A noble lady of a small kingdom was defeated in battle and was taken as a prisoner by an up and coming warlord. He is ransoming off the lady for enough to bankrupt the kingdom. The surviving barons do have enough to pay adventures to mount a rescue. They also have a plan to give the PCs the opportunity to do so.
This is a mission for level 6 PCs
Six W’s
Who are the enemies in this One Shot?
Archers, veteran fighters, swashbucklers, priests, mage
What has happened to cause the PCs to fight?
The local warlord, named Calister the Unworthy, has defeated the main army of Lady Marie Atune and has taken her captive at his Motte and Bailey castle called Unsung Keep. The surviving barons and peasantry have gathered what coin they have to both raise an additional army and hire the PCs to help mount a rescue of the Lady Atune.
Where is this encounter happening?
This is happening in the small Kingdom of Duscshire. The town the PCs will be given the quest is in Floundres located two days from the sight of the last battlefield called Durby. The other locales are town of Hollstens with the castle known as Unsung Keep within sight of it.
When did this happen?
This is taking place two days before the PCs arrive in the town of Floundres. The current weather is late summer with a drought stretching back for the last two months. The local warlord has defied the edicts of the King Of Duschire for five months and has taken to creating himself a kingdom from whatever he can takeover for himself. This latest battle of Durby has him close to alienating the county Floundres if he should press his advantage.
Why are the PCs here?
The players can either be approached by a representative of the nobility in Floundres or a guild can offer the players this job request since it fits their skills.
How will the PCs deal with this problem?
Since there was heavy fighting Calister the Unworthy has decided to rest his troops and send his captive back to his castle. From Floundres to Hollstens is a three day hard march through open field and heavy forest. This trip can be cut down to two day trip by using an old goat path and an underground river system to get the PCs behind enemy lines and into position to save Lady Atune. The remaining nobles are rallying troops and hiring mercenaries to fill out their ranks as they begin defensive measures of Floundres.
Once they PCs reach Hollstens they can take out the patrolling scouts and then use whatever methods they want to brake into the castle itself. Since there is a drought the moat surrounding the motte and bailey is low and easily crossed, hence the need for the patrol outside of the walls. The castle currently has roughly thirty soldiers stationed within due to most of them being used for the battle at Durby.
The Unsung Keep has ten soldiers in the courtyard, ten in the tower itself and ten on the battlements. The lady is being held in the highest part of the tower with magus keeping watch over the Lady.
NPCs of Note
Countess Marie Atune- the noble in charge of county Floundres. She has the bearing of a noble but harbors little of the courtly attitude that is found in nobles. She is noble who welcomes direct actions and despises duplicity.
Baron Jon Neddles- the man at arms for Lady Atune and one of the surviving nobles charged with recovering her and defending the county from the warlord. He is the main contractor and contact for the PCs. He will meet with them once they are ready to proceed with the rescue plan. If DMs want they can have him offer to help aid the county once they rescue Lady Atune.
Calister the Unworthy- the up and coming warlord who has been defying the weak king’s edicts to abstain from attacking the kingdom. Seeing how week the kingdom has become and the rise of armed monsters threatening from without, he has decided to take this opportunity and grab power for himself. He is a cunning tactician but is prone to fits of rage that blinds his judgment.
Magus Jon- a mystic capable of bewitching the mind and securing alliances from steadfast foes. They say he has made a pact with dark forces to obtain the power he now wields. He is the more rational side to Calister and has done his best to curve his darker destructive desires. He volunteered to escort the prisoner back to Unsung Keep.
Maps
Town Floundres-with the citadel called Pemell Keep
Town Hollstens
a small town at the base of a motte and bailey castle
Goat path- A shrouded footpath with a clearing and a small cave off to the side
Undground waterway
Unsung Keep- any motte and bailey keep will do but this one from ItsCatnip from the Inkarnate reddit forum is a great example
Encounters & Treasure
Goat path
https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounters/c9650ea3-3021-481a-b125-12830406c5fa
Underground waterway
https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounters/129913c1-5104-49c6-b153-40a858ebec90
Outside Scouts of Hollstens
https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounters/a0be9b73-7bfe-4c18-bc03-e54c7628609e
Unsung Keep Defenders
https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounters/24008ccf-8001-4568-9be0-adc6f1dca25b
Epilogue
With the successful rescue of the Lady Atune, possible destruction of the Castle and death of Magus Jon, Callister has been dealt a major blow. The party can use the path they just cleared to return safety to Floundres. From there the party can help in participating with the nobles of Foundres plans and attack the warlord, defend the town, or just leave with the gold they are owed (300 pp for each player).
Maps are created using dungeonscrawl, donjon 5e random dungeon generator and Inkarnate with the motte and bailey castle being the property of ItsCatnip from the Inkarnate reddit page
