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Roguish Roles

"We can't just stay here skulking in the alley," Palin whispered.... "We should leave now, while it's quiet, before the knights come back."

Usha was silent long moments, then said, "There's another way, a safer way, but you won't like it."

"Why?" Palin asked, chilled. "What is it?"

Usha tossed her silver hair. "The Thieves' Way, it's called..."

- Into the sewers of Palanthas, Dragons of Summer Flame

From the docks of Sanction to the sewers beneath Palanthas, Ansalon is criss-crossed with signs of defiance. This chapter describes how to introduce these elements into FIFTH AGE games and takes a look at the underground activity raging throughout the land.

Creating Intrigue

The unique nature of adventures that center around intrigue calls for a word of advice to both Narrators and players.

Selecting the Villain

In choosing a villain for a game of intrigue, a Narrator must think about more than just whether to use a master, a minion, or a few of each (as described in Chapter Two of the Book of the Fifth Age). The villain's background and personality should reflect the game's desired tone. Should a Narrator choose a dangerous schemer over a seductive vixen or an honorable powermonger? All of the above would make excellent master villains but they would produce campaigns very different in mood.

In any case, the chosen villain should have complex motivations. Pure greed isn't very interesting, but the twisted ravings of a madman can be too hard for the heroes to relate to. The rational villain is often the most interesting. Next the Narrator must ask, what does a villain with these motivations really want? What's his goal?

As deception is key to intrigue, the villain often conceals his identity, motivation, and nature. He may purposely adopt an inoffensive appearance and benign personality just to throw the heroes off guard. He may even set up one of his own minions to look like the real mastermind. In any case, the heroes must wade through many layers of duplicity to learn who their foe really is.

Structuring the Intrigue

Once the Narrator has selected the villain, he needs to decide, based on the character's goal, what does he do? Of course, he won't go about achieving his goal in a straightforward manner. What tricks does he use to cover up his activities? How does he direct attention away from himself? How do the heroes stumble onto his scheme? What is his backup plan if they foil Plan A? The answers to these questions come together to form the adventure's main plot.

Subplots can derive from the villain's misdirections. For instance, a dupe the villain uses as a cover for some of his activities might find his fate in some way linked to that of one of the heroes. And no plan is perfect, either - a minion in charge of creating a diversion might make a crucial mistake and provide the heroes with a clue, as they peel away layer after layer of the mystery.

The consequences of the foe's actions also can inspire interesting subplots. Plus, bringing the heroes face to face with the effects of the Evil scheme can make them feel personally involved in fighting the villain - what better motivation do they need than the abuse of innocents or the death of a beloved character?

Narrating the Intrigue

A Narrator must set a mood of mystery appropriate to an intrigue - and that means doing more than just dimming the lights and playing spooky music. One technique is to make the heroes unsure of whom they can trust. Is the innkeep really what he seems? Why did that knight give them a funny look? When everyone they meet seems to have a motive to oppose them, the heroes get paranoid, and tension mounts.

However, limiting betrayals and secret agendas to characters quickly leads the players to distrust only them. The Narrator should also encourage heroes to conspire among themselves. While players shouldn't seek to undermine each other's heroes, a few hidden agendas or false demeanors (as described in the next chapter) can create that "trust no one" atmosphere to great effect.

Pacing is another important point to consider. After all, players will get frustrated if their heroes keep running into dead ends or face a lack of action. On the other hand. Narrators should not rely too heavily on combat in this kind of adventure. They instead should force the heroes - and players - to think. A major discovery at the right time makes them feel as though they have outsmarted the villain and will spur them on like no battle ever could.

Staging Cons

Roguish heroes, who frequently have to survive on their wits alone, more often than not choose to trick their way past characters rather than take them on in a toe-to-toe fight. Con games and other deceptions are part-and-parcel of game sessions revolving around rogues and other disreputable types. At the heart of any con lies the ability to convince someone that a hero can make good on something that seems too good to be true.

When heroes attempt to use trickery, the Narrator should keep one thing in mind: He is not matching wits with the players, the characters are. The heroes' con - such as tricking a merchant in league with the Dark Knights to give them evidence of his nefarious entanglements - might temporarily derail the Narrator's plans for a portion of the game. Nonetheless, if the heroes act cleverly and the merchant has no reason to doubt them, the con might succeed. As the Narrator is not playing to win or lose, it's okay for the heroes to pull the wool over a character's eyes - as long as their story could reasonably convince that character.

A Narrator should use card play only to augment the drama of a con. For instance, he could let the aura of a randomly drawn card determine whether a character catches on, but it would be better to just let the con succeed if the role-playing seems convincing. Having the heroes attempt Presence actions opposed by a character's Reason (or Intellect) can speed up the pace.

Below are some ideas for con games heroes might pull on their adversaries or just to make a quick steel piece or two.

