CC-1: Capture the Flagon
Author: Taylor Bush
It's the Feast of the Blue Rose!
Once a year, the great flower in Blue Rose Plaza blooms wide, thinning the veil between here and elsewhere. Merriment, yes, revelry, yes, but more important: competition. Mysterious flagons manifest in two random bars on the square, with a strange reward going to whoever can break in, retrieve one, and return it to the impatient rose. Beware: tensions are high and liquor is flowing; juiced-up clientele are ready to defend the flagons with their lives.
Tonight, competition is stiff. Nobody's succeeded in retrieving a flagon from the two chosen bars: 12 Light and Night Terroir. Failed thieves nurse their wounds in the square. The crowd rides strong, waiting for all hell to break loose once someone actually gets their hands on a prize.
Are you prepared to Capture the Flagon?
(an adventure for Mark of the Odd games)
Bars
12 Light
This bar slipped inside the shell of an ancient church like a spiritual hermit crab. While drab on the surface, it maintains an attractive air of exclusivity thanks to its purity clause. Is your heart clean enough for the Light? Inside: beer done Trappist-style. Try the Tripel!
Owner: Deutero Isaiah (HP 3, Armor 1, 12/8/12, Bare fist beatdown 1d8)
Hair shorn in dark robes, Deutero Isaiah brews beer like his life depends on it. Because it does. His predecessor, Proto Isaiah, was sent into exile long ago after a bad batch. Prophets say between one to three Isaiahs lie in 12 Light's future. Time will tell.
Night Terroir
NT doesn't show up on maps. The city refuses to acknowledge it. Even the bar itself seems shy, draped in giant veils of black cloth that ripple from the blaring beats within. Despite its enigmatic exterior, word still gets around: a night club for night creatures, welcoming freaks and ghouls and vamps alike. Wine flows plenty, but the clientele is hostile to those that don't fit the vibe.
Owner: Chaka Golden Knees (HP 6, Armor 1, 11/13/10, Paralytic Bite 1d10 DEX, Critical Damage: bites deep for 1d8 STR and heals from damage dealt)
Chaka was formed from the disastrous merger of tarantula and woman in a deep Underground lab. Her old flesh now wraps around a new shell. Eight-legged, human-skinned, two eyes up front and eight elsewhere, she dedicates herself to giving all manner of rejects a place to let loose.
Rewards
For stealing the flagon from 12 Light:
- DIY Transubstantiator: an unassuming bread knife. Bonds to the first person to hold it. You may painlessly carve your own flesh away and lose 1d4 STR; this creates a piece of fresh bread that heals its consumer equal to the lost STR. Spoils quickly if not eaten, turning back to rotting meat.
For stealing the flagon from Night Terroir:
- Lantern Weave Mantle: Silver-blue robes formed from living fireflies. Glows in the dark - the darker the area, the brighter the glow. You can't turn it off. Melee attacks against you in dark areas are impaired. The bugs scatter if you take critical STR damage.
Encounter Tables
Directions: roll in each area starting as directed in A-5 / B-3 OR if the party causes an especially large stir.
