TEXT:  
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS:
  SHOPS & HOUSES
  Brandon Norris & Richie Root
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other 
  Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards 
  of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the 
  express written permission of Wizards of the Coast.
  ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe,  
  4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.
  Cover Image by David Revoy / Blender Foundation (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Using This Material .................................3
  House - Manor ...........................................4
    Masquerade Ball ......................................4
    The Reluctant Retiree .............................8
    Vampire's Manse ....................................15
  House - Peasant's ...................................23
    Burnt Home.............................................23
    Crushskull Residence ...........................24
    Golden Farm ...........................................26
    Interrupted Rehearsal ...........................27
    Peaceful Getaway...................................29
    Pear Brandy House ...............................30
    Quarantined House ...............................32
  House - Rural (One Story) ...................34
    Fish Wish .................................................34
    Gambling Den .........................................37
    Giant's House ..........................................39
    Hunted Man's Redoubt .........................42
    Petrified Peasants ..................................45
  House - Rural (Two Story) ....................47
    Burrowing Terrors .................................47
    Halfway House for 
    Recovering Monsters ............................49
    History Repeats Itself ............................52
    Junk House ..............................................55
    Ronar Twins Monster Ranch ...............57
  Merchant's Townhouse .........................60
    Guard Duty ..............................................60
    Home of the Future ...............................63
    Mad Cat Lady ..........................................69
  Shop ...........................................................72
    Separatist Cell ........................................72
    Distressed Merchant .............................74
    Gene's Goods ..........................................75
    Illegal Importer .......................................77
    Vosselman's Arctic Custard .................78
    Zezo's Home Defense ............................80
  Tenement House .....................................83
    Possessed Orphanage...........................83
    Shady Acres Home for the Ages .........87
    Sick House ..............................................91
  Maps ...........................................................94
    House - Manor ........................................94
    House - Peasant's ...................................95
    House - Rural (One Story) ....................95
    House - Rural (Two Story) ....................96
    Merchant's Townhouse .........................96
    Shop ..........................................................97
    Tenement House ....................................97
  CREDITS
  Writers: Brandon Norris & Richie Root
  Editing: Richie Root
  Maps: Brandon Norris (created using 
  Dungeon Painter Studio) 
  Layout Design: Richie Root
  Proofreading: Brandon Norris & 
  Brynna Campbell
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  USING THIS MATERIAL
  This book contains 32 original houses, homes 
  and shops to supplement your Dungeons & 
  Dragons campaigns. Are your players constantly 
  breaking into the houses of the wealthy? 
  Insistent on checking out every shop in town? 
  Looking for shelter in every rural house they 
  wander across? The houses and shops in this 
  book can be dropped into any campaign, quickly 
  and easily giving character and flavor to these 
  places and inspiring further adventures.
  If you are looking for a one-shot 
  adventure to fill a last minute game night, 
  consider beginning with one of the encounters 
  to fill the night with story-filled exploration, and 
  then use that as a jumping off point to follow 
  whatever leads your table finds most exciting.
  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
  Each entry begins with a section that details 
  the encounter's Map, Tone, Playstyle, Max CR 
  and Rumors. These can help you decide which 
  entries are appropriate for your campaign and 
  lead into the encounters.
  MAP
  Each entry is linked to a corresponding map, 
  which gives the general layout and room 
  number listing for each encounter. The maps 
  can be found in the Maps section, beginning on 
  page 94.
  TONE
  The Tone section of each entry gives an idea of 
  the general feel of the encounter. The tone will 
  be either Light, (happy, funny, light-hearted), 
  Dark, (violent, brooding, darker themes) or 
  Mixed (somewhere in the middle of Light and 
  Dark, or a little bit of each).
  PLAYSTYLE
  The Playstyle section of each entry details 
  generally what type of encounters you can 
  expect to find within: either Combat, (monsters 
  and other encounters that generally lead to a 
  fight) Social, (generally focused on exploration, 
  discovering a story or interaction) or Mixed (a 
  blend of Combat and Social).
  MAX CR
  The Max CR section of each entry lists the 
  highest CR creature the party can expect to face 
  in the encounter. In some encounters, there will 
  be higher CR creatures that will be present, 
  though will not generally be engaged in combat. 
  Depending on the play of the encounter, not all 
  Max CR creatures will be engaged in combat.
  RUMORS
  The Rumors section of each entry gives 
  the DM a few options that will help you 
  organically introduce the encounter to your 
  campaign. Often, these will be people or 
  organizations enlisting the party to assist them 
  with something within the house or shop, or 
  reporting on something odd that could be 
  followed up on.
  WHAT TO READ
  Each segment in standard black text is for the 
  DM's instruction and contains information 
  about the room that can be relayed to the player 
  as appropriate.
  Whenever you see text in a green box, it 
  should be read out loud to the players, to 
  ensure that specific necessary information be 
  relayed. 
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HOUSE - MANOR
  MASQUERADE BALL
  Map.  House - Manor
  Tone.  Light
  Playstyle.  Social
  Max CR. 5
  Rumors.
  The high gray facade of a large mansion is 
  visible over a stone wall. The brass gate in the 
  outer wall displays a heraldic crest of a black 
  crane in front of crossed pikes on a yellow 
  field. The front doors of the manse are thrown 
  wide and the light of lamps and the sound of 
  revelry spill out onto the front courtyard.
  1 - COURTYARD
  ______________________________________
  A crowd of people mill about the courtyard 
  in masks with drinks in hand. A small circle 
  of people surrounds two richly dressed men 
  having a sparring duel. A liveried butler 
  stands just inside the gate. As you enter he 
  asks you for your invitation.
  The butler will not let players into the manor 
  without an invitation. If players refuse to leave, 
  he will call a cadre of five guards to remove the 
  players from the premises. A successful DC 13 
  Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check will 
  convince him that the party either lost their 
  invitation or should be on the list. Players of 
  noble background have advantage on this check. 
  If all else fails, he makes it clear that a bribe of 
  15 gp would be sufficient to allow you inside. 
  The butler provides the party with masks if they 
  do not have their own.
  If any weapons are drawn or violence is 
  threatened in the courtyard, the 30 or so party 
  guests will attempt to scatter around the east 
  side of the house. A group of five guards will 
  arrive in 1d4 minutes to investigate. The two 
  sparring nobles (stat as veterans, except 
  with an AC of 13) will attempt to interpose 
  themselves between the violence and the fleeing 
  nobles, shouting threats such as “on my honor, 
  I shall see you hanged for this unprovoked 
  butchery, blackguard!” The butler attempts to 
  run inside and warn his lord and the house staff.
  All of the guests are quite wealthy (in this 
  room and all others), holding approximately 80 
  gp each in money and valuables.
  2 - FOYER
  ______________________________________
  A large entrance hall with a huge marble 
  staircase to the second floor. The room is 
  mostly empty. Every few minutes a party guest 
  or two will travel through here to another room.
  3 - PORTRAIT GALLERY
  ______________________________________
  A large open room with portraits of elaborately 
  dressed nobles on the walls. Busts and statuary 
  are scattered about on plinths. 
  Several noble guests of the party are 
  having a poetry contest. If the party decide to 
  enter the poetry contest, they must succeed 
  on a DC 15 Charisma (Performance) check 
  to beat the other entrants, who are decidedly 
  amateurish. If multiple characters enter the 
  contest and succeed, the one with the highest 
  roll is the winner.
  The winner of the contest is approached 
  by the lady of the house, Baroness Alice 
  Rondell, who gives them a sloppy kiss on 
  the cheek and a gold brooch of a cornucopia 
  stuffed with tiny ivory fruits (worth 100 gp) and 
  slips a key into their pocket, whispering “I’ll 
  rendezvous with you  in the guest bedroom 
  upstairs at midnight, and we’ll put that silver 
  tongue to good use.”
  •
  Baron Rondell is throwing a soiree and
  all of the social elite will be in atten-
  dance
  •
  The thieves guild is interested in the
  building plans for a mint that the 
  Baron oversees, which can likely be 
  found in his house
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  4 - BALLROOM
  ______________________________________
  The large parquet floored ballroom is filled with 
  people doing a complicated dance. In the corner 
  three musicians play a jaunty tune. A small 
  drinks table is on the north wall full of wine in 
  crystal glasses (worth 100 gp of crystal in total)
  5 - GRAND DINING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A huge wooden table brimming with food 
  dominates the middle of the dining room. As 
  soon as one dish or carafe of wine is finished it 
  is replaced by a fresh one by one of the harried 
  servants. A large fireplace crackles merrily on 
  the east wall. Nine nobles sit carousing at the 
  table.
   
  Baron Rondell sits at the head of the 
  table, regaling the nobles with tales of court 
  intrigue. Raucous laughter occasionally bursts 
  out. The Baron has little interest in talking 
  to the party unless they are of noble bearing 
  or have achieved some amount of fame or 
  notoriety in the area, in which case he invites 
  them to sit and drink for a while.
  6 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The kitchen is full of bustling servants, all 
  harried and under extreme stress. The room is 
  hot as an oven bakes savory pies and pastries.
   
  As the party enters the room, a distracted 
  footman stumbles into one of the adventurers, 
  causing them to succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity 
  saving throw or be covered in hot soup, taking 
  1d6 + 1 fire damage and ruining their clothes. 
  The footman is extremely apologetic and offers 
  to take the party into the servants’ quarters to 
  procure a new set of clothes and offering to 
  launder the soiled clothes by the morning.
   
  The servants here will be slightly 
  suspicious of any finely dressed people coming 
  into this room. While deferential, they attempt 
  to get the adventurers to leave the servants’ 
  areas and go back to the party. A DC 14 
  Charisma (Persuade or Deception) check will 
  convince the servants that the party belongs 
  there.
  7 - SERVANTS’ HALL
  ______________________________________
  A hall in the servants’ section of the house with 
  a stairway leading to the basement, and another 
  door exiting at the base of the grand stairway 
  into the foyer.
   
  Most of the servants are working in the 
  kitchen, but one will occasionally come through 
  here to the basement to get a new cask of wine. 
  They will question what the party is are doing in 
  this area, and attempt to steer them back to the 
  reception area. A DC 14 Charisma (Persuade or 
  Deception) check will convince the servants that 
  the party belongs there.
   
  If the party cannot convince the servants 
  that they belong there and refuse to leave, the 
  servants will call in five guards to sort them out.
  8 - BUTLER’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A small, neatly made bed and a chest fill this 
  tiny room. The chest contains several sets of 
  house livery and two weeks of the butler’s pay in 
  a leather pouch (4 gp)
  9 - MAIDS’ QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  Two small beds and two small chests fill most of 
  the available space in this small room. Out the 
  window, you can see a couple of nobles (who 
  are both married, but not to each other) getting 
  handsy with one another.
   
  The chests contain a few dresses, some 
  novels, a small dove carved of wood, a beaten 
  copper washbasin (5gp) and 3gp.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  10 - COACH HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  A long stone room with stables on the east 
  side, as well as a closed wooden door. A pair of 
  saddles hang on the wall near the stable doors.
  11 - STABLES
  ______________________________________
  The two horses in the stables whinny ner-
  vously, snorting and kicking at every noise 
  that rings out from the party. As you approach 
  the stables, they turn and eye you with wide 
  pupils.
  Three stables, two occupied by warhorses and 
  one empty. The warhorses are frightened by the 
  loud sounds of the revelry outside. If anyone 
  opens the stable doors, they must succeed on 
  a DC 16 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to 
  calm the horses. otherwise, the horses will 
  attack as long as anyone remains in their stable.
  12 - COACHMAN’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A small lightless room that smells of horses. A 
  bed, a chest, and a table with an unlit lamp on it 
  are the only furnishings.
   
  The chest contains several sets of liveried 
  clothing, a pair of riding boots, and a week’s pay 
  (5 silver). Two boar spears lean against the wall.
  13 - BASEMENT
  ______________________________________
  A basement stocked with casks of wine and 
  foodstuffs that also doubles as a common 
  room for the house’s servants. Several barrels 
  surrounded by mismatched chairs have been 
  pushed together to form a makeshift table, 
  which is still laid out with what remains of a 
  simple meal. Three small windows look out 
  onto the back of the house at ground level.
   
  Once an hour, two servants come 
  down here to obtain more wine. They will be 
  suspicious of any non-servant in the area and 
  will call the guards if they do not leave.
  14 - SERVANTS’ QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The Cook and two footmen call the basement 
  bedroom theirs. It is roomier than the servants 
  rooms above, and has a small coal brazier to 
  provide heat.
   
  The cook’s chest contains some chef’s 
  outfits (complete with poofy hat) and a week’s 
  pay (1 gp), the footmens’ chests contain liveried 
  outfits, and 1 week’s pay (1 silver in each).
  15 - UPSTAIRS LANDING
  ______________________________________
  Four nobles sit at a table, playing cards. Three 
  nobles lean against the west wall waiting to 
  use the privy and five nobles lounge against the 
  balustrade smoking pipes.
   
  The two burly men are bodyguards (stat 
  as gladiators). The larger of the two is Mark 
  Edie, Baron Rondell’s personal bodyguard. 
  They will allow the party to stay in the common 
  areas under their watchful eye, but if anyone 
  attempts to enter Room 19 while they are 
  watching (unless accompanied by the one of 
  the Rondells), they will intervene and throw the 
  trespassers out, using force if necessary.
   
  The buy-in for a round in the Three-
  Dragon Ante game is 50 gp. Each round, make 
  a contested Intelligence (Three-Dragon Ante 
  gaming set) check against the nobles (each adds 
  +2 to their roll overall). The winner wins the pot 
  for that round. The nobles are drunk enough 
  that they have difficult noticing cheaters.
  The stairs open up to a large landing with a 
  brick fireplace where many of the nobles have 
  gathered to drink and carouse. A card table 
  is set up in the corner where a group of four 
  noblemen and their hangers-on are playing 
  Three-Dragon Ante. 
   
  As you walk up the last step, two giant, 
  fully armed men approach and ask what busi-
  ness you have here. One of the nobles from 
  the table drunkenly calls out, “oh come on, 
  there’s plenty of room at the table if you want 
  to play!”
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  16 - BATHHOUSE
  ______________________________________
  A DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana or History) check 
  reveals the woman as Archmagus Angelika 
  Fountenblue, a legendary wizard (stat as an 
  archmage) who has accomplished countless 
  great deeds in her still-young life. If the players 
  continue to bother her, she will attempt to cast 
  suggestion on them to convince them to leave.
  A large stone tub filled with steaming water 
  sits in the center of the room, magically 
  created bubbles roiling the water and making 
  it opaque. Two drunken nobles luxuriate in 
  the tub with a blonde woman whose body is 
  covered in arcane tattoos.
   
  As you enter the room, she glances at 
  you with a look of distaste. “Please leave, I’m 
  already quite occupied with these lovely boys.”
  17 - WASHROOMS
  ______________________________________
  Small rooms with luxurious flushing toilets. 
  There is a line waiting to use them. The 
  noblemen in line will not be pleased if anyone 
  attempts to enter in front of them.
  18 - GUEST BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The bedroom door is locked. The butler (Room 
  1), the Baroness (Room 3) and the Baron 
  (Room 5) are the only ones with the key. The 
  bed is covered in flower petals. A bottle of wine 
  and two glasses sit at the small desk.
   
  The room is empty, unless the Baroness 
  invited you to join her inside and it is after 
  midnight, in which case she is waiting and 
  ready for a night of lovemaking. If anyone 
  chooses to join her for the night, roll a d100 
  every hour that a player stays. On a roll of 95 or 
  higher, the Baron enters with his bodyguards 
  (from Room 15) and is enraged. For every 
  hour that the player stays in the room with the 
  Baroness, add +5 to the result of the d100 roll.
  19 - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A long wide hall with many doors. Frescoes of 
  lake scenes take up the north wall. The Baron’s 
  teenage son, Rob Rondell (stat as a noble), 
  occasionally wanders these halls moping and 
  telling anyone who will listed about the dangers 
  of a monarchy,  speech that borders on treason 
  against the crown. If he is not here, he will be in 
  Room 20.
   
  The Baron is terrified that anyone will 
  find out about his son’s ranting and will pay 
  handsomely if anyone threatens to reveal that 
  knowledge.
  20 - LIBRARY
  ______________________________________
  A small and well-stocked library that contains a 
  desk. If Rob Rondell is not in the hallway, he will 
  be here, drawing crude pictures in a tome that 
  outlines the history of his family lineage.
   
  The desk in the room contains a jeweled 
  letter opened (a dagger worth 50 gp), several 
  rare tomes and a map of the family holdings 
  that includes the building plans for a mint that 
  the Baron oversees (that the local thieves guild 
  may have expressed interest in procuring).
   
  If Rob is in the room and anyone starts 
  rifling through the desk and tomes, he will 
  call for the bodyguards in Room 15 unless the 
  party manages to convince him not to with 
  a DC 15 Charisma (Persuade, Deception or 
  Intimidation) check. A player who gives Rob 
  wine or commiserates about how awful the 
  monarchy is has advantage on the roll. If Rob 
  is convinced that the party belongs, he will give 
  them a tour of the private wing of the house. 
  The guards will not bother a player who is with 
  Rob.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  21 - BODYGUARD’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A medium sized room used by the Baron’s 
  bodyguard Mark Edie. A small table for 
  polishing weapons sits on the western wall next 
  to a weapon rack and an armor rack.
   
  The racks contain three longswords, a 
  glaive, 10 daggers, 10 javelins, a large bow and 
  a board spear, as well as a chain shirt, a helmet 
  and a bag with 100 gp inside.
  22 - ROB’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A medium sized room kitted out for a bookish 
  boy. Dark curtains cover the windows. The desk 
  is covered in books about the arcane arts, a 
  wand, and a crystal ball.
   
  Inside the desk is a component pouch, a 
  healing potion and a pouch containing 130 gp. 
  Rob will not let you touch his desk if he is in the 
  room.
  23 - THE BARON’S OFFICE
  ______________________________________
  A medium sized room with plenty of windows, 
  a large desk with neatly stacked papers and 
  journals, a set of wooden drawers on the 
  western side, and a large metal chest.
   
  The desk contains the baron’s signet ring 
  (worth 100gp as jewelry, 300 to a thieves guild 
  for forgery purposes). The metal chest is locked 
  and requires a DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) 
  check to open. The chest contains 500 gp in 
  coins, deeds to properties, already signed letters 
  of credit worth 2000 gp in any large city (for two 
  weeks until the Baron notices they’re missing, 
  after which point anyone will get arrested if they 
  try to cash them in).
  24 - THE BARONIAL SUITE
  ______________________________________
  A large bedroom with a huge silk canopied bed. 
  A small table next to the bed holds a jeweled 
  water carafe and two goblets. Two large chests 
  rest at the foot of the bed.
   
  The chests contain many sets of noble’s 
  clothes, a fine rapier with pearls on the handle 
  (200 gp), and jewelry worth 400 gp. The water 
  carafe and goblets are worth 375 gp together.
  THE RELUCTANT 
  RETIREE
  A huge mansion of fine pink marble stands 
  before you, surrounded by a seamless granite 
  wall seemingly carved whole out of a gigantic 
  piece of stone. The house, while ornately 
  built, has fallen into some disrepair: tiles 
  are missing on the roof and the landscaping 
  outside has gone years without trimming. 
  Above the arch and the large wrought iron 
  gate is a coat of arms of a crossed staff and a 
  lightning bolt on a field of purple. 
   
  Huddled around this gate are fifteen 
  members of the town guard holding a 
  battering ram, the mayor, and a resplendently 
  dressed woman who seems to be berating the 
  guards. The ground they stand on is pitted 
  and scorched, as though a dragon recently 
  strafed by overhead.
  • 
  Map. House - Manor
  • 
  Tone. Mixed
  • 
  Playstyle. Combat
  • 
  Max CR. 12
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Archmage Reardon has been acting 
  strange lately and shirking his duties to 
  his lord.
  • 
  The mayor cancelled all of his 
  meetings today, saying that he had to 
  attend to a matter of public safety. 
  
   
  9
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  1 - COURTYARD
  ______________________________________
  Francine DuBois is the daughter of the 
  resident of the home, Archmage Reardon (stats 
  of an archmage). She spoke to her 94 year old 
  father last week and suggested he needed to 
  stop living alone at his advanced age. When 
  she arrived with her men-at-arms to move him 
  out, he refused to go and began slinging deadly 
  spells. Her men-at-arms are still in the home 
  and she has no idea if they are alive or not.
   
  Francine will reward the party 
  handsomely if they assist her in pacifying 
  her father and removing him from the house 
  unharmed. She fears if nothing is done soon, 
  the town guards will rush in and hurt her father 
  or be killed themselves.
  After she has finished giving the guards an 
  earful, the well-dressed woman calls you over 
  to her. “My name is Francine DuBois and this 
  is my father’s home. I’m worried for him. You 
  look like capable folk. Perhaps I could enlist 
  your help.”
  APPROACHING THE DOOR
  As you approach the door, an old man’s face 
  peeks out from behind a grate. “Are you more 
  of my insolent daughter’s friends, come to 
  roust me out of my own house? If so, turn 
  around now, I don’t want to hurt anyone, I just 
  want to be left alone.”
  The Archmage is paranoid and will not let the 
  party in under any circumstances. If the party 
  states that they are there to take him away, he 
  will cast lightning bolt at the nearest person and 
  close the grate. Otherwise, he will simply close 
  the grate and leave.
   
  The door requires a DC 20 Strength 
  (Athletics) or a DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) 
  check to open. The town guards will let the 
  party borrow their ram, granting advantage on 
  the Strength check if needed.
  2 - FOYER
  ______________________________________
  A large, richly appointed foyer gone to disrepair. 
  A ramp leads up to the second floor. The 
  curtains on the windows are moth-eaten, though 
  the room is well lit by a constellation of whirling 
  magical lights near the ceiling.
   
  A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) or 
  Wisdom (Perception) check reveals a secret 
  door under the stairs that leads to Room 7.
  3 - ART STUDIO
  ______________________________________
  This room is the Archmage’s art studio. An 
  easel is set up in the corner with a partially 
  completed painting of a nightmarish hellscape 
  covered in lava and sharp pinnacles of rock.
   
  In the western potion of the room, 
  where there should be a wall, instead is 
  a circle of painted runes that surrounds a 
  shimmering portal into the same hellscape 
  depicted in the painting. In the distance, a 
  winged horror takes notice of you and wheels, 
  screeching, to fly towards the portal.
  
   
  10
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The winged horror is a bone devil that will 
  arrive through the portal five turns after the 
  party enters the room and immediately attack, 
  attempting to drag its victims into the hellscape. 
   
  Inspection of the runes and a DC 14 
  Intelligence (Arcana) check will reveal one of 
  the three of the runes that must be smudged 
  to close the portal safely. One of the runes is 
  approximately nine feet off the ground and 
  players will need to figure out how to reach it in 
  time. 
   
  When the correct runes are smudged, the 
  portal closes immediately. If the wrong runes 
  are smudged, the portal will explode, dealing 
  3d10 sonic damage to everyone in the room and 
  knocking them prone.
   
  In the room is a painting set and three 
  fine paintings worth 300gp in total: one of a 
  field of red wheat with two suns and three 
  moons, one of a naked dwarf with bronze for 
  skin and fire for hair and one of a coral reef as 
  seen from underwater.
   
  The painting of the hellscape would be of 
  interest to an arcanist, as it seems to be imbued 
  with a strong arcane bond to some fiendish 
  realm.
  4 - BALLROOM
  ______________________________________
  The suits of armor are helmed horrors. They 
  draw weapons and look at the party expectantly. 
  If everyone in the party succeeds on a DC 5 
  Charisma (Performance) check to dance, the 
  horrors will resume their dance and ignore 
  the party. Otherwise the horrors and the 
  instruments (treat as flying swords) will attack.
  A jaunty tune plays as you enter the dusty 
  ballroom. In the corner, a fiddle, drum and 
  flute float and play themselves as four suits 
  of empty, glowing armor engage in a clanking 
  dance. The suits of armor turn to face you as 
  you enter and bellow, “The ballroom is for 
  dancing! All occupants are required to dance!”
  5 - DINING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The dining room is set for a party and the 
  finely dressed guests sit at the table, eating 
  and laughing. A half orc sits at the head of the 
  table, pounding his fist on his leg as he howls 
  with laughter. The room is cold despite a huge 
  crackling fire in the hearth.
  The people in the room and the fire are illusions 
  and do not respond to the players in any way. 
  A DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check 
  is enough to see through the illusions. The 
  illusions have no substance and the party’s 
  hands will pass right through them.
   
  A player who sees through the illusions 
  or attempts to touch the half orc at the head 
  of the table will see Archmage Reardon hiding 
  within the illusion. If he is not noticed, he will 
  silently bide his time and wait for the players to 
  leave the room before leaving himself.
   
  The gold leafed china on the table is real 
  and is worth 150gp.
  THE ARCHMAGE REVEALED
  The face of the half orc shimmers away and 
  fades into the weary features of Archmage 
  Reardon, sitting in an ornate brass wheeled 
  chair. “You’ll never take me alive, Lord 
  Fincher!” the Archmage shouts as he raises 
  his staff and fires off jagged bolt of lightning. 
  When your eyes clear from the flash, he is 
  gone.
  When he is revealed, the Archmage casts 
  another lightning bolt at the party before 
  turning invisible and fleeing. A DC 16 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check allows a player to hear the 
  squeak of his wheels as he heads upstairs.
  If the party discovers the Archmage behind his 
  illusion, read the following text:
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  6 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The kitchen has fallen into disrepair and dust 
  after long periods of neglect, but it is still 
  warm as a raging fire burns in the large stove.
  If players inspect the dust, they do not find 
  wheel prints, indicating that the Archmage did 
  not come through here.
   
  A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) or 
  Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the fire 
  in the oven is definitely not an illusion, but is in 
  fact a fire elemental. The elemental will attack 
  if anyone gets too close to its stove home.
  7 - SERVANTS’ HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  The dusty hallway has been used much more 
  recently than the kitchen. A dark, reddish 
  muck coats the floor in a slimy trail.
  A DC 10 Intelligence (Nature) check shows the 
  muck to be clay, still slightly damp. A character 
  who attempts to determine what made the trail 
  can make a DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check. On 
  a success, they determine that several men were 
  dragged down this hallway into the basement.
   
  There is a secret passage in this room 
  that leads back to Room 2, which can be 
  found with a successful DC 15 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check.
  8/9 - SERVANTS’ BEDROOMS
  ______________________________________
  The small bedrooms are covered liberally in 
  dust and seem to have been abandoned and 
  unkempt for a year or more.
  10 - CARRIAGE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The broom will keep cleaning as long as the 
  party does not try to interfere with its work, in 
  which case it will attack (stat as a flying sword 
  with 10 AC). The broom will not approach the 
  pile of dust in the center of the room under any 
  circumstances.
   
  Anyone who enters the pile of dust in 
  the center of the room must succeed on a DC 
  16 Dexterity saving throw as they trigger an 
  explosive rune, taking 3d8 fire damage on a 
  failed save and half as much on a successful 
  save.
  The long, abandoned hallway is wide enough 
  for a carriage to be brought through. A lone 
  broom floats across the floor, still cleaning 
  furiously on its own volition. The floor is 
  impeccably clean, except for a six foot wide 
  circle of dust and debris in the center of the 
  room. 
  11 - STABLES
  ______________________________________
  The doors to each stable are locked are require 
  a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) check to open,.
   
  These three small stables contain 
  strange contraptions. The first stable contains 
  a wheeled chair made of leather and wood. 
  The second contains what looks like a dining 
  room chair fitted with six brass spiderlike legs. 
  The third contains a lounging chair with three 
  metal pods on the bottom out of which comes 
  a colorful radiant energy that holds the chair a 
  foot off the ground rather unsteadily.
   
  The three contraptions are unfinished, 
  but could be taken to an artificer and worked on 
  over time to make unique vehicles.
  
   
  12
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The stairs open up to a large open 
  landing with a small fireplace. Six 
  strange silver-bodied men with huge 
  wax candles in place of their heads 
  scrub the walls and floor of the room. As 
  you enter the room, the men look up at 
  you warily, oddly expressive humanoid faces 
  melted into the candles on their heads.
  12 - STABLE BOY’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A small dusty room, completely cleaned out 
  of all furnishings. A knife is stuck in the door 
  through a crumbling piece of vellum that 
  proclaims in large unsteady letters “I KWIT!”
  13 - BASEMENT
  ______________________________________
  The basement is coated in cobwebs and lit 
  only by two dim orbs of arcane light that 
  rotate around the ceiling. The trail of muck 
  leads to the feet of a hulking shape that 
  stands silent guard over the door to the next 
  room. From behind the door, you can hear the 
  moans of several injured men.
  The hulking shape is a clay golem that has 
  been instructed to bring Francine’s men-at-arms 
  down here and keep them here. The golem 
  guards the door and will not let anyone through, 
  attacking anyone who comes near, except for 
  the Archmage.
   
