While in the local tavern, the players overhear a conversation at one of the nearby tables between two intimidating-looking gentlemen dressed in black suits and hats. One is sipping a glass of seltzer while the other has a non-alcoholic fruit juice (they don’t drink on the job).
“Just pull yourself together, Agent G. We’ve tracked down slippery targets before; we can do it again.”
The younger of the two aggressively sips his juice through a tiny straw before slamming his cup down on the table. “I just can’t do this anymore, B. Why do they always try so desperately to stay away from us? All we want to do is give them this generous fruit basket and a heartfelt ‘welcome to our plane of reality!’ I just don’t get it…”
Agent B pats his young, less-experienced partner on the back. “It’s the paperwork, son. Some creatures, especially those not conditioned to deal with bureaucratic red tape in their home worlds, can’t stomach the 42 interplanar travel forms and visa applications. They’d rather just dodge us indefinitely until their trip is over or they silently assimilate into society.”
If the players wander over to the two agents, Agent B will act cold and distant, evading any questions the party might ask about their identity or assignment. Agent G, however, is at his breaking point and will not take much convincing to spill everything in the hopes that your party can lend them a hand.
Any insight checks reveal that these two government employees are not nefarious in anyway. Their role is simply to sniff out the whereabouts of extraplanar visitors and have them fill out the necessary documentation, granting them protected status and opening up more doors of opportunity for them while in the realm.
If the players offer to help them, Agent B will sigh and, checking his notes, explain who they need to locate.
Choosing Compliance…
All of the targets are in the current city, but G and B need help drawing them out from hiding.
- The first target is a simple modron from Mechanus. The agents believe he is hiding out in a clocktower near the center of town. In order to draw the modron out from hiding, the players must create as much disorder/mess in the town square as possible (without somehow getting themselves into any trouble for their antics…the MIB act independently of local law enforcement, and the two groups don’t always get along). Once there is adequate chaos, the modron will fly out, desperate to organize the mess and make the space tidy again; the players can use this opportunity to grapple the creature before Agents B and G give him his “Welcome to the Realm” fruit basket as well as a pile of government paperwork to sign.
- The second target is a young guardinal from Elysium. The agents believe that he frequents the poorer areas of town, looking to help those in need and administer justice to troublemakers. With the agents’ help, the players can stage a dastardly plot, such as a mock abduction, theft, or something more over-the-top and supervillain-esque (like filling the streets with fog so everyone awkwardly bumps into one another, bwahaha). If these efforts are convincing enough, they will draw out the guardinal who will attempt to subdue the “villain” in typical heroic fashion. Grappling the guardinal or somehow appealing to his need for doing “what’s right” will allow the agents to hand him his fruit basket/paperwork.
…Choosing Violence
Up to this point, the adventure has been mostly about roleplay, and the extraplanar beings have been evasive, yes, but not evil. Once caught or convinced, they both begrudgingly fill out the tedious paperwork for their travel visas while munching on an assortment of local fruits from their complimentary gift baskets.
The final target, however, is not so cooperative.
As the party approaches the area of town where the agents believe the creature is hiding, they find the streets eerily empty of activity. It doesn’t take long for them to realize why.
The sewers in the town are emitting a foul-smelling odor. If players get too close to investigate, they must roll a Con save or fall victim to the poisoning effect of the Hezrou’s “Stench” (successful saves at DC 14 give the player immunity to “Stench” for 24 hours).
Of course, the players can choose to brave the dark, stinking sewers and descend to find the final target, or they can do what they’ve done up until this point: find a clever way to draw the creature out into the open.
Agent B is a wealth of knowledge and tells the party that Hezrous are known to easily cave if commanded by an upper-level demon; if the players can convince the Hezrou that a Demon Lord is waiting for it on the surface, the offending creature should obediently crawl up from the sewers.
Unlike the earlier two visitors, this creature has no intention of playing nice or doing anything but cause trouble in this plane. The monster will greedily consume the fruit baskets if they are offered to it and shred any paperwork pushed his way. Agents B and G will begin to create a ritual circle to send the demon back to his plane, indefinitely, with a modified “Banishment” spell.
While this process is being prepared by the professionals, the players must defeat/incapacitate the Hezrou in combat (stat block here).
Reward
After the players help defeat the Hezrou and send it packing, Agent G comes running over, excitedly shaking the hands of the party members and thanking them for their help. Agent B, always the more serious of the two, simply smiles and nods, commenting that “if you all ever get tired of adventuring and need some work with good benefits and a healthy retirement plan, look us up.”
The party receives their business card for the Men in Black.
“We have a shoestring budget and not much else besides fruit, so why don’t you go ahead and take this as a token of appreciation,” Agent B says, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small silver rod. “We used these all the time back when I started with this gig, but the PR department has been phasing them out so that the MIB are less frightening. Here.”
This item allows the user to cast the spell Modify Memory once per day and recharges during a long rest.
