The Bell That Remembers
The Bell That Remembers
Read aloud
The harbor bell rings once, though the clapper was removed three nights ago. In the morning, a fisher is missing, and three townsfolk cannot remember the same hour of their lives. Harbor reeve Mara Venn offers you a purse of silver to find the missing man and learn what is happening before tonight's tide.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Determine why Bellwether's bell rings without its clapper.
- 2Find the missing fisher alive, if possible.
- 3Stop the memory loss without releasing the entity below.
- 4Discover who altered the bell mechanism and preserve the chapel's records.Optional
The clock
The bell will resonate again at midnight on the second night after the party arrives. Each midnight before the ward is stabilized, the Hollow Listener drains a memory from one additional resident. This creates urgency without requiring a strict scene-by-scene timer.
Scenes
- 0:00A Bell Without a Clapper
- 0:35The Empty Socket
- 1:20Below the Tide Line
- 2:10The Listener's Wake
- 3:10The Last Ring
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and harbor reeve
- Talla RuskWitness and fisher
- Sister ElianAlly and keeper of the tide chapel
- Nessa ValeWildcard and disgraced former chapel apprentice
The hook
Set the scene
Read the hook aloud as the party arrives at Bellwether's harbor. Mara meets the characters in the reeve's office, where a slate lists the names of residents who reported missing memories. Talla Rusk waits outside, insisting that her brother Oren would never leave without his lantern. Mara asks the party to investigate quietly, since rumors of a cursed harbor could drive away the next trading ship.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party at the harbor reeve's office after hearing they have recently helped another local.
She offers 75 gp in total, with half paid upon finding Oren and the remainder when the midnight incidents stop. She urges discretion, but does not demand that the party conceal genuine danger from the townsfolk.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4 hours0:00
35 min
SocialThe table is here
1. A Bell Without a Clapper
The harbor reeve's office and nearby fish market in the morning.
Mara hires the party, Talla reports Oren missing, and the party can compare witness accounts. A Charisma (Persuasion) check gets a nervous dockworker to admit that the latest ringing came from the tower despite the removed clapper. A Intelligence (Investigation) check finds damp footprints leading toward the chapel.
NextThe footprints, witnesses, or Mara's permission lead the party to inspect the chapel and tower.
0:35
45 min
Exploration
2. The Empty Socket
The tide chapel, its bell tower, and a cramped gallery of gears and old salt-marked beams.
The party examines the tower mechanism and chapel records. They learn the clapper was deliberately removed, and can find a hidden maintenance latch with a Intelligence (Investigation) check. Nessa may arrive here and offer her version of events. The scene should establish that someone altered the bell, but not yet explain the ward.
The Bell MechanismNextOpening the maintenance hatch reveals a stair descending beneath the chapel, where fresh lantern soot marks Oren's route.
1:20
50 min
Skill
3. Below the Tide Line
A damp stair and a maze of old storage niches beneath the tide chapel.
The party follows the exposed stair through flooded passages, finding Oren's dropped lantern and several lines from the ward ledger. If they succeed on a Wisdom (Survival) or Intelligence (Investigation) check, they locate a dry alcove where Oren is hiding. The ledger describes the bell as part of a ward, not a curse.
NextOren points out a humming sound from the reliquary and warns that something answers when the bell rings.
2:10
60 min
Combat
4. The Listener's Wake
A circular chamber below the chapel, where old ward stones ring a black cistern.
The party enters the flooded reliquary and confronts the Bell-Touched Guardian and Drowned Dead. Oren can help by identifying a dry ledge. After the danger is controlled, the characters can recover the ward ledger and find a grounding plate that must be reset before the bell is restored.
The Flooded ReliquaryNextThe grounding plate's instructions point back to the tower mechanism, where the clapper must be restored without striking the bell.
3:10
40 min
Skill
5. The Last Ring
The bell tower at dusk, with the repaired mechanism shuddering as the tide rises.
The party decides what to do with Nessa, then restores the clapper and completes the grounding rite or proposes a safe alternative. Sister Elian can explain the rite if present. A final Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) check is one possible approach, but the GM should allow a reasonable plan using tools, spells, or character expertise.
The Bell MechanismNextOnce the ward is stable, the bell falls silent. The party returns to Mara with Oren and the recovered evidence, leading into the reward and any remaining questions.
Behind it
What people believe
Bellwether's harbor bell has rung three nights in a row despite its missing clapper.
Several residents have lost memories around the time of the ringing, and fisher Oren Rusk has vanished. Harbor reeve Mara Venn hires the party to investigate the bell tower, find Oren, and prevent another midnight incident.
Background
For generations, the town of Bellwether has rung its bronze harbor bell whenever a ship returns safely through the fog.
Three nights ago, the bell rang at midnight despite its clapper being removed. Since then, people who heard it have forgotten small but important parts of their lives, and one local fisher has vanished. The bell stands in a locked tower above the old tide chapel, where storm damage has exposed a sealed stair.
The stakes
If the party fails to stabilize the ward, the Hollow Listener continues draining memories from Bellwether and may eventually escape its confinement.
