Grandalton: Session 2 | page 1

Session 2: Storm Warning

Introduction:
This is a session of the Heroes of Grandalton series of one-shots Ive written for a low-commitment,
open, weekly group that centers around a single town. Grandalton is a completely original town on the
Sword Coast, in the same area as the setting of Princes of the Apocalypse. Each session takes place
roughly six months after the last and returning players are encouraged to make use of my homebrew
expanded downtime rules to make the majority of their gold and to create lasting changes in the town
or their characters.
My expanded downtime rules can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oLWry6khbdcbDej8IhGplpzSLWE-ZFcGQjqC8_--Gcc

Estimated Playtime: 3 hours

Intended Players: 7 level 1 or 2 characters

The material provided here is supplemental to the Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition materials
published by Wizards of the Coast and is not intended to replace those resources.

Prologue:
Its been six months since the 3rd Grandalversary Celebration. Fall is in full swing on the Sword Coast,
with the first frost due any day now. The party is hanging out in The Weary Squire, enjoying the warm
atmosphere and company while, outside, a storm builds up. Youre engaged in a rather boring but
informative conversation with Grandaltons banker Hormstein Myst.

The conversation with Hormstein is a roleplaying reason to talk about the player characters finances.
Begin by asking: What have your characters been up to? Have they been working in a profession with
which they are proficient? Go over the Occupation Rules now. If your character works at a profession,
their earnings at Rank 0 Hobbyist are enough to provide them with a modest lifestyle for free. If your
character chooses to live a Poor lifestyle to save money, spending 2sp per day, they earn 144 gp in
savings, but are suffering one level of exhaustion when the session begins.

My list of expanded Downtime Activities can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oLWry6khbdcbDej8IhGplpzSLWE-ZFcGQjqC8_--Gcc/edit
The list of Occupations available from the Job Office is included here.

Summary: Avril LaVigne has a problem. Shes in deep with the local rogue, Odd, and had to sell her +1
greatsword, Storm Warning to cover part of her debt. Odd sold Storm Warning in the local black market.
A group of bandits, led by a mysterious newcomer, used Storm Warning to stage a hostile takeover of
the Goodbottle Brewery in the north of town. Upon learning of this, Avril went and attempted to get her
sword back by force, however, the bandits were too much for her on her own. She got badly injured in
the fight, but managed to escape back to The Weary Squire, where she claims to anyone in the common
room that her sword was stolen from her in that brawl. The bandits plan to simply take over operation
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of the Brewery and raise beer and liquor prices, as one of them, their leader worked as the manager
until he staged this coup. Its not difficult for any interested party to discover discrepancies in Avrils
timeline. Its up to the party whether to stop the bandits, join them in their endeavor, and steal Storm
Warning back for Avril or themselves.

The Weary Squire:

KRACKADOOM! Lightning strikes very near and Avril, a staple of the common room, bursts through the
front door. A chill dry, wind whips around the room, stirring the fire in the hearth and the candles that
light many of the tables. Avril is soaked with sweat and blood; she suffers a black eye, busted lip, and
tears in her clothes that might indicate worse injuries. Grunnhild, the owner, rushes to her side with
bandages and health potion.

If asked what happened, Avril says:

Grunnhild, you might wanna sit down. Uh, G- Goodbottle Brewery, is uh. Taken over. Bandits from
out of town, I guess. I tried to fight em, but they overpowered me took my greatsword. She tries to
take a deep breath but winces. There were too many for me to take on alone, but I just, saw red when I
lost Storm Warning and, uh, kept fighting.

Jim runs off to the barracks to tell Eldon the sheriff about the brewery takeover.

Avril can provide the following information if asked for more details:
There were 7 bandits and a leader in the main area, but there are probably more.
The leader Eagle Eye Gregorio is a tall, muscular human man, bald and clean shaven with thick
eyebrows and a prominent burn scar on his forearm.
When Storm Warning was stolen, Eagle Eye immediately began wielding it.
She doesnt know how Storm Warning was taken from her. (A DC 15 Insight (WIS) check will
reveal that this is a lie.)
There were a couple of people who looked like brewery employees tied up in the vat area.

The PCs who overhear Avrils story can contract with any and all of the following:
Avril to return her sword (reward: 50 gp each and 450 XP divided among the party)
Grunnhild & Jim to clear the bandits out of their brewery (reward: 100gp each and 200 XP)
Eldon, the sheriff, to eliminate the threat to the town (reward: Eldons good graces and 450 XP)
Gregorio's Bandits to run the brewery under new management (reward: a share of the profits (1
gp/day and 200 XP)

The following NPCs are at the Inn:

Avril LaVigne: high elf woman, sellsword and town founder; not much for conversation right
now beyond a few questions about the situation at hand.
Grunnhild Goodbottle: dwarven woman, an owner of the inn; busy tending to Avrils wounds,
but will gladly engage in conversation (read: rant) with the players about her distress over losing
her brewery to bandits.
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Jim Goodbottle: halfling man, spouse of Grunnhild, and the Goodbottles numbers guy; rushes
out to inform Eldon as soon as Avril fills him in.
Erika Nimmelswitch: gnomish woman, owns the Grandalton Outfitter general store
Mikhail Pupeh: human man, local potter
Chukrey: half-elf woman, ranger, council member
Catherine Tit: drow woman, druid of the circle of grassland; very sage and powerful
Ivellimos Bow: moon elf man, bard, singing David Bowies Golden Years will sing other songs if
paid a silver or two, coppers will only get you crafted insults.

