Introduction ¶
The Steadfront Account is the first of a series of adventures about the village of Steadfront and its neighbours.
Adventure Setup ¶
It’s the Harvest Festival at Steadfront! Villagers celebrate their annual harvest, the end of summer, and welcome the Six Roads Ledger to trade in preparation for winter.
This year, instead of festivities, accusations, shortages, sabotage, and a pink pack mule threaten to turn the celebration into public disgrace.
Hooks ¶
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A villager of Steadfront accuses the adventurers of being responsible for breaking into the warehouse, and the adventurers have to clear their name or risk being apprehended by the Cities.
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An ambitious agent of The Still Hand wants to stand out to his superiors and offers the party 50gp apiece to plant damning evidence to discredit a named agent of the Six Roads Ledger before the Festival’s Feast.
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After being falsely accused, a desperate agent of the Six Roads Ledger appeals to the adventurers for help, awarding 100gp and entry into a place within the Six Roads Ledger’s domain if they can help clear their name.
The Lead-Up ¶
Signs of corruption have begun to surface in the ranks of the Six Roads Ledger. Behind the scenes, the Still Hand is making moves to sow distrust and upset the internal order throughout the guild.
All of this comes to a head at Steadfront’s annual Harvest Festival, as tensions bubble to the surface, and in the middle of it all, the People of Steadfront want to see justice served.
Factions ¶
The Six Roads Ledger ¶
The Six Roads Ledger is the official tradesmen and merchants guild that ply the roads between the Cities and neighbouring villages around Steadfront. Every season, they do a convoy run, trading essentials for harvest. All villages within the region depend on the guild to remain connected to each other and to the Cities. Should they fall or be corrupted, the villages risk losing connection and access to essential supplies.
- They are responsible for all goods and mail going in and out of Steadfront.
- Their goal is profit, stability, and control.
- They act in public with clear intent through official records, sealed documents, and contracts.
- While they usually act with a paper trail, the Six Roads Ledger is realizing that their reputation is at stake and will take drastic steps to clear their name.
- The fervent amongst their ranks believe that the order they preserve helps to prevent collapse.
The Still Hand ¶
The Still Hand is made up of exiled merchants, tradesmen, and artisans from the Cities wanting to return to their homes and restore their previous glory. Their plan is to become a legitimate force and regain the status they once had, but right now they are raising the resources necessary to do so.
- They are manoeuvring themselves into positions where they skim profits off the top of trade runs into their own coffers.
- They undermine trust and redirect blame to destabilize and discredit, while extracting ill-gotten profits.
- They avoid violence for now, but desperation may force their hand.
- Many amongst them believe that the order projected onto them excludes and disenfranchises them.
People of Steadfront ¶
The People of Steadfront are a hardy and independent folk. Living near the borders between Cities means they often have to fend for themselves. Their goal is to survive and prosper and will not stand idle in the face of injustice. The Harvest Festival is critically important to the People of Steadfront, and its failure is seen as a bad omen for the coming winter.
- They want to hold a successful Festival and do not want to be taken advantage of by outsiders.
- Their goal is peace, stability, and justice.
- They may act independently and without permission, doing what is necessary to keep their village safe.
- As tensions rise, they may launch investigations, withhold resources, bar access, and instigate protests or riots as evidence of foul play comes to light, without overstepping Cities’ jurisdiction.
- They depend on the order provided by the Cities, and the Six Roads Ledger, to survive.
Festivities ¶
The Harvest Festival is an important event marking the end of summer for the People of Steadfront. The Festival itself has several key events that culminate in the final Bonfire.
Throughout the Festival, come up with character-driven plot points that present new information to the adventurers or force the adventurers to take action. If you need inspiration for plot points, you can use the Manipulation and Reaction Tables for ideas.
Welcoming ¶
A fool is crowned
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Day breaks and the Six Roads Ledger has just arrived, meeting the village leaders in preparation for negotiations that will take place through the Festival.
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The adventurers may witness or conduct an overt attempt to embarrass the leaders of the Six Roads Ledger, from as simple as tripping them to as loud as publicly announcing mishaps along the road.
