Lamentations of the Flame Princess No Dignity in Death The Three Brides.pdf

Presents

James Edward Raggi IV

Adventure for Low-Level Characters

No Dignity in Death

The Three Brides

LAMENTATIONS OF THE FLAME PRINCESS presents a JAMES EDWARD RAGGI IV production “NO DIGNITY IN DEATH: THE THREE BRIDES” starring YOU writing by JAMES EDWARD RAGGI IV artwork by LAURA JALO

proofreading by MARIA KYYTINEN compatible with existing FIRST edition, ORIGINAL edition, and "BASIC edition" FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAMES, as well as modern "clone" games including LABYRINTH LORD TM ,

OSRIC TM , and SWORDS & WIZARDRY TM . Labyrinth Lord TM is copyright 2007, Daniel Proctor. Labyrinth Lord TM and Advanced Labyrinth Lord TM are trademarks of Daniel Proctor. These trademarks are used under the

Labyrinth Lord TM Trademark License 1.0 available at www.goblinoidgames.com… This product uses the OSRIC TM System (Old School System Reference and Index Compilation TM ). The OSRIC system text may be

found at http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric. The OSRIC text is copyright of Stuart Marshall. “OSRIC” and “Old School Reference and Index Compilation,” are trademarks of Matthew Finch and Stuart Marshall

and may be used only in accordance with the OSRIC license. This product is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast… Swords & Wizardry, S&W, and Mythmere Games are the trademarks of Matthew J. Finch. This

product is not affiliated with Matthew J. Finch or Mythmere Games TM …

Lamentations of the Flame Princess and LotFP are TRADEMARKS owned by JAMES EDWARD RAGGI IV

Author’s Notes

This module was originally run as three unconnected adventures in my home campaigns in both Vaasa and

Helsinki, with the three parts being run a total of five times. Of all the adventures I could have chosen to be

part of this module, I selected these not only because of the common theme of the brides and the fact that

each involved a small town as either the adventure location or the base from which to adventure, but because

each adventure was seen as unusual by most of the participants.

There are lengthy NPC descriptions and detailed back story for each section of this module. At no point

should this back story at all suggest any sort of script for players to follow, and there is no impetus to relay

any of this background information to players who do not indicate a desire to hear it and whose characters

never put themselves in a situation to learn it. It is here merely to better inform the referee of the forces that

have brought everyone to the important point for game purposes – the introduction of the PCs into the

situation. By knowing the history of the area and the different situations, the referee can better choose

particular NPCs’ reactions to the players’ actions. The overall “story” of the adventure will only be known

after the fact, and the referee should not encourage any particular resolution. It is solely the players’

responsibility to consciously move towards resolutions that will be satisfying for them; the NPCs have their

own agendas. Discovering what happens, for the referee and players both, is the entirety of what the game is

and undue direction towards a specific goal subverts the very purpose of playing.

Just a note about the gypsies in this adventure. When I first moved to Finland, I noted the local “gypsy”

population was not well thought-of by the public at large. Not having ever seen these people in the States,

and thinking that Europe was supposed to be far more enlightened, I was fascinated by the whole thing. I

decided to make the victims in an adventure gypsies, just to see what my Finnish players would do with that

setup. But I don’t know anything about the real-life culture, and the adventure is in no way social

commentary or trying to teach a moral lesson about racism. I intentionally made the gypsies as “Hollywood”

as possible, with any resemblance to any real-life ethnicity superficial, to keep that distance between real life

and the fictional idea of gypsies. The 1941 version of The Wolf Man and the Ultima computer games were

what influenced some of the characteristics of the gypsies in this adventure, combined with the kind of

antics that traveling entertainers indulge in. I know this caricature depiction of gypsies has been ill-received

in other games, and I thought a word of explanation about their appearance here would be in order.

I had a great time putting my groups through these situations and finding out what happens. I’d like to hear

what happens when you run No Dignity in Death. Drop me a line at lotfp@lotfp.com and let me know.

I dedicate this work to Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, John Eric Holmes, Tom Moldvay, Dave Cook, Steve

Marsh, and Frank Mentzer – the chief architects of the house that my imagination has inhabited for over a

quarter of a century.

James Edward Raggi IV

July 13, 2009

Helsinki, Finland

Pembrooktonshire

Overview

Pembrooktonshire is a sleepy, peaceful, out of the way mountain town that should be able to be placed in

any campaign world that has a medieval flavor. Because the town is out of the way and isolated, even details

that do not mesh precisely with the rest of a campaign world may be retained and excused due to ‘local

eccentricities.’ There will be no follow-up done for this module or any character herein, so any great

changes or mayhem wrought to the area is limited only by your imagination and events in your campaign

world stemming from this adventure will never be contradicted.

Approximately 2000 people live in Pembrooktonshire, and it has a high-grade manufacturing economy.

Their craftsmen are highly skilled and fetch high prices amongst the wealthy throughout the realm, and the

people here have quite a progressive stance on social welfare, so the standard of living is quite comfortable,

even for the hardest working laborer. They are far off enough off the beaten track to never be involved in

wars, and somehow even with all their riches, bandits and other organized criminals have never been a

problem in Pembrooktonshire. However, while the populace is well educated in civic and mercantile

matters, they are not so prepared to face trouble. Every person (with just a couple of exceptions, which are

given in the adventure texts, but even these are merely first level) living in the town is level 0 and are at a

further -1 on all to-hit rolls in combat.