Default stats: 3 HP, 10 STR, 10 DEX, 10 CHA
Encounter Table A (for 12 Light)
| d6 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A lone 12 Light Monk (fists 1d6) standing with fake confidence in defense of the flagon. |
| 2 | A Night Terroir Ghoul (nightstick 1d6) disguised in billowing robes, following in hopes of stealing the flagon (and reward) for himself. |
| 3 | Two old women. Too tired to actively engage, they loudly pray curses at you from a distance (1d6 CHA). |
| 4 | Three 12 Light Monks (fists 1d6) who aim to pin you down and run away with the flagon (or tongs if you have them). |
| 5 | A giant eye (Armor 2, petrifying gaze 1d10 DEX, Critical Damage: the eye blinks. when it opens, you're gone) grows from the floor. "BE NOT." |
| 6 | Swarm of locusts (as Detachment, 3 HP, 8/13/5, plague bite 1d6). Overwhelming (DEX saves fail while they're around). Their presence dissolves the room into chaos. |
Encounter Table B (for Night Terroir)
| d6 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wine-drunk vamp in bat form (6 HP, 6/12/8, lil bite 1d4) harries the party, too quick to reach (all attacks against it are impaired). |
| 2 | Webbing coats this floor (DEX save to move unimpaired). Three Spiderlings scurry underfoot (4/12/4, ankle bite 1d6). |
| 3 | A monk with long hair in bulging robes. Offers help, says they're from 12 Light. Actually two ghouls on top of one another (nightsticks 1d6) who will backstab the party at easiest convenience. |
| 4 | A speaker descends from the ceiling, blaring a hypnotic tone. CHA save to act. Three vamps (bite 1d6, Crit: they latch on dealing 1d6 / round, STR save to shake off) descend on anyone charmed. |
| 5 | Ossomancer (ritual knife 1d6, Crit: your skeleton leaves your body. it belongs to him now) hides in the crowd, waiting to strike (+1d12 if caught by surprise). |
| 6 | A being of pure night (immaterial: cannot be touched, shadow stab 1d20) oozes from the walls. Moves at a snail's pace. Locals who see it try to pin you down as a sacrifice. |
Map
Blue Rose Plaza
Tension and joy dance hand in hand in the festival's heart. A crowd of partygoers twirl around the central feature: a massive rosebud with a lanky human arm emerging from its center. Stern guardians circle the rose, eyeing each other coldly.
- The crowd laughs and laughs. They're happy to chat about the bars and competition, and can even tell you which reward you'll get from winning. How do they know? The rose told us.
- The rose petals ripple in unseen wind. Water droplets hang between the folds. The arm seems still at first, but close observation shows it's tapping to distant music.
- The hand twitches thirstily when a flagon is nearby, waiting to grip tight and draw it inwards. After a few seconds the arm re-emerges, plump and lazy, holding your reward.
- The guards are the last line of defense for each bar. Three 12 Light Monks and three Night Terroir Ghouls (fists / nightsticks 1d6) walk in a circle on top of the unconscious bodies of their fellows.
A-1: ID Check
Giant neon 12 glares down over the front door. A bouncer scans patrons with a strange device. "ID check."
- The bouncer, Yuri (HP 3, Armor 2, 15/8/15, Flamejet Sword 1d10 + 1d4 blast), is uncannily polite, but won't let you in without a positive ID. Easily distracted with any opportunity to perform a good deed.
- The device is an oddity: a pair of eyeglasses with two thick stones in place of lenses. Wearing them allows you to read someone's Indulgence Deficit, the running total of all their good and bad deeds. Positive means good, negative means bad.
A-2: Dining Hall
Meaty scent, hushed conversation. Patrons fill out long tables covered in simple spreads: bread, meat, cheese. Stained glass covers one wall, depicting a door surrounded by a ritual scene.
- The glass shines, lit from behind. When nearby your skin takes on the appearance and texture of painted glass.
- If shattered, the breaker splinters into a hundred separate pieces, killing them instantly.
- The art shows a faceless being handing a glowing flagon to praying masses via a pair of tongs. Instead of glass, there is an empty outline where the tongs would be.
- The tongs are held by Deutero Isaiah (A-5). If placed here, the door fades, allowing access to a side chamber filled with large kegs surrounding the Light Flagon.
A-3: Line Dance
Tinkling piano notes. A conga line of patrons shuffles around the room with slow, awkward steps under the watchful eyes of four wooden statues.
- The dancers don't seem to be having fun at all. They sneak nervous glances at the statues.
- The statues hang from the ceiling and depict four creatures: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, each with added wings. Their eyes glow brightly - if you cross the room without joining the conga line, searing flame lasers out at you for 1d12 damage.
A-4: Empty Chapel
Old wood, muted sound. Something skitters beneath the floorboards. Pews sit quiet before a cold lectern.
- Standing at the lectern and speaking causes a swarm of rats to emerge slowly from the walls and floor. They move slowly, spellbound, and follow the speaker as long as they continue talking. If the speech ends, they screech and disperse towards the nearest hole in the wall.
