Background
can be. In the wrong hands it could be used to
This adventure sees the players attempt a heist to
steal a powerful magic item from an accomplished
wizard.
Saria Sly
Saria Sly had a brief but impactful career as an
adventurer around 20 years ago. On her first
adventure she and her group were tasked with
solving a spate of murders which ultimately led to a
confrontation against a devil in the underdark.
The devil was a fearsome foe and most of the party
fell, however when the creature turned its attention
to her she was able to deal it a fatal blow. She was
victorious and, when she returned to town, found
herself declared a hero. The act earned her a hefty
reward which, combined with the devil’s hoard she
had returned with, made her extremely rich. It just
came at the cost of her friends’ lives.
She retired from adventuring and purchased a
manor half a day’s journey from town so she could
be alone.
Saria’s Museum
Over time Saria invested her money well, and fed
much of her profits back into the community–even if
she largely remained apart from it. With the rest she
added to the collection of curios and magic trinkets
she had returned from the underdark with.
She initially dedicated a room in the manor to the
display of her curios, however as the collection
expanded she needed more space. She converted
most of the second level into an impressive
museum in which her collection is displayed.
Rod of Illusia
The Rod of Illusa is a powerful magical item that
Saria found among the devil’s hoard. It possesses
the ability to create powerful illusions with little effort
from the wielder. See Appendix B: Items for more
information on the item.
Saria understands how dangerous such an item
trivially deceive anyone; the wielder could steal
while implicating another or trick someone into
murder all without leaving any evidence of their own
involvement. It is clear to her that it is the most
powerful object in her collection and as such she
guards it fiercely. She doesn’t display it in her
museum along with the rest of her collection,
instead she uses Leomund’s Secret Chest to
ensure it is stored safely.
Saria’s Exhibition
Saria also understands that the rod of illusia can
create wonder and joy. Once a year she invites
wealthy nobles from the area to an exhibition in her
manor, allowing them access to her vast collection
while using the opportunity to raise funds for the
various charities she supports.
The main attraction at these events is a
demonstration using the rod. Each year she puts on
an amazing show, intertwining illusions to create
beautiful works of art, ranging from magical theater
through to wonderous firework displays.
Last year however, the exhibition was cut short
when a thief attempted to steal the rod. Saria
caught the thief in the act and ensured he was
brought to justice, but the event reaffirmed how
dangerous the item is in Saria’s mind.
This year she has taken extra precautions to ensure
the safety of the rod.
Byron Lekris
Byron Lekris was a member of the Zhentarim in his
youth but always had aspirations to be something
greater. He focused on high risk jobs with high
rewards and saved most of the money he earned.
Within a few years he had managed to amass
enough wealth that he was able to leave the life of
crime behind.
He moved out of Waterdeep and traveled for a time
before settling in Daggerford where he bought an
1
old run down tavern. He invested in renovating the
building and reopened it as The Drunken Duck. He People
proved to be an effective tavern owner and turned it
Saria Sly. A tiefling in her early forties with red skin,
into a successful business.
long jet-black hair and short straight horns
protruding from her forehead. For the exhibition she
A few years ago however, he had grown bored of
wears an elegant black evening dress. She is an
the comfortable life he had created for himself,
accomplished wizard and collector of rare magical
realizing he missed the excitement of working on
curios.
the wrong side of the law. He had no intention of
going back to work with the Zhentarim, instead
Byron Lekris. A bronze dragonborn in his fifties
toying with the idea of setting up his own
who is heavily built with a notable beer gut. He has
organization.
bejeweled rings on all six fingers. He is an
ex-member of the Zhentarim who now owns The
He moved away from the day-to-day business in
Drunken Duck tavern. He misses his old life and
the bar and instead began working on setting up a
now seeks a criminal empire of his own.
criminal organization with the same degree of
dedication and care he had taken with the tavern. It
Oban Harris: A human in his forties though his
has taken him some time but he now has a few
grizzled face indicates someone a decade older. He
people in his employ and has put some small scale
has a short graying beard and a wiry frame. He
smuggling efforts in motion.
works for Lekris and has infiltrated Sly Manor,
acting as one of the servants, mostly taking on
He has a vision of one day lording over a vast
cleaning duties.
criminal network and believes he needs to step up
his game. He heard of the attempted theft at Sly
Carlos Wolfe. A human in his twenties who is clean
Manor last year and has resolved that this year he
shaven with long dark blonde hair and wears simple
would organize a successful heist.
green scholarly robes. He is Saria’s personal
assistant and apprentice, though unlike Saria he
specializes in conjuration magic.
Adventure Hook
Nosha Sindur. A half-orc in her twenties with light
In this adventure the characters are tasked by
green skin and brown hair. She wears a simple blue
Byron Lekris with stealing the rod of Illusia during
evening dress to the exhibition. She is a member of
Saria’s Exhibition, the one time of year where she
the Zhentarim working for Vizen Grosk.
doesn’t have it tucked away in her Leomund’s
Secret Chest.
Markus Vaankir. A half-dragon in his third century,
with red scales and an arrangement of white
Before the adventure begins the characters are
beard-like spines along his jawline and eyebrow
given little information. Lekris is aware that the heist
ridges.
may fail and has taken precautions to ensure that it
can’t be tracked back to him. He has never met any
Vizen Grosk. A human in his sixties who is
of the party members before and keeps their
overweight with greasy combed back hair. He is a
interaction as brief as possible. He also ensures
leader of the local Zhentarim branch and has long
that none of the party have met before, both to
since stepped back from active participation in jobs,
reduce the chance of them being caught and to
instead managing money and planning from behind
ensure they don’t team up against him.
a desk. He sees himself as a noble but has largely
failed to ingratiate himself with the aristocracy.
All the party has been told is that there is a job for
them at The Drunken Duck and the reward is high.

