Adventure for a level 10 party

Description: The guards of Baldur’s Gate have uncovered a plot by a group of skinwalkers to take over the city by replacing key political members. See Pick a Card and Joker’s Wild Adventures. Two skinwalkers have been found and defeated but three more are hiding in the estate of Entar Silvershield, one of the four Grand Duke’s of Baldur’s Gate. Entar Silvershield is entertaining a visiting merchant envoy from the Merchant’s League. As such, he wants the inquiry to be done quietly and discreetly. The players must find the three skinwalkers before they can assassinate Entar Silvershield.

Setup: Nancey Keene, a Baldur’s Gate guard, would like the players to help her finish her investigation. Three rogue skinwalkers are loose in the city. Going through the documents of the Joker’s Wild has turned up a possible lead on where the remaining skinwalkers are hiding. They are possibly hiding in the estate of Grand Duke Entar Silvershield. They could literally be anyone. However, based on her interrogation with Balor Warrington Nancey thinks she has a way to possibly identify a skinwalker. They don’t show emotion well. They will try to fake it but will do so poorly. Also, they don’t gain the knowledge of the bodies they control so they won’t know anything that the dead person does. If the players agree to the adventure, they will be taken to the large manorhouse of Grand Duke Entar Silvershield. 

After talking to the guards at the front gates, you are quickly escorted to a small sitting room on the first floor of an enormous mansion. Several minutes pass before the Grand Duke enters. He’s a large human, powerfully built, wearing rich clothing. A bejeweled sword hangs from his belt. “What is the meaning of this intrusion? I am entertaining some very important guests from the merchant’s league. Our trade agreement is already tenuous and I can’t afford any possible complications.”

Nancey Keene is left somewhat speechless by the presence of the Grand Duke. It will be up to the players to explain the situation. Provided they give sufficient cause or succeed at a Persuasion check DC 14, they will be allowed to interrogate the staff. He will remind them to keep it quiet and discreet. Any commotions and he will be most displeased. He assigns his Chief Butler Yaro Donaldson to direct the players. They may interrogate him first.

The player’s goal is to get each staff member to show an emotion through communication and then roll an Insight check DC 10 to determine whether the person is human or a skinwalker. If the players are struggling to get a reaction, you can give them a hint.

Yaro Donaldson (Human, LG) – Prim and proper, Yaro is the essence of humble deference. He is polite to a fault. Honest. He has served the family for twenty years. He has no children, but he has a sister and loves cats. He is heavily devoted and easily angered if anyone insults Duke Silvershield or his family. He is human.

Room 1 – The Kitchen

Yaro Donaldson leads you through a maze of passages and doors to the enormous manor house kitchen. You can smell a delicious stew cooking on a nearby oven. A large platter of food has been prepared on carts in the middle of the room for the midday meal. You also see several large bottles of expensive elven wine balanced on one cart. Yaro calls over four kitchen staff members and introduces them: the head cook Francois Legar, the turnbroach Salis Volare, the porter Haggis Macree, and the yeoman Tic Skreetch.

Francois Legar (Elf, TN) – Francois is a bit of a control freak. He’s been the chief cook for twelve years now. He doesn’t like interruptions and will insist on continuing to cook while the players talk periodically yelling at the porter to bring him things. He is divorced. One child who doesn’t ever speak to him. Francois will lose it if the players attempt to touch the food or add anything to it. He is an elf.

Salis Volare (Dwarf, CG) – Salis is a big female dwarf with large muscles. A turnbroach manages the cooking of meat, particularly over a spit. She’s relatively new and has only worked in the household for a few months. She may look intimidating but she’s actually rather timid and shy. She is not married and is the youngest of seven. She will blush heavily if a player compliments her particularly if he is a handsome male. She is a dwarf.

Haggis Macree (Construct, NE) – Haggis is the porter, which means he runs tasks for the cook and carries things to the dining hall. He is constantly chewing something and grumbles under his breath. He won’t look at the players when they talk to him and will mumble a lot. Haggis has been a member of the household for eight years. He has no kin. He is a skinwalkwer pretending to be Haggis.

Tic Skreetch (Halfling, LG) – Tic is a bit of a jokester. She is the yeoman which means she handles the dishware. She can juggle several cups without breaking them and likes to show off. Half her hair has been dyed purple. She laughs readily and easily. She’s been on staff for less than a year and has family in town. She is a halfling.

Once the players have uncovered Haggis, the battle begins. If the players can keep from destroying the meal and especially if they can keep from breaking the wine, they will receive an additional reward from the Grand Duke.

