The Tragedy of Talent Draff
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
System: Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Tools: Mythic GME 2e
In Part 1, we met Talent Draff, the disgraced scion of a crime empire who waylaid a rival transport hoping to get back in his father’s good graces - only to find some very uncommon cargo inside.
In Part 2, he learned from his old companion Torth that the body he found in the transport was a Draff family spy sho had been found out by their rivals the Renks. Talent’s new plan is to complete the spy’s mission - uncovering something valuable at a Renk family warehouse - and leverage that info to get back on top.
After some reconnaissance, Talent is ready to sneak into the warehouse under cover of night and ransack the manager’s office. If there’s something the Renks are hiding, he’s bound to find it there.
Scene: Breaking and Entering
My expectation is that this next scene will start with Talent putting his plan into action: he enters the neighboring building under construction to sneak into the Renk warehouse. But, before I can do that, I need to test the scene.
Testing the Expected Scene
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Result: 6 over 4 = Expected Scene
Talent steps over the barricade and enters the building, making his way up catwalks and scaffolding to a window overlooking the roof of the warehouse.
Mythic Fate Question: Is there a guard on the roof?
Odds: 50/50
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 36 over 35 = No
Man, that’s a squeaker. No guard on the roof at the moment.
Talent leaps from the perfectly-positioned window to the roof of the warehouse and ducks down, hand on the hilt of his spear. He waits. The water of the lake laps quietly against the docks below, but otherwise all is quiet.
Having worked second shift at a warehouse myself, I know that operations don’t only take place during daylight hours, but that was in industrialized capitalist retail, not fantasy land. Still, if the Renks are another crime family, I doubt they’re lauded for equitable labor practices.
Mythic Fate Question: Is there a night shift working?
Odds: Likely
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 97 over 50 = Exceptional No
What does it mean that there’s exceptionally no night shift?
How about there’s no morning shift tomorrow, either? It’s the “day of rest” for the religion practiced here on the frontier, and Talent just happened to come at the right time. So whatever he does, that’ll give him some extra time before it’s discovered.
Talent looks over the back of the building, out over the lake, and sees that the docks are all quiet; no laborers, just some cargo ships moored and bobbing in the water. No lights spilling out from the warehouse floor, either. Time to take a look inside.
The inside of the warehouse is split into two levels: an upper level for offices and supervisors, where they can look out on the warehouse floor, connected by open catwalks and stairs; and an open lower level for the actual labor of importing and exporting. There are crates stacked in piles, a wood-and-rope crane, and a number of carts by the front bay doors, ready to be loaded or unloaded.
There must be guards, but how many? Rather than ask a Fate Question, I think I’m just going to roll a D4 to get a number.
Number of guards: 1
The only light here, other than the moonlight that comes in through the enormous windows, is from a single lantern that bobs as the guard carries it around.
Mythic Fate Question: Is the guard on the upper level?
Odds: 50/50
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 73 over 35 = No
The guard is down on the warehouse floor, where his rounds take him between some of the stacks of crates. As the light disappears between the crates, Talent creeps towards the offices in the shadowy upper reaches of the warehouse.
Mythic Fate Question: Is the supervisor’s on the upper level?
Odds: Nearly Certain
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 94 over 75 = No
That’s not another “Exceptional No,” but it is a “No,” even with the “Nearly Certain” odds, so the door swings open.
Talent takes one last look at the warehouse floor and steps into the office.
Now, what exactly is he looking for? Philomena was working as a clerk, and she discovered something that the Renks wanted to keep quiet – so it’s probably something to do with what they’re transporting, who they’re transporting it for, or how they’re handling the finances. That’s the sort of thing that might be in shipping manifests or logs, so that’s what Talent will look for.
Ability Check: Investigation
Result: 9 under 20 = Failure
Talent doesn’t find anything in the drawers or desks here, though he does find a safe that could have something incriminating inside.
Here Talent is “failing forward;” even though he finds something, the failed roll means he spends so long investigating that he doesn’t notice the guard finishing his rounds on the floor, climbing the stairs, and…
“Hey! What are you doing in here?”
Lanternlight spills through the door as the watchman opens it and sees Talent elbow-deep in Renk documents. He reaches for his club.
Initiative
Talent: 8
Watchman: 16
The watchman goes first.