Developments: If the PCs dawdle, its likely they will run into Sheriff Eldon, who will be headed to the
Inn to ask some more questions or the Brewery with the town guard.

Goodbottle Brewery:
Standing alone just west of the Druid Gate, Goodbottle Brewery consists of two small buildings and a
large warehouse surrounded by a gated wooden fence. The building seems very different than the
cheerful Weary Squire. The brewery looks gray and worn with weeds in the yard and grime on the
windows, one of which is newly broken out; its glass glitters in the gravel below. The cart and horse
tracks that go in and out of the yard are fresh and clearly indicate this is still a prosperous business, but
the sturdy wooden gate is locked and no one seems to be around.

Gregorio, aka Eagle Eye, has been working hard making friends over the six months hes lived in
Grandalton. Marketing himself as a down-on-his luck traveller, rather than an ex-bandit, Gregorios
extraordinary palette for beer almost immediately got him hired by the Goodbottles to manage their
brewery. Gregorios bad habits returned however when he began to understand just how profitable a
venture the brewery is, so he staged a hostile takeover with a few new bandit buddies. Some of the
bandits who are helping out were employees of the brewery already, while the employees who didnt
agree with Gregorio fled or were taken hostage. Gregorio wears Storm Warning across his back.

Map credit to: jpstodwftexas

Yard. The yard of the brewery has a few piles of empty barrels, sacks of dry goods used in alcohol
production and a wheelbarrow. There are a few trees as well. The gravel paths that connect the
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buildings are wide and generous. A wide pipe brings water up from a well in the NW corner of the yard
to a covered reservoir that holds the water used in liquor and beer production.

Main Building. Immediately to the right upon entering the gate is the main brewing building. It has three
entrances: the main double doors that face west, a small eastern entrance, and a very small northern
entrance that overlooks the water reservoir.
There are plenty of windows on the second story of this building that can be seen out of on the catwalks
above the vats.
Stationed at various spots around the main building are 9 bandits and their leader Eagle Eye (Gregorio)
a bandit captain. Three of the bandits keep a look out to the yard from the catwalks and will alert Eagle
Eye if they spy anyone less sneaky than their passive perception of 10.
By the time the PCs arrive, the bandits have strung the three captive employees theyve taken
upside-down above a vat of beer. The first thing Eagle Eye will try is threatening to drop the bound up
employees into the vat if the party causes trouble. The second thing Eagle Eye will try, is offering the
party a slice of the pie; if they join with him, theyll receive a share of the profits. Enough to make them
comfortable, which shakes out to 1gp/day extra on their downtime.

Storm Warning: +1 sword; made of silver-gray steel in the shape of clouds with a blade inscribed with
intricate lighting patterns, the sword gives a slight static shock every time its touched; the sword
whispers warnings to its bearer, granting a +2 bonus to initiative if the bearer isnt incapacitated; it
booms and crackles like thunder and lightning when used, but deals no extra damage from this effect.
 Grandalton: Session 2 | page 5

Defeating the Eagle Eye and his bandits here or otherwise clearing the brewery of them earns the
characters 1,250 total adjusted XP divided between them
.
Storage Buildings. The two storage buildings near the northern city wall only have one entrance each
and contain full barrels of beer and few kegs of fine bourbon. These buildings have no windows, but
arent very thick, so any scuffling within would be heard from outside.
In each building there are 3 bandits and 2 thugs going through the inventory of both. In the easternmost
shed, the men have begun drinking the merchandise, but in the west shed theyre all business.

Defeating all 6 bandits and 4 thugs earns the party 1,100 total adjusted XP (for 7 players, thats 157 XP).
If each shed group is taken out separately, the party earns only 412 XP for each group, for a total of 824
XP (for 7 players thats 59 XP each for a total of 118 XP).

Developments: If the fight takes a long time, or the PCs dawdle, Eldon will show up with the town guard.
The bandits in the back sheds will discover this and bust out to fight the fuzz.
If the party joins with the bandits, then Eldon rolls up with 10 guards and the party will need to talk her
down from fighting the bandits or fight her themselves.
 Grandalton: Session 2 | page 6

Conclusion:
If the players return Storm Warning to Avril, shell reward them with 50 gp each and they earn 450 XP.

If the players clear the bandits out of the brewery for Grunnhild & Jim, theyre rewarded with 100gp
each and 200 XP.

If the players ally with Eldon, the sheriff, to eliminate the threat to the town, theyre rewarded with
Eldons good graces and 450 XP.

If the players join Gregorio's Bandits to run the brewery under new management theyre rewarded with
a share of the profits (an extra 1 gp/day on downtime) and 200 XP.