Intro
- Useful tool : http://www.timer-tab.com/
- Initial situation :
Since last time, players are looking for Eugène Clavicule, the Skeleton Merchant.
They are contacted by a local contact (Dr. Pierre Therici) who says that some corpses seems to disappear in Valfranc.
- Explanations :
Actually Eugène Clavicule is a person or an organisation quite powerful in Valfranc.
They sell drugs and poisons, they also produce counterfeit coins.
Their operation is structured as follow :
Their HQ and main hideout is in the subterranean catacombs of Valfranc.
That's where they produce the poisons and drugs as well as store them. They also store their profits there.
Their main reseller is a the fortune teller.
Their most sold product is some poisons that local merchants buy to shoot in each other's legs.
Another very profitable operation is the counterfeiting of silver coins.
They blackmail a powerful local templar and force him to ask his close friends to counterfeit coin at night.
They sneak some iron into the minting room through a hidden tunnel and dilute it in very small quantities into all the coins being minted. They then steal some silver and dilute it in large quantities to produce the counterfeit coins at night.
Those coins are used to finance their last activity : Corpse trafficking.
The Doctor Theobald Shuplice is one of their men who will look for anonymous corpses at the obituary department of the local medical university.
He will then pay for their funerals in coffins rather than common graves.
He will then exchange those coffins with coffins full or earth and store the corpses before shipping in a secret cave.
Being anonymous to begin with, those missing corpses are much less likely to be discovered.
At the end of the scenario, players should understand completely the operations of Eugène Clavicule, with very few unsolved mysteries.
- Unsolved mysteries :
Only few mysteries are unsolved at the end of the scenario :
-Why did Eugène buy corpses ? To ship where ? For what reason ?
-How did the templar die so suddenly ? How did he blackmail him ?
-Is Eugène a person or an organisation ?
Part 1 The obituary department
- Normal: Normal Département Nécrologique
Corpses disappear, players must find where before it's too late.
The university has a funeral home (place where the dead are put right after the death) In this funeral home are transferred all the dead on the public highway, to check for new epidemies Then a necropsy is done without opening the corpse Then is made a mortuary toilet called thanatopraxis before casketing
Atmosphere track
- 10min-Some students pass in all the rooms to spread smoke. It's called fulmigation. The point is to try to disinfect.
- 30min-Teachers are found studying an open corpse. Players can choose to prosecute them or not.
- 45min-There is a currency that only serves during the fair. The penny of the Vale. The currency is minted by the Templars of the area. It's a privilege given to the city, as to avoid currency problems during the fair.
At this point, their contact informs them that Eugène Clavicule has reserved a booth for the fair.
- 60min-A medical monster moves on the streets. He is heavily deformed. He was invited by professors to be examined.
- 75min-A person wakes up during his necropsy and dies right after. Explain that, in the middle age, it was very hard to know if someone was dead or not.
- 100min-
At the end of the atmosphere track, if the players still haven't found the cave. Their contact understands that the doctor Shuplice gave counterfeit coins each time he paid for funerals. They have to start investigate that immediately.
Penalty if they reach the end of the atmosphere track : They won't get reinforcements.
Scenario track
Their goal is to find out what's going on in this obituary department. If they discover the origin, they have reinforcements.
Their contact, Dr. Pierre Therici found a coffin filled with earth. No corpse inside. That's very suspicious. This coffind belongs to an anonymous, he was found dead on public roads and nothing could identify him. Very likely just vagabond.
Action -> See the doctor who did the necropsy.
Dr. Ambroise Prasé is the doctor who did the necropsy (autopsy without opening of the corpse)
Necropsy revealed nothing. It is not unusual in the middle age. He had no relatives so normally had to be buried in a mass grave.
But a generous donor paid for the funeral in an individual coffin. Dr. Theobald Shuplice is the name of the donor.
If they ask : indeed he pays for a lot of anonymous to be buried. If they open those graves, all corpses are missing. All those coffins were traded with coffins full of earth.
Theobald Shuplice come every week. He will be back soon. Action: Follow him discreetly or attack him.
If follow him discreetly. They find his office. And his accounting book, where they can find the address of a cave he rents. Lots of documents in his office, but they are all encrypted. The writing matches that of Eugène Clavicule (found in the previous scenario)
If they attack him or torture him. He will not tell them anything. On himself they can find a letter. He's about to resign. He works in the university's administrative department. Then they can find his office and his accounting book.
Another way to solve this is if a player hides inside a coffin. He will then be transported to the cave.
Once they open the door to the cave. The smell is crushing. They all vomit unless they have a quality to prevent that.
Once they open the door : Gaunter O Dim Witcher 3
The cellar is filled with about fifty corpses ready to be shipped. But all documents are encrypted. No way to know where they should be shipped and why.
