The Duke’s Funeral

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Genre: Fantasy
Primary Focus: Political Intrigue
Secondary Focus: Investigation, Combat
Time: 1-2 hours
Complexity: 1

The Duke’s Funeral is a quick, simple one-shot for Level 1 characters that is easy to run and great for beginner players and GMs. You will be playing as a group of adventures that made a name for themselves after helping defend the city of Breggen against an orc raid. Because of your deeds, you have the honor of being invited to the funeral of the Duke of Breggen. All of the most important people from Breggen are here. There is, however, somewhat of a tense atmosphere since the duke was not necessarily the most beloved ruler…

This adventure can be easily inserted into most Fantasy settings. You can use any sort of city as a starting point, and you can freely exchange any fantasy race and lore with those of your chosen setting. The default option is the world of Iskra and the city of Breggen. You do not need to know anything about this setting other than it is a classic medieval fantasy setting to run and play this adventure, so do not worry about the details.

Character Suggestions

Here are some finished Characters for the players to choose from. This is especially good for beginners who do not yet have the know-how to build their own. Feel free to change the gender and name of these characters. You can import the character into the online character sheet or use the PDF to print it out.

The Adventure

Important NPC	Description
Duke Waltrug Weststone (Human)	The late Duke of Breggen. He was an old human and a reclusive ruler.
Frank Weststone (Human)	The son of Waltrug and Selun Weststone and the brand-new Duke of Breggen.
Albree Sprucewind (Gnome)	The leader of the craftsmanship guild and the richest person in the city besides the duke.
Elsa Ironmantel (Dwarf)	The captain of the guard and responsible for the security of the duke and the city.
Rolf Esterun (Human)	The bishop of the Light and the most important religious leader in the city.

The adventure starts right after the funeral of Duke Waltrug Weststone. The body was laid into the crypt roughly 20 minutes ago. Now, they are with all the other guests in the main banquet hall.

Before describing this scene, establish why they are here. Tell the players that their characters managed to stop an orc raid, turning them into local heroes in Breggen, and that they were invited to the funeral of Duke Waltrug Weststone with all the other important people of the city. Mention that they witnessed how the duke was carried into the crypt.

Waltrug Weststone became rather unpopular after he became reclusive following the death of his wife, Selune Weststone. He started neglecting the city, rarely coming out. What is not known, however, is that the death of his wife made him paranoid of his own death. He secretly built a lab under the mansion, where he started researching ways of gaining eternal life. He studied the necromantic and illegal arts of the Shadow and found a way to cheat death by becoming an undead. He prepared his coffin with a hidden magical circle that would revive him shortly after being laid into it. This will cause problems later.

The official story is that the Duke died in his sleep of old age. The truth is that his son, Frank Weststone, killed him by suffocating him while he was lying in bed. The motive? Frank thought that his father was doing a horrible job reigning over Breggen and that he would be far better at it. To be fair, he is not wrong about that, even if the morality of his act is highly questionable. Now that the Duke has come back from the dead, he is seeking revenge against his own son.

The banquet hall has a buffet with snacks and is decorated with flowers, candles, and black ribbons. A painting of Duke Walturg Weststone has been set up. The guests are standing around, eating, and talking to each other. The player characters will notice four especially important people in the room: The new duke Frank Weststone, the guild master Albree Sprucewind, the captain of the guard Elsa Ironmantel, and bishop Rolf Esterun. Ask the players if they wish to approach any of them. Each of those individuals has a piece of information about the late duke.

Albree Sprucewind (Gnome) is the leader of the craftsmanship guild. She has a bit of a bubbly and bold personality and is not afraid to speak her mind. She wears colorful and expensive clothing that reflects her high economic position. When the players talk to her, she will be hopeful that commerce will pick up again under Frank Weststone. She will also tell the players that the late Duke secretly ordered the construction of a hidden room connected to his bedroom and garden. She shares this information because she loves gossip and no longer sees herself bound by the contract that swore all the workers to silence, since the duke died.

