Example campaign

Open the notes behind a harbour mystery. See how sessions, story arcs, NPC sheets and cities fit together inside one campaign.

A fictional example written by Questkeep, not a customer’s campaign. These notes are read-only. Jump to a part of the campaign below.

The Low-Tide Bell

Brinewick, a small port on the Saltglass Coast. Boats have vanished, and a bell rings beneath the water. The party must follow a trail inland before the next low tide brings an answer nobody asked for.

From the last session to the next

The bell beneath the water

Played

Goals: Find out why the harbour bell rings at low tide, though its tower fell into the sea years ago.
Scenes: A silent fish market and an argument over missing boats.
Mara opens the old harbour ledger.
A descent beneath the broken bell tower.
NPCs appearing: Mara Fen, Orren Coil
Story arcs: The drowned bell
Recap after play: The party found a new rope tied to the submerged bell. Orren admitted repairing it for a hooded visitor. A brass token caught in the knot bears the crest of the inland city of Reedcross. The party left the bell intact and promised Mara they would return before the next low tide.

A ledger with no names

Planned

Goals: Trace the brass token to Reedcross and learn who is paying to keep the bell ringing.
Scenes: The ferry arrives beside a crowded reed market.
Sella trades a shipping record for a favour.
An abandoned counting house holds a ledger written in tide marks.
NPCs appearing: Sella Venn
Story arcs: The drowned bell · A debt in reeds

What the tide remembers

Planned

Goals: Return to the harbour and choose whether to silence the bell or answer it.
Scenes: Mara gathers the families of the missing sailors.
Orren leads the party through a drained sea cave.
At the bell, a voice offers the missing boats in exchange for one name.
NPCs appearing: Mara Fen, Orren Coil
Story arcs: The drowned bell

The stories running underneath

The drowned bell

Active

Someone is using the old harbour bell to call a bargain out of the sea.

Stakes: The missing sailors can come home, but the bargain may bind the whole harbour.

Mara Fen, Orren Coil · Brinewick

2 of 4 beats complete

Complete: Hear the bell at low tide.
Complete: Find the new rope and the brass token.
Not yet complete: Identify who commissioned the repairs.
Not yet complete: Decide what to offer the voice beneath the tower.

A debt in reeds

Active

A freight broker in Reedcross has been hiding payments to the coast.

Stakes: Exposing the debt could save the sailors and cost Sella her place in the city.

Sella Venn · Reedcross

1 of 3 beats complete

Complete: Recover a token bearing the Reedcross crest.
Not yet complete: Win Sella’s trust and read the shipping records.
Not yet complete: Find the creditor behind the tide-mark ledger.

The people with something to hide

Mara Fen

Harbour keeper · Human · Lawful neutral

Role in the story: The party’s contact in Brinewick and keeper of the missing-boat ledger.
Occupation: Harbour keeper and salvage appraiser.
Defences: Armor class 12 · Hit points 18

STR: 11
DEX: 12
CON: 13
INT: 14
WIS: 16
CHA: 10

Appearance: Salt-stiff coat, cropped silver hair and a brass key on a length of sail twine.
Personality and voice: Patient with frightened people, impatient with guesses. Speaks in short, measured sentences and taps the ledger before giving an answer.
Motivation: Bring the missing crews home without making another promise to the sea.
Secret: She heard the same bell as a child. Her father answered it, and his name disappeared from every harbour record.

Orren Coil

Dwarf · Rope-maker · Reluctant witness

Tar on his cuffs, a quick laugh and a habit of checking every knot twice. He wants his workshop left out of the investigation. He repaired the bell rope and kept the visitor’s payment hidden in a spool.

Sella Venn

Elf · Freight broker · Keeper of the paper trail

Ink-stained fingers and a soft voice that speeds up when money is mentioned. She wants out of a debt she inherited. The tide-mark ledger is in her handwriting, but the payments are not hers.

Places, people and the cost of provisions

Brinewick

The Saltglass Coast

A port town built around a harbour too shallow for its oldest ships.

Notable NPCs: Mara Fen, Orren Coil
Tied story arc: The drowned bell
Shops: Coil & Cord
Rope, fishing hooks, lanterns and boat repairs.
The Dry Net
Dried fish, travel rations and waterskins.
Fen’s Salvage
Second-hand tools, anchors and recovered metalwork.
Price level: Standard Player’s Guide prices
Price notes: Use standard prices for equipment. Fresh fish is cheaper here; imported ink and paper are pricier while the boats are missing.

Reedcross

The Lower Fenways

An inland river city where every cargo passes through the reed market.

Notable NPCs: Sella Venn
Tied story arc: A debt in reeds
Shops: Venn’s Exchange
Maps, writing supplies and shipping records.
Three Reeds Outfitters
Boots, cloaks, packs and camping gear.
The Copper Ladle
Hot meals, provisions and rooms above the kitchen.
Price level: Pricier than standard Player’s Guide prices
Price notes: Equipment costs a little more near the ferry landing. Rations stay at standard prices; river charts cost more when the water rises.

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