The Grand Escape from High Security

Written by TarikFD

The West Andallian High Security Prison - some may call it a cesspit of the kingdom's cruelest villains, others call it a collection of untapped potential talent.
The morning of the 7th dawned with a blast of green arcane flame, tearing the Prison's outer walls and collapsing the cells, unleashing a horde of inmates into the Western lands. Among the hundreds of escapees were a handful of inmates from the High Severity sector. For a host of crimes so vile and wicked, the prison administrators deemed these prisoners unfit to ever rejoin society, and sentenced the to a life in prison.
Stretched thin, the Andallian Guard calls on adventurers to help wrangle the High Severity escapees before they can wreck havoc in the lands. How will you answer the call?

Plot points/Scenes

This campaign is centered around a bounty list. As players work their way down the list, different developments occur in each 'severity' and the mystery behind the prison break uncover. Work these developments however accordingly into your sessions, but it is recommended that the players hit each story beat before proceeding into the next level of 'severity'.
Throughout the campaign, use Gimmlar (The Recruiter for Undesirable Tasks) and Diligaf (Dreston's Information Broker) to provide hooks to keep players searching for the criminals. Use Diligaf's alternate quests in between bounties to keep things fresh.

Introduction

• Players are given the quest to work the High Severity bounty list. Bring prisoners back dead or alive.
• Players given incentive to capture prisoners. Offer handsome rewards or magic items (via Officer Gilliad) for the more...self-serving characters
• Given overview of the region. Basic towns and settlements. Have players understand that the West Andallian forests are uncharted hinterlands occupied by brigands, wild dangers, and settlements looking to establish themselves.

Severity 2 - The Outcast and the Maniac

• Prisoners - Aegert and Faella
• Point players to Dreston to gather general information on Faella (or to Aegert, if inquired)
• Introduce players to Gimmlar and Diligaf in Dreston.
• Introduce players to Stillwater settlement on the way to either prisoners

Severity 3 - The Slaver and the Assassin

• Prisoners - Fengar and Asyaf
• Drop hints of a infamous Witch named Draea that escaped the prison.
• Prison guards are reluctant to share about Draea, saying they can't talk about without proper clearance from Svenhart.
• Lieutenant Svenhart (if inquired) is dismissive about Draea's threat.

Severity 4 - The Mechanic, the Zealot, and the Necromancer

• Prisoners - Tinker, Ordata, and Gilda
• Have prisoners allude to a stronger evil in the form of Draea, the 'cleanser'.
• Drop hints that Svenhart has been making secret visits to Draea's cells leading up to the escape.
• Andallian Guard is disorganized after the disappearance of Lieutenant Svenhart and some of his top officials.

Severity 5 - The Witch

• Prisoner - Draea
• Gimmlar/Diligaf point toward a woman seeking shelter from the Andallian Guard. Tracked to a stone circle where Svenhart is revealed to have found Draea and is forcing her to perform a Cleansing Ceremony to transform Svenhart into a Knight of Orcus.

Relations

Allies

Andallian Kingdom Forces

• Commander Athena Reinhold - Head Commander of the West Andallian Forces
• Lieutenant Lyle Svenhart - High Ranking Officer in the West Andallian Forces
• Captain Gellert - Captain of the West Andillian Prison Guard
• Officer Giliad - Weapons and Armor Procurement Officer

Dreston

• Gimmlar - Self-Employed Recruiter for 'Undesirable' Tasks
• Diligaf - Dreston's Information Broker

Neutrals/Bystanders

Dreston

• Arhan - Leader of the Silver Daggers
• Nysarie - Leader of the Scarlet Sand

Adversaries

High Severity Prisoners

• Aegert (2)
• Faella (2)
• Fengar (3)
• Asyaf (3)
• Tinker (4)
• Ordata (4)
• Gilda (4)
• Draea (5)

Backdrops

Locations

• Dreston - Shady Lake Town
• Ferelen - Wealthy Elvish Settlement desperate for protection
• Stillwater - Developing Holy Site of Pelor with a dark secret

Encounters

One-off encounters for more fighting!
Combat Encounters:

• 2 Bandit Captains, 5 Bandits, and a wagon of Kobold Slaves.
• 2 Shambling Horrors.
• 1 Wyvern.
• 3 Yuan-Ti Malisons, and a group of human prisoners.

Fun Encounters:

• A One-Gnome-Band offers a rock off challenge to any bards, or any musically inclined.
• An Orc Paladin wannabe asks for help to purify a town overrun with 'pests'. Turns out the 'pests' are a peaceful settlement of Kobolds and the Orc is a raging racist.
• The party encounters a young human with weird clothing and a magic slab that came from the mystical faraway land of 'North Dakota'.
• A wandering wizard-in-training named Martyn offers 'discount' magic items.
• A small human farming settlement enlists the party's help in training and running drills to defend against 'demonic' beasts that turn up in the night. Turns out the beasts are a pack of Blink Corgis after the farmer's carrots.

Related Characters

• Aegert - The Shapeshifting Rogue
• Faella - The Arsonist Sorceress