[osr Challenge] Shorty

 

Shorty: A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Labyrinth Lord adventure set in the Ashford Valley.

Get Ready:
The PCs find themselves in a small hamlet in the Ashford Valley dealing with a small sheriff.

Get Set:
For whatever reason, the PCs are traveling through the Deep Forest and stop for the night at Prymere, a hamlet of less than a half-dozen houses. They could have been sent to the hamlet for business (perhaps they were hired to buy a rare item from the unofficial mayor of the town) or just passing through.

It doesn't take long before they're in trouble with the law!

Go!:
Prymere has a "pub" in the basement of the "mayor," an unpleasant human named Nathan Forester. Nathan is in a (currently) non-violent struggle over control of the town with the sheriff, a halfling named Nathan Forester (no relation). People call the halfling Nathan "Shorty" (much to his displeasure) and the human Nathan "Nathan."

The human Nathan has declared himself the mayor of Prymere, with no real opposition, except for Shorty, who actually was granted authority for this area by the manor lord. Nathan sees the PCs arrival as an opportunity to get rid of Shorty and if he gets killed, well, that's not really his problem. So Nathan has a brilliant plan: plant something on the roughest looking PC, cry foul and have Shorty arrest the whole lot.

It doesn't matter what the item is (GMs choice) but soon it's "discovered" missing and the PC is blamed. A search of his person or property reveals the item and the sheriff is called. The pub is crowded enough that the PCs have no chance of escape short of murdering everyone there.

When the sheriff arrives, he takes the PC (or the whole group, if they've made trouble) into custody and out of the pub. They can make a break for it then, but they'll have the law on them. If they escape, it'll make Shorty look bad, which will lead to his removal as sheriff. If they kill Shorty in the process, they'll have more trouble than ever. Smart PCs will notice that while Nathan seems to be a crooked sort, Shorty is actually a pretty good guy.

Shorty will take the PC(s) and lock them in his cellar. He'll take away any obvious weapon and start filling out paper work. If there are more than three PCs, he'll stick the remainder in a wide dry well (no worries, it's got a cover to keep out the rain and is rather snug once the bodies there for a while), putting them there with a long ladder.

While the PC(s) are in jail, a serving girl from the pub will approach them, tell them they've been set up to make Shorty look bad (the serving girl will call him "Sheriff Nathan," not "Shorty") and that Nathan is hoping they cause trouble for Sheriff Nathan. The PCs that are free can try to trick Nathan into revealing the whole plot against Shorty or figure out some other plan to resolve the situation.

Notable NPCs:
Nathan Forester; Human, Thief, Level 2; Alignment: Neutral; Armor Class: 7; Hit Dice: 2d6, Hit Points: 12; Attack: dagger (1d4); Save: T2; morale: 6; Special abilities: thief skills.

Sheriff Nathan Forester aka Shorty; Halfling; Alignment: Lawful; Armor Class: 7; Hit Dice: 1d8, Hit Points: 4; Attack: dagger (1d4); Save: H1; morale: 8.

Farmers (1d6+8 Normal Men); Alignment: Neutral Armor Class: 7 (leather armor); Hit Dice: 1d8, Hit Points: 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3; Attacks: longbow (1d8), dagger (1d4); Save: NM; morale: 7.