Sinister Adventures #1

Bugmans Bitter Blues (version 1.0)

(Bryce Whitacre)
Sinister Adventures

These adventures are made from my campaign notes on what my group is currently
doing. Some information may need proofreading or more detail. I will try to correct and
update this information as much as possible. Have Fun!

Difficult Note: For test <p> is the notation of one purple dice, so <pp> means two purple
and so on.

Overview Hes decided to hire some snoops under

This adventure takes place in Bugmans
Brewery before the brewery was
destroyed. The default Bugman in
charge is Josef Bugman but if you are
running in an earlier timeline its easy to
use Zamnil (Samuel) Bugman.
Recently the orders for Bugmans
XXXXXX and Troll Brew have tripled
and left Bugman with a serious dilemma.
His current boiler and cooling system
cant handle the extra workload and he
doesnt have time to make the costly
improvements to fulfill all the new
orders. Some less than reputable
contacts in Altdorf have alerted Bugman
to another possibility. Using the
material known as wyrdstone Bugman
could convert his boiler system to be
heated and cooled by the substance.
Hes paid top dollar for the materials and
the Wyrdstone boiler and his engineer
had runesmith and magical experience
so it was easy for him to create a new
boiler. So far everything is running
smooth and his meeting his quota. The
most annoying problem has been the
minor theft of equipment.
Recently tools have been going missing
concerning Bugman that one of his
employees might be stealing from him.
the guise of fellow brewmasters to see
what has happened to the tools.
Whats Really Going On
Sadly for Bugman, theres more going
on here than just a few employee sticky
fingers. Skaven, attracted by the
wyrdstone have tunneled their way into
the Brewery, unnoticed. Frustrated by
the fact the wrydstone is being kept in
heavy machinery, the Skaven have taken
to tool snatching in the hopes of finding
the right tool to break into the boiler
system and retrieve the wyrdstone. The
pcs investigations reveal many
interesting red herrings, from love
affairs, to thieves, to disgruntled
workers, but only after a series of
murders is the truth revealed about the
true threat, the presence of ratmen.
Cast of Characters
Gunthar Merryweather Merchant
attacked by giant spiders
Cythnia and Gunner Kitz Tavern
owners from Wusterburg attacked by
giant spiders.
Josef Bugman Owner and Braumiester
Rokdec Giantender Assistant
Braumiester
Nodi Beamgrinder TurbineEnginner
Oaru Goblinsmiter Turbine Specialist
Tat Steelbattler kegmiester
Voni Warslasher Kegmiester
Henri Gemfighter - Tube Specialist
Fortinbras Conner, Gorbulas Burrows-
Halfling Hopmasters
Pounce Stonemill Brewer
How to Hook the Characters
The heroes are traveling on a road just a
day or two away from Bugmans
Brewery.
You have been traveling this road
uneventfully for several days. The skys
been clear, the weather warm, and the
conversation pleasant. The road takes a
turn down into a valley and you find
yourself between to large hills. A
piercing scream breaks the pleasant
silence. Someone is in dire trouble up
the hill on your right.
Once the heroes get up the hill (climbing
requires a <p> athletics check)
The sight is horrifying. Several large
spiders have webbed their human
victims into cocoons. They sense your
presence and wheel around, intent on
preserving their food source. You see
there overwhelming size and a shiver
goes down your spine.
Use one giant spiders (less than 3
heroes) two giant spider (3 or more
heroes) from the Tome of Adventure for
this fight. Cutting the victims out of their
web cocoon requires a <p> strength
check.
Victim #1 is Gunthar Merryweather, a
merchant from Nuln. He promises that
the heroes have a lifetime discount with
him for goods. He quickly departs on his
own after being rescued.
Victims #2 and #3 are Cythnia and
Gunner Kitz, they are on their way to
Bugmans Brewery to buy some
Bugmans XXXXXX and Troll Brew and
return it to Wusterburg. The problem is
that their wagon has been destroyed.
They offer the heroes 5 silver a day to
provide an escort and help them procure
a wagon once they get to Bugmans
Brewery.
Black Fire Pass
The pass is being marauded by orcs
trying to rob and kill those that move
through the pass. The heroes will be
attacked as they move through the pass.
There is one henchman squad of goblins
and one orc (if 3 heroes or less, two orcs
and a henchman squad of goblins (if
more than 3 heroes). This battle occurs
in a mountain pass. Use the following
terrain rules:
Mountain Pass:
The ground here is difficult terrain.
Each turn spent moving causes the
player to take an additional fatigue (note
that if this was a heroes free move
they still take a fatigue). Heroes and
monsters taking multiple moves in a turn
