Quest Denizen Instructions

(Gentle Reader, this post will make much more sense if you have already read the Quest Overview and the Premise and Pilgrim Instructions.)

Quest Denizens not only get to role-play, they also have to improvise. Below is the text from my original notes of the information given to each denizen. I’ve again included my hindsight notes in brackets, but I’ve omitted the names of the people playing the various roles. At the end of each section are my notes of the items needed for each denizen/station.

Dunstan:
In 959 AD, Dunstan was appointed to be Archbishop of Canterbury. He traveled to Rome the next year to receive the pallium from Pope John XII [Again, this part is historical fact. The next part is where the fun begins!]. On his way back to England, Dunstan stopped in Venice, where he discovered the citizens were celebrating Carnival.
Dunstan may admit he was out “enjoying Carnival” – do not admit to visiting a tavern. The next morning, his cape was missing, along with the scroll given him by the Pope.
(Teams will return pouches and all items collected during quest to Dunstan. Please make sure pouch contains notecard with team name, and keep all items returned with team’s pouch for scoring. Small items & scroll can be put in pouch.)
[Serious oops! I utterly failed to let Dunstan see the cape I’d made ahead of time. He had no idea how to describe it for the teams…]
Needs:
1 true cape token – give to team who brings true cape (w/ pocket)
2 false cape tokens – give to team(s) who bring imposter cape


Pawnbroker:
Chatty and willing to deal to sell her wares. Has fake cape priced out of teams’ reach (15 gold), but is willing to come down (bargain with them, but don’t accept less than 7 gold) for a good sob story (story must include the waif). Also has several scrolls and other items for sale. These items may be sold if the team wants them.
Display only one cape at a time. Display only one fake scroll at a time. If asked how long you’ve had cape or scroll, don’t name a specific time. Say something like, “they were acquired recently.” The idea is to give the impression these items may have been stolen. [Poor gal was located too close to the teams’ starting-off point…she got mobbed. She still did well, though. Not only did she manage to sell a fake scroll to four of the five teams, she sold several of the other red herring items as well!]
Needs:
Imposter cape #1 & #2
Fake scrolls
other items for pawn
notecards for pricing


Fagin & Cutpurse(s):
Fagin and Cutpurse(s) travel together. Fagin attempts to recruit team’s children for the Carnival parade. While the team is distracted, the Cutpurse attempts to steal the team’s gold pouch. If caught, the Cutpurse must stop and return any stolen pouch and its entire contents. If Cutpurse is successful, take 2 gold and leave pouch with Magistrate. Note that the Children’s Parade is another opportunity to steal pouches. [These three did a fantastic job of preparation. They had planned ahead and had their costumes coordinated in such a way that one or two of them could distract the crowd while the third made off with the team’s pouch. The boys had even done a remarkable job of hiding their excitement by not mentioning to anyone beforehand that they had parts in the quest. I was really proud of them and felt awful that I had unintentionally sabotaged them by mentioning thieves earlier.]
Teams may take Fagin and Cutpurse(s) to the Magistrate. If this happens, pay Magistrate 5 gold penalty & 3 gold to avoid jail time.
Needs:
token for successful recruitment of children (neg. points)
gold for Magistrate bribes


Magistrate:
The Magistrate is as crooked as they come. “Justice is blind…and somewhat hard of hearing…” The Magistrate is blind, and selectively pretends to not hear well. May be bribed by Fagin or Bravi for reduced penalties. If team tries to bribe for more strict penalties, Magistrate becomes offended and accuses team of trying to bribe him. Keeper of the Lost & Found. Doesn’t know anything about any item of Dunstan’s. [I tried to leave the Magistrate plenty of leeway in how he handled teams, because I simply could not predict what they would do. He improvised really well.]
Penalties:
Theft by Cutpurse or Bravi – 5 gold & 3 days jail
Attempted bribery by team – 2 gold
Needs:
pavilion
table
chair


Bravi:
Roving wanderers lookin’ for trouble and a bit of gold. If you beat team, take pouch from team. Take 2 gold and leave pouch with Magistrate. May take bribe to leave team alone. If team fights particularly well, may take only 1 gold. [Yes, this was the obligatory fighting station. These two had a lot of fun sneaking up on teams. I wish I had been able to watch them, because I’m sure they played this part with flair. The only thing I really should have done differently here was have the Bravi take more gold from the pouches.]
If taken to Magistrate, pay 5 gold penalty & 3 gold to avoid jail time.
Needs:
boffer swords
token to give if beaten in fight
gold for Magistrate bribe


Town Herald:
Makes announcements regarding Carnival Parade (Moira will tell you when to announce what). Bad-tempered fellow. Was given a scroll by a young waif, but was too busy to bother with reading it at the time. Still has the scroll. Won’t read it to team, but will allow them to see scroll if they prove they represent Dunstan by asking questions regarding Dunstan’s life. [Loved the way he started making random announcements about whatever crossed his mind. This made it easier to improvise later when the “Brandr factor” kicked in.]
Needs:
5 true scrolls – give if team answers 3 questions correctly
5 fake scrolls – give if team answers less than 3 questions correctly
list of questions


Gondolier:
Stationed at Tavern. Carried Dunstan as a fare the night before. Thinks he came from the Tavern. Does not remember seeing a cape. (May argue with Tavern Keeper over whether Dunstan had cape or not.)
Request team perform a song or poem about a beverage of their choice. [It was very important that the person playing the Gondolier be someone with a bardic background. What was really fun here, though, was the way some teams performed more than one piece. One team went so far as to have every member perform something.]
Needs:
penalty token – give if no performance or not original
tokens marked with 1, 2, or 3 – give to score quality of performance (1 – wrote something, 2 – made an effort, 3 – really good)


Tavern Keeper:
Wants 2 gold bribe for information. Served Dunstan the night before. Says Dunstan was “somewhat in his cups” when he left. Definitely left with his cape. Offers to roll dice with teams for return of bribe. Roll die only once. White – return bribe to team. Black – keep bribe. Yellow – return half of bribe to team. [I wanted to somehow arrange a tavern brawl here, but I ran out of time before I could come up with a workable idea.]
Needs:
water
table(s)
cups
boats game
gold


Waif:
The one true innocent in this Quest. Found Dunstan’s cape next to a canal and wears it for the Children’s Carnival. Also found a scroll, but couldn’t read. Took it to the Herald, but he wouldn’t read it for her. Will give cape to team in return for replacement. “Money won’t keep me warm.” Do not offer cape to team – they must ask for it. [I think she forgot to mention the scroll to the teams at first. When I realized the Herald wasn’t getting mobbed, I asked her to go around and mention it to all the teams.]
Needs:
True cape

Children’s Parade:
Begins approx. 1 hour after beginning of Quest. Round up as many masked children as possible. Children who were recruited by the Fagin may also participate. The Waif also participates. Mainly a diversion, but also puts the Waif with the true cape into play. [Partly due to the lack of stationary stations, teams were beginning to get frustrated, so we started the parade about 15 minutes early. We started with a parade, and ended with a mob. It was a bit overwhelming, but our Waif handled it well.]


Next…the true text of the two scrolls and the answers to the Town Herald’s questions.