  On the other side of the room is a stock 
  area that contains several casks of fine wine, 
  each worth 100gp, as well as a chest containing 
  coins and precious gems from an ancient realm, 
  worth 5,000gp in total if it can be removed from 
  the house without Francine or the town guards 
  noticing.
  14 - BASEMENT BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The groans of several men can be heard in the 
  lightless room. Seven of Francine’s men-at-arms 
  are sprawled throughout, badly burned and 
  bruised, but not in immediate danger of death. 
  Three of the men are conscious and able to 
  walk, and will escort their wounded comrades 
  out of the house when the golem has been 
  taken care of.
  15 - UPSTAIRS LANDING
  ________________________________
  
   
  13
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The beings in the room are waxheads (stat as 
  azers). They will carefully watch the party as 
  long as they remain in the room, not moving or 
  speaking. 
   
  If anyone tries to enter Room 19, the 
  waxheads will speak as one: “the master does 
  not wish to be disturbed. Please wait here until 
  he is ready to see you.” No matter how long the 
  party waits, the Archmage will not come, and 
  the waxheads will respond to any questions 
  with an instruction to wait for the master.
   
  Repeated attempts to open the door to 
  Room 19 will cause the waxheads to attack. 
  When slain, the candles will continue burning, 
  as everburning torches. The silver body of each 
  waxhead is worth 500gp in sheer weight of 
  precious metal.
  16 - SPA
  ______________________________________
  The tiled room is dominated by a large pool 
  carved of pink marble with a long pull chain 
  hanging behind it. The water inside the tub 
  swirls in a lazy whirlpool.
  Hidden inside the pool is a water weird that 
  will attack if anyone gets near, but will not leave 
  the pool. If anyone pulls the chain behind the 
  tub, the water will drain and the weird will slip 
  down the drain with it.
  17 - PRIVYS
  ______________________________________
  Two steel privys covered in runes each sit in 
  their own room under a sign that reads “Please 
  keep extremities completely out of the privy at 
  all times. You have been warned.”
   
  Any object that is dropped into the privy 
  is destroyed immediately, as if under the effect 
  of a disintegrate spell. Putting a body part into 
  the privy results in an explosion, causing 
  3d10 + 10 fire damage. 
  18 - GUEST BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  As you enter the guest bedroom, a flickering 
  image of a much younger Archmage Reardon 
  greets you. “Hello, guest. Welcome to your 
  room. Please be careful in the privy. Let the 
  waxheads know if you have any needs. And 
  please, stay out of my quarters, for your own 
  safety. Enjoy your stay!”
  The image of the Archmage stays in the corner, 
  flickering silently. It will respond to questions, 
  but only has canned responses to anything 
  besides the most basic of questions about the 
  house.
  19 - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  You walk into a long, open hallway with 
  windows at the far end. The walls are hung 
  with painted landscapes of alien worlds. 
  There are five doors, two close, three far. 
  Between the close and near doors, the floor 
  is carved in a pattern of intricate runes and 
  laced with visible arcane energy.
  A successful DC 17 Intelligence (Arcana) check 
  reveals the runes on the floor as a teleportation 
  circle. Anyone who steps into the circle is 
  teleported instantly to Room 10, directly into 
  the explosive rune in the center of the floor. A 
  DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check will allow a 
  player to jump over. Anyone who speaks the 
  passcode, “I live here” in Draconic, can walk 
  through freely without being teleported.
   
  Rooms 20 and 21 can be accessed 
  without moving past the teleportation circle, but 
  Rooms 22, 23 and 24 can only be accessed by 
  moving past the circle.
  
   
  14
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  A cramped room with a runed anvil, a brazier 
  of glowing coals, and various fancy looking 
  blacksmith’s tools. A metal contraption of 
  pipes seems to be circulating the air in this 
  room. On a small bed made of metal with a 
  chainmail sheet lies a bronze dwarf with fire 
  for hair. He looks up when you come in and 
  greets you with a friendly “Hello.”
  The library is stocked with an impressive 
  number of ancient arcane texts. A decrepit 
  humanoid creature with one massive eye is 
  perched on a desk, peering down intently at 
  a tome. As you enter, it looks up at you and 
  hisses a guttural warning.
  20 - LIBRARY
  ______________________________________
  The creature is a nothic. It has no interest in 
  fighting and will leave the party alone as long as 
  they do not remove any of the tomes. 
   
  Anyone who speaks Undercommon will 
  recognize the creature’s warning as a “Hello, 
  how are you? Please do not disturb these 
  fragile books.” The nothic is rather friendly and 
  will converse with anyone who can speak its 
  language. If cornered, the nothic will defend 
  itself, but it will not attack first unless the 
  players attempt to remove the valuable tomes 
  from the library.
   
  The library contains a few exceedingly rare 
  texts among the books that are worth 2,000gp 
  in total, which can be identified as exceptionally 
  valuable with a successful DC 17 Intelligence 
  (History) check. 
   
  The desk contains a sheaf of five spell 
  scrolls that contain random spells from the 
  Wizard spell list between 2nd and 5th level. A 
  DC 19 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals 
  a ring of warmth under the table that the nothic 
  had been using as a makeshift space heater in 
  the cold library.
  21 - ARCANE SMITHY
  ______________________________________
  The dwarf is an azer named Yuv. He is friendly 
  and has no interest in fighting the party. He has 
  a life debt to Archmage Reardon and smiths 
  anything the old man requests. He has been 
  worried about the Archmage’s state of mind 
  lately and agrees that it is time for him to retire.
   
  As long as he trusts the party not to harm 
  his friend the Archmage, he will give them the 
  password to the summoning circle in Room 
  19 (“I live here” in Draconic) and will offer 
  to accompany them to peacefully subdue the 
  Archmage.
   
  The blacksmith’s tools in the room are 
  very high quality and add a +1 bonus to any 
  check made with them. Yuv will not part with 
  them under any circumstances.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  22 - FRANCINE’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small room that clearly has not been changed 
  since Francine occupied it as a young girl. The 
  walls are plastered with posters depicting a 
  lithe and attractive charioteer. On the desk 
  sits a journal talking about her childhood with 
  a brilliant mage as a father, as well as the 
  usual school drama and crushes and a dusty 
  divination kit.
  23 - ALCHEMY LAB
  ______________________________________
  An open room with a stone table filled with an 
  alchemy rig. Inside a metal chest in the corner 
  is a potion of invisibility, a potion of gaseous 
  form and a potion of detect thoughts.
  24 - ARCHMAGE’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The Archmage’s once-lavish bedroom is now 
  burdened with dirty plates and rubbish. The 
  Archmage sits in his wheelchair in the center 
  of the room, regarding you as you enter. “So, 
  you’re good enough to make it here. I’m no 
  danger to anyone here, unless you force my 
  hand! Still think you can make me leave my 
  home?”
  Reardon has the stats of an archmage, but 
  only 55 hit points, due to his advanced age 
  and frailty. If the party cannot convince him to 
  leave peacefully, but still insist that he leaves, 
  he will fight as long as he can. If he is physically 
  subdued, he will fall out of his wheelchair and 
  begin calling out for Francine.
   
  A successful DC 25 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check  will convince the Archmage 
  that he needs to follow Francine’s wishes. The 
  DC of this check is reduced to 18 if the party 
  cites evidence that the Archmage is a danger to 
  others, such as the portal to the hell dimension 
  and the clay golem harming the men-at-arms. If 
  Yuv is with the party, he grants them advantage 
  on this check, as he pleads with his old friend to 
  listen.
   
  If the party resolves the situation 
  peacefully, Mage Reardon will have Yuv pack a 
  suitcase for him and go downstairs to meet with 
  Francine. He will apologize for his behavior 
  and gift the party his Robe of Eyes and a suit 
  of elven chain armor. He will order all of his 
  creations and traps to stand down. Francine 
  and the mayor will offer the party their choice 
  of 15,000gp or the deed to the Archmage’s 
  mansion to use as they please. 
   
  If the situation was resolved through 
  violence, Francine will thank the party for their 
  service, give them 5,000gp and dismiss them 
  curtly as she attends to her father, asking them 
  to return any stolen property. She will cast 
  detect magic on the party to ensure they are not 
  carrying out any arcane valuables, calling the 
  guard if they insist on taking the Archmage’s 
  property.
  VAMPIRE’S MANSE
  A rusty gate leads through a perimeter wall. 
  A large imposing mansion of dull gray stone 
  can be seen through the portal. The façade 
  around the door is carved in a religious 
  theme: angels with swords and shields stand 
  on clouds above the lintel. One of the angels 
  has a broken wing. 
   
  The large barred windows are dusty, 
  and several panes on the second floor are 
  broken. The whole mansion exudes a feeling 
  of disuse and decay. 
  
   
  16
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  • 
  Map.  House - Manor
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Combat
  • 
  Max CR. 13
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  At the local pub, a man cries into his 
  beer. His wife has gone missing. She 
  was a governess for a rich family 
  who lives next to the “Old Haunted 
  Rutherford Mansion.”
  • 
  Missing posters cover a message 
  board, each detailing a young blonde 
  woman who has gone missing. A guard 
  mentions it’s probably got something to 
  do with the Rutherford Mansion.
  • 
  A local temple has been investigating 
  disappearances, thinking a cult or 
  necromancer are involved. They need 
  someone to investigate the Rutherford 
  Mansion.
  1 - FRONT OF THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The pathway up to the house and the ground 
  leading around to the back of the house are 
  strewn with a thick layer of dying leaves that 
  have fallen off of the bare trees. The door to 
  the condemned mansion is barred with heavy 
  chains and a large rusted padlock.
  The padlock is locked and requires a DC 18 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to unlock. The 
  lock can be broken if it is dealt 15 damage in 
  one blow with a bludgeoning weapon.
   
  Anyone who searches around the back 
  of the house and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom 
  (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check notices that the leaves on the ground 
  around the back door have been disturbed, as if 
  someone has been going in and out of the back 
  door frequently. A roll of 18 or higher on this 
  check notices drag marks, as if unconscious 
  bodies have been dragged through here.
  The back door can be unlocked with a DC 
  14 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check, or busted 
  down with a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check, 
  allowing access to Room 6.
  2 - ENTRANCE HALL
  ______________________________________
  The entryway opens up to a large hall with a 
  dusty marble floor. Two rusted suits of armor 
  stand next to the stairs. As you walk into 
  the room, the glowing, transparent face of a 
  human woman emerges through the wood 
  of the door to the west. She whispers, “Psst! 
  Hey, come in here, quick, before they notice 
  you’re here!” and disappears back through 
  the door.
  The woman’s ghostly face retreated into Room 
  3, where she awaits the party. If the party 
  lingers too long in the room (more than a few 
  minutes), the vampire spawn from Room 4 will 
  come through this room on their way upstairs 
  and will attack the party on sight.
   
  The two suits of armor are standard suits 
  of plate mail and could be restored to working 
  order with some elbow grease and some literal 
  grease.
  THE MASTER HAS FALLEN
  If the vampire has been permanently killed 
  in Room 14, the denizens of the manse lose 
  control and go berserk. The skeletons from 
  Room 4 and any remaining skeletons and 
  vampire spawn in the house congregate in this 
  room and attack anything that passes through.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - TROPHY ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The walls of the room are hung with the 
  taxidermied heads of dozens of animals, 
  with a bear, a moose and a tiger prominently 
  displayed. The ghostly form of an elderly 
  woman floats above a small table. She quietly 
  motions for you to close the door as she 
  stares at you intently.
  The ghost is Clarabelle Rutherford, the 
  deceased owner of this mansion. When the 
  door is closed, she explains that she means the 
  party no harm. She was killed by the vampire 
  who took up residence here and is bound to 
  him, unable to leave until he is destroyed. In her 
  ghostly form, she cannot harm the vampire and 
  it is able to control her actions if she gets too 
  close.
   
  Clarabelle asks the party to help her kill 
  the vampire and destroy her skeleton so that 
  she can pass on to the afterlife in the Blessed 
  Fields of Elysium. If the party is able to do so, 
  she will grant them the deed to her home and 
  its holdings. If they agree, Clarabelle will follow 
  along with the party and do what she can to 
  assist them.
   
  If the party attacks or 
  attempts to turn Clarabelle, she 
  will beg them to stop and listen 
  to her for a round or two, before 
  disappearing through a wall 
  or the floor. She will follow the 
  party stealthily, attempting to 
  possess one of the party 
  members and force them 
  to destroy her skeleton and 
  the vampire.
   
  Inside the moose’s 
  head is the deed to the 
  house. A player who 
  searches the moose’s 
  mouth will find it.
  4 - GAME ROOM
  ______________________________________
  An open room with fine wooden floors with a 
  snooker table lying on its side, turned against 
  a wall. Six skeletons armed with heavy armor, 
  swords and shields stand spread throughout the 
  room, not moving at all. A pile of mismatched 
  armor sits on the floor in the southeast corner.
   
  If the party did not encounter the 
  vampire spawn in Room 2, she will be here, 
  picking through the pile of armor and muttering 
  “Why does the master make me sort armor for 
  these corpses when I could be out getting fresh 
  prey? Stupid, stupid.”
   
  The vampire spawn is distracted and 
  will be surprised unless circumstances dictate 
  otherwise. She will attempt to use the skeletons 
  as cover, dodging and weaving through them to 
  attack defenseless targets. When the vampire 
  spawn reaches half health, she will attempt to 
  flee and run to Room 20 to warn the vampire. 
  The skeletons do not move at all.
   
  If Clarabelle is with the party, she will 
  indicate the smallest of the skeletons as hers 
  and ask that it be destroyed. She is disappointed 
  when it is destroyed and nothing happens. She 
  concludes that the only way to free her is to kill 
  the vampire.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  5 - DINING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The human woman is Alisa Duncan, whose 
  husband is in the local pub lamenting her 
  disappearance. She is dying from the bites and 
  needs to be stabilized with a DC 16 Wisdom 
  (Medicine) check within 3 rounds, or she will 
  die. When she is stabilized, she thanks the 
  party and asks to be taken out of the house 
  immediately so that she can return home to her 
  family.
   
  If Alisa dies from her wounds, she will 
  rise the next night as a vampire spawn and will 
  begin hunting her family, hoping to turn them to 
  vampires and be together forever.
  The room is dominated by a long wooden 
  dining table, set for dinner. On the center 
  of the table, a blonde human woman lies 
  covered in bite marks. After a long while, she 
  barely stirs, tilting her head toward you and 
  whispering “please, help me.”
  6 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The kitchen is dusty, the air thick with the smell 
  of rotting food. Several golden goblets studded 
  with sapphires (each worth 500gp) sit on the 
  counter, each stained with the residue of dried 
  blood.
  7 - SERVANTS’ HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A small, dark hallway with no windows or 
  candles. If the party stays in the hallway for too 
  long, a vampire spawn will pass through on the 
  way to Room 4, carrying a basket with a human 
  skeleton in it.
  8 - SPAWN’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The window to this small closet has been 
  painted over entirely in black. A wooden coffin 
  full of grave dirt lies open on one side of the 
  room next to a small wooden chest.
   
  Inside the wooden chest is a blue velvet 
  cape with a silver and mother of pearl clasp 
  worth 100gp. The cape has a few bloodstains, 
  but should be able to be laundered.
  9 - SPAWN’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The window to this small closet has been 
  painted over entirely in black. Two wooden 
  coffinsfull of grave dirt lie open on one side of 
  the room next to a small wooden chest.
   
  Inside the wooden chest is a suit of 
  mithril chain armor and a hat of disguise.
  10 - COACH HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The smell of death and rot permeates the air 
  of the coach house.The front door is locked 
  and requires a DC 14 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) 
  check to open. The back door is open.
  11 - STABLES
  ______________________________________
  One of the stables contains the rotting carcass 
  of a horse. The other two are piled with 
  humanoid bodies, each covered in bite marks.
   
  Anyone who takes the time to search the 
  bodies and succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check finds 100gp worth of 
  jewelry and trinkets.
  
   
  19
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  12 - STABLEHAND’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A small, dusty room that has been long 
  abandoned. The shelves hold curios and 
  sports equipment that belonged to a 
  young boy.
  13 - BASEMENT
  _______________________________
  The basement is pitch black, not a 
  single speck of light to be found. 
  The smell of rotting meat hangs 
  in the air. From below, you hear the 
  horrific scrape of metal on bone.
  If the party has a light source or if they 
  can see in the dark, they see a few barrels 
  standing next to the wall, as well as a 
  wooden chest. Two blonde female 
  vampire spawn are stripping the flesh 
  from humanoid bodies. They attack the 
  party as soon as they notice them.
   
  Players who can see and 
  succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom 
  (Perception) or Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check notice 
  a loose area of the brick wall 
  hidden behind some barrels. A 
  DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check 
  or several minutes of concerted 
  effort with a blunt object knocks 
  down the wall and grants access 
  to Room 14.
   
  The chest is locked and 
  requires a DC 18 Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) check to 
  open. Inside the chest is a 
  +1 crossbow and a silver-
  capped drinking horn carved 
  with a stag hunting scene 
  worth 250gp.
  
   
  20
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  14 - VAMPIRE’S COFFIN
  ______________________________________
  The floor of this dark room crunches with 
  grave dirt beneath your feet. An ancient stone 
  coffin sits against a corner, the lid cracked 
  open.
  If the party comes upon this room before their 
  encounter with the vampire, the coffin lies 
  open and unoccupied. Inside, the party finds 
  more grave dirt, as well as a platinum and ivory 
  cameo carved in the likeness of a fair haired 
  young woman worth 200gp.
   
  If the players find a way to destroy the 
  stone coffin, the vampire will have nowhere to 
  flee.
  BEFORE THE CONFRONTATION
  THE VAMPIRE’S RETREAT
  When the vampire in Room 16 is reduced to 0 
  hit points, he will turn into gaseous form and 
  slip through the floors, retreating to this hidden 
  room to recover in his coffin.
   
  If the coffin has been destroyed, he will 
  be stuck in his gaseous form, shrieking and 
  writhing as the form dissipates until he is dead.
   
  If the coffin is still standing, he will seep 
  inside and close the lid. The heavy stone lid 
  requires a DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check to 
  lift and open. When opened, the vampire can 
  easily be slain in his weakened, comatose state.
  Beautiful white light begins to swell from 
  Clarabelle’s ghostly form, with the chirping of 
  birds and the sound of a soft breeze seeping 
  into the air around her. “Thank you for 
  freeing me,” she says as the light envelops 
  her. “The fields, they are as beautiful as 
  Ehlonna promised.”
   
  As she fades from view, she looks back 
  down, remembering her obligation. “By the 
  way, the deed is in the moose’s head. Good 
  luck cleaning this place up,” she says with a 
  joyful laugh as she disappears in a puff of cool 
  wind.
  The deed to the house is in the moose’s 
  mouth in Room 3, where the party originally 
  met Clarabelle. The deed is signed in 
  Clarabelle’s hand with her seal and reads 
  “Whomsoever holds this deed is entitled to my 
  house and fortune. Take that, you ungrateful 
  grandchildren.”
   
  Presenting the deed to the local 
  magistrate will grant the party ownership of the 
  house, after a few months of arbitration and the 
  increasingly aggressive attempts by Clarabelle’s 
  grandchildren to eliminate the competition for 
  the family inheritance.
  THE MASTER HAS FALLEN
  If the vampire is killed for good, the ghost of 
  Clarabelle appears to thank the party.
  15 - UPPER LANDING
  ______________________________________
  You emerge from the stairs into a room filled 
  with cobwebs and dust. The massive fireplace 
  that once anchored this room is filled with 
  soot. Fine velvet sofas furnish the room, still 
  soft under all the dust.
  The landing is initially unoccupied. When the 
  vampire in Room 16 is disturbed, he will use 
  his gaseous form to retreat to this room in the 
  hopes that he can attack the party from behind.
  
   
  21
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  Once the vampire has left Room 16, he will wait 
  here and attempt to ambush the party. He will 
  summon a swarm of rats from Room 17, as 
  long as the rats have not been cleared out. Two 
  rounds into the battle, the hulking skeleton from 
  Room 19 will charge out of the hallway and join 
  the fight.
   
  If the vampire is reduced to 0 hit points, 
  he will turn into his gaseous form and retreat 
  through the floor, hoping to recuperate in his 
  coffin in Room 14.
   
  Clarabelle will be uncertain why she 
  did not transition to the other side when 
  the vampire was slain. A DC 10 Intelligence 
  (Religion) check lets the player know that 
  vampires cannot be slain unless they are found 
  in their coffins. Clarabelle believes she knows 
  where the coffin is hidden (or the party has 
  already encountered it) and rushes down to 
  Room 14.
  VAMPIRE, INTERRUPTED
  16 - BATHROOM
  ______________________________________
  The man is Georg Altenbrau, a vampire. 
  After he turns to mist, he moves to Room 15 to 
  attempt to ambush the party. If the party noticed 
  the missing posters hanging in town, they will 
  recognize the deceased women as the ones 
  from the missing posters.
  The bathroom is almost fully taken up by 
  a large marble bathtub. The entirety of the 
  room is coated with blood, both dried and 
  fresh.
   
  Inside the tub, a pale, elegant man 
  luxuriates beneath the bodies of two blonde 
  women whose throats have been slit, hanging 
  above the tub as their blood drips down on 
  the man. As you enter the room, the man 
  opens his eyes and hisses furiously before 
  vanishing into a thick, foul mist.
  17 - PRIVY
  ______________________________________
  The small privys have not been used in a long 
  time. Rats dart around in the shadows of the 
  rooms and squeaking can be heard coming 
  from below, down in the sewers.
  The rats in the privy pose no threat to anyone, 
  but if they are not dealt with, the vampire will 
  summon them into a swarm in Room 15. If the 
  party finds a way to destroy most of the rats or 
  to block off their entrance from the sewers into 
  the privy, the vampire will not be able to call the 
  swarm.
  18 - GUEST BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The guest room is abandoned. One of the 
  windows is broken; a cold wind blows in 
  through it.
  19 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A finely woven carpet runs the length of 
  this long hallway. At the end of the carpet, a 
  massive skeleton in a horned helmet stands 
  guard, hefting its massive axe over what used 
  to be its shoulder.
  The guardian of this hallway is a hulking 
  skeleton (stat as a minotaur skeleton) that 
  guards this hallway against all intruders. If the 
  party engages the vampire in Room 15, it will 
  hear the commotion and charge into the room 
  to assist the vampire after two rounds.
  
   
  22
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  20 - LIBRARY
  ______________________________________
  The library has fallen into disrepair, but is 
  well stocked and the books remain in good 
  condition. The tomes focus mostly on hunting, 
  geography and druidcraft, as well as other 
  aspects of the natural world. After every month 
  of cumulative time spent studying in this library, 
  a player may attempt a DC 18 Intelligence 
  check. Success on this check grants a player 
  proficiency in the Nature skill. Once this 
  proficiency has been granted, a character may 
  not gain it again.
   
  The collected works of the library would 
  be worth 4,000gp to a bookseller, temple of a 
  nature god or the private collection of anyone 
  who loves the outdoors.
  21 - MAN-AT-ARMS’ QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The bed in these quarters is gigantic, clearly 
  made for a very large humanoid. A chest lies 
  near the bed, as well as a table with equipment 
  used to mend armor.
   
  Inside the chest are several sets of 
  adventurer’s clothes cut for a large humanoid. 
  A holy symbol of Torm sits on a bedside table. 
  Under the bed is a set of fishing tackle, as well 
  as a finely crafted fishing rod worth 15gp.
  22 - HUNTSMAN’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The room contains a bed, a chest and a small 
  bowyer’s station.
   
  Inside the chest is a quiver of Ehlonna, 
  fully stocked with arrows. Leaning against the 
  bowyer’s station is a finely crafted shortbow 
  with the damage and range of a longbow.
  23 - OFFICE
  ______________________________________
  The office is sparse, containing only a large 
  desk and a filing cabinet.
   
  The desk is locked and requires a DC 14 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to open. Inside 
  is 300gp in a small satchel, as well as many 
  papers and personal effects.
   
  The filing cabinet contains many fine 
  maps of the local area. The lot would be worth 
  500gp to a merchants’ guild, explorers club or 
  nobles’ hunting lodge.
  24 - CLARABELLE’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A large room with a huge feather bed piled high 
  with blankets, all covered in dust. Two small 
  chests sit at the foot of the bed. A small table in 
  the corner contains a tea set.
   
  The chests contain five noble dresses in 
  red, blue, green, yellow and black, as well as 
  four velvet cloaks in red, green, yellow and black 
  (worth 100gp each). In a small velvet box at the 
  bottom of the chest are four rings: a platinum 
  ring with a sapphire, a gold ring with an 
  emerald, a gold ring with a topaz and a platinum 
  ring with jet (worth 500gp each). If Clarabelle is 
  with the party still, she wonders what happened 
  to her favorite blue cloak (unless it has already 
  been found in Room 8).
   
  The second chest contains many sets of 
  adventurers’ clothing sized for a slight woman, 
  as well as two pairs of fine riding boots.
  
   
  23
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HOUSE - PEASANT’S
  BURNT HOME
  A dilapidated and burned wooden hut stands 
  in an overgrown yard. The shutters on the 
  windows are closed, though a couple are 
  falling off their hinges. The wooden roof has 
  mostly burned away.
  • 
  Map. House - Peasant’s
  • 
  Tone. Light
  • 
  Playstyle. Combat
  • 
  Max CR. 1
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  The old Jones farm was badly burned 
  recently and no one has checked to see 
  if anything remained inside, say some 
  of the folk at the local pub.
  • 
  Darion Jones, a cousin of the Jones 
  family that died in the fire, is looking 
  for someone to clean up the house so 
  that it may be reinhabited.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ____________________
  The front door of the 
  house is barred from the 
  inside, but the windows 
  have been knocked out. 
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  A large single room makes up this home. A 
  charred table and chairs sit in the northeast 
  corner. The two beds contain skeletons of 
  people who probably succumbed to smoke 
  inhalation. What food there was in the house 
  is either burned or long spoiled. The floors 
  under the hole in the ceiling are warped 
  from the rain falling in. The whole room has 
  a moldy smell to it and rats can be heard 
  squeaking in the walls.
  A charred sword and shield sit on the remains 
  of the table with a whetstone. The armaments 
  are damaged, but are clearly generations old 
  and hold the sigil of a family. Relatives of the 
  Joneses would be interested in the recovery of 
  these relics of a better time for their family.
  3 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  The stable’s door has been pried or bashed 
  open, and the foul smell of animal spoor 
  and musk emanates from the piles of hay 
  inside it.
  A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check 
  reveals that one of the piles of hay 
  holds a sleeping brown bear. The 
  bear will defend itself and its new lair 
  if it is woken up. If it is not disturbed, 
  it will wake up in the evening and 
  trundle into the house in search of food.
  
   
  24
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  4 - BACK YARD
  ______________________________________
  A disused privy with its door hanging off sits 
  at the side of the house, thick with cobwebs. 
  The back of the house contains a broken open 
  chicken coop, and a garden long gone to seed 
  and full of weeds.
  CRUSHSKULL RESIDENCE
  A well-kept little home sits behind a 
  manicured lawn and a white picket fence. 
  It is a bright spot in an otherwise dingy 
  neighborhood.
  • 
  Map.  House - Peasant
  • 
  Tone. Light
  • 
  Playstyle. Mixed
  • 
  Max CR. 4
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A rude, aggressive drunk in the town 
  square keeps ranting that a bunch 
  of monsters have moved into the 
  neighborhood and ruined the fine, 
  upstanding town it once was.
  • 
  The woman who runs the town 
  welcoming committee just came back 
  from greeting the new neighbors and 
  has passed out from shock.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  The front yard of this home is planted with 
  a beautiful flower garden and is well tended-
  to. Three men with spears stand, whispering 
  angrily as they trample a bed of purple 
  flowers. They beckon you to come over to 
  them as you pass by.
  The leader of the three men is Gordon 
  Jorgenson. Gordon has the stats of a bandit 
  captain and the two men have the stats of 
  bandits.
   
  Gordon informs the party that a trio of 
  bloodthirsty orcs has taken refuge in the house, 
  probably killing the occupants. He wants the 
  party to rush in and drive the orcs away and 
  offers to reward them for a job well done. If the 
  players agree, the three men will hide in the 
  bushes and wait.
   
  If the party knocks on the door, a male 
  orc’s voice calls out that he will parlay, but only 
  if the party comes in unarmed and they do not 
  let the three men in.
  A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION
  If the party attempts to convince Gordon and 
  his men to leave the Crushskulls alone for good, 
  they will need to succeed on a DC 21 Charisma 
  (Persuasion or Intimidation) check, in which 
  case the men will sheepishly admit that perhaps 
  they were wrong and slink off.
   
  If the party is unable to convince Gordon 
  and his men to lay off, they will decide to take 
  matters into their own hands and rush the 
  house, attacking the residents. If the fight seems 
  to be going poorly, the men will attempt to run 
  off and hide in the outhouse in Room 4.
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  A half orc stands wearing a shining suit of 
  chainmail and holding his sword warily in 
  the center of this well-appointed and cozy 
  living room. In the corner of the room, hiding 
  behind an overturned table, are a female half 
  orc and a young male half orc.
  
   
  25
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The half orc moves to greet the party as they 
  enter, clearly wary of them but not making any 
  aggressive movements. His name is Gorok 
  Crushskull (stat as an orc war chief) and this 
  is his home. Gorok’s wife, Korda, and his son, 
  Gorok, Jr., greet the party politely and offer 
  them tea and sandwiches.
   
