Casino Blue

Recommended Level : 2

So, as a preamble, this adventure is based far heavier on the lore of the specific campaign I’m running for my players, and is probably less applicable to any campaign like the rest are. This might be the case with more and more of these adventures, as I want to start focusing on the players themselves but if I make a particularly cool dungeon or boss fight I’ll still upload it and I’m sure you could tweak it for your game, or even just borrow some ideas.

Kingfisher, our party’s ranger, is framed for the death of Savino (his mafia mentor), something he learnt in the prior session from a letter. Giovanna, Kingfishers old friend, is the one who actually killed Savino. With Savino gone, the new role would need filling and who better than the only person directly below who didn’t murder Savino.

Through the use of some illusion casting artefact, Giovanna staged Kingfisher entering Casino Blue and loudly proclaiming allegiance to the Me’kons before firing shots at the main stage, taking out Savino.

After this, Giovanna approaches The Whisker (the head of the Blues) and says she can bring Kingfisher right in front of him. He agrees, and says that there might be something in it for her if she gets him there in one piece.

Giovanna finds kingfisher the session before the casino, confronting him about the murder (which of course, she knows he didn’t do), and explaining that everyone saw him kill Savino. Kingfisher explains that is impossible, as he was in the United Commonwealth (adventure #2), and the gang back him up. Wary, she ‘believes’ him, and says she will try and find a way to clear his name.

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Next adventure, she appears saying that there is a way to clear his name and find the true killer. In the basement of Casino Blue, a security system records all who enter the casino and stores the information for at least half a year, but the only problem is whoever framed him used some kind of spell that tricked the system too. At this point, Pirks says that he can help and reveals item 039 : Clearsight. A vial of clear liquid, if applied to the documents it should remove all effects of illusions and show who really entered the casino. The only issue is with such a high-risk mission they might get hurt, and the casino has a no weapons policy. Kaufmann, half paying attention, says he has a contact in Catfish Caverns, Joey, who specialises in making Pods of Concealing. These small metal pods look like film canisters, and can shrink down any weapon to store them inside discreetly. He also mentions that he is waiting on an order from The Whisker himself, item 024, but says maybe now is not the best time to pick that up. With this established, the gang have a plan, and Giovanna tells them to meet her at Felis Port in a week’s time, and to board the Pondskater, a large steamboat.

It takes one travel dice to reach Felis Port from Rockfern Creek

On board the Pondskater, Giovanna has hired a private room to avoid anyone noticing Kingfisher and runs through the plan with everyone.

Firstly, someone will have to enter the casino regularly and stay in the show floor while everything else is going down. This is mainly to keep an eye on two of the guards, who will most likely stay put but are the only two that Giovanna hasn’t paid off, but also to create a small distraction. Not big enough for them to be kicked out, but enough to draw the general attention of the room.

When this happens, the rest of the team will sneak through a side door to the back of the casino, very briefly stepping into the show floor. At this point, they will have to make their way through the winding back of the casino to the records room, located directly underneath the stage. A security measure is in place which only allows three people into the room at a time, and then they are inside the room it locks from the outside, so someone will have to stay outside to let the out and keep a watch. They should aim to enter the room as close to 8pm as possible, as the evenings show will begin at 8pm and will make leaving undetected far easier. After this, they should acquire the proof of Kingfishers innocence and attempt to find and convince The Whisker, but of course this is all a setup so that doesn’t happen. She also shares blueprints with the party, so you can show your players the map for the casino.

When the Pondskater arrives at Tog’nath port, the crew head to find Joey to buy the Pods of Concealing. His shop is in the market district of Tog’nath, and when asked about the Pods he will feign not knowing until Kaufmann’s name is brought up. He gives each adventurer two for free, if their friends of Kaufmann, but will charge 100G each past that, so they will need to decide what weapons and artefacts are worth bringing into the casino. He will also provide evening suits for all of the crew so they blend in more at the casino.

Leaving Joey’s, the closer they arrive to Casino Blue they see more posters for “The Big Surprise Show” happening that evening at 8pm plastered over all the walls. No information can be gleaned as to what will happen. Then, the heist begins.

Whoever enters the showroom floor to keep an eye on the guards notices that the curtains to the main stage are closed. They can do a few things to keep themselves preoccupied. It’s a casino after all! Slot machines line the room, and a player can spend 50G to spin. When this happens, roll 3d6. For a double, they win 250G, and for a triple they win 5,000G! This is rare however, and will definitely draw the attention of the casino. Consecutive numbers, like rolling 1, 2, and 3 will win 500G. Other than this, improvise as a DM how things like roulette tables, blackjack and all of that will work.

When the other party arrive in the “security room”, they will find it empty except for a single note on a table in the centre of the room. It reads “showtime”. When they all enter the room, the ceiling will open and the floor will begin to rise to the stage as the curtains open. Upon the stage is The Whisker himself, sat in his throne. The throne is elegant, golden and shows swimming fish and spilling water, but the most notable part is the huge slot machine windows above the headrest and the slot machine arm by the side of the chair. This is where Giovanna reveals her betrayal, and will step across the stage to The Whiskers side, where he thanks her. The Whisker will monologue as the crowd looks on with excitement, and then the fight begins.

This fight is a bit odd.

First of all, there is a watching crowd! Different actions, determined by the dm, will increase or decrease the party’s audience rating. For example, a particularly flashy attack will add +3 to your rating, but something cheap will reduce it by -3. If everything goes to plan, the person who was looking out for the guards should still be in the show floor and now part of the crowd. On their turns, they can either try to get onto the stage, attack from the crowd, or spend their turn attempting to sway the crowd in the favour of the party.

