D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Gilded Rats of the Deepwarren

# Intrigue# Dungeon# Wilderness# Urban

In the stinking, forgotten underbelly of the port city of Ashwick, the rat-folk of the Deepwarren have survived for generations. Their larceny from the slums above is a matter of desperate survival. But a deeper secret festers in the oldest tunnels: a vein of ancient, minted gold coins, hidden since a fallen empire's treasury collapsed. Two factions now vie for control of this treasure, each with a claim born of blood and sorrow. One seeks to use it to buy the rat-folk's freedom and dignity; the other believes it is cursed treasure that must be purified by fire. To reach it, you must navigate a web of stolen goods, broken loyalties, and the physical hazards of a labyrinthine sewer system.

Chronicle Prelude

You stand at the grime-slicked entrance to the Ashwick Slums, known locally as the 'Weep.' The air is thick with coal smoke and despair. Above, the gilded spires of the Merchant's Quarter gleam mockingly. Your patron has informed you that a specific, high-value ledger was stolen during a recent 'rat raid.' Its recovery is paramount, for within its pages lies a clue to a fortune hidden deep in the city's foundations.

Environmental Traits

The city of Ashwick is on the brink. The Merchant's Guild demands the extermination of the 'vermin' plaguing their warehouses. The City Watch is stretched thin. Unbeknownst to all, a war for the soul and future of the Deepwarren is about to erupt over the ancient gold, a resource that could either save a people or ignite a war that drowns the slums in blood and sewage.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (8)

Old Squeak, the Rat-King
An ancient, hunched wererat with greasy, silver-streaked fur and one clouded eye. He wears a tattered velvet cloak and carries a wickedly sharp, faintly green-tinged rapier at his hip. His movements are slow but deliberate, his one good eye perpetually assessing.
Gnawbone, the Seeress-Mother
A gaunt, scarred female wererat with wild, matted fur and eyes that glow with a faint, feverish amber light. She smells of sulfur and burnt hair, and her clawed hands are wrapped in soot-stained bandages.
Fink, the Nervous Fence
A twitchy, fidgeting wererat in a stained leather apron, constantly wringing his hands. His fur is matted and patchy, and he smells of old parchment and anxiety. He avoids direct eye contact.
Inquisitor Scratcher Voss
A heavily scarred, muscular wererat wearing crude, fire-blackened plate armor over a jerkin of stitched hides. His fur is singed short in ritual patterns, and he carries a serrated blade and a branding iron.
Moldbeard, the Hermit
A human-sized rat of impossible age and intelligence, not a wererat. Its fur is a patchwork of grey and green mold, and it has a long, matted beard of fungal tendrils. It speaks in a raspy, rhyming cadence.
Captain Hardtack
A bloated, red-nosed human in a moth-eaten city guard uniform, slumped against a wall in a puddle of cheap ale. His breastplate is dented, and his eyes are bloodshot but shrewd.
Feral Sewer Rat
A dog-sized, non-sentient giant rat with mangy, wet fur and bared, yellowed teeth. It moves with a skittering, predatory gait, its eyes gleaming with mindless hunger in the fungal gloom.
Guild Agent Garrett
A sharp-featured human in dark, practical clothing and a leather coat, armed with a crossbow. He wears gloves and moves with quiet efficiency, a hard glint in his eye.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

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