The Bell That Rang Without a Clapper
The Bell That Rang Without a Clapper
Read aloud
The Lantern Bell rings once over the river, though its clapper was removed days ago. Oswin Hirst pushes through the crowd, rainless and pale, and says, "The water is rising, the gates are jammed, and someone wants us looking the wrong way. Help me find out who before Bellwether pays for it."
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Discover who rang the Lantern Bell and why.
- 2Trace the missing flood supplies and learn how the sluice was obstructed.
- 3Stabilize Bellwether's flood defenses before the next surge.
- 4Expose the person profiting from the crisis.Optional
The clock
The next high-water surge arrives in roughly three hours of in-world time. Advance the crisis after major delays or failed approaches: first the lowest landing floods, then the market lanes, then the sluice chamber becomes dangerous to enter.
Scenes
- 0:00The Reeve's Request
- 0:25A Witness at the Waterline
- 0:55Crates in the Rising Water
- 1:40The Gate Beneath the Towpath
- 2:35What the Town Will Hear
Cast
- Oswin HirstQuestgiver
- Mara VennWitness
- Tamsin RookAlly
- Jory PellWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At the Bellwether river market, townsfolk argue over whether the bell's midnight ring was a warning or a bad omen. The sky is clear, but water laps over the lowest landing. Oswin Hirst pulls the party aside, gives them access to the tower and sluice records, and warns them that the town has only hours before the next surge.
How Oswin Hirst asks
Oswin approaches the characters in person at the river market, speaking plainly and offering access to town records, the bell tower, and the sluice works.
He asks them to act discreetly until they know whether the culprit is an outsider or someone with authority.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
25 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Reeve's Request
The crowded river market, followed by the locked Lantern Bell tower.
Oswin lays out the crisis and gives the party access to the bell tower. The bell's missing clapper, a scrape on the window frame, and a misleading entry in the maintenance ledger offer separate leads.
NextA tower clue or conversation with a local points toward Mara Venn and the old towpath.
0:25
30 min
social
2. A Witness at the Waterline
Mara's ferry landing, where the lowest planks are slick and the river keeps rising.
Mara describes a moving lantern and admits her brother has been carrying sealed crates. The party can earn her confidence, pressure her, or find evidence at the landing. Her information directs them to the riverside storehouse.
NextFollow the crate trail to the storehouse, or use the ledger clue to identify which supplies went missing.
0:55
45 min
combat
3. Crates in the Rising Water
The flooded riverside storehouse, with narrow catwalks and a manual bypass wheel.
The party searches the storehouse, confronts its guards, and decides whether to fight, negotiate, or use the rising water to reach the back rooms. They can find the stolen relief stores and evidence of a hired saboteur.
The Flooded StorehouseNextA recovered note or Jory's confession leads to the old sluice, where the sabotage can be stopped.
1:40
55 min
combat
4. The Gate Beneath the Towpath
A stone chamber beneath the towpath, its steps slick and the bypass mechanism under pressure.
At the old sluice, the party must confront Greycap and decide how to handle the jammed wheel. They can prioritize stopping the sabotage, stabilizing the mechanism, or protecting people threatened by the rising water.
The Old SluiceNextWith the gates stabilized, the party can return to Oswin with evidence, or pursue the employer before the culprit leaves town.
2:35
25 min
social
5. What the Town Will Hear
The reeve's office or the market steps, where displaced residents and officials await an answer.
Oswin receives the party's findings while townsfolk assess the damage. The characters decide how to present evidence, whether to protect Jory, and whether to name Voss publicly before the town council can intervene.
NextResolve the immediate crisis and use the party's choices to set the next local conflict.
Behind it
What people believe
The Lantern Bell rang at midnight despite having no clapper, and Bellwether's flood gates are now jamming as the river rises.
Reeve Oswin Hirst asks the characters to investigate the strange alarm, find the cause of the missing emergency supplies, and keep the riverside district from flooding. The town needs answers quickly, but the people who can help are frightened, compromised, or both.
Background
For generations, the people of Bellwether have rung the bronze Lantern Bell whenever floodwater threatens the low streets.
Its tone is said to carry across the river and bring the sluice keepers to their posts. Three nights ago, the bell rang at midnight, though its tower was locked and its clapper had been removed. Since then, the river has risen against a clear-weather forecast, and the sluice gates have begun to jam.
The stakes
If the sluice remains jammed, the lower market and nearby homes flood.
Even if the town is saved, leaving the supply theft unexposed lets someone profit from the disaster and may leave Bellwether's emergency stores empty for the next real flood.
