In this campaign your players will find themselves in a city called Sayer that is being terrorized by a serial killer known as The Shadow. He is killing people and burning their homes, but no one has ever seen him. The general feel of the town is highly anxious as people in the town are worried that they will be the next one murdered by The Shadow. By design this campaign will focus more on providing opportunities for roleplaying than for combat, but you should be able to find the right mix of both that will entertain your players and suit your game. I also am writing this story with a medieval setting in mind, though it would be quite fun to make it work in a more modern or post-apocalyptic era.

Sayer

Sayer is a small to medium size town. In a medieval setting it would be anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 citizens. In a modern setting it could be up to 5,000 or even 10,000. Sayer’s flag has the outline of a shield with a running red fox on it. This town would have some industry that is booming within it which would drive hundreds of outsiders into town on a daily basis. In my telling of this story the town boasts some of the finest craftsmen and tradesmen in the world. They have attracted these craftsmen by greatly reducing the taxes they charge on their incomes and businesses. They offset this with extra taxes on their customers. This results in very high prices for the goods they produce, but they are some of the greatest in the world. Or at least that’s what everyone says.

Security in Sayer would be at a heightened level. Mayor Eryn Flynn has instituted a sundown curfew. The town guard (referred to by most as the Sayer Guard) have an increased presence at all times and recruiting has been greatly increased. Town officials have not begun to inhibit people from entering or leaving town as the town’s economy is heavily based on trade and slowing people’s movements through town would stifle their economy even more than the killings already have. Not to mention all who have been killed so far are people who own homes in town, so there is no great danger to visitors according to information released by the Sayer Guard.

After sundown everyone in town is expected to be indoors either in their homes or in the inn where they plan to stay. The only people allowed on the street are the members of the Sayer Guard and those that have volunteered for Curfew Enforcement. Since the most recent killing more and more people have taken to the streets as they feel safer there than in their homes. Captain of the Guard Edwyn Flynn has allowed these people to stay out of doors as long as they stick to alleyways and stay off the main roads. Fall is nearly over and the cold of winter might soon force these people back indoors, but for now the temperature is nice and cool for those that are choosing to sleep on the streets.

Any who break curfew are fined the equivalent to one weeks wages, or are imprisoned for one week. Due to this there is a large number of people imprisoned. Any who are able to pay the fine are forced to do so rather than be taken into what most citizens consider more of a protective custody than jail time. No one wants to be imprisoned, but at least they are safe. The fines help pay for the increased number if guards and the conversion of abandoned buildings and homes into temporary jails to house the overflow of prisoners.

Scores of families have completely left the town, selling their homes and possessions to pay for the move. As the killings have continued less people are interested in purchasing homes and many have been forced to simply abandon their home if they are frightened enough to choose to leave the city. Many of these abandoned homes have been converted into temporary jails, but plenty remain empty.

Families

The Flynns

This is the family with political power in Sayer. They have maintained this power for generations. This family currently consists of 6 members: Hana who is the matriarch and Eryn’s step-mother; Eryn who is the Mayor; Nelsyn, Kerryn, and Elizabeth who are Eryn’s children; and Edwyn the Captain of the Guard and Eryn’s half brother (their father is now dead. Hana is Edwyn’s mother and their father’s second wife. Eryn is a child of the first marriage). There are rumors around the town that the oldest living member of the family, Hana, has died. She has not been seen in several months. The last time she was seen she had an episode in the center of town in which she saw her son, Edwyn Flynn and began screaming uncontrollably. As he tried to console her she attempted to fight him off before collapsing in the streets. Mayor Flynn has yet to release any information regarding this episode or her health since, but many suppose that she has died and Mayor Flynn has chosen to wait for her public funeral until after they find and stop The Shadow.

The Choviks

This family owns several of the most successful businesses in town. They are closely tied to the Flynn family and are even related by marriage to Eryn and by blood to Edwyn as Hana Flynn’s maiden name is Chovik. They own the Sayer General Store, the biggest inn (The Wandering Moth), and the most successful weaponsmith (Chovik’s Weaponry). There are 12 members of this family: Baltus and Brigg (Hana Flynn’s nephews) who are the middle aged brothers that run the family businesses; Deitra and Fawn who are their wives, respectively; Baltus and Deitra have 5 children; and Brigg and Fawn have 3 children.

The Leerums

This family is made up almost entirely of men. The one woman and mother to 8 boys, Lorra Leerum, is pregnant again. The father, Giln Leerum, builds homes for a living with the assistance of his boys, or at least those that are old enough to help. He also employs his two brothers, one of which has 3 boys of his own all of whom help with the home building. Giln Leerum has been contracted by Sayer to help convert these abandoned homes into jails. In addition to his pay the town has given him license to take anything he finds of value that was left in the homes. Many of the townspeople dislike Giln and his family as they view them as government backed looters. The boys range in age from 2 to 18. If encountered, any member of this family is extremely loyal to Giln, otherwise their personalities would vary all across the spectrum. Giln is an extremely friendly and likeable man when met. He makes a great first impression with anyone he meets and seems extremely trustworthy and kind, and he does not seem at all bothered by all of the talk about him around town.

The Kalsers

This family’s household was the fourth known site of The Shadow’s killings and the scene from which that name was born. There were four members of the family: Laird who was the father; Keera who was the mother; and Jon and Beth who were the children. This is the first of The Shadow’s killings that involved children. This is also an important crime scene as it was here that it was learned that the families are killed before the houses are burned. They also learned from this scene that The Shadow appears to have no additional motive other than the pure evil of killing the families and burning the homes, as none of the families valuables appear to have been disturbed (not that there was much to steal to begin with). Both of these details have been assumed to be true for all of the killings since learning from the first guard on the scene that the Kalsers were killed prior to the burning in this case and that nothing in their home appeared to have been stolen.

The Barretts

This family is worth mentioning due to rumors that are spreading throughout the town. Some people believe that the ghosts of this family are the cause of the murders and arsons caused by The Shadow. An older man from the town began telling others that he believed the Barretts’ restless spirits to be responsible for these crimes. He remembered the story from almost 25 years ago that the entire family burned to death inside their home. Most discredited his story until he was killed and burned by The Shadow less than two weeks after he began spreading this rumor. His death gave some credence to his story. This was the most recent of the killings and the rumor that the Barretts’ in some form or another are The Shadow has begun to catch fire throughout Sayer.

Characters

Eryn Flynn

Mayor of Sayer and Edwyn’s older half-brother. He gave Edwyn his job as Captain of the Guard. Eryn is extremely loyal to his family. This is his greatest fault. His family has held political power in Sayer for generations and their legacy is the most important thing to Eryn. Due to this he strongly micro-manages all of his staff, especially his brother, Edwyn.

Eryn is slender, about 6 feet and 2 inches (about 187 centimeters) tall, in his late fifties, has green eyes and his thick hair is almost completely white with black peppered in on the sides and getting darker as it moves down into his beard. Both of Eryn’s parents are dead. Edwyn’s mother still lives but is becoming senile in her old age and Eryn keeps her locked away in his home to ensure she cannot embarrass the family.

Edwyn Flynn

Captain of the Sayer Guard and Eryn’s younger half-brother. Edwyn is slender, about 6 feet (about 183 centimeters) tall in his mid thirties, has green eyes and his thick black hair is just starting to grey. Edwyn never married. His mother still lives but is becoming senile in her old age and Edwyn’s brother, Eryn, keeps her locked away in his home to ensure she cannot embarrass the family. Eryn also refuses to allow Edwyn to visit his mother, but this would not be common knowledge. Edwyn is out almost every night on the streets helping with the Curfew Enforcement. He doesn’t typically stay out all night, but these efforts and stories about him showing mercy with curfew breaking citizens have earned him some good will with the people of Sayer

The Shadow

No one has ever seen the cause of the murders and arsons that have been happening across the town for the past three months. On the fourth such kiling one of the Sayer Guard happened to be near enough to hear the screams of the victims and rush to the scene. When he arrived the victims were already dead and the house was in flames. He also saw a swirling, unnatural shadow lingering on the ground just a few feet in front of the house. Seconds later this shadow disappeared. This guard’s report is where The Shadow got its name. All that is really known is that there has been a series of killings in the town over the past three months. The person or family that lives inside the targeted home is killed and then the home is set on fire using oil as an accelerant (at least it is assumed to happen in that order). Nothing appears to have been taken from the homes, or what is left of them after the fires. The killings have never been more than three weeks apart and have always occurred at night. The only commonality of the victims the authorities have been able to identify is that none of the targeted households have belonged to prominent members of the town (such as political figures or business owners), they always involve the killing of a man, and the victims are always home-owning citizens of Sayer. Otherwise the killings seem completely random in both timing and victims.

