Large Adventure Seed [Archive] - Wizards Community

Large Adventure Seed [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Setherial
10-09-04, 07:55 AM Hey guys, I wrote about two characters who fit into about any large city setting and can form the basic building blocks for countless adventures. First off all I hope you guys like the idea, naturally and even more so are willing to expand on it. I really look forward to see what comes of this, what kind of ideas the board has and how we can further build on this base.

Azogoroth Tar’anix

Zurathun, an elder Orc seer and a figure of considerable status among the tribe was sick and possibly dying. Old age had caught up with him and in his weakened condition he would not be able to fight off the many challenges made by younger warriors eager to come to power by slaying a respected and mighty figure within the tribe for long. Fearing his assassination he left the tribe and made a journey to Cazhaak Draal. Once there he would perform a very dangerous ritual at the great chasm and lure a lesser demon from Khyber into this plane. He hoped to trap the demon inside the ancient artifact he carried around his neck, a magical container dating back to the Age of Dragons. On the lifeforce of the demon he would prey for possibly eternity, even the smallest weakest fiend trapped in this way possessed enough power to prolong his life indefinitely and augment his power ten fold.
Getting past the medusas of Cazhaak Draal wouldn’t pose much of a problem either, in his long life the magical container wasn’t the only artifact he had collected, he had a few other ones, though non near as powerful or old as his amulet they would, he was sure be able to buy his safety from the Queen of Stone.

All of this happened quite some time ago and what transpired at the great chasm wasn’t at all what Zurathun had in mind. Foolish enough to attempt a ritual in Dark Speech (Book of Vile Darkness) the Orc only mispronounced a single word but the results where devastating. What was summoned from Khyber was no lowly fiend but an ancient evil, so old, so alien, so chaotic its mere presence drove Zurathun mad within seconds. Despite its enormous power in the depths of Khyber it found itself unable to survive on this plane for long without a body so it possessed the mad Orc that groveled at it’s feet.
The Orcs body warped and twisted, uncountable mutations sprouted from his body barley able to contain the awesome power of chaos now within it.
At first the demon felt weak and out of place, in this puny form and on this strange plane its powers where different and but a fraction of what they were in Khyber. About to shift back to it’s native plane it suddenly felt the pull of countless uncorrupted souls, pure, fresh and …. Alive. The feeling was completely new to him, it rushed trough him like an adrenaline rush and his hunger to corrupt took over.
The Demon teleported to where the pull lead him, a great city of mortals, a place he would not be noticed in if he lay low, a place he could corrupt from the bottom up seducing and attracting followers and worshippers. Yes here he would thrive.

Azogoroth Tar’anix (Tanar’ri)
Huge-Size Outsider (Chaotic Evil)
Current form : Large-sized Mutaded Orc (Monsterous Humanoid)

Hit Dice: 10d8+40 (80 hp)
Initiative: -2 (Dex)
Speed: 20 ft.
AC: 24 (-2 Dex, -1 Size, +2 leather armour, +15 Natural)
Attacks: 2 claws +10 melee, Bite +5 melee
Damage: Claw 2d4+11, Bite 1d6+11+2 Vile Damage
Face/Reach: 5ft. by 5ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks : spell like abilities, summon tanar’ri

Special Qualities : Tanar’ri qualities, Ethereal Form, possess creature, control creature, darkvision 120ft., tongues, damage reduction 15/+2, SR 14
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +12
Abilities : Str 32, Dex 6, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 12, Cha 19
Skills: Bluff +15, Concentration +10, Gather Information +10, Hide +10. Listen +5, Move Silently +10, Search +5, Spot +8
Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Rent
Challenge Rating 10

Azogoroth is severely weakened outside Khyber, he is new to this kind of life and though highly intelligent he does fully understand the ways of men yet. However his understanding of how to deal with mortals rapidly grows and he becomes stronger and better the longer he remains. When his host body is slain he leaves it and becomes ethereal, he can sustain this form for only a few minutes, after that he dies and will be forced to shift back to Khyber to safe himself. Once in Khyber he won’t be able to come back easily just like any other demon trapped in the underworld.
He can try to posses another host (will save DC 14, when successfully resisted he can’t possess the same creature again). Once possessed a creature can’t resist the demon and is helpless. The demon can’t possess creatures protected against evil.