A-5: Lounge
Smoky pool hall. Somewhere in the haze an organ player pounds out a haunting dirge. Deutero Isaiah is here, playing pool amidst a crowd of hushed onlookers. A pair of golden tongs hang from his robes.
- Deutero's having the best game of his life and is just about sick of this flagon bullshit. If asked about the tongs, he proposes a deal: "Feed my cats". He hands over three hefty steaks and waves you off to A-6.
- The tongs open the path to the flagon in A-2. He releases them without issue if you feed the cats, but word spreads fast (begin rolling on Encounter Table A).
A-6: Deep Den
Wooden walls fade to stone. Stairs descend to an impossibly bright light. Your ears hum with something like tinnitus.
- The light can't be dimmed. When you close your eyes, you still see only white. With enough protection you might make out the silhouettes of three large lions, but otherwise you can't rely on sight.
- The lions (HP 6, 13/10/10, Maul 1d8) pad loudly over when they smell fresh meat.
- If fed with food from Deutero Isaiah (A-5), they eat voraciously, then sniff whoever fed them for a long ten seconds, breath hot on the face. After inspection, they lick the feeder on the face and walk away.
- The lick leaves a fragrant residue - citrus and balsam? This scent is how Deutero knows the feeding was successful.
B-1: Welcome!
No bouncer. Large black mat: Welcome! in curlicue red font. Patrons subtly dance, skip, or float lightly over it.
- It's a trap - stepping on sends you tumbling to B-4.
B-2: Dance Floor
Flashing lights, pounding music. Mirrors line the walls.
- None of the dancers have reflections - the mirrored room is empty. You'll stick out like a sore thumb if anyone looks at the walls.
B-3: Owner's Belltower
Unnaturally dark. Too many cobwebs. Eerily muted. The Night Flagon sits on a pedestal - torchlight reflects gossamer strands around its surface. And something else, dripping - drool?
- The flagon is fake - the strands are web, holding fast to whoever touches (STR save to break).
- The real flagon is held by Chaka Golden Knees, waiting in the darkness above to pounce on whoever falls for the trap.
- Chaka went through all the trouble of setting up this trap and really wants to see it through. If you notice her, she'll give up the flagon without a fight if you can find a good rube.
- If given the chance, she has one final trap for whoever takes the flagon: ringing an old bell hanging from the tower above, alarming the club (begin rolling on Encounter Table B).
B-4: Sewer Rave
Dripping bricks and old mildew. Music from above shakes the walls. Rats swarm the floor, chittering their teeth to the beat, flooding the stairs below and scraping against a wooden door.
- The rats move as one, attacking anyone who falls from B-1. Kill one and two more crawl from the cracks. They deal 1d4 blast per round to the party.
- The swarm is controlled by an Starry-eyed King Rat (HP 10, 2/14/12) glowing brighter than the rest. Kill it and the swarm disperses.
- The wooden door (to B-5) is locked but breakable. The swarm itches to leave.
B-5: Fragrant Cellar
Scent profile: wine, perfume, sweat. Drunks dream sweetly, draped across shelves and satin couches and even the floor.
- The wine's free for taking, but way too strong for humans. Drinking gets you drunk fast.
- Tipsy vamps offer to suck out the alcohol at the cost of 1d6 STR damage.
B-6: Reflecting Pool
Perfect circle of green water digs deep into the earth. Sound is weird - everything echoes too much. Something humanoid is floating just below the surface.
- Spoken words bounce and form new sentences from the echoes, pushing adventurers to reach underwater. "You" echoes louder than other words.
- The silhouette is Your Molt - the sagging, empty skin of whoever reached in and grabbed it. Copy your character sheet - you can wrap the skin around your body to reset back to this state, undoing any mutation. Your personality overrides anyone else who wears the skin, making them a copy of you.
Notes
Treasure generated using Mindstorm's Treasure Squares post, axes: Night / Light, Past / Communal. https://www.mindstormpress.com/treasure-squares
Adventure layout generated using procedures in Nova's Zungeon Manifesto https://playfulvoid.game.blog/2025/01/01/the-zungeon-manifesto-demystifying-dungeon-creation/
Rose image is edited public domain courtesy of https://pdimagearchive.org/.