Moonshae Mission

28 Nov 2019

After talking with some of my players, we decided it would be fun to try out short, one-shot adventures, to experiment with different characters. The idea here is to play at a reasonably high-level, say, level 5, to avoid the slog of low-level survival, and focus on interesting class abilities.

The mission

What happened to Lalia Bairnell? The fearless halfling left Athkatla, the City of Coin in Amn, and sailed on Guild business to Caer Westphal, a small town in the Moonshae Isles. That was over 6 tendays ago - and nobody has heard back from her since.

The Guild is concerned. Laila is an experienced professional, and it is quite unlike her to not report back. It also reflects poorly on the Guild to have one of its agents disappear without explanation. The Guild intends that story to stay under wraps, and reached out to experienced adventurers outside its ranks to investigate.

You have been hired by the Guild to discreetly track down Laila, figure out what happened to her, and hopefully bring her back alive. A handsome reward awaits you in Athkatla - if you successfully complete your mission.

Background information

Athkatla, also known as the City of Coin, was the oldest settlement and capital of the mercantile nation of Amn. It was one of the wealthiest countries in all of Faerûn, where nearly every aspect of life revolved around money and commerce. Amn controlled important trade routes to Calimshan and Baldur’s Gate, as well as colonial ports in the Moonshaes and Chult. Its population, mostly human with a large minority population of halflings, was historically in the range of 3 million. The country’s natural resources and wealth, combined with its mercantile nature led Amn to become one of the most important and influential trading centers throughout Faerûn.

The Moonshae Isles were a group of islands that formed a roughly circular archipelago with the Sea of Moonshae in the center. They lay roughly 400 miles (644 km) west of the region of Amn and to the southwest of the Sword Coast. The Moonshae Isles were populated mainly by the Ffolk and the Northlanders, two human societies. The Northmen were a violent, war-like society with little interest for or tolerance of the Ffolk’s monarchical ways. Historically, this created a continuous tension between the two human peoples, with Northmen raids on Ffolk farmsteads a common occurrence.

Caer Westphal, on the Island of Snowdown, became a colony of Amn. As of 1479 DR, Snowdown was ruled by Viceroy Lady Erliza Daressin.

DM information

Spoiler alert: DM background information for the DM to run the adventure here.