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The River Beneath Veycross

Quests
4 scenes · about 4 hours · 3 encounters

The River Beneath Veycross

The river has moved on. Something beneath it has not.

Read aloud

The river has fallen so low that a stone road has appeared where the ferry used to cross. At its end stands a door marked with Doro Kecs's surveyor's seal. Doro says the door must be opened before the water returns, and he asks you to come with him.

Run the session

Scene
1/4
The River's New Shore
Objectives
0/4
Objectives
A complication

Cheat sheet

Objectives

  1. 1Learn why the river has receded and gain permission or a practical route to the old floodworks.
  2. 2Discover the competing claims surrounding the sealed river presence.
  3. 3Choose the fate of the floodgate before the rising water makes the decision for the party.
  4. 4Determine how much of the truth Veycross should learn about its past.Optional

The clock

The river is rising. Use a visible three-step clock: first the lower tunnels begin to fill, then the shrine channels overflow, then water reaches the floodgate controls. Advance it after major delays, loud conflicts, or failed attempts. At the final step, the party must act under immediate pressure.

Scenes

  1. 0:00The River's New Shore
  2. 0:45Under the Causeway
  3. 1:45The Keeper's Bargain
  4. 2:40The Gate's Two Channels

Cast

  • Doro KecsQuestgiver and uneasy guide
  • Mara VennAlly
  • Sella ReedAntagonist
  • Tamsin ValeWitness

The hook

Set the scene

The party meets Doro at the exposed causeway as townsfolk gather along the new riverbank. The water has receded far enough to reveal steps leading below the old ferry landing. Doro carries a rolled map and keeps glancing toward Mara Venn, who has come to ensure the party does not endanger the town. Tamsin Vale offers a warning about a bell heard beneath the water.

How Doro Kecs asks

Doro approaches the party in public at the exposed riverbank, but asks to speak privately before they enter the tunnels.

Rumours

Roll a rumour

1“The old ferry bell rings even though the ferry was scrapped years ago.”
2“Doro Kecs once helped build the floodworks, but no one agrees on why he left town.”
3“The fish in the lower river have been found facing upstream, as if listening.”
4“Sella Reed has been collecting old river stones from homes near the bank.”
5“The council has already sent workers to measure the exposed causeway, but two of them came back with soaked clothes.”

Scenes

about 4 hours

  1. 0:00

    45 min

    socialThe table is here

    1. The River's New Shore

    The exposed riverbank, with the old causeway visible across the mudflats

    Doro lays out the immediate danger, Mara challenges his authority, and Tamsin reports the bell and the strange fish. The party can ask questions, secure permission, or begin without it.

    NextDoro leads the party down the causeway toward the sealed entrance, unless the party chooses to investigate the shoreline first.

  2. 0:45

    60 min

    exploration

    2. Under the Causeway

    The submerged service tunnels beneath the old ferry landing

    The party crosses a treacherous tunnel system where rising water, unstable masonry, and blind eels threaten to delay them. Clues in the stonework show that the floodworks were sealed deliberately from the inside.

    The Silted Walkway

    NextThe marked service passage opens into a dry circular chamber bearing the symbols of an old river shrine.

  3. 1:45

    55 min

    social

    3. The Keeper's Bargain

    A circular shrine built around a dry stone basin and a network of water channels

    Sella confronts the party at the shrine and explains that the seal is failing. She can reveal the presence of the old riverbed and offer a route to the controls, but she will not accept a plan that leaves the seal unchanged.

    The Shrine of the Last Bend

    NextSella, Doro, or clues found in the shrine point toward the floodgate chamber.

  4. 2:40

    75 min

    skill

    4. The Gate's Two Channels

    The sloping control vault beneath Veycross

    The party reaches the control wheel as water begins to rise. They must understand the controls, deal with the drowned gatekeeper, and choose which channel to open or whether to attempt a third option.

    The Floodgate Chamber

    NextThe selected outcome sends water through the chosen channel, and the party returns to the surface to face the consequences with Mara and the townsfolk.

Behind it

What people believe

Doro Kecs, a former surveyor, asks the party to investigate an old floodgate beneath Veycross.

Background

Doro Kecs is a former surveyor who knows the old flood tunnels beneath the riverside town of Veycross.

The stakes

If the floodgate fails without warning, Veycross's lower ward will flood.

Encounters

3

  • The Silted Walkway

    Combat or evasion

    A waist-deep channel runs beneath a narrow, slick stone walkway. Several rusted ladders provide access to higher ledges, while loose masonry makes the footing unstable.

    Foes

    • Blind tunnel eels

    ComplicationThe eels are drawn to bright light and may be lured away with a moving lantern or a trail of fresh fish. Their thrashing can damage the narrow walkway.

    ScalingFor a small or inexperienced party, use a single eel that retreats when injured. For a larger or more capable party, add more eels and have the walkway begin to break apart during the fight.

  • The Shrine of the Last Bend

    Social confrontation with possible combat

    A circular chamber surrounds a dry stone basin. Thin streams run through channels in the floor, and a raised altar offers cover. The chamber has two narrow exits, one partly flooded.