- Conning the Conner: Con artists can be easy marks, as they're always looking to make some quick coin and, as crooks themselves, they can't exactly run to the law after getting taken. The best way for heroes to con a con artist is to turn his own scam against him, such as convincing a phony seer that he has incurred the wrath of spirits for his trickery.
- Swindles: After convincing a mark he's getting a product for a certain sum, the hero fails to deliver. Say a hero sells the Dark Knights fifty crates of dwarven weapons. However, only two crates contain the goods - the rest hold rocks. The trick is ensuring that the Knights check only the right boxes, then making a fast escape.
- Quackery: Some heroes sell potions with supposed healing powers that in fact do nothing at all - they may even do harm. Usually, these schemes require the con artist to have an accomplice who appears to suffer from an ailment the treatment cures.
- Forgery: Counterfeiting, falsifying identity papers, even replacing stolen jewelry with replicas - these forgeries force a hero to attempt Reason and Dexterity actions to apply the necessary craftsmanship. The difficulty varies based on working conditions and the job's complexity.

Underground Ansalon

This section takes a look at major centers of resistance in Fifth Age Ansalon. While not a complete tally of potential underground groups, the survey provides a sampling to inspire Narrators. Each entry identifies the leaders of the groups at a particular location (locales in italics are referenced on the map on page 33) and details their objectives.

The Dragon Realms

Life in some draconic realms remains nearly unchanged from past ages - many peasants in Skie's realm feel they have merely traded one lord for another. Elsewhere, such as in Malys's realm, life has become unbearable. Yet each land harbors those who chafe at the yoke of oppression and work to throw it off.

Beryllinthranox the Green

To the casual observer, Speaker Gilthas and his mother Laurana seem staunch supporters of the Green Dragon who occupies Qualinesti and the Dark Knights that serve her. In truth, the two secretly lead the elven resistance. Many nights find Laurana (Qualinesti adult female, inspiring demeanor, Legend, 2 ) sneaking from the Tower of the Sun in Qualinost to help teams cause "accidents" at enemy strongholds or to communicate plans to loyalists in other realms.

Gilthas (Qualinesti young male, serious demeanor, Hero, 2 ) does his part as well. His secret plans to evacuate his people through the new dwarven tunnel system proceed as fast as Thorbardin's miners can delve escape routes to secure positions in Abanasinia and elsewhere. With the completion of the tunnel system, Gil plans to stage an exodus right out from under the boots and claws of Qualinesti's oppressors. The Speaker also coordinates more immediate, if slower, evacuation efforts with the Master of the Tower (human adult male, thoughtful demeanor, Legend) in nearby Wayreth Forest. For several years. Beryl has used elven search parties in her attempts to locate the last Tower of High Sorcery. However, most groups vanish into the mysterious Wayreth Forest never to be heard from again: The Master offers them passage to free lands from which they can launch attacks. Annoyed with the disappearances. Beryl has begun to take the searchers' families hostage before they depart.

This latest move has spurred rebels loyal to the dark elf Porthios (Qua- linesti adult male, distant demeanor, Hero, 6 ) to step up their hit-and-run attacks on Beryl's minions. The former Speaker knows Gilthas secretly opposes the Green Dragon but nonetheless keeps a close eye on his nephew; if he should ever come to suspect that Gil and Laurana have failed to act in the best interest of their people, he will devote all his efforts to destroying them both.

Khellendros the Blue

The adventure The Storm Over Krynn introduces Shen Korras (half-elf adult male, shrewd demeanor, Hero), a merchant and sorcerer headquartered in the town of Relgoth. In addition to his covert activities there, Korras has long supported the Citadel of Light. His agents in all major towns of the Blue's realm offer safe havens to Citadel mystics who have run afoul of the dragon's minions. Rumor says Korras even has Dark Knight spies, as he often knows a mystic has been marked for capture before the mystic himself does.

The Dark Knights' iron-fisted rule during the Summer of Chaos mobilized the cutthroats, murderers, and extortionists of the Palanthas Thieves Guild into action. They were aided by Daavyd Nelgard (human adult male, motivated demeanor, Champion), an Ergothian master thief dispatched from Gwynned to help the Palanthian resistance after Lord Ariakan executed local guild leader Lynched Geoffrey.

The coming of Skie made Nelgard's job both harder and easier. The Blue rescinded the Dark Knights' mandatory death sentence for all crimes, but also took other steps to restore the city to normalcy - a move that led some thieves to desert the guild. Legionnaire scout Rindia Rolanta (human adult female, cynical demeanor, Adventurer) suggested a plan to once again galvanize the city's underworld: assassinating Knight- Officer Elstone Kinsaid (human adult male, decisive demeanor, Adventurer), commander of the local garrison. The ensuing brutal crackdown will undoubtedly restore the guild's motivation.

As discussed in Chapter One, many Vingaard river pirates provide ready aid to rebels traveling by boat.