At the end of each round of combat, whoever the crowd likes the most all will heal 1d10 of hp, and whoever is disliked the most will take 1d8 damage.

The Whisker himself will not fight unless Giovanna is knocked out, but at the beginning of each turn of combat he will spin his throne. He gets three spins per turn and it works as follows:

When beginning a spin, flip a coin. If tails, the windows will display different things and nothing will happen. On a heads, they will all line up. Roll a d8 to see the effect that will happen. For the sake of balance, The Whisker should probably only be able to win twice per round but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

1: Cherries. Giovanna and The Whisker will heal 1d10 of hp.

2: Bells. The party takes 1d10 thunder damage. The loud noise hurts the crowd’s ears and The Whisker and Giovanna’s audience rating will reduce by -2.

3: Fish. Three Pikedogs will emerge from flaps in the stage and attack the party. They have an AC of 11, HP of 10, and have a single +3 to hit 1d4+1 bite attack. All other stats are determined by the dm. The Whisker and Giovanna’s audience rating increases by +1.

4: Coin. Gold will rain from the sky. Everyone gains +250G, and The Whisker and Giovanna’s audience rating is a +5.

5: Lightbulb. A blinding flash of light will give the party disadvantage of their next attack roll and deal 1d4 radiant damage. This will blind the crowd, and The Whisker and Giovanna’s audience rating will reduce by -3.

6: Skulls. Smoke and lightning will sputter from the chair, and The Whisker and Giovanna will take 1d10 lightning damage. The audience rating for the party will decrease by -3.

7: Sevens. All pluses to rolls and all minuses are flipped for this turn of combat. For example, any attack that is +2 to hit is now -2, and if a character had -1 to dexterity throws it is now +1.

8: Question marks. Something random decided by the dm will happen. This could be an unexpected animal appearing in thin air, everyone’s stats being shuffled, the player in the crowd is swapped with someone on stage, etc.

While this is happening, Giovanna will be attacking the party. Her stats are as follows:

HP: 60

AC: 14

STR: 0, DEX: +3, CON: +1, INT: +2, WIS: +2, CHR: +4

She can attack with her Fantasy Thompson Machine Gun, which will shoot magical blasts instead of bullets. When she does this, she has a +2 to hit and will shoot 1d4 bullets, each dealing 3 damage. She can do this twice per round, but if she misses she and The Whiskers audience rating will decrease by 5.

She can also attack with her switchblade, which has a +4 to hit and will deal 1d8 damage

If at any point Giovanna is knocked unconscious or killed, The Whisker will attack as well as spin his chair.

The whisker has:

HP: 100

AC: 15

STR: +3, DEX: -1, CON: +3, INT: +1, WIS: +4, CHR: +5

He has very strong aquamancy, and will use the water of the various fountains in the casino to attack. He is immune to physical attacks, and will push anyone who gets within 6ft of his throne back with strong telekinetic blasts, which deal 1d4 damage.

His water spells, which attack in the form of a swarm of liquid fish, have a +4 to hit and deal 1d8 damage.

While this fight is happening, still in the basement one member of the party will be left guarding the door. In our campaign, this is our paladin who is sensitive to the presence of ghosts which is the only reason this next bit works, but if you’re using this for a campaign of your own then I’m sure you’ll find a narrative reason. The purpose of this member of the party is to prove the other innocent. With The Whiskers high hp, and also no motive to actually kill him, the above fight is more of an endurance fight for this player to find out what really happened. Walking down the hallway, they will be approached by a large catfish man, Savino, with two foxfolk companions, Sly and Sneak. They talk absentmindedly, barely paying attention unless addressed. They will be taken aback that the player can see them, as upon closer inspection of the many bullet wounds that riddle their suits, it becomes apparent that they are dead. Finally being able to communicate with someone living, they explain that Giovanna framed Kingfisher through the use of a magical artefact she keeps in her room, and they lead them to it. The door is locked, but Sly will possess the door and unlock it. The room is like a dressing room, a few things here and there but mostly empty, but inside a closet is a fedora. When put on, the wearer assumes the form of Kingfisher. This is of course, damning evidence. Upon leaving the room, one of Giovanna’s co-conspirators will be waiting and will attack the player. Sneak knows this person, and can advise them on their combat downfalls and weaknesses, giving the player advantage on every attack roll.

The co-conspirator uses the 5e Bandit Captain stats, but with 30hp and the multiattack skill is nerfed to only one attack with the scimitar and one with the dagger. Aesthetically, scimitars are replaced with lead pipes and deal bludgeoning damage as opposed to slashing.

Upon arriving at the stage looking like Kingfisher, The Whisker will immediately call off the fight. Savino, the one who’s murder this is all about, will then possess the player who is assuming the form of Kingfisher and in his voice explain the situation. Giovanna, if she hasn’t been knocked out, will escape as this happens.

After the dust settles, The Whisker will invite the party to his penthouse suite above the casino, profusely apologising. For my party, The Whisker then gives Savino’s role to Kingfisher, allowing him access to more of the mafia’s forces as well as item 041 which ties in with his backstory. If anyone remembers, he will also retrieve item 024 for Kaufmann. He lets the party keep the fedora, and it will be available in the shop the next adventure. When returning to Rockfern Creek, if they remember to retrieve item 024, Pirks will pay the party 1750G each.

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