In our series, Call to Action, our goal is to help spark some inspiration and give you ideas for your games at home. We will provide you with short prompts that are sure to grab your players attention and kick off their adventure. The best part? You can take our prompts and turn them into any kind of story you want! Use parts you like, or leave out parts you don’t. Maybe you’ll dislike our hooks so much it inspires you to make better ones? Either way, we are here to help.
You find yourselves in the Gem of the North, a city by the name of Silverymoon, nestled just between the wet marshes of the Evermoors and the lush, dense beauty of the High Forest. You and your friends have just arrived after making the long journey from Waterdeep, showing up both tired and hungry. The lot of you approach what you assume to be a city guard of some sort, a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and thick stubble who seems to be patrolling the streets in gleaming silver armor, and ask him for directions to hot food and stiff drinks. He points to the other side of the river that splits the city in half and gives you directions to the Bright Blade Brandished, a tavern he claims is “welcoming to all visitors and has top notch food and booze”. As nightfall sets in you cross the only bridge that spans the river inside the city, a perfect arch made of shining silvery energy that seems to feed off the light of the moon. As you cross, you can hear the water churn peacefully beneath you, and you are able to take in the beauty of the city entirely. You make the rest of your way through the city streets and find your destination, the Bright Blade Brandished.
A band plays in a corner of the room as you walk in, a young barmaid smiles and tells you all to find a booth and she’ll be right over. After a minute or two, she comes back and takes your order, food, ales, and a bottle of something a little stiffer for the table. Moments later, the ghostly form of a hand floats over carrying a tray of tankards with a bottle and a stack of glasses. The mage hand sets the tray down and zips through the air back towards the bar. A few minutes later your food comes out. Your group begins to chow down and unwind, enjoying the comforts of civilization once again.
After a few more ales and the better part of a bottle you begin to discuss finding a place to rest. As your friends chat you, feel nature’s call and leave your booth to ask the barmaid to point you to the privy. She does but at some point you mistake her directions and take a wrong turn without realizing it. You pass through a curtain and continue down a long hallway with a staircase leading down at the end. As you descend, you see a door at the bottom and a putrid, rotten stench hits your nose and you can’t help but think, this is why they keep the privy so out of the way. You open the door and step onto the landing of another staircase descending into a dimly lit room with a number of large hearths about, each with a roaring fire underneath an enormous cauldron vat. Atop a platform, at the top of each vat, stands a kobold stirring a thick, bubbling green liquid with what look to be oars from some small boat. As they stir, you can see the shapes of humanoid body parts float up and then disappear back into the thick green ichor. As you realize what you are seeing, your gaze falls to the middle of the room where you see the tall, lanky form of a troll in business clothing gazing back at you as he leans over a table covered with scrolls and papers while a kobold in robes that are too big its for its body stands on a stool next to him. The troll stands tall, with a flash of eerie green light reflecting off of his Headband of Intellect, a thin smile spreads across his pointed jaw, and in a low guttural voice he says: “I think we have found our next specimen. Grab them.”