There are also money chests full of silver coins. A huge fortune in fact in silver pennies of the Vale. Very suspicious.
Why buying corpses ? Where to ship them ? This scenario doesn't answer this mystery.
Reward for completing the scenario track successfully : reinforcements, one soldier per person.
Part 2 Black Silver
Normal (before arriving at the Templars): Normal Departement Nécrologique Normal (once arrived at the Knights Templar): Normal Commanderie Templière
After leaving the scene, they realise that those silver pennies have a strange black hue. They suspect it's a counterfeit and will have to try and understand who is responsible for their creation.
Ambiance track
- 15min-A person comes to buy his pennies of the Vale at a Templar desk. The templar inspects each coins he is given one by one to see which ones have been slimmed down by filing them on the edges (to steal some gold out of them).
He accepts some of them and refuses some of them. He's very muscular. He then gives a deposit slip. It's an encrypted document with a seal. Later on, this document can be used to withdraw pennies of the Vale.
- 30min-They see Templars training by fighting each others. Their fight is very brutal. At the end of the fight a prayer the bells ring. With they bleeding faces, they put their robes on and go to pray.
This scene illustrates how Templars are both harmless monks and deadly warriors.
- 45min-Templar Ceremony. They hear a hammer that strikes three times.
Launch the music Watchmen(OST 2009) - Pruit Igoe and Prophecies All the templars are drawn to a room where they have their annual meeting. Players are not allowed in. The players have until the music reached 3:30 to do anything they want in the templar buildings. Because the building is completely empty.
Once the music reaches 3:30, they see all the templars leaving their ceremony. After the ceremony, many people come out. Many religious people, powerful people. Professors. Merchants. But also Nobles. Towards the end of the procession there are four people wearing masks and surrounded by soldiers. Those people are too powerful to be recognised.
This scene is used to illustrate the power of the templars, all power people are part of their organisation.
- 60min- Music : Lacrimosa
Players are locked in a room. Behind there is a man with a mask. It's the Jean de la Maison de Dieu, but they can't recognise him. He tells them to leave him alone. He tries to convince them to stop the prosecution. He begs them even.
- 75min-Players are shot at by a crossbow. Explain that in the middle age, crossbows are prohibited weapons against other Christians.
Bolts should feel very impressive and powerful, destroying furnitures and all. Either the players find a good way out or one of them is injured.
Penalty if they reach the end of the track : Jean de la Maison de Dieu pass near them and seems very panicked. He then runs away. Players runs after him. He dies mysteriously and his corpse is cold. There's no witnesses to this scene, so players are accused of killing this Templar, and they must keep a low profile for the rest of the scenario because templars are searching for them. After the end of the scenario they will have to explain themselves to the inquisition
Scenario track
There is a real fortune in pieces of money piled up in a chest. Only pieces of black silver. Counterfeit coins of the upcoming fair.
Their goal is to discover who made them.
Those coins are minted every year by the local Templar commandery. It's a privilege given by the king to the city. The goal is to avoid currency change problems during the fair, so everything is bough and sold in this neutral currency.
The counterfeits are good except for the metal, which is a bit dark.
The metal is a mix of little bit of silver and a lot of another metal, hard to identify it.
If one of the player has Eye of the Detail or if they ask an expert, they can see that the counterfeits' artworks are perfect.
To a point where they think that the "Punch" (the piece of the minting machine that holds the artwork) has been used for those fake coins.
Action: Players can get to visit the local templar commandery
Change music once they are in the templar buildings.
Everyone is in brown coats, some in white coats (the nobles ones). All have a red cross on their clothes. It is a large fortified building. The decoration is military but rich.
What is strange with this place is how immensely wealthy they are, but they are still monks, so they try to hide their riches. This results in incredibly clean clothes and rooms. Also glass windows in some rooms. Great quality candles etc...
The head of minting will do his best to help them.
The "Punches" are still in place on the minting machines. (Counterfeiting comes at night.)
Access to the room is strictly controlled. No entry or exit without being controlled. There's very tight accounting of how much silver gets in and how many comes gets out.
Action: There is a hatch hidden on the ground. Under a box. Eye of the detail doesn't spot it, unless players specifically search for a hidden door.
This is where counterfeiters come in or out.
It's a tunnel that lead to the outside.
They find iron bars inside the tunnel also.
Basically, the counterfeiters added some iron in very small proportions to all the genuine coins, and used this way to steal some real silver. Then they mixed a bit of silver and a lot of iron to make fake ones.
But those bars of iron couldn't get in the templars building without being noticed.
Who bought them ? Why ?
Those templars are one of the very first to circle their wheels with metal. (an important innovation in the middle age)
That's what the metal is supposed to serve for.
But the templar Jean de la Maison de Dieu increases the amount of iron being ordered and stores the surplus in the storage.
Once they come to talk to him, it is raining, he's at a balcony.