2
Edith Von-Bloom. A human Waterdhavian noble
who is in her seventies. She has no interest in
networking at the event and is instead focused on
enjoying herself.
Bernard Beasley. A dwarven noble in his second
century. He has built his company from nothing and
is always eager to recruit investment.
Running this Adventure
This adventure is intended for four level five
characters and is expected to take around five
hours to complete. Adjusting difficulty for a different
number of characters should be fairly
straightforward, however.
The adventure is setting agnostic and can take
place in and near any small town. That said, it was
written with Daggerford in mind so that should be
used as the default location. If you move the
adventure to somewhere else, you may need to
update references to Waterdeep and the Zhentarim
accordingly.
The player characters in this adventure are not
really the good guys so it is recommended that they
are aligned neutral or evil.
Paragraphs written in italics are intended to be read
or paraphrased to the players.
Stat blocks for most enemies in this adventure can
be found in the Monster Manual or Mordenkainen
Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. The one
exception, the Shadow Duplicate, can be found in
Appendix A: Enemies.
The Drunken Duck
A few days ago you each received a call to
adventure promising high reward but light on detail.
Eager to earn your riches, each of you traveled to
Daggerford and you now find yourselves in the
specified meeting spot: A small but pleasant tavern
called The Drunken Duck.
It’s now approaching midnight, closing time, but
looking around you see that a number of the tables
are still occupied. Each of you sit apart, unaware
the others are here for the same reason. In addition
to you all, there are a few crowded tables of
drunken revelers.
You sit nursing your drinks for a few more minutes
before a heavyset bronze dragonborn figure
emerges from the back. He looks to be in his fifties
and has bejeweled rings on all six fingers. He takes
a seat in the corner, puts his feet up on the table
and rests a tankard on his ample belly. He gestures
to the barkeep who announces that the bar is
closed and the disappointed revelers are herded
out onto the streets.
The only people who remain are the dragonborn,
the barkeep and yourselves at your respective
tables.
The heavyset dragonborn swings his feet down
from the table and gestures for you to join him. You
all sit, taking in the new faces while the barkeep
places a tankard in front of each of you. Once you
have all gotten comfortable the dragonborn finally
speaks: “Welcome. Thank you all for coming, it is
good to finally meet you all. I understand that my
invitation was a little sparse on information but you
must understand that this is my largest criminal
pursuit so far, and I’d like as little mention of it
outside these walls as possible. But before we get
into that I should formally introduce myself: I am
Byron Lekris, owner of this bar and your employer
for the next few days. Perhaps you should all
introduce yourselves? After all, you're all going to
be working together.”
Give the players a chance to describe their
characters and introduce themselves.
Once they have done so, Lekris continues and
explains the task he has in store for them. He
explains that:
● Saria Sly is a powerful and reclusive wizard
who lives in a manor a short distance outside of
town
3
● She is a collector of various curios and artifacts
and in fact part of her manor has been
converted into a museum.
● In her collection, she has a particularly powerful
artifact known as the rod of illusia. With this,
convincing illusions can be created at
will–something that would be invaluable for
someone in the criminal business.
● Saria keeps the artifact sealed away using
magic, rendering it essentially inaccessible for
anyone other than herself
● The only time she takes it out is during a yearly
exhibition she hosts to show off her collection,
with the highlight being a demonstration of the
rod. This year’s event is in three days.
● Their task is to infiltrate this event and steal the
rod
● They will be paid 500 gp each for their services
● Anything else they are able to steal is theirs to
do with as they wish
He asks if they have any questions, which he
answers to the best of his ability. Once they are
ready to move on, he explains that he has a man on
the inside, Oban Harris, who’ll be there soon to go
over the plans.
He also explains that he has two bonus objectives
for them. If they are completed without
compromising the main objective then he will award
them an additional 300 gp each per bonus
objective.
● One of the guests is Vizen Grosk, a member of
the Zhentarim who has been encroaching on
Lekris’s other business. He is to be
assassinated but they must do so without
drawing attention to it. Oban Harris can provide
a slow acting poison which doesn’t take effect
until several hours after ingestion. They can
use this or any other means at their disposal,
as long as they don’t draw attention to the
assassination.
● Saria earned her fortune as an adventurer,
however she was the only survivor from the
excursion. Lekris believes there may be more to
that story that Saria has admitted to, and if he
can get proof then he can use it as leverage
over Saria. Oban Harris has seen her reading a
journal he believes she wrote during her
adventuring days, so Lekris wants it retrieved if
possible. Harris believes it is likely in her
bedroom.
You hear a sudden knock at the door and the
barkeep unlocks it and opens it a crack to peer out.
He then swings the door open and a wiry man with
a short graying beard, likely in his forties but his
grizzled face indicating someone a decade older.
Lekris greets him and introduces him as Oban
Harris. He grunts in acknowledgement of you all
before grabbing a tankard and taking a seat at the
table.
Lekris tells them that he’ll leave them in Harris’s
capable hands and leaves the table, exiting once
again through the door behind the bar.
Oban Harris produces schematics he has created
of the manor and lays it out on the table in front of
everyone. He then explains to them that:
● There are two main entrances to the building:
the front door and a service door round the
back.
● Additionally, while fixing the roof he noticed a
hatch there, making a third possible entrance,
though he doesn’t know where it leads.
● Typically there are just a couple of guards who
watch the gates and occasionally patrol the
grounds. On the evening of events however
several other guards are hired. He expects
there to be two on the front door, one of the
back door and two patrolling the perimeter.
There’ll likely be a few watching over the
ballroom too.
● Guards are not trusted in the museum without
supervision. Instead the museum has some sort
of magical protection though Harris is unsure
what it is, as it has always been disabled when
he has been there. He does know, however,
that whatever mechanism disables it is within
Saria’s office.
● The location of the exhibition room. The door is
locked and it looks pretty complicated. A good
lockpick might be able to get through it. If not,
Saria’s assistant Carlos Wolfe has the key. He
4
 is not part of the event and will likely be where
he always is: in his quarters working.
● If they need it, he can acquire the poison
Midnight Tears and ensure it is located
somewhere in the building for them. They can
choose where he will leave it.
● Saria is an extremely talented mage and should
be feared. If she discovers them, they should
flee. Their bodies could be evidence which
could lead back to Harris and Lekris.
With this information and the building schematic the
characters can begin to formulate a plan. Harris can
answer any questions they have. If they need
servant uniforms, Harris has some with him he can
give them. If they wish to enter as guests, Harris
tells them he should be able to sneak them onto the
guest list.
A strict time limit should be set for this to avoid the
players getting decision paralysis while planning.
This can be framed as Harris needing to get back to
the Manor.
5
Flashbacks Sly Manor
During the heist each character has a single
flashback point which they can spend at any time, Manor Grounds
typically when they get themselves into a bind. This
You arrive at Sly Manor and see a beautiful
can be used to flash back to a point in the three
two-story building with ivy crawling up the stone
days leading up to the heist where they may have
exterior. Surrounding the manor is a large but
already prepared a solution for the bind they are
simple garden. A wide open lawn is punctuated by
currently in.
the occasional stone statue, fountain or flower bed
and bordered by a thick hedge. All of this is bathed
Each time the players do this, they must describe
in a soft magenta light from some unknown source
what they tried to do during the flashback. For this
overhead.
to succeed they must pass an ability check using
the skill most appropriate for what they are trying to
From the front of the building you can see that there
do in the flashback, as chosen by the DM.
are two guards flanking the front door and another
pair of guards currently walking the perimeter of the
For example, if a guard catches them, they could
grounds.
use a point to flashback to meeting with the same
guard in the pub a day earlier. During this meeting
If the group are suitably dressed as guests and
they can try to convince the guard to turn a blind
have arranged with Harris for him to add them to
eye in exchange for a share of the reward. If they
the guest list, then they can enter via the front door
succeed during the flashback, then the guard lets
with no issues from the guards. If they aren’t on the
them go without issue during the heist.
guest list then they can make a DC 14 Charisma
(Deception) check to convince the guards that there
The DC should be set depending both on how likely
has been a mistake. If they fail Harris emerges from
it is that they could achieve what they are trying,
the building and assures the guards of the mistake,
and on how likely it is that they could have foreseen
allowing their entry, but the guard alert level
the event. A good baseline DC is 14, increasing if
increases by one.
the task is challenging or unlikely or decreasing if is
easy or likely.
The back door is manned by a single guard. If they
try to enter the backdoor while disguised as
servants of the house, the guard is skeptical why
Guard Alert Level they are arriving so late. A DC 10 Charisma
(Deception) check is required to convince the guard
The guards at Sly Manor are well coordinated and
to let them in. If they fail, Harris appears from the
will react if there is suspicious activity within the
building and convinces the guard to allow them in,
manor or its grounds. They start the night at alert
but the guard alert level increases by one.
level zero, at which point they are attentive but
relaxed. Each time something suspicious occurs
If the characters try to sneak across the grounds to
that gets their attention, the alert level increases.
one of the three possible entrances, they must
The maximum alert level is three. Some events will
make a DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) group check. On
differ depending on the current alert level.
a failure they miss their chance to sneak past the
patrol to their target and instead must quickly
choose one of the other two options.