Rumors

Each PC knows one random rumor (which may be false!) from the following table before beginning the

adventure:

1. Pembrooktonshire, despite being on the very edges of civilization, knows no hardship.

2. Prospectors sometimes use Pembrooktonshire as a base from which to explore the mountains, but they

often never return.

3. The residents of Pembrooktonshire are very ignorant.

4. The residents of Pembrooktonshire are all pacifists and vegetarians.

5. Pembrooktonshire is fairly well known for its orchards and fruit-based spirits, and high-end craftwork.

6. A prestigious bookbinding company is based in Pembrooktonshire.

7. The mountains beyond Pembrooktonshire have many caves and legends exist telling of ruins of an

ancient civilization somewhere in the mountain range.

8. Beware the priests, for they will steal your soul!

9. The guards of Pembrooktonshire are eager to receive bribes.

10. The Last Stop is the only place for a visitor to Pembrooktonshire to receive a decent meal and place to

stay.

11. The people of Pembrooktonshire are very cultured, and custom and manner are the most important

things in their lives.

12. Everyone in Pembrooktonshire is a werewolf… bring silver.

13. The entire town is under a terrible curse. Stay away!

14. Larson’s Raiders, the baddest bandit horde in the land, went to scout Pembrooktonshire a few years

ago… and disappeared without a trace.

15. “My grandfather did some construction work up in the mountains years ago. If you find yourself in the

mountain house, look for the secret room next to the study!”

16. Pembrooktonshire produces the best apple wine – indulge!

17. Pembrooktonshire’s apple wine will give you the runs and lay you up for a week – avoid it!

18. Never compete with a Pembrooktonshireman in sports.

19. The evil in Pembrooktonshire is more insidious than any devil, more malignant than any demon.

20. “You’re going where ? Don’t go into the hills at night…”

Getting Along in Pembrooktonshire

The locals have several laws and customs which will be of immediate concern to adventurers.

Anyone wearing armor of any sort (leather armor doesn’t look like clothing) around town, or carrying any

sort of weapon (a utility knife or staff will not draw this attention) will be stopped by the local guard.

Refusing to disarm is seen as proof that the offender is planning trouble, and anyone refusing to disarm will

be apprehended by the guard and thrown in the stocks. If there is any resistance to this, there will be

violence, and townsfolk will generally form a mob if anyone is taking down their guards. And that would

attract the Knight (see below) in short order… Any outsiders causing trouble will find themselves

completely unwelcome in town. Any attempts to talk to a villager after this will be met with rudeness and a

direct command to go away, with calls for the guard if this is not heeded. All the guards have whistles

hanging around their necks for summoning help.

“Passing through” or saying they are equipped to go into the mountains is not a valid excuse PCs can use.

The locals will be strongly against anyone going into the mountains. Of course it is perfectly possible to

sneak about (and out of) town at night, but during the day a group is not going to make it through town in

the direction of the mountains without being challenged.

Pembrooktonshirefolk have indeed developed an overactive sense of courtesy, and the proper form, as well

as intent, is important. The natives will all speak to each other in over-exaggerated phrases if they are not

fast friends, and will often smirk and giggle and glance at each other when speaking to foreigners, as the

foreigners are continually and constantly breaking small rules of local etiquette.

The townsfolk believe in the superiority of their way of life and the bloodlines of the people. Outsiders who

move to town will never fully be accepted in society, including those that marry a local (an exceedingly rare

occurrence). Even the children and grandchildren of such a couple will be branded an outsider by those old

enough to remember that one parent is indeed such. Children of outsider couples are themselves also treated

as outsiders. The town’s bigotry on this matter is especially sharp when it comes to demi-humans. Elfs,

dwarfs, and halflings are treated as if they are malformed humans, and are subjected to slurs and insults

(often based on height, or ear-shape).

When speaking to villagers beyond the realm of regular small talk and chit-chat, remember to make reaction

rolls for the NPCs. A bad roll may not necessarily mean that the character won’t talk, but it may mean that

they feel intimidated or bullied, and may report the interrogation to the watch or the Knight afterwards. A

positive reaction also doesn’t necessarily mean that the character will freely tell everything they know, but

they may rather offer their secrets for a price instead of having the PCs needing to guess what they know and

then tricking the information out of them. Also remember that people are not likely to discuss painful or

sensitive information with strangers unless they are given good reason.

Prices in Pembrooktonshire will be 10% higher than normal for foreigners, and of the three pubs in town

(The Squicky Wicket, The Good Shepherd, and The Last Stop), only The Last Stop will serve foreigners.

The other two bars won’t say “get out,” but will repeatedly bring the wrong orders, bring food/drink with

trash in it, or other things to cause complaint, the answer to which will be (especially at midday when no

other patrons are present), “Sorry, we’re so busy it’s easy to make mistakes, maybe you should try another

establishment.”

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