Preparations ¶
Broken promises, broken properties
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The next several days are filled with decorating, cooking, cleaning, harvesting, transporting, loading, and unloading, and things always get chaotic. Right in the middle of the village, a giant bonfire is being built. At a safe distance away, rows of tables and chairs have been set up for the final celebrations. Beyond that, rows of stalls have been set up.
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Many social interactions between factions will likely take place during this period, as they start to negotiate prices, draft contracts, and move goods between warehouses and caravans.
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All within the village center may witness the sudden appearance of a pink pack mule. On closer inspection, the adventurers discover that this was a pack mule belonging to the Six Roads Ledger. The last known location of the pack mule was a warehouse, and there are traces of spellcasting, such as a damaged spellbook.
Feast and Dance ¶
Tension becomes personal
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On the closing nights of the Festival, great feasts will be held for all villagers and guests. Villagers will dance and sing, and guests will be invited to participate, and if they so choose, perform as well.
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With everyone gathered and celebrating, any agents may take the opportunity to investigate or sabotage, such as breaking into an opposite faction’s room.
Bonfire ¶
The kettle boils over
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As the closing note of the Festival, the bonfire is set ablaze, paying respect to the local deities for blessing Steadfront with a fruitful harvest and praying for an easy winter ahead.
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The final night of the Festival is the last opportunity that any of the factions can take to deal a significant blow to each other. Public accusations, fights, or protests may break out depending on the underlying tensions that the adventurers and faction agents have been creating.
Manipulation and Reactions ¶
The agents of the Still Hand will actively sabotage and manipulate events behind the scenes, while the Six Roads Ledger conducts investigations. When the Still Hand act covertly, or if events grow quiet or uncertain, either choose from or roll 2d12 against the Manipulation Table for the methods the Still Hand is using.
Narratively, if adventurers are struggling to find evidence of manipulation, remember that the People of Steadfront and the agents of the Six Roads Ledger are doing their own investigation. If they discover evidence of foul play, they may act on it, and the more damning the evidence, the more strongly they are likely to react. To determine how they would react, you may roll 1d8 against the Reaction Table to determine how the agent who uncovers the evidence reacts.
Manipulation Table
| # | Subject | Manipulation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A document or record | Forged |
| 2 | A person in transit | Replaced |
| 3 | A shipment or supply | Altered |
| 4 | A storage space | Stolen |
| 5 | A tool or device | Planted |
| 6 | A symbol of authority | Delayed |
| 7 | A beast of burden | Duplicated |
| 8 | A gathering or event | Sabotaged |
| 9 | A worker or labour group | Misled |
| 10 | A route or schedule | Pressured |
| 11 | An outsider or newcomer | Concealed |
| 12 | An apprentice or subordinate | Framed |
Reaction Table
| # | Reaction |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rumours spread, exaggerated and distorted with each retelling |
| 2 | Goods are quietly withheld, villagers start hiking prices |
| 3 | A small crowd identifies and confronts a suspect or starts a protest |
| 4 | A villager or agent of the Six Roads Ledger takes a bold but risky action |
| 5 | An informal investigation is initiated |
| 6 | A plea for help is made to the adventurers |
| 7 | Distrust grows, and outsiders start to find doors barred to them |
| 8 | Someone starts to take notice and join the dots |
Characters ¶
Six Roads Ledger ¶
Jerren Wane ¶
Traits:
- Stocky physique with weathered skin
- Tired face with a heavy moustache
- Speaks measuredly and precisely
- Aged 40+
Background:
- Current representative of the Six Roads Ledger to Steadfront.
- He is fair and asserts quiet authority but is non-confrontational, and his silence is often seen as distant.
- He is attempting to maintain a business-as-usual facade but is pushing against the guild’s eroding reputation and undercurrent of corruption from the Still Hand and may delay actions until it’s too late.
Brin Kestell ¶
Traits:
- Athletic physique with rosy skin
- Elongated clean-shaven face
- Speaks bluntly
- Aged 20+
Background:
- Assistant to Jerren Wane.
- He is loyal and kind but prone to impulsive action and uncomfortable with hierarchical change.
