambush and getting rid of the guards then he and Brick will ride in and “save the day.” After that he will lead Clyde back to Kelper’s Vine where he will encourage Clyde to hire the party to replace the lost guards.

Once the group has the carriage, the second part of the plan involves stealing Clyde’s invitation. Either one of the party or Larry can steal it at the Inn. Larry can make fake invitations once he has an original. The only requirement is that Clyde not be harmed since he is needed for part two of the plan. He can be intimidated, manipulated, or magically controlled. If he is killed for whatever reason, River or someone else may take his place and try to bluff their way through. Larry will replace Ellisbee using his hat of disguise.

If the party used River’s plan then once the six guards are defeated, he will lead Clyde and Ellisbee to Kelper’s Vine. Ellisbee likes to gamble. Once separated from Clyde, the party will need to subdue Ellisbee so that Larry can replace him using his hat of disguise.

Step 2. Sneaking into the Castle

The next day, the group will arrive at the city of Namor with much pomp and circumstance. There are musicians in the streets, streamers hanging from the buildings, jugglers, and all sorts of entertainment. In the very center of town is a large castle that can only be entered by a single drawbridge.

The party may disguise themselves as guards or potentially minor vassals. Pretending to be anyone important will require Persuasion checks. With the carriage and Clyde, the group will be able to gain entrance to the castle.

The players could also try to sneak inside without the carriage. The walls surrounding the castle are thirty foot high and require a Athletics (Climb) check DC 18 to get over. There are also a number of guards throughout the castle which will make sneaking around difficult. for every ten minutes a player spends sneaking, they must make a Stealth check DC 16 or get caught by a guard.

If the party opted to travel with Barrick, he sets out a few hours earlier in the night. Barrick will travel with Walberg and Hubert if they are part of the group. As he travels, he will get attacked by a group of Orcs 3 + (1 for each player). He will arrive at the castle and need to sneak around to one of the nearby woods to await a signal from River.

Step 3. The Queen’s Greeting

The party may spend the day exploring the castle (see map) before the evening’s entertainment. However, they will be limited to the locations they can visit.

That night, the Queen Violante invites all of her guests to the royal pavilion. There will be a feast tomorrow with much wine, singing, and dancing but tonight she invites her guests to rest from their journey, enjoy some food, and listen to some light music.

River gives the players a task. They need to spread rumors about a plague in the north called Blood Tongue. Victims of the plague can be identified by a bright red tongue that burns as if it were on fire. It’s easy to catch and has been quite deadly.

The players should engage in some Charisma (Persuasion) checks. Have all of the players in the party roll separately. River and Larry are also spreading rumors. If the combined roll of the players exceeds 25, then the rumors are firmly placed, which will make the escape in Part 3 easier. If the players roll over 30, they create a mild panic among the guests. If they roll over 40, then at least three guests faint in horror and everyone keeps secretly checking their tongues.