It is raining, it is very cold.
As soon as he sees that they are coming to him, he panics. He refuses to let them approach.
He shouts at them to stay in the distance and implores them, lots of templars are looking.
He tells them he had no choice and zero hope to survive if he didn't cooperate.
He then suddenly dies and falls from the balcony. Music Gaunter O Dim Witcher 3
Insist on how strange his death is.
He is alive, then he just dies and fall on himself like a puppet who lots his ropes. He then falls from the balcony, but the height didn't kill him, he was dead before.
His corpse is already cold. (but it's raining and cold outside, so it's strange but plausible)
In his office, lots of letters written by Eugène Clavicule, but encrypted. It's a proof he was a tool and accomplice.
How did he die ? This scenario doesn't solve this mystery.
Reward for completing the scenario track : Lots of people are witness to him jumping. So the players are not accused of his murder.
Part 3 The Valfranc trade fair
Normal: Gwent Full Mix Witcher 3 then Normal Templar Commandery Flipper 1: Normal Horror Cérulée Creepy 2: Creepy, the devil is in the box
Eugene's location has been paid. (check, unless players specify that they want to intercept it at that time)
But its location is empty! The fair is in full swing
Screenwriting frame Their goal is to find Eugène clavicle
Action: There is someone who constantly watches the booth. And who comes looking for all the people who linger at the stand and meet his eyes. (proof that they know the trick)
Action: Pass or pay someone to pretend to be a customer.
At the Voyante: Flippant, the devil is in the box
The person brings to a psychic "Eugene friends" after knocking on the door who sell powders, potions of love and poison.
Players choose a pattern associated with an object.
They draw three cards each and choose a pattern.
List of characters of the dance of death 1 The mask "Actor" http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris00.htm
2 The Flute "Musicians" http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris01.htm 3- The key "The Pope 4- The Scepter - The Emperor "http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris02.htm 5- ??? "Cardinal 6-The Crown The King - "http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris03.htm 7-The Crucifix- "The Patriarch 8 - ??? The constable "http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris04.htm 9 - ??? "Archbishop 10-The Sword - The Knight "http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris05.htm
11- "The bishop 12 - "The squire" http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris06.htm 13 - ?? "Father 14 - "The ball" http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris07.htm 15-The book- "The scholar 16 - ?? - The bourgeois "http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris08.htm
17 - "The canon 18-The piece - The dealer It's Eugène Clavicule " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris09.htm 19 - ?? - "The Carthusian 20-The mass - The sergeant " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris10.htm 21 - ?? - "The monk 22 - ?? - The usurer 23 - ?? - The poor " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris11.htm 24-The vial- "The doctor 25 - ?? - The lover " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris12.htm
26 - ??? - "The priest 27 - ??? - The plowman " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris13.htm 28 - ??? - "The lawyer 29-The Vièle-The minstrel " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris14.htm
30 - ??? - "The Cordelier 31-The toy-The child " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris15.htm
32 - ??? - "The cleric 33-The hermit stick " http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris16.htm
34 - ??? - 'actor 35 - ??? - the dead king "http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris17.htm
Choice: She offers them to read their future with a mirror.
Mirror made of bone. It pours on black and red liquid.
She reads. Then she takes a step back and drinks a poison.
If they refuse to do that, she does not die.
They send him to the dungeon of the commanderie of the corner.
Torture will be useless.
They find powders and poisons at home.
Some rats.
Organs.
And a long list with names and dates. hundreds of names.
A trunk full of clothes
Action: Search these clothes. they see children's clothes.
She has a child. The little Aimery
She will talk if her child is threatened (and alive)
Otherwise the child will speak.
The child explains that the potions are brought by someone coming out of a door under the church.
Under the church there is a vault, then a subsoil entrance. With many possible paths.
Action: Look at the black marks on the ceiling to find the right gallery.
Atmosphere frame
15min-crying in front of a cross where different prices are displayed it is priced really high for the sheets, it creates a scandal. The Clothes Guild. The crowd hoes them. The soldiers arrive to evacuate them. Gwent Drink Up, There_s More! Witcher 3 22min - A tavern is evacuated because a merchant is found dead poisoned in the tavern 30min-Next image. Fight of the dragon and the crack. The dragon launches fireworks, it makes everyone laugh. People are burning and throwing themselves into the fountain. Gwent theme 1 Witcher 3 It makes everyone laugh, people drink a lot, there are a lot of people singing.
45min-Players are attacked by bullies. They are in the same lane as a merchant, who is carried away. 52min-A merchant sleeps on his stall, he is dead. 60min-A knife thrower throws knives to kill his accomplice. He continues until the guard stops him. Access the Animus (fast start) The crowd is shocked. Then his accomplice wakes up, the people in the crowd too. It was a joke. Gwent Drink Up, There_s More! Witcher 3
Everyone laughs harder and drinks even more.
