Adventure hooks:
- A rumor has it that behind the throne in the abandoned castle is a mysterious hidden artifact. After reaching the castle, you discover that the throne room is not so abandoned. The late King’s ghost sits on the throne, and he won’t give up on his treasure without a fight.
- Nobles and adventurers from all across the kingdom gathered for the celebration of the King’s daughter coming of age. The celebration goes on all night. But nearing the dawn, you hear a scream coming from the throne room. The King is sitting dead on the throne with a trickle of blood running from his mouth. The Queen can offer anything to those who find the responsible for King’s assassination.
- An audience with the King is not always a pleasant experience. The adventurers are shackled together and forced to stand before the King and his royal guards. They must use their words and wit to plead their case and convince the King to free them, or they will remain in his dungeons forever.
Every castle has its secrets, and most of them can be discovered in underground. Often these secrets are NOT pleasant, and even coin will not be able to reward you for the hardships you will face.
Adventure hooks:
- A formerly dead cult has occupied an abandoned castle. They plan to use a sacrificial altar in the castle underground to bring back a lost god. You and your party are chosen by the goddess to stop their attempts.
- Every night one maiden from a local village goes missing. After the daughter of your friend innkeeper disappears, you decide to get involved. All clues lead to a local castle. After some sneaking around, you find yourself in the castle’s undergrounds. The Queen sacrifices young maidens at the altar to keep her eternal beauty.
- The Elder Dragon is said to reside in the vaults of a destroyed castle. It is said to guard a mountain of gold and other treasures.
Come and make yourself comfortable in the Queen’s garden. Few have had the pleasure of resting here, but all who have managed describe it as quite a magical experience. The Queen’s Garden is a little green paradise where all sorrows and worries seem far away.
Adventure hooks:
- The princess sent you a letter requesting a meeting in the royal garden, with a note – urgent. The problem is that this is not an official invitation. You have to find a way to sneak into the garden undetected by the royal guards. There is little time left to make a perfect plan – the meeting is to take place tomorrow.
- In the Queen’s Garden grows a magical flower with the ability to cure any disease. Your mentor has fallen sick; no one of the medics seems to know the cause or cure. You could really use some help from the magical flower. Unfortunately, the queen is not willing to share it. Will you use your charm and words, or maybe less conventional methods?
- The Royal Garden has been overrun by Pixies! They’ve been playing annoying pranks on the royal family and refuse to move out of the garden at any cost. As you have the reputation of being specialists in impossible tasks, the King will reward you handsomely for getting rid of the problem. No matter how. The Pixies must disappear.
Come and pray, adventurer. Your God or Goddesses always have time for you.
Adventure hooks:
- As you are praying, you feel eyes on your back. You entered the chapel alone. As you slowly turn around, you see the two gargoyles near the entrance have come alive. They’re looking blood-hungry.
- You do your daily prayer like always. But this time, different voice answers. What happened to your Goddess? Is it a test?
- Strange sounds echo from the chapel every night. The door closes from the inside making the chapel unapproachable. And the next day, you can find scratch marks on the door. Every day it gets worse. This morning you found a note on the altar saying: „Let me free.”
The royal courtyard is bustling with life. Every day hundreds of people from different corners of the kingdom pour through it. Merchants, brads, spies, and many more and less dangerous types.
Adventure hooks:
- The courtyard is crowded. You try to get out quickly from the castle square with the queen’s stolen jewelry. At the gate, you realize that your pocket is empty and torn. You have fallen victim to a pickpocket. Will you manage to recover your stolen goods?
- A Donkey in the courtyard started to speak. The Donkey is saying he is the crown prince and a mad sorcerer turned him into this form. The human Prince says he’s „the real one” and accuses the Donkey of lying.
- You bought a gold bracelet with a sparkly red crystal in the royal marketplace. The price was surprisingly low, and the seller disappeared just as surprisingly quickly after the transaction. Turns out, the bracelet is cursed. And you can only get rid of the curse by selling it even cheaper.
A place where the ancient Kings and Queens rest. The dead are not always gone forever.
Adventure hooks:
- A Necromancer broke into the castle tomb and started to raise the late Kings back alive. He is planning to do the ultimate King’s battle.
- A Royal Staff whispers that the Queen is spending a lot of daylight time in the royal tomb. Recently, many people have been found drained of all their blood in the villages near the castle.
- When you were exploring Ancient Castle, you came upon a tomb. You opened all the coffins one by one, hoping for hidden treasures. In the last coffin was a body, in pretty good condition. Suddenly the corpse jumped up, coughing he said: „They didn’t believe me that I wasn’t dead.”
The entrance to the castle. Always guarded by the best of the best of royal guards. No one will go unnoticed. So if you have any shady business, you better watch out!
Adventure hooks:
- You are part of the royal guard and are on night watch on a bridge. You notice a small hooded figure trying to cross the bridge to the castle in a hurry. After stopping them, they turn out to be the Young Prince with a tiny baby gnome in his arms. With tears in his eyes, he asks you not to tell his dad about this.
- You have been spying on the royal family for the past few months. Every full moon, you have been meeting with your quest giver to pass every bit of information. This night didn’t go according to plan. As you approach the bridge, you feel the sharp edge of the knife on your throat.
- The castle is under siege. Overwhelming hordes of orcs are standing under the gates. The final battle is near. Only the true heroes and smart approach can save the stronghold.
A good meal and drink will give you the strength to continue your journey. You may also hear exciting information from other diners. They always seem to overshare after a couple of drinks.
Adventure hooks:
- A man is lying with his head down at the table. After someone tries to wake him up, he turns out to be dead. He has in his mouth a letter in seemingly gibberish. One of your party members can understand it, though.
- As you eat your supper, you can hear two drunkards talking about dragon egg hidden in local caverns. It can be just drunk man talk, but it does spark your interest.
- You have magic cards that always let you win. The drunk men at the dining hall make perfect prey. Easy money. Until one day, you play with a woman you can’t win with. It always seems like the right hand, but it turns out to be another loss. You really want to expose her secret.
As you travel through the castle hallways, you can encounter the royal family, guards, and servants. The laters usually have some rumors to spare. Whispers will accompany you frequently as you travel through the castle. Listen closely; you may learn something interesting.
Adventure hooks:
- A Knight Armor statue in the hallway started walking and talking. It is empty inside. It says they want to protect the castle, but everyone thinks it is acting a little suspicious.
- The King is paranoid. Every corner in the castle bears traps. You recently started working as a royal servant, but you’ve had enough. Every day you feel like your life is hanging by a thread. One hallway separates you from freedom. You don’t remember what traps were hidden here, but you’re ready to risk it all to leave this crazy place.
- An art collector hired you to steal the crystal vase and some paintings from the royal castle. You try to stay low, but the heavy vase and big art pieces don’t make it easy. You hear voices coming from the end of the hallway. It would be best if you tried to hide. If you get caught, the punishment for stealing will not be lenient.
Adventure hooks:
- For your outstanding achievements, you were given a castle as a reward! Only no one mentioned that it was cursed. Every few weeks, it changes its location at random—no signs of warning. Usually, your neighbors are not happy about your sudden appearance. You almost started a war a couple of times.
- A rebellion breaks out in the castle. King Main Advisor has been possessed by a demon and began to rile up the people against the royal family. He will do anything to make his demon lord satisfied. Even if it means a lot of blood spilled.
- A grand wedding is taking place in the castle. The princess will be married to the ruler of a nearby empire. Rumor has it that he is cruel, and two of his ex-wives have died under suspicious circumstances. She asks you to help her to escape.