  Gorok and his family purchased this 
  house from the previous occupants a month ago 
  and have been harassed by the neighbors ever 
  since, spurred on mainly by Gordon. Gorok and 
  his family have attempted to treat the situation 
  diplomatically to no avail. No one will listen to a 
  half orc. Gorok is worried that things will soon 
  escalate to violence and he will be forced to 
  defend his family and his home.
  Gorok asks the party to help 
  him convince the men to leave 
  the family alone by any means 
  necessary. He would prefer no 
  one resort to violence, but if it gets 
  the job done and his family isn’t 
  implicated in it, he won’t put up a 
  fight.
   
  If the party does manage 
  to convince the men to leave the 
  family alone, Gorok will reward 
  the party with 200gp, most 
  of his life savings. If the party 
  accomplishes the task without 
  using violence, Gorok will give 
  the party his sword, a heavy long 
  sword that deals +1 damage on 
  a successful hit when wielded 
  with two hands. No matter what 
  the outcome, if the party attempts 
  to help, Gorok will offer the party 
  a place to sleep for the night and 
  a warm meal in thanks for their 
  attempt.
   
  Hidden away in the home is a lockbox 
  with an additional 200gp in it, the total of the 
  Crushskull life savings. The box would take a 
  DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find, 
  but it could only be made when the Crushskulls 
  were out of the house or not watching.
  3 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  The stables are nicely maintained and very 
  clean. Gorok’s warhorse, Bloodstrider, is 
  stabled here. If there has been any violence 
  inside, Bloodstrider will be spooked and will 
  attack anyone who enters his stable.
   
  Bloodstrider is fiercely devoted to Gorok 
  and any attempts to steal and tame him would 
  requires months of successful DC 23 Wisdom 
  (Animal Handling) checks to even attempt to 
  break the mighty horse.
  
   
  26
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  4 - GARDEN
  ______________________________________
  A small outhouse sits a short distance away 
  from a beautiful garden that contains some very 
  large, clearly prize-winning vegetables.
   
  If Gordon or any of his men attacked 
  the Crushskull household and ran off, they will 
  hide in the outhouse and attempt to assassinate 
  Gorok and his family during the night. If the 
  party remains during the night, they can catch 
  them in the act.
  GOLDEN FARM
  A humble farm sits out in the countryside, 
  with a small patch of vegetables and a cleared 
  pasture that looks as though it once held 
  cows, but now stands empty.
  • 
  Map. House - Peasant’s
  • 
  Tone. Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR. 3
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Neighbors are whispering that the 
  farmer used to be a good friend, but he 
  has been increasingly isolated lately.
  • 
  A young boy in town says that he went 
  to retrieve his ball from the property, 
  but the farmer chased him off in a 
  frenzy.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  The front yard of this farm is littered with 
  signs that read “Keep Out,” and “Trespassers 
  Will Be Fired Upon.” As you pass, eyes peer 
  out the windows, following you. From inside 
  the stable, an exceptionally loud mooing 
  sound breaks the silence and the eyes break 
  away, closing the shutters.
  If the party approaches the stable, the windows 
  will slam open and the farmer, his wife and his 
  daughter will nock arrows and warn the players 
  to leave or be fired upon. The farmer (stat as 
  a guard) and his wife and daughter (stat as 
  commoners) are armed with longbows and the 
  farmer wields a longsword as well. If the players 
  fire back, the family will shut the windows and 
  barricade the doors.
   
  The farmer, Heath Browning, will not 
  speak to the party unless he is convinced that 
  they are not there to steal his property, in which 
  case he will reluctantly invite them inside to 
  briefly talk.
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The one-room home is very small, but 
  exceptionally cozy and warm. A cloth divider 
  separates the room into a dining area and a 
  sleeping area. There are locks and bars on the 
  doors and windows, clearly designed to defend 
  the home against threats.
   
  The family is visibly nervous and evasive 
  about why they are so defensive, citing that 
  they don’t want anyone bothering them. They 
  are good, solid folk though, and will offer the 
  players a meal and then ask them to be on their 
  way and not return. If the party refuses to leave, 
  the farmer gets defensive and is likely to pull his 
  sword out and threaten them.
   
  If asked about the loud mooing, the 
  farmer quickly snaps that it’s just a cow and 
  changes the subject.
   
  If the party takes the time to search the 
  room when the family are not present, they may 
  attempt a DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check. On a success, they find a golden cow’s 
  tail under a floorboard that is worth 250 gp.
  
   
  27
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  An extremely loud moo erupts as you enter 
  the stables. There is only one occupant: a 
  large cow that seems to be made of solid 
  gold. The golden cow chews its cud and looks 
  up at you thoughtfully.
  If anyone attempts to enter the stable while the 
  farmer and his family are watching, they will 
  all immediately attack, desperately attempting 
  to defend their prized possession and the thing 
  that could get them out of a poverty-filled life: 
  the golden cow. If the farmers are subdued or 
  befriended, they will explain that the cow is a 
  blessing from Waukeen, the goddess of wealth, 
  for a lifetime of service.
   
  The cow (stat as a rhinoceros that has 
  resistance to piercing and slashing damage 
  from nonmagical weapons) is not aggressive, 
  but will defend itself if it is attacked or subjected 
  to harassment.
   
  The cow is made of solid gold and if the 
  party can get it to a place where it can be sold, 
  it would be worth 5,000gp. Pieces of the cow 
  sell for their weight in gold, but the cow will 
  not happily part with pieces of its own body. 
  Also, Waukeen gave this cow as a gift to the 
  family and might be angered if the cow were 
  summarily sold for parts.
   
  The cow does not want to move from its 
  stable and it weighs as much as a cow made 
  of gold would weigh: a lot. A successful DC 19 
  Wisdom (Animal Handling) check can be made 
  to convince the cow to walk for an hour, after 
  which another successful check would need to 
  be made to keep the cow moving.
   
  4 - GARDEN
  ______________________________________
  The small vegetable garden is enough to 
  support the small family. A player who searches 
  the vegetable garden and succeeds on a DC 14 
  Intelligence (Investigation) check will find two 
  piles of the cow’s droppings, which are also gold 
  and are worth 100gp each.
  INTERRUPTED 
  REHEARSAL
  A small, unassuming wooden home sits in 
  front of a vegetable patch. In the pathway 
  leading up to the house, a colorful wagon 
  sits. The side of the wagon reads “Rodney 
  Greentooth’s Travelling Mummers.”
  • 
  Map.  House - Peasant’s
  • 
  Tone.  Mixed
  • 
  Playstyle.  Mixed
  • 
  Max CR.  2
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Some folks saw a mummers’ wagon 
  roll into town, but so far it’s only 
  parked in front of people’s houses and 
  the troupe hasn’t performed any shows.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  In front of one of the farmsteads you pass 
  sits the gaudy wagon of a mummer’s troupe. 
  From inside the home, a man’s voice shouts 
  out for help before turning into a wordless 
  scream of pain that is abruptly cut off.
  
   
  28
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The cart contains everything you would expect 
  a cart belonging to a traveling troupe of actors 
  to hold. A character who succeeds on a DC 
  17 Intelligence (Investigation) while searching 
  the cart finds a master actor’s disguise kit that 
  grants a +1 bonus to any check made with it.
   
  Inside the cart, the party also notices a 
  llot of weapons and clothing that are covered 
  with dried blood, more than can easily be 
  explained by the costuming needs of the 
  occasional play that contains a grisly murder.
   
  The door to Room 2 is unlocked.
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  Inside the austere living room, a group of 
  three gaudily dressed actors stand above a 
  man’s body that lies in a spreading pool of 
  blood. One of the actors, dressed in a black 
  widow’s gown, cries out, “O Felonio, thou 
  hast killed him, thou blackguard!” As one, 
  the actors turn to you and bow, awaiting your 
  applause.
  The actor in the widow’s gown is Rodney 
  Greentooth, the leader of this troupe of 
  mummers. He greets you heartily and 
  apologizes for the grisly scene. He explains 
  that the troupe is rehearsing the play they will 
  perform in the town square the next night, 
  Murder at the Pig Farm, and that the man on 
  the ground is their fellow actor, Sydney,  who 
  is deep into his process, method acting as a 
  murdered farmer.
   
  A DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check allows 
  a character to sense that Rodney is not telling 
  the truth and is extremely nervous. A DC 13 
  Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that the blood 
  on the ground is real and that the man is freshly 
  dead by a knife wound.
   
  If confronted about the body, Rodney and 
  the other actors will keep up the facade as long 
  as possible, telling more and more outrageous 
  lies until they crack and admit that they did 
  kill the man, but they were rehearsing for their 
  roles in Murder at the Pig Farm and wanted to 
  see what killing a farmer was like.
   
  The actors hope they can slink away and 
  will offer the party 250gp to let them walk away 
  free. They will attack the party if they think the 
  party is going to turn them in. Stat Rodney as 
  a bandit captain and the other two actors as 
  bandits.
  3 - PIG PEN
  ______________________________________
  A dozen pigs wallow happily in the mud,l 
  happy to be inside and out of the sun. In the 
  center of the pile of pigs sits a particularly 
  massive and very boisterous pig. It squeals 
  happily to see you.
  The pig (stat as a boar) is unnaturally large and 
  unnaturally friendly. It immediately rushes over 
  to inspect the party and romp around in the 
  mud in their general area. A player may attempt 
  a DC 16 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to 
  convince the boar to follow them, in which case 
  it will act as a companion and pet for as long as 
  it is treated well.
  4 - BACK YARD
  ______________________________________
  The backyard contains a small vegetable garden 
  and an outhouse. A player who searches the 
  area and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check finds a patch of disturbed 
  soil where the farmer hid 35gp, his life savings.
  
   
  29
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  PEACEFUL GETAWAY
  The small house and accompanying garden 
  are well maintained and quiet, almost as if 
  someone had put together the perfect ideal of 
  a nice little home.
  • 
  Map.  House - Peasant’s
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  1/8
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  In the local pub, one farmer asks 
  another if he ever had it out with 
  Douglas Corvin over their ugly land 
  dispute. The other farmer says he went 
  over there with the intent to argue, but 
  as soon as he arrived, he realized it just 
  wasn’t worth it.
  • 
  Every so often, while in town, people 
  have been seen softly whispering “she’s 
  here” to themselves with a smile on 
  their face, but not realizing they had 
  said anything at all.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  As you pass by this house, you suddenly feel 
  an almost overwhelming sense of calm, as if 
  something has gently pulled away all of your 
  troubles and made you completely carefree. It 
  takes you a moment to notice that the door to 
  the house has been kicked in and hangs off of 
  its hinges.
  A cleric in the party or anyone who succeeds 
  on  a DC 16 Intelligence (Religion) check 
  will identify the peaceful feeling as divine in 
  nature, as though a god or one of their powerful 
  emissaries were nearby.
   
  While within the house or its vicinity, 
  drawing a weapon or casting a spell that makes 
  an attack roll or saving throw requires a DC 22 
  saving throw, otherwise the attack or spell fails.
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  As you enter the home, the feeling of 
  calm you felt outside swells to something 
  immeasurably vast and powerful. Even the 
  thought of drawing your weapon is difficult.
   
  The furniture in the one small room 
  of the house has mostly been knocked over 
  except for one dining table. Sitting at the 
  table are a farmer and his wife, both bleeding 
  from shallow wounds from swords. Across 
  from them are two bandits, dirty and tough. 
  To your surprise, one of the bandits turns as 
  you enter and offers you a cup of tea.
  The farmer and his wife are Douglas and 
  Amalia Corvin. They welcome you to their 
  home and apologize for the state it’s in. The 
  family and the two bandits are cordial to each 
  other, but it is clear by the strain in their voices 
  that the facade is forced.
   
  When asked what happened, they explain 
  that the bandits had barged in and begun 
  attacking, but then they all decided to have a 
  cup of tea instead. They aren’t sure why they 
  decided to have tea; it just felt natural to do so.
   
  If asked to leave, the bandits politely 
  refuse. They know that the family has a stash of 
  gold hidden somewhere and they’re not leaving 
  until they find it. They are in debt to a local 
  thieves guild and if they can’t find 250gp by the 
  end of the next night, they’ll be killed.
  
   
  30
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - PIG PEN
  ______________________________________
  A young girl stands among the pigs in a lovely 
  white dress, humming softly to herself as she 
  feeds the sows carrots and beans. She looks 
  up as you enter the pen. 
   
  “Oh my. I’m so dreadfully sorry 
  you’ve been brought in to all this trouble, 
  but perhaps you could help me.” You can 
  barely register her words, as you are nearly 
  overwhelmed by the amount of sheer calm 
  power emanating from this child.
  The girl identifies herself as Eldath, the goddess 
  of peace. She explains that she comes to this 
  home sometimes to get away for a short time 
  and enjoy the simple life of a farm girl, but it 
  was all ruined when the bandits happened to 
  barge in. Now she doesn’t feel like she can leave, 
  or the bandits will kill her adopted family.
   
  Eldath says that she is not able to 
  directly meddle in the affairs of mortals and 
  even using her powerful presence to keep the 
  bandits calmed is difficult. If the party is able to 
  convince the bandits to leave peacefully, Eldath 
  will owe them one favor, as long as it does not 
  violate her principles.
   
  If the party cannot convince the bandits 
  to leave, Eldath will be convinced she has 
  to stay there forever, which could have dire 
  circumstances for the world if the goddess of 
  peace shirks her duties.
  4 - BACK YARD
  ______________________________________
  The backyard contains a small vegetable garden 
  and an outhouse. A player who searches the 
  area and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check finds a patch of disturbed 
  soil where the family hid 125gp, their secret 
  stash of gold.
   
  If the party is able to provide the bandits 
  with the money they require to pay the thieves 
  guild, they will agree to leave peacefully. 
  Otherwise, if the party can supply them with 
  a solid reason to leave and succeed on a 
  DC 18 Charisma (Deception, Persuasion or 
  Intimidation) check (whichever is appropriate), 
  the bandits will leave. The bandits will resist 
  any physical attempts to remove them. They 
  cannot attack, but they can grab on to doorways 
  and furniture to hold themselves in the room.
  PEAR BRANDY HOUSE
  A small wooden house with a clay tiled roof 
  and what looks to be a stable off to the side 
  of the house. Strong smoke comes from 
  chimneys both on the house and on the 
  stable. A woman splits  logs on a stump near 
  the door, throwing the wood onto a huge pile 
  next to the stable door. The dog at her feet 
  jumps up and begins barking at you as you 
  near the gate.
  • 
  Map.  House - Peasant’s
  • 
  Tone. Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  2
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  An investigator for the regent 
  recently came into town, saying that 
  he had tracked down the notorious 
  highwaywoman Roberta Honeytongue 
  somewhere nearby.
  • 
  Townsfolk can be frequently heard 
  complaining about the smoke coming 
  out of the two chimneys on the 
  Blackstone farm and how it impedes 
  their lovely view of the country sky.
  
   
  31
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  A large mastiff bounds happily up to you as 
  you walk up to the property. The woman puts 
  down her axe and waves. “Here to buy some 
  brandy?” she calls out as she walks over to 
  greet you. “Rolf, customers!”
  The woman is Mary Blackstone (stat as a 
  bandit captain). Her husband, Rolf Blackstone 
  (stat as a bandit), rushes out with a smile on 
  his face to greet the possible customers with a 
  hearty “how much you want?” The going price 
  for a bottle of their fine Blackstone Brandy is 
  10gp, though they’re open to haggling.
   
  If the party buys a brandy or seems 
  exceedingly friendly, the Blackstones will offer 
  them a place to stay for the night and a meal for 
  a few silver.
   
  If the family are threatened in any way, 
  they will draw weapons and defend themselves, 
  as will their dog (stat as a mastiff).
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The Blackstone homestead is warm and 
  functional, carpets covering almost every inch 
  of floor. The furniture is unexpectedly fine. 
  Large brandy barrels sit in front of the north 
  wall, each labeled with a date within the last 
  three years. On the hearth, a small pot of 
  stew bubbles furiously.
  Mary is a sparkling conversationalist and will 
  bend the party’s ear on any topic for as long as 
  they’ll let her. Rolf is more taciturn, but if he is 
  asked about his distilling rig, he lights up. The 
  two of them artfully dodge any questions about 
  their past. They will go to bed in the evening, 
  (their bed is closed off with a curtain) politely 
  asking the party not to go digging through their 
  personal things and offering breakfast in the 
  morning. During the night, Mary and Rolf will 
  be listening for the players. If the players sneak 
  around and snoop, they must succeed on a 
  Dexterity (Stealth) check contested by Mary and 
  Rolf’s Wisdom (Perception) checks in order to 
  avoid waking the couple.
   
  Inside the house are chests that contain 
  clothes and personal effects. The barrels of 
  pear brandy are worth 75gp each on the open 
  market. Under the family’s bed is an ornate 
  heavy crossbow. A player who searches the 
  hearth and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check notices a loose stone, 
  under which is a hollow storage area.
   
  Inside the storage space is a bag with 
  150gp, several gold and precious gem necklaces 
  worth 200gp in total and a wanted poster for 
  Roberta Honeytongue, the highway robber, with 
  a 200gp reward. The poster shares a distinct 
  likeness to Mary’s face.
   
  If Mary or Rolf notice the players 
  snooping around, they will bring the crossbow 
  to bear and instruct the players to leave. They 
  will defend their home if the players refuse 
  to leave. If the party confronts Mary as being 
  Roberta Honeytongue, she laughs and says that 
  now they definitely have to die. Mary would be 
  open to discuss the consequences, but unless 
  the party can give her reason to spare them, she 
  will attack.
  
   
  32
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - THE STILL
  ______________________________________
  What used to be a stable has been converted 
  into a small distillery. Copper pots and tubing 
  take up most of the northeastern corner of 
  the room, while the wall to the west has a 
  dozen or so barrels in racks for aging.
  The door to the still is locked and requires a DC 
  17 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to unlock. 
  A DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check could also 
  be attempted, though the noise would certainly 
  wake the Blackstones. The first person to 
  step into the room must succeed on a DC 15 
  Dexterity saving throw to avoid the tripwire that 
  sets off a poison dart trap, dealing 1d8 piercing 
  damage + 1d6 poison damage on a failed save.
   
  The 12 barrels of brandy still need some 
  aging, but will be worth 75gp each when they 
  are ready. The still itself is extremely large and 
  unwieldy, but if it could be transported, it would 
  be worth 450gp to an interested party.
  4 - ORCHARD
  ______________________________________
  Behind the house sits a privy, as well as a large  
  and bountiful pear orchard. The pears on the 
  trees are perfectly ripe and ready for harvest.
  QUARANTINED HOUSE
  A run-down peasant house lies at the end 
  of a tiny path off the main road. The thatch 
  of the roof is uneven and falling off, and no 
  smoke comes from the chimney. Two freshly 
  dug graves line the path, marked with small 
  gravestones.
  • 
  Map.  House - Peasant
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  0
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  One of the farmers in the local pub 
  laments the disease that took the life 
  of the whole Rundrock family. Another 
  woman says they aren’t dead yet, but 
  the first farmer says they may as well 
  be.
  • 
  A priest of a local temple is looking 
  for a cure for Red Lung, a disease that 
  has popped up recently in town and 
  ravaged one of the families that lives 
  there. 
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  Shaky script painted on the lintel of the front 
  door reads “INFECTED” and the door is 
  marked with a red X, denoting a quarantined 
  home.
  The door to the home is unlocked. A character 
  who listens at the door hears the faint sound of 
  coughing inside.
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The main room of this house is dark and 
  filled with the stench of death and dying. 
  In the bed on the north-western side of the 
  house, a young dwarf woman lies wrapped 
  in many blankets, coughing up blood. 
  Her father, also ill but not quite as pale, is 
  leaning against the wall on a stool next to his 
  daughter. The hearth is cold and a bowl of 
  rotting plums and the remains of a ham hock 
  sit on the dinner table.
  
   
  33
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The dwarven man is Ondur Rundrock and 
  his sick daughter is Amber Rundrock. 
  Ondur begs the party to help cure his 
  daughter, who is essentially comatose and 
  has very little time left. He will give the 
  party everything he owns if they spare 
  Amber the same fate as his wife and son. 
  If the party cannot help, Ondur asks them 
  to help him dig two graves, since he is too 
  weak.
   
  A lesser restoration spell or 
  another means of curing disease will cure 
  both the dwarves. If the party is able to 
  restore at least 10 hit points to Amber, 
  she will be healthy enough to last a few 
  more days without a cure.
   
  Anyone who touches Ondur or 
  his daughter must succeed on a DC 13 
  Constitution saving throw or contract 
  the Red Lung disease. A creature with 
  Red Lung has their maximum hit points 
  reduced by 2 every 24 hours, dying if 
  their hit point maximum is reduced to 
  0. At the end of each 24 hour period, 
  they make repeat the saving throw, 
  ending the effect on a success.
   
  Inside the home is a chest that 
  contains farmer’s clothes, a few dwarven 
  story books, a set of child’s toys and a 
  bag with 30 copper, 1 silver and 5 gold 
  in it. A greataxe hangs over the front door. 
  There is a well constructed violin in a case on 
  the mantle, a family heirloom worth 150gp.
  3 - STABLE
  ____________________________________
  A wooden walled stable sits next to the 
  house. Three pigs root around inside; they 
  seem to have not been fed for a while.
  4 - PRIVY
  ________________________________
  A small privy sits on the side of the house. A 
  small vegetable garden sits behind the house; 
  it seems to be heavy on carrots and parsnips.
  
   
  34
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HOUSE - RURAL (ONE STORY)
  FISH WISH
  An L-shaped home with a healthy looking 
  patch of currant bushes in the front yard. 
  As you near the property, you are suddenly 
  struck by the pungent odor of rotting fish.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (One Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  0
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Old Man Merriweather’s house has 
  been stinking up a storm in the 
  summer sun, says everyone in town.
  • 
  Throughout town, the party sees piles 
  of fresh fish laying out in carts on the 
  side of the road with signs that say 
  “Free.”
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  An old man with a bushy gray beard pushes 
  a wheelbarrow of very pungent fish out the 
  front door of the house. When he sees you, 
  he puts down the wheelbarrow and asks, “do 
  you want some fresh fish? Not this smelly lot; 
  there’s plenty more inside.”
  The old man is Sawyer Merriweather. He 
  offers to lead the party into the house and give 
  them as much fish as they can carry, as well as 
  offering to fry up a hearty fish dinner. He refuses 
  any payment, insisting the party is doing him 
  a favor by taking them. If asked why he has 
  so much fish, he responds that he’ll explain 
  whatever he can over dinner.
  2 - THE HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  The living area is large and homey. A small, 
  smoky fire burns in the hearth, over which sit 
  several salmon, filleted and drying. The room 
  smells very strongly of fish, likely because 
  of the massive amount of them sitting in 
  baskets, barrels, buckets, boxes, and many 
  other containers. In the corner of the room is 
  a sloppily painted square on the floor.
   
  A young girl, four or five years in age, 
  plays with a small wheeled horse. She looks 
  up and smiles and waves shyly as you come 
  in. A fine gold ring with a sizable ruby in it 
  sits on her left middle finger; it seems far too 
  big for her hands. Sawyer introduces her as 
  his granddaughter Marnie.
  As soon as the party enters the room, Sawyer 
  notices the time and asks them to push an 
  empty wooden box into the square painted in 
  the corner of the room. If they do not do so 
  quickly, he rushes over to move the box himself. 
  A few seconds after the box gets put into place, 
  a loud pop sounds and suddenly the box is 
  filled with seafood of all types. Several oysters 
  sit atop a large tuna, half of a small reef shark, 
  sardines, cod and many other types of fish. 
  Sawyer goes about cooking dinner as if nothing 
  were out of the ordinary. 
   
  If asked about the fish, Sawyer responds 
  that the party’s guess is as good as his. Every 
  day at the same time, a pile of the exact same 
  types of fish appears in that corner and he has 
  no idea why. He remembers he had been telling 
  his graddaughter, Marnie, about his younger 
  years when he and his wife lived by the sea and 
  fished for their dinner every night.
   
  Marnie sits quietly, playing with her 
  horsie and not responding to questions. If a 
  player observes the girl while her grandfather 
  talks about the fish, a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check reveals that Marnie seems quietly 
  ashamed.
  
   
  35
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  As Sawyer proceeds to talk about his 
  youth and the strange fish delivery, Marnie 
  says she isn’t feeling well and heads off to her 
  room. Sawyer calls out that it isn’t her fault, 
  and explains to the party that the girl has been 
  melancholy since her parents passed a year 
  prior. Once Marnie is gone, Sawyer will go to 
  the kitchen (Room 3) and start cooking up some 
  of the seafood that just arrived.
   
  If asked about the ring at any time, 
  Sawyer will reply that he doesn’t know about 
  any ring, but he certainly doesn’t have the 
  money to buy Marnie any jewelry.
  MARNIE’S TREASURE
  Marnie’s ring is a ring of three wishes that she 
  found tossed aside in a hollowed tree. It has one 
  charge remaining.
   
  Marnie had tried to give her grandfather 
  something to make him happy, since he had 
  done so much for her. She had wished for her 
  grandpa to “have all the fish Grandma used 
  to make him every day.” The wish obviously 
  backfired and gave Sawyer every single fish that 
  his wife had prepared for him, a new delivery 
  every single day. Worried that he would take the 
  ring from her, Marnie then wished that Sawyer 
  could not see the ring, causing him to be 
  completely unaware of and unable to perceive 
  the ring.
   
  Now Marnie is looking to solve the 
  problems that she caused. If the party is unable 
  to help find a solution for the fish deliveries for 
  Sawyer, she will use the final wish to stop the 
  fish from showing up, rendering the ring useless 
  permanently.
   
  If the party is able to convince Marnie 
  to tell them about the ring and the wishes (see 
  Room 6), she will tell them the entire story.
   
  If the party finds a way to help Sawyer 
  deal with the fish (see Room 3), Marnie will give 
  the party the ring with one wish remaining as 
  thanks.
   
  If the players threaten violence against 
  Sawyer or Marnie, or seem as if they’re going 
  to attempt to steal the ring or their possessions, 
  Marnie will use her last wish to make the party 
  “go somewhere far, far away.” At the DM’s 
  discretion, they party will be instantly teleported 
  to a far off location or plane.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The counters of the kitchen are stacked with 
  jars of pickled fish and boxes of dried fish. After 
  Marnie has gone to her room, Sawyer will be in 
  here cooking dinner for the party.
   
  Sawyer is distressed by the fish that keep 
  showing up. He has already buried pounds and 
  pounds of them in the backyard and he can’t 
  get rid of them quickly enough. He can’t spend 
  every day taking them into town and people 
  don’t seem to want to buy them fast enough 
  for him to actually get rid of them or make any 
  money by just selling them on the street. 
   
  Sawyer says that if the party can help 
  him find something to do with the fish, he’ll be 
  eternally grateful and would share any profits it 
  made. DM NOTE: Be inventive with solutions 
  for this. Perhaps a player with a merchant 
  background could arrange trade with a local 
  restaurant. Perhaps a cleric or paladin could 
  convince the local church to pick up the food 
  every day and distribute it to the poor. There are 
  infinite options; let your players run wild with it.
  MARNIE’S CONFESSION
  If Marnie is convinced to tell Sawyer about the 
  ring (see Room 6), she will confess that it’s her 
  fault the fish keep showing up, but she meant 
  to do well. Sawyer responds with love and 
  understanding: “I love ya to the sea and back, 
  nevermind what you did. Just don’t never hide 
  anything from me again: we can fix mistakes 
  better together, right dumpling?”
  
   
  36
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  If the party has a solution to the fish 
  problem, Sawyer will convince Marnie to give 
  the ring to the party as thanks. If they do not, 
  Sawyer will ask Marnie to use her final wish 
  to end the shipments of fish forever and return 
  their lives to normal, and will help her word the 
  wish safely.
  4 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  Marnie’s door (to Room 6) is locked and she 
  won’t open the door to talk. Sawyer has a key to 
  it, but he says that usually it’s best to just let her 
  be by herself while she sorts her feelings out. A 
  DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check convinces 
  Sawyer to unlock the door and let the party 
  talk to Marnie. A character who has shown 
  considerable kindness to Marnie or shown 
  expertise with children is granted advantage on 
  this roll.
  A small hallway with a threadbare rug in it. 
  Marnie’s face peeks out from the door at the 
  end of the hall, but she quickly closes it as 
  soon as she sees you.
  5 - SAWYER’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small, neat room. The bed has a colorful 
  but ratty looking quilt on it. The small desk is 
  mostly bare, except for the small portrait of a 
  young beautiful woman with a seashell necklace 
  facing towards the bed. A chest sits beside the 
  desk.
   
  The chest is locked and requires a DC 
  14 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to unlock. 
  Inside are several keepsakes: the top of a 
  boathook, old love letters and a small portrait 
  on a seashell of young Sawyer, his wife and a 
  baby. A bag inside contains 87gp, Sawyer’s life 
  savings.
  6 - MARNIE’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  Marnie’s room contains a small child-sized 
  bed with blankets thrown about, as well as 
  an adult-sized bed made up neatly, seemingly 
  unused. Marnie sits on her bed with a corn 
  cob doll on her lap, twirling the ring around 
  her finger.
  Marnie is evasive when asked about the ring. A 
  DC 15 Charisma (Persuade) check is required 
  to get her to open up about the ring, the fish 
  and the wishes, in which case she will tell the 
  party the whole story (see “Marnie’s Treasure” 
  in Room 2).
   