still only take one additional fatigue.
Orc says funny thing, you laugh now!
For those gamemasters that like orcs
having a bit of comedy to them, feel free
to add these orc quotes before or after an
orc or goblin attacks.
Goblin Sayings:
We Be Friends Now?
Dasa gonna bleed boss!
Dat Really Hurts! Ouchy!
You be food for the squiggy.
Calls us a trucy?
AAAAH! Right in the Grengals!
Orc Sayings:
Oi! My choppa Wants to Talk
Outta my way, time for de big smash!
You gonna be a boss trophy.
My choppa is Hungry
Punny humie makes squishy sound.
You really hurt Bork! No Not
Really.
Thats all you got pinky?
You not dead yet? Dont make me call
a waaaaagh!
Arriving at the Brewery
The victims of the spider attack, Cythnia
and Gunner Kitz, get their ale just fine
but the heroes will need to procure a
wagon. To do this the heroes need to
make some social rolls to convince the
dockhands to loan or rent them a wagon.
The Kitzs will meet inside with
bugman while they are doing this. The
Kitzs after speaking with Bugman, tells
the heroes that the famous brewmaster
wishes to speak with them.
Convincing the Dockhands
The dockhands have plenty of wagons
for deliveries but they just arent going
to loan them out to anyone. Place a
token on the third spot of a 3 spot meter
for this skill test. The heroes need to
make successful checks answering each
of the dockhands questions. Each time
they are successful move the token to the
right, each time they fail, move the token
left.
What do you plan to do with this
wagon? (charm or guile test <p>)
When will you bring it back? (Intuition
or Leadership test <p>)
Whats in it for us? (Skullduggery or
charm test <p>)
You plan on telling the boss about this?
(Skullduggery or Leadership test <p>)
You are taking full responsibility for the
wagon then? (Leadership or guild <p>)
Give the heroes a fortune die if they
come up with a particularly clever
answer to the questions. At the end of
the line of questioning check the meter,
if its more to the right than left, the
heroes get the wagon, if its more left on
the meter, the heroes fail, and will need
to come up with another option.
Regardless of the outcome the Kitzs
find the heroes and tell them that
Bugman himself wants to meet the
heroes.
Meeting Bugman
Bugman offers the each member of the
party a cask of Bugmans XXXX brew,
worth about 20 silver a cask, but indeed
the drinking value of it is worth more.
He wants them to snoop around and
investigate whats going on in the
brewery.
Just some missing equipment and tools
really. Hoping you wouldnt mind
chumming up to the boys and seeing if
anyone is pilfering from me. Our
operations have increased by about
280% with some recent new equipment
and weve been so busy weve been lax
about accountability for tools and
parts.
Bugman provides the heroes with a list
of employees to the brewery. The one
pieces of information Bugman will not
reveal right away is the fact that his
brewery is now being powered by
wrydstone.
How The Heroes Should Proceed
At this point the adventure stops being a
linear one. The heroes are free to
conduct their investigations in an
particular order they wish. The
following is a map of the brewery,
and a list of the NPCs and what they
know. The murders will have on their
designated nights.
Keep in mind the Brewery is only a
crude sketch that I used for my games,
and the author does not consider himself
an expert on brewing, so you should feel
free to change the look of the brewery to
suit your needs.
Tavern
The tavern is a bustling place. Always
full the rumor is that bugman is thinking
of building a new tavern to
accommodate all the travelers that come
here, just for the privilege of saying I
drank at Bugmans. Two burly dwarf
bartenders that look as if they are twins
mind the bar, while two severing
wenches, one dwarf, one Halfling, wait
the tables.
NPCs
Stampi and Stompy Axerod
These two are the dwarf bartenders.
They work hard and makes sure that
everyone leaves the establishment
happy. They will listen to your
problems, offer advice, talk about how
great things used to be. Its hard not
to like either one of them. To drink here
is expensive, but thats part of the honor
of being in this place. Ale will cost you
3 to 5 times more than anywhere else in
the old world.
What They Know
Both bartenders know that the serving
wench, Gretta Stoneflower, is the sister
of Tat Steelbattler, and that shes been
seen sneaking off late into the night with
Nodi Beamgrinder, the turbine engineer.
Gretta Stoneflower
Gretta is a female dwarf (attractive by
dwarf standards) working the tables.
Shes got a quick wit and a keen eye.
Shes friendly, bawdy, and buxom,
which is what the people that visit
Bugmans Brewery expect from a bar
wench.
What She Knows
Gretta is carrying on a love affair with
Nodi Beamgrinder, though if asked she
