A progressive young woman named Florence Affleck has launched the very first life-insurance company ever seen in the realm.
It has been a tremendous success with many villagers signing up for lots of coverage.
Unfortunately, the townsfolk are struggling to understand this new business concept, with some believing that having “life insurance” means they literally can’t die.
Ambitious farmers, blacksmiths, and carpenters have abandoned the tools of their trade and have ventured out into the wilds to have fantastic adventures, slaying monsters and uncovering treasure.
Florence is, obviously, very distraught by all this, and implores the party to go out and rescue these wannabe adventurers before they learn the hard way that they aren’t actually immortal.
Here are some dangerous, life-threatening scenarios that the overconfident townsfolk might find themselves in:
- A townsperson who always wanted to climb the treacherous nearby mountain but is now stuck on a small outcrop of stone, stranded because of a broken rope. They holler for help, or the party might be led to their position by noticing circling buzzards overhead. The primary task will be to get the townsperson down safely, but you could add other mountain-dwelling monsters converging on their position as well. Alternatively, if you want to get really ridiculous (and have a high CR monster), a roc might have adopted them and is now keeping them in its nest, treating it like a baby roc, refusing to let them leave.
- A townsperson went spelunking and is now trapped in a cave, maybe even trapped in a Giant Spider’s web, needing to be cut free and hoisted up out of the underground.
- A townsperson decided to heroically retrieve stolen goods from a band of thieves. When that failed, they were captured by the thieves and are now being forced to give lectures on “foolish optimism” and share the secrets of their overconfidence (they’ve essentially been forced to become a motivational speaker for the thieves, who are always struggling with their own self-confidence because society always told them they were unless, good-for-nothings).
- A townsperson attempted to throw themself onto a wild horse and attempt to tame the beast. Unfortunately, the horse had other plans and is now racing off into the sunset, with the townsperson helplessly clinging to its mane for dear life. Commence the chase!
- For something a little more emotionally complicated, a townsperson braves the haunted cemetery in order to visit with their [lost loved one of choice] who was buried there quite a long time ago. All this time, the townsperson has been too afraid to visit because ghosts and undead wander the overgrown cemetery. Now, they bravely face the restless spirits but finds themself tragically outmatched.
- A townsperson goes boating on the dangerous choppy seas in the middle of a storm and gets shipwrecked somewhere. Players must follow clues within the floating flotsam/jetsam of the boat to find where the townsperson is (if they’re still alive at all).
- A townsperson decides to boldly lead a revolutionary movement against the oppressive local government for their recent tax hike on fresh produce, inspiring everyone with their endless courage. Quell the rebellion before things get really out-of-hand.
- A townsperson attempts to perform a dark magic ritual (because they can) and is about to complete the chalk circle on the ground when the players arrive; the townsperson ends up summoning some sort of fiend from another realm that the party must eliminate.
What else would you add to this encounter? Let us know in the comments.
