Playable 3rd Level 5E Adventure: The Tyrant Mayor
THE TYRANT MAYOR is an adventure for a party of 3-5 adventurers who are 3rd level. This is a very loose adventure, so just scale up the adventure difficulty or expand on it if you'd like to use it for higher levels or go in-depth for insertion into a campaign. Feel free to change the names of characters and locations and other details to fit into your own game. I used the TOWN GENERATOR on our site, as well as the GOSSIP GENERATOR on our site and the NPC GENERATOR and TAVERN MENU GENERATOR on our site to generate everything for the adventure.
Quick Aside
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SETTING
PORTGRAVE, a small village of 88 residents. It is ruled by an ineffectual noble by the name of GESAN GLAZ, who became paranoid about being usurped and so hired an unstable mercenary named SERGIO to protect him. However, Sergio decided he might like to rule Portgrave himself, and so has been undermining Gesan Glaz and has been terrorizing the townsfolk and the surrounding areas with his hired thugs by demanding protection money, taking their livestock to feed his gang THE CRIMSON FIST, and forcing some of the strong villagers to join his gang. Everyone is inside their homes and refuse to come outside, fearing they'll be robbed or beaten or worse.
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THE SNORING GOAT TAVERN
ROMBAN OLDAREL's tavern is currently closed to all townsfolk and outsiders not a part of the Crimson Fist gang. MARIKA FEATHERSTEEL is Romban's only employee. The tavern is almost always empty aside from Gesan, who is hiding in the basement. Romban and Marika reluctantly serve the Crimson Fist during their nightly drinking binges, but stores are getting low. They complain that Sergio is a horrible leader and has taken over BREEZEHOME, the Mayor's Manor.
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RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
Sergio's lackeys and their beasts roam the town and the surrounding lands. Roll 1D6 every hour.
Bandit Captain and 1d4 Bandits.
5 Thugs.
Bandit Captain with 1d4 Flying Snakes.
1d8 Thugs.
1d4 Bandits. 1d4 Thugs.
Bandit Captain with 1d6 Bloodhawks.
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BREEZEHOME
A two-story mansion, with a large basement. Sergio has made Breezehome his base and it's guarded by his gang. At any given time, there are 1d4 Bandits in various places around the exterior.
Floor One - Living Area
A large foyer in which two Veterans are relaxing. There is a massive kitchen, and a sitting space with lots of bookshelves (containing several rare books) and comfy chairs. There is a great wooden door made of dark wood that leads down to the basement, and there is a set of stone steps leading up to the second floor. If the Veterans engage in battle with the PCs, they will shout warnings to everyone else inside the mansion unless they're silenced in some way.
Floor Two - Sergio's Chambers
This bedroom is very lavish and contains a very comfortable bed and lots of expensive clothing and crafted items belonging to Gesan. Sergio and his most trusted gang have been drinking in the large upstairs room and smashing Gesan's belongings or pocketing them. Sergio is a Gladiator and joining him are five Bandits, one Bandit Captain, and two Veterans. If the players defeat Sergio, the other mercenaries will give up immediately, but Sergio will always try to keep his men in between him and his enemies. If commotion is heard downstairs, Sergio will send the five Bandits to check on the noise. If reduced to 5 hp or less, Sergio will try to bargain with the PCs. Inside the room are 1d8 art objects each worth 25 gp that have not been broken.
Basement - Makeshift Prison
Dark, with sparse furniture, the basement has been used to keep prisoner those villagers and supporters of Gesan's who were more vocal about opposing Sergio and his men. 1d12 villagers are trussed up and being guarded by a Mage with two Bandits. In a trunk, there is an amulet of health, two potions of poison, and a periapt of proof against poison as well as a copper chalice with silver filigree worth 25 gp.
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RESOLUTION
If the PCs defeat Sergio and his Crimson Fist, they will have the gratitude of the townsfolk, especially those who were rescued from the basement. Gesan will come out of hiding and profusely thank the adventurers, but the townsfolk will turn on him and run him out of town. The PCs are then offered the use of Breezehome in return for their deeds, as long as one of the PCs wish to be mayor of Portgrave. Once Gesan leaves town (he won't have time to return to his belongings), the players are free to keep anything within the mansion. Whether the players decide to stay in Portgrave or not, a massive celebration will be held at The Snoring Goat Tavern where Romban and Marika will serve up their celebration menu: Alcohol: Spruce Ale, Spiced Wine
Non-Alcohol: Well Water
Bread: Croissants Small Eats: Beef Broth Entrée: Seared chicken strips in a honey pepper sauce with steamed broccoli, or groundhog fritters.
Sweets: Lemon Tart
During the party, if the players are going to stay in town, they may hear a couple rumors that the GM can use as plot hooks for further adventures in town or new things to tackle as the new mayor of Portgrave. The town being taken over by bandits has spurred discussion of other potentially problematic people in the area. No one is eager to have a repeat of the Sergio situation.
Roll 1D4
1. You overhear that there is someone pretending to be a dockworker in town.
2. You overhear that a cultist robbed a construction foreman during the last full moon.
3. You overhear that there is a hermit just outside of town suspected of murder.
4. You overhear that a glass blower got into a fight with a druid near his workshop.
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NPCs
GESAN GLAZ - A middle-aged man who is portly, balding, and was once ransomed by goblins. His parents were rich nobility and unfortunately Gesan would be better suited to being a shopkeep than a mayor. He's cowardly, surprisingly stingy, and very opportunistic.
ROMBAN OLDAREL - In his 60's, a retired adventurer. Bald, talkative, likable. Has a jagged scar on his face. Respects martial types.
MARIKA FEATHERSTEEL - In her 40's. Has a mohawk and blue eyes. More than anything, she wants to forget her past, so she came to this little backwater village. She is very blunt and doesn't enjoy jokey types.
SERGIO - In his 30's, very muscular and has rough skin. Long, silver hair and lots of tattoos. Wants more than anything to meet a real dragon and the logo for the Crimson Fist looks like a red dragon's claws.
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The Town of Portgrave
It is several generations old, is at the edge of an ancient forest and the entire area is ruled by a noble family that has held power for centuries, and they may not like the fact that Gesan has been run out of town. Under Gesan, Portgrave is best known for its xenophobia toward visitors and recently, it has struggled with a bandit gang entrenched nearby (The Crimson Fist). Travelers to the settlement usually visit the stables, which sell some of the finest horses in the area. The settlement's main import is bronze, and its main export is dye pigments.
Anyway, that concludes THE TYRANT MAYOR. Hopefully you have fun with it as a one-shot adventure, or maybe even as part of your campaign. Let us know what you think about it in the comments below! - Joe