If the characters try to climb onto the roof of the

building, they can trivially climb an ivy covered
trellis to get onto the roof. Once on the roof they

6
can see the hatch in the center, however the roof is
slated and slanted, making it different to traverse. A
DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check is required to
cross to the hatch. On a failure a character slips,
sliding down the roof. They catch themselves
before falling, however in doing so they knock loose
several slates which fall from the roof near where
the guards are posted, increasing the guard alert
level by one.
1 - Foyer
You enter into a grand foyer with hardwood floors
and mahogany panel walls. In the center of the roof
is a beautiful marble statue of a tiefling woman.
Around the statue a number of butterflies flutter
about.
On the east side of the room is a door and a
staircase leading to a landing above. The north side
of the room has two further doors and the west side
has a set of ornate double doors.
When the characters first enter the foyer it is empty
but as they begin to cross the room, the bathroom
door begins to open. They may attempt to hide if
they wish. Out of the door emerges Edith
Von-Bloom, an Waterdhavian noblewoman who has
already had a drink too many. If the group makes
no effort to hide, she approaches. How she reacts
depends on how the group has presented
themselves.
● If the group are disguised as servants then she
approaches and matter-of-factly informs them
that there is a mess in the bathroom and that
they should clean it up. She won't leave until
they appear like they are going to. If they are
reluctant she will complain about the quality of
the “help”.
● If they are dressed as guests she will introduce
herself and ask who they are, trying to get a
gauge of their value. If she gets the impression
they are “beneath” her, she will inform them so
curtly, otherwise she will suggest that the
Goldenfield’s White is a particularly fine
vintage before leaving.
● If they aren’t in disguise she will bluntly ask
them who they are and what they’re doing
there.
If during this conversation she becomes suspicious
of them, she will inform them she’ll be speaking to
the guards about them before storming off. If they
don’t stop her, the guard alert level increases by
one.
The statue has a simple plaque on it which reads:
Kalza Ward. Interacting with the butterflies around
the statue, or a A DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation)
check, will confirm that they are illusory.
7

