The Last Papyrates

 
 

Paper is magic, there just isn’t enough of it

As first played on

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THE LAST PAPYRATES
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 Introduction​: Someone has been stealing all of the paper throughout the land, and the
Papyrates are having none of it. That’s their job. And there is a market. Something fishy is
going on… and four lowly wizarding clerks get swooped up in it all one night, to recover the
magical paper they were meant to be guarding.

A 2-3-hour adventure for four 6th level wizards

by TV JACOBS

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, ​Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide,​ D&D Adventurers
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Adventure Core Facets
1. Getting the PCs together
It’s worth having the players discuss
GOAL​: Recover the magical scroll for the
beforehand what their lives are like at the
wizarding library;
university. An opportunity for linking up
individual backstories.
PLACE​: Wizard Library > Airship > This adventure assumes that the characters
Mountain-top know each other well and have, perhaps,
been on at least one (magical) adventure
before.
VILLAIN AND GOALS:​ A wraith commander
who has enlisted the help of a cult to summon
a demon that will reverse the events of history

2. Starting the Adventure

It is to be assumed that the players are part of

Adventure Synopsis
With some steampunk inspiration, and a nod
to Bioshock Infinite’s flying city of Columbia,
the heroes are swept up in a grand mission to
save the papyrus trade. The last of the flying
papyrates are tracking down a villain who
seems to have excavated all paper in Faerun.
A sky battle ensues with assorted henchmen,
and an epic confrontation upon a mountain
top uncovers what evil plot is underway.
the newly formed Parchment Unit. They are
all recently promoted interns.
Their internship is to do with a magical kind of
writing paper that the elder wizards are
studying. More potent spellmaking and so on.
3. Things to prepare
Character sheets, dice, a Players Handbook
ready (for the wild magic table).
The players also need to give their Wizarding
School/University/Library a name.

RUNNING THE ADVENTURE

When preparing to DM this adventure, some
tools might help you start strong and help in
running it smoothly.
First and foremost:​ every player must build a
6th level Wizard. They can multi-class if they
wish - it may actually be advised to take a
class in something else.
 

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 PART 1 -
Silence please
When everyone is ready to begin, read
the following:
“Indubitably, magic is one of the subtlest
and most difficult of the sciences and arts. The ancient wizarding library is quiet.
There is more opportunity for errors of The night is waning on and the moon is high,
comprehension, judgment and practice it’s pale light glancing in through one of the tall
than in any other branch of physics” windows. Soft candlelight flickers here and
there throughout the main hall, where you are
all working.
— Aleister Crowley
[​allow the players an opportunity to describe
their characters, and what they are doing.
Encourage some banter to begin, a short
scene]

There is a crash of glass and a moment of

confusion before you see a rope ladder unfurl
to the floor. A hole in one of the dome glass
ceilings peaks out onto the bottom of a flying
ship, to which the ladder is attached.

And sailing down the ladder, expertly, are two

figures...

Have at thee!
The DM can describe the sky pirates as
they like. But they are indeed human.

ROLL INITIATIVE!

See ​stats​ for Swashbuckler on page 217 of ​Volo’s

Guide to Monsters

If the players get involved they soon

realise that the sky pirates are not the

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thieves… in fact they are chasing cultists
who steal papyrus.
There are four in total left, two straight
cultists and two cult fanatics. The pirates
have dealt with the other five or so. This
fight should be super fast, give everybody
at least one round of combat, and then try
wrap it up.

See ​stats​ for Cultist and Fanatic on page 345 of

the​ Monster Manual

As soon as the assailants are bested

another figure grunts from the entrance to
the library.
In the doorway stands a lumbering form. It
steps through the frame casually and the
players can make out its appearance in
the flickering candlelight.

If needs be, see ​stats​ for Giff on page 204 of

The seven foot tall humanoid has a Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
hippopotamus head and is wearing a
gaudy military uniform. A pistol is strapped
to its side next to a rapier of some sort, Lord Prentis Humphrey Turkeycock will
and in its meaty fingers it clutches a put an end to the fight and wishes to
musket. speak civilly. He introduces himself and
his crew and delightfully engages with the
This central figure, with a monocle and a party. It turns out that their cause is
pipe, is flanked on both sides by two somewhat just...
similar looking beings. (if the players ask
their names, allow them to provide
pompous british names for one of the two
guards - the other is ​Sir Robert John​).

A successful HISTORY roll (DC12) will

remind a player that these creatures are
called Giff.

