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An adventure jigsaw is the pieces you need for an adventure . . . but unassembled. It’s not a full adventure, but it’s got a lot of pieces that you can put together for your own game. We provide an inciting event, a friend, an enemy, a treasure, and some parameters. You provide the players and the action to finish the adventure!
This adventure jigsaw is based on the Festival of the Silver Ribbon in Perunalia.
Inciting Event
The Festival of the Silver Ribbon celebrates life on the great river of Perunalia. Families tidy and decorate their riverborne homes up to a month beforehand in preparation.
Houseboats from as far away as Runkelstad in the neighboring Magdar Kingdom journey downstream to Orkasa, a port town in Perunalia, on the Argent River. It’s a prominent trading center between west and east frequently rocked by conflicts between immigrant Kariv and local Perunalian families.
The festival week has many scheduled events. There are boat races, speeches, a fair on land, and contests of art (the most highly decorated boat of the festival, for example) and sport (swimming, fishing, and feats of individual and team strength).
Rivalries between immigrant Kariv and local Perunalian crews and families make for fierce competition and occasional bloodshed.
The Despotate of the Ruby Sea is looking for some sizable, overt action that will damage Perunalia and send the message that the Despotate is a threat, without being a provocation of war.
The PCs might be invited as extra security for a Perunalia crew, watching for Kariv skulduggery during the festival. Or perhaps they’re there to enter one of the races or contests to win prize money when they notice things going on.
Friend
Zufa Greda is a human Perunalian of middling height, mighty forearms, and lovely golden hair. She is the current leader of the Greda family, who has run a successful pole barge messaging business for the past 50 years along the rivers in Perunalia. Part of that success is because of the Staff of Tidal Strength (see Treasure below).
The Greda family fleet centers on their flagship houseboat, The River Citadel. This boat seldom departs its home part in Orkasa. A dozen barges usually attend the Citadel, from small punts to multiple boat strings (usually hauling oversized or highly lucrative cargo).The River Citadel hosts daily parties during the week-long festival. Much business will be discussed and a large number of non-family will be on and off the boat every day.
Enemy
Dui Mossbrand is a Rubeshi human, but claims to be Kariv. She is tall, has short brown hair, and the body of a disciplined athlete. The Mossbrands are a minor family among the river traders. Her family has fallen on hard times and is desperate for money. They’ll lose their flagship houseboat without a big cash infusion in the next week.
Dui has a moderately successful messaging service and knows that she can be the best if she can get theStaff of Tidal Strength. To that end, she leverages her side job, as a spy for the Despotate of the Ruby Sea.
Dui’s contact in the Despotate is the demon, Zolgun. Zolgun has agreed to front the money for this operation and send a few minions to seal the deal. Dui provides her knowledge of the ceremony, some local muscle, and cover for the minions as Kariv troublemakers.
On the closing feast day, Dui takes her position at the festival and provides the Zolgun’s minions with hiding places. She signals at a critical point during the ceremonies, and they set several boats on fire. As the participants, including Zufa, retreat to land and chaos reigns, Dui plans to steal the Staff and provide a quick way out of town for Zolgun’s surviving operatives.
The Treasure
This staff is technically a weapon, but its greatest strength is not in combat. Legend says that it was gift of the River King to a barge captain who rescued one of his daughters from a vodyanoi.
This staff is the rightful property of the Greda family, though if it were to fall into someone else’s hands through misadventure, no one would fault the new owner. Regarldess, the Gredas would pay handsomely for its return.
STAFF OF TIDAL STRENGTH
Rare Wondrous Item (Requires Attunement)
Fashioned from blue mahoe heartwood and fitted with matte-finished mithril bindings, this +2 staff is cool to the touch. It grants its wielder a swim speed of 20 feet, or an additional 10 feet to a creature with an existing swim speed. The wielder also has advantage on any attempt to resist or escape a grapple if soaked, standing in water, or on a water vehicle.
Furthermore, the Staff allows its wielder to breathe underwater and gives advantage on Charisma-based checks with water-based creatures of any type.
When used to pole a watercraft, the Staff propels the vehicle at twice its normal speed and allows the boat to ignore the slowing effects of any current or eddy.
Additionally, the staff has three charges, which recharge at dawn. For one charge, the wielder may make an attack with the Staff, which deals 2d10 bludgeoning damage. Any creature hit by this attack must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be shoved 5 feet away from the wielder. This charge is not expended if the attack misses.
For one charge, the Staff deals 2d10 damage to wooden or stone objects.
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