If the guard alert level reaches 2, then one of the
guards from the front door moves inside to watch
over anyone passing through the Foyer. If in
disguise, the players must make a DC 14 Charisma
(Deception) check to avoid raising suspicion.
Otherwise the guard approaches and questions
them. If they cannot justify their presence there, he
calls for the captain of the guard (see 6 - Ballroom)
and the group are detained in Saria’s Study.
2 - Saria’s Study
You enter into a study whose walls are completely
lined with book cases, almost entirely filled with
books though there is the occasional curio or trinket
on display. On the south side of the room is an
antique mahogany desk strewn with papers and
books.
The desk contains a hidden button which disables
the magical protection in the museum. If the
characters search the desk they must make a DC
10 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find it. On a
success they find that on the base of one of the
drawers are three buttons, each with a different
rune on them which glow faintly. A DC 14
Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that each of the
runes represent a school of magic: conjuration,
enchantment, and illusion.
Pressing the button marked either conjuration or
enchantment will result in the character being
pricked by a hidden needle in the button. They must
make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take
4d6 poison damage and become poisoned for 10
minutes. While poisoned the character is also
paralyzed for the duration. On a success, they take
half damage and are not poisoned.
Pressing the button marked illusion will disable the
magical protections, after which all three buttons
cease to glow and have no effect when pressed.
Just before the characters leave the room: The door
opens and you see standing in the doorway a
half-orc woman in a blue evening dress. She looks
slightly surprised before smiling and stepping into
the room, closing the door behind her. “Well this is
an interesting surprise. What are you doing in
here?”
The woman is Nosha Sindur, a Zhentarim thief who
has also entered posing as a guest with the
intention of stealing the rod of illusia. She has
accomplices waiting on the roof for her signal, when
she disables the defenses.
Nosha initially tries to act as though she is merely a
curious guest. A DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) check is
required to see through her ruse.
If she realizes the group are there for the same
purpose as her, she is acutely aware that she is
outnumbered. She tells them she would be willing
to work with them in exchange for 10% of the
reward. This is a lie and she intends to betray them
as soon as she is able. A DC 14 Wisdom (Insight)
check is required to deduce that she is lying.
If the characters are hostile towards her, she won’t
attempt to fight them. She’ll allow them to detain
her, however if they do not bind her hands or cover
her mouth, she will use message to communicate
with Vizen Grosk to free her as soon as she is
alone. Failing that, she will contact her accomplices
and let them know they should enter.
If the characters search the shelves, a DC 15
Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that one of
the curios, a golden frog with emeralds for eyes,
is quite valuable, worth around 400 gp to the correct
buyer.
Detained. If the players are detained they will be
brought here and watched over by Markus Vannkir
and two of the guards. The players will be left alone
with the guards for a short time, giving them an
opportunity to escape. If they attempt to fight
Markus he has the stats of a half-red dragon
veteran and the other two are guards.
If they fail to escape after around ten minutes, Saria
will appear and question them. She will query them
to find out what they were attempting to do there,
and ultimately have them delivered to the Watch in
Daggerford.
8
If the group attempt to fight Saria they will likely lose
as she is an archmage with hold person instead of
detect thoughts, major image instead of fly, fireball
instead of lightning bolt and foresight instead of
time stop. Their best course of action is to flee
which will trigger the skill challenge described in
Escape.
3 - Master Bedroom
You enter into a large and spacious bedroom with
oak hardwood floors, in the center of which is a
thick shaggy rug. The room is framed around a
finely-built four poster bed with bedside cabinets on
either side. Against the back wall is a set of
bookcases which are sparsely filled with ornaments
and the occasional book, as well as a large
wardrobe, and near the door is a dresser made of
oak and marble.
This is Saria’s bedroom which she uses for sleep
and little else, preferring to spend time in her study.
The bedside cabinets are empty aside from a sleep
mask. The wardrobe is filled with clothes and
shoes, almost all of it of a fine quality but nothing
else of value, and the dresser simply contains
cosmetics and more clothes.
On the bookcase however is an invisible safe. It
resides in one of the gaps between ornaments,
which are sparsely enough placed that the gap isn’t
notable. A DC 16 Investigation check is required to
notice that there is something there, which can be
identified as a safe if a few moments are taken to
feel the object. A DC 16 Dexterity (Thieve’s Tools)
check is required to open it. Inside is a pouch
containing 5 sardonyx and Saria’s journal.
The journal is old and weathered and was used
while she was adventuring 20 years ago. It
documents her quest to solve the murders and her
eventual encounter with the devil. The details
largely align with the account she has shared
publicly with one notable omission. One of her party
members, another tiefling woman called Kalza
Ward, had betrayed them to the devil.
Kalza had sold them out so that she could live,
believing the group could not survive an encounter
with such a powerful foe. After Saria defeated the
devil, Kazla confronted her, not wanting word of her
cowardice to get out. She attacked, and Saria had
no choice but to kill her in self-defense.
When Saria returned to the surface she chose to
omit this from the story so that Kalza would be
remembered as a hero. The group may be able to
use this information to their advantage if they come
face to face with Saria.
4 - Lounge
You enter into a lounge with rows of bookcases and
deer antlers mounted on the wall. In the center of
the room there are two comfortable looking
red-leather sofas facing each other.
Sitting in here is a human man in his sixties who is
overweight with greasy combed back hair. He is
deep in conversation with two other nobles,
boasting about his business pursuits. The other two
appear to be considerably less enthusiastic about
the conversion than he is.
The man is Vizen Grosk and he is already more
than a little tipsy at this point. How he reacts to
them entering depends on how the group has
presented themselves.
● If they are disguised as staff he demands that
they refresh his drink.
● If they are disguised as guests he invites them
to join the conversation, at which point the other
nobles take the opportunity to exit. He regales
them with tales of hostile takeovers and pricing
others out of the market, believing he is slyly
masking the illegal nature of his business but
actually doing a poor job.
● If they are not disguised he sobers up and
immediately believes them to be assassins sent
