The Karot Card
The Karot Card
Read aloud
Mara Venn sets a gold coin on the table and slides a charcoal sketch of a painted card toward you. “A courier found this in the road, and now a collector has vanished with the real thing. Bring the card back before sunset, and I will pay you double.”
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find the card's trail and identify where Corvin took it.
- 2Enter the abandoned observatory.
- 3Stop Corvin from using the card to activate the damaged lens.
- 4Prevent the observatory from frightening the town with uncontrolled visions.Optional
The clock
Corvin intends to activate the lens at sunset. If the party delays beyond then, the first wave of visions reaches the town, raising the stakes but not ending the adventure.
Scenes
- 0:00A Card Gone Missing
- 0:30The Road to the Hall
- 1:10The Broken Gallery
- 1:55The Lens Chamber
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Sister Edda PellAlly
- Corvin RuskAntagonist
- Tavi OrrelWitness
The hook
Set the scene
At the Copper Kettle, Mara Venn shares the charcoal sketch and her offer. Tavi, pale and reluctant, is nearby and can explain that the card seemed to show a personal fear rather than a reliable prophecy. Mara knows Corvin has been asking about the Hall of Measures, an abandoned observatory a half-day's walk away.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party at the Copper Kettle inn, offering an upfront coin and a larger payment for the card's safe return.
She is direct and practical, but avoids discussing why she wants the card back before sunset.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
30 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Card Gone Missing
The Copper Kettle inn, during a busy early evening.
Mara makes her offer. The party can question her, inspect the sketch, and speak with Tavi, who describes the card's unsettling images.
NextTavi remembers Corvin asking about the Hall of Measures and offers directions to the old road.
0:30
40 min
exploration
2. The Road to the Hall
A wooded track and a weather-damaged footbridge on the way to the observatory.
The characters follow the old road, find Corvin's dropped notes, and choose whether to cross a washed-out bridge or take a longer route through the marsh.
NextThe trail reaches the ruined entrance, where recent footprints lead into the gallery.
1:10
45 min
combat
3. The Broken Gallery
The Hall of Measures' ruined public gallery.
The party navigates the cracked gallery and meets scavengers who may be fought, bribed, or persuaded to share what they saw.
The Broken GalleryNextA brass key or a scavenger's directions leads to a stairway beneath the main hall.
1:55
60 min
social
4. The Lens Chamber
The lens chamber under the observatory, lit by intermittent flashes from the damaged instrument.
In the underground chamber, the party confronts Corvin, learns why he wants the lens activated, and can bargain with him or fight. The characters can attempt to stabilize or disable the mechanism.
The Lens ChamberNextWith the card secured and the lens dealt with, the party returns to Mara or follows the observatory's records toward a new lead.
Behind it
What people believe
A painted card called the Karot has gone missing, and its disappearance has unsettled the nearby town.
The innkeeper Mara Venn offers a reward for its return. Witnesses place the card in the hands of Corvin Rusk, a collector last seen heading toward the abandoned Hall of Measures. The party must track him down, recover the card, and decide what to do with the observatory's damaged equipment.
Background
The Karot Card is a hand-painted divination card said to depict a crowned figure standing before a darkened sun.
Local tradition claims it predicts the fate of whoever holds it. In truth, its imagery is tied to an old observatory beneath the abandoned Hall of Measures, where an astrologer once used a similar card to focus a magical instrument. The card is valuable, but the rumors around it have made it dangerous.
The stakes
If Corvin activates the damaged lens, frightened visions will spread through the nearby town, causing panic and possibly injuries as people flee or act on what they believe they saw.
The card may also pass into the hands of a collector who will use its reputation to exploit others.
Encounters
2The Broken Gallery
Combat or negotiation
A ruined gallery with cracked flagstones, toppled display cases, and narrow paths between stone columns.
Foes
2 to 4 observatory scavengers
1 scavenger lookout
ComplicationThe floor is cracked above a shallow but debris-filled drop. Loud impacts or a failed shove can break away a section of the walkway. Treat this as a custom terrain hazard, not a standard monster ability.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use two scavengers and omit the lookout. For a larger or more capable party, add one scavenger or give the lookout a position with half cover. Use appropriate low-challenge humanoid stat blocks from the chosen rules source.
The Lens Chamber
Combat or social
A circular chamber beneath the Hall of Measures, with a raised central dais, a damaged brass lens, and movable stone screens that provide cover.
Foes
Corvin Rusk
1 to 2 animated observatory guardians
ComplicationThe observatory lens flares whenever someone handles the card. A creature standing in the beam must move behind cover or risk being blinded until the end of its next turn. This is a custom environmental effect.
ScalingFor a party of three, use Corvin and one guardian. For a party of five, use two guardians. Give Corvin a low-level spellcaster or bandit-style stat block appropriate to the campaign, and clearly treat any card-related magic as custom.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, proprietor of the Copper Kettle inn
WantsRecover the card before its strange effects frighten the town or attract collectors.
“Bring me the card before the next sunset. I will pay for its return, no questions asked.”
Sister Edda Pell
Ally, caretaker of a small roadside shrine
WantsKeep the card from being used to reactivate the observatory's damaged magical lens.
“It does not show the future. It shows what the viewer is afraid to see.”
Corvin Rusk
Antagonist, amateur collector and former apprentice to the observatory's groundskeeper
WantsUse the card and the observatory to prove that her visions are real and gain influence in town.
“The card chose me. You can help me finish what it started, or you can get out of my way.”
Tavi Orrel
Witness, local courier who briefly possessed the card
WantsWarn the party and prevent anyone else from being drawn into the card's visions.
“I saw a black sun in the card, and then my brother walked into the river. I will not look again.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The Karot Card, a story item with no guaranteed mechanical effect
A brass observatory key that opens a side entrance to the Hall of Measures
One potion of healing, if appropriate for the campaign's treasure level
On a win
The party recovers the Karot Card and prevents the damaged lens from spreading its visions through town.
Mara pays the agreed reward, while Sister Edda asks the characters to keep the card somewhere safe. If they leave the mechanism active or hand the card to Corvin, the immediate crisis may be delayed rather than resolved.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to return the card to Mara.
- Mara pays only a reduced fee and loses confidence in the party. The card's location becomes a public rumor, drawing competing treasure hunters.
- The party cannot stop Corvin from activating the lens.
- The lens emits a brief burst of light and goes dark. Corvin escapes with the card, while the party can still pursue him or seek another way to recover it.
- The party mishandles the card's visions in front of the villagers.
- Tavi's fear becomes a town-wide panic, and the party must spend time reassuring witnesses before they can leave with the card.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden rainstorm washes out the footbridge to the Hall of Measures, forcing the party to find a ford or make a careful crossing.
- 2A frightened villager mistakes a party member for Corvin's accomplice and raises an alarm in the nearest settlement.
- 3The card briefly shows each viewer a personal fear. A character who studies it must succeed on a suitable Wisdom check or lose time arguing over what they saw.
- 4A pair of opportunistic scavengers reach the observatory first and remove a brass lens component, making the final mechanism harder to stabilize.
- 5Corvin sends a misleading note claiming he will surrender the card at the shrine, hoping to split the party.
- 6A heavy stone door shifts shut behind the party in the underground observatory, separating anyone who failed to keep close to the group.
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