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The Moonwheel Job - AI-generated fantasy Quest

The Moonwheel Job

Quests
5 scenes · about 3.5 hours · 2 encounters

The Moonwheel Job

A festival, a floodgate, and one small piece of brass that must not go missing.

Read aloud

At the Lantern Regatta, the harbor engineer presses a sketched floor plan into your hands. 'The Moonwheel's control spindle will be on display tonight, and I need it removed before someone uses it to hide what the council has done. Bring it to me intact, and keep the lower harbor safe.'

Run the session

Scene
1/5
The Engineer's Offer
Objectives
0/4
Objectives
A complication

Cheat sheet

Objectives

  1. 1Enter the Moonwheel exhibit without raising a full alarm.
  2. 2Steal the Moonwheel spindle.
  3. 3Return the spindle and prevent damage to the lower harbor.
  4. 4Secure proof of the council's falsified floodgate inspections.Optional

The clock

The spindle must be returned and the floodgate safely isolated before the next spring tide, expected in roughly one day. During the heist, the ceremonial display inspection begins in two hours and the watch increases its patrols afterward.

Scenes

  1. 0:00The Engineer's Offer
  2. 0:30A Festival of Open Doors
  3. 1:10The Display Hall
  4. 2:00Below the Waterline
  5. 3:00The Return

Cast

  • Mara VennQuestgiver and harbor engineer
  • Pell RookAlly and Lantern Regatta stage manager
  • Captain Dera HoltAntagonist and head of the regatta watch
  • Nim SableWitness and junior records clerk

The hook

Set the scene

Lanterns shimmer across the harbor as music and parade drums fill the streets. Mara Venn waits beneath a service arch, carrying an engineer's tool case and a damp floor plan. She explains that the Moonwheel spindle is being displayed in the council gallery and that its removal must be quiet: the device is essential to the floodgates, and a careless theft could endanger the lower harbor.

How Mara Venn asks

Mara approaches the party in person under the pretense of asking for help moving engineering supplies.

Rumours

Roll a rumour

1“The Moonwheel spindle is displayed in a case that opens only during the council's ceremonial inspection.”
2“The watch captain has been ordered to protect the exhibit, but no one has told her why the spindle matters so much.”
3“A records clerk has been seen carrying papers from the harbor office to the regatta gallery.”
4“The lower floodgate makes a grinding noise at high tide, though officials insist it passed inspection.”

Scenes

about 3.5 hours

  1. 0:00

    30 min

    socialThe table is here

    1. The Engineer's Offer

    A service arch beside the crowded Lantern Regatta, where music and foot traffic provide privacy in brief intervals.

    Mara explains the job, identifies the target and the time pressure, and lets the crew choose a plan. Ask what they want to learn or acquire before entering the festival.

    NextThe crew can scout the gallery, acquire disguises or credentials, or go directly to the public entrance.

  2. 0:30

    40 min

    exploration

    2. A Festival of Open Doors

    The Lantern Regatta's public grounds and the council gallery's outer halls.

    The crew studies the gallery's entrances, patrols, ceremonial schedule, and display case. Pell can supply a stagehand's route, while Nim can reveal the records alcove and hint that inspection dates were altered.

    NextOnce the crew commits to an entry plan, move to the restricted gallery. A complication can be rolled here if the pace needs pressure.

  3. 1:10

    50 min

    skill

    3. The Display Hall

    A crowded exhibition hall where banners, cases, and parade traffic offer both cover and obstacles.

    The crew gets past the gallery checkpoint and reaches the spindle display. Their choices can involve cover identities, persuasion, a distraction, stealth, or direct confrontation. If the alarm is raised, use the Gallery Alarm encounter.

    The Gallery Alarm

    NextWith the spindle in hand, the crew must reach the service level and decide whether to retrieve the ledger.

  4. 2:00

    60 min

    exploration

    4. Below the Waterline

    A maintenance chamber beneath the harbor, where water rises through floor grates and old machinery blocks the shortest exit.

    The spindle's removal reveals the vault route and the danger of disturbing the mechanism. The crew must retrieve the ledger if they choose, isolate the floodgate, and get out before water or security traps them.

    The Floodgate Vault

    NextThe crew can escape through the maintenance tunnel, bargain with Dera, or return to the gallery and face the consequences of their approach.

  5. 3:00

    30 min

    social

    5. The Return

    Mara's harbor workshop as the regatta's final lanterns drift across the water.

    Mara receives the spindle and reacts to what the crew found. The party chooses what to do with any evidence and learns how their methods affect the harbor, the council, and their new contacts.

    NextClose the job with its immediate consequences, then use an open-ended hook if the campaign continues.

Behind it

What people believe

During the Lantern Regatta, harbor engineer Mara Venn hires the crew to recover the Moonwheel's brass control spindle from a guarded public display.

Background

The tide-locked city of Bellwether keeps its floodgates running with a brass device called the Moonwheel.

The stakes

If the spindle is lost or damaged, the failing floodgates may not withstand the next spring tide.