to kill him. He panics and offers them money for
his life, initially offering them 800 gp to leave
him alone, though he can be haggled up to
2000 gp. If they take the money he will
immediately leave the event.
9
If the players act against Grosk, he has the stats of
a noble and can be easily defeated. If the other
nobles are still there, they will attempt to leave and
report to the guards, raising the guard alert level by
one. If they kill him and leave the body, it is found
within 15 minutes, which will also raise the guard
alert level by one.
If they manage to dose him with the poison
Midnight Tears, then there is no noticeable effect for
now. He will drop dead at midnight while he is
traveling back to Daggerford.
5 - Bathroom
An ornately tiled bathroom with a magically
powered shower.
If Edith Von-Bloom has just left the bathroom the
toilet has clogged and begun to overflow.
6 - Ballroom
You enter into a grand ballroom with a long table
set with a wide selection of foods and drinks on the
western side. To the north, floating instruments play
pleasant background music and across the ceiling
snake various firework like effects which silently
pop in and out of existence, bathing the hall in
multicolored light.
There are around fifty or so noble men and women
standing or sitting in the hall, mostly networking,
drinking and eating. The largest group surrounds a
red-skinned tiefling woman with jet black hair, short
straight horns emitting from her forehead and
wearing an elegant black evening dress.
Skulking in the corner are three guards watching
over everything. One, seemingly the captain, is a
red half-dragon.
The tiefling woman is Saria Sly and she is too busy
speaking with the crowd around her to notice the
party.
If the characters are disguised as guests or staff
they will have an easier time crossing the hall while
the alert level is below three. They can make a DC
12 Charisma (Stealth) check to cross without
drawing attention to themselves. On a failure they
are approached by Bernard Beasley, a dwarven
noble. How he reacts depends on how the
characters present themselves:
● If the characters are disguised as servants he
will demand to know where his drink is, he
requested it nearly 5 minutes ago. He won’t let
them leave until they agree to get him a drink.
● If the characters are disguised as guests he
will approach and try to network with them,
asking what their business is, hoping to find
someone who will invest in his new enterprise.
If they act suspicious during the conversation, he
will excuse himself before heading towards the
guards. If they fail to stop him, the guard alert level
rises by one.
If they are not disguised then crossing the hall will
be more challenging. While the guard alert level is
below three, they may make a DC 16 Dexterity
(Stealth) or Charisma (Stealth) group check to
cross without drawing attention. On a failure, the
group sees one of the guards speaking to another
while gesturing in their direction and the guard alert
level rises by one.
The guard captain is Markus Vaankir who is
watching the crowd intently. If the guard alert level
is at the maximum level of three, the group must
make a DC 18 Dexterity (Stealth) or Charisma
(Stealth) to cross the room, regardless of their
costume. On a failure two of the guards begin to
approach the group, while Markus approaches
Saria. The guards flank the group while Saria and
Markus approach. Saria asks them what they are
doing here. If they give a convincing answer, they
may make a DC 15 Charisma (Deception) check, in
which case she asks the guards to lead them to the
front door and escort them off the premises.
Otherwise, she asks the three guards to lead them
to her office and detain them there. She will join
them shortly. She assures the guests that the
unexpected guests have been dealt with and they
can resume festivities.
10
If the characters are hostile here then the guests 8 - Servant’s Quarters
flee towards the foyer while the guards, Markus and
Saria Sly engage the characters in combat. This is A collection of small bedrooms. Oban Harris can be
a fight the characters are very unlikely to win and found here.
their best course of action is to flee which will
trigger the skill challenge described in Escape. 9 - Guest Bedroom
A well kept guest bedroom that doesn’t look like it is
7 - The Kitchen often used.
You enter a thronging kitchen as various waiters
and cooks rush back and forth preparing a large One of the walls borders on the exhibition room
feast. Despite the near unbearable heat in the room which may be useful if the characters wish to tunnel
the various servants rush back and forth gracefully into the room.
avoiding each other as though performing an
intricate dance. 10 - Carlos’s Chambers
You enter a large bedroom though it is more
If disguised as one of the guests a waiter
reminiscent of a workshop. There is a bed along
approaches as soon as they enter and informs
with a couple of bookcases on one side of the
them that guests are not meant to be in the kitchen.
room, but the rest of the room is taken up by
He then asks if he can help them with anything. If
workbenches covered with strange components
they act suspicious he waits until they are gone
and half-finished projects. Large score-marks on
before approaching one of the guards, increasing
the walls suggest that these projects don’t always
the alert level by one.
go to plan.
If disguised as a servant, a chef hands one of the
Among these workbenches on the far wall is a
group three plates and demands that they take it
writing desk, hunched over which is a scholarly
out to the table. The character is chosen at random
figure frantically writing. A keychain hangs from his
and they must make a DC 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
belt, off the side of the chair he sits on. It is clear he
check to successfully carry all three plates out of
is lost in his work and hasn’t noticed you enter.
the kitchen. On a failure, they drop them and the
chef chastises them then mentions that they don’t
On a shelf above the desk are three curious looking
recognise them. He asks if they really work here. A
dinosaur figurines, the only decoration in the room.
DC 13 Charisma (Deception) check is required to
convince him, otherwise he is suspicious. Once
The figure is Carlos Wolfe. He doesn’t care for the
they’ve left the room, he asks one of the waiters to
event and to avoid participating has shut himself in
inform the guards, increasing the guard alert level
his chambers and busied himself with work. Work is
by one.
going well at the moment and he is completely
enveloped in it. With his concentration elsewhere,
If they are not in disguise one of the waiters
he isn’t paying much heed to what is going on
approaches and asks who they are and what they
around him and his perception suffers for it.
are doing. A DC 13 Charisma (Deception) check is
Approaching him quietly only requires a DC 10
required to convince him that they aren’t up to
Dexterity (Stealth) check and taking the keychain
anything nefarious but he asks them to leave the
only requires a DC 10 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand)
kitchen regardless. On a failure he waits until
check.
they’ve left the kitchen before approaching the
guards, increasing the guard alert level by one.
The figurines are jade figurines of the
deinonychus. Carlos uses these if he thinks there
is a risk of combat.

