This Old House.pdf

This Old House

A WFRP Adventure of Greed and Revenge

By Steve Darlington

Playtesting by D. Sinnamon, B. Matthews, S. Pinel, R. Smith, S. Hollings

Map by Helga Erichsen

Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................2

Summary .....................................................................................................................2

Pfeffering: A Visitor’s Guide ..................................................................................4

Murder by Night .........................................................................................................7

Detect and Deduct ....................................................................................................8

Examine the Body ..............................................................................................8

Search the Office ................................................................................................8

The Scene of the Crime ..................................................................................10

The Temple of Sigmar ....................................................................................10

The Temple of Verena ....................................................................................12

Talk to the Townsfolk .....................................................................................13

Into the Woods ..................................................................................................15

Return to Altdorf ..............................................................................................15

Events in Town ........................................................................................................16

Father Knows Best ...........................................................................................16

The Offer Stands ...............................................................................................17

A Midday Blessing ............................................................................................17

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The Sickly Child ................................................................................................18

Rachesucher Pays A Call ...............................................................................18

Dinner and a Show ..........................................................................................19

Rats in a Maze ..........................................................................................................20

The Truth Will Out ...................................................................................................21

Sifting Through the Ashes ....................................................................................23

Profiles .......................................................................................................................23

Map of Pfeffering and Surrounds .......................................................................30

Introduction

This adventure is designed for characters on their first or second career, but

all types and power levels of characters would be suitable. The only

exceptions are if the characters have become high-level fugitives or highly

ranked nobles: such characters would have trouble with or no interest in

claiming their inheritance, respectively. The adventure can take place

anywhere and any time in a campaign. No great changes befall the characters,

they need only travel a short distance, and little combat is needed to complete

the adventure, so fatalities should be low.

Summary

Ten years ago, the fortunes of the small town of Pfeffering reached their lowest

ebb, when the plague arrived on top of their long years of poverty. This bad

fortune changed, however, when Father Corrotto, a humble priest of Sigmar,

had a vision of the comet, rising up out of the nearby lake. He knew this was a

blessing, and urged the townsfolk to bathe in the lake, and the next day, the

plague was gone. Of course, that was not the end of evil in Pfeffering. A

young woman named Lindel – who was known to keep a pet cat, talk to herself

and offer herbal remedies – declared that some of the patients she ministered

to still complained of symptoms of the plague. In the face of this heresy,

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Corrotto had her and her entire family burned for witchcraft. Few noticed or

cared that Lindel was the only challenge to Corrotto’s authority over the

village, or that his burning of Lindel cemented his image as its great protector.

Ten years passed, and Pfeffering’s fortunes have reversed entirely. The Storm

of Chaos has sent refugees in from the north, and the new signal tower nearby

has brought in money and labour. The lace industry has revived. The legend

of the Lake of the Comet spread as well, and Pfeffering has become a centre of

Sigmarite revival, especially for the weary refugees. Church money has rushed

into the town, and the town’s small chapel has been greatly renovated. Yet

Corrotto has even greater plans for the town. He wants to build a cathedral in

honour of the miracle, and to increase his chances of being named a bishop.

However, to build his cathedral, his church needs more land, so Corrotto has

been bleeding the town dry with his evangelical preaching in order to raise the

funds to buy the land and the materials, and hire the craftsmen. The last

house remaining to be bought is an old manor house owned by an elderly and

wealthy member of the lace-maker’s guild.

The house is now very run-down, and hasn’t been lived in for ten years, since

the owner moved to Carroburg to escape the plague. That owner is a PC’s

great Aunt Inge, twice removed, and with no closer relatives, the endowment

goes to him. News of this reaches the character, and he is invited to come to

Pfeffering to receive his inheritance.

When they arrive, the characters are informed there is already a sizeable offer

on the house from a mysterious buyer. Despite appearances, this buyer is not

Corrotto, but a second player in all this. Lector Hal Rachesucher, Annointed

Priest of Verena was just an initiate when his secret lover Lindel was

murdered to suit Corrotto’s political aspirations. Over the last decade,

Rachesucher has watched Corrotto take control of his town and grow fat from

the profits bought with Lindel’s blood, and planned his revenge. Rachesucher

has been getting his revenge by buying the land around the church and selling

it on at inflated prices. He has been using the profits to pay skaven sappers to

dig tunnels under the land, and lace it with flecks of warpstone. Corrotto will

get his cathedral, but it will collapse into the hollow ground and be tainted

with Chaos long before it is finished, bringing doom upon Corrotto and all his

servants. Meanwhile, Rachesucher can pass the money he makes onto the

community he loves.

Unfortunately, the last house he wants to buy has gone to the PCs, and they

are unexpectedly curious. He thus arranges for the town clerk who shows

them their house to be murdered, soon after the PCs arrive. Blame falls upon

them, and both Corrotto and Rachesucher indicate to the PCs they should

probably leave quickly. The clerk’s replacement will re-iterate the huge offer

on the house from a “buyer in Altdorf” (actually Rachesucher, through a

relative) while Corrotto will promise the PCs a stained-glass window in their

honour if they donate the decrepit money-pit to his cause.