- He will jump at scraps of leads and attempts at apprehending the bad apples within the Six Roads Ledger, but his impulsiveness may lead him to accuse without sufficient evidence, undermining and slowing Jerren’s investigations.
The Still Hand ¶
Rook Halver ¶
Traits:
- Lean physique, with scars visible on some parts of his skin
- Sharp face, with a goatee
- Speaks cryptically
- Aged 30+
Background:
- Secret agent of the Still Hand who has been inserted into the Six Roads Ledger, he has worked his way into becoming a potential successor as representative of the Six Roads Ledger to Steadfront
- He is cunning and decisive, and acts with conviction. However, he is overbearing and brash
- He wants to summarily discredit Jerren Wane and his crew, but may start to overreach as Jerren’s investigation starts to choke out the options that he has.
Calder Thorne ¶
Traits:
- Bulky physique with sweaty skin
- Rotund face with wavy hair
- Speaks directly and aggressively
- Aged 30+
Background:
- Hired muscle and handyman of Rook, not a full-fledged member of the Still Hand
- He is fearless and respects hierarchy, but is highly reactive and aggressive
- He will take steps to name for himself and become recognized, and may escalate to violence too quickly, breaking against the tight leash of secrecy held by Rook Halver
Steadfront ¶
Marron Harrowmere ¶
Traits:
- Scrawny physique with wrinkled skin
- Weary face with short and sparse hair
- Speaks plainly and slowly
- Aged 50+
Background:
- Reeve of Steadfront, he represents the village when handling matters with outsiders
- He is experienced and just, but he requires support in confrontations
- He wants to ensure that stability remains and may wait too long for consensus before taking action, becoming outspoken and accusatory as undeniable evidence comes to his knowledge
Lysa Harrowmere ¶
Traits:
- Skinny physique with bronze skin
- Youthful face with long hair
- Speaks politely and confidently
- Aged 10+
Background:
- Daughter of Marron Harrowmere, she is sharp and takes initiative, but is too quick to jump into danger
- She is small and is hard to detect if she chooses to hide
- She wants the Festival to succeed, but the adults look unusually stressed this Harvest Festival
- She can discover and provide information that are missed by other characters, however the information may not be incomplete or misinterpreted
Concluding the adventure ¶
On the Still Hand’s agenda ¶
If the Still Hand publicly discredits the leaders of the Six Roads Ledger ¶
Jerren Wane, Brin Kestell and their crew will get run out of Steadfront, and some innocent scapegoats may be hung out to dry, serving as warning to others. Things appear to go back to normal for a while but the lives of the People of Steadfront slowly worsen, as the Still Hand starts to enforce their profit-skimming practices.
Expect roads to become more dangerous and inaccessible as the Still Hand becomes more daring in conducting raids, and introducing oppressive patrols under this guise of preserving order.
If the Still Hand manages to sow doubt ¶
Both the Still Hand and Six Roads Ledger continue to struggle in their cause. The Still Hand starts to be more overt in their tactics around the region as they start to draw down their resources, and the Six Roads Ledger doubles down with their investigations.
Adventurers traveling this region will be met with suspicion as word spreads of an underground force attempting to sow discord. Distrust towards authority grows within Steadfront, and new vigilante factions are born to police and monitor outsiders.
If the Six Roads Ledger roots out the Still Hand ¶
The existence of the Still Hand becomes known, forcing them to go back underground. The roads remain safe, but the Still Hand is now desperate, driving them to more violent and guerrilla tactics to achieve their goals.
Peace appears to return to the villages with fewer caravans and travellers on the road, but adventurers can expect criminal activity starting to grow, and may be marked if they were instrumental in the Still Hand’s reveal.
On the Festival’s success ¶
If the Festival is successful ¶
The People of Steadfront remain hopeful and resilient, and moderates negative impacts that the Still Hand has on Steadfront.
Adventurers can treat Steadfront as a safe haven and remain welcomed to the village.
if the Festival is unsuccessful ¶
The People of Steadfront are dismayed and morale struggles. They become more pessimistic and distrustful of outsiders, and less forgiving of wrongdoings by outsiders.
Adventurers can expect to be met with resistance, unfriendliness or outright anger when in Steadfront.