Players! Want to play this quest? Stop reading and notify your DM. Save the fun for the game-table!Running this Quest
You can adjust any of the information below according to your campaign, preference or imagination. Feel free to experiment and let other visitors know what works for you in the comments below.
You walk down the city’s main road, passing stores and houses. The street is crowded with people. There are merchants and performers, you can see workers carrying goods on their backs and in carts. You have to manoeuvre your way through the crowd, in order not to bump into someone. Not as much can be said for the scruffy looking kids that are running around, and sometimes bump into you.
At this point, ask players to make a Perception Check (DC20). Whoever fails is missing small things worth 10 GP, such as a jewel, a watch, a knife, a coin-pouch, a bag or some rare ingredients.
Some way in the distance you see one of the kids, standing near an alleyway. He looks directly at you with a straight face and then smirks. You can see he is holding something in his hand, but before you can make out what it is, he flips you the finger and runs off into the alley.
If the party does not follow the kid you can let this happen again and again, up to a point where they just don’t take the bait. But if they do follow the kid into the alley, then try to thin the party out: whomever wasn’t robbed might not run after them at all, or players lagging behind might take a wrong turn and lose their party members in front. The goal is to lure 1-2 party members into the the trap.
You run after that nasty little thief into the alley, with about 30 ft between you. The alley is tight and crosses other alleyways. The kid is taking sharp turns and moving quickly through these dark backstreets. You are closing in on him with every corner. When you round the next corner you suddenly reach a dead end. The kid is nowhere to be seen, nor is anyone else. You hold still and look into the alley. It stretches about 40ft in front of you, and ends on a wall. The alley is full of crates, and some old furniture. There are some trashcans and building materials stashed in the back.
The players are likely to investigate the back of the alley, but they may also be weary of a trap. Let them make a Perception Check. If they succeed DC20 they will notice a Gnome behind a box on the other side of the alley. In that case continue with Retreat below.
The back of the alley is small and dark, almost no daylight reaches here. In the back you see two trash cans and a stack of wooden barrels. Also, slanted against the alley wall are planks and pipes, seemingly used for some construction work a while ago. You look behind and underneath it, but no sign of the kid. You do notice a small grate mounted in one of the walls, just large enough for a kid to slip through. However, it seems to be closed.
So the goal here is to entertain the players in the back of the alley and draw as much of them in there. For instance pulling the grate open together, or opening the grate’s lock if it has one. The hole is too small for medium sized creatures (like a full grown human or dwarf). Once you reach an optimum number of players in the back, the surprise attack starts.
You investigate the grate, try to pull it off, or open it by other means, and find out it is too small to pass through. When you look inside, you can vaguely make out some kind of dark room on the other side.
At this point, the Gnome Wizard hiding nearby in the shadows casts Darkness in the alley.
You’re trying to look inside the room and make out some shapes but it’s too dark to see. The shadows in the whole alley are seemingly growing darker, as if clouds are blocking the sun. It then turns as dark as night, and you realise that this is not natural. But before you can do anything, you lose all sight in your eyes and are surrounded by a deep darkness.
A group of thugs
The group of thugs consists of 6 members: three humans, a dwarf and two gnomes. One of the two gnomes is a level 5 Wizard. He is the leader and the other is his helper. The humans and the dwarf are hired thugs.
Trap
Their plan is to darken the alley with a darkness spell, block the entrance and rob them while blinded. The helper Gnome wears magical goggles that let him see through the darkness. He enters the alley through the hole in the wall and starts to swiftly rob the blinded players.
- The robbing gnome throws a Sleight of Hand check with advantage against a player’s Passive Perception. If the gnome fails, the player notices it and the robbing action fails. If the gnome succeeds he takes a random small item from your inventory (for instance roll a D20 or percentage dice and count this number through your item list, looping it if necessary).
- The Gnome Wizard will cast another darkness spell (or blindness or hold person) when a party member brakes through the blockade.
- If the Gnomes are threatened, or their plan fails, they try to flee through the hole in the wall (see Retreat).
You’re reaching out with your hands to find something to hold on to but find nothing. You feel disoriented and can’t tell from which way you came. You hear others stumbling through the darkness as well. You also make out small footsteps, moving around quickly.
Ask everyone to roll initiative. The first round, the thugs have surprise.
Player Options
If players choose to move they will have to succeed a DC15 Perception Check with disadvantage to find their bearing, not to bump into something or fall prone (depending how badly they roll). If they succeed they will find the edge of the spell’s area of effect, or move in it’s general direction. If players reach the edge of the area of effect, they will find hired thugs with drawn knifes, clubs and a short sword.
Players might choose to attack the thugs. The three humans and the dwarf have lined up at the very edge of the darkness cast by the gnome’s spell. When attacking from the dark, players have disadvantage on their attack and saving throws. The thugs will ready their actions to push anyone that steps out back into the darkness. Pushed players must make an Athletics or Acrobatics Saving Throw with disadvantage, or be knocked prone and be disoriented.
Players might eventually kill and loot some of the thugs. If they do they will find simple loot on the humans and the dwarf. The gnomes hold bigger treasure, not the least of which is the party’s stolen goods. You might want to discourage the players from killing them by having townspeople and guards around.
Risks and Rewards
Players risk losing valuable items and getting into a bad fight. However, if they stand to win they’ll find treasure on the goblin wizard: he has two spell scrolls of minor healing and 45 SP and 200 GP.
Retreat
The gnomes will try to escape if their plan fails or if they are threatened, or simply when their loot bag is full. In order to get away quickly, the gnome wearing the magic goggles needs to guide the wizard by holding his hand. They will try to do this under the cover of darkness. If players attack them in darkness they do so with disadvantage. If the gnomes get through the hole, they’re basically gone.
The humans and the dwarf will run away through the backstreets, splitting up four ways. Trying to chase them down might work, but their knowledge of these alleys is good. The party members might have to succeed a check of some kind in order to stay close (for instance DC20 Acrobatics or Survival, depending on the situation). When caught the thugs will not reveal anything, and rather die… unless you want to continue this story with an added chapter of raiding the thugs hideout.
Monsters and NPC's
Thug
Medium humanoid (any race), any non-good alignment
Armor class 11 (Leather Armor)
Hit points 32 (5D8+10)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 (+2) | 11 (+0) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) | 10 (+0) | 11 (+0) |
Skills Intimidation +2
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Any One Language (usually Common)
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Pack Tactics. The thug has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the thug’s allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Actions
Multiattack. The thug makes two melee attacks.
Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: (1d10) piercing damage.
Forest Gnome
Small humanoid, any alignment
Armor class 11 (Leather Armor)
Hit points 13 (3D4+6)
Speed 25 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 (+0) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 11 (+0) |
Skills Animal Handling +2
Senses Darkvision, passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Gnomish
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Gnome Cunning. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.
Natural Illusionist. You know the minor illusion cantrip. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
Speak with Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts. Forest gnomes love animals and often keep squirrels, badgers, rabbits, moles, woodpeckers, and other creatures as beloved pets.
Actions
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: (1d6) piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: (1d6) piercing damage.