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Up, up and away

Lord Turkeycock eventually proclaims, All hands on deck

“Once, troupes of papyrates sailed the skies.
The paper trade was rife with possibility, and
prosperity. These last three winters have been
tough, however. There is simply less paper in
the world. We ourselves have flown from
corner to corner in a forever more desperate
search for bounty.
Some ships have been tethered to the earth,
haven’t left the ground in months. A truly sad
state. We are the last. The last of the
papyrates. And our mission, is to find out who
has taken all the paper…”
He will talk briefly with the players if they ask
any questions.
His crew have been tracking a recurring
appearance of cultists from towns to cities to
wizard libraries. They have it on good
authority, that the cult has been making ever
more daring raids on paper moving Eastward.
Lord Turkeycock is fine with having them
on board his airship, the name of which is
The Biblus Chaser.​ As long as they can
pull their weight, and put up a good fight
when needed.
A successful ACROBATICS roll (DC13) is
required to make it up the suspended rope
ladder without trouble.
The Biblus Chaser l​ ooks like an
impressive Galleon of sorts. Where there
would be sails, instead, massive white
balloons keep the large structure aloft.
Once aboard, the pilot, whom Turkeycock
might introduce as Baroness Fredericka
Shufflenapper III, whistles a command
and a few of the crew bustle to their
stations. And the ship drifts off into the
night sky, the city shrinking away as it
ascends.

The players should agree to accompany

the Papyrates - at the very least to
recover their magical parchment source.
But it should become clear to them that in
order to protect the future of their magical
trade, they will need to assist this troupe
of renegades.

Above the glass dome the heroes can

now see a magnificent wooden structure -
shaped like a ship, but in the sky.

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PART 2 - To the
skies
Lower deck
“A little magic can take you a long way...”
This level of the ship is divided in two, one
—Roald Dahl section with stacked barrels (food and
other non-perishables) while the other is
built with shelves and shelves of books
barricaded to the walls. At this time of
It is getting late in the night. The moon night, two or three candles are still lit, but
drifts silently in the sky as the airship very low. An odd pair of paintings hang
carries the party along in search of the despairingly on the one wall behind a
paper thieves. large, wide, wooden desk.

Lord Turkeycock will invite them to look The human ‘Keeper of Tomes’, Father
around, make themselves comfortable. Mortimer Fannyfartle, looks up from his
His right hand man, Sir Robert John, will work - small circular glasses in front of his
fetch them when their sleeping quarters aged eyes as the heroes enter.
are prepared.
He should have a heading for them in the He is poring over books about various
morning. For now, they move East. battles throughout history. He is friendly
enough to talk to the wizards, and his
suspicion is that something more sinister
Clues to deduce is underfoot.
This portion of the adventure is the closest
the players will get to a dungeon. Lord Turkeycock has found evidence of
For the sake of time, it is up to the GM Cult dealings in many of the recent raids
how many areas the players can explore to recover stolen papyrus. Father
before moving into ‘disturbance in the Fannyfartle is plotting areas the airship
force’ - whence Sir Robert John can has covered on a large map.
appear to escort the heroes to their
chambers.
The party can investigate and aid the
researcher if they wish.

Any successful INVESTIGATION roll

(DC10) will reveal a book that Fannyfartle

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has already gone through but yet to plot his map. And he’s frantically trying to
out. figure out what the Cult wants; what are
they trying to do. He mutters something
By either paging through it, or asking out about patterns…
loud, the players can learn about the
battle of Lookout Mountain.
A square gap in the floor shows stairs
A series of mountain tops that jut out into descending further into the airship.
the sky, further to the East, were meant to
become a stronghold for General The next level down is sleeping quarters,
Alejandro Amenabar. He sent his most hammocks mostly. Below that, down more
trusted commander, Valentina Juan Julia stairs is the engine room and cargo hold.
Alvarez, or so the tale goes.
Fannyfartle later discovered a double
crossing and a treachery in the politics
therein.
Commander Alvarez reached the
summits, with fewer men than intended
(due to the treacherous terrain), and was
met with the enemy forces of the North.