11
If they alert Carlos he asks what they are doing
there and demands they leave. Without his figurines
prepared Carlos knows he is outnumbered so if the
group becomes hostile to him, he will allow them to
detain him. A DC 22 Charisma (Intimidation) check
is required to convince him to assist in their heist.
11 - Museum
You enter into a museum filled with all sorts of
strange displays, ranging from fierce weaponry and
intricate jewelry through to demonic statues and a
strange obsidian monolith. There is even the
massive head of a red dragon affixed to one of the
walls.
You can see that there is a door into what seems to
be a storage room on the east side and the door
into the exhibition room on the west side.
There are a large number of objects on display here
ranging from massive free standing objects like
demonic statues or a dragon skull, through to
weaponry, valuables and magical trinkets on display
in the display cases and pedestals. All of the
objects have a history associated with them
however there are no captions describing them.
Saria knows what all of the objects are and the
history associated with them and describes them at
length when giving a tour of her collection.
If the characters wish to steal from the collection
they realize that many of the items aren’t
particularly valuable without knowing the history
associated with them. They may make an
Intelligence (History) check to see what would be
valuable from the collection without the associated
history. With a 10 or higher they find one item. With
a 15 or higher they find three items and with a 20 or
higher find five items. The items are as follows:
● A silk robe with gold embroidery worth 250 gp
● A silver-plated steel longsword with jet set in hilt
worth 750 gp
● An obsidian statuette with gold fittings and inlay
worth 750 gp
● A staff with an intricately carved snake head at
the top worth 1800 gp. This is a staff of the
adder
● A pair of finely crafted elven boots worth 2500
gp. These are boots of elvenkind
Any additional items they take are worth 25 gp a
piece.
All of the displays and pedestals have had alarm
cast on them by Carlos. He will be alerted if the
players take anything without first dispeling the
magic. Anyone using detect magic can see an
aura of abjuration magic around the display cases
and pedestals.
12

