The Business of Emotion: The Road Into Town
As the adventure begins, read or paraphrase the following.
As you crest a small hill, the plains before you dip into a long, shallow valley. Two rivers slip down into this valley and converge on their way to the sea. Nestled between the rivers sits the sleepy village of Lanidor. Green and amber squares checker the valley, signaling the presence of the many farmsteads that supply the region’s agricultural trade. One in particular, far to the north and blurred by the haze of distance, shines in strips of vibrant color. As you descend into the valley, you find many of the farms in ill-repair, with rotting crops and wandering livestock.
The Heartbroken
The adventurers come across an encampment as they approach town.
You walk along a wagon-rutted dirt path down the gentle slope into the valley. Between the path and the nearest field of grain rests a wagon and a handful of ragged tents. From behind the tents, you hear a frenzied shouting.
The encampment belongs to a small band of traveling merchants who recently returned home to find their spouses in the arms of new lovers. Enraged by the turn of events and scared by the Lanidor’s current state, they have set up outside of town as they plan their next move.
The men have recently butchered a sheep and the bleating of the animal and smell of blood has attracted four wolves . Following closely behind the wolves are two swarms of ravens who expect an easy meal of whatever leftovers the wolves leave. The ravens will arrive in the second full round of combat.
As the party approaches, the wolves are slowly circling the merchants.
A group of five men shout and wave their arms about, trying to scare off a pack of four snarling wolves. The men stand around the recently butchered remains of a sheep as the wolves circle them menacingly. As if on cue, the wolves begin to tighten their orbits, approaching the terrified men.
After the battle, the thankful merchants will invite the party to join them. They will openly discuss most things about the village but get dismissive when discussing current state of Lanidor, only warning the party to stay away. A successful DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check prompts the merchant to reveal one of the rumors from the
There is a 50% chance one of the men in the group will fall madly in love with the character with the highest Charisma score, much to his fellows’ dismay. You can either play this for humour or more seriously, depending on the style and mood of your players.