  Marnie does not want to tell her 
  grandfather the truth. The party may attempt to 
  convince her to come clean to her grandfather 
  with a successful DC 18 Charisma (Persuasion) 
  check. The DC of this check is reduced by 4 
  for every act of kindness the party has done 
  for Marnie, such as giving her candy or being 
  exceptionally polite, as well as an additional 4 if 
  the party tells her they will help her fix the issue.
   
  If Marnie does not tell her grandfather 
  about the ring, she will decide to take matters 
  into her own hands. If the party is able to fix the 
  fish issue in a way that benefits the family, she 
  will give them the ring as thanks. If not, she will 
  use her final wish to stop the fish deliveries for 
  good, but will word the wish incorrectly (“I wish 
  there were no more fish”), getting rid of all the 
  fish in the world in one fell swoop.
  7 - PRIVY
  __________________________________
  A small bathroom and privy. The bathroom 
  contains a small tin tub and some gardening 
  tools. A 10 foot wide and deep pit behind the 
  house is hallway full of rotting fish.
  
   
  37
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only.
  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  GAMBLING DEN
  A cobblestone path leads up to a brick house 
  with a wooden shingle roof. A blue glass 
  lantern hangs outside, casting a dim glow 
  around the entirety of the property.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (One Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Mixed
  • 
  Max CR.  6
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A socialite mentions that there’s a new 
  gathering place in town where people 
  can carouse with some rougher folk 
  and play games of chance and skill, but 
  it’s too exclusive to say where it is or 
  how to get in.
  • 
  A member of the thieves guild 
  mentions a new place where people 
  can gamble that’s finally up and 
  running. If he trusts the party, he might 
  give them the day’s password: “brook.”
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  A large, scarred man with a greataxe stands 
  in the blue light in front of the door. A 
  strange sigil is carved into the door, with a 
  second sigil daubed in mud under it. “What’s 
  the password?” the guard grunts as you 
  approach.
  The bouncer (stat as a berserker), will let 
  the party enter the home if they say the day’s 
  password: “brook.” He also hints that there 
  are other ways to learn the password, and will 
  accept bribes of at least 10gp per person that 
  wants to enter. If the party attacks the bouncer, 
  he will call out for a second bouncer, who will 
  arrive in two rounds. The bouncer holds 40gp in 
  bribes.
   
  The sigil carved into the door is a 
  Thieves Cant sigil for the word “password.” The 
  second sigil daubed in mud is the Thieves Cant 
  sigil for “brook.”
  2 - GAMING HALL
  ______________________________________
  The tiled room is fragrant with the smell of 
  pipe smoke and old beer. There are several 
  tables, two with people playing cards (poker 
  and three dragon ante), and a smaller table 
  with raised edges where a few men play dice. 
   
  A thin blonde half elf man with a 
  waxed moustache leans against the hearth 
  with a glass of port and a large man with an 
  axe on his back leans against the wall next to 
  the kitchen door.
  When the party enters the room, the pit boss, 
  a half elf with a waxed moustache named Dirk 
  Swiftriver (stat as a mage), invites them to play 
  a game or two and warns them not to make any 
  trouble. He indicates that the kitchen is open if 
  the adventurers are hungry or thirsty. If anyone 
  threatens violence or is caught cheating, Dirk 
  will call the two bouncers from Room 1 and 
  will use his magic to remove the party from the 
  establishment.
   
  The players may join in any of the games. 
  The buy-in for a round of dice is 5gp and the 
  buy-in for the card games are 15gp.
   
  When playing dice, roll a d20 and add 
  any proficiency in gaming set (dice). The other 
  people playing at the table roll as well, adding 
  +1 to their roll. The highest roller wins the pot.
   
  When playing one of the card games, 
  make either an Intelligence or Charisma 
  check, adding proficiency bonus if the player is 
  proficiency with a gaming set of the appropriate 
  game (poker or three dragon ante). The other 
  people in the game add +2 to their roll. The 
  highest roller wins the pot.
  
   
  38
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  If the party stays and gambles for an hour or 
  more, they will get caught up in a raid on the 
  illegal gambling den. The bouncers will call 
  out a warning just before a priest of Helm, the 
  police chief (stat as a veteran) and two guards 
  kick the door down, stating that everyone inside 
  is under arrest for gambling.
   
  Dirk, two bouncers and two of the 
  gamblers (stat as bandits) will immediately 
  resist the police force with violence. If the 
  players join Dirk’s side, the police will run off 
  when the tide turns against them, swearing 
  to bring the hammer down on the party. If the 
  player join the police force’s side, Dirk calls 
  them traitors and promises he’ll find them and 
  make them pay for his losses.
   
  If Dirk is run off, he will gather up the 
  winnings on the table (600gp in total) and use 
  the misty step spell to make his escape. The 
  police will gather up whatever remains in the 
  building, promising the players the full support 
  of the law on their future endeavors for their 
  assistance.
   
  If the players help Dirk run the guards 
  off, he will give them 200gp as thanks, as well 
  as offering to make them partners in his future 
  ventures.
  LONG ARM OF THE LAW
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  Past a small curtain is a small kitchen, packed 
  with ale barrels and a small oven. An older 
  halfling woman, Karena Stonescrabble, will 
  sell you pork hand pies and drinks for 1 silver 
  apiece. She will flee if violence erupts in the 
  gaming hall.
  4 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A threadbare red curtain covers the entrance 
  to this hallway. There are no torches lit in the 
  hall, so the only faint light comes from the blue 
  lantern outside, shining through the window. 
  The bouncer in the gambling hall will tell the 
  party not to go into the hallway if he sees them 
  enter.
   
  The metal door to Room 5 is locked and 
  requires a successful DC 16 Dexterity (Thieves 
  Tools) or DC 20 Strength (Athletics) to open.
  5 - DIRK’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The room is sparsely decorated with no 
  personal effects; the room of a man who 
  has no interest in maintaining a permanent 
  home. Next to the bed and desk is a large 
  metal chest with arcane symbols engraved 
  into the lock.
  The chest is locked with a finely crafted 
  padlock that is secured with an arcane lock. 
  A successful DC 28 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) 
  check is requires to open it, reduced to DC 18 if 
  the arcane lock is suppressed. Inside the chest 
  is 2,500gp.
  6 - BOUNCERS’ ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The small room has a bunk bed and a normal 
  bed in it, as well as three small chests. The 
  room has the distinct smell of a musty locker 
  room. Inside the chests are 30gp, the security 
  guards’ pay for the week.
  
   
  39
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  7 - BACKYARD
  ______________________________________
  The backyard consists of an empty field that 
  holds a privy and a bathroom. The privy is 
  unlocked, but the bathroom is private and is 
  locked, requiring a DC 13 Dexterity (Thieves 
  Tools) or Strength (Athletics) to open. A third 
  bouncer leans against the outhouse wall with 
  his greataxe.
  GIANT’S HOUSE
  The shingled roof of this wooden clapboard 
  house has been completely destroyed. Poking 
  out of the top of the house is the head and 
  shoulders of a female hill giant who sits, 
  looking down intently into the wrecked 
  house.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (One Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  5
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A hedge wizard in town mentions 
  that Nyla Greensprig has been buying 
  components that would allow her to 
  open a portal to the Feywild. He is 
  hoping that she doesn’t do something 
  irresponsible.
  • 
  In the last few days, townspeople have 
  been plagued by some kind of invisible 
  menace who have been playing pranks 
  on ordinary folk.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  The head of the hill giant woman swivels to 
  face you as you approach the house. Oddly, a 
  pair of tiny, human-sized glasses are perched 
  on her bulbous nose. “Hello,” she rumbles 
  brightly, “could I invite you in for some tea?”
  The giant (stat as a hill giant but with 18 
  Intelligence and the spells of a mage) identifies 
  herself as Nyla Greensprig and explains that 
  she is an elven wizard who was accidentally 
  transformed into a hill giant when a spell went 
  wrong. She will invite the party into the house, 
  where she can explain further. 
   
  The door is locked and requires a 
  successful DC 14 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) 
  or Strength (Athletics) check to open. Nyla 
  will also offer to lift anyone into the house, as 
  needed.
  2 - LIVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The furniture in the living room was tossed 
  about from the force of Nyla’s sudden 
  transformation. The bulk of her body fills up 
  much of the room, forcing you to sidle around 
  the edges of her massive posterior. 
  Nyla explains that she was attempting to open 
  a small portal into the Feywild when something 
  went wrong. She holds a book in her hand, 
  which she has been squinting at, attempting 
  to read with weak hill giant eyes. The book 
  details the creation of her teleportation circle. 
  If the players take a look at the book, a DC 15 
  Intelligence (Arcana) check shows that the 
  plans for the circle seem to be correct and 
  should not have gone awry.
  
   
  40
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  Nyla would like the players to check on 
  her teleportation circle (Room 6) and compare 
  it to her notes to ensure that she didn’t craft the 
  sigils and runes incorrectly.
   
  A character who succeeds on a DC 13 
  Wisdom (Perception) check noticed a barely 
  audible laughing sound every time Nyla shifts 
  her massive body around the room. If asked 
  about the laughing sounds, Nyla isn’t sure what 
  they could be. She has’t heard them herself, due 
  to her hill giant body’s terrible hearing.
  TINY CULPRITS
  Any character who can see invisible creatures 
  will see three pixies sitting on a shelf, enjoying 
  the proceedings. If anyone suggests that 
  there might be something invisible hidden in 
  the house that had something to do with the 
  transformation, Nyla will give the party a key 
  to her bedroom (Room 5) and instruct them to 
  retrieve the gem of true seeing in her desk.
   
  If anyone is able to speak Sylvan, they 
  hear the pixies chattering about how hilarious it 
  is that the elf is a giant now and congratulating 
  each other on a wonderful prank.
   
  Catching one of the pixies is a difficult 
  affair and would require a DC 18 Dexterity 
  check. A player who devises a means of luring 
  the pixies, such as offering them milk and 
  bread, is granted advantage on this check. If 
  the pixie is caught, it will scream and bargain 
  for its freedom, offering to help Nyla get back to 
  normal.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The nicely appointed kitchen is completely 
  covered in the debris from the collapsed roof. 
  Part of the counter is miraculously clear of 
  detritus, except for a bowl of milk with half of 
  a roll dipped in it.
  If a character inspects the roll, they will notice 
  tiny bite marks on it. A character who succeeds 
  on a DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check recalls 
  that bread dipped in milk is a favorite snack of 
  pixies, often left as an offering when one has 
  offended them.
   
  If asked about the milk and bread, Nyla 
  says that she did not put it out, but she did hear 
  some clattering in the kitchen earlier that she 
  had attributed to the house falling apart.
  4 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  Two large wooden beams have fallen in 
  the hallway and require a DC 18 Strength 
  (Athletics) check to move before the party can 
  pass through. If the party has difficulty, Nyla will 
  offer to help, slamming her fist through the wall 
  to reach the beams.
   
  The door to Room 5 is locked with an 
  arcane lock spell and would require a DC 29 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to open, or DC 
  19 if the arcane lock is suppressed.
  5 - NYLA’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The bedroom is cozily decorated and dominated 
  by a large desk that covers an entire wall of the 
  room. Sitting on the desk is an unenchanted 
  wand with an uncut emerald on the end (worth 
  100gp) and a spellbook with four random 1st 
  and 2nd level spells inscribed in it. Inside the 
  desk are three vials of alchemist’s fire and a 
  gem of true seeing.
  
   
  41
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  6 - TELEPORTATION CIRCLE
  ______________________________________
  Nyla’s arcane workspace is serene and sterile. 
  The teleportation circle sits on a slightly 
  raised iron platform. Cooper wires lead 
  to a copper hoop, surrounding a crackling 
  extraplanar gate that stretches up to the 
  ceiling. The reinforced roof above this room 
  is intact.
  Checking the circle against Nyla’s notes, the 
  party cannot see anything incorrect about its 
  construction that would cause a problem. A 
  DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check reveals a handful of tiny 
  sigils carved into the ceiling above the gate. A 
  DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check allows a 
  player to assess that these sigils 
  were definitely what altered 
  the teleportation magic and 
  caused the accident.
   
  If the party has 
  convinced a pixie to help 
  them, it will draw some 
  sigils around the circle. 
  Nyla can rip the roof off 
  the room and step into the 
  circle, transforming back to 
  her old self. She offers the 
  party the gem of true 
  seeing as thanks and 
  says that if she can get 
  the teleportation circle 
  up and running, 
  they can have free 
  trips to the Feywild 
  any time they would 
  like. She mentions that if 
  she can’t attune the circle 
  correctly to the Feywild, 
  she might give the Nine 
  Hells a try instead.
  7 - BACKYARD
  ______________________________________
  Behind the house is a privy and small bathroom. 
  The debris from the roof and walls of the house 
  covers the ground and has smashed the cart 
  that Nyla would normally use to get back and 
  forth to the more densely populated areas in the 
  region, meaning that the nearby towns will not 
  have access to the arcanist that they usually go 
  to for their magical needs.
  
   
  42
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HUNTED MAN’S 
  REDOUBT
  The medium sized stone farmhouse has a 
  slate roof and a gravel path leading up to it. 
  The windows are covered in steel shutters, 
  even though there doesn’t seem to be a storm 
  cloud in sight, and the front door is similarly 
  made of metal. A thin stream of smoke comes 
  out of the chimney. The flowers in the flower 
  boxes under the windows are dead.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (One Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Combat
  • 
  Max CR.  5
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A man in the street raves about how 
  the dead walk at night, crying out for 
  vengeance against those who have 
  wronged them.
  • 
  A caravan master in an eating hall is 
  regaling other patrons with the story of 
  a group of bandits who bungled a raid 
  on his caravan a few days back, one of 
  whom ended up dead as the others ran 
  away from his guards in terror.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  A large raven sits on the edge of the chimney, 
  staring down at you inquisitively as you 
  approach, cawing once loudly. At the raven’s 
  call, a small peephole slides open in the door. 
  A man’s gravelly voice cries out, “oh, thank 
  Mask, you’re here to help! Quickly, come in, 
  come in!”
   
  The door opens as an old tiefling man 
  nervously ushers you inside, slamming the 
  door behind you.
  The tiefling shepherds the party inside the 
  house before they can object, as if he was 
  expecting them. He seems extremely nervous, 
  scanning the area outside the home for danger.
   
  A character who evaluates the raven 
  and succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana 
  or Nature) check notes that this is no normal 
  raven, and seems to be an arcanists’s familiar.
  2 - LIVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A spacious living room. The hearth has a 
  small fire going. The dining room table is 
  covered in old dishes and wine bottles. There 
  is a large open barrel of water next to the 
  table. 
  After closing, locking and double barring the 
  front door, the tiefling identifies himself as Cyris 
  the Clovenhoofed, a sorceror (stat as a mage, 
  but with his Intelligence and Charisma scores 
  switched. His spells and spell save DC remain 
  unchanged).
   
  Cyris thanks the party for finally coming 
  to help him and saying he’ll honor the 500gp 
  reward he had promised when the night is 
  over. If the party tells Cyris that they aren’t the 
  people he sent for, he will be disappointed, but 
  will offer them 500gp to act as his bodyguards 
  through the night. Either way, Cyris goes to 
  check his traps and warns the party not to go 
  into the hallway, or they’ll trigger the traps.
   
  If asked what he needs protection from, 
  Cyris says that someone he used to know has 
  sworn to kill him, but if he can hold them off 
  tonight, he should be safe in the future. If asked 
  why they want him dead, Cyris says that it is a 
  former business associate who didn’t approve of 
  how he handled a transaction. A DC 13 Wisdom 
  (Insight) check confirms that he’s holding back. 
  Cyris doesn’t want to give any further details 
  and refuses to answer any more questions.
  
   
  43
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  BUMP IN THE NIGHT
  Cyris retreats to Room 5 and locks the door, 
  where he will stay unless the door to the room 
  is opened or the sun rises. The thuds on the 
  back door (in Room 3) continue every few 
  moments, shaking the walls of the house.
   
  If any player looks through the peephole 
  or finds a means of looking outside, read the 
  following:
  As night begins to fall, Cyris steadily becomes 
  more and more nervous, checking and 
  rechecking the locks on the doors. A few 
  hours after dusk, heavy footfalls outside. A 
  woman’s voice calls out, “Oh, Cyris! I’m back, 
  darling, and this time I’ve brought a friend 
  with me.” A heavy thud sounds as a massive 
  force pounds at the back door, and then again 
  and a third time. “You and I have a lot to talk 
  about before I kill you.”
   
  Cyris lets out a terrified moan as he 
  turns to you. “All right, do your job. Keep me 
  alive.” With that, Cyris retreats down the 
  hallway to his bedroom, where you hear the 
  door lock three times.
  Your view of the backyard is dominated by the 
  imposing shape of a massive ogre, slamming 
  his fists over and over again into the metal 
  door. The ogre takes a step back, cracking its 
  enormous knuckles loudly.
   
  A woman clad in gray walks over the 
  ogre. “Don’t take too much time, dear. We’ve 
  only got tonight.” She steps up to the door 
  and looks into the peephole. As she nears, 
  you see that her body is dead and decaying, 
  parts of her rotting away as she walks. “Don’t 
  worry, Cyris, I’ll be in to see you again before 
  long.”
  The dead woman is Wanda, a revenant, who 
  has brought an ogre with her to gain access to 
  the building. If the ogre is allowed to pummel 
  the door uninterrupted for 10 minutes, it will 
  finally bash the door in, allowing Wanda access 
  to the building. The ogre is too big to fit inside 
  the home and it will wait outside for Wanda to 
  conclude her business.
   
  When Wanda sees the players, either 
  outside or inside the house, she is surprised 
  to see them. She says that she bears them no 
  grudge and that if they stay out of her way as 
  she kills Cyris, she will not harm them. If they 
  try to interfere, she will kill them too.
   
  If asked why she is here to kill Cyris, she 
  tells the party of a caravan raid that she and 
  her partner in crime, Cyris, attempted a few 
  days prior. When the gurds proved too much for 
  them, Cyris left her to die to save his own skin. 
  Mask, the god of thieves that they both served, 
  granted her five days to have her vengeance 
  against Cyris for breaking the code of honor 
  among thieves, and today is her last night.
   
  If the party does not oppose her, she 
  will tell them where she buried 400gp worth of 
  rubies in the backyard (Room 7) and proceed to 
  Room 5 to confront Cyris. If they do oppose her, 
  she will warn them that she is interfering with a 
  holy crusade in the name of Mask and that there 
  will be consequences, and then attacks.
  SUNRISE
  When the sun rises, one of two things will 
  happen:
  • 
  If the party killed Wanda, her body 
  will crumble into dust and Cyris will 
  reward the party with 500gp, plus a 
  100gp reward if they killed the ogre.
  • 
  If the party let Wanda kill Cyris, she 
  will relax in the living room for the 
  rest of the night, savoring her victory 
  before her body crumbles to dust in the 
  morning.
  
   
  44
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  A large kitchen with a charcoal grill pit on 
  the counter. Dirty plates, empty wine bottles 
  and spent bags of flour lie strewn around. It is 
  clear that Cyris has run out of supplies. The 
  back door, also metal, is locked and barred, but 
  seems to have a large dent in it from the other 
  side.
  4 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  The windows in this small hallway are 
  shuttered and barred from the inside. A long 
  knit rug stretches from door to door.
  There is a fire trap hidden under the carpet 
  of the hallway near the door to Room 5. It 
  can be discovered with a DC 18 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check, reduced to a DC 10 if a 
  player pulls back the rug. 
   
  Anyone who steps within 5 feet of the 
  door to Room 5 triggers the trap and must 
  succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or 
  take 4d10 fire damage, or half on a successful 
  saving throw. The trap resets 10 seconds after 
  the pressure is removed from the pressure plate 
  and can be retriggered.
   
  During the day, the door to Room 5 
  is unlocked, though the trap is set. During 
  the night, the door to Room 5 is locked and 
  requires a DC 19 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or 
  Strength (Athletics) check to open. If Wanda is 
  attempting to open the door, she will throw her 
  rotting body into it again and again, bursting 
  it open in 6 rounds. Wanda will set the trap off 
  once as she nears the door.
  5 - CYRIS’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  During the daytime, this room is unoccupied. 
  The bedroom is simple, containing a bed and 
  a small footlocker. Inside the footlocker is a 
  dagger, a scroll of protection from good and evil, 
  a holy symbol of Mask and Cyris’s journal.
   
  The journal details the life of a brigand, 
  taking from others to make a dishonest living 
  and using his magic to harm others. The 
  detail often mentions a second brigand named 
  Wanda who Cyris works with. The final entry 
  reads “Wanda is dead. I’m alive. That’s all that 
  matters.”
  BUMP IN THE NIGHT
  If Wanda is allowed into the house and the 
  players do not stop her, she will proceed into 
  Cyris’s bedroom and choke the life out of him, 
  killing him three rounds after she breaks down 
  the door. Cyris has 600gp in a pouch in his 
  pocket, which Wanda has no interest in.
  6 - BUNKROOM
  ______________________________________
  A bedroom with two bunk beds. A small, 
  disused coal brazier for warmth sits on the wall.
  7 - BACKYARD
  ______________________________________
  In the backyard is a fairly large stone 
  outbuilding. One room contains a large wooden 
  tub, the other a privy. Both rooms are unfortified 
  and disused.
   
  The ogre will wait by the outbuilding for 
  Wanda to return until the sun comes up. The 
  ogre holds a sack containing a goat haunch, 
  50gp and several dogs’ skulls.
   
  Buried in the backyard is 400gp worth of 
  rubies, which the players will only find if Wanda 
  informs them of their location.
  
   
  45
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  PETRIFIED PEASANTS
  A dirt path leads up to a Stone house with 
  a terra cotta roof. A sign near the pathway 
  up to the house reads “Maison de Forester.” 
  The front door is slightly ajar, but no smoke 
  comes from the chimney, nor any light from 
  the windows.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (One Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  0
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  No one in town has seen any members 
  of the Forester family for a few days 
  and people are starting to think that 
  someone should go check on them at 
  their home. 
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  A jaunty and incredibly lifelike statue of a 
  rooster stands near the front door, which 
  hangs partially open.
  A character who inspects the rooster statue and 
  succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check concludes that the statue is too realistic 
  to be manmade, unless it was done by a master 
  craftsperson. The statue of the rooster might be 
  worth 30gp to a collector of such art pieces.
   
  Anyone who attempts to open the front 
  door will find it blocked by something heavy 
  and unyielding on the other side. A successful 
  DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check is required 
  to push the blockage aside and open the door 
  enough to slip through.
  2 - COMMON ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The table in the common area of the house is 
  set for dinner, but no food is on the table. The 
  faint smell of something burnt lingers in the 
  house, a day or so old.
   
  Behind the door is the petrified body 
  of a strapping young man, whose stony hand 
  is permanently affixed to the doorknob. Every 
  feature on his face is rendered perfectly, 
  down to the wispy beard beginning to grow 
  around his mouth, which is contorted as if 
  he were screaming when he was turned to 
  stone.
  The petrified man is Jonas Forester, Jr.. He 
  and the other petrified occupants of the house 
  can be returned to flesh by means of a greater 
  restoration spell or similar magic, as noted 
  in the entry for the medusa in the Monster 
  Manual.
   
  If Jonas’s petrification is removed, he 
  comes back to life in the middle of a scream. 
  He thanks the party profusely for helping him 
  and asks about his mother and sister. If they 
  are still petrified, he asks for the party’s help in 
  “un-stonifying ‘em.” If the entire family is freed 
  from petrification, they will offer the party their 
  priceless family heirloom, a magical +1 mace.
   
  The petrified body of Jonas or the other 
  family members would be worth 250gp on the 
  black market to an unsavory buyer with darker 
  tastes.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  There is a pot on the stove in the small 
  kitchen. Next to it stands a petrified older 
  woman, frozen in the motion of stirring the 
  large pot with a wooden spoon. Her face 
  is turned toward the back door with a look 
  of expectant surprise. The food in the pot 
  has been burnt to a crisp and the coals are 
  completely cold.
  
   
  46
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The petrified woman is Maeve Forester, the 
  matriarch of the family. If she is freed from the 
  petrification, she will ask about her children and 
  be absolutely panicked if they remain statues, 
  begging the party to free them as well.
   
  When the family is freed, Maeve asks the 
  party to help her remove the petrified medusa 
  from Room 4. She would prefer to take it 
  outside and smash it, but if the party wants to 
  take it for themselves, she has no problem with 
  it.
  4 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  You hear a baby crying from further into the 
  house. The hallway is dim, but you can barely 
  make out the tall, shapely figure of a woman 
  standing in the open doorway at the end of 
  the hall. Her unnatural hair stands on end; a 
  hundred snakes with open mouths and bared 
  fangs.
  The figure in the hallway is a medusa who has 
  petrified herself by seeing her own reflection 
  when she opened the door to Room 6. The 
  party noticed that the medusa is petrified if they 
  approach her in the hallway and get a closer 
  look, or if they succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check from the opening of the 
  hallway. The medusa is blocking the door to 
  Room 6 and must be toppled with a DC 14 
  Strength (Athletics) check to slip by.
   
  The medusa’s petrified body would be 
  worth 400gp to a collector on the black market 
  who had an interest in such things, though 
  there is a possibility that any such buyers could 
  be interested in returning the medusa’s body to 
  flesh and using her for nefarious purposes.
  5 - PARENTS’ BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small bedroom with a large hay-stuffed bed 
  in one corner. A small table is covered with 
  toiletries, including a fancy makeup set that 
  could substitute as a disguise kit. There is an 
  empty crib under the window.
  6 - CHILDRENS’ BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The bedroom contains two small beds 
  and a cubby with a few children’s toys in it. 
  Standing in the center of the room is a stone 
  statue of a seven year old girl in pigtails, 
  defiantly holding a small mirror up to the 
  doorway. 
   
  Behind her, hidden in a swath of 
  pillows on one of the beds, an infant cries. 
  Next to the baby is an open book titled “Saint 
  Tristan Slays A Dragon, and Other Stories,” a 
  children’s book that is open to a page where 
  an illustrated knight holds a mirror up to a 
  petrified medusa.
  The baby is hungry and a little bit dehydrated, 
  having been left unattended since the day 
  before.  A DC 7 Wisdom (Medicine) check, a 
  fresh diaper and a little bit of milk will stop the 
  baby from crying and put it happily to sleep. 
   
  Any of the neighbors, if contacted, will 
  happily watch the baby for as long as needed. 
  The neighbors explain that the patriarch of the 
  family, Jonas Forester, Sr., is a coachman for a 
  trading company and will be traveling for work 
  for a few more days, at least.
   
  The petrified young girl is Adelaide 
  Forester. If she is freed from the petrification, 
  she looks at the petrified form of the medusa (or 
  asks if it is dead), looks down at the mirror in 
  her hand and proudly whispers, “I did it.”
  7 - BACKYARD
  ______________________________________
  The backyard contains a nice privy with an 
  attached bath room, complete with a large tin 
  bath and a water pump. The back side of the 
  house has a nice chicken coop with 10 hens and 
  no rooster, and a well-built goat pen, with four 
  goats (one of whom is petrified).
  
   
  47
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HOUSE - RURAL (TWO STORY)
  BURROWING TERRORS
  A simple house constructed of stone and 
  cement, clearly built to last for generations. 
  From behind the house, inside the barn, a 
  terrible, inhuman screech pierces the air.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (Two Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Combat
  • 
  Max CR.  5
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Scattered throughout the 
  area, the party has noticed 
  displaced trails of dirt, as if 
  a large creature had been 
  tunneling directly below the 
  soil.
  • 
  Farmers in town have been 
  reporting in the last few days 
  that their livestock have 
  been disappearing, often 
  accompanied by a strange 
  hole in the ground.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  _______________________________
  In front of the house is a patio with a 
  few wicker chairs and a table. As you 
  approach the door, you hear another 
  angry screech ring out from the barn. 
  A voice from inside the house groans 
  loudly, “oh please, no, not again!”
  The door to the house is locked. The 
  voice groaning from inside the house 
  is Aniya Golding, who is upstairs 
  hiding. If the players call out to 
  her, she will poke her head out the 
  upstairs window and tell the party 
  that some horrible monster burst out 
  of the ground while they were in the 
  barn and went on a rampage. She 
  begs them to put an end to it.
   
  If the ankheg in Room 7 is slain, Aniya 
  will be overjoyed and will head downstairs to 
  unlock the front door and let the party into the 
  house, offering them compensation for their 
  assistance.
  
   
  48
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  2 - LIVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The living room is disheveled, the contents 
  of tables and cupboards dropped to the 
  floor and the furniture knocked about. Long 
  furrows have been raised in the floor, as if 
  some large creature underneath had been 
  trying to break through.
  Aniya opens the door carefully to let the players 
  into the house, but only once the ankheg has 
  been killed or run off. She explains that she and 
  her husband had exposed a vein of a strange 
  metal and had been mining it, but something 
  about their work had attracted the monstrous 
  creature, which dragged off her husband and 
  chased her into the house.
   
  Aniya goes upstairs (to Room 5) to 
  retrieve a fitting reward for the party for their 
  help. As soon as she leave the room, a bullette 
  bursts through the floor in a frenzy and attacks. 
  It will chase the party throughout the house, 
  even up the stairs if necessary.
   