If they destroy the bell without understanding its purpose, the ward fails immediately. If they succeed, the town is safe for now, but the recovered records suggest similar wards may exist elsewhere.
Encounters
2The Flooded Reliquary
Combat
A circular stone chamber below the tide chapel, with ankle-deep water, a central cistern, two narrow ledges, and a cracked stair. The ledges are safe ground; the cistern is 10 feet deep.
Foes
2 Drowned Dead, use the zombie stat block with a swim speed of 20 feet and no Undead Fortitude
1 Bell-Touched Guardian, use the specter stat block; its appearance and bell-like shriek are custom flavor
ComplicationThe waterlogged stone floor is difficult terrain in the flooded half of the chamber. On initiative count 20, a surge pushes unsecured creatures 5 feet toward the central cistern. A creature can brace against a wall or succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw to resist.
ScalingFor 3 characters, remove one Drowned Dead. For 6 characters, add one Drowned Dead. For a party that is struggling, the Bell-Touched Guardian withdraws when reduced to half its hit points.
The Bell Mechanism
Skill
A cramped wooden gallery inside the tower, with exposed gears, rotted planks, and a narrow maintenance ledge. A fall drops a creature 15 feet onto a lower platform.
Foes
No mandatory foes; Nessa may become hostile if the party refuses to let her damage the bell
ComplicationThe iron clapper is suspended over a narrow gap. Moving it without striking the bell requires a successful DC 13 Dexterity check using thieves' tools or a DC 13 Strength check to hold the mechanism still. A failed attempt makes the bell hum and alerts the guardian in the lower chamber.
ScalingFor a party with no character proficient in thieves' tools, Sister Elian can provide a safe but slower method that takes 10 minutes. If time pressure is desired, a failed check causes a 1-round hazard rather than summoning additional enemies.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and harbor reeve
WantsKeep Bellwether functioning and protect its people without revealing how badly the town's finances depend on the harbor.
“Bring me proof of what is happening, not another tale about ghosts. My neighbors are frightened, and I cannot afford to lose the harbor.”
Talla Rusk
Witness and fisher
WantsFind her missing brother, Oren, and prevent the same strange forgetting from harming anyone else.
“I heard the bell from my bed, and for a moment I could not remember my daughter's face. Please do not tell me that was only nerves.”
Sister Elian
Ally and keeper of the tide chapel
WantsProtect the chapel's congregation and her late mentor's reputation, while privately fearing that the old warding rites were not maintained.
“The tower is older than the chapel. If you find a way below it, do not touch the salt marks until you know what they mean.”
Nessa Vale
Wildcard and disgraced former chapel apprentice
WantsDestroy the bell and conceal her part in removing its clapper, believing the bell is the source of the danger.
“You came for the missing man. I came to make sure the bell never rings again. We may want the same thing, but we do not have the same plan.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A tide-chapel charm, a custom nonmagical token that grants advantage on one ability check made to navigate Bellwether's flooded passages; the charm then crumbles.
A silvered handbell from the chapel stores, worth 15 gp and usable as a normal bell.
On a win
The party finds Oren and prevents the Hollow Listener from feeding on the town's memories.
Restoring the clapper and completing Sister Elian's grounding rite quiets the bell until the ward can be properly renewed. Bellwether's residents recover their memories gradually over the next day, though Oren may retain a few gaps. Mara pays the promised reward, and the town begins repairing the chapel passages.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party accuses an innocent resident without evidence or publicly claims the danger is over before investigating the bell.
- The town loses trust in the party, and Mara withholds payment. The characters may still pursue the mystery, but witnesses require a persuasive explanation or a favor before cooperating.
- The party leaves the tide-chapel passages without finding Oren or securing the lower mechanism.
- Oren remains trapped below the chapel and suffers another memory loss when the bell next resonates. He can still be rescued later, but may not remember his sister or the route out.
- The party destroys or removes the bell without first stabilizing the ward beneath it.
- The bell's ward fails. Each subsequent midnight, one person who hears it forgets a meaningful but nonessential memory, and more townsfolk begin leaving Bellwether.
Complications (d6)
- 1A thick fog rolls in during an outdoor scene. Beyond 30 feet, creatures and landmarks are heavily obscured until the fog clears after 10 minutes or strong wind disperses it.
- 2A frightened dockworker insists the party return a brass token taken from the tide chapel. The token is harmless, but its absence has unsettled the locals and makes witnesses less forthcoming until it is returned or explained.
- 3The harbor bell gives one muted knock. Each character who hears it must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or briefly forget one mundane detail, such as a name or the route they just took. This has no lasting mechanical effect, but may complicate roleplay.
- 4A rising tide floods the lowest passage. The party must find a higher route or spend 10 minutes securing a rope and moving their gear before continuing.
- 5Nessa appears and offers the party a shortcut into the tower in exchange for a promise to destroy the bell. She does not disclose that the shortcut passes through a trapped maintenance gallery.
- 6A witness suddenly remembers seeing Oren carrying a lantern toward the tide chapel, but cannot recall whether he was alone. The new clue is true, though the witness may be mistaken about the time.
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