Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Neighborhood at the Corner of Craft Street and Wagon Way; Part III

Today we visit a humble, ground-level flat for the character on a budget. Please see Part One for background on this series.

Building C - Ground Level Flat
     This two story building has been divided into two apartments, one on each floor. The character who lives on the ground level pays 3 gp/month for a living room/kitchen and a bedroom. The tenants upstairs are a married couple prone to the occasional drunken argument followed by loud lovemaking.

     The flat is in good shape and any needed repairs are made promptly. The landlord is a wealthy individual of unknown identity. His agent, Marcus Grooms, comes by to collect the rent and to approve any repairs. He is an aging, polite fellow, who will chat for a few moments before collecting the gold coins and going about his business.

Callers to the Flat
     The prior resident of the flat was a beloved cleric of Lathander. The cleric suddenly moved away to Waterdeep to help investigate rumors of undead massing in the city's sewers. Many in the neighborhood did not receive the news and assume he still lives there. For some weeks—until word spreads—the PC who lives here can expect a wide array of visitors seeking help. A few are listed below.

1) Sick Babe
     A distraught mother, with tears running down her cheeks and eyes weary from lack of sleep, pounds on the door. With her is a baby, who suffers from a deep, wracking cough. A successful Healing proficiency check will result in a diagnosis of Coal Cough. Coal Cough is a common childhood malady that is caused from the numerous particulates in Baldur's Gate's air. A successful  Healing check (add +2 to the check if the PC also has Herbalism) will help the child to recover quickly.

     If the PC presses the woman about her personal life, he will be told that her name is Miriam and the baby girl is Chloe. Miriam became a widow after her husband was lost at sea. When recounting the tale, she will bitterly spit a curse at the goddess Umberlee. She’ll add, “My husband donated a tenth of his income to that foul temple as a bribe against fate, but that wretched goddess still took his life!”

     If the PC helps Miriam - and she will show up from time to time with sick babe in tow - neighbors will begin gossiping to the PC about her. They say things like, "Her husband was lost at sea more than a year ago, but her daughter was conceived afterward."  They will also make remarks about her living conditions. "How can the widow of a fisherman afford such a nice home?" Finally, a few neighbors will say that Miriam spends quite a bit of time at the temple of Umberlee. "What do you think goes on there?" they ask aloud. "Everyone knows it's a place of perversion and shady dealings."

2) The Stabbed Man
     In the middle of the night, there is a great clamor at the door. On the doorstep is an unconscious man, who is being propped up by two drunken friends. The unconscious man has been stabbed and is bleeding heavily from his wound. A successful Healing check will stop his bleeding, restore 1d3 hit points and therefore save his life. While the men may look a bit rough, they mean no harm and are merely concerned for their friend.

     If the PC is unable to help, they will not hold him responsible for their friend's demise. If the PC presses for details, he will learn that the men were drinking at a tavern in the area and got into an altercation with some local rogues (Hargor's Men). After their friend was stabbed, they were deliberately misdirected to the PC's flat with a promise of free healing.

3) Bitten!
     A member of the Fraternal Order of Rat Catchers, Doyle Spence by name, is suffering from “The Fever.” It is a malady common to people who are bitten by filthy, diseased rats. He has come seeking aid and is sweaty, miserable and quite pale. Doyle tried to pray to Tymora for good luck and a speedy recovery, but his prayers went unanswered. A successful Healing check (add +2 to the check if the PC also has Herbalism) will cure Doyle of his affliction.

Encounter at the Flat
     As previously mentioned, the couple that lives upstairs—Joy and Forrest—are frequent fighters. One evening they will be having a particularly explosive row involving allegations of infidelity. A neighbor gossiped that Joy gets the best cuts and best prices from the butcher because she shows him her breasts. Forrest confronted the butcher, a fight ensured and Forrest was briefly jailed. He is home now and the arguing has begun. At some point, Forrest will run down the stairs and will start screaming from the street. Eventually a shattering sound will be heard.

     “Gods, Joy! You threw a dammed plate at me?!”
     “I did not, you stupid bastard!” she’ll retaliate.
     “Liar!” he’ll spit.
 
     Suddenly, there are more sounds of ceramic breaking on the cobblestone streets. Forrest will then begin screaming in earnest.

     “Gargoyles! Damned bastards! Stop!”

     That will be followed by a loud thud. When/if the character investigates, Forrest will be laying on the cobbles, his head clearly bleeding. On the roof, two gargoyles will be leering at the scene, obviously enjoying their antics. (See page 125 of the Monstrous Manual for details.) They will quickly depart, but not before hurling a few more roof tiles at any would-be rescuers. Treat the tiles as a ranged attack that does 1d4 damage.

3 comments:

  1. By a twist of fate, the character in my campaign who lived in this house was a cleric. She was all too pleased to help Pigeon Street's beleaguered citizens, as it helped her promote her deity.

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  2. Just stumbled upon your blog here, and wow! Prolific.. have you ever written a book? Seems like you have the equivalent, in all your material here. I'm adding this blog to my reader. Also bought issue 1 of your zine.

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    1. Thanks, Jim! This series is a revision of some material that ran in Loviatar no. 1. I liked the article in the zine, but there were always a few minor things that nagged me. Revising and presenting the article here in parts is allowing me a chance to make some tweaks, I guess. I hope you like the zine. :) Also, thanks for dropping by!

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