denies it. Nodi is married which is
complicating things. Shes not sure
where the love affair will lead, if
anywhere, but shes happy for the
companionship.
Hanna Overhill
Hanna is a halfling employed as a bar
wench. She serves drinks with speed and
ease and on often leads the patrons in
bawdy bar songs, to make the experience
of being at Bugmans Brewery even
better. Shes also an expert dart
champion.
What She Knows
Shes heard a rumor that her good for
nothing cousin, Fortinbras Conner ( a
night hopster) and his good for nothing
friend, Gorbulas Burrows, are stealing
from the brewery. She overheard them
talking about it when she made dinner
for them last week. She has no idea what
they are stealing.
Employee Room
The employee room is filled with a
series of crude holes and cubbies for
personal belongings and a big table in
the middle of the room for relaxing
during a break. Playing cards and a set
of dice have been left out on the table.
Murder Event #2
On night two Henri Gemfighters body
is found on the employee room table,
evidence of a struggle. He died with a
clump of brown hair or fur in his hand.
NPCs
Rokdec Giantender
He is seen walking through the room
when the heroes enter it. Ah, you must
be the folks that Bugman told me about.
Glad to me you! Im Rokdec
Giantender, assistant Braumiester here.
If you need anything just ask
What he knows
Besides his extensive knowledge of the
brewery, Rokdec believes that the
Halflings are up to something. In his
office is a note. (See Rokdecs Office).
If asked about the drill in his office, he
tells the party the truth, its an
experimental drill used in emergency
shut down procedures to reach the power
source. An observation check <pp>
reveals hes hiding something about the
nature of the power source. A charm
test <pp> he will take the characters into
his confidence and after they promise
not to tell anyone, he will tell them about
the wyrdstone.
Hops Room
This room contains a giant tank with
tubes leading to the lower level and one
large tube connecting to the ferment
tank a level above. Here you see
Halflings diligently working adding the
necessary hops to Bugmans brews.
What are Hops?
Hops are the female flower of clusters,
commonly called cones or strobiles, of
the humulus plant (Humulus lupulus).
The hop is part of the family
Cannabaceae, which also includes the
genus Cannabis (hemp). They are used
primarily as a flavoring and stability
agent in beer and ale, though hops are
also used for various purposes in other
beverages and herbal medicine.
NPCs
Fortinbras Conner, Gorbulas
Burrows (hopsters)
These two Halflings are busy with their
work but seem nervous about something.
The deflect any questions about the
brewery and are reluctant to answer
personal questions.
What They Know
These two are part of a scheme to steal
hops and the secrets to Bugmans brews.
With the recent emergency increase in
production the inventory on supplies like
hops havent been kept up to date. They
are stealing hops, loading them into
casks and sneaking them out at night.
Nodi has a suspicion about them and the
heroes might find Nodis note in his
office. They have nothing to do with the
tools that have been missing however.
Braumiesters Officer
This office is used for important
meetings have a table in the middle of
the room and a desk in the back. On the
table currently is a shiny new steam
powered drill so large that two to three
dwarves would be needed to operate it.
Clues:
On Rokdecs desk is a note that reads:
After review, the hops order going up
by 450% something is wrong. We have
only increased production by 300%.
Double check the hops shipment
manifest vs. the usage report in the hops
room this week, I suspect someone may
be pilfering.
Event Skaven Theft
On night II the skaven sneak into the
office and steal the drill killing both
Henri Gemfighter on the way to the drill
and killing Pounce Stonemill and his
lover on the way back to the tunnels.
Turbine Engineers Office (Nodis
Office)
A small desk and a wall full of pictures
and notes detailing various mechanical
parts of the brewery can be found all
around the office. In one corner is a
large old looking mechanical system,
clearly now just spare parts.
Clues:
In the office are a number of clues. First
off a Spellcraft roll <p> reveals
something magical about the whole
power system in the brewery. Although
the check doesnt reveal precisely what
the magical source of the power is, a
<pp> guile or intimidate check on Nodi
would reveal that its wyrdstone power
the brewery.
On the desk is 8 silver coins with a note
wrapped around it that says, Voni.
This is the blackmail money hes paying
monthly to Voni.
Lastly, there is a blueprint drawing on
one wall of an emergency drill used to
bore through copper and other metals
quickly. This was a device necessary to
reach the contained and sealed