Spell like abilities : At will – teleport without error, suggestion, charm, Invisibility, Major Image, Slow; Once per day : Dominate Person, Gate, True Seeing
All spells are cast as a Sorcerer lvl 16

Summon tanar’ri : Once per day the demon can try to summon 1d4 lesser demons (CR < 5) to do his bidding.

Suggested resources to flesh out this demon further : Fiend Folio (WOTC), Book of Vile Darkness (WOTC) and possibly Book of Fiends II Armies of the Abyss (Green Ronin) which I find a very nice resource.

Azogoroth will settle somewhere in the underground of a large city, somewhere where he draws little attention. From there he’ll start recruiting followers, rewarding them with minor powers, riches (to get his hands on gold and valuables needed to fund his operation he’ll set up a series of legal and illegal businesses) or drug like effects he can simply project into a weak mind.

Example Priest of Azogoroth

Clare, Female Human Clr3: Medium Humanoid ; HD 3d8+6(Cleric) ; hp 23; Init +0; Spd 30; AC 15(Flatfooted:15, Touch:10); Atk +5 base melee, +2 base ranged; +2 (1d8, Crossbow, light); +3 (1d2+3, Whip, Masterwork); AL CE; SV Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +6; STR 16, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 11, WIS 16, CHA 15.
Skills: Concentration +8, Diplomacy +8, Scry +4, Spellcraft +2.
Feats: Combat Casting, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Whip, Spell Focus: Necromancy.
Spells Prepared (Clr 4/3/2): 0 - Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Inflict Minor Wounds, Light; 1st - Cause Fear, Command (d), Doom, Protection from Good; 2nd - Desecrate, Enthrall (d), Hold Person.
Possessions:
Weapons: Whip, Masterwork (301 gp); Bolts, crossbow (20) (20 sp); Crossbow, light (35 gp).
Armor: Chain shirt, Masterwork (250 gp).
Shields: Shield, small, steel, Masterwork (159 gp).

Priests of Azogoroth take domains in the following domains : Evil, Domination, Demonic or Corruption.

Rufus

Rufus, male half-elf Commoner 4, roams the streets rambling on about the end of time. He has seen, or so he is convinced, the end of Eberron, the apocalypse and rise of demon kind. Rufus is quite mad but there is much more to it then that. A few months ago he woke up in an ally, his head bruised, complete darkness around him, he was totally unaware of where he was or even who he was. All his memories stop at that point in time, he has no friends, no past he knows of, only his name and even of that he isn’t quite sure. The name Rufus was the only thing left in his head when he woke up and he only presumed it was his name.

When the city guard first ran into Rufus he was shouting and screaming, confused and seemingly unaware of the reality around him. They picked him up and brought him to a small sanitarium run by the healers of House Jorasco. They soon after let him go realizing he posed no real treat to society.
These days Rufus is much calmer, less chaotic and panicked as when he first woke up but he is still only partially aware of the world around him. 30% of the time he falls into a dream state (though fully awake) where everything around him turns into a world of chaos and destruction. This is his vision of the future, the end of the world and the rise of the demons. When he is not in this trance he wanders around, most of the time talking to himself sometimes clutching on to a by passer warning him for the danger that is coming and urging him to save himself, yet at other times he climes upon a small building and starts preaching for an entire street or market place. Usually he gets picked up by the city guard and put in a holding cell for a day when he gets like this. The guards know him and try not to hurt him but they have to keep the peace. Often they give him some food, and try to look out for him a bit.

What really happened to Rufus is unknown but there are some rather strange supernatural effects in place that suggest more is at play here then meets the eye.
For one Rufus though he is blind (he has these unnerving white almost translucent eyes) he seems to be able to sense his surroundings and possesses a strange kind of sight unlike you and I (Blindsense 60ft.), even stranger still Rufus seems to be protected against harm as a supernatural ability that kicks in automatically and over which he has no control, he hardly realizes it is there (protection against evil + sanctuary DC 15).
The strangest of all his abilities and possibly the one that holds some answers about his past is the connection he has with Azogoroth. Though he doesn’t know of the demon, he can sense his presence within the city, he can feel the evil, the corruption spreading and it drives him mad with fear. This might also be directly linked to his apocalyptic visions of mass destruction, an empathic link like this with a greater demon is surly to make any man insane.