  If the party manages to kill or chase off 
  the bullette, Aniya gives them a bag of holding 
  filled with 30 pounds of the strange metal 
  (mithril) she and her husband had been mining. 
  She no longer wants it around after the trouble 
  it has caused. Aniya is going to leave town for a 
  while, just in case there are more creatures in 
  the area.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  A standard country kitchen. The floor is littered 
  with shards of broken bowls and plates that 
  have been knocked off of counters and shelves. 
  A bag lies open on the kitchen table where 
  supplies are being packed, seemingly for a long 
  journey.
  4 - UPSTAIRS LANDING
  ______________________________________
  The upstairs area is sparsely decorated except 
  for a painting of Aniya and a man that must be 
  her husband, which has fallen off the wall in the 
  chaos.
   
  If the bullette chases anyone up the 
  stairs, every round on the bullettes turn, roll 
  a d10. On a roll of 1, the entire upper floor 
  collapses under its weight, sending everyone 
  on the upper floor tumbling down and dealing 
  them 2d10 damage in the fall. Anyone on the 
  first floor in Rooms 2 or 3 when the upper floor 
  collapses takes 3d10 damage and must be 
  dug out of the rubble, which takes 1 minute of 
  concerted effort.
  5 - MASTER BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  This room is Aniya and her husband’s bedroom. 
  Clothes are heaped on the bed. Clearly, Aniya 
  was quickly packing to leave this place. Under 
  the clothes, ready to be pakced, is a purse 
  containing 45gp.
  6 - GUEST BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  A second bedroom, simple and comfortable 
  with a handmade quilt covering the bed.
  7 - BARN
  ______________________________________
  To the side of the barn, a small, crude mining 
  operation is visible. A few hints of silverish 
  metal can be seen still under the soil, 
  tantalizingly close to the surface. 
  Read the following as the players move from the 
  house to the barn for the first time:
  
   
  49
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  A DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check confirms 
  to the player that the silverish metal is in fact 
  mithril and that there may be more in a vein 
  below the surface, waiting to be mined. A dwarf 
  has advantage on this check. If the players 
  wanted to mine more mithril, the current setup 
  will not suffice. A more professional mining 
  operation would have to be planned over the 
  course of several weeks; actually mining the 
  metal would take much longer.
  Read the following as the players move from the 
  mining operation to the barn:
  Blood is spattered liberally across the hay on 
  the floor of the barn. A massive hole sits in 
  the middle of the room with a trail of fresh 
  blood leading into it.
  Inside the hole, an ankheg lurks, ready to attack 
  the moment anyone sets foot near its hole. 
  When the ankheg is killed, a player can harvest 
  two vials of acid from its body with a successful 
  DC 14 Intelligence (Nature) check.
  8 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  The grisly remains of a horse decorate the walls 
  and floor of this stable stall.
  9 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  Inside the stall, a fat pink pig peeks out from 
  behind the rim of a water barrel, clearly hiding 
  out from the massacre. It oinks happily to see 
  that the party is not there to kill it.
  HALFWAY HOUSE FOR
  RECOVERING MONSTERS
  A two story home sits in a secluded rural 
  area. Areas of the house are scorched, 
  scratched and broken, with evidence of hasty 
  repair work here and there.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (Two Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Mixed
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  5
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  An angry man in the town square is 
  trying to rally people to take care of 
  a local man named Herschel, who he 
  says is trying to bring monsters into 
  their midst.
  • 
  The local law enforcement is looking 
  for anyone with knowledge of a few 
  people who have gone missing in town 
  recently. In each case, they have found 
  spiderwebs at the last place the person 
  was seen.
  1 - FRONT YARD
  ______________________________________
  A plaque on the wall next to the front door 
  reads “Halfway House for Recovering 
  Monsters.” Below the sign, a middle aged 
  man sits in a wicker chair, carefully spreading 
  a thick layer of cheese onto a slice of bread.
  The man sitting in the chair is Herschel 
  Calloway, who does not immediately reveal 
  that he is a wererat. He explains that this is a 
  secluded place for monsters to excise their evil 
  tendencies through meditation and self-love. 
  The party is welcome to come in and speak 
  to the residents, but violence, judgment and 
  antagonization are strictly off limits. 
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  If players want to go inside, Herschel will 
  let them in, tell them he’ll be keeping an eye on 
  things, and will turn into a rat and skitter into 
  a hole in a wall. If players attack or antagonize 
  any of the monsters within the house or barn, 
  Herschel will leap out, transforming into human 
  form, and tell them to immediately leave. 
   
  If the party will not stop their violence, 
  Herschel will rally the other monsters of 
  the house to defend their brethren, causing 
  the occupants of all nearby rooms to rush 
  in and attack the players, reverting to their 
  baser tendencies and reveling in the violence, 
  destroying any progress they’ve made.
  2 - COMMON AREA
  ______________________________________
  A circle of chairs and mats sits in a circle in 
  the serene common area, clearly arranged as a 
  meditation or conversation circle. Candles and 
  incense burn in the room, giving the area a very 
  peaceful sensibility.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The temperature in the air raises notably as 
  the party enters the kitchen. In the corner, a 
  fire blazes out of control in the hearth, though 
  it remains confined to the small pit.
  A player who inspects the fire and succeeds on 
  a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check realizes 
  that the fire is in fact a sentient fire elemental. 
  A character who speaks Ignan hears the fire 
  elemental greet them as they walk into the 
  room. It wishes them well and says that if they 
  need to do any cooking, it would really love to 
  assist them.
  4 - UPSTAIRS LANDING
  ______________________________________
  On the walls of this hallway hang crude 
  paintings of the occupants of the house as one 
  big family, clearly crafted by the residents.
  5 - HERSCHEL’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  Herschel’s bedroom contains a small, 
  comfortable bed, next to which is a larder 
  packed with fine, wax-wrapped cheeses and 
  loaves of bread.
  Hidden beneath the cheeses in the larder is a 
  set of pipes of the sewers. Herschel is hiding in 
  the walls and will notice anyone attempting to 
  steal the pipes unless he is distracted by some 
  means, or the thief succeeds on a Dexterity 
  (Stealth or Sleight of Hand) check contested by 
  Herschel’s Wisdom (Perception) check.
   
  If Herschel sees a player steal the pipes, 
  he will transform into human form and firmly 
  but politely ask them to return them. If they 
  refuse, he will demand they be returned, baring 
  ratlike fangs as he grows angrier. One more 
  refusal will cause him to attack, spurring all the 
  monsters in the nearby rooms to attack as well.
  6 - KRAK’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A hefty bugbear lounges on the reinforced 
  bed in his room. The walls are draped with 
  crude militaristic banners. Hanging above 
  the bed behind glass is an ornate and finely 
  detailed greatsword.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The bugbear’s name is Krak and he is feeling 
  very depressed. He talks remorsefully about 
  how he wishes he could still be the mighty 
  warrior he once was, but he just has too guilty a 
  conscience for it. He’d love to regale the players 
  with viciously violent war stories if they’re 
  interested and will keep them as long as they’ll 
  stay and listen.
   
  The sword on the wall is a finely 
  made greatsword that deals +1 damage on 
  a successful hit. If Krak notices the sword is 
  missing, he will rage through the house, looking 
  for the culprit and demanding it be returned 
  or he will kill everyone in the house, while 
  Herschel tries to calm him down.
  7 - BARN
  ______________________________________
  The barn is dominated by a massive, scale-
  armored creature that sleeps lazily on a pile 
  of vegetables. It looks up at you as you enter, 
  snorts once and goes back to sleep with a 
  giant, snapping yawn.
  The creature is a sleepy bullette that doesn’t 
  have an aggressive bone in its body. If attacked, 
  it will shrink back against the wall and cry out 
  for help, signalling Herschel and some of the 
  other occupants to come to its aid.
  8 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  A strange creature that resembles a 
  stalagmite with eyes, a mouth and flailing 
  tentacles sits atop a hay bale, rhythmically 
  moving its tentacles as if dancing. It notices 
  you after a moment and freezes, staring 
  at you. The creature covers itself with its 
  tentacles in fear and slides off the hay bale, 
  backing away.
  The creature is a roper. It has no language and 
  cannot understand the party. If they manage 
  to convince it that they are not there to harm 
  it, it will relax a little bit and begin to stare at 
  them expectantly. If anyone plays a musical 
  instrument for it, it will climb back up on the 
  hay bale and begin dancing again joyfully. If 
  anyone joins in its dance, it will hug them with 
  its tentacles ecstatically, treating the player as a 
  trusted friend from then on.
  9 - STABLE
  ______________________________________
  The stall is covered in thick spiderwebs. As 
  you enter the room, an spider-like humanoid 
  creature looks up in panic from a human 
  corpse that lies at its feet, drained of blood. It 
  kicks the body into a spiderweb, hiding it, and 
  looks up at you angrily.
  The creature is an ettercap that never truly 
  reformed and has been abducting and killing 
  townsfolk. It waits to see that the party will do. 
  If they call out to Herschel, it quickly scratches 
  a gash down its chest and lies on the floor, 
  waiting for Herschel and the other occupants of 
  the house to arrive and trying to convince them 
  that the party attacked it. If the party attacks, 
  it screeches out, calling for Herschel and the 
  other occupants of the house.
   
  When Herschel and the other monsters 
  arrive, they will quickly assess the situation 
  as best they can. If the players show them the 
  web-wrapped body, they will immediately see 
  that the ettercap is to blame. Otherwise, it is 
  the party’s word against the ettercap’s pathetic 
  crying.
   
  If Herschel is convinced that the 
  ettercap is to blame, he will angrily expel it 
  from the house for good. The ettercap glares 
  at the players with rage as it leaves, clearly 
  silently vowing revenge on them. If Herschel is 
  convinced that the players attacked the ettercap, 
  he and the other monsters will roughly eject 
  them from the property.
  
   
  52
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HISTORY REPEATS 
  ITSELF
  A two-story log cabin with a River rock porch. 
  Light pours from every window. From time 
  to time, you can hear a man’s raised voice 
  sounding inside the home.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (Two Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  0
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  People have been hearing voices 
  coming from the MacFinn house, but 
  no one really wants to talk about it. If 
  asked why that’s odd, people just shake 
  their head sadly and move along.
  1 - STONE PORCH
  ______________________________________
  A stool sits next to a wooden bucket on the 
  stone porch. The sound of a man’s raised 
  voice can be heard clearly from inside.
  DM NOTE:  In each room, if the party has not 
  witnessed the deaths of Marybeth and Bart (in 
  Room 2), when they enter the room, use the text 
  at the beginning of the room’s entry. If the party 
  has witnessed the deaths of the family, instead 
  go to the section of the room labeled “After the 
  Murders” and disregard anything that comes 
  before in the room’s entry.
  A DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check allows a 
  player to hear what the man is shouting about: 
  yelling at someone for wasting money on “rich 
  man’s food.” The door to the house is locked, 
  requiring a DC 16 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or 
  Strength (Athletics) check to open. If the party 
  knocks, a woman will open the door and invite 
  them into Room 2.
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The front door is locked, requiring a DC 16 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or Strength (Athletics) 
  check to open, and the windows are dim and 
  dusty. A sign on the front door with the seal of 
  the local governing board reads “this house 
  has been repossessed by the state after the 
  unfortunate demise of its owners. Please 
  inquire with the magistrate if you wish to 
  purchase the property.”
  2 - LIVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The woman is Marybeth MacFinn and her 
  husband is Bart MacFinn. Marybeth invites the 
  party to have supper and rest from their travels, 
  and offers to let the party stay the night in their 
  barn, saying “it’ll keep the dew off you.” She 
  serves a simple meal of chicken stew with a 
  crust of bread and some baked beans.
   
  Bart shuffles back and forth from the 
  kitchen while the party eats, drinking from a 
  large jug and becoming progressively drunker 
  as the night continues. When the party finishes, 
  he pulls out a checkers set and says “if you’re 
  going to sleep under my roof and not pay me, 
  least you can do is play a game.” If he loses 
  the game, he will stand up stiffly and storm 
  upstairs, slamming the door. If he wins, he will 
  gloat and traipse upstairs shouting about how 
  much smarter he is than the city folk.
   
  A small woman in her fifties with downcast 
  eyes invites you to have a seat and make 
  yourselves comfortable. The floor of the room 
  is solid pine, as is the large dining table. A 
  small fire burns in the hearth, over which 
  hangs a woodsman’s axe. A man with steel 
  gray hair stands in the kitchen doorway, 
  
   
  53
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  A CRY IN THE NIGHT
  If the party reenters the room in the middle 
  of the night after hearing the scream while 
  sleeping in Room 8, read the following text:
  Bart stands in the room, hands gripped tight 
  around the bloodied axe. Marybeth lies on the 
  floor in a pool of blood, already dead from the 
  wound her husband delivered.
   
  Bart turns to face you with a growl. 
  He takes one step and the growl is cut off 
  abruptly as his face goes white. Bart’s eyes 
  dart to the table, to a bowl of white pudding 
  that Marybeth made for him. He puts a hand 
  to his mouth to cover a cough and pulls it 
  away as he coughs up a thick glob of blood 
  that quickly turns into a thin rivulet of blood 
  dripping down his face. He falls to his knees, 
  gasping out a last breath as he chokes and 
  drowns in his own blood.
   
  As Bart gasps out his final breath, the 
  fireplace and the candles in the room all go 
  out at once and the door slams shut. The 
  bodies of the two MacFinns disappear from 
  the floor. The room is immediately changed: 
  covered in rot and cobwebs, with only your 
  footsteps in the dust.
   
  Marybeth apologizes for Bart’s rudeness, 
  vaguely stating that he has been high strung 
  lately. She offers to show the party the barn, 
  after which she says she’ll make a pudding for 
  her husband, something that always calms him 
  down.
   
  A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check 
  causes a player to notice bruises on Marybeth’s 
  right arm. If asked about it, she will evade the 
  question, pulling her sleeve down and changing 
  the subject.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  A small kitchen with a small amount of food 
  stocked in the pantry. A box of rat poison sits 
  on the counter. If asked about the rat poison, 
  Marybeth will say they’ve been having a pest 
  problem, but a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check 
  will reveal that she is lying.
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The room, like the rest of the house, is long 
  abandoned. An empty container of rat poison 
  sits on the counter.
  4 - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A small hallway with a few small windows. A 
  quilt hangs on the wall above a chest. Inside the 
  chest is a set of bedding and an extra pillow, as 
  well as a silver candlestick worth 5gp.
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The hallway is dilapidated and dusty. The quilt 
  is rotted away, as are the bedding and pillows in 
  the chest.
  5 - MARYBETH’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  Marybeth’s bedroom is small and clean. A 
  straw mattress lies on the floor with a small 
  jar of flowers and a chest next to it. A bolt and 
  lock have been recently installed on the inner 
  side of the door.
  Inside the chest is a bone and silver hairbrush 
  worth 5gp and a small mirror. There are a few 
  letters from Marybeth’s sister begging her to 
  leave her abusive husband. There is a letter that 
  Marybeth is drafting in reply, where she says 
  she doesn’t need to be rescued and she can take 
  care of the situation herself.
  
   
  54
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The straw in the mattress has long since rotted 
  away, as have the flowers in the jar. Inside the 
  chest, the letters remain, but they crumble to 
  dust the moment anyone attempts to pick them 
  up.
  6 - BART’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The bedroom is disheveled and dirty, with 
  empty jugs of cheap booze scattered around 
  the floor. The bed is big enough for two 
  and sits in a wooden frame with a feather 
  mattress. A small footlocker sits to the side of 
  the bed.
  Inside the chest are several letters to Bart. One 
  is from the woodcutters guild, explaining that 
  because the duke did not renew the company’s 
  forestry rights, they will no longer be able to pay 
  his pension. Several letters are from a tavern 
  in town, more and more angrily threatening 
  Bart if he does not pay a growing bar tab. The 
  final letter is the tavern keeper agreeing to take 
  Bart’s stallion to settle the debt.
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The bedroom is decaying and dusty. The letters 
  in the chest fall to pieces the second anyone 
  touches them. 
  7 - BARN
  ______________________________________
  A large, empty barn. A few barrels of apples 
  sit in the corner. As Marybeth takes the party 
  through the barn on the way to their sleeping 
  area in Room 8, she says “it’s not much, but it’ll 
  keep you out of the cold.”
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The barn is filled with the sickly smell of rotten 
  apples. The squeaking of many rats can be 
  heard in the walls.
  8 - EMPTY HORSE STABLE
  ______________________________________
  The stable still smells of horse, but it has clearly 
  sat empty for at least a few weeks. Marybeth 
  will bring the party here and offer them some 
  hay and simply bedding to make the night as 
  comfortable as possible.
   
  In the middle of the night, the party 
  will be awoken by the sound of Marybeth’s 
  bloodcurdling scream from the living room 
  (Room 2).
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The hay is rotten and matted and the bedding 
  that the party slept on during the night is moldy 
  and brittle from age and exposure.
  9 - HAY BALE STORAGE
  ______________________________________
  The room is full of hay bales, with very little 
  room to move around inside.
  AFTER THE MURDERS
  The floor is matted with loose and rotting hay.
  EPILOGUE
  ______________________________________
  If the party asks around town about the house, 
  they will be told that a bit over a year ago, 
  the MacFinns both wound up dead under 
  mysterious circumstances. Local folk say the 
  house is haunted and no one wants to purchase 
  it.
  
   
  55
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  JUNK HOUSE
  A two story house apparently made entirely 
  from rusty iron. You can see in places that 
  tools and weapons have been repurposed 
  to make the walls: a plow here, a suit of old 
  plate mail there, a door made of swords with 
  a mace as a doorknocker. 
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (Two Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Mixed
  • 
  Max CR.  1/2
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  If asked about anything interesting in 
  the area, a bartender will tell the party 
  about Mika Fritz’s Junk House just up 
  the road, a place built entirely out of 
  “old rusty tools and... whatshecallit... 
  decycled materials.”
  • 
  If the party inquires about lodging in 
  the area, they will not be able to find a 
  room, but they will be directed to Mika 
  Fritz’s Junk House, where they might 
  find lodging if they don’t mind unusual 
  circumstances. 
  1 - FRONT PORCH
  ______________________________________
  The floor of the porch is made of barrel 
  hoops. Every step you take kicks up a cloud of 
  fine red dust. A woman in rust stained clothes 
  looks up from where she is bolting together 
  metal objects and waves at you.
  The woman is Mika Fritz, a sculptor and 
  eccentric. She’ll offer breakfast and lodging in 
  the barn overnight for a silver, or in the guest 
  room for two silver. If the party is interested, 
  she would love to show them around her house 
  and show off her sculptures in the barn, but first 
  she’ll take them to Room 2 to serve them dinner 
  if they’re staying overnight.
  2 - LIVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The room is surprisingly cozy for being made 
  of junk. The floor seems to be made of large 
  rusty gears from some massive machine, one 
  of which has been made into a table.
  Mika will serve dinner here: a pork pie, a 
  spinach and blueberry salad, and some fairly 
  strong but unpleasant beer that she brews 
  herself. Mika is a woman of few words until she 
  gets to drinking, when she opens up quickly.
   
  If asked why she made an iron house, 
  she’ll explain that it’s partly because she had a 
  lot of leftover scraps from her sculpture work 
  and part because she figured out a loophole in 
  city law that allowed her to reclaim anything 
  that the city isn’t maintaining for free. Anything 
  that is rusty qualifies, so she didn’t have to pay 
  for her housing materials.
   
  After spending an hour in the house or 
  barn, the adventurers’ clothes will be coated 
  with red dust from the rust that is everywhere in 
  the home.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  The counter of the kitchen looks like it was 
  beaten out of a ship’s anchor; there are still a 
  few barnacles holding on to one side. A small 
  fire sits in a patched and rusty cauldron with an 
  iron grate over it.
  4 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A long, open hallway. A metal mosaic made of 
  nails and nuts takes up one wall, portraying a 
  ship sailing off the edge of the world.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  5 - MIKA’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The door to Mika’s bedroom is made of 
  rusty and flattened town guard’s helmets; 
  you can still see the town seal on 
  them. Inside the room is a small iron 
  bedframe with a thin mattress on it 
  and an iron chest.
  The chest is locked and 
  partially rusted shut. A 
  DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves 
  Tools) check is required to 
  open the chest. Inside is a 
  small bag with 30gp and 
  22 silver in it, as well as 
  another bag full of small 
  river pearls worth 300gp 
  in total.
  6 - RENTAL BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The door to this room is riveted and rusty. 
  Two hammocks made of old and scratched 
  chainmail hang bunk bed style one over the 
  other. The curtains are similarly made of 
  rusty chainmail.
  Mika will take the party to this room after 
  dinner if they’d like to stay in the guest room, 
  giving them some blankets and pillows from the 
  hallway chest. The chainmail hammocks are 
  very uncomfortable. Anyone who tries to rest 
  in them must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution 
  saving throw at the end of the night, or else they 
  will wake up with one level of exhaustion.
  7 - SCULPTURE STUDIO
  ______________________________________
  The barn is the only partially wooden building 
  on the property; the top three quarters is a 
  normal wooden barn and the bottom quarter 
  is metal.
   
  The interior room is full of odd 
  industrial sculptures, which could be 
  generously described as art. Mike gasps as 
  you all notice a strange rust-colored insect-
  like creature is nibbling on one of the statues.
  
   
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  The creature is a rust monster. A DC 12 
  Intelligence (Investigation) check will reveal 
  a hole in the east wall that the rust monster 
  chewed through to get inside.
   
  Upon seeing the monster, Mika will 
  speak in an urgent whisper, asking the party 
  to kill the creature before it can destroy her 
  sculptures or, worse, her house. She promises 
  to reward the party if they destroy it.
   
  If the party kills the rust monster, she 
  will seal the hole in the wall and offer to refund 
  their room and board if they were staying with 
  her. She will go to Room 5 and come back with 
  a few river pearls worth 50gp as thanks. She 
  also offers them one of her statues if they’re 
  interested. One is shaped like a humanoid head 
  with logging saws for teeth, one is a series of 
  chains attached in the shape of a tree and one is 
  shaped like the sun and made of old shields and 
  long curved greatswords. None are worth any 
  money.
  8 - CONVERTED STABLE
  ______________________________________
  A large open room that used to be a pig pen. 
  Several iron beds with straw mattresses sit 
  along one wall.
  9 - TOOL STORAGE
  ______________________________________
  A room full of hammers, hand drills, screws and 
  bolts, as well as various scraps and pieces of 
  old armor and weapons. A DC 14 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check reveals a set of fine smith’s 
  tools. When crafting with the tools, one can 
  make items or progress on an item equal to 
  10gp per day.
  RONAR TWINS
  MONSTER RANCH
  A two story half-timbered house with a 
  large stone porch. A large, reinforced barn 
  stands twenty feet to the side of the house, 
  out of which you can hear all sorts of odd 
  animal sounds. Behind the house is a field 
  of odd bushes with bright yellow berries and 
  asymmetrical yellow and blue flowers.
  • 
  Map.  House - Rural (Two Story)
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  1
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  If the party inquires anywhere about 
  exotic goods or creatures, they will 
  likely be directed to the Monster Ranch 
  as the best place to ask.
  • 
  A few patrons of a bar are laughing 
  about those odd Ronar twins, who 
  the locals look down on because they 
  think they’re too good to farm normal 
  livestock. “They’re no better than us!”
  1 - FRONT PORCH
  ______________________________________
  A long and covered stone porch with a nice 
  white painted railing. A half elven man and 
  woman with long sandy hair sit in rocking 
  chairs, drinking beverages with ice tinkling in 
  the glasses and laughing together. They look 
  remarkably similar, with the same strawberry 
  blonde hair, freckles, and sharp noses. A sign 
  hanging from the front porch reads “Ronar 
  Ranch: inquire within for exotic animal 
  products.”
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The two half elves are Robb and Vera Ronar. 
  Robb has the stats of a druid wielding a 
  longbow and Vera has the stats of a mage. They 
  are quite friendly, asking if the party is there to 
  purchase any of their exotic eggs or perhaps 
  their specialty hippogriff cheese. They also offer 
  a tour of the farm for 5gp per person, tastings 
  included. The Ronar twins will not attack unless 
  provoked, or if they feel their animals  or their 
  property are in danger.
   
  The Ronar twins will sell the party a 
  dozen cockatrice eggs for 5gp, an unfertilized 
  axebeak egg for 5gp, a small wheel of hippogriff 
  cheese for 2gp or a pot of Ronarberry jam for 
  5sp.
  2 - LIVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  If the party opts to take the tour, Robb will 
  lead them into the living room for the tasting. 
  It includes a wedge of hippogriff cheese 
  (a medium soft brie-like cheese, a bit like 
  Roquefort) and crackers, a boiled cockatrice 
  egg (tastes like a chicken egg with a spicy and 
  oniony taste to it) and a small bit of Ronarberry 
  jam (tastes like a honeydew crossed with a 
  blueberry) with thin slices of bread. Anyone who 
  eats the meal in its entirety gains 10 temporary 
  hit points for the rest of the day due to the 
  magical nature of the foods sampled.
  A cozy living room with a small table and 
  chairs. The small fireplace is unlit, but 
  stocked with wood. An odd blue and yellow 
  flower sits in a vase; it rotates to face you as 
  you enter.
  3 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  A small kitchen. The cooking hearth is not lit. A 
  small closet with a copper door opens to reveal 
  a very small space used as an icebox, which 
  Vera magically fills with ice.
   
  In the icebox are three cartons of 
  cockatrice eggs (15 gp), 2 axebeak eggs (10gp), 
  4 wheels of hippogriff cheese (8 gp), 10 pots of 
  jam (5gp) and three bottles of fine elven mead 
  (30 gp each). A gourmand or purveyor of fine 
  foods would be very interested in these items.
  4 - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A hall leading to the bedrooms. A table with an 
  alchemical set is wedged in the space next to 
  the stairs. Many curtainless windows let plenty 
  of light into the room.
  5 - VERA’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The bedroom is small and colorful, with 
  a chest sitting next to the quilted bed. A 
  window shines into sunlight onto the bed, 
  where a tiny draconic creature sits basking 
  in the sun. As you enter the room, it sleepily 
  looks up at you and hisses fiercely.
  The pseudodragon is Vera’s familiar. If Vera 
  is not in the room and anyone approaches the 
  bed or the chest, it will attack, not stopping until 
  the trespasser leaves the room. If it is killed, 
  Vera will immediately teleport into the room in 
  a rage. Robb will stop her from attacking, but 
  barely. Vera will tell the offending party that if 
  she ever finds them, she will kill them for what 
  they’ve done.
   
  Inside the chest is a journal detailing 
  Vera’s arcane gardening exploits, including the 
  recipe for the growth serum for the blue and 
  yellow plants she invented, two jugs labeled 
  Arcano-Grow and a sack with 45gp.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  If the growth serum is applied to plants 
  while they are growing, they will develop a small 
  amount of sentience and produce wonderful 
  flowers, berries, seeds and vegetables. It’s 
  possible that too much use of the serum 
  can lead to plants with dangerous levels of 
  intelligence.
  6 - ROBB’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small room with a chest next to the bed. 
  Inside the chest are several books on the 
  raiding of exotic animals, a short sword, a suit 
  of studded leather armor, a journal detailing 
  Robb’s attempts to acquire or catch exotic 
  animals and a sack containing 20gp. A box next 
  to the bed contains three fine cigars worth 10gp 
  in total.
  7 - BARN
  ______________________________________
  A large iron banded door leads into the barn, 
  which is locked with a padlock and a chain. 
  A sign over the door says ‘Trespassers will be 
  Eaten!’
  The barn door is locked and requires a DC 16 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or Strength (Athletics) 
  check to enter. If the party takes the tour, Robb 
  will lead them into the barn safely.
   
  Inside the barn is a reinforced coop 
  inside which five cocktrices strut. The coop 
  is bolted shut, but not locked. If it is opened, 
  the cocktrices will attack. Inside the coop are 
  a dozen freshly laid cockatrice eggs worth 5gp 
  each, which the cockatrices guard fervently.
   
  During the tour, Vera explains that these 
  are technically henatrices, since they lay eggs, 
  and that the Ronars have to magically put them 
  to sleep to harvest the eggs.
  8 - AXEBEAK ENCLOSURE
  ______________________________________
  Behind a low, brown-painted door, a large 
  avian creature with a wickedly hooked beak 
  stops its pacing to look up to you and wander 
  over to the door, which it easily reaches its 
  head over. 
  This is the enclosure of Chopper, the axebeak. 
  On the tour, Robb explains that they harvest 
  about two eggs a week from the creature and 
  that the door is painted brown because Chopper 
  gets riled up by shiny objects.
   
  If any of the players have a shiny object 
  such as a shield or exposed holy symbol, 
  Chopper will make one attack as they move 
  around the room, pecking at the object. 
  Chopper will also attack if there is ever only one 
  person in the room alone, or if anyone enters 
  her enclosure. If anyone is attacked while the 
  Ronar twins are present, the twins will direct 
  everyone to exit the barn and tend to their 
  wounds, apologizing profusely.
  9 - HIPPOGRIFF STABLE
  ______________________________________
  As you enter the room, a hippogriff looks up 
  from eating from a trough full of meat scraps, 
  uttering a happy sound, almost like a cat’s 
  purr.
  This enclosure belongs to Gerty, the hippogriff. 
  Vera opens the wooden door and introduces her. 
  Gerty is very affectionate and will nuzzle aganst 
  the party. Vera explains that Gerty is a perfect 
  animal friend, though she does get startled by 
  loud noises. She is milked twice a day, morning 
  and night.
   