Watchman Round 1
Melee Attack (Club)
Attack Roll 18 vs AC 16
Damage: 5 bludgeoning
The watchman rushes Talent and makes a wide swing. He clocks Talent in the head before he can duck out of the way. Stars swim in front of Talent’s eyes and he staggers back from the drawer, sending papers flying.
Talent Round 1
Melee Attack (Spear)
Attack Roll 8 vs AC 14
Talent lashes out with both hands on his spear, but the spear tip rattles the guard’s chain shirt, unable to make it through.
Sensing his advantage, the guard strikes again, yelling out, “Drop your weapon and lie on the floor!”
Watchman Round 2
Melee Attack (Club)
Attack Roll 12 vs AC 16
The club thuds on the studded leather armor without doing any damage.
I forgot about Talent’s ranger skills again!
Talent Round 2
Bonus Action: Hunter’s Mark (Watchman)
Melee Attack (Spear)
Attack Roll 13 vs AC 14
Talent mutters a curse at the watchman and jabs with his spear, but again he just rattles the chain shirt without enough force to pierce it.
Back to the guard. I don’t think there’s any change in tactics – so far Talent hasn’t managed to hurt him, and the tiefling has refused to surrender, so it’s time to take him down.
Watchman Round 3
Melee Attack (Club)
Attack Roll 16 vs AC 16
Damage: 2 bludgeoning
The office spins around Talent, and the watchman comes at him from either his left or his right – he can’t tell which. He pulls back his spear to block, but goes in the wrong direction, and takes another blow to the head.
Talent has 4 hit points left.
With a yell of fury, Talent lunges again with the spear, hoping this will be the strike that puts this guard out of both of their misery.
Talent Round 3
Melee Attack (Spear)
Attack Roll 16 vs AC 14
Damage: 7 piercing
Even with the Hunter’s Mark, that’s a pretty weak hit.
Talent manages to drive the spear through the chain, deep into the guard’s shoulder.
Because of Talent’s “Weapon Mastery,” the guard has disadvantage if he attacks next round.
I say “weak” compared to what the max damage could have been (18!), but it’s still more than half of the guard’s hit points. Now the guard and Talent are both bloodied and breathing heavily, and the fight could go either way.
Mythic Fate Question: Does the watchman run for help?
Odds: Likely
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 63 over 50 = No
Even with his energy sapped from the spear wound, the watchman attacks again.
Watchman Round 4
Melee Attack at Disadvantage (Club)
Attack Roll 15 vs AC 16
Damage: 7 piercing
He swipes at talent with the club but it’s a weak blow, thudding off the studded armor.
Can Talent end things here?
Talent Round 4
Melee Attack (Spear)
Attack Roll 14 vs AC 14
Damage: 7 piercing
After the weak clubbing, Talent gets the spear under the watchman’s armor and buries it in the his torso. He drops his lantern, plunging the room into darkness again, as he breathes his last. Talent lowers him to the floor and removes his spear with a sickening shluck.
Now what? This safe is a problem. Talent is no safecracker, and he can’t exactly ask the guard for the combination. Blasting it is also out of the question, in case what’s inside is very flammable sensitive documents. Talent has to get it to somebody who can help him crack the combination.
That loading crane I mentioned earlier would probably serve the purpose I need here. Working swiftly, Talent uses the guard’s club to knock out the windows of the office, then swings the crane into position. He secures the rope around the safe and yanks it out over the floor, then lowers it into one of the waiting carts.
I’m not sure where the Renks get their draft horses, but they’re probably not kept on the shipping floor.
Mythic Fate Question: Is there a stable at the warehouse?
Odds: Very Unlikely
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 55 over 15 = No
With the guard taken care of, though, there’s nothing to keep Talent from just walking out of the warehouse, getting his horses from the cart he arrived with, and bringing them over. Since the body is gone and he doesn’t need the cart anymore, he can also make good on that original mission to vandalize the cart.
Talent grabs some paint from the maintenance area and hoofs it out of the warehouse, making his way through the deserted streets back to the cart. He paints “If we can find you here, we can find you anywhere” on the side and cuts the draft horses loose.