Rufus, Male Half-Elf Com4: Medium Humanoid ; HD 4d4+4(Commoner) ; hp 15; Init +2; Spd 30; AC 12(Flatfooted:10, Touch:12); Atk +2 base melee, +4 base ranged; SQ: Immunity: Sleep (Ex), blindsense 60ft., spell like abilities; RF: +2 Will bonus to Enchantment spells, Elven Blood; AL CG; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will -2; STR 10, DEX 14, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 4, CHA 12.
Skills: Climb +7, Handle Animal +4, Jump +4, Listen -2, Search +1, Spot -2.

Spell like abilities : permanently in place – Sanctuary DC 15, protection against evil, detect evil

Emphatic bond : Rufus is somehow connected with Azogoroth and can sense his evil, his own state of mind is heavily depended on that of the demon.

cheers

Seth
Setherial
10-10-04, 08:46 AM nobody ? man I need to find myself a forum with creative people on it who actually like to discuss ideas istead of ***** about the rules. Anyone know of a good forum 'cus this ain't it !
Caul
10-10-04, 09:03 AM nobody ? man I need to find myself a forum with creative people on it who actually like to discuss ideas istead of ***** about the rules. Anyone know of a good forum 'cus this ain't it !
What are you looking for people to do, stroke your ego, tell you how awesome your idea is? No offense intended, but you didn't ask any questions, all you did was present an idea (a good one true, but not something that I would use). These boards are quite good, but if you are looking for people to simply lay down praise at every idea you put forth, you obviously don't realize the scope and purpose of them.

That being said, as I've mentioned already, you have a couple of good ideas here, however, what you are lacking is the actual seed. An adventure seed is some kind of jumping point into an adventure, not simply a description of a half-demon orc and a guy who can sense him. Give more, and ask questions, and you will get responses.
Setherial
10-10-04, 10:27 AM I'm not looking for anyone to stroke my ego, I just want feedback. I can't discuss my ideas with my players so I need a forum to do this. I know there are lots of people in the same situation.
What I expect is at least some people pointing out the good and especially the bad, pointing out possible flaws etc.. But most important is new ideas that follow from mine, I want to get the ball rolling by giving something and going from there. True it's not a real adventure seed, it's a lot more, it's a starting point for tons of seeds (at least I think so). So it would be great if some people would actually jump in on it and do something with the idea. That way there would be added value.
Now instead I felt frustrated enough to provoce you people by insulting you, not very mature I admit but come on, is it that bad that it doesn't even inspire some little ideas.
I'm full of ideas and once I feel I get some feedback on them I would be motivated to write them out more often. I can't play all my ideas, I simply don't have the time. We do a session every 2 to 3 weeks and we have 3 DM's switching positions every half a year.
polt
10-10-04, 11:08 AM Well. Its a nice enough idea. But when i read it im like: "okey, so you have a bbeg, then what?"
Setherial
10-10-04, 11:33 AM The streets around the town square bustle with activity, it is a warm sunny morning and as every week many merchants come from all over to sell their wares. Entertainment, games, song and dance fill the streets with music and laughter. While the party wanders trough the streets hoping to spend their last adventuring loot on a nice item or at least a large quantity of food and ale some commotion further down the street draws their attention.
When they get closer they see a preacher of some kind, dressed up in an old brown robe, cursing and carrying on like a madman outside a small shop.
He stares at the crowd with the most unsettling white eyes, “do not enter this shop, for it is unhallowed, forsaken by the light. Demon worshippers, I see past your deceit.”, he goes on and on. Soon after the city guards arrive and try to calm the man down, escorting him off and telling the crowd to go about their business.
The guards escort the man to a cell and give him some food. He soon settles down and later that day they let him go. Later that evening on their way to the Inn (or home or whatever) the party should spot Rufus, the man they saw earlier outside the shop. A few thugs some holding knifes one holding a whip gather around him, Rufus lies down in a corner holding his hands in front of his face in a protective stance. A strange blue aura surrounds him.

