D&D: The Group Sniffs Out Treachery!
Mar. 23rd, 2026 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerAcross the last two sessions of my D&D game the group sniffed out treachery in their midst. They'd embarked on an adventure as guards on a caravan transporting high-value goods. On their second night on the road, their first night camping in the wilderness between towns, they were attacked by a pair of worgs.
Worgs are like wolves that are slightly tougher, much smarter (they can learn languages!), and evil.
Fortunately for the caravan, Leoghnie, the toughest warrior in the group, was on watch at the time. She killed one and chased the other off while waking her compatriots.
In the morning the four PCs and their NPC ally, Otonio, compared notes. Otonio had already warned them that "Every thief in Durendal knows about this caravan, so we should expect trouble." Ryuu-Han shared that in chatting with his watch-mate last night he learned that most of the guards were noobs. The crew chief was offering shockingly low pay for this being a conspicuously high-value caravan. Otonio amplified that, explaining that he was asked to provide a few "regular" guards from his household before he surreptitiously hired the PCs instead.
Kiarana decided it was time for some divine assistance. She memorized a few Zone of Truth spells at dawn and called the crew together for a team meeting after breakfast.
Everyone, including the PCs, was quizzed with the same questions about knowledge of the caravan being attacked. All of the hirelings disavowed knowledge or involvement in any treacherous plans. Only the lead merchant, Munetoshi, refused to answer the questions directly. He gave evasive answers and complained repeatedly about the disrespect inherent in the process. "Mutiny," he called it, twice. He tried to leave but well-armed and armored Leoghnie blocked his path.
Although Kiarana cast the spell and started the interrogation, Otonio took over as he was more fleet with words. "Your evasiveness isn't a good look," he explained to his boss, Munetoshi. "Your inability to answer simple, direct questions with a 'No' under the cleric's Zone of Truth spell leads us to the conclusion you made treasonous plans against this mission."
The group decided to take Munetoshi prisoner. Otonio got some ropes from the supply wagon and tied him up. Then Leoghnie's player realized, "Hey, I have Rope Use +6" and said she'd tie him up extra good.
About these pictures: I created the latter two illustrations with Google Gemini. I prompted the AI with a variety of information about the group and the situation. I iterated a few times to try to improve some of the details. Some of those prompts worked, some were ignored or only partly heeded. And some things are just funny, like the fact that each picture contains a person with three arms— and which person it is changes from pic to pic!
Worgs are like wolves that are slightly tougher, much smarter (they can learn languages!), and evil.
Fortunately for the caravan, Leoghnie, the toughest warrior in the group, was on watch at the time. She killed one and chased the other off while waking her compatriots.
In the morning the four PCs and their NPC ally, Otonio, compared notes. Otonio had already warned them that "Every thief in Durendal knows about this caravan, so we should expect trouble." Ryuu-Han shared that in chatting with his watch-mate last night he learned that most of the guards were noobs. The crew chief was offering shockingly low pay for this being a conspicuously high-value caravan. Otonio amplified that, explaining that he was asked to provide a few "regular" guards from his household before he surreptitiously hired the PCs instead.
Kiarana decided it was time for some divine assistance. She memorized a few Zone of Truth spells at dawn and called the crew together for a team meeting after breakfast.
Everyone, including the PCs, was quizzed with the same questions about knowledge of the caravan being attacked. All of the hirelings disavowed knowledge or involvement in any treacherous plans. Only the lead merchant, Munetoshi, refused to answer the questions directly. He gave evasive answers and complained repeatedly about the disrespect inherent in the process. "Mutiny," he called it, twice. He tried to leave but well-armed and armored Leoghnie blocked his path.
Although Kiarana cast the spell and started the interrogation, Otonio took over as he was more fleet with words. "Your evasiveness isn't a good look," he explained to his boss, Munetoshi. "Your inability to answer simple, direct questions with a 'No' under the cleric's Zone of Truth spell leads us to the conclusion you made treasonous plans against this mission."
The group decided to take Munetoshi prisoner. Otonio got some ropes from the supply wagon and tied him up. Then Leoghnie's player realized, "Hey, I have Rope Use +6" and said she'd tie him up extra good.
About these pictures: I created the latter two illustrations with Google Gemini. I prompted the AI with a variety of information about the group and the situation. I iterated a few times to try to improve some of the details. Some of those prompts worked, some were ignored or only partly heeded. And some things are just funny, like the fact that each picture contains a person with three arms— and which person it is changes from pic to pic!