Room 2 – The Office

Yaro Donaldson leads you up several flights of stairs and down a hallway to a beautiful room with a large desk, bookshelves, and huge windows that look out onto the manor garden. He asks you to wait patiently while he summons the cleaning staff. While you wait, you look out the window and see a pavilion has been set up in the front yard. The Grand Duke is there along with a group of men and women you assume must belong to the merchant’s league. A group of bards stand nearby playing music you can just barely hear. The door opens and Yaro enters with three people. He introduces them as Salmear Patt, Bilfree Wayne, and Tane Caldwell.

Salmear Patt (Human, NE) – Salmear is a conniving woman with a greedy nature. She is easily tempted by gold. She has worked for the Grand Duke for four years and is very proud of getting her position in his household. She will be condescending and haughty. She can be easily insulted or the players can appeal to her greed. She has been married three times and has no children. She is human.

Bilfree Wayne (Elf, LN) – Bilfree loves to talk. She likes to tell stories and is easily distracted. She’s an older woman for an elf and has long gray hair tied in a bun. She’s a grandmother of four and a parent of two. She has worked in the manor for fifty years under two other Grand Dukes. She is an elf.

Tane Caldwell (Construct, NE) – Tane has been a member of the cleaning staff for two years now. She is quiet and does her job well. She is married with two children. She will act very meek and unassuming. A skinwalker is pretending to be Tane.

When Tane is revealed she will attempt to push one of the players out of the window. She will also throw large objects like the bookshelves at the players. They should avoid standing near the window. If the battle does not attract the notice of the party out front, the players will receive an additional reward from the Grand Duke.

Room 3 – The Garden

Yaro takes you down and through the long halls of the mansion to a backdoor leading to the side of the estate. You can hear the music from the bards and the gentle conversation from the lawn party. Yaro whispers to you to be quiet and leads you around a large fountain to the stables. He then calls forth three staff members: The stable Master Daldra Tarrow, the gardener Zigli, and the Hunt Master Jamond Rene.

Daldra Tarrow (Human, NG) – Daldra is more comfortable around horses than people. She will readily talk about the stables and the horses but is very terse about anything else. She is married. No kids. She’s worked at the estate for seven years. She will gush excitedly about equestrian topics. She is human.

Zigli (Halfling, CG) – Zigli has strabismus. This means his eyes don’t match what he is looking at so it always looks like he’s staring off in the distance when talking to you. Otherwise, he’s a pleasant halfling who has worked for the Grand Duke for 14 years and is a master of plants. He lives with his sister and is quite comfortable being a bachelor. He is a halfling.

Jamond Rene (Human, LG) – Jamond is a slight man with a large mustache and a piercing stare. He is the hunt master and thus trains the dogs and falcons used by the Grand Duke for hunting. He’s engaged to be married and is a little distracted because he’s in love. He has worked for the Grand Duke for seven years now. He is a human.

None of these three staff are skinwalkers. After confirming this, the players are directed to return to the manor while Yaro goes to get the guards. It’s possible one of them is a skinwalker. As the group returns to the backdoor, they will hear a loud laugh coming from the lawn party. Have each player make an Insight check DC 10. On a success, the player realizes that the laugh is mechanical and has no real emotion behind it. 

The Party Battle

The lawn party consists of five members of the merchant league, four servants, four guards, and the bardic band has three members. The Grand Duke intercepts the party, While they talk, a large burly man (his name is Garris Balefore) from the merchant’s guild picks up a pole from one of the pavilion tents, breaks it into a makeshift spear and throws it at the Grand Duke. The players will have the opportunity to make one reaction to stop the pole or a player can attempt to block the spear with their own body by making a successful Dexterity check DC 16. On a success, the player takes 8d6 + 8 piercing damage. Otherwise, Grand Duke Silvershield gets hit. He will survive. If the players can stop the pole from hitting Silvershield, they will receive an additional reward from the Grand Duke. After the initial attack, the players fight Garris while the lawn party scatters and the guards carry away Duke Silvershield.

After the battle, the Grand Duke will thank the players for their service and reward them. By defeating all three skinwalkers, they receive one of the following rewards and additional ones if they earned them:

2000 GP

Brocade Gown Threaded with Gold (3,000 gp)

Marble chess set with gemstones (3,000 gp)

Bag of Tricks

Wand of Silence (30/50 charges)

Ring of Mind Shielding

Ring of Protection +1

+2 Heavy steel shield (small)

+1 Longsword (sheds light in 30 ft. radius)