- What’s going on : One possibility would be that the shop is indeed one of the many businesses owned by Azogoroths dark underground organization. They sell items and weapons most of them stolen or at least collected through illegal means. The event with Rufus in front of the shop drew unwanted attention and they see Rufus as a problem that should be dealt with.
They have send a small gang working for the organization to silence the old fool. The gang is not directly related to the shop but there is an in-between contact who paid them and who does have a lot of contact with the shops owner. The leader of the gang, holding the whip is a low level priest of Azogoroth.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Setherial 10-09-04, 07:55 AM	Hey guys, I wrote about two characters who fit into about any large city setting and can form the basic building blocks for countless adventures. First off all I hope you guys like the idea, naturally and even more so are willing to expand on it. I really look forward to see what comes of this, what kind of ideas the board has and how we can further build on this base. Azogoroth Tar’anix Zurathun, an elder Orc seer and a figure of considerable status among the tribe was sick and possibly dying. Old age had caught up with him and in his weakened condition he would not be able to fight off the many challenges made by younger warriors eager to come to power by slaying a respected and mighty figure within the tribe for long. Fearing his assassination he left the tribe and made a journey to Cazhaak Draal. Once there he would perform a very dangerous ritual at the great chasm and lure a lesser demon from Khyber into this plane. He hoped to trap the demon inside the ancient artifact he carried around his neck, a magical container dating back to the Age of Dragons. On the lifeforce of the demon he would prey for possibly eternity, even the smallest weakest fiend trapped in this way possessed enough power to prolong his life indefinitely and augment his power ten fold. Getting past the medusas of Cazhaak Draal wouldn’t pose much of a problem either, in his long life the magical container wasn’t the only artifact he had collected, he had a few other ones, though non near as powerful or old as his amulet they would, he was sure be able to buy his safety from the Queen of Stone. All of this happened quite some time ago and what transpired at the great chasm wasn’t at all what Zurathun had in mind. Foolish enough to attempt a ritual in Dark Speech (Book of Vile Darkness) the Orc only mispronounced a single word but the results where devastating. What was summoned from Khyber was no lowly fiend but an ancient evil, so old, so alien, so chaotic its mere presence drove Zurathun mad within seconds. Despite its enormous power in the depths of Khyber it found itself unable to survive on this plane for long without a body so it possessed the mad Orc that groveled at it’s feet. The Orcs body warped and twisted, uncountable mutations sprouted from his body barley able to contain the awesome power of chaos now within it. At first the demon felt weak and out of place, in this puny form and on this strange plane its powers where different and but a fraction of what they were in Khyber. About to shift back to it’s native plane it suddenly felt the pull of countless uncorrupted souls, pure, fresh and …. Alive. The feeling was completely new to him, it rushed trough him like an adrenaline rush and his hunger to corrupt took over. The Demon teleported to where the pull lead him, a great city of mortals, a place he would not be noticed in if he lay low, a place he could corrupt from the bottom up seducing and attracting followers and worshippers. Yes here he would thrive. Azogoroth Tar’anix (Tanar’ri) Huge-Size Outsider (Chaotic Evil) Current form : Large-sized Mutaded Orc (Monsterous Humanoid) Hit Dice: 10d8+40 (80 hp) Initiative: -2 (Dex) Speed: 20 ft. AC: 24 (-2 Dex, -1 Size, +2 leather armour, +15 Natural) Attacks: 2 claws +10 melee, Bite +5 melee Damage: Claw 2d4+11, Bite 1d6+11+2 Vile Damage Face/Reach: 5ft. by 5ft./5 ft. Special Attacks : spell like abilities, summon tanar’ri Special Qualities : Tanar’ri qualities, Ethereal Form, possess creature, control creature, darkvision 120ft., tongues, damage reduction 15/+2, SR 14 Saves: Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +12 Abilities : Str 32, Dex 6, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 12, Cha 19 Skills: Bluff +15, Concentration +10, Gather Information +10, Hide +10. Listen +5, Move Silently +10, Search +5, Spot +8 Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Rent Challenge Rating 10 Azogoroth is severely weakened outside Khyber, he is new to this kind of life and though highly intelligent he does fully understand the ways of men yet. However his understanding of how to deal with mortals rapidly grows and he becomes stronger and better the longer he remains. When his host body is slain he leaves it and becomes ethereal, he can sustain this form for only a few minutes, after that he dies and will be forced to shift back to Khyber to safe himself. Once in Khyber he won’t be able to come back easily just like any