Elsa Ironmantel (Dwarf) is the captain of the guard and responsible for all military and policing operations in Breggen. She is stoic and stays calm in most situations. She wears plate armor and is equipped with a halberd. She will apologize for not being able to defend the city when the players approach her and be thankful for their service. While she says that she is sorry, she will explain that the Duke ordered to focus the city’s defenses on his mansion, which led to the walls being understaffed. She will also mention that the Duke seemed to be fearful of his own death after his wife died of natural causes.

Rolf Esterun (Human) is the local bishop of the church of the Light, the most common religion on the continent, including Breggen. He is an old man wearing pristine white and golden robes, typical for a person of his position. He is known as a wise and kind man who, however, has little tolerance for what he perceives to be against the will of the Light. When approached by the players, he will be thankful for saving lives in the orc raid and generally friendly. When asked about the Duke, he will admit to not having liked him much since he neglected the church and his duties as a ruler. He will also mention that the duke refused to be granted the normal Light funeral rites, which are important to protect the corpse from the Shadow and its necromantic influences.

The new duke, Frank Weststone (Human), will enthusiastically greet the player characters when approached and praise their heroics. He will talk about how he plans to do better than his father and that he needs capable people for his plans. He will try to hire the players to permanently stay in Breggen and help with defending and rebuilding the city.

The Empty Grave

After the players talk to one (or more if they split up) of the four important persons, or after a while, if they decide not to talk to anyone, a guard will run in and whisper into the ears of Frank Weststone. If the players are currently talking with Frank, they can try to listen in with a successful Perception Skill Check against 7. If they are further away, they will need to roll at least a 13. The guard will tell Frank that the door of his father’s crypt was found open, and when one of the guards checked it out, his father’s corpse was gone.

Frank Weststone will be visibly shaken by the news, looking pale and shocked. He will order the guards not to let any of the guests out until the situation has been solved. Afterwards, he will address the crowd, explaining that his father’s body is missing, and ask everyone to stay calm and remain in the hall. The guest will understandably react in an anxious manner, with many whispers echoing through the hall.

Frank will then approach the player characters to ask for their help. To be exact, he wishes to hire them to investigate the situation and ensure his safety, offering 1000 credits (gold) each with promises of negotiating permanent employment after they have overcome the night. What happens next depends on how the player characters react to the offer.

Independent of that, this is what the late Duke Waltrug Weststone will be doing in the background. After rising from the dead, he left his crypt and went through the garden to a secret trapdoor at the side of the mansion, hidden behind a bush. This trapdoor leads to the secret lab in the basement. He will collect himself there, adjusting to his new situation, and take a magical glove that he uses to channel magic. The glove is made out of fine silk, with golden threads and embedded magical gems. The Duke himself will look noticeably pale, but there are no signs of him rotting. Anybody experienced with the undead will quickly notice that he is no longer living in the traditional sense.

Waltrug Weststone will then go up the stairs in the back of his laboratory that lead to his old room, the room that now the new duke Frank Weststone claims as his own. Frank Weststone will retreat to this room after hiring the players, ordering the captain of the guard, Elsa Ironmantel, to stand guard at the room’s entrance unless the players themselves have decided to accompany him to protect the duke directly. Frank Weststone has no idea of the hidden door behind the fireplace, and that this is the most vulnerable position he could put himself into.

If the players are too slow, the undead Waltrug Weststone will enter his old room, find his son, and murder him to take his revenge. Afterwards, he will go to the banquet hall, tell them that he was murdered, and reclaim his authority as the duke of Breggen. The only one who will resist is bishop Rolf Esterun, who will be quickly dealt with. The other attendants are either too afraid to rebel or accept his claim out of loyalty. This, of course, presumes that the players do pretty much nothing and let everything happen.

The Investigation

If the players accept Frank Weststone’s offer, they will have more or less three options when approaching the situation. They can either investigate the empty grave in the mausoleum, question the guests, or focus on protecting the Duke and follow him to his room. They could also attempt to tackle two or more at the same time by splitting up. The duke will provide a letter of authority, which will allow the players to act within the mansion without being hindered by the guards.

The Mausoleum

The Weststone mausoleum is in the garden of the mansion. By now, the sun has set, and the group will need some form of light to see any details. Two human guards (Varin Vorn and Granda Lornak) are standing at the entrance at the orders of Captain Elsa Ironmantel, to watch for any suspicious activity and not let anyone in. They will recongine the player characters as the heroes of Breggen, but refuse to let them in unless they show them the letter of authority granted by the duke.

