Our tale unfolds in Severan, the City by the Sea, bordered on the east by the Nedrasi Forest and on the west by the Great Sea. Severan and the surrounding lands are ruled locally by Lord Nellis, known as a fair and just leader by some and as hard, inflexible, and lacking imagination by others. The King's Road, as well as the River Naga, both of which wind through the land, either begin or end here.
You have grown up on the streets of Severan, an orphan with little memory of your early past and no blood relations (as far as you know) to speak of. Your family are the other street kids, your father Pagin of the Shadows. Pagin runs the Thieves' Guild, and uses children and the rest of the underclass as his network of cutpurses and spies, stealing and selling valuables as well as information
Pagin has you brought before him, ”Robbet me lad, I be having a special job for ye.” He waves you closer and passes a drink into your hand, ”Relax lad it be a simple snatch-and-grab. Something right up ye alley. Break into a mansion and steal a noblewoman's precious gem broach. Should be easy as pie lad.”
With a patently false grin he leers at you, ”What will it be lad, yeah or nay?”
Robbet slowly raises the mug to his lips and takes a large gulp almost choking on the strong brew. He slowly places the mug back on the table as he tries to conceal his excitement and asks nonchalantly, ”How are we splitting the loot?”
”The usual split. I be getting the broach and fifty-fifty on anything else you be finding.”
The old thief goes on to tell you of the mansion's layout and grounds, as well as information on the Lady's guard.
”I be expecting this job to be done within the next fortnight. Any questions?”
Robbet has no questions and leaves. He spends the next week casing the mansion, talking to those who make deliveries, and trying to cozy up with the servants.
You slither around the crowded streets trying to remain unobtrusive occasionally venturing out of the shadows to gather information about the mansion’s occupants and their habits.
Trying to remain as unobtrusive as possible Robbet watches the mansion.
With the high wall blocking your view Robbet can’t see much activity on the mansion’s grounds. However, his efforts to gather information are more successful. Robbet chats up one of the maids and discovers that Lady Serange is a rich widow who inherited her husband's lands and titles upon his death. Furthermore, that in one week she will be absent for an entire night while attending a Masquerade Ball at a neighboring estate.
You're standing next to the wall surrounding Lady Serange's mansion. It's about 4 a.m.; you figure that most people (the Lady, her house staff) will be fast asleep, with maybe a guard or two patrolling the grounds (at best-more likely; they'll be playing dice, or asleep, in the guardhouse, or shtupping a serving girl in a broom closet). Your target, you remind yourself, is the Lady's sapphire broach. Pagin is uniterested in anything else; perhaps it has some special significance somehow? Anyway, focusing on the problem at hand...
How to get over the wall? It completely surrounds the mansion's grounds, with only a single (currently barred) gate which opens to the front yard. There are two ways you can think of: climb the wall, or sneak in through a drainage culvert which cuts through the bottom in one section (it'll be a tight fit, but you think you might be able to swing it).
Try as he might Robbet can’t make it up the rope. Not wanting to waste time he heads towards the drainage culvert.
You begin inching your way through the culvert. It's slow going, using your elbows and knees to push yourself forward. And it's dirty, smelly work-some of the “water” flowing under you is full of waste from the mansion. What does the Lady eat, anyway? Ahead, you hear scratching, getting closer. It's very dark in here.
Suddenly, a loud squeaking erupts right in front of you. A large (cat-sized!) rat rears up, just as surprised as you are! It attacks, furiously scratching its claws and biting at your face!
You act, what do you do?
Robbet pulls out his short sword and slashes at the nasty vermin.
Your blow misses the rat. It springs backwards, surprised by your ferocity, before turning and scurry- ing away from you, its tail literally tucked in between its hind legs. Carefully, you make your way to the end of the culvert, keeping a wary eye out for any more surprises.
You've passed the first part of your test, crossing the outer border of Lady Serange's private estate. You see two ways forward-make a (quiet-as-possible) run for the mansion itself, hoping to quickly cross the yard before possibly being spotted; or else hide in some nearby bushes and observe the grounds for a while, attempting to learn guard patrol patterns and anything else useful you can glean, before your stealthy assault on the house.