other demon trapped in the underworld. He can try to posses another host (will save DC 14, when successfully resisted he can’t possess the same creature again). Once possessed a creature can’t resist the demon and is helpless. The demon can’t possess creatures protected against evil. Spell like abilities : At will – teleport without error, suggestion, charm, Invisibility, Major Image, Slow; Once per day : Dominate Person, Gate, True Seeing All spells are cast as a Sorcerer lvl 16 Summon tanar’ri : Once per day the demon can try to summon 1d4 lesser demons (CR < 5) to do his bidding. Suggested resources to flesh out this demon further : Fiend Folio (WOTC), Book of Vile Darkness (WOTC) and possibly Book of Fiends II Armies of the Abyss (Green Ronin) which I find a very nice resource. Azogoroth will settle somewhere in the underground of a large city, somewhere where he draws little attention. From there he’ll start recruiting followers, rewarding them with minor powers, riches (to get his hands on gold and valuables needed to fund his operation he’ll set up a series of legal and illegal businesses) or drug like effects he can simply project into a weak mind. Example Priest of Azogoroth Clare, Female Human Clr3: Medium Humanoid ; HD 3d8+6(Cleric) ; hp 23; Init +0; Spd 30; AC 15(Flatfooted:15, Touch:10); Atk +5 base melee, +2 base ranged; +2 (1d8, Crossbow, light); +3 (1d2+3, Whip, Masterwork); AL CE; SV Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +6; STR 16, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 11, WIS 16, CHA 15. Skills: Concentration +8, Diplomacy +8, Scry +4, Spellcraft +2. Feats: Combat Casting, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Whip, Spell Focus: Necromancy. Spells Prepared (Clr 4/3/2): 0 - Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Inflict Minor Wounds, Light; 1st - Cause Fear, Command (d), Doom, Protection from Good; 2nd - Desecrate, Enthrall (d), Hold Person. Possessions: Weapons: Whip, Masterwork (301 gp); Bolts, crossbow (20) (20 sp); Crossbow, light (35 gp). Armor: Chain shirt, Masterwork (250 gp). Shields: Shield, small, steel, Masterwork (159 gp). Priests of Azogoroth take domains in the following domains : Evil, Domination, Demonic or Corruption. Rufus Rufus, male half-elf Commoner 4, roams the streets rambling on about the end of time. He has seen, or so he is convinced, the end of Eberron, the apocalypse and rise of demon kind. Rufus is quite mad but there is much more to it then that. A few months ago he woke up in an ally, his head bruised, complete darkness around him, he was totally unaware of where he was or even who he was. All his memories stop at that point in time, he has no friends, no past he knows of, only his name and even of that he isn’t quite sure. The name Rufus was the only thing left in his head when he woke up and he only presumed it was his name. When the city guard first ran into Rufus he was shouting and screaming, confused and seemingly unaware of the reality around him. They picked him up and brought him to a small sanitarium run by the healers of House Jorasco. They soon after let him go realizing he posed no real treat to society. These days Rufus is much calmer, less chaotic and panicked as when he first woke up but he is still only partially aware of the world around him. 30% of the time he falls into a dream state (though fully awake) where everything around him turns into a world of chaos and destruction. This is his vision of the future, the end of the world and the rise of the demons. When he is not in this trance he wanders around, most of the time talking to himself sometimes clutching on to a by passer warning him for the danger that is coming and urging him to save himself, yet at other times he climes upon a small building and starts preaching for an entire street or market place. Usually he gets picked up by the city guard and put in a holding cell for a day when he gets like this. The guards know him and try not to hurt him but they have to keep the peace. Often they give him some food, and try to look out for him a bit. What really happened to Rufus is unknown but there are some rather strange supernatural effects in place that suggest more is at play here then meets the eye. For one Rufus though he is blind (he has these unnerving white almost translucent eyes) he seems to be able to sense his surroundings and possesses a strange kind of sight unlike you and I (Blindsense 60ft.), even stranger still Rufus seems to be protected against harm as a supernatural ability that kicks in automatically and over which he has no control, he hardly realizes it is there (protection against evil + sanctuary DC 15). The strangest of all his abilities and possibly the one that holds some answers about his past is the connection he has with Azogoroth. Though he doesn’t know of the demon, he can sense his presence within the city, he can feel the evil, the corruption spreading and it drives him mad with fear. This might also be directly linked to his apocalyptic visions of mass destruction, an empathic link like this with a greater demon is surly to make any man insane. Rufus, Male Half-Elf Com4: Medium Humanoid ; HD 4d4+4(Commoner) ; hp 15; Init +2; Spd 30; AC 12(Flatfooted:10, Touch:12); Atk +2 base melee, +4 base ranged; SQ: Immunity: Sleep (Ex), blindsense 60ft., spell like abilities; RF: +2 Will bonus to Enchantment spells, Elven Blood; AL CG; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will -2; STR 10, DEX 14, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 4, CHA 12. Skills: Climb +7, Handle Animal +4, Jump +4, Listen -2, Search +1, Spot -2. Spell like abilities : permanently in place – Sanctuary DC 15, protection against evil, detect evil Emphatic bond : Rufus is somehow connected with Azogoroth and can sense his evil, his own state of mind is heavily depended on that of the demon. cheers Seth
