The Missing Measure
The Missing Measure
Read aloud
A river shipment of medicine and lamp fuel has vanished, and the Distillery Combine is offering a reward for its return. The nearest clinics have only days of supplies left. Dispatch-master Mara Venn asks you to find the cargo before the river towns discover how close they are to running out.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find the missing shipment.
- 2Uncover the cause of the disappearance.
- 3Prevent the shipment dispute from becoming a wider crisis.
- 4Secure proof of the price-manipulation scheme.Optional
The clock
The launch at Reedbank Cut is scheduled to leave on the next high tide, roughly three hours after the party begins investigating. If it departs, the cargo can still be pursued, but the trail becomes harder and the clinics' remaining supplies run low.
Scenes
- 0:00A Line Scraped from the Ledger
- 0:35The Flooded Bonded Storehouse
- 1:30The Villages' Share
- 2:35Who Owns the Measure?
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Tovin RuskWitness
- Sella BrantAntagonist
- Orrin ValeWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At the Combine's river depot, Mara Venn spreads a damp shipping ledger across a table. One line has been scraped nearly clean, but the entry beneath it still reads: antiseptic spirit, lamp fuel, destination Reedbank route. Tovin Rusk watches the door while Mara offers the party a reward, then quietly asks them to bring back the cargo and the truth, if they can manage both.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara Venn requests a discreet investigation at the depot.
She offers a written recovery fee and asks the party to avoid unnecessary damage or public accusations until the cargo and reliable evidence are found.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
35 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Line Scraped from the Ledger
The Distillery Combine's river depot, amid stacked casks, clerks, and guarded loading bays.
Mara hires the party at the depot. The scraped ledger entry, Tovin's nervous behavior, and the unusual emphasis on sealed cargo offer several leads. Characters can question staff, inspect the books, or ask after river traffic.
NextA dockworker's account and the cargo marks point toward the flooded bonded storehouse.
0:35
55 min
exploration
2. The Flooded Bonded Storehouse
A damp warehouse at the edge of the river, with rising water, slick boards, and barrels marked for the missing route.
The party searches the flooded storehouse for surviving cargo, tracks, or shipping records. Guards may be suspicious, bribable, or under orders to hold the party until a supervisor arrives. The environment makes a reckless fight dangerous.
The Flooded Bonded StorehouseNextA surviving tally or a witness leads the party to Reedbank Cut, where a launch is being loaded.
1:30
65 min
social
3. The Villages' Share
A hidden river landing beneath a stand of reeds, with a loaded launch and a rising tide.
At Reedbank Cut, the party finds Sella and her crew preparing to move the cargo. She admits the diversion but argues that the goods are being sent to clinics rather than sold. The party can bargain, investigate the cargo, threaten her, or offer a plan that protects both the villages and the evidence.
The Last Bargain at Reedbank CutNextOnce the immediate dispute is settled, the party can choose whom to confront with the evidence and how to divide the supplies.
2:35
45 min
social
4. Who Owns the Measure?
A riverside counting room or village clinic, with the recovered cargo present as a visible bargaining point.
The party presents its account to Mara, Sella, Tovin, or a local representative. They negotiate a final disposition for the cargo and decide whether to keep the altered order private or expose it. This scene resolves the immediate shortage and defines the party's relationship with the Combine.
NextConclude with the consequences of the party's decision and offer one of the open-ended hooks.
Behind it
What people believe
A shipment of antiseptic spirit and lamp fuel belonging to the Distillery Combine has disappeared along the river route.
The Combine has hired the party to locate the cargo, identify who diverted it, and resolve the dispute before nearby communities run short. The trail leads from a guarded depot to a flooded storehouse and a standoff at Reedbank Cut.
Background
The Distillery Combine began as a cooperative of riverfront brewers and medicinal spirit-makers.
It now controls much of the region's grain alcohol, lamp fuel, and antiseptic supply. Its bonded warehouses are protected by contracts, hired guards, and a reputation for keeping settlements supplied during hard winters.
The stakes
If the party fails or delays, clinics lose access to antiseptic spirit, villages ration lamp fuel, and the Combine may use the crisis to justify tighter control of the river route.
If the party responds with indiscriminate violence or public accusations without evidence, workers and communities may suffer retaliation.