Robbet stays in the shadows trying to get a feel for how the guards are patrolling.
You spend some time observing the grounds, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The night is overcast, with the moon often hiding behind clouds, making your job a little easier. The main sources of light come from a lantern shining out of the guardhouse window and torches outside of the guardhouse and the main house entrances. Interestingly, you spot two guards patrolling the mansion's grounds tonight-so much for Pagin's “only one guard on the premises at any given time”. You time their routes, and think you can squeeze between them well enough.
Give me stealth roll.
Like a shadow Robbet makes his way across the mansions grounds.
Through a mixture of Stealth, luck, and cunning, you've managed to avoid the patrolling guards and arrive unnoticed at the house.
Trying to peer through the darkness Robbet looks for a way to enter the mansion.
From your observations you learn that the mansion has two entrances-the main door, which is well-lit by torches, and a trapdoor in the ground around back that appears to lead to the basement.
Darkness is my friend, the rogue thinks as he makes his way to the trapdoor avoiding the well lit entrance.
Interestingly, the padlock on the trap door has been opened already.
Hmmm, pretty careless for the owner to leave this unlocked. Robbet thought as he continues unconcerned.
Hmmm, pretty careless for the owner to leave this unlocked. Robbet thought as he continues unconcerned.
[dice=Percption]1d20+4
As you move around the house give me a stealth roll.
Robbet makes his way through the mansion trying to be as quiet as possible.
Sneaking through the house, you observe many other valuables you would love to pilfer, but, seeing as how dawn is approaching (presumably heralding the return of the Lady), you decide to get a move on.
Arriving outside the Lady's master bedroom, you carefully scan the interior before entering...
Your keen eyesight, honed by years of running around in the dark at night, picks out something unusual behind a curtain in Lady Serange's bedroom-two boot tips, sticking out. It appears you have company.
Robbet notices the concealed person and draws his dagger. He crouches low and whispers, "alright I see you there. Come on out from behind the curtain and you won't get hurt."
The person behind the curtain doesn’t move what do you do?
Robbet warns the person, ”Come out now or you’ll get a knife between the ribs.”
He sheepishly emerges, and you note the he is a...she. A she you know, in fact. Scout-one of your oldest friends. Another child off the street, under Pagin's wing.
Before you cans ask anything she blurts, “Pagin sent me here. As my graduation test, for solo jobs. Why are you here?”
After you explain you are there for the same reason, Scout triumphantly shows you the broach, a beautiful piece indeed. You return to Pagin together, each getting a cut (write down 5 gold pieces in the Money portion of your Character Sheet) and graduating on to more lucrative (solo) work for the Thieves' Guild.
Our tale unfolds in Severan, the City by the Sea, bordered on the east by the Nedrasi Forest and on the west by the Great Sea. Severan and the surrounding lands are ruled locally by Lord Nellis, known as a fair and just leader by some and as hard, inflexible, and lacking imagination by others. The King's Road, as well as the River Naga, both of which wind through the land, either begin or end here.
You have grown up on the streets of Severan, an orphan with little memory of your early past and no blood relations (as far as you know) to speak of. Your family are the other street kids, your father Pagin of the Shadows. Pagin runs the Thieves' Guild, and uses children and the rest of the underclass as his network of cutpurses and spies, stealing and selling valuables as well as information
Pagin has you brought before him, ”Robbet me lad, I be having a special job for ye.” He waves you closer and passes a drink into your hand, ”Relax lad it be a simple snatch-and-grab. Something right up ye alley. Break into a mansion and steal a noblewoman's precious gem broach. Should be easy as pie lad.”
With a patently false grin he leers at you, ”What will it be lad, yeah or nay?”
Robbet slowly raises the mug to his lips and takes a large gulp almost choking on the strong brew. He slowly places the mug back on the table as he tries to conceal his excitement and asks nonchalantly, ”How are we splitting the loot?”