View From the Bushes

Free Lunches by Corey Reid, what can I say about it that hasn't been said before by H.L. Mencken, "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." (Very few people know that Mencken paid a crude form of D&D called Cynics and Puritans.) Okay considering that Mencken died in '56 and I wasn't even able to publish Free Lunches on time let alone nearly 50 years ago he probably wasn't actually talking about this adventure, but that's not to say that the quote isn't germane.

The central story of the adventure is that in the midst of a war between some dwarven mercenaries and some local insurgents, the leader of the locals decides to betray his countrymen and go over to the other side. (See the connection to the quote?) In most adventures I've seen the characters are central to the story, the are equal in importance to all of the other groups in the adventure. And most adventures should be that way, but what about an adventure where the party is thrust into a conflict the don't have a stake in and they just want to seal their deal and get out of Dodge as soon as possible. Unfortunately what was once a simple deal has become a nightmare of double-dealing.

Free Lunches was originally designed for 4 sixth level characters but of course with the Xenogenic System you can generate it from third all the way to ninth level parties and from 1-12 characters. The party has a shipment of weapons they're selling to some rebels for gold. The gold has been hidden by traitorous leader of the rebels and it's up to the party to get their money without getting killed by the war that's raging between the locals and the dwarven mercenaries. Give it a shot. The snippet of the adventure is also up for anyone who has a demo subscription and wants to get a taste.

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero
Ross