Encounters

2

  • The Gallery Alarm

    Combat or social conflict

    A narrow exhibit hall with waist-high brass railings, glass display cases, hanging festival banners, and one guarded stair to the service level. The display cases provide cover but can shatter and create hazardous debris.

    Foes

    • Regatta Watch Guards

    • Captain Dera Holt

    ComplicationA parade cue sends a stream of performers through the gallery midway through the scene. The crowd offers cover, but separating from the group risks being swept into a locked service corridor.

    ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-ready party, have Dera arrive after the guards are distracted or allow the guards to be persuaded to stand down. For a stronger party, add two watch guards and have Dera use the display's movable barriers to control access. Dera prefers capture and evidence over lethal force.

  • The Floodgate Vault

    Combat, skill, or exploration

    A round stone chamber below the harbor, with ankle-deep water, turning maintenance gears, a narrow catwalk, and the spindle mounted inside a locked brass cradle. Steam vents and rising water create changing routes.

    Foes

    • Clockwork Custodian

    • Regatta Watch Guards

    ComplicationThe vault's maintenance ward is custom setting-specific security, not a standard D&D 5E spell. It emits a loud chime when a marked brass plate is disturbed; a nearby valve can silence it, but doing so vents hot steam into the room.

    ScalingFor a lower-threat approach, use the custodian as a hazard that can be bypassed or disabled rather than a full combatant. For a stronger party, include a second custodian. The custodian uses simple, setting-specific actions and should be run as a construct-like foe appropriate to the group's rules, not as a claim about a specific official stat block.

Cast

4

  • Mara Venn

    QuestgiverQuestgiver and harbor engineer

    WantsWants the Moonwheel spindle recovered before the next spring tide, when its absence could leave the lower harbor vulnerable.

    “The wheel is a safeguard, not a trophy. Bring it back before the harbor notices it is gone.”

  • Pell Rook

    Ally and Lantern Regatta stage manager

    WantsWants to expose the council's habit of hiding civic failures, but will help the crew if they promise not to endanger harbor residents.

    “A good disguise is mostly confidence. The hat is just a bonus.”

  • Captain Dera Holt

    Antagonist and head of the regatta watch

    WantsHas been hired to protect the display and wants to prove that careful planning beats force.

    “I have no interest in who owns the spindle. I only care that it leaves the vault intact.”

  • Nim Sable

    Witness and junior records clerk

    WantsWants the truth about the harbor's failing floodgates made public, even if that disrupts the festival.

    “The council says the old mechanism is safe. The waterline says otherwise.”

How it ends

Rewards

Experience: Award experience appropriate to the group's rules for the overcome guards, hazards, and successful completion of objectives. The adventure is designed for level 3 characters.
Gold: 75 gp per character, negotiable based on the crew's risk and whether they return the spindle intact.
In the story: Mara can provide access to harbor maintenance routes and local engineering contacts. A publicly exposed ledger may trigger an inquiry and ongoing political fallout.
Standing: Gain favor with Bellwether's harbor workers if the floodgates are protected. Publicly exposing the ledger may earn support from residents while worsening relations with the council.

Items

  • A harbor engineer's kit: a custom set of compact tools, useful as ordinary tools at the GM's discretion.

  • A lantern with a shuttered lens, useful for concealing its light but not magical.

On a win

The spindle is returned intact and the floodgate mechanism is safely restored before the next spring tide.

What it leaves open

If the crew exposes the ledger, the council may offer them a dangerous job to retrieve other records before an inquiry begins.
Pell knows that an unknown buyer has been asking about the Moonwheel's inner gears. The buyer's interest may point to a larger scheme.
If Dera respects the crew's restraint, she may approach them later with a lawful but politically sensitive investigation.

If it fails

If the crew is caught during the gallery alarm
The crew escapes with the spindle but is identified on the harbor watch's wanted notices. Future dealings with Bellwether officials become more difficult until they clear their names or bargain for amnesty.
If the spindle is not recovered or returned before the spring tide
The floodgates remain functional for now, but the lower harbor floods during the next spring tide. Residents suffer property damage, and Mara loses public trust.
If the crew exposes the maintenance fraud without securing the ledger or protecting Nim
The public learns of the failing floodgates through rumor rather than evidence. Panic disrupts the regatta, and Nim is dismissed or detained.

Complications (d6)

  1. 1A sudden shower turns the public gallery floor slick. Anyone rushing across risks a noisy fall or dropped equipment.
  2. 2A regatta performer mistakes a crew member for a scheduled volunteer and insists they carry a cumbersome lantern through the next checkpoint.
  3. 3The watch changes its patrol route early after a signal bell is rung by mistake, closing the crew's expected passage for several minutes.
  4. 4A child recognizes a crew member from an earlier interaction and loudly asks how they got inside the restricted gallery.
  5. 5A gear jams in the exhibit. The resulting grinding noise draws nearby guards, but also briefly masks quieter sounds.
  6. 6Nim Sable slips the crew a ledger page showing a falsified maintenance date. A guard notices the handoff and starts asking questions.

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