The door to the Exhibition Room is locked with what
looks to be an extremely complex lock. One of the
keys on Carlos’s key chain can be used to unlock
the door. Alternatively the characters may try to pick
the lock, which requires a DC 14 Dexterity (Thieves
Tools) check. If the DC is exceeded by 5 then the
character realizes that the lock was surprisingly
easy to unlock, given how complex it looked. Carlos
has cast alarm on the door and is alerted as soon
as anyone steps through the door. Anyone using
detect magic can see that abjuration magic has
been cast on the doorway.
The cupboard door is also locked requiring a DC 14
Dexterity (Thieve’s Tools) check to unlock. Another
of the keys on Carlos’s keychain can be used to
unlock the door. Alarm has not been cast on this
door as Carlos did not want to draw attention to it if
someone were to cast detect magic.
None of the windows in the museum can be opened
and they have all been magically reinforced to
make them much harder to break. They each have
a damage threshold of 20 but will shatter if that is
exceeded.
If the group enters without having disabled the
magical defenses using the button in Saria’s Study
then after a few moments: Darkness suddenly
swirls in front of you for a moment before solidifying
into a shadowy figure. It takes you a second to
recognise that the figure is a mirror of yourself.
Each of you look around and realize that only you
are able to see the figure in front of you.
They have been afflicted by a powerful illusion spell
of Saria’s design. They each see a shadow
duplicate (See Appendix A: Enemies) of
themselves that none of the others can see. The
duplicates will attack the person they have
duplicated and will continue to do so until their HP
has been reduced to 0 or their respective character
has fallen unconscious. The spell can also be
ended by casting dispel magic on each of the
characters afflicted.
Triggering combat in the museum will increase the
guard alert level by one. Additionally, it will also
increase if the players use any explosive or loud
spells while there.
There are three additional possible encounters here
which may occur depending on what the characters
have achieved during the heist. At most, only one of
these encounters should occur, so if the conditions
are met for more than one then you can choose
which one.
Carlos Wolfe. If the characters trigger the alarm on
the door to the Exhibition Room, Carlos is alerted
and will arrive, if he is able, immediately after the
characters re-enter the Museum from the Exhibition
Room, or potentially while they are trapped if they
fail to free themselves. When Carlos enters the
Museum he activates all three of his jade figurines
of the deinonychus, creating three deinonychus
which fight alongside him. He has the stats of an
enchanter wizard but with counterspell instead of
tongues, and misty step instead of charm person. If
Nosha is with the group she flees, aiming to escape
using the rooftop hatch.
Nosha Sindur. If the characters successfully find
the magical doorway inside the cupboard while
Nosha is with them, she will call for assistance from
her companions and attack the group, wanting to
take the rod for herself. She has the stats of a
master thief and her three companions are spies.
Markus Vannkir. If the guard alert level has
reached the maximum value of three, then Markus
Vaankir and his guards check the museum’s
magical protections and realize they have been
disabled. He immediately calls all guards and heads
for the museum, arriving after the players re-enter
the Museum from the Mountain Summit. He is a
half-red dragon veteran and he has six guards
with him.
12 - Storage Room
You enter into a simple storage room containing a
number of crates and a few broken items which are
no longer suitable for display. There is a ladder
leading up to a hatch in the ceiling.
13
If the characters spend a little time searching, a DC
14 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals there is
a potion of greater healing in one of the boxes.
The windows in here are similarly reinforced to
those in the museum.
13 - Exhibition Room
You enter into a large room with mahogany panel
walls. In the center of the room is a raised platform
made from marble and in the center of that, is a
marble plinth. On top of this is a red velvet pillow,
on which rests a golden rod with a platinum pyramid
on top. Each face of the pyramid has a jewel cut
into the shape of a rune, each a different color: red,
purple and orange.
The marble platform, plinth, pillow and rod are all an
illusion. A DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check
will reveal this, though it will quickly become clear
when they try to take the rod.
If someone attempts to step up onto the platform
they must make a DC 14 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check. On a success they notice that their foot
passes through the illusory platform and step back
from it. On a failure: You try to step up onto the
platform but instead your foot passes through it. It is
immediately clear it is an illusion. Your foot hits the
ground and you feel a panel underfoot sink about
an inch with a click. The door slams shut as the
illusion depicting the platform, plinth and rod
vanishes, leaving an empty room. Suddenly
darkness envelops you, completely obscuring your
vision. Inside this darkness you see patterns of
dazzling multicolored lights bolting across your
vision.
The player has stood on a pressure plate inside the
illusion and triggered a trap. The door has re-locked
itself, this time requiring a DC 16 Dexterity (Thieve’s
Tools) check to unlock it again. A DC 16 Strength
(Athletics) check will allow a character to break the
lock.
Additionally the room has been shrouded in magical
darkness, rendering even those with darkvision
blind. Each round that the magic darkness persists,
anyone inside it must make a DC 13 Wisdom
saving throw or become charmed. While charmed
in this way the creature is incapacitated and has a
speed of 0. This effect ends if the creature takes
any damage or if another creature uses an action to
shake them out of it.
If everyone in the party becomes charmed, they are
awoken a few minutes later when one of the people
from encounters described in the Museum opens
the door.
Both the magical darkness and the charm effect
end if the door is unlocked again.
The windows in here are similarly reinforced to
those in the museum.
14 - Cupboard
You open the cupboard door and see yet another
door behind it. This one is not attached to a wall
and floats slightly off the ground. There is a magical
shimmer around its edges, and light glows from
behind it.
The magical door leads to the mountain summit.
Attic
You enter into a musty old attic full of old boxes and
other odds and ends. You can see a hatch leading
down near the south eastern side. The attic hasn’t
been floored however, so to get there you’ll suspect
you’ll need to carefully balance on the beams as
you’re unsure if the ceiling below will hold your
weight.
They must make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check to cross the beams without falling. If
someone falls while near someone else, they may
make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to catch
them. If no-one is able to catch them they fall onto a
ceiling. The ceiling will crack but otherwise hold if
the character is small. A character who is medium
size, however, falls through the ceiling into the
museum below.
The hatch leads down into the Storage Room.
14
Mountain Summit
You step through the magical door and are
immediately hit by the cool breeze and dazzling
sun. You stand at the very peak of a mountain,
maybe 40 feet across, with the bright midday sun
beaming down on you. Around half a mile below
you clouds lap at the sides of the mountain and
stretch off to the horizon, like an ocean of white. A
single tree protrudes from the edge of the summit,
towering over the peak.
The characters have stepped into a small
demi-plane created by Saria Sly using magnificent
mansion. It is simply a 40-by-40 box room which is
nearly completely empty. The scenery the
characters see is an elaborate illusion created by
Saria, and is intended to be part of the exhibition.
She plans to create an elaborate show in the sky
which her crowd can watch from the mountain’s
peak.
A DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check is
required to see through the illusion.
The tree marks the place where there is a small
table, on which is the rod of illusia used to create
the illusion. If a character reaches into the tree they
feel the rod and can take it with no issues.
Escape
When the players exit the manor with the intent of
leaving, then they are able to do so without issue if
the guard alert level is two or lower. There are still
guards on the front and back door, however, and
acting in a suspicious manner within view of them
will raise the alert level by one.
If they leave while the alert level is three then: You
begin to make your escape from the manor just as
you hear the door behind you burst open. You see
Saria Sly, the guards and some of the guests
emerge from the building. Saria calls out “Guards!
After them!” at which point the guards begin to give
chase.
The players must complete a skill challenge to
escape. You may use the skill challenge rules
suggested in Appendix C: Skill Challenges or you
may use your own rules. The skill challenge should
use a base DC of 15.
The players must navigate the following events:
● You see Saria standing by the doorway as she
begins casting a spell, you each feel your
muscles begin to tense up and movement
starts to become harder. On a failure they are
each held for a few seconds, allowing the
guards to close some of the distance, but they
are still able to continue.
● The guards continue to chase you while Saria
casts something again from range. You see
cracks form in the ground and then collapse in
on itself, creating a rift into darkness below.
This now stands between you and your escape.
The pit is an illusion and the players can
auto-succeed if they just run through it.
● Saria continues to cast as you feel the forces of
magic grabbing at you. Every object on your
person begins to try and lift itself from you.
Saria is using telekinesis to attempt to take all
of the items the players have stolen back. On a
failure they lose all of the stolen items aside
from the rod of illusia and Saria’s diary. The
guards also gain on them.
● You look back and see the guards still trailing
behind you as Saria readies yet another spell in
the distance. You see a burst of olive light as a
focused green beam fires towards <one of the
party members>. It connects and you see a
significant chunk of them begin to disintegrate
away. This is again an illusion made to look like
the disintegrate spell. Saria is reluctant to
actually hurt the group, but hopes they will slow
down if it looks like one of their group is badly
hurt. The person targeted cannot be the one to
handle this event.
● Though the guards still follow behind you,
you’ve put quite a distance between yourself
and Saria and it can’t be long now until you’re
beyond her range. That fact doesn’t appear to
be lost on Saria as she yells out in anger and
fires a large blast of fire in your direction.
Desperate, Saria has launched a real fireball in
15
 their direction, hoping it’ll slow them down. On a them down so there are no loose ends which could
failure they take 8d6 fire damage. Anyone who tie him to the failed heist.
is reduced to zero HP remains conscious for
now but collapses from their wounds as soon If they are captured and handed in to the Watch
as the escape has concluded. then the investigation also discovers Lekris’s
involvement and he is imprisoned alongside the
The players must succeed on three of the five group.
events for the skill challenge to be considered a
success.
References
On a success: You manage to get beyond the
range of Saria’s spells and without her intervention Title text generated with cooltext.com.
you are able to quickly lose the guards. You
continue running for another 10 minutes or so into Some names generated using
the night until you are confident that you are no fantasynamegenerators.com
longer being followed.
Page background and DMs Guild logo provided by
On a failure: Saria’s barrage of spells have Dungeon Masters Guild.
hindered your progress enough to allow the guards
to catch up to you. You each feel yourself tackled to Maps creating using Dungeon Alchemist and Dungeon
the ground as the guards attempt to detain you. Scrawl
Within a few moments Saria has caught up to you,
Written on 2023-07-21. Version 1.0.0
standing over you, ready to attack if you act out at
all. She says to you: “You’ve ruined an event that I
hold dear to my heart. If you return the rod and all
that you’ve stolen now, I’ll let you go such that the
rest of the evening can continue unimpeded.
Otherwise I will hand you over to the Daggerford
Watch.”

