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The Nettle Baths - AI-generated fantasy Quest

The Nettle Baths

Quests
4 scenes · about 3.5 hours · 2 encounters

The Nettle Baths

A quiet refuge hides a restless spring.

Read aloud

The water at the Nettle Baths has turned cold, and last night it climbed the walls against gravity. The proprietor offers a reward for anyone who can find the cause before the frightened guests abandon the place for good.

Run the session

Scene
1/4
A Cold Welcome
Objectives
0/4
Objectives
A complication

Cheat sheet

Objectives

  1. 1Discover why the baths have gone cold and why the water is behaving unnaturally.
  2. 2Find the missing key and learn what the old seal is meant to protect.
  3. 3Contain the danger beneath the baths.
  4. 4Preserve the baths' reputation as neutral, trustworthy ground.Optional

The clock

The spring grows colder and surges more violently each night. After three nights, the lower cistern floods enough to damage the baths and give the Brine Keeper a path into the ravine.

Scenes

  1. 0:00A Cold Welcome
  2. 0:35Tracks in the Steam
  3. 1:30The Surveyor's Measure
  4. 2:10The Spring's Claim

Cast

  • Mara VennQuestgiver and proprietor
  • Tovin ReedWitness and bath attendant
  • Edrin SallowAlly
  • The Brine KeeperAntagonist

The hook

Set the scene

The party arrives as staff carry buckets of lukewarm water from the bathing rooms. Mara Venn meets them beside the drained central pool, where the stone is slick despite the dry air. She explains that the spring began cooling three nights ago, and that a guest saw water crawling upward along a tiled wall. Tovin waits nearby, visibly shaken, while the remaining guests whisper behind closed screens.

How Mara Venn asks

Mara approaches the party directly if they are guests or travelers.

Rumours

Roll a rumour

1“The baths were built over a much older stone chamber, but the proprietor keeps the lower door locked.”
2“The spring once saved a whole caravan from fever, and locals say it has moods like a person.”
3“Someone has been buying copper fittings in the village, though the bathhouse has not ordered any repairs.”
4“A guest claims the cold water whispered a name, but refuses to say whose.”

Scenes

about 3.5 hours

  1. 0:00

    35 min

    socialThe table is here

    1. A Cold Welcome

    The reception room and drained central pool of the Nettle Baths.

    Introduce Mara's request, establish the guests' concerns, and let the party choose whether to investigate openly or discreetly.

    NextTovin offers to show the party where the water climbed the wall, while Mara gives them access to the staff passages.

  2. 0:35

    55 min

    exploration

    2. Tracks in the Steam

    Private bathing rooms, the nettle-lined courtyard, and the narrow service passages.

    Collect testimony and physical clues. A careful investigation finds mineral residue above the old waterline and signs that someone removed a copper fitting recently. Tovin can describe the water's movement, while guests provide conflicting accounts.

    The Flooded Service Walk

    NextThe trail leads toward the lower cistern, and Edrin Sallow admits that he knows the old mechanism.

  3. 1:30

    40 min

    social

    3. The Surveyor's Measure

    A cramped valve room where pipe diagrams and old restoration notes are kept.

    Edrin explains that a copper key was removed from the seal and offers his knowledge of the lower controls. Pressing him reveals he removed it himself, though his reason is not yet clear unless the party has earned his trust.

    NextEdrin leads the party to the cistern, or the party must find another way down if they reject his help.

  4. 2:10

    80 min

    combat

    4. The Spring's Claim

    The ancient cistern beneath the baths.

    Face the Brine Keeper amid the surging water. The party can fight, bargain, or use the key and Edrin's instructions to restore the seal. A solution that preserves the spring's shared access earns the guardian's cooperation.

    The Cistern Wakes

    NextWith the cistern stable or breached, the party returns to the bathhouse to determine what the guests and Mara will learn.

Behind it

What people believe

The spring at the Nettle Baths has gone cold, and strange surges have damaged the lower service passages.

Background

The Nettle Baths are a secluded, steam-filled bathhouse built around mineral springs in a ravine.

The stakes

If the party fails, the cistern may flood the bathhouse, the Brine Keeper may escape into the ravine's waterways, and the baths may close.

Encounters

2

  • The Cistern Wakes

    Combat or negotiation

    A circular stone cistern beneath the bathhouse, with narrow maintenance ledges, ankle- to waist-deep water, steaming vents, and a central bronze seal.