Encounters
2The Flooded Bonded Storehouse
Combat or social
A riverside storehouse with waist-high floodwater, stacked barrels, narrow catwalks, and a raised office balcony. The floor is slick, and several lanterns hang low.
Foes
Two Combine warehouse guards
A hired cudgel-bearer named Pell
ComplicationThe stillhouse floor is slick with spilled spirit, and open flames or heavy impacts could ignite it. The fire risk is a custom environmental feature, not a system-specific rule.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused party, use one guard and let the others withdraw or negotiate. For a larger or more capable party, add two dockside toughs arriving as reinforcements. The encounter can be bypassed by presenting convincing evidence or reaching an agreement.
The Last Bargain at Reedbank Cut
Social or combat
A narrow muddy landing beside a moored cargo launch, with reeds that conceal movement, a narrow gangplank, and deep water on two sides.
Foes
Sella Brant
Three cargo defenders
ComplicationThe launch is being prepared to leave during a rising tide. If the party hesitates, the vessel begins to drift from its moorings, forcing a quick choice between pursuit and negotiation.
ScalingFor a smaller party, Sella's defenders focus on blocking access rather than attacking, and Sella accepts a credible offer sooner. For a larger party, add a second boat crew that arrives midway through the scene. The cargo defenders may stand down if shown proof that the Combine will protect the villages.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, regional dispatch-master for the Distillery Combine
WantsKeep the Combine's supply promises and prevent a shortage from exposing how fragile its distribution network has become.
“I need the shipment found before the river towns start rationing medicine. Ask for no favors beyond that.”
Tovin Rusk
Witness, tally clerk at the river depot
WantsTell the truth about the missing cargo while protecting the dockworkers who helped her investigate.
“I can show you the marks on the crates. I cannot promise the Combine will let me keep my job afterward.”
Sella Brant
Antagonist, former Combine cooper and leader of the cargo seizure
WantsDivert the shipment to struggling villages and force the Combine to acknowledge the harm caused by its pricing and quotas.
“Those barrels are not going back to a ledger that counts people as acceptable losses.”
Orrin Vale
Wildcard, independent ferrymaster who knows the back channels
WantsKeep the local river route open and prevent either side from turning the dispute into a wider conflict.
“You can settle the dispute with words, coin, or a fire. I recommend the first two, in that order.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A sealed case of antiseptic spirit for the party or a local clinic
A Combine route token granting access to bonded warehouses, subject to local authority
A repaired river lantern made from durable salvage
On a win
The party recovers enough of the cargo to keep local clinics and lamps supplied, and negotiates or forces a settlement that prevents immediate violence.
A particularly strong success also preserves proof that the shipment was deliberately withheld to influence prices. The party can return the goods to the Combine, distribute them to the villages, or broker an accountable compromise.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot locate the shipment before the launch leaves Reedbank Cut.
- The Combine recovers only part of the cargo and imposes stricter controls on the river route. Local clinics and villages face rationing, and the party loses standing with workers who wanted a fair settlement.
- A fire or violent confrontation spreads through the leaking storehouse before the barrels can be secured.
- The cargo is destroyed or rendered unusable. The Combine accuses the party of sabotage, while Sella's supporters blame them for leaving the villages without supplies.
- The party exposes the Combine's conduct publicly without obtaining evidence that can withstand its legal and political response.
- Mara's position is weakened, and the Combine sends a harder-line replacement to enforce the contract. Sella avoids immediate arrest but the villages remain exposed to shortages.
Complications (d6)
- 1A leaking barrel leaves a strong medicinal-spirit trail from the river landing to the next scene, making stealthy travel difficult.
- 2A Combine courier arrives with an order to recover the shipment intact, including its sealed cargo, and refuses to explain why.
- 3A floodgate opens unexpectedly, raising the water through the lower storehouse and cutting off one exit.
- 4A dockworker recognizes one character as a Combine agent or sympathizer and warns Sella before the party can speak privately.
- 5The town apothecary reports that a clinic's antiseptic supply will run out by dawn, increasing pressure to recover the cargo quickly.
- 6A damaged crate releases fumes that make nearby lamps dangerous; one careless flame could ignite the spill.
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