Cipher of the Dying Emissary

Adventure Overview

As hired agents for a secret guild, your team is thrust into a perilous race against time, navigating the shady corners of your city. You’re tasked to recover a message from a dying emissary before it falls into the wrong hands. The contents of this message hold secrets that could shift the balance of power in your city, leaving its fate hanging in the balance.

Hook & Premise

Your party is contacted by a guild operative, who with trembling hands, urges you to intercept a vital message held by a dying emissary. This message, if discovered by the rival factions, could plunge their city into chaos.

Key Scenes & Beats

Dead-end Trails

The party tracks down the emissary, navigating through dangerous city districts while avoiding encounters with rival factions. The challenge here lies in keeping a low profile while staying vigilant to the lurking threats with the potential to alert the rivals about your pursuit.

Dead Man’s Secrets

Upon reaching the emissary, the party extracts the coded message. Decode the message leveraging old contacts, stolen scripts, or risk-making deals. The decision made here significantly impacts the future course of action.

Unseen Threat

Decoding the message, the party uncovers a conspiracy that brings them face to face with influential city powers gearing up for a coup. The party must weigh their choices well, deciding who to entrust with this information.

Final Run

This scene entails a suspense-filled escape from a now hostile city. The party must smartly use their wits and skills to ensure a safe passage through the brewing storm.

Key Locations

Dying Emissary’s Hideout

Located in a derelict building in the city’s most impoverished district, the hideout is a maze of traps meant to deter uninvited guests. Remain alert to evade the traps and the rival factions who could be hot on your trail.

Important NPCs

Guild Operative: Secret Keeper

As the one who sets the adventure into motion, the operative is highly nervous and secretive. His motivation lies in preserving the city’s current power structure, fearing the outcome of a potential shift.

Climax & Outcomes

The outcomes vary depending on who the party chooses to trust with the message and how the escape from the city is managed. Alternately, they can choose to keep the message and leverage it for personal gains.

Rewards & Follow-Up Hooks

Based on the course of action, the rewards could range from guild favours, potential allies within powerful factions, or exclusive access to rich resources. Follow-up adventures could spin around the repercussions of this mission, possibly venturing into a full-blown city war or power consolidation attempts of the new ruling party.