Rumors have gone about the town that The Shadow is composed entirely of shadow, that “he” is a faceless demon, or even that The Shadow is the vengeful ghosts of a family that died in a fire decades ago. While none of those claiming to have seen The Shadow have been able to give a consistent description, most refer to it as a “he” and believe that The Shadow at least appears as a man.

Reverend Sanders

Priest at the local church, Sayer Chapel. He is happier than most around town as he has seen his membership greatly increase over the past three months since the killings began. He is happy to see peoples hearts turn to god in this frightening time. He has also hired private security to protect the church itself and is charging a hefty fee to allow any who can pay it to sleep in the church. He claims all of the fees go to paying the men who are willing to risk their lives to protect those inside, though many believe he is pocketing a lot of money as well. If encountered he will try and sell the idea to the PCs that they should stay a night in his church so they can sleep peacefully. Even highly religious PCs who agree with the reverend’s beliefs would find him to be a slimy character that seems driven by greed more than concern for other people’s eternal souls. His happiness is a stark contrast to the rest of the city and would make even the most socially inept squirm a little. His sermons refer to The Shadow as god’s vengeance on the evil in Sayer and his collection plates are filled with offerings of people hoping to buy some form of hope to ease their minds.

Gerald Pite

A drunk rumor-smith that spends all his time at bars. He could be found at any random bar day or night. He might be encountered multiple times and each time he will likely be spreading a different rumor. He will drunkenly come up to the PCs wherever they are and just begin talking about what he heard most recently. He may also try and use his drunkenness (he is not as drunk as he apprears) as an excuse to bump into the PCs and attempt to pick their pockets. He is an expert pickpocket and would likely get away with taking something out of one PCs pocket during their encounter. He is in his mid thirties and very attractive in spite of his drunken state. Any PCs that might be attracted to him would have an increased difficulty in detecting his pickpocket. If any PCs do catch him stealing from them he will simply try and escape. If the PCs start a fight with him the Sayer Guard will quickly stop the fighting and arrest Gerald once the situation is explained and they search him to find several rings, bracelets, money and more on his person.

Rumors

Some rumors are also included under Characters, Families and Killings, but here is a grouping of some of the rumors that are spreading around town:

Reverend Sanders is exploiting both the people that stay at the church and the men that guard it. He is pocketing a lot of the money that people are paying and not even using it to help support the church. Some have even gone so far as to say that he is taking money from the church as it has become more prosperous in this time of fear and desperation. Perhaps this all stems from people having difficulty with his seeming happiness in the midst of all this madness, but some have even gone so far as to accuse him of being in league with The Shadow.
The Shadow is a curse sent by god. The people of Sayer must turn their hearts back to god to save themselves from this dreadful and just reckoning on their souls. This rumor is mainly spread by Reverend Sanders and his flock.
Hana Flynn, the Mayor’s mother, is dead. Some say she is just completely mad. Some even say that Eryn had her killed to protect the family name because she was sinking into madness. Most people assume she is still living as there has not been any sort of funeral or announcement of her death, but still people like to talk about it.
The Barretts, a family that died in a house fire more than two decades ago, are The Shadow. People believe that their ghosts are the cause of the killings. There is more detail on this under The Barretts heading under Families. Many of the people that believe this rumor also believe that The Shadow is a curse sent by god.
Mayor Eryn Flynn is going mad. Many people think that, just like his step-mother, he is already beginning to lose his mind. His hair has been turning gray more rapidly over the past three months and his face has aged years from the stress of these killings. He appears to have not slept well in months and is overworking himself day and night to try and stop these killings. Many people appreciate this, but at a certain point they believe that he will truly snap. This has also lead to a small group of people openly saying that Mayor Eryn should step down and let his little brother, Edwyn, take over leadership of the city. This is partially due to the rumors of Eryn’s madness, and partially due to the overwhelmingly positive response to Edwyn’s hands on approach to attempting to find The Shadow.
Edwyn Flynn has shown mercy to many of Sayer’s curfew breaking citizens. Many rumors are spreading of men, women and children being set free early from their jail time on what he called “good behavior”, but according to the rumors they were actually set free because they explained their dire situation they would be in if they continued to be unable to work, and Edwyn let them go. There is even one story of an especially troubled middle aged woman who he kept in custody for 2 weeks instead of the usual one week due to how frightened she was to go back to her home. True or not, these rumors have made Edwyn Flynn a hero in the eyes of many citizens of Sayer. It was also enough to cause Eryn to order Edwyn to stay away from any who were under arrest to prevent further such lapses.
The Shadow doesn’t exist. This is all just the Flynns and Choviks working together to get rid of people in the town that they no longer find useful. They invented the idea of The Shadow as a cover for their own blood lust. They have even paid a lot of money to men like the Reverend and Giln Leerum and even Reagan Callway to help spread this lie. Most that believe this wouldn't openly speak of it unless mad or under the influence of drugs, though the mad and intoxicated do make up the majority of people that believe this rumor.
The Choviks are running out of money. Another rumor spreading around the town is that the Choviks, once the most successful business owners in Sayer, are now struggling to pay all of their employees. They would start firing people, but they are having their employee overhead paid for out of tax money. Mayor Flynn decided it would be too much for the city to take to lose their most successful business during all of the killings. There is little to no evidence to support this, but people talk nonetheless.

Settings

These are places in town in which the following encounters might take place. Many of these encounters could take place in almost any of these settings. Some of these could just be places in which your character’s might spend time in order to encourage RP. Feel free to use these however you’d like and even come up with some of your own if desired.

The Streets

Day or night the streets are quite heavily guarded. It is rare to be on the streets and not have a member of the Sayer Guard in sight, though of course this can and will happen. Along with keeping the citizens of Sayer safe (or at least helping them believe that they are safe), the Sayer Guard are also tasked with keeping the streets of Sayer clean. In general, the streets are well kept and in good condition. Even the abandoned homes and land are well taken care of by the Sayer Guard. Anyone associated with the Sayer Guard, including the Curfew Enforcers at night, is always wearing Sayer’s running red fox on them at all times. Members of the Sayer guard have it on the chest of their uniforms, and Curfew Enforcers have it embroidered on a cloth tied to their sleeves.

During the day the streets of Sayer are busy, though not as busy as they were three months ago. Especially near the center of town where the Town Hall and most of Sayer’s most successful businesses are located, the streets are quite packed with people during the day.

By night Sayer’s streets are much less populated, though about one in ten alleyways will have anywhere from one to eight people huddled within it. Some might even be more packed. Most of these people have no valuable belongings with them, but would have bed rolls on which to sleep. Those huddled in the alleyways are typically the most frightened of Sayer’s citizens and any worthwhile amount of sleep is rare among them. There are about a third as many guards on the streets during the night, but those that have volunteered for Curfew Enforcement bring the total number of Sayer Guard affiliated people on the streets to even higher than the daytime number.

The Wandering Moth

This is the inn owned by the most successful family in town, the Choviks. The inn reflects the Choviks’ success. The inn is a three story tall 125 foot (about 38 meters) by 125 foot square building. The entire first floor is basically a large restaurant and bar with just a small percentage of it sectioned off for reception and the kitchen. The top two stories consist mostly of small rooms other than the four corners of the top floor which are the much higher priced luxury rooms. The entire inn is very nice, and is likely the nicest the PCs have ever been inside. All of the furniture was made in Sayer and was made with the finest craftsmanship.

The woman working behind the desk would introduce her self as Claire. Any choosing to stay the night would be told that they will be awaking 1 hour after sunrise and have one hour to get out of their room as the inn must make room for the Curfew Enforcers. Anyone purchasing the luxury rooms would be spared the speech about leaving in the morning to make room for Curfew Enforcers.

The employees at The Wandering Moth would section off three quarters the entire restaurant and set up a buffet style breakfast for the Curfew Enforcers each and every morning. To gain access to this buffet one must be escorted into the inn by one of the Sayer Guard and present their running red fox armband. Most of the Curfew Enforcers live in Sayer and choose to go home after enjoying their free meal. But after eating any who request a room get a room key and are allowed to stay in that room until an hour before sunset. They must also sign a contract stating that any damage to the room will result in a Curfew Fee being charged to the tenant.