Malystryx the Red

The city of Flotsam became a true hodgepodge of races and cultures after the War of the Lance. Humans, kender, gnolls, and hobgoblins all lived together in harmony under the leadership of Toede (hobgoblin elder male, inspiring demeanor, Legend, 8 ), who emerged from the war something of a philosopher-statesman (to the surprise of those who "knew him when"). The inhabitants of Flotsam, loosely organized under the Silver Fox (half-elf elder male, open demeanor, Master), have managed to accomplish some remarkable feats, such as the destruction of the Great Red's secondary lair along the Blood Sea coast. Currently they plan a strike against Hollintress (red adult female dragon, murderous demeanor), Malys's favorite aide.

While bards across eastern Ansalon sing light-hearted songs of the exploits of the motley Flotsam crew, there's nothing funny about the struggles of a local enclave of afflicted kender trying to regain their former homeland. The attacks of Kronn Thistleknot (kender adult male, motivated demeanor, Master) on the Great Red's draconian minions and his efforts to map the Desolation (and identify dragon lairs) give hope to all in the realm. Heroes can often contact Kronn's band in Port Balifor.

Onysablet the Black

Legion of Steel members working near the City of Morning Dew on the border with Iyesta's realm frequently intercept the raiding parties that capture victims for her experiments. The Citadel of Light dispatches healers and animists to reverse the unnatural transformations the Black heaps upon the land and her victims.

The Free Realms

Most planning for rebel activity takes place in free lands. In fact, some former backwaters have emerged as centers for the struggle against the dragons.

Abanasinia

At the Academy of Sorcery near Solace, efforts are underway to unlock the secrets of the dragon overlords' ability to shape the land. Palin Majere (human adult male, impulsive demeanor, Legend, 1 ) ordered the study as part of his goal to expand his knowledge of Krynn's new magic. If sorcerers can understand the dragons' methods, they can undo much of the damage to the land.

In Solace as well as in Haven, the Legion of Steel works in an uneasy truce with Solamnic Knights to see Qualinesti refugees safely relocated.

Neraka

Under Nels Dargand (human adult male, observant demeanor, Adventurer), the Legion of Steel has placed a cell in the town of Neraka. Nels also has befriended one of the top aides to Governor-General Mirielle Abrena (human middle-aged female, commanding demeanor, Master, 6 ) and now seeks access to her invasion plans.

Sanction

Despite the firm grip Lord Governor Hogan Bight (human adult male, indomitable demeanor, Master) has on Sanction, both the Legion and the Solamnics have managed to infiltrate the city. Neither group sees how Bight can fend off the Great Dragons and Dark Knights without help. He must be a minion of the dragons, they surmise; work to expose him proceeds.

Their biggest hindrance, however, is each other. Whenever the clandestine Solamnic Knights think they've uncovered spies of the Lord Governor, they invariably find themselves on the trail of the covert Legionnaires, and vice-versa. The leaders of each group - Xavier Kross of the Legion (human adult male, fierce demeanor, Champion) and Karine Thasally of the Solamnics (half-elf young adult female, confident demeanor, Champion) - try to inform each other of their plans, but they still manage to trip over each other. Often they use Rose Knight Linsha Majere (human young adult female, confident demeanor, Adventurer, 3 ) as a go-between, as she is the only Knight known to most of the Legionnaires. Both Orders have forbidden their people in Sanction to work together, as their incautious zeal in the last attempt allowed the Dark Knights to wipe out both forces.

Teyr

The citizens of Teyr, Ansalon's only draconian realm, hate both their loss of freedom to Neraka and their forced participation in its coming invasion of the Estwilde and Nordmaar. Not long ago. Lord Kang (Bozak, practical demeanor, Champion) dispatched emissaries to the Solamnic Knights at North Keep in Nordmaar, seeking aid against the Dark Knights. Certain the request would fail, Kang set his second-in-command, Slith (Sivak, resourceful demeanor, Adventurer), to work covertly sabotaging Dark Knight equipment to slow down war efforts.

While the Solamnics' response was negative. Sir Reynol uth Sabar (human young adult male, impulsive demeanor, Adventurer) took pity upon the draconians. Resigning his place among North Keep's Sword Knights, Reynol took his retainers to Teyr. There, posing as an arms merchant, he secretly plans a massive strike with Kang and some human barbarians who prefer draconians to Dark Knights. Reynol hopes that once the Solamnics at North Keep see that Teyr genuinely opposes Neraka, they will support him. Anything else means death for Reynol and those with him.

Throt

Goblin freedom fighters originally from Sikk'et Hul in Northern Ergoth (see Chapter Four) have hooked up with members of the Legion of Steel in Haligoth. The Legionnaires would like to see a more stable buffer state between Neraka and Solamnia - one not predisposed to doing the Dark Knights' bidding. This combined group hopes to assassinate King Uhkrin of Throt (hobgoblin adult male, uncaring demeanor, Champion) and take control of the realm. Each night they free a few more goblins from the hobgoblins' slave pens and steal a few more weapons for their fighting force.

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