wyrdstone in a dire emergency.
The spare parts in the corner can be used
by the heroes in the climax of the
adventure, to repair the wyrdstone boiler
and cooling system.
What He Knows
Nodis knows quite a bit. First off, he
knows about the wrydstone, having been
the engineer to create the boiling and
cooling systems. Having once been a
runesmith, and a bit of study on magic
materials, he has crafted a very
interesting device to power the brewery.
This got him the job of Turbine Engineer
over the more experienced Oaru
Goblinsmitter. Nodi is also carrying on
an affair with the tavern wench, Gretta
Stoneflower. To further complicate
matters, Nodi is married, and his brother
in law is Von Warslasher. Recently,
Voni discovered the affair and has
blackmailed Nodi into paying him
money to keep from telling his sister.
Murder Event #1
In the morning after the first night, Nodi
will be found in his office dead. He was
killed with a wound to the back that was
made with a knife or sharp tool. There
are no other clues.
Ferment Room
A massive copper container with various
tubes and devices protruding from it
makes and awful racket. You a dwarf
looking at the various pressure gages,
and recording something onto
parchment.
The dwarf is Pounce Stonemill, one of
the brewers. Hes friendly, although he
smells bad from being around the
ferment tank all day.
What He Knows
Pounce knows that Oaru Goblinsmitter
is mad at Nodi. He secretly covets his
job after Bugman picked Nodi to replace
the former turbine engineer. Pounce is
also a bit of a ladies man, and known to
show women, the secluded parts of the
brewery. This gets him in trouble on
night II of the heroes investigation of the
brewery. If the heroes talk to him about
his personal life (charm <p>) test, he
reveals his recent love conquests after
the heroes promise not to tell Bugman.
He may even try to hit on any female
hero characters.
Murder Event #3
Pounce is found dead naked with his
lover (in the spare parts room) on night
two, after the skaven, who had just
stolen the drill for Rokdecs office
passed back through the spare parts
room. The skaven quickly killed Pounce
and his lover but were in such a hurry to
get the drill to their tunnels they left the
bodies there.
Kegmiester Area
This is where the brew is poured into
casks and then shipped. Here there are
three dwarfs working. Henri
Gemfighter, Voni Warslasher, and Tat
Steelbattler.
What They Know
Henri knows about the Halflings
stealing. They are paying him 100 brass
a month to keep quiet. Voni knows about
Nodi and the affair with the tavern
wench, Gretta Stoneflower, but he is
quiet about the matter in front of the
heroes, since he is blackmailing Nodi.
Tat Steelbattler on the other hand is
Grettas brother, and very very unhappy
with the affair. Hes told Nodi to break it
off, or there will be consequences.
Level 3
This area contains the massive boiler
than makes strange noises and emanates
strange colored light. Past that is the
great turbine motor. One person is
inspecting the tubes between the turbine
cooling system and the boiler. Beyond
the boiler and the turbine is a room
marked Spare Parts.
Oaru Goblinsmitter is an angry, bitter
dwarf (even by dwarf standards). He
doesnt want to be bothered by the
heroes and will go on a tirade about how
all the faults of Nodi Beamgrinder if
given a chance.
What He Knows
Oaru knows about Pounces little trips
with the ladies to the spare parts room.
He is very bitter as being passed over for
promotion, when Bugman made Nodi
the Turbine Engineer, since he had many will shut down the wrydstone boiler and
years experience over Nodi. cooling system if this fact is brought to
life.
Spare Parts Room

This room, unlike its name suggests is

empty, having recently been cleaned.

Clues:

An observation test <pp> reveals a

secret tunnel concealed here. (Its the
skaven tunnel).

Murder Event #3

Pounce is found dead naked with his

lover (in the spare parts room) on night
two, after the skaven, who had just
stolen the drill for Rokdecs office
passed back through the spare parts
room. The skaven quickly killed Pounce
and his lover but were in such a hurry to
get the drill to their tunnels they left the
bodies there.

Final Battle

Once the heroes piece together what is

happening it should lead them to level 3.
Here they will face a rat ogre protecting
the 3 skaven as they drill to get the
wrydstone. The heroes must stop the
skaven from taking the wrydstone.
Allow for a rally step after the heroes
defeat the rat ogre before they take on
the skaven.

Further Adventures

Its very possible the brew now contains

mutagenic properties. Since the ale is
expensive and only drunk by those of
wealth, there are a few rich nobles that if
drinking too much may become mutants.
Bugman is horrified by that prospect and