Throughout the day the restaurant would be quiet, but in the morning while the Curfew Enforcers are there and at night the inn would be quite busy with customers. The Wandering Moth also has live entertainment in two of the corners of the inn each night. This entertainment would vary from night to night from storytellers, to musicians, to magicians and more.

The Screeching Hornet

This is a pub several blocks outside of the main marketplace in Sayer. It is quite small as it used to be a home that was converted into a restaurant. This pub has been around for over four decades. Most of the people who eat here are the older citizens of Sayer. They are almost exclusively regulars and if any new people come by they would get strange looks from the regulars, though most of them are quite friendly if anyone talks with them. The pub is owned by Paul Shume. His wife, Polly, cooks all of the food. In the evening when business picks up he has one waitress come in to help him run the room, but otherwise Paul and Polly are the only workers

Sayer's Chapel

This is the church that Reverend Sanders leads. The roof of this church is extremely steep causing it to be one of the tallest buildings in the area. It also has bells at the highest point nearest the street that ring hourly throughout the day. For many who live nearby the final bell of the day always marks the beginning of the curfew. The building itself is beautifully crafted from stone and those that enter are struck with a sense of awe as they look up at the very tall ceiling. The stonework is impeccable and religious symbolism is everywhere in the building. Everything, even the pews are built of the same type of stone. The raised chancel is covered in red carpet and the podium is raised several feet above even that. The vast majority of the building is one large room, the auditorium. In the back of the church there is also the Reverend’s private chamber where he lives and conducts any church related business or private counseling with his members and staff.

Throughout the majority of the week the church’s pews have bed rolls and pillows laid atop them. The chancel at the front of the church is raised by several steps and considered sacred ground. Regular citizens of Sayer are not allowed up here even during the week. When enough people are willing to pay, Reverend Sanders will add more bed rolls and pillows to line the floor if necessary to make room for paying customers. During the day, many of the mercenary guards Sanders has paid sleep in the church.

One day per week the members of the clergy and Reverend Sanders pack up all of the beds in the church to make room for Sander’s flock to come in for his sermons. He preaches three separate times throughout this day in order to allow as many different people to hear his message as possible. His sermons are typically loud and speak to the evil that Sayer has brought upon themselves due to their sinful ways.

Killings

First

The first killing attributed to The Shadow was originally thought to simply be an arson. The man who was killed was Ben Shrev, an elderly retiree who lived alone. He was believed to have been burned to death in his sleep. The home and the mans body were almost completely destroyed in the fire that burned through the entire night. Now authorities believe he was likely killed prior to the house being set on fire as this seems to be the pattern they have learned from future killings. Upon further inspection after exhuming the body they found broken ribs that could indicate puncture wounds to his chest prior to his burning.

Second

This killing happened 12 days after the first. This home was also utterly destroyed by the fire that burned through the night and well into the next morning. All of the bodies were found to have large puncture wounds on their chests. The husband and wife killed in this home have two surviving children, Jane Frenge and Tobias Sholt, who are fully grown and now have families of their own. Tobias and Jane do not talk to each other since the death of their parents. Jane has publicly accused the Captain of the Guard of harassment due to his questioning and any involved with the Sayer Guard would know not to talk with her at all. Tobias has since been a volunteer as a Curfew Enforcer in addition to his job as a clerk in the Sayer General Store in the center of town. He does not like to discuss his parents’ deaths or his estrangement from his sister, but quietly helps in any way he can in the effort to keep Sayer safe.

Third

This killing happened only 4 days after the second. The Kiplings were an elderly couple known best in their neighborhood for their beautiful garden they constantly kept together. Their home and garden were entirely destroyed by the fire that also took their lives. Both bodies had large puncture wounds on their chests. The Kiplings have 3 surviving children all with families of their own, but none of which still live in Sayer.

Fourth

This killing happened 18 days after the third and is one of the most important killings as it taught the Sayer Guard the majority of what they know about The Shadow including the phenomenon that gave the killer that name. Laird, Keera, Jon and Beth Kelser were all killed. Laird appeared to have been involved in a struggle that ended with him suffering a broken arm and 4 broken ribs before he was killed. A guard happened to be close enough by to hear this struggle and get help quickly enough to put out the fire before it was able to completely destroy the crime scene. All members of the family were found laid in their beds with large puncture wounds in their chests. All of them had also been doused in oil. Laird’s brother Camren Kelser still lives in Sayer with his wife Lizette and young son Bren. Camren is quite vocal about his disapproval of the way the Sayer Guard handled his families deaths. He was extremely displeased with the investigation getting in the way of his and his families ability to mourn the horrific loss of their love ones.

Fifth

This killing happened 16 days after the fourth. Garreth Crede was the only victim as his wife, Jill, was out of town. She has yet to return to town since the death of her husband. Jill was not even present for her husband’s funeral. None have any idea where she is or why she has yet to return or contact anyone. Most assume she was so distraught over the loss of her husband she has been unable to respond. The house was totally destroyed in the fire. There was a large puncture wound in the Garreth Crede’s chest.

Sixth

This killing happened 2 days after the fifth. Jeremiah Dalter, his wife Felicia and their newborn baby Grace were all killed. Jeremiah’s mother, another citizen of Sayer and only surviving member of the Dalter family, killed herself the night following her son’s death. All three of them, including the baby, had large puncture wounds in their chests. Their home was also completely destroyed by the fire. This fire also spread to and destroyed a neighboring home, but everyone inside was awakened during the first fire and managed to escape. This now displaced family left Sayer just a couple of days later.

Seventh

This killing happened 19 days after the sixth. The Tellur family consisted of a single father and 5 children ages 3 to 14. All of them were slain and burned the same as all the other killings. There are no other Tellurs living in Sayer, but Jace and Reba Burl were their neighbors and close friends. They have both been volunteering for Curfew Enforcement since the death of their dear friends. Their home was completely destroyed by the fire and all of the bodies had large puncture wounds in their chests.

Eighth

This killing happened 13 days after the seventh. Reagan Callway was the single victim of this killing. He was an elderly bachelor who was well liked by all who met him, especially those at his favorite pub in town, The Screeching Hornet. Reagan Callway was found with a large puncture wound in his chest. He had began spreading rumors that the killings were being caused by the restless Spirits of the Barrett family who died in their burning home decades earlier. His death has given credence to this rumor for some and many are starting to believe that he may have been right.

7 days have passed since the eighth killing bringing the total to 91 days since the first killing. Nine homes have been set on fire and eight of them were destroyed beyond repair. 20 people have been killed.

Encounters

These are encounters that could happen at any point during this campaign. Several of these could even happen in a single day and several could happen more than once. You can use as many or as few of these as you would like and they do not need to happen in any particular order. Ideally you would want your PCs to respond to one or both of the Wanted posters listed below. If they choose not to respond to either of the wanted posters more creativity may fall into your lap as the Game Master since you will have less opportunity to advance the storyline.

Characters

There are some vague and some detailed descriptions of dozens of characters that live in Sayer spread throughout this campaign. Some of these are mentioned in the list of previous Killings, some are part of the Families and some are simply characters that live in Sayer. Some own businesses, some are associated with the deceased, some are prominent citizens of Sayer, and some are regular citizens. There is also an entire city of unmentioned people who were affected in one way or another by these murders. If any of these strike a chord with you, or could lead to some good RP from your PCs feel free to take any liberties necessary with these concepts to make them fit into your campaign and help tell the story of Sayer. I would highly recommend having your players have some sort of interaction with at least one citizen of Sayer each day if for no other reason than to encourage RP. There is a list of these characters with links to the sections in which they are mentioned at the very bottom of this Campaign. I personally used this list and some dice to randomly choose at least two of these characters for my PCs to meet each day they spent in Sayer.

Wanted Posters

These wanted posters are posted all around Sayer. The amounts on the poster should be roughly equivalent to a modern $5,000 USD for information leading to The Shadow’s capture or death and $7,500 USD for delivering The Shadow to Town Hall dead or alive. The weapons offered by Chovik’s Weaponry could be valued anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000 USD. These are very nice weapons and if earned and crafted would be superior to most other weapons, though they most likely would not have any sort of magical enhancements.

Wanted: The Shadow

Tall and Dark Figure - Wanted for the murder of Sayer’s Citizens and Arson of their homes

The Shadow is armed and extremely dangerous.

Information leading to the capture or death of The Shadow will be rewarded with 10 Gold Pieces

If delivered dead or alive to Town Hall there will be a 15 Gold reward and a voucher for a custom weapon crafted by the finest weaponsmiths in the world at Chovik’s Weaponry for all involved in The Shadows capture or death.