If they hand back everything they have stolen, Saria

is true to her word and allows them to leave so her
event can continue. Otherwise she and the guards
detain them until the Daggerford Watch arrives.

Conclusion
If the players are successful in their mission, they
return to the Drunken Duck a few days later and
report to Byron Lekris to hand over the rod. He
rewards them with the promised 500 gp as well as
any rewards for completed bonus objectives. He
informs them that he is impressed with their work
and he would be happy to work with them again in
the future.

If the players are unsuccessful but still escape, then

Lekris is furious. He pays for an assassin to track

16
Appendix A: Enemies
Shadow Duplicate
Medium construct, Unaligned

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 32 (5d8 + 10)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR 16 (+3) DEX 10 (+0) CON 14 (+2) INT 16 (+3)

WIS 11 (+0) CHA 8 (-1)

Saving Throws DEX +2, INT +5, WIS +2

Skills Stealth +3 Perception +2
Damage Immunities psychic, poison
Senses Passive Perception 12
Languages --
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

Illusory Nature. The shadow duplicate can only be

perceived by the creature it is a duplicate of. It
cannot be targeted by other creatures nor is it
affected by area of effect spells originating from
anyone other than the duplicated creature.

Actions
Psychic Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d8 + 3) psychic
damage.

Psychic Blast. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit,

range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10 + 3) psychic
damage.

17
Appendix B: Items
Jade Figurine of the Deinonychus
Wondrous Item, uncommon
A statuette of a Deinonychus made of jade which is
small enough to fit in a pocket. If you speak the
command word and throw the figurine at a point on
the ground within 60 feet of you, the figurine
becomes a living deinonychus. If the space where
the creature would appear is occupied by other
creatures or objects, or if there isn’t enough space
for the creature, then the figurine doesn’t become a
creature.
Rod of Illusia
Rod, legendary (requires attunement)
While you are attuned to this rod and are holding it,
you may cast the spell major image at will. The
spell is cast as though using a 6th level spell slot
and therefore lasts until dispelled and does not
require concentration. The spell is cast with a spell
save DC of 20.

The creature is friendly to you and your

companions. It understands your languages and
obeys your spoken commands. If you issue no
commands, the creature defends itself but takes no
other actions.

The creature exists for one hour. At the end of the

duration the creature reverts to its figurine form. It
reverts to a figurine early if it drops to 0 hit points or
if you use an action to speak the command word
again while touching it. When the creature becomes
a figurine again, its property cannot be used again
until 7 days have passed.

18
Appendix C: Skill If a feature is used which consumes a resource–a
consumable item, a charge of a class feature or a
Challenges spell slot–then the player has advantage on the
ability check. Exactly what resources grant this is at
Skill challenges are a good way to include a quick
the DM’s discretion.
burst of action without getting bogged down by the
complete rules of combat. They present an
The rules should be more flexible here in favor of
opportunity for the players to get creative with their
the rule of cool. If a feature or spell can be justified
skills and abilities without the risk of exposing
doing something that wouldn’t strictly be allowed in
combat exploits by bending the rules. Chases, traps
the rules then it may be allowed here. However the
and natural disasters are all perfect scenarios for
plausibility of this will affect the DC. For example,
skill challenges.
you might ricochet an arrow around a corner to hit a
target with no line of sight, or prop open a door for a
At the time of writing there are no official rules for
few seconds using the shield spell.
skill challenges in 5th edition D&D but there are a
number of unofficial rulesets. The following are the
rules suggested for this module, but alternatives
may work equally as well.

Mechanically, a skill challenge is simply a series of

events presented where one player must provide a
solution to each.

When a solution is presented the DM should pick

an appropriate skill, ideally one the player is
proficient in, and ask for an ability check using it.
The DC for this check is decided by the DM
depending on the plausibility of the solution offered,
but a baseline DC may be provided for reference. If
the player passes the skill check then the solution
they offered is successful.

If a player offers a solution whose most appropriate

skill has already been used to solve an
event–whether it was successful or not–then the
DC should increase for that event. It continues to
increase for each subsequent use of the same skill.
It is up to the DM to decide how much to increase
the DC, but +2 is a good starting point.

When an event is presented to the players they can

choose between themselves who will handle it, but
they must do so without discussion of the solutions
they will offer. If a player takes a second turn before
everyone has had a turn in a round then the DC
should rise for that event. Again, it is up to the DM
to decide how much to increase the DC, but +4 is a
good starting point.

19