Humble Begins

Structure

Exposition

The players find themselves all gathered in the Green Dragon Inn in Waterdeep after their individual journeys to this town. The reasons they find themselves in Waterdeep range from escaping the life they were living to finding the path that will lead them into fame. This fateful night is plagued by heavy thunderstorms that have raged the last few days. This causes the inn to be particularly full but not very jolly. This of course changes when a traveling bard enters and wagers a temporary contract with the inn to perform for the dreary crowd. As the night rages on now much more lively than before our characters find themselves all within a small area of each other. Unbeknownst to them, a stranger has been watching them all carefully. This stranger has been eying them all and sizing them up. This man is Cyrus Mordain or as he will shortly introduce himself as Cord Surinamy (an anagram of Cyrus Mordain). He his the villain of this story but to the players he his the first quest giver.

Conflict

Cord asks the players if they are adventurers. Regardless of the response he informs the players that a local farmer has reported seeing undead near his land. No one believes him. However, the city guard hasn't heard from him in several days. They wish to investigate this but cannot as they are spread thin since the local thieves guild has been making many major moves within the city. Cord tells the players they are offering a reward of 20 gold to simply travel the day east to the Hildenguard farm. If fowl play is involved they will pay 180 to solve the crime for them and bring the perpetrators back to the city.

Climax

The Hildenguard farm is left completely empty. There are obvious signs of struggle. Furniture is broken, moldy food was left on the table and eaten some by wild animals, and the most obvious sign is the amount of blood scattered around the house. If looked into further the players can find a trail of blood leading north. If they follow the trail the come to a cave. When they enter the cave they will find several zombies feasting into the dead remains of Horace, Cindy, and Marvin Hildenguard. They are immediately hostile towards the players and attack. One of these zombies seems to be mildly sentient talking madly about the players ruining their feast.

Falling Action

After defeating the undead, if they explore the cave further they find the mutilated bodies of the family. However, they also hear soft crying. Apparently, the semi-sentient undead was saving the youngest of the family fresh for last. Cassie Hldenguard age 8 will shy away from anybody who approaches as she is much further into the back of the cave and only heard the recent conflict. After the players assure her they are here to help, she will run up to the closet and hug them hard. She says she wants to get as far away from here and those monsters as possible. This leaves the players with the choice with what to do with her.

Resolution

When the players return to the city they can now claim the full 200 gold that was offered by the city guard. If they bring back Cassie they will also receive several healing potions as compensation. If they ask about Cord the guard will tell them they have never heard of him but its a large city.

Plot type

Chapter 1

Parent Plot

Phase 1: Forging Heroes