Setherial 10-10-04, 08:46 AM	nobody ? man I need to find myself a forum with creative people on it who actually like to discuss ideas istead of ***** about the rules. Anyone know of a good forum 'cus this ain't it !
Caul 10-10-04, 09:03 AM	nobody ? man I need to find myself a forum with creative people on it who actually like to discuss ideas istead of ***** about the rules. Anyone know of a good forum 'cus this ain't it ! What are you looking for people to do, stroke your ego, tell you how awesome your idea is? No offense intended, but you didn't ask any questions, all you did was present an idea (a good one true, but not something that I would use). These boards are quite good, but if you are looking for people to simply lay down praise at every idea you put forth, you obviously don't realize the scope and purpose of them. That being said, as I've mentioned already, you have a couple of good ideas here, however, what you are lacking is the actual seed. An adventure seed is some kind of jumping point into an adventure, not simply a description of a half-demon orc and a guy who can sense him. Give more, and ask questions, and you will get responses.
Setherial 10-10-04, 10:27 AM	I'm not looking for anyone to stroke my ego, I just want feedback. I can't discuss my ideas with my players so I need a forum to do this. I know there are lots of people in the same situation. What I expect is at least some people pointing out the good and especially the bad, pointing out possible flaws etc.. But most important is new ideas that follow from mine, I want to get the ball rolling by giving something and going from there. True it's not a real adventure seed, it's a lot more, it's a starting point for tons of seeds (at least I think so). So it would be great if some people would actually jump in on it and do something with the idea. That way there would be added value. Now instead I felt frustrated enough to provoce you people by insulting you, not very mature I admit but come on, is it that bad that it doesn't even inspire some little ideas. I'm full of ideas and once I feel I get some feedback on them I would be motivated to write them out more often. I can't play all my ideas, I simply don't have the time. We do a session every 2 to 3 weeks and we have 3 DM's switching positions every half a year.
polt 10-10-04, 11:08 AM	Well. Its a nice enough idea. But when i read it im like: "okey, so you have a bbeg, then what?"
Setherial 10-10-04, 11:33 AM	The streets around the town square bustle with activity, it is a warm sunny morning and as every week many merchants come from all over to sell their wares. Entertainment, games, song and dance fill the streets with music and laughter. While the party wanders trough the streets hoping to spend their last adventuring loot on a nice item or at least a large quantity of food and ale some commotion further down the street draws their attention. When they get closer they see a preacher of some kind, dressed up in an old brown robe, cursing and carrying on like a madman outside a small shop. He stares at the crowd with the most unsettling white eyes, “do not enter this shop, for it is unhallowed, forsaken by the light. Demon worshippers, I see past your deceit.”, he goes on and on. Soon after the city guards arrive and try to calm the man down, escorting him off and telling the crowd to go about their business. The guards escort the man to a cell and give him some food. He soon settles down and later that day they let him go. Later that evening on their way to the Inn (or home or whatever) the party should spot Rufus, the man they saw earlier outside the shop. A few thugs some holding knifes one holding a whip gather around him, Rufus lies down in a corner holding his hands in front of his face in a protective stance. A strange blue aura surrounds him. - What’s going on : One possibility would be that the shop is indeed one of the many businesses owned by Azogoroths dark underground organization. They sell items and weapons most of them stolen or at least collected through illegal means. The event with Rufus in front of the shop drew unwanted attention and they see Rufus as a problem that should be dealt with. They have send a small gang working for the organization to silence the old fool. The gang is not directly related to the shop but there is an in-between contact who paid them and who does have a lot of contact with the shops owner. The leader of the gang, holding the whip is a low level priest of Azogoroth.