• The Ugly Man gives Rokko information on a heist job
• As the info flows, Rokko will tell the Ugly Man who he plans to take on the job to help with certain aspects:
  • Sharyl - The Sailor; will navigate the razorshark infested waters to Pecan Sandy without the Keto Slavers or the Empire fleets seeing us and attacking.
  • Sherlok - The Detective; will deduce the secrets of the mayor's mansion
  • Skulker - The Locksmith; will defeat the locks on the secret crypt

• Rokko meets separately with the other PCs in their own element to make an offer. Most of whom have worked for him in the past. Where do they meet? Perhaps:
• Sharyl - Sitting on a pier fishing
• Sherlok - In the middle of a prizefight
• Skulker - At his clockwork shop
• Rokko introduces his regular employees. Ishtar, Bitey, Ringo, Boomer, One-Eyed Dan, Two-Eyed Dan, Nobu, and Todd.

• Rokko and his Krew needs to get a ship.
• They need to get the harbormaster on their side or else they will have the navy after them.
• There are three good options for getting a ship in Doughnut Hole:
  • Clockwork Vessel - This tub is derelict and way over-engineered, but capable machinists like Skulker and Rokko could get it going. The navy hasn't cared about it since it ran aground and there was no one who knew how to fix it.
  • Small but Speedy Boat - Sharyl would point out that this ship would easily sail faster than anyone else who might come after us, but we need to either fool the skeleton crew aboard or come up with some sort of a ruse to take control of it.
  • Merchant Cog - It is ours, but we have to win it in a high-stakes gambling den. Of course, the current owner cheats and only keen eyes could pick out how he does it. Also, we would have to come up with something to wager that he would actually want.

• The PCs make the crossing. Make a skill challenge to see if we can keep free of the navy and slavers. Failure sets us off course and we are forced to deal with the green slimes attacking Pecan Sandy.

• Entrance RP - “Who are you guys? what is up with all this green slime? Are the people of Penicillin fleeing? What is up with the Pastry Family? Why do they even have this painting? ”

• Find the Pastry Family Sword through deduction and reason
• Reveal clues pointing to larger plot elements.
• Who exactly is the Ugly Man representing?
• What do they want with a painting?
• Who gets the sword once everything settles down?
• What is up with the green slime?
• Are the slavers and empire involved?
• Head down to the crypt

• Open the crypt
• Crack the epic lock while the others hold off monsters
• Find the painting and fight the BBEG!

Prologue 4 outline: Opens with the Ugly Man talking to Rocco about a heist job he needs to pull off. (The Ugly Man is a source for shady quests- not necessarily evil quests, just shady ones). You are in the city of Doughnut Hole (D-Hole) on the island of Doughnut.

Your quest is to travel to Pecan Sandy to the city of Penicillin. It has recently been pillaged by the Keto Slavers and everyone has been taken. The Island is being overtaken by mold and green ooze, so time is of the essence. You must enter the mayor’s mansion and find the Pastry family sword. That sword will grant you access to a secret crypt below the mansion. In the crypt is a vault with an elaborate lock on the door. Within the vault is a painting of great value and power. You are to retrieve it and return it to the Ugly Man for his buyer.

Rocco gathers the Krew and you go to the docks where you meet the dock master. The dock master will share with the audience that the ships in the island chain have all been claimed by the government and are only being used on government business. Rocco has rapport with the dock master (a love/hate relationship). He will gain a small ship for the voyage through some kind of bribery.

Once you get to the island you see that it is, in fact, being overtaken by slime and mold. There is a survivor who can help you find what you’re looking for. You find your way to the mansion and have to solve a few puzzles to get into the crypt. Once you’re in the crypt, there are some puzzles that might separate everyone if you’re not careful.

Eventually you will reunite in the room with the vault, where someone is going to have to crack the epic lock. Some of the Krew are missing and someone will shed light on the fact you’re being hunted. Once the vault is open, you will find the Mirshum painting, but that’s when you will be attacked by a crazy monster of my own design. Casey, John, and Will MUST DIE, so we don’t have multiple characters later. After you slay the monster, the episode will end.

The 15 gnomes (including the party- can be fighters, rangers, or monks if they desire) depart from Doughnut on their next adventure for gold. They come across an island that has clearly been hit by the slavers. Slavers will steal what they can, but they’re typically under a time restraint to grab the captives and roll before their rescuers can arrive. Knowing that, Rocco directs his crew to the island of Penne to have a closer look.

When they get there, it has been completely cleaned out of people, so far as they can tell. They move into the houses to stay for the night. They are awakened by shouts of “Fire!” Their ship goes down in flames.

Rocco suspects it’s one of the crew, but who? Why? Some characters will have an alibi and some will not. The ones who do not have an alibi will be tied up, or isolated in some way. Todd suggests torturing people- if someone decides it’s a good idea, he does things like tickles feet with feathers, chews loudly in their ears, or starts singing “99 bottles of beer.” If that doesn’t work, he gets the actual torture tools out.

Someone will call for help, and as everyone runs outside, Dingo is in shock. A monster grabbed one of their company (not sure who) and consumed the gnome right in front of him. When he cried out, it ran off behind some of the ruins of Penicillin City. They pop around the corner, ready to fight, when they find Nobu taking a piss behind the house. Nobu accuses One-Eyed Dan of burning the ship because he saw Dan walking away from it while it was on fire. Distrust for everyone ensues.

Depending on how it goes from there, someone may reveal themselves to be the secret monster. If not, there will be another opportunity to try and get the other party members. The party will battle the monster, but it has to get each of them, or they take off into the fungal forest and die from the fumes. Perhaps we can come up with a plausible way for those characters to disappear without them dying- though, they feel expendable.

Their next order of business is to build a new ship. That’s when the fire storm comes blowing through and they have to seek cover. Then they will begin building an amazing ship very, very quickly. It will have propellers powered by everyone cycling their legs. It will also have sails and enough oars for everyone, making it the perfect cardio workout for all of them. But that will probably appear in Episode 1.

Well, logistically speaking, are you pirates? I figured you picked up a contract from the Ugly Man. The city of Penicillin was raided by Ketos and everyone was taken. You are hunting a sword that is in the town (previous campaign) of great value to someone. Return it to the ugly man and he will pay your crew handsomely.

It would be cool to have an “I know a guy” feature. Basically, anywhere we go I have a contact on the ground who can give us an exposition dump. But I always owe the person. Maybe they want to do me bodily harm, even. Sometimes even Rokko isn't sure what he promised in the past.

I like that a lot. The “I know a guy” mechanic.

Here is my narrative snafu. All ships are being seized and/or drafted for the Carb Navy. So… how do you get to the island? I suppose you could have stolen a ship and when the fire storm hits the island it destroys the ship? So then you need to make a new one. That's how everyone gets off the island at the end of the first arc.

Another tidbit between you and me- you know the dock master of the doughnut island. He gives people a hard time but is easy to persuade when coin gets involved. He is definitely going to give you a hard time about returning to the island.

I love it! A whole adventure could be Rokko trying to learn more about that guy.

I'm down with that! I picture him as fat, pompous, and open to bribes.