For more information inquire within Sayer Town Hall

Results of inquiring within the Town Hall: The Guard posted inside will lead the PCs to a man sitting behind a desk. He would ask all who approach to state their name and as they do he will write each name on a separate copy of a contract and set the contract on the side of the desk near the PCs. He would then state aloud: “It is my duty to inform you that the pursuit of The Shadow or even the pursuit of information relating to The Shadow is highly dangerous. If you choose to accept this bounty you do so at risk to your lives, but you gain the thanks of Mayer Eryn, Captain of the Guard Edwyn and all of the citizens of Sayer. Before I can divulge any further information you must sign this contract stating that you understand the risk to your lives and that any who bring The Shadow, or information pertaining to the Shadow to the Sayer Guard will split the bounty. If you agree, please sign” If any PCs try to talk to him prior to signing he will state again that he is unable to divulge any further information until they sign. “Signing does not commit you to finding The Shadow or even attempting to find him, but it is required to continue this process. What you do with the information we give you after this is up to you.”

If the PCs choose to sign they would then be led by another Sayer Guard to speak with Edwyn Flynn. They will likely have to sit and wait outside of his office for up to an hour before being allowed in. Once inside Edwyn will introduce himself and ask all of the players for their names. He will also ask questions about them such as where they are from, why they are motivated to try and find The Shadow. He is very charismatic and shows genuine concern for protecting the people of Sayer and genuine gratitude for the PCs willingness to help. After getting to know the PCs a little, Edwyn would begin to go over the 8 previous killings from memory. His tone when speaking of the killings is very solemn. He would state the names of the families that were killed, the total number that was killed and the amount of time that passes between each killing. He would also discourage the PCs from going on their own and contacting any remaining friends or family members who were touched by these killings, and he would not specifically mention any of their names. When discussing the Fourth killing he would take credit for the naming of “The Shadow”. Nearly all of this information is already common knowledge to citizens of Sayer.

After discussing all the details of the case with the PCs he will tell them that if they truly wish to help find The Shadow they should stay up each night and help with the Curfew Enforcers, and if they do so they will also be entitled to a warm bed and a plate of food once the sun rises. He would then give them each a white strip of cloth with Sayer’s red running fox embroidered onto it. He would tell them to keep this tied around their arm at all times if they are out at night so that Curfew Enforcers and guards can identify them. Each strip of cloth would have a number sewn onto it as well. Edwyn would inform them that if their number was found on any other people, dead or alive, they would be found and charged 4 times the Curfew Fine.

As he is explaining the importance of the armbands to the PCs, Mayor Eryn Flynn will walk into the room and stand just inside the door, listening to the conversation. Edwyn will keep talking, but the PCs will notice that his entire demeanor changes. He becomes very nervous in his speaking and seems a completely different man. He has changed from the confident and charismatic person they were first speaking, to what could almost be described as a babbling idiot. He stammers constantly in his speech and mispronounces words as he speaks which prompts regular apologies and him repeating himself. For example:

“If you truly endeavor to find The Shadow you must join the brave Curfew Enforcers. If you stay out with them through the night you will be rewarded the same as they are. You will be given a bed to sleep on and warm food from our friends at The Wandering Moth inn.”

Eryn enter’s the room and Edwyn continues speaking after a short pause. The tempo of his speaking and breathing increases, and as he speaks sweat begins to bead on his forehead.

“Uh...these are you’re umm… arm cloths? They, uh, go on your arms and you toe--huh-- I mean you tie--sorry--you tie them on your shirts--arms! Sorry! Arms, not shirts. Anyways, If you lose these.. They are very, uh, import. And uh.. if you lose them you’ll be fined. It’s a big fine, so don’t--uh--don’t lose them. It’s very important, because of you losed--umm, I mean lost. Sorry! If you lost them the fine is very high. So.. yes. Any, um.. Anyone have any questions?” After speaking he is very short of breath as if he forgot to breathe while speaking.

After everyone has their arm bands and understands what they are, Edwyn will ask if they have any further questions. Eryn will only speak greetings and thanks to the PCs. Otherwise Eryn is simply observing. He will not in any way rush the process, but rather will watch and patiently wait for the PCs to share any ideas. Eryn will not speak unless spoken to and even then he will just be eyeing Edwyn and waiting for the PCs to finish their now awkward conversation and leave.

Wanted: Curfew Enforcers

The Captain of the Guard, Edwyn Flynn, requests your assistance to keep Sayer safe. In an effort to protect Sayer’s citizen’s the Sayer Guard needs volunteers to help patrol the streets at night to watch for suspicious activity.

Weapons can be provided if necessary. Morning lodging and food will also be provided by The Wandering Moth (Owned by the Chovik Family) for any who volunteer and need a place to stay while in town.

For more information inquire within Town Hall

Results of inquiring with the Town Hall: The guard posted inside will lead the PCs to a man sitting behind a desk. He would ask all who approach to state their name and as they do he will write each name on a separate copy of a contract and set the contract on the side of the desk near the PCs. He would then state aloud: “If you choose to volunteer you do so at risk to your lives, but you gain the thanks of Mayer Eryn, Captain of the Guard Edwyn and all of the citizens of Sayer. Any activity related to The Shadow is highly dangerous to all involved. The goal of our Curfew Enforcers is to be extra eyes and ears for the Sayer Guard. You will have a guard nearby at all times.

“If you see any suspicious activity it is your job to report it. You are not required or expected to engage any suspicious individuals, but you are required to immediately alert the nearest guard. You will be assigned a certain patrol and are expected to patrol that area for the entire night. If you remain through the entire night until the sun rises, The Wandering Moth has graciously offered to give you free food and a bed until an hour before sunset if you desire. If necessary we will be able to provide any who volunteer with a single weapon, though we do ask that if at all possible you bring your own.

“This assignment is strictly voluntary and you are free to leave at any time, but if you choose to do so after the curfew you will be escorted by a guard to a place of your choosing. Please sign if you wish to volunteer to help and report back here one hour before sundown well-rested and with your weapon and any other equipment you think you may need throughout the night.

“You will each be given a white strip of cloth with Sayer’s red running fox embroidered onto it. Keep this tied around your arm at all times during Curfew Enforcement. Each strip of cloth has a number sewn onto it. If you are found out at night without your armband you will have to pay the Curfew Fine or will be imprisoned. If your number is found on anyone that is not you, dead or alive, we will find you and you will be fined 4 times the Curfew Fine and imprisoned for 1 week. Do not lose your armband.”

Any questions will be answered with a rephrasing of the above information.

Any who choose to volunteer and show up an hour before sundown will be separated into groups. If volunteering as a group they will be allowed to stay together and will possibly be assigned additional volunteers to their group. They will be assigned a guard and given a short sword (or some other simple weapon) if they show up unarmed. They will also be given a canteen of water for the night if they do not bring their own. While all of the equipment is being sorted out Edwyn Flynn will approach from down the street. Once he arrives one of the guards will call for the attention of the group and Edwyn Flynn will speak.

“Since the most recent killing, more and more citizens are abandoning their homes in fear and wanting to stay on the streets. For now, we will allow these citizens to stay on the streets if they so choose, but they must stay in alleys and remain quiet. Any citizens who are found on the main roads or causing even a minor disturbance must pay the Curfew Fine or be arrested by the nearest guard. Thank you so much for volunteering your time to help keep Sayer safe. Godspeed.”

Before the sun sets they will be led out into town by their assigned guard and directed on their patrol which will be circling around a few blocks. There will be a guard in sight at all times and they will simply walk in circles for the entire night with the potential of experiencing almost any of the encounters or scenes.

Don't Come Knocking

This encounter is one example of a huge number of possible Character encounters you could present to your PCs if you so choose. This involves the oldest of the Leerum boys and would have the best effect if your PCs have already met him before. While out on Curfew Enforcement (or perhaps just breaking curfew) the PCs hear some noises coming from inside what should be an abandoned home. If they choose to investigate, as soon as they open the door they hear hushed words and a large thud coming from a room down a hall. When they enter the room they see the back end of a scantily clad woman leaving through the window that was until recently covered by a large sheet of wood, and disappearing into the night. Still in the room standing before them is the oldest Leerum boy holding a sheet around his waist as he is trying to put his clothes back on and he says, "Please don't tell my dad! He'll kill me!"

Children

The PCs hear sounds that lead them to discovering some children playing catch with a ball on a street in the middle of the night. They will then have the choice of ignoring/protecting these children or reporting their disturbance and forcing them to either pay the fine (which they probably can’t do) or be arrested.