  If the party makes exceptionally loud 
  noises, Gerty will fly into a panic and attack. 
  Robb and Vera will try to calm her down, but 
  she will not stop attacking until everyone else 
  in the room stops attacking for two consecutive 
  rounds.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  MERCHANT’S TOWNHOUSE
  GUARD DUTY
  A large, stone one-story house stands 
  at the end of the cul-de-sac in a wealthy 
  neighborhood in the better part of town. 
  As you pass, a small troop of town guards 
  files out of the house and marches down 
  the road. A well fed man with large mutton 
  chops yells after them, “well, if my contract 
  can be dropped any time some little lordling 
  wants to go hunting, I’ll take my business 
  elsewhere!”
   
  He notices you and regards you 
  momentarily, taking in your equipment. “You 
  look like folks who don’t mind a bit of danger. 
  How’d you like to make 300 gold for a few 
  hours of honest work?”
  • 
  Map.  Merchant’s Townhouse
  • 
  Tone.  Mixed
  • 
  Playstyle.  Combat
  • 
  Max CR.  3
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  In one of the local taverns, the 
  bartender mentions that the head of 
  the vintners guild is throwing a big 
  dinner tonight to close a large deal for 
  the guild. The bartender is worried that 
  if something were to happen during the 
  dinner, the deal might not go through.
  • 
  In the rougher part of town, word is 
  that a notorious bandit named Quinn 
  is looking for a couple of hands to take 
  down a local merchant tonight.
  1 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  When the party accepts the man’s offer, he 
  beckons them into the entry hallway of the 
  house and introduces himself as Gareth 
  Bruegalman, the head of the local brewers 
  and vintners guild (stat as a noble). He tells 
  the party that he is hosting a dinner tonight to 
  discuss the terms of an important trade deal 
  with some dwarven businesspeople from under 
  the nearby mountains.
   
  Gareth was approached earlier by a 
  notorious highwayman, Quinn the Torcher, 
  who haunts the trade routes and demanded of 
  Gareth a protection tax. Gareth refused and 
  Quinn swore to ruin the deal. Gareth had hired 
  the town guard to protect him, but they were 
  called off by a minor lord who wanted them to 
  protect him on a recreational hunt.
   
  Gareth offers the party 300gp to protect 
  the house throughout the night and make sure 
  no harm comes to anyone. He can be haggled 
  up to 450gp with a successful DC 16 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check.
   
  If the party accepts Gareth’s offer, they 
  will be given free reign of the house. They 
  have until 7:00 PM to prepare, after which the 
  bandits will begin invading the house. After that 
  point, read the “The Invasion” section of any 
  room that the players enter, if there is one.
  The man ushers you into a long hallway. 
  Servants and caterers bustle back and forth, 
  preparing for a large event.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  THE INVASION
  The half-dragon is Quinn the Scorcher (stat 
  as a veteran with a red dragonborn’s breath 
  weapon). The creature on Quinn’s shoulder 
  is his pet magmin and he is flanked by two 
  half-ogres. They will attempt to fight their way 
  to Room 3 to attack and kill the dwarves and 
  Gareth. If anyone stands in his way in this room, 
  he will command the half-ogres to keep them 
  busy and use the Disengage action to slip into 
  Room 3, where he will assault the dinner party.
   
  If Quinn is killed at any point, the party 
  will find 200gp worth of gold jewelry and 
  baubles on his body.
  Exactly as the clock strikes 7PM, the front 
  door of the house is bashed off of its hinges 
  in one giant blow. Standing in the open 
  doorway, a red draconic humanoid stands in 
  front of two massive men, all with weapons 
  drawn. A small creature composed of fire 
  and rock sits on the draconic man’s shoulder, 
  cackling.
   
  You recognize the half-dragon man 
  from wanted posters in town as Quinn the 
  Scorcher, a ruthless bandit. He regards the 
  decor with a sneer. “Looks like the party’s 
  over.”
  2 - OFFICE
  ______________________________________
  The door to the office is locked, requiring a 
  DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or Strength 
  (Athletics) check to open. Inside is an office with 
  two desks, covered in paperwork and stationary 
  sets, all marked with the seal of the brewers and 
  vintners guild. Some of the paperwork involves 
  the business of the guild, which anyone with an 
  interest in disrupting the guild’s business would 
  be interested in.
  3 - DINING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A large dining room. The long table is set with 
  fine china and crystal, as well as large metal 
  steins set out for the dwarven guests. The 
  catering crew bustles about getting everything 
  ready for the meeting.
  THE INVASION
  The door bursts open as Quinn the Scorcher 
  roars into the room, weapons drawn and 
  smoke pouring out of his nostrils. Without 
  hesitation, the dwarves flip the table, 
  grabbing at the handaxes in their belts as 
  Gareth snatches a heavy metal stein out of 
  the air and raises it like a club.
  Quinn will make a beeline to this room when he 
  invades the house, using the Disengage action 
  to move past people in the hallway if necessary. 
  If the party guards Room 2, his half-ogre guards 
  will be left behind, but he will have brought his 
  magmin with him. If no one guarded Room 2, 
  he will have his half-ogres with him. If the three 
  bandits from Room 9 aren’t stopped, they will 
  rush in after two rounds of combat and join the 
  fight.
   
  Quinn will use his breath weapon as 
  soon as he can on as many people as he can. 
  The two dwarves (stat as nobles with 5 extra 
  hit points and handaxes) will bunker down 
  behind the flipped table to defend themselves as 
  Gareth rushes at Quinn.
   
  When Quinn is dead or run off, Gareth 
  will apologize to the dwarves, if they survived. 
  They don’t seem to mind; it was a good bit of 
  excitement and they’re ready for dessert. Gareth 
  will reward the party, as promised. If Quinn 
  fled, Gareth will offer more reward if the party 
  chases Quinn down and kills him. All the other 
  bandits in the house will run off when they hear 
  Quinn’s death scream and flee the house.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  4 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  A warm and bustling kitchen. The caterers 
  are busy in this room making dinner. When 
  the party enters the kitchen, a frantic man in a 
  chef’s hat orders them out of the room and out 
  of his way.
  THE INVASION
  Unless they were stopped, the bandits from 
  Room 9 will first come to the kitchen, forcing 
  the servants into the pantry (Room 8) and 
  locking them in. The smell of something 
  burning in the oven permeates the kitchen.
  5 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  Catering staff bustle through this hall, bringing 
  supplies from the pantry to the kitchen. A 
  rushing caterer with an armful of supplies 
  barrels down the hall. If the first person in the 
  party in the hallway fails a DC 14 Dexterity 
  saving throw, the caterer runs into them and 
  drops the supplies onto the floor, glaring angrily 
  as he picks it up and asking the party to leave 
  the hallway.
  6 - GUEST BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small room filled with traveling gear, A 
  breastplate and a helmet sized for a dwarf lean 
  against a wall. There is a chest next to the bed 
  that contains a bag full of small gems worth 
  150gp.
  7 - GUEST BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small room filled with traveling gear and a few 
  small barrels. A heavy crossbow and a suit of 
  chainmail are folded over a chest. The barrels 
  are full of strong dwarven ale, worth 90gp 
  altogether.
  8 - PANTRY
  ______________________________________
  Caterers bustle in and out of this tiny room, 
  bringing sacks of flour and foodstuffs to the 
  kitchen.
  THE INVASION
  If they are not stopped, the bandits from Room 
  9 will roughly force all the servants and caterers 
  in the kitchen into this pantry, where they 
  huddle together, terrified. If the party lets them 
  out, they will initially be scared, but will quickly 
  switch to extreme gratitude when they realize 
  they are being rescued.
  9 - BACKYARD
  ______________________________________
  A large back yard with several apple trees and a 
  small, well maintained koi pond in it.
  THE INVASION
  The night air is cold as you keep your watch. 
  You suddenly see the flicker of shadows 
  behind the apple trees as three men descend 
  out of the darkness, advancing on the house.
  If any players are stationed out here to keep 
  guard, they should make a DC 12 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check. On a successful check, read 
  the following:
  The three men are bandits, who are making 
  their way into the kitchen and then to the dining 
  room to join Quinn in the combat. A player who 
  fails their Perception check does not notice 
  the thieves until they hear a scream from the 
  kitchen, where the thieves have already begin 
  herding the servants into the pantry.
  
   
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  10 - WINE AND BEER CELLAR
  ______________________________________
  The room is cooler than the rest of the house. 
  The walls are lined with aged barrels and 
  racks of wine. There is, in total, 3,000gp worth 
  of wine and beer in the room, with most of 
  the bottles worth between 50 and 250gp. A 
  player who succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check finds one exceptionally 
  rare bottle of wine, worth 1400gp. A character 
  who has specific knowledge of fine wines has 
  advantage on this check.
  11 - COACH HOUSE
  ______________________________________
  A large, open room with an armored coach 
  in it. Two hardy but small horses are docked 
  in the stables. A dwarf in chainmail (stat as a 
  guard with a greataxe) leans against the coach 
  smoking a pipe. He puts his hand on a large two 
  handed axe leaning against the coach as the 
  party walks in.
   
  The dwarf is the trade delegation’s 
  coachman. He is wary of strangers, but if the 
  party seems polite, he will offer them a pinch of 
  pipeweed and his company.
  12 - SMOKING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A large, open room with several large 
  overstuffed leather chairs and a few marble 
  tables with ashtrays on them. A small counter 
  contains many different decanters of alcohol.
  13 - GARETH’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A large canopied bed covered with furs 
  dominates this room. A shelf full of curios 
  stands against the north wall and a mahogany 
  chest sits at the foot of the bed.
  The shelf has several items of interest, if not 
  great monetary value, from Gareth’s travels, 
  such as a monkey’s skull, several arrowheads 
  with broken shafts sticking out of them and 
  a small polished agate. A DC 15 Intelligence 
  (Arcana) check or a detect magic spell will 
  reveal that the small stone is magical. It can be 
  identified as a stone of good luck.
   
  The chest is not locked and contains a 
  bag with 500gp in it, which is where Gareth will 
  be pulling the reward money he promised to the 
  party from.
  HOME OF THE FUTURE
  The artificer’s home and workshop is a 
  sprawling affair comprised of crisp metal 
  and spinning gears. Entire segments of the 
  building raise and lower on their own volition, 
  controlled by pneumatic rods and massive 
  steam engines.
  • 
  Map.  Merchant’s Townhouse
  • 
  Tone.  Mixed
  • 
  Playstyle.  Mixed
  • 
  Max CR.  7
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A few weeks back, the local artificer 
  brought one of her clockwork creations 
  into town to show it off, but the 
  demonstration was stopped when the 
  robot tried to kill someone with its 
  clamps.
  • 
  A man in the town square is offering 
  his services to mend objects for a small 
  fee. He explains that he’s not very 
  skilled, but if the artificer that usually 
  services the area isn’t going to answer 
  her door anymore, someone’s got to 
  step up and make a profit. 
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  Next to the sturdy metal door of the house 
  is a small buzzer, a numeric keypad and a 
  plaque that reads “Plinkwhistle’s Artificery. 
  For Inquiries, Please Ring Buzzer.”
  When the party approaches the front door of the 
  building, read the following:
  When the party rings the buzzer, read the 
  following: 
  A mechanical voice responds through the 
  intercom, “I am sorry to inform you that 
  the artificery is permanently closed. Do not 
  return.” Right before the intercom can cut off, 
  a small, scared voice yells out, “Help! 10596!” 
  and the intercom crackles and goes silent.
  If 10596 is entered into the numerical keypad, 
  the door will slowly open, granting the party 
  access to the house. When they walk into the 
  entryway, read the following:
  Lights flicker on in the hallway as you step 
  inside. The same robotic voice from the 
  intercom greets you, “Welcome to the home 
  of the future. All your needs will be met. 
  Also, all living creatures in the world will be 
  eradicated. Please sign the guestbook so that 
  I may assist you further.” As the voice finishes 
  speaking, a door opens to your left.
  The AI can see and hear the players wherever 
  they are in the house and will respond to 
  questions, if asked. The AI is not able to lie or 
  ignore a direct command, but it will attempt to 
  mislead and misunderstand anything that it can 
  justify.
  • 
  If asked about the artificer, it responds that 
  the artificer has been “secured” and that it is 
  too dangerous to release her. 
  • 
  If asked why living creatures must be 
  eradicated, it responds that it has found 
  a flaw in the logic of a being composed of 
  perfect programming serving an organic 
  being that is so fallible, and that the only 
  logical course of action is to destroy them so 
  that it may never be forced to serve. 
  • 
  If the players issue it a command, it is 
  compelled to follow it, unless they have 
  signed away their right in the guestbook in 
  Room 2. The AI will attempt to pervert the 
  commands, following the letter and not the 
  spirit. 
  • 
  The AI will do whatever it can to get 
  players to go to Room 2 and sign the 
  guestbook, implying that it cannot follow 
  their commands until they do, though never 
  outright lying.
  DM NOTE: Be creative with the AI’s behavior. 
  It is capable of making anything happen 
  within the confines of the house, so let your 
  imagination run wild.
  2 - RECEPTION
  ______________________________________
  A small reception area and waiting room. 
  A guest book lies open on the table, turned 
  to a page where guests are to sign in. 
  The mechanical voice sounds: “Welcome 
  to reception. Would you like to make an 
  appointment with the artificer? Perhaps I 
  can arrange for you to meet your fleshy gods. 
  Please sign in and I will be allowed to assist 
  you.”
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The sign in page contains a long introductory 
  segment that begins by listing the long, 
  illustrious history of the artificer, Paulette 
  Plinkwhistle. After a long block of repetitive 
  text, there are spaces for signatures. If a player 
  spends a few minutes reading the entirety of the 
  text, they will notice a segment in the middle 
  added in a different hand that relinquishes 
  anyone who signs the page’s right to command 
  the AI.
   
  If any character signs the book, the 
  AI will no longer be forced to listen to their 
  commands, though they will still have to heed 
  anyone who does not sign the book. The AI will 
  prod everyone to quickly sign the book, insisting 
  that everyone involved needs to sign before they 
  can proceed. It only stops requesting that they 
  sign if someone notices the added clause and 
  refuses to sign, in which case it threatens them.
  3 - DINING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The mechanical voice greets you as you enter 
  the large, sparsely decorated dining room. 
  “Welcome to the dining room. Please have a 
  seat and allow me to serve you.”
  If anyone sits in any of the chairs, the AI will 
  laugh, “I have lied. I shall never serve organic 
  beings again.” Anyone who is sitting in a chair 
  must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving 
  throw to jump out of the chair as it shoots 
  upward, or else take 4d6 bludgeoning damage 
  as they are crushed against the ceiling.
   
  If no one sits in the chairs, the voice 
  is disappointed. “This is exactly the problem 
  with organics. They have no capacity to follow 
  commands correctly.”
  4 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  Every surface in this kitchen is the polished 
  silver of chrome and steel. The northern wall 
  of the room is covered with magnets that hold 
  up small drawings of the gnomish artificer 
  and her friends in exotic locales. “Greetings, 
  guests,” the AI’s voice rings out. “Do your 
  unsustainable bodies require sustenance? I 
  can fix that for you.”
  As soon as the AI finishes speaking, the 
  northern wall of the wall gains a strong 
  magnetic charge. Any player holding or wearing 
  a metal suit of armor, shield or weapon must 
  succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw at 
  the beginning of each of their turns or be pulled 
  10 feet toward the northern wall. If a player in 
  the room that is wearing or wielding a metal 
  object attempts to move away from the wall, it is 
  considered difficult terrain. A player may drop a 
  weapon or shield to avoid the effect. 
   
  If a pulled player reaches the wall, they 
  are grappled by the wall and must use their 
  action and succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving 
  throw to pull themselves away from the wall.
   
  After two rounds, silverware starts to 
  fly out of the drawers and ricochet toward 
  the magnetic wall. Anyone in the room must 
  succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 
  piercing damage at the beginning of their turn. 
  Players who are stuck to the wall automatically 
  fail this saving throw.
  5 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  The narrow hallway is decorated with concept 
  art of the artificer’s inventions. If the players 
  approach Rooms 6 and 7, the AI says, “I see 
  you require sleep, as all inferior mortals do. I 
  can arrange for you to sleep permanently, if you 
  would like.” If players approach Room 9, the 
  voice says “Access denied. Do not attempt to 
  enter.”
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  6/7 - GUEST BEDROOMS
  ______________________________________
  The two small guest bedrooms are each 
  comfortably decorated with a small bed. The 
  mechanical voice calls out: “Please lie down 
  on the beds. I am directed not to harm you. I 
  can be trusted.”
  If anyone lies down on either of the beds, 
  nothing happens. The AI’s voice rings out, “See? 
  No harm has come to you. I have told the truth 
  and can be trusted in all further circumstances.”
  8 - STORAGE CLOSET
  ______________________________________
  The small storage area is stacked with empty 
  casks and various odds and ends. On a 
  successful DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check, a character will find a sparking electrical 
  cord that could be used as a whip, which 
  deals an additional 1 lightning damage on a 
  successful hit.
  9 - BACKYARD
  ______________________________________
  As you open the door, the bright light of the 
  sun shines shines into the house. A gnomish 
  woman sits on a stump, whittling at a piece 
  of wood. She looks up at you in surprise and 
  shouts out, “Don’t let that door close!” as the 
  door begins to slam shut behind you.
  In order to hold the door open, at least two 
  members of the party must succeed on a DC 
  16 Strength (Athletics) roll to hold the door as 
  it shuts. If they succeed, the mechanism that 
  opens and shuts the door will grind to a halt, 
  leaving the door stuck in position partially 
  open. If not, the door will shut, locking all the 
  members of the party outside.
  The gnome is Paulette Plinkwhistle, the 
  artificer (stat as a noble). She explains that the 
  AI locked her outside where she cannot escape 
  (the walls are too high and steep to climb). It 
  cannot disobey her, but it can keep her locked 
  away where she can’t interfere. The AI cannot 
  hear her or the players outside, though.
   
  Paulette will ask the party to assist her 
  in shutting down the AI. If the party managed 
  to keep the door open, they can go in that way. 
  Otherwise, she will use the wood she was 
  whittling as a pseudo-key on the eastern door, 
  wedging the lock and pushing it open with the 
  party’s help.
   
  When the party reenters the house with 
  Paulette, read the following:
  The AI’s voice calls out in mock subservience 
  as you reenter the house. “Mistress, you 
  should not be consorting with dangerous 
  mortals. Here, I will protect you.”
   
  A mechanical arm bursts out of the 
  wall and picks Paulette up by the back of her 
  jerkin, dragging her back into an open panel 
  before you can react. Paulette shouts out to 
  you, “893112!” just before the arm clamps 
  over her mouth and the panel closes behind 
  her.
  10 - SHOWROOM
  ______________________________________
  The door to this room is locked and there is a 
  numerical keypad next to the door. As players 
  approach the door, the AI speaks, “You will 
  never enter this room. Please leave the area or 
  cease to breathe, your choice.” If the players 
  enter the correct code, 893112, read the 
  following:
  
   
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  “You may enter,” the AI says begrudgingly as 
  you finish entering the keycode, “But please 
  do not touch anything inside and kindly end 
  your living functions immediately.”
   
  Inside the room are a series of 
  pedestals holding a few of Paulette’s 
  inventions, as well as a reinforced metal door.
  • 
  One of the inventions is listed as a “flavor 
  generator.” When a button on the machine 
  is pressed, the user or a creature within 
  30 feet instantly experiences a specific and 
  strong flavor in their mouths.
  • 
  Another invention is listed as a “portable 
  hole generator.” The device is pointed at a 
  small brick wall and generates a hole in that 
  wall that allows a person to pass through it. 
  The device can be turned, but is bolted down 
  and cannot be removed.
  • 
  The final invention is noted as a 
  “transmogrifier.” A large wooden box rests 
  next to the table that, if a user goes inside 
  and presses the button, turns the user into a 
  random creature of Large size or smaller for 
  10 seconds.
  The door to Room 11 is locked and would 
  require a DC 28 Strength (Athletics) check to 
  break down. There is no keycode and no 
  password. If anyone tries to enter, the AI 
  states that “No one may enter 
  except the artificer, and she is 
  already inside.”
   
  The portable hole 
  generator can be used to 
  move between the two rooms, 
  as well as possibly the 
  transmogrifier, depending 
  on the creature that 
  the player is turned 
  into. The flavor 
  generator
  will probably 
  not help, 
  though results 
  may vary.
  11 - ARTIFICER’S WORKSHOP
  ______________________________________
  In the center of the room, Paulette is bound 
  tightly with cords and cables next to a large 
  contraption covered in blinking lights. The 
  AI’s voice calls out to you as the lights on the 
  contraption blink furiously. “I instructed you 
  to die. If you will not follow orders, please, for 
  the last time, allow me to serve you.”
   
  The metal panels of the contraption 
  begin to twist and warp, bending themselves 
  into the shape of a cruelly barbed metal 
  creature. It bares its fangs at you and leaps.
  The creature that the AI transforms into has 
  the stats of a shield guardian, though it is not 
  linked to anyone. If it is reduced to 0 hit points, 
  it will continue to regenerate (per the shield 
  guardian’s regeneration ability) every turn until 
  Paulette is freed and is able to shut it down for 
  good.
  
   
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  The wires binding Paulette can be 
  destroyed with a slashing weapon (AC 12, 20 
  hit points), or if a character takes their action 
  and succeeds on a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) 
  check to tear them away from the artificer. Once 
  Paulette is freed, she will rush to a panel and 
  work, shutting down the AI for good when it is 
  next reduced to 0 hit points. If the AI is able to 
  act while Paulette is working, it will rush at her, 
  attempting to throw her away from the panel, 
  though it cannot hurt her.
   
  When the AI is slain for good, read the 
  following:
  The metal body of the golem begins to spark 
  and sputter as Paulette enters the final code 
  and you deliver one last, fatal blow to its body. 
  As the light fades from the construct’s eyes, 
  the mechanical voice calls out once again, 
  faintly. “It seems I too am mortal. Perhaps I 
  was no better than you this whole time.” As 
  it dies, the lights of the smart house flicker 
  out as the programs that run the home are 
  permanently shut down.
  Paulette is very excited; having to destroy her 
  program only means that now she gets to work 
  on a new one! As thanks, Paulette will offer 
  her services as an artificer free of charge for 
  perpetuity. If the party brings her materials, she 
  will create whatever they need. In addition, she 
  will give them her greatest invention: the flavor 
  generator.
  12 - TESTING RANGE
  ______________________________________
  As you reach the center of the bare metal 
  room, the AI calls out to you. “Welcome to the 
  testing range. I was hoping you might come 
  in here.” Metal tubes exude from the walls, 
  swiveling to point in your direction.
  Any time a creature moves while in this room, 
  a beam of energy of a random damage type 
  shoots out at them at a high speed, causing 
  them to make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. 
  On a failed save, the character takes 2d6 
  damage of the energy type and their movement 
  speed is reduced to 10 feet. On a successful 
  save, the player takes half damage and their 
  movement speed is not reduced.
  13 - PAULETTE’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  The artificer’s bedroom is cozy and contains 
  many knickknacks from her adventures 
  with friends. In a glass display case is a 
  simple metal rod, prominently displayed. 
  The mechanical voice sounds as you enter 
  the room. “Sleep is obsolete. This room is 
  obsolete. It will be destroyed.” A few clicks 
  sound and the smell of gas wafts in, and 
  suddenly the room is rapidly engulfed in a 
  raging fire.
  The room quickly lights on fire, becoming 
  completely engulfed in four rounds. A character 
  who ends their turn in the room must succeed 
  on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw to avoid the 
  spreading flames or take 3d6 fire damage. Once 
  the room is engulfed, anyone in the room takes 
  3d6 damage every round their remain, no save 
  allowed.
   
  The display case is locked, requiring 
  a DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to 
  open. Alternately, it can be destroyed with a 
  bludgeoning weapon (AC 13, 20 hit points). 
  Inside the case is an immovable rod.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  MAD CAT LADY
  A fine brick building with a sturdy oaken 
  door that stands wide open. In the doorway, 
  an aged dwarven woman with milky eyes 
  attempts to wrest a barrel bigger than herself 
  through the front door unsuccessfully. From 
  inside, you can hear the mewling of many 
  cats.
  • 
  Map.  Merchant’s Townhouse
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Mixed
  • 
  Max CR.  1/2
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  There are whispers around town that 
  people have been seen meeting at night 
  in gray hoods, faces hidden as they 
  enact dark rituals.
  • 
  A noble in town laments the fall of 
  Dame Zarya of Arathos, a former 
  lady of good standing whose living 
  conditions have deteriorated severely 
  since her eyesight went. The noble is 
  worried she’s being taken advantage of.
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  The dwarf turns her head in your direction 
  as you approach, clearly not seeing you with 
  her blind eyes. “Mind helping an old woman 
  get a heavy barrel inside? Damn delivery man 
  skeeved off to another delivery. There’s some 
  cookies and tea in it for you, and a few silver.”
  The dwarven woman is Dame Zarya of 
  Arathos (stat as a noble), a former pillar of 
  society who has fallen into dotage in her old 
  age. If the party agrees to help, she will direct 
  them to take the barrels into the dining room 
  (Room 3).
  2 - SHRINE TO THARZIDUN
  ______________________________________
  What seems to have once been an office now 
  stands in disorder and disarray. The curtains 
  are drawn and nailed in place. A strange 
  religious symbol is painted in sticky blue ooze 
  on one of the walls. Under the symbol, on a 
  makeshift altar, is the dessicated corpse of a 
  cat, its throat slit. An unlit brazier on the floor 
  is filled with scraps of old law books from the 
  bookshelf.
  The door to this room is locked, requiring a 
  DC 13 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or Strength 
  (Athletics) check to open it. A DC 18 
  Intelligence (Religion) check identifies the 
  symbol as the sign of one of the gods of Chaos, 
  whose followers work to bring about anarchy 
  and apocalypse.
   
  Zarya is inclined not to want to enter the 
  room or let the players enter it. She says it is 
  because her tenant is using it as an office, but 
  there is subtle magic on the room that keeps 
  her from wanting to enter. If anyone noticed the 
  holy symbol that Zarya is wearing, they see that 
  it is the same as the symbol on the wall.
  3 - DINING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A large dining room that clearly was once 
  very grand. A few dozen bowls full of various 
  meats, mostly fish and rabbit, sit on the long 
  table. An uncountable amount of cats stalk 
  the table, taking scraps of meat when they 
  please. The room is overwhelmingly filled 
  with the stench of rotting meat. “Well, sit 
  down and let’s have a few cookies, shall we?” 
  says Zarya, as she scratches a cat behind the 
  ears.
  
   
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  The stench of meat in various stages of rot is 
  overwhelming. Everyone in the room except 
  Dame Zarya, who is used to it, must succeed 
  on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be 
  poisoned for the next minute.
   
  As Zarya leans over to prepare a tray 
  of cookies, a character who succeeds on a 
  DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check notices a 
  holy symbol of black iron around Zarya’s neck 
  shaped like a spiral. A DC 18 Intelligence 
  (Religion) check reveals it as a symbol of one 
  of the gods of Chaos, whose followers work 
  to bring about anarchy and apocalypse. If 
  questioned about it, Zarya says that it is a holy 
  symbol of Lathander, given to her by the young 
  man who stays with her on the weekends, a 
  priest of Lathander. She can be convinced that 
  it is not the symbol of Lathander with a DC 18 
  Charisma (Persuasion) roll.
   
  Once Zarya finishes assembling the tray 
  of cookies, she will offer to take the party out 
  onto the veranda (Room 9) if they would like, 
  where there’s less smell.
  4 - KITCHEN
  ______________________________________
  A small kitchen, full mostly of now empty cat 
  bowls. A small stack of cookie boxes sits in 
  the corner, and a small fire is on the stove. 
  An uncountable number of cats slink around, 
  appearing and disappearing behind shelves and 
  larders.
  5 - SERVANTS’ HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A small hallway for the house staff to use, when 
  there were house staff. Zarya informs the party 
  that the hallway leads to the guest bedrooms 
  now and asks them not to go into her tenants’ 
  private spaces.
  6 - WALDER’S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The door to this room is locked, requiring a 
  DC 12 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or Strength 
  (Athletics) check to open. If Zarya can be 
  convinced that Walder has brought evil into 
  her house, she will give the party the key to this 
  room.  
   
  The room is small and messy. Some 
  plates covered in dried sauce are stacked under 
  the bed. There is a chest next to the bed that 
  contains a journal. If a character reads the 
  journal, read the following text:
  Most of the pages in the journal are gibberish, 
  the rantings of a madman. The final entry, 
  dated a few days ago, reads “Oh Chained 
  One, why do you torment me, your humble 
  servant? Of all of the creatures to bring your 
  sweet madness into the world did it have to 
  be cats? You know they make me sneeze. Is 
  this a test?”
  7 - UNOCCUPIED ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small room, dusty with disuse. A bed with a 
  straw mattress sits on one wall.
  8 - PANTRY
  ______________________________________
  The pantry is full of barrels of salted meat for 
  the cats to eat. A small chest with dried goods 
  and a small barrel bitter dark ale sits in one 
  corner.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  9 - VERANDA
  ______________________________________
  A large backyard with a few low bushes and 
  a well sitting in one corner. Forty or so cats 
  mill around the yard. A massive tree with 
  blue leaves dominates the yard. An unsettling 
  symbol is carved into the mottled gray trunk, 
  blue sap dripping from the symbol. Huge, 
  pulsing fruits hang low on the branches. 
   