A battle ensued for three days, at which

point Alvarez was meant to receive
support troops to tilt the fight in her favour.
But they never came.
It was a sad loss. General Amenabar
revealed his true intentions to surrender to
the Northern King Torsten Kurck.
Valentina Juan Julia Alvarez fought to the
death. Eventually it took three soldiers
plunging pikes into her to bring her down.
Engine Room
Fannyfartle shakes his head, it is a pity.​
In the bowels of the airship is an entire
The Father will soon chase the heroes out level devoted to the mechanic, magical
of his parlour though, Lookout Mountain is power that keeps the airship flying.
not their next destination. And he still has
to recall the last two raids and put them on

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Large pistons pump up and down to your
Main deck & Quarter deck
left and right. Steam chirps out every few
minutes. No one seems to be around at
The main deck is the most accessible,
this hour, but there is a table and chair
and open, to the party of wizards.
with an empty plate and steel mug.
One or two crew mates may be standing
around, on night watch, with a lantern. But
There is nothing else in this room re: loot.
otherwise, most of the papyrates are in
their chambers.

Up on the quarter deck is Shufflenapper,

Cargo Hold behind a large ship’s wheel.

Adjoined to the engine room is a large Any conversation with the Baroness
captain pilot, that asks the right questions
metal door.
to reveal information, will allow the players
It is in fact locked. to uncover the following:

If the wizards make it inside, in one or two “I say, cultists. Who would’ve thunk it ‘ey?” the
storage chambers/alcoves the party may Giff announces.
find a few gems and some gold - but
“I tell you what, I’ve seen a cult or two in my
nothing substantial. There are limited time. There’s always something to summon.
treasures on the ship. That’s their goal, you see. So my surmation is
that whichever cult we’ve found stealing all
They do however find barrels and barrels this papyrus and paper, in fact needs it for
of gunpowder. some insane ritual.
The Giff are known for accepting payment
Haven’t the foggiest idea what it might be for,
in gunpowder.
mind you. Maybe they want to summon a
plague, or a Lord of Darkness. There are so
In addition many options…”
A successful INVESTIGATION check
(DC14) anywhere in a storage location will Shufflenapper is generally quite giving of
reveal the ​Wand of Wonder.​ her time to the wizards. She has nothing
much else to do than steer.
The wand of wonder
Rare Item
But really only knows directions and
See ​stats​ on page 212 of the ​Dungeon Master’s things. In short, once they tracked down
Guide this cult, she’s only noticed that the devils
have covered a lot of ground.

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Disturbance in the force

Once the players have explored enough

they are inclined to take a rest.
The remainder of the journey is
non-eventful; until the early hours of the
morning.
If someone is on watch, they will notice;
otherwise have one of the players awoken
by noise.

There is a​ gnomish disruption…

A small humanoid, flying a small sky
cycle, appears.
He has information regarding a magical
happening to the East.

Lord Turkeycock is awake and meets with

him on deck, with whichever players care
to join.

The odd little professor ​(​the players can

provide a name​)​ has been studying shale
in the upper atmosphere in those
mountains, and for the passed few days
strange bangs and magical tremors have
been noted.
 
He has also seen people on flying beasts
in the sky. He took a chance to escape.
He was lucky to make it to safety. 
 
 
Lord Turkeycock will call for the order to 
descend. And the heroes feel gravity 
envelope the ship as it pounces forward 
and down. The first light of dawn is 
showing.

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PART 3 - High on a
mountain top
 
The figure appears to turn towards the
airship as it floats into position.
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you [it should make contact with one of the
cease for ever to be able to do it.” heroes]
— J. M. Barrie, ​Peter Pan 
As it locks eyes with you, a strange
sensation comes over you and then the
figure disappears in a puff of blueish mist.

As the ship plummets through the clouds That player should roll a DEXTERITY
a light drizzle peppers the deck, and the SAVING throw (DC15), as the wraith-like
dawn light is hidden by an overcast and form flashes into being right next to you,
softly raining morning. lunging at you with it’s longsword.

ROLL INITIATIVE!
Mi Mesa es su Mesa
See ​stats​ for Sword Wraith on page 241 of
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.
From over the side the players can make
out the mesas the Gnome Professor
spoke of.

Two smaller ones connect on either side

to a large flattened top by rope bridges.
There is a crack of thunder in the
distance.
And then there is a flash of blue light on
the main mesa.

A successful PERCEPTION check (DC14)

means a wizard can make out that the
glow is highlighting a huge pentagram in
the earth.
Also, a glowing figure with long hair and a
billowing cape in the increasingly strong
wind, stands prominently near the centre.