I think slipping out of the warehouse is one thing, but returning with a pair of giant horses is another. I think it’s a little unlikely he’ll be seen, being the middle of the night and all, but he is right across the way from that tavern where he was staked out earlier. Let’s call the odds 50/50.
Mythic Fate Question: Does anybody see Talent return to the warehouse?
Odds: 50/50
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 21 under 35 = Yes
Okay, so somebody saw him… but that doesn’t necessarily mean a lot.
Mythic Fate Question: Do they get the authorities?
Odds: Likely
Current Chaos Factor: 4
Results: 66 over 50 = No
They don’t get the guards - but now there’s a witness. That could come back to bite Talent.
Working as fast as he can, Talent hitches the draft horses to the cart and leaves the warehouse. That was an action-packed scene and he’s feeling pretty dizzy from the fight, but he needs to put some distance between himself and the mess he left behind, so he takes off down the road and into the night.
Okay, bookkeeping time. For the threads, let’s add another instance of “Find incriminating evidence” and remove “investigate the Renk office.” There’s also a new thread that I think is slightly different: “Open the safe.”
And for characters, I don’t think I need to remove anything, but I will add two items: the safe that Talent stole, and “Warehouse” again, to represent the scene of the crime.
Mythic Threads: Find incriminating evidence; Find incriminating evidence; Open the safe
Mythic Characters: Torth; Transport; Driver; Renks; Torth; Torth; Warehouse; Safe; Warehouse
For the Chaos Factor, I think I’m going to raise it back up to 5. Despite a strong start, I think Talent was kind of on his back foot the whole night. He got caught by the guard, he didn’t find any evidence, he was seen at the warehouse, and he left a whole mess of damage behind. Things have already gotten more complicated from his initial mission, and they could just keep spinning out of control if he doesn’t get something to hold over the Renks.
Current Chaos Factor: 4 -> 5
Scene: Blinker the Tinker
I think the next obvious scene would be Talent visiting somebody who can crack the safe. But where would that person be? All his underworld connections are probably back in the city, where Talent isn’t supposed to be. So I think he has to make his return a little earlier than expected, and hopefully get something out of this safe before the Renks come after him OR the Draffs realize he’s returned.
Testing the Expected Scene
Current Chaos Factor: 5
Result: 1 under 5 = Altered Scene
Testing the scene, I roll a 1, which is under the Chaos Factor and odd - meaning that instead of the expected scene, I instead have an “Altered Scene.” Mythic offers a few methods for altering the scene, from small tweaks to complete overhauls, but I’m going to go with the randomness of the “Scene Adjustment Table.”
Scene Adjustment Table: 5 “Remove an Object.”
Okay, what could that mean? The only object that leaps to mind is the safe, and I don’t think it really makes sense for that to be removed. Maybe it’s something to do with the safecracker, not with Talent. Like a key piece of equipment.
Talent brings this cart into the city, where he hasn’t been for months. All his memories of his time here flood over him; the smells of the market stalls, the sounds of street hawkers and wheels on cobblestones, the air tinged with smoke from forges and cookfires and lanterns. This is where he’s meant to be, where he would have stayed if not for one screw-up. The people here love him, but he can’t even let them know he’s back. He takes his cart slowly through the streets with a hood pulled over his head, and bites his tongue as other drivers and pedestrians hurl insults and tell him to get out of the way.
He makes his way to a side alley in the shadier environs of the market district, where a bulkhead with no sign leads underground. He knocks, tap-taptap-tap-taptap, and waits a moment before a bulky Half-Orc throws the door open.
“Is the doctor in?” says Talent.
The Half-Orc blinks, as if doing so will make what he’s seeing make more sense. “Talent?” he grumbles.
“Yes, yes,” says Talent, “but let’s not make a big deal out of it. Is he here?”
“Yes,” says the Half-Orc. “You have business?”
Talent jerks his thumb back at the cart. “In the back of the cart. Bring it inside, will you?”
The Half-Orc grumbles again and steps into the alley, squinting at the light, as Talent brushes by him into the darkness of the subterranean passageway.
Blinker the Tinker’s workshop looks like a pawn shop exploded in a dungeon; pools of light, cast from all different types of alchemical lanterns, fight for dominance amongst the shelves and tables covered in books, junk, potion bottles, junk, tools, junk, and various bits, bobs and flotsam that might generously be called “junk.”