67min-A merchant runs towards the players and dies in their arms. 75min-There is a procession of people with pork masks and wreaths. Gwent theme 1 Witcher 3 Drunken people fill the streets, it becomes the feast of fools. They carry a guy on a tank he is huge, filled with alcohol all the time. He's barely moving. During the procession, a merchant is attacked by an assassin with a death mask. The assassin then turns against the players if they try to intervene. 90min-
A person with a death mask comes to see them and offers them a drink. He insists. They are surrounded by brigands with small daggers.
Those who accept drink counter-poison. If they agree to drink. The character pretends to be Eugene Clavicule. He discusses with them, then declares hostilities. As soon as a fight goes off, they all take a poisoned dagger. They are all poisoned. A person runs away or is stopped by them and leads them to the underground.
Suddenly they are all feverish, more mental jets.
Part 4 The catacombs
Normal: Normal Black Noise Flipper: Quake
They follow the soot to enter the catacombs. in search of eugenes.
Screenwriting frame
Their goal is to find the eugene clavicle stock.
After a while, a black mushroom covers the ceilings. So the traces are no longer visible.
They arrive in a very high room with a lot of candles off. And weird sculptures that make no sense.
The room is filled with a stock of drugs. This is obviously part of the stock of Eugene but not everything.
There is a small platform in the middle of the room. (she used to do a show)
These are poisoned candles.
There are far too many possible outings.
Action: If they light the candles, the sculptures make a very clear picture: A skull. The mouth is one of the possible exits. Otherwise traces of crates on the walls.
They arrive in an underground alchemy laboratory.
There is a big stock of weird ingredients. And a stock of poisons. This is obviously part of the eugene stock, but not everything. There are also many parchments with bumps (in brail?)
There is an old blind man working.
He forgets everything.
The players say that torture is useless. And killing him will serve even less.
The old man introduces them to the new potions. He asks them to pay.
Action: Tell him they have no money left. And that they need to go to eugene to pay for it. He then tells them where to go.
They arrive at the eugene treasure room.
Chests everywhere filled with counterfeit money. Heaps and piles of money.
There is a very very big man chained to a table with registers. It's the accountant.
He immediately understands the problem and yells for help.
It serves no purpose, torture is useless. For he is chained to his seat and has been brought here chained. He has no more feet.
That's obviously the last part of the eugene stock, but Eugene is not here.
The account book is encrypted.
Action: He's screaming for help. But that does not help. If instead of screaming for help they ask him to give the names of the customers. Or to encrypt the account books. So a person dressed with bones comes. And tell the players to follow him to find eugenes. If he kill him. After a while the person arrives to see what the fuss was.
They arrive in the catacombs. Skulls everywhere. Next image
At one moment they crawl in a sea of skulls.
There is before them a black knight with skulls that blocks their way. A man too big.
He clutters the room but his armor is too big to exit through the entrance where the players are. Where there is there is a cold rain. which explains why he is cold after his death. It's a UD of course.
Action: It's up to them to find a way to defeat him.
They then fall on the stock of Eugene Clavicle. Gold. But also skulls.
There is a skeleton lying on it. Small detail, he has dirty shoes and wet clothes.
Atmosphere frame
10min-At one point they pass by a place filled with crystal clear water. They see escorts running underwater. 20min-They see a message on the ceiling: Stop. This is the empire of death. At the back of the room there is a skeleton in a black dress sitting on a stone seat. It's just a skeleton. 30min-Next image. They enter a room with macabre engravings on the walls. An army of the dead that forces people to return to their ranks. 40min-There is a brazier where people have burned skeletons. The smell is unbearable. Vomiting. 50min-Next image. They arrive in a room with a weird macabre scene. Skeletons have been arranged in a strange scene. With braided straw they stand up. They eat each other, they dance, they build. They play cards, they mix. Gigantic hall, they are attacked by a skirmish of following eugene 60min-There is a pool filled with water stained with blood. With skeletons taking their bath. Same, braided straw for them to stand up. Players are forced to go through the bloodbath. in the bath there are trap hoses. It hurts a player.
End
The skeleton has a piece made of bone in the hand. She is obviously very precious. it is one of the necromantic objects of Hella. In the back of the room there is the engraving of the merchant with the same coin http://www.lamortdanslart.com/danse/France/Paris/dm_paris09.htm
Searching through the eugene documents, they find one that says where the corpses were to be delivered
The players burn everything and destroy the objects, they see the objects of their bosses. From that moment on they can do miracles
In their sleep. Skeletons bring them bone objects related to their boss. They feel that it is the most valuable object in the world for them.
From that moment, they can earn "hero spells" on each mission. He earns the quality of Heroes "Prowess"