If the PCs choose to let the children continue playing in the street, this is a great opportunity to move on to The Ninth Killing in which case you could even have the children involved in that killing match the description of these children from this encounter. Along with bringing out the potential darkness in this story, this also gives your PCs the feeling that their actions carry weight in the outcome of the story.

The Looter

PCs hear some strange noises coming from inside a home. The home appears to be one of the abandoned ones that has not yet been converted into a jail. If they investigate further they will see a man inside the house who appears to be going through all of the remaining items in the house. The PCs would now have the choice of reporting this man, ignoring him, or confronting him themselves. Most likely if engaged he will simply do his best to escape from the PCs and/or guards they bring with them. He will most likely end up being captured and arrested quite quickly. Once captured it will be discovered that he is one of the more prominent and outspoken members of Reverend Sanders’ church. This will add fuel to the Rumor about the reverend’s corruption.

Bounty Hunters

The PCs are likely to encounter other groups of bounty hunters that are after The Shadow. This is one such example. These bounty hunters are made up of a group of NPCs that are very similar in skillset to the PCs (when I ran this campaign I made them mirror my PCs almost exactly, but with worse decision making ability). The leader of this group is a classic bully who refers to himself as Brave Carl. He is a very simple minded man who is only sure of one thing; that he is superior to all other men. Brave Carl and his companions will find the PCs far away from any nearby guards. They will insult the PCs based on their physical appearance, or maybe Carl will just come on a bit too strong to an attractive female in the group. One way or another these bounty hunters are highly abrasive and looking for a fight. Depending on how your PCs handle it, this encounter could likely turn into an all out battle. If so the fight will most likely be interrupted fairly quickly by several Sayer Guard who will come in and arrest all that are still alive. The PCs will be held for the majority of the night before a guard comes to release them, “Carl and his bounty hunters have been causing a lot of trouble. This isn’t the first fight, but hopefully he learned his lesson this time. You are free to go by order of the Captain.”

Scenes

These are the scenes that are critical to progressing the story line and all of them must happen in this order. Feel free to pepper them in among the various encounters you choose from above.

The Ninth Killing

The amount of time that passes before this happens should remain within the three week limit between killings, but feel free to let your PCs spend time in Sayer for as long as they seem to be enjoying themselves. Don’t overdo it too much, though as there will still be some days to pass between this and the following scenes. Whenever you choose, one of the nights after the PCs have entered Sayer there is another killing. If the players are on the streets during the night they will at best be close enough to get to the building once it is already heavily ablaze. If the PCs do go to the scene they would not be the first there and would see people in nearby homes peering out of their windows. Some of these people would even come outside but would quickly be forced back into their homes by the guards. Dozens of men and women of the Curfew Enforcement team would arrive quickly thereafter, and under the instruction of the guards they would begin to douse the surrounding area in water to prevent the fire from spreading. The PCs are likely to be ordered by their assigned guard to join in this effort.

Captain Edwyn will arrive nearly an hour later and talk with the guards who arrived on the scene first. If the PCs listen to the conversation it would simply be that these guards were on their patrol when they saw the orange glow from the fire and came running. Edwyn will then begin to walk around the house in circles watching the flames and looking up and down the nearby streets and alleyways. If asked he will say he is looking for anything that could help him to find and destroy The Shadow. His demeanor would appear sad yet determined.

While the PCs are on the streets watching the home burn and the rest of the scene unfold the woman who lives in the house across the street would try to subtly get the attention of one or more of the PCs. If she is able to get their attention she will motion them over and speak with them if they choose to go to her. The woman is dressed as if she has been sleeping, but otherwise she seems wide awake and terrified. The entire time she is talking she can barely take her eyes away from the fire.

“That house. It was abandoned. No one has lived there for almost a month. The woman who lived there was my friend. She and her husband left fairly soon after Garreth Crede died. They said they’d send word if they ever found his wife, but I never heard from them. Do you think… do you think The Shadow killed them? Do you think he brought them here just to...” After a brief pause staring into the fire, the woman falls into the arms of the PC she is talking to and begins to weep.

Another nearby guard would quickly rush over as she starts to cry. He will attempt to separate her from the PC and shout at her, “Get back in your home, or you will be fined!” The woman will hurriedly go back into her home.

If the PCs share this information they learned from this woman with anyone they will quickly be taken to Edwyn and asked to repeat it. Once Edwyn hears of this he will simply say, “Once the fire stops burning, we will see. Perhaps no one was killed this time? That would certainly be good news…” and after a long pause he would get back to searching for clues. Rumors of this would spread quickly throughout the town on the following day before the fires even subside enough that the Sayer Guard can investigate what remains of the home.

After the fire is finally put out, Edwyn and his highest ranking officers find that there were five bodies inside all with large puncture wounds in their chests. All of them were laying side by side in the floor of the great room of the home. Judging by the descriptions of the family that abandoned this home over a month ago, these were not them. That family was only three people, a father, a mother and a small baby. All five of these bodies appear to have been children. This story would spread through the town very quickly. If not out this night, the PCs would learn of this story as the rest of Sayer does. The majority of people would agree that most likely these were children that were sleeping in the streets. The Shadow killed them and took them to this home and burned it with them inside. A very large pool of blood found in an alley only two blocks away, and two families from the area claiming to be missing children that fit the descriptions corroborate the the story and the towns mood sinks even lower. If your PCs have already experience the Children encounter and left those children in the streets, feel free to make use those same children in your descriptions of The Shadows most recent victims.

For the next three days, almost the entire town is speaking of nothing else. This killing changed two things the city thought they knew about the Shadow: He always killed citizens of Sayer that owned or were at least inside of a home, and he always killed an adult man. Women living alone no longer feel any hope of safety. Taking to the streets no longer offers comfort. Nearly ten percent of Sayer’s population begin to pack their things and leave town over the course of these three days. During this time more of the Encounters will continue to happen.

Too Soon

On the night of the third day following The Ninth Killing there is another fire. This fire starts just 90 minutes before the sunrise. This fire is also far enough away that at the earliest, the PCs would get there after the home is already engulfed in flames. This scene is very similar to the last. Neighbors trying to get a better look and getting forced back inside by guards. Curfew Enforcement is dousing the area with water. The mood on this night is even darker than the one three nights ago.

Edwyn, this time shows up almost immediately after the PCs get there. He seems especially distraught over this fire. He is moving in close enough that the PCs can see him wincing at the heat as he attempts to search for clues. His pace is heightened compared to the last killing. Instead of sad he seems almost angry. If approached by the PCs or anyone else for that matter he will tell them that he is busy and needs some time before he can speak with anyone. After about 5 minutes of his agitated circling of the house he will shout at the sky getting louder with each sentence. “Why have you done this!? It is too soon?! I WILL FIND YOU, SHADOW!” He will spit at the ground in front of him and march off back in the direction of the Sayer Town Hall and his office. As he heads off he will bark to one of the guards, “Bring me your report when the fire is out.” to which the guard responds firmly, “Yes, sir.”

Talking to the nearby neighbors the PCs and the guards will learn that the family that lived inside was a husband and wife alone. “Their names were Kev and Ginnie Welser.” says one neighbor, already assuming their deaths.

If the PCs go to see Edwyn they will be told that he asked not to be disturbed by anyone. If they attempt to force their way into his office or somehow get a look inside otherwise they will find that all shutters are shut and they cannot see in. If they do manage to get a look inside they will find that Edwyn is not there.

Once the fire is out (which would not be until later in the afternoon) the guards will find both bodies near the door. It would appear that the door was blocked from opening by a metal bar bolted to both sides and the couple were attempting to open it to escape the fire when they died. Similar bars were found blocking every door and window that could have provided escape from the house. It would appear that this time The Shadow did not kill them first, but instead let the fire do the dirty work. Rumors of this will spread throughout the town by the end of the day. People are talking about The Shadow being more evil in this attack than in any of the previous ones. “Imagine it. Burning to death. What a terrible way to die.”

Once again if the PCs are not on the scene they will learn of this by word of mouth as the story rapidly spreads through Sayer.