Encounters
2The Flooded Storehouse
Combat or tense negotiation
A riverside supply store with narrow catwalks, stacked crates, a waist-deep lower floor, and a handwheel that controls a manual bypass.
Foes
Two masked storehouse guards
A trained mastiff named Bristle
ComplicationThe water is rising during the confrontation. At the end of each round or major exchange, the GM may make a route or piece of cover harder to use. The party can reduce the danger by opening the manual bypass.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused group, use one guard and have Bristle bark, block routes, and retreat rather than attack. For a stronger group, add a third guard and make the bypass mechanism require a coordinated action under pressure.
The Old Sluice
Combat, skill challenge, or negotiation
A cramped stone sluice chamber beneath the old towpath, with a turning wheel, slick steps, hanging chains, and a narrow ledge above fast-moving water.
Foes
A saboteur using the name Greycap
Two hired dockhands
ComplicationThe sluice wheel is jammed by a stolen iron brace. Removing it risks a sudden rush of water; leaving it in place preserves the diversion and may cause the lower district to flood.
ScalingFor a lower-threat version, Greycap flees once confronted and the dockhands can be talked down. For a higher-threat version, add unstable catwalks and make the water rise faster, requiring the party to split attention between the saboteurs and the mechanism.
Cast
4Oswin Hirst
QuestgiverQuestgiver, a practical town reeve who knows the flood defenses and has authority to grant access to them.
WantsKeep Bellwether's riverside district safe and prevent panic, while concealing how much the town's emergency stores have already been depleted.
“Find who rang that bell, and find them before the water gets to the market.”
Mara Venn
Witness, a ferryperson whose landing sits below the bell tower.
WantsProtect her younger brother, who has been helping someone move supplies at night, without being treated as an accomplice.
“I heard the bell from the old towpath, and I saw a lantern moving where no one should have been.”
Tamsin Rook
Ally, Bellwether's sluice engineer.
WantsExpose the diversion of relief supplies and save the sluice machinery she has spent years maintaining.
“The gates are not failing. Someone is making them fail in a way that looks like neglect.”
Jory Pell
Wildcard, a desperate carter employed to move stolen flood stores.
WantsGet out of town with enough money to start over, while deciding whether to tell the truth about the person who hired him.
“I was paid to move a few crates. I did not know anyone would drown.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A sealed town warrant granting access to Bellwether's storehouses and flood works
A waterproof lantern maintained by Tamsin
Optional: a recovered crate of useful supplies, awarded only if the party returns it rather than claiming it
On a win
The party keeps the sluice functioning, reduces or prevents the flooding, and gives Oswin enough evidence to act.
If they also identify Aldren Voss, Bellwether recovers its stolen stores and faces a public reckoning over the officials who allowed the scheme to continue. If they secure the town's safety without proving the conspiracy, Oswin still rewards them, but the culprit remains a future threat.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The investigation produces no actionable lead before the water reaches the lower district.
- If the party cannot identify the diversion, the sluice remains obstructed until Tamsin discovers the problem. The low market floods, destroying goods and forcing families into temporary shelters.
- Jory is captured or driven away before he identifies the employer.
- If the party exposes Jory publicly without securing his cooperation or evidence, he is arrested while the person who hired him escapes. The town learns about the theft but not who profited from it.
- The party acts on the mechanism without first stabilizing the gate or directing people away from the spillway.
- If the party opens the bypass carelessly, the immediate pressure eases but a neighboring bank gives way. The district is spared the worst flooding, but homes and the ferry landing are damaged.
- The party leaves town or refuses to intervene before the next high-water mark.
- If the party abandons the crisis, Oswin organizes an evacuation without them. Bellwether survives, but the thieves keep the diverted supplies and Oswin's trust is lost.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sluice alarm sounds nearby. The party must choose whether to spend time helping evacuate a threatened row of homes or continue directly toward its current lead.
- 2A cart bearing the town's relief mark bolts through the street, scattering sacks and drawing a crowd that blocks the party's route.
- 3A sudden surge floods the lowest passage. Crossing costs time, and any unprotected papers, tinder, or delicate equipment get soaked.
- 4Someone mistakes the party for the thieves and raises an alarm. A witness can clear things up, but only if the party pauses to speak with them.
- 5A warning lantern is found extinguished. The party can relight it and restore a signal to the sluice crew, but doing so reveals their position to anyone watching.
- 6Jory's frightened younger contact runs off with a key needed at the next gate. The party can pursue, persuade, or find another way through.
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