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The wraith will fight one round of combat Rivulets of blood dribble along the
with the heroes on deck - in as dramatic a engravings of pentagrams on the mesas.
fashion as the DM wishes - and then
teleport back down to the mesa.
There are three large piles of papyrus
(​please note that this ability is not usual
for the creature - it is only for plot bales, one massive stack at each mesa.
purposes, this once)​ And linked to each pentagram thereon.
A small group of cultists circle each pile of
bales, chanting away.
Cultists abound
The pentagram by one group of chanters
The players will have to decide how to is glowing brightly, the second is
engage. If they want to get down to the beginning to glow. The third has yet to
mountaintop they will need to figure a way begin glowing.
down. There is always the rope ladders.
The wraith has enlisted the cult to siphon
the magic from the papyrus to summon
Chartam - a demon whose coming will rip
the plane apart. Chartam calls forth a tear
in time to reform it, to transform its
primordial essence - thus altering the
events of history (or so the cult thinks).
The idea of ‘palimpsest’ is not lost on
those who know of Chartam.
[it is up to the players how they may, or
may not, learn this. Fannyfartle might hunt
for it once he hears the name of the
demon… or a cultist might part with this
info to save their life]

In order to do so the cult has collected

giant rolls of paper from all over the lands
and drenched them in splotches of
what-seems-to-be blood. This is what the
wizards can, at least, see.
The ritual
Depending on how the wizards choose to
General observations, or easy engage, ROLL INITIATIVE!
PERCEPTION checks reveal:

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See ​stats​ for Cultist and Fanatic on page 345 of
the​ Monster Manual
(treat the cultists as a single unit, that all act as
one on the same turn)
In addition, two cultists are astride giant
bats and will fight from the air.
 
See ​stats​ for Orc Red Fang of Shargaas on page
185 of ​Volo’s Guide to Monsters
 
 
 
There is only simple loot on these flying 
cultists: a few coins, their weapons. 
 
One carries a drawing of complex 
interlocking pentagrams. 
[it is possible for Fannyfartle to have a 
look. He doesn’t know immediately, but 
can go investigating...]

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CONCLUSION
explosions to leave only one or two
“Rare stories traveled of those who rose too high,
behind cover.
the ships who sailed like Icarus towards the sun.
And like him, they crashed and burned for their
arrogance.” Once the Commander is defeated, or
― ​Katherine McIntyre, ​The Airship Also Rises appeased somehow, she will either fade
into death; or walk solemnly down the
mountainside road - humming an old
military tune.
Gunpowder, treason and
plot
Aftermath
To add fireworks to the occasion, after
about the first round of combat, the Giff Stopping Alvarez is one thing, but the
will launch gunpowder kegs from the purpose of her rallying of the cult was to
airship onto the mesa. summon a demon - and if the wizards
have not managed to stop the cultists (the
Giff having run out of their gunpowder
“Remember… remember...” the wraith kegs) then something else happens.
mutters, as if speaking for the wind itself that
whips against your ears.
Choosing to resolve
Above you Lord Turkeycock cries out, and
Depending on what the players choose to
latches open on the sides of the ship.
do, there are different endings.

Each has a lit fuse and explodes upon

contact with the mountain side.

Every character on the mountain top

needs to make a DEXTERITY SAVING
THROW to avoid damage from the
explosion. Any rolls of 6 or less, that
wizard is knocked prone.

If there are any remaining cultists that

haven’t fled or died, enough are hit by the

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Ending
1 ENDING: Ritual Succeeds
If there is at least one cultist at each mesa top
for 4 rounds of combat, the ritual succeeds
and the air crackles as if combusting into
thunder and lightning right before their eyes.
The rock that makes up the mountain side
boils and burbles into gooey liquid that runs
off down the sides of the mesa.
A massive thunder clap and flash of light
announces the arrival of a behemoth
monstrosity astride all three mountain tops.
The gigantic being waves unnaturally in the
wind like paper, it’s brown flaky skin pulled
against a skeletal frame. A terror to behold.
A satisfied laugh slices through the air like a
blade through flesh. Before you stands
Chartam, and the world prepares to be
unwritten.
Whether you will remain in it, remains to be
seen...
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2 ENDING: The cult is stopped
If the wizards and the Papyrates manage to
halt the ritual, the mountain top is eerily quiet
as the rain subsides and a small sliver of sun
begins to peak through in the mid-morning.
Lord Turkeycock and his crew come on land
to begin hauling the paper aboard their ship.
With enough clear and kind words, they are
willing to part with the special papyrus
originally from the wizarding library.
They cannot, however, offer them a ride
home.
Maybe the gnome can oblige?
He has a base-camp a few miles down the
side of the mountain, and may be able to
assist.
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