Not Mine

The following day after what appears to be the tenth killing, whether the PCs are out at night on Curfew Enforcement, hunting The Shadow, or even sleeping in an inn, they will hear the terrible screams of a man coming from a nearby street. If they go to investigate, as they round a corner they see a main impaled on what appears to be a plain wooden spear sticking through his abdomen and into the ground. He is completely covered in flames and is no longer screaming. There are also flames on the ground near his head. As they approach the scene the PCs would notice that the flames above his head appear to be in a pattern and if they look closely and get the right angle they can read the words, “NOT MINE”. They will also notice a metal bar sticking out of the burning man’s mouth. This metal bar looks very similar to the ones used on the house that was burned the previous night. There is no sign of anyone else other than a couple Sayer Guards and some Curfew Enforcers coming down the road from the opposite direction. A couple of the Curfew Enforcers literally flee in terror once they get close enough to fully view the scene. If the PCs attempt to put out the fires they would be able to do so with a slight risk to themselves. If they do so extremely quickly and make some successful rolls they could even hide the evidence of the words from those approaching if they so desire.

About 15 minutes later, Edwyn will show up. He will look confused by the burning or burned body in the street. He will ask, “Who was here first?” and a nearby guard will point at the PCs. “What happened here?” Edwyn asks. After the PCs explain the scene to Edwyn he will ask, “What do you think it means, this ‘NOT MINE’ and the metal bar he stuck through this man? Was this the work of The Shadow”. Regardless of the PCs answer Edwyn will agree with them. “If you think of anything else that might be of use. Anything at all that will help us end this nightmare, please let me know. Sayer can’t take much more of this.” And as he says this his eyes will start to tear up and he will quickly turn and begin searching the area for clues.

If the PCs choose not to investigate the screaming man, they will find out about this story on the following day as everyone in town will be talking about it. The prominent rumor that starts up from this story is that the burning from the previous night was by some crazy man, not The Shadow and that The Shadow found this man and killed him in the street to show that he wasn’t the one that did it. Unless of course the PCs did manage to hide those words and kept that to themselves, in which case the entire city would be quite baffled and be discussing whether or not The Shadow is going as mad as Mayor Eryn Flynn.

Just What I Need

Over the course of the next few days following the burning of the man in the middle of the street the PCs should continue about their normal business. Ideally, helping with Curfew Enforcement or trying to hunt down The Shadow. More citizens of Sayer will continue to pack up their things and leave town for good during these days.

The Stalker

Over the course of this time the PCs are being stalked by someone. Even a critical success on a perception roll would still not guarantee the discovery of this stalker. At best they might think they saw something out of the corner of their eye, but when they look in that direction whatever they thought they saw is no longer there. Their stalker is very good at what he does and he will not be found out easily. Here are some of the details of The Stalker:

He dresses in black leather armor head to toe with just a narrow slit for his eyes. This armor is of extremely high quality and difficult to penetrate. It is also magically enhanced to give him resistance to magical attacks roughly equivalent to his bonuses to dodge melee and ranged attacks.
His skin, in the only place you can see it (Around his eyes) also appears to be pitch black. His eyes also appear to be completely black.
He is just over 6 and a half feet (about 198 centimeters) tall with quite long legs and is very slim.
He is not impressively strong or tough (has average to low hit points), but makes up for this with incredible agility.
He carries a black metal spear with a black tip that penetrates deeply into his foes’ armor causing their armor to offer less protection. He has 5 more identical spears on his back and he can melee or throw with these spears with great power and accuracy (big bonuses to strike and damage, though not as great as his bonuses to dodge as described below).
He moves silently at all times.
He has a greatly increased chance to normally dodge incoming melee and ranged attacks (equivalent to a plus 14 on a d20) and a 40% (or a 13-20 chance on a d20) chance to critically dodge any incoming attacks and critical dodges allow him to reposition and counter attack his enemies providing they are within movement or throw range. Both this chance to dodge and critically dodge are reduced by 5% per attack he attempts to evade in a round.
He can move very quickly and should be able to move twice as far as any PC in a given round (unless someone has a very powerful movement ability in which case he may just barely outpace them).
He can actively perceive everything within 30 feet (just over 9 meters) of himself as if he is looking at it even when he is not. This perception is supernatural and is even in full effect if he is rendered blind. This also allows him to attack anyone within this radius with full bonuses without looking at them.

The Stalker is simply waiting for his opportunity to strike. He will wait until all of the PCs are alone together or until one or two are by themselves somewhere in the city. When this moment arrives the Stalker will attempt to render his prey unconscious without shedding any of their blood. This should play out within the rules of your game. Once again I would like to remind you that The Stalker is very good at this and would likely not attack unless quite certain the odds were stacked heavily in his favor. He would also use deadly force if it came to that in order to achieve his goal, but ideally he render the PCs unconscious and capture them without leaving a trace of evidence.

His goal is to capture one or all of the PCs. If he captures all of the PCs you can skip down to The Abandoned House. Once he captures any of the PCs he will leave a note for any remaining PCs in a place where they will certainly find it:

If the remaining PCs follow the instructions of the letter they will find themselves assigned to the street that the letter said they would be assigned to, and they would find the abandoned house. While awaiting this assignment, Edwyn Flynn will arrive and tell all of those gathered for Curfew Enforcement a sincere thank you. He would then come to the PCs and give them a separate thank you, “I know what you saw the other night was horrific, and I fear there is more of that to be seen, but I appreciate your coming tonight. Now are some of you missing?” This last sentence and any others should be adjusted to suit your game as necessary. Please always feel free to play fast and loose with the encounters/storyline in order to suit your game and your players. This question from Edwyn will in effect give the PCs there last chance to attempt to tell someone about the letter.

If the PCs choose to tell Edwyn Flynn about the letter at this time or any previous time, he will react to the troubled looks on their faces immediately and say, “We should speak in private.” and send anyone else around out of earshot. “You can talk to me.” Once they tell him of the letter he will say, “You must do as he has told you, but this will be our chance. I will be nearby. I will have my best scout watch you and as soon as you enter the house we will close in on it and come inside at the first sign of trouble. You have to trust me. This is our best chance at killing this bastard.” Edwyn is very enthusiastic and excited about this chance to kill The Shadow. The PCs can tell that he is having to hold himself back to keep from showing this excitement to all around. “Godspeed, my friends. This will be a good night. This city needs a good night.”

If the PCs tell anyone else besides Edwyn Flynn about the letter, they will pass the information up the chain of command and The Stalker will follow through on his threat. All they will find is fire with their friends dead inside. Do your best to make sure your PCs take this threat seriously as they hold the lives of their captured comrades in their hands.

The Abandoned House

This house is two stories tall. It is in a very nice section of Sayer and seems to have belonged to a wealthy family. All of the furniture was taken during the move, and the place is fairly dusty. All sounds inside seem to echo for several seconds.

Assuming the PCs that are not captured follow the instructions from the letter or tell no one besides Edwyn Flynn, any and all PCs who were captured by The Stalker would find themselves gagged and bound on the floor of a seemingly empty house. Their head is spinning and they would know that they have been drugged. They feel extremely weak and groggy and their vision is blurry. Even without the bonds they would probably struggle to stand up. With the bonds they can't even muster the coordination to move themselves along the floor. They see any other PCs around them who were also captured. The room is very dark, but they can see vaguely across the room the outline of the man who captured them. As this may be the first time they see him, he is basically just an outline of a slim, very tall man cloaked in darkness. He is crouching in the corner near the stairs and looking out a window into the street. He begins to speak and as he does the voice sounds very familiar, but the drugs seems to be interfering with their ability to discern it (a critical perception roll, if your game allows such things, would allow them to discern who the voice belongs to as described below):

“This is perfect. You are just what I need. After tonight there will be only one man giving this city any hope. And when he dies they’ll all shriek in terror.”

If all PCs have been captured he would start pouring oil on them and then around the house as he is speaking the above words.

If not all of the PCs have been captured he will silently move up the stairs and hide from the uncaptured PCs to await their arrival. Once they do arrive and enter the building they will all hear a whisper that sounds like it is straight behind them. “Shut the door.”

Whether or not they shut the door it will shut very soon as the ceiling above them begins to fall and a falling beam slams the door shut, blocking any entry. All players must make an initiative/reaction roll in order to attempt to avoid the falling debris. The PCs should have about a 50/50 shot at reacting quickly enough to able to attempt to dive out of the way. If they are able to react they can make an agility/dexterity based roll to dive out of the way, or whatever roll is appropriate for your game. This roll should be difficult. Any PCs crushed by debris will be rendered unconscious from the damage or at best pinned down and unable to move.

As the ceiling is falling PCs that were captured will start to see shadow swirling about them completely blocking their vision. One of them (randomly chosen) will feel a hand upon his or her back and here a “Shhh…” coming from above them. They will feel weightless for a fraction of a second and then find themselves in a completely unfamiliar room, disoriented, but still surrounding in swirling shadow. This will happen to each of the captured PC one by one while the rest of the scene unfolds. This would then continue with each of the PCs that are rendered unconscious from The Stalker’s trap.