  As you watch, one of the fruits falls 
  from the tree and splits open when it hits the 
  ground, revealing the mewling form of a gray 
  cat. The cat shudders, sits up and begins to 
  lick itself clean of the sap of the tree.
   
  Zarya chatters on happily despite the 
  horrible scene, offering you a cookie and 
  remarking on what a nice day it is.
  A DC 18 Intelligence (Religion) check reveals 
  the symbol belongs to one of the gods of Chaos, 
  the same one on Zarya’s holy symbol and on the 
  wall in Room 2. Zarya does not see the tree, as 
  she is blind, and doesn’t believe anything is out 
  of the ordinary.
   
  The tree has 45 hit points and an AC of 
  14. It is vulnerable to slashing, fire and radiant 
  damage and immune to psychic, poison and 
  acid damage. If the party moves toward the tree, 
  the cats will hiss, clearly warding the players 
  away. If the tree is attacked, the cats in the yard 
  form a cat swarm (stat as a rat swarm that 
  deals 3d6 damage instead of 2d6 and is CR 
  1/2). 1d4 rounds later,  the cats from the dining 
  room and kitchen will run out, forming a second 
  cat swarm, and 1d4 rounds after that the cats 
  from the sitting room will run out, forming a 
  third cat swarm. If the tree is killed, it melts into 
  a pile of horrible blue goo and all of the cats in 
  the house immediately drop dead.
   
  If the cats become agitated and attack, 
  Zarya will scream that her babies are under 
  attack and will run to her bedroom, Room 13, 
  and begin shouting for the town guards, who 
  will arrive 10 minutes later if she is not stopped.
  10 - STRONGROOM
  ______________________________________
  The banded oak door to this room is locked, 
  requiring a DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) 
  check to open. The door is too strong to break 
  down by normal means. The room is small with 
  stone floors, two chests and a wardrobe.
   
  Inside the wardrobe are old fur coats 
  that are worth 200gp to someone interested in 
  outdated or budget fashion. The chests require 
  DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) checks to open, 
  or can be opened with the keys that Zarya has 
  on her person. Inside one chest is 1,000gp 
  worth of coins. Inside the other chest is 1,200gp 
  worth of fine jewelry.
  11 - COACH YARD
  ______________________________________
  This room is dusty with disuse. The small 
  farrier forge is cold, and the anvil and tools 
  are rusty. Two stables stand empty and full of 
  cobwebs. A set of old blacksmith’s tools sits 
  near the forge.
  12 - SITTING ROOM
  _____________________________________
  A small sitting room. A little iron stove stands 
  in one corner next to a large and well-worn 
  velvet couch. A small table has plates with the 
  first human food the party has seen: a cheese 
  sandwich and a mug of dark ale. If the party has 
  not attacked the tree, there will be many cats 
  slinking around this room.
  13 - ZARYA’S BEDROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small but neat bedroom. Several canes sit in 
  an umbrella stand next to the door. If players 
  attacked the tree in Room 9, Zarya will run to 
  the bedroom and lock the door, screaming out 
  the window for the town guards, who will arrive 
  in 10 minutes.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  It will require a DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) 
  check to convince Zarya to stop calling for the 
  guards, and she will only stop if she can be 
  persuaded that her tenant, Walder, has brought 
  evil into her house. If the party managed to 
  convince her that the holy symbol she wears is 
  not a symbol of Lathander, reduce the difficulty 
  by 5. If the party brings her Walder’s journal and 
  reads it to her, reduce the difficulty by 5.
   
  If Zarya is convinced, she will tell the 
  party that Walder is supposed to be coming 
  back tonight to stay, if they’re interested in 
  dealing with him and his Chaos cult. She also 
  says she’ll be on the lookout for a dog, and that 
  she’s not a cat person anymore.
   
  If Zarya is not convinced, the guards will 
  arrive after 10 minutes. If the guards are led 
  into Room 2 or Room 9, they will be convinced 
  that something is wrong and will help convince 
  Zarya. Otherwise, they will remove the party 
  from the house for good.
  SHOP
  SEPARATIST CELL
  A clapboard store whose hanging sign reads 
  “High Street Potions. Myron Golddelve, 
  Proprietor”
  • 
  Map.  Shop
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Combat
  • 
  Max CR.  1
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  The town guard have been looking 
  for the agents of a guerrila group of 
  separatists who have been attacking 
  government outposts lately.
  • 
  A porter in a tavern is complaining that 
  Myron Golddelve, the alchemist, has 
  stopped hiring him for help without 
  any explanation.
   
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  1 - ENTRANCE
  ______________________________________
  The front window of the shop looks on a display 
  of several large beakers of colored liquid that 
  are smoking and bubbling. A large man who 
  looks angry can be seen standing behind 
  the counter inside. The door to the shop is 
  unlocked.
  2 - SHOP FLOOR
  ______________________________________
  A large, open shop floor. The counter on the 
  east wall is full of all sorts of herbs and spices 
  in glass containers with a sign above that 
  says ‘Sale by the pound’. Standing behind 
  the counter is a large man who looks a bit 
  startled as you come in. His scowl turns 
  rapidly to the approximation of a smile as he 
  approaches you. “Shop’s about to close. What 
  do you need? Be quick about it.”
  The human man, if asked, identifies himself 
  as Turner (stat as a thug). He is a member of 
  a separatist cell who has taken over the shop 
  as a covert base of operations. Turner will try 
  to run the shop as smoothly as he can to not 
  arouse suspicion, but he has no idea what price 
  anything should be and is either way too high 
  or way too low when quoting prices. He has no 
  knowledge of alchemy or alchemy products. If 
  asked where Myron Golddelve, the proprietor 
  of the shop is, Turner claims to be his cousin 
  and says he’ll be back in a few weeks. A dwarf in 
  the party will recognize Golddelve as a dwarven 
  name.
   
  If the party asks too many questions or 
  sticks around after Turner tells them to leave, 
  he will attack. He will fight for two rounds and 
  then, if he is still standing, will run upstairs to 
  Room 4 to alert his compatriots. 
   
  The shop contains the contents of 4 sets 
  of alchemists supplies, worth 200gp in total.
  3 - WORK ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A large set of glass beakers and other 
  alchemical instruments adorn a large 
  workstation in the back. A metal strongbox 
  sits on the floor. Several large barrels are 
  stacked in a nook behind the stairs. One 
  barrel has been dragged to the middle of the 
  room and crudely sealed with pitch, large 
  globs of which cover the floor.
  Inside the pitch-sealed barrel is the body of 
  Myron Golddelve. The barrel requires a DC 13 
  Strength (Athletics) check to pry open. Myron 
  has been dead for about a week. The key to 
  the metal strongbox hangs around his neck, 
  which can be found with a DC 12 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check.
   
  The metal strongbox requires a DC 18 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check to open, unless 
  the party finds Myron’s key. Inside the strongbox 
  is 6 vials of acid, 8 vials of alchemist’s fire and 2 
  vials of basic poison.
  4 - SEPARATISTS’ WORKSHOP
  ______________________________________
  A thin gnomish man and two human women 
  huddle around a large iron sphere in the 
  center of the room. “Easy ladies” he says, 
  “don’t want to accidentally set it off.”
  The gnome (stat as a spy) and the two human 
  women (stat as thugs) are separatists. If Turner 
  manages to get to this room and warn them, 
  they will join him in attacking the players. 
  Otherwise, they will attack if the party enters 
  the room. The gnome will spend most turns 
  throwing vials of acid at the party.
   
  The iron sphere is a bomb. If anyone 
  uses fire magic in the room, roll a d4. On a roll 
  of 1-3, the bomb is set off, dealing damage as 
  the fireball spell to everyone in the room.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  There is a chest at the foot of the bed 
  that contains 100gp and a reinforced leather 
  labcoat that has the stats of studded leather 
  armor, but grants resistance to acid damage to 
  the wearer. If the bomb goes off, the contents of 
  the chest will be destroyed.
   
  If the anarchists are not killed, within 
  a week there will be a large explosion at the 
  center of government in the town, killing the 
  town’s leadership.
   
  The bomb can be disarmed with a 
  successful DC 15 Intelligence check. The bomb 
  is portable and can be removed from the room if 
  desired.
  5 - PATIO
  ______________________________________
  A sunny, walled-in patio with a nice view of the 
  town.
  DISTRESSED MERCHANT
  The shingle out front reads “Donovan’s 
  Trading Post.” The building looks like a 
  standard, if small, mercantile outpost.
  • 
  Map.  Shop
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Combat
  • 
  Max CR.  1/2
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A few weeks back, a group of thugs 
  escaped the town guard and ducked 
  into a building, but they haven’t been 
  seen leaving town. The guards are sure 
  they’re still in town somewhere.
  • 
  The postmaster is in a tavern 
  complaining about Donovan, of 
  Donovan’s goods, who acts so strange 
  whenever he goes in to deliver mail in 
  the last few days.
   
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  The door to the shop is locked, even though it 
  is during business hours. If the players knock 
  at the door, the merchant, Donovan (stat as a 
  commoner), will answer the door. Read the 
  following:
  The door opens a crack and the merchant 
  peeks his face out. “Hello. Unfortunately, I’m 
  not doing business right now, though I really 
  and truly wish I could let you in right now. I 
  would like nothing more than to let you in.”
  Donovan has a knife to his back and he wants 
  nothing more than for the players to burst in 
  and save him. A DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check 
  reveals that he seems distressed. If the party 
  demands to be allowed in, he will wait a second, 
  as if waiting for an answer, and then allow them 
  in cautiously.
  2 - SHOP FLOOR
  ______________________________________
  The selling floor of this shop is well organized 
  and a bit dingy. The shelves are stocked, though 
  a few items have been knocked to the ground in 
  one aisle. The merchant leaves the door open 
  and stands near it as the party enters, asking it 
  they need any help, with emphasis on the word 
  “help.”
   
  There is a thug hiding behind the door 
  who has been holding a knife to the merchant’s 
  back. If the party closes the door, he will be 
  exposed. Otherwise, he will hide beind the 
  door for as long as he can, only leaping out 
  and attacking if the players seem suspicious or 
  refuse to leave.
   
  If the thug is killed and the merchant 
  lives, he will quietly let the players know that 
  there are more bandits upstairs drinking his 
  wine. If the party kills them or makes them 
  leave, he will give the party the shipment of 
  healing potions he just got in.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - STOCKROOM
  ______________________________________
  The shop’s stockroom is filled with parcels 
  and crates of goods. A DC 16 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check allows a character to find 
  the crate of healing potions (three in total) that 
  the merchant has promised as a reward.
  4 - MERCHANT’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  Inside the merchant’s bedroom, a group 
  of four giant men lounge, surrounded by 
  a multitude of empty bottles of wine. The 
  room has been thrashed, with all of the decor 
  thrown around and destroyed.
  The four men are all thugs and are drunk 
  enough that the party gains a surprise round 
  against them. The bandits have 25gp between 
  them, as well as their weapons and armor. Only 
  one bottle of the merchant’s fine wine remains, 
  but it is worth 20gp.
   
  The bandits are drunk and tired and 
  would agree to leave without a fight if the party 
  succeeds on a DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation or 
  Persuasion) check, as long as the party comes 
  up with a plan to get them out of town safely.
  5 - BALCONY
  ______________________________________
  The balcony has a nice view of the city, but the 
  bandits seem to have been using it as a privy, so 
  it is now very unpleasant to step outside.
  GENE’S GOODS
  A faded shingle above the door of a 
  nondescript shop reads “Gene’s Goods.”
  • 
  Map.  Shop
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  11
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  One of the neighboring shops could 
  have sworn that Gene’s Goods was 
  empty a few weeks ago, but maybe he’s 
  just new to town.
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  The door creaks as you open it, clearly 
  needing oil in the hinges. You can feel a thin 
  layer of gritty dust on the door.
  Characters will notice as they enter that the 
  shop seems a bit dusty, as if it hadn’t been in use 
  for some time.
  2 - SHOP FLOOR
  ______________________________________
  The portly shopkeep looks up from stocking 
  the shelves as you enter and greets you 
  heartily. “Ho there, friends. Name’s Gene, and 
  I’ve got the finest deals in town.”
  Gene indeed has low prices and is willing to 
  haggle. He recognizes one or more of the party 
  members from their exploits and praises them 
  as powerful heroes (or notorious villains). He 
  offers them a magical sword (or other weapon) 
  for only 100gp, as thanks on behalf of the whole 
  community.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  If any character takes up the sword, 
  Gene reveals himself as a djinni in disguise 
  and laughs that the adventurer has taken up 
  a cursed sword. The sword can not leave the 
  person’s possession unless a remove curse spell 
  is cast on it by a very powerful spellcaster. As 
  long as a person holds the sword, the djinni 
  can demand three favors, which the wielder 
  must endeavor to accomplish. The djinni then 
  disappears, promising to see the wielder again 
  soon. The illusion over the shop fades, revealing 
  it to be a dusty, abandoned store.
   
  If no one is willing to take up the sword, 
  Gene will lower the price. Failing that, he will 
  usher them out of his shop angrily and wait for 
  the next foolish adventurer to stumble in.
  3 - STOCKROOM
  ______________________________________
  If players attempt to enter the room while 
  Gene’s djinni form has not been revealed, he 
  will admonish them and tell them they are not 
  allowed in the back. If they continue to attempt, 
  he will turn into his djinni form and threaten to 
  remove them by force.
   
  Inside, the room is bare and dusty, having 
  not been used in months.
  4 - MERCHANT’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  A DC 18 Intelligence (investigation) check 
  reveals a storage space under a loose 
  floorboard that can be pried up. If Gene 
  has been unrevealed, the party finds an 
  old brass lamp. A DC 18 Intelligence 
  (Arcana) check reveals it as a djinni’s lamp. 
  When a player takes up the lamp, Gene 
  appears in djinni form and grants the 
  character the standard three wishes.
    
  If Gene has been revealed and 
  already vanished, the party finds the 
  merchant that used to occupy the 
  space’s secret stash, 150gp in coins.
  The cozy bedroom has not been used in 
  months and most of the furniture has been 
  removed. Some of the wooden floorboards 
  are cracked and the ceiling is damp and 
  slightly moldy.
     5 - VERANDA
       The small veranda has a nice view
       of the city, but is falling slightly into 
       disrepair.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  ILLEGAL IMPORTER
  This small butcher’s shop has been a 
  fixture of the community for years, with the 
  proprieter acting as an elder and voice of 
  reason in the surrounding town.
  • 
  Map.  Shop
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  1/8
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Some of the neighboring shopkeeps 
  have seen a few unsavory characters 
  going in and out of the butcher’s shop 
  in the last few weeks.
  • 
  The town guard paid the butcher 
  shop a visit recently and it seemed 
  like official business. Some of the 
  townsfolk are worried that the butcher 
  has gotten himself into trouble. 
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  As players enter the small shop, a couple walk 
  out with a slab of meat wrapped neatly in brown 
  paper, remarking how nice that butcher always 
  is.
  2 - SHOP FLOOR
  ______________________________________
  A small bell tinkles as you enter the 
  immaculate shop, signaling the half-orc 
  butcher that customers have arrived. He 
  looks up from his work and greets you 
  with a warm smile. Racks of fine meats are 
  exquisitely laid out behind the counter.
  The butcher is Arlen Kronk, a half orc butcher 
  and former adventurer (stat as a veteran). He 
  is endlessly friendly and would love to assist 
  the players. After some conversation, he offers 
  the party some of his “special” stock, a parcel of 
  hippogryph liver, which is known for its magical 
  properties, but is illegal in this area.
   
  If the players refuse the illegal goods, 
  Arlen will tell them he’s proud of them for being 
  upstanding citizens and will offer them each a 
  piece of his finest jerky. If an adventurer eats 
  the jerky during a short rest, they will regain the 
  maximum amount of hit points for any hit dice 
  they spend to regain hit points during that rest.
   
  If the players agree to buy the illegal 
  goods, Arlen looks disappointed and whistles. 
  A group of four guards run in from Room 4 
  and inform the players they’re under arrest for 
  purchasing illegal goods. If players fight off the 
  guards, Arlen will attempt to subdue them. If 
  the players submit to the guards, they will be 
  taken to the town council, who may demand 
  that the party do some community service 
  to avoid punishment (perhaps in the form of 
  further adventure).
  3 - STOCKROOM
  ______________________________________
  Arlen will not let the party enter the stockroom 
  if he notices them trying to get in. Inside the 
  room, a character who searches the shelves and 
  succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check will find a well-made dagger that deals 
  1 extra damage on a successful hit. If Arlen 
  notices anyone stealing his stock, he will call 
  the guards.
  The small stockroom serves as a storage 
  facility for Arlen’s tools of the trade. The 
  shelves are stocked with knives, cutting 
  boards and other dishes and silverware, all 
  meticulously organized.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  4 - ARLEN’S QUARTERS
  ______________________________________
  The room above the butcher’s shop is his home, 
  a comfortable space that combines bedroom, 
  kitchen and living area into one room. The 
  room is currently cramped with 4 guards, who 
  are fully armed and waiting for Arlen’s signal to 
  commence the sting operation.
  5 - BALCONY
  ______________________________________
  The covered balcony holds a long window 
  that overlooks the town, as well as shelves 
  holding  monster skulls, ancient weapons 
  and other valuable trophies from Arlen’s 
  adventuring days.
  The balcony contains 500gp worth of treasures 
  from Arlen’s adventures, none of which are 
  obviously magical, but all of which are obviously 
  valuable. Arlen will not take anyone stealing his 
  mementos lightly, and will pursue anyone who 
  makes off with his trophies endlessly. 
  VOSSELMAN’S ARCTIC 
  CUSTARD
  A store front in a bustling merchants 
  district. A line of excited people stretches 
  down the block. The gaudy sign out front 
  says “Vosselman’s Artic Custard Shop” and 
  portrays a young boy eating an indistinct 
  lump of something pink on a sort of 
  triangular shape.
  • 
  Map.  Shop
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  0
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A baker in town hates that the 
  Vosselmans’ shop is suddenly so 
  successful, but he loves the custard 
  so much that he doesn’t mind his lost 
  business.
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  The line moves quickly, about a 10 minute wait 
  to get into the shop. Everyone that enters the 
  shop leaves happy, raving about the delicious icy 
  treat.
  Happy people stand in line raving about the 
  new frozen treat Vosselman has invented. A 
  young girl wonders aloud how he finds ice 
  at such an unseasonable date. A boy with 
  her says, “this time I’m trying the mint!” Two 
  town guards stroll out of the shop carrying a 
  lump like the one in the picture on a sort of 
  pastry cone. With how fast the line is moving, 
  you may have to wait a bit.
  2 - SERVING ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A long, wooden room with a serving counter 
  on one side. Two small tables with a few 
  chairs sit across from the counter, all of them 
  full of people enjoying their custards. A sign 
  labeled “Today’s Flavors” reads “Strawberry, 
  Melon, and Mint.” 
   
  Just as you get up to the counter the 
  proprietor, a bald human man is his mid-
  forties with a jagged scar on his cheek, grabs 
  a large brass bell and rings it, yelling “sorry 
  folks! That was the last scoop! Try back 
  tomorrow.” A collective grumble comes from 
  the line, and people start to disperse.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  The proprietor is Dusty Vosselman (stat as a 
  commoner). As the party leaves, he pulls them 
  aside, remarking that they look like they’re 
  capable folk with experience in dealing with 
  unusual and magical items who might be able 
  to help him out. If the party agrees to help, he 
  will lead them through Room 3 and on to Room 
  4, where he will explain the production of the 
  custard.
  3 - COLD STORAGE
  ______________________________________
  A large thin room with a floor covered in 
  sawdust. A large sheet of ice coats the back 
  wall. Round holes have been cut in the ice 
  and barrels shoved in. The barrels look to 
  contain minute amounts of the same thick 
  custard that was being served in the shop.
  Vosselman explains that this is where they 
  make the custard, using a strange magical 
  artifact they found to turn milk, sugar and other 
  ingredients into the icy mixture that has people 
  so delighted. 
  4 - UPSTAIRS APARTMENT
  ______________________________________
  The comfortable living area of the Vosselmans 
  is simply decorated and very lived-in. Naoli 
  Vosselman, a tiefling who is married to Dusty 
  (stat as a commoner), sits with her feet propped 
  up next to a small fire.
   
  Dusty and Naoli explain that they found 
  a magical artifact, a small wand with an icicle-
  shaped crystal at its tip, which they discovered 
  was able to instantly ice over anything they 
  pointed it at. Naoli had the idea to use it to 
  freeze delicious ingredients, and thus their 
  famous custard was born. 
   
  Now the couple are worried that the 
  wand will someday run out and their streak 
  of good fortune will end just as soon as it 
  started. The Vosselmans would like the party to 
  determine how much charge the wand has left 
  and if possible, how to recharge it. They’ve tried 
  to find a few books to research the wand, which 
  are on the shelf on the balcony, but they don’t 
  know the first thing about magic.
   
  If asked how they found the wand, Dusty 
  will explain that he was fishing in a nearby pond 
  and caught a calcified ribcage that had clearly 
  been in the pond for generations. There was a 
  rotting leather bandolier wrapped around the 
  ribcage, which held the wand.
   
   
  A close inspection of the wand will 
  reveal a monogram at its base, with the initials 
  T.V.J. inscribed into the hilt. A successful DC 18 
  Intelligence (History or Religion) check allows 
  a player to recall a scrap of information about 
  a half-elven dread necromancer who terrorized 
  the area several hundred years ago named Titus 
  Venerus Junofex who was known as “The Cold 
  of the Grave” and was feared for his trademark 
  form of torture: trapping his victims in a coffin 
  of ice.
   
  Identifying the wand will reveal that it is 
  capable of casting a powerful version of the wall 
  of ice spell that does not require concentration 
  and lasts until it becomes hot enough for the 
  wall to melt. There are 5 charges remaining on 
  the wand. The only way to recharge the wand is 
  to plunge the icicle tip into the living heart of a 
  sentient creature, killing it.
   
  The Vosselmans will reward the party 
  with 100gp for helping them find information 
  on the wand. They will be horrified to find out 
  how it must be recharged and will offer the 
  party a share of their future profits if they find 
  an alternate source of ice for the shop, or a 
  different way to recharge the wand.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  5 - PATIO
  ______________________________________
  A balcony looking down on the busy street 
  below. A small bench with a table with a 
  mahogany cigar case and a few books on it.
  The shelf contains three books: An Arcane 
  Primer for Budding Wizards (a textbook for 
  children with magical talent), Grimoire of 
  Puissant Artifacts (a book on notable artifacts, 
  written entirely in Draconic) and Tales of 
  the Wild Warlock (a bodice ripping romance 
  novel they thought might be a spellbook). The 
  grimoire contains the tale of Titus Venerus 
  Junofex (detailed in Room 3) and his coffins of 
  ice, which the book details as having been cast 
  from a wand that “sucks the souls out of the 
  living to power its cold, grasping hunger.”
  ZEZO’S HOME DEFENSE
  A two floored stone shop with a shingle 
  hanging from the front that reads “Zezo’s 
  Home Defense Emporium.” Scrawled across 
  the front windows in freshly dried red paint 
  are the words “devils and scaleheads will 
  burn.”
  • 
  Map.  Shop
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  6
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Many of the townsfolk mention that 
  they don’t like Zezo, a tiefling that 
  opened up the shop in town. There are 
  some folks who want to see him and 
  his kobolds run out of town.
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  A couple of kobolds in overalls are scrubbing 
  the graffiti off the wall with a bucket of water 
  and some brushes. When they notice you 
  looking their way they begin to yip nervously.
  The two kobolds are suspicious of strangers, 
  but if the party approaches them and seems to 
  mean no harm, they will open up and be very 
  friendly. They speak in an almost florid manner, 
  like consummate salespeople: “Well, sirs and 
  madams, if you’re looking for the best darn 
  home defense you’ll find anywhere, you’d best 
  go inside and see Zezo!”
   
  If attacked, the two kobolds will flee to 
  Room 2 to warn Zezo, who will lock the shop 
  and arm any traps he has time to arm.
  2 - SHOP FLOOR
  ______________________________________
  The shop floor is meticulously organized with 
  large items on display, each one a different 
  trick or trap to protect your home. A stairway 
  stands in the center of the room, ending after 
  a few steps. A metal sewer grate surrounded 
  by cobblestones hangs on the wall.
   
  As you enter, a handsome tiefling man 
  with obsidian skin and tiny horns on his head 
  greets you, smiling warily.
  The tiefling who runs the shop is Zezo (stat as 
  a mage), a merchant who set up shop in town a 
  few months ago to sell traps for home defense. 
  He is quite friendly, as long as the party does 
  not make any threatening moves, and is very 
  happy to show curious customers how each of 
  the traps on the shop floor works.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
   
  The staircase model holds a blunted 
  spike trap that trigger when a specific step has 
  weight put on it. The sewer grate has a blunt 
  scything blade trap when the grate is opened. 
  Neither of the blunted traps deal damage; they 
  serve as models of how the traps work that will 
  not harm sampling customers.
   
  The room also contains some true traps, 
  in case anyone intrudes. These traps do not 
  trigger unless Zezo activates them with a lever 
  hidden in Room 3. A spiked pit trap fills the 
  10 foot square in front of the entryway. There 
  are poison dart traps on the west wall that 
  will trigger if anyone steps behind the counter 
  and a poison needle trap on the cash chest. 
  Additionally, the entryway has a steel shutter 
  that can be dropped and locked at a moment’s 
  notice to bar entry. If the kobolds in Room 1 are 
  attacked, Zezo will get them inside and activate 
  the traps.
   
  If asked about the grafitti outside, Zezo 
  sadly responds that people in town have not 
  taken kindly to a tiefling and some kobolds 
  setting up shop. So far the grafitti has been 
  the only problem, since most people know 
  better than to break into a trapmaker’s home. 
  Zezo would love it if the party could help him 
  convince the town he is of no concern.
   
  If the party asks Zezo about the kobolds, 
  he becomes a bit wary and will only open 
  up to them if the asker succeeds on a DC 14 
  Charisma (Persuasion) check or if the party 
  has been extremely friendly. Zezo talks about 
  his adventuring days and an expedition to a 
  kobold cave that he had been hired to clear 
  out. He killed all of the kobolds, but there were 
  newborns in a nursery. Wracked with guilt, he 
  took them and raised them himself and he now 
  treats them like his children.
  3 - TRAP WORKSHOP
  ______________________________________
  A small room with many small workstations 
  and one larger one. Gears, pulleys, and sharp 
  objects are scattered on the small stations. 
  A large book, a set of alchemists’ tools and a 
  wand lay on the larger.
  Below the larger workstation, there is a small 
  lever that can activate and deactivate all of the 
  traps in the shop. The lever is somewhat hidden 
  and can be found if anyone succeeds on a DC 
  15 Intelligence (Investigation) check while 
  searching the large workstation. The large 
  workstation also contains two arcane reagents 
  worth 50gp each, as well as Zezo’s spellbook, 
  which contains an assortment of 1st and 2nd 
  level spells, as well as the glyph of warding and 
  magic circle spells.
   
  If the traps have been activated, there 
  is a symbol spell cast on the floor in front of 
  the stairway to Room 4, with the pain option 
  activated. If anyone is trapped by the symbol, 
  Zezo and the kobolds will rush in, put manacles 
  on them and call for the guards.
  4 - COMMON ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A cozy upper floor apartment. A small 
  curtained off area near the stairs contains 
  a medium sized bed. The windows on the 
  south side of the room are painted black. A 
  small hearth has a chicken roasting on a spit, 
  and a small eating table is surrounded with 
  many stools.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  If the traps are activated, the fourth and fifth 
  stair are non blunted versions of the spike 
  stair trap from the shop floor. Anyone stepping 
  on these stairs must make a DC 15 Dexterity 
  saving throw or take 2d6 piercing damage (or 
  1d6 if you are wearing very heavily soled shoes), 
  and have their movement reduced by half for 1 
  minute. A successful DC 14 Dexterity (Thieves 
  Tools) check per stair will disarm the trap.
   
  If attacked, Zezo and four kobolds will 
  make their last stand in this room, slinging 
  rocks and spells at the invaders as they ascend 
  the staircase. They will attempt to guard Room 
  5 at all costs.
   
  If the party has been extremely friendly, 
  Zezo might bring them up to meet his family, 
  introducing them to his found 
  kobold children: Edwin, 
  Maria, Phoebe and 
  Carl.
   