The mausoleum is simple but elegant. Three generations of Weststones are laid to rest here in stone coffins, including the late wife of Waltrug Weststone, Selune Weststone. The late duke’s coffin will be noticeably open, its heavy stone lid being pushed to the side. The coffin does not show any signs of damage. The bottom of it is covered by an intricate carpet. If the group investigates the coffin, let the player with the highest History or Perception Skill roll a corresponding Skill Check. On a 7 or higher, they will realize that it is highly uncommon for coffins to include such carpets and that it is probably hiding something if they rolled a History Check, or they will see that there seems to be something under it if they rolled a Perception Check. Supernatural vision will also reveal that there is something emanating necromatic energy from below the carpet.

The players will find magical circles and runes carved into the stone under the carpet. A Supernatural Skill Check reveals on a 6 or better that those are necromatic runes. On an 11 or better, they will recognize that these runes are specifically designed to permanently reanimate the dead, thereby preventing further decay and rendering the participant immune to natural causes of death. The Runes are highly sophisticated in design.

If the players look around the entrance of the Mausoleum, make them roll a Survival or Perception Check. On a five or higher, they will find fresh tracks. They can find them automatically if they have a bright light source with them. The tracks lead to a bush next to the mansion, which conceals the entrance to the secret laboratory where Waltrug Weststone researched how to cheat death. Investigating the bush automatically reveals the trapdoor behind it.

Questioning the Guests

Questioning the guest will not lead to more information than could already be gathered by talking to them before the guard ran in, but this might give the players a chance to ask those important individuals they did not have time to talk to yet.

Bishop Rolf Esterun will be very vocal about presuming necromantic foul play when being questioned, pointing out that Waltrug Weststone refused the funeral rites. He will urge the players to stop wasting their time questioning the guests and start searching for an undead roaming the mansion.

Albree Sprucewind will be quick to tell about the secret laboratory the late duke had built and how to find it. She will also point out that there is a direct connection to the duke’s main chambers, which means that Frank Weststone is exposed to an ambush while in his room.

Captain Elsa Ironmantel will not be there unless one of the players decides to protect the duke in her stead.

The other guests will not have any relevant information. Questioning them will be a waste of time.

Protecting the Duke

The players may ignore the investigation and focus on protecting Duke Frank Weststone. He will retreat into his room. The players can either guard the door or stay with him in his room. If they stay guard at the door, nothing happens until they hear the duke scream in terror, as his undead father enters his room through the hidden door.

Frank Westone will be visibly nervous, as his conscience starts gnawing at him. He is afraid that the entire situation has to do with the murder of his father. He will, of course, not talk about this to the player characters. If the players want to try to read why he is so afraid, let them roll a Psychology or Intuition Check. On a 7 or higher, they realize that the duke is hiding something.

Frank will act like nothing is wrong if the players ask him. They will need to beat either a Menece or Presence Check against 13 or a Persuasion, Deception, or Graze Check against 11, depending on their approach, to get any information out of him. On a success, he will tell the players that he murdered his father, but insist that it was for the good of Breggen, pointing out the well-known fact that Waltrug Weststone was a mostly absent leader. It’s up to the players how they proceed with this information.

After a while, the undead duke will enter the room to take revenge.

The Confrontation with the Dead Duke

Where the players encounter Duke Waltrug Weststone depends on their decision. If they investigated the mausoleum and followed the tracks without wasting too much time, or if they quickly went to the hidden laboratory after finding out about it from Albree Sprucewind, they will find him in that laboratory, currently putting on his magic glove. If they take too much time, the duke will go up the stairs to his room and try to kill his son. If the players did not stop him there (for example, by wasting time questioning all the guests), he will succeed, killing his son and turning his attention to the others in the mansion.

Duke Waltrug Weststone is not a mindless undead and has no ill will towards the players. When they find him, he will attempt to persuade the players that he is the rightful ruler of Breggen and tell them about his murder. He will even offer them a place at his side if they help him take back Breggen. It is up to the players to decide whether they accept his offer. If the players try to stop the late duke, he will not hesitate to unleash his magical might against them.

The Future of Breggen