Fantasy Core Ireland--Adventure Part 2

FANTASY CORE RPG
(c) Jerry Harris, 2012
Published here as Open Game Content.

Adventure Index

Pub Crawl (0 XP, especially if you have to actually tell the players what to do next):

The players may choose to investigate the matter further in town. Many of the townspeople seem to be gravitating to the local pub, the Drunken Shamrock. The men folk and serving women will be uncommunicative with the characters until pints of ale are purchased for everyone (5 gp). They will then be treated to a litany of aggressions and reprisals by the two clans. Unfortunately, no one knows of any recent acts that would brought this current conflict on either. No one even definitely knows the origin of the feud. (Here might be a good place to seed in some of your own local NPC’s as part of the bar crowd.)

(Sidebar: It goes way back to Finn MacCool’s days. Van O’Grady and Tom Kavanagh were both in love a beautiful elvish woman, Elise. She was coyly playing with both of their affections, and neither man knew, as they couldn’t speak of such an affair in public (and neither could she). On the tip of a bard, Tom found out and caught Elise and Van together. In a fit of rage, Tom killed Elise while she was in Van’s arms. That night both men heard the wail of the banshee as she died, and the hair on the top of their heads turned sheet white. Neither would ever speak of the incident again or to anyone else, but there was a powerful hatred between them thereafter.)

Finn, owner of the bar and a member of the Dal Cais clan, blames Norse raiders trying to set the Irish against one another in preparation for an invasion. Finn also offers free room and board at his inn to the characters. He’s doing this to curry favor with them and will eventually want some reciprocal consideration. This arrangement is okay to start with, but the characters should find some permanent lodging at some point as the campaign continues.

(Sidebar: The Drunken Shamrock is also an after-hours meeting place for Dal Cais rebels against the nearby Norse in Limerick. The Norse have raided on occasion, but now it’s mostly familial reprisal raids caused by Dal Cais attacks. The Norse are actively looking for the rebel leader for execution. Surprise, it’s Finn. No Irishman who knows this, would ever willingly give up that information though. But if the Dal Cais ever manage to really hurt the Norse, they’ll put out a reward, perhaps use torture on captives, perhaps send an army. Finn wants the conflict and is looking for powerful allies. Perhaps supernatural ones, maybe even the characters.)

The locals will confirm that the O’Gradys may have a supernatural power in their service (perhaps a banshee), and that the Kavanaghs have been seen having dealings with a reputed witch, Mara Keening, that lives in the woods outside of town.

(Sidebar: Upon her death, Elise’s spirit became a banshee that served Van and later all his descendant clan leaders. It was a secret that was never shared with anyone else. The Kanvanagh clan has been haunted by her actions (at O’Grady direction) for generations since. The clan has taken various means of supernatural protection ever since to keep her away and inflict supernatural harm on the O’Gradys as well. Currently, they do employ Mara, who is a witch.)