Who Paid for the Pass?
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RoadwayOil FireCulvert
Roleplay EncounterDND5E 2024Party L1 · 5 PCs
Who Paid for the Pass?
Read Aloud
Smoke crawls low over the road, hiding the dead in the pass and stinging your eyes raw. The burning oil pops in the ruts beside the bodies, and somewhere uphill a wounded man is trying not to cry out. Kargun of the Black Spur, or one of his hunters, still lives long enough to talk if you can make him.
The Scene
NEUTRALInterrogationBase DC 13Stakes The pass is still burning, the dead still lie where they fell, and the next fight may already be paid for.
10 to 20 minutes
NPC Goal
Survive the next hour and keep the tribe from being blamed for a bargain he only partly knows.
Leverage
The party holds the road, the prisoner’s life, and the memory of their dead in plain view.
Player Approaches
- Show mercy to get names.
- Threaten to hand the prisoner back to the road.
- Promise safe passage if they talk.
- Name the dead and make the cost real.
NPC Gambits
- Press the wound, then offer water.
- Separate Kargun’s pride from his men.
- Ask who paid, not why they attacked.
- Let the prisoner save face by blaming orders.
NPC Reactions
- Spits at questions until someone mentions coin.
- Talks faster when he hears the names of the dead.
- Tries to bargain for his knife, horse, or a clean death.
- Turns silent if Kargun’s name is mocked in front of him.
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