As soon as the first PC is taken in this manner, The Stalker will scream, “YOU HAVE COME TO DIE AS WELL, SHADOW?!” Any PCs that evade the debris will be immediately confronted by The Stalker. As he runs down the stairs he will say, “It is going to be a good night!” and the PCs will immediately recognize his voice to be Edwyn Flynn. He will stand before them with a spear held defensively in front of him and say, “Come on, who wants to kill The Shadow?” And one PC will see his arm go back as he prepares to throw his spear at them. Before this PC is able to react they feel an arm wrap around their chest from behind as shadow begins to swirl around their feet and they disappear from the room right as a spear flies through what would have been their heart. All other conscious PCs should start combat at this point. Each round, The Shadow will re-enter the room in the same manner, touch another PC and take them from the room. In many cases this could quite possibly save each PCs life as it did the one described above. Any PCs that attack The Stalker take the risk of being counter attacked, this attack may be devastating, but The Shadow would intentionally attempt to save the most injured first. While it is definitely possible that The Stalker could kill one of the PCs in this encounter, The Shadow will use all of his power to save all of them if he can.

The Shadow

Abilities

Eventide - The Shadow’s daggers are encased in supernatural shadow. This shadow enhances his attacks causing the same damage his attacks normally deal again with each hit (effectively doubling his damage). This additional damage is magical and thus penetrates any and all armor. He wields two daggers and can attack with both at the same time. Both are enhanced with Eventide
Lurk - The Shadow is extremely stealthy. Making any aggressive action that would draw attention to him breaks this stealth. While Lurking he is all but undetectable to all but The Stalker as Lurk does not hide him from the Stalker’s supernatural perception.
Watchful Shadows - The shadows surrounding The Shadow protect him. They deflect attacks that would otherwise hit him increasing the difficulty to successfully attack him. On a d20 any strike roll below a 12 would be completely deflected by Watchful Shadows. Watchful Shadows can only deflect one attack per round. Any attack of a 12 or above would still have to contend with his studded leather armor as if the strike is minus 12 (or something roughly equivalent if not using a d20 system).
Vanish - The Shadow can completely vanish from sight if anyone manages to see him in the first place. He can even do this in the middle of combat.
Umbrage - The Shadow has a greatly increased chance to critically strike on his first attack after Lurking or stealthing regardless of whether or not the target detects him. This basically means his first hit almost always hits very hard.
Dark Passage - This is The Shadow’s most powerful ability and the reason he is so elusive. This allows The Shadow to place two swirling shadows on the ground. These shadows then allow The Shadow to pass through them at will. He can even bring one other person with him if he so chooses, but he must be touching them. Placing these shadows takes effectively as much focus and effort as moving would, but he typically uses it to move around anyways. This helps makes his movements less predictable when facing powerful foes like The Stalker. This ability has a 100 feet (about 30 meter) range and requires line of sight.

Once he has all of the (surviving) PCs away from The Stalker, he will say, “You must be quite. We are not far away, though I think he will not find us here.” As he finishes this sentence the PCs can hear a distant and very loud shout that sounds like frustration echoing down the street. As the PCs look at the man speaking to them they see that he has two daggers on his hips, both swirling in black shadow. He is wearing brown leather armor with dark gray metal studs on it, but it is surrounded with what appears to be a harness of shadow. This shadow looks gaseous and is hovering defensively above his shoulders and extends in strands down his arms and legs and up to his head. He is about 5 feet 6 inches (about 168 centimeters) tall and has a dark black beard and brown eyes. He is in amazingly good shape. He continues talking to the PCs, “There is a family sleeping downstairs and if they see me they will probably think I am the killer they have grown to know as The Shadow. I am the man they have described as The Shadow, but I am not the killer they think I am. Their beloved Edwyn Flynn is their killer. But I am The Shadow. If you wish to escape, I beg you to follow me. Now that you know the truth, and more importantly Edwyn knows that you know, you cannot go back. Come quietly unless you can think of a good reason to be in these people’s home.” And with that the Shadow will quickly head out of the room.

If they remain quiet and follow The Shadow he will expertly lead them through the city in a path that evades the guards, the Curfew Enforcers, and most importantly The Stalker. As they travel he will continue to talk in hushed tones with the PCs to give them more information and answer their questions. If the PCs ask who he is he will say, “No one of consequence. ‘Just a concerned citizen,’ you might say. You can call me John. Or you can even call me The Shadow. I’ve grown to like it, but probably only because it stirs so much hatred in Edwyn. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it disgusts me even more now that I know it is him.

“I finally figured out who he is as he became careless when he was stalking you. I was honestly surprised you never noticed him. He was so bold, but I suppose you don’t get away with killing as many people as he has if you don’t have some skill. I followed him as he followed you and was able to see him take off his armor. He wears extremely tall boots. I don’t know how he manages to stay so quiet with those things on. Sorry I’m talking so much. It’s been some time since I’ve had someone to talk to.”

Throughout this talking he will break to answer any questions he could as long as they don’t ask who he is, in which case he will evade that question. He will also pause now and again and tell the group to be silent as some Curfew Enforcers walk passed the alley they are hiding in without noticing them.

“I’ve been as lost on this as I thought the whole town was. I managed to make it to one of the houses before anyone else. I tried to go inside and save anyone who was still living, but they were already dead. That’s when one of the Sayer Guards saw one of my shadows and they gave me that name. Though they assumed I was the one doing the killing, too. I’ve been hiding ever since. I was hiding before too, I suppose. It’s my natural state. I’m like a--anyways, I think I know what he plans to do next. Once we get out of the city, we can discuss this. If you’ll help me kill him you can keep the bounty. We have to catch him in that armor of his. Otherwise no one will believe he did it.”

Once he gets them out of town he will lead them to a cave. As they approach he’ll say, “The bear is inside, but she’s already hibernating for the winter, so it’s safe to sleep inside. Unless you snore. That wouldn’t be good. You have to be quiet. If we need to talk we should do it out here. Oh! I’ve been rude. What are your names?”

Roleplaying this character is quite fun. He talks way too much, but always directs the conversation away from himself. In spite of how talkative and friendly he is, he is not very charismatic. He struggles with reading social cues appropriately and speaks very honestly without regard to how people might react to what he says. He would never tell the PCs his real name (Sam Barrett) and he would insist they call him John, The Shadow, or Shadow. He would also never tell the PCs the full story behind Edwyn’s murders.

The Shadow would have discovered while stalking The Stalker that Mayor Eryn knew of Edwyn’s killings. After each of the first two killings Eryn personally doused the homes in oil and set them on fire. After this point Edwyn apparently set the homes on fire himself which led The Shadow to believe that Eryn told him to do so. Based on this information, The Shadow intends to kill them both. He would like to allow Edwyn to kill Eryn before stepping in and killing Edwyn, but he plans to ensure they are both dead regardless. Knowing that Edwyn is under Eryn’s thumb is another factor that led The Shadow to suspect that Edwyn would kill his brother. The Shadow would not divulge any of this information to the PCs.

The Shadow is a child of the Barrett family who escaped from the fire and simply kept running until he was found by a traveling merchant from a nearby town. The merchant thought Sam was a mute as he refused to talk and took him to the local orphanage. Sam was the only person alive who knew that his family member’s deaths were not an accident, but rather an act of murder. As he grew up, he never forgot this fact and has dedicated his life to trying to find and kill the person who did it. When these murders started he heard about them and recognized their similarity to his family’s murder, which prompted him to come back to Sayer to investigate.

After talking with the PCs as much as they are willing to talk with The Shadow, and even getting a full night’s sleep if they so choose, The Shadow will reveal to the PCs his plan.

“I think I know what Edwyn plans to do next. I already had my suspicions, but he practically told us,” As he quotes Edwyn, The Shadow does a ridiculously over the top and quite inaccurate impression of Edwyn’s voice, “‘After tonight there will be only one man giving this city any hope. And when he dies they’ll all shriek in terror.’ Ha!” The Shadow laughs to himself about his impression, “What a fool. He really has gone mad. I believe he plans to kill his brother, Eryn. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. He treats even his own blood like animals. Coming behind them and cleaning up their messes only to scold them for the mistake and lock them in their cage.