The old one eyed Dragonborn creaks his way to Talent and embraces the young Draff in a hug. “Talent!” he says warmly, “what are you doing back in the ssssity sssso sssssoon? Ssssssomething to do with that busssssiness on the road?”
“Torth beat me back, did he?” says Talent. “Did he make it clear that we were working on a job that he brought to me, on information that he gathered?”
“Well, you know these climbers,” says Blinker. “Sssso focussssed on their own advansssssment they might forget one or two detailsssss.”
Talent shrugs. “I can’t say I blame him,” he says. “That means I don’t have to share the credit with him when we get this open.”
Blinker’s burly Half-Orc assistant clambers down the stairs bent double, the heavy safe wrapped in his arms. With a swipe of his scaled arm, Blinker clears one of his tables to make room for him to examine it.
“Hmm,” he says, “Lookssss like Dwarven dessssign.” He adjusts a monocle, the lens snapping through a series of different colors. “Yessss, definitely Dwarven. A Thargal Moonsssssmith model. He alwaysssss hidessss a rune in the sssssteel.” He points at a nondescript corner of the safe, as if there’s something there for Talent to see.
Talent shrugs. “Fascinating. But I’m less interested in the safe and more interested in what’s inside it.”
“Well, that pressssentssss a bit of a problem,” says Blinker. He taps on the locking mechanism. “Moonssssssmith lockssss are imbued with magic, ssssso I need a sssssspecial tool to open it. Unfortunately, it’sssss one I don’t have in my repertoire.”
This is the point where the “Remove Object” comes into play; whatever tool Blinker would have had to open the safe, he doesn’t have it. So, naturally, Talent has to find it for him.
“What is this tool?” says Talent. “And more importantly, where can I find one?”
Okay, perfect time for some more random tables.
Mythic Magic Item Descriptor Table: “Wand” + “Container”
Mythic Dungeon Descriptor Table: “Scary” + “Empty”
Mythic Location Table: “Clean” + “Useful”
Now to put it all together. The item seems clear: it’s a wand that opens containers, maybe by casting the “Knock” spell. It’s in a scary + empty dungeon within or under a clean + useful location.
Maybe “clean” doesn’t mean spotless, but it’s more of a verb, as in cleaning. The city’s waste processing system could be built on top of old catacombs; by the time it was built, the catacombs were abandoned and simply provided another egress for the city’s waste.
“There are sssstoriessss,” says Blinker, “of a wisssard who wasssss buried with all his treassssssures, underneath where thisssss sssssity ssssstandssss.” Talent and Blinker glance around at their subterranean environs with a touch of unease. “The catacombsssss where he wassss laid to ressssst became part of the ssssssity’s ssssssewer sssssysssstem. For a magic lock, I require a magic lockpick. There’ssssss bound to be sssssomething that was buried with the wisssssard and hisss treassssuressss.”
I think this scene has accomplished what it needs to - no need to play out Blinker and Talent catching up on old times, discussing directions to the sewer system, or trading so-nice-to-see-you-agains. Talent has his next objective: raid the dead wizard’s catacombs and find the magic wand that can open the safe.
Bookkeeping: for the plot threads, I’m going to add another instance of “open the safe” and an additional thread, “Find the Wizard’s treasure,” which is just so wonderfully D&D. For characters, I think I can remove the Driver and Torth, since their impact (spreading news about Talent’s ambush on the cart) has already played out. I will add an instance of “Draffs,” since Mordai now knows Talent is up to something; another instance of “Safe,” since that was a focus of this last scene; I’ll add the NPC “Blinker the Tinker”; and I’ll add “Catacombs.”
Mythic Threads: Find incriminating evidence; Find incriminating evidence; Open the safe; Open the safe; Find the Wizard’s treasure
Mythic Characters: Transport; Renks; Warehouse; Safe; Warehouse; Draffs; Safe; Blinker the Tinker; Catacombs
For the Chaos Factor, I think it has to go up. That whole “altered scene” really changed this beat for Talent; instead of opening the safe, he’s got to go on a fetch quest to a dangerous dungeon. So the Chaos Factor is now up to 6.
Current Chaos Factor: 5 -> 6
Conclude Talent’s story: Part 4
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