Investigating the murder will uncover some hints of the skaven, but the body

will be buried by the church very quickly, to remove any chance of a scandal.

Investigating the church will lead them to uncover Corrotto’s meteoric rise to

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power. Investigating the town will uncover something of the price of that rise,

and Corrotto’s drive to raise money. The Temple of Verena will reveal that it

has been the sole haven against this, and also has a memorial to Lindel, to

establish motive. Exploring underneath their new house, the grounds around

it or the woods nearby leads them to discover underground tunnels and plenty

of signs of the Skaven.

Two events that night will bring things to a head. First, Rachesucher will pay

his rodent associates to burn down the house, although he will ask the PCs to

dine with him first, not wanting them hurt. In the aftermath of the fire, they

will spy skaven tracks, or observe Rachesucher going to meet with them, or

find them in the underground tunnels. Whether they battle or parley, they

will discover the Skaven are being paid by Rachesucher to taint the land with

Chaos.

If they return and search the town, they’ll find their culprit missing. Gripped

with insanity and despair, Rachesucher goes to confront Corrotto directly.

Anyone joining them in the church will be told about Lindel and Corrotto’s

evil grip on his town. He’ll then order his few supporters to fight with steel

and magic, while he drags Corrotto up into the spire of the chapel to beat a

confession out of him. Rachesucher is clearly mad and dangerous and needs

to be put down (although this can be softened if the GM wants a more morally

ambiguous campaign), but stopping him leaves the town in the hands of

Corrotto, who will continue to manipulate it for his own aspirations. Bringing

down this corrupt (but not Chaotic) priest is left as an exercise for a longer

campaign, or simply a reminder of the harsh realities of the Old World.

Complicating both issues is what to do about the warpstone flecks already

placed in the soil – again, dealing with this can form a longer campaign. With

the house destroyed, however, the PCs have no specific reason to remain, and

can turn to other adventures.

Pfeffering: A Visitor’s Guide

The town of Pfeffering is oriented north-south. On the west side, the town

nestles against a line of tree-covered hills, which slowly flatten out into thick

forest as they run north. A stream flows down from the hills and through the

town, effectively dividing it in two. All the richer houses and businesses are

situated on the northern side of the river, including the Temples of Sigmar,

Verena, Shallya and Morr, and the refined Bog Octopus Tavern. The more

popular inn, The Drunken Duck, and the Goods Store sit just on the southern

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side of the stream. These buildings, the bridge crossings and the nearby wells

are the site of daily gossip. Near to this is a small rise of land which has

wooden planks laid across it to form a platform; this is used for making

speeches, holding the band at dances or by travelling salesmen on market day.

Father Corrotto has taken to using it to preach his sermons as well, as the

Temple of Sigmar is now too small. At the southern end of town are the

stables and smithy, and the newly-constructed shanty town of houses and

tents for the refugees and seasonal workers.

The town has a population of around 300 people, of which about fifty arrived

with the new prosperity over the last two years, and another fifty are refugees

from the northern Storm. Wool is the primary industry of the town, and

sheep farms border the eastern and southern sides of town. Most townsfolk

are involved in producing wool products, particularly lace, embroidery and

woven cloth. These goods are shipped off to Altdorf, Carroburg and other

larger towns. Due to this thriving industry, all clothes and cloth goods may be

bought for half the price listed in the rulebook. Both ends of town have

benefited from the recent return of the wool industry, but most of the new

building has occurred in the south. The northern buildings retain their

centuries-old stylings and materials, as a measure of status and pride.

The town is ruled over by a council of five, made up from the richer guild

masters and the prominent priests. This council levees annual taxes from the

people, most of which goes to the landowner, Grand Duke Leopold of

Middenland. The rest helps maintain public works and support the ten-man

volunteer Town Watch. Both the Watch and the council are housed in the

small Town Hall. Currently, Josef Gettel is the chairman of this council,

which earns him the title of Burgomaster. A map of Pfeffring is included at

the end of the adventure.

Inspecting the Property

The adventure proper begins once the PCs have been told of their inheritance

and have made their way to the town. Whether they travel by horse, coach or

foot, the PCs will arrive in Pfeffering in the late afternoon. The coach will stop

at the main inn, the Drunken Duck, and if they ask there or anywhere else

about their Aunt Inge or the inheritance, they’ll be immediately directed to the

Burgomaster in the Town Hall. If they ask more about Inge, they don’t get

very much information – only that she owned the house but left after her

husband died, and hasn’t lived there for more than ten years, so nobody really

remembers her. The PCs can also find the house themselves, in which case

refer to the description of the property below.

If they go to the town hall, they will be greeted by Gerta Ironhelmsdotr, a

pretty young dwarf who is the assistant to the Burgomaster. Gettel is a fat,

lazy man who leaves as much work as possible to his clever and diligent

subordinate. Gerta knows the PCs are coming (it was she who sent them the

letter) and if they don’t call on her, she will come and find them as soon as

words gets around of their arrival.

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