“All Edwyn really cares about is terrifying Sayer. When people thought they were safe seeking refuge in the streets, he all but encouraged it publicly as the Captain of the Guard and then he found and killed those that did as he told them. Children! He deserves all of the abuse Eryn has given him.” The Shadow will spit on the ground before continuing, “Anyways, I’m not completely sure about when, but I have a good idea. I have it on good authority that once a week, Eryn reads to his decrepit mother in the courtyard behind the Mayor’s Mansion. This just so happens to be happening tomorrow night. I can get all of us to the courtyard and we can wait for his attack. I don’t know if he plans to kill his mother, too, but I’d be surprised if she didn’t have a hand in creating this monster.

“The most important thing here, if you’re willing to go with me, is that we all hit him at once. He looks fairly scrawny to me, but I haven’t had any luck getting my blades in him when I attack alone. Luckily I’m pretty good at living to fight another day. Anyways, he is very quick and can place those spears exactly where he wants. But I would bet that he can’t dodge all of us at once. All we need is for someone to hurt him a little and then we can just finish him off. But once again, we have to all strike at the same time.

“Something else to keep in mind is that we can’t sneak up on him. He always knows when I’m coming or where I’m hiding. As soon as he gets close he looks straight at me. He always finds me and NO ONE finds me. I don’t understand it, but he does it every single time. If most of you can attack from range, I can bring one of you up close with me so we can try and take him out by all hitting at once.”

From here he would discuss with the players and come up with the best strategy for all to be able to attack at once depending on your group makeup. He would also be very insistent that PCs need to keep their distance for as long as possible since as soon as they get within about 30-40 feet (about 9 to 12 meters) he will know exactly where they are. If any one PC will be slower to get their attack in, he will recommend that everyone wait until that PC is ready to attack as well.

While strategizing, The Shadow will also recommend that the PCs remain outside of town until the night for which they are planning. “If Edwyn sees you he will likely do his best to follow and kill you. He may even just have you arrested. He may have even started spreading rumors about you in the town or even put out a warrant for you. I don’t know what he’ll think I did with you. I’ve never gotten there early enough to save anyone before. Other than his brother Eryn, he’s alone in this as best as I can tell. I’ve been alone for a while, too...” The Shadow would appear to sink deep into thought until one of the PCs gets his attention. He will then shake off whatever her was thinking about and continue working on the plan for their attack.

The PCs would basically have a full 24 hours to rest up and get anything else taken care of they would like. If they choose to sleep in the cave they do need to remain extremely quiet, or they may end up fighting a bear. If they choose to go into town it is highly likely that they would be arrested. Everyone in the Sayer Guard has been given their descriptions and told that the PCs are suspected of being in league with The Shadow. If arrested, however it will be of little consequence as The Shadow can teleport in and out with the arrested PCs. He would also be able to regain any possessions taken from the PCs and would then help them re-escape from town.

Whether or not the PCs go into town, The Shadow will go. He will simply say he has business to attend to in town and disappear. When he returns he will inform the PCs (or they will learn on their own if they head into town) that Baltus Chovik and his entire family were killed and their home burnt on the previous night (any PCs who were killed the previous night were also found burned inside the Chovik home). “Looks like he decided to make a statement elsewhere since he wasn’t able to do so with members of the Curfew Enforcement.” The Shadow would say, “Some of the smaller businesses in town have already completely closed. The owners are packing up all of their things into carriages and plan on leaving town immediately. Wish we could have killed him last night...”

Let's End This

Those are the three words The Shadow will say about an hour after the sun sets on the second night out of town. He will then guide the PCs through the Sayer Guard and Curfew Enforcers and safely to the Courtyard. He would not be his normal chatty self during this journey. He would talk only as much as necessary to communicate to the players to help them avoid being caught. The Shadow is very calm and quiet during this time. His demeanor is that of a man who believes he is on his way to meet his destiny.

Once inside the back of the Courtyard the PCs would be able to see across the gardens. The courtyard is very dark. At the end opposite the PCs would be the back of the Mayor’s Mansion. Between the PCs and the mansion is an assortment of shrubs, flowers, and trees mixed with walkways and benches. The second story has a balcony that overlooks the courtyard and beneath this balcony sit Hana and Eryn Flynn. Eryn appears to be reading from a book and Hana is staring out at the sky, she does not appear to be paying attention to Eryn at all. The Shadow would move up very slowly and quietly with the PCs to just over 40 ft (about 12 meters) away from the Flynns. Here they would quietly sit.

After several minutes The Shadow would whisper, “Get ready.” and any PCs that make a remarkable perception roll would notice some movement on the balcony above Eryn and Hana. Only a few seconds later all would hear Hana yell as Edwyn athletically vaults from the balcony and lands on his feet facing his family. He is wearing his full black leather with his spears on his back.

“It’s okay, Mother.” Eryn would say immediately, taking Hana’s hand before turning to face his brother, “What are you doing, Edwyn. Mother doesn’t want to see you at all, much less like this. Leave! Now!”

“No more,” Edwyn would respond as he reaches back for a spear and begins to take it in his hands. “I’m done following your orders, Mayor Flynn.”

As soon as Edwyn begins reaching for his spear, The Shadow will give the PCs the signal and they will begin their assault. Combat should play out under the rules of your game’s system.The Shadow’s main concern is to live to fight another day and his abilities make it extremely unlikely for him to be unable to escape, so in the following list of possible outcomes I did not specifically mention the event of The Shadow’s death, but if he is dead any salvation he would otherwise offer to the PCs would obviously be unavailable. This combat may have several different end results, so I will lay out the consequences for each result below. But first, here are the motivations of each of the NPCs involved starting with their main goal and progressing towards less and less important goals. Any goal listed before protecting their own life indicates that the NPC is willing to die trying to accomplish this goal:

The Shadow - Escape with his life, kill Edwyn, kill Eryn, and keep the PCs safe. He has no concern for Hana’s life, but would not go out of his way to kill her.

Edwyn - Kill Eryn, kill Hana, kill The Shadow, kill the PCs, and escape with his life.

Eryn - Protect Hana or allow her to escape, escape with his life, stop Edwyn from escaping (by use of the Sayer Guard once he and his mother are safe), and stop the PCs from escaping (also using the Sayer Guard).

Hana - Protect Eryn with her life if necessary, stay away from Edwyn, escape with her life.

Consequences

Mistakes

If any PCs make a terrible decision that makes enough noise for Eryn to hear them, he would immediately retreat with his mother inside and guards would begin to flood the courtyard. The Shadow would help the PCs escape and the next day they would get news that both Eryn and Hana Flynn were killed and the Mayor’s mansion was set on fire. It was not completely burned, but almost all citizens of Sayer have lost hope and will begin evacuating the city at an extremely rapid pace. .

Hana Lives

If Hana lives but Eryn and Edwyn die, Hana would clear the names of any who killed Edwyn and explain to the citizens of Sayer that he was The Shadow. The PCs would be entitled to their bounty and will always be welcome in Sayer. The Chovik family would take over leadership of the city and help maintain order as the city tries to recover.

Eryn Lives

If Eryn lives but Edwyn and Hana die, Eryn would have the PCs arrested. He would then tell the town that The Shadow came into the Mansion and killed Edwyn and Hana. He would offer to make the PCs out to be heroes saying that they helped fight off The Shadow and prevented him from killing Eryn along with Hana and Edwyn. If they refuse this offer he will have them slated to be hanged. While imprisoned awaiting their execution, The Shadow will rescue them from their cells and take them out of the city telling them never to return.

Eryn and Hana Live

If Eryn and Hana live but Edwyn dies, Hana will convince Eryn to allow the PCs to leave and she will ensure that they are paid double the bounty as they will not be able to stick around long enough to get their weapons. The PCs will be banished forever from Sayer, but they will be allowed to leave in the night. The Shadow will not be seen again by the PCs, but he will eventually assassinate Eryn.

Edwyn Lives

By definition of his motivations, if Edwyn lives the only other one who might survive would be The Shadow. The citizens of Sayer would lose all hope and begin to evacuate the city. Edwyn would dedicate his life to hunting down and killing all citizens of Sayer. The Shadow would continue to follow and attempt to kill Edwyn until one of them kills the other.

All Die

If Eryn, Edwyn and Hana die, The Shadow would encourage the PCs to escape with him as any who find them here would assume the worst, especially considering the rumors Eryn has been spreading in the town. If they choose to stay they would be arrested by the Sayer Guard and sentenced to be executed. The Shadow will save them from their cells while they are awaiting execution and allow them to escape. Whether the PCs stay or leave the majority of the people of Sayer would begin to pack up their things and leave the city.

List of Characters

This Campaign written by Jason McCracken with concept support and editing from Jacob Woods and Rachel McCracken.