Phraenon’s Trail
Phraenon has been spending large sums of coin to buy out obscure historical artifacts and relics from local shops. A merchant [Culturally Appropriate Merchant Name], who has done business with him on several occasions, has grown highly suspicious of his bottomless funding and strange habits.
Description
Phraenon has been spending large sums of coin to buy out obscure historical artifacts and relics from local shops. A merchant [Culturally Appropriate Merchant Name], who has done business with him on several occasions, has grown highly suspicious of his bottomless funding and strange habits.
Adventure Hook
Phraenon has been spending large sums of coin to buy out obscure historical artifacts and relics from local shops. A merchant [Culturally Appropriate Merchant Name], who has done business with him on several occasions, has grown highly suspicious of his bottomless funding and strange habits.
- The Trigger: Triggers upon first speaking with the antiquity merchant. While browsing or negotiating in a local curiosity or antiquity shop, the shopkeeper casually laments or brags about their “most bizarre, bottomless client” named Phraenon. They point out a massive haul of obscure historical items such as old pottery, faded maps, and non-magical relics that he recently purchased for an astronomical sum of gold.
- The Objective: If the players push for details, the merchant notes that Phraenon pays using gold coins that have been out of circulation for millennia. He also reveals that despite Phraenon’s claims of representing an anonymous lord, he carries hundreds of pounds of gold alone and often avoids the major trade roads, instead favoring the small footpaths into the woods toward the Spine mountains (The Airspire and The Stonespire). The party must carefully track his atypical route through the wilderness to uncover where he is transporting his collection.
Adventure Progression
Time Limit: 21 days after the trigger event.
- If Investigating Phraenon’s Trail: If the party attempts to follow or intercept Phraenon, they must succeed on three successive skill checks to overcome his unnatural efficiency:
- First Check (DC 13 Intelligence/Investigation): To follow his route, realizing there is a complete lack of camp sites and the bypassing of water sources.
- Second Check (DC 13 Wisdom/Survival): To find physical signs of his perfectly uniform footprints.
- Third Check (DC 13 Constitution/Athletics): To match his pace over a grueling multi-day trek, as his lack of sleep or exhaustion means he travels at a relentless speed through the night.
On a success, they catch up to him and can speak with him about his purchasing habits and to have a chance at uncovering more about his true nature (see the Investigation Table in the Roleplaying Guide). By demonstrating an active interest in preserving history rather than exploiting it, Phraenon will offer to buy historical oddities or artifacts at 120% market value.
- If Phraenon is Ignored: If the time limit expires and the party chooses not to take action on the lead, Phraenon finishes his collection protocols in the area undisturbed and the trail goes cold.
- If Phraenon is Robbed: His strict self-defense protocols trigger and he uses every ability at his disposal to permanently sever contact and vanish from the region. He will actively avoid and will no longer willingly speak with the party members that were present for the interaction.