    Foes

    • Brine Keeper

    • 2-4 Spring-Woken Figures

    ComplicationSteam clouds visibility, and unstable grates shift underfoot. If the party fails to secure the area, the Brine Keeper can use surging water to separate characters or sweep loose objects away.

    ScalingFor a smaller or less capable party, use the Brine Keeper alone and make the water's hazards predictable. For a larger or more experienced party, add Spring-Woken Figures or have the guardian call one additional figure from a side channel. The encounter can be resolved through combat, negotiation, or restoring the seal.

  • The Flooded Service Walk

    Skill challenge or exploration

    A narrow service passage lined with old copper pipes, nettle roots, and waist-high water.

    Foes

    • None required; use the d6 complications table for pressure

    ComplicationIf the party rushes past the evidence, Edrin cannot explain the old controls in time, and the cistern encounter begins with an active surge. If they protect the guests and examine the valve room, they can shut off one hazard before entering.

    ScalingFor a low-pressure session, make the passage stable and the challenge about choosing a route. For a tense session, use a rising water level, slippery stones, and a time limit before the lower steps flood.

Cast

4

  • Mara Venn

    QuestgiverQuestgiver and proprietor

    WantsKeep the baths open and protect the privacy of the guests who depend on them.

    “The spring has never run cold in my lifetime. Find out what has changed, but do not turn my guests into suspects.”

  • Tovin Reed

    Witness and bath attendant

    WantsConvince people that the spring is dangerous before another worker gets hurt.

    “I heard the stones singing under the floor. Then the water climbed the wall like it was looking for someone.”

  • Edrin Sallow

    Ally, a retired surveyor who helped restore the bathhouse

    WantsRecover a stolen copper key and contain the old mechanism beneath the baths, while avoiding blame for having concealed the truth.

    “You are standing on a seal, not a spring. Help me close it properly and the water will settle.”

  • The Brine Keeper

    Antagonist, an awakened guardian bound to the spring

    WantsDefend the spring's buried source from those who would bind it to a single household.

    “This water remembers every hand that has tried to own it.”

How it ends

Rewards

Experience: Award experience or equivalent advancement for resolving the investigation, protecting bystanders, and containing the cistern's danger.
Gold: A fair purse from Mara, appropriate to the campaign's economy, plus free lodging and bathing while repairs are completed.
In the story: The party earns a quiet refuge and a reputation for solving delicate problems without turning every mystery into a public scandal.
Standing: The local community gains confidence in the party. If the group keeps guest confidences, Mara and the baths' regulars become reliable contacts.

Items

  • A small tin of nettle salve that soothes irritation and minor stings; its exact mechanical effect is custom and should suit the system.

  • A stamped copper bath token granting the party welcome at the Nettle Baths.

On a win

The party identifies the cause of the cold water, reaches the cistern, and resolves the danger without allowing the spring to be claimed by one person or faction.

What it leaves open

A guest recognizes the copper key's maker's mark as belonging to an abandoned estate upriver.
After the seal is repaired, the spring begins producing unusually clear water that reveals fleeting images to anyone who bathes alone.
The Brine Keeper names another sealed spring in the region that has recently been disturbed.

If it fails

The lower cistern floods and the baths close while repairs begin. The Brine Keeper escapes into the ravine's waterways, creating a future threat.
The party cannot calm or contain the guardian before the seal fails.
Mara loses trust in the party, and the baths' regulars refuse to share what they saw. The group can still investigate, but must rely on physical evidence and risk losing local goodwill.
The party exposes private guest information or accuses an innocent visitor without evidence.
Edrin attempts a hurried repair alone. The spring settles temporarily, but a later surge damages the baths and reveals that the underlying problem remains.
The party chooses to leave the copper key in Edrin's hands without securing the seal.

Complications (d6)

  1. 1A burst pipe fills a passage with scalding water. The party must find the shutoff wheel or take a safer, longer route.
  2. 2A guest recognizes one character and insists on discussing a private grievance in the middle of the investigation.
  3. 3A cloud of nettle pollen sweeps through an outdoor walkway, causing painful welts and obscuring sight until it is cleared or avoided.
  4. 4The spring's water briefly reflects an old memory belonging to one character, distracting them and revealing a fragment of the bathhouse's past.
  5. 5A frightened attendant locks the wrong door, separating the group or cutting off their route to the lower cistern.
  6. 6A sudden surge washes the copper key toward a drain. Recovering it requires quick action before it disappears into the old channels.

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