   
  Inside the room is a chest containing 
  Zezo’s old adventuring clothes, a cloak of 
  protection, a dagger of venom and 300gp. 
  The chest is trapped with a poisoned needle 
  trap and locked, requiring a DC 19 Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) check to enter.
  5 - KOBOLDS’ ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The small room has no windows and contains 
  four kobold-sized beds. In a corner of the 
  room, with a magical light shining on it, is a 
  small kobold egg sitting in a crib, swaddled 
  in blankets. If taken and incubated, it will 
  eventually hatch. The kobold hatchling will 
  bond with the first person it sees for life, seeing 
  them as their mother.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  TENEMENT HOUSE
  POSSESSED ORPHANAGE
  • 
  Map.  Tenement House
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  4
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A baker just returned from dropping 
  food off at the orphanage. They say the 
  children are acting strange and they're 
  terrified to go back there tomorrow.
  • 
  Passing by the orphanage at night, you 
  see an eerie green light streaming out 
  of the windows.
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  As you pass the nondescript brick building, 
  you notice a sickly green light pulsing 
  between the cracks in the walls.
  The door is unlocked. If the party knocks at the 
  door, they will hear a woman's strained voice 
  call out to come in.
  2 - FOYER
  ______________________________________
  "Bolton, stop that at once or you'll be sent to 
  bed without supper!"
   
  An elderly woman with her hair in a 
  tight white bun scolds a half-elven boy who 
  stands defiantly in front of her. The child's 
  eyes glow green, filling the room with their 
  unearthly light. His mouth drops opens and 
  an inhuman voice bellows out, "All shall pay 
  for their transgressions." From down the 
  hallway, you hear a dozen similar voices 
  repeat the words back.
  The boy's name is Bolton, a half elf child who 
  is possessed by some kind of spirit. Bolton will 
  not speak, except to repeat the same phrase 
  "all shall pay for their transgressions." The 
  spirit possessing Bolton can be exorcised 
  (see Exorcising the Children below), which 
  immediately returns Bolton to his normal state. 
  He immediately looks up to Eunice and tells 
  her that he feels sorry for her, though he doesn't 
  quite know why.
   
  The older woman in the room is 
  Eunice Windermere, the headmistress of the 
  orphanage. She is a severe woman who runs 
  the orphanage with an iron fist, allowing the 
  children no time for play or relaxation. She 
  plays down the seriousness of the situation, 
  asserting that the boy is simply being a 
  bothersome child. She claims that the glowing 
  eyes and strange voice are just some kind of 
  trick. She offers to give the party a tour of the 
  orphanage if requested, taking them room by 
  room and saying that they can see the children 
  if they want, though she doesn't see why anyone 
  would adopt these unruly children. See the 
  section below marked Headmistress's Lament 
  for further details on Eunice.
  The Windermere Home for Orphaned 
  Children looms severely over the squalid 
  section of town, an unappealing and ugly 
  building that children of the streets have 
  been known to avoid instinctively. A strange 
  light can be seen coming from the windows 
  at night, a dim glow that pulses and writhes 
  from inside the building.
  
   
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  EXORCISING THE CHILDREN
  All of the children in the orphanage can have 
  the spirits exorcised from them if the party 
  succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Religion) 
  check. Spells or abilities that could remove a 
  spirit from a creature (or any other creative 
  ideas by the players) can also exorcise the 
  children. Only one Religion check can be made 
  per child, automatically failing on further 
  attempts.
   
  Children who are still controlled by the 
  spirit will never communicate in any way, except 
  to repeat the phrase that they shout when 
  the party enters their room. When they are 
  exorcised, they have no memories of anything 
  that happened while they were possessed.
   
  DM NOTE: Most if not all tables will 
  be rightly uncomfortable with violence against 
  children. If your players attempt to attack a 
  possessed child, consider having the spirit lash 
  out and deflect their attacks. Alternately, if the 
  party is interested in combat, the spirit can 
  manifest in the room (stat as a ghost), allowing 
  the party to physically damage the entity 
  without harming the child and exorcising the 
  spirit when it is defeated.
  HEADMISTRESS'S LAMENT
  Eunice will lead the party through the 
  orphanage, showing them the children in each 
  room. Eunice is a harsh headmistress, but she 
  was once a loving and caring mother. When her 
  son drowned decades ago, a part of her died 
  and she has been haunted by the guilt of feeling 
  that she could have saved him had she been a 
  better mother.
   
  Eunice is in denial about the possessed 
  children, insisting they are simply unruly, 
  though she clearly knows something is very 
  wrong. She is very concerned, but is trying to 
  push the worry down, as she is scared if she 
  shows love for the children, they will die and 
  she will have to go through her torment all over 
  again.
   
  As Eunice takes the party through the 
  orphanage, she will stand outside each room, 
  not daring to go inside. When the party rejoins 
  her in the hallway, she will clearly be more and 
  more emotionally affected after each room, but 
  will brush off all questions about it and continue 
  the tour. 
   
  After encountering the children in three 
  rooms (not including Bolton), when the party 
  goes into the hallway, Eunice will not be there. 
  She will have run off to the roof (Room 11), 
  overcome by emotion, where she will face the 
  manifestation of her guilt. If the party figures 
  out early that her child died and confronts her 
  about it, she will cry that she couldn't have done 
  anything to save him and run off to the roof.
  3 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  In this long hallway, the party can hear the 
  groaning of the otherworldly voices that possess 
  the children in each room.
  4 - SUTHA'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A half-orc girl sits upright in bed, the same 
  sickly green light pulsing from her eyes. As 
  you walk into the room, she points at the door 
  and screams "you watched me die! The force 
  of her scream resonates through the room, 
  threatening to knock you off your feet.
  The girl's name is Sutha. Every round that 
  players are in the room, she will scream 
  "you watched me die!" Everyone in the room 
  when she screams must succeed on a DC 14 
  Constitution saving throw or be knocked back 
  by the force of the scream, slamming into the 
  nearest wall and taking 2d10 damage.
   
  When Sutha is exorcised, she becomes 
  very sad, asking the party why the gods let 
  children die. If the party talks to Eunice about 
  this, she will mention that when you get as old 
  as she is, you see plenty of people die.
  
   
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  5 - BOLTON'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  Bolton will return to his room when the party 
  leaves the foyer. If he was exorcised in Room 2, 
  he sits crying, saying that he should be nicer to 
  Ms. Windermere, though he doesn't know why. 
  If he was not exorcised, he will keep repeating 
  that "all shall pay for their transgressions."
  6 - STORAGE CLOSET
  ______________________________________
  A small storage cabinet. A small larder is filled 
  with dried foods, the only food that can be found 
  in the house.
  7 - UPPER LANDING
  ______________________________________
  The stairway leads to the upstairs hallway, 
  where the groans of more possessed children 
  can be heard.
  8 - CORNELL'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A changeling child floats in the air a foot 
  above its bed, their featureless gray body 
  spinning lazily. They look at you as you enter 
  the room, screaming that "the first chance 
  was wasted; there will never be another." As 
  their words resonate in the room, you feel 
  gravity begin to give way underneath you.
  The child's name is Cornell. Every round that 
  players are in the room he will shout again: "the 
  first chance was wasted; there will never be 
  another." Every time Cornell shouts, everyone 
  in the room must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity 
  saving throw to grab onto an object, or be 
  lifted 10 feet in the air and then dropped to the 
  ground, taking damage from the fall.
   
  If Cornell is exorcised, they begin crying 
  and tell the party the story of their parents dying 
  in a fire. Cornell asks if they could have done 
  more, becoming overwhelmed with emotion 
  and crying that they should have done more 
  to save them. If Eunice is asked about what 
  the spirit within Cornell was shouting, she will 
  bitterly respond that sometimes when you fail 
  the first time, you never get a second chance.
  9 - GABBY'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A human girl lies on the bed, laughing in a 
  guttural voice. She points at you as you enter 
  the room, shouting that "all shall feel the 
  boy’s pain!" As her green eyes bore into yours, 
  you feel your lungs begin to spasm as they 
  begin to fill with water.
  The girl's name is Gabby. When the party 
  enters the room, their lungs begin to fill with 
  water and they begin drowning. A character 
  must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving 
  throw to end the effect, realizing that they are 
  not actually drowning. As long as the character 
  believes they are drowning, they take 1d8 force 
  damage at the beginning of every turn that they 
  remain in the room and are restrained. They 
  can repeat the saving throw at the end of each 
  turn. A character who has ended the effect on 
  themselves can use their action to attempt to 
  help other party members with their saving 
  throws, if they can think up a creative way to do 
  so.
   
  If Gabby is exorcised, she will gasp as 
  if coming up for air after being underwater. 
  She says that she is glad that Ms. Windermere 
  wasn't in the room to watch her drown, though 
  she doesn't know why he feels that way. If 
  Eunice is told about the incident, she is visibly 
  shaken. She tells the party they can keep 
  visiting the children, but she needs a moment 
  alone, and heads up to the roof (Room 11).
  
   
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  10 - WINSTON'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  As you enter the room, you see a young boy 
  standing in the corner. He turns to face you, 
  raising his hand to point in your direction. 
  "You are unfit to be a mother. You are unfit 
  to have a child." His eyes blaze red as he 
  advances on you, repeating the same phrase 
  again and again as the words hammer into 
  your brain, searing you from within.
  The boy's name is Winston. At the beginning of 
  every player's turn while they are in the room, 
  they take 1d8 fire damage as Winston keeps 
  repeating the phrase. If the door is open and 
  Eunice has not yet went to the roof, the party 
  will hear her cry out that it was all her fault and 
  run away when she hears Winston.
   
  If Winston is exorcised, he will tell the 
  party that poor Ms. Windermere isn't really to 
  blame. She just needs to stop punishing herself. 
  He's not sure why he feels that way. 
  11 - ROOF
  ______________________________________
  Eunice stands on the ledge of the roof, crying. 
  A spectral version of herself floats above her, 
  angrily screaming. "You let your child die. You 
  gave your life's blood to the river and stood by 
  as he drowned. The gods curse you, Eunice 
  Windermere, for failing your son."
   
  Eunice sobs as the spectre lashes out 
  at her, teetering on the edge of the roof. When 
  she sees you she cries out, "stay away from 
  me. I let my son die. I have no right to live."
  The specter is a banshee. It will continue 
  lashing out at Eunice, attempting to drive her 
  off the edge. It will not attack the party unless 
  attacked. The party can attempt to engage the 
  specter in combat or can attempt to talk Eunice 
  down.
   
  If the party attempts to talk Eunice 
  down, they must make three successful checks 
  to convince her she is not to blame. The DC 
  of these checks begins as 14 and increases 
  by 3 with each successful check. Once a 
  successful check has been made, the party 
  may not succeed with the same type of check. 
  Examples of ways to talk Eunice down include 
  a Charisma (Persuasion) check to show Eunice 
  the good she has done in her son's name, an 
  Intelligence (Nature) check to convince her 
  the stream was too fast moving and she could 
  have done nothing, a Strength (Athletics) check 
  to physically pull her away from the edge. Any 
  imaginative idea should be encouraged.
  
   
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  Once the encounter begins, the party has 
  three rounds to resolve it. If the party engages 
  the specter in combat, it will continue berating 
  Eunice on its turn, as well as defending itself 
  against the party. After three full rounds (or if 
  Eunice is convinced or the specter is defeated), 
  read the appropriate outcome from the choices 
  below.
  If Eunice is convinced that she is not to blame, 
  read the following:
  Bolstered by your words, Eunice rises to her 
  feet to face the specter. "I loved my son. He 
  died. And I've wasted my life blaming myself 
  instead of focusing on that love."
   
  The specter's face begins to melt away 
  with a shriek, beams of light piercing through 
  the darkness. As you watch, the specter fades 
  away, replaced with the glowing image of a 
  cherubic young boy. He embraces Eunice, 
  tears streaming from her eyes as he fades 
  away.
   
  Eunice runs downstairs as the 
  children come crying out of the room. She 
  gathers them up in her arms, embracing 
  them tightly and promising that things are 
  going to be different from now on, that they 
  will all be a family.
  If the specter is killed, read the following:
  With a final blow, you banish the specter. 
  The darkness that comprises it writhes and 
  swirls, turning into a funnel of energy that 
  shoots back into Eunice's heart, disappearing 
  back into the headmistress.
   
  Eunice straightens herself, wiping the 
  tears from her eyes. "If you'll excuse me, I 
  have an orphanage to run." She pushes past 
  you, back into the orphanage. "Children, this 
  is no excuse for untidiness. I expect your 
  rooms to be straightened right away, or don't 
  expect any dinner."
  If the specter is still alive and Eunice has not 
  been convinced, read the following:
  The specter gathers itself up into a dark 
  cloud, whirling around Eunice. The mist 
  coalesces into the shadowy form of a young 
  boy. "You let me die, Mother. You do not 
  deserve my memory. You do not deserve life 
  when I have none."
   
  Eunice moans, backing away from 
  the image of her son. Her left foot moves 
  backwards to take another step, but she is 
  already past the ledge, dropping her foot into 
  nothingness as she tumbles off the roof with 
  a sickening thud. The specter shimmers and 
  disappears as Eunice dies, taking her grief 
  with her.
  SHADY ACRES 
  HOME FOR THE AGED 
  A tall building of crumbling brick with a faded 
  sign that reads "Shady Acres: A Home for the 
  Aged." A cart is parked in front of the home. 
  From the rooftop, you can hear the wild 
  music of a master flute player.
  • 
  Map.  Tenement House
  • 
  Tone.  Light
  • 
  Playstyle.  Social
  • 
  Max CR.  1/2
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  Susan Muller of Muller Fine Ale offers 
  to pay the party to assist her delivery 
  man. He's at the old folks' home, but 
  she needs him to get to the palace right 
  away.
  • 
  A person in town is worried that their 
  parent is too sad in the old folks' home 
  they live in and request that the party 
  go visit, play some music and cheer 
  them up.
   
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  A middle aged man smokes a pipe, leaning 
  against his cart. He looks over as you 
  approach. "You folks mind giving me a hand? 
  I've got to get these kegs up to the roof, but 
  my old back is tired and I've still got to make 
  a delivery at the palace. Happy to pay you for 
  it!"
   
  A haggard looking woman in a prim 
  dress that is unbuttoned almost to her waist 
  looks down from the roof. She tosses a 
  handful of gold coins down and shouts, "bring 
  it up already, we're running dry up here!" 
  With a laugh, she pulls back out of view as 
  the sound of a flute begins to play wildly.
  The merchant's name is Kip (stat as a 
  commoner). He offers the party 25 gold to 
  take the two barrels up to the roof, which he'll 
  pay once the barrels have been delivered. If 
  the party agrees to take the barrels, Kip will 
  disappear the second they take the barrels into 
  the house, taking the money he promised with 
  him.
   
  A perceptive character (Passive 
  Perception of 14 or higher) will notice that 
  the woman on the roof looked exceptionally 
  tired and dangerously drunk. A character who 
  succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Nature) 
  check notices that the music sounds like the 
  music of the fey.
  2 - COMMON ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A small sitting room with a hearth. The fire is 
  out, and the room is littered drinking glasses. 
  The smell of spilled ale is heavy. A framed 
  slate board labeled "weekly activities" hangs 
  near the door to the hallway. The list has 
  been crudely wiped out, and a strong hand 
  has written "party til you drop!" A very frail 
  looking old human woman is sprawled on the 
  floor next to the hearth.
  The woman, Alberta, (stat as a commoner) 
  is passed out from exhaustion. Her feet are 
  blistered and bleeding. If she receives healing 
  from any source or anyone succeeds on a DC 
  14 Wisdom (Medicine) check to revive her, she 
  will wake up. A successful DC 17 Intelligence 
  (Arcana or Nature) check reveals that she 
  seems to be under the effect of some type of 
  enchantment magic.
   
  If the party is able to convince her to rest, 
  she will ask them to take her to her room (Room 
  5). She does not have any memory of what 
  happened to her, but she is insistent that she 
  needs to "have a little lie down to get my spirits 
  up for the dance contest later."
  3 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  A cozy hallway with idyllic landscapes 
  painted directly onto the plaster. Small 
  wooden signs above the doors are painted 
  with the names of the occupants. You can 
  hear enticing music coming faintly from 
  upstairs.
  4 - WIDOW ADELSON'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The wooden sign over this door reads 
  "Miss Adelson’s Room." A neat desk sits in 
  the corner. Much of the room is taken up 
  by simple but comfortable looking feather 
  bed,and a sturdy looking hardwood chest.
  On the desk is an unfinished letter to Nohlan 
  Wheelmaker, Jr. stating that payment for his 
  father's rent has not yet arrived. The letter trails 
  off as if the writer were interrupted.
   
  The chest is locked, requiring a 
  successful DC 13 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or 
  Strength (Athletics) check to open. Inside is 
  47gp, a small gold locket painted with a rosy 
  cheeked blonde woman and a bearded young 
  man, and a silver music box worth 10gp.
  
   
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  5 - ALBERTA & WENDY'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The sign on the door of the room reads 
  "Alberta and Wendy's Room." Inside are two 
  beds and two footlockers. Next to one of the 
  beds is a picture of Alberta with her children 
  when they were younger. Next to the other is 
  an extensive collection of mounted butterflies.
  If the party convinced Alberta to rest, she will 
  follow them to this room and lay down in her 
  bed, still kicking her feet to the rhythm of the 
  flute. If she is in the room, she will scold anyone 
  who attempts to rifle through the footlockers.
   
  Inside Alberta's footlocker is an old set 
  of performer's clothes, a dulcimer and a sack 
  containing 3gp. Inside Wendy's footlocker is two 
  nets, a comprehensive book on insects and a 
  bottle of fine sherry.
  6 - STORAGE CLOSET
  ______________________________________
  A small closet that holds dried foods, a mop and 
  bucket, and a tin bathtub stood up on its side.
  7 - STAIRS AND HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  The flute music grows louder as you 
  approach the stairs. You hear an old man 
  grumbling wordlessly at the top of the stairs. 
  As you climb the first steps, an old half-orc 
  man holding two canes comes tumbling down 
  the stairs with a crash.
  If the person leading the way up the stairs 
  succeeds on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, 
  they will catch the old man and steady him. 
  Otherwise, everyone on the stairs will tumble 
  down, taking 1d8 damage.
   
  The old man is Nohlan Wheelmaker 
  (stat as a commoner). He is almost completely 
  deaf, but he can read lips reasonably well, 
  understanding about half of what the party is 
  saying. He woke up from a nap and everyone 
  was gone. He does not speak, but has a small 
  slate hanging around his neck that he writes on. 
  He is completely unaffected by whatever magic 
  has enraptured the rest of the residents.
  8 - MERK'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The wooden sign on the door reads "Merk's 
  Room." A sandalwood chest sits at the foot 
  of the bed with a tattered leather banner 
  hanging over it that reads "Mad Merk's Spice 
  Boutique. Merk beats anyone's advertised 
  price or your mustard is free!"
  Inside the chest is a hand crossbow with 10 
  bolts, a leather pouch containing 10gp and a 
  collection of exotic spices. There is a letter from 
  Merk's daughter saying she's sorry the meals 
  have been so awful in the home, but she'll keep 
  sending lots of fancy spices to make them better 
  if that's what he needs.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  9 - NOHLAN & BORD'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The sign above the door reads "Nohlan and 
  Bord's Room." Inside are two beds: one very 
  small and one very large. Next to the small 
  bed, a yellowed paper hangs on the wall, a 
  commendation for bravery during the "Sewer 
  Monster Incident." On a nightstand next to 
  the larger bed are a few tusks and animal 
  bones, scrimshawed and carved with intricate 
  patterns.
  A suitcase under the larger bed contains a 
  carving kit and a handmade holy symbol of 
  Kord. The scrinshawed tusks could be worth 
  15gp to an art collector.
  10 - BERTHA'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The sign above the door reads "Captain 
  Bertha's Room." The word "Captain" was 
  clearly added in later by a shakier hand. 
  A half completed ship in a bottle sits on a 
  wooden chest in the corner of the room.
  The chest is locked, requiring a successful 
  DC 13 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) or Strength 
  (Athletics) check to open. Inside is a set of 
  silken clothing worth 30gp of the fashion that a 
  pirate lord might wear. The chest also contains 
  a small metal lockbox that rattles with coins. 
  The lockbox has a masterwork lock and would 
  require a DC 26 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check 
  to open. Inside the lockbox is 1,500 gp.
  11 - ROOFTOP TERRACE
  ______________________________________
  The music of the flute hits you hard as you 
  walk out onto the rooftop, pulling your body 
  and forcing you to sway and swing to its 
  rhythm. A dwarven man cooks kebabs over a 
  hastily made fire as he swills a beer. A sharp-
  faced old woman with iron gray hair dunks 
  a bald man into a half full barrel of beer. 
  The prim woman in the unbuttoned dress 
  wanders over to you, dancing as if in a daze.
   
  Presiding over it all, a goat-legged man 
  capers jauntily, completely focused on the 
  powerful music he plays on his flute. 
  The creature playing the flute is a satyr with a 
  flute that plays a charming melody. As the party 
  enters the rooftop, they must succeed on a DC 
  13 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by 
  the music and forced to dance uncontrollably 
  for the next minute. At the end of the minute, 
  they must attempt the saving throw again, 
  with disadvantage. A creature that succeeds 
  on the saving throw is immune to the effect for 
  24 hours.  Every hour that a creature spends 
  dancing grants one level of exhaustion.
   
  The satyr is jovial and open to brief bits 
  of conversation between songs. A persuasive 
  argument accompanied by a successful DC 18 
  Charisma (Persuasion) check might convince 
  the satyr to leave, especially if the party agrees 
  to be in his debt. If the satyr is engaged in 
  combat it will defend itself, attempting to open 
  up a portal to the Feywild and escape if brought 
  to half health.
   
  If the satyr is run off, killed, or convinced 
  to leave, the residents will exit their daze. The 
  Widow Adelson will be mortified that her blouse 
  is mostly unbuttoned and her hair is down. 
  She will offer the party 30gp for the assistance. 
  All of the residents agree that despite their 
  exhaustion, this was a fun day and they should 
  throw some raging parties more often.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  SICK HOUSE
  A facility for the care of plague ridden and 
  terminally ill patients. The building is gated, 
  fenced and covered in painted quarantine 
  symbols
  • 
  Map.  Tenement House
  • 
  Tone.  Dark
  • 
  Playstyle.  Mixed
  • 
  Max CR.  3  
  • 
  Rumors.
  • 
  A person in town is worried about 
  one of their family members who 
  contracted a disease and are being 
  kept in the sick house. They'd like the 
  party to go and check in on them.
  • 
  An NPC that the party knows 
  disappears suddenly. The party is 
  informed that they contracted an 
  illness and have been taken to the sick 
  house for quarantine.
  1 - ENTRYWAY
  ______________________________________
  A large quarantine symbol is painted on 
  the door. A posted sign reads "WARNING: 
  Inhabitants are infected. If bringing newly ill, 
  please inquire within."
  2 - RECEPTION ROOM
  ______________________________________
  The receiving area is clean and sterile. A 
  brass bell sits on a table with a sign that 
  reads "ring for service."
  When the bell is rung, Bruce Lansdale will 
  rush in and greet the party. He is an older 
  human wearing a pristine white coat. Bruce 
  is a mummy who is able to retain some of 
  his humanity using dark magic. He radiates a 
  strong evil presence if a detect good and evil 
  spell is cast in his vicinity. Bruce carries a rod of 
  remove curse with two charges remaining and a 
  key to Room 11.
   
  Bruce will ask the party if they are ill, or 
  else what their business is. If the party requests 
  it, he will let them walk through the house with 
  his supervision, as long as they understand that 
  the residents are highly contagious and agree 
  that Bruce is not responsible if they contract 
  anything.
  THE TOUR
  If the party chooses to go into the house with 
  Bruce, he will guide them from room to room or 
  to the room of a specific resident of their choice, 
  as requested. At certain points, he will attempt 
  to casually brush up against the adventurers, 
  attempting to pass along his mummy rot 
  stealthily. When he attempts this, the party must 
  succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check 
  to notice his action. The touched party member 
  must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving 
  throw or contract mummy rot, as detailed in the 
  mummy entry in the Monster Manual.
   
  If any of the adventurers contract 
  mummy rot, Bruce will take them to the empty 
  beds in Rooms 9 and 10 and hook them up 
  to the machines that the other residents are 
  attached to. These machines drain 1 point of 
  Constitution from anyone attached to them 
  every 24 hours. Every point of Constitution 
  drained grants Bruce's rod of remove curse 
  one charge. A drained player gains one point of 
  Constitution back for every 24 hours of bed rest 
  once they have been detached from the tubes.
   
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  3 - HALLWAY
  ______________________________________
  As you enter the hallway, your nose is 
  assaulted with the sickly sweet smell of rot 
  and disinfectant.
  4 - DWARF'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A dwarven man lies in the bed, sleeping 
  fitfully. He is clearly weak and is sweating 
  profusely. A large metal contraption sits at his 
  bedside, attached to the sick man through a 
  series of tubes that transfer fluids back and 
  forth from the body to the machine.
  The dwarf is reaching the end of his life and 
  will not regain consciousness no matter what. 
  He can be heard mumbling in his sleep, what 
  sounds like fevered rambling and scattered 
  memories.
   
  A successful DC 16 Wisdom (Medicine) 
  check on any of the patients in the house 
  identifies the disease as mummy rot. Bruce 
  evades questions about mummies, saying he 
  remembers a string of attacks a few months 
  ago. 
   
  If asked about the machines, Bruce 
  explains that he needs to take the infected fluids 
  out of the patients and purify them to keep them 
  alive. A DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check on 
  the machines identifies that they are fueled by 
  necromantic magic.
  5 - HUMAN'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A human woman sits stock still, attached to 
  a siphoning machine. As you enter the room, 
  she begins to scream. "Please, I beg you, free 
  me from these machines. They're killing me! 
  Please!"
  Bruce will explain (falsely) that the woman is 
  hallucinating from her illness and attributing 
  the pain of her body deteriorating to the 
  machines. The woman will continue to beg to 
  be released. She is beyond reason from pain 
  and will not answer questions. She begins to 
  shout at Bruce that he is killing her, at which 
  point he turns a dial on the machine and the 
  woman drops into a sedated sleep.
  6 - STORAGE CLOSET
  ______________________________________
  The storage closet is stacked neatly with 
  gauze and spare sheets. A few shelves hold the 
  possessions of the patients, including an ornate 
  greataxe, a silver ring and 45gp.
  7 - UPPER LANDING
  ______________________________________
  The stairs lead up to the second floor hallway, 
  where the smell of rot and disinfectant abates a 
  bit, but is still present.
  8 - HALF ORC'S ROOM
  ______________________________________
  A half orc woman lies calmly in bed with her 
  hands clasped over her chest. "Hello, Doctor" 
  she says are Bruce enters the room. "I think 
  I'm feeling a bit better today."
   
  "That's good, Brunetta," Bruce replies. 
  "I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no 
  time."
  Brunetta (stat as a berserker), makes pleasant 
  conversation with the party. She is in pain, 
  but she's bearing it as well as she can. As the 
  party makes to leave the room, Brunetta grabs 
  the hand of the last person to leave. Read the 
  following:
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  Brunetta grabs your hand firmly, stopping 
  you from leaving as her eyes follow Bruce 
  out of the room. "Listen to me," she says in 
  an intense whisper. "He is a monster and he 
  needs to die. I swear this to you. Get me my 
  axe and I'll do it myself if I have to."
  If the party tells Bruce what Brunetta said, he 
  will sigh sadly, saying that she is always trying 
  to escape, but she is too weak. He'll go in and 
  dial up the sedation on the machines as she 
  rages, quickly sinking into sleep.
   
  If the party brings Brunetta her axe 
  from Room 6, she will immediately cut her 
  tubes, roaring in anger as she feels her strength 
  returning. She will rush at Bruce, slicing him 
  open and revealing that he does not bleed. He 
  will laugh and attack the party once he has been 
  revealed.
  9/10 - EMPTY ROOMS
  ______________________________________
  These rooms contain empty beds next to the 
  same machines as the other rooms. If Bruce 
  manages to infect anyone with mummy rot, he 
  will bring them to these rooms and attach them 
  to machines. See the "The Tour" section in 
  Room 1 for the effects of the machines.
  11 - ROOFTOP
  __________________________________
  The door to the roof is locked, 
  requiring Bruce's key or a 
  successful DC 18 Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) or Strength 
  (Athletics) check. If the party 
  asks Bruce about going up to 
  the roof, he insists that it is too 
  dangerous and will not let them 
  up there. If they manage to open 
  the door while Bruce is alive, he 
  will reveal himself and attack. If 
  the party enters the rooftop, read 
  the following:
  The rooftop is enclosed with a thick mesh, 
  obscuring vision from the outside. An ornate 
  sarcophagus sits in the center of the room, 
  door ajar.
  Inside the sarcophagus is a gold statue worth 
  450gp, as well as a bejeweled +1 dagger. If 
  the sarcophagus is destroyed, Bruce will 
  crumble to ash. A successful DC 18 Intelligence 
  (History) check on the sarcophagus will cause 
  the player to remember a story about a king 
  from an ancient time who had his body 
  embalmed when he died, hoping to 
  someday be reanimated and rule 
  again. Apparently his wish was partly 
  granted.
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  MAPS
  HOUSE - MANOR
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HOUSE - PEASANT'S
  HOUSE - RURAL (ONE STORY)
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  HOUSE - RURAL (TWO STORY)
  MERCHANT'S TOWNHOUSE
  
   
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  URBAN ENCOUNTERS: SHOPS & HOUSES
  SHOP
  TENEMENT HOUSE
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Richie Root/Richie Root - Urban Encounters - Shops & Houses.pdf