Words Remain Below by Larry Bierworth & Patrick Riegert

Fantasy, Historical, Intrigue

This adventure is about the player characters dealing with Locals: Every other NPC the players encounter in Fortune’s
superstition, fear, justice, and morality in the midst of a volatile Pass is an antagonist. The locals want to burn the witch, believ-
situation. ing that her death will end the plague. Feel free to use some of
the specific characters below, or create your own to represent
The story takes place at the Hallowed Hearth Inn during a heavy some of the interests and attitudes typical of the villagers.
blizzard. The Hallowed Hearth Inn is located in a village called
Fortune’s Pass, in an isolated mountain pass. It is part of a bar- Will Hattan: Hateful and stupid, and also very dangerous. Will
ony within a nation affected by a plague. is the most likely local to nudge his fellows toward violence, but
would never act without others backing him up.
The PCs are snowed in for the evening, and among the guests are
an inquisitor of the church and a young woman suspected of be- Sam Draper: A large man; Will Hattan’s cousin. He’ll back up Will,
ing a witch. The inquisitor dies of the plague at the start, leaving even when it gets him into trouble.
the fate of the girl in the hands of the PCs.
Ingrid Tasser: Very superstitious and very vocal. She tends to
If the girl is delivered to her fate in the city, she will burn for speak aloud the fears felt by others in a group, bringing them to
witchcraft. If the locals are left unchecked, she will die at their the forefront.
hands instead.
Introduction
Player Characters
A terrible blizzard has fallen upon Fortune’s Pass, and a few travellers
Read the following descriptions to the players. have found their way to the Hallowed Hearth Inn. Storms such as these are
common in the mountains, and nothing can be done but wait until it passes.
Innkeeper: This character is in a desperate position. Their dying Despite the recent plague, the Hallowed Hearth is busy tonight, as locals and
spouse is somewhere within the inn, and they are going to try to travellers seek an escape from the storm.
get the witch to them without anyone knowing. But, they are at
their own inn. The employees and supplies are at their disposal. Have the PCs introduce their characters. Start with the Inn-
keeper, followed by those who come in from the blizzard (the
Mercenary: This is the most difficult character to play. The Mercenary will be the last one to be introduced — see below).
mercenary has no direct goal in this game, but can easily be an
impediment for other characters. A smart character will try to It is also recommended that the players describe a feature of the
with their favour. common room of the Hallowed Hearth, such as the part of the
room they occupy, or one they move to when they enter.
Minstrel: This is the true wild card of their adventure. The min-
strel wants to escalate the situation. Give them the opportunity The Mercenary is travelling with the inquisitor and the witch, and
to do so.. will be introduced last. The inquisitor is obviously quite sick. His
status as an inquisitor of the church allows him to avoid the con-
Scholar: This character is likely to have the most useful skill set sequences of being a possible plaguebearer. After entering, he
for this game. They know about witchcraft, law, and are geared roughly pulls a bound and gagged young woman in behind him.
towards getting in debates. They also have the weakest position
to obtain what they want. The scholar might get in and fight for The inquisitor turns to the witch without warning and raves:
what they want, or they will not succeed.
“Were it not for your sacrilege I’d be in comfort and better health right now,
Bastard: The bastard is full of secrets and made-up power. This little witch. I shall smile to see your trial, and laugh at your burning.”
character has a lot of potential on the surface, but has a lot to
lose from failure. After this, he will erupt into a coughing fit. He will arrange a
room for himself and a separate one for the Mercenary (whom
Non-Player Characters he will leave in the common room), and retire to it with the witch
in tow.
The Witch: The witch is the sister of the noble to whom the
baron’s bastard is betrothed. She knows that she will not survive Allow the PCs to react to this. The dozen or so locals in the
a trial and is willing to make deals to escape her fate. Other de- common room will stir, and all their discussions will focus
tails are up to the GM, including whether she is a real witch. The around what they have just seen and heard.
witch knows she is being scapegoated, and is desperate to escape
her fate. She is fighting for her life.
1
The Inquisitor’s Death Few characters are suited well to combat, including the locals, so
if a Fight! May not work for many situations. A bloody versus
After the players have been given a chance to interact with each test is better suited for most characters in this story.
other and NPCs, the barmaid will return from having gone to
the inquisitor’s room (to see if he wishes to eat or draw a bath) This game is begging for a Duel of the Wits. Every character
and has found him dead. The barmaid is visibly shaken, and her has at least some social skill, and a witch trial in the inn is very
return is noticed and reacted to by everyone in the room. likely. Keep in mind that the locals may not be satisfied with the
results.
Anyone who goes to the inquisitor’s room will find that he is on
his bed, lying on his back, with blood on his lips and collar. The Remember that the witch herself can be used to move the story
witch is on the floor in the corner of the room, still bound, but along. If things are growing cold, or if a player is sitting by the
has worked her gag free. Her wrists are chafed and her hands are wayside, she might be able to appear to them directly.
bloody.
Involving the Players
If any PCs remain in the common room, they will notice the
locals becoming agitated. Play up their fear of the witch — and Every PC has something that can be used “against them.” Below
dead inquisitor — they are now trapped with at the inn. are a few examples of ways to involve a passive player in the
events of the game more directly:
The Witch’s Fate
• The Innkeeper’s spouse is heard coughing or crying out
At this stage, the players will have their own agendas to pursue. from somewhere in the inn.
However, fear will grow among the locals and, if left unchecked,
they will take action against the witch. • A war widow recognizes the Mercenary.

If the locals are ignored, intentionally agitated, or dismissed, they • The locals become bored with the Minstrel.
will escalate. Things are also likely to become increasingly prob-
lematic if the locals do not get the outcome they want; namely, • A request is made to have the Scholar replace the inquisitor.
having the witch dealt with in a decisive way. Their actions
become more severe in proportion to their fear: • The locals demand that the witch be tried by the [mad]
baron.
• At first, the Minstrel will be asked to perform in the com-
mon room. They will request a song about the hero of Playing With 3 or 4 Players
Fortune’s Pass (the Mercenary).
If you have only four players, remove the Minstrel character. If
• They will call upon the PCs to act. This request/demand there are only three players, take out the Scholar as well. We do
could be directed toward any of them, except the Minstrel. not recommend running this game with less than three players.
Typically, target the character whose player is the most quiet,
or the one who would create the most tension or problems. Ending the Game
• A mark of condemnation is placed on the door to the room This scenario ends when the question of the witch’s fate is
in which the witch is being kept. This is something that the resolved. Due to the danger of the locals, this may happen after
locals would prefer to do surreptitiously, but will do openly the players have made their decision.
if they must. The mark is a religious one, and indicates that
the girl is to be killed.

• A direct attempt is made to kill the witch.

• The inn is set on fire in an attempt to kill the witch.

• The witch manifests her powers.

Running the Game

This scenario is primarily about the discord that will arise for the
PCs, given their different and conflicting agendas. Use the locals
and the witch to increase tension and force action; the players
themselves will provide most of the conflict for the game.