This is an adventure intended for GURPS. Its not strictly for dungeon fantasy, as there is quite a bit of role-play and social elements, but its meant for that sort of game, and that sort of point values. A secondary element is its meant to be told as a fairy tale: a King looking for a bride, a castle under the sea, and a treaty taken deadly seriously. The story is meant to be set in the town of Gazim, a sea-side desert fortress built on the edge of an evil empire and reasonably hostile to it, but it could be set anywhere with the ocean, even in Yrth (I was actually surprised just how well it fit in Yrth).
As an over-view for the GM, the plot is this: the Sea Elves and the Shark Folk have signed a treaty: among the many intricate clauses are two of particular interest: they will not (directly) attack each other, and if the king of the elves goes for 72 days without a wife (married in very specific conditions), he must marry the daughter of the shark folk King. The treaty is enforced not only by agreement but by magic, and as such the sea elves and shark folk are bound only to its literal wording. The two have a deep dislike of each other, and routinely abuse loopholes in the treaty. The last sea king died 22 days ago, and the new heir is unfortunately unwed. As the new sea king doesn't like the brash and demanding shark princess or her grasping father and doesn't want to give his kingdom to the shark folk, he must find a wife. As he is forbidden from marrying a commoner of his own kind and no eligible sea elf princesses are nearby, the new sea king is seeking a wife among the land folk. He expects interference from the shark folk at every turn, and what's more, the prohibition against attacking sea elves won't apply to the bride until the moment of marriage. The Sea King's solution to this is to hire the PC's to protect him and his bride. He will avoid telling them the whole story until he has to though.
Act 1: Hiring
If asked why he needs them, he will say he is courting outside of his kingdom and he fears the Shark King or other opportunists will move against them. He will also say he wishes to use locals rather than flood the town with his own warriors. He will mention seeking a bride, but he won't mention not being able to fight the shark men himself or his quick timeline unless he absolutely has to.
His companions are Wiscalifon the Strong, grumpy sea elf knight and bodyguard, and Inildin De Triton, his cousin and best friend (who just happens to be a swashbuckler). The Sea King himself is built as a wizard. He is wearing a pearl crown that serves as an $18,000 power item (30 ER), and he happens to know just about any water or weather spell that he needs to. This isn't through study, but through his status as the Lord of the waves. He's also carrying about $15,000 in pearls around, to fund his journey.
The rest of the adventures assumes that your players accepts his offer rather than walking away or worse mugging a king for $33,000 and finding themselves pursued by sea elves and shark men looking for either vengeance or the crown of the sea-king (which has mystic powers they can't access, is key to the legitimacy of the sea elf kingdom, and just might be dangerous to try to fence)
Act 2: Before the Dance
The Sea King will set himself up at the finest Tavern in town, and his presence will become known quite quickly, as he invites every eligible young lady to a dance. He says he will make the young lady a princess, so she need not be one yet. He is, however, hoping for a clever girl with wealthy parents and some experience with high society.
The Town and the Tavern will slowly fill up with suitors, and a small stream of sea-elf servants coming in and out of the ocean.
During this waiting period, three events will happen:
* As he's walking through town, a pickpocket will attempt to steal about $5,000 in pearls from the sea king
*A young lady will stop to flirt with the sea king, and he will earnestly reciprocate
*An "Offended Suitor" of the young lady will stop and make angry accusations, call the sea king names, and generally make a fool of himself
*A crowd will gather, one of which is a pick pocket, who will steal a bunch of pearls from Inildin.
*The PC's may defend against this, or may have to recover the money afterwards
* Agents of the shark folk will attempt to corrupt the party in various ways:
* A young lady from out of town will try to seduce one of the party. If successful, she'll determine whether her best plan is to try and pull him away from his guard duties or to outright offer $2,000 for him to simply not be on guard the night before the dance.
* A pair of business men will feed a party member dinner for two nights, under the guise of trying to gain an advantage for their daughters and on the third night they will offer the party member $2,000 to be absent on the night before the dance
* some people will try to come and get everyone in the party drunk the night before the dance
Act 3: The Attack
The night before the dance, seven heavily armed ruffians, three shark men warriors for every two party members, and Captain Pelag will come into the in and try to kidnap the sea king. The shark warriors will try particularly hard to take the party down, but remember they cannot fight against the king and his bodyguards directly: The ruffians must do that.
Act 4: The Dance
As the Dance begins, the Sea King will explain that he can only marry a princess, and so they will be crowning a king of this city at the end of the evening, to last a single phase of the moon, and that to have your daughter considered you must promise to play along. The Sea King then throws a lavish ball, followed by Tilifrin choosing his bride, and a small coronation ceremony for the lucky girl's father. The PC's will be acknowledged as servants of the new king. The Shark Men do not disturb the dance, but in the middle of the night they will attack the newly minted princess. Send two warriors for each party member, with a cleric of war and water leading them. They are trying to to kill or capture the bride.
Act 5: The Wedding
The Party, Bride, and Her Father will be given pearls of water breathing and sent to escort the bride to the underwater wedding, along with a Merfolk honor-guard. The sea king assures them that they will not be attacked on this journey, and sure enough, they will make it to the castle under the sea for the wedding without event.
When they arrive and are waiting for people to arrive they will find out the shark folk have a new plan afoot. They have an enormous and skilled champion named Telkugon. The shark princess is planning to have him duel anyone who claims the newly created princess is legitimate. He will interrupt the wedding ceremony, and if he is not defeated, then his claim will stand and the Sea King will not be able to marry the commoner. Due to the limitations of the treaty, only the PC's can object. The champion will challenge each of them to a duel unless they concede the princess is a commoner. Plentiful Potions will restore any duelists to full HP and FP after a battle.
The shark folk will also approach each party member before the marriage, offering $5,000 in gold if they will say the princess is a commoner. The Sea elves will tell them of a necklace he's wearing giving him +4 ST, +1 DX, and +1 HT. It only works for shark men, but if it can be removed, he will loose a great advantage.
The Shark Champion will happily end any fight if the PC says the princess is just a commoner. If no PC's maintain her royalty, Her father will concede he is an imposter and the fish king will have to marry the shark princess.
If the party wins, the Sea King will give each player another $1,000 in pearls, and tell them to keep the water-breathing pearls, and that they are welcome in his kingdom
Notes:
$3,000 per character is a fair amount of money, but its actually the going rate for 250 point characters if you look at the Hirelings book. There is also a fair amount of magical gear that can be captured, so be aware of that if you're traditionally stingy with magical gear.
Use in Campaigns
This adventure is scaled for Dungeon Fantasy Characters: it has some powerful enemies: using it for characters less than 250 points and optimized for combat probably requires adjusting the NPCs.
This isn't exactly a classic DF-style adventure, involving a little more social than normal and a few fights in town. It isn't that far off though, and it could provide a break from strait delving.
The adventure works in most fantasy settings with an ocean. Its particularly suited to Yrth, given the presence of shark folk. The intended Setting is Salay, and fantasy town on the sea-side edge of a desert, just south of a sinister empire. Populate your town as you see fit: It could be a fantasy kitchen sink, purely human, or composed of a distinctive mix, like sand elves from the desert, sea-faring dwarves, and humans farming on the outskirts.
This has been an interesting adventure to write. I hope you enjoy reading it, and that some of you enjoy running it (or at least pieces of it). Happy Gaming.
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