    Foes

    • Sella Reed

    • River-shrine wardens

    ComplicationSella offers to guide the group through the shrine if they agree to open the old watercourse. If they refuse, she tries to take the brass key and escape through a submerged passage.

    ScalingFor a lower-threat session, make the wardens cautious locals who can be persuaded to stand aside. For a more dangerous session, they fight to hold the shrine and Sella uses the flowing water to control access to the room.

  • The Floodgate Chamber

    Hazard and confrontation

    A sloping, flooded vault contains a giant wheel, a cracked control pedestal, and a narrow ledge above the water. The central gate has two visible controls, one for the town channel and one for the ancient riverbed.

    Foes

    • The drowned gatekeeper

    ComplicationThe gate control is damaged. It can be repaired, forced, or bypassed, but each approach takes time while water rises in the chamber.

    ScalingFor a gentler finale, the gatekeeper only obstructs the controls and can be calmed by returning its bronze token. For a harsher finale, it attacks anyone who touches the mechanism and the water rises more quickly.

Cast

4

  • Doro Kecs

    QuestgiverQuestgiver and uneasy guide

    WantsDoro wants to reach the sealed floodworks before the town's officials destroy evidence of what happened there. He is also trying to make amends for having helped design the original seal.

    “I mapped those tunnels once. I can get you to the door, but I cannot promise what is waiting on the other side.”

  • Mara Venn

    Ally, town reeve

    WantsMara wants to protect Veycross without causing a panic. She distrusts Doro's account because he left town after the original disaster.

    “If the old gates fail, the lower ward is gone. I need proof before I can order an evacuation.”

  • Sella Reed

    Antagonist, keeper of the old river shrine

    WantsSella seeks to restore the ancient watercourse and free the presence trapped behind the floodgate. She believes the town's survival is less important than ending its occupation of the river's sacred channel.

    “The river is only taking back what your town stole from it.”

  • Tamsin Vale

    Witness, ferry operator

    WantsTamsin wants to keep her family safe and is willing to share what she witnessed, but fears being blamed for trespassing near the old causeway.

    “I heard a bell under the water, and then the fish all turned belly-up. You should not follow the sound.”

How it ends

Rewards

Experience: Award experience or milestone progress appropriate to the system for completing a multi-stage investigation, overcoming the floodworks, and making a consequential choice.
Gold: A modest fee of 100 to 250 gold or equivalent valuables from the town council, adjusted to the campaign's economy.
In the story: The characters become known as the people who decided Veycross's relationship with the river. Their actions may shift the town's leadership, population, and trade routes.
Standing: Earn standing with Veycross's council if the lower ward is protected, with Sella's river-shrine community if the old channel is restored, or with both if the party negotiates a plan that includes relocation and staged release.

Items

  • Doro's waterproof survey map, marked with service passages and old control points

  • A brass floodgate key that can open other sealed municipal works

  • A river-glass charm from Sella, valued as a keepsake and recognized by local shrine-keepers

On a win

The party makes a deliberate choice about the floodgate, prevents an uncontrolled breach, and gives Veycross a chance to respond.

What it leaves open

If the old riverbed is reopened, a newly accessible stretch of water reveals ruins that do not appear on any map.
If the town channel is preserved, Sella may leave to seek help from other river communities, while the trapped presence continues to weaken the seal.
If Doro's part in the original decision becomes public, Mara must decide whether to prosecute him or ask him to help rebuild the floodworks.
The drowned gatekeeper may have recognized one of the characters, suggesting that the seal was designed with more than town engineering in mind.

If it fails

Failing the navigation or traversal challenges in the old tunnels
If the party cannot reach the gate before the water rises, the lower ward floods. Residents can be evacuated, but homes, stores, and the town's riverside archive are lost.
Failing to resolve the confrontation at the shrine
If the group loses the brass key or drives Sella away without learning her intent, the final gate can still be opened, but doing so requires a risky improvised method and gives the party less control over the outcome.
Failing to operate or deliberately refusing to decide the fate of the floodgate
If the party leaves the gate untouched or chooses an unsafe control sequence, the river breaks through the old channel. Veycross survives only if the party and townsfolk can organize a rapid evacuation.

Complications (d6)

  1. 1A sudden surge fills the lowest tunnel. Anyone inside must retreat to higher ground or find a way to close a nearby sluice.
  2. 2A pack of blind tunnel eels slips through a cracked culvert and attacks whoever is carrying the brightest light.
  3. 3A carved marker identifies Doro as the surveyor who approved the original seal, prompting nearby workers or townsfolk to question his motives.
  4. 4The group finds a fresh offering of river reeds and coins. Sella is close enough to observe them, and she may approach if they leave the offering undisturbed.
  5. 5A corroded gate drops across the passage, separating the party. Its counterweight can be raised from a flooded chamber on the far side.
  6. 6A deep bell rings from below. For several minutes, spoken directions echo from the wrong passage, making navigation unreliable.

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